Merry Christmas!

Just want to wish all my readers and visitors a Merry Christmas!

G.I.-Joe: Retaliation Trailer

Well yesterday Entertainment Tonight (and thankfully the internet somehow) showed off the premiere trailer for G.I.-Joe: Retaliation
which was  the only reason I was looking forward to Monday. XD

G.I.-Joe is Hasbro's popular military action figures (4inch and 12 icnh) and is the code name of America's highly trained mission force, it prupose is to defend human freedom against COBRA, a ruthless terrorist organization determined to rule the world! Now you know....and knowing is half the battle.                         The other half is watching the trailer and reading my thought's on it. ;) 

Well....It looks awesome to say the least.
 Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson rocks as the character: RoadBlock.
Ray Park looks even cooler as the stealthy ninja Snake Eye this time around since there aren't weird looking lips on his mask. The new additions to the cast also seem to be fitting into the scheme of thing well. 
Also....Cobra Commander! With silver faceplate! YES! Looks Frickkin Awesome!
Coooobra! <3

And the action looks like it's been kicked up a notch (or two) with fairly realistic military and ninja themes.

Though there is one thing I'd like to bring up

While this isn't exactly bad, I do feel a little deja-vu since the story seems quite similar to the recently canceled G.I.-Joe: Renegades cartoon. Though it seems like this will be a bit more of a mature and gritty (?) take on the story. Also...seeing the flag and banners of COBRA being put on the White House was really cool!
Looks like they took some things from the previous G.I.-Joe movie (Rise of Cobra), though I won't mention what since there may be those of you who want to see it (and unlike others, I didn't find it to be the worst thing ever but it wasn't great either. enjoyable then yes. Story...not so great.).
But what I will say is that they took from it was the good things and seems to have left the bad behind.

For now, all I can say is that I can not wait till June 29th 2012 for this movie to come out!
And the Action Figures too!

Yo Joe!!!!!

News: New Soul Calibur 5 Videos

Well as some of you might know, I am very excited for the latest installment of the popular weapon based fighting game series: Soul Calibur 5
And with only a month or two away til it's official release in the US (January 31st 2012), there has been plenty of new videos and info on what's to come like these two new videos below:

It might surprise you that Soul Calibur 4 was meant to be the last game in the series because the team behind it split up and went to work on other games. But thanks to fans of the series that clamored for a new and improved installment to the series be made. Namco listened and here we are. Now they plan to make up to at least Soul Calibur 9. XD
Anyway about the video, It seems to be trying to show what happened in SC4 and how it will lead into SC5 which I think is a nice touch since the game takes place 17 years after SC4.
I am hopeful that the story mode will be much better and actually have a story unlike SC4.
The graphics look quite nice for the cutscenes and that it looks really good so far.
Also Siegfriedis so awesome in this trailer...as is Nightmare.
Thought I should mention that the music is epic. So glad I'm getting the soundtrack with my Collector's Edition. : )


Most info in this video won't be anything too new to fans that are keeping a close eye on things but it has it's gems and it's pretty good for someone who might not know much about Soul Calibur and possibly getting them interested.
Seeing a clip from story mode, shows how cool Patroclus (the son of Sophitia not "Sofeshea") is.
Also gameplay of Yoshi, Cervantes, Xiba (who seems to have a few of Seong Mi-na's moves), and Aeon Calcos (Formally Lizardman) was also shown.
Also it seems that there will possibly be two original movesets exclusive to custom characters that can be made. Ezio Auditore from Assassin's Creed makes an appearance as a guest character and fits in with the rest of the cast nearly flawlessly.

I can't help but think that the announcer of the video knows very little about the Soul Calibur series I believe since things like Nightmae's "Living Sword" (Soul Edge) seemed to surprise him and that the "graphics are as good as a FPS" (First Person Shooter).
Yeah...otherwise both are cool videos and I suggest you watch them if your interested in Soul Calibur 5.

Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 Minimates Review: Iron Man and Arthur

Hi there!
This here is my review of the newest Minimates that recently came out that are from the crossover fighting game: Marvel Vs. Capcom 3

That includes Marvel's Iron Man and Capcom's Arthur

For those of you who don't know what Minimates are:
Minimates are 2 inch Lego-like action figures that have 14 points of articulation, have interchangeable parts, and have various lines like Marvel, Ghost Busters, Halo, and more to choose from.

Anyway find out my thoughts on these minimates after the jump!

Happy Thanksgiving! 2011

WIP Wednesdays: More Minimates and Lego Edition

 Hello There!
Been a little while since I've updated the site..anyway I wanted to show you all my latest Minimate and Lego WIPs (Work In Progress), which you can see below.

Custom Sculpted and Painted

I'm not going to tell you exactly what they're going to be yet...but I'll give you two clues:

Nail Polish and Sharpie Marker

For the Minimates: They are going to be from two different licensed series that they had a long while back that most likely will never be made because they lost both licenses to each of the series.

Stickers!

 For the Lego: They are going to be characters from a fighting game I've talked about quite a bit in previous post.

My Loot from Brickforge most of which are being used by my customs.

So..I'd love to hear your guesses.

And check back soon for more updates,reviews, customs, news, and more real soon!
Thanks for reading!

About the Newly Added Donate Button

Drew the little guy myself.

I think some of you may have noticed a little kitty Grell (like the one above)on the side of the page here ->
Well a friend of mine suggested I make one in case people might want to donate to help me be able to more often put up reviews of various things like, action figures, Lego sets, Minimates, Video games, Anime figurines, and other stuff too. Also proceeds go to feed kitty Grell too. Meow! :3

So your donation of any amount is appreciated an will go to making this site and to making it more enjoyable to you, the readers. : )

Thanks for reading. More updates to come. : )

Bad News about one of my Latest Videos

Some of you might remember that I posted a Lego Bleach animation on Youtube some time back.
Well I woke this morning to an email stating that I may have content that is owned or licensed by Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc..and that no action was required on my part.
However, learning how this affected my video, I was not pleased. They took the sound off (Music from Bleach's 2nd Opening) which is what makes the video. I'm quite frustrated because people can put up AMVs (Anime Music Videos), Full fricken movies, and anything else you can imagine (even corn)! >.<
Yet I put up something like this which is a Lego animation with music from the series in which the custom minifigures are from that I worked very hard on and this is the crap I get!?

If anyone has any ideas on what I could do to save it, please let me know.
It would be totally appreciated.

Thanks for read what is (I guess) my first real rant post.

Some new Lego Creations:The Akatsuki (Part 1)

Hi there, These are the first part of my series of Customs based off of the characters from the villainous group known as the Akatsuki from the Anime Naruto. I hope you all like them. :)
See more pictures can be found here .

Itachi and Kisame

Deidara and Sasori

Hidan and Kakuzu

 Thanks for looking and look forward to more Lego Custom Creations.

A Comparison Between Soul Calibur 2 and Soul Calibur 4

Hi there,
 Today I'd like to discuss and compare two Soul Calibur games from different eras and different gaming consoles.
Recently I bought SC2 (Soul Calibur 2) from my local Gamestop for about 8 bucks since
I've heard a lot about how great SC2 was and how much better it was compared to SC4 (Soul Calibur 4) and I wanted to see for myself first hand.

SC2 was originally released in 2003 for the GameCube,Xbox, and the PlayStation 2 with each of the consoles having exclusive characters as follows: Link (Legend of Zelda), Spawn (Todd McFarlane),Heihachi Mishima (Tekken).
While SC4 was released in 2008 for the Xbox360 and the PlayStation 3 with exclusive Star Wars characters for each console: Yoda (360), Darth Vader (PS3) The Apprentice (Both).

Read on to see if SC2 is actually better than SC4 or just highly regarded by those for it's nostalgia!
More after the Jump!

Fanart Fridays: Swimsuit Edition!

Hi there and welcome to this today's Fanart Fridays!

Today it's all about the Swimsuits!
This is my entry for 8WayRun.com's Fanart Friday: Swimsuit Edition! contest.
Cassandra Alexandra from Soul Calibur 4

Click on it to see it in bigger and better quality

I hope you all like it.

Comments And Constructive Criticism Welcome.

Art By: AJV(Me)
Character Created By: Namco Bandai

Fanart Fridays: Mood Swinger's Edition

Hi there!
Long time no fanart. ^^;
Well that changes today because I just recently finished my latest fanart.
It's Tira from the upcoming Soul Calibur 5

Click on the Above Pic for Better Quality Version

And a bonus Grell Fanart:

Just click on the above image to see it in better quality.

Anyway I hope you all like 'em!

Comments And Constructive Criticism Welcome.

Pictures by: AJV (Me)
Black Butler Created By: Yana Toboso  
Soul Cailbur Created By: Namco Bandai

Some Tidbits from this year's ComicCon

Well last week was my birthday and the day after it was the San Diego Comic Con.
Sadly I was unable to attend (maybe someday) but there was some news from there that piqued my interest.

One of the biggest things that happened in the toys section was LEGO acquiring both Marvel and DC licenses, giving Lego the ability to make figures and sets from comics and movies with iconic characters like Batman,Superman,Wonder Woman,Iron Man, Capt. America, The Hulk, and many more! 

LEGO Superman,Batman, and Green Lantern Minifigs

I remember when LEGO first made Spiderman and Batman sets and how the figures were so cool (the sets were too most of the time) and now with so many more characters at there disposal how many more neat figures will be made. I haven't really bought any LEGO sets in a long time (except for this one) but depending on how they look (and their pricing), it's possible that I might actually try to get my hands on some LEGO set again.  Can't wait till they hit in stores next year.

  
(Via Kotaku)

On the gaming front, there was some news on a certain game that got me pretty excited to say the least. 
For those of you who don't know, Soul Calibur 4 (from 2008) is probably my favorite fighting game (even with it's flaws) to play and Namco is making a new installment to the series called: Soul Calibur 5.

Soul Calibur 4 (left) and Soul Calibur 5 (right)

As you can see above, Ivy has changed quite a bit since her appearance in Soul Calibur 4 (2008).
Her outfit this time around is less revealing yet still has what one might call "sex appeal" while now looking a bit more classier then her previous dominatrix look in my opinion. It looks a little similar to her previous outfit yet different at the same time.  Surprisingly, her new outfit actually got me pretty excited about Soul Calibur 5. Though seeing her in action in the the new trailer that was released at ComicCon  has got me pretty excited too.

I'm liking the other new characters as well like: Patrokols & Pyrrah (Children of Sophitia) and Natsu (Taki's spunky replacement).  I'm also happy to see Seigfried return, though I'm not liking his new hair style. I liked his bangs..now they pulled his hair back. -_-    But overall I'm looking forward to this new installment to the Soul Calibur series.
(Via 8Wayrun.com)


Also in other toy news, it looks like there's gonna be a crap load of Minimate goodness this year from what was shown that I'm looking forward to like:

Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 (I still haven't played the actual game yet ^^;)
Marvel TRU series 11 & 12
M.A.X. sets and box set
Vehicles
Halo Series 3 & 4 (just recently got some and their pretty cool)
Halo Reach Warthog sets
MODOK (now if only I had more AIM troops)

Also the Sentinel from MvC3 is something that I wish I could army build.

Wow I got some catching up to do since I still wanna get the Thor,Halo series 1 & 2, and the Capt. America minimates... 8D
 (Via Major Spoilers) (and other Toy news sites too)

Anyway that's my little news story for today.
Thanks for reading.
 So what were your thoughts about this year's San Diego Comic Con? Anything from there tickle your fancy?
Let me know in the comments below.

Later everyone.

My First Time at Florida SuperCon 2011

Hi there,
You might remember a few months back that I had won Best Adult Celebrity Costume with my John Lennon (Beatles) outfit at the 1960's themed ComicStock with the prize of two tickets to Florida SuperCon.
 Well last Saturday (July 2) was finally it.

 Read more about my experience at SuperCon and find out if it really was "super". ;)
Also there will be more pictures after the jump and you can also check them out here at my Album on Facebook too if you like.

Happy 4th of July!

Click on to see it bigger and better. : )

Fanart Fridays: Ceil x Alois

Click to see better quality Image

I just felt like drawing some Ciel x Trancy fanart from Black Butler.

It's not really a my favorite pairing, I think they look kinda cute together, especially when they're wearing dresses.
I not really used to drawing frilly (if that's what you'd call it) outfits, but I think I did ok I suppose.

Anyway I hope you all like it

Comments And Constructive Criticism Welcome.

Picture by: AJV (Me)
Black Butler Created By: Yana Toboso

BTW...for those of you who don't know

...they're both boys.

WIP Wednesdays: Cosplay Edition!

Been quite some time, hasn't it?
Well you're about to know why soon enough.

Me & Grell

With most of my free time, I've been working on making a costume for handsome and beautiful yet kinda crazy and totally sexy Grim Reaper:

     Grell Sutcliff (from Black Butler)

Ever since I saw Grell, I've been totally into him.
He's just so cool and funny.
I just love his bubbly and sexy personality.
Also he uses a chainsaw which is pretty neat.
His outfit too is quite stylish. ^^

So this my Grell costume that I'm working on that will have it's debut at this summer's SuperCon.
See more pics after the jump.

LEGO BLEACH

Hi there!
Been awhile since I put up a Lego animation, hasn't it?
Well here's my latest animated Lego feature which combines two favorite things of mine: The anime series called BLEACH and Lego.

Since the rescue Orihime story arc is kinda similar to the Rescue Rukia story arc, I thought I would use the opening song ( D-Technolife by UVERworld ) from the second season (Rescue Rukia story arc) showing scenes from the Rescue Orihime arc.

All the characters I custom made with stickers and clay.
You can see pictures of them here:
http://mocpages.com/folder.php/127533
Also there are some cameos of some other characters of another upcoming animation of mine. Think you can spot them without pausing the video? ;D

Anyway hope you all enjoy it. :3

Fanart Fridays: Grell x Undertaker

Charitymates 5: Fighting for Japan

Hi there,
Today I'd like to talk about something I've been working on (see my WIP post) for a little while now.

Well, I have joined fellow Minimate customizers (veteran and novice alike) to create and donate a Minimate custom based on a theme chosen by the community in  an annual charity event called Charitymates which is held at the Minimate Multiverse. These one-of-a-kind creations are then auctioned off on eBay with 75% of the proceeds going to a specific charity (also chosen by the community) and the remaining 25% helping with the operation costs of the Minimate Multiverse.
 This year's is called Charitymates 5: Fighting for Japan

A tournament of legendary fighters from all over the world is about to begin! Customizers will create unique tournament fighters limited only by their imagination. The final customs will be paired up and photographed in various fighting stances. The single minimate who gets the highest bid during the charity auctions will be the winner of the tournament!

Proceeds will be donated to Japan for it's recovering from the earthquake and tsunami.

Here's what I made for Charitymates 5.

A mysterious and powerful fighter skilled in hand-to-hand combat, nun-chucks, and swordsmanship
code named: Blackest Knight is
Part of a group known a Xcalibur, an organization who's ideals and motives are still unknown to the world, has joined this world wide fighting tournmaent while wielding a powerful Excalibur passed down to those worthy to unleash it's mighty power, may soon reveal the true goal of Xcalibur.

So hope you all like it and I'll be sure to keep you all up to date as more info comes in about Charitymates 5
Also here's a slideshow of how this fighter transformed since I first started working on him.

Fanart Fridays: Grell in Cosplay

Click on picture for description and to see it bigger.

Happy Easter!

The Passion of the Christ...Anime!?

 And just in time for Good Friday, which is the day Jesus Christ died for the sins of all people even though he was sinless so we could be forgiven and have the opportunity to go to the paradise righteous known as Heaven instead of Hell where all sinners go for the rest on eternity.

Check out the video and description below to find out what this "Jesus Anime" is all about.
It's was quite touching (I nearly cried T_T) and it's definitely not your usual Sunday School Cartoon.
The animation is top notch too. Be sure to watch and share with friends. Spread the Word! :D


Or directly on Youtube

Quote from their Youtube Page:

About 7 years ago, in Budapest, a few of us brainstormed an idea for creating a version of Jesus' story in Japanese "Anime" form. We convinced former Disney animator, Barry Cooke and worked for years to massage various scripts, music and concepts. HERE IT IS!

At one point it was the story of Jesus meeting the "Demoniac." Eventually, we decided the first story would be about Jesus' death and resurrection.

This story unfolds through the eyes of a criminal who receives the same brutal crucifixion sentence as Christ. "My Last Day" is a short film of regret, repentance and redemption. Animé created by The JESUS Film Project, with Barry Cook and Studio 4C (株式会社スタジオよんどしい Kabushiki-Gaisha Sutajio Yondo Shii). They created Animatrix, Tekkon Kinkreet and Gotham Knight.

Hopefully this will be the first of many short stories of Jesus' life. Thank you all for the years of prayer.

ENJOY AND PLEASE REPOST! WE WANT THIS TO GO GLOBALLY VIRAL. The video may easily be downloaded here: http://www.globalshortfilmnetwork.com/my-last-day-p-344-c-8.html

http://www.jesusvideo.com

WIP Wednesdays: Minimates Edition

Hi There Everyone!

Here's some pictures on a Minimate Custom I've been working on for a special cause which I will talk about once I've finished it. : )

Oh yeah and some pictures of my Twoface WIP

Fanart Fridays: Cosplay Edition!

Welcome to another Addition of Fanart Fridays!

Click on the picture to find out who's cosplaying as who and (of course) to see it bigger.

It's been 30 days since...

I started my fast from gaming for Lent 

(I explained it as best as I could here ).

So far I haven't really played any games
(except for I think once or twice but it wasn't at home).
  Guess I've done pretty well so far.
     Well, Ain't that swell! ; )
Surprisingly enough, I haven't really missed it too much,
though of course at times when I think about it I do kinda miss it.
 Maybe it's like that saying "Out of sight out of mind".
There's been a few times where I really just wanted to play some video games because I didn't know what to do with myself because I was too tired to do the other things that I like to do.

I think in a way it was good for me to stop for awhile and do other things with my spare time like customizing,drawing,watching TV, and stuff. Maybe I'll come to appreciate it more now that I've been off of it for so long and be a more moderate gamer (Yeah... I had gotten kinda addicted).

Oh yeah,
 Be sure to come back tomorrow (Friday) because I'll be posting something that's related to a certain
video game and an anime.

So see ya then! ;D

WIP Weekends! Art Edition!

Welcome to WIP Weekends!

Well technically this is just some doodles, but out of these doodles I ended up drawing up a new fanart yesterday.  As you can see this is raw and unedited (except for the stamp).
 I hope to finish up my latest fan art by the end of next week deepening on what life throws at me.

So I guess you could call this a preview on an upcoming fanart.
 Hope you all like it so far.

Art By: AJV (me)
Characters that are not mine are owned by their respective owners.

Fanart Fridays! Show n Tell Edition!

Hi there and Welcome to Fanart Fridays where I post some of my latest artworks! :D
Click on the pictures to see them bigger and for descriptions.

Mizore

Panty & Stocking

Might be NSFW (Not Safe For Work) ^^;
Don't be afraid to click on it though.

Show n Tell

Just click on it to see the rest. You know you want to. ; )


Well I hope you all like them.
Comments And Constructive Criticism Welcome.

Art By: AJV (Me)

Characters are owned by their respective owners (two of which are mine: the Holiday Girls. ;p)

R-Style Gurren Lagann Nia Figure Review

 Hello and Welcome to my Review of the R-Style Gurren Lagann Nia Figure

While on my latest trip to the comic shop (last time I went there I got the Toyami Kakahsi figure) I looked around the store but nothing really jumped out at me...until I looked over at the Trading Figures (not exactly sure that's what they're called) Section, and low and behold there I saw one lonely Gurren Lagann R-Style box.

More Pictures After the Jump!

WIP Weekends! Lego & Minimates Edition

 Welcome to WIP (Work In Progress) Weekends!
 This time featuring my Lego & Minimates WIPs.

Lego and Minimates Together

I've been experimenting with how to make the stickers the right size for the Minimates and I think after a little playing around with my Lego sticker templates, I've gotten the size and pixels down. Though I've only printed them on regular paper because I don't want to waste sticker paper and I'm kinda low on ink. Started to mess around with Sharpies and they are really good for painting on details. Been sculpting a little too.

 Check out the Slideshow Below

Kiss me, I'm Irish! ;D

Click on the Picture to see it bigger and to view description. : )

I'm so Fast that I'm Fasting

Hi There,

Some of ya might know that I'm a Christian (of the Catholic denomination) and because of that starting today is the season of Lent.
Basically back when Jesus was here, He went into the wilderness for 40 days and nights without food or water. While there the devil (being a jerk that he is) tried to tempt Jesus during that time.
Now as for what us Catholics do is sacrifice something that we really like during the next 40 days.
Like for example: Sweets,TV, and other stuff.

Well for what I'm fasting (sacrificing) this Lent is using my XBox.
I gotta admit, the idea of doing it at first was kinda depressing because it's something I like to do to unwind and most of my friends are on there so I'm gonna miss playing with them.
But that is the whole point of Lent though.
 Because I gotta show God that I love Him more then playing on my XBox.
Also I guess it'll be a test of will power.
 I'm gonna try my best with God's help.

So is there anyone else out there that might be fasting from something too?
Well even of you are or not, I'd to hear your thoughts too. ^_^

Minimate Custom Monday!

Hi there,

Here are my first official custom painted Minimate creations!
First up is one that took me about 5 or 6 years to finally get to finish.
Dr. Doom 2099! (Good thing it didn't take me "that" long)

I thought I'd make a villain for my lone Spiderman 2099 to fight.
 In the future I'll probably revisit this one to do some touch up work and stuff since it was my first minimate I'd ever painted.
He's pretty much a straight up repaint of the regular Dr. Doom Minimate with Silver Surfer's chest block.

Next up is my latest custom paint that I recently started and finished.
It's Batman's cold hearted (literally) villain: Mr. Freeze
Who freezes anyone who get's in his way!

His look is reminiscent of  his movie appearance from back when I was a kid in the 90's.
When he was played by Arnold Schwarzenegger...
Not why since I haven't seen the movie since it came out long ago when and my friend were kids.
Maybe it's nostalgia?
But regardless, I wanted Mr. Freeze to use the whole clear minimate body yet I wanted him to look like he was icy or something like that with an armored suit. So that's when I decided to go with a "movie inspired" look.
Kinda reminds me of a Mr. Freeze action figure I had.

Anyway, Hope you all like my Minimate custom creations
and be sure to
"Read More" to see how they looked before they were customized and a blogspot exclusive preview to two other custom WIPs (Work In Progress) that are coming soon.