Posted by Michael Pinto on May 7, 2010 in
Animation,
Hobbies and Collections 
I don’t want to date myself too badly, but I had the pleasure of seeing Macross before it was Robotech and the one thing that I loved about the show right away was the mecha design. And apparently I’m not the only one who felt that way — shown here is a Lego recreation of the Valkyrie VF-1S by the talented Eric Druon who goes by the name BaronSat. His Robotech as Lego tribute gallery is here — and his beautiful website is here. I personally think that it’s amazing that a fictional fighter robot which was designed by the talented folks at Studio Nue in 1982 would inspire someone to tackle this tribute 28 years later — which is all the more amazing considering that the show was originally set in the futuristic year of 2009. Read more…
Tags: Anime, Lego, Macross, Robotech
Posted by Michael Pinto on May 7, 2010 in
Hobbies and Collections,
Star Wars 
My favorite thing about this Star Wars Clone Wars Boba Fett Helmet is that they did a good job of getting in the proper the proper wear-and-tear that one would associate with a bounty hunter. Another plus for this keepsake is that includes authentic sounds and an “articulated rangefinder”. Of course I prefer Boba from The Empire Strikes Back: There’s something a bit silly about seeing him as a child in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones which ruins his mystic for me which is so well captured with the headgear. Read more…
Tags: Boba Fett, Star Wars
Posted by Tim Sheehy on May 6, 2010 in
Comic Books,
Hobbies and Collections 
Okay, this is just too amazing not to share. Otaku blogger Meimi132 recently took a trip to Cromer, England and stumbled across what appears to be a giant lobster dressed in Tony Stark’s patented Iron Man body armor. Who could have been insane enough to create this unholy medley of claw and steel? Good question, though, you have to give whoever did it credit for originality. According to Meimi132, there are 80 more lobsters spread around the sea-side town, but I doubt any of them are anywhere near as awesome. For more pictures, including a few of an Avatar-inspired counterpart, check out the full entry here. Read more…
Tags: Customs, Iron Man, Marvel
Posted by Tim Sheehy on May 4, 2010 in
Hobbies and Collections,
Star Wars 
It’s been nearly three years since Mimobot launched its line of Star Wars themed USB thumb drives, and yet they continue to release set after set of the collectible storage medium. Their latest set finally got around to giving us R2-D2 and Obi-Wan, not to mention Han and Luke disguised as Storm Troopers. When Michael first mentioned them back in 2007, they only came in 2GB models, but since then, Mimobot has started offering models that range between 4 to 16gbs at additional cost. While I’m not sure I need to start collecting these — as if I didn’t already have more thumb drives than anyone else I know — the fact that you could use a Jawa to store your documents almost seems like reason enough to own one. If you’re interested, check out the official Mimobot store for pricing and availability. Read more…
Tags: Mimobot, Star Wars, USB Flash Drive
Posted by Michael Pinto on May 3, 2010 in
Dr. Who,
Hobbies and Collections 
K-9 made his first debut on Dr. Who in 1977 and he’s been beloved ever since. This Doctor Who Remote Control K-9 pays tribute to our cybernetic canine companion and includes flashing lights and speech. Judging by the fact that he runs on AA batteries I think the only flaw that I see with this K-9 unit is that he’s not life sized which would make him the perfect cosplay accessory (or ultimate office toy). Read more…
Tags: K-9, Robots
Posted by Michael Pinto on Apr 29, 2010 in
Animation,
Comic Books,
Hobbies and Collections 
So I found myself at my local Asian grocery store and looking in the corner of the ice cream section I spotted a pile of GeGeGe no Kitaro ices. I went ahead and tried the iced bar and after doing a bit of research it seems that it was actually “milk flavored” — although it wasn’t ice cream, but more like an Italian ice. It also turns out that in Japan there is a soda flavored version as well. Here is the entire package design: Read more…
Tags: Anime, GeGeGe no Kitaro, Japan, manga
Posted by Michael Pinto on Apr 28, 2010 in
Animation,
Hobbies and Collections 
Bandai is releasing a limited edition of 100 official Luffy straw hats. Now these aren’t just any old hats made to make a quick yen — these hand made hats will be crafted fourth generation milliners who live by the Inland Sea in Japan. The hats will be shipping in mid-June and sell for ¥4980 each, although my guess is that the competition will be pretty stuff from the many other One Piece fans. Read more…
Tags: Anime, One Piece
Posted by Michael Pinto on Apr 27, 2010 in
Animation,
Hobbies and Collections 
What you’re looking at is page 48 from the 1987 JCPenny catalog which showcases many popular cartoons from the era! The first two on the top are characters from Brave Starr (Marshall and Tex-Hex), in the middle row we’ve got Thundercats and on the bottom are the Transformers. And the the robes on the right all glow in the dark! Nope it doesn’t get any more tacky than this… Read more…
Tags: 1987, ThunderCats, Transformers
Posted by Michael Pinto on Apr 27, 2010 in
Hobbies and Collections,
Tech 
Sengoku Bushô translates to The Lords of War — and this memory stick collection features ten different samurai who honor their master by carrying up to two gigs of memories. By the way it’s important to note that these aren’t just cartoon samurai, in fact they’re based on historical figures. Included in the set are the likes of Hanzou Hattori, Hideyoshi Toyotomi, Kenshin Uesugi, Masamune Date, Nobunaga Oda, Shingen Takeda and Yukimura Sanada. Although a hazard of being a digital samurai is that often you’ll be decapitated, only to have to be put back together again: Read more…
Tags: Japan, samurai, USB Flash Drive
Posted by Michael Pinto on Apr 26, 2010 in
Dr. Who,
Hobbies and Collections 
Tragically the Talking TARDIS Cookie Jar doesn’t actually talk — however it does produce Dr. Who approved sound effects. Although if you’re looking for a more authentic experience make sure to fill your cookie jar with traditional English biscuits to enjoy with your tea and favorite Time Lord of choice.
Tags: Dr. Who
Posted by Michael Pinto on Apr 26, 2010 in
Hobbies and Collections 
Whenever I see a Mini Cooper it always brings me back to the film The Italian Job — the original from 1969 with Michael Caine of course as opposed to the remake from 2003. So this wonderful set of six Mini Cooper USB 4GB drives caught my eye right away. I can see why the design of this car is so popular in Japan — the mecha design of the automobile almost has a moe quality to it. In fact I’d dare say that it’s the closest a car can come to being cute — the drives are available in black, blue, British Pavilion, green, ivory and a rally auto : Read more…
Tags: USB Flash Drive
Posted by Michael Pinto on Apr 25, 2010 in
Hobbies and Collections,
Star Wars 
Your jealous office mates will accuse you of having yet another toy, however this R2-D2 USB Cleaner isn’t just a plaything as it can destroy any dust bunnies found within a parsec of your PC. This tidy droid stands at just a bit under four inches tall, plugs into any USB port on your computer and should be shipping in August.
Tags: R2-D2, USB device
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Apr 24, 2010 in
Hobbies and Collections,
Star Wars 
Wait until you get a load of these. Custom Toy artist, Sillof, recently completed his latest series of custom figures, entitled Samurai Wars, in which he took the cast of Star Wars, and re-imagined them as characters in a Akira Kurosawa masterpiece. The details on the figures are absolutely fantastic, from Obi Wan’s eye patch to Vader’s burnished iron clad armor — it’s clear that a lot of work went into these. Read more…
Tags: Action Figures, Customs, samurai, Star Wars
Posted by Michael Pinto on Apr 23, 2010 in
Hobbies and Collections,
Videogames 
What did geeks play before Dungeons & Dragons? Well for this geek and his nerdy buds our board game of choice back in the day was Risk! Oh sure in games like Monopoly you could become the next Rockefeller — and games like Battleship let you destroy an entire navy. However Risk! appealed to our inner Napoleon who was intent on world conquest. Of course it’s with a bit of irony that the game was in fact invented by a Frenchman: In 1957 film director Albert Lamorisse released La Conquête du Monde (The Conquest of the World), in France. Shown above is a new re-release of the 1959 version of the game which came to the United States thanks to Parker Brothers. Read more…
Tags: Board Games
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Apr 21, 2010 in
Animation,
Hobbies and Collections 
Feast your eyes on these wicked new chopsticks from Kotobukiya. Fans of the Sengoku Basara anime series, as well as Japanese history buffs like myself, might recognize the designs. Believe it or not, they’re actually fashioned after the swords and blades supposedly carried by the likes of Masamune Date, Keiji Meada and Yukimura Sanada — warriors who fought during Japan’s Sengoku era — with some amount of historical accuracy. I’ve always had a fascination with Samurais, so these are right up my alley. The chopsticks, estimated to cost about $9 a pair, won’t be hitting stores and online retailers until sometime in July. For more information, check out Kotobukiya’s US website. Read more…
Tags: Anime, Japan, Kotobukiya, samurai
Posted by Michael Pinto on Apr 21, 2010 in
Comic Books,
Hobbies and Collections 
The Blammoids! seem to be catching on quickly — the first set is due out this month and features Batman, the Joker and some other well known DC characters. Shown here is a preview of the fourth series which is due out in December and will feature Flash, Etrigan the Demon, Brainiac, Martian Manhunter, Hawkman and Reverse-Flash: Read more…
Tags: DC Comics, Urban Toys
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Apr 20, 2010 in
Comic Books,
Hobbies and Collections 
Sideshow Collectibles has always been a hallmark of quality in terms of toys and collectibles, though I’ve never really been able to afford to collect them myself. Never the less, the quality of their products never cease to amaze me. For example, take a look at this fantastic replica of the Bat-Cowl from Batman Returns. I could only dream of having this displayed in a dark room of my make-shift manor. They took the original mold that used in the film and painstaking crafted the fine details in fiberglass, limiting it to a run of 500. At $499, it’s just a little too rich for my blood — after all, I’m no Bruce Wayne. If you’re interested however, check their website for updates. It’s supposed to be available sometime this quarter. Read more…
Tags: Batman, Batman Returns, Sideshow Collectibles
Posted by Michael Pinto on Apr 14, 2010 in
Hobbies and Collections 
You don’t have to worry about the lack of Flash on your iPhone because Hello Kitty brings her own style! Shown above is the is the ever so kawaii Hello Kitty iPhone 3G/3GS Cover Case. As a kitty fan I like the design of the case although I wish they had gone the extra mile and included a set of wallpapers to complete the effect.
Tags: Hello Kitty, Japan
Posted by Michael Pinto on Apr 13, 2010 in
Hobbies and Collections,
Videogames 
This beautiful Irodori Collection Stickers for DS Series will give your Nintendo the look of traditional Japanese prints. Irodori is a Japanese word for an assortment of colors and this collection of stickers features a dozen different style which are available for the DSi and the DSLite. To me the best part about this collection is that when you get tired of one look you can peel off the sticker without doing any damage. Here the rest of the collection: Read more…
Tags: Nintendo
Posted by Michael Pinto on Apr 12, 2010 in
Hobbies and Collections 
Pullip is a fashion doll line that was created by Cheonsang Cheonha (who is from South Korea) in 2003 which reminds me a great deal of both Blythe and Barbie dolls. This latest Pullip Eos Doll features her in steampunk gear — in fact she reminds me a great deal of Jane Fonda in the film Barbarella, although her looks is more Victorian than French comic book.
Tags: South Korea, steampunk
Posted by Michael Pinto on Apr 11, 2010 in
Animation,
Hobbies and Collections 
At long last there’s an answer to the classic problem is that you’re an aspiring j-pop guitar player but you don’t want to disturb your neighbors. VOX is introducing a line of K-on! themed headphone guitar amplifiers so you can practice your chords in private. These goodies will be hitting music stores in japan in late April and come in three editions — one for Yui Hirasawa, another for Azuka Nakano and a bass guitar one for Mio Akiyama. Read more…
Tags: Anime, Japan, K-ON!
Posted by Michael Pinto on Apr 11, 2010 in
Cinema,
Hobbies and Collections 
In 1995 the Gamera franchise was robooted with the film Gamera: Guardian of the Universe. Our titanic turtle friend made his first appearance in November of 1965 in the film Daikaijū Gamera in which he awakes due to an atomic bomb explosion during a cold war tango between the Americans and Soviets. So of course our turtle friend the decided to go on a rampage of Tokyo — which has endeared him to generations of Japanese ever since! Shown above is the Tokusatsu Revoltech 006 Gamera and below is the Tokusatsu Revoltech 007 Gyaos who like to fight each other and wreck havoc in densely populated urban locals. Read more…
Tags: Godzilla, Japan
Posted by Michael Pinto on Apr 9, 2010 in
Hobbies and Collections,
Star Trek 
These fine Kirk and Spock Nutcrackers are perfect for opening the L’maki nut which when pureed makes a wonderful blue cream cake frosting. Ah but that recipe is from Voyager, getting back to Kirk and Spock the pair of nut cracking officers will set you back about $20 for the four inch tall versions — or if you are more ambitious there is an eleven inch tall version of Spock and Kirk which go for about $33 each.
Tags: Captain Kirk, Spock
Posted by Michael Pinto on Apr 6, 2010 in
Cinema,
Hobbies and Collections 
Some Monty Python fans may call him a terrible monster with “nasty, big, pointy teeth!” however that shouldn’t stop you from having him as a proper plush pet! Shown above is the Monty Python Baby Killer Rabbit Plush Toy which you can use to terrorize your office mates, friends and family. You can also use it to reenact this scene with fellow Python fans: Read more…
Tags: Monty Python
