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Posted by Tim Sheehy on Aug 24, 2010 in Animation, Hobbies and Collections 
Just the other week, I ranted on how I felt the latest book in the Otacool series had dropped the proverbial ball with its return to otaku-based interior design, and even shared my fears about the direction the series may have been headed. Thankfully those fears may have been addressed, as Kotobukiya has recently announced the theme for their next installment — worldwide illustrators. This time the Kotobukiya has teamed up with Pixiv, rather than Danny Choo, to help them pick which art will be published. For more information on how to submit your art for consideration, check out the Pixiv website.
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Tags: Illustration, Kotobukiya
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Aug 24, 2010 in Hobbies and Collections, Videogames 
Bethesda has always impressed me by their attention to detail. Like much like their latest entries in the popular Elder Scrolls series, the company managed to capture an audience with Fallout 3‘s breathtaking visuals. In addition to re-imagining Washington D.C., their team of graphic designers created a number of weapons to go along with it. Two of which happen to be the AER-9 laser rifle, and even deadlier A3-21 plasma rifle. Flickr user Ryan Palser recently took it upon himself to locate some blueprints and painstakingly recreate them — needless to say, they look amazing. Check out his flickr account for more photos. Read more…
Tags: Fallout, Props, steampunk
Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 23, 2010 in Animation, Hobbies and Collections 
The character designs in One Piece are already quite cute to start with however these PansonWorks keychains really take kawaii quality of the manga up to the next level. There are ten designs in all with this series including Luffy, Usopp, Chopper, Zorro, Ace, Shanks, Nami and Sanji. I really love the fact that they have two poses for Luffy and Chopper: Read more…
Tags: Anime, One Piece
Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 22, 2010 in Hobbies and Collections, Tech 
I love the illustrational complexity of Japanese emoticons — and now you can share these silly symbols in the real world with this Ginghami Kaoiro Emoticon Stamper. To me there’s something very appealing about taking digital iconography and coming up with such a primitive analog implementation: Read more…
Tags: Emoticon, Internet Meme, Japan, Memes
Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 22, 2010 in Hobbies and Collections 
If Josie and the Pussycats needed a guitar tuner it would look like this! The Korg Hello Kitty Guitar Clip Tuner comes in angel white and goth black. I think the only flaw in the design is that would be nice if Kitty was able to meow her approval when you hit the right key: Read more…
Tags: Hello Kitty, Japan
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Aug 19, 2010 in Animation, Hobbies and Collections 
As far as Hatsune Miku and Vocaloid goes, Black Rock Shooter is still the craze in Japan. The popular franchise has been churning out everything from cosplay and figures, to a series of OVAs. No doubt as a result of their fortune, Good Smile Company has recently announced plans to open a cafe in Chiba. To celebrate the opening, they’ll be featuring a special Black Rock Shooter theme. Customers who attend will be receiving a Black Rock Shooter DVD, food mat, and tea coaster. The menu will also feature a special Black Rock Curry, which looks kind of scary but probably tastes amazing. To be honest, I’m just curious what they’ll be putting in it to make it so dark. For more details, and images, check out Danny Choo’s recent blog here. Read more…
Tags: Hatsune Miku, Vocaloid
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Aug 10, 2010 in Hobbies and Collections, Videogames 
I love it whenever my favorite toy and figure companies pick up a videogame license, so it’s no surprise that I’m excited about this little venture I’ve stumbled upon. Capcom and Medicom have recently teamed up to create a line of Mega Man inspired Kubricks and Be@rbricks! Each Kubrick, Mega Man and Protoman respectively, come packed with their own 1Up Be@rbrick. Each set will be limited to 500, and are currently available exclusively through the Capcom US online store. Now, they won’t be available until August 12th, but you can pre-order them now for $39.95 each, and if you buy both sets together, you can save $5 off your total. Sure, they might be a little expensive, but they’re limited edition. Besides, if you’re any fan of those classic Nintendo games, you owe it to yourself to pick one up — I know I will.
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Tags: Capcom, Medicom, Mega Man
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Aug 6, 2010 in Hobbies and Collections, Star Trek 
How often do you see those little fish emblems on cars? You know which ones I’m talking about — the fish used to tell everyone else that they’re Christian and proud of it. Why? I’m not so sure myself, but I guess they feel its important that we know. Hell, I’ve counted at least 4 or 5 of them today, but I have to admit that I wasn’t exactly going out of my way to look. Now, I’m well aware that modifying that emblem to fit our needs isn’t exactly a new idea. In fact, I’m getting a bit tired of seeing the little feet attached — it was funny the first 1,000 times. Why not show your love for Star Trek instead? Well, thanks to ThinkGeek, you can share your love for Shatner and Stewart with other unsuspecting motorists. Better yet, it doesn’t have poor Darwin’s name smushed inside and is still slightly clever. Besides, it has warp nacelles — awesome, right? Read more…
Tags: Star Trek, USS Enterprise
Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 4, 2010 in Comic Books, Hobbies and Collections 
These vintage Peanuts toys come straight from the pages of the 1968 Montgomery Ward Christmas catalog. You could get two of the characters for $5.30 or the entire set for $12.90 and as you can see you had your pick of Charlie Brown, Schroeder (sporting a Beethoven sweater), Lucy, Snoopy and Linus clutching his trademark blanket. On the same page there was also a selection of Huckleberry Hound and Pogo toys: Read more…
Tags: 1968, Hanna-Barbera, Peanuts
Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 3, 2010 in Hobbies and Collections 
Frankly it’s not an authentic Godzilla film unless you have a maser cannon! Although the cannons have a mixed track record at best as sometimes they stop the giant monster in question — however sometimes those who operate the maser cannons wind up as stomping victims. This beautifully created Maser Cannon reproduction is from the Sci-Fi Revoltech series which is by Kaiyodo: Read more…
Tags: Godzilla, Japan
Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 3, 2010 in Hobbies and Collections, Horror 
Oh sure anybody can read a zombie novel or watch a film — but how many zombie fanboys (and fangurls) are will to take their love of the undead up to the next level? Well if you want to let all your neighbors know that you’re pro-zombie a great way to get started is with the Garden Zombie which is much more entertaining than one of those sappy happy-go-lucky looking garden gnomes: Read more…
Tags: zombies
Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 2, 2010 in Battlestar Galactica, Hobbies and Collections 
I think what I like about the design of the new Galactica is that the exterior reminds me much more of Blade Runner than Star Wars. This Battlestar Galactica Model Kit won’t be out until September, but given the nice detailing on it I think it’d be worth the wait as it features moveable hanger bays and is huge (over 14 inches long). Read more…
Tags: Battlestar Galactica
Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 2, 2010 in Hobbies and Collections, Science 
This nifty gadget is the Thanko USB Microscope Lite which sports a CMOS sensor 1.3 million pixels — which sounds impressive but I’m not quite sure wouldn’t cut it for an actual scientist. The software is Windows only and the manual is in Japanese, although it looks like one might have hours of fun just trying to get started: Read more…
Tags: USB device
Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 1, 2010 in Hobbies and Collections, Videogames 
What’s great about this Space Invaders couch design by Igor Chak is that not only does it appeal to my inner videogame, but its modernist look makes my inner design geek happy as well: Read more…
Tags: Space Invaders
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 31, 2010 in Hobbies and Collections 
A while ago The New York Times has declared that poor Hello Kitty is out of style — however I think the fact that she’s out of style makes her even cooler as it eliminates the wannabes: Not only that but I think this now allows kitty to graduate to being a mere cult feline to a timeless classic icon. So to show your good taste I wouldn’t be ashamed to be spotted with this Hello Kitty Ball Bento Box which comes with a cute little red carrying case.
Tags: Hello Kitty
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Jul 28, 2010 in Hobbies and Collections, Lost 
I heard several months back that ABC had planned on auctioning off a good number of the props from Lost now that the curtain has officially closed, but I wasn’t quite sure when and where that was taking place — it could have been on an remote island for all I knew. Turns out it’ll be in Santa Monica — not quite an island with polar bears, though I was hoping they’d at least have some bears available to auction off. In fact, I would have settled for a brown bear that was spray painted white. Needless to say, they have some pretty cool props to auction off, including but not limited to the baby-blue DHARMA Van, Locke’s trusty wheelchair, a classic Apple computer, and Hurley’s red Camaro.
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Tags: Lost, Props
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 26, 2010 in Animation, Comic Books, Hobbies and Collections 
You’ve read the manga, you’ve watched the anime — but is there a way to actually have Chi as your pet? Most likely not, but this Chi’s Sweet Home Futari Plush is pretty darn close and doesn’t require you to clean up a litter box. Meow! Read more…
Tags: cats, Chi's Sweet Home, manga
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 25, 2010 in Hobbies and Collections, Star Wars 
It’s the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs! I am of course talking about the Millennium Falcon — and this Millennium Falcon Auto Sun Shade allows you to give the illusion that our rebel alliance buds are about to take off in your automobile. Of course make sure to avoid any “Imperial entanglements”… Read more…
Tags: Millennium Falcon
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 24, 2010 in Animation, Hobbies and Collections 
Of course you can safely assume that as an anime fanboy I’m impressed with anything with One Piece artwork on it — but what impresses me about this is that it’s the first time that I’m seeing really accessories for the iPad start to emerge from Japan! This One Piece Hard Shell Jacket for the iPad protects your Apple gizmo from scratches with illustrations of Luffy, Chopper, Nico Robin and many more: Read more…
Tags: Anime, iPad, One Piece
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Jul 22, 2010 in Cinema, Hobbies and Collections 
Hot Toys, perhaps one of my favorite Hollywood toy manufacturers next to Sideshow Collectibles, has managed to secure some of the hottest licenses this summer. Some of those titles include Silvester Stallone’s upcoming film The Expendables, Spider-Man 3, Tron Legacy and Resident Evil: Afterlife — you know that strange looking 3D Resident Evil film that they’re working on. I really wish they already had some of these figures to show off, but one look at their current offerings, and you can pretty much know what to expect in terms of quality. In fact, I’ve had some people mistake some of the high resolution photos of their Joker figure for Heath Ledger himself. Not too bad if you ask me. The only draw back is that these figures can be a bit pricey. We’re talking in the upwards of $150 or more — on the 0ther hand, the quality honestly justifies the price. Check out their official website for more of their current products and keep an eye out for these new lines in the months ahead. Read more…
Tags: Hot Toys, Toys
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Jul 20, 2010 in Cinema, Hobbies and Collections 
I’m sure a lot of you probably don’t know the company very well, but I’m almost positive that all of you have probably seen their work. Weta, believe it or not, is responsible for a significant portion of the props, conceptual designs and effects that you’ve seen in so many recent blockbusters like Avatar, Lord of the Rings, District 9, and more. So, when I received an e-mail about their upcoming presence at San Diego’s Comic Con International, my it perked my interest. Read more…
Tags: comic-con, Props
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 16, 2010 in Hobbies and Collections 
Too often I see fanboys build amazing tributes to the imagination of others — but this rejects the original thing that made science fiction fandom so cool: It’s the idea that the fanboys who grow up reading something become the authors of the next generation of new things. So I was very happy to come across an original Lego creation called Containment which is the handy work of Tyler Clites (Legohaulic) and Nannan Zhang (Nannan Z.). Read more…
Tags: Lego, Science Fiction, steampunk
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 15, 2010 in Cinema, Hobbies and Collections 
There’s something magical about Ghostbusters which always takes me back to the 80s: This beautiful rendering of an Ectomobile was the handiwork of Alex Schranz. Read more…
Tags: Ghostbusters, Lego
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 14, 2010 in Animation, Hobbies and Collections 
Sadly Futurama fanboys (and fangurls) unlucky enough to not be at Comic Con will miss out on an opportunity to take home the plus version of Nibbler in Shiny Jumpsuit. Although the good news for us stay at home fans that this is the first item in an entire line of Futurama plush dolls which I hope are equally as cute. Read more…
Tags: Futurama
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