donderdag 30 juni 2016

Reaching the Halfway Mark

Well, the 30th of june is closing here, so that means I`ve reached the halfway mark of the projects and goals for this year...

And in general, they are going rather well.

I`ve caught up with some series, movies and books (only a gazillion left to do now lol), but changes in the Lego department, with becoming a member of commitee in the LUG. has caused some thingies I hadn`t foreseen.

I have been such an idiot I forgot I wouldn`t have time to man my own table now at Brick Mania`s, so the projects I had running for that are falling a bit by the wayside, being replaced with builds more aimed at the other conventions like StarCom and FACTS.

Oh well, at least a lot of those are being build right now, to that extend I`ve as good as quitted buying sets and going with my pots to the PAB wall instead most of the time, or buy Creator sets for the elements :-)

The "eternal" lists are another matter, and with Minifigures Online closing down in october apparently, I haven`t bothered on that anymore.  I just should find some time to put in a Dimensions marathon one of the weeks and 1. check the bricks as I forgot to update that a long time and 2. grab many more of them anyways.  But Playstation time has been severly restricted with on the one hand STO and on the other my building and sorting.

Well, let`s see what we will get done in the second half of the year, but I doubt either the Shire nor the Philosopher Stone will get ready, as BeLUG is at the end of this year`s distribution of the LUGBULK (they started at Z this time), so those won`t arrive in time anymore in all likelyhood.

woensdag 29 juni 2016

Star Trek Online: Future Proof

Roight, I caught up with the episode missions right on time before the Agents of Yesterday, which will take us to the TOS era, hits the 6th of July.

In Future Proof, which spans 4 episodes, you will travel through time, to both the past and the future, and all that because of a star showing strange readings.

It all begins as you pick up a team of specialists over on Deep Space Nine, and travel to a remote system where a star is doing strange things.  Arriving there, you find that one of the moons is inhabited by the Lukari, a race just into the use of warp technology.  A Temporal Agent, Kal Dano (from the Enterprise series) intervenes, but his equipement is stolen by the Tholians.



As you try to get the Tox Utah back, you are to late to save the Na'Kuhl star from being extinguished, and this causes ripples in the timeline.  You manage to recuperate the device, and bury it on 22nd century Risa, long before it was a paradise, for Picard to find and destroy it in a few hundred years.



Kal Dano is thrown in a temporal vortex, but Captain Walker contacts you and explains the Temporal Cold war and the founding of the Galactic Union.

You are invited to the signing of the Temporal Accords in the future, but something goes odd there, as Krenim scientist Noye interferes and captures the delegates.  He has learned that prior to the resolvement of the Vaudwaar storyline, he had a wife and child, but your incursions have wiped them from the timeline.  He now seeks to rectify this using the Annorax and avenge them, with the aid of the Na'Kuhl who over all those centuries have evolved in a time travelling race.


Travelling back to the current day, you learn this truth, but Noye eventually escapes in the time-stream with the Annorax.

The Na'Kuhl however keep causing trouble.  A rogue group of them, under the leadership of general Vosk, tries to alter time, and you travel to the 29th century after a failed assassination attempt on the Federation president.  Here you discover a huge structure, a "time portal" the Na'Kuhl have build, and you must prevent them from using it.


Upon succes, you learn that Vosk, who had escaped in the timestream, was killed by Jonathan Archer in the far past... but the incursions by the Na'Kuhl continue...

And now... it`s about a week for the next expansion to hit, so I`ll be preparing myself for it by doing some reputation missions, as well as the Risa event where I`m just a few days away from the Tier 6 reward vessel.  Perhaps some forge missions or such, and my dilithium mining claims who have been stacking through the roof can be handled, but in any case, the main goal is to get some upgrades to the vessel first and foremost...

Classic Build report: 4705 Snape's Classroom

Yesterday JKK Rowling revealed the details about the new houses on Ilmory, so it is only fitting that today`s classic build draws from the Potterverse as well.

A smaller set of 150+ pieces from the wave in 2001, based on the Sorcerer`s Stone, it`s from my favorite era still, the "yellow" figures.

Though actually Ron is the only yellow toned figure in it, the other being Snape in his grey complexion, and Peeves the Poltergeist.

Using the thick grey plates, we begin the build by attaching the hinge between the two of them.

Pillars are then added, as well as the borders for where the build will be made.

A slider that represents the cooking fire in the classroom is build and installed next, and covers the hidden scroll to be found there.



Another secret compartment is then build and added, seems ol' Snape has a lot to hide.



The cauldron is then added with the arch behind it, as is the large doorframe and the door.



Peeves is placed behind the shelves full of ingredients, in order to burst forward and cause mayhem and chaos during the lesson.


As the walls are being build up, a large spiderweb is placed in the corner of the dungeon classroom.


The roof arches are then added, nearly completing the class room.


All that is left is to place the green tower point, and the room is ready.

The full set completed:

Like with any Harry Potter set, these old ones are actually still rather affordable, as most people prefer the flesh figures.  Take into account that this is the only set including Peeves, which adds to it`s value, and you`re not far wrong snatching it off BrickLink and the likes in the 20 euro range for a used and complete version.

dinsdag 28 juni 2016

Game of Thrones season 6

Don`t read if you don`t want to know!

Roight, that being said... I didn`t like this season.  Sure, everyone goes nuts over episode 9, the Battle of the Bastards, and the finale was a mighty setting placer for season 7... but still I didn`t like it.

Heck, I even thought Battle of the Bastards rather meuh.  The amount of bodies piled up where the Northern forces are hemmed in by Ramsay are nowhere near  the amount of fighters at that place at that moment.  I did love the finale episode though, with how Cersei grabbed power at the the expense even of her last remaining child.  And the fleet sailing to Westeros.

But in general, while the season handled all the storylines, like Daenarys not only enlisting the Dothraki, but on top of that a Greyjoy fleet, and alliances with Dorne and Tyrell.  There was of course the return of Jon Snow and how he reclaimed Winterfell in a battle episode that was a pure copy of Lord of the Rings, including timely arrival of a force of cavalry.

We saw Arya evolve into a real assassin and a gruesome variant of how Wanderley served the sons of Walder Frey as dinner to their father.  And then there is the whole return of the Hound...

But all in all, I felt the pacing of this season being to slow, and I felt it kept circling on the spot most of the time.  I didn`t really "look forward" to the new episodes every week, and while I watched it weekly, this wasn`t necessary to be present every moment it started.  It didn`t matter for me if it took a few days before I could watch it.

Rumours say next season will only be 7 episodes, and this might be a good thing, as that might speed the pace a little again.  It seems we are going to have a "bitch fight" on our hands between Dany and Cersei, with Oleanna Tyrell and Jon Snow, the new King in the North, being the loose cannons present... but it is all going to dwindle down in Daenarys + Jon + unknown yet riding the three dragons in a battle against the Night King for sure... or that`s my two cents at least!

Wait and see next year I guess...

Build Report: 41171 Emily Jones and the Baby Wind Dragon

The smallest set of this year`s Elves range that came out beginning of the year, this is a nice little thingy.

The theme has moved from elemental keys into elemental dragons, and both the dragons large and small are truly gorgeous things to behold.  I already was a fan of the theme, and I am more so this year.

The small box contains an instruction booklet and two bags of parts.

Figure wise, there is one minidoll in the set, being the non-Elven girl Emily Jones.

She comes with a basket of berries, and something I really loved... a printed bar of chocolate!


And then there is the baby Wind Dragon, who is moulded with translucent parts so the light can fall into them and create a bit of a light up effect.  The dragonbaby also has it`s large dragon egg, and improvement over the ones in Galaxy Quest and esier to open due to the bigger airholes at the top, preventing it from sucking itself close.


The build itself begins on the humble 2x4 green plate.

Green curved elements enlarge the surface of the base, and a first layer of grey, to represent rocks is added.


The blue resembles the small stream and waterfall that comes down from the rocky cliff.

Another great element, these are printed round tiles with a shrubbery / moss design on them.

A turning platform is created and installed, making up the playfunction in this set.  Beware of slippery mossy surfaces when climbing up!


As we build up the rocks, pastel and transparent elements are added to bring in some contrasting details from the plain grey.


The waterfall is heightened as the build goes towards it`s "top level".

A berry tree and the platform to place the dragon egg on are then added, completing the rockworks.

As with any set, some additional pieces have been included


The dragon, the printed pieces... apart from the fact I love Elves for the pastel and trans-coloured elements, these are some nice little things that add to the build, and the range as such.  I also put together a small video on my YouTube channel to ramble about it for about a minute and a half, so feel free to look at that if you want.