My MAL and MFC profiles

 Two handy tools in the arsenal of us otaku's, are MAL and MFC.

What does that stand for?  What do they do?

Well, MAL is short for My Anime List, an incredibly handy website that leds you track each and every anime you are watching, plan to watch or have completed over the years.  Personally I'm at 313 completed at time of writing, though as I have been watching anime as far back as 1986, I probably forgot quite a few.

You see, I discovered anime through Club Dorothee on french television at the young age of 6, yet it never let go of me while my friends moved to other television shows.  Paying arms and legs with hard saved pocket money for imported VHS cassettes, then with the advent of the internet see whatever I could find (yeah, Bible Black was a discovery as well... little did I know two decades ago about hentai) before the current day of streaming services... it amounts to quite a list.  It also allows you to list any manga you read!

My Anime List profile

So feel free to add me as a friend on there if you have a profile or are going to create one!

My MFC or My Figure Collection is a tool I only discovered myself a few weeks ago.  It handles the same principle as MAL above, but this is a database that allows you to track all your anime figurines and merch like keychains, acryllic stands and whotnot's.

My Figure Collection profile

 

Feel free to befriend me there as well if you want to. 

 

While my anime figure collection was way more impressive a decade ago, sporting Myth cloth's alone 100+ figures, love caused me to sell of my collection.  But the love ended and the collection was gone, leaving me not in a happy place.   So I recently decided (and got approval from Noshi) to restart, recollect and mostly reinvest, in a new one again.  The whot's and not's will be for a later post however, but needless to say my current list is still relatively modest, standing at 38 figures at time of this post.

So there you have it, two handy database tools for the anime lover, definitly worth checking out if you haven't already.

What I Painted in April 2021

 I think this can really classify as a "slow month", as I just didn`t get fired up again.

The reasons being mentioned in a blogpost earlier this month, but needless to say it took me more then a month "post-AHPC" before I touched a brush again for my figures.

Which doesn`t mean I hadn`t been chasing other hobbies, but just not that much wargaming...

I did finish in the end a few smaller things this month, so I'm not ending on a total zero score, so let's have a look at the few things that did get painted...

 

The first of those where some Rohan foot troops, long overdue that I worked on my beloved force.

 

 

But also small scale heroics with Paladin Took

So in the end, that are 10 models finished, not nearly the amount I had envisioned at the beginning of the year.

No Game No Life volume 6 - Yuu Kamiya

 Long before Shiro and Soara arrived, and started reforming, the world of Disboard, the world was torn assunder by the Gods battling it out.

An amidst all the races besetting each other, the lowliest of them all, the ones without magical powers or any probability of survival, humanity fought to just survive.

But this all changes when a boy named Riku befriends a faulty Ex Machina, Schwi, who wants to learn about the "heart" that drives humanity and how they keep surviving.  Together they at first hide, but then start forming a plan to end the Great War, falling in love with each other at the time.  As Schwi discovers more about humanity, and Riku about himself, they set the wheels in motion for the greatest of endgames a game can have.

Set outside the main storyline, yet important to get to know how Disboard became the world of the series, this is the book that tells the story as filmed in No Game No Life Zero.  With the same drama and awesome heroics of the movie, a book always has the benefit to explore the depths of the characters far more, as well as more detailed descriptions and events on how they set the races up against each other to end the war.

Truly a magnificent volume in the series!

Unboxing another Waifu for my collection

 Yes, I found one at AmiAmi in their pre-owned section!

One of the three RAHDX 1/8 scale Lunamaria Hawke's, now I only need the third one in her full flight suit for this minirange of her to be completed.

 

The model once again travelled around the globe at supersonic speeds with EMS, shipping the 8th and arriving the 14th, and dodged customs as no taxes and costs where owned.  And at 1880 Yen, she was a steal, the benefit of your anime crush being a lesser character from an almost 20 years old anime I guess.

 

After the highly positive first experience with AmiAmi, which you can read and see HERE in the post from last week, she was also rated A for the figure and B for the box, so if Wild Tiger was anything to go by, she is a brand new figure that basically stood on a shelf for a couple of years... in a closed box. 

So time to fire up the camera and carefully open this sturdy box...

So, the unboxing then...

 

And now she proudly stands in the cabinet with all my other Lunamaria's, as the collection keeps growing with every one I manage to bump into!

 

 

Warriors of Rohan

 Following hot on the heels of the archers earlier this week, I also completed some hand weapon and shield warriors.

Perhaps the most important, yet venerable, models for a Rohan force, as you will need heaps of them not only for regular infantry, but also for all those dismounted riders...

The sculpts by nowadays standards are ancient, released back in 2002 with The Two Towers edition of the game, yet still stand up nicely in quality.  Except they tend to be a bit small, being "pure" 28mm models.

But that means while adding a modest 28 points to the army tally, they can be usefull on the battlefield none the less, as Rohan is a force of mass cavalry boosted by cheap-ish heroes to swamp your enemies where you want to on the battlefield.

Now to work a bit more on their throwing spear companions...

The Haul Report 276

 Another week has passed by, and some excellent goodies arrived again this week.

In that I received a nice enveloppe from eBay, and it dodged customs to boot.

In it?  Some more gashapon models for my MechaTop plans.

Which ones?  That will be revealed soon in an unboxing of the lot, so keep your eyes peeled on this page.

On the Painting Desk 191

 Horahora, I actually painted some miniatures this week!

What's more, I`m starting to get my desk empty,, though a lot of it will rather be by selling "partly painted" then actually finishing it, as I`m literally dumping them online at the moment.

But that doesn`t mean I am not slowly starting again with painting models for my forces that I keep, like these Rohan spearmen.  They just need some basing now and they can join the ranks.

I doubt may will yield spectacular amounts of painted figures just like april, but at least it won`t end as a blank lol...

My first order at AmiAmi

 AmiAmi, the site to be, or at least one of the sites to be, for those into collecting anime figurines.

And finally I bit the bullet and made a small order over there, to try and see how much it would all cost me.

I know shipping isn't cheap as it has to come from Japan, and import fees could be charged for clearing it in, but with the yen at time of writing about 8 euro for 1000 yen, it was a good time to order something small.

To that end, I picked the Tamashii Web Exclusive Wild Tiger TopMag version from Tiger & Bunny for this first order, from their "pre-owned" section.  These are generally used models, but they come with a rating on site for both the item AND the box condition, and for this model that was listed respectively as A for the item and B for the box.  The model itself, at 1880 yen, was as such 14.45 EUR.  And 19 points to my taly, the points count as 1 yen each, and can be used in future purchases as currency, remaining valid one year after your last purchase.

The order was placed the 5th of april, and even without this little bug around, it was about to take a while as well, it has to come from the other side of the globe.  Everything faster then the average 4-6 weeks from most sites was fine with me, and the 13th of april the parcel arrived.  Luckily, Belgium is still one of those countries that can use the EMS shipping service, often cheaper and faster then other options.

HOWEVER... shipping will be calculated after check out, so better sniffle around the internet for an idea on what rate it will be up and about, payment went through Paypal, nice and easy.  On the plus side, you can have all preorders made in one calendar month be shipped together to save on the cost, something I`ll definitly be doing in the future.  For this order, it was 2400 yen or 18.5 euro.

 

 

Yeah, I know, it means the same risks and costs as the Brexit I tend to complain about, except there are trade agreements between the EU and Japan (and the States for that matter) that have been smoothened out over the decades they are in place, meaning you look at a maximum of 40% if you are really unlucky, compared to even that one guy in my gaming group that payed a surplus of 109% of the value on a mail order of figures from the UK.  But this particular parcel slipped by customs, yay!

 

So, about the order itself...

 

Arriving in a nice sturdy box, I couldn`t wait to cut it open (carefully) to see what was inside, or better how it was inside.

 

 

So there we have it, a brand new figure which was so-called second hand... 

 

 

Now to check back everyday in the (vain apparently according to a lot of collectors) hope of seeing AND scoring a Zero Two figurine...

 

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Paladin Took

 Some small progress (pun intended) was made on the Scouring of the Shire project for 2021, as venerable Paladin Took joins the forces of the Shire.

Father of Pippin, he was one of the key figures in organising the resistance of the Shire against the Chief's Men, as as Thain of the Shire he resisted the machinations of Saruman through Lotho.

The model itself is from Games Workshop, and was in all honesty quite a simple paintjob, even at "three tones" as I usually do for character models.

Dressed in a large black trenchcoat, pants and tophat, and considering his diminutive size, he only has three colours if you look at the model objectively, so he was finished within a day of starting painting on him.

As with all Hobbits, he isn`t a great hero at all in game terms, but quantity is a quality in itself and that is definitly the case for a Hobbit force... and a 25pts Hero of Fortitude is always handy to have.

Now to start painting up some militia!

Bowmen of Rohan

 Oh my!

The month runs near it's end, and I finally finished something!

Nothing to spectacular, 5 Rohan archers join the force, as I got round doing these who where hopefully going to be in last month's AHPC.

But that didn`t happen, as you could read last week, I haven`t touched a brush for figures near a long shot.  But this weekend I literally forced myself back in action, the result being the first of some warriors getting rounded out.

 

So that adds a modest 35 points to the total of this year's goal, but it is better then nothing...

I hopefully will get the rest of them done as well in the foreseeable future as well, but that is at the moment a bit of wait and see on how it goes, and how or if I keep the motivation going...

Pacific Rim: The Black

 As is rather well known amongst my friends, I totally worship the first Pacific Rim movie, it had everything I love in a sci-fi film.

The second one... not so much...

And now netflix has released this seven episode first season upon us, called The Black.  The series takes place around or some time after the events of the second movie (it meticuiously avoids a pinpoint year, yet hints at the rough time period), and follows the loss of the Australian continent.  Taylor and Hayley are two children of Jaeger pilots, left behind safely during the evacuation.  But 7 years later, their community is attacked by a Copperhead level 4 Kaiju, and it's inhabitants killed.

They escape as they find an old training Jaeger, Atlas Destroyer, in an abandoned PPDF base.  This leads them to an encounter with Kaiju egg dealers, as well as discovering a mysterious kid they name "Boy".  As they try to find their parents back, the series tells more about drifting, but also brings back Herc Hansen (who piloted the Striker Euraka in the first movie), whose fate remains unknown to this day.

And there is that mysterious black Kaiju / Jaeger hybrid that appears at seeemingly random intervals... but is it linked to them or the Boy in some way?  What about Mei or the locked files in Atlas's memory banks?  The series has been confirmed for a second season, so let's see what that will be all about when it arrives...

A good series that catches on an action level the feel and spirit of the first movie, and actually makes it a pity it's drawn instead of the CGI behemoths of the franchise.  It's worth checking out for sure though!

The Uncanny Counter

 More asian television for me and Noshi, and this time it's a Korean science fiction series that streams on Netflix currently.

So what do you get if you have noodle makers chase demons?  Yup, The Uncanny Counter!

Well, it's far more complicated then that.  People who are in a terminal coma are approached by guardian spirits from Yung (aka Heaven) and given a second chance if they commit themselves to hunting down evil demon possessed people.  So-Mun, a cripple boy of 18 who lost his parents in a car accident 7 years ago however isn't in a coma when he suddenly becomes the host of Wi-Gen.

He commits to the cause, but his youthfullness and harsh reacting lands him in trouble, almost making him permanently loose his powers due to this, and that in the middle of a level four (the highest) encounter with the psychopathic demon Ji Chung-Sin.  This chase leads them to unravel an illegal garbage dump, and how everything seems to be connected to the dead of So-Mun's parents, and his fellow counter Go Mo-Tak, who was working on the same case against major Shin 7 years ago.

A really enjoyable series, and one definitly worth watching if you like paranormal and superhero like shows!

The Haul Report 275

 Another week of stuffsies arriving, and it actually contains some wargame figures this time round.

From my regular eBay dealer, and sneaked past customs due to being so small, comes the three needed Ruffian models to be able to build every needed scenario force in the Scouring of the Shire book.

There was also a box from Japan, containing my first order from Ami Ami, but I`ll show that later this week in an unboxing post, as well as a second parcel containing a figure from my waifu.

 

Until then!

On the Painting Desk 190

 Well, after skipping a week as I haven't done anything at all painting wise, no umpf for figures and after waiting to be able to get to the store for the Yuno painting to get a bigger backplate, we are back this week.

And at least we had some minor progress this time... though I am forcing myself to get really started again...

 

Some work has been done on a batch of Rohan foot troops, but truth to be told that is about it... 

 

Well, except very good progress on my yandere Yuno painting for Noshi!

 

 

If I can keep this up, Noshi will soon receive it for her desk corner in the living room!

 

 

A small decoration project

 Okay, so this is a bit of a first try project, say a first step of the total redecoration of my mancave.

The idea actually came from a YouTube clip on collecting anime merch, I'm afraid I can't recall the creator's exact movie, I believe it was the room tour, but it is on the channel of Daijoububu.

The idea is pretty simple, as instead of trying to hang pins and buttons from a piece of cloth attached to the wall, and coming down with time under the weight, it is instead all attached onto a canvas frame.

So I went to Pipoos and grabbed a small and cheap one for this project, knocking me off a measly 4 euros.  I decided not to paint it, but measured the inside frame and prepared to hang some small hooks on the wall.

Hey, I only mis-measured once, go me!

So then I looked for all the pins and buttons that still remained from "a not so fun thing that made me part with my original collection years ago and I don't talk about" and gathered them together.

Okay, so the frame hangs, and at time of writing, about two weeks since actually doing this, it still does.  And more or less straight, not bad for the most all thumbs guy on the world!

Slowly I'll be filling it up, as I get round to grab more pins and such to fill out orders over time, but as I said, this is a first babystep to a big remodelling, but first the new windows have to be installed.  The perfect excuse to change it all over!

See you laters!

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SD Gundam World Sangoku Soketsuden

 A ten episode long series, part of the 2019 celebrations of 40 years of Gundam, this "chibi" styled series is now viewable on the official Gundam channel over on YouTube.

So I duly did, and with about 16 mins per episode, that was ideal to watch on the bus to and from work.

Now, I must say first, while I think Chibi mobile suit GunPla look cute, the series, well, not so much for me actually.  Every character is a mobile suit, and they all have personalities, many not really hitting marks with the idea you have of said suit.  Freedom as a scientist... naaaah.

The story is that cities have been walled and being defended as a zombie curse sweeps the lands, turning suits into BUG's, mindless automatons.  Young Liu Bei, under the guidance of the old warrior Cao Cao goes out to stop this, aided by a mysterious relic that unlocks his inner dragon powers.

While they manage to overcome the villain, it later turns out Cao Cao has actually defected, in order to impose his vision of how the world can be saved from it all, mainly by turning almost anyone into a BUG instead.  So master and apprentice have to face off, with the fate of the world in balance!

It was as such okay to watch on public transportation, but to be honest, I wasn`t to extremely wild of the series, if not to say severly underimpressed.

If you like these chibi adventures, go ahead, but I can`t see much love for it from my part apart that baby Thorin loved the bright colours during the episodes I watched together with him...

How Brexit killed my Hobby Mojo

 Three weeks.

That is now how long it has been since I touched a brush to paint wargame figures.

Certainly, there is the fact of the "AHPC cool down" after three months of painting to deadlines.  There is the real life of work, Noshi breaking her knee and baby Thorin.  The still no-prospect of getting an actual game in with a real opponent... but those are not the reasons I feel for having the painting on a low level.

It is Brexit.  The regulations make it incredibly expensive to buy from the UK, taxes and fares at times even topping 109% of an order's value.  And while I looked around for EU alternatives, you get the big brands, without the big sales and discounts.

But for the whismical "oooooh shiney" stuff, the market is now closed unless you risk paying an arm, a leg and one of your kindey's on them.  And we only have 2 of each.

 

This has been a real killer for my gaming vibe to be honest, making me look towards online videogames again, more then before, for the social aspect and the thrill of the hunt for victory.  Instead of studying rulebooks and painting "yet another game we will end up never playing" it's scouring YouTube for reviews if FTP games are worth pouring hours in, build GunPla and work on "normal" paintings.  Things that don't need opponents or shopping sprees as it where.

 

 

Will this turn around?  Probably, when all vaccinations are done and one can go see friends again and kindle the fire, but it remains a fact it's a heap of misery.  For example, my MtO of Lord of the Rings figures with Games Workshop was shipped the 3rd of february, but only arrived in my local store the 2nd of april.  That kind of waits are longer then even the pre-internet days, and it doesn`t work wonders as such on motivation.  

 

 

Solo games keep me from going totally apathic for the hobby, but I admit even there I have moments of "bleugh" when I need to prepare something for the next game, just like I can`t find the juice atm to fix my printer (I need to replace the extruder assembly) because I can`t find the joy of printing and painting terrain for games that might take place whenever who knows.

 

 

So yes, at the moment the hobby is a bit in catatonic state... and I can`t say when it will go crazy again.  Maybe I should motivate myself a bit again by at least painting up the stuff I am planning to sell, that might at least clear the closets a bit to put the GunPla's in...

 

 

Unboxing FunkoPop Sagittarius Seiya

 In today's unbxing post, I'm taking a look at the limited edition figure of Seiya, wearing the gold Sagittarius cloth.

Because normally I'm to late grabbing limited editions, meaning I have to pay far more then their original price to obtain them.  

 

Not so this time with the Saint Seiya line, and even though I still need to order the 5 regular ones (I have low hopes finding the chase glow in the dark model of Ikki), I grabbed asap from Archonia for the collection.

Now, at first when they started to come out, FunkoPop didn't really do it for me, the big head vinyl models where not my cup of tea.  This changed though when seeing (and obtaining) the line from The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance and they grew on me ever since.  Let's say the Saint Seiya line won't be the last ones I'll be getting over the years to come...

The model comes in the traditional FunkoPOP boxing, with the limited edition markings added to it.

Opening the box, Seiya is held in place in a plastic clamshell, that opens top and bottom to protect the paintjob from pulling out the mode.

The POP is nicely detailed, with the markings on the bow even added, while it has tiny wings from the cloth as well.

Definitly a good looking model, and one I`ll be displaying with pleasure in my cabinets. Like I said, at first when they came into existence, I wasn't wild about FunkoPOP's, but models like this have definitly kindled my adoration for them!

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Yuno Gasai painting part 3

 So the third panel, as well as the smaller fillers, have been finished for the work I`m making for Noshi.

The third, again a piece of fanart I have no idea where she got it from, features everyone's favorite yandere with a knife, still spoiled from the act.

It was for me an exercise in blending in various darker grey tones for the schoolshirt, as well as a three instead of two tone skin section, which in the end I think came out allright.

Once this panel was done, I also made two smaller ones, one with the iconic eyes through a tear design, which I still think Noshi should have tattooed on her underarm, and one with the logo of the anime.

So now the next step is combining them into one A2 sized panel, then paint it all with the red and white design from the title panel, and finally varnish them.

Before starting the hunt for an affordable frame to hang it from the wall... and think of an "artist name" to sign it with ;-)