Saturday, July 30, 2011
DS is dead, Jim
Well I guess I'm finished with my adventure to resurrect a dead DS handheld. When I first ordered parts and a dead system, the dead system would only blink on for a second then go off. I figured this was a "totally dead" system, with only maybe parts for salvage. I managed to earn some free Ebay bucks by signing up for a free netflix trial, so I used these bonus bucks to buy a new battery and a second "mostly" dead system. This second system did turn on but the top screen was cracked and no good. My brother agreed to help me Frankenstein a system from the parts I ordered. Unfortunately a new screen was not on the list of parts I had ordered. Instead I suggested taking a screen from that first "dead/blink" system and trying it out in the second system. Unfotunately this had the unwanted side effect of giving the second system the "blink". Basically I killed a second system that was half working. In all this endeavor to create a working system from dead ones cost me $30 (plus $15 in free EBay bucks). On the bright side, I know that in the future I should only add new parts to a partially functional system, instead of hodge-podging together parts from dead systems. I also do have the parts I ordered in new condition still: a battery, a system shell, a couple of tools, an AC adapter, a cable to connect the top and bottom screens, and a pair of hinges. Also I suppose I have the intact shell from the second system I ordered, as the first system had a cracked in half shell. So from this experience I figure in the future if I want a working system I should order one in that condition. (Likewise, if I become inclined to waste more money in the future I could always try rebuilding one again.)
Monday, July 18, 2011
The Scourge of the Forest Moon better scurry away in fear
I got two great additions to my Imperial Forces this month. I started the month off with the BA AT-AT (Big Ass All Terrain Armored Transport). I really can't put into words just how frickin' huge this thing is. Being the cheap ass that I am I held out on this toy for quite a while, besides there's things like food and rent to consider. When I saw the sticker price at Mentor Walmart at $49 I almost bought it on the spot. After a couple days of debate I broke down and bought it for this price which is half the original sticker price of $99.99. This thing is like owning a large dog, without the maintenance (thank god).
If this wasn't a good enough score, I was out at the Mayfield Toys R Us to see what I could get on clearance with an additional 25% off and low and behold, the exclusive Biker Scout Trooper and Speederbike was somehow on the shelf, actually two of them. I haven't seen this thing in probably over a year, they must have dug them out from under a shelf or something, the tape was all yellowed. I had debated then about buying one (or more) the last couple times I had seen it, until eventually it was too late & it sold out. As luck would have it a pair of Speeders presented themselves to me last week, and this time I wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to add to my Imperial Ranks of Endor.
With the recent addition of the Ewok medicine man, Logray, to the Ewok Terrori.. oops... I mean to the "Scourge of the Forest Moon", my Ewok army is nearing completion. (Unless of course you count the other 30 odd Ewoks that appear in the Return of the Jedi and are unlikely to ever see the light of day) I guess now that the Imperial forces have the firepower to start massacring the brave native freedom fighters of the Endor Moon, I best start work on the custom Ewoks I've been putting off for over a year. Then of course I'll have to end up making a giant custom diorama (sure that will happen).
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Transformers Dark of the Moon Toys R Us Scan Series 1
I've always been a fan of transparent toys, much more so than say, gold painted toys. This has been this way for a while, but the first toy I can think of that this really worked for was the mail-away Predator from Kenner's Aliens & Predators line. In that case it made a lot of sense, seeing as the Predator can cloak himself. With these two new Autobots, I think it's very cool that they represent the "scanning" and reformatting to earth vehicles, as seen in the first film. This series also is a fitting tribute to the reformatting sequence in the original Animated Movie. I am a big fan of the scene where Unicron re-formats the Decepticons and they change to a grid-like silhouette then take on there new forms. I think it would be awesome if Hasbro ever decided to make toys based on that scene using the technique used on this new Scan Series of figures.
After debating about it for a couple of weeks, I broke down and bought my first two Transformers Dark of the Moon figures. Since Toys R Us had a sale for buy 1 get 1 half off, I decided this was the week to add some 'bots to my collection. I passed on these guys the first time they were on sale. Then I checked these out online and there is supposed to be a second wave, which helped me want the first wave even more. Then I glanced at them a few times over the last couple of weeks. I figured that since I kept looking at these guys I must want them, so with the sale that started this week I figured I best get them before they are gone.
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