I'd like to say that i've been busy, but no, I haven't really. I haven't been away either, at least not physically, and generally the two weeks between this and my last post have been filled with the usual trivialities and procrastination as there always is. If you came looking for intrigue, mystery and excitement, I apologise. But look at what i've been building the past few nights; Lego's 10190 Market Street!

It's one of those sets i've been after a while, but everytime i've gone to buy it there's been distractions, either finanacially or otherwise.

The set itself has been out since last year, so naturally i'm late to the party, but it's one of the (currently) three sets that make up the modular Lego Factory theme- that's right, it's one of those new-fangled sets actually designed by a Lego fan. We love Lego, they love us.

 

As such, it's built better than most contemporary sets, and naturally, looks a hell of a lot better too. I haven't got the funds to get the other sets just yet, but I do have the bricks to expand upon it my way- i'm hoping to have another building either side of it once I find the time and enthusiasm.

The set's got great pieces though- there's plenty of new light-blue and navy-blue bricks, even if it isn't for display it's a great source of bricks. For me and my constant lack of a designated Lego room/garage/bunker/geek centre this is good news.

My Toynami 3rd Wave Futurama figures arrived today -after the usual minor issues and obligiatory feud with the Royal Mail of course. They'd been on pre-order for a few months now, and while I think they were scheduled to be released in August, i'm well chuffed the date was brought forward and they arrived today.

 
Wave one and two was Fry and Zoidberg, Leela and Zapp, while the third wave sees the arrival of Bender and Kif- TV most infamous robot and the ever depressed green space sidekick. As with the previous figures there's a range of props and accessories -again annoyingly, most of them can't be held properly- and they compliment the character and maybe even add to the figure's appeal. Bender comes with extra pairs of eyes for 'angry face/sad face' lark, while Kif comes with his hat from Where The Buggalo Roam, and one of the sphere 'enemies' from the War Is the H-Word episode. There's also a framed photo of Amy, but this is a weak addition, second only to the possibility of an actual Amy figure.

 

Out of the two, Bender is undoubtedly the better figure, and perhaps even the best out of all those released so far. Even better, is the fact that his head can be unscrewed and replaced with Nixon's head-in-a-jar, as depicted in, A Head in the Polls, the best episode ever, fact. Wave Three also means that the Robot Devil figure is finally completed. The figure is all long and skinny compared to the rest, but it matches the character, and he's still a lot better than the horrible Fry release from earlier. And he's got a magnetic top hat, so, win.

 

The fourth wave of figures (which I think are already out?) is a Fry reissue, this time with superhero attire dressed as Captain Yesterday, and Nudar, from the recent DVD film. I'm passing on them both, but future releases include a Leela as Clobarella, Lrrr and Calculon. All must haves, and if they're anywhere near as good as the existing figures, fans are in for a treat.

 
 

MOO Minicards 

Just a couple of things- more Castle and some more of the Indiana Jones sets. Theoretically I don't need any of it, but with spare money and no other unhealthy addictions to spend it on, why the hell not?

 

7620 is going to be staying boxed. Generally hoarding away boxed sets isn't something I do, but having missed out on the original Star Wars sets ten years back (yes, it's really been that long) i've decided to do it for one or two of the Indiana Jones sets. The amount they might be worth in a few years time is anyone's guess, but if they're anything like it's Star Wars big-brother, they may be worth quite a bit. If not, i'm sure they'll make for nice 'from me, to me' presents in a a couple of years.

 

A delivery came today, at 9.30, following a momentarily earlier wake-up from some Jehovah's Witnesses at the door. They brought bad news, but the delivery man brought good news- the Futurama figures I ordered a while back, finally arrived.

 

The figures are produced by Toynami, with the first wave consisting of Fry and Zoidberg released September last year, while the second wave -and the Leela and Brannigan figures- was released in January. I'm late to the party sure, but once i'd discovered them I was pretty intent on getting a set for myself, and overall, i'm pretty pleased with them. By and large the figures aren't really posable, with the obvious exception of the Fry figure, interestingly, the worst of the lot. The design and painting is kind of ruined by the numerous articulate joints, and even though he can move his limbs, you can't have him standing unless those legs are in the default position. Additionally- why include props if the figure can't hold them? Poor show.

 

The other three are thankfully a lot better, especially the weighty Zoidberg and Zapp figures, generally devoid of posing, but at the same time, the figures that look most spot on with their animated counterparts. Leela's great too, but unless i'm mistaken, i'm pretty sure she was a lot 'curvier' than what she is here. No biggy. The figures come with props too though -in the case of the Zapp figure it's an awesome Nixon head- but also components to build another figure, the Robot Devil, voiced by Dan Castellaneta. It's only half completed currently, with the remaining parts coming with the Wave 3 release of Kif and Bender. Understandably it's not as well built as that of the regular figures, but I know i'd still prefer seeing an Amy/Hermes/Farnsworth figure instead, or even in the future, though that may mean waiting a while. Presumably the number one fear of the distributors is that these characters won't sell as well, but I know that beyond that i'd love even more 'obscure' characters like the Hyperchicken and Elzar. Ok, maybe now i'm getting a little ambitious.

 

With the Futurama TV series prematurely dead, and only the remaining promise of DVD movies it's undoubtedly the case that as great as Futurama is, the franchise is regrettably past it's prime. That said, i'm already planning on pre-ordering more of the figures, and i'm sure, it's something that numerous other fans will be doing as well if these first figures are anything to go by.

 

MOO, as their site suggests, "love to print".

Using photos direct from your Flickr, Live Journal or Facebook stream as well as some of the other inferior social/photo sites out there, they can print your shots onto something nice such as greeting cards or stickers, for whatever use you intend. Intrigued -and dazzled- I ordered some of their MiniCards recently, and they are rather nice.

The cards have a matte-laminate finish, and despite their seeming small 28 x70mm dimensions, photos look great on them. The site doesn't designate any one use for the cards, and instead offer a handful of ideas and creative options for you to decide from or to get started with. With the option of text on the back of the cards i've made mine into mini-calling cards, or rather, personal hand-out url cards to anyone interested in seeing some of my photos, reducing the need of a pen & paper or an awkward follow-up email later in the day.

Obviously some photos will work better than others, but the small size means that bright/colourful photos will look neater than something laden with detail. The end result, a photo distinctly abstract and fun is a nice outcome. The added bonus, obviously, is the dual-function of the cards- this is not mere tedious numbers and names, but rather, a teaser of the rest of your gallery. Best of all, it's finally a chance to print photos... just for fun.

£100, twelve days of shipping, a minor confrontation with both the postie and the post-office, and my delivery is finally here!

No Indiana Jones Lego as I ordered before it was in stock, but im hoping to try again in a few weeks.

 

So following on from my exam (and hopefully the subsequent passing!) I decided to treat myself- I bought myself a Lego Creator Set 4954. Certainly a little unorthodox as a celebration, especially from someone at the age of 21, but getting trashed isn't really something that appeals to me. But more on that later.

£45 gets you a lot of tan bricks, and that's why I bought it, but I know the black slopes will be incredibly handy also. It was fun though, and mildly challenging- I'm strangely tempted to buy another one.

Deciding what camera I wanted for my birthday was the easy part.

Deciding on the bag to carry it and the lenses around in, no, that's where all the difficulty lies.