Happy Hallowe'en!

Never let it be said I didn't wish you one.

I Am NOT Dead

Well, I've been away for a while. Got some new vids up on YouTube, and I've been taking more pictures. Above is a small sample to keep you all amused.

I'm currently making some minor edits to previous posts, fixing mistakes and such. Check back soon.

He Is Malcolm Reynolds!

Well, my Xbox is back, for the present, at least.  I've been playing ODST, of course.  I beat the campaign in one go, stopping only to eat.  It didn't actually take very long.

I was over at Bungie when I found something interesting, a link to an interview with Nathan Fillion, the man behind Gunnery Sergeant Eddie Buck.

Behold his visage!

This, of course, sent me into delighted shock. Perhaps to explain why, I should provide a little backstory. Firstly, he's a Canadian actor, born in Alberta, currently starring in the ABC series Castle.  He had a small role in Saving Private Ryan, as "The Minnesota Ryan", and has played various other characters on TV.  But the reason many people know of him is because in 2002 he played the quirky, tempermental smuggler and starfreighter captain Malcolm Reynolds in the short-lived but brilliant Joss Whedon Sci-Fi series Firefly.

Anyway, the interview can be found here.

Image from the Wikimedia Commons, Flickr user RavenU.

It had to be done....

Well, part one of my "Stave Off Boredom" project is now complete. I now possess a YouTube account! Truth be told, I've never been that big a fan of YouTube. It's full of charlatans who want nothing more than to watch videos of other people injuring themselves in stupid ways (yes, I admit that's a stereotype, but it's largely true). However, there are also some very talented and/or insightful YouTube users. So I figured that I had to put aside my distaste and join.

And, being me, I couldn't help but upload a video of my own. Just something simple, for now. A little "AMV" I came up with.

[EDIT] I have since taken the AMV down, because I was unhappy with the quality.[EDIT]

Visit my channel here.

Of course, there's more to come. Part two is something I've been planning for a while, and should be up within the month (barring unforeseen problems).

They Mock Me....

The gods of irony have lashed out at me once again.

Why?!!  Why do you taunt me?

I had a copy of Halo 3: ODST pre-ordered (of course), but with my Xbox in the shop for an undetermined amount of time, I now have no way to play it.  Which, as you can imagine, has me pretty... miffed.  Grrr, and all that.

Well, when I get my console back, you can be sure that A Real Pity will be making the move to ODST.  Until then....

Fun stuff!

...until then, I've got things to do.

He's up to Something....

Well, my Xbox is being repaired (again). And so, to stave off boredom, I've got a new project on the go.  Can't say what as of right now.

But believe me, I think it will be worth your while.

Toronto, Again

I'm posting on Sunday, yet again.  I was in Toronto yesterday (yet again).  Less than a week after FanExpo finished, I just couldn't stay away.  The problem is, the TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) was on, and the streets were even more choked with people than usual.

I stopped by this fun little Japanese Hobby store and picked up a couple of Gundam figurines.  These are random, so you never know what's in the box.  When I saw that one of the possibilities was a 1/300 scale MSN-04 Sazabi, my heart leapt.  The Sazabi is my favourite Mobile Suit of all time (subject to change, if something more awesome comes along), with the GN-Flag being a close second, of course.  So I picked one of the medium weight boxes (Sazabi is bulky, not fat!) hoping, but not really believing, that I might get lucky.  After all, the gods of irony and I have never exactly seen eye to eye.  But I guess fate threw me a curveball, because the moment I opened the box, what should I find but a Sazabi in all its miniature red glory!  Wait, I've had this dream before....

The other figurine was, perhaps befittingly, Allelujah Haptism.  After all, I did get Soma Peries at FanExpo, so I think that makes perfect sense.  Opposites attract, after all.

There's some interesting new lighting tricks at work here, for the enjoyment of you, the audience.  I'm thinking of upgrading my background, but you'll probably never notice any difference.

There they are, in all their epic... plastic.  The Sazabi also came with a Beam Rifle and a display stand.

You may not be able to tell from these pictures, but Allelujah is tall.  Next to Soma, he looks ridiculously tall.  I know she was pretty short in the Anime, but the Soma Peries I got at FanExpo must be a different scale, or something, because she's simply dwarfed by Allelujah.

Maybe I'll take a picture of them side by side, so you can see just how laughably tall he really is.

However, after all that, the gods of irony couldn't resist the chance to flout my victory.  In the ultimate insult, they ensured that the Sazabi's weapon hand was clogged with paint, making it impossible to attach the Beam Rifle.

Why can the gods of irony not fight with honour?

The Last Days of Summer Break

People seem to have this bizarre habit of holding events in the last few weeks of the summer break.

Especially in Toronto.

As you may or may not know, the Toronto FanExpo is one of the largest "fan conventions" in Canada. With that in mind, it's obvious why it was held in the Metro Convention Centre, a colossal building right next to the CN Tower.

FanExpo ran from August 28th-30th, a sort of "conclusion" to the month. Unlike most other conventions, which are only geared toward fans of one genre (i.e. comic books or Sci-Fi), FanExpo is designed to appeal to fans of Anime, Sci-Fi, Comics, Horror, and Gaming. Of course this means a wide variety of vendors, artists, and celebrities are present at each show.

But wait, you ask, what kind of celebrities would be present at such an event? Well, the list was too long to mention everyone, but it included Leonard Nimoy, Billy Dee Williams, Linda Hamilton, Mary McDonnell, Beau Bridges, Walter Koenig, and even Bruce Campbell (this is my BOOMSTICK!).

I had the great pleasure of meeting some of my favourite voice actors, namely: Brad Swaile (Setsuna F. Seiei, Light Yagami/Kira, Amuro Ray), Crispin Freeman (Alex Row, Jeremiah Gottwald), Steve Downes (The Master Chief), and of course, Scott McNeil (Ali Al-Saachez)! I have pictures somewhere, but sadly I haven't been able to "retrieve" them yet. Perhaps at a later date.

Before I continue, it must be made common knowledge that this was not only my first FanExpo, but also the first convention I've attended. Hopefully the first of many.

Now on to the main event!

Upon entering the main hall, visitors were greeted by this statue of the Master Chief. What better way to set the mood?

See those white boxes? That's all comic books.

Even with his head mounted on a wall, the Balrog is terrifying

There's just too much!

For me, walking into FanExpo was like a dream come true, except that everything cost money! The vendors section was full of long booths, brimming with collectables, action figures, posters, books, DVD's and comics. Then of course there were the stores that practically sold nothing but Gunpla.

Of course, the Toronto Garrison of the 501st Legion was present, dressed as various characters from the Star Wars Saga. The members of the 501st sport costumes of very high quality, right down to the mouthpiece, which gives them that cold, menacing "Stormtrooper-y" voice. To create the feeling that these were real troopers on patrol, certain people were given a "Droid Hunt" badge. If a trooper approached someone in possession of one of these badges, that person would have to turn it over.

On the first day the trooper patrols were crawling all over the place, but as Fan Expo progressed they became less frequent.

The Fighting 501st: Vader's Fist on patrol

Droids?

This guy was fun. I took a couple of snaps of him, then as I turned to leave, thinking "he didn't notice my Droid Hunt badge, I'm ninja", he said "I'm not finished with you yet." Curses!

Anyway, according to the rules of the Droid Hunt, he took my badge away. However, near the end of FanExpo it was possible to pick up another as a souvenir, with a donation to charity. By that time I only had spare change left over, but gave all I could.

After all, good cause, plus 501st keepsake? How could I refuse?

It goes without saying that people would be Cosplaying at an event such as this. I was very impressed with some of the designs, however, I only took pictures of the ones I recognized.

Mal from Joss Whedon's Firefly/Serenity

For Z.A.F.T.!

The MJOLNIR MK V & VI

I'm no expert, but I think these guys serve The God Emperor of Mankind

On the third day, I wore my homemade Z.A.F.T. officer's uniform (the white one). Not entirely finished to my liking, so no pictures of that yet, but I will get some taken once it's all done.

Fan Expo may be over, but that doesn't mean there's nothing to look forward to. After all, it'll be returning next year: 2010!

We'll be back next year! Rebel scum.

Somehow in between all my running around to get stuff signed, I still had some time to myself, and used it well.

Yay, loot!

As you can see, I did a bit of shopping. I got all this for about $140 (Canadian, of course).

By the way, you may notice some signatures on the Gundam 00 DVD. In blue, Brad Swaile, the voice of Setsuna. The other signature is Scott McNeil's, the voice of (yep, you guessed it) Ali Al-Saachez!

I was exhausted after FanExpo, but just a few days later, I was at it again. This time at the Rotary Brantford Charity Airshow. Brantford, for all those of you who don't know, was once the home of Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone. But that has nothing to do with aircraft.

And aircraft is why I was there in the first place.

The Snowbirds: Canada's aerial acrobatics team

Some consider them a Canadian symbol. The Snowbirds, 431 squadron, is a group comprised of active members of our armed forces. They perform all kinds of tricks and maneuvers, including some lethal looking loops.

This, of course, is our Avro Lancaster bomber. One of only two (2!) left in the world that can still fly. This one is usually kept in the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum, less than thirty minutes from where I'm sitting as I type this. The other airworthy Lancaster belongs to the Queen of England, and she doesn't let the public take flights in hers. That's right, it's possible to take flights in our Lancaster, although I think there's a waiting list (don't quote me on that).

Yes, that is an F-18. We do have those.

I'm sure there are some people who believe that our Air Force consists of Biplanes and lumberjacks with wings tied to their arms. I reject your blatant stereotyping with the power of the fighter jet.

Accelerate!

It's hard to tell from this picture, but that jet is going wicked fast. Ironically the clearest picture I took all day, with less blurring than the planes moving one third that speed.

In Soviet Russia, trainer plane pilots you!

Do a Barrel Roll!

It's been a great summer, but for once I'm actually exited about going back to school (blasphemy!), mostly because I finally get to choose all my classes. That means I'm going to be spending most of the year on a stage or around video cameras, which should prove to be awesome. Next stop, Hollywood (or Vancouver, if I can't get Stateside)!

Just one last thing. I took so many pictures at FanExpo and the airshow, that I don't have the upload space to put them all in my Flickr photostream. So, unfortunately I won't be able to upload the others for about a month, but if anyone thinks they'll still want to see those photo's around that time, just say so in a comment sometime between now and then.

Thus concludes my last post for the summer.

Look, a Picture! Just One, But it's a Start!

Well, I've been out of contact for the last little while, owing to the fact that I was at Toronto FanExpo '09 last weekend. Then came an airshow, a trip to the beach, and so on....

Anyway, instead of covering each one , I'm going to do a big "End of the Summer Break" post, covering both FanExpo and the airshow (in brief). The trip to the beach isn't really worth covering on this kind of blog.

You should expect to see this stuff very soon. I go back to school on Tuesday, so that leaves me just two days. If I don't get it done in that time I shall be very disappointed with myself.

And just to prove that I really do have pictures....

Cleaning Up My Act - I know, it's a bad joke.

Well, contrary to popular belief, the last few days have been busy for me.  I was going to take some photos of a few of the other Action Figures in my collection, only to discover that almost all of the weapons from my various Star Wars figures are missing.  My "Nerd Rage" was swift and terrible.  In the end I came to the conclusion that what I really needed was a new place to put stuff, to keep away dust and make my collection more easily accessible.  Enter the convenient storage shelves, stage left.  These shelves are in the same room as my Xbox, so I can dust stuff whilst playing, if need be.  The only problem is that I have to share that room with everyone, hence the Photo Albums and stuff....

The shelves, mostly empty.  And yes, that is a MJOLNIR MK-VI helmet on top.

I had to keep the helmet up there, or else it would have fallen prey to the dreaded "costume bin".  And before you say it (or think it), I'm not one of those guys who go around making all the weapons and boots and such.  They are talented individuals.  I am not.  I choose to have a life, limited though it may be.  If you want to make your own set of cardboard Recon armour, you go right ahead, I've got nothing against you (however, there are some people who hate talented individuals).

What with all this organization, and with Toronto FanExpo '09 looming on the horizon, I haven't got much time to be taking pictures, however, I'll try get some more shots of the Throne Eins MSIA uploaded to my Flickr within the week.

Again I Disappoint You

Well, thanks to stupid insomnia I didn't get to sleep until around six in the morning, so even though I slept until 12:20, I'm pretty drowsy today. Not really the right mood for posting, so I'll get something up later today or tomorrow morning.


Great post, huh?

A Most Glorious Day

Today is the 19th of August, which may not mean much to anyone here, but it just so happens to be my birthday. Which, as you can imagine, makes today fairly important to me. Do I have any plans? No. I've never needed any before, and I don't expect to come up with one anytime soon.


Anyway, I'll be hunting aliens with the Combistick that the Predators gave me, so don't expect to see Pity on Xbox Live today.

1/100 "No Grade" Union Overflag: Part 1

This took me a while to write, so it's a day late. Bah, Humbug.

No, I haven't forgotten about my "Lunazaku". I just got bored with it. I'll get it done at some point, but for now I have bigger fish to fry. Like 1/100 scale fish, for example. This particular model was so awesome that even my 1/100 Tieren Ground-Type had to be pushed aside. I speak, of course, of the 1/100 "No Grade" Union Overflag. The Lunazaku may be a cool looking Mobile Suit, but it's not a Flag. End of discussion.

If you can't remember anything about the Zaku, click here.

And so, without further ado....

First of all, I believe some background information would be most helpful. The SVMS-01O Overflag is The Union of Solar Energy and Free Nations (let's just call them The Union, shall we?) response to Celestial Being's Gundams. They are armed with much more powerful weapons than the mass production SVMS-01 Union Flag, and are also slightly different in shape. Overflags, like their older "cousins", are capable of transforming from Mobile Suit mode into a Mobile Armour/fighter plane.

The Overflag is a flight type Mobile Suit, and it looks the part. In fact, even the box shows it in an airborne pose. This is unusual for the box of a No Grade 1/100, which usually show the Mobile Suit in a static, sometimes even boring, pose.

Even in the Boxart, he's still doing the Graham Aker Special

The variant on the front of the box is Graham Aker's Overflag, which can be identified by the fact that the inner barrel of the Linear Rifle is blue, not the standard silver. Graham also holds his rifle left-handed, for some reason (now that I think of it, most of his Mobile suits are predominantly left-handed). I myself am a "Lefty", but being a traditionalist, I chose the standard colour scheme for my 1/100.

The completed Overflag, as yet unpainted

I have to admit, even without any paint, it looks pretty good. The silver inside the rifle and behind the visor are the only parts that need to be painted before assembly. If you're to lazy to paint, you can always use the foil stickers. These are surprisingly detailed, compared to the stickers on a 1/144, which I try to avoid using at all costs. I actually used some foil stickers when working on this kit, but those may be removed and replaced with paint, if I feel that would improve it.

Wow, that picture came out great. I'll stop gloating now.

Seriously though, I'm very happy with most of these photos. How is that relevant, you ask? Simple. The Overflag is black and a mix of greys. Put those against a white (or light grey) backdrop, and you get every photographer's worst nightmare. It was so difficult to get the exposure just right, that every time I was even slightly off, it would become just a black shape against a searingly hot background. But in the end, determination, skill with a digital camera, and a whole lot of enhancing made my work nearly as impressive as the professionals.

That being said and done, you can actually see it here, and it is once again obvious that the Overflag was meant for aerial combat. It has very little armour, relying instead on agility and superior firepower to win the day. It looks relatively light, and certainly aerodynamic. The defense rod on the left arm can be detached to further decrease the Suit's weight.

But perhaps my favourite thing about the Overflag, and the Flag series in general becomes apparent when examining its face. The flag possesses traits from the "bad guy" machines of two of the more popular Gundam timelines, Universal Century (U.C., popular for Gundam, Gundam Zeta, etc.) and After Colony (A.C., Gundam Wing, although some would argue this is not popular). It not only has the "visor" seen on many A.C. Mobile Suits, but also the classic "Zeon Eye" made famous by the original Gundam series (albeit this one is red instead of pink).

Sieg Zeon?

Well, I think that's enough for today. Coming soon, Sonic Knives and Mobile Armour Mode!

Visit the gallery here for all the pics I didn't have time to cover.

All Work and No Play... Sort Of...

I'm currently putting up some new pictures.  Can't say of what right now, but I promise you there is Gunpla.  I'll be updating my Flickr photostream soon, to include these new additions.

I'd have them up today, but some of the photos need a bit of work in Photoshop to make them less... dark and such.  And I happen to feel lazy today.  What else is new?

Halo: 343 Industries

Recently it was announced that the Halo universe will take a new direction in the form of seven straight to DVD Anime shorts, entitled "HALO Legends". These shorts are being created by five production studios: Bones, Casio Entertainment, Production I.G., Studio4º C, and Toei Animation. You may know them, you may not. 

The project is being overseen by 343 industries, a Microsoft team lead by former Bungie employee Frank "Frankie" O'Conner. They handle Halo's conversion from a video game to other forms of media.

If you haven't already seen the Comic-Con trailer, click the banner below.

While I have heard mixed reviews about this (and I had to grimace at the fact that Toei, creators of Dragonball, are getting their hands on my beloved Halo), I will of course be buying Halo Legends.

That being said, my curiosity was peaked, and I took a quick glance at 343 Industries' Halopedia page.  Turns out they're overseeing a lot of new comics and such, but what really caught my attention was something called "The Forerunner Trilogy", a novel series currently being written by Greg Bear.

Sounds intriguing, doesn't it?

My Apologies

Not much to report right now.  I'll be working for the next few days, to make a bit of money.  When I'm done with that I'll get back to posting as regular.

Patience is a virtue.  Yeah, that's a laugh.

I'm In Hiding: part 2

Well, I'm back.  Arrived home late last night, much to the chagrin of the neighbours.

I was a tad (is that a word, I think so) vague in my last post, so I'll explain. For the past three days (give or take) my family took a trip to Port Stanley, a town on the shores of Lake Erie. While it was warm enough to swim at the beach, I did not. Instead I occupied myself with Gunpla and seeing the sights.

Anyway, I'm back now, so expect to be hearing from me again soon.

For the complete photo gallery, click here.

I'm In Hiding: part 1

I'm posting this from an undisclosed location. The reason for this is not because alien zombies are trying to kill me, or because an army of robots has invaded Canada, it's just because I need some time off.


So I'm taking some. Be back Monday, or thereabouts.

Bye now. SHUT UP AND LEAVE ME ALONE! :)

1/1 Scale Gundam - Report part 2

Before I continue on to part two, you may have realized that my Gundam 00 Season 1 review has vanished, relegated to a "previous" page. Don't worry, it's still there. While easy to find right now, posts may soon be buried by sheer quantity. In case you ever wish to find anything (without scrolling through all the posts) I have included category labels and an internal search bar. Feel free to use them.

And so without further ado, part deux.

The Real-G, striking fear into Zeon Forces everywhere.

Besides having lights built into it (the little red and white ones here) the Real-G is equipped with backpack nozzles that emit jets of steam.

Beautiful. No other word for it.

The nozzles in question also feature blue lights, adding to the effect. While these would be difficult to see during the light-show, they certainly look impressive the rest of the time.

The joints, complete with giant screws.

Detail.... Jaw dropping detail....

The level of detail is amazing! The whole thing was painted based on a complex colour scheme. It even has oodles and oodles of signs and labels stenciled onto it.

It's the ultimate Gunpla instructions!

That much attention to detail....

While the sheer AMOUNT of these labels is staggering, that's not what's gotten the internet community talking....

In fact, it's this:

A timer? Inside the elbow? What can it mean?!

The purpose of this timer is seemingly a mystery. There are a lot of theories circulating: Doomsday, death, destruction, aliens, the list goes on. I suppose it could simply serve some mundane, technical purpose, but that wouldn't be any fun, now would it?

PS. I'm serious about the alien countdown theory. GunStray knows the truth.

You have until August 31st to visit the statue. If you can't get to Japan, well, join the club.

Images from GUNDAM.INFO

That about wraps it up, really. That's the 1/1 Gundam in a nutshell.