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| Mr and Mrs Frog |
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| Mr and Mrs Cat |
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| Mrs and Mister Elephant |
Others eggs warmer are on my blog : www.cocoflower.net
Mr and Mrs Eggs warmer
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Transformers Prime Deluxe Wave 4 Revised To Add Vehicons, Pull Bumblebees, Troop Builder Collectors Everywhere Rejoice
Big Bad Toy Store has sent out word that Hasbro has revised their Transformers Prime Deluxe Wave 4 case ahead of its July release and has thrown everything around, including replacing the two planned Shadow Strike Bumblebees with two Vehicons. This should make many happy since there was only one Vehicon figure per case when it debuted in wave 3. I'm back for more!lt;img src=quot;http://tformers.net/g/generated/17435/Transformers%20Prime%20Deluxe%20RID%20Vehicon%20(1)__scaled_600.jpgquot; /gt;In addition
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Monster High & WeStopHate Team Up to Help Tweens Celebrate Their Freaky Flaws!
Whether it’s through the movies they watch, the TV shows they tune in to or the magazines they flip through, tween girls are often seeing what they think are perfect celebrities. Girls and women with no flaws who have achieved perfection. But we know better right? There is no such thing as perfect. We allRead More
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Banzai Double Cannon Blast Inflatable Water Slide, Only $249
Although a sprinkler on a hot summer day can keep the kiddos entertained, sometimes you might want to step it up a notch when it comes to water play. Like maybe with an inflatable water slide from Banzai? Oh yes. These slides are perfect for summer parties and just hanging out in the backyard with theRead More
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2012 SDCC Exclusives From Factory Entertainment
2012 SDCC Exclusives From Factory Entertainment
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New UFC Clay Guida Figure From Jakks Pacific
New UFC Clay Guida Figure From Jakks Pacific
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Rock Fashion Wedding Dolls
The trio of dolls arrived today. There were no surprises as the dolls looked precisely as they looked in their promo pictures. I only removed Erin from her box as she is going to another collector without clothes.
I am aware that not everyone has the same tastes in dolls and some collectors think her tooth is cute. I'm not one of those. I do like her dress, jewelry and shoes. Her tooth can always be repainted to look like part of her mouth.
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Here are Romain and Lillith:
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I wasn't aware from the promos that the skirt under her long white layer was light blue.
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I am aware that not everyone has the same tastes in dolls and some collectors think her tooth is cute. I'm not one of those. I do like her dress, jewelry and shoes. Her tooth can always be repainted to look like part of her mouth.
Here are Romain and Lillith:
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Sybarite, Ficon, Jamieshow Body Comparison
Today's photoshoot will be the last one in my current studio as I am going to start packing down there. I won't be packing my cameras, though. They don't get packed.
Anyway, I thought I'd compare the three types of fashion BJD's that were in my studio this morning without their clothes as that is how they will be packed for moving.
The stands I used for all three are the best saddle stands I've ever used. They are the Jamieshow stands. The Ficon stand is useless. It doesn't stay firmly upright. The Sybarite stand is OK but the extension ability is useless because it's too loose.
The dolls are, from left to right, Jamieshow Winter Grace, Ficon Leonie and Sybarite Talc. Talc is the tallest and has the largest head. I don't know if I'm just getting used to seeing oversized heads or if Leonie's head is really too small for her body.
The picture of Devon is not the same scale as the other three dolls. I don't have her anymore so I couldn't do a comparison but I wanted to show what a gorgeous body she has. Note that her knees are similar to those of Leonie in that one doesn't see the stringing when the knee is bent. I think the design needs strengthening although it's the most attractive.
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Leonie has the biggest butt when seen in profile. Her shoulders are set forward, closer to her chest than the other two dolls. There is very little movement in her torso joint. Talc's torso joint sometimes gets so 'moved' that it looks strange. She is very flexible.
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Weight: Grace weighs exactly 13 ounces; Leonie 13.75 oz and Talc a whopping 1 pound 7.12 ounces.
The blushing on Grace's back is a little exaggerated. Her resin feels like silk.
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Knees: It may be that I'm not used to Leonie yet as I just got her a few days ago but I'm finding that her knee joints are inferior. They bend the wrong way on their own. I occasionally had the same problem with the Numina knees which weren't strong enough to support the weight of the body. They look better when the doll is seated but perhaps something was sacrificed for the sake of appearance.
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Seated: Talc was the easiest to get seated up straight and her arms and
hands went where I placed them. Leonie elbow joints are on the kicky
side and kept bending on their own although I wanted them to touch the
table. She sits nicely with her knees together and ankles crossed. Grace
has some difficulty sitting up straight as there is a limited range of
movement in her hip joint. It took quite a bit of manipulation to get
her to sit the way you see her here.
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Hands: Grace has the prettiest, most graceful hands. Talc's hands are like paddles compared to Graces.
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Leonie does not have pierced ears. Grace has holes for earrings and Talc has a non-removable ring onto which one can hang earrings. I like the hole version as I have tons of earrings with posts and very few with hooks.
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Anyway, I thought I'd compare the three types of fashion BJD's that were in my studio this morning without their clothes as that is how they will be packed for moving.
The stands I used for all three are the best saddle stands I've ever used. They are the Jamieshow stands. The Ficon stand is useless. It doesn't stay firmly upright. The Sybarite stand is OK but the extension ability is useless because it's too loose.
The dolls are, from left to right, Jamieshow Winter Grace, Ficon Leonie and Sybarite Talc. Talc is the tallest and has the largest head. I don't know if I'm just getting used to seeing oversized heads or if Leonie's head is really too small for her body.
The picture of Devon is not the same scale as the other three dolls. I don't have her anymore so I couldn't do a comparison but I wanted to show what a gorgeous body she has. Note that her knees are similar to those of Leonie in that one doesn't see the stringing when the knee is bent. I think the design needs strengthening although it's the most attractive.
The blushing on Grace's back is a little exaggerated. Her resin feels like silk.
Knees: It may be that I'm not used to Leonie yet as I just got her a few days ago but I'm finding that her knee joints are inferior. They bend the wrong way on their own. I occasionally had the same problem with the Numina knees which weren't strong enough to support the weight of the body. They look better when the doll is seated but perhaps something was sacrificed for the sake of appearance.
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MLP Custom Compilation #65: Fancy Pants!
FANCY PANTS!! I'm so excited right now! I love seeing customs of the more 'hoity toity' ponies (though ironically I haven't seen many Hoity Toity customs, and he's my favorite!). They go so well with all the Rarity customs we see, which of course there are more awesome ones this time around as well!
Now this time we actually have many more customs of characters not in the actual Friendship is Magic universe. We have several Batman ponies, including a wonderful Joker and Harley Quinn combo. Hit the jump to see what creativity has been flowing, and head over to Equestria Daily for more info on the artists!
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Amazing Spider-Man Minimates Pack Big Action into Small Packaging!
The Amazing Spider-Man movie is still a month off, but Spidey fans will be able to get their hands on great Spidey merchandise as early as next week! That’s when Marvel Minimates Series 46 hits comic shops and online retailers, with the movie versions of Spider-Man, Peter Parker and the Lizard, plus exclusive figures of [...]
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Daily Graffiti: Mind-blowing Rayman graffiti by estaphette....
Daily Graffiti: Mind-blowing Rayman graffiti by estaphette. Check out a hi-res panoramic view of the actual wall here.
Check out the DAILY GRAFFITI ARCHIVES for more geektastic street art!
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Tonner's Raven
The one convention doll I purchased, Raven, arrived today. Like most furry, feathered creatures, she sheds. Her box had bits and pieces of this and that floating around. What I thought was a headpiece is actually part of her hair caught up and left with the ends sticking out. That hairdo will come down and she will have a full head of curly hair. In person her eye shading is darker than her promos. She reminds me of a mixture of two earlier Tonner dolls I've had, Suzette and the Ghost of Christmas Past.
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The tail of her costume is wired so it can be curled upward. Her shoes have a row of faux fur at the back and down the heel. Its not showing up in the pictures but her tights are shiny black. I think the interpretation of Raven-ness was done exceedingly well. She is ready for Halloween or a POE-try reading event.
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A few other new things...
This is an Integrity FR16 dress being worn by Grace. It was too large for her in the upper back so I pinned about an inch. The wig is by Cheryl Wood. I love the purse! The outfit comes with a ring and matching stud (yellow rhinestone) earrings, a yellow/black enamel cuff bracelet and black shoes.
Poor Leonie. I haven't given this new doll more than a few minutes of my time. She will have to wait a bit longer for some good styling and photos.
Last but not least in any way is Talc. I love this doll. She got to try on another new Ficon outfit that reminds me of a tutu. The jewelry is Superfrock; wig by Cheryl Wood.
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Creo Design’s Chebaka
Creo Design touts their Chebaka figure as the 'First Russian Designer Art Toy'. While some folks might beg to differ, apparently the figure is set for release sometime in the next few months. Chebaka, which I feel sounds like a familiar Wookiee, will be released in 5 colors and limited to 100 pieces of each.
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Stegoforest being retired tonight; last call to buy one
If you remember back to February, we brought you news about the Stegoforest. The creation of Jesse Narens (a.k.a. Ghost & Flower) is about to hit the retirement block, though; in fact, Jesse is retiring it tonight! That means your last chance to pick one up before they become hard to find would be to head over to the Stegoforest store in the next 24 hours and pick one up there.
Beyond that, 3 mixed part Stegoforests were sent to Rotofugi, and there will be a final Stegoforest custom show at Hip Hop Robot Tattoo (118 S. Lucille St., Seattle) in mid-July/August. But not all is doom and gloom: Stegoforest's retirement is making way for two new figures in the coming months, mini fighting stance Stegoforest, and mini fighting stance Mossy Mammoth. There are also be Stegoforest T-shirts available, if you'd like to show some wearable Stegoforest love.
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Price drop by $251.56 on Pureglare LCDLCX60 Replacement Lamp w/ housing compatible w/ Eiki Projectors to $141.35!
Buy Now Pureglare LCDLCX60 Replacement Lamp w/ housing compatible w/ Eiki Projectors's price decreased by 64% from $392.91 to $141.35 at Buy.com.Pureglare LCDLCX60 Replacement Lamp w/ housing compatible w/ Eiki Projectors ... click (more...) link for details ...Sale Price: $141.35, Vendor: Buy.com Full Details Pureglare LCDLCX60 Replacement Lamp w/ housing compatible w/ Eiki Projectors Sale [...]
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How To Make an Itachari
I skipped the Itachari and made two Itasha instead - the Nissan March and recently the Nissan Dualis - but! The circle had to be complete so I recently made my road bike into a Mirai Suenaga Itachari.
An Itachari [痛チャリ[いたちゃり]] is the word to describe a bike that is decorated with moe 2D girls. The kanji 痛 (ita) when prefixed to an object usually means that its covered in 2D girl stickers. Examples are Itasha and Ita-curtain.
The "Chari" [ちゃり] is a short form of "Chariot" [ちゃりおっと] which is a colloquial term to describe a bicycle. A bicycle used by a mother is called Mama-Chari [ママチャリ] for example.
My first road bike is a GIOS! Looking a bit too plain at the moment though...
The model is GIOS Leggero. I was told that the bike cost a bomb - the basic model alone retails for 388,500 yen at Rakuten @.@
Yes - it fell from the ceiling ^^;;
Anyway, today we look at road biking and how to make an Itachari. First up - turn bike upside down like so and remove wheels. I removed both because I thought I was going to do both wheels but it seems that most folks only do the back - apparently having the front one done too could cause the bike to blow over in strong winds.
But why go out biking in strong winds anyway? ^^
My wheel size is 622x15C Tubeless. I actually got my local bike shop to put tubes in them as they are easier to maintain. Without the inner tube, they go flat real quick.
Wheels are Shamal Ultra 2 Way - looks like they cost 123,500 yen alone on Amazon Japan ><
This is the back wheel with the gears removed.
As this is the first time we are making an Itachari, we take a sheet of plastic and cut it so that it rests on the wheel like so - this becomes a template and helps us make the real wheel cover later.
Preparing image data on the computer. I've asked POPBOX in Asakusa to help me with the printing - all I do is give them the data in Illustrator format and they make the wheel cover.
If you dont have folks handy who can do this for you, you can just try using your printer at home too. What you print should then be covered in a plastic film which you should be able to pick up from a stationers.
The template is ready and we can use it to make the real wheel cover from another sheet of plastic.
And here is one I prepared earlier. You should be able to pick up sheets like this from a DIY store. In Japan you could go to Tokyu Hands.
Dont forget to make a hole so that you can fill up the tyres! But dont cut them like this - cut a circle instead as we found that it was difficult to unscrew the cap ^^;
The folks at Popbox now proceed to print the data that I sent them. You need not worry about the markings of where the screws go as they do all that.
The Mirai on the left of this sheet in Summer uniform will be the sloped side of the wheel meaning that a small slice needs to be cut off.
I didn't know this but if I did then I would have designed the wheel in a way so that the slice that gets chopped off does not affect the illustration - will show you what I mean further down the post.
The other side of the wheel (the side with the gears) is completely flat so no slices need to be cut off.
The cutting machine starts to do its thing.
The Mirai stickers are stuck on the wheel covers - I have already put one cover on and replaced the gears.
These are small plastic spacers which allow me to screw on the wheel covers - you should be able to pick up something similar at a DIY store which you can just cut down to this size - or try using something like thick wire cabling?
This is how the wheel cover is held to the wheel.
And here are the small plastic clear screws that hold on the covers - if you dont have any handy - you can take the small screws out from your best friends computer which will be used to hold in the HDD's.
Snapped when making a prototype wheel cover.
Picked up this DS-30 BLT Minoura stand from Amazon - will need it to display the Itachari at events such as ItaG Festa.
Mirai Itachari complete!
Illustration is by Japanese illustrator Hagure Yuuki-sensei. If you look closely at Mirai's arm, you will see that a slice has been taken out. You should design your wheel cover so that the slice is taken out of the background instead.
My first time making an Itachari and have gained much learnings. It's much obvious later on but we were designing just the wheels in Photoshop and Illustrator - should have taken into account the position of the bars which hold the wheel - at the moment they cover up Mirai so we should have designed this side with her facing backwards.
This side of the wheel looks fine - the bars dont cover Mirai but her logo gets covered up a bit. If you are designing your own Itachari then take these points into account and dont make the same mistake that I made!
The person who gave me this bike replaced the parts with a load of highgrade bits n bobs - DURA-ACE 7900 series which seems to have cost a bomb ><
Goodsmile Racing logo - a hint as to who gave me the bike.
Mirai-chan in her Winter uniform.
I've always loved Hagure Yuuki-sensei's artwork and was over the moon when he agreed to doodle Mirai-chan for us. You can see some of his work below in the eroge title Koikishi Purely Kiss.
Was thinking of placing stickers over the bars too but decided to leave it like this for now.
Tempted to do the front too ^^;
There is a poll embedded in this article.
Front light - if you dont turn it on during the night then be prepared to be stopped if a policeman sees you. The light was picked up from Amazon - really cheap at about 700 yen.
Dura-ace dual control levers. These alone cost 54,546 yen ><
MiraiClock3 to keep me company during a ride - free for you iOS users and Android coming soon. Android is so much more difficult to program for which is why its taking a long time.
Minoura phone grip - this thing is rock solid!
Picked up a mini pump too.
Retail price for this crankset cost 53,898 yen. Have no idea why they cost an arm and leg.
The pedals alone cost money too! 23,000 yen ^^
Picked up a handy little mirror too.
Still getting used to the levers which move sideways too.
The person who gave me the bike literally high-graded everything! Brakes cost 31,639 yen @.@
Fi'zi:k saddle costing 16,000 yen.
And got myself this lock to secure the bike to a pole while I nip into a restaurant for a bite.
I usually leave bicycles outside the house but everybody understandably recommended me to leave this one inside^^; Not much space to put it though so made use of the Minoura Bike Tower 10 - 10,830 yen.
Pretty simple to put together.
And she's up and away - bottom rack waiting for my wife's road bike to be shipped from the UK she's going for Wiggle.
What brand of roadbike do you recommend?
There is a poll embedded in this article.
A lock for the bike also from Amazon for 1,575 yen.
And here is that pump up close - Mini Morph from Amazon - 3,431 yen.
Mini Morph folks out like so ready for action.
Spending an evening maintaining the bike.
I'm still very new to road biking - dont even know what this bit is called. At first I didn't know it could be flipped around to make the handlebars higher.
Photos taken pre-Itachari - going for a spin in my neck of the woods.
Reached Tamagawa River a few kilos away from home. Photos taken in the same spot as the Cycling in Tokyo post.
On a wet day like this, a mud guard would come in handy - still trying to look for a decent one.
I initially wanted to respray the frame orange but was told that to strip the paint and respray would cost about 200,000 yen! I decided to convince myself that the blue matches Mirai's blue ribbon and that I should keep it as it is ^^;
I love these riversides which you often see in anime.
Stopping for a break on the way to Kawasaki.
The iPhone leads the way.
Needs a mount for the iPhone.
And here is the Minoura iH-100M Phone Grip which I picked up from Amazon.
Owned one of these phone mounts before which was terrible - this phone grip however is really rock solid. Make sure you get one that fits your handle bars as they come in 2 different sizes.
The iPhone can be mounted with its case still on - many other mounts require that you remove the case. The case I'm using is the Magpul.
A few companies have offered to make Mirai cases but I dont want to make anything that I would not use myself. The character cases I've seen offer no protection of the actual phone apart from scratch protection - I drop my phone all the time and need to make sure that it does not bite the dust. Will consider making some if the covers protect the phone from a drop.
There is a poll embedded in this article.
Back of the mount.
The ZEFAL 472SPY Mirror - 1,420 yen from Amazon.
The mirror is a wee bit small and you really need to adjust it each time you ride so that it points to where you want to be looking - it always ends up moving from its original position when you prop the bike against the wall.
Taking the Itachari out for a spin in the evening.
Certainly looks better after Itarization!
Going back in time to see where I got the bike from. Tonight we are at the Good Smile Company offices.
Gorgeous entrance!
Very cute Miku to greet us.
Reception phone guarded by Gumako.
And there it is!
As you have read, I have spinal hernia which means that my back is pretty much in constant pain. The Good Smile Company boss and comrade Aki Takanori was telling me about somebody who cured his spinal hernia after regularly exercising using a road bike. Then during dinner all of a sudden he said "Take my blue one - I dont use it" and I was like "WHAT?!"
And so reluctantly I took the GIOS of Aki-sans hands - loading it up into our old Itasha to head back to Meguro. How many of you into road biking?
There is a poll embedded in this article.
There is a poll embedded in this article.
This was back in February just after Wonder Festival. This was also the evening where we decided that we would work together to change the way Japanese language was taught - a few months later Moekana was released and due to the success it became the start of a series - the booster pack followed shortly and later on this year we have Moekanji.
I always look up to Aki-san - an inspiration of mine. Thank you for everything Aki-san!
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Syco Collectibles: Mortal Kombat Johnny Cage Statue
Syco Collectibles has released teaser pictures of their upcoming Mortal Kombat Johnny Cage 10" polystone statue. Click the thumbnails above for a closer look.
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Custom King Katch
The Freak Store will be releasing this Custom King Katch figures from Gabriel Carpio this Friday (May 25th 2012) at 12:00AM local time (12:30AM ET). The KK Brothers stand in at 8.5" tall and will be sold individually at $160.00 plus shipping or as a set for $300.00 plus shipping.
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Medicom: Real Action Hero Amazing Spider-Man
Medicom Toy has released photos of their super-cool Real Action Hero 1/6 Amazing Spider-Man figure! This RAH collectible Spider-Man will have a limited edition run of 1,500 pieces and will stand 12" tall. Click the thumbnails above for a closer look at Spider-Man.
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Monogram International: 2012 SDCC Deadpool Bust Bank
Monogram International has released photos of this years 2012 San Diego Comic-Con exclusive Deadpool resin bust bank. Read on for the full story and click the thumbnails above for a closer look at the Deadpool bust bank.
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More Pages to Explore .....
