Friday, December 30, 2016

Diana of Themyscira

Philippines has an interesting superhero counterpart of Wonder Woman, named Darna, which will be shown together, coincidentally in 2017. Israeli actor Gal Gadot will portray the well-loved DC heroine, while Angel Locsin was confirmed to play Darna – pretty actors who project strength in the world of men.

Wonder Woman -  June 2017

I decided then to unbox my Divisoria haul of mix Marvel and DC cycle set of six, beginning with Wonder Woman.

The other boxes contain Superman, Black Panther, Captain America, Batman, and Winter Soldier.  Unfortunately, I have to buy all of them; the vendor does not sell individually.

Biker Gang

Six Cycles

Product
Brand/Model: Decool 7013
Set: Wonder Woman Motorcycle
Condition: Bought with box, along with 5 others in bulk
Price: ~1.50 USD

Character
Name: Diana Prince
AKA: Wonder Woman
Comics: DC Comics
Affiliation: Justice League
Superpowers: Superhuman strength, flight, enhanced healing factor, empathy, enhanced senses
Weapon: Lasso of truth

The red box contains a clear plastic bag of small parts in red and gray color scheme with a printed instructions leaflet. Like most knockoff bricks, the box is way larger than its contents.

Unboxed! 
With 43 pieces in total - 12 for the minifigure including shield and sword, 31 for the bike including an extra piece of the beige cylinder connector.

Wheels and gears and stuff

As with all the other Decool releases, the parts are of good quality and the fitting is standard, no issues.

While building, I can't help but admire the main cycle body parts. With enough boost of other accessories or parts and decals, it might turn out to be a dope moc bike.

Another thought pass as I put the pieces together: does Wonder Woman really need a bike to travel? Maybe Wolverine, but the flying lasso superhero? Perhaps, on a real bad day.

Need a lift? 
While being of quality and customizable, the fourth wheel (well, just the mag really, no rubber tire), is unnecessary, along with, in my opinion, the shield and sword carrier in the back.

Perhaps because it would be inconvenient to drive and hold the weapons at the same time, even for superheroes. 😂

Another thought: if it has four wheels, what kind of a cycle is this?

Jump in! 
The motorcycle is quite heavy on unnecessary parts but will lose brilliance, should you take them out piece by boring piece. It is interesting for moc builds. My take on this build is average - not too brilliant, not too dispensable.

Going to the market

Coming through! 

The saving grace of this set is the minifigure, modeled after the movie version of Wonder Woman. The print details are on point - tiara, gold details in the chest and waist, leather strapping, the infamous bracelets/bangles, and the bird on the shield.

Slay the fire monster

POWER. GRACE. WISDOM. WONDER. 

Until the next blog.  Happy new year!

Sunday, December 25, 2016

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all the bricksters all over the globe!

T'is the Season to be Merry

Details of bricks displayed in the photo:

Nutcracker - Enlighten Series 2/A
Platform - Enlighten Series 2/A
Christmas tree - Shengyuan Monster School SY268
Transparent studs - from traffic lights of Shengyuan Catwoman Cycle SY201C
Red star -  Wange Spasskaya Tower of Moscow

Sunday, November 27, 2016

Posthuman God

Dubbed as the Most Supreme Being of DC Comics, I present to you, Doctor Manhattan, named after the Manhattan Project. A nuclear physicist, who after being deconstructed, his reanimation made him teeming with superpowers. A character created by one of the most celebrated graphic novelist, Alan Moore.

Product
Brand/Model: Xinh 388
Condition: Bought without box, but sealed in a clear plastic bag
Price: ~0.75 USD

Character
Name: Dr Jon Osterman
AKA: Doctor Manhattan
Comics: DC Comics
Affiliation: Watchmen
Superpowers: Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Dimensional travel, Precognition, No need for air, water, food or sleep

Going Nuclear!
The blue man consisted of 11 pieces – 1 head, 1 leg connector, 2 legs, 1 torso, 2 arms, 3 hands, and 1 basic baseplate with 4 studs.

Deconstructed Doc Manhattan
The torso is straight forward, much like the character in comic version – just outlines of chest and abdomen.

Blue Mannequin
The head is printed with the eerie white eyes, black eyeliners and dark blue shadows. The iconic bull’s eye mark looks like a third eye. Fans would be disappointed to find a perfect mark where the outer circle should have a dot at the top center. Nonetheless, the head represents Doctor Manhattan.

Don’t stare!
No dual printing in the head and the back torso has simple lines.

Who that?!
The legs have no printing and the connector is plain black, to represent Doctor Manhattan’s creepy beach guy look.

Blue Legs in a Black Trunks
No side arms printing, as well. Overall, an unremarkable minifigure. Nothing special.

Let’s go to the beach!
There is no known official minifigure of Doctor Manhattan to date, so for fans of Watchmen, the Xinh knockoff is a must have.

All Men in Blue (L-R) Electro, Doctor Manhattan, Mr Freeze, and Archangel
Doctor Manhattan Contemplating In Mars




Sunday, November 20, 2016

Spider-Man Noir

One of the best finds from my Greenhills haul, Spider-Man Noir is fun to shoot with,  not to mention that the design can be used for any western or cowboy scene set up. In fact, it is reminiscent of Westworld's Hector character, owing to the leather vest and black ensemble.

Every Hero Has a Code.
Web Slinging by Moonlight

Product
Brand/Model: Xinh 217
Condition: Bought without box, but sealed in a clear plastic bag
Price: ~0.75 USD

 Character
Name: Peter Parker of Earth-90214
AKA: The Spider-Man Noir
Editorial: Eyes Without a Face
Comics: Marvel
Affiliations: Amazing Arachnids, Spider-Army
Superpowers: organic webbing, spider sense, superhuman agility

The bag contained 14 parts - 1 head, 1 hat, 2 arms, 1 torso, 3 hands, 1 leg connector, 2 legs, 1 cape, 1 pistol, and 1 baseplate. The baseplate has 4 studs.

Dissected Spider-Man Noir
The legs are printed with black-gray color scheme, detailing the pinstripe pants. The toes have extra prints which either create the look of steel toe shoes or that Noir's wearing boots.

Pinstripe Pants
Nothing special with the back of the legs,  no prints.

Basic Black
Noir's torso prints detail a double-breasted leather vest; the brick is not leathery itself -  well,  at least the illusion of cowboy leather is there.

Buttons Up! 
The back torso printing carries the iconic eight-legged logo in white. It covers the whole back torso which I think can be inter-changed to the front for a touch of creativity in shooting scenes (just cover the back with a cape).

Spider-Man,  Spider-Man
Noir's head has the iconic slanted white eyes,  which imbibe the goggles he wear in the comics. The gray printing in the mouth area passes for the shadowy outlines of the mask, while the thin gray printed lines at the top of the head detail the leather stitches.

Dude,  where's my gun?... and arms!? 
The printing on the back of the head details the leather stitches, similar to the front printing.

Stitches
The assembled Spider-Man Noir minifigure looks bad ass. The fedora hat (the texture is of course, ABS plastic!) and black felt cape complete the awesome look.

Noir Portrait

Draw of the Pistols at 12 Noon
There is no official minifigure release of Spider-Man Noir but the video game has its version. 

Video Game version
I'd say that Xinh knockoff version looks spiffier than the game version, which is also close to the comics version. 

Comics version 

If you're into knockoffs, go and get one. It's a  nice addition to Spiderverse collection. 

Spider-Man Noir Saving the City

You Imposter in Red and Blue! 
Until the next post!  ðŸ˜Š

Monday, November 14, 2016

Happy Haul-y Day!

There is a spot I visited for my knockoff haul this weekend, a tip from a fellow blogger (downtheblocks)  - Angelomarcus in Greenhills, San Juan.  The place is heaven for cheapskate collectors!

I bought the minifigs by Xinh and Pogo, and a 12-piece set by Dargo, which the seller insisted them to be a real good buy. Sadly, they don't have Professor X,  Cable and Enchantress anymore; but the white Statue of Liberty lady and bicycles are quite interesting.

I wish I get the time to shoot and post each minifig.

Until the next post.

Haul-ogram for the King

Photo Test - The Flash (err...  not the camera flash) 

Saturday, November 5, 2016

The Demon from Azarath

A random pick from my Divisoria stuff - DC Raven!

Raven is a sorceress born of a demon father, Trigon, and a mortal mother, Arella. Raised in the mystic realm of Azarath, the goddess Azar trained her to control her emotions. Her father harnesses her demonic powers to dominate the earth where she serves as a Teen Titans member.

An amateur edit of Raven with floating debris
Product
Brand/Model: Xinh 353
Condition: Bought without box, but sealed in a clear plastic bag
Price: Php 35 (0.78 USD)

 Character
Name: Rachel Roth
AKA: Raven
Comics: DC
Affiliations: Teen Titans, Justice League Dark
Superpowers: Soul-self, darkness manipulation, hypnosis, telekinesis, teleportation, empathy

The bag contained 15 parts - 1 head, 1 headpiece, 2 arms, 1 torso, 3 hands, 1 leg connector, 2 legs, 2 shield-like, transparent bricks, 1 cape, and 1 baseplate. The baseplate has 4 studs.

Raven deconstructed
The head is printed with black mask (which is actually the shadow of the hood) and a purple Aang-like triangle (an extension of the purple hood, to complete the hooded-form Raven look from the animated TV series). Sadly, this form does not give us the mortal form of Raven, where the chakra is embedded in her forehead.

The torso print is slightly misaligned, but is not as obvious as the prints on the legs.

Raven head and torso
The head has dual printing where her basic demonic form is manifested by the four red, angry eyes.

Raven 4 eyes
The prints on the legs are obviously misaligned. The color scheme in the legs prove that this Xinh version is from the animated TV series, Teen Titans. The comics version has gloved hand and shows the skin of the legs.

Dead legs walking
Behinds
The minifigure is not too bad, but I'm not too crazy for it. Fortunately, there is no official Lego release of Raven, so having a Xinh one is a must.

Raven looks like a host due for interrogation from Westworld
Powered-up Raven!
I have to let loose the hood so that the four eyes are shown; once I put the hood back in its fit, the top pair of eyes are not visible - what a shame!

What are you looking at?!
Having fun with shooting photos of Raven in a scene. The set up is in a ruined Azarath, with the time stopped.

Raven attacks!
The Lego minifigure from the comics version of Raven only appears in the video game, Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham.

Raven by Lego
I wish the Chinese brick brands produce a set of Raven emoticlones. That'd be fun!

Emoticlones
A minifigure of Queen of the Under-realm is a far-fetched idea, but we never know.


Queen of the Under-realm Raven
Until the next review! ;)