Toy Tengoku Drawing Competition at HobbyLink TV

Announced today at HobbyLink TV was the Toy Tengoku Drawing competition. Toy Tengoku is the sister show of Gunpla TV and in it Ardith and Robin preview the latest toys from Japan.

Bootleg CAT Mini Tough Tracks toy

Another bootleg I found while looking through those seller stalls in the Mall was a CAT Mini Tough Tracks toy. The original of this was made by Toystate and is targetted for pre-school kids.

Dream Machine: Eagle Blade RC Helicopter

Update: My suspicions were correct, it was indeed the charger plug that was defective. Read on below to see how I was able to fix the problem.


My son got an early Christmas gift from his grandmother, which was a Dream Machine: Eagle Blade. Its one of those China made R/C helicopters that you see in the mall as well as for sale in Alibaba. I've always wanted one but never got to buying one because of its steep price (around $80). I'm very thankful that I didn't plunk down any cash for this as things didn't really go as planned in terms of enjoying this toy. This toy is recommended for kids 8 years or older, but as with any RC toy, check first if your kid has the proper dexterity and fine-motor skills to control an RC toy.

CAT Mini Machines by Toy State

I just love these CAT Mini Machines by Toys State. I bought these for my son a couple of months back for doing good on our agreement to master writing his ABC's. These are for kids aged 5 and above. I bought the 5 pack set of this that cost about $12. The toy comes with a back hoe, dump truck, bulldozer, roller and front loader.

Number 1 Reason why I would recommend a Sliding Door Display Case

Update: One year after buying this, I noticed that there was some visible dust forming already on the glass shelves. Guess nothing is really perfect in this world. At least compared to my leaving them on an open shelf where they'll get dusty after just a few days, this is still a good option.

Its been 5 months since I decided to have a $90 display case fabricated to place my toys & model kit collection in and I have to say that it was a worthy investment. The fabricator gave me the option of a cabinet door type or a sliding door type. I chose the sliding door type so as to save space and so that I can easily lock it. Turns out that that was a good option to take for me.

1/60 VF-1A Valkyrie Mass Production Version by Yamato Toys

Update: English Translation of the manual can be found here, took a while to finish for me *snicker*

I'm starting August on a good note with this, a 1/60 VF-1A Valkyrie Mass Production version by Yamato Toys. Got this from from HobbyLink Japan. This is the workhorse Variable Fighter of the UN Spacy that was produced in massive numbers as seen in the SDF Macross Anime that came out in the 80's.

1/60 DX Chogokin VF-25F Messiah Valkyrie Alto Custom Renewal Ver Pre-Order

Update: I see it being sold at Amazon for $178.20

Was excited by the news this July that Bandai was doing a version 2 of the DX Chogokin 1/60 VF-25F Messiah Valkyrie of Alto Saotome that originally came out in December 2008. The version 2 is scheduled to be released by October of this year, pre-order had already started in some online hobby shops based in Japan.

1/55 Takatoku VF-1S Strike Valkyrie with GBP-1S

Was playing around with the camera settings, this time I used the 1/55 VF-1S Strike Valkyrie by Takatoku that I had since I was a boy in the mid 80's. Metaphorically speaking, the 1/55 Takatoku VF-1S was my Buzz Lightyear while my GI Joe's were my Woody...just a little Toy Story analogy. I already made a review of this before, you can find it here

GI Joe Crimson Guard Figure

3.75 inch Crimson Guard figure from GI Joe Real American Hero made by Hasbro. This figure came out in 1985 and was officially called as the Crimson Guard: Cobra Elite Trooper.

GI Joe Cobra Night Landing

Cobra Night Landing Craft that was released by Hasbro as part of their GI Joe Real American Hero toy line up in 1985. Purpose of the craft was for night time stealth insertions.

GI Joe Vipers Figure

I guess its safe to assume that the Vipers that came out in 1986 from GI Joe Real American hero 3.75 inch action figure was the upgrade to the Cobra: The Enemy action figure. This was the "new" cannon fodder Cobra trooper that GI Joe trained their sights on during battle.

1/144 Tomica Komatsu Articulated Dump Truck

Bought this for my son today, a 1/144 Tomica Komatsu Articulated Dump Truck. Since on the ride home he fell asleep I was able to get my dirty little hands on it in order to snap some pictures for a review *snicker* I used to think that all diecast cars of the Tomica line from Takara Tomy were in the 1/67 scale. Turns out that its not after seeing this.

GI Joe Snow Serpent Figure

In a nutshell the Snow Serpent (Cobra Polar Assault) from GI Joe Real American Hero toy line are Cobra EELS that have arctic training to allow them to survive and fight in the harsh arctic climate. This figure, that came out in 1985, is probably one of my most favorite Cobra Trooper figure based on the large amount of option parts that come with it. Included with the kit are snow shoes, an AK-47 rifle (foldable stock variant), back pack, parachute wrapped that can be worn around the waist and an anti-tank rocket with stand that can be attached to the backpack.

GI Joe Tele-Viper Figure

Tele-Viper figure from GI Joe Real American Hero. This particular dude was one of many that formed the Radio Telecommunications corps of the Cobra forces. They are part of the expansion of the "cannon fodder" units of the GI Joe series that came out in the 1985 GI Joe toy line up that included the snow serpents, eels, etc.

GI Joe Recondo Figure

This was my brother's favorite GI Joe Figure from the Real American Hero series. Code name Recondo with the designation of being a Jungle Trooper. According to Wikipedia *cough* *cough*, Recondo stands for RECONnaissance and DOughboy. Sculptor Bill Merklein mentioned in this interview that he was the one who designed Recondo as well some other GI Joe figures.

GI Joe Falcon Figure

Hasbro GI Joe Real American Hero Figure, Falcon, that came out in 1987. Lt. Falcon was designated as being a Green Beret. Definitely one of my most favorite figures because of the beret and the cammo pattern uniform. More information on Lt. Falcon can be found at the file card found after the jump.

Raven Corvette from MASK

I wrote a couple days back of the Raven toy that came with the MASK Kenner Catalog that I posted. Well here's the review of that toy. The toy came out in 1986 and was part of the good guys, or the guys from MASK. The Raven was a corvette that could transform to a seaplane.

GI Joe Leatherneck Figure

First issue of the Leatherneck figure from the GI Joe Real American Hero line of 3.75 inch figures by Hasbro. Leatherneck was the Marine of the GI Joes and was one of the few GI Joe figures that came in a full cammo pattern. Which was very appealing to me at that time because the previous issue of toys didn't come in a full camouflage pattern. If I remember correctly it was the GI Joe figure Ripcord and the Cobra Figure Firefly that came in a full cammo pattern.

GI Joe Beach Head Figure

One of my most favorite figures from the G.I. Joe Real American hero line of 3.75 inch figures. Beach Head was a US Ranger before he became part of the G.I. Joe team. You can read more on his history from here.

A day repairing GI Joe Figures

Spent some time fixing up the rubber bands of my old GI Joe toys so that I could eventually put them up for display.