Constant elevation

Damn...has it REALLY been almost a month since my last update??? Heh...I've been meaning to drop some news for y'all for the past couple weeks, but on the real, it's been SO nice outside--I'm not even trying to fuck with computers any more than I have to, y'knowmsayin? Good thing it's raining today! ;) Plus, nothing particularly earth-shattering has really gone down as of late. But as always, there is constant elevation, so let me hit you with the latest. No pics this time around for y'all...but don't sweat it. Lots of shit's in the works.

First, a little bad news. The Blazing Sword for the Jumbo Dairugger appears dead in the water. Yep. Basically, the problem is that the shoulder joint on the actual toy is just too damn unreliable. Apparently, the warmer it is, the weaker the joint. And it's summer. So you get the idea...

I tried heating up the shoulder with a hair dryer, removing the arm, and putting a rubber band around the shoulder flange to tighten the fit and add friction. All that succeeded in doing was making the arm sink down slowly, rather than just flopping down. Yeah, I know I can come up with a solid ratcheting joint that I can implant inside the figure...but we can't expect people to perform surgery on their toys. To me, that's no fun. The goal is an out-of-the-box solution, dig?

I'll still probably make the STL file for the sword available to anyone who wants it. If other heads want to print out their own swords and customize their figures' shoulder joints, that's real.

What I'ma try to do now is get the 8" Toynami Voltron I vinyl and just scale down the sword for that toy. Of course, the fists are filled in, so I'll have to chop out the extra vinyl. I know: more toy-surgery. Again, I'll make the STL file available to anyone who wants it, but that basically means no Blazing Sword will be produced for the standard-sized vinyl either. :/

Anyway, on to more happy shit.

The MUSCLE figures are developing nicely. Right now, I'm just tweaking some details here and there just for aesthetics. Freshly dipped when they step on the scene...that's the goal, right? As you can tell, I'm psyched to get these joints made. Just like with the Foe Gokin Gin Gin, these will be done locally. American craftsmanship, baby, and low carbon footprint! Meanwhile, my prototyper just rolled out a brand new 3D printer they just acquired that ROCKS even the 3D Systems joint Shapeways has. It's obviously for small items only, but it boasts some sick resolution. In the next couple weeks, my prototyper will be running some tests on this machine and eventually, I'm gonna get some dope prints of my boys.

As for Foe Gokin Gin Gin, himself, I'm just waiting on a couple elements to come together before dropping this magnificent beast. The arms are being printed as I type and once they're in-hand and the resin castings are made, we'll paint them up and fit the stickers. Obviously, I'm leaving out a bunch of details because I want them to be a surprise! Suffice it to say, shit's looking lovely!

Oh, and I'm sure some of the TF heads out there have clocked that new Masterpiece Unicron coming out! I gotta admit, it's looking kinda fresh. It's mostly the same as the "Welcome to 2010" version that Takara dropped last Fall, but at less than half the price! Looks like the right hand will be opaque grey plastic (which I down with), but I hope the eyes light up green this time. Oh...and most importantly, I hope they did some retooling on the molds. The "Welcome to 2010" version had a lot of sloppiness in parts fit and in the joints. Sure, shit stays tight on it, but the tolerances are just off a tiny bit everywhere. When you handle it, it just doesn't feel as crisp as the original Armada drop.

Well, either way, the news is rocking bells...and that means my stands are flying off the shelves! :P For real, since this new version was announced, I've taken about a dozen or so orders. Pretty cool! So...get 'em while they're hot, folks!

And lastly for now, I just wanted to plug the 2011 East Coast Chogokin Summit to be held on August 20th in Beverly, MA. Kinda hard to believe these have been going on since the late 90's! I've been going since '05, and I even hosted in '07. This year is looking kinda nuts--we got heads coming in from the West Coast, down south...and even Belgium! For real, it's gonna be hot. Check the thread or peep the shittalk on facebook!

I'm out!