Mini-Figure Trading Time

 I'm pretty sure it's no secret that I collect Mini-Figures of all shapes and sizes.  Be they Lego, Kre-O, K'Nex, OYO Toys, Mega Brands or Character Building, I've got a mini-figure or two.  Some lines more than others.  Character Building is my current favorite, they of the awesome Doctor Who line.

To that end - here's my doubles that I have to trade:

Doctor Who Blind Bag Series 3
Handbot
Judoon Trooper

Doctor Who 11 Doctors Blind Bags
3rd Doctor
6th Doctor
7th Doctor
10th Doctor

Scooby-Doo Character Building (no stands)
Clown

Character Building Blind Bags (no stands)
Race Car Driver African American
Red Shield Knight

Simpsons Lego Mini-Figs
Scratchy

And here's what I NEED from the Doctor Who Character Building Line:

Series 1 Blind

Weeping Angel Serene

Silurian

Smiler

Series 2 Blind

Silent Open Mouth 

Series 3 Blind

Rory Eyepatch 

Sontaran

11 Doctors Blind

1st Doctor

5th Doctor

8th Doctor

Brix Wave Blind

Judoon No Helm

Sontaran No Helm

11th Doctor with Fez

Dalek Black

Non Blind Bagged

Dalek Orange

11th Doctor Blue Tie (Newspaper)

Dalek Yellow (Newspaper)

Amy Pond Red Hands (Newspaper)

Space Man (Cyberman Conversion Set)

Cyberman Damaged (Cyberman set)

Cyberman No Logo (Cyberman Set)

Cyber Leader Brain (Cyberman Set)

2nd Doctor Gold (11 Doctors Set 2)

3rd Doctor Maroon (11 Doctors Set 2)

4th Doctor Green (11 Doctors Set 2)

11th Doctor Maroon (11 Doctors Set 2)

If you want to trade please let me know via email or comment (comments are all moderated).

3D Printing for Dummies - Or How I Learned How to Order on Shapeways

Blue Neo-Ego

This is about all I can
get him to do.

I'm a sucker for technology, I love following the latest and greatest gadgets and tech.  3D Printing is something that I've been following for a long, long time, and I'm please to say I finally dropped a dime and ordered my own 3D prints of existing models from Shapeways, the biggest 3D printing company in the world.

I had lurked on their forums long enough and seen all the really cool things that Shapeways can do for an intrepid CAD modeler.  I have ZERO CAD skills whatsoever, and no inclination to start learning, but what I do have is an endless fascination with miniatures and toys, and Shapeways is a place to satisfy that fascination.

Mr. Red Neo-Ego can pose

For my first foray I went ahead and ordered two different versions of a miniature articulated figure, not unlike a Lego Mini-Fig.  The first was this one: Cool Ego and Neo-Ego.  These babies aren't cheap, they run between $6-8 per figure, and shipping is a flat $6.30 per order.  I decided to order four figures to minimize shipping costs.  After a couple of weeks I got two of my four figures, the Cool Ego was not printed and cancelled.  The Neo-Egos printed fine and after a bit of difficulty I got them put together.

Or just stand there

The Neo-Ego is not great, I have to say.  The articulation isn't quite as nice as I'd hope (though it's still better than Lego) and the tightness of the figures fit is very hit and miss.  The red figure is pretty stiff and will hold a pose, while the blue figure is completely loose and can't pose for beans.

Needless to say I wasn't that thrilled with the fact that they cancelled half of my order and my shipping discount was basically blown.  I actually decided to call Shapeways and ask about the shipping once the creator of the Cool Ego figures rejiggered his model to print properly.  They actually gave me a credit for the shipping and even though the remodeled figures were slightly more expensive, I made a second order.

Ms. Blue Cool-Ego

Ms. Red Cool-Ego, though
you can't tell she has a face

Cool Ego is light years ahead of the Neo Ego.  There's two head-sculpts included, and the portrait is actually quite nice.  The articulation is really well done and the pieces fit together tightly and hold their pose.  The only difficulty is that putting it together can be a real drag.  The plastic that is printed is not "smooth and polished" like they advertise on the site. It's quite rough, though the roughness makes the small details really pop up close.  I do believe the heads can hold standard Lego head-gear and the hands are standard Lego clips.  The Cool-Ego has wrist swivels, while the Neo-Ego does not.

I haven't tried any of the other plastics available but I'd like to do so in the near future.  I bet a clear version of these guys would be really cool looking.  I'd love to get a full sized 1/18th scale figure printed but I don't see any viable candidates at the moment.

Blue Cool-Ego, Vintage Lego Mini-Fig, Red Neo-Ego

They fit in a golf-ball cube

Looking Good There Guys

LA Kings Dustin Brown and Anze Kopitar OYO Sportstoys Mini Figures Reviewed

Many many moons ago I reviewed the First Generation of OYO Sportstoys mini-figures.  Today I'll be reviewing their newest line, NHL players!

Packaging front

OYO Sportstoys has come a long way since their initial set.  Not only are they doing three of the four main sports (with only Basketball as their holdout) but they have licensed baseball and football fields.  During the Superbowl just a couple weeks back they held their own OYO Bowl with their mini-figs re-enacting plays from the game.

Packaging back

Their first foray into NHL players were current stars from the Original Six teams, and these came out right before Christmas.  Expansion number one saw figures from the 1967 expansion teams including my home-town favorite LA Kings.  I would have pre-ordered these if I could have, but alas, I had to wait until they were available on OYO's official site.  I placed my order on February 6 and received it this morning, so 9 days shipping.  Two figures and shipping cost just under $29, which let's face it is not cheap.

The packaging is pretty much the same as for baseball.  Better printing, but that's about it.  Each package is personalized to the player.

Inside you get your player, helmet, visor, stick, puck, skates and a stand.  Only my Dustin Brown didn't have one of his skates.  He's a sad Dustin Brown.  This first series features the Kings in the black duds they've been wearing since 2008.  Currently this represents their home colors, but that only switched before the Stanley Cup Season.  The decorations are what you buy these figures for, they're about as authentic as you can get.  I personally am looking forward to seeing the white road unis, and I'm REALLY hoping for throwbacks to the original Purple and Gold days.  

Getting their skates and helmet on is no problem.  The visor is a bit too fragile and small compared to other mini-figure manufacturers.  The skates are really small, but they work surprisingly well and the stand is designed to fit them properly!  The stick works fine especially with the puck, which has a notch that attaches itself to the end of the cleverly curved stick!  It's a great idea and makes the poses look awesome, though without the puck there, the stick looks really odd.  There's actually two molds one for righties and one for lefties!

The original Baseball OYOs had bent fore-arms that made their articulation work really well.   The Football series figures all have "One straight forearm and one bent forearm to achieve even more poses."  The Hockey series follows the Football model with their shooting arm in real life being their straight arm on their figure.  All of which makes these guys be able to achieve about two poses.  Maybe.  That's if you can keep their arms on, the very small diameter of the pins connecting the arms together doesn't keep them together very well.

The entire package is a great toy, don't get me wrong.  I really enjoy these figures and I'd buy many, many more.  If they weren't so darn expensive.  I'm sorry but $14.50 for a mini-figure is outrageous!  Blind bags of McFarlane's SmallPros which are NFL licensed are under $5.00.  I say ditch the costly packaging and put them in cello bags.  Also, I want a rink.  With goals and the ability to put my figures on moveable rods so I can play hockey.  The old LEGO sets stunk for that.





DISCLAIMER: The items featured in this review were purchased by the reviewer.  If you'd like to send me products to review, please contact me via email to WMNOE at YAHOO dot COM.

Thanks