Kubrick Marvel Super Heroes Series 2 – The Punisher

When I was young, I used to collect comics, and one of my favourite comics then was Marvel’s The Punisher. The Punisher, whose name is Frank Castle, is a vigilante who is out to seek revenge against the mobs for killing his wife and son. He possesses no special abilities, but relies primarily on his fighting skills and weapons proficiency which he honed during his stint in the Army. 

Yup! That's me!

Guess my a** is just not as nice as the other Kubricks.

Thinking back, the Punisher series wasn’t that great and there was usually nothing spectacular about either the resident artist or the storyline. I still remember there was previously some ridiculous storyline in the regular series about the Punisher becoming Cage or something like that. That was the last straw, and being the intellectual 17 year old that I was then, I decided to stop buying Punisher comics and move on to other better hobbies (like ogling at girls). 

Anyway, this Punisher Kubrick was one of the earlier Kubricks that I bought in 2004, and it looks fine on its own. However, as per the Punisher’s comic book, it pales in comparison if you start comparing it to other Kubricks. This is partly due to some issues with the figure. 

Slop on the arms...arms...arms...

Yes! If you look closely, there is quite a bit of slop in the paint job (especially around his hands and legs). As per the Jack Sparrow Kubrick in my earlier post, my Kubrick figures seem to have an affinity to drunkard painters with shaking hands. No offense to the drunkards out there, but I would suggest that if you know you are a drunkard with shaking hands, then perhaps you should not seek employment as a toy painter. Especially not a toy painter who paints my type of toys. 

However, my biggest complaint about this figure is the fact that the gun that came along with the figure was sculpted in such a manner that the figure cannot hold the gun properly at the grip (hand too big, grip too small). I mean what is the issue with Medicom for making such a gun? Why make a gun that the figure cannot hold properly? There isn’t even a holster to holster this flawed gun. I mean, you might as well give him micro chopsticks with a bowl of chow mien that he also cannot hold right? 

Give me a chow mien over this gun!

Anyway, the only way the figure can hold the gun properly is at the top of the gun. While I am no expert in firearms, last I recall, guns are fired by holding on to the grip and pulling the trigger rather than holding to the top of the gun. Maybe it’s a new technology that I am not aware about. 

Em...there's something wrong with this gun. It's just not firing when I'm holding it this way.

Bearbrick Series 5 – Animal (Rumina Borg)

The bearbrick series 5 – Animal (Rumina Borg), was the 2nd bearbrick that my close friend gave to me in the early 2000s during one of my visits to his shop. This bearbrick has some parts on his arms, body and legs in translucent blue plastic which I thought was pretty cool. Personally, I have always felt that any figure that glows in the dark or is translucent is good crap as they evoke a certain sense of ethereal.

Anyone needs a backscratch?

Standing straight...

Right profile.

Left profile.

I know I should have gotten a better tattoo artist that can spell properly.

Mr Moon Wolf...Woof...Woof...

For this animal bearbrick, it is actually based on the Japanese mixed martial arts fighter, Rumina Sato, who is also known as the “Moon Wolf”. This explains the half-crescent moon on the bearbrick’ chest and the wolf-like features. Although I have never seen his matches before, his picture sends a clear message out that he is not someone whom you will want to mess with or try to kick sand at.

Who's your daddy?

Kubrick Pirates of the Caribbean Cannibal Jack Sparrow (HMV Exclusive 2006)

Well, I was reading an article on Somali pirates today and it got me thinking (yes, sometimes I do use my brain) about the Pirates of the Caribbean show starring Johnny Depp. Offhand, I can’t really recall much about the show and its sequels except that there were some sotong-looking Davy Jones and his group of undead pirates who looked like they really needed a good shower.

This got me thinking about the loose Kubrick Cannibal Jack Sparrow (HMV exclusive 2006) which I had bought from a recent trip to Hong Kong for less than $10 SGD.

Yes! That's me! Me! Me!

Sadly, the reason why this baby was at a low price-point was because it was missing the cool pirate cutlass and flintlock pistol which was supposed to come along with it.  Well, as they say, cheapos  always don’t get the full deal.

Spare change anyone?

Nevertheless, I felt that the sculpt and face paint for this Kubrick is amazing and manages to capture the resemblance quite well.

I'm amazed that a few lines can make him resemble the real person.

Full frontal (hmmm...sounds a bit wrong).

I'm from Disney & Mickey's my good friend.

However, sad to say, I can’t really say the same about the paint job for the rest of his body.

Some slop on the white stash belt.

As you can see, there is some slop with the paint job on the belt etc which is quite uncharacteristic of a Kubrick. I don’t know whether this is an inherent issue with the rest of batch or that I am just plain unlucky that my figure was painted by a shaking-hand drunk who is half-blind and working in a cramped and totally dark factory in winter. DOH!

 

Playmobil Police Car

Most of the people I know who fall into my age group grew up playing with Playmobil (unless they do not have a childhood :-P).

I still recalled that my dad bought my brother and myself the cowboy and red Indians Playmobil set way back in the 1980s, and it kept us entertained for countless hours. In fact, I was so obsessed with the playset that I slept with them on my bed, resulting in broken hands for the cowboy figures (sorry bro, I have finally mustered enough courage to make this confession and I am sorry that you got blamed for all the broken figures last time) 😛

While I still have some of the old figures from way back, they are all in a state of disrepair and I have since retired them to my Playmobil mortuary for their well deserved rest. They have served their master well. Amen.

It would therefore, be incorrect to say that the Playmobil Police Car set which I am going to show in this post is my very 1st set. However, it will not be incorrect to say that it was the 1st set which I bought from overseas with my own pay check. Yes, this set was actually bought in London when I went backpacking there in 2003.

Being the impulsive buyer that I am who is sometimes (ok. ok. usually) prone to acts of stupidity, I had bought the set in one of the London shop and lagged it around throughout my trip, when I could have also gotten the same set back in Singapore. But well, as they say, no point in bringing up the past.

Anyway, this set remains one of my favourite Playmobil set because well, er, its just nice I guess. Need a Police car with officers to patrol your toy town. No problem! Need a Police car to save your trapped Playmobil cat on a tree? No problem! Need a …Ok. You get the point and I rest my case. Go get one for yourself and your kids now. This is an order! 🙂

Playmobil Police Car & Officers!

4D number anyone?

Police car with openable boot and flashing police lights (just press the button above).

Hands up or I'll...er...shoot?

Tools of the trade.

Shooting bird...

Show me your IC or I'll hit you with the stop sign.

Time for our lunch break! Bye!

My 1st Lego Set that I bought with my paycheck

In a series of 1sts, this will be about the 1st Lego set that I bought with my own paycheck in 2005. I present to you *drum roll*…

The Imperial Inspection!

*Imperial March music plays*

Yes, this was the set that started me down the dark side of Lego collecting. In my opinion, this was probably one of the sets that’s really worth its price back when it retailed at Toys R Us in 2005. If I can recall correctly, it was about $70 SGD at the time and it included a whooping 10 mini figures, like the Emperor, Darth Vader, Storm Troopers, Royal Guards and Imperial Officers. God, I believe hard-core Lego collectors were having orgasms then just thinking about this set. 😛

This dark side set also subsequently lured my elder brother into deviating from collecting 12 Inch Military figures to start collecting Legos. Yes, the dark side is strong with this one.

Its a Zoo out there...

The Imperial Shuttle

The Imperial Shuttle...Again

The Imperial Shuttle in full flight.

The Imperial Shuttle's hanger can hold the Emperor's ride. Talk about a grand entrance from the rear.

The Emperor's pimped ride.

Darth Vader & gang.

Imperial Officers at work. Time to clear out the trash after the party.

My 1st Medicom Be@rbrick – Series 4 Horror

Back in the early 2000s, one of my close secondary school friend used to operate a small shop selling stuff like Magic The Gathering cards and other knick-knacks etc. I did try my hand at playing the game then, but it just didn’t quite hook me up, which was rather fortunate considering the prices of the rare cards, which cost high enough to bankrupt a 3rd world country.

He was then also selling a small consignment of be@rbricks and that was the 1st time I got up close and personal to the cute little monsters. Seeing my interest in the bearbricks, my close friend gave me the Series 4 Horror bearbrick as a gift. Because the said bearbrick was made to glow in the dark (yes, and its still glowing after so many years), I thought that it was pretty cool and it subsequently ended up on top of my office monitor. However, it will take me years later before I begin to start collecting bits of bearbricks (as I was more into computer gaming then).

For the uninitiated, you can read up more about bearbricks at Wikipedia.

I think he's more cute than horror. What do you think?

Dated 2002 with some English words behind.

Spooky? Nah!

My 1st Medicom Kubrick – Star Wars Series 2 Han Solo

I still remember the day I went into this obscure toy shop in Far East Shopping Centre sometime in 2004 and found myself looking at a Medicom Kubrick Star Wars Series 2 Han Solo figure. Being the ignorant bat that I am, I had then thought that this was a smaller version by Playmobil, and I was immediately wowed by the detailness and cuteness of the figure. Coupled with the fact that the price was quite reasonable (it was about $5 SGD I think), I grabbed the item off the shelve and brought it home.

It was only later that I found out that this was a Kubrick figure by a Japanese company called Medicom. Now, this evil company specialises in making detailed figures which looks deliciously irresistible to weak-willed individuals like myself. However, the often high cost of the figure and the stupid blind box packaging places them beyond the reach of poorer folks like myself. Doh! It’s lucky I’m not a completist else I would have bankrupted my bank account trying to collect the whole series.

Wikipedia has the background on Kubrick so you can read about it if you are interested.

I personally think that its amazing how a block figure can be sculpted with such details to resemble an actual person, but more cute to boot. To illustrate, you can compare the pictures of the Kubrick Han Solo vs the real Han Solo below. Notice the uncanny resemblance?

Fat and slim twins?

The holster works!

Doh! Not the hair again!

Even my a** looks good!

Who you calling a blockhead?