Unbelievably Ignorant!

And it's true.....till recently, board games meant Monopoly and Game of Life, while card games go a bit further to Magic: The Gathering.....but I have accidentally stumbled unto a whole new world of card and board games that has been going on in Europe and America for the past few decades ...something Asia has not really caught on I guess?

And to my greater surprise, I actually own one of these exciting games without knowing it (more on it later!), discovered physical and online stores in Singapore selling them, became obsessed with online review sites and also chanced upon groups that meet-up regularly to play! Where have I been these many long years?

Anyway, the following sites would be useful if you are trying to understand what I am ranting about.....

Paradigm Infinitum - The two physical shops at Midpoint Orchard and Fusionopolis.

Boardgame Lifestyle.com - Online shop with quite a variety of games!

Shut Up & Sit Down - REALLY Hilarious and well produced video reviews of board and card games!

The Dice Tower - A fantastic site for reviews on how to play the game and even a TOP 100 segment!

Boardgamegeek - Another information-filled site on gaming!

Well, to start off, I bought the game, Resident Evil - The Deck Building Game quite a while ago without actually trying it out (I opened it..I did!).

Image courtesy of www.icv2.com

Only took it out recently to read the rules and try the gameplay and it was really fun! As  a longtime RE fan, I know of the whole game series and the characters etc. so the theme drew me in instantly!

The game mechanics took me a while to comprehend as I was really new at this. It is an adaptation of the deck building type of games - starting off with basic, pathetic cards and building your deck up to be able to deal with the obstacles and adversity till you attain the winning objective.

And by using ammunition to power weapons, using gold to buy cards (action, ammo etc), braving the mansion to defeat monsters and level up (and find the lucky rocket launcher!) to finally beating the boss with your character, this whole game can really excite an RE fan!

What I can say about these board games and card games would be that you got to really open up your mind and be willing to try them out in order to enjoy them. Most of them take hours and even up to a day to finish playing, time between turns can be long, rules can get amazingly complicated and concentration on the game to be engaged and involved is also an important factor to the fun. Perhaps, with our ever busy schedules and impatience due to the lack of time, these games have never really lifted off.

Most importantly, the human factor makes it so much more fun than just putting on a pair of headphones with speakers and playing a game online.....no, the gathering of people at the same physical space to have a good time is unparalleled.....

Ah well, hope the people I know who are reading these will start wanting to play some with me!

9469 LOTR Gandalf Arrives

I shall begin my first blog in nine months with the new Lord of the Rings series! Got my hands on the simple Gandalf Returns set which shows the scene at the beginning of the scene in the Shire in the Fellowship of the Ring. Yup, way before Gandalf changes colour and Frodo knew what in the world he was getting himself into!

The intriguing front cover...

The back showing Frodo and Gandalf with the horse! Of course!

Two simple packets, one manual and "the" horse!

A simple set to assemble, got it done in no time. Here are some of the pics of the open carriage with the many accessories inside!

Carrot, Fireworks, Letter, Barrel...you name it, he's got it!

A closer look at the goodies.

Adding horsey into the picture.

"Watch me pose, neighhhhh!"

It was great fun seeing the two larger than life characters in the movie become...minifigs!

"Music in background"
Frodo:"Gandalf! What brings you here?"

Gandalf:"Frodo Baggins! You seem to have...grown! (shorter....sniggles....)"

Gandalf:"Here Frodo, go feed the horse while I take a look around and  talk to some folks."
"And DON'T touch my things, little one...or incur the wrath of the mighty, tiny wizard!"

Frodo:"Yeah right, like I wouldn't. Let's see, page 45,
'how to  climb up a horse carriage even though you are short spell'!
Neat!"

Gandalf:"Frodo Baggins, have you been touching something you ought not to?"
Frodo:"Er....nope, whatever gave you THAT idea?"
Gandalf:"Cos no reasonably tall hobbit has ever climbed onto my carriage before,!!"

Ah well, that will teach you folks up there to mess with a wizard's stuff....till next time!

Unbelievably long absence!

Hi everyone! I am finally back after a long 10 months....well, 9 months actually! Every time I wanted to start typing, something inevitably pulls me away from this place.

Surprisingly, there is still a small number of random folks who chance upon my site and continue to take a peep in here. Thanks to all who have somewhat kept it going even though you may not be regulars!

It has been a busy time away from blogging and "legoing" too. I did not fix up many sets as I selectively made my purchases and did not go crazy like last year. As it is, there are still many unopened sets in my storeroom.

Now that I am starting to get back to a bit of Lego, I am also starting on my books again. Another interest that I had in the past is also resurfacing in the form of Magic the Gathering. Need to spend some time catching up on my Anime and gaming.

So little time and so much to do....let's get started!

The year all over again!

My first post of the year...and the first of January signifies the beginning of the another year all over again! Expecting the same tasks, the same holidays, the same special days...etc. Well, as mentioned in my previous post, we all try to find happiness and perhaps, some meaning in all of these, isn't that so?

To start of the year, I shall post on a relatively new interest...plastic modeling, in particular Gundam robot models. Been wanting to try this out these past few years and took the plunge with the Metro sales this month to buy one. 

The front box art.

The manual that comes with it.

For those who have never tried, the parts of these models are all encased in plastic "wire frames". I forgot to take a picture of it but you can google for it online to have an idea of what I mean.

It takes quite a lot of work to put even a small model together. For me, as an amateur, I bought the HG (High Grade) version of the Aile Strike Gundam from the Gundam Seed series (Been trying to catch up with the series on my anime DVD). There are also MG (Master Grade) and PG (Perfect Grade) versions, which means there are lots more parts, the size is larger, and more importantly, more flexible and pose able robot.

For every small part removed from the wire frame, it has to be cut with a plastic cutter at three different points. The next step would be be cut the excess of the part removed and use good quality sand paper to smoothen the part. For pros, they would use other materials like thin markers to highlight the details on the robot, or use air spray to improve on the colors. 

Well, I am still struggling to smoothen the cut joints to make it look better. The process on this small robot took me several hours to complete...and it was hard work. The main problem being hurt fingers! 

Enough words...let me post a few images on my completed 1/144 Strike Gundam!

Front standard view.

Rear standard view.

A little pose won't hurt!

This is what I call "joint flexibility".

Taking cover behind the shield...

...and taking out enemies with a few shots.

Out comes the lance for close combat!

Too lazy to repose!

A close up view...and you can see it's not too great yet!

Oh, I have seen the larger and more impressive models complete with pose and weaponry! Never thought I would actually like the process of it. No photos of the process as it was a powdery, tedious affair so I did not even attempt to take a photo. Will not be doing many of these due to time factor but I certain would look forward to the time when I can build another one or improve on my Strike Gundam!