Kanakalackin

Ah the Baraki. I remember those manipulative mermen (merbionicles?) That would bite your head off in an instant quite fondly. Good times...

They've been continually offering to help with funds, donations, and actually working on it. So I'm sure they will.

I just got the best figure from the current Minifigure series because my store FINALLY started carrying them. --[]-- The Bartman --[]-- "The hero Springfield deserves, but not the one it needs."

For those of you who follow me on Flickr and/or Instagram, you may be aware that I'm into taking pictures of my Halo stuff outside. I really like doing this, it gives the figures more personality in some cases. I try to do this with all of them, but sometimes other figures work better in different situations. Here are some pictures from my photoshoot with the UNSC All Terrain Mongoose set. The thumbnails link to larger pictures.

Swimming all the way.

Yeah. I'm a boy scout. Feel free to poke fun; I know how to play with fire safely. So I really began working towards my Eagle Scout rank when I was ten and first became a boy scout. All I could really do at that point was earn merit badges (I needed to earn a minimum total of 21), so that's all I focused on towards the beginning, while my friends were all advancing in rank, I was learning new things before they were. Sure I was considered being a "lower level" scout because I didn't have a fancy badge on my pocket, but my decisions back then helped me figure out what I like to do and how I work the best. So flash forward six years and I'm finally working on what many consider the largest part of earning the Eagle rank: the project. I'm only missing three required merit badges (all of which I'm extremely close to finishing), and I've been hitting the project hard since I started it in April. I figured I should start keeping a semi-regular log of my activities and the planning process, so here we go. On April 1st (this isn't a joke), I presented my project proposal. For those of you who don't know, the proposal is the very first part of the project. This is where you have an idea, and begin refining it so you can accomplish it. My idea was refurbishing some parts of a local park (Carney Park, which is located inside of a caldera). The project consisted of refurbishing signs that had fallen into disrepair, and revamping a dog park. The approval committee liked my project, but they thought it was too large to accomplish. They said I could keep the idea, but it needed to be more refined before they gave me the final okay. So a month went by and I worked on refining it, I also met with the park director and my project counselor. The park director said that it was okay if I ditched the sign portion of the project and focused the materials, money, and work towards the dog park. My counselor agreed, and I had simplified my project enough to work out the details. Now I only had to focus on one thing: a dog park. Right now the dog park is just a huge, fenced-in, grassy area where the only thing to do is throw a ball or play tug. The dog park doesn't get a lot of usage because there's really nothing to do there if you don't bring anything and it's out in town. There's also a dog park similar to it on the main navy base where most of the Americans live, so why would anybody drive half an hour to go to a dog park that they get the same experience from near home? So I developed a plan to answer that question. Since there's nothing at the dog park right now, it gives me a lot of opportunities to make it fantastic. My final proposal said that I would install concrete tunnels (6 feet long, 3.5 feet high), ramps, platforms, a shade structure (like a gazebo), and a working water system. This proposal was approved, so I moved onto my final plan. I met with the park director again, and he said that putting in a water system wouldn't be possible. Public Works said that the only water that could be redirected into the dog park was irrigation water, and in Italy (at least in Naples), any water that isn't filtered for consumption can make you really, really sick. I also began looking at how much money I would need to raise, I proposed $7,500 (when the water system was still going to be a thing). That's a lot of money to raise. So I kept simplifying it. The dog park actually has a fence bisecting it with not one, but three separate gates for travel between the two mini-parks. My plan has one labeled as "small dog park" and the other "big dog park". This was in an effort to give the smaller breeds an opportunity to have fun safely without running the risk of a larger breed trampling them in the process. Two of the gates are going to be locked off, and the middle one will be left unlocked if an owner is confident in their dog's good behavior. My original plan had a concrete tunnel, a ramp, and a platform in each dog park. This required a lot of materials, money, and logistics (mostly for the concrete). So I began looking at alternatives. Instead of a concrete tube, I'm looking at using tractor tires. These are not only cheaper, but they require a lot less logistically. I merged the ramps and platforms together, so now there is one ramp/platform combo in each park. The small dog park is going to have a square platform with four ramps extending from it, and the large dog park will have a bigger, rectangular platform with two ramps. So now that leaves me with the shade structure. There is only one outdoor/home improvement store near enough to get stuff from, so that makes shopping a little bit easier. It also makes it harder because it all depends on what's available. Right now I'm looking at getting them to truck in a pre-built gazebo that can be installed. But again, that requires that specific store having it. I'm planning on going to check out what they've got sometime next week, so hopefully I can find something that works. These aren't the only things that would be put in the dog park. I'm going to plant some trees inside it, install coat hooks for leashes, and install a pet station so that owners don't have an excuse to not clean up after their dogs. So far I know I can get one pet station donated (a $350 value), but I'm going to try for two. The project is scheduled to start in late August/early Spetember, with fundraising beginning as early as June. I'm going to be using gofundme.com as a source of funds, so when that gets started I'll post about it.

Her name is Kiina. :3

YOU'RE NOT MY MOM, DAD, OR ROBERT DOWNEY JR. YOU CAN'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO.

<3

WARNING: The following post may induce unhappiness, rage, and slight nausea for people who hate Mega Bloks. Proceed with caution. UNSC All Terrain Mongoose The Box You can already see the box in the picture above. The left and right panels are just an inspiring picture of the Chief with the Halo logo. The top panel shows the size of the super-posable Emile figure, and the bottom panel contains legal info. The back of the box can be viewed by clicking the thumbnail below. The Contents Inside the box is the usual stuff. Instructions and parts are all here, but there's also an advertisement encouraging me to "Join the community!" whatever that means. I'm not going to go through and compare each MB part to the LEGO part that it's a clone of similar to because that takes too much effort and I'm lazy. Three separate bags. One for the figure (with another part for some reason), the other two don't really have any method to how they're packaged from what I can tell. The Figure So obviously the reason I bought this set was for Emile and not because I need a vehicle to take pictures of. Emile is a fantastic representation of how he's depicted in-game. Really glad that Mega was able to license and market the figure as Emile instead of a random Spartan (they did that with all of Noble Team in the past). He features the amazing, new-for-2014 articulation for Halo figures (my store only just stocked this set recently, so I wasn't able to obtain it until now). The new system features twelve separate points of articulation, with enhanced arm posability (using hinges instead of ball joints), and a new armor system. The armor system is 100% compatible with Spartans using the same system, so you can swap upper and lower body armor, shoulder armor, and thigh armor between other figures. Standard human figures (ODSTs and Marines) feature a similar system, but the torso mold is different. Emile's paint job is spot-on and there's a lot of detail molded onto him. I wish they made his red armor piece a bit weathered with a blackwash though. It looks too shiny and new. His helmet carving is also a bit simplified (some could say cartoonish), but it's not that big of a deal. In short, Emile's a fantastic figure and does his on-screen form justice. The Parts I sorted out the parts by type (kind of). The wheels come assembled, but you can take the tires off. If anybody's wondering about part quality, I can assure you that it's as strong or stronger than LEGO. All of the parts have a great amount of clutch power, even the 3mm clips and bars. The only MB parts I've had lose their clutch power or break altogether are translucent clips. The figures are made mostly of a softer plastic though, so their details may rub off from excessive use. Something I love about Mega's products is how many unique molds they have. While they have the standard selection of bricks and plates, they have a lot of highly-detailed specialized pieces for vehicle building. Also, all of the decals are printed on. While the UNSC letters on the rear fender are tiny and a little disappointing, the headlights and UNSC logo come pre-applied, so no problems with dust or being off-center. Yay! The Build The build is simple and straightforward. Nothing really interesting or mind-blowing about it. But that doesn't stop it from being fun and satisfying. You're left with four extra pieces when the build's completed: another wheel/axle brick in silver, a 1x1 black tile, a 1x1 silver stud, and a short 3mm connector piece. The Nitpicky Stuff Every set has its flaws. Now it's time to point them out. Firstly, the Mongoose is big. It looks fine when it's sitting alone, but when you pair it with a figure, it's just out of scale enough so that it looks off. Second, the front and back are very lackluster. I get that this is a military ATV, but that doesn't mean you can't make it look nice! The front is great until you get to the center. It just sort of cuts out. A curved slope of some sort would've been great here. The back also needs a little work, the 3mm bar plate sticks out farther than it should (and becomes detrimental to the playability), and the open stud makes it look even more out of place. Third, the Mongoose is skinny! I'm willing to cut a bit of slack here because it has to accommodate a figure. But the center section is still thin and hurts the standalone look. Fourth, the play-feature. One of the main purposes of the Mongoose is that another person can ride on the back of it and make the Mongoose a mini Warthog. The 3mm bar plate is great and all, but it's placed in the center where a figure cannot grab onto it in a way that looks good. It also juts out too far, so a figure has to lean back to be able to pose well with a weapon. And Fifth, it's really, really hard to get a figure in a decent position on this thing. It takes a lot of positioning and coordination to do it. Final Thoughts Overall, the Mongoose isn't a bad set. Originally it retailed at $12 USD, but I bought it for $10 USD. I'm not disappointed with my purchase, and most of its flaws are overlookable. Pros: Super-Posable Emile! Updated Mongoose! Kukri knife! Detail! Cons: Hard to position figures on. Front and Back are lackluster. A little out of scale. All pictures used in this review can be found in the Flickr Album (with some others too!) ________________________________________________________________ If you liked this review, please give me a thumbs-up to help feed my puppy!

I'm gonna spoilertag everything past this point. You have been warned.

I'm just your average teenage white boy with a love for tiny plastic toys. Mega Bloks included. I'm also into things like movies, television, and the internet. Not quite sure how much you need to know, so I'll cap this entry off with a call for questions about me and a picture that I took 5 minutes ago and uploaded to flickr while writing this.

I would write it through a series of CGI-animated movies and tv shows with polybagged sets similar to good guy and bad guy to support it. That is all, I am done.

I said it was hard, not impossible.

I frankly don't understand what the big deal is here. On one side it appears we have some people who get upset when the media misinterprets how dinosaurs look/walk/act, and on the other side it looks like there are some people who would like explanations on the subject. I'm by no means an expert on dinosaurs, but I will admit I do get a tiny bit annoyed when people say T-Rex when they've clearly posted a picture of an Allosaurus. So if it's alright with everybody, I'd like to voice my opinion. Dinosaurs are a thing of the past. Nobody has ever seen them move, walk, or act. Most of what we have to create an image of a dinosaur are a multitude of educated guesses. I'm not saying that what's been published isn't true, dinosaurs may have used their tails for balance, but on the other hand they might not have. Some therapods had feathers, some might not have or at the very least didn't. So to say that the media is misinterpreting dinosaurs is a somewhat unfair statement in my opinion. I believe that another reason that therapods in general haven't been portrayed with feathers frequently in massive film productions like Jurassic World is that they're made to look like what much of the target audience was raised thinking what the dinosaurs looked like, so if an audience is presented with a familiar look, more people are likely to buy merchandise and movie tickets. Another thing that I remind myself is that dinosaurs aren't as big of a thing as they were from the 90s to 2004-ish because people stopped making big cinema movies. Sure there were all of the fact-based shows and movies that were out there like Prehistoric Planet or Walking With Dinosaurs, but who wants to spend 45 minutes-2 hours of their time watching what's made to be an educational film when they aren't all that interested in dinosaurs that much? So the people who just watch the fun movies don't really care if T-Rex had feathers or not, they just want to see it eat some helpless human sitting on a toilet. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE dinosaurs. They were what shaped most of my early childhood, and part of what introduced me to LEGO (and later BIONICLE). I remember watching the Jurassic Park movies with my dad when I was 6, I remember how much I enjoyed the Land Before Time series. While my other friends were watching Transformers shows, I was watching stuff like Prehistoric Planet. I still go through the old recordings of those shows, and I've found out that I've forgotten a lot of the stuff I knew when I was 9. As a kid, I was brought up thinking that dinosaurs had the draggy-tails, that feathers were only on birds, that Pteranadons were the same type of animal at Tyrannosaurus Rex, and that dinosaurs were all reptilian in nature. Being a Christian, I was used to seeing the old-world representations of dinosaurs. But as I got older and developed a greater interest in these magnificent creatures of the past, I did a whole lot of research and educating, trying to learn as much as I could. I learned at a very young age that different people teach and believe different things. I've since moved on from being obsessed with dinosaurs to the point of craziness, but they still hold a special place in my heart and memories. I hope I didn't upset anybody by writing this (if I did, I truly am sorry), I just wanted to share my opinion on the subject.

Here's some new stuff!

Thanks! Glad you guys like 'em! I have considered making a Matoran-Nui revamp combiner, but given the size and part selection from the protectors (even all 6 of them together), it's really difficult to find a way to make a combiner large enough to incorporate aspects from most (or even all of them) without making it look jumbled. I'll keep trying though! @SWH, I thought of using the tr.-neon orange armor for the upper arms too, but it ended up not working very well. So I stuck with the short black armor.

<>UPDATE<> THESE LEGO BRICKS ARE SAFE FOR CONSUMPTION --The Onion

This is fantastic! It brings back fond memories of younger me watching the animations and movies and playing the games for hours on end, reading the books and memorizing the story until I could recite it from memory, competing in contests, and ultimately joining the community. This makes me so happy. Thank you.

Hey guys. I've been working on something over the weekend and I'd like to keep it to myself and bask in its awesomeness share it with you. So here we go. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAsDjgRi1P0&feature=youtu.be

APRIL FOOLS DAY IS OVER. I TOOK DOWN THE VIDEO. THE REAL MOCS HAVE BEEN POSTED. THIS TOPIC CAN BE CLOSED NOW. BYE.

So my previous topic was an April Fools joke (who would've guessed). This time it's for real. Today I bring you... The Protector of Valor Video Breakdown AND The Protector of Wisdom Video Breakdown These MOCs use parts ONLY from the three protectors each. Protector of Wisdom uses parts from Protector of Ice, Protector of Jungle, and Protector of Water. Protector of Valor uses parts from Protector of Fire, Protector of Stone, and Protector of Earth. They are meant to be revamps/remakes of these combiner models from the old BIONICLE. (Photo credits to TLH)

Is the kidnapping of BZP members against the rules? Is the drugging of BZP members against the rules? Is the use of chloroform for medicinal or recreational uses on BZP members allowed? Is the use of marijuana or any other drug for medicinal or recreational uses on BZP members allowed? Is the killing of BZP members allowed? All of the above questions are applicable to EB, RusB, pockyland, MoD, and any other LEGO fansites I forgot to mention. I'd like answers for those too.