I blogged how my recent trip to a distant sculpture supply centre was a bit of disappointment but my recent basement find balanced it out.
While doing a bit of clean-up downstairs, I came across a plastic tote of casting/moulding, hobby and art supplies that I had purchased some time ago.
It was a veritable treasure trove!
I just received an email from Hobbylink Japan stating that the U.C. Arms Gallery Vol. 2 that I had ordered was out of stock and has been discontinued by the manufacturer.
When I placed the order, the item was in stock, but because HLJ doesn't have a real-time stock system so I had no idea it wasn't available. If I had known, my order for the items that are in stock would have shipped out at least a week or so earlier. 
Bummer! Now I'll only get six 1/144 scale mecha weapons instead of 12. But I guess that isn't all bad. I ended up saving about $25 and some shipping costs.
I have yet another reason to exercise some actual creativity and build some of my own weapon designs.
Now if only the sculpture supply centre would get some Castilene hard in stock... 
I drove all the way to a sculpture supply centre today to pick up some resin and rubber moulding compound and sculpting medium.
It's a 32.5 km trip and just my luck, they didn't have half of the things in stock that I needed. What a bust! I'll have to go in next week when they re-stock to pick up the supplies I wasn't able to get. Ugh...
In order to get on the road early before traffic picked up, I foolishly rushed my shopping list and made two errors...
At the last minute, I decided to buy Mold Max 30 silicone rubber compound kit. Unfortunately, I had neglected the fact that Mold Max 30 isn't an easy-to-use 1:1 mix ratio. It has to be mixed to a 10:1 ratio by weight so now I'll have to shell out more cash for a digital scale to be able to mix the silicone rubber compound properly.
I decided to get Smooth Cast 300 resin. While it has a fast 10 minute de-mold time, Smooth Cast 300 has a scant 3 minute pot life! As a beginner, I should have opted for resin with a longer pot life. Now I'll be under some pressure to work faster than my experience level would comfortably allow so as not to waste supplies.
When I head down next week, I'll make sure I'm better prepared.
thequarterbin.com has a video interview with Randy Falk, head of product development at NECA and they've got quite a number of video game-based licenses that they'll be releasing in the near future!
I haven't played many recent games lately but I'm looking forward to the Bioshock 2 Series 3 figures and the Claptrap figure from Borderlands.
Check out the interview! Lots of stuff to get excited about if you're into video game licensed figures!
Update: They've been delivered! Check out the U.C. Arms Gallery product review!
Hobbylink Japan is having a Spring sale and although I really wanted to refrain from making any purchases (my spending's been a bit out of control lately) I jumped at the chance to order these U.C. Arms Gallery boxed sets due to the scarcity of weapons that are compatible with 1/12 scale figures--- and also due to the fact they're 50% off!
According to collectors on the web, these U.C. Arms Gallery weapons are compatible with Bandai's Gundam MSIA product line, which is a line of 1/144 scale mobile suit (mecha) action figures from the Gundam universe.
Although they are 1/144 scale in mecha terms, their non-scaled, actual size makes them roughly compatible with 6-inch 1/12 scale figure lines. I'm thinking these would work great with Max Factory Figmas, Kaiyodo Revoltechs and the like.
I have a few sci-fi themed 1/12 scale figure customs in mind but they can't be realized without 1/12 scale weaponry. Ideally, one would want to scratchbuild such gear for fun and the sake of originality. But realistically, I would not be able to scratchbuild as many weapons cost effectively, in a timely fashion and with equivalent quality.
I'll post pics when they're delivered.
I wasn't entirely pleased with the Konami Yoko MMS figure that I had purchased many moons ago. I happened to see that AmiAmi.com had a Revoltech Yoko in stock, I jumped at the chance since Yoko is becoming more difficult to find for a decent price.
Divots behind the knee joints allow a greater bending angle.
The Busou Shinki MMS version of Yoko isn't a bad figure all around but its proportions are typical MMS body proportions which don't fit the character's appearance.
It has the weak thigh joint articulation typical to MMS figures typical to older MMS figure versions and it doesn't hold a pose well at times. The MMS Yoko comes with rubber boobs and, although I very rarely handle them (no, honest! 
), I'm starting to see some deterioration. The rubber is also very soft and can easily tear.
While the Revoltech Yoko doesn't have these problems, she's not a perfect figure either. I'm not fond of the appearance of the back of the legs at knee joints. They have these divots that allow the leg to bend more than 90°.
A decent amount of accessories are included.
Granted, they work well enough and they are at the back of the leg; an area that usually isn't seen in common display instances. But they do affect the appearance and smoothness of form.
Revoltech Frauleins suffer from various loose joints, usually in the arms. This plagued the earlier figures in the Fraulein product line but I've heard it was mostly rectified in later versions. I've read from some collectors that their Yokos have one or two loose arm joints but that shouldn't be difficult to fix.
The Revoltech Yoko movie version is a great figure overall. It comes with alternate faces, extra hands, three weapons and it's appearance is more accurate.
I snagged her for about ¥1,869 which is the lowest price I could find. And with 50% off discounted shipping, it's an even better deal! 
Do you have the Revoltech Yoko Movie Version?
Let us know what you think of the product! Leave a rating or a comment (no registration required).
[ratings]
I'm currently in the process of acquiring some tools and supplies so I can get some of my projects off the ground.
I just received this 12-piece stainless steel wax carving tool set for $16 USD shipped!
It's a decent set. The tools are double-ended, giving a good selection of sculpting tips. The handles are knurled in two places providing a good, slip-free grip.
I could have purchased an equivalent set locally but it's sad that my city's transit system had increased fares, actually making buying this from an eBay seller in the U.S. a little cheaper.
Your comments