Tag Archives: random_thoughts

Preorder Outlook LXI

written on January 31, 2021 by Tier

It’s been a while since we’ve taken a look at the figures I’m contemplating ordering so let’s do that now. First though, a few notes: first, I’ve historically done a Five Favorite Figures of the Year at the end of the year (or early on in the following year) but I won’t be doing one for 2020 because something like half the figures I bought are either trapped in Japan or are in the mail or on cargo ships and are hopefully not lost. If anyone’s curious, I think the figures that would have made that list include Native’s Fairy Queen Elaine and Chloe (though I’ve actually not heard great things about Chloe, which is unfortunate and disconcerting). FREEing’s Rindo Kobayashi might have also made the list, though I feel a little reluctant to laud any of their bunnygirl figures too highly since many of them kinda look the same after a while.

Also, I hope 2020 wasn’t too terrible a year for anyone reading this though I expect that for many, it was a tough year to get through. For me, I’m a little sorry to say that 2020 was actually a really good year; I’m now in a good position to achieve a lot of the goals I dreamed of completing five or six years ago (and no, I didn’t get in on any of the recent GameStop madness). It feels heartless for me to say that since so many people lost so much but I’m hoping that better times are close at hand for all of us.
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Posted in Preorder Outlook | Tagged Preorder Outlook, random_thoughts | 16 Comments

Preorder Outlook LIX

written on June 30, 2019 by Tier

And it’s time for another preorder outlook. This list is shorter than I thought it would be, being that it’s been three months since the last post, but I really don’t mind considering that my bank account needs a break given the number of figures on my preorder list that are being released this month and next. I’m planning on photographing Olga Discordia in the next few days, just as soon as I can figure out where to put her, and I’d like to get some America-themed figures reviewed (perhaps Iowa and Ms. Marvel, amongst others) next weekend, being that it’s the Fourth of July holiday here in the United States. For now though, here’s a quick run-through of some of the figures I’ve got my eye on.
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Posted in Preorder Outlook | Tagged Figures, preorder_outlook, random_thoughts | 8 Comments

Preorder Outlook XLIX

written on November 30, 2016 by Tier

Bah. I definitely had intended to post more stuff on this site but life has a habit of getting in the way, so I don’t apologize or even feel too badly about the dearth of content. That’s not to say that the infrequent posting schedule hasn’t had a detrimental effect on my life; being that I have a policy of not displaying figures until I’ve reviewed them, I have stacks and stacks of unopened Hobby Search boxes containing figures from the last couple of years. They’re taking up a lot of space and I want to see the figures that I’ve bought, so more posts will be coming soon.

A lack of posting on a personal website sometimes indicates a downturn in the site owner’s life, but I have to say that life is going pretty decently, aside from the results of the recent election in the United States (though I’m slowly getting over that). I got a new job earlier this year that pays quite a bit more than my previous one, and more importantly gets me away from my former employer’s management, which had driven me insane for the better part of two years (the reduction in posts the last couple of years was due in large part to stress and fatigue from that job). I got a new car last month – it’s literally nothing special but I like it a lot. I recently found out that sports photography is a lot harder than it looks. I’m burning out on World of Warcraft again – despite the recent release of its latest expansion – and that can only be a positive thing in my life. My fantasy football team has strung together seven straight victories after starting the season 0-5 (and losing my first round draft pick to a knee blowout). Life is pretty good, but life is better with new figures, so let’s take a look at some of the ones I’m considering picking up.
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Posted in Preorder Outlook | Tagged Figures, Preorder Outlook, random_thoughts | 20 Comments

Year Seven Retrospective

written on February 23, 2016 by Tier

Ugh. It’s a customary thing to celebrate this site’s birthday on February 23, but given the dearth of updates over the last year, there does not seem to be much cause for ceremony. Regardless, tradition is what it is, and I scarcely need an excuse to take a photo of one of my big-ass dolls wrapped up in tentacles, so I will pay the proper respect to the occasion, as unseemly as it might be.
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Posted in Random Thoughts | Tagged random_thoughts, site retrospective | 30 Comments

Random Thoughts II

written on May 25, 2009 by Tier

Today is Memorial Day in the United States, a day of remembrance for the men and women who have served in the military. Spurred on by Alter’s recent unveling of a Yoshika Miyafuji figure, I’ve decided to pay homage to the combat veterans of the 501st Joint Fighter Wing by watching the first episode of Strike Witches.

The opening story reminds me a lot of the beginning of Robotech (or Macross, if you prefer); you’ve got enigmatic, technologically-advanced alien invaders, a young, innocent civilian who shares a tenuous yet deeply personal bond with a high-ranking member of the military, and a wacky, wildly-impractical aviation system. One difference is that Yoshika does decline a chance to take a spin in the Striker Unit, and another departure is that the 501st’s pilots are loli girls. Who wear no pants. In fact, none of the girls in the episode wear pants, it seems. This prohibition on wearing pants is definitely a policy initiative that I can get behind.

One reason that I hadn’t watched Strike Witches when it was first aired are the animal ears and tails. I really don’t like them, and I’m sort of hoping that Alter’s figures have the option of removing them without me having to resort to a Dremel. It’s kind of like when I cook gumbo, I usually add whatever I’ve got. Celery? Sure. Seafood? I never have it around, but if I do, it’s great. Garlic? Absolutely. Baker’s chocolate? Hell no. You can have a great gumbo cooking with a variety of flavors but if you add one wrong ingredient, you’ve screwed it up. That’s how I feel when it comes to shows like this which try to pander to a multiplicity of fetishes; if you don’t like one aspect of the show, it makes it difficult to watch the whole thing. It’s a bit of a shame, as I like a lot of things in this show, such as how they placed the Akagi’s island on the port side and how they based the characters on combat aces, but man, I wish they didn’t have the ears and tails.

On a completely unrelated subject, I’m slowly going through and re-doing some old photos. I’ve got Cammy re-shot, and I’m probably going to re-do Sasara’s gallery next. I’m concerned the whites in my photos are excessively blown out, so I might have to revise my processing techniques.