The iconic 1980s cartoon Robotech celebrates 30-years in 2015 and Toynami in the upcoming weeks will drop a neat Robotech blind box set of vinyl figures. The mini-figures vary from 2-3 inches and features: Destroid Tomahawk, Hikaru Ichijo, Regult, VF-1A 1 and VF-1A 2. No word on any chase figures just yet.
Elementary: The Ghost Line
February 10, 2015 by Leave a Comment
A MTA worker is found dead in his very own apartment. What can you say, it’s New York City’s toughest area, Hell’s Kitchen. Well, it’s present day, so it’s more urban hipster living in the area and coffee shops with Wi-Fi access, but Daredevil won’t come to the rescue. Instead, enter Sherlock Holmes and Joan Watson! Based on the CBS hit TV show Elementary, which is a modern day twist of the famous literary detective Sherlock Holmes set in present-day New York City. “The Ghost Line” story by Adam Christopher takes place around the 3rd TV season of Elementary.
AMC DeLorean Goes Tron-Mode
February 10, 2015 by Leave a Comment
I’m flashing back to the 1980s. This animated short “Retrowave” feels like a mix of TRON, Knight Rider and Miami Vice in one. Animator Florian Renner took the iconic ’80s car AMC DeLorean DMC-12 and made it a star of his animation short.
Frankie’s Garage: Rotary Drift RX-7 (FD3S)
February 10, 2015 by Leave a Comment
GT Channel’s new show Tuner Club debuts their first episode with a look at TCP Magic RX-7 (FD3S) rotary drift machine. Tuner Club interviews Taisuke Kawato of TCP Magic and driver Manabu Fujinaka on the 700hp beast.
The Art of Total War
February 9, 2015 by Leave a Comment
The Total War series has been around for years, it wasn’t until Rome: Total War that it garnered mass-appeal and sales. Videogame journalist Martin Robinson takes us on ride from the very humble beginnings of The Creative Assembly studio, the rise of Total War series and glimpses into the future for the Total War franchise with Total War: Attila dropping on February 17, 2015. This is The Art of Total War published by Titan Books.
Anime on Display 2015
February 6, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Last Weekend our Ramen crew visited Anime On Display, an anime convention in Burlingame, CA. Here’s Eddie’s and Ramon’s take on the con:
Eddie from Ramen and a Half – Last time I went to AOD it was when it was still in San Francisco’s Japantown 2 years ago. The venue for this year was at the Hyatt Regency in Burlingame (see our Capcom-Cup 2013 video here to see what the place looks like). Since Ramon and I have been to this venue before, we were curious to see how an anime convention would utilize the space. Capcom-Cup was centralized in one location, where as AOD used a lot more of the hotel space. There was a dealers room, several rooms for panels and anime viewing, and a game room on the other side of the hotel that also featured live performances. The convention itself was not crowded, it had just enough people where it always seemed lively. The dealers room was not too big either, a good number of artists and dealers with a few industry booths. Personally, I dislike crowded conventions so i enjoyed being able to move freely here. The game room had a great selection of games like Capcom vs Snk 2 and Street Fighter III 3rd Strike on arcade cabs and a selection of games on console.
My only complaint about this convention was the parking. The official lot filled up quick and when we tried to go inside, we were soon turned away and told to park anywhere else “at you own risk!” Safe to say, the parking attendant wasn’t very helpful. So we hunted for street parking around the corner but I ended up parking across the street in the private lots with many signs everywhere warning you of the potential of getting towed if parked here. Honestly, it was hard to enjoy the convention with the fear of your car getting ticketed or towed.
My favorite thing about AOD was their innovative registration system. Unlike other conventions with a cutoff date for their pre-registration, you were able to register for a badge at anytime before attending and you were able to pick it up when you arrived. This reminded me of websites like Target, Walmart or Best Buy that allow you to buy something online and get it in-store with same day pick up. It was really convenient and just made the registration process so easy!
One thing I will miss about it being in SF’s Japantown is definitely the food. It was hard to get food at this venue that didn’t cost an arm and a leg. I hope in the future they will address the food issue. On a related note, the Maid/Butler Cafe had no food when I went but the servers there did serve tea and were really fun to hang out with. They would play games with their customers and just have a good time and talk to you as well. We were definitely treated like royalty. All in all, if you are looking for an anime convention that isn’t too crowded and just a nice place to chill plus meet some cool people, then this is for you.
Grab An Espresso & Pet A Sheep
February 6, 2015 by 1 Comment
Have you ever thought about ordering a Chai Latte and also petting a live sheep all in the same place? Well, you can do this in South Korea at The Thanks Nature Sheep Cafe. Now have coffee & waffles and see sheep roaming around the cafe.
Food: Eating Oysters in SF
February 6, 2015 by Leave a Comment
I love eating good oysters and this Munchies episode “In Shuck This” profiles right here in SF, Hog Island Oyster Co. and oyster shucker Anthony Rizzi. Everything you need know, well almost about eating, farming and shucking oysters is in this episode.
Food: Colombian Meal in Korea Town
February 6, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Eating Colombian food in K-town LA. Say what? Yupe, have a Colombian meal in Koreatown. On this episode of Chef’s Night Out they take a look at Escala restaurant and interview chef Chris Oh. Chris also takes viewers on a Korean food adventure in K-town LA.
Android Series 5 Drops
February 5, 2015 by Leave a Comment
The Android logo is more than a logo for pushing smartphones and stuff! The Android Series 5 is dropping into retail for 2015 with killer designs from Andrew Bell, Gary Ham, Devilrobots and Google, Inc. itself.
Photo Eating Series: “Brunchcity”
February 5, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Is it snack time yet here at the office? My mouth is all watery and hungry to eat, because of this photo series: “Brunchcity”. Photographer Andrea G. Portoles teams-up with illustrator Bea Crespo on this concept project.
Polar Bear Roaming London
February 5, 2015 by Leave a Comment
If you find yourself commuting in London on the ‘Tube and spot a giant polar bear … it’s not real. To promote Sky Atlantic’s new program Fortitude, a team of Hollywood SFX crew made a animatronic polar bear. And inside, you will find 2 people controlling the bear.
Photo Series: Shanghai Night
February 5, 2015 by Leave a Comment
LA-based photographer Nicolas Jandrain globe-trots around taking photos and his photo series “Shanghai Night” is for urban big-city night photo enthusiasts. “Shanghai Night” takes a look at the giant metropolis during the night.
Chinese Language Neon Signs
February 5, 2015 by 1 Comment
As a pop-culture addict, I am very familiar with company and product logos, but seeing them in a different language and not being able to read it adds some curiosity to it. This is designer Mehmet Gozetlik project “Chinatown.”
The Simpsons Intro in Pixel Animation
February 5, 2015 by 1 Comment
Like many of you who watch the The Simpsons, we are very familiar with opening credits, now here’s a different take by illustrators Paul Robertson and Ivan Dixon with music by Jeremy Dower. An old school tribute with pixel animation. It’s really well done!
Custom Lego Friends MiniFigures
February 3, 2015 by 1 Comment
When LEGO Friends appeared in retail shelves 2012, it weathered the controversy and has become a successful product line for LEGO. Lots of fans and third-party companies have been making custom LEGO minifigures, but not many have done customization of the LEGO Friends mini-dolls. Now, hopefully that’s about to change. LEGO fan JustJon works on customizing Friends mini-dolls.
Lenore: Pink Bellies
February 3, 2015 by Leave a Comment
She is not Eternity Comics’ sexy Lady Death or Vertigo Comics’ hipster Death, but she’s the cute little dead girl Lenore, created the wildly imaginative Roman Dirge. This is the latest Titan Comic’s trade release of issues #8-11 entitled Lenore: Pink Bellies.
Frankie’s Garage: The Ford Focus RS is Coming!
February 3, 2015 by Leave a Comment
The rumors are true, the Ford Focus RS looks to dominate the hothatch world with global release. No more Front-Wheel Drive, but this RS will be All-Wheel-Drive system. EVO mag takes a look inside at the all-new Focus RS 5-door hatch.
Tim Burton’s Batmobile iPhone case from Bandai Japan
February 2, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Do you want to be the talk of the town with all your geeky comic book friends? If you have an Apple iPhone6 and a Batman fanatic, then you might want to pick-up this phone case. From the Tim Burton directed and starring Micheal Keaton 1989 Batman film, this is the Batmobile replica from Bandai Japan’s Crazy Case series.
Short Film Series: New Romantics
February 2, 2015 by Leave a Comment
This is not Taylor Swift’s “New Romantics” song from her 1989 album, but a short film series by filmmaker An Rong Xu. “New Romantics” is a series of one short film per month by An Rong Xu. Episode is entitled: Here, starring Nicole Tung.
Ice Cream Sandwiches and Tika Poutine in LA
January 29, 2015 by Leave a Comment
If you ever find yourself in downtown Los Angeles, and instead of turning to Korean or Mexican food, grab some Indian food. In this fun eating episode of Chef’s Night Out, we get an inside look at Badmaash restaurant owned by brothers Arjun and Nakul Mahendro along with their dad chef Pawan Mahendro. And you get to know some other neat drinking and eating spots in downtown LA.
Adidas Snowboarding presents NOMAD 3 Part Series
January 29, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Snowboarding aficionados will enjoy this cool 3-part series from Adidas Snowboarding team. The 3-part series features snowboarders Jake Blauvelt, Eric Jackson, Kazu Kokubo, Helen Schettini, Keegan Valaika, Forest Bailey, and Louif Paradis.
The LEGO SHIELD Heli-Carrier is Coming!
January 29, 2015 by Leave a Comment
My jaw is dropping now. I can’t wait to get my hands on this LEGO product! From the LEGO Marvel Superheroes line, this is the SHIELD Helicarrier 76042. Here’s LEGO Designer Marcus talking about the Helicarrier:
Custom LEGO Dinobots
January 28, 2015 by Leave a Comment
One of the most popular Transformers G1 sub-team was the Dinobots. Now they get some custom LEGO-styling, Grimlock and Sludge created by Jess Jennings aka Chief Supreme.
Go Go Power Rangers Vinyl Figures
January 26, 2015 by Leave a Comment
The Loyal Subjects has been creating neat vinyl figures this past year, like the Transformers Wave 3 and their Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Wave 1 series. I was able to buy a couple of blind boxes from these series, and what I like is unlike most 3″ to 5″ vinyl toys, The Loyal Subjects vinyl figures offer more points of articulation and accessories. Here’s another cool line if you’re a Mighty Morphin’ fan, the Power Rangers Wave 1.
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