30082011 Trip to Lake Gardens

Its time for another family trip. No, we don't do this as an annual thing but it more of a HM saying, "I want a Family Picnic. Now.". It was the "Now" part which got to me. I mean, hey, if you ignore the NOW part, you're asking for 1000 lashes to the back or sleeping on the couch for "7 days and 7 nights with no sleepy tights"

And so, we packed all the necessary stuff for the
picnic. Whatever things you can think of, is not
there. But everything that I can think of, is there.
Go figure.

And so, the destination of choice is none
other than the Lake Gardens. Which is
fine by me because there is no point
going to Cameron Highlands or Fraser's
Hill. Everyone would be there.

Ah, this scene reminds me of Kristine
and I years ago when I tried to get
her to overcome her fear of heights.

After searching for a suitable spot, we found one.
Unfortunately, some members of the family were
too tired to pose for the camera, so I did the next
best thing. They were 10 metres away from us.
Notice they did not smile because I did not pay
them...

Eventually, I got the shot anyway because well,
ours had a rood and I like the design, OK?

And so, we had breakfast. All wholesome delicious
breakfast, prepared by Mum & Mommy. I'm still
alive because I agreed that it was wholesome and
delicious. Definitely wholesome and delicious...

Mommy brought some bread, which everyone
who has been to the Lake Gardens know what
they are meant for by now. No, its not 'Bring
you own Bread' to the local Kopitiam but its to
feed the fish in the lake.

Erm... like all people who brought bread to the
Lake, its never enough. Don't believe me?

Watch as the two mons....er girls delight in feeding
the fishes and the turtles. Watch as they get more
and more excited.

Now watch as they ran after Mommy for more bread..

Watch from my point of view of Mommy being
chased while imagining the 'Benny Hill' song

After that, it was time for
walkies and lo and behold!
The Brazilian Nut Tree...

I am not really in the understanding
of wut dese nuts for but they drop
dem lots every few seconds.

No one got hit though and if you're there, you'd
think it was raining seeds. Then again, I don't
think they're seeds but more like flowers.

Here is one close up, courtesy
of Ms. Kaelynn

Not to be outdone, Ms. Kristine
wants to show you two instead.

After about and hour and a half of walking, even
they get tired. But I am not done with them...

So I fooled Kristine into challenging
her to run a lap with me.
And off she goes....

By now, she would have realised
that I was not run and I was not
behind her trying to catch up...

OK, so on the second lap, I ran with her
and I still won because she looked very
exhausted. Ha ha. But minutes later,
Mommy ran with her and she still has
the energy. Whoa... this is amazing.

I took Kaelynn to a small pond-like where we looked
at fishes and tried to catch a pair of mating Dragonflies
with my Nokia n8 but the macro can only do so much.

Finally, at the leg end of the trip, one final muck
about and we're ready to go home. And as exepected,
everyone feel into deep slumber the moment their
heads touched the pillows...

1/35 Landwasserschlepper

You know what? This is an ugly piece of machinery. If I had the chance to buy it, I would not. And if I had the chance to use it to run over cars in traffic jams, scare the cows and then escape through the nearest pond/river, I would not. If this was an Opposite Day, I won't even recognise it.

The Landwasserschlepper was actually a German Amphibious Tractor to be used by the Engineers. It was only produced in small numbers due to some manufacturing problems but was proved to be very effective for towing barges and ferrying supplies during low tides.

Alas, for me, initially, it was a horrible vehicle. It really looked like a school bus for army kids. But during the Sale, the price was so attractive, I got one. I could have bought two but then, I would get killed when I reached home. The reason why I got this was the idea in my mind to covert it into a rusting hunk of iron where some industrious fella used it for commercial purposes.

Again, this is from Hobby Boss. And the nearest
competitor is Bronco. But after seeing a few kits
from Hobby Boss, they are quite decent.

There are a lot of parts for this model and when
you open the box, you are will not be disappointed.

It even comes with individual track links, plus
a jig that lets you glue them realistically.

And for the attractive price its asking, the model is... big.
Its like going into a Toy store in 2012 and finding a rare
2007 toy at 50% while Mommy is not looking...

And so, you can guess the next stage where this is going, right?

No? OK,its going into the 'to-do' bin until I am free to tackle this. Hey, job comes first, right? Right?

Yum-yum

Once in a while, Wife will make some nice sugary
treat, which is cool because well, I am too lazy to
make one myself eventhough it looks simple.

I suspect that this is one
of the ways to distract me
from shouting and scolding
the kids when I am not in a
good mood.

Hanging on to a conversation

While I was at the lights, I notice a very curious little boy in a taxi. He keeps popping out of the window and sort of distracting the driver on the left...

He tried many times to call to the driver

When he failed, the little boy started to 'wander'
around the window instead of getting back in.

Why did he look back? Was there another car or
a motorcycle coming towards him?

As the lights are ready to change, the cars are inching
closer and yet this little boy still do not want to get
inside the taxi.

And so, my thoughts were, at that time, what a little inquisitive cute little boy. And then I wondered, how he would look like when a speeding motorcycle passed by, decapitated him and splashed the blood all over. Cute, isn't it?

Because I wonder, why did the taxi driver or the other passengers not stop him? Will these people start to react only after something happened to the boy? These people are really asking for it, its as if its their actual natural genetic trait of getting into trouble or causing misery. Its right there, and there is not much of an effort for them,

I feel like getting out of the car and give them a scolding for letting the boy doing such silly stunts.

The many uses of a Notebook

While Kristine was busy with her Martial Arts class,
Kaelynn was also busy with her stuff.

Yep, caught her playing computer games instead
of her usual Paint program.

And speaking about programs,
this is something non related.
Just cute.

Some 1/35 models

Just wanted to show you some of the 1/35 scale model kits I had sometime ago. These kits have quite a lot of details and well, it was wort the money spent on, especially during the Sales. And no, these are not Tamiya kits, which in my book, is not that great anymore.

When I was young, I use to follow/purchase Tamiya model kits since at that time, they were quite reasonably price and also, well, they were the only manufacturer I could find. And then, slowly, I was growing more and more biased in favour to Tamiya products to the point that if its not from Tamiya, its not good enough. But nowadays, brands like Hobby Boss, Trumpeteer and Academy are catching up fast. Of late, I have not seen any 'new; kits from Tamiya which is worth getting. Then again, even if there is one, I am very sure that the price range would easily discourage me since I am so used to getting alternative kits (accurate or not) that offers more parts and photo-etch and at a competitive price too.

From left, its the AAVR-7A1 by Hobby Boss,
the M1127 Stryker by Trumpeteer and
M113A1 APC by Academy. All non Tamiya.

First up is the AAVR-7A1, which comes in 18
sprues. It even has individual track links and
a set of photo-etch parts. Not only that, it even
has an interior set, something which Tamiya
did not supply when they first came out with
their own model.

The same goes for the M1127 Stryker, which also
has a lot of sprues despite it not having an interior
set. And not only that, if I am not mistaken, it also
gives you some 1/35 scale figures too. And there
are a lot of 'extra' unused parts for you.

The M113 also, again, comes with a generous
selection of sprues, which also includes figures
you see on the box, (yes, you will get the female
figure too) and also, individual track links.

OK, this is part of the instructions for the AAVR.
Just look at the parts for the interior. The two
tools cabinet are actually made from photo-etch
parts.

And here is the part showing you how to assemble
the individual track links. Its a nightmare but when
done correctly, the model will look very realistic as
in 'real life', these tracks actually do sag a bit. You
cannot achieve this effect with a vinyl track.

The figure painting guide for the M113.

It deja vu for me if I plan to do this model as
I had the Tamiya version, which also had an
interior set. So, this makes me happy.

Ma.k 1.35 Melusine

Hello. A quick one.

HellPassed by Hobby HQ and saw this.
Mr. Low gave a good price too.

Nice parts. I think is same with the ones included
in the 1/35 Nutcracker

Bye.

Hobby Base 1/100 Hand

I was passing by a model shop at Cineleisure and saw this. It is a accessory model kit for a 1/100 robot. What is so nice is that it allows you to pose the fingers as you see fit. For the price its asking, I suppose its going to be as good as it gets since no other manufacturer would do this. Bandai would, but you have to buy the rest of the robot as well and they're not cheap either.

Please do note that although these hands are 'poseable', they are only poseable from the knuckles. The fingers itself cannot be bent at their joints.

I have not done this one yet but from the instructions
and the sprues, it seems you can do two version of
hands, both with different thumbs and wrist joints.

As you can see from the package, the fingers
of these hands will be very detailed.

There are three sprues in each pack

You know I'm winging it because there is
nothing else to post since this is going to the
'to-do' bin...

Falke Anti Schwerkraft Motor

As my friend Bruce was doing his Ma.K's Hasegawa Falke, I have decided to help him along the way as much as I can. At that time, we were discussing about the possible designs for the Falke's anit-gravity module and engine. And as it just so happened that some time ago, he gave me some model parts as I expressed interest in them since I have never seen it up close before. As my job demands my concentration, there is no time for me to 'explore' my own Falke and so, I decided to try on Bruce's instead.

This is the model part which was given to me by
Bruce. After experimenting with the Iron Man toy
Arc Reactor, I have more confidence in doing these
type of mad soldering. In this picture, you can see
that I have started to solder a SMD LED onto the
newly made copper 'ring'.

With all eight LEDs completed, it is now possible
to move on to the next stage. There is a reason
why I soldered them in such was as this was the
only space available in the mode part. I want the
LEDs to sit flush or into the cavity of the model
part and not along the walls of the middle wall.
This would give a nice light effect and not the
common 'in-your-eye' effect which blinds you.

OK, this works nicely! Now, the next problem is the
wiring. eight LEDs means eight wires plus one
for the ground signal. How to fit all nine wires
into a model about 1 inch in size?

The solution is to sort of hide the wires inside the
middle wall and let it come out from one of the
two ends. To start it off, you need to cut a small
square big enough for all the nine wires to go
through it.

Measure the length you need for all the nine wires
before you do this. It is not fun to solder like crazy
halfway and then discover that you ran out of wires.
Oh, I am using single-core wire-wrapping wires.
But for the ground, I used a normal 7-core version
because I was afraid of the power load.
(After the burn-in, its safe to use the normal
wire-wrapping ones) as this would 'fit' into a
diorama.

All done!

This is the effect I was trying tell you. Originally, I
wanted the LEDs to be on both top and bottom,
running in opposite direction but this would mean
more components from the microcontroller side as
they are not designed to light more than one LED at
any one time without additional electronic
components. This would also mean more space.

Does that plastic part look familiar to you? Its from
the Mechanical base series I got from ICW. And so,
with only eight LEDs, I can now custom design the
microcontroller circuit board as small as possible.
(If I get it etched professionally, I would even save
more space but for this 'project' the space is enough.

I managed to fit in all the parts needed plus the nine

wires into this compact part. But the batteries
would have to be outside. There is another part
which I could save space, which is to use those
expensive resistors but at this time of night, the
shops are not open and so, I had to use normal
resistors instead. Luckily, they still all fit.

And there you have it. All working as planned!

But there is a mistake, which is why one of the LEDs

is not so bright. I have checked and its not the LED
itself but one of the resistors. Because of the way
the board was soldered, it would be very risky to
redo the soldering as it would mean other wires
could come loose. Moreover, its near my
bedtime... lazy, la.

For those who knows a bit about electronics, you would be asking why did I not use the conventional '555 and 4017' combo ICs as it would be faster and also save time. My answer is, that solution cannot fit into the small plastic part. Just the 4017 IC itself is already near the size of the microcontroller.

Moreover, I used the microcontroller because I wanted the LED to have variable speed in the sweep effects. It would start with a few slow rounds before speeding up and slowing down again. Something a conventional circuit cannot do and also at the current given space.

Oh, I also just realised that I did not take a video of it in action before giving it to Bruce...

Repairing the Mini Drill

The Story
I got this sometime ago, for a very good price from ICW. And a month later, I saw it being sold as a Pro's Kit product in Pasar road but it was green in colour. Its a wonderful drill though. OK, I call it a drill rather than a rotary tool since its a mouthful but to me, this is good enough already since I do not have the resources to get either a Dremel or is equivalent.

The Problem
The reason I am putting up this post is not because of how wonderful the tool is, but to highlight its power supply problem. Raymond had warned me about the tools' power supply which can 'die' off anytime. But after looking at it, I was adamant in getting it. And then, after a few weeks later, just as Raymond predicted, my drill did not work anymore.

The Solution
But I am not worried because I have already prepared for this occasion with a standby power supply. The reason why it fails was due to the reason the power supply came with it was a switch-mode instead of the heavy transformer type, which I personally believe, was more robust. So, all you have to do is to get a new transformer type power supply instead and some rewiring and you're done!

OK, so, this is the 'faulty' rotary drill that lies on my
table, refusing to work anymore. I like this rotary
tool because the ON/OFF switch also has a
rudimentary speed control function too.

And I have confirmed that the cause of all this
was due to the faulty power supply. The only
good thing it can do now is for its plastic case
to become a part of your modeling diorama...

Anyway, before I throw this away, here is
what you will see inside the power supply.

The Wiring
What I liked about this rotary tool is the way it is being powered. By using a DC power supply, this means that you can actually replace it with batteries too (but not recommended since motors use a lot of juice) but the main reason is that you can get a replacement power supply easily too. And I have also modified the cabling system in such as way that if the replacement power supply fails, you can get a new one and just plug it in without having the need for more soldering/re-wiring.

What you need now is a new power supply that
has a real man's transformer inside. You will know
it when you lift it up because its heavy and the
sales assistant backing away in case you want to
throw it in their direction. Oh and don't forget
to get a female jack too.

I believe the rotary tool can run up to 12 volts but
I am not going to go that high. So, I got the same
spec as the 'original' power supply, which is 9 volts
DC but I upped the current to 1000mA....

Maybe I should have warned you earlier that you
need to finish reading this post before throwing the
original power supply away. This is because you will
still need the original cables. Open up the power
supply and cut out the long black cable. You can
make the cut right after that plastic grommet as
shown on the pick above. Then, unscrew the
female jack and slip its shroud onto the cable.

Carefully remove about 1 inch of the black protective
shroud to reveal the inner red & black wires. Tin
them and then solder them onto the female jack as
shown above.

Make sure you get the red cable soldered to the
in the middle tag and the black cable soldered
to the outer tag as DC voltage has polarity. Now
close it back and you're done!

And so, now my rotary tool is happily, er,
rotating again!

One further step: I suppose you can open it up and get a more powerful DC motor but, nah. Its like getting a RM50 sole to replace the worn out ones in your RM35 shoe...