NERF Raider CS-35

Since I am still here, its time to take a look at the NERF Raider which I bought last month at Toys R Us. And so, to recap, the real reason I got this Raider was because of its parts. How well it shoots the darts, Slam Fire Capabilities are of no importance to me. I will tell you why...

Here I am, with the NERF Raider CS-35. Let's open it

And so, this is how it looks like. See the little piece at the bottom next to the 35-round drum?

Its this piece. The Raider is the only NERF that has this part which you must click into the weapon. OH, once you click it in, you cannot take it out unless you open up the whole weapon. It is this part which allows the Raider to take clips and drums of the N-Strike series. And also, this is the part which I am after.

Oh, yes, you little baby you. Wait till I get this into the NERF Barricade.
And so, I plan to integrate this part into the NERF Barricade because I have seen other people doing it on the Internet and it looks fun. I mean, with this part, you can transform your barricade from a 10-shot to a well, 6, 18, 35 shots. So, in the heat of the battle, you do not have to waste time reloading all the darts but just change clips for fresh rounds. However, the next thing I have to worry about is, can it use other darts?

Marvel Icons Iron Man Part III

I was lucky to 'rediscover' the smaller version which I bought years ago and do a small but unimportant comparison just for your amusement. Looking back at it, I bought the larger Iron Man years before Hot Toys did Marvel. And also, looking back at it again, (whooo... 360ยบ turn), I still do not regret not getting a Hot Toys Iron Man.

The reason was that working at this current company, I have seen the weakness of PU and PVC that happens after a few years. It will breakdown, even if you do not touch it nor even look at it. So, I guess, things are not going to last forever, even if they are great things to you.

Big Fella and Lil' fella

They look almost the same scale-wise and pay no attention to the painting

Even the faces are quite similar except the smaller Tony Stark has a wider moustache

In terms of shoulder pads, one of them is wrong and if you look at the drawing below,

The shoulder pad on the bigger Iron Man is correct.
Anyway, with the two Iron Mans in the collection, its great. But for me, because the bigger Iron Man, the one which I have so much hope for, is made of vinyl, the dream of lighting it up is gone. Even if I do get it done one day, its not easy to blue back vinyl together.

Madman Lighting's

I am at Bruce's now, looking at his 'new' Electronic Lighting Kit which he bought from Madman Lighting (Yes, that's the name of the company). It is the first time I have ever seen an overseas lighting kit. And when I say its a kit, it really is a kit.

These are the parts that came in the kit. (From left) An instruction CD, LEDs, wires, PCB, heatshrink sleeves and fiber-optic cables.

A closer look at the LED sets. You can't go wrong with this setup

Man, I am envious of the PCB design.
And so, what Madman did was to provide you the solution that you wanted all along. Except that there is one small detail which you must know. You need to DIY. Which, for me, is not a problem but because the kit was designed to be used in US, you need a special tool, which is called the Wire-wrapping tool. A very common tool in US industry and also colleges but a very rare tool here. I have been trained on this when I was in college in UK but for those who are not really exposed to it, their usual response would either be, "What's that?" to "What do you mean it costs RM98 for this piece of metal?"

After showing Bruce how to use the tool, we got to test out the Lighting Kit

And it was fun playing with fibre-optics too.
Once when I am free, I will definitely write a review about Madman's Lighting kits. But right now, its not the time as work comes first and to be really doing justice to such a marvelous work of engineering, I need all the time I can get. But deep inside me, I believe, this is going to be one of those things that will inspire and encourage me.