And so, it begins...

And so, our World as we know it, has turned upside-down. Whatever we are used to doing has no importance anymore. Everything now revolves around my Mother, who is in UH. I have taken three day's leave so that what needs to be done, can be done while the rest of the family, esp my Father, make sure that he is always by her side.

While waiting in the car, I have to make sure Kristine finishes her daily homework

Mom's Stroke I

I got the call from my Wife while I was in the office. My Mother suffered a Stroke. Yes, all those cliches starts sprouting in my mind, like "... Life is short", "..passing by my eyes", etc. but I was too stunned to pay attention to any of these. Immediately I went into Robot mode with the only thing on my mind; Mother.

What happened for the next few hours was a blur.

All I know is that my Mom and Dad recognised the symptoms she got him to rush her to the Hospital where it was confirmed.

Moebius 1/32 Cylon Raider Part 001

Ok, I am very excited about this. What I have in my hands is Bruce's new 1/32 Cylon Raider from Moebius. This was because when it came out, not many were excited by it until he held it in his hands and took a picture. Then everyone realised that its big and yes, the mad rush was on.

Luckily, Bruce got his from shipped and so, I can say that he is one of the few proud owners to get this Cylon Raiders first here. And he is lending it to me for R&D. You see, we want to light this model up and the prospect of doing it in a very small space was a challenge. Anyway, this is the preliminary examination of the model kit:

Although the box of the Raider is the same size of the Viper, it is noticeable thinner.

But when you held the model in your hands, you realised that it is very big.
How did Moebius cram that into the box?

My plan was to have White LEDs for the thrusters and by the looks of this instruction sheet, it is possible.
Except that you need some sort of support when mounting the LED inside.

What is nice is that the 'Plasma Emitter' is clear and so, its going to be great.
But plastics being plastics, it is not easy to light-proof it especially when all the parts are glued together. You will see the light coming out from the joints even if you used aluminium tape inside the parts.

The real challenge lies in the head of the Raider. Stay tuned for more progress notes.

18022012 Trip to KK

This is our first trip after CNY, which is some sought after relief to be away from everything, especially for me. Here, I can have a real R&R plus Bruce is nearby which we can discuss more about modeling. There is a project coming up and we're sort of excited to get it out soon-ish. Anyway, as usual, the place needs to be cleaned up before anything.

After everyone has helped, it was time to take a rest. Also, it was a good opportunity to get the girls dressed

For lunch at Aeon. Note: The food there is not so appealing despite enjoying minutes of standing in line for everything

I can't help myself despite her Dad standing next to her. So cute!

New Gundam Age  toys in Jusco.
Which is weird but then, the new series was aimed to capture younger audiences and once you realised that, the toys are a logical move.

But what does not make sense is that these toys comes in separate parts from, from lower to upper torso. And well, if you want the whole 'complete' figure, you need to buy the complete set. Anyway, for the rest of us, this is a model kit. A RM510.00 1/48 scale (37.5cm tall) Gundam Age-1 model kit, to be exact.

As we're doing our weekend groceries, I can't help but look at the bread shelves.
Yep, the Massimo (right) outsold other breads.

Ah, this is something new from Gardenia.
Its called Passione Italiana which has "Herbal Mediteranrean Mixed grains".

Its really delicious but again, at the price its asking for, this is a rare treat for me.

And so, that's what we did for Saturday. I will blog later on my evening with Bruce on another post.

The next day, it was Spaghetti Lunch

The girls with theirs on their favourite table

While I had mine on, well, the MAIN table. Ha ha ha ha!
OH, this is the prototype for the Project. I am having problems with the flickering lights.

After lunch, it was time for Kristine to do some of her work

While Kaelynn found out the hard way that there is no Internet...

Going through my stash, this was Pol's "Battle Damaged Enterprise" awaiting new re-fits and electronics

Yeah, it was a long journey home and everyone's exhausted.

Still, it was a good weekend for all of us and especially for me as I get to go to Bruce's place as discuss stuff at great lengths (OK, I came back between 1AM and 3AM, I think)

But, I'm just the Photographer...

It was a surprise that the Office people asked me to attend the Annual Dinner Committee... er, dinner. But deep inside, I did not feel I deserved it because, well, I was not the 'Official' cameraman. Also, because I have sent my Nikon D50 for repair months ago, it still has not returned back to me, "Ok the flooding in Japan has delayed the spare part...".

Anyway, when they asked me to take some photos, I agreed but deep in my mind, in the whole Department, I am being a nosey-parker again. Ah, fuck this. I don't care what they say as I have made up my mind to take photos on that night. And on that night, there was so much going on and I was more worried about my Nokia n8 running out of battery since I took a lot of videos too to the point I was videoing (Nokia n8) and photographng (Office PnS) at the same time.

But surprisingly, there were no repercussions on the days after except from one source which I did not expect. "Come for the Dinner" they said. And so, I agreed. Anything just to release the grimness in my customer problems.

And so, the dinner is the Buffet in Hilton. And it was almost a decade since my last time there.

It was not easy to take this Panoramic shot in the low light. This was the fifth attempt.

One thing I noticed is that my buffet 'collection' reflects my thinking...

..whereas Adam, my friend was more artistically orgamised.

Finally, after making much small talks and stopping enough not to make a fool of myself, I was attracted to this 3D-like painting.

You know, the next time anyone asks me to do this, I think I have to ask in return, "Do we have to eat dinner after the Dinner?"

When you just don't like to eat

No matter how delicious it smells to everyone, when you just don't have the appetite, ...

... its just a mixture of green, orange and more green. Even if it was cooked by Mommy.

Mentos Mintensity

Not sure what this is supposed to be but one thing I am certain is that its in front of me. The 'Mintensity' pack must be some sort of an experiment for mints by Mentos. Sure they have the fruit mix and the Sour mix some time ago and it was well accepted by the Public. But Mints?

This is how the package looks like. Only those who are curious would buy them, or, well, Mint fans, I suppose.

The flavours are: Extrra, Strong, Fresh and Soft. Personally, I like Fresh.

So, for those who like to try out different versions of the Mint without having to buy individual packs, this is the more economical solution. But if you buy them outside the Mentos range, then the taste is reset.

The Green Tea Light

Finally, the Tea Lights have started to come into Malaysia. OK, they came more than a year ago but for some reasons, was not 'popular'. And the prices they commanded emited a lot of Boo's from the Wallet Community no doubt. Anyway, this coming from China, suprisingly, costs very little. So, for that price, I am sure there is something fishy there which really made me quite curious.

For you see, when it comes to a product, there is a minimal cost which if you go below it, there are a few possible explanations:

1) Someone bought them by container loads.

2) Someone wants to clear them by container loads

3) Someone else wants to use the container, or

4) Something new

And so, here it is. For that price, I am surprised (OK, not really) it even has a battery

Nothing special here, just the battery and a switch

Ah, this is where the mystery reveals itself! There are no circuit boards, just the switch and the LED.

And so, I have stumbled upon the next generation of the Flickering Tea Lights. In the first generation, it needed two button cell batteries and the flickering effect is controlled from a circuit board. Here, everything has been packed into the LED. All you need now is just the battery and there you go. This now only saves material costs but also, they can now turn them into actual candles if they wanted too as I have seen smaller batteries.

The only problem which I could not understand was why green? It should be warm white, damn it.

Anyway, it would be perfect for Bruce when and if he does a Flying Dutchman model.

Sleeping Positions

Happy Valentines (or, Happy Money Honey Sucking day)

I absolutely have no idea what they were dreaming about and its not about Boyfriends

ELs spotted

While passing by, I spotted these weird looking decorations hanging on the shelve of one Chinese Goods Store. For those unfamiliar with this, its just a weird ornament.

For those who have seen it, its an animated EL (Electroluminescent) design. I was tempted to get it but because it costs RM39.00 (and also where to use it), I decided not to.

Advantage of EL is that it can be used on a flat medium and still be able to give out light.

When you see a ribbon cable connected to a black box, it means sequenced lights.

Bumper bumity bump

I am angry. Yes, angry. I am angry because I was angry. And I am not being calm about the whole matter.

After I have parked my car, I decided to wait for a moment before getting out since this is a very important customer. Then an old Satria, driven by a young Malay girl, came in and swerved to the empty parking space in my right. And you can hear the painful crunching sound that came after that.

Stupid girl had misjudge her swerving and scratched my bumper. Since its a small scratch, I told her to forget it because even if she wants to pay and all, I was not in the mood. This is not a simple case of paying and then forget about it because there are a lot of 'hidden' problems that comes with it if you're unlucky. Anyway, one look of my face (or it is just me) they reversed the car hurriedly and left. I saw the car again after I have seen my customer and it seemed that they decided to park further away just to be safe. I wanted to hit out at the car but then again, what's the point? Besides, their fog lamp also came off...

AF Hobby

Today, I have made up my mind to look for this AF Hobby, which is located somewhere in Ampang. I wanted to see what this shop has to offer and to be that far away, they must be very special. More special than spesial.

But before I can start my journey, I need to make sure the Family is well-fed. But buying from Jusco?

Actually, its from their Home Department where they have a stall selling Asam Laksa and Nasi Lemak

Depending on their Chef of the Contract, sometimes, its delicious.

Finally, on a Sunday afternoon, I made it. But somehow, arriving to this area has already given me an uneasy feeling.

So, this is the place and we (as in we, the customers) had to give the owner a call as he is late in opening the door for us.

But once we're in, all my negative thoughts vanished. I was like a little kid again. There were rows and rows of Gundam kits which, in the outside World, had vanished.

There were lots of accessories and also, those Koto part which we rare in the market too

I think I have spent more than two hours in that place and to be honest, every kit I saw, when I backtracked, seemed to be 'lost' in the stack again. And then, my mind forgets about it when at the corner of my eye, more new kits. Suffice to say, If I wanted to, I could stay trapped in there for well, a few months although its nothing more than just a shoplot and 8 shelves. Would I go back there again, the answer is yes.

But not so soon la... need to recuperate after the CNY as I am really broke again, what with all the ang Pows.

Late night McD's

The cause

The effect

Gundam Dagger

'It could not be done that way', I was told.

But since I am feeling a little bit stubborn, I took that statement as a challenge.

It all started when I looked at the 1/144 Gundam 105 Dagger & Gunbarrel kit I bought years ago. This was from the Gundam Seed anime series (which I did not follow). You can get more information from the Wiki about them but for this post, I will go straight to the point:

I want to light up the Gunbarrel

Being a 1/144 scale model, the Gunbarrel is tiny. Very, very tiny. And to light it up, it is not easy. There are no LEDs small enough to enter into the model's internal space. And so, what I need are some fibre-optics and also, very thin wires.

The first problem was solved, thanks to ICW who provided the Fibre-Optic and also the fine drill bits.

You can see that it lights up very well. I am using a red LED for the moment but later on, it will be white since its going to be a strobe.

The next problem is to light up the engine thrusters on each pod. Unfortunately, they were all connected to a solid wing piece. One way is to scribe a micro trench, lay in the wires and the seal it up with putty.

But no. I decided to try my method which they said could not be done. My method is to use a fine drill bit (from ICW) and manually drill through the wings.

Yes, it works but some alighment problem means I need to cover them, maybe with putty. But it worked.

In total, there are five thrusters and this is the fifth thruster located in the Gunbarrel's main body. All four pair of wires are going to come in here. Not only that, I have to figure out how to stuff a chip inside too. Yes, its going to be very cramped.

As for the third problem, I wanted to recast the thrusters into clear so I can achieve the thrust effect I wanted. This is because the LEDs are too big and usng smaller SMDs would solve the problem at the cost of brightness. So, with clear parts, my theory is that the thrusters would be brighter. Unfortunately, I got stuck at this stage where moulding the part and casting it is the main problem. As in professional help and material cost problem.

So, it could not be done. But am I going to take this?

No way. 

I believe there is another solution. In the meantime, 'Hello, to-do bin'