COMIC - PGS-104: Confrontation

Last time, Solid Snake-Eyes met the M.A.R.S. Director, who soon died due to a food allergy. Teaming up with Col. Abernathy's niece Scarlett, Snake-Eyes heads off to find Dr. Anthony Gambello, Plastic Gear's chief engineer.

But what, or who, will he find in Dr. Gambello's lab...?

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What a Week!

I try to keep my R/L Drama to a minimum, but this week's just been too awesome for me to keep it to myself.

On Monday, I started my new (or rather, first) job. Appropriately enough, it involves taking digital photos and using Photoshop.

The sudden demise of Mandalorian Guilds came as a shock to me. What also surprised me this week was the grand re-opening of the Guilds! The band's back together and it feels great to have my home on the internet (and my friends) back again. Joe, thanks for the change of heart. I think we all needed some time off, but I'm happy we're back together now.

If you're into Star Wars, Transformers, GI Joe, video games, collecting and customizing action figures (and a whole lot more), check out the Mandalorian Guilds by clicking here.

Not only that, but I got a package from my good friend Homer of the Mandalorian Guilds and the HissTank.com forums: 25th Rock N Roll and his mount, the mighty RAM Cycle! (Nothing says 'America' like a high-speed motorcycle with a gatling gun attached to it!)



Thanks to you, Homer, I now have 10 of the Original 13! And if you know me, you know I'm a total Original 13 Whore.

And, to top it all off, I managed to get into the Beta of Battlefield Heroes, the latest instalment of the Battlefield series. I applied on the Beta forums months ago and just assumed I didn't get in. Guess I was wrong! BF Heroes feels like TF2 meets WWII, with some Worms thrown in, all baked into a yummy Battlefield pie.

I'll be posting a comic tonight so it'll be up in time for tomorrow. Report back here tomorrow morning, soldier! As usual, you can post comments on any of my posts here on the site, or you can check out the Official Ages 25 & Up thread at the HissTank.com forums.

Have a great weekend, trooper.

A Moment of Silence for the Mandalorian Guilds

That last two years have been hectic for me. Started and finished college, made a lot of friends, did a lot of great work, met a lot of people who became very important to me. Some were teachers, some were classmates, some were buddies on the internet.

I became a member of a small forum community called the Customizers' Universe. It wasn't very large, but it was a friendly place where we would chat about our hobbies, share our work with each other, and have a laugh. It was place I soon began to consider my home on the internet.

Now when I say that the CU Crew were my 'internet buddies,' I don't mean that they were just people who would post 'lol' at pictures I would post. Sure, I didn't know what they looked like, where they lived, what they did for living, we were nonetheless friends. I could always count on them for support, ideas, and advice, and they were always friendly and very supportive. The first custom action figures I ever made were inspired by the work of my friends from the CU, and with their help, I'd like to think that I've gotten a bit better. I hope!

The Customizers' Universe later became the Mandalorian Guilds, but it was still the place I knew and loved, with friends who were always just a post away. This very comic, Ages 25 & Up, began as a 'updated whenever I feel like it' feature at the Guilds. Were it not for my buddies' encouragement, I would never have gotten it off the ground (granted, it's not off the ground by much, but you get the idea).

But alas, nothing golden can stay. This week, I was shocked and deeply saddened to know that I'd lost my home: the Mandalorian Guilds went offline, with only an upsetting message from our Admin to let us know what had happened.

Was it a complete failure? Hell no, and far from it. It was an international collective of talent and imagination, united by our common interests and held together by our friendship. If that constitutes a 'complete failure,' then I can only imagine what success must be like.

CU and MG team, thanks for the times, thanks for the memories, thanks for the laughs, thanks for the support. Thanks for being there when I needed you. Thanks for being my friends. Joe, Kris, Lance, and the rest, if you need to reach me (and feel more than welcome to!), shoot me an email, I'd love to hear from you. Vash, Cuy, Mando, if anything I said, did, or posted might have lead to the demise of the Guilds, I really am deeply sorry. You know I wouldn't purposely piss you off or do anything to try to hurt you in any way. I'm not that kind of person. If you decide to start up another forum community some day, let me know; I'll be first to join.

Farewell, Universe. So long, Guilds. You've been good to me. You will be missed.

COMIC - PGS-103: The Detention Level

Welcome back, readers! You're just in time for a fresh comic.

Last time, Solid Snake-Eyes got inside of the Cobra base. But he might be in over his head!

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COMIC - PGS-102: Infiltration

Hey everyone. Here's the latest comic, continuing the Plastic Gear Solid storyline. This time, Solid Snake-Eyes learns who he's going to be up against, as well as his mission objectives.

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COMIC - PGS-101

Fresh comic for you guys and gals!

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REVIEW - Blue Cartoon Baroness

Welcome to the first Ages 25 & Up review. This one's about the single-carded Baroness in a blue costume from the cartoon.



I'm a fan of the comic, not the cartoon, so I'm not sure how accurate it is to the animation model.

The figure is a retool/repaint of the Baroness figure that came in the Cobra 5-pack. Her head is new and her hips have been fixed. Yep, she can sit down and drive a HISS now.


The issues I have with the original 25th figure are still present. Mainly the proportions. Her legs are too long and spindly. Either those boots are extremely tight, or her proportions are off. One or the other. Knowing the Baroness, maybe both.

The detailing is what you'd expect from the 25th line. There's a lot of attention to detail: just look at the sculpted holster on her right hip and the non-removable sidearm inside it.

Articulation is fairly decent. Ball-jointed head, shoulders, elbows, knees, ankles, chest, and swivel wrists. Double-jointed knees or elbows would have been nice, though. She can strike a number of poses, just make sure you keep that stand handy. She can't really keep her balance well.



The new headsculpt isn't so great. Gone are the Baroness' familiar glasses, replaced instead by rectangular green ones. Maybe she stole them from Doc when Cobra captured him.



Her hair and glasses are different and the face just looks generic. If I didn't know this was supposed to be Baroness, I wouldn't have guessed it was her at all. The same goes for the colours.

Green glasses, blue costume, black gloves and thigh-high boots (giggity), and a yellow belt. These sure are some funky colours.

In terms of accessories, all she includes are a stand and her SMG. No backpack (her hair blocks the port), no knife like in the package art. The gun does look great, and she can hold in a few ways for badassitude.




I'm really not sure why they didn't just release a single-carded version of the Baroness from the 5-Pack. That would probably have made a lot of people happy, myself included. But no, we're instead presented with this outlandish repaint.

If you're a big fan of the animated Baroness and her blue costume and green glasses, this figure's for you. If you're looking for bland, generic female Cobras for your 25 ranks, this figure's for you. If you're looking for a female figure to match your Breaker Comic Pack Destro's blue costume, this figure's for you. If you're looking for a recognizable Baroness figure, look elsewhere.

Sure, you COULD repaint her like I did (images below), but there's really no point since there's a new Baroness coming out in the upcoming 5-pack. This figure makes a great generic female Cobra, but that's pretty much all she's good for.

SUMMARY:
25th Anniversary blue cartoon-coloured BARONESS

ACCESSORIES:
- UMP submachine gun
- figure stand

PROS:
- fixed crotch
- head looks more realistic
- makes a good generic female Cobra

CONS:
- colours are ugly
- does not look like the Baroness
- lackluster equipment loadout
- exaggerated proportions
- single-jointed knees

RATING:
2.5 ON 5
"DO NOT WANT"

ADDITIONAL IMAGES:

COMIC - PGS-100

I've been relatively quiet this week despite Joe news like new photos on the web and new toys in stores, so forgive me. But chances are, if you're reading this, you've already seen the photos and your toys are in the mail.

Anyway, I mentioned that I'd be trying something new this week. Bear with me. Thanks for reading!

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25th Viper Hands & Some Site News

Some people seem to be less than happy about the 25th Anniversary Viper figure. (Too bad for them; more Vipers for us, yes?) The Viper hands/wrists are moulded for a single purpose, it seems: holding their weapon. They can hold that gun very well, but they can't seem to do much else (maybe ride a motorcycle, or something).

Well, I've discovered that they can do something else with those hands:

As you can see, their hands are perfectly moulded for holding their gear.


Now for some site news: I'm thinking of putting up some reviews for figures and stuff. Thing is, by the time I'd have the reviews up, you'd probably already have the stuff I'm reviewing. Still, I'd like to share my opinions (and photos) with you guys, so Reviews are on my To Do list.

Because you asked for it, Cobra's coming. They're up to something. Something BIG. So big, it demands the first-ever Ages 25 & Up Special Event. But more on that later.

EDIT: This is my 21st post. I was going to make this whole post "Silent Interlude" style, but it would have been too hard.

COMIC - File #05: "The Silver Screen"

Shifting gears from the Clutch story arc, pun not intended.

This strip is about the upcoming "GI Joe" movie. Some of the Ages 25 & Up characters are optimistic, while others such as Breaker, aren't quite feeling it.

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