Elspeth vs Kiora duel deck

Elspeth Vs Kiora dual deck was the latest dual deck that been release by wizard of the coast at the time of this post. This dual deck cost about $45bnd in RH and no that is not how the condition of the packaging when i bought it as this was bought some time ago. From the packaging it self you can see that it contain two foil planeswalker Elspeth and kiora, also this two planeswalker is still playable on standard format at time of this post. Before we get to the card let see what do we get in the packaging.

The rules reference card that you can get also from fat pack and intro pack.

The Elspeth and Kiora deck box for storing your card but this only hold non sleeve card. If you must single sleeve it or even double sleeve it better get two deck box for it.

 I really love this poster thing and it is one of the reason why i like getting an intro pack. Beside the nice art there is also a deck list at the back to keep track of your card.

Now for the good stuff the planeswalker and the 59 preconstruction card and two token on each pack. So include the planeswalker it will be a 60 card deck with no sideboard.

First up is the deck from Elspeth and as you can see the deck is a mono white deck. There are 26 creature, 9 spell, 22 basic land, 2 land and 2 token card.

Next is the Kiora deck and the first thing you can notice is that, it is not a mono color deck but a green/blue deck aka G/U deck (Note for new player Green = G and Blue = U). The card contain in this deck is as follow 22 creature, 12 spell, 22 basic land (11 for each green and blue), 3 land and 2 token.

This is my first dual deck pack and to me this dual deck is kinda worth buying as it contain two planeswalker that are still playable on standard and you can just play a casual game with friend who don't own a deck. I do have some issue with this dual deck. One of the issue is the deck box given, they should try giving a bit bigger deck box so we can actually store the card in at least a single sleeve. Another issue i saw is the token given to Elspeth deck which is only two soldier token. I don't know why they only give two token for Elspeth as her +1 ability is put three soldier token, guess they did not read the card. The last one that i can think off is the emblem card for both Elspeth and Kiora are not given in this set even though both elspeth and kiora last ability get an emblem. Again my guess that they them self did not read the card or it was left out intentionally.

Star wars AT-AT metal model kit

This is my first time building a metal model kit and i know there are a few type out there from car to even gundam model. Good thing about this kit is that no glue nor soldering is needed and all you needed is a nipper to cut out the part and a needle nose pliers.

Inside the packaging there are two metal sheet and a manual on how to assemble the kit it self. The reason why this kit no need glue or soldering is because there is a small hole for the part to fit in and you can use the plier to flaten it or twist it so the part will stay in place. i my self don't have a needle nose pliers so i just Mc guyver it and manage to fix it up in a day time.

This is how the finish product will look like. It is approx. 10-15cm tall and very shiny as you can see that the body is almost like a mirror. Beside the shape there are also detail on the kit it self which make it even nice to look at. During the building process you need to bend or roll the flat metal sheet at a designated area on the part and there was not a broken piece at the end of the build, even the part i multiple bend and unbend is still strong which is a good thing as you don't want a broken peace on this kit.

Now on to the problem. during this build i notice there was some problem which some is minor and some that complicate thing. The minor issue i notice is that this kit is a finger print magnet due to the shiny metal, so if you just pick up the kit with bare hand you will notice that there will be finger print.
another minor thing is there are no label on the metal sheet it self and you need to check the manual often either you got the correct part or not. The thing that make it complicated i will say is the manual it self, yes the thing that suppose to make your life easy is the thing that make your life complicated. first of all it did not show you how to bent the part all they show you are how the part going to be look like so there going to be multiple bending and unbending of the metal. second thing is that the part go to which hole was not show clearly, it is still fixable but you may need a bit more time seeing it where it actually go. The last thing is that there was actually a mistake in the manual which lead me to a hold for like 15min to get it fix which i did not follow the manual on that part.

Despite the issue after it is finish it is one nice kit for display. Though there are no movable part it is still nice to have especially if you are a star wars fan.

How, why and what is needed for double sleeving

What is needed for double sleeving?

Double sleeving you require two type of sleeve, the inner sleeve and the outer sleeve. In this case I be using two brand of sleeve the KMC and the ultrapro for both the inner and outer sleeve. The last item that is require are the card that you want to protect, in this case I be just using my token card that I have laying around my table. As to what the different between the KMC and ultrapro inner sleeve you can check out my old post here.

How to double sleeving?

The inner sleeve go first from the top of your card until it is fit firmly.

Next the outer sleeve are insert from the bottom of your card so it cover the inner sleeve opening.

That is how you double sleeve your card. the process are the same for the other brand of sleeve or card.

Why do I need to double sleeve?

the first reason is friction. if you are the type of person who like to keep changing the card sleeve often the card may worn out due to the friction from putting in and taking out from the sleeve. With double sleeving the inner sleeve will protect the card from the friction. So what do it offer beside protection from friction as there maybe some people who don’t change they sleeve often.

The answer is water. Water is almost every where, from your drink to the pool of water on the floor. It is a rare event where the water will spill or you drop your card into a pool of water but it can happen and when that happen your card will be damage. So does double sleeving protect your card from water?

Well we will find out. I saw this been done from Tolarian Community College last time and I feel like trying it, so I put in two card. one card is using the KMC perfect size with KMC super series sleeve and the other card is using the ultrapro pro-fit with the ultrapro matte sleeve.

The outer layer is obviously wet for both of the card.

After removing the outer sleeve, the inner sleeve are a bit wet on the top part. So if this was a single sleeve your card would already be wet.

After removing the inner sleeve, both card was still dry. The thing that surprise me was that the card in the ultrapro is also dry as my initial though was that the card in the ultrapro sleeve are going to get wet. The reason was the ultrapro pro-fit tend to be a bit too small, so when sleeving with the pro-fit there tend to have a bit of opening at the end. I did this experiment twice and both also give me the same result.

Con of double sleeving

Nothing is perfect as where there is a pro in something they usually is a con also.

1. Double sleeving can make your card thick, like a 60 card deck magically look like a 90 card deck. So player who is not use to shuffling such a thick card may have some issue to shuffle they deck.
2. Another issue with double sleeving card which maybe a minor issue but some of your deck box may not be able to store a double sleeve 60 card deck especially when there are side board also in it.
3. Double sleeving may cost more as you need to get the inner sleeve and some time you may need to get a new deck box due to point number 2.

In my conclusion I feel that if you are play with the expensive card it is better to double sleeve it.

Toy con in Brunei postpone

If you saw my previous post here than you may know that they will be a toy con soon. well here is an update to that and sadly it is a sad news as the toy con will be postpone to either July or August.The reason for the postpone was due to the venue, so let hope with the extra amount of time the event will be bigger and better when it is actually held. I will update here when there is an update to the event, you guys/girls may also check out Brunei Plamo Group facebook page for an update.

Where to get Plamo kit in Brunei

The reason for this post is that even some shop been operated very long already, but still got some people who don’t know where to get some stuff. I hope with this post they can find what they want in ease.

Before we start I want to raise the misconception by some people on what is Plamo kit? well plamo is the short form for plastic model which mean any type of plastic model such as car, bike, tank, airship and a lot more, even mecha such as gundam in which some refers it as Gunpla aka gundam plastic. The reason why I raise that up was because some people still think that plamo = gunpla only instead of general plastic model in which I mention some above. with above subject clear than we will get to the shop.

CHToynation

Area: Kiulap area

location: it is one row with the Chong Hock computer on the first floor

Website main

Gunpla section

Facebook

The above location is they new location as they just close down they current shop and move it across the road. As of this post the shop are not yet open as it is still under renovation but it will be open very soon. So what do they sell at the shop? they sell a few type of stuff there such as figure, merchandise, magazine, plamo and a few more stuff. Since this is a plamo related post so I will just list out some of the brand they use to carry before they move.

• Bandai – Gunpla and LBX
• hasegawa – plane
• tamiya – car model
• aoshima – car model
• kotobukia – mecha model

there may be other more but that is what I remember on what they carry. they carry more of bandai stuff because of Gunpla. They also carry some gundam marker for panel line which cost about $5bnd each.

 

Guan Hock Lee (Hobby section)

Area: Tengku-link

location: The shop lot that is near the airport runway or where most local call it the old liang toon area as there use to be a supermarket name liang toon there. It is the same location as one of the Chinese restaurant “May Fang”

Guan hock lee is actually one of the oldest music shop. They sell vary of musical instrument from guitar to piano but beside from the music shop they also have two more shop Guan hock lee (Food Section) at batu bersurat and Guan hock lee (hobby section) which is just next door from the music department. The hobby section sell a few type of stuff there from the huge RC and they spare part to plamo and even the tamiya mini 4wd kit but as for plamo they sell from the following brand.

• Tamiya – Car and military kit
• Hasegawa – military plane
• trumpet – military kit

beside from plamo they also sell Tamiya bottle paint and also Tamiya spray can. Since I also do painting (hand/airbrush) this is the shop I go to buy paint, Beside from paint they also sell a few type of stuff for plamo such as masking tape, paint brush, putty, cement, weathering kit and a few more stuff.

 

Hobby model enterprise

Area: kiulap

Location: Ground floor in seri Qlap mall, opposite QQ Estore.

facebook

site

This is just a small shop lot in the seri qlap mall which is own by sibling who each own a register company name. one click mobile accessary and Hobby model enterprise. On the hobby section you may see that he carry a lot more car model in the shop as the shop is the distributer for aoshima hence the reason on why a lot of car model kit. The brand he carry in the shop is as following.

• Aoshima – Car model
• Fujimi – Car model
• bandai/P-bandai – Gunpla
• dragon momoko – 3rd party Gunpla
• MC model – mecha/3rd party gunpla

Beside model kit they also sell tool like plaplate, putty, primer and many more. The owner also do commission build for his customer but that is only when he is not fully occupied by the other customer order.

 

Half-half

Area: gadong

location: on the 3rd floor of the mall gadong near the escalator that go up from the AV store.

facebook

This shop sell mostly figure and other merchandise but they also sell gunpla and gundam marker.

 

nanyang

area: Kuala Belait

Location: it is across the street from KFC in KB town.

For a first timer to this shop they may not know that shop is an actual shop that sell plamo as this shop it self is selling camera stuff from the outside but as you enter and went to the back you will actually see toy in the shelf. This shop used to only cater Tamiya model kit to they customer such as car and military kit but recently they also bring in Bandai Gunpla. This is a good news for people who live in KB as they don’t have to drive 100+ KM to bandar to just buy they model kit. The shop also sell tamiya paint and some tool also, which is good as tool are hard to come by here.

 

social media seller

here is a list of place that I know sell plamo locally here but don’t own a physical shop yet. The way they usually sell they stuff is by posting the item they sell in they social media page like facebook and people who are interested on they item may contact the seller and he/she will set up a meeting place for you to pay and collect the item.

• Tiny station
• Brunei Gunpla Marketplace
• Likiko Cy

Again like my card shop post I’m not sponsored by any of the shop above. this post is for info sharing only.

15th May 2015 FNM

Another Friday, another FNM. This was the last Friday FNM at RH. The game format for that day was KTK-FRF-DTK draft. As for non MTG player KTK-FRF-DTK  is the type of booster pack they use and draft is the format of the game. Maybe one day I should write something about the game format here but I will put the long name of the pack below just for the purpose of this post.

KTK = Khans of TarKir

FRF = Fate ReForge

DTK = Dragon of TaKir

Ultra Pro play mat & Artwork tube

was meant to post this and a few more sooner but due to my window gone corrupted and I lost all my data on the laptop. Anyway this is the play mat and & artwork tube by ultra pro and as you may have guested from the name it is a tube to hold your play mat or artwork but for my purpose it is for storing my play mat. I got this tube locally at the Reader’s haven and it cost about $10bnd per tube and it a good thing to have to keep your play mat from dust or dirt. The tube is make from a transparent plastic and have a length of approx. 15 inch. Due to the length, this tube can store a play mat up to 15 inch which can store most of not all type of play mat.

The two rubber stopper at both end of the tube got the engrave of the ultra pro and also a small hole. The hole is there so you may easily cover the tube with the rubber as it release the air from the tube out.

here is how it look like when there is a play mat in the tube. So far I found it is a nice thing to have as I mention early that the tube help protect the mat from dust and dirt, also it protect it from getting wet. The downside of this tube is the shape because it is round, the tube tend to roll away when you placing it on a table unlike the other brand like monster protection where the shape is a prism/triangle. As of now I m quite happy with it as it cost only $10bnd and it keep my mat clean and dry.

Upcoming Toycon announcement in Brunei (Postpone)

This is just an announcement that they will be a toy con here in Brunei this upcoming 12 till 14 of June 2015. The venue has been select and it will be held in the Pusat Belia hall. As of now not much info yet as it is still in discussion with the other hobby group but for sure the competition of the following entry will be on.

• Gunpla
• Gunpla with diorama
• Car model (plamo)
• Military kit
• Tamiya mini 4wd beauty contest (not race)
• Hotwheels customize

The entry to the event is free and also this is a charity event so a percentage of the earning will be donated. I will try to update more on this matter here as I more new info to share.

* update on the postpone can be seen here

Gundam Portent

It been a while I post any gundam related stuff on this blog (well the old before I decide to clear everything off and start fresh). This gunpla was from the animation series Gundam build fighter try and it come with a few runner, sticker and the manual. I actually fix this up before I was thinking of refreshing this blog which is the reason y there was no picture of the runner and stuff.

This was how the finish model look like after I was done with it. before I go on I need to mention that the cable u saw in this picture was not include with this kit and it was an add on I did which I will show later on. This kit is an easy to do kit as there was not much runner in it so it should be able to finish it with in a day for a OOB build. Articulation wise for this kit was actually pretty good but I do have issue with the arm keep falling off when you try to turn it.

Weapon and extra

well beside from the GN pierce sword which is what I use to pose the gunpla with, it also come with the GN smash rifle and also the beam saber attachment which you can use to attach on the handle from the back of the gundam portent. beside the weapon they also give you three extra fist but I some how manager to lost one of them before able to take the picture.

As for the cable that I mention early it was for this purpose. I install a LED to the chest part and the wire was leading to the battery compartment. If you don’t have this kit yet and was wandering is there a compartment to put in the LED? the answer is a no they don’t. The only way I was able to insert in the LED was to drill some hole on the kit it self. I did drill a wrong part in which left the waist part articulation a bit poor.

in short this was a easy to build kit for me and due to the less runner I was able to finish it in a day or two.