Travel – Hong Kong 2007 Pre-Trip Homework Part 1

My Hong Kong pre-trip research has begun and I have uncovered some new locations to hunt for toys in Hong Kong! The 3 new places are

• Richmond Commercial Centre

• Sino Centre

• Trendy Zone

The good news is that all 3 of these locations are in Mongkok which is where my hotel is and where CTMA Centre is also! I have put together a map showing all these 3 locations here. The source of the map is from the digital map at this website. Can’t wait to shop for toys at these places when they are a stone’s throw from my hotel!

Movies & DVDs – Gamera The Brave (2006)

I was hunting for some DVDs at a store during the recent holidays when I spotted the words ‘G-A-M-E-R-A’ on a particular DVD. It struck a cord with me because I had always remembered seeing a movie in my childhood that had a giant turtle battling monsters of equal gigantic proportions. I believe the movie was voiced over in Mandarin and the turtle that saved the day was know as ‘Shen Gui’ or ‘Turtle God’… if you translate it literally. As such, I had never known that turtle by its Japanese name of Gamera.

That was until several months back when I started to do some digging to find out the title of that movie I watched as kid then. With Wikipedia these days, I was able to associate confidently the name Gamera to the giant turtle from the fragments of the movie I recollected from my memory.

What got me searching was the desire to re-watch that particular movie which I remembered was rather touching. I think I cried in the theatre then. But my search landed me several Gamera movies spanning from the 1960s to the 1990s. I’ve narrowed the possibilities to the 1980s period. And since the only Gamera movie then is Gamera Super Monster from 1980, this is most probably the Gamera movie I am after. Now, I’d just have to get my hands on one!

Musings – SWFToys heading to Hong Kong in March 2007!

My friends and I will be heading to Hong Kong at the end of March 2007! I’ve been wanting to make a trip back there again for several reasons:

• Re-visit Victoria Peak
  • Victoria peak tower was under renovation when I visited in Sep 2005.
  • It was raining heavily and so I missed the chance to enjoy the night scenery.
• Visit Madame Tussaud’s
  • The wax museum was under renovation as well in Sep 2005!
• Explore more of Hong Kong island
  • More of a touch and go here during my last visit.
  • Went too early and alot of toy shops were not opened.
• Better coverage of HK toy shops!
  • Hope to get more pictures this time.
  • Maybe dig up more toy stores to visit.

So it is time to start formulating a Hong Kong Toy Plan!

Review – Sideshow 1/6 Jabba The Hutt

“There will be no bargain. I like captain Solo where he is. I don’t want to give up my favorite decoration.”

These words of Jabba the Hutt in Return of the Jedi underlined the reality that although the Jedi may have existed for centuries and their abilities well-known, not everyone in the Galaxy will accede to a Jedi’s request quite readily. For a crime lord, Jabba Desilijic Tiure was a curiosity. Being a Hutt, he was a huge loathsome slug-like creature to behold. It did not help his image that he was well-known to be cruel. Yet, his influence reaches the corners of the Galaxy. To top it all, he operated out of a barren and hot planet called Tatooine. How an obese guy like Jabba can be such an influential crime boss must have something to do with his ties to his powerful mafia clan. Even in Star Wars, family matters. Or else, Bib might had been the one to strangle the lights out of Jabba much earlier!

Musings – Dejarik Holochess Set: Intergalactic Game Anyone?

Here’s something that caught my interest while I was surfing Sideshow’s website. It’s the Dejarik Holochess Set seen in A New Hope! It’s that game which R2 trounced Chewie soundly in the Millenium Falcon shortly after their departure from Tatooine! I must say that the Star Wars people at Sideshow are really making good use of the 12″ licence from LucasFilm. This chess set is a definitely unconventional and holds lots of promise for a Star Wars fan like myself!

Incoming – Sideshow 1/6 Jabba The Hutt

It’s the Chinese Lunar New Year and the perfect holiday for giving attention to Sideshow’s biggest Star Wars figure – the 1/6 scale Jabba the Hutt! What an incoming this big guy had been when I collected him from the local store. Much longer and unwieldy than Hot Toy’s ED-209, I had to improvise quickly a way to strap him to my back when I transported this Hutt home on my motorcycle! I secured the box with an empty helmet bag (turned into a rope) which was in turn tied to another helmet bag which I slung over my body. I sat a little backwards on my bike so that my back would prop the box securely when I travelled on the roads. Thank God it did not rain that day!

Comics – Jabba’s Palace Happenings

Musings – The Question of Storage And Collecting Toys

Here’s a peek into my storeroom… and showcasing my toy box storage corner! I am proud to say that this section (with the brown metal bars) of the shelf was entirely devised and constructed my me! Looks good doesn’t it? Ha. Anyway, this modification allowed the use of the space on the top half of the wall which would otherwise be empty had I just stacked my toy boxes from the floor up.