Home Made Holocron

The Bucket Project - The Ears and Face Plate

2010-07-25T14:58:00.002+08:00

I've been working on my helmet a lot these past few days. First thing I worked on were the ears.I followed TK-4510's tutorial to trim them. Here are the steps I took based on his guide:

- Drew a trim line with a pencil at least 2-3mm from the trim line.
- I lightly scored it with an Xacto knife then went back to make the score deeper with a utility knife/box cutter.
- I then scored "legs" that would help me snap of the excess plastic from the ears.
- I started snapping of the legs and cutting off the legs that wouldn't snap of.

For the helmet, I first drew trim lines and trimmed the eyes from the outside off the face but later on I went back and trimmed from the inside which was actually the easier and better resulting thing to do. I then started trimming the teeth bit by bit with my Xacto knife. I still have a lot of work to do on the teeth. I'm taking it slow with them 'cos I don't want to end up with an ugly looking frown.

Here are pics of the end result of the ears and partially end result of the face plate:

Ears

My first run on the face plate

Almost done face plate. Still have to trim the teeth more and polish up the eyes a little.

And it begins! The TK Bucket Project - Phase 1

2010-07-21T22:02:00.002+08:00

My ATA Stormtrooper helmet kit arrived today.

My sister texted me at around 10:30 in the morning telling me that my package had arrived. She did not literally mean that my actual package had arrived at home but she meant that the notice from the post office had been delivered. Unlike a lot of other countries in the world, we don't receive packages at our doorstep; we have to pick them up at our city post office.

On the way to the Las Piñas Post Office, I was already thinking how much tax the customs officer would charge me; the Las Piñas Post Office has had a notorious reputation for overcharging taxes. When I arrived at the post office, I did the usual step of paying for the delivery of the package notice, which costs P40, then went to the customs counter and handed my notice and receipt to the customs personnel. It took a few minutes for her to get my box from storage and another few minutes before she got to opening it and talking to me regarding the contents and the taxes I had to pay since there were 2 people who were there before me. When she did get to me, she showed me the computation for the taxes I had to pay which surprised me because it wasn't something they used to do. They used to just vocally tell you how much you had to pay but now they had a printed receipt with the computations on it. This was actually a good thing because now the charged taxes would be computed correctly and prevent corruption by the customs personnel.

Anyway, I ended up paying only P600 in taxes & duties which I am very happy with. And as soon as I could I took pictures of the box and contents (pictures below). I'm going to start working on the helmet tonight or tomorrow as I still have to collect/buy some of the tools and materials I need to assemble it like sandpaper, our electric hand drill, and a box cutter as my Xacto knife apparently isn't sharp enough to score the plastic deep enough for me to snap pieces of it off.


Even Bentley likes the box


Excellently packed and arranged

All the pieces spread out

I will post my progress on my build as I go through and post more pics as well.

You can visit my Flickr photoset here ,

Recruit Log: 07.04.10 - The Bucket is in Transit

2010-07-04T14:36:00.000+08:00

Here's some blog worthy news. I finally ordered and paid for my TK bucket and it is now in transit through the USPS. It's an ATA (Affordable Trooper Armor) helmet kit and the kit is very affordable (hence the name) and, IMO, the better choice for new troopers on a budget. It's made from HIPS and it comes with everything I'll need to build it. The only things I'll need after it are the decals and the paints which I'll both be getting in a few months. I'm going to wait 'til I get my armor kit before I go about buying paints so I can match the white of the armor with the white of the bucket.

The helmet kit will arrive in around 6-10 days and I'll probably get notice of it a few days to a week after it arrives (thank you Philippine Post system). And I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to argue with the corrupt douche bags at the post office about whether or not they should charge me COMMERCIAL IMPORT TAX for a personal package. (thank you again Philippine Post system)

But the wait, the hassle, and expense is all worth it to finally take my first big step into joining the ranks of the 501st.

Will update again when it arrives.

Recruit Log: 06/24/10 - PayPal & UnionBank Coordination

2010-06-24T21:00:00.000+08:00

For the past few days I've been trying to get my PayPal account to work with my UnionBank EON Card and I'm glad to say today that everything is almost in order for me to send payment for my ATA helmet kit. I was able to get my UnionBank EON account re-activated yesterday and my online account registration has been sent and will be active in 2 days. After that, I can connect my EON Card to my PayPal then it's ready to go.

I just hope ATA still has a few helmet kits left. During our last e-mail exchange he mentioned that he had a few kits in-hand so I hope I'll be one of the lucky few to get one. If everything with customs both state-side and here go well then I should have my kit by mid-July and as long as I don't mess up I should have my bucket ready for painting by the end of July. I don't plan to paint my bucket until I get my armor kit so I can find white paint that matches with the white of the armor.

ToyCon 2010: Meeting the Outpost & Canvassing My Belt

2010-06-21T21:17:00.008+08:00

Shayne & I went to out first ever ToyCon (Toys, Hobbies, & Collectibles Convention) last Saturday. It was held at the SM Megamall Megatrade Hall. I finally went this year to meet the members of the Philippine Outpost (Pinoy 501st) who were trooping at the event. The event started at 10am and I wanted to get there on or before that time so I could meet the troopers before the event started but we ended up arriving at 11:30am. I bought our tickets, and lined up. The line was moving pretty quickly so we was able to get inside the hall in around 10 minutes. We walked around for awhile looking the the stalls and what they were selling while looking for the Maxi Collector booth which was the outpost's sponsor for the event. The hall had a stage at one end where they were showing trailers for upcoming games & movies. They also had a separate function room at the same end of the hall where various collections of items were displayed in large glass display cases. One of the display cases actually had Star Wars models owned by the Philippine Outpost's own GML, Luis Cacho.

While waiting to meet with Luis, I introduced myself to some of the other troopers and took pictures of them with Shayne (seen above). When we met Luis, he lead us to the dressing room provided for the outpost. We met the rest of the troopers and they showed us their armor and we talked a bit about armor building and how I should go about building my kit when I finally have it. They also offered a lot of help in both building and supplying some of the materials I'll be needing to build my amor. We stayed and talked for quite awhile before we left and had lunch at Cajun, a fairly new restaurant and also another first for us. After lunch we decided to head up again to the convention and walked around the whole place one more time before we left. We also passed by Carolina's because Shayne needed to buy some stuff for her business and I needed to buy some elastic to make my canvas belt for my TK armor.

Meeting and talking with the troopers peaked my excitement to get my own kit and join in on the fun. So much so that when we got back to Shayne's house I used her sewing machine to finally make my own canvas belt. It came out pretty good save for the canvas running a bit at the sides. I still have to adjust the length of the belt to fit me in armor and put in all the snaps, rivets, and Velcro to finish it up.

Other things on the checklist are buying a leather holster to attach to the belt for my E-11 blaster that I'm going to modify to 501st/EIB standards as soon as I get a resin kit & ordering my TK bucket soon from ATA in the US either this week or next week as soon as my PayPal & Unionbank EON accounts are up and running.

Why I Don't Write "Articles" and/or "Features" on this blog

2010-04-28T14:20:00.000+08:00

Over the past couple of days I've started asking myself why I don't post "articles" or "features" on the blog. I've written and drafted a couple of articles over the months but I don't put them on any of my previous or my current blog. Articles being posts on a specific subject or topic and features being a regularly published, themed articles. A good example of an article would be a post on "Why the original Star Wars trilogy is extremely better than the second one" and a feature would be a weekly "Top 10 (insert random topic here)" or "Star Wars Fact of the Week".

Although I do write themed posts like the "501st Quest" which is about my journey on joining the 501st Legion, they are posts on my personal life and aren't regularly published because they depend on things actually happening in my life and article-worthy things don't usually happen to me on a daily or even weekly basis.

My main reason I don't post my articles or features on the blog is because, currently, the blog is still on Blogger's servers or, in other words, still on FREE hosting. I still haven't gotten my own hosting nor domain yet. I'm pretty sure not everyone would say that it's a valid reason but, then again, it's my blog/site after all. I just don't like the idea of posting my stuff up unless it's going to be on my own hosting and on my own domain. I don't want to start posting up my articles/features then submitting them to sites like Digg and the link leads to a Blogger site. I just feel that doing that isn't the right way to go about presenting yourself to the world.

To Podcast or Not to Podcast

2010-04-22T21:58:00.000+08:00

I was at work today brainstorming some ideas I had in my head for making money, starting a business, accomplishing my goals, doing new things, etc. when I thought of the idea of starting a podcast for my blog. Yes, it'll be a one-man podcast but I still think it would work. I'd record a 15-30 min. show then edit and publish on the blog. I'd talk about news, gaming, movies, food, Star Wars, and anything else throughout the week that I feel interested in talking about.

I guess I should start looking for some hosting space not only for my podcast but also for this blog. Having www.homemadeholocron.com registered would really be a step up.

I'm sort of in the stage/process of trying to do new things that'll hopefully lead to bigger things. This blog and the podcast being two of them. I really want to become a writer. Whether it be as an article writer, a news writer, or a columnist I'd be very happy to be able to sit down and write.

501st Update - Tchung! Tchung!

2010-04-18T18:09:00.000+08:00

I finally bought my E-11 Blaster from Star Sports (apparently they're also called Great Toys) last Wednesday. Wasn't able to buy it on Tuesday 'cos I left work a little later than expected but as soon as I woke up on Wednesday, I got up and went to Festival Mall to buy it. I think I was their first customer. Went I got inside I immediately went to the shelf where the toy blaster was placed. For a moment, I thought that it was gone 'cos I couldn't find it. It turned out that it was just placed the other way so I didn't recognize the box art. When I found it, I picked it up and went straight to the counter. It cost me P1,200 which I'm very happy with. I didn't think it was going to be that cheap and actually thought it would be around P3,000.

Now I'm in the process of getting myself a resin upgrade kit so I can convert the toy blaster into a movie accurate one. I'm also going to be needing to buy a couple of things from the hardware store like Plastic Weld, clamps, spray paint, sandpaper, "bondo", and some tools that I can't borrow from my dad. I'll be following this guide by Hot Buttered Funk, another 501st member, to build my blaster.

When I get all the materials and start working on my blaster I'll post some pics of the step-by-step. I hope I can get the resin kit and the materials soon. I'm really excited to start this.

The Fat Lab Project - Weekend Update

2010-04-18T15:07:00.000+08:00

Ok, so the per-day update on my weight losing, dog training summer project just isn't going to work since by the time I'm done jogging/walking Rusty I'm just too tired to talk about it. So I'll just be posting these once-in-awhile updates.

Anyway, I was able to jog/walk with Rusty almost every day this week. I missed 2 days I think, one due to me just being too tired after work and the other 'cos I'm trying to walk him before he gets fed so he doesn't poop on the road or in the park and on that night he was fed early so I ended up not walking him.

One problem I'm having with him is that after I take him out he doesn't want to go back in his cage. He always has a fit right when we close/lock the cage door and he tries to get out by pushing on it. I end up having to stay with him for a few minutes just to calm him down and Shayne even said that he lets out a couple of sad howls whenever I leave to go home after. I really don't know how to deal with it so I'm just going to try and keep at this until he gets used to the idea that I let him out almost every day so he doesn't have to complain, or be sad whenever we put him back in his cage.

I'm hoping this whole thing will be good for the both of us. Our average walk/job time is an hour and 30 minutes so I'm hoping that I'm slowly losing some weight. I want to lose at least 20 pounds by the end of May and I want Rusty to be in a state that I don't have to leash him sometimes when we go out. So I hope everything works out well.

From the 15th Floor to the Upper Ground Floor - The New Job Experience

2010-04-18T14:51:00.001+08:00

I haven't posted in a few days now. I've just been too busy with my new job that I just haven't found the time nor the energy to sit down and write.

But now that's it's Sunday. I can sit down, think, and start writing. I have a few things queued up from the past couple of days so I'll write 'em up and start posting them. Some of these might be "old" news but any news is good news right?

Anyway, as the title says. I now have a new job. I think I mentioned it a few days ago but it wasn't the topic then.

Ok, the back story. I used to work for a multinational Finland-based company that makes & sells tracking devices for cars, boats, motorcycles, and other uses. I worked as one of the company's web developers; in my time there I revamped their website, created a whole new set of websites (for Europe), and sometimes did layouts for the different product manuals and marketing materials. I had my own "office"; it was a 20-30-square meter room on the 15th floor (the main office was at the 21st floor), I had free coffee, a 24-inch LCD monitor to use with my laptop (dual screens FTW!), and the privacy and peace of a one-man office. Sad to say, I was "laid-off" from the job 'cos my boss left the company I was pretty much collateral damage. The company actually wanted to keep me but they informed me 1 day before my last day at work so, obviously, I'd already found a new job.

Now I work for my uncle. He owns one of the most successful golf shops in the country. I now work at his golf shop in Makati Cinema Square in a little 3x1.5m space in one of the corners of his shop. He hired me to develop his website (duh!) to help market his business online and develop an online sales & marketing system (e-commerce). I'm pretty much going to build the site (including all the graphics, photos, copy, etc.) from scratch. This past week has consisted of drafting the layout of this site, and taking pictures of his inventory in the store (which isn't even half done). At first glance, this new job looks like a crapper compared to my previous one but to be honest I prefer this for a few reasons like it pays better, the people I work with are friendlier, & the surrounding area is more interesting (it's a mall filled with gun shops, hobby shops, and cheap food).

I'm not so sure what I'm supposed to be doing with my career at the moment but for now I guess I'm just going to roll with it and work on other things little by little 'til the big "this-will-be-what-I'll-be-doing -for-the rest-of-my-life" opportunity comes my way.

We'll see.

What I Would Do Right Now If I Was Some Spoiled Rich Kid

2010-04-13T16:37:00.001+08:00

I was walking to work today and I came across 2 very interesting stores in the mall. One was an airsoft store where they were selling a ton of airsoft guns and equipment. The other was a hobby, toy, collectible store selling all sorts of figurines from different anime, movies, comics, and video games. It made me think, if I was a rich kid I'd probably buy a ton of stuff from both stores. I would love to collect things and play airsoft but familial and personal financial capabilities and permissions don't allow me to do either. I'm not complaining or anything, I'm very happy with my current hobby. I'm just saying that IF I had a truckload of money I could burn RIGHT NOW I'd probably spend it on the ff. 10 things:

Get my car fixed. No, I won't buy a new car. I'd be happy with getting my 2001 Honda City completely fixed and tuned up.
I'd buy aforementioned airsoft guns. Probably a fully customized M4 and/or if possible, an M1 Garand. I just love M1 Garand's.
A Force FX Lightsaber. Wait, scratch that. I meant ALL Force FX Lightsaber models available. I want to have an armory of Lightsabers in my room. I'd even get them shipped form the US. Truckload of money people!
A complete high-end TK (Stormtrooper) armor set.
A complete high-end Obi-wan Kenobi or Luke Skywalker outfit.
The biggest capacity Zune HD available.
A 32-inch HDTV. Probably an LG since there's a service center near where I live.
Another Xbox 360 for my siblings. So they can play Rock Band anytime they want even if I bring my Xbox with me.
Oh, and a Blackberry. Have no idea which model though. My current phone is starting to die.

Activision Just Got Pawned

2010-04-12T23:01:00.004+08:00

Breaking news on the West-Zampella front; According to Kotaku, the duo of Modern Warfare 2 creators have started a new company called Respawn Entertainment and guess who's backing them up, Electronic Arts!

Did Activision just get pawned? Yes!

The drama involving the creators of one of the biggest franchises in gaming continues as Jason West and Vince Zampella, the fired former lead creators of Modern Warfare 2, have formed a new company, Respawn Entertainment. EA, their formal rival, is backing.

The Monday morning news announcing the new company follows a Friday that saw Activision, the mega-publisher that fired Jason West and Vince Zampella from their leadership positions at Modern Warfare development studio Infinity Ward, suing the ousted creators. Activision has accused the duo of misdeeds and subterfuge designed as an alleged attempt to "steal the studio."West and Zampella had sued Activison a month prior following their dismissal from their perches atop Activision-owned Infinity Ward.

But today the two creators are announcing a new company and an exclusive publishing deal with Activision rival Electronic Arts. The new company, based in Encino, California, will make games for the EA Partners label, an arrangement that means it will remain an independent company from EA. West and Zampella's former studio, Infinity Ward, remains wholly owned by Activision.

"Respawn Entertainment marks a fresh start for Jason and me," Zampella said in a statement. "For the past decade we led a great development team and poured our hearts into creating an epic game franchise. We're very proud of what we built – and proud that so many millions of fans enjoyed those games. Today we hope to do it all over again — open a new studio, hire a great team, and create brand new games with a new partner, EA."

"We're excited," West said. "Now that the team is in control of the games and brands, we can ensure that the fans are treated as well as they deserve."

While West and Zampella's experience has recently involved military first-person shooters, including EA's Medal of Honor series, which they worked on prior to handling Call of Duty and Modern Warfare for Activision, they offered no details on the new game.

The release indicated only that "the company will focus on creating state-of-the-art gaming experiences for global audiences."

Kotaku will have more on this story as it breaks.

The duo will have full creative control of the new company's titles and they're even in the process of fighting for the "Modern Warfare" name. They also mentioned that they'll be creating a "summer blockbuster" level game. This whole gaming industry drama is turning out to be a great thing for us consumers.

The Fat Lab Project - Day One

2010-04-12T19:49:00.000+08:00

Tonight was the official start of the "Fat Lab Project". It's my summer project to achieve 2 things: To lose weight (Fat) and to train an old Labrador (Lab) named Rusty. So I'm going to go jogging/walking with Rusty for at least an hour every night for the rest of April, the whole of May and, if all goes well, even beyond.

I started the project today by buying Rusty a collar and leash from the local hardware store. He hasn't been out of his cage for months so as soon as we let him out he started running around and peeing on every plant, bush, and rock he could find. After awhile I put his leash on and started walking him around the garage to let him get the hang of being on a leash. After an hour, we tried going out on the street and walk him around the park. He was VERY excited and started peeing on everything again. I ended up walking/jogging him around the park's basketball court for almost an hour. He was very obedient to the point that I didn't even need to pull him around and he just followed me. Overall, it was extremely fun and successful.

I'm going to walk him again in awhile while I listen to the radio or a podcast on my phone.

Gaming News: Green Day: Rock Band Full Track List

2010-04-12T02:50:00.004+08:00

Entertainment Weekly published the full track list of Green Day: Rock Band recently and it listed 47 songs and 6 initial DLC tracks. The game will be released on June 8 in the US for all systems and no word yet if the XBOX 360 version will be region-free or locked to US consoles. The full track list after the jump.

Here's the complete list arranged by album and venue:

The Warehouse
Dookie (1994)
"Burnout"
"Having a Blast"
"Chump"
"Longview"
"Welcome to Paradise"
"Pulling Teeth"
"Basket Case"
"She"
"Sassafrass Roots"
"When I Come Around"
"Coming Clean"
"Emenius Sleepus"
"In the End"
"F.O.D."

Milton Keynes
American Idiot (2004)
"American Idiot"
"Jesus of Suburbia"
"Holiday"
"Boulevard of Broken Dreams"
"Are We the Waiting"
"St. Jimmy"
"Give Me Novacaine"
"She's a Rebel"
"Extraordinary Girl"
"Letterbomb"
"Wake Me Up When September Ends"
"Homecoming"
"Whatsername"

Warning (2000)
"Minority"
"Warning"

Nimrod (1997)
"Hitchin' a Ride"
"Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)"
"Nice Guys Finish Last"

Insomniac (1995)
"Brain Stew"
"Jaded"
"Geek Stink Breath"

The Fox Theater, Oakland
21st Century Breakdown (2009)
"Song of the Century"
"21st Century Breakdown"
"Before the Lobotomy"
"Last Night on Earth"
"Peacemaker"
"Murder City"
"¿Viva La Gloria? (Little Girl)"
"Restless Heart Syndrome"
"Horseshoes and Handgrenades"
"The Static Age"
"American Eulogy"
"See the Light"

Downloadable Content
"21 Guns"
"Know Your Enemy"
"East Jesus Nowhere"
"Last of the American Girls"
"¡Viva La Gloria!"
"Christian's Inferno"

I see a lot of the songs that I would love to play/sing on RB even though I can't sing to save my life. And although I feel a little reluctant to spend around P3,000 on a game that I would rarely play (only during parties), I also feel obligated to buy it for my siblings and extended family who love to play Rock Band.

Hopefully by June 8 when the game is released I'll have some extra cash I can spend so it wouldn't be so heavy on the wallet since I am saving for my TK armor.

Source: 'Green Day: Rock Band': We've got a preview plus the exclusive 47-song track list!

501st Quest - Blaster Found

2010-04-12T02:24:00.001+08:00

I went to Festival Mall today to check out Star Sports. You'd think that a store named Star Sports would sell sporting goods but no, this store sells toys and collectibles. And to my surprise, they had ONE Hasbro E-11 Clone/Stormtrooper blaster left in stock. I know these are rare so I was so happy when I saw that they had one piece still available. I asked if they could reserve it for me 'cos I didn't have any cash but they said that I had to deposit at least 25% of the product's cost to reserve so I ended up not reserving it and leaving it there.

I'm getting my initial salary for my new job this Tuesday so I will definitely go back there on Tuesday to buy it. If, by some cosmic chance, it isn't there anymore I will take it as a sign that I shouldn't go through with this whole 501st quest of mine. But if it is there on Tuesday, it will be my confirmation that this project is something that I should see to completion.

Here's hoping.

I need a better career. Or a more diverse one.

2010-04-12T01:45:00.001+08:00

The title says it all, I need a better career. Being a web designer/developer for small/large companies isn't really looking good as a long term profession. Even if I end up working for a web development firm, I don't think it'll give me enough income to provide for a family in the future. Comparing my monthly income to the probable costs of living and raising a family, my current and near future income projections just won't cut it.

If I think about what I WANT to do, I always come up with writing or cooking but I don't have an educational background in either of those fields. Even if I do know that I can do good in either of those careers, without an educational background it'll be really difficult to break into the industry.

I'm hoping that I'll be able to at least get a part-time writing gig going. I like writing about things I'm interested in so a gig writing about gaming would be perfect for me. I'm always online and on top of current gaming news anyway. I guess I'll try and contact a few websites or magazines this week and see what happens.

As for the cooking thing, I'm pretty sure that I'll need to go back to school before I can start a career in that industry. I love cooking, always have. But I'm not professionally trained so I know I won't be able to keep up with the pace and the technique needed for a real cooking job. But I don't mind putting that on the back burner (cooking pun) for a couple of years while I strengthen my current opportunities.

I honestly want to earn in the ranges of at least P80,000/month by the end of 2011.

Well, we shall see.

Hospitals aren't just for the sick. They're for the hungry too. Like Churches.

2010-04-10T01:56:00.000+08:00

I was at Makati Medical Center with Shayne yesterday to visit friends who just had a new baby; a beautiful red-faced princess who's already a daddy's girl because she wouldn't stop crying unless her dad was carrying her.

Anyway, we hung out at their hospital room for an hour or two and when it was dinner time, Shayne and I went downstairs to look for a place to eat. We were choosing between Pizza Hut (Yes, there is a Pizza Hut in a hospital. There was a DQ too) or the hospital canteen when our friend suggested the hospital's restaurant called "Floating Island" (weird name I know). We decided to try it out and ordered Binagoongang Baboy and something new called "Filipino Fried Rice" which was a combination of Adobo Rice, Salted Red Egg, Tomatoes, and Tinapa (Smoked Fish). The dinner was excellent and the Binagoongang Baboy was one of the best that I've ever had and the Filipino Fried Rice was great and just genius.

This is the 2nd time a hospital has surprised me with good food. The other being Asian Hospital's canteen which serves really good cakes. In the past decade, hospitals are starting to become really nice places to hang out with their good food, soft couches, waiting areas with TV's, and other comfortable facilities and amenities. They're slowly becoming more hotel-like. I'm interested to see what the St. Luke's Hospital has to offer. I'm hoping for a Taco Bell.

Just a little rant: UST is the worst hospital in Manila. They have crappy facilities and crappy food. Their "new" building is just the old building with a new entrance. Get your act together UST.

501st Quest - Short Update

2010-04-10T00:57:00.002+08:00

I've been talking to Manny Mendoza and Luis Cacho of the 501st through e-mail these past few days. They are, respectively, the XO (Executive Officer) and GML (Garrison Membership Liason) of the Philippine Outpost.

They've been giving *information on how to get all that I need to complete my armor such as where to get locally available gloves, boots, an undersuit, a Hasbro E-11 Blaster, and more.

They've been really helpful and the more I'm learning from them the more excited I am to get my TK (Stormtrooper) armor project started. I'm going to go Blaster shopping soon and I'm also going to start looking for the undersuit and gloves.

The whole project will probably cost me upwards of around Php40,000 or $800 and will probably take me several months not just to get the money together but also to get all the materials and construct the armor. I'm targeting to finish on or before Halloween.

More updates soon.

501st Quest Update - First Contact

2010-04-08T02:05:00.000+08:00

They've replied!

The folks at the Philippine Outpost (www.pinoy501st.com) have replied to my e-mail and here's what they said:

Hi Martin,
Thank you for your email and interest.
Out of the box costume products like kit being sold by Rubies Co. is not good enough for enlistment as is without extensive modification. The price is also expensive reaching to as high as $900+ and you still have to buy other essentials like the proper black undersuit, shoes etc. You will end up spending more with more frustration too.

We would rather recommend a kit being made by a 501st legion member ex. from the US. It starts at $475 without helmet then you can opt to buy the Master Replicas helmet (UK CE version) for $200 at Ebay.
Let us know how would you like to proceed.

Kind Regards,
Manny Mendoza
Executive Officer
501st Legion
Philippine Outpost

I e-mailed them back with a lot of questions about purchasing armor kits from the UK or US and locally available materials and tools. I'm really getting excited for this whole project. This is going to take up to a year or more but it's going to be worth it.

Join the Empire! My 501st Quest.

2010-04-06T17:16:00.008+08:00

I've just sent an e-mail via contact form to the folks at the Philippine Outpost, the local regiment of the 501st Legion.

What the hell is the 501st Legion you ask? They're an organization of Star Wars fans who make, own, and wear Stormtrooper and other Star Wars villains costumes. They are largely a charity group helping out in events and other functions to raise money for charity. You can read more about them here. The Philippine Outpost also has a website here.

I've e-mailed them regarding where I can get my own Stormtrooper armor kit (since they do have standards for people who are interested in joining) so I can join their ranks myself. I've been wanting to enlist for years but never had the financial freedom to do it. Now that I'm part of the working class, I have the opportunity to join the once all-powerful Galactic Empire and the ranks of Vader's Fist as the 501st is also called.

I will keep posting updates on my quest to become one of the 501st and hopefully, by the end of the year, I will be an official member and soldier for the Empire.

Oh, 800 Zerglings? Nothing my ONE Ultralisk can't handle.

2010-04-06T01:32:00.003+08:00

I saw this video over at GossipGamers.com. It shows an Ultralisk devastating a swarm of Zerglings like they were ants. Watch the video and see for yourself. BTW, here's what Ruibo from GG.com had to say:

The Ultralisk in Starcraft 2 is a BEAST! I am rarely impressed by short vids of unit combats but when 1 unit can destroy 798 zerglings, that is impressive. The Ultralisk has 3/3 full upgrades and the zerglings are 0/0. The Ultralisk has 6 Armor, 600 hp, and hits for 24 splash damage with a very fast attack speed (it has a cooldown of 0.86 seconds on normal Setting). Zerglings have 35 HP,? no armor, and hit for 5 w/ a cooldown of 0.58. After Armor, the Zerglings are hitting the Ultra for 1.

Here's the video:

Nth to the Power of Awesome!

2010-04-05T23:10:00.001+08:00

So, my first post on my Nth blog. I've started probably a dozen or two (blogs) and I usually end up running out of things to post or just simply get lazy and then they slowly die. I thought about why that keeps happening and realized that my previous blogs were all too "themed". Some of them were about gaming, some about food, and some about my personal life. This time I'm going to try to be more open with my topics. I'll just post whatever I feel like posting; whether it be the day's events, an opinion on something, a new recipe I tried, or just "re-posting" something I found on the net that looked interesting. I want this to be a journal of sorts and a way for me to share my thoughts.

So, first of, I'm going to get off my laptop and play some Bad Company 2 on my XBOX for a few hours. I haven't played in a long time (a couple of days actually).

Nice start!