Marilyn Rushton, a well-known Burnaby citizen, is awarded with the province’s newest honour, the Medal of Good Citizenship.

 

Rushton is honoured for her for inspirational life of service to the visually impaired community, her contributions to families with blind and visually impaired children, and her energetic support for the musical community.

 

Learn more: news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2016IGR0025-001407

Older buildings are visually distinctive

When I ask passers-by at the office which of these two soccerballs looks better, the response is unanimously in favor of the flat unit design. This in spite of the fact that the open frame unit version has more units and was actually challenging to build, while the flat unit version was made on a whim over the course of two Saturdays using only leftover paper.

 

My guess is that the solidness of the flat unit designs makes them more visually compelling—at least to those who have yet to appreciate the nuances involved in assembling open frame units.

 

As for the World Cup itself? I'm not sure which team is going to win, but I'm pretty sure that whoever it is, three months from now it won't matter.

I don't typically buy anything from the Revoltech series, mostly likely because the licenses that they play with aren't usually my thing. However, once in a while, an interesting figure pops up.

 

For the last little while, one of the more visually impressive sublines from the Revoltech is the Figure Complex: Amazing Yamaguchi line featuring various beloved X-Men characters sculpted by Yamaguchi Katsuhisa. I know a Wolverine and Magneto were released, and a Gambit will be released. I also believe the line has moved onto at least non-X characters with the recently solicited Iron Man.

 

Obviously, this figure is none of those - this is Psylocke.

 

For someone that likes figures and toys, it's surprising how few comics I've read. My introduction to the character was from the original Capcom Vs. Game, X-Men: Children of the Atom in all her uninhibited bouncy glory.

 

The character naturally has a long and storied past that I'd probably lose much sleep over if I actually tried to research. I believe that "too long, didn't read" version of it is that she is a mutant (duh) named Elizabeth "Betsy" Braddock, the sister of Captain Marvel. Through a series of events such as self sacrifice and transference of mental capacities, she ends up in a body of an Japanese woman who is the brain dead wife of the leader of the Hand, an assassin clan, and is brainwashed into become one of them. She develops Psionic powers (ability to form things out of mental energy, mostly for her being blades), and eventually breaks free of this brainwashing, and that, friends is the genesis of the X-Men character Psylocke.

 

None of that matters, of course. I bought the figure because the previews made her look really, really, good, and Psylocke herself being a very sharp character design with long flowing purple hair and her purple kind-of-there outfit. While it's been out for probably 6 months now, I only recently got mine because I insist that the guy who sold it to me bring it to me personally... even if I had to wait six months.

 

If you've never watched gameplay of Psylocke, just think slinky female ninja dressed in purple capable of making various energy things. And, as mentioned, the prototype pictures show cased that very well. So, how did it do?

 

Well, let's start from the top.

 

Psylocke comes with the figure, two face plates (one neutral, one smiling), a sheathed katana, an empty sheath, twin katanas, twin energy katanas, twin Psyblades, 4 sets of hands, a detachable sash, and a dynamic stand with both a peg connector, along with a clamp that I guess would give you a bit more height with your aerial stuff but I never actually used it. I personally would have like an additional angry/attacking face plate because as it is, she's a bit too serene looking.

 

Also kind of neat is that on the cardboard insert (and side flaps of the box) are full colour prints of I guess what comic art inspired this particular design.

 

The Revoltech joint system is a bit different from the Figma and Figuart systems.. at least I guess they are, and at the very least this one is.

 

Articulation is very, very, very good. I cannot emphasize how much you can get this figure to do despite it's small size. The trade off is that some of the joints look really weird when not positioned properly, specifically the shoulders and knees, which are double or triple joints depending on which one we're talking about. Whomever designed the tray for holding Psylocke really didn't do the figure any favours to say the least. However, the amount of knee bend and chest press that this figure more than overshadows this first impression issue, and that range or movement is something you want for a figure like Psylocke.

 

In addition to the aforementioned, all your standard points of articulation are present. Bonus ones include a toe swivel, articulation for her sash, thigh swivel, independent neck and head articulation, and hair that can be lifted to all for greater neck movement, with the latter head/neck related items allowing for some great crouching poses.

 

Sadly, while her shoulders worked out just fine despite their wonky appearance, her ass suffers from the dreaded "thigh separation" scenario where the movement of the legs creates an unsightly gap where the thigh meets the back of the body, particularly notable given that she doesn't wear pants. But, again, at least the trade off is great articulation.

 

Psylocke I guess would technically be the action figure (or at least middle of the pack Japanese figure) equivalent of a Butterface release. To be fair, it is generally what was promised on the box, so I don't really have anyone to blame but myself for buying her if this was the key aspect that ruins the experience for me. Both the prototype and the final item feature the same round almost featureless face with the undersized nose.

 

No it's other things that serve not only as a topic of discussion, but also kind of give you a feeling as to why Figma and Figuarts are kind of priced the way they are.

 

Psylocke has an MSRP of about 6,000 Yen, which is about the price of your run of the mill Figuart, with Figma coming in closer to what.. 7,000 if not more these days? The releases are about the same size, but lets remember that Figuarts have no stand and very few accessories, and clearly Psylocke destroys any run of the mill Figuart figure in terms of value.

 

Part of the pricing on everything is of course the cut paid for the actual license, but it's not like a Marvel license is particularly cheap. So what else is there?

 

It pretty much comes down to paint.

 

If you look closely, you'll probably notice that Psylocke has no paint whatsoever on her fleshy bits. Not only does this look a bit meh, but it makes photographing her a major pain in the ass, especially if you're trying to bring out details.. like her nose and eye sockets. You'll notice that the paint masking on her leg bands isn't bad, but there are more weak spots than on its Figma and Figuarts competitors, especially if we're talking about figure with a relatively simple colour scheme. Some minor paint issues were also spotted on her neck piece, but those are primarily paint transfers. There were also some areas with paint overspray, but it wasn't anything bootleg bad, just something worth noting.

 

Her translucent purple hair is also a big seller for this figure. The overall final product is pretty good, but if you look closely (and in the instance of the back of her head, not even that close), you'll notice some very rough spots that I don't know were a QC issue or a design flaw. By comparison, nothing this was spotted on either KOS-MOS or T-ELOS, both of which are at least 7 years older than Psylocke.

 

For what it is worth, her effect parts are very well done, particularly her Psiblades with the gradient from cold to warm Purple. The quality of the stand itself is, from my analysis, more solid than a Figma stand, mostly due to a combination of better plastic, a thicker arm, and better designed joints. There were also no issues with regards to rough plastic finishes other than the aformentioned hair problems.

 

One other issue that I read about was the face plate itself. Some owners seem to be indicating that due to the way the face is mounted on the head (friction based, one slot, straight above the face) the figure arrived with the socket on the hair already worn out and wouldn't hold the face in place, or would be in danger of doing so in the future. I didn't have that issue on mine, but I do understand where they're coming from with these statements.

 

I should probably also mention the eyes. Those who are familiar with the Hot Toys world will know the term PERS, which is their fancy term for eyes that can be moved on the sculpts to facilitate an even greater amount of posing. Amazingly this figure also features eyeballs that can be moved, though it's not as complicated as the PERS system. This is actually pretty neat given the size of the eyeballs, though you might want to ditch the included white pick in favour of a tiny screw driver or something to move the eyes as I believe the 90 degree bend actually makes it harder to manipulate the eyes into the right direction.

 

In the end, a very good release, and probably the best Psylocke action figure I've ever seen.. of course, the only others I have seen are the Marvel Legends one which again, aren't bad given the price. Those looking for a more legit comic sculpt need not apply here, naturally.

 

But there is no doubt that this is a sharp looking figure, and for the price it comes with quite a few goodies. It just lacks that final bit of spit polish that would push it from being very good to being outstanding. Still, if you like your ninjas purple and slinky, you can't go wrong.

I don't typically buy anything from the Revoltech series, mostly likely because the licenses that they play with aren't usually my thing. However, once in a while, an interesting figure pops up.

 

For the last little while, one of the more visually impressive sublines from the Revoltech is the Figure Complex: Amazing Yamaguchi line featuring various beloved X-Men characters sculpted by Yamaguchi Katsuhisa. I know a Wolverine and Magneto were released, and a Gambit will be released. I also believe the line has moved onto at least non-X characters with the recently solicited Iron Man.

 

Obviously, this figure is none of those - this is Psylocke.

 

For someone that likes figures and toys, it's surprising how few comics I've read. My introduction to the character was from the original Capcom Vs. Game, X-Men: Children of the Atom in all her uninhibited bouncy glory.

 

The character naturally has a long and storied past that I'd probably lose much sleep over if I actually tried to research. I believe that "too long, didn't read" version of it is that she is a mutant (duh) named Elizabeth "Betsy" Braddock, the sister of Captain Marvel. Through a series of events such as self sacrifice and transference of mental capacities, she ends up in a body of an Japanese woman who is the brain dead wife of the leader of the Hand, an assassin clan, and is brainwashed into become one of them. She develops Psionic powers (ability to form things out of mental energy, mostly for her being blades), and eventually breaks free of this brainwashing, and that, friends is the genesis of the X-Men character Psylocke.

 

None of that matters, of course. I bought the figure because the previews made her look really, really, good, and Psylocke herself being a very sharp character design with long flowing purple hair and her purple kind-of-there outfit. While it's been out for probably 6 months now, I only recently got mine because I insist that the guy who sold it to me bring it to me personally... even if I had to wait six months.

 

If you've never watched gameplay of Psylocke, just think slinky female ninja dressed in purple capable of making various energy things. And, as mentioned, the prototype pictures show cased that very well. So, how did it do?

 

Well, let's start from the top.

 

Psylocke comes with the figure, two face plates (one neutral, one smiling), a sheathed katana, an empty sheath, twin katanas, twin energy katanas, twin Psyblades, 4 sets of hands, a detachable sash, and a dynamic stand with both a peg connector, along with a clamp that I guess would give you a bit more height with your aerial stuff but I never actually used it. I personally would have like an additional angry/attacking face plate because as it is, she's a bit too serene looking.

 

Also kind of neat is that on the cardboard insert (and side flaps of the box) are full colour prints of I guess what comic art inspired this particular design.

 

The Revoltech joint system is a bit different from the Figma and Figuart systems.. at least I guess they are, and at the very least this one is.

 

Articulation is very, very, very good. I cannot emphasize how much you can get this figure to do despite it's small size. The trade off is that some of the joints look really weird when not positioned properly, specifically the shoulders and knees, which are double or triple joints depending on which one we're talking about. Whomever designed the tray for holding Psylocke really didn't do the figure any favours to say the least. However, the amount of knee bend and chest press that this figure more than overshadows this first impression issue, and that range or movement is something you want for a figure like Psylocke.

 

In addition to the aforementioned, all your standard points of articulation are present. Bonus ones include a toe swivel, articulation for her sash, thigh swivel, independent neck and head articulation, and hair that can be lifted to all for greater neck movement, with the latter head/neck related items allowing for some great crouching poses.

 

Sadly, while her shoulders worked out just fine despite their wonky appearance, her ass suffers from the dreaded "thigh separation" scenario where the movement of the legs creates an unsightly gap where the thigh meets the back of the body, particularly notable given that she doesn't wear pants. But, again, at least the trade off is great articulation.

 

Psylocke I guess would technically be the action figure (or at least middle of the pack Japanese figure) equivalent of a Butterface release. To be fair, it is generally what was promised on the box, so I don't really have anyone to blame but myself for buying her if this was the key aspect that ruins the experience for me. Both the prototype and the final item feature the same round almost featureless face with the undersized nose.

 

No it's other things that serve not only as a topic of discussion, but also kind of give you a feeling as to why Figma and Figuarts are kind of priced the way they are.

 

Psylocke has an MSRP of about 6,000 Yen, which is about the price of your run of the mill Figuart, with Figma coming in closer to what.. 7,000 if not more these days? The releases are about the same size, but lets remember that Figuarts have no stand and very few accessories, and clearly Psylocke destroys any run of the mill Figuart figure in terms of value.

 

Part of the pricing on everything is of course the cut paid for the actual license, but it's not like a Marvel license is particularly cheap. So what else is there?

 

It pretty much comes down to paint.

 

If you look closely, you'll probably notice that Psylocke has no paint whatsoever on her fleshy bits. Not only does this look a bit meh, but it makes photographing her a major pain in the ass, especially if you're trying to bring out details.. like her nose and eye sockets. You'll notice that the paint masking on her leg bands isn't bad, but there are more weak spots than on its Figma and Figuarts competitors, especially if we're talking about figure with a relatively simple colour scheme. Some minor paint issues were also spotted on her neck piece, but those are primarily paint transfers. There were also some areas with paint overspray, but it wasn't anything bootleg bad, just something worth noting.

 

Her translucent purple hair is also a big seller for this figure. The overall final product is pretty good, but if you look closely (and in the instance of the back of her head, not even that close), you'll notice some very rough spots that I don't know were a QC issue or a design flaw. By comparison, nothing this was spotted on either KOS-MOS or T-ELOS, both of which are at least 7 years older than Psylocke.

 

For what it is worth, her effect parts are very well done, particularly her Psiblades with the gradient from cold to warm Purple. The quality of the stand itself is, from my analysis, more solid than a Figma stand, mostly due to a combination of better plastic, a thicker arm, and better designed joints. There were also no issues with regards to rough plastic finishes other than the aformentioned hair problems.

 

One other issue that I read about was the face plate itself. Some owners seem to be indicating that due to the way the face is mounted on the head (friction based, one slot, straight above the face) the figure arrived with the socket on the hair already worn out and wouldn't hold the face in place, or would be in danger of doing so in the future. I didn't have that issue on mine, but I do understand where they're coming from with these statements.

 

I should probably also mention the eyes. Those who are familiar with the Hot Toys world will know the term PERS, which is their fancy term for eyes that can be moved on the sculpts to facilitate an even greater amount of posing. Amazingly this figure also features eyeballs that can be moved, though it's not as complicated as the PERS system. This is actually pretty neat given the size of the eyeballs, though you might want to ditch the included white pick in favour of a tiny screw driver or something to move the eyes as I believe the 90 degree bend actually makes it harder to manipulate the eyes into the right direction.

 

In the end, a very good release, and probably the best Psylocke action figure I've ever seen.. of course, the only others I have seen are the Marvel Legends one which again, aren't bad given the price. Those looking for a more legit comic sculpt need not apply here, naturally.

 

But there is no doubt that this is a sharp looking figure, and for the price it comes with quite a few goodies. It just lacks that final bit of spit polish that would push it from being very good to being outstanding. Still, if you like your ninjas purple and slinky, you can't go wrong.

I don't typically buy anything from the Revoltech series, mostly likely because the licenses that they play with aren't usually my thing. However, once in a while, an interesting figure pops up.

 

For the last little while, one of the more visually impressive sublines from the Revoltech is the Figure Complex: Amazing Yamaguchi line featuring various beloved X-Men characters sculpted by Yamaguchi Katsuhisa. I know a Wolverine and Magneto were released, and a Gambit will be released. I also believe the line has moved onto at least non-X characters with the recently solicited Iron Man.

 

Obviously, this figure is none of those - this is Psylocke.

 

For someone that likes figures and toys, it's surprising how few comics I've read. My introduction to the character was from the original Capcom Vs. Game, X-Men: Children of the Atom in all her uninhibited bouncy glory.

 

The character naturally has a long and storied past that I'd probably lose much sleep over if I actually tried to research. I believe that "too long, didn't read" version of it is that she is a mutant (duh) named Elizabeth "Betsy" Braddock, the sister of Captain Marvel. Through a series of events such as self sacrifice and transference of mental capacities, she ends up in a body of an Japanese woman who is the brain dead wife of the leader of the Hand, an assassin clan, and is brainwashed into become one of them. She develops Psionic powers (ability to form things out of mental energy, mostly for her being blades), and eventually breaks free of this brainwashing, and that, friends is the genesis of the X-Men character Psylocke.

 

None of that matters, of course. I bought the figure because the previews made her look really, really, good, and Psylocke herself being a very sharp character design with long flowing purple hair and her purple kind-of-there outfit. While it's been out for probably 6 months now, I only recently got mine because I insist that the guy who sold it to me bring it to me personally... even if I had to wait six months.

 

If you've never watched gameplay of Psylocke, just think slinky female ninja dressed in purple capable of making various energy things. And, as mentioned, the prototype pictures show cased that very well. So, how did it do?

 

Well, let's start from the top.

 

Psylocke comes with the figure, two face plates (one neutral, one smiling), a sheathed katana, an empty sheath, twin katanas, twin energy katanas, twin Psyblades, 4 sets of hands, a detachable sash, and a dynamic stand with both a peg connector, along with a clamp that I guess would give you a bit more height with your aerial stuff but I never actually used it. I personally would have like an additional angry/attacking face plate because as it is, she's a bit too serene looking.

 

Also kind of neat is that on the cardboard insert (and side flaps of the box) are full colour prints of I guess what comic art inspired this particular design.

 

The Revoltech joint system is a bit different from the Figma and Figuart systems.. at least I guess they are, and at the very least this one is.

 

Articulation is very, very, very good. I cannot emphasize how much you can get this figure to do despite it's small size. The trade off is that some of the joints look really weird when not positioned properly, specifically the shoulders and knees, which are double or triple joints depending on which one we're talking about. Whomever designed the tray for holding Psylocke really didn't do the figure any favours to say the least. However, the amount of knee bend and chest press that this figure more than overshadows this first impression issue, and that range or movement is something you want for a figure like Psylocke.

 

In addition to the aforementioned, all your standard points of articulation are present. Bonus ones include a toe swivel, articulation for her sash, thigh swivel, independent neck and head articulation, and hair that can be lifted to all for greater neck movement, with the latter head/neck related items allowing for some great crouching poses.

 

Sadly, while her shoulders worked out just fine despite their wonky appearance, her ass suffers from the dreaded "thigh separation" scenario where the movement of the legs creates an unsightly gap where the thigh meets the back of the body, particularly notable given that she doesn't wear pants. But, again, at least the trade off is great articulation.

 

Psylocke I guess would technically be the action figure (or at least middle of the pack Japanese figure) equivalent of a Butterface release. To be fair, it is generally what was promised on the box, so I don't really have anyone to blame but myself for buying her if this was the key aspect that ruins the experience for me. Both the prototype and the final item feature the same round almost featureless face with the undersized nose.

 

No it's other things that serve not only as a topic of discussion, but also kind of give you a feeling as to why Figma and Figuarts are kind of priced the way they are.

 

Psylocke has an MSRP of about 6,000 Yen, which is about the price of your run of the mill Figuart, with Figma coming in closer to what.. 7,000 if not more these days? The releases are about the same size, but lets remember that Figuarts have no stand and very few accessories, and clearly Psylocke destroys any run of the mill Figuart figure in terms of value.

 

Part of the pricing on everything is of course the cut paid for the actual license, but it's not like a Marvel license is particularly cheap. So what else is there?

 

It pretty much comes down to paint.

 

If you look closely, you'll probably notice that Psylocke has no paint whatsoever on her fleshy bits. Not only does this look a bit meh, but it makes photographing her a major pain in the ass, especially if you're trying to bring out details.. like her nose and eye sockets. You'll notice that the paint masking on her leg bands isn't bad, but there are more weak spots than on its Figma and Figuarts competitors, especially if we're talking about figure with a relatively simple colour scheme. Some minor paint issues were also spotted on her neck piece, but those are primarily paint transfers. There were also some areas with paint overspray, but it wasn't anything bootleg bad, just something worth noting.

 

Her translucent purple hair is also a big seller for this figure. The overall final product is pretty good, but if you look closely (and in the instance of the back of her head, not even that close), you'll notice some very rough spots that I don't know were a QC issue or a design flaw. By comparison, nothing this was spotted on either KOS-MOS or T-ELOS, both of which are at least 7 years older than Psylocke.

 

For what it is worth, her effect parts are very well done, particularly her Psiblades with the gradient from cold to warm Purple. The quality of the stand itself is, from my analysis, more solid than a Figma stand, mostly due to a combination of better plastic, a thicker arm, and better designed joints. There were also no issues with regards to rough plastic finishes other than the aformentioned hair problems.

 

One other issue that I read about was the face plate itself. Some owners seem to be indicating that due to the way the face is mounted on the head (friction based, one slot, straight above the face) the figure arrived with the socket on the hair already worn out and wouldn't hold the face in place, or would be in danger of doing so in the future. I didn't have that issue on mine, but I do understand where they're coming from with these statements.

 

I should probably also mention the eyes. Those who are familiar with the Hot Toys world will know the term PERS, which is their fancy term for eyes that can be moved on the sculpts to facilitate an even greater amount of posing. Amazingly this figure also features eyeballs that can be moved, though it's not as complicated as the PERS system. This is actually pretty neat given the size of the eyeballs, though you might want to ditch the included white pick in favour of a tiny screw driver or something to move the eyes as I believe the 90 degree bend actually makes it harder to manipulate the eyes into the right direction.

 

In the end, a very good release, and probably the best Psylocke action figure I've ever seen.. of course, the only others I have seen are the Marvel Legends one which again, aren't bad given the price. Those looking for a more legit comic sculpt need not apply here, naturally.

 

But there is no doubt that this is a sharp looking figure, and for the price it comes with quite a few goodies. It just lacks that final bit of spit polish that would push it from being very good to being outstanding. Still, if you like your ninjas purple and slinky, you can't go wrong.

Grr!

  

(Description for visually impaired people follows.)

 

The image shows screenshots of both the "new new" Twitter web interface, and the UI of the new Twitter iPhone app. Both have a bar across the top of the screen with the Twitter logo etched into the middle of it. This is reminiscent of the public beta of Mac OS X 10.0, from September 2000, which had the Apple logo in the middle of the menubar rather than in its current (and also pre-OS X) position on the left side.

 

The image says "Hey Twitter, these (screenshots showing the Twitter logo in the middle of the respective bars) are the same as (screenshot of OS X Public Beta, showing similar logo in middle of menubar) which makes me (photo of angry-looking puppy)."

I don't typically buy anything from the Revoltech series, mostly likely because the licenses that they play with aren't usually my thing. However, once in a while, an interesting figure pops up.

 

For the last little while, one of the more visually impressive sublines from the Revoltech is the Figure Complex: Amazing Yamaguchi line featuring various beloved X-Men characters sculpted by Yamaguchi Katsuhisa. I know a Wolverine and Magneto were released, and a Gambit will be released. I also believe the line has moved onto at least non-X characters with the recently solicited Iron Man.

 

Obviously, this figure is none of those - this is Psylocke.

 

For someone that likes figures and toys, it's surprising how few comics I've read. My introduction to the character was from the original Capcom Vs. Game, X-Men: Children of the Atom in all her uninhibited bouncy glory.

 

The character naturally has a long and storied past that I'd probably lose much sleep over if I actually tried to research. I believe that "too long, didn't read" version of it is that she is a mutant (duh) named Elizabeth "Betsy" Braddock, the sister of Captain Marvel. Through a series of events such as self sacrifice and transference of mental capacities, she ends up in a body of an Japanese woman who is the brain dead wife of the leader of the Hand, an assassin clan, and is brainwashed into become one of them. She develops Psionic powers (ability to form things out of mental energy, mostly for her being blades), and eventually breaks free of this brainwashing, and that, friends is the genesis of the X-Men character Psylocke.

 

None of that matters, of course. I bought the figure because the previews made her look really, really, good, and Psylocke herself being a very sharp character design with long flowing purple hair and her purple kind-of-there outfit. While it's been out for probably 6 months now, I only recently got mine because I insist that the guy who sold it to me bring it to me personally... even if I had to wait six months.

 

If you've never watched gameplay of Psylocke, just think slinky female ninja dressed in purple capable of making various energy things. And, as mentioned, the prototype pictures show cased that very well. So, how did it do?

 

Well, let's start from the top.

 

Psylocke comes with the figure, two face plates (one neutral, one smiling), a sheathed katana, an empty sheath, twin katanas, twin energy katanas, twin Psyblades, 4 sets of hands, a detachable sash, and a dynamic stand with both a peg connector, along with a clamp that I guess would give you a bit more height with your aerial stuff but I never actually used it. I personally would have like an additional angry/attacking face plate because as it is, she's a bit too serene looking.

 

Also kind of neat is that on the cardboard insert (and side flaps of the box) are full colour prints of I guess what comic art inspired this particular design.

 

The Revoltech joint system is a bit different from the Figma and Figuart systems.. at least I guess they are, and at the very least this one is.

 

Articulation is very, very, very good. I cannot emphasize how much you can get this figure to do despite it's small size. The trade off is that some of the joints look really weird when not positioned properly, specifically the shoulders and knees, which are double or triple joints depending on which one we're talking about. Whomever designed the tray for holding Psylocke really didn't do the figure any favours to say the least. However, the amount of knee bend and chest press that this figure more than overshadows this first impression issue, and that range or movement is something you want for a figure like Psylocke.

 

In addition to the aforementioned, all your standard points of articulation are present. Bonus ones include a toe swivel, articulation for her sash, thigh swivel, independent neck and head articulation, and hair that can be lifted to all for greater neck movement, with the latter head/neck related items allowing for some great crouching poses.

 

Sadly, while her shoulders worked out just fine despite their wonky appearance, her ass suffers from the dreaded "thigh separation" scenario where the movement of the legs creates an unsightly gap where the thigh meets the back of the body, particularly notable given that she doesn't wear pants. But, again, at least the trade off is great articulation.

 

Psylocke I guess would technically be the action figure (or at least middle of the pack Japanese figure) equivalent of a Butterface release. To be fair, it is generally what was promised on the box, so I don't really have anyone to blame but myself for buying her if this was the key aspect that ruins the experience for me. Both the prototype and the final item feature the same round almost featureless face with the undersized nose.

 

No it's other things that serve not only as a topic of discussion, but also kind of give you a feeling as to why Figma and Figuarts are kind of priced the way they are.

 

Psylocke has an MSRP of about 6,000 Yen, which is about the price of your run of the mill Figuart, with Figma coming in closer to what.. 7,000 if not more these days? The releases are about the same size, but lets remember that Figuarts have no stand and very few accessories, and clearly Psylocke destroys any run of the mill Figuart figure in terms of value.

 

Part of the pricing on everything is of course the cut paid for the actual license, but it's not like a Marvel license is particularly cheap. So what else is there?

 

It pretty much comes down to paint.

 

If you look closely, you'll probably notice that Psylocke has no paint whatsoever on her fleshy bits. Not only does this look a bit meh, but it makes photographing her a major pain in the ass, especially if you're trying to bring out details.. like her nose and eye sockets. You'll notice that the paint masking on her leg bands isn't bad, but there are more weak spots than on its Figma and Figuarts competitors, especially if we're talking about figure with a relatively simple colour scheme. Some minor paint issues were also spotted on her neck piece, but those are primarily paint transfers. There were also some areas with paint overspray, but it wasn't anything bootleg bad, just something worth noting.

 

Her translucent purple hair is also a big seller for this figure. The overall final product is pretty good, but if you look closely (and in the instance of the back of her head, not even that close), you'll notice some very rough spots that I don't know were a QC issue or a design flaw. By comparison, nothing this was spotted on either KOS-MOS or T-ELOS, both of which are at least 7 years older than Psylocke.

 

For what it is worth, her effect parts are very well done, particularly her Psiblades with the gradient from cold to warm Purple. The quality of the stand itself is, from my analysis, more solid than a Figma stand, mostly due to a combination of better plastic, a thicker arm, and better designed joints. There were also no issues with regards to rough plastic finishes other than the aformentioned hair problems.

 

One other issue that I read about was the face plate itself. Some owners seem to be indicating that due to the way the face is mounted on the head (friction based, one slot, straight above the face) the figure arrived with the socket on the hair already worn out and wouldn't hold the face in place, or would be in danger of doing so in the future. I didn't have that issue on mine, but I do understand where they're coming from with these statements.

 

I should probably also mention the eyes. Those who are familiar with the Hot Toys world will know the term PERS, which is their fancy term for eyes that can be moved on the sculpts to facilitate an even greater amount of posing. Amazingly this figure also features eyeballs that can be moved, though it's not as complicated as the PERS system. This is actually pretty neat given the size of the eyeballs, though you might want to ditch the included white pick in favour of a tiny screw driver or something to move the eyes as I believe the 90 degree bend actually makes it harder to manipulate the eyes into the right direction.

 

In the end, a very good release, and probably the best Psylocke action figure I've ever seen.. of course, the only others I have seen are the Marvel Legends one which again, aren't bad given the price. Those looking for a more legit comic sculpt need not apply here, naturally.

 

But there is no doubt that this is a sharp looking figure, and for the price it comes with quite a few goodies. It just lacks that final bit of spit polish that would push it from being very good to being outstanding. Still, if you like your ninjas purple and slinky, you can't go wrong.

"Hā" is the tale which is as old as the islands. It's an ancient, yet universal tale. It's the visually stunning story of a boy born in a distant paradise. He's nurtured by a village, learns the ways of his people, finds love by moonlight, and defends everything with heart-stopping bravery.

 

It is the spectacle of over a hundred performers from across the Pacific, drums, dance, all new music and special effects, a fire spewing volcano and a world renowned fire knife performance all happening in Polynesian cultural center.

 

The story:

Hā is about a polynesian boy called "Mana". Born just after his parents wash ashore, Mana begins a South Pacific odyssey that leads to becoming a warrior. In the process, he must prove his worthiness to wed the fair Lani by walking on fire. And, ultimately, he must battle to protect his new family from marauding invaders.

 

More from the source: www.polynesia.com/ha.html

 

January 2 2010, Laie, Oahu, Hawaii. The show takes place here.

Visually stimulating artwork is displayed in this large open access area. Tables, with static PCs, are availabe in a variety of sizes and styles. Some tables allow the user space for books and paperwork alongside the PC, others are more closely positioned for mostly PC work. Artificial lighting adds to the natural light flooding in through the glass front. The flexible inflatable screens (pods) whilst visually impressive provide some privacy and sound proofing for group meetings. Soft seating is provided in the far corner of the room allowing students a variety of working environments. Views continue unhindered through the space, encouraging the wary first time visitor.

I don't typically buy anything from the Revoltech series, mostly likely because the licenses that they play with aren't usually my thing. However, once in a while, an interesting figure pops up.

 

For the last little while, one of the more visually impressive sublines from the Revoltech is the Figure Complex: Amazing Yamaguchi line featuring various beloved X-Men characters sculpted by Yamaguchi Katsuhisa. I know a Wolverine and Magneto were released, and a Gambit will be released. I also believe the line has moved onto at least non-X characters with the recently solicited Iron Man.

 

Obviously, this figure is none of those - this is Psylocke.

 

For someone that likes figures and toys, it's surprising how few comics I've read. My introduction to the character was from the original Capcom Vs. Game, X-Men: Children of the Atom in all her uninhibited bouncy glory.

 

The character naturally has a long and storied past that I'd probably lose much sleep over if I actually tried to research. I believe that "too long, didn't read" version of it is that she is a mutant (duh) named Elizabeth "Betsy" Braddock, the sister of Captain Marvel. Through a series of events such as self sacrifice and transference of mental capacities, she ends up in a body of an Japanese woman who is the brain dead wife of the leader of the Hand, an assassin clan, and is brainwashed into become one of them. She develops Psionic powers (ability to form things out of mental energy, mostly for her being blades), and eventually breaks free of this brainwashing, and that, friends is the genesis of the X-Men character Psylocke.

 

None of that matters, of course. I bought the figure because the previews made her look really, really, good, and Psylocke herself being a very sharp character design with long flowing purple hair and her purple kind-of-there outfit. While it's been out for probably 6 months now, I only recently got mine because I insist that the guy who sold it to me bring it to me personally... even if I had to wait six months.

 

If you've never watched gameplay of Psylocke, just think slinky female ninja dressed in purple capable of making various energy things. And, as mentioned, the prototype pictures show cased that very well. So, how did it do?

 

Well, let's start from the top.

 

Psylocke comes with the figure, two face plates (one neutral, one smiling), a sheathed katana, an empty sheath, twin katanas, twin energy katanas, twin Psyblades, 4 sets of hands, a detachable sash, and a dynamic stand with both a peg connector, along with a clamp that I guess would give you a bit more height with your aerial stuff but I never actually used it. I personally would have like an additional angry/attacking face plate because as it is, she's a bit too serene looking.

 

Also kind of neat is that on the cardboard insert (and side flaps of the box) are full colour prints of I guess what comic art inspired this particular design.

 

The Revoltech joint system is a bit different from the Figma and Figuart systems.. at least I guess they are, and at the very least this one is.

 

Articulation is very, very, very good. I cannot emphasize how much you can get this figure to do despite it's small size. The trade off is that some of the joints look really weird when not positioned properly, specifically the shoulders and knees, which are double or triple joints depending on which one we're talking about. Whomever designed the tray for holding Psylocke really didn't do the figure any favours to say the least. However, the amount of knee bend and chest press that this figure more than overshadows this first impression issue, and that range or movement is something you want for a figure like Psylocke.

 

In addition to the aforementioned, all your standard points of articulation are present. Bonus ones include a toe swivel, articulation for her sash, thigh swivel, independent neck and head articulation, and hair that can be lifted to all for greater neck movement, with the latter head/neck related items allowing for some great crouching poses.

 

Sadly, while her shoulders worked out just fine despite their wonky appearance, her ass suffers from the dreaded "thigh separation" scenario where the movement of the legs creates an unsightly gap where the thigh meets the back of the body, particularly notable given that she doesn't wear pants. But, again, at least the trade off is great articulation.

 

Psylocke I guess would technically be the action figure (or at least middle of the pack Japanese figure) equivalent of a Butterface release. To be fair, it is generally what was promised on the box, so I don't really have anyone to blame but myself for buying her if this was the key aspect that ruins the experience for me. Both the prototype and the final item feature the same round almost featureless face with the undersized nose.

 

No it's other things that serve not only as a topic of discussion, but also kind of give you a feeling as to why Figma and Figuarts are kind of priced the way they are.

 

Psylocke has an MSRP of about 6,000 Yen, which is about the price of your run of the mill Figuart, with Figma coming in closer to what.. 7,000 if not more these days? The releases are about the same size, but lets remember that Figuarts have no stand and very few accessories, and clearly Psylocke destroys any run of the mill Figuart figure in terms of value.

 

Part of the pricing on everything is of course the cut paid for the actual license, but it's not like a Marvel license is particularly cheap. So what else is there?

 

It pretty much comes down to paint.

 

If you look closely, you'll probably notice that Psylocke has no paint whatsoever on her fleshy bits. Not only does this look a bit meh, but it makes photographing her a major pain in the ass, especially if you're trying to bring out details.. like her nose and eye sockets. You'll notice that the paint masking on her leg bands isn't bad, but there are more weak spots than on its Figma and Figuarts competitors, especially if we're talking about figure with a relatively simple colour scheme. Some minor paint issues were also spotted on her neck piece, but those are primarily paint transfers. There were also some areas with paint overspray, but it wasn't anything bootleg bad, just something worth noting.

 

Her translucent purple hair is also a big seller for this figure. The overall final product is pretty good, but if you look closely (and in the instance of the back of her head, not even that close), you'll notice some very rough spots that I don't know were a QC issue or a design flaw. By comparison, nothing this was spotted on either KOS-MOS or T-ELOS, both of which are at least 7 years older than Psylocke.

 

For what it is worth, her effect parts are very well done, particularly her Psiblades with the gradient from cold to warm Purple. The quality of the stand itself is, from my analysis, more solid than a Figma stand, mostly due to a combination of better plastic, a thicker arm, and better designed joints. There were also no issues with regards to rough plastic finishes other than the aformentioned hair problems.

 

One other issue that I read about was the face plate itself. Some owners seem to be indicating that due to the way the face is mounted on the head (friction based, one slot, straight above the face) the figure arrived with the socket on the hair already worn out and wouldn't hold the face in place, or would be in danger of doing so in the future. I didn't have that issue on mine, but I do understand where they're coming from with these statements.

 

I should probably also mention the eyes. Those who are familiar with the Hot Toys world will know the term PERS, which is their fancy term for eyes that can be moved on the sculpts to facilitate an even greater amount of posing. Amazingly this figure also features eyeballs that can be moved, though it's not as complicated as the PERS system. This is actually pretty neat given the size of the eyeballs, though you might want to ditch the included white pick in favour of a tiny screw driver or something to move the eyes as I believe the 90 degree bend actually makes it harder to manipulate the eyes into the right direction.

 

In the end, a very good release, and probably the best Psylocke action figure I've ever seen.. of course, the only others I have seen are the Marvel Legends one which again, aren't bad given the price. Those looking for a more legit comic sculpt need not apply here, naturally.

 

But there is no doubt that this is a sharp looking figure, and for the price it comes with quite a few goodies. It just lacks that final bit of spit polish that would push it from being very good to being outstanding. Still, if you like your ninjas purple and slinky, you can't go wrong.

I don't typically buy anything from the Revoltech series, mostly likely because the licenses that they play with aren't usually my thing. However, once in a while, an interesting figure pops up.

 

For the last little while, one of the more visually impressive sublines from the Revoltech is the Figure Complex: Amazing Yamaguchi line featuring various beloved X-Men characters sculpted by Yamaguchi Katsuhisa. I know a Wolverine and Magneto were released, and a Gambit will be released. I also believe the line has moved onto at least non-X characters with the recently solicited Iron Man.

 

Obviously, this figure is none of those - this is Psylocke.

 

For someone that likes figures and toys, it's surprising how few comics I've read. My introduction to the character was from the original Capcom Vs. Game, X-Men: Children of the Atom in all her uninhibited bouncy glory.

 

The character naturally has a long and storied past that I'd probably lose much sleep over if I actually tried to research. I believe that "too long, didn't read" version of it is that she is a mutant (duh) named Elizabeth "Betsy" Braddock, the sister of Captain Marvel. Through a series of events such as self sacrifice and transference of mental capacities, she ends up in a body of an Japanese woman who is the brain dead wife of the leader of the Hand, an assassin clan, and is brainwashed into become one of them. She develops Psionic powers (ability to form things out of mental energy, mostly for her being blades), and eventually breaks free of this brainwashing, and that, friends is the genesis of the X-Men character Psylocke.

 

None of that matters, of course. I bought the figure because the previews made her look really, really, good, and Psylocke herself being a very sharp character design with long flowing purple hair and her purple kind-of-there outfit. While it's been out for probably 6 months now, I only recently got mine because I insist that the guy who sold it to me bring it to me personally... even if I had to wait six months.

 

If you've never watched gameplay of Psylocke, just think slinky female ninja dressed in purple capable of making various energy things. And, as mentioned, the prototype pictures show cased that very well. So, how did it do?

 

Well, let's start from the top.

 

Psylocke comes with the figure, two face plates (one neutral, one smiling), a sheathed katana, an empty sheath, twin katanas, twin energy katanas, twin Psyblades, 4 sets of hands, a detachable sash, and a dynamic stand with both a peg connector, along with a clamp that I guess would give you a bit more height with your aerial stuff but I never actually used it. I personally would have like an additional angry/attacking face plate because as it is, she's a bit too serene looking.

 

Also kind of neat is that on the cardboard insert (and side flaps of the box) are full colour prints of I guess what comic art inspired this particular design.

 

The Revoltech joint system is a bit different from the Figma and Figuart systems.. at least I guess they are, and at the very least this one is.

 

Articulation is very, very, very good. I cannot emphasize how much you can get this figure to do despite it's small size. The trade off is that some of the joints look really weird when not positioned properly, specifically the shoulders and knees, which are double or triple joints depending on which one we're talking about. Whomever designed the tray for holding Psylocke really didn't do the figure any favours to say the least. However, the amount of knee bend and chest press that this figure more than overshadows this first impression issue, and that range or movement is something you want for a figure like Psylocke.

 

In addition to the aforementioned, all your standard points of articulation are present. Bonus ones include a toe swivel, articulation for her sash, thigh swivel, independent neck and head articulation, and hair that can be lifted to all for greater neck movement, with the latter head/neck related items allowing for some great crouching poses.

 

Sadly, while her shoulders worked out just fine despite their wonky appearance, her ass suffers from the dreaded "thigh separation" scenario where the movement of the legs creates an unsightly gap where the thigh meets the back of the body, particularly notable given that she doesn't wear pants. But, again, at least the trade off is great articulation.

 

Psylocke I guess would technically be the action figure (or at least middle of the pack Japanese figure) equivalent of a Butterface release. To be fair, it is generally what was promised on the box, so I don't really have anyone to blame but myself for buying her if this was the key aspect that ruins the experience for me. Both the prototype and the final item feature the same round almost featureless face with the undersized nose.

 

No it's other things that serve not only as a topic of discussion, but also kind of give you a feeling as to why Figma and Figuarts are kind of priced the way they are.

 

Psylocke has an MSRP of about 6,000 Yen, which is about the price of your run of the mill Figuart, with Figma coming in closer to what.. 7,000 if not more these days? The releases are about the same size, but lets remember that Figuarts have no stand and very few accessories, and clearly Psylocke destroys any run of the mill Figuart figure in terms of value.

 

Part of the pricing on everything is of course the cut paid for the actual license, but it's not like a Marvel license is particularly cheap. So what else is there?

 

It pretty much comes down to paint.

 

If you look closely, you'll probably notice that Psylocke has no paint whatsoever on her fleshy bits. Not only does this look a bit meh, but it makes photographing her a major pain in the ass, especially if you're trying to bring out details.. like her nose and eye sockets. You'll notice that the paint masking on her leg bands isn't bad, but there are more weak spots than on its Figma and Figuarts competitors, especially if we're talking about figure with a relatively simple colour scheme. Some minor paint issues were also spotted on her neck piece, but those are primarily paint transfers. There were also some areas with paint overspray, but it wasn't anything bootleg bad, just something worth noting.

 

Her translucent purple hair is also a big seller for this figure. The overall final product is pretty good, but if you look closely (and in the instance of the back of her head, not even that close), you'll notice some very rough spots that I don't know were a QC issue or a design flaw. By comparison, nothing this was spotted on either KOS-MOS or T-ELOS, both of which are at least 7 years older than Psylocke.

 

For what it is worth, her effect parts are very well done, particularly her Psiblades with the gradient from cold to warm Purple. The quality of the stand itself is, from my analysis, more solid than a Figma stand, mostly due to a combination of better plastic, a thicker arm, and better designed joints. There were also no issues with regards to rough plastic finishes other than the aformentioned hair problems.

 

One other issue that I read about was the face plate itself. Some owners seem to be indicating that due to the way the face is mounted on the head (friction based, one slot, straight above the face) the figure arrived with the socket on the hair already worn out and wouldn't hold the face in place, or would be in danger of doing so in the future. I didn't have that issue on mine, but I do understand where they're coming from with these statements.

 

I should probably also mention the eyes. Those who are familiar with the Hot Toys world will know the term PERS, which is their fancy term for eyes that can be moved on the sculpts to facilitate an even greater amount of posing. Amazingly this figure also features eyeballs that can be moved, though it's not as complicated as the PERS system. This is actually pretty neat given the size of the eyeballs, though you might want to ditch the included white pick in favour of a tiny screw driver or something to move the eyes as I believe the 90 degree bend actually makes it harder to manipulate the eyes into the right direction.

 

In the end, a very good release, and probably the best Psylocke action figure I've ever seen.. of course, the only others I have seen are the Marvel Legends one which again, aren't bad given the price. Those looking for a more legit comic sculpt need not apply here, naturally.

 

But there is no doubt that this is a sharp looking figure, and for the price it comes with quite a few goodies. It just lacks that final bit of spit polish that would push it from being very good to being outstanding. Still, if you like your ninjas purple and slinky, you can't go wrong.

I don't typically buy anything from the Revoltech series, mostly likely because the licenses that they play with aren't usually my thing. However, once in a while, an interesting figure pops up.

 

For the last little while, one of the more visually impressive sublines from the Revoltech is the Figure Complex: Amazing Yamaguchi line featuring various beloved X-Men characters sculpted by Yamaguchi Katsuhisa. I know a Wolverine and Magneto were released, and a Gambit will be released. I also believe the line has moved onto at least non-X characters with the recently solicited Iron Man.

 

Obviously, this figure is none of those - this is Psylocke.

 

For someone that likes figures and toys, it's surprising how few comics I've read. My introduction to the character was from the original Capcom Vs. Game, X-Men: Children of the Atom in all her uninhibited bouncy glory.

 

The character naturally has a long and storied past that I'd probably lose much sleep over if I actually tried to research. I believe that "too long, didn't read" version of it is that she is a mutant (duh) named Elizabeth "Betsy" Braddock, the sister of Captain Marvel. Through a series of events such as self sacrifice and transference of mental capacities, she ends up in a body of an Japanese woman who is the brain dead wife of the leader of the Hand, an assassin clan, and is brainwashed into become one of them. She develops Psionic powers (ability to form things out of mental energy, mostly for her being blades), and eventually breaks free of this brainwashing, and that, friends is the genesis of the X-Men character Psylocke.

 

None of that matters, of course. I bought the figure because the previews made her look really, really, good, and Psylocke herself being a very sharp character design with long flowing purple hair and her purple kind-of-there outfit. While it's been out for probably 6 months now, I only recently got mine because I insist that the guy who sold it to me bring it to me personally... even if I had to wait six months.

 

If you've never watched gameplay of Psylocke, just think slinky female ninja dressed in purple capable of making various energy things. And, as mentioned, the prototype pictures show cased that very well. So, how did it do?

 

Well, let's start from the top.

 

Psylocke comes with the figure, two face plates (one neutral, one smiling), a sheathed katana, an empty sheath, twin katanas, twin energy katanas, twin Psyblades, 4 sets of hands, a detachable sash, and a dynamic stand with both a peg connector, along with a clamp that I guess would give you a bit more height with your aerial stuff but I never actually used it. I personally would have like an additional angry/attacking face plate because as it is, she's a bit too serene looking.

 

Also kind of neat is that on the cardboard insert (and side flaps of the box) are full colour prints of I guess what comic art inspired this particular design.

 

The Revoltech joint system is a bit different from the Figma and Figuart systems.. at least I guess they are, and at the very least this one is.

 

Articulation is very, very, very good. I cannot emphasize how much you can get this figure to do despite it's small size. The trade off is that some of the joints look really weird when not positioned properly, specifically the shoulders and knees, which are double or triple joints depending on which one we're talking about. Whomever designed the tray for holding Psylocke really didn't do the figure any favours to say the least. However, the amount of knee bend and chest press that this figure more than overshadows this first impression issue, and that range or movement is something you want for a figure like Psylocke.

 

In addition to the aforementioned, all your standard points of articulation are present. Bonus ones include a toe swivel, articulation for her sash, thigh swivel, independent neck and head articulation, and hair that can be lifted to all for greater neck movement, with the latter head/neck related items allowing for some great crouching poses.

 

Sadly, while her shoulders worked out just fine despite their wonky appearance, her ass suffers from the dreaded "thigh separation" scenario where the movement of the legs creates an unsightly gap where the thigh meets the back of the body, particularly notable given that she doesn't wear pants. But, again, at least the trade off is great articulation.

 

Psylocke I guess would technically be the action figure (or at least middle of the pack Japanese figure) equivalent of a Butterface release. To be fair, it is generally what was promised on the box, so I don't really have anyone to blame but myself for buying her if this was the key aspect that ruins the experience for me. Both the prototype and the final item feature the same round almost featureless face with the undersized nose.

 

No it's other things that serve not only as a topic of discussion, but also kind of give you a feeling as to why Figma and Figuarts are kind of priced the way they are.

 

Psylocke has an MSRP of about 6,000 Yen, which is about the price of your run of the mill Figuart, with Figma coming in closer to what.. 7,000 if not more these days? The releases are about the same size, but lets remember that Figuarts have no stand and very few accessories, and clearly Psylocke destroys any run of the mill Figuart figure in terms of value.

 

Part of the pricing on everything is of course the cut paid for the actual license, but it's not like a Marvel license is particularly cheap. So what else is there?

 

It pretty much comes down to paint.

 

If you look closely, you'll probably notice that Psylocke has no paint whatsoever on her fleshy bits. Not only does this look a bit meh, but it makes photographing her a major pain in the ass, especially if you're trying to bring out details.. like her nose and eye sockets. You'll notice that the paint masking on her leg bands isn't bad, but there are more weak spots than on its Figma and Figuarts competitors, especially if we're talking about figure with a relatively simple colour scheme. Some minor paint issues were also spotted on her neck piece, but those are primarily paint transfers. There were also some areas with paint overspray, but it wasn't anything bootleg bad, just something worth noting.

 

Her translucent purple hair is also a big seller for this figure. The overall final product is pretty good, but if you look closely (and in the instance of the back of her head, not even that close), you'll notice some very rough spots that I don't know were a QC issue or a design flaw. By comparison, nothing this was spotted on either KOS-MOS or T-ELOS, both of which are at least 7 years older than Psylocke.

 

For what it is worth, her effect parts are very well done, particularly her Psiblades with the gradient from cold to warm Purple. The quality of the stand itself is, from my analysis, more solid than a Figma stand, mostly due to a combination of better plastic, a thicker arm, and better designed joints. There were also no issues with regards to rough plastic finishes other than the aformentioned hair problems.

 

One other issue that I read about was the face plate itself. Some owners seem to be indicating that due to the way the face is mounted on the head (friction based, one slot, straight above the face) the figure arrived with the socket on the hair already worn out and wouldn't hold the face in place, or would be in danger of doing so in the future. I didn't have that issue on mine, but I do understand where they're coming from with these statements.

 

I should probably also mention the eyes. Those who are familiar with the Hot Toys world will know the term PERS, which is their fancy term for eyes that can be moved on the sculpts to facilitate an even greater amount of posing. Amazingly this figure also features eyeballs that can be moved, though it's not as complicated as the PERS system. This is actually pretty neat given the size of the eyeballs, though you might want to ditch the included white pick in favour of a tiny screw driver or something to move the eyes as I believe the 90 degree bend actually makes it harder to manipulate the eyes into the right direction.

 

In the end, a very good release, and probably the best Psylocke action figure I've ever seen.. of course, the only others I have seen are the Marvel Legends one which again, aren't bad given the price. Those looking for a more legit comic sculpt need not apply here, naturally.

 

But there is no doubt that this is a sharp looking figure, and for the price it comes with quite a few goodies. It just lacks that final bit of spit polish that would push it from being very good to being outstanding. Still, if you like your ninjas purple and slinky, you can't go wrong.

On September 23, 2018, a U.S. Department of Defense Explosives Ordnance Disposal unit visually inspects a vehicle after the explosives-detecting K-9 unit has cleared it during the 73rd UN General Assembly. (U.S. Department of State photo)

One of Air Canada's newest aircraft types.. landing in Montreal

 

*Airplanes 101* (See Airplanes 101 Set)

Name: EMB-175

Manufacturer: Embraer (Brazil)

Main Role: short & medium range regional jetliner

Basic design: Two engined single aisle narrow body regional Jet.

Capacity: Roughly 78 passengers

Range: 3300-3800km

First delivery date: 2002

Still in production in 2006: Yes

Easily confused for: 737, A318, A319, A320

Main Characteristics Look for a the EMB-175's small wing mounted twin engines. it's distinctive tail with a kink in the leading edge, the exposed silver coloured tail cone and the classic Embraer 4 paned cockpit window. Also this aircraft series has very large widely spaced passenger windows in comparison to other regional jets. It's winglets too are very pronounced. From a distance this plane can be easily mistaken for a 737. The only visible difference between it and the EMB-170 is a very small stretch in the fuselage.

Examples of Main Operators: LOT Polish Airlines, Air Canada

I don't typically buy anything from the Revoltech series, mostly likely because the licenses that they play with aren't usually my thing. However, once in a while, an interesting figure pops up.

 

For the last little while, one of the more visually impressive sublines from the Revoltech is the Figure Complex: Amazing Yamaguchi line featuring various beloved X-Men characters sculpted by Yamaguchi Katsuhisa. I know a Wolverine and Magneto were released, and a Gambit will be released. I also believe the line has moved onto at least non-X characters with the recently solicited Iron Man.

 

Obviously, this figure is none of those - this is Psylocke.

 

For someone that likes figures and toys, it's surprising how few comics I've read. My introduction to the character was from the original Capcom Vs. Game, X-Men: Children of the Atom in all her uninhibited bouncy glory.

 

The character naturally has a long and storied past that I'd probably lose much sleep over if I actually tried to research. I believe that "too long, didn't read" version of it is that she is a mutant (duh) named Elizabeth "Betsy" Braddock, the sister of Captain Marvel. Through a series of events such as self sacrifice and transference of mental capacities, she ends up in a body of an Japanese woman who is the brain dead wife of the leader of the Hand, an assassin clan, and is brainwashed into become one of them. She develops Psionic powers (ability to form things out of mental energy, mostly for her being blades), and eventually breaks free of this brainwashing, and that, friends is the genesis of the X-Men character Psylocke.

 

None of that matters, of course. I bought the figure because the previews made her look really, really, good, and Psylocke herself being a very sharp character design with long flowing purple hair and her purple kind-of-there outfit. While it's been out for probably 6 months now, I only recently got mine because I insist that the guy who sold it to me bring it to me personally... even if I had to wait six months.

 

If you've never watched gameplay of Psylocke, just think slinky female ninja dressed in purple capable of making various energy things. And, as mentioned, the prototype pictures show cased that very well. So, how did it do?

 

Well, let's start from the top.

 

Psylocke comes with the figure, two face plates (one neutral, one smiling), a sheathed katana, an empty sheath, twin katanas, twin energy katanas, twin Psyblades, 4 sets of hands, a detachable sash, and a dynamic stand with both a peg connector, along with a clamp that I guess would give you a bit more height with your aerial stuff but I never actually used it. I personally would have like an additional angry/attacking face plate because as it is, she's a bit too serene looking.

 

Also kind of neat is that on the cardboard insert (and side flaps of the box) are full colour prints of I guess what comic art inspired this particular design.

 

The Revoltech joint system is a bit different from the Figma and Figuart systems.. at least I guess they are, and at the very least this one is.

 

Articulation is very, very, very good. I cannot emphasize how much you can get this figure to do despite it's small size. The trade off is that some of the joints look really weird when not positioned properly, specifically the shoulders and knees, which are double or triple joints depending on which one we're talking about. Whomever designed the tray for holding Psylocke really didn't do the figure any favours to say the least. However, the amount of knee bend and chest press that this figure more than overshadows this first impression issue, and that range or movement is something you want for a figure like Psylocke.

 

In addition to the aforementioned, all your standard points of articulation are present. Bonus ones include a toe swivel, articulation for her sash, thigh swivel, independent neck and head articulation, and hair that can be lifted to all for greater neck movement, with the latter head/neck related items allowing for some great crouching poses.

 

Sadly, while her shoulders worked out just fine despite their wonky appearance, her ass suffers from the dreaded "thigh separation" scenario where the movement of the legs creates an unsightly gap where the thigh meets the back of the body, particularly notable given that she doesn't wear pants. But, again, at least the trade off is great articulation.

 

Psylocke I guess would technically be the action figure (or at least middle of the pack Japanese figure) equivalent of a Butterface release. To be fair, it is generally what was promised on the box, so I don't really have anyone to blame but myself for buying her if this was the key aspect that ruins the experience for me. Both the prototype and the final item feature the same round almost featureless face with the undersized nose.

 

No it's other things that serve not only as a topic of discussion, but also kind of give you a feeling as to why Figma and Figuarts are kind of priced the way they are.

 

Psylocke has an MSRP of about 6,000 Yen, which is about the price of your run of the mill Figuart, with Figma coming in closer to what.. 7,000 if not more these days? The releases are about the same size, but lets remember that Figuarts have no stand and very few accessories, and clearly Psylocke destroys any run of the mill Figuart figure in terms of value.

 

Part of the pricing on everything is of course the cut paid for the actual license, but it's not like a Marvel license is particularly cheap. So what else is there?

 

It pretty much comes down to paint.

 

If you look closely, you'll probably notice that Psylocke has no paint whatsoever on her fleshy bits. Not only does this look a bit meh, but it makes photographing her a major pain in the ass, especially if you're trying to bring out details.. like her nose and eye sockets. You'll notice that the paint masking on her leg bands isn't bad, but there are more weak spots than on its Figma and Figuarts competitors, especially if we're talking about figure with a relatively simple colour scheme. Some minor paint issues were also spotted on her neck piece, but those are primarily paint transfers. There were also some areas with paint overspray, but it wasn't anything bootleg bad, just something worth noting.

 

Her translucent purple hair is also a big seller for this figure. The overall final product is pretty good, but if you look closely (and in the instance of the back of her head, not even that close), you'll notice some very rough spots that I don't know were a QC issue or a design flaw. By comparison, nothing this was spotted on either KOS-MOS or T-ELOS, both of which are at least 7 years older than Psylocke.

 

For what it is worth, her effect parts are very well done, particularly her Psiblades with the gradient from cold to warm Purple. The quality of the stand itself is, from my analysis, more solid than a Figma stand, mostly due to a combination of better plastic, a thicker arm, and better designed joints. There were also no issues with regards to rough plastic finishes other than the aformentioned hair problems.

 

One other issue that I read about was the face plate itself. Some owners seem to be indicating that due to the way the face is mounted on the head (friction based, one slot, straight above the face) the figure arrived with the socket on the hair already worn out and wouldn't hold the face in place, or would be in danger of doing so in the future. I didn't have that issue on mine, but I do understand where they're coming from with these statements.

 

I should probably also mention the eyes. Those who are familiar with the Hot Toys world will know the term PERS, which is their fancy term for eyes that can be moved on the sculpts to facilitate an even greater amount of posing. Amazingly this figure also features eyeballs that can be moved, though it's not as complicated as the PERS system. This is actually pretty neat given the size of the eyeballs, though you might want to ditch the included white pick in favour of a tiny screw driver or something to move the eyes as I believe the 90 degree bend actually makes it harder to manipulate the eyes into the right direction.

 

In the end, a very good release, and probably the best Psylocke action figure I've ever seen.. of course, the only others I have seen are the Marvel Legends one which again, aren't bad given the price. Those looking for a more legit comic sculpt need not apply here, naturally.

 

But there is no doubt that this is a sharp looking figure, and for the price it comes with quite a few goodies. It just lacks that final bit of spit polish that would push it from being very good to being outstanding. Still, if you like your ninjas purple and slinky, you can't go wrong.

I don't typically buy anything from the Revoltech series, mostly likely because the licenses that they play with aren't usually my thing. However, once in a while, an interesting figure pops up.

 

For the last little while, one of the more visually impressive sublines from the Revoltech is the Figure Complex: Amazing Yamaguchi line featuring various beloved X-Men characters sculpted by Yamaguchi Katsuhisa. I know a Wolverine and Magneto were released, and a Gambit will be released. I also believe the line has moved onto at least non-X characters with the recently solicited Iron Man.

 

Obviously, this figure is none of those - this is Psylocke.

 

For someone that likes figures and toys, it's surprising how few comics I've read. My introduction to the character was from the original Capcom Vs. Game, X-Men: Children of the Atom in all her uninhibited bouncy glory.

 

The character naturally has a long and storied past that I'd probably lose much sleep over if I actually tried to research. I believe that "too long, didn't read" version of it is that she is a mutant (duh) named Elizabeth "Betsy" Braddock, the sister of Captain Marvel. Through a series of events such as self sacrifice and transference of mental capacities, she ends up in a body of an Japanese woman who is the brain dead wife of the leader of the Hand, an assassin clan, and is brainwashed into become one of them. She develops Psionic powers (ability to form things out of mental energy, mostly for her being blades), and eventually breaks free of this brainwashing, and that, friends is the genesis of the X-Men character Psylocke.

 

None of that matters, of course. I bought the figure because the previews made her look really, really, good, and Psylocke herself being a very sharp character design with long flowing purple hair and her purple kind-of-there outfit. While it's been out for probably 6 months now, I only recently got mine because I insist that the guy who sold it to me bring it to me personally... even if I had to wait six months.

 

If you've never watched gameplay of Psylocke, just think slinky female ninja dressed in purple capable of making various energy things. And, as mentioned, the prototype pictures show cased that very well. So, how did it do?

 

Well, let's start from the top.

 

Psylocke comes with the figure, two face plates (one neutral, one smiling), a sheathed katana, an empty sheath, twin katanas, twin energy katanas, twin Psyblades, 4 sets of hands, a detachable sash, and a dynamic stand with both a peg connector, along with a clamp that I guess would give you a bit more height with your aerial stuff but I never actually used it. I personally would have like an additional angry/attacking face plate because as it is, she's a bit too serene looking.

 

Also kind of neat is that on the cardboard insert (and side flaps of the box) are full colour prints of I guess what comic art inspired this particular design.

 

The Revoltech joint system is a bit different from the Figma and Figuart systems.. at least I guess they are, and at the very least this one is.

 

Articulation is very, very, very good. I cannot emphasize how much you can get this figure to do despite it's small size. The trade off is that some of the joints look really weird when not positioned properly, specifically the shoulders and knees, which are double or triple joints depending on which one we're talking about. Whomever designed the tray for holding Psylocke really didn't do the figure any favours to say the least. However, the amount of knee bend and chest press that this figure more than overshadows this first impression issue, and that range or movement is something you want for a figure like Psylocke.

 

In addition to the aforementioned, all your standard points of articulation are present. Bonus ones include a toe swivel, articulation for her sash, thigh swivel, independent neck and head articulation, and hair that can be lifted to all for greater neck movement, with the latter head/neck related items allowing for some great crouching poses.

 

Sadly, while her shoulders worked out just fine despite their wonky appearance, her ass suffers from the dreaded "thigh separation" scenario where the movement of the legs creates an unsightly gap where the thigh meets the back of the body, particularly notable given that she doesn't wear pants. But, again, at least the trade off is great articulation.

 

Psylocke I guess would technically be the action figure (or at least middle of the pack Japanese figure) equivalent of a Butterface release. To be fair, it is generally what was promised on the box, so I don't really have anyone to blame but myself for buying her if this was the key aspect that ruins the experience for me. Both the prototype and the final item feature the same round almost featureless face with the undersized nose.

 

No it's other things that serve not only as a topic of discussion, but also kind of give you a feeling as to why Figma and Figuarts are kind of priced the way they are.

 

Psylocke has an MSRP of about 6,000 Yen, which is about the price of your run of the mill Figuart, with Figma coming in closer to what.. 7,000 if not more these days? The releases are about the same size, but lets remember that Figuarts have no stand and very few accessories, and clearly Psylocke destroys any run of the mill Figuart figure in terms of value.

 

Part of the pricing on everything is of course the cut paid for the actual license, but it's not like a Marvel license is particularly cheap. So what else is there?

 

It pretty much comes down to paint.

 

If you look closely, you'll probably notice that Psylocke has no paint whatsoever on her fleshy bits. Not only does this look a bit meh, but it makes photographing her a major pain in the ass, especially if you're trying to bring out details.. like her nose and eye sockets. You'll notice that the paint masking on her leg bands isn't bad, but there are more weak spots than on its Figma and Figuarts competitors, especially if we're talking about figure with a relatively simple colour scheme. Some minor paint issues were also spotted on her neck piece, but those are primarily paint transfers. There were also some areas with paint overspray, but it wasn't anything bootleg bad, just something worth noting.

 

Her translucent purple hair is also a big seller for this figure. The overall final product is pretty good, but if you look closely (and in the instance of the back of her head, not even that close), you'll notice some very rough spots that I don't know were a QC issue or a design flaw. By comparison, nothing this was spotted on either KOS-MOS or T-ELOS, both of which are at least 7 years older than Psylocke.

 

For what it is worth, her effect parts are very well done, particularly her Psiblades with the gradient from cold to warm Purple. The quality of the stand itself is, from my analysis, more solid than a Figma stand, mostly due to a combination of better plastic, a thicker arm, and better designed joints. There were also no issues with regards to rough plastic finishes other than the aformentioned hair problems.

 

One other issue that I read about was the face plate itself. Some owners seem to be indicating that due to the way the face is mounted on the head (friction based, one slot, straight above the face) the figure arrived with the socket on the hair already worn out and wouldn't hold the face in place, or would be in danger of doing so in the future. I didn't have that issue on mine, but I do understand where they're coming from with these statements.

 

I should probably also mention the eyes. Those who are familiar with the Hot Toys world will know the term PERS, which is their fancy term for eyes that can be moved on the sculpts to facilitate an even greater amount of posing. Amazingly this figure also features eyeballs that can be moved, though it's not as complicated as the PERS system. This is actually pretty neat given the size of the eyeballs, though you might want to ditch the included white pick in favour of a tiny screw driver or something to move the eyes as I believe the 90 degree bend actually makes it harder to manipulate the eyes into the right direction.

 

In the end, a very good release, and probably the best Psylocke action figure I've ever seen.. of course, the only others I have seen are the Marvel Legends one which again, aren't bad given the price. Those looking for a more legit comic sculpt need not apply here, naturally.

 

But there is no doubt that this is a sharp looking figure, and for the price it comes with quite a few goodies. It just lacks that final bit of spit polish that would push it from being very good to being outstanding. Still, if you like your ninjas purple and slinky, you can't go wrong.

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!

  

Some background:

The Tornado ADV had its origins in an RAF Air Staff Requirement 395 (or ASR.395), which called for a long-range interceptor to replace the Lightning F6 and Phantom FGR2. The requirement for a modern interceptor was driven by the threat posed by the large Soviet long-range bomber fleet, in particular the supersonic Tupolev Tu-22M. From the beginning of the Tornado IDS's development in 1968, the possibility of a variant dedicated to air defence had been quietly considered; several American aircraft had been evaluated, but found to be unsuitable. However, the concept proved unattractive to the other European partners on the Tornado project, thus the UK elected to proceed in its development alone. On 4 March 1976, the development of the Tornado ADV was formally approved.

 

In 1976, British Aerospace was contracted to provide three prototype aircraft. The first prototype was rolled out at Warton on 9 August 1979, before making its maiden flight on 27 October 1979. During the flight testing, the ADV demonstrated noticeably superior supersonic acceleration to the IDS, even while carrying a full weapons loadout.

 

The Tornado ADV's differences compared to the IDS include a greater sweep angle on the wing gloves, and the deletion of their kruger flaps, deletion of the port cannon, a longer radome for the Foxhunter radar, slightly longer airbrakes and a fuselage stretch of 1.36 m to allow the carriage of four Skyflash semi-active radar homing missiles. The stretch was applied to the Tornado front fuselage being built by the UK, with a plug being added immediately behind the cockpit, which had the unexpected benefit of reducing drag and making space for an additional fuel tank (Tank '0') carrying 200 imperial gallons (909 l; 240 U.S. gal) of fuel. The artificial feel of the flight controls was lighter on the ADV than on the IDS. Various internal avionics, pilot displays, guidance systems and software also differed; including an automatic wing sweep selector not fitted to the strike aircraft.

 

Production of the Tornado ADV was performed between 1980 and 1993, the last such aircraft being delivered that same year. A total of 165 Tornado ADVs were ordered by Britain, the majority being the Tornado F3. However, the Tornado ADV’s replacement, the aircraft that is known today as the Eurofighter Typhoon, met several delays – primarily of political nature. Even though the first production contract was already signed on 30 January 1998 between Eurofighter GmbH, Eurojet and NETMA for the procurement of a total of 232 for the UK, the development and eventually the delivery of the new aircraft was a protracted affair. It actually took until 9 August 2007, when the UK's Ministry of Defence reported that No. 11 Squadron RAF, which stood up as a Typhoon squadron on 29 March 2007, had received its first two multi-role Typhoons. Until then, the Tornado F.3 had become more and more obsolete, since the type was only suited to a limited kind of missions, and it became obvious that the Tornado ADV would have to be kept in service for several years in order to keep Great Britain’s aerial defence up.

 

In order to bridge the Typhoon service gap, two update programs had already been launched by the MoD in 2004, which led to the Tornado F.5 and F.6 versions. These were both modified F.3 airframes, catering to different, more specialized roles. The F.5 had a further extended fuselage and modified wings, so that it could operate more effectively in the long range fighter patrol role over the North Sea and the Northern Atlantic. On the other side, the F.6 was tailored to the mainland interceptor role at low and medium altitudes and featured new engines for a better performance in QRA duties. Both fighter variants shared improved avionics and weapons that had already been developed for the Eurofighter Typhoon, or were still under development.

 

The Tornado F.6’s new engines were a pair of Eurojet EJ200 afterburning turbofans, which offered 30% more dry and 20% more afterburner thrust than the F.3’s original Turbo-Union RB199-34R turbofans. These more modern and fuel-efficient engines allowed prolonged supercruise, and range as well as top speed were improved, too. Furthermore, there was the (theoretical) option to combine the new engine with vectored thrust nozzles, even though this would most probably not take place since the Tornado ADV had never been designed as a true dogfighter, even though it was, for an aircraft of its size, quite an agile aircraft.

 

However, the integration of the EJ200 into the existing airframe called for major modifications that affected the aircraft’s structure. The tail section had to be modified in order to carry the EJ200’s different afterburner section. Its bigger diameter and longer nozzle precluded the use of the original thrust reverser. This unique feature was retained, though, so that the mechanism had to be modified: the standard deflectors, which used to extend backwards behind the nozzles, now opened inwards into the airflow before the exhaust.

Since the new engines had a considerably higher airflow rate, the air intakes with the respective ducts had to be enlarged and adapted, too. Several layouts were tested, including two dorsal auxiliary air intakes to the original, wedge-shaped orifices, but eventually the whole intake arrangement with horizontal ramps was changed into tall side intakes with vertical splitter plates, reminiscent of the F-4 Phantom. Even though this meant a thorough redesign of the fuselage section under the wing sweep mechanism and a reduction of tank “0”’s volume, the new arrangement improved the aircraft’s aerodynamics further and slightly enlarged the wing area, which resulted in a minor net increase of range.

 

The F.3’s GEC-Marconi/Ferranti AI.24 Foxhunter radar was retained, but an infrared search and track (IRST) sensor, the Passive Infra-Red Airborne Track Equipment (PIRATE), was mounted in a semispherical housing on the port side of the fuselage in front of the windscreen and linked to the pilot’s helmet-mounted display. By supercooling the sensor, the system was able to detect even small variations in temperature at a long range, and it allowed the detection of both hot exhaust plumes of jet engines and surface heating caused by friction.

PIRATE operated in two IR bands and could be used together with the radar in an air-to-air role, adding visual input to the radar’s readings. Beyond that, PIRATE could also function as an independent infrared search and track system, providing passive target detection and tracking, and the system was also able to provide navigation and landing aid.

In an optional air-to-surface role, PIRATE can also perform target identification and acquisition, up to 200 targets could be simultaneously tracked. Although no definitive ranges had been released, an upper limit of 80 nm has been hinted at; a more typical figure would be 30 to 50 nm.

 

The Tornado F.3’s Mauser BK-27 revolver cannon was retained and the F.6 was from the start outfitted with the AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missile, with the outlook to switch as soon as possible to the new, ram jet-driven Meteor AAM with higher speed and range. Meteor had been under development since 1994 and was to be carried by the Eurofighter Typhoon as its primary mid-range weapon. With a range of 100+ km (63 mi, 60 km no-escape zone) and a top speed of more than Mach 4, Meteor, with its throttleable ducted rocket engine, offered a considerably improvement above AMRAAM. However, it took until 2016 that Meteor became fully operational and was rolled out to operational RAF fighter units.

 

A total of 36 Tornado F.3 airframes with relatively low flying hours were brought to F.6 standard in the course of 2006-8 and gradually replaced older F.3s in RAF fighter units until 2009. The Tornado F.3 itself was retired in March 2011 when No. 111 Squadron RAF, located at RAF Leuchars, was disbanded. Both the F.5 and F.6 will at least keep on serving until the Eurofighter Typhoon is in full service, probably until 2020.

  

General characteristics:

Crew: 2

Length: 18.68 m (61 ft 3½ in)

Wingspan: 13.91 m (45 ft 7½ in) at 25° wing position

8.60 m (28 ft 2½ in) at 67° wing position

Height: 5.95 m (19 ft 6½ in)

Wing area: 27.55 m² (295.5 sq ft)

Empty weight: 14,750 kg (32,490 lb)

Max. takeoff weight: 28,450 kg (62,655 lb)

 

Powerplant:

2× Eurojet EJ200 afterburning turbofans with 60 kN (13,500 lbf) dry thrust and

90 kN (20,230 lbf) thrust with afterburner each

 

Performance:

Maximum speed: Mach 2.3 (2,500 km/h, 1,550 mph) at 9,000 m (30,000 ft)

921 mph (800 knots, 1,482 km/h) indicated airspeed limit near sea level

Combat radius: more than 1,990 km (1.100 nmi, 1,236 mi) subsonic,

more than 556 km (300 nmi, 345 mi) supersonic

Ferry range: 4,265 km (2,300 nmi, 2,650 mi) with four external tanks

Endurance: 2 hr combat air patrol at 560-740 km (300-400 nmi, 345-460 mi) from base

Service ceiling: 15,240 m (50,000 ft)

 

Armament:

1× 27 mm (1.063 in) Mauser BK-27 revolver cannon with 180 RPG under starboard fuselage side

A total of 10 hardpoints (4× semi-recessed under-fuselage, 2× under-fuselage, 4× swivelling

under-wing) holding up to 9000 kg (19,800 lb) of payload; the two inner wing pylons have shoulder

launch rails for 2× Short-Range AAM (SRAAM) each (AIM-9 Sidewinder or AIM-132 ASRAAM)

4× MBDO Meteor or AIM-120 AMRAAM, mounted under the fuselage

  

The kit and its assembly:

The eight entry for the RAF Centenary Group Build at whatifmodelers.com, and after 100 years of RAF what-if models we have now arrived at the present. This modified Tornado ADV was spawned through the discussions surrounding another modeler’s build of a modified F.3 (and examples of other Tornado conversions, e. g. with fixed wings or twin fins), and I spontaneously wondered what a change of the air intakes would do to the aircraft’s overall impression? Most conversions I have seen so far retain this original detail. An idea was born, and a pair of leftover Academy MiG-23 air intakes, complete with splitter plates, were the suitable conversion basis.

 

The basic kit is the Italeri Tornado ADV, even though in a later Revell re-boxing. It’s IMHO the kit with the best price-performance ration, and it goes together well. The kit was mostly built OOB, with some cosmetic additions. The biggest changes came through the integration of the completely different air intakes. These were finished at first and, using them as templates, openings were cut into the lower fuselage flanks in front of the landing gear well. Since the MiG-23 intakes have a relatively short upper side, styrene sheet fillers had to be added and blended with the rest of the fuselage via PSR. The gap between the wing root gloves and the intakes had to be bridged, too, with 2C putty. Messier affair than it sounds, but it went well.

 

In order to make the engine change plausible I modified the Tornado exhaust and added a pair of orifices from an F-18 – they look very similar to those on the Eurofighter Typhoon, and their diameter is perfect for this change. This and the different air intakes stretch the Tonka visually, it looks IMHO even more slender than the F.3.

 

Another issue was the canopy: the 2nd hand kit came without clear parts, but I was lucky to still have a Tornado F.3 canopy in the spares box – but only the windscreen from a Tornado IDS, which does not fit well onto the ADV variant. A 2mm gap at the front end had to be bridged, and the angles on the side as well as the internal space to the HUD does not match too well. But, somehow, I got it into place, even though it looks a bit shaggy.

The IRST in front of the windscreen is a piece of clear styrene sprue (instead of an opaque piece, painted glossy black), placed on a black background. The depth effect is very good!

 

More changes pertained to the ordnance: the complete weaponry was exchanged. The OOB Sidewinders were replaced with specimen from a Hasegawa F-4 Phantom (these look just better than the AIM-9 that come with the kit), and I originally planned to mount four AIM-120 from the same source under the fuselage – until I found a Revell Eurofighter kit in my stash that came with four Meteor AAMs, a suitable and more modern as well as British alternative!

 

All in all, just subtle modifications.

  

Painting and markings:

Well, the RAF was the creative direction, so I stuck to a classic/conservative livery. However, I did not want a 100% copy of the typical “real world” RAF Tornado F.3, so I sought inspiration in earlier low-visibility schemes. Esp. the Phantom and the Lightning carried in their late days a wide variety of grey-in-grey schemes, and one of the most interesting of them (IMHO) was carried by XS 933: like some other Lightnings, the upper surfaces were painted in Dark Sea Grey (instead of the standard Medium Sea Grey), a considerably murkier tone, but XS933 had a mid-height waterline. I found that scheme to be quite plausible for an aircraft that would mostly operate above open water and in heavier weather, so I adapted it to the Tonka. The fact that XS 933 was operated by RAF 5 Squadron, the same unit as my build depicts with its markings, is just a weird coincidence!

An alternative would have been the same colors, but with a low waterline (e.g. like Lightning XR728) – but I rejected this, because the result would have looked IMHO much too similar to the late Tornado GR.4 fighter bombers, or like a Royal Navy aircraft.

 

Since the upper color would be wrapped around the wings’ leading edges, I used the lower wing leading edge level as reference for the high waterline on the forward fuselage, Behind the wings’ trailing edge I lowered the waterline down to the stabilizers’ level.

All upper surfaces, including the tall fin, were painted with Tamiya XF-54, a relatively light interpretation of RAF Dark Sea Grey (because I did not want a harsh contrast with the lower colors), while the fuselage undersides and flanks were painted in Medium Sea Grey (Humbrol 165). The same tone was also used for the underwing pylons and the “Hindenburger” drop tanks. The undersides of the wings and the stabilizers were painted in Camouflage Grey (formerly known as Barley Grey, Humbrol 167).

 

Disaster struck when I applied the Tamiya paint, though. I am not certain why (age of the paint, I guess), but the finish developed a kind of “pigment pelt” which turned out to be VERY sensitive to touch. Even the slightest handling would leave dark, shiny spots!

My initial attempt was to hide most of this problem under post-shading (with Humbrol 126, FS 36270), but that turned the Tonka visually into a Tiger Meet participant – the whole thing looked as if it wore low-viz stripes! Aaargh!

 

In a desperate move (since more and more paint piled up on the upper surfaces, and I did not want to strip the kit off of all paint right now) I applied another thin coat of highly diluted XF-54 on top of the tiger stripe mess, and that toned everything done enough to call it a day. While the finish is not perfect and still quite shaggy (even streaky here and there…), it looks O.K., just like a worn and bleached Dark Sea Grey.

 

A little more rescue came with the decals. The markings are naturally low-viz variants and the RAF 5 Sq. markings come from an Xtradecal BAC Lightning sheet (so they differ from the markings applied to the real world Tornado F.3s of this unit). The zillion of stencils come from the OOB sheet, but the walking area warnings came from a Model Decal Tornado F.3 sheet (OOB, Revell only provides you a bunch of generic, thin white lines, printed on a single carrier film, and tells you “Good luck”! WTF?). Took a whole afternoon to apply them, but I used as many of them as possible in order to hide the paint finish problems… Some things, like the tactical letter code or the red bar under the fuselage roundel, had to be improvised.

  

With many troubles involved (the paint job, but furthermore the wing pylons as well as one stabilizer broke off during the building and painting process…), I must say that the modified Tonka turned out better than expected while I was still working on it. In the end, I am happy with it – it’s very subtle, I wonder how many people actually notice the change of air intakes and jet exhausts, and the Meteor AAMs are, while not overtly visible, a nice update, too.

The paint scheme looks basically also good (if you overlook the not-so-good finish due to the problems with the Tamiya paint), and the darker tones suit the Tonka well, as well as the fake RAF 5 Squadron markings.

  

Visually, in light conditions like these a stairway to heaven of sorts at the old Royal Cinema, Deal, Kent now an amusement arcade and snooker club. I saw my first X-rated film here, the horribly violent Death Wish starring Charles Bronson in about 1975 - I was fifteen years old but probably looked about eleven and a half. The bloke selling tickets took one look at me and said "are you eighteen?", thinking the game was up, but looking to save some face I replied "I'm seventeen" - the box office man turned to his colleague, a woman and said "he's seventeen, shall we let him in?" - they gladly took my money and I felt as if I'd scored a major victory.

 

I don't typically buy anything from the Revoltech series, mostly likely because the licenses that they play with aren't usually my thing. However, once in a while, an interesting figure pops up.

 

For the last little while, one of the more visually impressive sublines from the Revoltech is the Figure Complex: Amazing Yamaguchi line featuring various beloved X-Men characters sculpted by Yamaguchi Katsuhisa. I know a Wolverine and Magneto were released, and a Gambit will be released. I also believe the line has moved onto at least non-X characters with the recently solicited Iron Man.

 

Obviously, this figure is none of those - this is Psylocke.

 

For someone that likes figures and toys, it's surprising how few comics I've read. My introduction to the character was from the original Capcom Vs. Game, X-Men: Children of the Atom in all her uninhibited bouncy glory.

 

The character naturally has a long and storied past that I'd probably lose much sleep over if I actually tried to research. I believe that "too long, didn't read" version of it is that she is a mutant (duh) named Elizabeth "Betsy" Braddock, the sister of Captain Marvel. Through a series of events such as self sacrifice and transference of mental capacities, she ends up in a body of an Japanese woman who is the brain dead wife of the leader of the Hand, an assassin clan, and is brainwashed into become one of them. She develops Psionic powers (ability to form things out of mental energy, mostly for her being blades), and eventually breaks free of this brainwashing, and that, friends is the genesis of the X-Men character Psylocke.

 

None of that matters, of course. I bought the figure because the previews made her look really, really, good, and Psylocke herself being a very sharp character design with long flowing purple hair and her purple kind-of-there outfit. While it's been out for probably 6 months now, I only recently got mine because I insist that the guy who sold it to me bring it to me personally... even if I had to wait six months.

 

If you've never watched gameplay of Psylocke, just think slinky female ninja dressed in purple capable of making various energy things. And, as mentioned, the prototype pictures show cased that very well. So, how did it do?

 

Well, let's start from the top.

 

Psylocke comes with the figure, two face plates (one neutral, one smiling), a sheathed katana, an empty sheath, twin katanas, twin energy katanas, twin Psyblades, 4 sets of hands, a detachable sash, and a dynamic stand with both a peg connector, along with a clamp that I guess would give you a bit more height with your aerial stuff but I never actually used it. I personally would have like an additional angry/attacking face plate because as it is, she's a bit too serene looking.

 

Also kind of neat is that on the cardboard insert (and side flaps of the box) are full colour prints of I guess what comic art inspired this particular design.

 

The Revoltech joint system is a bit different from the Figma and Figuart systems.. at least I guess they are, and at the very least this one is.

 

Articulation is very, very, very good. I cannot emphasize how much you can get this figure to do despite it's small size. The trade off is that some of the joints look really weird when not positioned properly, specifically the shoulders and knees, which are double or triple joints depending on which one we're talking about. Whomever designed the tray for holding Psylocke really didn't do the figure any favours to say the least. However, the amount of knee bend and chest press that this figure more than overshadows this first impression issue, and that range or movement is something you want for a figure like Psylocke.

 

In addition to the aforementioned, all your standard points of articulation are present. Bonus ones include a toe swivel, articulation for her sash, thigh swivel, independent neck and head articulation, and hair that can be lifted to all for greater neck movement, with the latter head/neck related items allowing for some great crouching poses.

 

Sadly, while her shoulders worked out just fine despite their wonky appearance, her ass suffers from the dreaded "thigh separation" scenario where the movement of the legs creates an unsightly gap where the thigh meets the back of the body, particularly notable given that she doesn't wear pants. But, again, at least the trade off is great articulation.

 

Psylocke I guess would technically be the action figure (or at least middle of the pack Japanese figure) equivalent of a Butterface release. To be fair, it is generally what was promised on the box, so I don't really have anyone to blame but myself for buying her if this was the key aspect that ruins the experience for me. Both the prototype and the final item feature the same round almost featureless face with the undersized nose.

 

No it's other things that serve not only as a topic of discussion, but also kind of give you a feeling as to why Figma and Figuarts are kind of priced the way they are.

 

Psylocke has an MSRP of about 6,000 Yen, which is about the price of your run of the mill Figuart, with Figma coming in closer to what.. 7,000 if not more these days? The releases are about the same size, but lets remember that Figuarts have no stand and very few accessories, and clearly Psylocke destroys any run of the mill Figuart figure in terms of value.

 

Part of the pricing on everything is of course the cut paid for the actual license, but it's not like a Marvel license is particularly cheap. So what else is there?

 

It pretty much comes down to paint.

 

If you look closely, you'll probably notice that Psylocke has no paint whatsoever on her fleshy bits. Not only does this look a bit meh, but it makes photographing her a major pain in the ass, especially if you're trying to bring out details.. like her nose and eye sockets. You'll notice that the paint masking on her leg bands isn't bad, but there are more weak spots than on its Figma and Figuarts competitors, especially if we're talking about figure with a relatively simple colour scheme. Some minor paint issues were also spotted on her neck piece, but those are primarily paint transfers. There were also some areas with paint overspray, but it wasn't anything bootleg bad, just something worth noting.

 

Her translucent purple hair is also a big seller for this figure. The overall final product is pretty good, but if you look closely (and in the instance of the back of her head, not even that close), you'll notice some very rough spots that I don't know were a QC issue or a design flaw. By comparison, nothing this was spotted on either KOS-MOS or T-ELOS, both of which are at least 7 years older than Psylocke.

 

For what it is worth, her effect parts are very well done, particularly her Psiblades with the gradient from cold to warm Purple. The quality of the stand itself is, from my analysis, more solid than a Figma stand, mostly due to a combination of better plastic, a thicker arm, and better designed joints. There were also no issues with regards to rough plastic finishes other than the aformentioned hair problems.

 

One other issue that I read about was the face plate itself. Some owners seem to be indicating that due to the way the face is mounted on the head (friction based, one slot, straight above the face) the figure arrived with the socket on the hair already worn out and wouldn't hold the face in place, or would be in danger of doing so in the future. I didn't have that issue on mine, but I do understand where they're coming from with these statements.

 

I should probably also mention the eyes. Those who are familiar with the Hot Toys world will know the term PERS, which is their fancy term for eyes that can be moved on the sculpts to facilitate an even greater amount of posing. Amazingly this figure also features eyeballs that can be moved, though it's not as complicated as the PERS system. This is actually pretty neat given the size of the eyeballs, though you might want to ditch the included white pick in favour of a tiny screw driver or something to move the eyes as I believe the 90 degree bend actually makes it harder to manipulate the eyes into the right direction.

 

In the end, a very good release, and probably the best Psylocke action figure I've ever seen.. of course, the only others I have seen are the Marvel Legends one which again, aren't bad given the price. Those looking for a more legit comic sculpt need not apply here, naturally.

 

But there is no doubt that this is a sharp looking figure, and for the price it comes with quite a few goodies. It just lacks that final bit of spit polish that would push it from being very good to being outstanding. Still, if you like your ninjas purple and slinky, you can't go wrong.

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Toute utilisation ainsi autorisée devra mentionner le crédit photo (voir nom du fichier ci-dessus : “©…” ou métadonnées de la photo dans sa taille originale).

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Contact : photos [at] handisport.org

Toute reproduction sur un support imprimé ou publication sur internet devra faire l'objet d'une demande expresse auprès du service communication de la Fédération Française Handisport.

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Toute utilisation ainsi autorisée devra mentionner le crédit photo (voir nom du fichier ci-dessus : “©…” ou métadonnées de la photo dans sa taille originale).

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Contact : photos [at] handisport.org

Some might say it’s visually redundant to take a six mile hike in the Big Cypress, three miles in and three miles out. The topography might be perceived as repetitive. That is, only if you miss the tiny, colorful wildflowers peeping out from the dense hues of greens basking in sunlight in the afternoon and trailed by shadow in the early evening. Or if you have never been beckoned to touch the gentle curve of a palm frond pulled down by the weight of its cantilever and then discovered the tooth of a saw palmetto. When you are in your truck you will miss the sound of tiny birds you can only hear close to dusk that make you understand the inspiration behind Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.

What I have described is only part of a one day hike in the Big Cypress. They are the highlights for me. There are the other things that I have come not to expect but long to encounter when I venture out to explore. There are ponds thick with basking and wading turtles and alligators. Once in a while, you happen upon the graceful flight of a doe who has been watching you approach and waiting for her calves to dart away.

Then there is the thing you never expect will happen because it is much too rare an experience. Then it happens. You’re tired from hiking in the heat. You can’t wait to sit in your air conditioned car. Your feet scream to be freed from the confines of your boots. Then your companion says, “Stop! There’s a panther.” You pull up the camera hanging from your neck and you photograph the cat looking back at you. You can’t believeyor luck is that good. You say, Oh, my God.” Then, the cat is gone.

PHOTOGRAPHER: ROSE FLYNN

I wanted to get this shot for today's post because I hate you. But also, it's a really important day in my life! This, my friends, is a photo of freedom! This is what freedom visually looks like!

 

This isn't a Guinea worm removal (www.circleofblue.org/waternews/2010/world/sudans-fight-ag...) though you would be forgiven for assuming as much; I actually live in East Sussex where such occurrences are uncommon. I imagine that having a Guinea worm removed also feels like freedom though, if you have one. But this is a photo of my Nexplanon implant being removed after only 5 months endurance-testing it - 2 months after I begged to have it taken out!

 

Initially I was slightly pushed into having it put in; I do love body modifications like tattoos, piercings, scarifications and so on, and to me the Implant sounded like a modification that unusually was functional rather than aesthetic - incredible! I also love sci-fi and fantasy literature, and the Implant *sounded* like a meeting of these two worlds made (embedded in) flesh! How brilliant! Ok, why not? They told me the side effects were minimal and manageable and maybe a little weight gain and maybe the odd mood swing but essentially it's great!

 

I want to write about exactly why that was not the case just for the sake of anyone searching for information on this product, as I have had to myself. But it might be interesting for anyone wondering why they've not seen very much of me for the past 5 months too!

 

When the Implant was first put in I was ill, so it took me a few months to make the connection between the symptoms I was experiencing and the fact that they'd begun the same time as the insertion. At first I just felt weak and fatigued all the time; I thought it might just be that I was under-medicating my thyroid disease because it wasn't a dissimilar lethargy, but tests came back fine. I felt like my muscles were actually atrophying, I became so weak and immobile. I then started getting arthritic type pains in my hand and arm joints, which made - well, most things! - a bit of a nightmare. After about 3 weeks these joint pains spread right through my body and I was experiencing extreme back pains.

 

It was at this point that I made a link and thought to look up other peoples' experiences - and lo! It was all there on forums, describing exactly the same sequence of events and onset of symptoms! Of course that doesn't prove anything, and it certainly doesn't imply that that's a normal experience of this hormone, but it convinced me that there was a solution to the pain I was experiencing and I tried to make an appointment to have it removed. The nurse initially tried to persuade me to keep it a while longer to see what would happen - I was not keen!

 

As it turned out, the appointment was cancelled 3 times, meaning I ended up having it in for 2 months longer anyway, and what happened was quite interesting and I believe compelling evidence in favour of my experience being Implant-induced: about 5 weeks ago, one weekend, the pain suddenly all switched off - not only that, my muscles all felt fine again! They hadn't atrophied at all! I could run up stairs and walk for miles and it was just fantastic! I ran a lot for the sheer joy of being able to move again! However; at the same time, it was like a switch flicked in my head, and I felt completely insane. I couldn't sleep and I could barely function; it made me scream-at-a-wall kind of mad. I was immediately in my GP's room just begging for a solution until I could get the stick out - and to his credit he took it seriously and gave me a sackful of prescriptions and told me to keep checking in (although actually the prescriptions did work and then I had Norovirus which worked even more because I forgot how to think)

 

I feel like this stupid piece of plastic or whatever it's made from has really thrown a massive spanner in the works of 2012 - but then, all experience is a positive thing in some respects, and this one has certainly taught me:

 

empathy

the benefit of extensive research before making a decision

the amount of time that can get sucked away by poorly-made plans

what an Implant is

how effective local anaesthetic can be (very, if you request a higher dose!)

how to manage some adverse circumstances

 

So overall it's not a total loss.

 

Plus this picture is pretty awesome. I'm really sorry if it made you feel squeamish.

 

The picture is in fact more apposite than originally supposed as a representation of my day; later on, I gained other freedoms from social duty and responsibility and obligation. Despite my own post about Taboo earlier in the week, I am often still bound by - perhaps not social convention, but a socially-informed set of values that are inextricably linked to my environment. It takes someone else breaking them to free me from them - and today, that happened, and I feel liberated.

Marilyn Rushton, a well-known Burnaby citizen, is awarded with the province’s newest honour, the Medal of Good Citizenship.

 

Rushton is honoured for her for inspirational life of service to the visually impaired community, her contributions to families with blind and visually impaired children, and her energetic support for the musical community.

 

Learn more: news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2016IGR0025-001407

Italian postcard by Vetta Traldi, Milano, in the series Divi del Cinema, nr. 56.

 

Voluptuous, visually stunning Italian film actress Eleonora Rossi Drago (1925–2007) played princesses and temptresses throughout Italian cinema of the 1950´s and 1960´s. She never found the international cross-over fame destined for Sophia Loren and Gina Lollobrigida, but she earned respect as a fine actress playing leading roles in films by famous directors like Michelangelo Antonioni, Luigi Comencini and Valerio Zurlini.

 

Eleonora Rossi Drago was born Palmira Omiccioli near Genoa, Italy, in 1925. She was the daughter of a Spanish sea captain and an Italian mother. She married at the age of 17 to a gentleman named Rossi and bore a daughter Fiorella. The marriage did not last, and mr. Rossi emigrated to Argentina leaving his wife to raise their daughter by herself. She found work as a department store mannequin and began actually designing couture clothing herself. An arresting beauty, she started competing in beauty contests and wound up in fourth place in the Miss Italy pageant. Gina Lollobrigida came in third. The attention lured her to films. She moved to Rome and in 1949 began receiving small film roles while using her married name of Rossi. Her first two big breaks came with Persiane chiuse/Behind Closed Shutters (1951, Luigi Comencini) with Massimo Girotti, a melodrama about prostitution, and the highly controversial Sensualità/Barefoot Savage (1952, Clemente Fracassi) in which Marcello Mastroianni and Amedeo Nazzari violently quarrel over her affections. Persiane chiuse was considered a strong success. The highly impressed director, Luigi Comencini went on to cast Eleonora as a female lead in his next film La tratta delle bianche/The White Slave Trade (1952, Luigi Comencini), another tawdry melodrama about prostitution that co-starred Vittorio Gassman and also showcased the up-and-coming Sophia Loren.

 

According to Gary Brumburgh at IMDb it was obvious that Eleanora Rossi-Drago “had the makings of a bosomy sex goddess but she constantly strove to better her acting reputation in classier material”. She got the nickname of the ´Lady of the Italian Cinema´. In 1954 she appeared opposite Madeleine Robinson in the L'affaire Maurizius/On Trial (1954, Julien Duvivier), a bleak drama about the miscarriages of justice. In 1955 she won critical notice on stage as Helena opposite Marcello Mastroianni in Anton Chekhov's Uncle Vanya directed by Luchino Visconti. Her finest hour in films came about that same year with the release of Antonnini's Le amiche/The Girlfriends (1955, Michelangelo Antonioni), in which she starred in the rags-to-riches story of a humble girl who becomes a respected owner of a fashion salon and the social class struggle therein. Among her other standout roles in the 1950´s were Kean (1956, Vittorio Gassman, Francesco Rosi) again opposite Vittorio Gassman, Suor Letizia/The Awakening (1957, Mario Camerini) starring Anna Magnani, the Odcar nominated La strada lunga un anno/The Year Long Road (1958, Giuseppe de Santis) opposite Silvana Pampanini, and teh crime drama Un maledetto imbroglio/An Ugly Mess (1959, Pietro Germi) with Claudia Cardinale. In the Italian/French co-production Estate violenta/Violent Summer (1959, Valerio Zurlini) she played a married woman approaching middle age who surrenders herself to a younger man (Jean-Louis Trintignant) during the summer of '43 and height of fascism. The film earned her the Nastro d'argento (Silver Ribbon award), voted for by Italian film journalists, and the Best Actress award at the Mar del Plata Film Festival in Argentina.

 

Eleanora Rossi Drago was forced to take on provocative roles of lesser quality - roles that usually emphasized her physical attributes or enhanced the scenery around her. While Sophia Loren had a Carlo Ponti to promote her internationally, Rossi-Drago was less fortunate. By the 1960´s she was relegated to such unmemorable adventures, horrors and sword-and-sand spectacles as David e Golia/David and Goliath (1960, Ferdinando Baldi, Richard Pottier) with Orson Welles playing King Saul, and Rosmunda e Alboino/Sword of the Conqueror (1961, Carlo Campogalliani) opposite a raping and pillaging Jack Palance. More interesting were her parts in the anthology film L´amour a vingt ans/Love at Twenty (1961, Renzo Rossellini a.o.), Anima nera/Black Soul (1962, Roberto Rossellini) and the delightful comedy Se permettete parliamo di donne/Let's Talk About Women (1964, Ettore Scola) starring Vittorio Gassman. In 1964, she also appeared in the TV mini-series La Cittadella (1964, Anton Giulio Majano), an adaptation of A. J. Cronin's novel, The Citadel. Elsewhere, she was pretty much overlooked in the epic ensemble as Lot's wife in Huston's mammoth failure The Bible: In the Beginning... (1966, John Huston). Things did not improve into the decade and after appearing in the elegant erotic drama Camille 2000 (1969, Radley Metzger), in the critically-panned retelling of Dorian Gray, Das Bildnis des Dorian Gray (1970, Massimo Dallamano) with Helmut Berger, and in the good-looking giallo thriller Nelle pieghe della carne/In the Folds of the Flesh (1970, Sergio Bergonzelli) with Pier Angeli, she decided to call it quits. Blending back inconspicuously into mainstream society, she married Sicilian businessman Domenico La Cavera in 1973, and eventually retired to Palermo, Italy. In 1989 she returned once to the screen, for the documentary Ben Webster: The Brute and the Beautiful (1989, John Jeremy) about jazz saxophonist Ben Webster. Eleanora Rossi Drago died at age 82 of a brain hemorrhage in 2007, and was survived by her second husband and daughter.

 

Sources: Gary Brumburgh (IMDb), Hal Erickson (All Movie Guide), Wikipedia and IMDb.

***UPDATE*** 7/2/13 Some things are meant to swim upstream. This is heading exactly that way, where it belongs. Thanks LC.

  

Holy shit. Bringin' the thunder.

 

email-- kinzco@domain900.net

  

All rights reserved © fairuz 2013

 

Batu Hampar waterfall, Kuala Sentul, Maran

This visually striking huipil comes from the Ojitlan area of the Chinantla region in northern Oaxaca state.

Goal: Visually convey "new life in Christ" as stated in Romans 5-8

Audience: Members of Frisco Bible Church and visitors

Direction: Not much given ;o)

Project: New 10-message series

Other important info:

Visually foretelling an age of self-directed genetic diversity within the human/alien sphere. if you know what i mean. wink, wink.

Visually similar yet different classes are 321901 & 322485.

The 321 is on the centre stabling road and 322 at Platform 6.

Both now operated by Arriva Northern and used for the Doncaster to Leeds once an hour stopping service.

Toute reproduction sur un support imprimé ou publication sur internet devra faire l'objet d'une demande expresse auprès du service communication de la Fédération Française Handisport.

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Toute utilisation ainsi autorisée devra mentionner le crédit photo (voir nom du fichier ci-dessus : “©…” ou métadonnées de la photo dans sa taille originale).

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Contact : photos [at] handisport.org

Bali is one of the few places on earth made visually stunning by its main economic activity. In no other locale of the island does this hold truer than in the Tabanan District of west Bali where the cascading rice terraces of Jatiluwih are the most striking feature of the agricultural landscape, claiming even slopes that look too formidable to be of any possible use.

 

Along with majestic Pekerisan River in Gianyar and the stately Taman Ayun Temple in Mengwi, Jatiluwih has been chosen as a new nominee as a World Heritage site. It’s a great honor for Bali to have its natural and cultural wonders included, as the sites will take their place right along side world-famous Borobudur, Prambanan, the Sangiran archaeological site, Ujung Kulon, Lorentz and Komodo national parks, and the tropical rainforests of Sumatra.

The achingly picturesque area of Jatiluwih actually comprises not only rice fields but also forests, lakes, springs, temples and a huge natural mountain reserve scattered over a wide area around the slopes Mount Batukaru, a sacred landscape whose boundaries are defined by a cluster of temples supported by traditional villages and farmlands administered by age-old subak organizations, the local water boards.

 

This site is among the most striking examples of terraced agriculture in the world and is arguably Bali’s oldest and most complex real-life model of the subak agricultural system which vividly reflects the intertwined, mutually beneficial relationship between the island’s traditional rice growing culture and its Bali Hindu spiritual belief system.

 

Bali’s terracing and irrigation practices are even more elaborate, sophisticated, and seasonably predictable than those on Java. Though beautiful rice field terraces also can also be found in Sumatra and Sulawesi, there is no irrigation organization in Indonesia comparable to Bali’s water conservation and distribution system. Only the 2000-year-old Ifugao rice terraces of the Philippines can hold a candle to Jatiluwih.

 

As it exemplifies such effective water usage over centuries, Bali’s famed environmentally friendly subak system itself is being considered for the World Heritage list. The effort to get the subak system listed to World Heritage status is especially urgent in the face of widespread diversion of agricultural lands. Over the past 20 years Bali lost more than 1,500 ha of precious rice fields to make way for the development of tourist resorts, restaurants, housing complexes, road construction and other commercial enterprises.

 

The Realm of Dewi Sri

Jatiluwih is one big sculpture. Because of the Tabanan area’s superb drainage pattern, the high volcanic ash content, and the island’s equable climate, conditions for traditional sawah cultivation exemplified by Jatiluwih’s terraces are perhaps the most ideal in all of Bali.

 

Rice growing is practiced as both an art and a science. Bali’s steep and narrow ravines, as typified especially in the western part of Jatiluwih, are not easy to dam. To remedy this problem, the area’s farmers have devised an ingenious system of hand-built aqueducts, small catchments, and underground canals to collect rainwater from Bali’s mountain lakes, spilling each farmer’s precious allotment of water onto tiers of paddy via thousands of tiny waterfalls.

 

Jatiluwih’s rice fields are irrigated by water that is sometimes channeled by tunnels through solid rock hillsides. Water needs high on the ridges often require tunnels two or three kilometers long. This complex irrigation system, continuously maintained, groomed, and plowed, has been developed over many centuries. The historical manuscript, the Bebetin, records that Balinese farmers have used the Subak system since at least 1071.

 

Some scholars have postulated that it is due to the expertise of Bali’s rice farmers that the Balinese have been able to support such a refined civilization with such a theatrical and colorful religion. The discipline required to share water and resources has created a remarkably cooperative way of life. Rugged individualists cannot exist in communities where every farmer is utterly dependent on the cooperation of his neighbors.

 

The word for rice (nasi), a staple of the Balinese diet, is the same word for “meal”. A Balinese cannot imagine a meal without rice. Specialized vocabularies deal with every aspect of rice farming, and a huge amount of time, energy, and money go into petitioning the gods so the rice farmer’s work may yield good results. Popping up everywhere in Jatiluwih’s rice terraces you see small temples dedicated to Dewi Sri, the beloved goddess of rice.

 

© Visually Inspiring Photography

www.visuallyinspiringphotography.com

Cineaste365 (December 17, 2013 - DAY 067) - Today's Cineaste365 goes to "West Side Story".

 

“West Side Story” is a groundbreaking, visually fantastic and memorable musical film that will continue to live on for many generations to come.

 

Like many of those who grew up and were fascinated with this film from its debut back in 1961 to 2011, this film still puts people in awe because of its music, its talent, its cinematography but also its awesome choreography.

 

Watching this film and seeing the choreography and cinematography working in sync together is amazing but its the testament to the talent of this film and those responsible from the film’s direction, its cinematography, the tight editing, the vibrant costume design and of course, the music and lyrics that continue to make this film a beloved classic for many who are exposed to it.

 

“West Side Story” is a film like no other. One would have to remember that back in the ’60s, musicals were happy stories. People got their happy ending but for a story such as “West Side Story”, inspired by Shakespeare’s “Romeo & Juliet”, you knew that this film would be tragic.

 

Despite the memorable dance scenes and how fun this film is to watch, you know that the story is tragic and that this film is features multiple deaths of characters. It’s not an action film but a musical that showcases the problems of gang violence.

 

“West Side Story” was created with magnificent detail within its choreographed moments of visual magic through clever cinematography (for the dancing in the streets, the filmmaker dug a hole in the streets of NY enough to get the camera to shoot from the ground up) to a determined cast who braved through long hours in order to achieve the perfection of Jerome Robbins and also the kindness of Robert Wise. These two were literally oil and water, complete opposite in approach. But both respected each other and it was through Jerome’s perfectionist attitude, things had to be tough on the set in order to achieve complete efficacy.

 

Robbins who worked as the cinematographer and director of the Broadway play, expected perfection and these musical scenes were shot many times, repeated for many hours straight to the point of exhaustion. In fact, the opening Jets and Shark scenes were shot during 110 degree weather and they were done multiple times. Definitely not easy!

 

Including the Jets car garage sequence, shot in a very warm area, many times to the point of exhaustion and even one dancer was rushed to the hospital. That was how Robbins’ approach was, so much to the point that after that shot was created, the dancers/talent burned their knee pads and let Robbins know about how they felt.

 

Needless to say, it was that perfection and tough direction that led to Robbins being fired from “West Side Story” (the constant reshooting and longer schedule due to Robbins’ trying to achieve perfection was driving costs and investors were not happy), but at the same time, for co-director Robert Wise, to recognize how much Robbins meant to not only the actors, the dancers and the talent, he was brought back by Robert Wise for his input for advice but also to aid in editing the final cut.

 

Everything required perfection by Robbins. He demanded it and because of this demand on his dancers, many of the surviving dancers believe that it was because his determination of achieving perfection, it’s what made this film become a classic but also extended its longevity towards newer viewers but also extending to plays in theater, high school plays and even inspiring choreographers of today who watched the film and were just shocked of how elaborate the choreography was for the film and feel the same way today.

 

And as the music and cinematography were quite special, one also must be surprised at that time to see what was accomplished with cinema technology because “West Side Story” had a look and feel that was visually bold with its colors and lightning, it was unique for its time. But also cinematography that captured life on the streets of New York between these two gangs.

 

Where as the play, characters are restricted to a stage, but in “West Side Story”, we have characters from New York City running and dancing around. May it be dancing near a wall or crossing the street, the film also showcases overhead shots, very low shots (as mentioned, they dug a hole 6 ft. deep on actual streets to get those dance shots) and the performance by the talents and the dancers are phenomenal. Everything seemed as if they were in sync.

 

I used the word “as if” because big choices had to be made throughout the film, from redubbing the singing portions of Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer and Rita Moreno but also, behind-the-scenes, the lead talents Wood and Beymer were not-so friendly towards each other. As one talented mentioned on the documentary, the two did not get along on the set.

 

But whatever challenges the cast and crew had on the set, no matter how difficult things were to make this film…to have a film that has achieved such a unique status of being a memorable classic is a testament to the perseverance of the crew and talent towards this film. It took a lot of blood, sweat and tears to make this film and it paid off.

While visually these are amazing, they're impracticle and the upkeep is a chore:

-The plastic doesn't have breathability and your feet quickly become hot, making them unbearable for all day wear.

-The inside heel has only a thin strip of felt that is easily worn away and needs to be replaced often or the stitching behind can become frayed, splitting the shoe.

-The plastic as well will become cloudy over time. If left in light they will also yellow.

-High heat and humidity areas will eventually cause the plastic to become brittle and disintergrating.

 

*Unlike the Low-Top version, the Hi-Top has a double layer of plastic with the inner layer seperated from the stitching, perhaps to release any condensation that will build up from wear.

Contributor(s): Public Library of Columbus and Franklin County. Talking Books Service.

Library of Congress. National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped.

 

Publication: [Ohio] : Public Library of Columbus and Franklin County, Outreach Services Division, Talking Books Service, [19--]

 

Language(s): English

 

Format: Still image

 

Subject(s): Aged,

Visually Impaired Persons,

Reading, Tape Recording,

Library Services, Child

 

Genre(s): Posters

 

Abstract: Multicolor poster with white and black lettering. Title and note at top of poster. Visual image is a color photo reproduction featuring an elderly man and a boy. The man holds a large tape player and the boy holds a cassette container. Several books are visible in the background. Publisher and sponsor information at bottom of poster.

 

Extent: 1 photomechanical print (poster) : 56 x 44 cm.

 

Technique: color

 

NLM Unique ID: 101449718

 

NLM Image ID: A031094

 

Permanent Link: resource.nlm.nih.gov/101449718

 

This visually stimulating and inspiring area has been designed to maximise the student experience. Group work areas consist of booths or 'pods' each containing essential IT equipment for group collaborative project work involving fellow students and external partners. Lighting is fully controlled by users of each pod, and heating and ventilation is carefully controlled providing a pleasant working environment. Drinks and snacks are available with no restriction on consumption in the pods (special measures have been taken to protect electrical points from accidental liquid spillages).

Tall floodplain herbs like Indian Cup Plant and Jerusalem Artichoke attract wildlife and also maintain an upright visually pleasing form the public doesn't perceive as untidy. They sequester sewage and filter it appropriately. Olmsted utilized the same approach in managing Boston's sewage lagoons. Boston now has among the cleanest drinking water in the nation. The amount of gallons of combined sewage/road runoff through this area of Louisville's Beargrass Creek Watershed is in the billions of gallons annually.

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SOURCE: EPA/Department of Justice. (Washington, D.C.-- 04/25/05) The U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and Commonwealth of Kentucky's Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet (EPPC) jointly announced today a comprehensive Clean Water Act settlement with the Louisville and Jefferson County Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD). The settlement ensures that MSD will make extensive improvements to its sewer systems to eliminate unauthorized discharges of untreated sewage and to address problems of overflows from sewers that carry a combination of untreated sewage and storm water at a cost likely to exceed $500 million. Throughout the year, MSD's sewer systems are overwhelmed by rainfall resulting in unlawful discharges of untreated sewage and overflows of combined sewage into the Ohio River and its tributaries

totaling billions of gallons each year.

 

The Commonwealth filed a civil suit against MSD in state court in February, 2004 and has been negotiating since that time with MSD to reach an agreement. A consent decree, filed today in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky in Louisville, represents the combined efforts of both the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the United States, which have entered into this settlement as plaintiff and intervening plaintiff, respectively.

 

The consent decree will require MSD to: propose and implement specific corrective action plans to bring overflows from its combined sewers that carry a combination of both untreated sewage and storm water into compliance with water quality standards; propose and implement specific corrective action plans to eliminate unauthorized discharges from its sanitary sewers that carry just untreated sewage (the worst discharges, representing approximately 75 percent of the total, must be addressed by no later than 2013); improve its management, operation and maintenance programs to prevent future overflows; and respond

to overflows when they occur.

 

"This settlement represents a monumental step forward in improving water quality in the Commonwealth of Kentucky," Governor Ernie Fletcher said. "These issues have never been addressed in a meaningful way in Kentucky, and the cooperation of federal, state and local entities was key to moving forward expeditiously. It's a win win win."

 

"Old sewage systems across our nation allow significant water pollution to occur," said Thomas V. Skinner, EPA's Acting Assistant Administrator for the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. "The Louisville settlement is a great example of the progress that can be made when federal, state and local governments work together. Collaboration like this can be a model for other cities to achieve cleaner

water, faster."

 

"This joint enforcement action represents tremendous team work between federal and state partners that will bring long-term, significant environmental improvements to the Louisville area and the Ohio River system," said Kelly Johnson, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division. "This case is another outstanding example of how federal and state agencies can work together to achieve compliance with our environmental regulations."

 

MSD was created to provide sanitary sewer and storm water drainage service for residential, commercial, and industrial entities throughout the City of Louisville and Jefferson County, Kentucky. MSD is responsible for the operation and maintenance of six major regional wastewater treatment facilities, 21 minor treatment plants, and approximately 3,000 miles of sewer lines. Approximately 23 percent of these sewer lines are served by a combined system of single pipes that carry both untreated sewage and storm water to the Morris Forman Waste Water Treatment Plant. The remaining 77 percent of MSD's system carries untreated sewage separate from storm water. The capacity of MSD's sewer systems can be overwhelmed after rainfall, resulting in unauthorized discharges averaging 175 million gallons of untreated sewage from the separated system annually. In 2004 alone, however, MSD's separated system experienced over 500 million gallons of unauthorized discharges of untreated sewage. In addition, rainfall events cause combined sewer overflows (or CSOs) of untreated sewage and storm water totaling an average of 4.5 billion gallons annually. These unauthorized discharges and CSOs have affected water quality in the Ohio River and its tributaries, including Beargrass Creek.

 

The consent decree also requires MSD to pay a civil penalty of $1 million to the Commonwealth of Kentucky and, under Commonwealth supervision, perform $2.25 million in Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs). The purposes of the SEPs are to provide public health screenings for residents of neighborhoods adjacent to the industrialized areas of the western portion of Louisville; perform, or provide funding for groups that will perform, efforts to raise environmental awareness and stewardship for the local and regional community; and convert and reclaim the former Lee's Lane Landfill into an area for public

use.

 

"This settlement reflects our commitment to work with state and local agencies to resolve legal disputes cooperatively and in the best interests of the public," commented Jimmy Palmer, EPA Regional Administrator in Atlanta. "We are pleased that EPA and the Commonwealth of Kentucky are collaborating as plaintiffs in this settlement, as it will go a long way toward improving the health of the Ohio River and its tributaries in the Louisville area."

 

"Protecting the Commonwealth's waters is one of the top priorities of our Cabinet," added Kentucky EPPC secretary LaJuana Wilcher. "We plan to continue working with other communities on wet weather issues such as CSOs and storm water. That's vital to improving our water quality."

 

In the past, the United States has reached similar agreements with numerous municipal entities across the country including Mobile; Jefferson County (Birmingham), Alabama; Atlanta; Knoxville; Miami; New Orleans; Toledo; Hamilton County (Cincinnati), Ohio; Baltimore; and Los Angeles.

 

The proposed consent decree with MSD is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval before becoming effective.

 

Victoria Square.

Visually striking rainscreen cladding panels from Proteus Facades have helped to transform a building on London’s historic Hoxton Square, which is undergoing major refurbishment as part of a high-profile expansion project.

 

Aviva, a British multinational insurance company and pensions provider, identified Hoxton Square as the ideal location to create a campus of offices and relocate its Digital Garage; a dedicated space where technical specialists, creative designers and business leaders collaborate to develop new ideas and services. As part of the development, known as Project Drum, Aviva purchased 28-30 Hoxton Square along with other buildings in the area.

 

28-30 Hoxton Square required a substantial level of refurbishment, which created the opportunity to extend the property to increase capacity and improve accessibility and the layout between two front facing blocks. Architects TTSP redesigned the three-storey structure, with an entirely new floor added to the front and rear elevations as well as the demolition of a single storey centre, which was rebuilt to four storeys.

 

A major part of the brief given to TTSP was to ensure that historic structural elements of the building were retained and left exposed whilst all new visible external elements were over-clad to harmonise with the original features. Working closely with TTSP, Proteus Facades provided support with the design of the rainscreen cladding system to ensure this challenge was met.

 

Proteus HR TECU Patina Madrid panels, installed by Openwood Facades Ltd, were chosen for the double height storey which sits atop of the central part of the building, with architectural fins to the south elevations and window frames designed to match. The patterned copper finish of the Proteus material perfectly complements the colours and textures of the surrounding buildings, whilst staying in keeping with the heritage of the original site that dates to the 1700s.

 

Proteus HR VM Zinc Quartz rainscreen cladding was also specified for the roof level of 28- 30 Hoxton Square, which provides a long, maintenance-free life and offers adaptability to various design styles ranging from traditional to modern.

 

Proteus HR was specified for both the TECU Patina Madrid and VM Zinc Quartz materials at Hoxton because it is a lightweight, strong and versatile cladding panel that creates an optically flat aesthetic that is highly suited for building facades. The integrated modular rainscreen system features an aluminium honeycomb core, structurally bonded between two thin gauges of lightweight metal skin to create an optically flat panel that is available in aluminium, steel, zinc, stainless steel, copper alloys and other materials.

 

To mirror the design of the external façade, Proteus HR TECU Patina Madrid panels were also specified for use on a double-width lift lobby, which acts as a bright and bold mid-section connecting various internal departments, including a state-of-the-art AV centre.

 

In addition, Proteus Facades supplied mesh screens fixed to windows along the rear elevation in a Polyester Powder Coated (PPC) finish, which remains a popular choice with architects because of its long-term performance and cost benefits.

 

West African crowned cranes depend highly on their vision and notice very small details in their environment. At the zoo, a crane may become interested in, or disturbed by, a freckle on the skin of a keeper.

In the seed processing plant at Bidasem, workers visually examine and manually sift maize seed on a conveyor belt, picking out material such as damaged or spoiled seed or pieces of cob. After initial cleaning and sorting, all seed that goes through the plant passes through quality control. If a sample from a batch is found to more have more than 2% impurities, they are either separated out by hand like this or using a gravity table. The batch is then resampled to ensure a clean bill of health to continue processing.

 

Bidasem is a small seed company based in the city of Celaya in the central Mexican plains region known as the Bajío. It produces approximately 10,000 bags of maize seed a year, each holding 22.5kg, as well as producing wheat and oat seed and marketing seed of other crops. Despite their small size, Bidasem and similar companies play an important role in reaching small farmers with improved seed that offers them better livelihoods. “Our aim is to provide farmers with quality seed at accessible prices, that is adapted to the conditions we have here in the Bajío. It’s a great satisfaction, when farmers achieve the yields they need,” says director general María Esther Rivas.

 

“Without CIMMYT, we couldn’t exist,” says Rivas. She sells four different maize hybrids, all formed from freely-available CIMMYT parent lines. “Really the most important thing is to produce your own hybrids, and for us it wouldn’t be possible if we didn’t have the germplasm from CIMMYT. What we’re currently producing is 100% CIMMYT.” The relationship between Bidasem and CIMMYT is now deepening through participation in the MasAgro initiative, which includes training courses for seed companies and collaborative trials to evaluate the best seed.

 

Photo credit: X. Fonseca/CIMMYT.

 

For more on seed production at Bidasem, and CIMMYT's role in providing the best seed, see CIMMYT's 2012 e-news story The seed chain: producing better seed for small farmers, available online at: www.cimmyt.org/en/newsletter/598-2012/1398-the-seed-chain....

2011

 

paint and hand embroidery on interfacing

 

these were created for a show directed towards the visually impaired and are intended to be held, touched and manipulated. i wanted them to still be visually interesting, aesthetically pleasing, etc...but it was challenging to think how i could incorporate texture in a different way so as to "read" the pieces with one's hands.

 

i imagine that the visually impaired have a heightened sense of touch, so will, perhaps, notice the nuances in stitches and surfaces. plus the verso side is a whole new experience!

Visually, the finished look is one of pure line with few design elements. The atmosphere is one of pure tranquillity during the day; the reflection of sky in the water and very little to distract the eye. At night the lighting scheme creates a magical pathway fading into the distance, and always there is the gentle sound of running water.

 

Part of a larger scheme, these clients wanted an ultra-simple, minimalist waterfeature on two levels. The main material used was a pale cream Travertine detailed with a dark slate-grey.

 

At the lower level, a canal runs across the garden. The main steps are accessed by stepping stones across the water.

 

The upper level features two rills. Water flows away from the house and cascades via two stainless steel waterfalls onto the lower level beyond, aerating and purifying. The paving features LED flush lighting to highlight the edge of the scheme and the steps and all three bodies of water are floodlit discreetly below the water surface.

 

The only plant material is six ball-shaped box trees, providing a simple, sculptural look to this otherwise angular scheme.

There must be something strange about me. My glasses keep breaking.

Shoes Men Dress - Mr Angel Shoes offers some most innovative and visually stunning men's shoes you have ever seen. mrangelshoes.com/ From creative shoes for men to designer dress shoes, we offer shoes that you will love. We also have a large range of Red, Silver, Gold and Pink Dress Shoes for men that are cool and will blow your mind! Our shoes are perfect for all occasions - formals, dinner parties, parties, night clubs, events....even as Wedding Party Shoes. Why Shoes Are Vital to a Man's Success The modern businessman needs to be well-read when it comes to men's fashion. The way a man dresses is how he is identified by others in the office. Naturally, a traditional tie and well fitted suit are paramount. Yet, shoes sometimes get left in the shuffle. Shoes are equally important as the suit you wear to work. Shoes can make or break your outfit. If you are dressing to impress others, you better be wearing shoes that not only match your outfit, but are gleaming. With the world dressing in a more casual manner it has become increasingly difficult to distinguish between dress shoes and casual shoes. Still, some shoes can now be used for either dress or casual. The square toe and a wider shoe have become popular, replacing the thin rounder shoe. Further, this applies to both loafers and laced shoes. While many men's shoes still have the traditional heel, the wedge has suddenly become fashionable. These shoes provide a sole and heel in one mold, versus the standard heel which is separated from the sole. A good tip to follow for dressing-down is to wear a rubber soled shoe, and leave the wood soles for upscale occasions. As mentioned, many casual shoes can pass for dress shoes. How dressy your shoes are depends on where you work, and what your office expects. Still, if you work in an upscale office the classic heeled dress shoes are best. Ankle boots for men have indeed become popular casual ware and are available in either laced or Velcro style. Laces for both dress and casual shoes are thin. Stay away from sneaker type laces. Some offices allow sneakers to be worn on Casual Friday. However, this does not mean you can show up for work in the sneakers you use to mow the lawn. Yet, a casual sneaker will keep you comfortable, and you still can present the allure of passion and success. The best base colors are white, gray, and beige. This goes great with red, black and yellow for detailed colors, and does not present too loud a look. In the end, being away from the office still affords you the opportunity to wear a good-looking pair of shoes. Some of the latest hiking shoes compliment jeans and even Dockers nicely. There is no reason you cannot continue to wear great looking shoes on a Saturday night. While you might be casually dressed, you can still have an air of confidence and success. In an upscale office it is best to wear the classic heeled shoe, and make sure they are polished. Pohl is a writer for men's fashion. He also started several online tie retailers including is latest website: this site by the name of Bows-N-Ties.com that sorted ties by color. Article Source: EzineArticles.com/?expert=Hendrik_Pohl Article Source: EzineArticles.com/6031905

This visually dynamic 1960 Czech Republic badge promotes the famous International Engineering Fair (known as MSV Brno) that's been running annually from the Czech city of Brno since 1959. It is considered the premier industrial event in Central Europe with a world wide profile and reputation.

 

In its current format today, this major engineering Fair showcases and focuses on areas such as:

 

> mining, metallurgical, foundering, ceramic and glass engineering,

> material components for mechanical engineering,

> drives, hydraulics and pneumatics,

> cooling technology and air-conditioning,

> plastics, rubber technology and chemical industry,

> machining, forming and surface finishing,

> power engineering and heavy-current electrical engineering

> electronics, automation and measuring technology,

> ecological technology.

  

As well as hosting this particular engineering Fair, Brno, due in part to its important geographical location, has been holding Fairs since 1243. The catalyst behind the early Fairs was Brno's emerging textile industry with the first trade shows appearing in the 18th Century. Trade exhibitions since 1821 have included merchants from Vienna, Linz, Saxony, Hungary and Turkey.

 

Brno is synonymous with Trade Fairs reflecting its industrial, scientific and logistical hub profile within Central Europe. Along with the Brno's Industrial Engineering Fair, the city hosts multiple, diverse Fairs throughout the year embracing, for example, the areas of medical technology, automobiles, caravans, timber construction, minerals etc. Since 1928, the city has had a dedicated site for hosting trade fairs, an area that has radically grown in size throughout the subsequent decades.

 

From a graphic design perspective, the badge is one of those designs that is stylistically ahead of its time compared to the majority of branding work from this era. There is, primarily through the clarity of the sans serif typeface and colour scheme, an association with the 'clean' designs that emanated from the 1950s International Typographic Style (also known as Swiss Style). The typography works harmoniously with the bold directional arrows that allude to the trading exchange and transfer of knowledge between the 'East' and the 'West' (referencing Brno's pivotal geographical location). At the hub of the design is a gear or cogwheel, a well known device that symbolizes the notion of 'engineering' as well as the cycle of business, trade and knowledge generated by this Fair. The graphic on this badge is still used today (with very subtle modifications) as the brand for its International Engineering Fair - testimony to its visual durability and longevity for over 50 years... and still going strong.

 

Photography, layout and design: Argy58

 

(This image also exists as a high resolution jpeg and tiff - ideal for a variety of print sizes e.g. A4, A3, A2 and A1. The current uploaded format is for screen based viewing only:72pi)

   

Douglaston Hill Historic District, Douglaston Hill, Queens, New York City, New York, United States

 

About the district:

 

The Douglaston Hill Historic District consists of thirty-one wood frame houses constructed largely between 1890 and 1930. Well-preserved turn-of-the-century residential suburbs of free-standing wood-frame houses were once relatively common in New York City, but are now becoming increasingly rare due to newer development or inappropriate alterations. The majority of the houses were designed using either the Queen Anne, neo-Colonial, or Arts & Crafts styles, making the district visually coherent.

 

Douglaston Hill was laid out as a suburban development in 1853 in anticipation of the arrival of the Flushing & Northside Railroad.

 

Development proceeded slowly until the 1890s, when a small group of families acting as realtors, developers and home owners shaped the community. William J. and Josephine Hamilton, Denis and Ellen O’Leary, and several members of the Stuart family were among the first to build in the area and were all prominent residents. William Hamilton, described as the Awell-known builder of Douglaston, developed several lots. Denis O’Leary was a prominent attorney and politician who was active in civic affairs within and outside of Douglaston Hill, serving as an Assistant Corporation Counsel for New York City, Public Works Commissioner, U. S. Congressman and as a founding officer of the Douglaston Hose Company No. 1. The Stuarts were involved in different aspects of the building trades, including architect, contractor, carpenter, and painter.

 

Most of the houses in Douglaston Hill combine stylistic elements from architectural styles popular from 1890 to 1930. The picturesque qualities of the neo-Colonial, Queen Anne, and Arts & Crafts styles, with their intersecting rooflines, tall chimneys, clapboard and shingle cladding as well as spacious porches, link many of the houses. Nos. 240-25 43rd Avenue and 240-35 43rd Avenue were built in 1900-01 from plans by architect D. S. Hopkins by the O’Learys and the Hamiltons, respectively. They feature deep semi-elliptical porches with classical entry surrounds, Tuscan column porch supports, and complex treatment of the window groupings, including a Palladian window with decorative swags. The four houses at 240-24 to 240-42 42nd Avenue, built by the Hamiltons and the O’Learys in 1903-04, feature a complicated intersection of gables and multi-level eaves but are modestly-scaled. Homes continued to be built in the historic district through the 1920s including the 1925-26 neo-Colonial- style house at 24018 42nd Avenue, designed and built by Samuel Lindbloom, and the 1926-27 Arts and Crafts-style house at 240-11 43rd Avenue, designed by architect Aubrey Grantham.

 

The period from 1900 to 1930 was one of enormous growth for the borough of Queens and Douglaston. One Douglaston observer noted: ABy 1910 the old farms are disappearing....by 1920 our village assumes an air of suburban dignity. The Douglaston Hill historic district preserves this now rapidly-disappearing era of the suburban development of Queens.

 

Historical and Architectural Development of the Douglaston Hill Historic District

 

42-09 240 Street (aka 42-09 – 42-11 240 Street and 16 – 240 Street) Block/Lot: 8106/12

 

Date: 1926 (NB 12897-1926) Architect: Samuel Lindbloom Original Owners: Samuel Lindbloom and M. Edwin Schultz Type: Free-standing house Style: neo-Colonial Stories: 2 Materials: Wood frame covered with wood shingles, painted blue; above a concrete foundation. Notable site features: Sloping lot; cobblestone gutters; bluestone curbs; mature shrubs; concrete steps; cobblestone retaining wall at the sidewalk; brick retaining wall at the rear (east side) of the lot. Related structure on the site: Wood-frame garage.

 

Description: Main Façade (overlooking 240 Street): Three bays; brick and concrete stoop; gabled portico with open pediment and Doric columns; sidelit main entryway with fanlight and historic hanging lamp; non-historic one-over-one vinyl sash with pane dividers; molded window surrounds; historic paneled wood shutters; historic copper downspouts from the roof. Roof: Asphalt-shingle-covered gables with overhanging eaves; gabled dormers on the west slope with returning eaves, flat pilasters, and fanlit windows; vented cupola with surmounting, wrought-iron weathervane; brick chimney, painted gray; shed dormer on the east slope. North Façade: Irregular bay arrangement; similar to the main façade; electrical conduit. South Façade: Two-story porch, enclosed at the first story; grouped fenestration; non-historic one-over-one vinyl sash with pane dividers; asphalt-shingle-covered shed roof; square columns and railings.

 

Rear (East) Façade: Three bays; similar to the main façade; secondary entryway with historic paneled wood and glass door; wood porch with square columns and surmounting, asphalt-shingle-covered shed roof; non-historic one-over-one wood sash with pane dividers; historic paneled wood shutters. Garage: Two bays; asphalt-shingle-covered gable roof; non-historic aluminum roll-up doors; louvered vent.

 

History: This neo-Colonial-style dwelling was designed by local architect/builder Samuel Lindbloom in 1926, and was built by Lindbloom in partnership with M. Edwin Schultz, an area contractor, during the enormous growth period of the 1920s, when the population of the Douglaston/Little Neck area increased from 2,000 to 8,000 and several new houses were constructed in the Douglaston Hill Historic District on new building sites created by the continuing subdivision of the original Marathon lots; this house occupies a portion of former Marathon lot 88. In addition, there was a growing interest in historic preservation and Colonial architecture in the 1920s, and Lindbloom was clearly a proponent, having produced three neo-Colonial-style houses in the historic district, as well as having moved and restored the adjacent house at 240-02 42 Avenue. This house features a symmetrical 2 ½-story, three-bay façade, plus a one-story side porch to the south.

 

It is distinguished by its gabled entry portico with an open pediment and Doric columns, a sidelit main entryway with a fanlight and paneled door, and molded window surrounds. The gabled roof has overhanging eaves and gabled dormers with eave returns, flat pilasters, and fanlit windows. The roof is surmounted by a vented cupola with a wrought-iron weathervane and a tall brick chimney. There is a one-story, wood-frame garage located, built at the same time as the house, at the rear of the lot, and entered via a driveway leading from 42 Avenue. The house’s neo-Colonial-style design reinforces the strong suburban character of the neighborhood. It is remarkably intact.

  

Introduction

 

The Douglaston Hill Historic District, located in northeastern Queens near the border with Nassau County, is significant for its principles of mid-nineteenth and early-twentiethcentury community planning and development, and as an example of an early twentieth century suburb. The district consists of thirty-one freestanding single-family homes that are fine examples of many late nineteenth and early twentieth century architectural styles, including Queen Anne, Colonial Revival, Shingle, Arts and Crafts and Tudor Revival. The district’s parklike setting, architectural expression and social history, represents the evolution of the commuter suburb, and is a precursor to the speculative suburban development which remade Queens in the twentieth century.

 

This transformation of Queens from colonial villages, estates, and small farms to commuter suburbs was typical of American settlement patterns in many parts of the country. The dramatic spatial change that this pattern of growth brought about – and the parallel development of a quintessential American lifestyle – were due to several factors. Rapid advances in transportation, particularly the steam railroad in the first half of the nineteenth century, made long-distance commuting possible. New levels of personal wealth following the Civil War, coupled with the pervasive cultural values of mainstream Victorian society, gave rise to a middle class that embraced virtues of domesticity, home ownership, and life in a sylvan setting. These values were made manifest in the commuter suburb, which placed the single-family house in a non-urban setting, convenient to the city by rail.

 

By 1939, the Federal Writers’ Project New York City Guide had designated Queens the “borough of homes,” a result of some fifty years of intensive speculative, mostly suburban, housing development. This development had its roots in planned developments of the 1870s and was greatly accelerated by the consolidation of New York City in 1898 – specifically by the public transportation improvements, large-scale middle-class migration, and public works it brought to the new Borough of Queens.

 

In the Douglaston Hill Historic District, this history of community planning and development, from the 1850s to the 1920s, can be read in the district’s topography, layout, and architecture. Most of the houses in the Douglaston Hill Historic District feature stylistic elements of popular architectural styles from the 1890s to the 1920s, which contribute to the district’s visual coherence. The historic district’s buildings display a high level of architectural quality, and constitutes a distinct sense of place. It is a significant reminder of the historic and cultural development of suburban Queens.

 

Early History

 

The Native American presence on the Little Neck peninsula, today known as Douglaston, included the Matinicoc, one of the Munsee-speaking groups of western Long Island. Their land during the contact period (1550 – ca. 1750) reputedly extended from Newtown eastward to the Nissequogue River and southward to the center of Long Island. Their name roughly translates to “at the hilly land.” The Munsee were a loosely-related Lenape group whose settlements included larger villages at river mouths and smaller camps in areas utilized for subsistence activities. By the mid-1600s, several English and Dutch colonial towns and farming villages had been established in what is now northeastern Queens, such as Mespat (Maspeth), founded in 1642, Vlissingen (Flushing), founded in 1643, and Jamaica, founded in 1650. Colonial settlement along the northeastern shore began near Alley Pond in 1647, and a decade later when, in 1656, the Dutch assigned to Thomas Hicks a peninsula then called “Little Madman’s Neck,” which encompassed much of the present-day Douglaston. Hicks evicted the Matinecoc Indian Tribe from its fishing ground on Little Neck Bay in the 1660s in what is the only such seizure of property documented in Flushing town records.

 

In 1683, Queens County was established as one of ten English counties, divided into five towns: Newtown, Jamaica, Flushing, Hempstead, and Oyster Bay, made up of various villages and settlements. The Alley Pond settlement, including present-day Douglaston, lay within the town of Flushing. Farming was the primary use of the land, with a few prominent families owning most of the land. A number of estates were built in the area prior to the Revolutionary war, including the Van Wyck House of 1735 (126 West Drive, aka 37-04 Douglaston Parkway, both an individually designated New York City Landmark and located within the Douglaston Historic District). During the Revolutionary War, Queens County served as a staging ground for British troops, and by the war’s end in 1783, the extensive tracts of primeval forest that had characterized the county had been devastated and many of its farms had been pillaged.Recovery and growth were slow in the first half of the nineteenth century, but transportation improvements, such as turnpikes and railroads, led the way for future settlements.

 

Origins of Douglaston Hill

 

In 1813, ownership of the land presently comprising the Douglaston Hill Historic District and its environs passed to Wynant Van Zandt III (1767-1831). A prominent New York City merchant, he had been a city alderman and a vestryman of Trinity Church in Manhattan before retiring to Little Neck as a gentleman farmer. He built a large manor in 1819, which survives as the Douglaston Club (600 West Drive, located in the Douglaston Historic District). Van Zandt kept his property in agricultural use. He also took an active interest in the civic affairs of the community around Alley Pond. In 1824, he financed the construction of a causeway across the marsh, creating a more direct and efficient route to Flushing. In 1829, he bequested land and funds for the construction of Zion Episcopal Church, which was completed the following year.

 

A few years after Van Zandt’s death in 1831, the family sold the estate. The waterfront peninsula portion of the property (which now partly comprises the Douglaston Historic District) was sold to George Douglas. The portion to the south, encompassing what is now Douglaston Hill, was sold in 1834 to Joseph DeForest. One year later, Cortland Van Beuren acquired the property from DeForest. Van Beuren sold it in 1843 to Jeremiah Lambertson, a local farmer, who held the property until 1853, when he laid it out in an urban grid, named the subdivision Marathon, and sold the lots at auction. The timing of Lambertson’s subdivision suggests that he was anticipating the arrival of passenger train service on the Flushing and Northside Railroad, which was being extended eastward at the time, reaching Flushing in 1854, with plans to reach Great Neck, Long Island, via Douglaston, by the late 1860s.

 

On February 15, 1853, the Flushing Journal reported that a party of sixteen persons arriving by omnibus had purchased the Lambertson farm with the intent of building country seats upon it. Property deed records show that title was transferred on July 23 and 27, 1853 to twenty-five buyers, with most buyers purchasing three or four lots each. Lambertson had laid out generous 200 foot by 200 foot lots on the sloping land, and named the streets for trees: Pine, Cherry, Poplar and Willow. The Lambertson family continued to be an important presence in the area, retaining their farmstead located at Northern Boulevard and Main Street (now Douglaston Parkway) into the 1870s.

 

Suburban Context

 

Because the Douglaston Hill subdivision was one of the earliest in northeastern Queens (Woodside and Bayside, both earlier stops on the Flushing and Northside Railroad, were not laid out until 1867 and 1872, respectively), its evolution from mapped lots to built form provides a window into how the commuter suburb developed as a physical and psychological manifestation of American middle class values. The ideas of a new and distinct form of community planning had their origins in the garden city movement of England of the 1820s, wherein the characteristics of rural, domestically-centered pre-industrial environments were consciously incorporated into new towns. These ideas were becoming more widely known around the time of the Lambertson subdivision. Their first expression in the United States was in the picturesque, semi-rural cemeteries created in the 1830s. City dwellers used these cemeteries as parks and picnic grounds. Many early suburban residential projects incorporated design elements of the cemeteries, such as contrived naturalistic landscapes and street names evoking natural features.

 

By mid-century, a group of writers and designers had created a “cult of domesticity,” proclaiming the moral virtues of family, home ownership and semi-rural living. Catherine Beecher’s widely read Treatise on Domestic Economy (1841), and Andrew Jackson Downing’s A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening (1841), were among the first books to offer house plans, and argue that gardens and home ownership were key to harmonious family life. These books were instrumental in formulating the American domestic ideal and the development of the American suburb. By the 1850s, many of Downing’s principles were being expressed in the suburban developments created by his partner Calvert Vaux, architect Alexander Jackson Davis, and the landscape designer Frederick Law Olmsted.

 

In 1853, Davis and Llewellyn Haskell, a developer, created Llewellyn Park, New Jersey, the first American suburb. Twelve miles from Manhattan, and just outside of the City of Newark, New Jersey, it was a 350-acre development with a strip of common parkland, curving streets, a consistent architectural expression, and a pastoral landscape. Llewellyn Park embodied the essence of what would become the characteristic suburb, except that it was several miles from a railroad station and thus impractical for all but the very wealthy. In the following years, Davis’s and Haskell’s concept was emulated and refined in new suburban developments throughout the eastern and mid-western United States. Often, these new communities were created around a town center and/or a railroad station, and included stipulations that ensured the creation and protection of a certain desired character through the use of restrictive covenants concerning the size of the lots and the siting of the houses.

 

Laid out around the same time as Llewellyn Park, the Lambertson subdivision at Douglaston Hill lacked the curving streets and instead consisted of a traditional street grid and lotting system, but the commodious lots were consistent with the suburban principles being advanced at the time. Douglaston Hill’s main development, however, occurred some forty years later, approximately between the years 1890 and 1930. Since restrictive covenants were not in place and most of the original lots were subsequently divided, the Douglaston Hill Historic District came to display greater density and architectural variety than many similar developments. It nevertheless maintains many of the design and social values of the suburban ideals of Downing, Davis, and the others.

 

Early Development

 

At the time of the 1853 Marathon subdivision, the Village of Alley Pond was a shipping and trading hub, its general store providing an immense variety of goods, “from needle to anchor.” A community of oystermen was thriving, with more than a dozen sloops and schooners operating on Little Neck Bay at the foot of Old House Landing Road (now Little Neck Parkway). Two possible oystermen cottages from the early or mid-nineteenth century may have

 

survived within the Douglaston Hill Historic District. No. 240-27 Depew Avenue (originally Willow Street) is a 1 ½-story, altered frame cottage with some vaguely Greek Revival-style detailing, such as the smaller second-story fenestration that are characteristic of rural house design in the first half of the nineteenth century. The house, which is situated very close to the front of the lot and below the grade of Depew Avenue, is currently three bays wide, and has a one-story wing on its west side that looks to have been added later in the nineteenth century, or possibly the early twentieth century. The building appears on the Beers Atlas of 1873, which is the earliest-available map of the area showing buildings. The house possibly predates the 1853 subdivision and sale, and could have been built by Jeremiah Lambertson or Cortland Van Beuren. Another possibility is that it was moved to its present location sometime before 1873, possibly by William Holland, one of the original purchasers in 1853. The neighboring house at 240-35 Depew Avenue may be of a similar origin, but was greatly expanded and appears to have been moved to the rear of the lot in the early-twentieth century. The house includes an original 1 ½-story wing, similar in proportion, material, and detail to 240-27 Depew Avenue.

 

In 1866-67, the Flushing and Northside Railroad reached the Little Neck area. William Douglas donated a farm building from his estate to serve as the railroad station; in exchange, he asked that the station and the village around be called Douglaston. The arrival of the railroad greatly reduced travel time to the city, but the trip still required taking a ferry from Long Island City to Manhattan. Douglaston remained relatively isolated, slowly attracting new residents. The house at 41-45 240 Street (originally Prospect Avenue) appears to date to period of the railroad’s arrival. This two-story frame, altered Italianate-style house, which appears on the 1873 Beers Atlas, still occupies its original 200 by 200 foot lot that was purchased by August Michan of New York in 1853. The way the house is positioned at the back of its lot reflects early suburban ideals. By 1873, the house was occupied by Alexander Taylor, who remained there and may have owned it until 1900.

 

Area census records from 1870 and 1880 portray a rural population comprised of farmers, farmhands, baymen, laborers, oystermen, house keepers, grooms, coachmen, wheelwrights, and stone masons, as well as a stockbroker and an insurance agent.

 

Suburban Growth 1890-1930

 

In 1887, just prior to Douglaston Hill’s key period of growth, the Flushing Journal reported on the area’s idyllic setting: “Possessing all of the requisite features which tend to make a place of sojourn acceptable, Douglaston, indeed, is the Elysium of restfulness and peace. From the old curbed wells that can be found in the yards of most of the farm houses to the stately trees that line the drives leading to the same – everything smacks of rural life in its most pleasing form.” By the turn of the century, new residents – both permanent and seasonal – were introducing a middle-class commuter population into this secluded hamlet community. Around

 

the turn of the century, many of the generous lots were being subdivided, wherein the 200-foot front to rear dimensions were retained, but the 200-foot side-to-side dimensions were reduced. Later, some lot widths were reduced even more. The houses were built mainly in the same plane, near the street and centered on their lots. Many of the houses were built speculatively, although some were erected specifically for occupancy by their owners. The houses modestly combine stylistic elements from popular styles, especially those found in the neo-Colonial style, although some of the turn-of-the-century houses display Queen Anne- and Shingle-style influences, while some from the 1920s have Tudor- and Arts-and-Crafts-style elements. The presence of porches, high chimneys, projecting eaves, and bays embrace the picturesque suburban ideals of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

 

Mass-produced construction components and rail transportation gave rise to the freer plans and excesses of late nineteenth and early twentieth century architectural styles. The picturesque qualities of weatherboard and wood-shingle cladding, intersecting rooflines, tall brick chimneys, and spacious porches link many of the houses in the Douglaston Hill Historic District. An eclectic use of classically-inspired detailing, characteristic of the neo-Colonial style, is prevalent: patterned shingle ornament, Palladian window groupings, molded window and door surrounds, and pedimented porticos. The historic district’s pre-World War I houses reflect a combination of stylistic influences – and particularly illustrate how such influences are incorporated into basic vernacular forms by local builders. They feature a complicated intersection of gables and multi-level eaves, but are modestly-scaled and otherwise simple in architectural expression. The houses maintain a vernacular simplicity, while also expressing a link to popular architectural styles.

 

Two new houses were completed by the turn of the century. The altered neo-Colonialstyle house at 240-44 43 Avenue was built c.1891-1900 by either local postmaster and gardener Albert Benz or box manufacturer Adolph Helmus. This house is 2 ½ stories and features a wraparound porch and intersecting gable roofs -- popular architectural forms during this period. The shingled Queen Anne-style house at 42-25 240 Street was built in 1899-1900 for Jeannie Clark. Featuring a polygonal corner tower and turret with paneled moldings and brackets, and a tall brick chimney, this 2 ½-story house was designed by architect John A. Sinclair and constructed by builder Herman Haak. The original siting of the houses, which included a large sideyards that were later developed reflect a continuation of the mid-nineteenth-century suburban ideals embodied in the original Marathon subdivision, while their picturesque roofline reinforce the strong suburban character of the neighborhood.

 

From 1900 until the First World War, fifteen of the historic district’s thirty-one houses were built. Of these, three families were responsible for at least twelve of the fifteen houses. This small group, whose actions as realtors, builders, and home owners shaped the community both physically and socially, were some of the area’s most prominent residents. William J. Hamilton and his wife, Josephine, were probably the first to develop houses speculatively in the Douglaston Hill area, and constructed six of the houses in the historic district. In his brother’s obituary in 1907, Hamilton was described as the “well-known builder of Douglaston.” Denis O’Leary and his wife, Ellen, also Douglaston Hill residents, built another four, while members of the Stuart family – John, Frederick, Charles, and James, Jr. – constructed three adjacent houses on 43 Avenue.

 

Denis and Ellen O’Leary were Douglaston Hill residents from about 1901 through 1943, the year that Denis O’Leary died. Denis O’Leary was typical of an early suburban commuter. A prominent attorney and politician, he was active in civic affairs. He served as an Assistant Corporation Counsel for New York City, Public Works Commissioner, Queens District Attorney, and United States Congressman. Locally, he was a founding officer of the Douglaston Hose Company No. 1, and was active in numerous charitable and fraternal organizations, including the Shinnecock Democratic Club of Flushing, the Flushing Council, the Catholic Benevolent Legion, and the Holy Name Society of Sacred Heart Church.

 

Each member of the Stuart family, also long-term Douglaston Hill and Little Neck residents, worked in differing areas of the building trades and appear to have collaborated in the construction of several houses. John Stuart of Little Neck, whose name often appeared as the architect of record on plans filed at the Department of Buildings, was listed as a building material supplier in early-twentieth-century city directories and censuses. His building plans were often noted in the local newspapers, such as the Flushing Daily Times. The same sources described James Stuart, Jr., as a contractor, Frederick Stuart as a painter, and Charles Stuart as a carpenter.

 

The Hamiltons’ involvement in the Douglaston Hill Historic District began in the 1890s with the Queen Anne-style house with Colonial Revival elements at 240-45 43 Avenue (originally Pine Street). He was listed as the house’s owner in the property tax rolls in the year 1900, the first year that complete tax records for this section of Queens were produced; however, the title for this property is incomplete and it is not known when he acquired it from the previous owner, Florence Wakeman. The house occupies a portion of the original Marathon lot 93, which Hamilton acquired from Wakeman along with lots 89 and 94, according reference in a deed for an adjacent property recorded in 1918. The design of this house, which features a wraparound porch, projecting attic pediment with decorative shingles and supporting brackets, and a Palladian window, is attributed to local architect/builder Samuel Lindbloom, who in 1890 designed and built the nearly identical rectory of the nearby Zion Episcopal Church, located at 242-02 44 Avenue (not in the historic district). The original siting of the house, which sat at the western third of the original 200-foot-wide lot and included a large, wooded side yard to the east (now occupied by two houses built in 1913-14 and 1958-62) and its Queen Anne- and Colonial Revival-style architecture reflect picturesque, mid-nineteenth century suburban ideals.

 

In 1898, the Hamiltons sold the western half of Marathon Lot 94 to Denis and Ellen O’Leary, and in 1900, both families began constructing nearly identical neo-Colonial style houses on these 100-foot-wide properties, located at 240-35 and 240-25 43 Avenue, respectively. The houses were designed by the architect D.S. Hopkins of Grand Rapids, Michigan, who published several books of house plans from the 1890s through the 1920s. The design chosen by the Hamiltons and the O’Learys was distinguished by two-story, paneled pilasters on the main façade (presently obscured by aluminum siding on 240-25) and by a semicircular front porch with turned columns on paneled bases, denticulated crown, and rooftop

 

balustrade. The asymmetrical rooflines consist of intersecting overhung gables and hips on scrolled brackets, a hipped dormer facing the front, and a tall brick chimney. The siting of the houses, set back on large, wooded lots, reflect the continuing influence of the ideals of bucolic suburban living that guided the creation of the original subdivision in the 1850s.

 

In 1901, the Hamiltons sold the western half of Marathon Lot 89 to the O’Learys, and in 1903, both parties began nearly-identical developments once again. This time, however, the lots were divided into narrower 50-foot frontages and four neo-Colonial-style houses were built from 240-24 through 240-42 42 Avenue. The designs were produced by the architectural firm, Frank

 

P. Allen & Son, another well-known producer of plan books, also based in Grand Rapids.These houses originally featured a variety of details, such as intersecting roof gables, overhanging eaves, wide front porches with turned columns, and wide window surrounds. The narrower building lots and siting of these houses closer to the street reflect the evolution of Douglaston Hill from an area of wooded country estates to a twentieth-century commuter suburb. The original, asymmetrical massing of these houses, as well as later alterations, lend visual interest to their nearly-identical designs.

 

In 1907, the Hamiltons built a neo-Colonial-style house at 240-48 43 Avenue, designed by Frank P. Allen, on property they purchased from the Estate of Albert Benz that was part of the original Marathon lot 99. The house is characterized by its intersecting roof gables with a broad north slope that flares out to form the roof of the front porch, which is supported by tapered columns. The main entryway is recessed behind the porch. A wide gable sits on the roof, which is topped by a tall brick chimney. Also that year, Marathon Lots 97 and 98 were subdivided into four building lots and sold by owner W. Watson to four parties who completed houses on them in the following year. Among the developers were the Hamiltons and the O’Learys, who again built similar side-by side neo-Colonial-style houses with Arts and Crafts-style elements. However, the O’Learys built 240-34 43 Avenue from plans made by the Keith Corp. of Minneapolis, another prominent producer of architectural plan books, while William J. Hamilton was listed as the architect for 240-40 43 Avenue. Both houses feature symmetrical, three-baywide façades that are distinguished by a full-width front porch with segmental openings, topped by balcony at the second story. The houses are topped by a prominent hip roofs and tall brick chimneys. Their smaller lots reflect the neighborhood’s transition from an area of country estates to a commuter suburb in the early twentieth century, while their picturesque rooflines and spacious porches reinforce the strong suburban character of the historic district.

 

The other two other houses built on the former Watson property were developed by individual owners. No. 240-22 43 Avenue was built by Catherine T. Burne of Douglaston from plans filed by George W. Cornell, a Little Neck contractor. This 2 ½-story house consists of two intersecting wings creating an L-shaped plan that is unified by a full-width front porch that wraps around the front wing and fills the recess formed by the setback. The roof of the porch is supported by Doric columns and shades the sidelit main entryway. The façade features molded window surrounds, and an imposing hipped roof on curved brackets with exposed rafters, hipped dormers, and a corbelled brick chimney. No. 240-16 43 Avenue was built by Adolph Helmus of Douglaston from plans filed by Walter J. Halliday of Jamaica, Queens. This 2 ½-story house is distinguished by a wraparound front porch with Doric columns, a paneled wood-and-glass main entryway with a molded surround, wide window enframents, an overhung roof comprised of intersecting closed gables, round-arch windows in the gable-ends, and a corbelled brick chimney. Helmus and his wife, Otillie, occupied this house for many years. In 1915, meetings that led to the founding of St. Anastasia Roman Catholic Church were held at the Helmus residence. Masses, baptisms, and church meetings also took place in this home while the congregation was being formed.

 

The Stuart family developed three adjacent, neo-Colonial-style houses on 43 Avenue between 1903 and 1905. The first two were the nearly identical buildings constructed in 1903-04 at 242-09 43 Avenue and 242-19 43 Avenue, which were subsequently occupied by Frederick Stuart and Charles Stuart, respectively. These 2 ½ -story, two-bay-wide houses are distinguished by their full-width front porches, intersecting gable roofs, and tall brick chimneys. In 1904-05, John Stuart designed a much larger house at 242-03 43 Avenue for James Stuart, Jr. This fourbay-wide house is also two-and-a-half stories, but is distinguished by its wide, wraparound front porch with Tuscan columns, its molded window and door surrounds, prominent hip roof with flared and overhanging eaves, gabled dormers with eave returns, and tall, corbelled brick chimney. The neo-Colonial-style designs of the houses and their picturesque rooflines reinforce the strong suburban character of the neighborhood.

 

The Hamiltons’ last project in the district is the Arts and Crafts-style house at 242-01 43Avenue, which they built in 1913-14 from plans filed by contractor Isaac Beers of Little Neck. The three-bay-wide house features segmental first-story fenestration, recessed main entryway with a hooded surround, and the composition is dominated by the broadly-sloping roof with the building’s second story incorporated beneath a wide shed-roofed dormer. The house’s Arts and Crafts-style design and low roof profile reinforce the strong suburban image of the historic district. After the completion of this house, development in the Douglaston Hill Historic District halted until World War I was concluded.

 

In the first decade of the twentieth century, frequent reports by the Flushing newspapers recorded the comings and goings of seasonal and permanent residents in Douglaston, which included a mix of professional men and business owners. Census records from 1900, 1910 and 1920 show a range of occupational categories for Douglaston Hill – from professions such as chemist, lawyer, teacher, banker, builder, jeweler, merchant, post office and railroad stationmaster to laborers such as blacksmith, mason, shoemaker, domestic, factory worker and laundress.

 

Another period of enormous growth took place in the 1920s with the continuing subdivision and development of the original Marathon lots. Approximately 2,000 people lived in Douglaston-Little Neck in 1920. Just ten years later, the area’s population was 8,000. Houses built during this period reflected the continuing influence of Colonial precedents, as well as the new popularity of Tudor Revival and Arts and Crafts styles, and reinforce the strong suburban image of the historic district. Classicized detailing, symmetrical forms, formal entryways, and pediments continued to be found on the neo-Colonial-style houses. Deeply overhanging roofs, exposed rafters, and decorative brackets characterized the Arts and Crafts-style houses, while Tudor influences include steeply-pitched roofs, overlapping gables, and faux half-timbering.

 

In 1921, the neo-Colonial-style dwelling with Arts and Crafts-style elements at 240-01 42 Avenue (aka 41-53 240 Street), was built for Oscar Armbruster, vice-president of Chase Bank, from plans made by architect Henry A. Erdmann. It was constructed by S. Braithwaite, a builder based in Long Island City, who was listed as the building’s architect in records on file at the New York City Department of Buildings. Erdmann was a Manhattan architect who was in practice during the first decades of the twentieth century, and was in partnership with Henry C. Hahn during the 1910s (Erdmann & Hahn). This 2 ½-story frame and stucco house consists of a three-bay-wide main block with a one-story sideporch on the south side. The building is characterized by brick highlights at its base, first-story oriels, and an overhanging, slate-covered hip roof with copper seams and hipped dormers. The positioning of the house, which is set back from the street beyond a sloping, wooded expanse, reflects the continuing influence of the ideals of bucolic suburban living that guided the creation of the original subdivision in the 1850s. In 1922-23, owner David W. Barnes, an electrical engineer, erected a Tudor Revival-style dwelling at 42-17 240 Street from plans filed by A.F. Bruns of Corona, Queens, on a lot that the Barnes family owned since 1910. This 2 ½ story, frame and stucco house features half-timbered highlights, a wood entry porch with hewn columns, a first-story oriel, and a gabled roof with a broad west slope that flares out to form the roof of the porch. The building’s second story is partially formed by a wide, shed roof dormer. The house’s Tudor Revival-style design and picturesque roofline reinforce the strong suburban character of the neighborhood.

 

Between 1925 and 1927, the local architect/builder Samuel Lindbloom produced three of the five new houses in the historic district, and was responsible for the relocation, enlargement, and alteration of another. In 1925, Lindbloom built the neo-Colonial-style house at 240-17 43Avenue for A.R. Newman. It was designed by local architect Aubrey B. Grantham, whose frequent collaborations with Lindbloom included the new Zion Episcopal Church in 1924-25 (not located inside the historic district). This two-story house consists of an L-shaped plan topped by a roof composed of intersecting gables with overhanging eaves. The building’s second story is partially incorporated within shed-roofed wall dormer filled with multi-pane casements; the facades feature wide, molded window surrounds. The house is further characterized by the placement of its main entryway on the west side of the building, entered via a gabled porch with a built-in bench. A tall brick chimney projects from this façade and towers over the roof. In 1925-26, Lindbloom designed a neo-Colonial-style dwelling at 240-18 42 Avenue for Lynne Nicholas, wife of the silk manufacturer, Blaine J. Nicholas. This two-story house, which occupies a site that slopes to the west, is distinguished by the mannered use of the classical vocabulary and a dramatic westward-sloping roof which flares out over the main entryway and enclosed porch. The basement rises to full height below the entryway and porch and contains the house’s garage, which is entered via the west side. In addition, the house’s main entryway and paired fenestration are topped by curved pediments. In 1926, Lindbloom designed the neoColonial-style house at 42-09 240 Street, which he developed in partnership with M. Edwin Schultz, another area contractor. This time, Lindbloom composed a more traditional symmetrical façade for this 2 ½-story dwelling, plus a one-story side porch to the south. The three-bay-wide façade features a gabled entry portico with an open pediment and Doric columns, a sidelit main entryway with a fanlight and paneled door, and molded window surrounds. The gabled roof has overhanging eaves and gabled dormers with eave returns, flat pilasters, and fanlit windows. The roof is surmounted by a vented cupola with a wrought-iron weathervane and a tall brick chimney.

 

Lindbloom’s final-known contribution to the Douglaston Hill Historic District is perhaps his most interesting. The main wing of the sprawling house at 240-02 42 Avenue is an Italianate-style house, built c.1850, that was moved to this location in 1927, where it was renovated and enlarged. Lindbloom served as the architect, and is listed as part-owner of the property with M. Edwin Schultz; however, they transferred ownership during construction to Carra U. Alexander, wife of Gavin Alexander, the president of the Braithe Manufacturing Company. The house’s complex footprint consists of five attached sections of varying sizes and heights, visually unified by a large screened porch with a dramatically-sloping, concave roof, and by the approximation of the original, carved façade ornament of the c.1850 wing on the building’s later additions. It is topped by a prominent brick chimney. In the 1920s, it was fairly common to move older houses to new locations, usually to make way for more dense commercial or residential development on the original sites. In addition, interest in historic preservation and Colonial architecture produced many sympathetic rehabilitations of older houses, such as this one.

 

Three additional houses were constructed in the historic district in the 1920s. The Arts and Crafts-style dwelling at 240-11 43 Avenue was designed by Aubrey B. Grantham and built in 1926-27 by mason/builder Charles H. Platt for his own use. This 1 ½-story house features a wood porch at the main entryway with turned columns and a bracketed roof, paneled entry door with a molded surround, a wood-frame car port on the east side with a slatted roof and carved brackets, a broadly-sloping gable roof with overhanging and returning eaves, and a prominent brick chimney. The architect of the neo-Colonial-style house at 35 - 240 Street (aka 41-10 240 Street), built c. 1928, remains undetermined, while the developers were either Frederick E. & Caroline E. Hollweg, who purchased the property in 1924 or Herman I. Epstein, who acquired it from the Hollwegs in 1928. Hollweg was a bank president and area resident; Epstein, whose was retired, occupied the house into the 1930s. This three-bay-wide, frame and stucco dwelling has its main façade oriented toward the south rather than toward 240 Street. The house is distinguished by its steeply-pitched gable roof, gabled entry porch, shed dormers, and massive brick chimney. The neighboring house at 41-18 240 Street, also built c.1928, is a more conventional neo-Colonial-style design by an architect who remains unidentified. Its developer was either the Hollwegs, who had owned the lot since 1924 or Alexander H. Tompkins, a confectioner, who acquired the property in 1928. This three-bay-wide house contains a centrally-located main entryway beneath a gabled hood, molded window surrounds, multi-pane sash, a gabled roof covered with slate, and a prominent brick chimney.

 

As the 1920s drew to a close, so did major development in the Douglaston Hill Historic District, which by then had developed into a comfortable suburban community comprised of a substantial dwellings occupying many differently-sized properties. This environment remains largely intact to this day.

 

Later History

 

During the 1930s and 40s, no additional houses were constructed in the Douglaston Hill Historic District, but several garages were built as automobiles became the prevalent mode of transportation. Also, a number of houses were modestly expanded in size with the addition of side and rear wings, and the enclosure of porches. Some siding and roofing were replaced, often with new, up-to-date materials, such as asphalt and asbestos shingles. These trends continued into the 1950s and 60s when aluminum siding was gaining in popularity as a replacement material.

 

The final house to be constructed in the historic district is the postwar Modern-style dwelling at 240-51 43 Avenue, which was designed and built by Thomas Arcidiacono in 195862, on a lot that formerly belonged to 240-45 43 Avenue. This 1 ½-story house consists of three wings of varying heights, including one which is offset to create the building’s asymmetrical plan. The house is further characterized by its flat roofs with wide overhangs, exposed joists, ribbon windows, and veneer brick highlights.

 

Minor alterations, window replacements, and additional residings took place during the remainder of the twentieth century. Vinyl siding joined aluminum as a favorite replacement material, and aluminum and vinyl replacement sash were installed on many of the houses. Some stoops and porches were rebuilt, and new paving materials were sometimes introduced. Nevertheless, a larger number of homeowners in the Douglaston Hill Historic District chose to maintain original building fabric during these years and to replace worn materials in kind, or even to restore lost detail. As a result, the district continues to evoke the nineteenth and early-twentieth century suburban ideals that guided its development and displays a distinct sense of place.

 

- From the 2004 NYCLPC Landmark Designation Report