A Christmas Treat For The Family: The Le Grand Cirque

Every holiday season, we always check the show schedules of Smart Araneta Coliseum for upcoming family treats. Since my growing up years, Araneta Coliseum (the name I was used to) has brought many precious memories of my childhood like the Holiday on Ice and Yabadabadoo.

Now that I'm a father of two kids, I want to share with them the same fun I had every time the holiday season is coming.

On December 24, 2016, my family together with my father, sister-in-law and niece got the chance to watch the first-ever “Le Grand Cirque” at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. Even it's the traditional "Noche Buena" in the evening where every Filipino are busy preparing for the celebration, the traffic on the way to Cubao was moderate.

Quick Review: Star Wars 6" Black Series Snowtrooper (Episode 5)

One of my favorite movies from the Star Wars saga is A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. So when Hasbro introduced the first wave of the 6" Black Series on August 2013 that includes Luke (X-Wing Outfit), R2D2, Darth Maul and Sandtrooper; three years after, my wish list finally came out. The Snowtrooper, AT-AT pilot and Old Ben Kenobi were released.

A Preview of Toy Kingdom's Toy Warehouse Sale

On November 3, 2016, we had the chance to be part of Toy Kingdom's Toy Warehouse Sale held at the Megatrade Halls 1,2 and 3 inside SM Megamall. At 3pm of the same day, the gate it will then be open for BDO card holders to enjoy the warehouse sale.

Shop Globally with Uskoop

When I was a kid, we had several relatives who lives in the U.S. and some of them are my ninangs and ninongs. So every time someone visits the Philippines, we usually get pasalubongs in the form of chocolates, shoes, perfumes, shirts but of course, there will always be toys!

I told myself when I grow up, I want to visit the U.S. so I can buy those products and bring them home. But time has led me to a different path to stay in my beloved country. Thankfully, the birth of internet shopping has made it possible for customers like me to purchase products from abroad and have them delivered to your doorsteps.

It may sound easy but purchasing online requires you to have a clean credit card and should shoulder the shipping cost and import charges. Not to mention with the rise of online hackers, there is risk on online transactions.

Official Star Wars Rogue One Product Guide

Probably most of you, Star Wars collectors are excited on September 30, 2016 Force Friday when Toys "R" Us and Toy Kingdom will unveil its newest Rogue One toys. We all ask the same questions: "What would I buy when I get there?" 

Here is the official Rogue One product guide that will help you decide in advance what to buy in case you found them. Happy Toy Hunting!

photo credits: MintinBox

Click on the image to view gallery.

Jollibee Unveils Augmented Reality Game: Jollidance Showdown

Probably you have heard of virtual reality games, right? If not yet, well it is an artificial, computer-generated simulation or recreation of a real life environment. It stimulates the player's vision and hearing by making them feel that they are experiencing the simulated reality firsthand. But there is another kind of simulated reality that is getting popular in digital games and apps which is called the augmented reality.

Augmented Reality is a technology that layers computer-generated enhancements atop an existing reality in order to make it more meaningful through the ability to interact with it. AR apps are usually designed for mobile devices using the phone camera where the computer-generated elements can be viewed and interact in 360 degrees angle.

Clean Your Toys - The Lazy Way

Death Star Gunner photo with dust all over.

If you are a toy collector, I bet one of your most favorite part of the house is the room where you keep all your toy collections.

Now most of the time, toy collectors prefer to take the toys out of the box and put them on display. But in a short time, DUST will begin to build up on your precious toys.

As we all know, dust are:

- harmful to your lungs
- they make toys look old
- covers the gloss and actual color of toys
- when not removed, it tends to pile up and cause more harmful effect.

Babysitting Made Easy For Daddies

Having a new baby is one of the most wonderful experiences for parents like me. The father and mother become instant "caregivers" and that special care has no limits even when it comes to doing the role of a mother or vice versa.

I love my wife and I salute her incomparable labor of carrying our child in her womb for the last 9 months. As a token of appreciation, I want to be part of the next challenge in babysitting.

I opposed the notion that "babysitting" is not manly and women are only good in this field. As long as men know how to value his wife, same value applies to his child. We daddies just need to learn how to babysit. For your information, the U.S. has a growing job demand for babysitters and that includes men babysitters. If other men take babysitting as a career so why not daddies do it for free.

Finn (FN-2187) and First Order Tie Fighter Pilot Titanium Series Helmet Review

This is Star Wars The Black Series Titanium Series #05. These mini diecast set contains Finn's Stormtrooper helmet and First Order Tie Pilot helmet. This set is rarely available at some toy stores and just got lucky to have found one at Toys R Us.

I mentioned before in my recent post of #03 Darth Vader and Stormtrooper mini helmets regarding the base if they can detached, yeah it's possible because here in #05 Titanium Series, the tie fighter pilot's base is separated inside the package. You just snap it inside the helmet and it holds firmly. I saw a video review of Poe Dameron's TBS Titanium Series helmet being tried on Luke's Sideshow figure but they're kind a small to fit it. Of course I tried detaching the base but it was stiff so I just quit.

Darth Vader & Stormtrooper Mini Helmet-The Black Series Titanium Series

After the release of the Star Wars vehicles Titanium Series last 2015, comes another awesome line of Star Wars helmets in sixth scale. They're diecast material and yeah, they're heavy!

Star Wars X-Wing Starfighter and Star Destroyer-Mini Model Kit from Bandai

If you are a fan of Star Wars model kits and you want to build something quick while waiting for your wife or have a few minutes to spare-then this new mini model kit is for you. 

Introducing Bandai's Mini Model Plastic Kit of Star Wars' X-Wing Starfighter and Star Destroyer.  I first saw these new model kits at Toy Kingdom, V-Mall and my first impression was it won't get too much detail for its size. The glossy boxes measures only 6" x 3.3" and there were no sample displays then. It was actually tempting to pick one up for only P399 but skipped it for the moment.

The second time I bumped on these mini model kits was at a booth at ToyCon 2016 and according to a seller, they are detailed and are easy to build but I never bought it yet since my budget was aiming at something else.

What Did I Get From Going To ToyCon?

It's another time of the year when toy collectors like me would check the calendar and tell their wives and children "Uy Malapit na ToyCon! (Hey ToyCon is coming!)". And so it is, on June 10-12, 2016-ToyCon marked its 15th great year of bringing together toy enthusiasts and pop culture fans to share their passion and of course, discover new or hard-to-find toys. 

But this time is different. Recently Salt Lake Comic Con, a world-class pop culture phenomenon that gives fans an up-close personal interaction with their favorite actors, authors, and artists announced its global partnership with POP Life Entertainment.
   
Since Pop Life has a great potential to manufacture collectible toys from best brands and it's massive reach to pop culture fans, this collaboration makes it more possible for U.S. properties including entertainment to penetrate the Southeast Asian marketplace-and this includes the Philippines in their 2016 event list.

Kotobukiya ARTFX+ AT-AT Driver Figure Review

As a toy collector, I always choose the closest-possible representation of the character because it's like seeing them in reality which is scaled down into a toy figure or statue form. One of the known makers of close-to-real statues is Kotobukiya of Japan which started as a toy store in 1947. Since then they evolved into soft vinyl statues and active styling figures now commonly known as ARTFX statues.

As a Star Wars fan, my favorite member of the imperial army is the AT-AT driver. You may ask why him despite he's just an all-terrain vehicle (AT-AT walker) pilot in the movie Empire Strikes Back? Well I don't know really... but these next-generation pilots were among the strongest Imperial Soldiers considered all-powerful. If I be given the chance to cosplay, I would go for the AT-AT driver for sure.

In December 2015, Kotobukiya has released their next soft vinyl statue, the AT-AT driver.