MORE FIGURES = MORE VARIATIONS

This Karl "Helo" Agathon figure is a pretty nice sculpt and the detail on his officers uniform is minimal but solid. It''s darker than I thought it was going to be but looks more like it does on T.V. In prototype shots it looked lighter and less articulated. Helo is one of my favorite characters on the show and I'm not the only one who thinks so. Check out this AWESOME link HERE for more on Tahmoh Pinikett, who plays Helo. I keep it in my favorites since it's where I get all of my latest BSG info.

Using my boiling water method, I used the Apollo flight suit body and swapped heads with Helo to make this "Trapped on Caprica with nobody to love except Boomer the Cylon" figure. Sweet.

Then I took the Apollo head and threw it on the left over Helo body and BOOYEAH! Officer uniform Apollo made to order. It's lonely at the top. I love being pathetic.

Then I took Chief's body and put Anders and Helo's head on to make casual duty uniform figures. The hits keep coming.

This Anders figures has an interesting story behind it. I met the guy who plays Anders, Michael Trucco, at a BSG convention about 2 weeks after this figure was previewed and announced. When I met him I congratulated him on his figure. He said, "Thanks man, are you gonna buy one?" I looked him in the eyes in a room full of fans and said, "No man................I'M GETTING TWO!" He cracked up and so did the fans. Apparently I'm funny to my BSG peers. Tough crowd.

Anyway, this figure is cool.

Here's the casual duty Apollo figure with a rifle. Big whoop.

CONVENTION RECAP with a BONUS

MY LATE "BSG R A Z O R " REVIEW

Battlestar Gallactica Razor centers around a new character named Kendra Shaw, who under Admiral Cain's command earned the respect of her crew but sacrificed her soul in doing so. Stephanie Jacobson plays Kendra Shaw and is the reason why this BSG movie did so well in the ratings. Fresh faces are always a welcomed sight but when that face is part Portuguese-Chinese-Norwegian-English, it's a pretty face to watch as well.

Razor is the story of the first mission taken by the Pegasus under Commader Lee Adama and is inter cut with several flashbacks to show what brought the characters to their current standing and why they think the way they do. Kendra becomes Lee's XO (Executive Officer) and steps on a few toes as the ships Second in Command. Those toes happen to belong to Starbuck. The word Razor comes from Admiral Cain as she describes the type of person Kendra needs to be inorder to be successful during war.

Kendra meets Gina aboard the Pegasus minutes before the ship is nuked by Cylon missiles. Nobody is aware that Gina is responsible for the death and destruction of 800 of the ships crew. Kendra later sees a copy of the 6 model when the Pegasus is boarded and incarcerates Gina.

Admiral Cain, in flashbacks, makes some brutal decisions that has her crew guessing where her loyalties lay. Upon finding a wandering civilian fleet, she orders Col. Fisk to strip them of their engines and take important crew members only, leaving the rest to die. Kendra ends up playing a fateful role in the acquisition of these blood parts.

Another flashback shows Admiral Adama in his youth during the Clyon wars. Young Adama crash lands on a cylon planet and discovers that the cylons have been experimenting on humans to create a hybrid and super weapon. It's a very graphic turn of events with the super weapon escaping in the end. The actor they found to play a young Eddie Olmos was amazing. He looked and sounded like the seasoned vet.

My overall rating of this last installment is a 10/10. It was an important story to tell and left a great cliffhanger for season 4. I think the series is better with the addition of Razor.

1 FIGURE = MORE POSSIBILITIES

You're probably wondering why I got 7 of these CHIEF TYROL action figures straight from Diamond Select Toys.com. Well the answer is demented and sad but social. The Chief body represents the standard uniform for the BSG characters. So my Apollo and Hot Dog figures, with the help of some boiling hot water to soften the head and neck joints, get their standard uniform dress. See below.

All I had to do was switch the heads and add the military issued firearm and holster. I'm also going to do this for the Anders and Helo figures when they come in a few weeks. I'll take the Helo and Apollo figures and switch their heads to make a Raptor pilot Helo and Officer uniform Apollo. The possibilities are endless.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

COOL INTERNET FINDS

I saw this auction for this BSG BLACKBIRD model on ebay the other day. It's a full studio scale model which means it's big and super detailed.
I don't know who made this but it was worth the $350 it finally sold for.

All of these cool parts and brass details made me salivate.

Good luck to who ever got it.

It's About Frakking Time

After several delays and a fist full of impatience, the series 1 BSG figures from Diamond Select Toys (DST) are here. These figures are an example of the state of the art sculpting and painting technology of DST, down to the packaging. I have to admit, it was worth the wait.

This Apollo figure looks much better than I thought it would. Most of the promo shots didn't show the 33 points of articulation. Usually the final product looks just ok. In this case, the points of articulation don't hurt the overall look of the figure.
The detail on the flight suit is credited to the resources DST used to create these sculpts. They had full access to the wardrobe and schematics department of the BSG production design team.

This is a dead on scuplt of Jamie Bamber who plays Apollo. I should know, I've met him in person on several occasions (scroll way down for the proof). I can't believe I just said that.

Here's the complete Viper flight suit with 2 piece helmet. It's hard to tell in the pic but the visor is slightly tinted blue......just like in the show.......sweeeeet!

This Hot Dog figure isn't exciting but is an interesting bit of geek trivia. Geek trivia comes in handy once or twice a year and I love using it to stump certain friends of mine. That's right KISNER........I'm talking about you!

Although Hot Dog is a minor character on the show, in real life, he is the son of Edward James Olmos (Admiral Adama) and has had minimal screen time with his father.

Again, another dead on sculpt.

This 6 figure is probably my least favorite in this first series of figures. Sculpting females has always been a difficult task. Typically, guys who sculpt women have never seen one up close.

In this case, the articulation in the arms ruin the look of the figure. The dress is a rubbery material that allows articulation in the legs. That part is.....neat.

Unfortunately, this final product looks more like Willem Dafoe in drag.

DUE IN 2008

At the end of January, expect to these 2nd series of BSG figs to hit the stores in limited amounts. From (L-R) Kara "Starbuck" Thrace, Cylon Centurion, Kat, and Helo. The impressive sculpting continues with these 4 figures and 3 yet to be announced exclusive figures. These flight suits are slightly different than the series 1 suits and do not include the pilot collar ring. The flight suit is also unzipped and slightly more season 2 accurate color and detail wise.

I love knowing these things.

This resin VIPER MARK II statue is due sometime early next February.

I'm only getting one since I'll be using it as reference for the VIPER I'll be building to scale with my 6 inch BSG figs. Oh yeah, it's lonely at the top.

Order yours HERE

This CYLON RAIDER statue is really big and will also debut sometime early next year. It is to scale with the VIPER MARK II. You know what that means? Epic battles of static proportions in my display cabinet.

NEW FIGURES GALORE!!!!

Here's another look at the BSG series 1 figures due out in September. I already pre ordered 2 of each because after all, I have to be consistent with my geekdom.
This new test shot is of Apollo with his pilot gear and helmet.

This is the scheduled SAN DIEGO COMIC CON exclusive CHIEF TYREL figure that will only be limited to 250 pieces for the show. Aaron Douglas will be on hand sign a few figures.

And here's my CHIEF TYREL figure, #51 of 250. I have another one signed by Aaron but it's #91 of 250. He's a great guy.....for a clyon. Did I ruin it?

This series 2 STARBUCK figure was a big surprise and a huge hit at the convention. No photos were allowed but what the heck. The flight gear is different than the series 1 Apollo figure. Why do I know things like that?

This is the Helo in flight suit figure when he was marooned on Cylon occupied Caprica. He looks a little pasty because of the radiation poisoning.

Here's the cold ADMIRAL CAIN figure with a prototype of the KAT figure head. Another beautiful sculpt.

This Deanna Biers figure played by Lucy Lawless will come in several variations except for the warrior princess dress.

I'm glad they made this Lt. Dualla figure. She's important in the series but you never know if these role players get the plastic treatment.

This is a Boomer (Sharon Valeri) figure when she realizes she's a clyon and freaks out. Played by Grace Park, Boomer is a conflicted character that will receive several action figure incarnations.

This resin VIPER MARK II statue was another fun surprise. There's not much to say about it other than I'll be getting a bunch of em. There was also a CYLON RAIDER to scale with the VIPER and an exclusive SCAR cylon raider due out next year. You can see the prototype of the ADMIRAL ADAMA bust in the back. It looks better in person.

KATEE SACKHOFF

This is my time to brag about my 1 minute with Katee Sackhoff at the 2007 Grand Slam SCI-FI convention. She plays Kara "Starbuck" Thrace and had a hell of a season.

She's the most tormented character on the show and plays a big role in the Galactica finding earth. That's all I can say for now because that's all I know.

This is a still from the season 3 cliffhanger fiinale.

Here's an autographed card I luckily pulled from the trading card packs. It's worth $175 online.

This is from a episode where Apollo and Starbuck almost suffocate when the shooting range is sealed off and begins to decompress.

They try to shoot out the window on the door but can't lift their guns. Apollo finally grabs Starbuck's hand and together they blast the door open.

I asked Katee if she would recreate the scene with me (she didn't call security so I knew she was cool with it). I was the envy of everyone in line after this MEGA DORKY request. She was a great sport.

Then I was able to take a normal shot like the rest of my fellow peers.

Jamie and Katee ragged on eachother the entire time on stage and gave great insight to their tumultuous on screen relationship and the season 3 finale.