Collector's Case

Collector’s Case

What’s Collector’s Case?

Collector’s Case is an app I wrote that allows you keep track of your action figure collection. It allows you to keep specific information on your pieces, share your pieces, and honestly works exactly how I want to track my collection (I mean I wrote it after all). I have a lot of fun plans for the app and hopefully get to implement them all in the future.

You can find it here on the App Store. Collector's Case

App Store Description

Do you keep up with your Action Figure collection using a spreadsheet? Wish it could do more? Collector’s Case is designed to allow you to track YOUR toys and your collections in ways that work for you. You can keep track of specific items, add pictures of them, and add details for each item.

It was designed to showcase your actual toys and collectibles. Have that rare prototype? Rocket Firing Bounty Hunter? Maybe even everyone’s favorite mouse on everyone’s favorite Commander. What about that Sliced Bread Barbarian? Showcase YOUR items and not someone else’s pictures and stock images. Keep the information you want listed!

Need to dig up some information on your collection quickly? You can do an “Advanced Search” using specific details you need. Imagine you are at a convention and need to know which of your figures are not complete? If you added the detail on whether an item is complete or not, you can quickly do a search and see everything that’s complete or incomplete!

I designed Collector’s Case to let me track my own collection, and hopefully it allows you to track yours too. I have been using a spreadsheet for years but wanted more out of it. I wanted to add pictures, for it to sync across all my devices, easily accessible and readable at conventions (where wifi and data can be quite scarce) and a lot more. Collector’s Case fits all my needs and helps me keep everything sorted and displayed quite nicely. All the screen shots are from my own personal collection!

History

So back in like 2017 I started toying with ideas to make an app that would allow me to track all my GI Joes, Transformers, and toys in general. I toyed with it, worked on it and actually used it myself for a few years. I added features as I wanted them like pictures, sharing, search, etc and just made this for myself. After talking and encouragement from Brittany I finally embarked on preparing it for Apple’s App Store and on September 19th, 2023 I released it!

It's been a while

So obviously it’s been a while since I last posted. I actually started a bunch of posts but haven’t finished them. So faithful reader, what have I been up to lately? Well I finally released an app on the Apple App Store! I’ll be writing a post about my app soon so stay tuned!

GI Joe Retro FANG Review

   So the Retro Fang has probably been the most controversial release in the new GI Joe Retro line.  People are upset at the new design of the Fang and the new Fang Pilot.  People think that Hasbro should have just reissued the 25th Anniversary Fang and called it a day.  Luckily I have never owned a FANG (original or 25th. I still kick myself for not buying a 25th FANG too…) so I am going into this without any preconceived notions!

 So let’s start with the FANG itself.  According to the Hasbro Fan First Friday this is all new tooling.  I personally like the design of the little helicopter.  Throwing out all real-world usefulness (I mean it’s GI Joe!) I think it’s a nice design.  It reminds me of the Fangs in the show (I’m a show guy and I never read the comics).  I think the mold itself has some really nice detail work on it.  The engine is really nice, the rivet work is pretty detailed, rotors spin, the gun moves around, what more could you ask for?

Well everything isn’t perfect.  On one side there are 6 screw holes that are clear as day.  No attempt at trying to hide them, just some holes or screw in the side.    I’m not a fan of that at all.  Also the stickers need to be applied over rivets or other uneven parts.  This makes some of the stickers not look flush, and even start to lift over time.  Sadly , one of the large stickers that says FANG 76X3-6 was missing off my sticker sheet.  On the bright side it would have been placed over some rivets so at least I didn’t have to do that (have to look at the positives right?). I also found that it’s a little difficult to get the pilot in the seat, but after some wiggling, I was able to get him in there

 So now let’s move onto the Fang pilot.  This guy has been an interesting addition to the Retro Line.  So let’s start with the positives.  I really like the direction they seem to be heading with this figure.  There appears to be a lot of good detailing, and I really like the way his mask integrates with his vest.  I personally like how his mask is molded onto the figure so that it looks natural.  No use in a design for a head under the mask, if I’m just going to display the guy with his mask on most of the time.  (Your mileage may vary here) The vest is a tight fit and it doesn’t appear to have any “snaps” on it.  So, this makes it more streamlined and tight on the figure.  Now I also imagine if I wanted to take it off, it’s going to make it much more difficult.  But I tend to keep my figures with their original equipment, so it works for me.

 I mentioned it before, but I really like the head on this mold.  The mask is really nice with some nice detailing.  The helmet is removable and a nice piece.  I do wonder however how well a helmet like this would work in an open cockpit helicopter though…. doesn’t seem very practical…. So the pilot’s hair is pretty detailed, but I’m not big on the look.  It’s nicely detailed but it looks like the hair on Retro Crankcase.  Just not a fan of the style, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad design.  At least he keeps his hair styled under his helmet!

 So now onto some criticism!  First and foremost, his limbs appear to be in weird proportions.  His arms appear really long, and his feet appear rather large.  If you fix those, I think the sculpting would be spot on.  Now I did have a major issue with the characters left arm/elbow.  The elbow appears frozen or stuck.  This appears to be a widespread problem.  I had to boil water, put the pilots left arm in the water for about 30 seconds, pull it out and wiggle it, and then cooled it back off.  After that the arm has been moving with no issues.

So, the blue coloring of the pilot seems “off” on what it usually is for Cobra.  Usually, it’s a more navy blue and this appears to be more towards an indigo.  I am curious how the Cobra Commander blue will match with him.  There isn’t a Cobra emblem anywhere visible on the figure itself.  There appears to be one on the right side of the guy’s chest, but it is hidden underneath the vest.  I would have liked to have seen it as an arm patch or somewhere on the vest but it’s not a game changer for me.  Also where’s the dude’s stand?  Not really a big issue because he will always be piloting my FANG but no stand is a bummer. 

 So overall I like the new FANG and pilot but I’m not in love with it.  Some small details keep me from loving it.  I do like that I’m able to buy new Joe vehicles again which I do like.  I like the detail and sculpting of the pilot, but his proportions make him a bit off.  Hopefully those get fixed because I’m seeing where a lot of potential can come from this pilot and his helicopter.  

GI Joe Retro A.W.E. Striker Review

So my preorder for the AWE Striker finally came in and now it’s time to give it a review! Let me start this off by saying that I have never owned a modern AWE Striker. I’ve read that this is the same as the 25th Anniversary AWE Striker, but it won’t impact my review at all. So here we go!

So we can start with a quick write up on the packaging. The box looks like it was pulled straight off the shelf from when A Real American Hero was still new. You get some nice artwork and you can see Crankcase through the box. Packaging gets an A+. Now I open all my figures so packaging doesn't really matter to me, but it’s still really nice.

So putting the AWE Striker together was simple. I had to apply stickers and I HATE adding stickers, but they look really good. The stickers were not numbered and some of them were hard to see/find on the sheet, but that’s a small issue to overcome. Over all getting it completed was pretty simple.

Now that she is together we can really take a look. I really like the look of the AWE Striker. It has the nice “retro” look and does a really job looking like a modern update of a classic vehicle. I think the white decals really pop off the green shell. I hope the stickers on the roll bars manage to stay on and don’t eventually start to pop off. The back engine comes off and everything looks really nice. The suspension feature is pretty nifty. The plastic gives it a nice “spring” when the chassis compresses. Sure it’s not needed, but it’s a really nice touch. I’m not quite sure what the hose from the passenger seat thing to the gun is. I think it’s supposed to be how the passenger aims and controls the gun up top. Either way it looks cool. I do prefer this vehicle over the Vamp because it to me it has a lot more play value.

The AWE Striker came with a vehicle drive, Crankcase. So I never had the original Crankcase, but it is a nice figure and the colors are really bright and stand out. I have NO idea if it reuses any parts because I’ve never nit picked my Joes down to that level. I tend to either like them or I don’t. I like this mold, but I’m not crazy about his hair. Lucky for me he comes with a helmet and I don’t have to see it so it doesn’t bother me. The helmet is a really nice piece and he has some nice web gear. I do know the original Crankcase had a mustache and this guy has a beard. I would have preferred if he had a mustache to match the original because I would say 90% of my collecting is all nostalgia based anyways. While I never had the figure, I would like them to be nice modern updates to the originals. I would have liked a weapon with the guy, but he is always going to be driving this vehicle so it’s not an issue.

So there was something pretty major missing from the vehicle, but I think this really applies to the whole line so far…. There were not any blue prints included and the file card was rather lame. These are minor things, but as far back as I can remember file cards and blue prints have been a part of the GI Joe line. The “file card” on the box has a short little saying and then it has the same thing in multiple languages. (I mean I’m guessing it says the same thing…). I guess Hasbro is saving money by being able to use the same box in different countries, but I just feel like something is missing. Minor complaints but I just don’t want GI Joe to lose its soul.

Over all I really like this and it’s a new Joe vehicle. I hope the Retro line really continues so that I can get more vehicles like this! While this AWE Striker may just be a reuse of an old mold it’s still a lot of fun. I now have a vehicle that I didn’t and it looks good. Not only do I get a new vehicle I get a new Joe to add to my team. Now if I can get them to repaint it as an Eco Striker to match the one I had many moons ago! Now that would really get me excited!

GI Joe Retro Collection!

So Hasbro finally announced their Retro Collection yesterday! It’s a small wave that consists of Snake Eyes, Storm Shadow, Baroness, a Hiss Tank, and an Awe Striker. While most of this is stuff we have seen before (now packaged differently) it is still exciting to me. While the 6 inch Classified Line looks good, and I got the Convention Exclusive Snake Eyes, I just don’t think the 6 inch line will be for me. I might pick and choose a few figures here and there, I won’t really be buying many. The 3.75/4 inch line is where my heart is and not to mention they have VEHICLES!

I was able to secure a Hiss Tank, Storm Shadow, and Snake Eyes from Walmart on preorder but was unable to grab an Awe Striker or Baroness grrrrrrr. I’m hoping that I’ll be able to find them once everything is released in October. I’m also hoping everything won’t be Walmart exclusives because it makes it just that much harder to hunt down! Not to mention I like order from Hasbro Pulse and other sites when I can.

I think the figures they chose for the initial run are good and I’m looking forward to grabbing some vehicles I wasn’t able to grab in the 25th line. I still want a Mobat and a few others. I’m hoping we see a release of a lot of that stuff and hopefully some new vehicles and figures! I’m not really big on the figure packaging (but I’ll withhold final judgement until I have them in hand), but the vehicle packaging is top notch! But who keeps their figures in the packaging anyways?

Now if only Hasbro will do a GI Joe Haslab…. I still want that General! But I’d settle for anything right now!

Yo Joe!

My Entrance into 3D Printing

So for Christmas Brittany surprised me with a 3D printer. Now I’ve been eyeing getting one for a while, but never pulled trigger. I don’t even know if I even mentioned to Brittany that I wanted one…. Well she read my mind and there’s no turning back now! I keep going through Thingiverse and finding more and more and more things I want to print. I’m amazed at all the models people have created, and even more amazed that I can make all this stuff at home.

So far I think I’ve made more stuff for Melody than I have myself. She keeps wanting to check to see if my printer is finished to see what we made. I’ve been able to find a lot designs online that she wants to make and she plays with a lot of them. Did you know that the Paw Patrol enjoy riding in the Walt Disney World People Mover? Me neither, but she makes it happen with the stuff I’ve printed! I’ve made some GI Joe stands and stuff like an awesome Mandalorian helmet.

Now that I’ve really figured out how to control the printer and do some fun stuff with it, I want to move onto making my own models. I’ve got some ideas, but this whole 3D design world is totally new for me. Hopefully I get to a point where I can share a lot of what I’ve designed. Maybe this is how I finally start making my own action figures! Until then I will continue to search Thingiverse and make a lot of stuff I don’t need.

6 inch GI Joes?

So there are rumors swirling for new 6 inch GI Joes. I’m having all sorts of mixed feelings on this topic. I’m super excited that Hasbro is making new GI Joes, but I’m worried it’s going to be a short lived thing. I’m a 3.75 / 4 guy at heart and so a bigger line doesn’t have me that excited. Plus how will I be able to get vehicles for all these new Joes? Those will be massive! I’m pretty sure the Mrs is not going to approve an add on for the house for more GI Joes…. But I am going to take a wait and see approach (if all the rumors are actually true).

Maybe Hasbro will do both 3.75 inch figures AND a 6 inch line. Is this what the 12 inch guys felt like in 82?????

Power Rangers Lightning Collection

Hasbro has announced the new Power Rangers Lightning Collection. They are the Power Rangers version of the Star Wars Black Series. The first wave has the White Ranger (Mighty Morphin), Red Ranger (Dino Charge), Lord Zedd (Mighty Morphin), and the Shadow Ranger (SPD). On Saturday Hasbro dropped the surprise that we will be getting Goldar in the Lightning Collection, but he is going to be a Game Stop Exclusive. I hate exclusives, but hey at least we seem to be getting cool figures right! As a true Mighty Morphin Power Rangers fan I only care about the White Ranger, Lord Zedd and Goldar. The rest are just… not on my purchase list.

I’m really curious how these are going to compare to my SH Figuarts rangers. I have the complete Mighty Morphin Power Rangers set (red, blue, black, yellow, pink, green, and white). I think the SH Figuarts figures are the best version of the rangers that have been made. The posability and detail I think is outstanding. The one thing I am excited about with this line is that there will be some villains for my rangers to battle. That was something my SH Figuarts were missing. I mean who are they going to fight? Right now they just do cool poses on my shelf…

They all look really impressive. They look very similar to my SH Figuarts figures. I consider that a very good sign, but only time will tell. These look to be A LOT cheaper than my SH Figuarts and I’m always about saving money! Mostly cause I’m cheap…

Hasbro Pulse Premium

On Friday Hasbro introduced Hasbro Pulse and Hasbro Pulse Premium..

“Hasbro Pulse is a place where fans come first.

As fans ourselves, we have an idea of what you – our fans – want. Hasbro Pulse is where you’ll find some of the best product offerings and experiences from the brands you love, a glimpse at more behind-the-scenes material and insider details that you can’t get anywhere else.

We made Hasbro Pulse with you, the fans, in mind. We hope you’ll make it your first stop when you’re looking for insider info about your favorite Hasbro brands.
”

It is essentially nothing more than the Hasbro Toy Shop. But that wasn’t the interesting part or the big news. Not only did Hasbro open the shop, but they also introduced Hasbro Pulse Premium.

“Want free standard continental U.S. shipping for the balance of 2019? Join Hasbro Pulse Premium. Just make a purchase between now and 2/23/19.* And free shipping isn’t all, we have some other perks planned just for our best customers.

Hurry, this offer won’t last long! (Starting 2/24/19, there will be a $50 enrollment fee.)

Free standard continental U.S. shipping for the rest of 2019.
Monthly Premium-only discounts & flash sales.
Other perks throughout the year at select fan conventions & more.
”

I’m really interested to see if Hasbro Premium is going to be worth the money. Is it going to mostly be free shipping? Will there be exclusive figures? I have trouble right now seeing it being worth $50. It says convention perks, but I never go to SDCC or Hascon (and I doubt most of us do). I hope it is, and I hope that it’s something I can join and feel it’s worth it. Maybe it’ll give me access to the SDCC and other convention exclusives, which would be great! I like that Hasbro is trying something different, but let’s hope that they follow through and make it worth it.

Time Tunnel Toys

So I was recently in the San Jose, CA area on a trip and wanted to see if I could find a vintage toy store.  I started doing some Googlefu and came across Time Tunnel Toys.  After battling the endless horde of California traffic, I finally made it.

The store was a small, quaint shop in a shopping center.  Once inside, the store was filled with shelves and shelves of vintage toys, memorabilia, and fun stuff.   All the shelves have a glass door on the front that you have to ask to get unlocked.  It reminded me of trying to get a Nintendo game from Walmart.  You have to find an employee with the magic key!

I spent a good while going through the store just in awe of the collection.  I mean, if left to my own devices and a much much much larger budget, I’m sure this is what my closet would look like.  There was awesome stuff EVERYWHERE.  I found classic Power Rangers, Transformers, GI Joe, Star Wars, Star Trek, Nintendo games, Thundercats, and sooooo much more.  I couldn’t figure out an organizational system, but things did seem to be grouped in some spots.  I mean most of the GI Joe stuff was together, but you’d find a random vehicle or figure in other cases.  I can’t tell if it’s a diabolical way to get you to go through the whole store to find more stuff to buy, or if there is just so much stuff they gave up on the super organization.  Or maybe the toys are just like the toys in Toy Story and like go hang out in different spots all the time.  Either way I had A LOT of fun looking through the cases.

So naturally while going through everything I found the GI Joe collection.  Well most of the GI Joes anyways…. So I found the man with the magic key Cue Zelda key finding music and had him open the case for me.  This revealed the one part of the store I did not like, an employee stood over/around me the whole time I was digging through the vintage GI Joes.  Now he didn’t bother, try to rush me, or anything, but it was still a bit awkward.  I figure they do that to help prevent theft…. It didn't slow down my hunt through the old Joes though!  I did buy one to make it worth my time.

Overall I had a lot of fun going through and looking at everything.  I took a few pictures of random parts of the store to show to friends.  I posted them below so you can see all the fun stuff.  I recommend the visit if you like action figures, vintage stuff, or just want to see some original stuff. 

The End of Voltron: Legendary Defender

Some Voltron: Legendary Defender Spoilers Below!  Beware!

Well I finally did it.  I watched the last season of Voltron: Legendary Defender on Netflix.  I have to say that I was impressed.  The show closed all story arcs, gave a satisfying ending for all characters, and was very satisfying.

As the season progressed the stakes really increased.  Seeing what Haggar/Honerva had planned was pretty heartbreaking.  All she wanted was to have the perfect life with Lotor and Zarkon.  She manipulated those poor Altean people to help her.  Once she figured out she couldn’t have that life, no matter what reality she was in, she kind of snapped and tried to destroy all reality.  I mean makes sense right?  It’s not like she was the cause of her not being able to have that life originally right?  It’s not like her drive for Quintessence caused all this…. So I guess destroying anything and everything because you were a bit obsessive makes sense right…

Now the part I liked the most were the mech fights.  Voltron vs Honerva’s mech was great.  I love some good mech combining action and seeing Voltron combine was the Atlas (Volas?  Altron? Super Voltron?) was great.  I loved the new mech that was formed.  Sure you kinda have to let the science/technology part go.  I mean all machines are made with magic right?  Either way the mech and fighting action were great.

Each character had a great ending and it was explained.  I think my favorite was Hunk creating a culinary squad to spread peace.  That made me laugh.  Peace through food!  Everyone loves food!  Allura sacrificed herself to save all existence, but she did what was needed and she went to be with her family.  Shiro got a happy ending and Lance found peace and happiness, even if it was without Allura. :(.  Keith did what Keith does best, and Pidge/Katie’s family became the leaders the coalition needed.

Over all I loved the Legendary Defender series.  I think DreamWorks did an amazing job and bravo for Netflix for putting this out!  With Netflix putting out new versions Voltron and She-Ra, I hope that they push more properties from my childhood in this direction.  I mean who is ready for some Heman, Thudercats, Dino-Riders?  (Ok Dino-Riders should be at the bottom of the list)  And if we were truly lucky, a new version of GI Joe based on ARAH (Similar to GI Joe: Resolute).  Either way, Bravo DreamWorks/Netflix.  I loved it!

The Need for an iMessage API

So like everyone else with an iPhone I'm a pretty heavy iMessage user.  I love having the ability to use it on both my iPhone AND my Macs.  I like that it's encrypted so that random people can't snoop over an open wifi spot.  I also like that just about everyone I know is on the service.  The only thing I think it's missing?  An API.

I would love it if Apple provided an API or protocol for access to iMessage.  I really like the Messages app on the phones, but I wish I could use a different app on my Mac.  I use the Mac app because it's my only choice.  I would LOVE to be able to hook iMessage into Adium or a similar app.  I think this could really open up a lot of possibilities for apps.

Other possibilities are that a fully open API would open up would be other layers of encryption if you wanted them. Services like Adium provided encryption across services like AOL (RIP) and Yahoo (RIP), so it could stack that on top of Apple’s built in encryption. I don’t think it’s really needed, but having that option would be great.

Remember how when Twitter started it had a completely open API? There were TONS of clients and a ton of innovation. I would love to see that same sort of environment around Apple’s Messages. It would even be a really easy way for them to expand onto Android. Someone else would end up making a client for it. Of course let’s all hope that if Apple went this way that they don’t go down the Twitter route and then lock everyone out.

Pandemic Legacy: Season 1

So you enjoy board games? Have a really consistent group you play with? Think you’re pro level Pandemic players? Well Pandemic Legacy is the game for you. It’s ever evolving and can be down right brutal. You’ll love it!

Warning! There are very minor spoilers below, but if you want to be 100000% spoiler free I suggest you not really read anymore…

Pandemic Legacy starts off just like the regular game.  There are a few minor rule differences (like marking panic levels and adding player scars) but nothing that seems difficult.  My group can regularly win normal Pandemic with 6 epidemics, so how bad could this be?  I mean we were only given 5 epidemics so we expected an easy game.  We were wrong.

The game started off fine.  We were doing really well.  I was playing as everyone's favorite Dispatcher, and we had the game well in control...  and then the epidemics started... and then the outbreaks happened...  Being the dispatcher I was able to position everyone to fully control it... and then I got a scar.... and another scar... and the next thing I knew my character was dead.  All from one epidemic... That's right we lost the Dispatcher in game one.  Pandemic Legacy was going to be a lot different.  All our choices matter now.  (To be fair I made an awesome move to save the game as the Dispatcher, and then some bad bad epidemic action happened.  RIP Mr Dispatcher)

Each month marched along and new things happened.  The game was constantly changed around us and we were having to constantly change our style of play.  Every time we started to really get control of the current situation and rules, we were thrown new curve balls.  I mean viruses mutated, new structures were added, we had new objectives to find people, it was insane.  We made a lot of iffy decisions that sometimes paid off in big big ways later down the road, or caused us massive heartache and problems.  This caused our group to literally over think EVERYTHING.  Crucial moves caused arguments, divorce papers to be drawn up, friendships to be destroyed, and it was all worth it and a lot of fun.

The only thing I didn't like was trying to keep up with all the rule changes.  When you play the same game with slightly varying rules, every game, it can get confusing.  I mean even the characters were constantly changing with new upgrades and/or scars which change the way they can be played.  We literally forgot to use new upgrades we could use for games at a time.  We made a few rule mistakes, but it didn't cause any long term issues.

Our gameplay turned super conservative as we played and we did everything we could to avoid scars on our characters.  In fact we only lost one other character through the game...  and by we I mean me... RIP Mr Solder...  So I was playing both of the characters that we lost.  I guess I'm like the harbinger of death to the characters I play.  We improved our standard Pandemic game understanding immensely.  We got to where we could pretty much calculate where the epidemics would fall and what cities would be drawn during the later portion of games.  It really created new ways to look at and understand the game.

I highly recommend anyone that enjoys board games to find a group and play through it.  I don't know that there is a lot of replay value because you'll know all the twists and turns.  I enjoyed being a part of an evolving story and our decisions mattered and caused long term effects on the game.  Now onto Pandemic Legacy Season 2!  I hope to give a game by game write up on Season 2 (I didn't think to do it for Season 1 until we were pretty much finished with the game)

GI Joe Collectors Club Final 12: Slaughter's Marauders Arrived!

So I was a member of the GI Joe Collectors Club in 2018, but opted not to renew this year. The club was closing up shop in January and I didn’t see the point of paying for only a few months left. I was a bit bummed that I wouldn’t be able to purchase one of the Final 12 sets, but I would live. Sure my Slaughter’s Marauders convention set would be incomplete, but maybe I would get lucky in the future and find them cheap (hahahaha) at a convention or eBay. And then a couple dominos fell in the right direction!

The Club sent an email that said

As of today, all former G.I. Joe Collector's Club members can log in and order items from the store.  We still have stock of the latest figures: The Final 12, Zartan and the Night Stalkers Female Troopers.

So this means that I can order some of the sets! So I took a little money I got for Christmas and boom, Low-Light and Barbecue would be joining my Slaughters Marauders! I received them today and they look good! I’ll hopefully be taking them out soon! I’ll be sure to take some pictures of them with the whole crew!

Low-Light and Barbecue

New Twitter Account for Code Name Rebel

I finally set up a twitter account for the blog! You can find it @CodeNameRebel

GI Joe 365

I wanted to leave a note about the GI Joe 365 art project. Artist Christopher Hemsworth has been doing unique drawings of each GI Joe figure and posting them on his site. He even has some vehicle drawings! When it first started he was doing about a figure every day or so, but he has dramatically slowed down. I’m hoping he doesn’t get bored and finishes the project out!

I ordered some art for my office from his site.. I received it and it is great quality. I’ll post pictures as soon as I can get it framed and up. If you are a fan of GI Joe than visit his site at GI Joe 365. You won't regret it.

Moving from Objective C to Swift

So I think I’m finally going to attempt to make the transition from Objective C to Swift. I’ve been putting it off for a long time, and I finally have a new project I’m going to piddle with, so it seemed like a good time. I’m a bit sad because I’ve finally become pretty proficient in Objective C and leaving it for Swift will be tough. I don’t write Objective C for work or anything, so everything I have done with it has been at home. This means it takes me longer to get up to speed on everything because I play with it in my free time. I have VERY little free time right now so it means it will be a slow learning experience.

So far I have been able to do everything I want with the Apple APIs but I think its just a matter of time until that isn’t the case. If this really slows down my project or myself (aka I move at like CS101 type pace) than I am definitely going to be switching back to Objective C until I’m forced to give it up.

Hopefully this is a smooth process… wish me luck!

TripMode for macOS

I recently had to go on a trip where my wifi was super limited.  We were allocated 2gb of data a week over wifi.  Now I don’t know if you’ve ever really paid attention to your data usage on your laptop/desktop, but you’ll eat through that FAST.  It feels like everything on your laptop is calling home, trying to update, etc.  I was trying to find a way to really limit my data usage.  I did some googlefu and stubbled across an app for macOS called TripMode.

TripMode allows you to limit network access to only the apps/processes that you want.  I limited mine to pretty much only the services I needed. If I needed something I turned it on and then immediately turned it off.  It worked wonderfully.  It will even alert you when an unauthorized app has tried to connect to something. TripMode recognized that the network I was on the one that needed to be metered, and auto turned itself on. 

While you have the app turned on you can tell how much data I have used for the session, day, week, or month.  When the app is metering data, you can have it alert you after you’ve used a certain amount.  I had an alert set up when I passed 1gb, so I knew to be extra careful.

TripMode was well worth the money if you are ever in a situation where you need to really limit your data usage.  It would be great when using a wifi hotspot, travel where data is limited, or if you just are really a stickler about your data usage.  It was well worth my $7.99.

2018 GI Joe Convention Day 4

So today was a pretty slow day, but that's to be expected the last day of a con.  We only had one planned panel for the day. We started out going through the vendor room to see if there were any  new deals.  I didn't find anything truly spectacular that I wanted so we hung out for a while.  We ate our lunch and sat around outside the panel room for a while.  Melody really enjoyed herself and actually made a few friends!  While she played I went and bought some of the Complex Base Building sets.  I can't wait to get these set up!

The one planned panel we had was The Last Panel with the G.I. Joe Collectors’ Club Staff.  This was the most crowded panel yet.  Being the final panel for the GI Joe club it wasn't that surprising.  Everyone seemed pretty excited and then the club dropped the surprise announcement of some new figures.  There will be 12 final figures.  The goal is obviously to try and complete some sub teams before the end of the club.  It was rather exciting and the crowed was really excited.  Slaughter's Marauders Low Light and Barbecue are the figures I want the most.  I would have liked them in my convention set, but at least they are out there now!  It was a rather fun surprise from the club.  After the announcements they started a slide show from the past conventions, but this was my first Joecon so I didn't find it terrible interesting.  The Joecon regulars really appeared to enjoy it.  That's the point right?  After that they started the farewell speeches from the members and the GI Joe Club staff.

After that I made a quick run through the vendors, grabbed a quick figure on a good deal, and then we headed out.  It was a great convention and we had a great time!  I'm sad that it's the last Joecon because I would have enjoyed going to more of these. But as they said this is just an end of a chapter and a new chapter will start!

2018 GI Joe Convention Day 3

We just returned from Day 3 at Joecon.  Today was A LOT more laid back.  We actually started the morning at the Children's Museum so that my daughter could play, and then made it over to the convention around lunch.  We ate lunch and then headed to the panels!

We went to the G.I. Joe . . . From the Trenches, the Final Chapter! with Kirk Bozigian and Larry Hama.  I thought this was a fun panel.  I liked hearing the synergy between the marketing and the comics.  It was genius and definit explains why GI Joe was considered THE boys toy to have.  I thought Kirk and Larry did a good job talking and answering all the questions that were thrown their way.  Great and fun panel.  I also would have loved to see the Cobra Island play set they said they thought about doing.  It sounded HUGE.  Haslabs maybe?  

After that we did Vehicle Design, Prototyping and The Discarded with David Kunitz.  This was probably the panel I was looking forward to the most.  I have to say it looks like the had a ton of fun making toys.  I liked seeing how the vehicles evolved from concepts to the final product and such.  I figured Brittany would also enjoy this panel because of all her crafting.  They gave away some vehicle molds to people that could answer super specific trivia in the crowd.  Apparently the numbers on the vehicles were never as random as they appeared.

We tried to make an exit back to our hotel and skip the vendor floor today once the panels were over.  Right when we got to the door to catch our bus, the winds and rain appeared.  We are talking INSANE winds.  It was quite crazy.  So instead of standing in the super high winds and pouring rain we decided to get a snack and then stroll through the exhibits and the vendors.  The exhibits were rather impressive.  The people with the displays can do some mega impressive work.

The vendors were WAY less crowded today.  That's a good thing (for those of us that didn't want to fight the crowds), but if you are looking for something super mega rare, you probably should have gotten it yesterday.  We mostly walked around and looked at everything.  We did stop to talk to the guys who make the Complex Base Building System.  Their booth wasn't packed at the moment and I was intrigued.

The Complex Base Building System is really cool.  You can essentially build really elaborate dioramas with it, GI Joe bases, Star Wars bases, etc etc.  Really cool stuff.  One of their employees, George, stood around and talked to us for a while.  He showed me how the system works and now I kinda want one...  I've never been one to build dioramas, but I'd be tempted...  If I pick up some tomorrow I'll definitely have to write about them.  They also told me about some stuff coming up in future ways.  Seriously cool and if you have some figures you need to check it out.  Their stuff can be found at SmallJoes.com.

Over all we had a nice laid back day.  We hit the panels I was interested in and strolled around.  As with yesterday's experience (minus the parachute drop) everyone has been really friendly.  Tomorrow will be the last day and I'll grab any last figures and such that I'm trying to get.

I finally got to look at my figures when we returned from convention.  I had to check them all out to make sure that they were assembled correctly.  You have to get that resolved before the convention is over.  I played with the Laser Viper some.  He is definitely my favorite figure of the pack.