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Archive for July, 2015

SDCC 2015 – Vikings Bludgeon Booth

Saturday, July 11th, 2015

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To promote their show ‘Vikings’ at San Diego Comic-Con, History channel has set up a “Bludgeon Booth” at the convention.

In the Bludgeon Booth, attendees get dressed up in Viking garb, choose their weapon, and, with all the strength and battle rage they can muster, slam the weapon down on a platform, upon which an attendant sprays them with red, sugary blood. This entire event is recorded in slow motion, mixed with footage from the show, and emailed to the attendee to do with as they wish. The above video is my own run through the booth; it was a lot of fun!

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What do attendees get for participating in the Bludgeoning Box, aside from the satisfaction of being coated in fake blood? A Vikings comic book, and a Vikings-branded drinking horn, which also allows the owner discounts on beer at select bars in the gaslamp district.

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Easily one of the best booths at this year’s SDCC. Makes ya want to buy some appropriately themed Nordic warrior shirts, some armor to go over ’em, and an ax to split heads.

SDCC 2015 – Exclusive ‘Cosmic’ Lootcrate Unboxing

Saturday, July 11th, 2015

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Loot Crate is a subscription service that provides customers with “a monthly box of geek & gamer gear”. Several plans are offered, from a single month to a year of continuous crates. The ‘Cosmic’ Lootcrate, however, is unique, as it can only be obtained at SDCC 2015, and is limited to only 2000 sets.

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Contained within the ‘Cosmic’ Lootcrate is:

  • SuperEmoFriends Aweeien Hoodie
  • Star Trek Challenge Coin
  • Hikari Translucent Stormtrooper
  • Star Wars Snapback Hat
  • 2015 SDCC Lootcrate Souvenir Pin
  • Certificate of Authenticity
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    Additionally, 20 of the ‘Cosmic’ crates featured a special “chase item”, a Space Invader Ballpoint Pen. Unfortunately, I didn’t receive one of the lucky crates, but even without the pen it’s a pretty solid selection of items.

    Remember Furby?

    Friday, July 10th, 2015

    Well, thanks to the magic of licensing, Hasbro will soon be releasing a Chewbacca-themed Furby named, appropriately enough, Furbacca. No word on whether the giant sized variant will be available for purchase.

    SDCC 2015 – Mega Bloks

    Friday, July 10th, 2015

    Mega Bloks line is also taking full advantage of some licensing their competitors wouldn’t ever consider adding to their fold.

      
    The Call of Duty line is progressing with some new building sets, including a set themed after the popular Zombies mode from the Treyarch games.

      
    The Halo line is also seeing a few new additions, such as this unnamed prototype set.

      
    Finally, the most exciting addition to the Mega Bloks line displayed at the show is the addition of T-800 head and arm model kits.  

      

    SDCC 2015 – BOOMco Licensed Halo Blasters

    Friday, July 10th, 2015

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    I don’t have a lot of experience with the BOOMco line, but licensing the Halo property to make a line of dart launchers is a strong move on Mattel’s part.

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    The line consists of several blasters modeled after iconic Halo weapons from both the Human and Covenant forces, designed to fire foam-tipped darts. A consistent claim throughout the packaging of the blasters is their capability to fire up to 70 feet.

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    This particular set, the USNC Covenant Battle Pack, is actually available for sale at the convention. I did manage to pick up a set, but I’ll have to wait until I get back to the headquarters before I do a hands-on review.

    SDCC 2015 – Exclusive ‘Creature’ Lootcrate Unboxing

    Friday, July 10th, 2015

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    Loot Crate is a subscription service that provides customers with “a monthly box of geek & gamer gear”. Several plans are offered, from a single month to a year of continuous crates. The ‘Creature’ Lootcrate, however, is unique, as it can only be obtained at SDCC 2015, and is limited to only 10,000 sets.

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    Contained within the ‘Creature’ Lootcrate is:

  • Godzilla t-shirt
  • Ghostbusters QPOP (1 of 4)
  • Ghostbusters Marshmallow Man
  • Weyland-Yutani Luggage Tag
  • Jurassic World Keychain
  • 2015 SDCC Lootcrate Souvenir Pin
  • A Certificate of Authenticity
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    Tomorrow, the contents of the ‘Cosmic’ Lootcrate will be unveiled on TFB.

    SDCC 2015 – WETA Workshop

    Thursday, July 9th, 2015

    WETA’s booth is chockfull of models and statues from some of their most popular projects, along with a few new things.

    There’s this display of props from the upcoming Krampus, appropriately enough releasing thos holiday season.

    There’s also a few sets of Alliance armor from the upcoming Warcraft movie, which if this setup is any indication will at the very least be a visually impressive film.

       
        

    SDCC 2015 – LEGO Booth – Hulkbuster Vs Hulk

    Thursday, July 9th, 2015

    There is an awesome showing at the LEGO booth this year, including the latest LEGO building sets, such as the new Jurassic world themed sets, and the ultimate Star Wars minifig collection. Perhaps the most impressive feature at the booth, however is the Hulkbuster vs Hulk sculpture.

      

    SDCC 2015 – DC Booth – Batman v. Superman: Dawn Of Justice Costumes

    Thursday, July 9th, 2015

    At the DC comics booth, there are displays of the costumes from the upcoming Batman versus Superman movie. Above is an image of the armored suit Batman will wear when facing off against Superman, inspired by the suit worn by Batman in the Dark Knight Returns. Also featured at the booth are the standard Batsuit, Superman’s outfit, and Wonder Woman’s outfit.

       
        

    Tactical Fanboy Is On Site At San Diego Comic-Con

    Thursday, July 9th, 2015

    Tactical Fanboy is on site at the San Diego Comic-Con International 2015.

    Tactical Fanboy Is In San Diego!

    Wednesday, July 8th, 2015

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    Tactical Fanboy is in San Diego for SDCC, which starts tomorrow. Remember, you can keep up with the coverage through the site, or through Instagram at instagram.com/tacticalfanboy.

    Daredevil – Elektra Fight Scene

    Wednesday, July 8th, 2015

    I wanted to start out my journey to SDDC with a terrible scene from a terrible comic book movie best forgotten: Daredevil.

    A few things to note:

    1) Yes, it’s even worse than you remember.
    2) This is the guy who’s playing Batman.
    3) Thankfully, there’s a far superior Daredevil series on Netflix to bleach your eyes with after watching this travesty…

    Tactical Fanboy Will Be Attending The 2015 San Diego Comic-Con International

    Tuesday, July 7th, 2015

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    Tactical Fanboy will be attending the 2015 San Diego Comic-Con International taking place July 9-12. I’ll be on the ground floor, covering the latest and greatest toys, comics, video games, and everything else the show has to offer. You can keep up with the coverage through the site, or through Instagram at instagram.com/tacticalfanboy.

    Battlbox – Welcome Kit Unboxing

    Tuesday, July 7th, 2015

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    Battlbox is another contender in the somewhat recent trend of monthly subscription boxes. As stated on the packaging, Battlbox offers “survival & tactical gear”, such as paracord, knives, water purification, packs, compasses, etc.

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    Rather than start customers off immediately at the current month’s box, Battlbox sends a universal ‘Survival Essentials Welcome Kit’. In all honesty, it seems more like a way to get rid of an excess of initial inventory rather than introduce customers to the system and brand. Inside were two cards: one explaining the theme of the box and the other listing off inventory with MSRP pricing. It was placed on top of a bed of straw, which also functioned as padding for the goodies within; the straw also made this the messiest subscription box we’ve ever dealt with, although the box does try to mitigate this annoyance a bit by asking to save said “all natural packing material” for fire tinder.

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    Battlbox works on a tier system. Customers are free to pay one of four flat fees per month to receive the appropriate level box. The tiers are: Basic, Advanced, Pro, and Pro Plus-KOTM (Knife of the Month). We sprung for the highest tier, Pro Plus-KOTM, to see everything that could be offered with a box. Included with the Starter Kit, within the appropriate tier levels, is:

    Basic

  • P-38 small military issue can opener
  • P-51 large military issue can opener
  • Starflash survival signal mirror
  • Emergency survival blanket
  • Gerber style waterproof survival fire starter
  • CRKT Eat’N tool
  • Advanced

  • FM 21-76 Army issue Survival Manual
  • Olive Drab GI Spec Lensatic Marching Compass
  • Tactical 300 lumen 3-mode flashlight
  • Pro

  • Aquamira Frontier Emergency Water Filtration System
  • Rotho Deluxe Solar Cell Phone Charger
  • Pro Plus-KOTM

  • Kershaw Cryo II Blackwash
  • Like most, if not all, of the subscription box systems, Battlbox does offer all the contents for less than if each item was purchased individually. It’s worth noting, however, that least as far as the Starter Box goes, there are no ‘Battlbox-exclusive’ items that really make the service worthwhile, like with, say, Lootcrate. To be fair, Battlbox is still a relatively new service, with the Mission 2 box dated for April 2015, so with time this could be a non-issue. Additionally, the items inside are functional and will work well enough within their intended scenarios. Regardless, we’re going to suggest that unless you’re a total Survival/Tactical/EDC or Subscription Box Fanboy, you hold off on this service for at least a little while.

    www.battlbox.com

    Here’s A Funny Image For You All

    Monday, July 6th, 2015

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    GoPro Announces New HERO4 Session Camera

    Monday, July 6th, 2015

    GoPro Launches HERO4 Session: the Smallest, Lightest and Most Convenient GoPro, Yet

    50% Smaller and 40% Lighter – HERO4 Session Combines Ultra-Compact Waterproof Design with Easy One-Button Control for Simple Yet Powerful Life-Capture Solution

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    SAN MATEO, Calif., July 6, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — GoPro, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRO), enabler of some of today’s most engaging content, is proud to announce HERO4 Session, the smallest, lightest, most convenient GoPro yet. 50% smaller and 40% lighter than GoPro’s best-selling HERO4 Black and Silver cameras, HERO4 Session packs GoPro’s Emmy® Award-winning image quality and performance into an exciting new low-profile form factor. HERO4 Session benefits from a durable waterproof design that eliminates the need for a separate housing and features simple one-button control to make capturing immersive photos and video quicker and more convenient than ever before. HERO4 Session is compatible with existing GoPro mounts and will retail for $399.99 MSRP at authorized GoPro retailers around the world and on GoPro.com beginning July 12, 2015.

    “With HERO4 Session, we challenged ourselves to produce the smallest, lightest, most convenient GoPro possible,” said Nicholas Woodman, GoPro founder and CEO. “HERO4 Session combines the best of our engineering and user-experience know-how to deliver our most convenient life-capture solution, yet.” Woodman adds, “I’m so excited about the launch of HERO4 Session because now I can finally use mine in public!”

    HERO4 Session captures GoPro-quality 1080p60, 720p100 and 1440p30 video along with eight megapixel photos in Single, Burst and Time Lapse modes. It features many of the same innovative features found in GoPro’s best-selling HERO4 Black and Silver cameras, including SuperView™, Protune and Auto Low Light recording modes. An expanded set of controls and settings can be accessed when using the GoPro App or Smart Remote.

    Operating HERO4 Session is very simple. A short press of the shutter button quickly powers the camera on and video recording begins automatically. A long press of the shutter button powers the camera on and triggers Time Lapse photo capture. Press the shutter button again to save video or photo content and power the camera off. This simple one button design drastically improves the speed and convenience of capturing life moments as they happen.

    HERO4 Session is built to GoPro’s famous rugged standards and is waterproof to 33 feet (10 meters). It features a sleek frame mounting system that is compatible with GoPro’s expansive array of mounts. An innovative dual microphone system dynamically switches sound recording between microphones to reduce wind noise during activities. Audio performance during water-based activities has been dramatically improved thanks to HERO4 Session’s waterproof design that eliminates the need for a separate waterhousing, which can often muffle sounds.

    “At GoPro, sound quality is as important as image quality and we’re very excited about the stunning audio advancements we’ve made with HERO4 Session during water-based and windy activities. It’s incredible what this little GoPro can capture,” remarked Woodman.

    HERO4 Session $399.99 MSRP

  • Stunning 1080p60, 720p100, and 1440p30 video
  • Waterproof to 33′ (10m), no separate housing required
  • Easy one-button control: short press of shutter powers camera on and begins capturing video, long shutter button press powers camera on and begins capturing time-lapse photos
  • Captures 8MP Single, Burst, and Time Lapse photos
  • Compatible with GoPro mounts and accessories
  • Dual Mic system captures enhanced audio during high wind and water-based activities
  • Built-in WiFi and Bluetooth® enable easy connectivity to GoPro App and Smart Remote
  • Auto image rotation corrects image orientation during recording
  • Includes standard and low-profile frame mounts for increased mounting versatility
  • New Ball Joint Buckle mount is included
  • gopro.com

    F-35B Doing A Ski Jump Launch

    Sunday, July 5th, 2015

    The real question is, can it handle the double diamond slope?

    Happy 239th Birthday, America!

    Saturday, July 4th, 2015

    Happy 4th of July! Enjoy the festivities, and remember, if you’re going to shoot, keep it pointed down range.

    Apemania – ‘Planet Of The Apes’ 10/22 Tribute Stock

    Friday, July 3rd, 2015

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    Make-up & Monsters Studios, under their ‘Apemania – A tribute to Planet of the Apes’ line, has produced a limited number of tribute stocks based on the gorilla carbine featured in the 1968 film ‘Planet of the Apes’, fitted for a Ruger 10/22 receiver and barrel. Pretty damn cool, although that extended magazine well looks like it might make loading smaller capacity magazines a bit of a chore.

    They also offer a tribute stock fitted for an M1 Carbine, based on the carbine featured in ‘Beneath the Planet of the Apes’.

    apemania.com/RUGER1022

    Loot Crate – June ‘Cyber’ Crate Unboxing

    Thursday, July 2nd, 2015

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    Loot Crate is a subscription service that provides customers with “a monthly box of geek & gamer gear”. Several plans are offered, from a single month to a year of continuous crates. The crate for June is the Cyber theme, and features ‘robotic and cyborg’ items.

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    Included within this month’s box is:

  • Prime T-shirt
  • Borderlands Zer0 Game Mat
  • Terminator Genisys Endo Skull Replica
  • Terminator Genisys Brain Chip Keychain
  • Future Replicant Corporate Logo Patch
  • Glow-in-the-dark Circuit Gadget Pouch
  • and best of all

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  • Battlestar Galactica Cylon Target Poster Set
  • www.lootcrate.com

    Survival Firestarter Paracord Bracelet / Paracord Keychain On Kickstarter

    Wednesday, July 1st, 2015

    Survival Paracord Keychain

    Intended as a companion piece to the Bomber Barrel Duffle Bag is the Bomber Survival Gear, Paracord Bracelet and Keychain. The keychain features Military-grade clips, with a built-in firestarter and emergency paracord. The bracelet also features paracord and a firestarter.

    www.kickstarter.com/projects/tmdesign/firestarter-paracord-bracelet-and-keychain-surviva