Angry Rant on P-Bandai Gunpla Wish List

Happy New Year and FUCK P-Bandai, they just can’t stop releasing exclusive and limited stuffs. Not to mention it’s getting ridiculous rolling out more than ever and some doesn’t make sense like selling different colors. The most unimaginable so far are seeing previous limited kits getting reissue. There are good and bad. The good is always having another chance to buy in case you missed previously. The bad, I personally find the release date bad timing and crash with the newly announce kits. Putting me in a tough position either spend more or skip for next month.

HGUC Efreet Kai (Blue Destiny)

I already had a bad feeling when they released Efreet Kai as RE 1/100 category and then seeing the pinky Efreet Nacht as limited released. Now the pinky Efreet Nacht get HGUC retail treatment and the Kai get slap with limited released. This is just so fuck up by P-Bandai. Beware, Efreet Schneid was already showcase at Gundam Tokyo Base, the question remain if might be next P-Bandai.

HGUC EWAC Jegan

We hardly had much EWAC design release so far. It’s good to know EWAC Zack no longer alone but seeing EWAC Jegan landed as limited release really does piss me off. The price itself even cost more than Proto Stark Jegan. I do hope we get good value unused parts, other than getting extra weapons.

HGBF Weiß Sinanju

There’s nothing special about Weiß Sinanju other than only two new melee weapon and with different shield. I don’t see any new armor mod or whatsoever. All the original equipment's are included since it sell nearly 4,000 YEN in retail. My question will always be WHY THE FUCK NO STEIN for HGUC!?!?!

HGBF GN-X IV

GN-X IV announcement indeed was a good news when Bandai didn’t fucking bother to release retail after the last Gundam OO movie and now they decided to juice more money by listing as HGBF limited. 3,000 YEN is way too much when the old GN-X/X III only sold for 1,200 YEN. Even the Striker GN-X is better in my opinion for 1,700 YEN.

HGUC RGM-89 Jegan (Birnam Corps)

The Birnam Corps Jegan is a must have in the wish list. The new head with scope part and its unique weapon design really caught my attention. Problem here is all sold out and the availability are none so far from my sources. Hopfeully there will be another reissue. I am definitely going to hunt for three boxes at least because it got extra visor part inside.

HGUC Atlas Gundam – Thunderbolt Bandit Flower

As much I love Gundam Thunderbolt series. I can only see one new railgun design weapon and the rest same stuffs you from retail version. This is way too expensive for one new weapon. Are there water decal or new parts bundle inside we do not know? SKIP!

MG Gundam Hazel TR-01

Seriously, this is fucking original Hazel from Advance of Zeta in MG scale! Unimaginable that Bandai would release AOZ theme after so many years and I give them a rant pass on this. What interest me was the mod indicates that we might see Advance Hazel in the future. Oh I am sure the 3rd party may be working the parts right now.

C3 AFA Singapore - Bandai Booth #2

The Tamashii toys display booth located behind. Dragon Balls, Naruto, One Piece, Ultraman and few more Gundam figures were shown over there. No exclusive event Tamashii toys spotted there.

C3 AFA Singapore - Bandai Booth #1

Pff…can’t believe my two weeks relaxation and vacation just over like that. My mind is now more refreshing so let’s get into the AFA event detail. For starter, AFA is known as Anime Festival Asia and held at Singapore on 24th to 26th November 2017. Sadly, I can only attend the opening day because my flight to Cairns in Australia was tomorrow.

When There Is Crime, There is Con.

Took me a while to hold this post. I was waiting and making sure my new official receipt with warranty was received before I start saying anything. Nightmare? No, like a stupid joke. I really like this local computer shop and usually get quite a lot of stuffs from them for both personal and for company. After the bad warranty experience, I am now had to be extra careful dealing with them and reconsider new way to counter the problem.

What happen? My home wireless router two LAN ports suddenly went kaput last month and I couldn’t get it work again. The LAN ports is important because I have headless PC running taking advantage of the gigabit speed feature for file sharing. Since the wireless router cover three years warranty, I search for the receipt and send for replacement the next day.

The technician need to inspect confirming the problem before he could arrange the replacement. After few days, no news which is strange for the delay. I decided to call up for an update. The technician confirmed the problem, but then he told me the wireless router no longer cover with warranty. Excuse me? I asked him did you looked at the official receipt I gave to you? It says 36 months. He said yes but their system only register one year. My answer to him that’s not my problem. As long, I am holding the original receipt, you guys must honor it. Then he say they will investigate and get back to me soon the next day which btw already one week. The technician call up and gave me bad news they unable to find any replacement and similar model. Well, what are you guys going to do about it? You guys have to provide options and solutions.

Now, this is where they started to piss me off. First of all, I do not want to blame the technician. Apparently it was the mystery's idiot known as purchaser gave him the instruction. The offer here was forcing me topping up $60 to get different model. The stupid part, the warranty will continue up to May 2018. You can’t even provide me the replacement or refurbish device, even they don’t intend to send for repair. Why the fuck should I take that garbage deal that doesn’t make sense? The answer is no.

The only condition I will accept if they provide me new warranty deal for another two years by continuing the existing then we will call it even. I gave the purchase another week to reconsider. However, the answer say no after the PC technician told me and insist to pay for the top up. I told him I am giving one last chance to that idiot to think twice, if he/she can’t even offer me better options then I have no choice but to bring this to the consumer affairs department and let them deal with all these nonsense. As long, the official printed receipt is with me. My case against the computer shop are very strong and confidence that the official will agree that this was ridiculous deal when they were supposed to honor warranty replacement at no cost. Do the purchaser really want to fight with me and risk damage the shop reputation over $128.00 BND replacement? Nonetheless, the idiot think smart and the problem was settle with new warranty deal. Am I happy? Not really.

The way how the local computer shop handle the customers register purchase information has become clear to me they can replace the information anytime they want or likely where employee's may made mistake inputting wrong data. My strong advise was scan and keep your purchase receipts in good condition especially three years warranty devices. Make sure you keep one of their brochures (and promotions) with warranty information printed the better. These guys can simply say my device only cover with one year when the receipt printed three years. Can you imagine what happen if you lose it or the printed fonts fated in the receipts? Probably I will let you think the outcome yourself.

Should I Get OEM Gaming PC or Back with Build Your Own?

Building your own gaming PC usually is the most recommended route to take. But after MOF slap 5% tax in Brunei, my mindset have to change if I want to continue bringing parts from Singapore. The airport and the post office customs are becoming more active inspecting the stuffs coming into the country. So it’s not a joke if you get caught sneaking in and I’m sorry, 5% tax (reported more) is a fucking big deal to me right now.

I’m currently considered getting from the local computer shops. But who is the best should I source the parts from? Few of my friends recommend me Chong Hock computer and told me their price are quite reasonable. In order to find out whether its true or not, I went to their FB and PM for the quotation for CPU, motherboard, graphic card, their recommendation memory ram and power supply unit last week. What do you know, I was surprised the price they quote me.

They are unimaginable very competitive even I admit it was acceptable price you can get locally. Chong Hock also confirmed me their warranty follows the original manufacturer so it's a double plus. In case, you wonder what kind of hardware am I asking for. It’s the AMD Ryzen 1700X, MSI X370 Gaming Pro Carbon, MSI RX580 Gaming 8GB, lastly their recommendation Corsair 2666 (not sure which model) memory ram and Cooler Master V850 (modular type) power supply unit. All of these total cost around $1950.00 (BND). If I choose AMD Ryzen 1600X, the total cost would be 1,774.00.

Now, let’s compare to OEM gaming system everyone now could get in Brunei. With this money you can get an OEM Acer Aspire GX-281-1700 for $1,838.00. When you purchase from Netcom Computer House (September 2017 brochure), the bundle comes with 24” Gaming LED LCD monitor and Kingston Hyper X Cloud Stinger Gaming headset including free speaker (selected model). You are basically paying with all in one package deal.

Acer Aspire GX 281-1700 is an interesting and likely the most affordable gaming PC compare to Predator series. Not without sacrificing the performance and features. Yes, it has AMD Ryzen 1700X but the rest are basically downgraded and assemble with the cheapest hardware's Acer could put together. The AMD RX480 graphic card 4GB is okay, the motherboard reported using B350 model and chassis design only able to house two 3.5” (2.5”) HDD from what I see from the reviewer photos. The HDD expansion slots will be a future issue not unless I plan to buy dedicated NAS machine to host my files. I am environment friendly person and will continue to use existing PC for custom NAS running so nope.

I felt a bit surprise about the additional 24” Gaming Led LCD monitor. I deal quite a bit with Acer Aspire product and never failed to amaze me with the extra they willing to throw at. While the Acer Aspire GX 281-1700 hardware cannot really compete with the spec I plan to build (incomplete) above, the price and the stuffs you get really just unbeatable.

As for right now, I haven’t decided yet which path to choose. My aim are seeking the right PC gaming hardware able to last around 4-5 years. Yes, Acer Aspire GX 281-1700 does met the requirement and I can loan using credit card payment. Chong Hock computer require in cash payment. It just that I want to keep my spending minimum without regrets especially how do I going to reusing the existing good old Cooler Master Cosmos 1000 (I got two, mind yuo). There is no reason for me to get another chassis when you can’t even sell it off and recycle for money. I know my chassis are classic especially without or upgrade any USB 3.0 ports. Since I am flying to Singapore coming November, I will be heading to Cybermind hunt for DIY parts. From there onward, I may already have an answer for my need.

Its Time to Wear Sunglasses

Man, the global warming really no longer a joke, which is why the sun is really fucking killing my eye these days. I always told myself to get a pair but those sunglasses are freaking expensive and those cheap one in the street are not suitable for my eyes. Of course, I am aware those cheap brand lenses could be fake or something because it can cause your eyes and brain every uncomfortable. Whenever I look at the sunglasses, it remind me the CBS 60 minute cover story about the scambag company control the price worldwide. Seriously, fuck them.

One thing usually bother me a lot is my face. I have quite a big fat looking round face so it is kind of challenging finding match up sunglasses. Well, I actually took the risk going to any local shops to find and brought two pair Zerpico MOO:D sunglasses at crowdfunding websites instead. The price is indeed affordable and has the design quality in it.

HELO Wellness Band is the Technology Pyramid Schemes

Its being a while I start writing a post. But because Brunei now facing economics and high numbers of jobless problem. A lot of locals now desperate finding ideas, sell and startup business. What many do not know, the multi-level marketing are now taking advantages of such situation especially on health and make its way to technology category. The HELO Wellness Band is one of them.

I was at first curious about these band when I heard from my colleague asking me if I am programmer and then introduce me about this HELO Wellness Band thingy. It advertises as health and fitness technology product that have many features you don’t find by most current wrist band in the today market. Like measuring breathing rate, heart rate and able to send emergency SOS alert to your family or friends members if detect abnormal health activities. All this great stuff will cost you US$199.00. Not only that, Germanium Kit US$180.00, the band kit US$150.00 and lastly, the Helo LX Charger Adapter cost only US$10.00! OMG! The cheapest one!

Indeed, the technology these days without doubt able to perform such futuristic function. Sadly, I see Helo wrist band is nothing a more overpriced band trying to categories itself as luxury brand and trying to advertise its superior health monitoring features. The price of the separate kits are already a joke. The more I research this, the more shit shows up. First, let the Helo App speak for itself.

There you go, for entertainment purpose only and measurements are based on estimate calculation. So you are spending either US$199.00 or bundles that cost you from US$744-$1999.00 based on entertainment for an estimate measurements gadgets that may not be accurate? Don’t forget, you have to pay for Helo Pro plan for US$12.00 monthly to unlock bio analysis (*upcoming and not available, mind you). FISHY!!!

Obviously, Helo wrist band is just a piece of same fitness hardware sold in the market. You can even buy less than US$100 that possible come with same features if you look hard. Seriously guys, stop falling into the MLMs. Their pyramid structure will never disappear no matter how hard they try to cover. If you are so desperately for money, just be careful not to lose family and friends going that route.