X Wing has landed! Propel Star Wars battle drone review

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away... fans of the Star Wars can only play their starfighters in die-cast but worry not as Propel made our dreams into reality. Propel Star Wars drone were launched last 2016 in United States and United Kingdom. Almost 70,000 units were sold during the first day and each unit costs around $200. Luckily, I won the #CreateCourage from Globe as part of the grand prize of Comics Club Philippines' 4th Anniversary and managed to get T-65 X-Wing. I'm part of the first people to own a Propel Star Wars drone in Asia.

Packaging

Consists of two boxes - Large/ Black is the outer box used for holding the whole unit.

Gray is the main container for holding the drone and sealed with special wax.

The box itself is pleasing to your eyes and can be displayed without showing the drone itself. The wax seal used has a rebel logo that gave more Star Wars vibe before opening the item. The real gimmick of the packaging is when you open it.

Aside from the introduction theme of Star Wars, it has an acrylic case to protect the drone and has flashing lights. Each time you re-place the cover of the box and open it, a new music track will play. It has a total of 4 music tracks and the display box is also rechargeable using the USB cable and wall adapter.

What's inside

- Pilot hand book
Contains everything you need about the force... I mean the X-Wing. Always read the manual first! It also have tips and tricks that can be used if you're going to battle other drones.


- Charger, USB Cable, Wall Adapter and 3 X-Wing batteries
Each battery will last around 6-8 minutes that's why they included extras. According to manual I should get only two but I have three batteries and one faux battery cover. Batteries are in the cockpit itself and can be locked for more protection.


- Protective Training Cage
If you're a beginner in flying RC units like me, I highly recommend to use training cage to further protect the propeller and it will serve as an additional when launching and landing.



- Propeller Multi Tool and Spare parts
Although designed for battles, X-Wing still needs spare parts in case of loss of propellers, screws and taim.





- 2.4 GHz Wireless Controller

Aside from controlling the X-Wing, the controller has a music mode feature that can play the "Star Wars Main Title", "The Battle of Endor 1", "The Throne Room", "The Asteroid Field", "Alliance Assembly", "Landos Palace" and "The Stars Await". A screw driver is included in the right side, a neck strap holder can also be found in the center, a headphone jack at the back and a smartphone holder at the top for the upcoming app by Propel.


- T-65 X-Wing
The main course! This hand painted X-Wing has built-in axis gyroscope that keeps it extremely stable in all conditions. A 4-channel flight controls that allow to do my favorite maneuver, 360 degrees roll. It has running lights for illuminating during low-light flight, barometric pressure sensor for fixed altitude hovering, auto-start and auto-landing functions. It has a T-mode for training beginner pilots and speed change for experienced pilots.

Battling the Dark Side with Rebel Alliance

The X-Wing comes with pre installed infrared transmitters and receivers as well as laser receivers. Apparently only one weapon can be used at a time, either infrared or aux weapons. When weapons are fired you will hear a sound from the controller's speaker. When battling it is best to fly during fine weather conditions and in a wide open space. With IR battling, infrared transmitters will send a signal and the infrared receiver beneath will register a hit. The life LEDcan be found in the upper part of the controller. Once X-Wing is synced, you will see 3 life LEDS glow red.

If you got hit for the first time, the ship will still continue on its current trajectory, but will rock back and forth twice left to right in a fluid motion. If you got hit the second time, that's the time that you should be cautious and be one with the force. Similar with the first hit but the movement will be more aggressive and unfortunately you only have 1 life left. If you got hit for the third time, bid farewell to your rebel allies and tell them "May the force be with them". Your ship will enter into auto land mode and will descend in a downward spiral.

Verdict

Definitely a must have for All Star Wars fan! The main selling point of the drone is the experience you gain by battling other drones. It's 10/10 for me and I can't wait for its launching here at Philippines. Thank you Globe Telecom, Comics Club Philippines and Propel. "May the Force be with you!"

This article is also posted on thegeekeryph.com

Tobecontinued - the mecha suit!

Clothing is considered as one of the basic needs of a man and if you're a geek and conscious of what type of shirt you wear everyday you might add Tobecontinued shirts to your wardrobe. Tobecontinued is a Philippine-based independent clothing store founded in January 2015. 

Most of the designs are inspired from the Japanese designs, mechas and pop culture. According to Niel Marcelino, owner of Tobecontinued, it started when he was a kid as he loves watching mecha animes such as Gundam, Macross and other 90's robot shows. As he grew up, he still have his passion for mecha animes. Now that he is a graphic artist and illustrator, he use his talent to put up the business and VOILA! Tobecontinued was born!

For the past few years, Tobecontinued participated from various events such as Rakrakan 2017 and Komikon to further reach out more fans. By February they will launch a new line featuring Star Wars Dark Side characters. I can't wait to see the final design of Kylo Ren!

Definitely a must have and don't forget to check them for more information and designs

Website: http://www.tbc15.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tobecontinuedapparel/

Twitter: @tbcapparel

Instagram: @tobecontinuedapparel

Photos used came from: https://www.facebook.com/tobecontinuedapparel/

Web swinging with Spidey

Last night I saw one shot done by Vernard Buce on his Facebook account with his mini plane and car. I asked him the behind the scenes so I could also try it today using my all-time favorite Marvel Legend figure, The Amazing Spider-Man! Unfortunately it's not the Pizza Spidey but this one is from the TASM 2 movie figure. Despite its eyesore waist problem I'm still digging this figure and I often use this as my subject in toy photography.

To get it started, I search first for a city with buildings that will served as my background. Then after deciding what to use, posing is next. What I love about toys is that you can pose any way you wanted to it's all up to your creativity to make it look nice and swag. 

I used blue tack to put Spidey in a gunpla stand so he can sustain the acrobatic pose that I did with his left hand in the front and ready to shoot his web. Last step is photo manipulation in Adobe Photoshop. I admit that I'm not fond of editing toy photos but tested it out and might as well improve my skills so I can create wonderful composite photos in the future. 

Here is the final output of the photo and I added web to make it look more realistic. Editing or post processing is one of the major fundamentals in photography and it might help bring out the potential of an ordinary photo. 

Follow me on instagram for more toy photography and art works @therenzoneproject

Gundam Barbatos Lupus Rex

Mikazuki August's mobile suit will have its upgrade after battling Hashmal, an unmanned mobile armor that took many lives during the Calamity War. Barbatos was heavily damaged and eventually need a repair. Despite the anime' not giving any hints of its new appearance, Bandai already released photos of the new mobile suit in which they used parts of the Hashmal in upgrading Barbatos.

Designs looks cool for me despite the longer arms that may not look proportional. If you're familiar with Digimon, this new upgrade looks similar with Wargreymon because of the arms and feet. While some people don't like its design, we cannot tell how this suit will perform in the anime. Definite a must have for IBO fans.  

Release date: February 2017

Price: 1,512 Yen / 657 Pesos