Sunday, March 06, 2016

Revell's Star Wars™ The Force Awakens Millennium Falcon

I bought the Revell Star Wars: The Force Awakens Millennium Falcon from Amazon a couple of weeks ago while online shopping. This is cheaper and slightly smaller than the Bandai's 1/144 scale Millennium Falcon. From what I gather online, this Revell kit is around 1/160 something scale.



The kit comes in a nicely printed cardboard box with a picture of the Millennium Falcon with the new rectangular radar sensor, indicating that it is the new Millennium Falcon from The Force Awakens movie. It says that it is suitable for Ages 6+ (yes, I qualify!), Skill Level 1, and takes 30 minutes to built (verified to be about right). It also indicates that it has action, sound and lights! You don't get that on the Bandai kit.


The back of the box shows what Skill Level 1 means, the parts list and the features of the completed kit. No glue, no paint and no tools are deemed necessary to complete this kit! It also shows some other kits of the series that you can collect.


Here are the parts out of the box. The pieces are all nicely cut out by Revell - there are no sprues/runners to cut these parts from, like most model kits. The 2 main halves of the ship are nicely held in place within the box with 2 clear plastic inserts (seen on the left side of the picture). These prevent the painted halves from moving about and getting scratches on the paintjob. The plastic insert also holds the blue tinted transparent Hyper Drive of the Falcon (blue strip on the right). A single sheet of instruction is included. The smaller pieces of kit are wrapped in a plastic bag. The electronic piece responsible for the light and sound is separate from these parts.

Building the kit was pretty straightforward - add parts to bottom half, add the 2 side hatches, add light and sound module, add parts to top half and finally put the 2 halves together.


The side hatches both have some holes on one side. From what I gather, these help to transmit sound from the electronic module. However, the instructions did not indicate should these 2 holes oriented to the top or bottom of the craft. I decided to place them at the top.





After about 30 minutes (or less actually), the kit is done. It is pre-painted and it does look good! Panel lines are detailed and if you want, a nice weathering wash would bring out more details. As it is, it already looks good.


The cockpit is painted black so there isn't any details at all. The gun turrets rotate but do not pivot up/down. The rectangular radar sensor rotates. The landing gears can retract and extend.


The light and sound module is activated by one of the exhaust vents at the back (centre bottom one). The light effect is a nice blue glow simulating the Hyper Drive! You get the movie effect sound too.





The landing gears extend and retract with a nice click. There are 5 landing gears to hold the Falcon up. You can see the nicely detailed bottom of the Falcon in these shots.

Overall, I had great fun putting this kit together. There is very little you can go wrong with this kit. Perhaps some care should be taken when pushing in the landing gears in case you break them. The parts are sturdy and seem to be able to hold up to a bit of play. I think it is great value compared to the Bandai kit (I may still get it to try out and if I do, will compare it to this kit). The finished kit looks nice and is already painted so it is really hassle free to build. Hope you enjoy this little write up on this kit. I am a Star Wars fan and this is really one of the easiest kit I have completed.

Sunday, February 28, 2016

Shure 215K Sound Isolating Earphones

I've had the Shure SE215-K Sound Isolating Earphones with Single Dynamic MicroDriver for over a year now and it has been quite an impressive performer. Here's a short review of this interesting product that has provided me with some peace and quiet at my workplace.

What's in the box?



The SE215-K comes in a sturdy white and cyan colored box with a window showing the translucent blue earphones.


Included in the box is a pouch; a small plastic bag containing - extra foam tips in different sizes and a cleaning tool; and the Shure SE215-K earphones.

The SE215-K earphones

The SE215-K comes with translucent blue housings. You can see the drivers and circuits under good lighting. I found them very pleasing to the eye. 

 

The cleaning tool is used to dig out any ear wax that may have accumulated on the inside of the foam tips after some use.


In my usage for over a year, I have not had the chance to use the cleaning tool as my ear does not really have a lot of wax.

The cable swivels and is removable - just carefully pull it out. The connectors appear to be gold plated.


To reconnect just firmly push it back in until it clicks.



The Fit

These earphones hook onto your ears in an unconventional way. There is a stiff wire that curls around the top of your ears while the foam tips expand into your ear, sealing out any outside sound. Compared to an active noise cancelling earphones, these actually do quite a good job of blocking out any sound. I use these in the office and it does block out a fair amount of office chatter, especially with some music playing. These are very comfortable once you get them on. They do take a little time to put on because of the way it hooks around your ears. So if you need to take them off often while using them, you will find it quite frustrating. 

The Sound

These have a fair amount of bass in them. I found the bass tight and not overwhelming. Instrument separation was ok for an earphone. Sound stage was surprising good for an earphone. I find myself using these more then my Creative Aurvana In-Ear3 (which I still keep at my workplace) despite the more elaborate way of putting them on.

Conclusion

The SE215-K is quite worth the price I paid in terms of comfort and sound. I did find putting them on and taking them off to be quite a hassle. They sound good connected to my iPhone 6 Plus without any external amplification which means I don't have to bring about an extra bit of gear. The included pouch is quite handy for keeping the oddly shaped SE215-K with the stiff wire/hooks. It has replaced the Aurvana In-Ear3 which I had been using previously.




Friday, June 08, 2012

Software Development in the 21st Century

Attended a talk - Software Development in the 21st Century, by Martin Fowler yesterday evening. It was great to catch up on some of the new practices and innovations that are being adopted in the area of IT. One interesting point is the differences in strategic versus utility projects. Typically, packaged software are good for utility projects but does not give an organization a competitive edge. It's basically what "the other guys" have. Custom systems and software are usually more suited to strategic goal and tend to be higher risks but would give an organization a competitive edge. This also reminded me if the blue ocean red ocean strategies. This, the status quo or what "the other guys" are doing is usually not gonna reaping benefits.

Monday, March 26, 2012

New iPad (2012 version) - What's cooking Tim?

When the new iPad was launched earlier this month, I immediately got one. I was in the market for another iPad. The new graphic processors and retina display swayed me to get this over the iPad 2.

The iPad performed wonderfully for a few days and then suddenly it decided to flicker its bright LED backlight intermittently.

iPad broadway LED lights

This became a constant problem as the screen became too bright to work on. It almost looks like a broadway stage if you turn it on its side. The set was deemed unusable and I returned it.

Soon after, I started reading about the excessive heat from the new iPad. There is even a picture of an iPad frying an egg. While I had my iPad, I did notice that it was warmer than the old iPad 2 but it was not so obvious if you have installed a back cover. There was also a case of dropped synchronization from my colleague when he tried to sync with a PC.

So while I am a heavy Mac user and am rather committed to the Apple ecosystem; I will be waiting for production of the new iPad to stabilize and for any other issues to surface before I get another iPad. So, if you have a new iPad, please test it fully to ensure that it is in good working condition. I am currently back on the old iPad 2.

Wednesday, June 01, 2011

Grado Prestige Series Model SR60i and HD414 pads (reverse quarter mod)

Back in 2009, I bought a Grado Prestige Series SR60i Padded Headphones. Since then, I have been enjoying the great Grado sound. The original Grado S-Cush pads eventually wore out and I bought a pair of Grado L-Cush pads ("holey pads" - donut shaped pads for Grados) as a replacement. After some time, these pads were also worn out (bits of black sponge started to crumble off).

So, I got a pair of Sennheiser HD414 yellow ear pads. These are known to fit the Grado SR60i. The stock pads do fit the Grado SR60i but because they are closed pads (like the original Grado SR60i comfy pads), the sound is not so "open". Hence, I decided to open them up with the so called "reverse quarter mod".


Sennheiser HD414 pads are packed with this label

The reverse quarter mod refers to taking an American quarter and using it as a guide to cut a hole in the HD414 pads. The "reverse" part refers to using this newly cut hole to stretch over the Grado cans. It is "reversed" in the sense that you are using the "ear side" of the pads on the cans and the original hole now sits on your ears. Do take note that you do not turn the pads inside out.

Since I am from Singapore and do not have an American quarter on me, I used a Singaporean 50 cents coin as it is almost the same diameter.


Place the Singaporean 50 cents (or American quarter) on the inside of the HD414 pads and use a sharp knife to cut around it


You will end up with something like this


Here's how it looks like with the center part removed


Take this pad with the new hole facing the Grado SR60i cans...


...and stretch them over the cans. Don't worry, the pads are quite stretchy. Remember, use the 50 cents (quarter) hole to stretch over the cans.


All done. Enjoy your funky yellow coloured Grado!

So far the Grado with HD414 pads are sounding great. The HD414 pads are softer and get less hot than the original Grado pads. They are also lighter and seem to have more air in them (more porous). I hope they last a little longer. They do cost less than the Grado pads. Hope you enjoyed this guide.


Grado Prestige Series Model SR60i and HD414 pads (reverse quarter mod)


Grado Prestige Series Model SR60i and HD414 pads (reverse quarter mod)