My new Sega cushions from Shimamura

Shimamura has come through again, this time with block cushions. This time I was late, as these were released in September. I learned about these by doing a web search. Like those Sega pillows I bought last year, these are detailed on the underside and since these are block cushions, the sides are detailed too.

Neat stuff.

I tried a CRT shader for the first time in Retropie which adds scanlines. It makes Blazing Star on Final Burn Alpha look nice.

You may need to click each image to see the images in a larger scale to truly see the effect, since WordPress tends to shrink images to fit.

For scanlines/shaders, you’ve gotta go into RetroPie Setup. From there, Configuration/Tools -> Config Edit -> Config Basic libretro emulator options. Now here you can choose to apply the shader to ALL of the emulators (option 0) or do it for individual emulators. I’m using Final Burn Alpha, so I went to Configure additional options for fba. Option 3 is Video shader enable (3). Click that and enable “True.” Next is Video shader file (4). I chose crt/crt-hyllian.glslp . You can choose it with the glow (crt/crt-hyllian-glow.glslp) to add that aged CRT look. I think there are others that will mimic a curved monitor’s surface. Tinker around and see what you like.

Pac-Man stuff found at the Can Do 100 yen store

A few weeks ago, a couple of students of mine alerted me to the 100 yen shop Can Do having plenty of neat Pac-Man crap in stock. On my lunch break, I had to go check it out for myself. I scored plenty of neat stuff! This photo is of my loot: clear stickers, zip storage bags, two sizes of masking tape, a keychain, stickers, a trading card, and a memo notepad. Score!

Pac-Man boxer shorts from Shimamura

Finding clothing that fits in Japan can be sometimes worrisome. In America, I’m an M size, but here I’m an L. But while the waist may fit, sometimes they may be a bit tight around the boy parts or just be ill-fitting in general. A new trend are those irritating “boxer briefs” that feel weird. Fortunately, the maker of these Pac-Man boxers makes their boxers comfortable.

They also make these long boxers.

Working on painting Asuka’s eyes

Painting eyes is the most nerve-wracking part of building garage kits. One can do an excellent paint job and assembly on a garage kit (aka GK, or gareki in Japanese), but if the eyes look weird, it’ll ruin the entire figure. You’ve gotta paint the eyes well, otherwise it’s crap and the whole build is no good.

I’m using Delta Ceramcoat acrylic paints, which are typical craft store paints. White, Black, and Mediterranean. I added some white to Mediterranean to add highlights to her irises. I didn’t notice imperfections in the molded surface of her face until I started painting. I tried to imitate Sadamoto’s art style. His distinct eyes are always great. I’m probably going to upload this build’s videos directly to Odysee rather than YouTube.

Here are my model acquisitions since May.

Yes, I’m a Hasegawa fanboy. Two 1:12 retro vending machines: ice cream and toasted cheese sandwiches. Two 1:72 Regult battlepods: the Scout Type and Heavy Missile Carrier Type. Two 1:12 resin figure kits: Yohko Asagiri from Leda: The Fantastic Adventure of Yohko and Kei from Dirty Pair. The only non-Hasegawa purchase is Max Factory’s 1:72 VF-1A/S Valkyrie, which disappointingly only came with stickers and not decals.