Dullards

Despite the undisputed fact that most of our current staff are vastly more intelligent that those we had a year or two ago, it's depressing to realise that even they need babysitting.

This week we have no deadlines, so I'm supposed to be training a bunch of them. Production today and tomorrow, Editorial Thursday and Friday. Those in Production who wanted training - had asked for training, in fact - were told on Friday that they needed to think about what training they needed or wanted so I could help them out this week...

...And so I was sat around doing my own work - I always have something to do, but this week I can easily put it aside when required - until after lunch before any of them even casually mentioned training, and that was to arrange something for tomorrow. After some cajoling from above, a couple more came up with a few things they wanted further training in, most of which would be no bloody good to anyone (why, on God's green Earth, would one actually want to export paths from Photoshop to Illustrator in our line of work?). Even when they said they wanted specific training, they weren't specific, so I ended up on some vague, rambling 'lesson' that they'll probably have forgotten by tomorrow.

I can confidently predict that the one who asked for more detailed training in a couple of things (because the training she received in the basics of Photoshop was supposedly very useful to her) probably won't get round to making time for any training, despite pointedly asking for some of my time just last week.

Honestly, I'm there if they want training, but I will not drag them into training they've asked for. It's also very frustrating that these people moan that they're being asked to do more than ever before, and yet ask to be shown how to do still more. Are they overworked or not?

Elsewhere, a couple of canny salespeople asked if our underworked designers could knock up some sales tools for their upcoming features... only to find that the meetings intended to work out exactly how to pitch the features aren't happening until later in the week. This means that nothing can be done on these sales tools until after the meeting, by which time we'll all be gearing up for the first deadlines of next week.

Sheer stupidity.

And then sometimes things go well

Could have left work an hour early today... Chose not to, as my deadline is Friday and it's not necessarily looking peachy. I hung back at finished an extra job or two, but almost everyone else - having completed today's magazine by 4.30 - got out of there and enjoyed an extra hour of their day. The biggest surprise was that one of our number - noted for being ungrateful at the best of time - did thank our boss for allowing us to leave early.

Other news: I hold in my hand (not right now, obviously, as I type with both) a piece of paper which describes me as a Manager. No official announcement just yet, as we're expecting a whole raft of pay disputes (April Review, and all), and those above me would rather not rub salt on the existing wounds. Meh. I could really go off on one here, but I won't...

Tried to fly my kite one the way home but there just wasn't enough wind... Supposedly Friday will bring perfect kiting weather, so I'll have my maiden flight yet. You see if I don't!

And when I got home, the last of my packages was waiting for me. By this point, naturally, I was ready for another disappointment. I'm happy to report, though, that the limited edition Superlink Black Rodimus is in perfect condition - no problems at all. HUGE sigh of relief.

I've also heard from the company from whom I bought Masterpiece Megatron, and they have advised me to send him back, and they'll replace him quickly enough, assuming there's no further damage in transit. That shouldn't be a problem, but I may pack some cotton wool in there or something... Just in case.

Well, dang...

My run of bad luck continues.

BT-17 Black Convoy, the Wonderfest 2007 exclusive, limited edition 'last ever' Binaltech model arrived today. I opened the package and started to transform it... and noticed a small problem with the bonnet/hood of the car. It didn't sit right in vehicle mode and, in the midst of transforming it, I saw why. The hinge/slider arrangement that allows it to open as a bonnet and flip round to be the robot's chest plate is glued together on one side. As factory defects go, that really takes the biscuit. Where was Quality Control? How did superglue get in there?

By the whitish residue all round, I'd guess it was a spillage which vapourised and settled all over the 'engine cavity'... and there's no way to fix it.

Hopefully I'll be able to send it back and get it replaced (let's hope that I was right when I said 'limited to 800' would probably be closer to 1000!)... otherwise it's a refund, and I'll do without unless I can find it elsewhere. Right now, that's not necessarily difficult... but it'll get more so, not to mention more expensive.

And I still haven't heard back from the vendor about returning my Masterpiece Megatron.

Disasterpiece

Perhaps I should have been especially wary of anything that arrived on Friday 13th, but I'm just not superstitious in that way.

I first tried to transform Masterpiece Megatron a little earlier today. To my utter dismay, TakaraTomy's quality control had missed quite a significant factory error: the tiny metal pin which connects the silver strut of the right arm to what is, effectively, Megatron's 'spine' was missing, so the whole arm assembly fell off as soon as I tried to move it.

Only a few photos had been taken - much the same pose, but with different weapons (and I'd considered a TF:TM reference, where Megatron had the handgun in one hand, and was holding Kiss Player Rodimus with the other, but didn't get round to it) - because I can't do too many complicated photos with mu current setup.

To call it a disappointment would be a massive understatement... In my possession for two days, and I have to return it for replacement.

...Oh well, other models to photograph, so I can't dwell on it.

Masterpiece Theatre

Because now I have an idea.

But already I'm getting ahead of myself. In earlier postings, I casually mentioned that I had found TF Beast Wars Neo/II Heinlad on eBay. It arrived during the week, and it's just the cutest little alarm clock (I kid you not - it's battery operated, and you need to push down the robot's head to shut it off) in the world. Transformation is fairly simple, but both beast (Tanuki raccoon-dog) and robot modes are effective and reasonably poseable. Cyber-scrotum are scary but, hey. He's a laugh, and he comes with a jug of sake which forms the barrel of the robot's gun.

Following in from that purchase, I went and ordered Masterpiece Megatron and Alternator Rumble from one of my oft-used foreign dealers, then added Hasbro Commemorative Sideswipe, Takara's Superlink Black Rodimus, and the previously mentioned Wonderfest Black Convoy from a trio of eBay dealers.

If that weren't enough TransFormers-related splurging, my Collectors' Club exclusive Astrotrain and Airazor were dispatched recently, and I got a letter from ParcelForce on Wednesday saying they were holding onto them pending the payment of Import Duty (and their own £8 'handling fee' sort of thing). Because I was home quite late on Wednesday (work going crazy, then eating out), I decided to make the payment via the ParcelForce website. Helpfully, they were offering next-day delivery (though, upon examination of the small print on the letter, they cannot guarantee next-day) so I went for that...

...And was very disappointed when it failed to arrive. I took the letter into work with me on Friday, so I could phone them angrily if it didn't turn up again. Sure enough, it didn't... But Masterpiece Megatron and Alternator Rumble did, so it wasn't a complete loss.

Checking the ParcelForce website, it turned out that my package from the United States of America was still 'Held', despite another page assuring me that delivery had been rescheduled when I made the Customs payment.

The guy I spoke to when I phoned the depot couldn't explain why it hadn't been picked up for delivery, and was most apologetic, going so far as to have it delivered today, at no extra charge. You just know I would have been aggravated at the mere suggestion of paying extra to have it delivered two days late.

So when I arrived home this afternoon - having had a hugely fun night out, and laden with goodies from the Notting Hill Farmers' Market, procured on the way - there were two large boxes awaiting my keen attention.

Starting with the Club exclusives, both are packaged in lovely boxes with foam inserts to keep them safe and secure. The boxes feature prints of the painted artwork for both characters and, while I wouldn't necessarily say either were brilliant, I recognise the effort that went into them, and appreciate the enhanced look of the packaging. The print quality is excellent, and the box is nice and sturdy. It is somewhat amusing that both boxes are printed with the words "Adult collectable, not intended for use by children.", but there's a label on each which reads "AGES 5+".

Both are reworkings of old models with new heads and paint-jobs - Astrotrain is essentially Armada Jetfire, while Airazor was previously used as Energon Slugslinger. Both heads are of reasonably quality, though Astrotrain somehow reminds me of a Frankenstein's Monster, with his large, red, staring eyes. None of the Armada model's electronics have been removed - the middle booster/B.F. Gun still has two sound effects in and of itself, and one Mini-Con activated sound to accompany the deployment of two extra tailfins. Four Mini-Cons are included with Astrotrain: Starcatcher is a bland, unpainted white and grey version of the Mini-Con packaged with Armada Jetfire, while Astro-Hook, Astro-Line and Astro-Sinker are somewhat cleverly named and well-painted versions of the Giant Planet Mini-Con team from the TF: Cybertron line. Of the three, Astro-Sinker is probably the best - a black submarine with metallic purple details. Airazor, meanwhile, is without electronic gimmicks due to her smaller size. The models is possibly one of the most complicated and involved TransFormers of that size - all panels which fold up here, round there and down the other. I'm particularly pleased to have this one because Slugslinger never made it to the UK as far as I can tell. Where Slugslinger had his 'Spark Crystal' on display on his chest, Airazor has a faintly pearlescent white blob. This may be because the original mold was a Decepticon, but I would have though it easy enough to correct.

In the next box was Alternator Rumble and Masterpiece Megatron. I must admit I purposely took my time getting round to Megatron and, as I write, I still haven't even attempted to transform him. It's not that I'm worried about things breaking, just that it is such a stunning model, I want to savour it. Does that sound perverse?

He comes packaged with a sight (which also acts as his arm-mounted Fusion Cannon, and contains a watch battery-powered red light that very effectively blocks the crosshairs in the sight), a hand-held blaster, an energy blade (both from his battle with Optimus Prime in TransFormer: The Movie), an energy mace (from his battle with Prime atop the Sherman Dam in the TV series pilot) and a little thing called Kremzeek that looks like something out of an episode of Scooby Doo.

Masterpiece Megatron truly lives up to the title - it's a work of art, and a beautiful one at that. Many 'fans' have started knocking the Masterpiece line for its lack of die-cast metal. From what I've seen, die-cast content was never one of the main issues of the line. If one examines MP-01, the locations of its die-cast parts are broadly identical to the locations of die-cast parts on the original Generation 1 Optimus Prime model - upper chest and lower legs. MP-03 Starscream's only metallic parts are structural, and Generation 1 Starscream is likewise. MP-05 Megatron has approximately the same metal content as his Generation 1 counterpart, the exception being his upper legs. That said, on my Gen 1 Megatron, the metal legs wore away the plastic nubs that was supposed to keep his legs extended in robot mode, so perhaps this is a good thing. Masterpiece Megatron has already taken his place on my shelves...

Alternator Rumble was always going to be disappointing in comparison to something like that, even with spring-loaded piledrivers. Originally, I'd intended to ignore Rumble - it's not a particularly special car (the new Honda Civic?! How passé), and he doesn't have hands in robot mode - something I'm sure they could have worked in if they'd tried. That said, why must a robot have hands? If his purpose is to reduce everything to rubble, piledrivers are terribly appropriate. As it turns out, he's a very poseable model, too, so I'm glad I decided to pick him up.

Photos will be forthcoming for all, not least because now I have a huge backlog of website updates to deal with, quite apart from the new look of the thing.

So anyway. Masterpiece Theatre. Now I have Masterpieces Convoy, Starscream and Megatron, it might be fun to do some photo-comic things. This rather depends on coming up with some kind of story, but it would be fun to try.

Other creative thoughts include a neat idea for a T-shirt or two, but I'm thinking I might send it to the folks at Genki Gear, to see if they might like to do it properly. Don't want to give the game away here, but suffice it to say it was inspired by a recent purchase...

That's all for now...

I may well be bonkers

Or just plain stupid.

On a whim, I searched eBay to see if Wonderfest BT-17 Black Convoy was available at a reasonable price.

The answer, depending entirely on your point of view on such matters, is either 'Yes' or 'No'.

Let's look at the evidence: Only 800 made for the 2006 Wonderfest in Japan (allegedly, so let's say it was closer to 1,000), and they sold out in two hours. Most of the shell of the vehicle mode is die-cast metal painted black, meaning the model weighs over 1lb. It's slightly remodelled from the US San Diego Comic Con Alternator Nemesis Prime (the rear of the cab has a break light, for example, so it's more like a real Dodge Ram SRT-10). It has a far more varied, generally better paint job - more grey visible in robot mode, more subtle use of metallic teal with some chromed pieces, such as the hubcaps and details on the underside of the bumper. Its windows are clear, rather than transparent red (which looks a bit pink in reality, and therefor works against the idea of Nemesis Prime being Completely Evil). On top of all of that, its joints are tighter and more reliable than its lighter, black plastic counterpart.

It is, without a doubt, a beautiful piece of design. In so many ways, it makes the Alternator version - which was also a limited edition, remember - look unfinished. Considering the limited numbers, and it's supposed 'Last of the (Binaltech) Line' status, one would expect to pay a premium.

On the downside, it's not necessarily the best BT/AT mold of all time, particularly when one considers the gaping hole under the bonnet (which is not entirely necessitated by the transformation) and I've already got the Alternator version.

Prices average about $200. Even before shipping, I paid slightly more than that but, as it gets harder to find, the price will inevitably creep up. It's quite likely that this is the most expensive single TransFormer I'll ever buy.

So, yes, I bought it. I considered it, weighed it all up in my mind, and decided that I couldn't really pass it up. If it really is the last of the Binaltech line, then they've gone out with a bang rather than the whimper is the distinctly variable Kiss Players line, which includes 'remixed' BT/AT models (in painted plastic rather than die-cast) with stuff that's more than 20 years old, and strange little PVC figures.

Did a bit more photography earlier. Took a few shots of my MP-01 Convoy, since I didn't do him justice the first time around - I just had him posed randomly on top of his box which was, in turn, on a sofa. The light wasn't ideal and, frankly, the best thing about the original photo I took was that the flash caught the reflective green blob inside his gun barrel.

This time round, I used the usual white background for clarity, and attempted a few more interesting poses. All things considered, despite an abundance of decent joints, MP-01 is tricky to pose because his hips are actually quite weak, and his feet lack the balance-improving extended heels of some of the more recent toys. The use of die-cast metal may well be very impressive, but it does affect his balance quite badly.

I planned on doing a bit more, but it's already getting late in the day, and the good light won't last much longer. Not sure what else I want to do, so I figure I'll work on redoing my website's logo. If I can figure out something I like, I may well get round to redesigning the site this year!

Yesterday, I spent the afternoon wandering round Hampstead Heath with my friend/colleague. Our original plan was to give my kite - which she bought me last year - its maiden flight. Sadly, there just wasn't enough wind, so we just took in the delights of the scenery (and observed birds and dogs larking about in the ponds, not to mention a couple of shifty-looking for'ners hunting duck with their catapult) and the funfair which occupied the top and bottom of the heath. The one at the top was hugely disappointing - looked kind of like an afterthought - but the one at the bottom was pretty good. A mixture of rides and games, with plenty of junk food and candy floss for the masses to munch through.

Upon returning home, we stopped off at a local hill for a last-ditch attempt at getting my kite to fly. The wind was up a little on the earlier part of the afternoon, but not quite enough. There were other kites flying, which had evidently gone up while there was wind enough to launch them, but mine stayed pretty much grounded.

And after what had been a really fun day - even though we accomplished nothing we'd set out to do - I developed a headache within minutes of walking back into the house, and gave myself an early night. All things considered, a headache on Easter Sunday was probably inevitable... but this year, I managed it without excessive consumption of chocolate.

I may try to get an early night tonight, considering the next four days are likely to be absolute hell. Apparently we're soon getting a dead week, during which I shall be giving some training, so I'll have to put some thought into the content. Each time I've trained someone so far, it's been completely different because I haven't figured out the best way of doing it, or what really needs to be dealt with... Random training isn't as effective as it could be.

And sew on...

Sunday morning, and I've already been subjected to a lengthy dissertation on the relative merits of hand sewing machines, and the disappointments that followed whenever someone traded theirs in for one of the 'new' electric machines, which couldn't handle the heavier work. Thanks, mum.

I know I shouldn't complain, considering the number of probably mind-numbing conversations I've had with my mother about toys or movies or TV shows, but... Sewing machines? I only went downstairs to get some breakfast, and I'd virtually finished eating it before she let me out of the kitchen.

It all started because she's been scouring eBay for a hand sewing machine as a gift for my sister, because "if our sewing machine goes to Swindon, it'll never come back again". She's actually making the two most common eBay bidding mistakes - putting in a nice, even number and keeping that number low - so I tried to advise her to put in, for example, 11 pounds instead of 10, or 27 instead of 25... even pointing out when someone else had used that tactic against her as a practical example of the logic behind it. As usual, she agreed that it was a good idea... but I know she's not going to use it, because that means bidding an extra pound or two... and that's before shipping.

Hells bells, some people just don't get it, do they? Most of the time, when I bid on something I really want - rare, because I prefer going the Buy It Now route - I'll either put in a really weird bid, or a very high one... literally, the maximum I would willingly pay for whatever it is (£150 for RID Scourge, for example - glad I didn't have to pay that much, but I would have done). Sometimes - most of the time, if I'm honest - it later transpires that it would have been ridiculously over the odds (ahem. £150 for RID Scourge, for example) and, had I not won on a significantly lower sum, I could have waited a couple of days and picked it up Buy It Now from another seller but, hey, that's the fun of eBay.

It has also been observed that, the moment you win some hard-to-find item on eBay, it miraculously turns up in the shops. It really doesn't just happen in webcomics, and it's really annoying when it turns up cheaper in the shops.

Sunspots

Just back from seeing Sunshine, the new film from the people behind Trainspotting and 28 Days Later (also saw the trailer for the latter movie's sequel, 28 Weeks Later). It's kind of a cross between the sci-fi horror of Event Horizon and the human horror of 28DL... quite imaginitive and, since you know from the start that no-one makes it out alive, a strangely brave film. It has been said that it was made to a very small budget, but you'd never know to watch it... You just don't notice that the usual Hollywood set pieces aren't there because there is action, but there's also good characterisation, subtlety, and a compelling story. Hollywood take note.

Also, being in Uxbridge on a Saturday, I paid a visit on The Entertainer. Not much in the way of TransFormers - that is to say, not much I don't already have - but it's nice to know they're still stocking them, in their inconsistent, scattershot way.

I picked up the Classics Predator Attack Team (two decent models, one complete shite, as seems to be the usual with the Classics Mini-Cons), and an Alternator Shockblast. Even though I own the far superior, part die-cast Binaltech version, he was on sale for a tenner, so I couldn't turn him away. And, yes, I know that doesn't jibe with the last two posts where I wrote about cutting down... But, seriously, faced with an Alternator as good as Shockblast for less than half price, I consider it a good investment...

It's actually quite a different model to the Binaltech one. Not least in terms of weight and colour - being molded in dark purple plastic, rather than painted that colour - but also in terms of small details about the model itself. BT Laserwave's eye is molded in cloudy yellow plastic, and the light piping juts out of the top of his head as an extra detail. AT Shockblast's eye is molded in clear plastic, with a yellowish dot painted on the middle, and the light piping is meant to be flush with the top of his head, so it's not noticeable. Also, while the BT version stuck with the magnetic couplings for the steering bar, the AT version uses a peg-and-hole system. Works just as well, perhaps better, considering how flakey the magnets are in the Subaru mold.

The BT/AT Mazda RX8 is one of my favourite molds - sporty car, reasonably posable model thanks to ratcheting joints in the legs and, best of all, the feet appear to lie flat on the ground because of a tilting joint for the 'toe'. It's a shame this wasn't worked into the Subaru mold, as it really makes a difference to the look of the model.

Made a start on updating my website today - nothing much, no reworking of any pages, just updating the content... That'll have to do for now, though I may look into the 'proper' update on Monday. I think Photobucket is working quite well - as I reach my 50Mb limit on my ISP's server, it's nice to know I've got another gig lying around spare...

With any luck, and a fair wind, I'll be flying my kite tomorrow...

Raccoon!

So there I am, in the middle of one of my irregular eBay browsing sessions, and what do I find but Heinlad, the time-travelling raccoon TransFormer with a fondness for sake.

It's a bizarre model - great looking raccoon mode (though the clock embedded in its chest is odd, and having the 'spark crystal' on one testicle must be embarrassing... Not so much wearing his heart on his sleeve as his allegiance on his scrotum, and bringing new meaning to the idea of being kicked in the family jewels), and a reasonable - though excessively humanoid - robot mode. I can't wait to get my hands on this model. I've passed him up so many times, both at conventions at while browsing web shops (yes, and eBay on previous occasions). I guess what swung it for me this time was that I'd just bought Stampy and Break at Memorabilia last week... something which, according to my spending habits, pretty much amounts to a Beast Wars jag. As I told the guy on the stall at Memorabilia, I don't collect Beast Wars per se, just those few molds which amuse me. Heinlad fits the bill ;)

On another note, it seems that my phone has gone offline again. BT admit that there is a fault on the line (should be old news to them by this point, as it goes wrong in exactly the same way every few months), and reckon they should get onto it after Easter. How fortunate that I seldom use the telephone, and that my Broadband connection is - as usual - entirely unaffected.

Now that Spring is here (really here, as opposed to "Hi, I'm Spring... Ha! Fooled you! I'm still Winter!") the sun is high enough in the sky for the light entering my room to be diffuse enough to get good photos of my models. I've taken several shots of my recent purchases, and a few more pictures of Masterpiece Starscream, all to prepare myself for the burst of photo-snapping that will inevitably follow the arrival of Masterpiece Megatron, Alternator Rumble and the two TFCC exclusives, Astrotrain and Airazor (does it bother anyone else that it's spelt 'Airazor' rather than 'Airrazor'? Am I the only one who feels the single 'r' is somehow inherently wrong?).

On the quiet, I'm getting quite excited about their arrival. I was hoping all last week that they'd be waiting for me when I got home. I suspect that Easter has buggered up the international postal services, and that they're much more likely to arrive mid-to-late next week than anytime sooner. That's not all bad, though, as it should be just in time for another weekend.

All of that said, more and more I'm thinking I should stop buying these things. There just isn't room for any more until I move into a place of my own... On the upside, there aren't too many more that I want now. I'd quite like Gen 1 reissues Hound and Sideswipe, because I like the molds, and perhaps a Gen 1 reissue Megatron that doesn't need plastic rods stuck inside its legs to stay upright. The movie toys look great, so I'm likely to buy some of them... but after that, who knows? Binaltech is apparently over following the release of BT-17 Black Convoy (which I'd quite like to have in place of my Alternator Nemesis Prime, if it didn't cost an average of about $200 due to its rarity). Alternators, even, have a very hazy future because Hasbro can't figure out how to market them. Classics are done, bar this year's BotCon set, and it's rumoured that the next line will be 'a new direction'. Niche products like the MP3 Soundwave might be fun... but I doubt I'd bother with the Rumble/Frenzy earphones, or the iPod Convoy.

Perhaps I should just try to get my hands on the gorgeous Yamato YF-19 (oh, and the recently released SV-51y from Macross Zero), and then call it a day...

And on the subject of enormous life changes (hah!), I've had a couple of ideas about reworking my dull old website. Nothing concrete yet, but enough to possibly have a stab at it over this weekend. Not sure whether the entire site will be re-templated so it's a bit more consistent or if it'll just be changes to a couple of sections... Who knows? In my head, it's sort of steel / blue / black, but these things have a habit of changing. The logo will remain, but be altered, kind of like it was several versions ago, only not. I think the whole 'version number as part of the logo' thing has been somewhat stifling. I'd quite like to use frames, just to show myself I still know how to use them... but I may go for something far simpler.

Got an email this morning from Amazon, offering a pre-order on the new Nine Inch Nails album, Year Zero. Now, personally, I've been very impressed by what I've heard on the MySpace page, and was particularly disappointed that only one new track was played at the Brixton gig (Survivalism is great, pounding stuff, but In This Twilight will be beautiful live). The whole idea of NIN doing a concept album would have been impossible to imagine only a couple of years ago... now it seems like logical progression.

The Calm Before The $#!+ Storm

At work, it's quite rare that we lose a significant amount of Production time due to Bank Holidays and the like. In previous years, back when we were only tackling six magazines a month, we'd barely notice.

Now, of course, we're running twelve magazines a month... So Easter is causing something of a problem. Here's the short version: Four magazines in four working days.

That's right. Deadline #1: Yesterday. Deadline #2: Today. Deadline #3: Tuesday. Deadline #4: Wednesday.

The first was easy enough... Small magazine, decent sales team, problematic editor. It went out on time. The second - mine - was bizarre. Never before have I spent so much time working on my next two magazines before putting the current one to bed. In some ways, it was good. After all, technically, it puts me ahead. On the other hand, what the hell went wrong? Why did everything take so damned long to get to me? OK, the obvious answer is that the alleged 'senior designer' who dealt with the bulk of the editorial (while the magazine's lead designer churned out a feature) is a workshy moron who claimed that he had to work slower because it wasn't his magazine and he wasn't familiar with it ("meh-meh-meeeehhh-meh... boo-hoo") while, in fact, he wasn't actually doing much because he spends most of his time yapping with whichever dippy little girl is willing to give him the time of day. For that reason, I didn't start getting signed-off editorial until after lunch. Oh, that, and the editor really can't take the pressure... of 30 pages of editorial a month, even though she barely writes anything herself.

And whatever editorial I did get through was, frankly, sub-par. This guy doesn't even bother colour-correcting images. We're running Photoshop CS2, and he can't even bring himself to click on Image > Adjustments > Auto Colour, let alone fiddle with the damned curves, levels, colour balance, etc. like a bloody professional. There was one photo of a group of kids, laying down in a loose circle, heads together, upon which he'd set a white headline with black body copy. I took one look at that photo and adjusted it so that the white t-shirts half the kids were wearing were actually white, and then had to make the headline black because the whole photo had become that much lighter.

This guy calls himself a Senior Designer, people.

He seems to believe that entitles him to do very little, but claim more money than other designers, and then palm most of his work off on them.

On a vaguely similar note, we have someone in sales who fancies herself a Marketing Genius, and convinced a client that his target audience was female. This client's line of business? Car hire. Specifically, Sportscar hire.

I'm not kidding.

She's confusing 'target audience of product' with 'primary audience of magazine', you see. And because of her sharp insight, she wishes to dictate the design of the ad... but, since she's not a marketing genius, or a designer, this simply leads the client to seek a redesign every month.

Discussing this with my boss, it became quite obvious that I have more marketing know-how than this silly bint.

But I digress.

Today's magazine went off OK, and only about half an hour 'late' (that is, at 6pm). Next week is where it all goes pear-shaped. We've got a tiny magazine to go out on Tuesday, but less than half of it is done so far, and it's the same flaky editor as yesterday's magazine. Not a big deal, as it's so small in total, I could do the whole thing in one afternoon. Of course, I'm not working on that, I'm working on the one that goes out on Wednesday, which is about twice the size... and half as full. Great chunks of the magazine are literally bare of advertising. Harsh choices must be made...

But it doesn't end there... On Friday, we still have to get out the monthly colossus. Weighing in at over 200 pages on average, it won't be pretty.

But it won't be my problem, either...

Supposedly I shall soon have a job title once more. Since the 'departure' of my cyberstalker, I have been functioning without, since his job was made redundant, and we actually had the same job title. The letter confirming my promotion to Production Manager has been written, seen by my boss, and should be in the post next week. There should also be a fairly sweet pay-rise attached. Not that I'm much fussed by that, but I certainly intend to earn the extra by cracking down on workshy morons like the one mentioned above. Timekeeping will be discussed. Phone usage will be discussed. Excessive, non-work-related yapping will sure-as-hell be discussed.

If they think our Group Production Manager is a fascist... wait till they get a load of me.

More Memorabilia

So, another Memorabilia has been and gone this last weekend. With each I visit, it becomes more obvious that the winter ones - when it's bitterly cold and frequently raining on the way - are the best both in terms of guests (not that I tend to sit in on any of the Q&A sessions, or hunt autographs) and retail stands.

Not that this one was a slouch, in any way. Oh my, no.

That said, I went in expecting to blow vast amounts of money, and managed to leave with a little less than half the amount I had when I arrived even though I made out like a bandit. The biggest disappointment was that it had been rumoured that Hasbro UK would turn "events such as Memorabilia" into TransFormers events, to boost the profile of the upcoming live action movie. There was little evidence of Hasbro's presence, and nothing about the movie outside of the stall manned by the folks from Space Bridge, who had press packs for sale and a couple of movie toys on display (marked "Please do not touch!"). After that blow, I barely noticed that there was nothing of any interest in the Stage Area ;)

My haul for this show:
1 box of 7 miniature PVC statues of SD Final Fantasy characters (one reminded me of a character from my writing, so I couldn't resist), Revoltech Convoy, Beast Wars Neo TFs Stampy (white rabbit) and Break (penguin), RID Dreadwind and Smokejumper, RID Sideburn, Classics Ramjet, Classics Ultra Magnus & Skywarp 2-pack, a Danger Mouse t-shirt, a 'Weapons of Doom' t-shirt from Retro GT, 2 further t-shirts from Genki Gear (Monster Wrestling and Genki Robotics Corp), and birthday/Christmas presents for various friends and family. I also bought a 'Penguins are cool' t-shirt for my companion as an additional birthday present.

Things I missed out on:
I saw Alternators Mirage, but stupidly didn't snatch him straight up. Something else distracted me and, by the time I got back to that stall, Mirage was gone.

Stuff I forgot:
The same stall had Gen 1 Reissue Sideswipe - one of my favourite molds from that era - and I completely forgot to pick him up, despite buying other stuff there. I already have Reissue Red Alert and an original Tigertrack, but there's something about this accurate Lamborghini Countach model that makes me want the original red version... Even though I have little or no interest in getting Deep Cover or Clamp Down, the police redecos of the mold.

Stuff I didn't bother with:
Could have picked up THS-02b Black Convoy, but decided to leave it for the time being. I also noticed that the aforementioned Space Bridge stall still had its Japanese Armada Nemesis Prime, and the price has dropped again. I reckon if it's still there next time I go, I might as well bag it...

Stuff that wasn't there:
Oddly, while Classics Ramjet and Cliffjumper were available, Grimlock wasn't. Probably a good thing, or that would have been another reason for me to dither on one stall rather than looking around more.

It was, as usual, a great day out. Getting there early definitely makes everything easier and more pleasant, as it's not as crowded or as noisy when it's just the early-birds trundling around, and you can actually chat to the stall-holders (Genki Gear, in particular, are a fun pair. They've recently done a deal with Forbidden Planet which should see them turning a tidy profit). As soon as the doors open to 'the great unwashed', Memorabilia goes crazy, whatever time of year you choose to go.

My companion and I had also made the sensible decision to stay at the Birmingham airport/NEC Novotel, which meant that getting to the halls was a case of crossing the road to the airport, boarding the monorail (which is actually a cable-car rather than a true monorail) and then getting on a coach. This meant it took maybe 20 minutes to get from the hotel to the show, as opposed to something approaching an hour from our usual (far more extravagant) hotel of choice, due to the maze-like network of roads which inevitably lead you to the car park furthest from the halls you need to get to.

Of course, the Saturday also saw the return of Doctor Who for a third series. To be honest, I was rather disappointed. The story was a bit jumbled, and the script seemed to have been edited down from a two-parter/feature length story, so everything felt very rushed... Particularly the introduction of The Doctor's new assistant, Martha Jones. I'm very glad that Doctor Who is back on our screens, but I can't help but think that Russell T. Davis's fanaticism about the show will end up hurting it. And you've got to wonder why intergalactic 'police' would look like Rhinoceri...

Returning home on Sunday, I managed to stay awake for the whole day, but didn't get any photography done... Hopefully this coming long weekend I'll take a few snaps. The light is far better now than it was earlier in the year, so I may at last get some decent shots of MP Starscream, Cybertron Primus, and everything else I've picked up over the last few months.

Following on from Memorabilia, I've ordered Alternators Rumble (which I was all set to ignore - because it has no hands - until I learned that the piledrivers are spring-loaded, and saw some photos of model in some dramatic poses at Seibertron.com) and the awesome-looking Masterpiece Megatron, which will join Masterpieces Convoy and Starscream in my display case. Once again, I decided against ordering THS-02b for the time being, but I expect I'll cave in soon.

It has recently been reported that Australian Customs & Excise are impounding imported Masterpiece Megatrons due to some obscure bit of gun law that classifies the model as a replica gun (despite being way oversize, and despite there being no way it can be modified to fire - not even plastic pellets like the original Gen 1 model!). One can only sympathise with those Australians who preordered, only to be presented with a choice of forfeiting the model or having it returned to the sender... And one can only hope that UK Customs & Excise don't try to pull the same scam.

Prior to Memorabilia, I ordered the first two TransFormers Collectors' Club exclusives for this year, Astrotrain and Airazor. Originally, I planned only to purchase the latter (which fits in nicely with the BotCon set from 2006) but, after much consideration, decided I might as well get both... They are, after all, limited runs. Once they're gone, they're gone, unless someone decides to sell theirs on Ebay.

I'm now considering curbing my spending on TransFormers. Partly due to restricted display space, and partly for many other reasons... Obviously, I'll end up buying the movie toys, but I'll try to be sensible about which I get (that is to say, I'll not buy every version of Optimus Prime, for example). After that, who knows? Club exclusives only? Masterpiece/Binaltech-style high-end models only? The sensible option would be buying nothing more until I've got a place of my own to fill with whatever toys I can afford in between mortgage repayments... but part of me is thinking I should just stop collecting entirely.

In other news, a couple of years ago, when I was writing quite frequently, I came up with a new character. For whatever reason, my writing ground to a halt and I've done nothing along those lines for well over a year, though starting this blog was intended to get me back into the habit of writing on a regular basis. This plan may or may not have started to pay off... A few days before Memorabilia, a couple of my characters 'spoke' to me for the first time in ages. Not much, but an interesting hint of a short story. Over the Memorabilia weekend, I discussed this and my character in general with my companion, and fleshed out a few more details. I'm still nowhere near picking up the stories I've started, but at least some of my characters haven't deserted me entirely.

Something else to look into over the coming Easter weekend.

Work has, inevitably, gone a little hectic in the run-up to Easter. We're losing two days of Production time, meaning we have four magazines going out in four working days. That's insane however you look at it... Thankfully, it's going well for the moment... But next week will be absolute hell.