Chidi Okonkwo's Blog, page 2

THE GI JOE CLASSIFIED COBRA HASLAB HISS TANKS ARE COMING IN! HERE ARE NEW REVIEW PICTURES!

Finally the Haslab Hiss Tanks have started rolling in! The pictures I'm showing are screenshots, courtesy of GalacticManLarry on Youtube. And his full video review is over HERE.

Click on the pics to enlarge them. From my overall observation, the tank is cool and sturdy looking. And lots of extra tank accessories come with it, along with four unique 6-inch figures [Not shown in this visual review].

   

The first pic compares the tank to the Chariot of Serpentor, while the second pic shows some Classified figures standing beside it, including Baroness, Destro and Cobra Commander. The third pic shows the Hiss Tank with two Ram Cycles, flanking it on either side. And the last pic shows a side-view, with Scarp Iron's drone included for a size comparison.

The only thing that I noticed is that the tank is "small"... I think it should have been bigger, wider, and elevated higher, especially when you compare it to the Ram Cycles. Currently, per its passenger capacity, the Hiss Tank sits just one driver, and one other guy can sit inside the slim rear cabin region, while one extra gunner can stand in the gun-cage to control the blasters in the rotating gun-turret. That totals three passengers. Would have been cool to be able to fit more soldiers inside it.

Also, the connecting hinge of the red side-steps leading up to the cockpit and the hinges of the glass canopy all seem to be fragile. So one will have to handle them with care.

But other than that, I think it's a cool addition to a collection of 6-inch scale soldiers, for both GI Joe and Valaverse.

- Article written by the artist & author of the DSNG Sci Fi Series [http://dsngsfm.blogspot.com]

STAR WARS THE HIGH REPUBLIC... HEADS FOR NEW LOW WITH ABYSMAL BOOK SALES!

Most of y'all don't even know that "Star Wars: The High Republic" is a thing. Well, it was, a few years ago. And it's gradually winding down to a close, because of the abysmal book sales numbers. And the numbers just don't lie.

The High Republic was launched as a new initiative back in 2020/2021, after Kathleen Kennedy and her all-female Story Group had previously declared that all of the former Extended Universe SW Books were no longer cannon for Star Wars lore. So if you had been collecting books since 1985 or earlier, they were all trash, in terms of their continuity and lore.
The creation, marketing and launch of the High Republic is rumored to have cost over 1 Billion Dollars. And from the infamous Youtube trailer over HERE, a lot of older fans were surprised to see The White Board [shown on the right], which listed the priorities for this new SW initiative, which would target a new diverse audience.
Clearly this was going to be "Star Wars By Committee". And having "war" within "star wars" was not a priority. Modern Themes like "Diversity" and "Feelings" were going to be very, very, VERY important. And if your personal ideology, your moral mentality, and your sexual preferences didn't align with that of the committee, you were not going to be hired here.
And these epic, new, fresh, High Republic tales were all set 200 years before the events of the George Lucas Prequel Trilogy films, while those that didn't like it were tagged as the nasty mean r#cists and the various phobes.
FYI, when people foolishly call you stuff like that online, simply because you don't like a bad product, a poorly written book, or a crappy movie, then they're attempting to hold up an insecure shield for their own foolish ignorance. You're not the one with a phobia; it's them. And it's called the fear of sound criticism.
Hollywood is slowly learning that when a bad Disney movie fails nationally or globally, it's not because of negative Twitter comments or negative Youtube influencer videos. It's because the general audience just didn't bother to go see it, especially when the movie ticket prices have all gone up considerably, and the movie was just... bad, as signified by the trailers, and as reported by the word of mouth.It's just this simple: Bad Movie = Bad Sales. And Good Movie = Good Sales.
Now let's get back to the pointless High Republic. So a bunch of activist writers, diversity experts, and other new-age folks were hired to write the swanky tales of The High Republic. And it would be divided into Three or Four Phases. And gosh golly, by all the freakin' colors of the rainbow, it was just gonna succeed, darn it!.... Yaasss, gurrrl, oh yes it was!

But only the first book from Phase One by Charles Soule sold roughly 150,000 copies, in 2021. After that, the sales dived down hill, for the multiple titles released under their High Republic banner, in Phases One, Two and Three. And one of the latest sale charts reads that a High Republic title sold less than 3,000 books in 2023. Yet the Timothy Zahn Trilogy books [featuring Grand Admiral Thrawn] from the 90s have sold more than 15 million copies to date. That's proof that the fans have just walked away. And even the so-called new diverse audience don't want to spend their money on trash. Honestly those audience members have always been there. And they also appreciate quality stories, just like everyone else ;)
There was a time when Star Wars books sold in the millions. But not anymore. How times have changed. And the one thing keeping Lucas Film & Disney from correcting their course... is their stubborn pride.

You can watch this Youtube video from a Star Wars fan called Drunk3PO for more detailed info: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDWQ02Sf0i0- Article written by the artist & author of the DSNG Sci Fi Series [http://dsngsfm.blogspot.com]

STAR WARS THE HIGH REPUBLIC... HEADS FOR NEW LOW WITH ABYSMAL SALES!

Most of y'all don't even know that "Star Wars: The High Republic" is a thing. Well, it was, a few years ago. And it's gradually winding down to a close, because of the abysmal book sales numbers. And the numbers just don't lie.

The High Republic was launched as a new initiative back in 2020/2021, after Kathleen Kennedy and her all-female Story Group had previously declared that all of the former Extended Universe SW Books were no longer cannon for Star Wars lore. So if you had been collecting books since 1985 or earlier, they were all trash, in terms of their continuity and lore.
The creation, marketing and launch of the High Republic is rumored to have cost over 1 Billion Dollars. And from the infamous Youtube trailer over HERE, a lot of older fans were surprised to see The White Board [shown on the right], which listed the priorities for this new SW initiative, which would target a new diverse audience.
Clearly this was going to be "Star Wars By Committee". And having "war" within "star wars" was not a priority. Modern Themes like "Diversity" and "Feelings" were going to be very, very, VERY important. And if your personal ideology / mentality and sexual preferences didn't align with that of the committee, you were not going to be hired here.
And these epic, new, fresh, High Republic tales were all set 200 years before the events of the George Lucas Prequel Trilogy films, while those that didn't like it were tagged as the nasty mean r#cists and the various phobes.
FYI, when people foolishly call you stuff like that online, simply because you don't like a bad product, a poorly written book, or a crappy movie, then they're attempting to hold up an insecure shield for their own foolish ignorance. You're not the one with a phobia; it's them. And it's call the fear of sound criticism.
Hollywood is slowly learning that when a bad Disney movie fails nationally or globally, it's not because of negative Twitter comments or negative Youtube influencer videos. It's because the general audience just didn't bother to go see it, especially when the movie ticket prices have all gone up considerably, and the movie was just... bad, as signified by the trailers, and as reported by the word of mouth.It's just this simple: Bad Movie = Bad Sales. And Good Movie = Good Sales.
Now let's get back to the pointless High republic. So a bunch of activist writers, diversity experts, and other new age folks were hired to write the swanky tales of The High Republic. And it would be divided into Three or Four Phases. And gosh golly, by all the freakin' colors of the rainbow, it was just gonna succeed, darn it!.... Yaasss, gurrrl, oh yes it was!

But only the first book from Phase One by Charles Soule sold roughly 150,000 copies, in 2021. After that, the sales dived down hill, for the multiple titles released under their High Republic banner, in Phases One, Two and Three. And one of the latest sale charts reads less than 3,000 books sold in 2023. That's proof that the fans have just walked away. And even the so-called new diverse audience don't want to spend their money on trash. Honestly those audience members have always been there. And they also appreciate quality stories, just like everyone else ;)
There was a time when Star Wars books sold in the millions. But not anymore. How times have changed. And the one thing keeping Lucas Film & Disney from correcting their course... is their stubborn pride.

You can watch this Youtube video from a Star Wars fan called Drunk3PO for more detailed info: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDWQ02Sf0i0- Article written by the artist & author of the DSNG Sci Fi Series [http://dsngsfm.blogspot.com]

CUSTOM AGENT NINE ACTION FIGURE TOY BY DSNG! [GIJOE CLASSIFIED VALAVERSE SCALE]

Another New DSNG Custom! Her name is Agent Nine. She is a weapons expert and engineer. And she's based on the Walmart exclusive GIJoe Classified Lady Jaye mold. The GIJoe gals are shorter than the Valaverse gals, but they work well for me.

The original toy came with the short hair attached to a removable hat. So I had to sculpt her new hair and paint it black. Plus I sculpted her new chest armor, along with her black sleeves, her gun holsters, her boots and knee-pads. Her guns came from ebay. And I added a bendy-wire to the sculpted strap of her rifle, so that it could be bent around her body. there was an extra ammo cartridge added to the rifle as well, if you look closely.

The original toy was green, so I had to just add a few darker tones here and there, while hand-painting with Tamiya acrylic paints. Thanks for looking! Remember to Like & Share!

  

   
- Article written by the artist & author of the DSNG Sci Fi Series [http://dsngsfm.blogspot.com]

CUSTOM SCRAP IRON COBRA ACTION FIGURE TOY BY DSNG! [GIJOE CLASSIFIED VALAVERSE SCALE]

Finally a new GIJore / Cobra Classified Custom! I haven't bought the new Classified Scrap Iron action figure, because I wanted to make one myself.

The base body used was "Marvel Legends Gaurdians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Star Lord". And I painted over him with Tamiya paints, to get his overall blue tone to be uniform with the color scheme that I wanted. 

Then I added the vest and pouches from the Valaverse Garrison Cavalry. And I painted over them, with a metallic red, while also sculpting and enhancing the vest to fit my purpose. I also moved around some of the accessories from the original vest, so the chest-dagger was placed as a strapped-on item on his right thigh. Plus he has handguns strapped to each of his thighs, since I created an extra holster on his left thigh.

The Grenade launcher rifle held in his left hand came from Valaverse, while the other Gatling gun blaster held in his right hand was custom made, using fodder and some elements from ebay.

Also he has a custom rifle adhered to his back-panels with a magnet. And his helmet was a custom head, which I painted. And I bought the headsculpt from a cool guy on ebay, over here. The helmet is not removable, since it was part of the headsculpt ;) And I added extra sculpted elements to his boots and his arms. 

All right, thanks for looking! Enjoy and share!

   

    - Article written by the artist & author of the DSNG Sci Fi Series [http://dsngsfm.blogspot.com]

SHOCKER - THE FAILED MS. MARVEL AVENGERS VIDEO GAME DROPS 90% IN PRICE!!

Ms Marvel Stans: "- GASP - OMG, Like, What shall we do? I know! Let's Blame The Entire Male Demographic and Cancel Culture on this sh#t!!!"

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!! Honestly, this outcome isn't too surprising. 

The Marvel Avengers Online Game [released in 2020 by studio Crystal Dynamics] is about to get delisted online [basically cancelled, by September 30th 2023], because the game didn't sell, and the studio reportedly lost about 50 Million Dollars on it.

Over the past few years, Marvel Entertainment pushed the young Ms. Marvel character, a teenage Muslim girl with super powers, to the forefront of its marketing campaigns. She was the lead character in that failed video game. Plus it was rumored that Marvel Ent. wanted to build her up as part of the leading cast for an all-female Avenges movie...

But now Marvel has learned that you can never force fans to accept a character that is fundamentally unappealing.... plus they gave her "giant-man-hands" as one of her "knock-off Stretchy Mr. Fantastic" powers... and they had to change that power for the 6-Part Disney+ Streaming TV Show. Frankly, she has just never been that appealing to the broader audience. 

So is her character unappealing because she was pushed forth with religion, or was she rejected by fans for being a loyal Stan of the other unliked character named Captain Marvel / Carol Danvers? Honestly, you can judge those issues for yourself. 

All right folks, the bottom line is this. The numbers don't lie... so if you Go Woke, you'll eventually Go Broke. Because most Woke Fans are not Comic Fans / Geeks. They are peculiar activists, who will label and attack you, for not liking what they like.

From the viewership numbers made public, the Ms. Marvel 6-Part TV Show was the lowest watched Marvel Show on Disney+. And when it was brought to the ABC Cable / Network TV, it was also met with abysmal ratings, while getting beaten by reruns of Shark Tank. You can go look up the numbers for yourself.

Anyway, after the past decade, the entertainment industry is gradually learning that when it comes to comics / video games, you should never race-swap / gender-swap the lead characters. And don't force religion / diversity / inclusion into the lead characters, just for the sake of making a political statement... just make new cool characters instead, and build them up from scratch, with whatever characteristics you desire. That's more work, and it takes more time [like 5 - 10 years], but it's the only method that works. And that's the only way that the Comic Fans / Geeks / General Audience will respect the character, as long as the cool character has a general appeal, without forced politics.

Look up the video games "Forespoken", and also "Saints Row". Both of the Developer studios behind those games got shut down this year. One of them had its best employees "folded into a larger studio", but it still ceased to exist, and unfortunately, many people got laid off. And that was because their Woke video games were commercial failures, which were poorly received by the fans.

You can never blame fans for not watching a Movie / TV series, or not buying a video game.
The thing is, the fans all have increased options & subscriptions, and decreased time and money; because the older you get, the more responsibilities you have... including more bills. So the fans will just invest in the best entertainment options, and leave the rest of the garbage alone ;)

The full article about the Avengers Online Game getting canceled is over here: https://cosmicbook.news/ms-marvel-canceled-video-game-drops-90-in-price

- Article written by the artist & author of the DSNG Sci Fi Series [http://dsngsfm.blogspot.com]

CUSTOM AGENT LANTRA ACTION FIGURE TOY BY DSNG! [GIJOE CLASSIFIED VALAVERSE SCALE]

 Another New Custom that I've been teasing on Instagram, while showing the steps to build up to it!

Her name is Agent Lantra, a black-ops operative and an infiltrator. And she's a villain :)

The toy's base model was Marvel Legends Shriek, and I decided to add some "boot swivel" to her, to enhance her "poseability". Then I sculpted her boots, and kept sculpting her costume upwards from that point. And I added the blonde head from Enchantress, before I gave her a new black bob hairstyle, as well as a "metal V-plate" that was set across her forehead. 

I painted her black, before using Tamiya and America paints to give her the metallic and red color scheme. Her guns were from ebay, and her backpack was from my fodder bin. Plus I enhanced her backpack to host her two flanking handguns via pins inserted into their trigger guards, while she has a sub-machinegun held on her left thigh with a magnet. And there's a handgun held on her right hip, inside a sculpted holster.

I added one of my former GIJoe Cobra Customs, Baroness, and her Cobra Coil Bike to the pics, to give a sense of scale. Thanks for looking! Enjoy and share!

   

   

- Article written by the artist & author of the DSNG Sci Fi Series [http://dsngsfm.blogspot.com]

ONLINE FIGHTING GAME DNF DUEL THICC MODS - FEATURING SPECTRE AND STRIKER!

Just sharing some Screenshots today from the fighting game DNF Duel. The Youtuber LegacyofKaiser uploaded some character mods in the PC version. And the voluptuous 3D models were crafted by a guy called Fursokameha, who offers them on the website www.gamebanana.com.

Per their names, Specter is the gal with the pink hair, while Striker has the orange top. Lawd they thicc :)

The original Dungeon Fighter Online was released in 2005, and it was an online MMORPG action game. And the new game I'm showing today, DNF Duel, was released in 2022. And its an online fighting game version, created in the vein of StreetFighter and Tekken. And DNF Duel currently has 17 playable characters [including the newest DLC character with pink hair, Spectre].

The artwork and game design were done by Arc System Works, the same Japanese Game Developer behind  Guilty Gear franchise.

Here's the official trailer for DNF Duel on Youtube, showing off some of the original characters and its dynamic anime style: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gf0ZlqM1yfQ

And here's the full video for Spectre and Striker, which is less than 1-minute long: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcBYzAWsjSU

   

- Article written by the artist & author of the DSNG Sci Fi Series [http://dsngsfm.blogspot.com]

SO WHAT THE F#@$ HAPPENED TO INDIANA JONES 5, AKA THE DIAL OF DISASTER?

All right guys, time for some real talk today.I didn't go to see Indiana Jones 5 [The Dial of Destiny], released on June 30th from Lucas Film, the people behind the StarWars Sequel Trilogy: The Force Awakens (2015), The Last Jedi (2017), and the Rise of Skywalker (2019). 
 And honestly, I just didn’t want to waste my time and my money on the new film, per the trailer and the leaked info that showed it was destined to be a dumpster fire filled with diapers, dismay and dialysis tubes. 
The Indy 5 movie has done extremely poorly in the US box office. And there are lots of reasons for that. But the bottom line is, fans are tired of movies with poorly written stories and strong political / woke influences. 
 The fans don’t want to see former heroic male leads presented as old wasted shells of their former selves. Recasting of the male hero as a younger charismatic guy can be done to avoid such pitfalls… but Hollywood prefers to gender swap & race swap and do all sorts of arrogant things that fit their political agenda instead… then they fail and blame the fans. Probably a pure sign of their hubris and stupidity. 


FYI, if you try to sell a poor product like an expired cake, and people don’t buy it, you can’t blame the people for just wanting to buy something else that tastes good.So fans have started walking away from bad movies / agenda-filled entertainment, and the Hollywood studios have started suffering financially, in recent times. 
Anyway, I did some research of Phoebe Waller bridge [aka Ms. Fleabag – it’s an odd nickname she got in her youth, which she still uses]. And Fleabag is the woke, insufferable and unappealing co-star to Harrison Ford [Indy], in the new Indiana Jones 5 movie. 
The first Indiana Jones movie was released in 1981, and that’s like 42 years ago. But over the past 15 years, no new movies were released, and no new cartoons, video games or books. Thus it actually grew old in the minds of a lot of fans… but that’s not why the latest Indy 5 movie failed, because Topgun Maverick, [released in 2022, and being a sequel to an old movie from 1986], fully proved to Hollywood that old movie franchises can still be profitable, if they’re done right. 
Now let’s move on to my research on Fleabag. I decided to track what she’s been up to in recent times.Per the published details on the last James Bond movie titled "No Time To Die", after the longtime Producers of James Bond had creative differences with the original Director and his collaborator, those men left the project, and they did not approve of the 1st script and the movies direction, which contradicted their vision of how things should end for the Bond Saga. So two new guys came in: a new director and new writer were brought in, to rewrite the whole thing. And the Producers wanted to appease the woke crowd, so they brought in Fleabag, to go over an already completed 2nd script. So she "polished" it in 2017 / 2018, and they claimed the “polish” was done at the request of Daniel Craig... and yet he got killed at the end of the movie... and Daniel never personally confirmed the claim… so their claim was probably a lie. 
Hence Fleabag's ideologies were tossed into the 2nd script.Then the Filming started in 2019. And the Movie was released in 2021. And it made roughly 770 million dollars globally.Thus Hollywood believed Fleabag was a big Producer with Excellent Writing and Acting Talent, per her former BBC TV shows. And they believed her handiwork was a big part of the movie's final box office tally [which was actually less than some former Bond movies with Craig; since Skyfall, released in 2012, made about 1.14 Billion globally]. 
Thus Fleabag became some sort of poster child for woke polishing and woke performing. And the Hollywood Studio Execs believed a lie that fit their woke narrative, even though the writing was on the wall. 
So Fleabag was added to the cast of Indiana Jones 5, per the desires of Kathleen Kennedy [the current head of Lucas Film]. And Fleabag’s radiant star power was expected to carry the movie, as she overshadowed the 80-year-old original actor [Harrison Ford], constantly mocking and belittling him in his own franchise. 
Per the honest reviews, although the first act of the entire Indy 5 movie was entertaining, the overall movie had a lot of plot holes, and it was not a good story. Word is, the entire movie was reshot, thus ballooning the budget… some are even saying it cost between 350 to 400 million to produce the whole thing, before adding marketing. And since the revealed plot leaks at the Cannes Film Festival a few months ago, the longtime fans already gave up hope of seeing anything good on the big screen. 
Of course the Indiana Jones 5 movie has failed. It brought in 60.3 million dollars over the first 3 days, while costing over 350 million [before you add at least 150 million, in global marketing]. Plus people often forget that the movie theaters always take 50 percent of the cut, and the foreign countries give back between 40-20 percent of the profit, for the US movie studio to collect. Thus you can’t always depend on the international box office receipts. Hence, for the US-based movie studio to make a profit from Indy 5, they'd need to make 900 million to 1 billion dollars in ticket sales globally.
-Sigh- Good luck to Lucas Film and Disney. Per their arrogance, over the past decade, they took their audience for granted, by putting their personal political nonsense above good storytelling and proper character development. And now, the broader audience has walked out on them. Plus their in-house studio drama [revealed by insiders working there in Burbank CA and exposed on Youtube] is way better than the movies they've been putting out lately. So will they finally learn from their arrogant egregious mistakes? Only time will tell... All right, that’s all for now. Don’t forget to like and share!- Article written by the artist & author of the DSNG Sci Fi Series [http://dsngsfm.blogspot.com]

EVANGELYNE [ EVA ] FANART FROM WAKFU FRENCH ANIME SERIES!

 Evangelyne or Eva is one of the characters from the French Fantasy Action Adventure Animated Series called Wakfu [which is based on an online game called Dofus, which is a tactical turn-based MMORPG]. And the French production studio is called Ankama.

Eva is from the Cra race of Elves and she is an expert archer, while she is the bodyguard of Amelia. She ends up marrying the character named Percedal [Tristepin] Sadlygrove, from the Lop race, and they have two kids together. And Eva is friends with Yugo [from the Eliatrope / dragon race], the  main character of the series.

Most of the original art & character design that made the Dofus game [and later the anime] popular was done by a guy named Xavier "Xa" Houssin, who has a cool peculiar artstyle. He worked in France with the Ankama Studio for about 15 years. He's on Instagram over Here. 

But he left the studio almost 10 years ago I think, and then other artists took over the design work.... others that really can't touch his artstyle ;) Also, he sells artbooks of his collection of works, available through Kickstarter campaigns I believe. Plus you can Google "Xavier Houssin Art" and you'll see his stuff.

And I included a colored poster with some of the different races from the Wakfu / Dofus universe, down there on the right side, to show his art style.

The first Season with 30 episodes of Wakfu aired back in 2008, before Season 2 was launched in 2010. Mostly the show is done in French, with English and other subtitles available. Some call the cartoon an anime, but it does have its unique style, while the computer animation was originally created via  Adobe Flash. Their utilized software may have changed by now, I dunno. They've had a total of 3 Seasons so far, and Season 3 was featured on Netflix. And Season 4 was funded via Kickstarter campaign back in May 2020.

In my opinion, the storyline became a bit bizarre in Season 3; it just didn't seem to make much sense, like they were going with a "whatever" approach - like "whatever we can think of, to just get through the season". And it was almost like the characters were ignorantly shoved inside a game, moving from stage to stage, in each episode... so if the game stage was boring, then the whole episode was boring. It just didn't flow well. And the ratings were not very good on Netflix, so it did not get renewed. And I believe that's why they had to switch to Kickstarter to get funding for the next Season.

I made a character design sheet of Eva from the Dofus game & Wakyu anime, shown on the left. The image with the blue background was taken from the cartoon in Season 2, while the archer pose is from the game.

And as shown at the very top of this blog article, my artstyle is different, per the way I draw female figures and faces. 

One more character design poster is shown below on the right side, with art by Xavier Houssin. That's a Cra archer gal with light-armor like Eva... might even be her ;)
Anyway, Evangelyne is a cool character and she is rather long-suffering and compassionate, so she puts up with a lot of crap from her friends and even from Amelia, who often can act like an entitled Princess Diva. Google Wakfu and look up the trailers for the show on Youtube.

Plus there is a popular clip from Season 1 Episode 22 in which Tristepin [her boyfriend] has a brief dream about dancing with Eva. Its on Youtube over Here.

- Article written by the artist & author of the DSNG Sci Fi Series [http://dsngsfm.blogspot.com]