New Site Coming Soon…

There should be a new site coming soon with a proper domain name and better features. Stay tuned. I am currently struggling to get it off the ground, but keep your eyes peeled.

How to Build a Miniature Lego SNES

After being inspired by this guy’s amazingly cool miniature Lego NES, I decided to try my hand at a miniature SNES.

This is what it ended up looking like.

If you would like to create this Snes you can follow the instructions below.

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Sunday’s Suggestions: Great Comic Blogs

For the next few weeks I shall be doing the Sunday Suggestions a bit differently. I shall be promoting some of my favourite blogs for you all to enjoy. This week I shall be highlighting some of the best blogs about comics. I have been around the comic crowd for a while, so I should know a good blog when I see it.

Nigel Parkinson Cartoons

Nigel Parkinson is the current artist for Dennis the Menace and Minnie the Minx in the Beano. He also has drawn countless other characters in both D.C Thomson and Fleetway publications. As Nigel has had years in the industry, his posts are always interesting and well informed. He often posts news and sneak peaks from the Beano and his two main characters, Dennis and Minnie as well as various posts about his convention appearances.

Peter Gray’s Cartoons and Comics

This blog is full of great information about British humour comics. Peter Gray has featured hundreds of different comics and strips on his blog with great features on artists and comics. His scanner must be pretty hard wearing as he seems to scan whole comics at a time.  Peter also draws pictures of animals, so check them out too.

The Comic Archive

The Comic Archive does exactly what it says on the tin; it is an archive. The author, Bruce Laing, seems to know a lot about British comics despite living down under in Australia. Bruce aims to provide a comprehensive archive detailing info about each strip from every British humour comic. Like Peter, Bruce must have a very good scanner, as every fact and figure is backed up with scans of the respective comic or strip.

Blimey! Its another Blog About Comics!

Lew Stringer has been around the comic circles for a long time, so his knowledge of the whole industry is used well on his blog. He posts about anything and everything from old comics and up-to-date news. Lew has been an artist for some very popular comics so it is great to hear the details behind them. He has an extensive collection of comics, so he often posts about some of his stash.

These are some great blogs that you should check out if you have any interest in British comics.

So You Are Marketing to Kids?

After watching a recent advert of the Karcher Window Vac, a products for cleaning windows. I found myself seeing some very recognisable yellow, pill shaped characters. Yes, the Minions appeared in this advert. This left me thinking is Karcher trying to make their vac attractive to children, or are they assuming that the kids will force their parents to get one? I don’t understand the link between the two other than the distinctive yellow colour of the Minions and the vac. The funny thing is that this is the only advert where they are nothing to do with the brand. I don’t think Karcher are doing a special range of Minion vacs. Do you?

By the way. What do you think of the new look of the blog?

 

 

Have You Got A Valuable Lego Minifigure in Your Collection?

Lets be honest, the best thing about Lego sets are the minifigures. Am I right? Minifigures are small, and come in a variety of different kinds; they can also be customised. Lego minifigures are incredibly easy to collect as they are easy to store and don’t take up much room. They are also collected by fans of the various licenses Lego have used in the past. For these reasons it is obvious why some minifigures are worth an absolute fortune. In this post I hope to point out some hidden gems in your Lego collection that could make a pretty penny.

Lego Store UK Exclusives

When some Lego stores opened up in UK locations they created custom minifigures of famous people from that area. These were exclusive to the particular shops and therefor very rare. These are the sets with celebrities, as there are other sets like these with generic figures in them.

Beatles – Liverpool Exclusive

Worth Around £250

Beatles Minifigure Set

Oasis – Manchester Exclusive

Around £100 to £200

Oasis Band Minifigure Set

Ant & Dec + Cheryl Cole (Fernandez-Versini) – Newcastle Exclusive

£75 to £130

Newcastle Celebs Minifigure Set

Collectable Minifigure Series

Since 2010 Lego have been releasing a new series of 16 figures that are all collectable in their own right. Since the first series they have gained popularity, so much so, that people are willing to spend a pretty penny so they can collect them all, especially the earlier series.

Seriers 1 Figures

Between £5 to £10 each, with the set selling for between £150 to £230 (sealed packs).

Lego Series 1 Minifigures

Mr Gold (Series 10)

There were only 5,000 Mr Golds made so the price is obviously steep.

£325 to £850 – Worth more than its weight in gold.

Mr Gold

Star Wars Minifigures

Star Wars is one of the most collected movie franchises ever, and probably the one with the most merchandise. The Lego Star Wars range is no exception, with some figures being worth a fortune.

Chrome Darth Vader

Around £100

Chrome Darth Vader

Gold Chrome C-3PO

£180 (Opened) to £450 (Sealed)

Gold C-3PO Lego Minifigure

Silver Stormtrooper

£12 (Loose) to £54 (Sealed)

Silver Stormtrooper Minifigure

Cloud City Boba Fett

£100 to £280

Cloud City Boba Fett Minifigure

I Love NY Yoda was a Toys R Us exclusive, so is very rare.

Around £250

I Love NY Yoda Minifigure

White Boba Fett

£10 (Loose) to £65 (Sealed)

White Boba Fett Minifigure

Comic Con Exclusives

At each Comic Con various figures are given away and sold to the punters who attend the shows. As these are exclusive to the visitors they are rare and hard to come by. All the figures are from different movie and TV franchises.

Batman of Zur-En-Arrh

£225

Zurenarhh Batman Minifigure

Bizarro

£140

Bizarro Minifigure

New York Comic Con Batman

£250

New York Comic Con Batman Minifigure

Guardians of the Galaxy – The Collector

£112 to £125

The Collector – Guardians of the Galaxy Minifigure

All of these figures are in pounds, so they may be worth more or less in America. All the figures are best if they are sealed, but are still worth something when they loose. Some of the price guides are fairly broad mainly due to the condition and the fluctuating in price due to the different trends. I hope this has been informative, and opened your eyes to some of the treasures you might have lurking in your toy box.

Nominate Your Favourite British Comic Character

I Need You! I will hopefully do a 64 knock-out tournament where characters will be picked out at random (although bigger characters will be seeded) and go up against another character. There will be a large vote at the beginning where you will have to vote 32 times between the 64 characters, but after this it will get closer and closer to finding the nation’s favourite.

I am writing this post to ask for nominations of your favourite characters. I would like a vast spectrum of characters from the D.C Thomson titles to IPC and everything in between. They must be from a British publication.

Once I have received all of the nominations needed I will post here again to show you how to vote for your favourite. I hope this will give people some fun, and cause people to back their favourite character right to the end. If anyone would like to do the vote in conjunction with my blog I would be happy to oblige. Once I have 64 contenders I will hopefully get a national news site or something like that run the story and publicise it enough so that we get a real shot of a national vote.

You can nominate your favourite characters on the comicsuk forums here.

Sunday’s Suggestions: What to Watch When Mythbusters Ends

If you didn’t know, the next series of Mythbusters will be the last one ever. The news was dropped a couple of weeks ago, and since then Adam has been posting pictures of the last shoots on Twitter.  I have been a big fan of the programme for some years now, and I will be upset once it finishes. In the post I will hope to point out some great things to watch, that fans of Mythbusters should enjoy.

Duck Quacks Don’t Echo

This is a British TV programme that is shown on Sky 1. This programme invites 3 celebrities to come onto the show to prove or disprove facts. The show is hosted by comedian Lee Mack, making it a bit more funny and less serious than other shows. The programme starts with testing the facts brought in by the guests. The testing is scientific, and after the test you always feel they did the best to prove or disprove the fact. After testing the 3 celeb facts, the guests then choose a fact from the audience. As these were chosen during the filming, the facts are put to a panel of three experts. These experts then use the knowledge they have and what they know from recent studies to prove or disprove the facts as best as they can. The last segment involves a fact from Lee that he proves in the studio, often with big apparatus. I think this programme is an interesting take on proving facts. Most of the facts are not big stunts or scientific phenomenon like Mythbusters, but rather things like “If given the choice Men would…” or “Most dogs will…” The show appears on Sky 1 and the US version appears on National Geographic Channel. It is not as meaty as Mythbuster, but it is a light entertainment show that will leave you saying “Wow, I didn’t know that!”

Lee Mack Climbing Up A Wall with Hoovers

Scrapheap Challenge

Scrapheap Challenge is also a British show featuring two teams who had to create different machines from junk found in a scrapyard. The two teams would be given a challenge as to what they had to build. These challenges included building a hovercraft, a cannon, and an amphibious car. Each team consisted of 3 regular team members and one expert on each team. There was also an expert on the particular challenge that informed the presenters. After a set period of time building their machines, the teams would put them to the test. Fans of Mythbusters should enjoy the make do and mend approach from the teams. Many episodes of Scrapheap Challenge are available on Youtube.

Teams Competing in the Scrapheap

Brainiac: Science Abuse

Brainiac: Science Abuse does exactly what is says on the tin. The shows presenters enjoyed nothing more than putting common scientific theories to the test. Many things were put to the test including some that Mythbusters have also tried. One test they performed was actually shown on a Mythbusters episode. The crescendo of the show was always blowing up a caravan. If you like Mythbusters you should definitely love Brainiac. It has all the same scientific action, but with a lot of humour as well. They also love using explosives. There are a lot of episodes on YouTube so check them out.

Brainiac Blowing Up a Donar Kebab (Like You Do)

New Thursday Teaser Format

Hey guys. I hope you have all have left your opinions on the Blog Blowfish vote you can find here.

I have decided to give the Thursday Teaser a bit of an overhaul with a completely new way of doing it. Now that I have a BBF Facebook account, I shall post a riddle each Thursday as normal but only on Facebook. You can get a link to the teaser on the top right hand on the blog. This will be updated each week so that you can find the new one each week. If you don’t want to miss out please follow me on Twitter or Facebook.

You can find this week’s teaser on my Facebook.

If you leave a comment and like on the post with your answer if you are correct you could get a mention on next week’s Thursday Teaser!

Valuable PS1 Games

This is the start of a new series going through some different collectables and the valuable ones you have to look for. It is funny that I have bought some PS1 consoles for pretty cheap recently, but after looking around it is fairly obvious that the games are where the money is at. In this post I will highlight six games you should definitely look out for in charity or junk shops, as well as your own junk stash.

Tombi! and Tombi! 2

Tombi! or Tomba! in the US was a side scrolling platform created by Whoopee Camp. The game is highly sought after for its nostalgic quality and the new and innovative gameplay. The reason for its rarity is the fact that Whooper Camp went out of business shortly after releasing the sequel, Tombi! 2.

Tombi!and Tombi! 2 can sell for anywhere between £35 (disks only) to over £100.

Tombi!

Tombi! 2

Do not be fooled by the demo version that came with the Play Station Magazine, as this is completely worthless.

Tintin: Destination Adventure

In 2001, a game was created for PS1 and Windows based on the different stories of Tintin created by Herge. The game’s setting was based on five different Tintin books; The Black Island, Red Rackham’s Treasure, The Land of Black Gold, Explorers on the Moon, and Flight 714 to Sydney. The game was never released in the US, but could be played with a modified chip. Very few “Destination Adventure” were released in the UK making them very rare, while the French version “Objectif Adventure” was easier to find. For this reason the English version is a lot more valuable.

The English version of Tintin: Destination Adventure sells consistently for over £200 each.

Tintin: Destination Adventure

Any Crash Bandicoot Game for PS1

For a 90’s kid, Crash Bandicoot is just as recognisable as Mario or Link. Crash featured in 5 games for the Playstation 1; Crash Bandicoot, Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, Crash Bandicoot: Warped, Crash Team Racing, and Crash Bash. The popularity of Crash has made the price of each of these games respectable considering the sheer amount created.

Each game is worth between £10 to £20 each depending on condition. I have seen the full set of 5 sell for £100.

All 5 PS1 Crash Bandicoot Games

Any Megaman Game for PS1

Megaman first came to Playstation in 1995 after some very successful games on the Gameboy. The Megaman games are very popular because of the very challenging platforming and Japanese flair. Each game is valuable in it’s own right and not just as part of a large set.

Megaman X3 £30 (Disk only) to £109

Megaman X3

Megaman X4 £21 to £100

Megaman X4

Megaman X5 £42 to £105

Megaman X5

Megaman X6 Around £65

Megaman X6

Megaman Legends £24 (Disk Only) to £90

Megaman Legends

Megaman Legends 2 £31 (Disk Only) to £90

Megaman Legends 2

The Misadventures of Tron Bonne £30 (Disk Only) to £288 (Factory Sealed)

The Misadventures of Tron Bonne

Please be aware these are all rough estimates of the prices of the games. Each game is graded according to condition; so the better condition the better the price. Obviously if you don’t have the case the game is worth considerably less, but never mind because single disks are still worth selling.

If you have a good name for this new series please leave it in the comments.

Tweets by BlogBlowfish

How To Make A Paper Helicopter Out Of Office Stationery

Today’s post comes out of my boredom while working today. I managed to make a really good paper helicopter out of the stationery dotted around the counter. This helicopter will spin down, must like a sycamore seed, when it is thrown. You can build this if you get bored at school or at work. This is how I built it.

All you will need is:

A Post It Note

A Paper-clip

Scissors

 

First of all fold the post it note in half.

 

 

Now cut along the folded line on the post it note.

 

 

You must now cut three equal tabs half way along the length of one half of the post it note.

 

 

Just like this picture.

 

 

You must now fold the tab on the right down, and then turn it over and fold down the left tab on the other side. This should leave you with one tab folded down on one side and the other tab folded down on the other side.

 

 

Now use your scissors to cut off the unwanted tab in the middle.

 

Now fold the paper lengthways so that it forms a lightning bolt shape in the centre and then flatten it out.

 

 

Lastly you can place the paperclip on the bottom of the helicopter. Make sure it is centred and holding the centre fold closed.

Now you are ready to test it. I recommend to throw it by holding the bottom and throwing it like a ball overarm. You should get the hang of getting the best amount of spin on the way down.

Thursday Teaser: Greedy Gary and the Sweet Fiasco

Well. We are back with our Thursday Teasers. If you don’t know the format by now, I will give you lovely readers a riddle you have to solve within a week. Leave a comment on this post and if you are right you can expect your name to be given with the answer next week when we reveal all, and give you a new riddle to ponder.

This week’s riddle is named Greedy Gary, and goes as follows;

Greedy Gary is happily eating his bag of sweets, until his friends, Hungry Harry, Starving Sammy, and Well Fed William seek to get in on the action. Gary didn’t want to give away any of his sweets, but William (Who wanted to get his friends something to eat) gave Gary a challenge – Gary was to make a solitary statement. If what he said was true, he was to give a sweet to Hungry Harry, however if what he said was false, he was to give a sweet to Starving Sammy. What did he say which allowed him to not give away any sweets?

Leave your answers below!

History of the British Comic Industry – Part 9: The Naughties and Beyond

This is the last instalment of the comic industry posts. I hope you have enjoyed them.

Perhaps the worst decades for the industry were the ‘00s and ‘10s. Just after the highs of the millennium, the industry had a shock after Buster closed in 2000. IPC’s Goliath was beaten after merging with at least 20 other comics including Whizzer and Chips, Cor!!, and Radio Fun. Buster was IPC’s best rival to The Beano and Dandy, but ended up being mainly reprints during the last decade of its existence. It also suffered from a lack of readership towards the end of its tenure. One great touch in the last issue told the readers how many of their favourite stories ended, and also went on to reveal that under Buster’s cap he had a Dennis the Menace hairstyle, as a playful nod to their long time rivals.

How it all Ended in the Last Buster Comic

The Beano and Dandy also lost many readers during this period. These losses were mainly down to the new ways of reading like e-readers, and the many distractions for children like video games and television. Due to the lack of readers, the longest running British comic, The Dandy, closed in 2012. Because the comic had few readers, it made economic sense to stop the comic before it operated on a loss. Another contributing factor was its revamp in 2008. Dandy Xtreme, an aim to modernise the comic by focussing around television programmes and video games, lost the comic many of its readers who used to read it as a child. Parents would also not buy the comic for their children, as it was completely different to how they knew it. Therefore, when the comic went back to humour strips the brand had been spoiled. The last issue was on its 75th birthday on December 4, 2012. This issue featured the 75 best strips of the comic, and because of the many older readers who picked up a copy, it became very hard to find in newsagents to buy. Back in the 1950s, the comic was consistently selling 2,000,000 copies a week, but by the end it only had 8,000 regular readers.

The Last Ever Dandy Comic

These few bad decades did have some triumphs. Some new comics came out during this era but they either had a low budget or were Beano and Dandy specials or tributes. There are only three main comics left now: The Beano, still going strong, Toxic, started in 1991 and later in 2002 with more comic strips than the average magazine, and the Phoenix, which contains mainly adventure stories that was started in 2012 by some of the best contemporary artists. Children’s magazines today are here today and gone tomorrow mainly because they follow the latest trends or fads. The magazines rarely have comic strips or cartoons, and would rather centre on celebrities, video games, or films in an attempt to modernise the format. For me a country without comics is very sad, as many children now will never be able to enjoy the laughs, comradery, and enjoyment that a simple comic can bring. Children will also miss out the great artwork and the gripping storylines. School playgrounds will never be the same without the questions, “Are you a Whizzer or a Chipite?” or “Did you read Dennis the Menace this week?” Without a market for new comics, the main publishers now have to bring out nostalgic comics for their older readers. Just last Christmas a The Beezer, The Topper, Whizzer and Chips, and Roy of the Rovers annual were published with the old style of strips.

The Best of Annuals 2015

The industry has not gone yet, though, and you can do your bit by reading and enjoying the comics out today.

The Phoenix – A Quality Weekly Story Paper – Buy Here

Toxic Magazine – More Comics than the Average Mag – Buy Here

The Beano – The World’s Longest Running Comic – Buy Here

What’s New Scooby Doo? – Scooby Becomes Cool

I was watching some videos on Youtube and suddenly saw an advert for a new series of Scooby Doo. I was shocked when I saw it, especially after re watching all the Scooby Doo Mystery Incorporated episodes.

The new Scooby Doo, named Get Cool Scooby Doo, was announced in March 2014 alongside reboots of Tom and Jerry and Bugs Bunny’s Wabbit. This is the twelfth incarnation of Scooby Doo following on from Mystery Incorporated. As I said, I have been watching all the Mystery Incorporated shows again  mainly because I really love the over-arching storyline, unfortunately the new series does not have a bigger story as each episode is separate and standalone.

Be Cool Scooby Doo Logo

Scooby Doo Mystery Incorporated Gang

They have cast the normal voice actors for Fred, Shaggy, Daphne, and Scooby, while Velma has a new voice actor. Fred and Scooby are voiced by Frank Welker who has been voicing them since Scooby Doo’s first show in 1969. After Casey Kasem’s retirement and 2009, and death in 2014, Shaggy has been permanently voiced by Matthew Lillard, although he played Shaggy in the live action films in 2002 and 2004. Daphne is voiced by Grey Griffin who has been her actor since 2001. Velma’s new voice actor is Kate Micucci, who has previously voiced characters in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Ben 10: Omniverse.

The cast of Be Cool Scooby Doo

With the new title, Get New Scooby Doo, you would assume that all the characters have been revamped… and you would be right! All the characters are keeping their signature styles, but the overall character design is very different. The character design is very reminiscent of Family Guy and Adventure Time with large eyes and simplified features. I personally don’t like the new look, but I am sure I will get used to it. Anyone remember the weird look on Shaggy and Scooby Doo: Get a Clue?

Scooby Doo Gang in Family Guy – Don’t they look similar?

They also look like they were drawn for the Regular Show

We should be used to change by now.

In a Comic-Con article it was said that the series would be less grim compared to Mystery Incorporated, while its producer says it is a “more comedic ensemble.” I personally liked the edgier story’s mainly as the characters struggled through them. The romance between the characters has also been squashed in the new series. I am yet to see an episode, but the previews I have seen seem to be full of humour and quick quips instead of drama.

I hope I am wrong and that it is really good, but I am worried the attempt to make it more attractive to different audiences may backfire. You can watch this new Scooby on Cartoon Network and Boomerang in the UK and Ireland.

Sunday’s Suggestions: Great Time Travel Movies For Back to the Future Fans

Thank you for joining us for Back to the Future week, I have personally really enjoyed the week of festivities, and I hope you did too. This will be the last post of the week. Today, I will suggest some time travel films that I  enjoy as a massive fan of BTTF.

Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure

This film follows two teenagers, Bill and Ted, who have to hand in a history paper for their school. Unfortunately, they are completely stupid and can’t think of anything other than playing their guitars and becoming rock stars. They do become massive rock stars and actually rule supreme over the world in the future, but it wouldn’t have happened unless they passed their history paper. So a guide is sent from the future to make sure that they pass. He comes in a phonebox time machine, and takes Bill and Ted to the past to find famous historical characters to help them with the paper. Thus ensues funny situations between Bill, Ted, and their famous friends. If you enjoy BTTF 3 with its historical setting, you should enjoy Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure with the many different time periods they travel back to.

Bill and Ted – Be Excellent To Each Other

Groundhog Day

Groundhog Day is a film that shows Phil Connors, a local weatherman, get stuck in the same day over and over again. He is meant to be reporting about the weather-predicting Groundhog, Punxsutawny Phil, but when the day is over he has to live it over and over again. He then gets to know exactly what happens each day putting him into some funny situations. With the seemingly endless days stuck in the same day, Phil gets bored and upset and tries to get out of his cycle through many different ways. It isn’t until he acts selflessly when he finally gets himself out of the time loop.

Hey Phil!

Minute Men

Even though a bit cheesy as it was made by Disney, Minute Men is a film about high school kids who build a time machine and decide to use it for the good of their class mates. The film starts with the main characters Virgil, Derek, and Stephanie starting high school by trying out for various clubs. Virgil opts for American football, but ends up being embarrassed by another new kids named Charlie who turns up to the try-outs on a rocket powered car. Virgil and Charlie are both humiliated by being hung on the school’s statue of their Ram mascot, thus being branded as outcasts for the rest of their schooling, while Virgil’s friends, Derek and Stephanie become popular. Virgil and Charlie end up becoming friends, and stick with each other. Charlie one days tells Virgil he has created a time machine, but didn’t have the expertise to build it. They both had to recruit another outsider, Zeke, to help them build the machine. Once it is finished they use it to go back in time to help other “nerds” when they had problems. Unfortunately, they use the machine too much and cause a black hole…

Run it back again!

I hope you like these picks, as these are some of my favourite films of all time. You may be able to tell I really love time travel films. Thanks for sticking with Blog Blowfish for Back to the Future week. We will continue to put some great content out over the next few weeks including some more Aardman easter eggs, finishing the history of comics series, and starting a new series about valuable collectables. So remember where we are going we don’t need roads.

Vote for Your Favourite Things About Back to the Future

Try our Specials

Sadly, Back to the Future week is almost over. I hope to round it off nicely with some polls today to find out your favourite things about Back to the Future, and tomorrow I will discuss some other good time travel movies.

Expectations vs. Reality: Back to the Future Fashion

Hello fishy friends! I am Elsie from Nitryl Blog, and I am the sister of Blogblowfish’s editor. I am a fashion fanatic and will be writing today about the superbly garish fashion from the 1980’s to celebrate Back to the Future week! If you like my content you can find my blog here or contact me on Twitter or Facebook.

Check me out!

From leotards to legwarmers, the 1980’s are known by many as “the decade that fashion forgot”. Thanks to the likes of Madonna, nothing was worn in small measures and anything that lacked clashing patterns and shoulder pads wasn’t worth the wearing. As you probably know by now, it is Back to the Future week, and today I am going to discuss the best and the worst fashion from the film, and whether their estimations of 2015 fashion were accurate.

Marty McFly, the uber-cool skater and guitarist, wears the same outfit throughout most of the first and second film. The burnt orange gilet and the denim jacket combo screamed 80’s, and similar pieces have become synonymous with the movie.  Paired with faded ‘wrangler’ style jeans and the now fashionable white sneakers, this outfit was considerably standard for such a extravagant decade. However, Marty didn’t always wear such a laid back outfit choice.

In the future scenes of the film, he is wearing a much more exaggerated version the the previous outfit. A rubber-looking jacket (that I’m sure Will.I.Am has been seen in) and a holographic cap were added, and of course, the infamous self-tying Nike’s. The way the producers and stylists of Back to the Future predicted some of the fashion had some truth in it, but also a lot that have thankfully not come into the place. The holographic snapback can be bought from many online retailers. Whether or not this was an accurate guess or whether it was created purely to replicate that of the movie, I don’t know, but either way, they are being worn!

That being said, I am going to discuss the rest of the estimations throughout the film, and whether or not they have been correct. If I were to try and imagine what people will be wearing in 30 years, I really would be stuck. It is very difficult to comprehend what trends and fashions will take place. When we think of the future, we do naturally think of robots, PVC, and gimmicks, which must have been what the style team at Back to the Future were also thinking.

In Back to the Future 2, these two kids are seen. This estimation of 2015 kids fashion could not be further from the truth. The bright, printed and even sparkly tops are clothes most children wouldn’t be seen dead in, and as for the hats that’s another story. I assume they were going for the space-inspired look, but this glorified colander hasn’t, and I doubt ever will, catch on. The plastic sun-visor is a slightly more realistic headgear option, but unless you’re playing golf in space, I don’t think it will ever become a trend.

This dress seen is probably one of the most accurate creations of them all. Bodycon dresses have been a popular dress style loved by women (and their male partners) for years. So much so, you could not walk into a high-street fashion retailer without finding one on the racks!

This dress is a wholesale item sold in many shops, has been extremely popular in the recent months. And although it is inversed and is lacking the sleeve hoops, they are definitely similar. In a few years, who knows, those 3D appliqués may be ‘in’.

Last but not least, there is Doc. This yellow satin number could not have been left out of this post. Yet again, this isn’t that preposterous at all, and in fact for some, quite wearable. Although not a style choice for all, the individual items could be bought and more than that, worn. However, not so typically by a man.

That’s right! This gold satin shirt with overwhelming similarities to the one Doc wore in the movie can actually be bought off Asos. And although it has not got the length, there is no ignoring that almost royal gold.

In conclusion, despite the crazy colours and materials seen at face value in the movie, when inspected more closely, I think they didn’t do a too bad job at predicting fashion in 2015. Whether worn individually or just as a costume, there is no doubt that these peculiar fashion choices are around and for sale. Having said that, I believe it will be a while until we will be wearing kitchen utensils as hats, what do ya think Doc?

The Future is Now – Nike Mags

Marty's Trainers

I hope you all enjoyed Back to the Future Day yesterday, I certainly did. Yesterday a very special announcement was released concerning the shoes that Marty wears in the second film.

Marty’s Nike Mags

Nike are releasing replicas of Marty’s Mags that actually tie themselves up! This isn’t the first time Nike have released replicas of the shoes, but it is the first time with the tie up laces.

Coming 2016

You will be able to buy yourself a pair at a 2016 auction in aid of the Michael J. Fox Foundation. We don’t know any details of the auction apart from the fact it is taking place in Spring 2016. You can find a page about this here.

To celebrate BTTF Day, Nike dropped off a pair of their new trainers with “power laces” to their first client, Michael J. Fox.

If you can’t afford a pair of official trainers you can always buy a pair online for around £200.

One shop supplying a cheaper alternative.

If you want to look like Marty you really need a pair of these, so it is nice to see the cool guys at Nike providing.

Predictions made by Back to the Future

Not really the future

Well let me first wish you a good Back to the Future day, we can officially say the future is now! To celebrate I have compiled a list of some of the predictions made about today. I decided to write about it today just incase any of the predictions came true today *cough* Mattel *cough*.

Hoverboards

If you read yesterday’s post, you will realise we are still a fair bit away from hoverboards like the film. Although not Marty’s board, the Lexus board seems the best so far. I do not doubt, however, we will see ones very similar to Marty’s come out in the near future.

BTTF’s Hoverboard

Fingerprint Identification

When we get a glimpse as Marty’s future home, we can see that fingerprint scanners are the new replacement for lock and key. This would make sense as everybody’s fingerprints are unique unlike some keys. Nowadays, in the real 2015, we do put our fingerprints to use, just not for locking our homes. Many phones and laptops now have fingerprint scanners to check that the real user gets into the device while intruders don’t.

Fingerprint Scanner Door Lock

Voice Activated Devices

Who would think 30 years ago we would all be commanding and shouting at our devices to make them work? I certainly wouldn’t have guessed. Today we all seem to find it normal to shout at machines expecting them to do what we want them to. In the film Marty’s family all use voice activated devices including a hydrator, retracting  grape shelf, and televisions.

Lorraine Ordering Around Her Hydrator

Chip and Pin

In the film we see police officers asking someone to pay a parking fine. The driver then puts his card into a machine and then puts his finger on a panel to pay. Nowadays, in England anyway, we can just use a card to pay for items. All we have to do is tap our cards on a machine to pay. So we have actually gone one better than the film where instead of a two step system, we have a one step system.

Chip and Pin?

Fax Machines

I suppose in the 80’s fax was the future, but it definetly wasn’t. When Marty is fired his boss sends him faxes to his various machines. The funny thing is he had more than one fax machine; he had at least one in each room! Faxes are still used sometimes in business to quickly send files, but today no one has a personal fax machine or probably want one.

Not really the future

CGI

In the Cafe 80’s we see monitors with celebrities, Ronald Reagan and Michael Jackson, talking to the customer about different items available. They are the 80s versions of themselves and are therefore 30 years old in the film. So we can only assume it is using CGI. Today we are able to use CGI to give people experiences of people dead or alive without them ever having to be there. A prime example of this was the holographic concert of Freddy Mercury at the London Olympic Closing Ceremony.

Try our Specials

Video Chat

Well done Steven Spielberg, you accurately predicted Skype! Marty is seen giving his pal Needles a conference call, all over a network similar to the net.

Just like Skype

Cubs Win World Series

I know nothing about baseball in American, but I think the Cubs are still able to win the World Series. So I can’t help thinking I should have put some money on the Cubbies.

Against Miami?

I hope you have enjoyed your post and enjoy your BTTF day!

 

History of the Hoverboard

Marty's Nike Mags

Perhaps one of the most recognisable features of Back to the Future’s utopian view of 2015, has to be the hoverboards. In this post I hope to show you the history of the hoverboard, from its initial conception to its eventual production.

Although everyone assumes hoverboards were first created for Back to the Future, it may surprise you that one of the original concepts was conceived way back in the 1950s. This was named the Hiller VZ Pawnee, and rather than a board it was more of a floating platform. It was built for use by the American Army, but they didn’t really see its potential so only six were made, although they flew them successfully throughout the late 1950’s.

Hiller Aircraft Floating Platform

From what I can tell the first place we really saw something resembling a hoverboard was on the Jetsons. It seems logical for the first appearance of one to be on a cartoon set in the future. They appear to ride them like Griff and his gang as they hold a piece of string. We are never told that this gadget is a hoverboard, but it certainly acts like one.

The Jetson’s Hoverboard

After its first appearance on television, the hoverboard became a household name when Back to the Future II came out in 1989. The film shows a hoverboard used as a scooter until Marty rips of the handlebars and uses it as a  skateboard. The board takes an important role in the film getting Marty out of many scrapes. Since the film, the idea of a hoverboard has fascinated generations, so many different scientists and scientific organizations have been trying to recreate one for themselves. Unfortunately, they missed the deadline to create one working like it did in the film, but we do know they are still going to continue their work until a great one is on the market.

BTTF’s Hoverboard

In 2001 rumours went around telling people that a hoverboard was in production and soon to come out to market. This project was codenamed “Ginger” and was created by Dean Kamen. The project turned out to be the Segway which was a gyroscopic, two-wheeled form of transportation. Obviously it wasn’t anything like a hoverboard because a hoverboard doesn’t have wheels. So why people thought he was making a hoverboard, I’ll never know.

Not really a hoverboard.

Between 2004 and 2005, two tv shows tried their hand at building their own hoverboards. These programmes were Mythbusters and the Gadget show. Both shows went about the project in pretty much the same way; neither bothered using different chemical reactions or magnets, but used leaf blowers and boards. At this time not even Jamie Hyneman or Jason Bradbury could create a hoverboard as they both ended as failures.

Jason Bradbury’s Hoverboard

The Mythbuster Hoverboard

It wasn’t until 2011 when some real institutions tried their hands at cracking it. This year the Université Paris Diderot in France showed off their “Mag Surf.” Their hoverboard could hover 3cm off the ground by using a superconductor and a magnetized floors. You can watch their demonstration video below.

There have been two high profile hoaxes too. A gentleman by the name of Greg Henderson launches a Kickstarter for his hoverboard in 2014. It turned out it was a massive pr stunt as he never really wanted to use the technology for hoverboards but for other products of his. He basically used it as advertising for his business. Another hoax appeared on YouTube called HUVr featuring Tony Hawk and Christopher Lloyd. It showed a hoverboard working just like it did in the movie. Unfortunately, it was a hoax created by the YouTube Channel, Funny or Die. They had used the same effects as the movies to give the authentic look.

After looking at all the different attempts at creating a hoverboard, Lexus have to be the best so far.  They use the same kind of science as the French guys but make it look a lot cooler. The video is just mind-blowing. It may seem that the board is going over concrete, but it isn’t it is going over a special metal surface. Nevertheless it is still amazing!

So lets hope Mattel have been working on it for 30 years and are ready to release their ultimate board tomorrow.

The Future is Now – Pepsi Perfect

When Pepsi Co started in 1893 as Brad’s Drink, almost everyone has tasted the cola goodness of Pepsi. Over the years, Pepsi has become one of the best known brands in the world. One way Pepsi puts their brand out there is by putting it in movies. Pepsi has been featured in Home Alone, Wayne’s World, Fight Club, and World War Z, but the biggest film has to be Back to the Future Part II.

The thing that was different with this branding was that the film did not feature one of Pepsi’s products, but actually made them create a new one. The film is partly set in 2015, 30 years in the future, and Marty gets to see what life looks like in what is meant to be today. In the film, Marty goes to a 80s themed cafe and asks for a Pepsi; he then is surprised to see a bottle of Pepsi Perfect rise from the counter. We then see further branding and flashes of the bottle later on in the film.

Close Up View of the Bottle

Biff and Marty with Pepsi Perfect

Pepsi Perfect Logo

Sweet

Now it is 2015 and the date from the film draws near, Pepsi have actually released Pepsi Perfect and have already given some away to BTTF fans at Comic Con. This Wednesday, however, anybody can get their hands on one of 6,500 bottles available to buy online for $20.15. The bottle and branding is exactly what you can see in the movie, while the drink is just normal Pepsi.

The Future is Now…

New Bottle Turn Around

Pepsi have gone the whole hog and even made a spoof television advert.

I love the fact that Pepsi have decided to bring Pepsi Perfect out just to please fans.

 

Sunday’s Suggestions: Crafts for Back to the Future Day

You're Fired Print Off Prop

If you are planning to celebrate Back to the Future day this Wednesday I have compiled some heavy crafts just for you. I have found some great things you can make to give your day an extra BTTF feel. I hope you like the ones I have selected. None of these are by me.

The first section will be some great paper craft. I have always really enjoyed paper craft; the ability to create a model of almost anything (provided you have enough printer ink) is really exciting. I have found some of the best Back to the Future paper crafts that you can make very cheaply.

Marty McFly and Doc Brown Paper Craft

These great paper crafts of Marty and Doc were created by Panko451 on deviantart using the pattern created by Cubeecraft. Click the images to take you to Panko’s page where you can print off these great models. If you don’t know how to make a Cubeecraft watch the video below for a tutorial.

Doc Brown Cubeecraft

Marty McFly Cubeecraft

The next paper crafts are the various vehicles featured in the three films.

The most popular probably being the DeLorean. This DeLorean model is a fairly complex one compared to the Cubeecraft, but if you are up for the challenge it is definitely worth making.

You can also build your very own time travel train from the 3rd film. You can find both of these models at www.paperinside.com/delorean. All you have to do is download the parts and the instructions and any extras you would like.

DeLorean Papercraft

Time Travel Train Paper Craft

The next paper craft is one created officially by Cubeecraft… the Hoverboard! It is so easy even I managed to make it. Heres mine:

My Paper Craft Hoverboard

If you like this and you want to build it, you can find the instructions here.

The next paper craft is an invitation you could send to anyone for any occasion, but I would recommend using it if you have a BTTF party.

Back to the Future Invitation Card

You will be able to create one of your own by heading over to the Instructables page.

The last piece of paper craft you can print off is the You’re Fired!!! prop from the 2nd movie. This one takes no effort, but can be printed off on any piece of paper and cut out.

You’re Fired Print Off Prop

The next items are ones you can find on Instructables.

In the 2nd film, the Gray’s Sport Almanac is an important part of the plot; with tutorial you can make one for yourself!

Make Yourself Rich with Gray’s Alamanac

This is a great guide on Intructables by NamedJohnny.

NamedJohnny also shows us all how to make a hoverboard on Intructables! Unfortunately it doesn’t work.

All made for less than $30

I hope you have enjoyed looking at some of the great projects you do. I am personally planning to do a couple of these. If you are chosing to do the easier projects or challenging yourself with the hard ones I hope you find them fun and encourage you to build your own items.

Great Scott! It’s Back to the Future Week!

Being a massive fan of Back to the Future after the first time I saw the first film, I am looking forward to the 21st of October this year. The 21st is important because that is the day that Marty McFly travels to in the second BTTF film. So to celebrate this special day this Wednesday, I will be writing a post about BTTF each day for the week. Today, I will be posting a Sunday Suggestion post about different crafts you can make with a BTTF theme. The next few days after that will feature some of the different items that we were supposed to have in 2015, while on the actual day of the 21st, I will discuss the different predictions made by the film to see if they came true. The week will end with next week’s Sunday’s Suggestions suggesting other great time-travel movies.

I hope you enjoy this week’s worth of posts as much as I will enjoy writing them.

 

History of the British Comic Industry – Part 8 : Time to Modernise

By the ‘90s, computers, video games, and mobile phones were starting to find their market in the modern era. This meant comics also had to modernise. During this decade, it was technology and pop culture that prevailed. The Beano would have a guest appearance of a Radio 1 DJ, or Buster would give away Nintendo NES games. The comics were becoming more childish catering for a younger audience.

Some of the distraction for 90s kids.

Many classics also were lost during this era; The Topper and The Beezer merged in 1990 but only lasted together until 1993 after 1,963 and 1809 issues respectively, and Whizzer and Chips ended in 1990 after 21 fun packed years.

One of the last Whizzer and Chips

One of the Last Beezer and Toppers

This decade also saw the rise of political correctness. Dennis the Menace could no longer be “slippered”, racial stereotypes had to be taken out, and comic violence was a no go. Any older reader of the classics would have not recognised their beloved comics during the ‘90s.

Slippers became Un PC

£50,000 Autograph on Ebay!

This has to be one of the funniest things I have seen on Ebay in a while. An account named icemanrip has put online a very special autograph; his own signature. This gentleman is selling a copy of the Shropshire Star from 2004 where he is featured on the front page. He was a fruit and veg delivery man who caught a shoplifter after chasing him through Shrewsbury town centre. You can get this one of a kind paper for only £50,000! The guy selling wants to keep his copy of it, but wants to sell his other copy to fund his music career. He hopes that buying his signature is an investment You can find the listing here, or you can check out the pictures below!

Original Listing

Item’s Description

Sunday’s Suggestions: Game Collections for Retro Fans

For each new gaming generation, the old one becomes obsolete; or so you would think. Retro gaming has received a surge in popularity with more and more people taking out their old childhood consoles and enjoying them again as they did when they were kids. With the love of retro gaming, has come game collections; games that contain more than one retro game. In this post I hope to suggest some great collections of games that you can still buy and play on relatively new consoles.

Midway Arcade Treasures

What can be more retro than arcade games? This great cd contains 24 Midway arcade games and was available on the Playstation 2 and Original Xbox. All of the games were originally arcade machines of which some of them were ported to other consoles. Of the games on here a couple stick out to me. Toobin is a classic game where you are a man on a rubber ring having to avoid different obstacles while cruising down a river. Another good pick is Paperboy, where you take the role of a paper boy delivering newspapers to your subscribers , while vandalising non subscribers homes. You should be able to pick up a copy of this compilation on Ebay or in a local charity shop really cheap.  Check out the 2nd and 3rd versions too.

A Good Collection of Arcade Games

Average Paperboy Street

They see me Toobin

Rare Replay

Undoubtedly one of the best known and most successful publishers has to be Rare. They created some of the best games of the 90s including Banjo- Kazooie, Conkers Bad Fur Day, Battletoads, and Perfect Dark. So when in 2015, they launched Rare Replay, a collection of classic Rare games, on Xbox One, it was a large success. The Rare Replay featured 30 games all made by Rare over 25 years from 1983 to 2008. This disc is full of classics, so certainly worth a look if you like retro games. You can buy this from hundreds of retailers for around £20.00.

Not that Rare anymore

Sonic Mega Collection

As a massive Sonic the Hedgehog fan, I couldn’t miss this compilation off the list. It contains 7 classic Sonic games off the bat, with another 7 more obscure games you can unlock. You can play the classics Sonic 1, Sonic 2, Sonic 3, and Sonic and Knuckles as well as Sonic 3D blast and Sonic Spinball. This game was able to be found on the Gamecube, Playstation 2, Original Xbox, and the PC. You can find it cheap on Ebay on all of these platforms.

Press Start for Fun

Sega Mega Collection Cover Art

NES Remix

Nintendo have been so good in the last few years at getting NES and SNES games onto their virtual consoles. But recently they took it a step further by creating a game that takes the old NES games and revitalises them for the new consoles. NES Remix makes you complete different challenges within the 16 games featured. The challenges could include speedruns, trying not to die in a level, or killing as many enemies as you can within a time limit. Some of the games remastered are Super Mario Bros, Excitebike, and The Legend of Zelda. This game is for the Wii U and 3DS and should be able to be found in any good game store and on the Nintendo eShop.

NES Remix

NES Remix Cover Art

10,000 Hits

Thanks to everyone who has made it possible. Encourage your friends to read this blog! Encourage your enemies to read this blog!

 

Sorry for no Thursday Teaser today, I think I will be ending them for a while. I will instead be writing a feature each week named Friday Tat. If you didn’t know I also run an ebay page with a fishy theme. Each Friday I will write a little bit about some of the items I am selling. So stay tuned for some interesting details about my ebay items!