Tag Archives: quality

Review – General’s Compressed Charcoal

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As I’ve mentioned before, I haven’t significantly used charcoals in my artwork for most of my “career”, but recently stepped up and created a couple series using charcoal almost exclusively. For this I of course had to purchase most of the basic supplies for creating a charcoal drawing. As it happens, General’s produces a wide variety of inexpensive and readily available art supplies and they were the first ones I ran into when looking for compressed charcoal. I expected them to work, but not be anything spectacular. Was I right?

The set contains 4 sticks of charcoal that have been broken down and then compressed with a binder in 4 different hardnesses (2B{x2, in my pack}, 4B, and 6B). Each creates a relatively smooth and richly dark line that is very easy to smear and blend but very difficult to erase. The softer sticks do indeed create a darker and more consistent line but unsurprisingly seem to disappear in your hand while you’re using them. When compared to the “natural” vine charcoal these darker and more difficult-to-erase lines serve a different purpose: they are for further on in drawing’s development, when you are beyond the sketching stage and have most of the structure of your image created.

In my experience, these General’s sticks performed adequately. They were certainly darker and smoother than cheaper ones found in “sketching kits” that you can buy at department stores. However, they do still go down in a bit of a “chunky” pattern and aren’t true black. There is also a bit of a problem with breaking, but that’s just par for the course with this type of product. If you’re used to crayons, you’ll have to be very careful when handling these, or you can be like many artists I’ve seen and “pre-”break them in half before actually using them, which also makes it easier to get in close and work on detail areas.

These guys pretty much keep pace with a lot of General’s products. They work well, are easily available, and don’t break the bank (though they’re actually closer to the top end of the price spectrum in this case). They are a fine solution for people at all skill levels with the studio space to set up and use charcoals.

Review – Muji Hexa Ballpoint (.25mm Gel Pen)

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My handwriting is very fine, and I always gravitate toward finer and finer tipped pens in my quest to jam as much information on the page as possible. But there is a limit to how small the tip of any given pen can be. Too thin a felt-tip will simply break, and ballpoints or Rapidograph-style pens will either not allow ink flow or damage paper. Thus, even pens on the smaller end of the possible scale are hard to come by (being more expensive and relatively user-specific when compared to more standard sizes), with .25 being about as thin as one can find. Muji, in its characteristic minimalist style, offers a gel pen in such a small size. Is it a worthwhile purchase?

As with many Muji products, the pen is outwardly pretty simple. The hexagonal black body is a little larger in diameter than a pencil, and covered in a matte rubber that is only interrupted by two slits in the plastic near the front (for seeing the ink level) and a set of bumps with the slightest of step downs for posting in the back. After a brief clear plastic part, the metal cone in the front quickly brings us to a very fine protruding ink tube that’s about an eighth of an inch long. The clear plastic cap is also hexagonal, with an integrated clip and matching color insert that both covers the tip and displays the sizing information where it can be read easily from a pencil cup. Other than this, there are no markings on the item itself, as the label comes off, stripping you of all its information(in Japanese).

Performance is good. The pen is comfortable to hold and stays firmly in one’s hand (though the material can make capping and uncapping a bit more “frictionful”). When put to paper, ink flows relatively smoothly. At this size of tip, it is impossible to eliminate all of the scratchiness, but a good job has been done of controlling it. Likewise, another problem at this thinness is that a pen will tend to skip more if at any angle other than perpendicular to the page, but this too has been mitigated. I’d still recommend you write as straight as possible, but it shouldn’t have too great an effect on the writing. I don’t have much information on the ink, but I can tell you that it dries quite quickly (I almost can’t get it to smudge) and it’s waterfast and alcohol resistant (it does bleed a little, but remains legible, which is good for writing and bad for stains). Its spread isn’t too bad either, laying out on the average page about the same thickness as a .25mm (01) technical fineliner (though, with my handwriting both seem very close to a .7 ballpoint).

The pen’s a good one. It’s nice and sleek with a rugged body (I might be worried about the longevity of the cap. though) and a good writing feel. It’s slightly more expensive than a gel pen of comparable quality in the States (the price tag says ¥210, or about $2, but they sell it in the US for $3), but not enough to be out of their range. The tip is noticeably more fine than other ballpoints and gel pens you’ll find, but in my opinion almost awkwardly so (I’ve never been a fan of how gel pens look on the page {when written with my hand}), and there can be potential issues with the pen drying out. Still, if you’re looking for a functional and minimal super-thin writing pen (that isn’t as finicky or fragile as a technical pen) this is one to look at.

Review – Slant Collections Mini Journals Preppy Stripe

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I’m not exactly the type of person to be found in Tuesday Morning (the store) but I did find myself in there one day, and there was quite a bit of interesting stuff. And being someone who has been drawn to the stationery aisle since I was little I found myself in the stationery section, where I found a set of Slant Collections mini journals, this particular set in the discontinued “preppy stripe” (it was Tuesday Morning, after all). Let’s take a look.

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The books themselves are 3¼ x 5¼ inches, just smaller than a Moleskine pocket book. The cover feels like plastic-coated cardboard and in this version has a very simple design that comes in 3 colors. It is a single piece bent around and stitch-bound onto the 70 inside pages. These pages are lined with a thin 7mm ruling that is the same color as the main cover color, printed on a very white background.

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The paper itself is quite thick and a medium roughness. It is very bleed-and feathering-resistant despite this. Fountain and other liquid ink pens are handled well, and with most other writing utensils both sides of the paper can be used, though at this size I wouldn’t recommend that. The cover and binding are very well done and hold up (the stitching looks very slightly unsightly at times) and the corners are nicely rounded to prevent the corner bending that some books get. On the table the book lies adequately flat and while the cover does bend out of shape it bends back just as easily.

In the end I have been surprised by these little notebooks. They are hardy, easy to carry, great writing things. It has taken me some time to review them as they weren’t good enough to replace any of the books in my normal rotation (but that’s more because I prize consistency, a book would have to be head and shoulders above to get met to move something out of my rotation). I enjoyed using them very much (even the pink one) and if all of the Slant collection journals are as good as these were I’d consider more in the future.

Review – Jurassic World Tyrannosaurus Rex Lockdown Playset

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As you might have guessed from my last Jurassic World toy review, I am a Jurassic Park fan, and a T. Rex fan. And while most of the toys from the current Jurassic World toyline didn’t interest me, a few did. The first one being the Chomping T Rex I previously reviewed, and the second being the T. Rex lockdown playset that I will be looking at this time.

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The first part of this set is a T. Rex figure that is just a repackaged Basher and Biter T. Rex. It has the same paint, the same terrible proportions, and the same poor gimmick. I’m not as bothered by the many easily visible screw-holes as others seem to be, but they are a mark of getting a lesser quality product. Overall, it’s a disappointing figure that I wouldn’t have purchased on its own. It does offer some play value with its head biting and thrashing gimmick (this is accomplished by moving the tail) but there are too many faults to catch up on. At least it is almost the right size to look like a juvenile next to the larger Tyrannosaurus figure.

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The other parts of the set that are not the fence are even more disappointing. The gyrosphere is really bad. It is a small sphere of plastic with a cardboard cutout of a person inside. And there seems to be a problem in the manufacturing/packaging of this product that scratches each ball in the same place (though this could be dino-damage, another thing Jurassic park toys have been doing forever that I’m not really a fan of). I just wish this set had come with a human figure to get eaten, even if he was one of the little dinky figures the rest of the line came with, instead of this ball of plastic that can barely be played with and almost (if not entirely) breaks the suspension of disbelief in toys. The other thing is the net launcher, a weird looking hook with a spring that you put a piece of rubber on and fling it across the room. I guess it’s relatively safe and it will knock the dinos down, but it won’t look like you “captured” them with a net. Still I can almost see it being a fun toy to mess with; I just wish they had used that plastic to go toward something better. If they had combined the gyrosphere and net launcher plastic and made a better version of one or the other I would be happy, but here I’m just disappointed. Both of these items went back into the box.

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And finally, there is the good part of the set, and it doesn’t disappoint (for the price and size of the set at least): the fence and gate. Both of them look like redone (and slightly smaller) versions of the Jurassic Park gate that came with the command compound all of those years ago. It’s more film accurate to the Jurassic Park original than the sequel, but it looks quite nice, and the logo sticker is well done. The gate itself is smaller so older vehicles won’t fit through, and while the fences are smaller they are more solidly built, and it seems like this set should stand up to play pretty well. Some of the assembly points for the gate might be weak, but they are still stronger than the older version. There is also a secondary gate with a silly gimmick for the gyrosphere to smash through. It looks good when stood up, but I think the “shock” gimmick could have been improved. Still, it’s a decent play feature. The fences and gates are pretty well sized to keep the small bashers and biters figures in, but not really any of the larger ones.

I should mention at this point that I didn’t pay the MSRP of $25-$30, I paid $20 for this set. And, as a collector, I think the fences and gate were worth the money. But I’m not sure I would pay an extra $5-$10 for all of the rest of the junky plastic in the box. The dinosaur, gyroshpere, and net launcher are sub-par toys and display pieces, and the fence is a bit smaller than I think it really should be. I still don’t regret the purchase. I like it, and most collectors know of the problems with the Jurassic World toyline. As a toy for kids it would highly depend on the kid whether or not the set is worth it. It’s just bordering the price line where exactly how much they will like it really counts. Fun can be had with the set, but I might look elsewhere first for higher-quality toys. And as for collectors, I’d recommend waiting to get a deal on this one. It is one of the two pieces of the Jurassic World toys I would say are essential for fans, though, and maybe a little expense is justified.

 

Review – Flex By Filofax Pocket

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This review has been a long time coming. I first picked up the Flex by FiloFax pocket book a year ago from a surplus store as they were being discontinued in America (though I can find them on Amazon again now). I’ve never really been the organizer type and I didn’t know what I would use the item for, but it was cheap, and black goes with anything so I picked it up. How could I resist another notebook?

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So I have settled on a use for it, and it goes with me (almost) every day as my wallet (second wallet: my first one isn’t large enough to carry much cash and business cards as it’s attached to my phone). So this will be a review of the product as a wallet, and not the myriad of other things it could be used for.

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The book comes with two notebooks that I’ll cover first. One is a small, journal-type book, and the other is a tear-able (not a pun) pad. Both are good quality paper that’s fairly smooth, and can stand up to some fountain pens even, but they’re a bit stiff. They fit snugly into the slots on the cover and never seem too intrusive or fattening. Replacement books and other styles can be bought individually, and they are still good even if not protected in the cover.

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The cover has a leatherette feel to it (I don’t know the material) but it’s pretty strong and the spine is designed to be flexible so it doesn’t look bad or get destroyed by being opened and closed a lot. On the outside there’s nothing but stitching and a subdued logo, which I like. On the inside there are two panels, each has an inside-facing, and outside-facing pocket that are about business card size and can hold the notebook covers. One panel then has three card slots for business/credit cards or the pad, and the other side has only one slot for either the pad or any other item that FiloFax made to be put in there (I suppose cards would work there too, but there is only one slot). Finally, it comes with a thin piece of cardboard with a pen loop attached that can be inserted into the back pockets, allowing for one to easily take their pen with them.

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I personally have: business cards, cash, a small pen (Monteverde Poquito stylus), and all of the included items stored inside. The cover has held up well, with no signs of wear yet, and while I rarely use the books because I have so many other ones (and I’m not a fan of jot-pads) they do come in handy and can take inks that many cheaper papers can’t. I’ve had no problems with the spine or the pockets, and the stitching is still all there. I wish it was a little more customizable, but I wish that about everything.

The Flex is a quality product, as a wallet, organizer, or notebook. It is very customizable and very hardy. If one’s needs change, the Flex can change with them, and it seems to be built well enough to last through those changes. I really like it, and wish it was more widely available here (it might be now: I need to check up on it). It is on the bulky side, so it’s not for the minimalist, and more customizable options would be nice. But unless I see something great I’m not on the hunt for another wallet.