FLOGGING THE DEAD EPSON HORSE

Epson I'm gone. I think I'm going back to Canon. I don't even remember why I switched from Canon years ago. I think it was because I wanted a laser printer, and ended up with a Samsung laser printer that turned out to be garbage. Then we got an Epson because Epson can churn out nice prints.

Admittedly I seldom used the printer so there were bound to be problems. It worked great at first, and then after some time the printhead became easily clogged despite running maintenance (which probably compounded the problem). However my first DIY cleaning was a success, I got the black to work perfectly for around 5 months. I happily inserted packing slips into my packages and printed government pdfs. The CMY colours didn't work though, as the cartridges were almost empty so I printed exclusively monochrome. Then I really wanted to print brown lines and thought to clean the other coloured nozzles. Big fat mistake. Now the black doesn't work at all. The printhead and nozzles are completely kaput for some reason. I wondered what I did different?

Anyhow gave it another try today after spending 4 hours of a failed attempt yesterday. By now I'm ready to throw in the towel but have spent good $$$ on new (yes GENUINE) cartridges and already fitted them in.

My rationale was concluding maybe yesterday's fiddling loosened the pesky dried ink overnight. Maybe I inadvertently introduced air pockets in the delicate mechanisms or something. Well, the printhead is squeaky clean now. I used a 27gauge needle and syringe to make sure the nozzles came out clear when flushed with Windex. 150 paper towels and tissues & 100 cotton bud q-tips later I am quite confident the printer will finally work.

Plugged it in. "CARTRIDGE NOT RECOGNISED - BLACK. REINSTALL CARTRIDGE".

What and why?! It was recognised just fine just now?!

Tried the alcohol on contact point trick, tried the eraser on chip trick, tried the 'relax and come back later' trick. Didn't work!! I'm done now.

8 hours of my life wasted and an added sense of frustration, thus this blogpost. I could've finished my illustrations. I could've primed my two canvas that's sitting in the corner collecting dust. I could've cleaned my room. I could've written a symphony. But nooooo, was flogging a dead heap of black plastic that is certainly self-aware. It doesn't want to be helped despite my sincere intentions. I gave it my best shot really. Maybe I was too rough with it? Well then, enjoy your time in the trash heap.

In fact I could've posted about my March Field Air Museum trip from last year which I have procrastinated for a while. I'm going to do it now and schedule it for the day after. So see you in my next post and apologies for reading my rant if you made it here ;)

SAILOR MOON WANDS CAN GASHAPON SET REVIEW

Finally completed the Bandai Sailor Moon Wands Can Gashapon set so here is my review! I bought them from Ebay in sets of 4 over several months.

They came in opaque pink plastic bags without the cans. These wands are also repackaged in boxes sold individually in the US. I'm pretty sure they are the exact same thing.

I paid about US$26 to $29 per set, including shipping. They originally retail for 500yen each in the machines.

These are miniatures, not life-sized. They are made of lightweight plastic and are inexpensive display toys which require simple assembly and come with a transparent stand each. They contain small parts.

Set 1 includes Sailor Mars & Mercury's Transformation Wands, Sailor Moon's Moon Stick and the Cutie Moon Rod. They were released in Nov 2014.

Closeup of Mars and Mercury. The bottles are just sitting in the holders and will certainly fall out if you decide to do some twirling! They may also slip out when tilted.

The bottles are filled with coloured water and glitter. The caps do not open and are glued shut, the glitter tends to stick to the walls of the bottle. The stars slide over the caps with a C-shaped fastener. These are not tight and will remove easily.

Back view. They don't look as nice as the fronts and are no frills.

The stands are a nice addition for displaying the wands, however they are quite flimsy! Most of the wands tend to fall off the stands when wobbled or held, as they are not tightly secured or heavy enough. This may seem trivial, but I've toppled the wands many times which is very annoying to say the least.

The Moonstick is my fave. However, the lousy stand came loose again and the stick fell onto my floor and badly nicked the crescent's gold. The gold does not hold up well and is very thinly applied. These are just gachapon standards so keep in mind they are like children's toys grade; kitschy, and for fun only!

The faceted globe on the top has an iridescent coat. It looks to be glass. Good thing I didn't crack it!

The goldtone plating on the crescent was not perfect when I received it initially. The surface was scuffed and dull on some areas, and a gold-polishing cloth did not buff it off. It could be from shipping or the packaging process so that is another thing you should expect, unless they were in the boxed form.

Back view.

The nicks on my moonstick... sigh. Keep them in a cabinet and don't ever touch them again and they'll be alright.

For some reason the gold started wearing down at that corner (left side) of the Cutie Moon Rod, revealing white!

I really don't know how that happened, so that's another piece ruined!! You can't see the flaws before unpacking as they are in opaque bags. Maybe you will have better luck!

Set 2 includes Sailor Jupiter and Venus' Transformation Wands, Sailor Moon's Heart Moon Rod and Moon Kaleidoscope. They were released in Feb 2015.

Venus and Jupiter's wands are similarly made to Mars and Mercury's except the bottles are filled with coloured sand.

Again, the caps are glued shut. I noticed the goldtone on the symbols tend to scuff and are a bit patchy.

These are cute.

Back view.

Heart Moon Rod (Spiral Heart Moon Rod).

A size comparison.

The translucent pink wings can be moved a little bit manually. The 'buttons' don't actually press.

The kaleidoscope effect part is made of prism stickers sealed behind the plastic.

Set 3 includes Sailor Neptune, Uranus and Pluto's Lip Rods and Sailor Chibimoon's Pink Moon Stick. They were released in April 2015.

I prefer they include Saturn! Apologies to Chibiusa's fans but yeah give me Saturn anytime.

Obviously this set would appear more coordinated if it was all the outer senshis, but I guess Chibiusa is more popular than Saturn? Or Saturn's lip rod is just too obscure it doesn't deserve a release?
So will there be a Saturn wand after all, since the set is incomplete?

Back view.

I like the planets they are nice, fat and shiny. Sorry I separated Neptune and Uranus lol. Pluto's wand is the silver one. Some fan-made cosplay Pluto wands are painted purple or gray, possibly due to the anime.

This set has no major problems except for this FINGERPRINT on the glaze! Someone at the factory didn't wear gloves hmm?

The lipstick is made entirely of plastic. It retracts, but is a bit stiff and wobbly.

Chibimoon's Pink Moon Stick is okay, but pales in comparison to Sailor Moon's.

 

Very tempted to get the compacts now! I do not have space for the entire wands set so I only put the Sailor Moon ones up.

In conclusion, the pros are: they are affordable and cute, and for someone who wants a wand set in a good display size. The cons are: the quality is lacking, and a serious collector may not like the cheap plastic material and accents.

ONLINE SHOPPING DEALS, CASHBACK AND MORE WITH SHOPBACK!

Online Shopping

Ah yes the convenience of the internet!! Not only is e-shopping made cheaper, more time saving, and anything (well *almost* anything) can be purchased at the click of a button, now there are sites that provide $$$ back whenever you shop at major online retailers!! Wait... usually I only get cashback for in-person local transactions via my Mastercard? Or usually I hunt down coupons the old fashioned way for savings.

I found out about ShopBack Singapore and here is my review! As mentioned above, this is a local site that provides cashback while you are shopping online. The best thing is they include international marketplaces!

If you like shopping online I'm sure you use at least one of these:
- EBAY!! (US Ebay ftw)
- Taobao
- Aliexpress
- Fairprice online
- Groupon
- Expedia
- Zuji
- Lazada
- ASOS
- Zalora
- Uber
- Foodpanda
- Cathay Cineplex
- Agoda
- Reebonz
- Hotels.com
- Jetstar
.... just to name a few. They have hundreds more if you look under their categories.

SHORT TUTORIAL:

Simple instructions: https://www.shopback.sg/how-it-works

How to use Shopback:
- Set up a free account
- Verify your e-mail account and set up your account details.

Before shopping, remember to:
- Turn off ad-blocker if you have installed the add-on on your browser.
- Make sure your browser allows cookies: use Firefox, Safari, Chrome, Internet Explorer
- Clear the cache from your browser.

The process:
- While logged in, click on the shopping links and copy coupon codes (if any) via the Shopback site, you should read the Terms and Conditions as each vendor has different rules.
- You must shop WITHIN the new tab that has opened.
- Avoid clicking on other links after this new tab, or Shopback will not be able to track your cookies. The last link you should click is Shopback's tab.
- Shop away! Apply coupon (if any) and check out with payment.
- Wait up to 48 hours for the vendor to process. Don't panic yet if you don't see anything reflected in your account, just be patient.
- If successful, your account in Shopback should reflect the cashback under 'My Cashback'.
- They allow you to cashout for $10 and above, that's it!

Read the full info in their Help Center if you run into any problems.

Official video tutorial.

If you are unsure, make a small purchase first and wait 48 hours to check if you did it right!

HOW TO USE ON EBAY:

So the first thing I tried was Ebay. Find the Ebay's page on Shopback. Currently they offer 1% cashback.

Their terms and conditions, it doesn't apply to certain categories.

Wait for it to load and a new tab will appear.

The Ebay address should read with an affiliate link on the back. I did not purchase from "my eBay" where I saved my favourites list. Not too sure if cashback would work here (maybe it might).

Don't click on the eBay logo home button on the left, the affiliate link disappears and goes to Ebay.com which means it lost its tracking. If you did that, start over again from Shopback.

Anyhow I used the default search bar to play safe.

Ah yes...
Found the listing, checked out with payment as usual.

Nothing is reflected on my Shopback at first so I waited 2 days and there it is. I got back 37 cents, and it will be redeemable in 58 days, keep accumulating and withdraw after it hits the $10 threshold.

The extra $5 is a bonus when you sign up and make your first purchase. To receive it, check your email, they should send another email after verification to prompt you to complete your profile and account. The bonus will be credited after 48 hours.

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They have a Cashback Buddy add-on for Chrome & Safari browsers for easy access so you can tell if the cashback is activated/ available on the shopping site. I will install that.

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Just want to make a quick mention about China's equivalent of Ebay -
TAOBAO
I used to pay a local 3rd party agent who tacked on freight and commission as I couldn't set up an Alipay account, but it looks like Taobao has now allowed Singapore & Malaysia accounts so you can create your own Taobao and Alipay accounts, the site is in Chinese by the way. So I'm taking it that I get savings on commish + shipping + cashback, which is great.




Part 2 video is instruction on how to set up Alipay, even if you are not using Shopback it is still informative. I will give this a try if anything catches my eye there. The videos come in 5 parts so please view them for the complete tutorial.

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I use AliExpress for purchasing packing supplies, but this would only work for new accounts set up after 27 July 2016. Currently they are offering 5% cashback!
Click here to save with an Aliexpress coupon.

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One of the highest cashbackers would be Lazada.sg: they offer 2%-12% cashback depending on what you buy. Some of their popular products are listed on Shopback too.
You can grab a Lazada coupon here.

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Lastly, check out their site at the upcoming 99 Cashback Day launching on 1 Sept 2016 for their 2nd anniversary!

Shopaholics, give it a try! It's a smarter way to shop.

P.S. Appreciate it if you would use this referral link:
https://www.shopback.sg/?raf=yKL7mN
if you want to sign up for Shopback! You can invite your friends for similar rewards after that, thank you so much and thanks for reading!

Q POSKET PRINCESS SERENITY

Got the matching Princess Serenity to the Q Posket Sailor Moon (read about it here)! Very pretty, something about the proportions that are quite appealing to me! Some people might be uncomfortable at her alien eyes but I dig this chibi style. She was released in Oct 2015.

There are bootlegs around but this is the original one, I got her from La Tendo for S$26. Why would anyone get the inferior bootleg that costs around the same price anyhow? To identify the bootleg, just look at the box. The original does not have a window so you can't see what's in it, and it comes with the bandai holographic sticker (in my country at least). I recall the bootleg has matte, not so smooth irises on her eyeballs whereas the original has smooth, glossy irises. I took a quick glance at one of the local shops selling the bootleg and almost got fooled.

She comes in three pieces. This time there is no prop stand for her head.

The amazing thing is she has feet! I mean they could have just have a flat bottom. Love the details that goes into this. Her head screws on tighter than the Sailor Moon one which is better. She is also easier to fit into the stand.

The drapes in her dress are very nice. The white pearlscent paintwork has a golden shimmer against the light.

Her hair also has a pearlscent yellow effect. There is a mold line on top right of her head, facing front.

 She weighs heavier than she looks.

Her skintone is actually a bit pinker and intense in person. Her makeup is an orange tint. Her moon crescent on her forehead is golden.

I absolutely love her, usually I skip Usagi as Princess Serenity but this one is too cute to resist! I am eyeing the petit version 1 and 2 that comes with the inner Sailor Scouts + 2 versions of Sailor Moon, but all the stores package them in sets of three, and I don't really need another version of Sailor Moon in the same pose. They are also too small to oogle at lol. We shall see!

SAILOR SATURN BANPRESTO GIRLS MEMORIES

Added another Sailor Scout to my collection, Girls Memories figure of Sailor Saturn, released by Banpresto. She is my fave character after Moon and Pluto (my blogpost here). I wish for a Luna Human version please!!

Tomoe Hotaru is the youngest Sailor Scout so naturally she is the shortest of all the characters, besides Chibiusa. Her height is about 14.5cm excluding her weapon. She also weighs much lighter than the other Sailor Scouts because of her smaller size and short hair. The figure is made of PVC and ABS.

Comes in three simple pieces. She is nicely sculpted and nothing too out of the ordinary, she is elegantly posed.

Her expression is gentle and following the anime version. I love the manga version where she has a bit of a melancholic (sometimes sinister) vibe going on.

There is a mold line on the hair and looks like it is blowing in the wind which is a nice touch. Her brooch is just greyish silver I would prefer it a bit more sparkly.

Yes I will be completing the set slowly, whenever I can get them at a good price. I also bought a Princess Serenity by Q Posket so that will come in the next post!