When I was kid I loved experimenting with electronics. I would go out and buy the individual parts and manuals at Radio Shack for my projects I would spend a lot of time finding the items that I needed to complete my experiments, which was a lot of work. But with Sparkle Lab's Discover Electronics kit everything you need to start building your own circuits is included in one box.

Organization:

One of my favorite things about this kit is it's organization of the indivisual components. Each type of component is in it's own labeled envelope with a picture of the component and corresponding schematic symbol. The envelopes make it easy to pick out the exact type of component you want without searching through a mass of tangled parts.

Contents:

The kit includes a instruction book, breadboard, and over 130 parts that you can start using immediately. The projects in the booklet require a 9V battery that is not included with the kit.

The Manual:
The Thirty-Two page manual is colorfully illustrated with schematics and detailed drawings of the circuits. The manual starts out with a basic power supply which each successive project builds upon.

The manual goes over transistors, capacitors, and resistors with corresponding projects of their use. The instructions are easy to understand and provide a basis for which you can expand upon.

It's great to find a product that brings all of these things together in one place. Sparkle Lab's Discover Electronics kit is a hit.

Stepping our of the past and into the future is Buck Rogers. Debuting in John F. Dille's syndicated comic strip in 1928, Buck thrust the American people into a future filled with aliens, robots and spaceships the likes they had never imagined before.

Buck Rogers is a former engineer and accomplished military pilot from the 21st Century who is frozen/preserved in suspended animation and awakens 500 years into the future to a world altered by scientific advances and a nation under siege by alien invasion. Buck quickly encounters Wilma Deering and Dr. Huer and joins Earth's military defense force. Buck's good friend is scientist Dr. Huer, the 1920’s equivalent of James Bond’s Q. Dr. Huer creates and hones the technological wonders that inhabit Buck's world.

Buck is not overwhelmed by the technological wonders of the 25th Century and quickly adapts. He soon proves himself to be an effective warrior and leader, becoming highly respected among his new peers. He has the acting rank of Captain (his rank in the 21st Century). Buck has a commanding charisma. He is a secret operative, an intelligence officer, a fighter pilot and head of the elite 'Rocket Rangers'. Buck is not superhuman. He's an extremely intelligent and brave young man who combats forces of interplanetary evil on a regular basis by utilizing his brain as much as his ability -- relying more on his own skill-set than on 25th Century gadgetry.

Buck is honest, good-humored, and his courage borders on recklessness. He is very self-assured and confident to the point of being cocky about his own abilities. Buck is very patriotic towards America (and Earth) no matter what century it is. Buck has a strong knowledge of military tactics -- but he will always 'stick up for the little guy' regardless of the situation -- often operating as a free agent in the name of oppressed people(s) everywhere. He is always conscious of his duty, but he is a maverick and will overstep his authority and orders to 'do what is right'.

Wilma Deering, his highly respected female companion in adventure adores him. Much to Wilma's dismay, she must compete for Buck's affection with a cadre of other women -- Ardala Valmar, Flame D'Amour, Thavia of Venus, Tiki of Eldonia and the beautiful Doctor Merberec of Uranus among many others.

But not everyone adores Buck Rogers. The insidious Kane and Ardala (who's infatuated with Buck), hate him and all that he represents with an undying passion. Buck is constantly countering their various schemes to rule Earth and ultimately the Universe.

Packaging:

Buck comes encased in a solid maple wood box with laser etched writing on the front and back. The box lid also has the edition number etched into it. The lid slides off and reveals the figure and accessories inside a vacuform plastic sleeve. Sandwiched in on the front clear panel rests the Certificate of Authenticity.

Note, check the back of the sleeve and retrieve the USB cable... More on this later.)

Figure:

The facial sculpt is clean with good paint ops, no smudges or ripples. The figure comes with hands attached which are removeable, and can be replaced with gloved hands.

Ungloved or gloved the pistol fits firmly in the right hand of our hero. The left hand is flat giving it a good karate chopping look, the gloved left hand is formed into a fist.

Great for knocking about unruly robots and such.
The body is wonderfully articulated, especially in the legs where Buck can kneel with ease.

The figure holds poses easily, and the costume fits nicely on the frame.

Costume / Accessories:
Buck comes in a long sleeve knit red shirt with leather-like vest with a die cast metal detail on the chest.

He wears tan jodhpurs (riding pants) and has tall boots also made from the supple leather-like plastic.

His belt is black with a die-cast buckle, leather-like holster with die-cast laser pistol. If you look closely, you can see the intricate design set into the holster. Just another sign of the overall quality and attention to detail in this figure. The die-cast pistol is also a favorite of mine. The finish and weight of the gun add to the value of this piece.

For his head he has a glass space-helmet with die-cast details or a faux leather flying helmet with a clear 2 position visor. The helmet is just amazing. I had heard that some of the delays were due to problems with the helmet, but whatever problems there were have all been resolved. The glass is clear and solid feeling. It just oozes the love that went into this product. It's just beautiful.

He has a gold colored jet pack with electronic light effects on the exhaust nozzles which light up red when the button under the pack is pressed.

The pack hook slips neatly in Buck's vest and is very stable.

ATOMedia Body:

This is one of the coolest features on this figure. ATOMedia is a 1 gig MP3 player that can record sounds or you can upload recordings from your computer. The battery is rechargeable with the USB cable (included) and the figures coming directly from GO HERO have a remote so you can trigger your figure to play from 25 feet away. An old Buck Rogers radio show is pre-loaded into the player. Now not only can you display this figure, but you can make the collecting experience more interactive. The feature doesn't change to outward appearance of the figure, and makes Buck's figure truly from the future.

Go Hero has made a exceptional figure with Buck Rogers. True to the Golden Age artwork, retro styling and futuristic features. The care in his design and execution shines through in every way. This figure belongs in your collection.

Overall impressions:

I very great reboot to the Y-Wing. This one dwarfs its predecessor with size as well as tons more features. It's big and it's durable.

Cockpits fit pretty much any Star Wars figure with some nice detailing like the yoke in front of the pilot. It's the little things that make a big difference. While it's not perfect it's PDC (pretty darn close.)

This would be a great addition to any Clone Wars or Star Wars collection!

Scale: 1/8
Height(inch): 7 1/2″
Height(cm): 19.5CM
Material: PVC ABS
License: TEARS TO TIARA

This piece was the one I was waiting to see for the lognest time. The box contains a vinyl playmat, the helm unit with two chairs, and the captain's chair. A main screen with graphic and two standing panel units.
The playset includes a Kirk figure which is essentially the same as the Kirk single pack figure, without the additional bridge piece of course.

Assembly is straight forward and should be completed in several minutes, even without instructions.

The vinyl playmat comes folded and rolled, so I covered it between two towels and a heating pad set to LOW for a couple minutes which made it easier to handle and let it lay flat on the table.

Details:

I like the modular feature of this playset so that you can add as many or as few features as you wish. There are no other bells and whistles to this playset, and that leaves it open for a child's imagination to take off.

Overall:
Fun for kids, would have like to see a special version of Kirk and maybe another background for the Main Screen. Otherwise a solid toy buy and a neat place to display your collection of Star Trek figures.

Transporter Room:

I have to admit that I was a little less than excited about this playset, but it has become one of my favorites. Once more the vinyl playmat is set down and upon that sits the transporter. One of the transporter pads lights up, and the one to the far right has the transporter tube. Once you place a figure on a small base and set it onto the transporter, you drop the shell over the figure and snap it down.

You can either activate the tube with the button on the top collar or by using Scotty's control panel. The light goes on and reveals your figure with a sound effect added for good measure.

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The light dims and the figure "disappears" (This is a very cool effect). You can then take the shell off the transporter and your figure has gone. Then you can set your tube onto another surface ("world"), once more lighting the tube to show your figure re-appearing, and press two other buttons on the top collar. When you remove the shell, the figure is left standing there. You can reverse the proceedure on the transpter to return your crewman to the Enterprise.

This is a simple yet effective effect. Kids should have a blast with it!

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Scotty figure is included. Uhura and Nero figures as stated before will contain additional parts for this playset.

Retail prices on the playsets is about $27.00, but when you figure in the price for a figure included, it's really only about 20 bucks.
Great value in my book.

I am hoping that this line could be expanded to include some vehicles like a shuttle, and possibly some additional villians, or other species of aliens.

Overall rating: * * * *

Star Trek opens in theaters May 8. 2009

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