Gove's obsession with bygone era will fail pupils

Education Secretary Michael Gove is hankering after "a bygone era where everything was considered rosy", the leader of the country's independent girls' schools says today in a damning verdict on his reform programme.

Louise Robinson, president of the Girls' School Association, argues schools should prepare pupils for the "Star Trek society" of the 2020's instead of looking back at the 1950's and 60's.

In an interview with The Independent, Mrs Robinson, headmistrees of Merchant Taylor's Girls' school in Crosby, Liverpool,Service and equipment provider in professional Car park management system. added: "You can't be forcing a 1960s curriculum and exam structure on schools. These children are going to be going out into the world of the 2020s and 2030s. It is going to be very different from Michael Gove's dream of what it should be."

Her remarks show a significant rift is developing between Mr Gove and independent schools over his reforms which are based on a return to a more traditional academic model.

Mrs Robinson, who will make her plea for a more modern curriculum a key focus of her address to her annual conference later this month, is particularly critical of his planned reforms to GCSE. Under Mr Gove's blueprint, they will be replaced in the core subject areas – initially of English, maths and science – by his new English Baccalaureate certificate.

She said she feels the Government is "moving too far,Redpin is an open source indoor positioning system that was developed with the goal of providing at least room-level accuracy. too fast" on the reforms by not allowing time to pilot them in schools first.

"I don't think it is taking into account the future," she added. "I personally think we're going back to a bygone era where everything was considered rosy. I don't like the idea of the creative curriculum being forgotten about and treated as though it is second class."

Arts, drama and music are not included in the subjects for the new EBacc. Pleading for an emphasis on developing skills needed for the future, she added: "The Star Trek society is already here. We need to look at the way the world of the future is going. At present the way we run our schools is based on the 19th century."

A spokeswoman for the Department for Education said: "We make no apologies for wanting to raise standards across the board so that young people leave school equipped with the skills they need for work or further study.

"We have been clear that GCSEs are in desperate need of a thorough overhaul. Throughout the expansion of the academies programme and the introduction of free schools we are raising the number of good school places."

"I was 19, it was my first trip at sea and we were torpedoed by the Germans," said Crozier, who placed the wreath as part of the Veterans Day service at San Rafael's Veterans Memorial Auditorium. "It's an honor that people are recognizing World War II veterans today."

About 350 people came to the auditorium near the Civic Center Sunday morning to pay tribute to those who served in U.S.Shop for high quality wholesale parking sensor system products on DHgate and get worldwide delivery. wars, both the ones who returned and those who did not. The event was presented by the Marin County United Veterans Council.

The spirited crowd clapped in time to a medley of military tunes from the Las Gallinas Sanitary District Non-Marching Band and gave standing ovations to veterans including 93-year-old Leslie Alan Williams, a Tuskegee Airman.

Williams served with the nearly 1,000 famed Tuskegee Airmen whose World War II service helped spur desegregation of the U.If you have a fondness for china mosaic brimming with romantic roses,S. military. Before 1940, African Americans were barred from flying for the Armed Forces. Pressure from civil rights groups and the press resulted in the formation of an all-black pursuit squadron based in Tuskegee, Alabama, in 1941,Customized bobblehead made from your own photos, and Williams was a member.

How Has Assassin’s Creed III Disappointed Me?

Rather than taking the Assassin’s Creed series forward in some bold new direction, Ubisoft has resolutely kept the series at the same level as before, and actually have taken several rather large steps back. Not everyone feels this way: The game has garnered plenty of positive criticism, including a mixed but generally positive review from our own Stephen Totilo. But try though I may, I just can’t love Assassin’s Creed III.

Of course, that’s not to say I hate it — I don’t. But after about 10 or twelve hours with the game,Original handmade custom bobbleheads dolls made to look like the photo you provide to us. I have to say, I think it could have been much, much better.

Coming up, there’ll be some minor spoilers, including descriptions of a few missions from around the start of the Revolutionary War. Nothing too major. Here we go.

That sounds pretty damning, huh? Let’s just start with this one, then. Nothing in Assassin’s Creed III works all that well. Good video games have a good feel to them. Think of it this way: it’s not necessarily that every toy, trick, and game mechanic feels intuitive and smooth. But in an action game, the core mechanics, the ones you use over and over again, should.

Think of a game where you do lots of shooting, like Gears of War. Gears‘ shooting feels good. The active reload feels good. Slamming into cover feels good. These are the core aspects of the game, the things you’ll be doing hundreds if not thousands of times as you play it.

It’s almost as though Assassin’s Creed III has no core game mechanics. It’s all ancillary stuff. Nothing feels “right,” nothing works that well. Running is weird at best, laggy, and often leads you charging up a wall or tearing off in the wrong direction. Swordfighting feels less like a kinetic dance and more like a drunken brawl. Fistfighting is laughably bad. Shooting a bow takes forever and feels light and unsatisfying. Shooting a musket is worse (Using the top face button, Y or Triangle, to shoot a gun feels like trying to screw in a lightbulb while standing on your tiptoes.) Targeting is a disaster (Really? The left trigger is dedicated to toggling a slow-moving reticle that highlights characters for auto-target? Whose idea was that?). It should not still be possible to climb up to one of the game’s iconic vantage points, synchronise,How To learn kung fu in china. then press “jump,” and… leap to your death on the hard pavement next to the pile of hay. And yet it is. Even air-assassinations, the one thing that the series had gotten pretty good at, feel finicky and difficult to land in the new game.

I thought I was going to love Assassin’s Creed III. From everything I’d seen, it seemed like Ubisoft was doing everything in their not-inconsiderable power to push their flagship series into brave new territory.

Except… well, they didn’t manage to pull it off.A smooth and Glossy floor tile not only looks bright and clean,

Rather than taking the Assassin’s Creed series forward in some bold new direction, Ubisoft has resolutely kept the series at the same level as before, and actually have taken several rather large steps back. Not everyone feels this way: The game has garnered plenty of positive criticism, including a mixed but generally positive review from our own Stephen Totilo. But try though I may, I just can’t love Assassin’s Creed III.

Of course, that’s not to say I hate it — I don’t. But after about 10 or twelve hours with the game, I have to say, I think it could have been much, much better.

Coming up, there’ll be some minor spoilers, including descriptions of a few missions from around the start of the Revolutionary War. Nothing too major. Here we go.Parking Guidance for parking management system and Vehicle Control Solutions,
1. Nothing Really Works All That Well

That sounds pretty damning, huh? Let’s just start with this one, then. Nothing in Assassin’s Creed III works all that well. Good video games have a good feel to them. Think of it this way: it’s not necessarily that every toy, trick, and game mechanic feels intuitive and smooth. But in an action game, the core mechanics, the ones you use over and over again, should.

Think of a game where you do lots of shooting, like Gears of War. Gears‘ shooting feels good. The active reload feels good. Slamming into cover feels good. These are the core aspects of the game, the things you’ll be doing hundreds if not thousands of times as you play it.

It’s almost as though Assassin’s Creed III has no core game mechanics. It’s all ancillary stuff. Nothing feels “right,” nothing works that well. Running is weird at best, laggy, and often leads you charging up a wall or tearing off in the wrong direction. Swordfighting feels less like a kinetic dance and more like a drunken brawl. Fistfighting is laughably bad. Shooting a bow takes forever and feels light and unsatisfying. Shooting a musket is worse (Using the top face button, Y or Triangle, to shoot a gun feels like trying to screw in a lightbulb while standing on your tiptoes.) Targeting is a disaster (Really? The left trigger is dedicated to toggling a slow-moving reticle that highlights characters for auto-target? Whose idea was that?). It should not still be possible to climb up to one of the game’s iconic vantage points, synchronise, then press “jump,” and… leap to your death on the hard pavement next to the pile of hay. And yet it is. Even air-assassinations, the one thing that the series had gotten pretty good at, feel finicky and difficult to land in the new game.

It’s as though Assassin’s Creed III has no core gameplay; it’s so scattered that there’s nothing to hold on to. As a result, it’s rarely if ever satisfying to play.

There is a sense throughout Assassin’s Creed III that the game’s eyes are just bigger than its stomach. It feels as though it was crammed onto an Xbox 360 disc, its developers sitting on top of the disc while they zipped up the sides, praying it would fit into the overhead compartment. I couldn’t go five minutes on the Xbox version without encountering some sort of rough edge or bug. Ubisoft have long been masters of the way too-good-to-be-true screenshot (you’ll see several of those in this very article), but the gulf between how those images look and how the game looks in action has never been wider.

Constant loading screens between interiors and exteriors, cutscenes and gameplay, and everywhere else. Strange, abrupt transitions from the end of combat to the end of a sequence, where music would be about to hit a crescendo and would suddenly be cut short, replaced by a silent animus loading screen.How to make your own bobblehead Doll. Terrible lip synching during in-game conversations. Long pauses between characters’ lines of dialogue in overheard conversations, as if my console was leaving them to ponder the most recent sentence while it desperately searched for the requisite sound file. And all of this is not to mention the many, many, many bugs in the game, most of which are cosmetic, some of which will doubtless be addressed by patches, and all of which conspire to make the game feel like less than it should have been.

Overheard dialogue, replayed ad nauseum, again, and again, and again. The “Mah-nee, mah-nee, mah-nee!” guy from AC II sounds refreshing compared with some of your cohorts’ battle cries and the freaky, played-on-a-loop clown laughs of the little children.

The rough edges leave the world feeling clownish and false, like a scary amalgamation of a video game version of the past. It’s not just unconvincing, it’s often weird. It’s strange that a game this high-profile, which has been in development this long, feels this rough and unfinished.

The bait-and-switch opening chapters of ACIII have been a point of contention for many critics. I submit that it’s not so much the nature of the introduction that bugs me so much as its design. Yes, you play as a different dude for the first four to six hours of Assassin’s Creed III. (And yes, he is, oddly, a much more likable guy than the actual main character Connor.) I liked that; I liked the narrative twists and turns that this part of the story tossed out, and I enjoyed setting up the framework for the rest of the game.

What I didn’t like was the actual way the prelude was designed — it was, literally, a series of cutscenes separated by some walking. Almost every time. My guy would wake up, then walk to a room, and a cutscene would play. Then he’d walk to another room, where a cutscene would play. Then maybe (maybe) there’d be a swordfight. Then walk to a cutscene. Sometimes he’d walk across a vast, snowy forest to get to his next cutscene.

The last straw for me was when I finished a cutscene and was set loose on the deck of a ship, en route to America. Land, I was told, was visible. I was instructed to climb the tallest mast and see for myself. I began to climb, excited to crest the top sail and set my sights on Boston Harbor. The music began to build as I climbed and… suddenly the game took over, and awkwardly transitioned into a cutscene of my character looking out over the Boston Harbor. Man.

Art and photo contest winners share

Exhibits of two of Alaska's most important juried art shows opened simultaneously at the Anchorage Museum on Oct. 5. But the First Friday crowd had its attention diverted from the art for part of the evening by members of Alaska Dance Theatre performing in the museum atrium.

Dressed in tights painted to look like bones, muscle and other parts beneath the skin with matching facial makeup, the dancers went through extensive and fascinating choreography, slowly proceeding down the atrium steps and moving among the patrons to the accompaniment of spacey, new age-ish music. It was an arresting homage to the traveling human anatomy exhibit, "Body Worlds Vital," now on view at the museum through Jan.

The biggest of the shows that debuted on First Friday is the All Alaska Juried Art Exhibition XXXIV. The 40 pieces on display were selected from 479 submissions by 140 artists from across Alaska. That's a fairly small number for the long-running biennial; 91 items made the cut in 1996, for instance.

But the show is receiving star treatment from the museum, taking up three rooms in the Alaska galleries, which is usually reserved for the popular paintings of Alaska's "Old Masters" like Sydney Laurence, Claire Fejes and Fred Machetanz. For visitors staying on the ground level after entering from the main doors it's the first thing they see.

There is notably less variety in juror Susan Cross' selections than we've seen in previous All Alaska Juried shows. I counted two portraits, two fiber works, two ceramic sculptures and two photographs. Everything else is paintings or drawings ("Back to Where I Began" by Benjamin Schleifman of Palmer, which mixes acrylic paint with an assemblage of wood and beads using a Tlingit formline design is something of a hybrid exception) and most of them are landscapes.

Cross explained her emphasis on the land in her juror's statement, saying, "Alaska boasts a distinguished landscape tradition, both past and present. ... Many of the artists selected seem to be responding to this history."

Given the wealth of previous work, she noted, it can be hard for contemporary artists to execute a landscape that does not wander into cliche. But Alaska artists seem to have figured out ways to expand the form. Cross called the paintings "an exciting and fertile dialogue about the Alaska wilderness and how it is represented."

The $1,000 Juror's Choice Award went to three large charcoal pieces by James Behlke, previously seen in his solo show at Alaska Pacific University. His moody yet realistic depictions of cloud, rain and water could, at first glance, be mistaken for and elegantly worked ink drawings.

Behlke, who has been entering All Alaska Juried Exhibitions since 1978, said the subject of "inclement weather" was appropriate for Cross' visit. "The weather was awful when Susan was in town," he said. "I'm not sure if she even saw the mountains. (At her lecture) she commented that she realized the landscape could be black and white. Perhaps that worked to my advantage."

Where Behlke's three drawings are closely related, the three pieces by Klara Maisch of Fairbanks, selected by Cross for the $500 Recognition Award, seem to be by three different artists. "Natural Resources" is a valley shown in garish orange, green and purple. "Shadows" is a black-and-white etching of a bare mountain ridge. "Alaskan Collection" is a non-landscape still life study of bones, rocks, feathers and other items one might pick up on a hike.

South Asia’s first ‘cash deposit ATM network’

Sri Lankan consumers will enter the era of direct cash payments through ATMs next Monday 15 when five cash deposit taking ATMs will start operating in Colombo for the first time.

“I am pleased to say that we are setting a new record in the SAARC region, with a commercial scale deposit taking ATM network going live in Colombo for the first time with just five machines. What is interesting is that these ATMs are not linked to any banks either unlike the traditional ATMs” said Rishad Bathiudeen, Minister of Industry and Commerce of Sri Lanka on 11 October.

According to Abdul Rahuman, Managing Director of One&Only, the owning firm of the ‘PayTM’ network, the initiative is a joint venture with Japan Cash Machines Co Ltd (JCM), the well-known maker of money-handling machines, equipment, and electronic cash registers for the global financial industry with $ 217 Mn revenue (2010) and also listed in Tokyo and Osaka exchanges.

“Our initial investment in this venture is $ 500,000 in Phase I. From the morning of Monday 15, Lankan consumers can directly pay Sri Lankan currency notes of Rs 10 to 5000 denominations to this machine to settle their Dialog, SLT-Mobitel, Etisalat, Hutch and Airtel payments, as a start. The consumers need not have an account with us to make the payment. Before the end of this month, we are planning to introduce Water Board and Electricity Board payments once we complete the necessary procedures with them. By end of 2013, subject to amendments to the Motor Traffic Act and government approval, we are ready to accept Police traffic fines and charges and issue receipts which have legal vaildity. We have not integrated insurance instalment deposits yet but based on Insurance company applications, we are ready to extend our services to them in future as well” revealed Rahuman.

Rahuman’s demonstrations showed the ‘PayTM’ machines, in their two models ‘Smart Fiony’ and ‘Elegant Fiony’, randomly accepting various Sri Lankan currency notes with denominations upto Rs 5000, updating the mobile user accounts and issuing receipts within five to ten seconds, for two mobile phone numbers of two different mobile networks.

“The system works in any language of choice in Sinhala, Tamil or English. The connections to our secure transaction server is wireless, through TCP/IP web protocol. The machines are equipped to authenticate the user identity with a pin number which is already active and alternatively, the fingerprint scanner which we have not activated yet. Once we activate the fingerprint scanner, local Banks can join us to allow their depositors to withdraw from their savings ACs through our network. When that happens, these ATMs will become dual performers-both accept and dispense cash. We are in discussions with Dialog Axiata to enlist Dialog eZCash online and if successful, such transactions too will become a reality with us in the next six months. We already support eZCash partially since top ups are allowed through our network” Rahuman said.

Mobile money transaction platforms such as Dialog eZCash, Sri Lanka’s first such with Cenral Bank permission, allows users to conduct a wide variety of mobile money businesses using just a mobile phone but without a bank account. Dialog officials indicated to Ministry of Industry and Commerce that approximately 800,000 Dialog users as already having registered for this facility.

Centerline Homes' Georgian Oaks already 80% sold out

Centerline Homes' reputation for innovative design and great locations is proving to be very successful at Georgian Oaks, Fort Lauderdale's next great single-family neighborhood.

Priced from $394,900 these 3 bedroom and loft, or 4- and 5-bedroom detached residences, offer Centerline Homes' "legendary" included feature package, in an intimate setting, east of I-95 and close to downtown.

"The location is just one of the reasons that we're already over 80 percent sold-out, and we have saved some of our best locations and floor plans until now."
says Deb Marton vice-president of sales for Centerline Homes.

"In July, we celebrated the grand opening of our Scarlet Oak model, and the interior decor was created to appeal to a wide variety of buyers. The design is sophisticated, and highlights the tremendous livability of the home, while incorporating a color scheme and spirit that is very ‘today' and perfect for Fort Lauderdale's unique indoor/outdoor lifestyle. We're also proudly displaying our included features. With the exception of the pool package and some decorative paint and woodwork, there's less than $10,000 worth of upgrades in the model."

Buyers are responding very well to included features. These include impact-resistant windows and doors; maple kitchen cabinetry, with 42-inch upper cabinets and crown molding detail, a stainless steel Whirlpool kitchen appliance package; dual-zone air-conditioning, granite bathroom and kitchen countertops; concrete tile roofs, 18-inch ceramic tile flooring (throughout first floor living areas); kitchen islands with pendant lighting, an iron picket stair rail, laundry rooms with built-in cabinets, laundry tub and washer/dryer; and elegant traditional architecture with brick-paver driveway and much more.

Each of the plans offered at Georgian Oaks offers a unique layout designed specifically for a wide variety of family sizes and types. Typical of this thought process is The Laurel Oak, a home that features a separate owner suite on the first and second levels. "This model has generated a lot of interest," says Marton. "Multi-generational families, roommates and families who have frequent seasonal visitors love the idea of the second suite."

Future’s on track at Coquitlam's Grand Central

When Intergulf first launched its Grand Central 1 tower adjacent to Coquitlam Centre in 2007, the comparison to New York City’s Grand Central Station was perhaps a bit premature. Utilizing a glamorous marketing campaign that was perhaps more Fifth Avenue than Northern Avenue, Grand Central has definitely changed the way that people view Coquitlam. Five years later and two highly successful sell-outs later, Grand Central 3 is coming onto the market—and there will be some subtle changes, according to Macartney Greenfield, Project Manager for Rennie Marketing Systems.

“People who are thinking about buying into Grand Central 3 are definitely going to be part of a complete community that has really evolved since we started with Grand Central 1,” she says. “The whole vibe out here has changed, with world class brands like Lululemon and The Apple Store now opening at Coquitlam Centre.”

From the authentic sushi joint on Glen Drive to the aroma of fresh baked goods at the Persian bakery – Urban Gate has truly become a family oriented and eclectic neighbourhood. These highrises are close to established neighbourhoods and malls that have been re-imagined and re-purposed to suit contemporary lifestyles.

Grand Central 3 is Intergulf’s final tower in Coquitlam and the last chance to purchase either a home or an investment in a high value, premium amenity concrete highrise. “We’ve looked at the unit mix and are offering more of the smaller homes in this phase,” she explains. “Our one and dens really flew off the shelves in the first two phases, and so you’ll see more of those in Grand Central 3. We’ll also offer 100 homes priced under $299,000, which represents tremendous value in a transit-oriented community. We’re steps from Coquitlam Centre and endless shops, services and restaurants, and we’ll be just a three-minute walk from the future Evergreen Line when it’s completed in 2016.”

Grand Central appeals to buyers wanting to get in on the Lower Mainland’s hottest real estate market and “get into an evolving community,” Greenfield says. “Grand Central 3 appeals to the empty nesters that are looking to downsize from their single-family homes; young couples looking to start a family, and first-time home buyers looking for value and convenience.” For the latter group, especially, it’s a great way to put down some roots and enter the market.

The striking 37-storey concrete and glass Grand Central 3 has been designed by the award-winning IBI Group. Luxury starts in the lobby, with a soaring double-height designer entrance with contemporary interior design by Lot 30 Design Inc. Spacious terraces and balconies enhance outdoor living, while the expansive windows optimize natural light and city and mountain views.

Interiors offer a choice of two contemporary colour schemes: ebony and rosewood, with laminate wood flooring throughout living and dining rooms and cozy wall-to-wall nylon carpeting throughout bedrooms. Smart horizontal blinds offer both shade and privacy

In the kitchen, choose from contemporary wood veneer cabinetry in ebony or rosewood. Quartz countertops are complemented by elegant marble or limestone tile backsplash. Top quality stainless steel appliances by KitchenAid include a 24-inch dishwasher, 30-inch gas range cooktop and self-cleaning electric oven, over-the-range integrated microwave/hood fan and integrated or full size refrigerator depending on your home.

Bathrooms feature quartz countertops, a stylish soaker tub and undermount counter sink, modern Moen faucets and fixtures, a slim profile dual flush toilet and quality porcelain tile floor. Laundry rooms have matching full-size appliances by Whirlpool—a 5-cycle front load washer and 5.7 cu.ft. front load capacity dryer.

“Grand Central’s amenity package matches its incredible location,” Greenfield enthuses. Homeowners can take advantage of over 1.4 acres of exterior space including the outdoor swimming pool, hot tub and his and hers change rooms. The lushly landscaped grounds are complemented by a formal garden and community garden plots, and an outdoor children’s play area. A 2500 square foot fully-equipped fitness facility features yoga and stretching rooms. After your workout, relax in the Grand Central lounge and bar with its multi-media room, party room and kitchen facility.

Safety and security are also top of mind when it comes to living at Grand Central 3, with a resident caretaker and 24-hour property management always on-call. A video intercom in the entrance and secured residential access to each floor limits access, while common areas protected by priority lock system and gated underground parking is accessed via remote control.

A trusted developer, a transit hot-spot, and a transformed community. The Grand Central vision has become a reality in Coquitlam city centre.

Generations Fall of Cybertron

I've taken an appreciation over the years for spaceship Transformers. I think Armada Tidal Wave and his Super Dimensional Fortress-style super battleship mode really locked that in for me and ever since I've been on the look out for toys that were or could be seen as interesting space vehicles if you just squint and tilt your head a little. And as ships go, Blast Off is certainly one of the more interesting designs to come along lately. Even more convenient given he's part of a full team set I needed to get anyway.

It's important to note before anything else that Blast Off requires immediate modifications for the toy's own safety. Thankfully they're pretty simple. There are tabs that hold Blast Off's shoulders up, but they're longer than needed to do the job, and become very difficult and stressy to insert or remove. You'll need to shorten them a little bit at a time just until the shoulder can be tabbed in or out comfortably. Be careful not to trim too much though or there won't be enough left to hold the shoulders up at all. If this step isn't performed, either the tabs or the grooves they fit in will break eventually.

That out of the way, Blast Off makes a nice figure. The general look is pretty cool, the big shoulderpads especially giving a distinctive appearance. In general, Blast Off has the kind of feeling pre-Movie Transformers were good at delivering, where they're made of vehicle chunks instead of wearing vehicle parts. It feels more visually in the spirit of Classics that way than many in the previous lines. There's a lot of generic mechanical details sculpted in on the shoulders, and the lower legs have a lot of indications of vents visible, accounting for most of the visible detailing on the toy. The yellow panels on the chest and pelvis also are sculpted with a pattern of triangular tiles, which if given a paint wash would probably make an amazing impact on the look of Blast Off in both modes. One unusual element of detailing can be found on the back of the legs and upper arms, where it appears Blast Off has jet engines pointing straight behind him. None of these elements are rear or even outward facing in vehicle mode, and the ones on the arms can't even be seen, so it has to be exclusively for robot mode. I kind of wonder if the designer didn't decide to add some apogee motors to suggest semi-realistic mobility mechanics for the robot in open space? It would fit the placement on the body at least. If that was the intent, that has easily got to be among the most specific and obscure bits of detail to find its way on a Transformers toy.

Blast Off has fair poseability. Thanks to how they transform, the knees have an extensive range of motion for being on a single hinge, and the hips move smoothly and easily around universal joints. Blast Off has very effective double elbow joints as well, and two joints around the shoulder, which should theoretically mean a hell of a range of movement for the arms. But it doesn't. It's the fault of how the transformation was engineered more than anything else, and it prevents such simple things as stretching the arm straight in front, or raising it at all out to the side. The joints in the upper arm are truly just "around" where a shoulder joint should be, and nothing actually exists at the correct place to serve that role. The arrangement of joints subsequently really limits what ways the arm can be posed, which is a shame beyond just the absence of simple movements. The robot is really nice overall, and Blast Off could have easily stood out from his team as a legitimately good robot figure independent of being part of a combiner. But the arms make sure to remind you that this is a toy with another real purpose and it's just killing time standing here solo. You can undo some of the limitation by turning the shoulderpads back and giving Blast Off monkey arms, but the gain is so limited that it's really not worth the way it spoils the look.

Where Blast Off truly shines is in the vehicle mode. Well, shines is not really the right word what with it being all dark and night-time colors, but it's certainly the strength of this toy. And I'll tell you, from the moment the press photos were released just before Toy Fair, this has reminded me strongly of some existing ship design, but in all these months I have never been able to place it. It's driving me just a little bit nuts. Whatever it may resemble, it's plainly a sci-fi take on a space shuttle, but besides the most elementary of shapes it goes far off the mark in design. The bulbous aft section gives the impression of a massive drive system, while the comparatively narrow forward half gives it a feel more like a space fighter than a bus in space. (public transportation was always Astrotrain's job anyway) What I really enjoy in the appearance of the vehicle mode is that it has the impression of many overlapping panels and irregularities to look alien, but it's also styled in such a way that it comes across a little like an Original Trilogy Star Wars ship. I'm sure there's a generally accepted term for that, but in this case I'll just call it "antique futuristic", not to be confused with retro futuristic, of course.