Balloon Review 048 - 1FIVEZERO Book by Aaron Chee

Available from http://www.1fivezero.com - now priced $99!

From what I understand this book was available to pre-order many months in advance of its publication date and many customers were disappointed by the constant printing delays, concerns around whether the book would actually be delivered and whether we were all subject to some elaborate scam.

I first spotted this book on facebook and was very excited by the sneak peaks of the front cover, the fact that this was a limited edition and that from what I could make out from the fairly well hidden graphics on the front cover it would include many parodies of well known movie characters. I must admit I was suckered into buying almost 'blind' as did many other people. Other than a quick glance of Lighting McQueen (which actually looked very good in the photo) no-one had seen any of the other designs.

I purchased towards the end of the pre-order schedule and so paid maximum price. In total, with shipping from Singapore I paid around £90!! Yes £90 for a book that I hoped had nine really incredible and impressive designs.

So in the words of PT Barnum, was I one of those suckers born once a minute, or did I really get my hands on something special. This review IS going to kill me but I shall embark on this journey to share with your this treasure trove of...... we shall see....

At the time I pre-ordered the book this is what I was tempted with... just look at that incredible Sully from Monsters Inc....

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xDkKCP9gU-o/T ... review.jpg

So firstly let me tell you about the book itself. To Aaron's credit, despite the negative criticisms here and on other forums, the book arrived from Singapore around 5 days after I placed my order.

The book itself is softback A4 format, full colour and probably around 80 pages in length (the pages are not numbered and I couldn't be bothered to count them all). The quality of the printing is disappointing for such an expensive book and looks like someone has made it at home with photoshop. Don't get me wrong it is good, but the photography is not near the standards of Balloon Magic Magazine for example.

There are hundred and hundreds of photos for each set of instructions along with large clumps of text. Bubble sizes are given in fingers , there is a kit list for each design but be warned, this book is incredibly complex to follow along.

There seems to be some new techniques I haven't seen before, for example, a bean twist and so maybe I will learn something along the way.

OK, onto the first model....

MIKEY MONSTER

KIT LIST : 160Q LIME GREEN / 260Q LIME GREEN / 260Q WHITE / 5" ROUND WHITE

I have been after a design for Mikey from Monsters Inc for some time. This design is quite nice. The instructions are fairly clear but I did struggle with some of the head design and the construction of the hands and feet. The hands and feet takes a lot of sizing and tying individual 160Q bubbles which is a bit of a pain. The sizes given just do not look correct so you do need to play with these to make them look correctly proportioned..

The 160Q legs and arms offer little stability and this model will not stand on its own. I added ears on top but they are too long. There is nothing overly complicated here in the construction but it is time consuming and a little puzzling to follow.

Overall I am happy.

[attachment=0:umo4ua2o][/attachment]mikey.jpg[/attachment:umo4ua2o]

Really nice Mickey! Thanks for sharing these models.

BLUE MONSTER

KIT LIST : 160Q PALE BLUE / 260Q PALE BLUE / 260Q WHITE / 260Q ONYX BLACK / 5" WHITE ROUND

If you take another look at the link http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xDkKCP9gU-o/T ... review.jpg which was the sneak peak that made me purchase this book you will see a partial image of Sully from Monsters Inc. It looks pretty impressive right? Imagine my disappointment when I saw this!

This model is very disappointing. It doesn't hang together very well and it looks nothing remotely like Sully. In fact, it is pretty awful. There isn't really anything positive to say about this. I was supposed to add black claws at the end of the hands and feet but couldn't be bothered. The instructions for the hands and feet are near on impossible for follow so I had to make my own interpretation but trying to follow the photos. I think I have it about right.

When I finished it I put it straight in the bin!

[attachment=0:29mybicp][/attachment]DSCF7738.jpg[/attachment:29mybicp]

Oh no  I was really looking forward to seeing Sully in all his glory, as he's one of my favourite characters. I have tried clicking on the link however the page seems be offline at the moment, will have to check again later. Mickey is reasonably recognisable, but I don't know that Sully would pass the 'what is it test?'. What a real shame  

Hmmm - not wishing to pre-empt the rest of your review nippy, but for an investment of $99..... 'I'm out' (in my best Theo Paphitis)  

--Neil

KJ, try the link again as I didn't paste it correctly...

Neil - you may have turned down a great investment. I have lots of other gems from this collection to share with you  :lol:

A much better Sully can be seen on http://www.balloongenuity.com/#!albumphotos0=1

Hi Mike, your post is VERY interesting as the Sully on that website is very similar in structure and design but clearly wasn't made following Aaron's instructions. Even the photo of the finished design in Aaron's book looks more like my effort.

I'm going to investigate... back soon

I contacted Chelsea at Balloongenuity and all was explained. Aaron copied their versions of Mike and Sully and asked for their permission to include the designs in his book. I was delighted to hear that ethics applied here but clearly Sully isn't like the original. Perhaps I will give it a go myself. I do feel a little cheated paying $99 for a copy of someone else's design. Maybe the rest of the book will make up for it!

What a shame Sully turned out to be a bit of a dissapointment.....I am a bit wary of "sneak preview" pics that don't give the full impression, the cinic in me thinks "what are they hiding "

Shirley Ray has a fab Sully, along with Mike, and Boo (The little girl) in her book "Heroes and Monsters"

Here is my Sully design.

Love it Mike, definitely would be willing to purchase a download of that design!