title: The Sandman (wrestler)

text: Sandman spent the time period from December 1995 through May 1997 engaged in a feud with Raven. On January 27, 1996, Sandman lost the World Heavyweight Championship to Raven and the two subsequently traded the title back and forth. Sandman joined forces with Raven's nemesis Tommy Dreamer and on October 5, 1996, at Ultimate Jeopardy, regained the title by pinning Stevie Richards in an Ultimate Jeopardy tag team match pitting Sandman and Dreamer against Brian Lee and Richards, who replaced Raven when he no-showed the event.


title: The Sandman (wrestler)

text: During the feud, Raven allied himself to the returned Lori Fullington and brainwashed her and Sandman's real-life son into joining his cult-like following, turning him against his father. Raven psychologically attacked Sandman by having his son deny his relationship with his father, telling Tyler that his parents' divorce was Sandman's fault, and making him perform Raven's trademark taunt "The Raven's Crucifix" and other mannerisms. On October 26, 1996, at High Incident, Tyler interfered to help his father. Afterward, the two embraced, but Raven came from behind with a Singapore Cane and smacked his enemy by piledriving Sandman through the table. Stevie Richards and The Blue Meanie came out with a giant wooden cross and crucified him. On December 7 at Holiday Hell, Sandman again lost the title to Raven in a barbed wire match.


title: The Sandman (wrestler)

text: In 1996, the team of Sandman and Tommy Dreamer became more permanent as the duo feuded with anti-ECW team of Sabu and Rob Van Dam, as well as the Dudley Boyz. At World Wrestling Federation (WWF)'s 1996 , Sandman, Tommy Dreamer, Paul Heyman and a number of other ECW stars caused a storyline disturbance at ringside during a Caribbean Strap match between Savio Vega and Justin "Hawk" Bradshaw. The disturbance resulted in Sandman whacking Vega over the head with his signature Singapore cane and spitting beer in his face. This event marked the start of the on-air working relationship between Vince McMahon's WWF and Paul Heyman's ECW and eventually led to ECW appearing on the February 24, 1997, WWF program "Raw".


title: The Sandman (wrestler)

text: At the ECW premier pay-per-view event Barely Legal, Sandman wrestled a three-way dance with Terry Funk and Stevie Richards, for a shot at the ECW title later that night, but fell short of the title. In the summer of 1997, the Sandman began a long feud with Sabu. Although he was too injured to compete at Hardcore Heaven 1997, Sandman got involved in a skirmish with Rob Van Damn and Sabu who then brutalized him to the point of hospitalization, however, he returned later that evening to interference in the main event by assaulting Sabu, leading to Sabu's elimination, costing Sabu the ECW title. In September of that year at As Good as It Gets, Sabu badly burned the Sandman in a scheduled contest between the two. The damage to Sandman from the burn was considered so bad that the match was discontinued. As a result, Sandman was out of action until he once again attacked Van Dam and Sabu in the ring that November, earning a measure of revenge on Sabu. This led to their match at the November to Remember pay per view, which was promoted as a major cornerstone and culmination of all the events that year. In the match, Sandman dodged an attempt by Sabu to burn him, however Sabu went on to win the match. Over the next few months, they competed in high profile specialty matches such as ladder matches, table matches, and a dueling cane match. In one of the most notable examples, the Sandman fought Sabu in the 1st ever "stairway to hell" match involving tables ladders chairs and barbwire, which is especially noteworthy because no barb wire matches had been scheduled in ECW since after barb wire ripped open Sabu's bicep and required over 100 stitches in August 1997. The stairway to hell match proved to be one of the most violent in ECW history, coincidentally Sabu broke his jaw when missing a dive onto Sandman and inadvertently hit the guard rail, but continued to fight. After suffering heavy damage, Sandman earned the victory by finally pinning Sabu after hitting him with a cane. However, it wasn't until almost two months later that their feud effectively came to an end at Living Dangerously 1998. This match was heavily promoted and designated the penultimate which featured a dueling canes gimmick. During the match, the combination of Rob Van Dam and Sabu turned out to be too much for the Sandman, which led to him losing the contest.


title: The Sandman (wrestler)

text: Over the spring and summer of 1998, Sandman teamed up with Dreamer and Spike Dudley to feud with the Dudley Boyz, finally securing a victory in a six-man match at Heat Wave.


title: The Sandman (wrestler)

text: In September 1998, Fullington joined World Championship Wrestling (WCW), signing a 3-year deal believed to be worth $200,000 annually according to Dave Meltzer. He first appeared in vignettes promoting Raven as a spoiled rich kid and Fullington as his preppy neighbor. The original plan to debut under this gimmick were scrapped. He later debuted under his longtime nickname, Hak (The Sandman name was trademarked by ECW) when he called out Bam Bam Bigelow and challenged him to a Hardcore match on "Monday Nitro". During the match he was defeated by Bigelow and was not named on screen during the entire segment. In his short time there, Hak was mostly involved in angles featuring fellow ECW alumni Raven, Bigelow and Raven's storyline sister Chastity, with whom he developed an on-screen relationship after she turned on Raven. A few weeks later, Turner Standards & Practices became aware of Chastity's participation in a hardcore pornographic movie. She was immediately removed from TV with no explanation and her contract was terminated. His presence also helped to bolster WCW's fledgling hardcore division. WCW started promoting hardcore wrestling within their product through utilizing wrestlers like Hak and Bam Bam Bigelow. At Uncensored 1999, Hak defeated Bam Bam Bigelow and Raven in a Falls Count Anywhere Triple Threat match. At Spring Stampede 1999, Hak lost to Bam Bam Bigelow in a Hardcore match. At The Great American Bash 1999, Hak defeated Brian Knobs in another Hardcore match. And a month later at Bash at the Beach 1999, Hak competed in the Junkyard Invitational, which was won by Fit Finlay. He suffered a separated shoulder and a neck injury during the contest. This turned out to be his final appearance in WCW because during his recovery, Fullington was released from his WCW contract in September 1999 as part of a cost-cutting measure by new WCW Executive VP Bill Busch.


title: The Sandman (wrestler)

text: After leaving WCW in late 1999, Fullington, as The Sandman, returned to ECW at Re-enter the Sandman in October 1999. He remained with the company until its demise in January 2001. He began a feud with Rhino in 2000, losing to him at Hardcore Heaven, Heat Wave, and other shows. On January 7, 2001, at ECW's last pay-per-view, Guilty as Charged, the Sandman won his fifth World Heavyweight Championship in a Tables, Ladders, Chairs, and Canes three-way dance with the champion Steve Corino and Justin Credible. After The Sandman won, however, the World Television Champion Rhino came out to the ring and challenged him to an impromptu title match. The Sandman accepted the challenge and after a 60-second match, Rhino defeated The Sandman to become the new World Heavyweight Champion, unifying ECW's two singles titles.


title: The Sandman (wrestler)

text: After the closure of ECW The Sandman wrestled for Xtreme Pro Wrestling (XPW) for a time. In February 2002, at the event Free Fall, he won the XPW King of the Deathmatch Championship from Supreme, turning heel and aligning himself with heel faction 'The E'. On a number of occasions Sandman was accompanied to the ring by former World Championship Wrestling (WCW) valet Tylene Buck. At XPW's 'Cold Day in Hell' reunion show, Sandman defeated Pogo the Clown, the wrestler he last feuded with before the company went out of business. While at XPW Sandman also wrestled within the fledgling Pro-Pain Pro Wrestling promotion. His most notable match was a 3-way dance with Sabu and New Jack. It is featured as a "bonus match" on the 3PW DVD "Blood, Brawls and Broads".


title: The Sandman (wrestler)

text: In late 2002 and early 2003, The Sandman had a tenure in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), joining former-ECW wrestlers Justin Credible and Raven, along with New Jack and Perry Saturn in a stable known as "Team Extreme" and later "Extreme Revolution". He also competed in the Hard 10 Tournament, where he partly feuded with Sonny Siaki before winning the overall event.


title: The Sandman (wrestler)

text: The Sandman made his surprise debut in NWA Total Nonstop Action on February 12, 2003, where he was defeated by Raven in a falls count anywhere match. a week later on February 19 Sandman and Steve Corino faced Raven and Low Ki in a losing effort, on February 26 NWA/TNA Weekly PPV, Sandman lost to A.J. Styles after Raven hit Sandman with a steel chair. After several matches in the promotion, in June 2003 Sandman competed in a TNA Hard 10, a tournament to proclaim the most hardcore wrestler in the company. Sandman defeated Devon Storm in the Quarterfinals, Sonny Siaki in the semifinals and New Jack in the finals to win the tournament. On July 9, Sandman accepted the Hard 10 Cup, and was attacked by Don Callous and Iceberg. After a 3-month absence Sandman returned on the November 5 where he was defeated by Shane Douglas. He worked for TNA until February 4, when Sandman and Terry Funk lost to The Gathering (CM Punk and Julio Dinero) and after the match The Sandman left TNA.


title: The Sandman (wrestler)

text: Sandman returned to TNA on July 27, 2010, at the tapings of the August 5 edition of "TNA Impact!", in order to take part in the August 8 ECW reunion show, Hardcore Justice. At the event on August 8, Sandman assaulted former rival P.J. Polaco (Justin Credible) after his match with Stevie Richards. On the following edition of "Impact!", the ECW alumni, known collectively as EV 2.0, were assaulted by A.J. Styles, Kazarian, Robert Roode, James Storm, Douglas Williams and Matt Morgan of Ric Flair's stable, who thought they didn't deserve to be in TNA. The following week TNA president Dixie Carter gave each member of EV 2.0 TNA contracts in order for them to settle their score with . Sandman no-showed an "Impact!" taping on August 23 and parted ways with the company.


title: The Sandman (wrestler)

text: On the May 31, 2019, episode of "Impact", Sandman appeared during a match between Eddie Edwards and Killer Kross where he gave a Kendo Stick to Edwards helping him win the match. on the June 14, 2019, episode of Impact, Sandman lost to Killer Kross.


title: The Sandman (wrestler)

text: In 2005, Sandman participated in the ECW reunion show "Hardcore Homecoming" against longtime rival Raven. Two nights later he appeared at the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) produced ECW One Night Stand pay-per-view event, another ECW reunion show, teaming with Tommy Dreamer to face The Dudley Boyz. The match saw Sandman and Dreamer lose to the Dudleys after Dreamer was powerbombed through a flaming table. In 2006, prior to the June 11 One Night Stand, The Sandman made a number of promotional appearances on WWE programming, first appearing, along with a number of other ECW stars, on "Raw" attacking John Cena then, two nights later, on the "WWE vs. ECW Head to Head" special taking part in a battle royal, in which it can be argued that he was the last ECW original eliminated. At One Night Stand, when Eugene made his way to the ring to read a poem expressing his love of ECW, The Sandman came out with his Singapore Cane and caned Eugene to the back.


title: The Sandman (wrestler)

text: On June 13, 2006, WWE officially relaunched ECW as a brand equal to Raw and SmackDown! with its own show on the Sci Fi Channel. In the new ECW, The Sandman was used for the first few weeks as a character who emerged from the crowd when a non-ECW style character was annoying the audience. Once the character had a few minutes to talk Sandman appeared and destroyed the character with his cane, often ending the "match" with his signature White Russian Legsweep. This gimmick escalated when Sandman confronted regular ECW fixture Mike Knox while he was attempting to stop his exhibitionist girlfriend, Kelly Kelly, in the middle of her weekly "exposé" strip show. The Sandman began a feud with Knox over this and eventually began teaming up with fellow ECW original Tommy Dreamer to take on Knox and Test in a feud that many felt symbolized the original vision of ECW (Sandman and Dreamer) versus the "new" vision of ECW (Knox and Test). At the same time Sandman was feuding with Test and Knox, a debuting Matt Striker began to rub him the wrong way and he started a secondary feud with him.


title: The Sandman (wrestler)

text: Subsequently, the Sandman has made several short appearances, mostly coming out through the crowd and caning someone whenever some injustice was done. After being briefly included in a feud with Elijah Burke, he became part of the ECW Originals stable and joined their feud with the New Breed. On April 1, 2007, at WrestleMania 23 he teamed with RVD, Sabu, and Dreamer to defeat Marcus Cor Von, Burke, Striker, and Kevin Thorn. On May 16, Sabu was released by WWE and soon after Rob Van Dam left to take a sabbatical from wrestling, leaving Sandman and Dreamer alone to feud with the New Breed. Sandman and Dreamer teamed up with CM Punk on multiple occasions, who was also feuding with the New Breed. On the June 4 episode of "ECW", Sandman, Dreamer, and Balls Mahoney lost to Bobby Lashley in a hardcore three-on-one handicap match.


title: The Sandman (wrestler)

text: On June 17, 2007, Sandman was drafted to the Raw brand via the WWE Supplemental Draft. On the June 18 edition of "Raw", Sandman debuted, going after Carlito with his Singapore cane. On the July 2 edition of "Raw", Sandman had his first match on Raw, facing Carlito. Carlito won the match due to a disqualification when Sandman struck him with his cane after Carlito tried to use it on him. This started a feud between the two. Sandman did a similar thing next week when he lost to William Regal by disqualification, after hitting Regal and Carlito with his cane. The next week, Sandman faced Carlito again, this time winning when Regal attacked him. The Sandman was saved when Jim Duggan (who had a confrontation with Regal earlier that night) came down to the ring. At The Great American Bash he lost to Carlito in a Singapore Cane on a Pole match. The Sandman lost in a battle royal to determine the new General Manager of "Raw" where he was the last one eliminated by Regal who had faked an injury and was not in the match until Sandman was the only superstar in the ring; Regal then won after he snuck up on The Sandman and hit him in the back of the head with his boot. His last match was on the September 10 edition of "Raw" against Santino Marella which he won by disqualification. Fullington appeared to injure his ankle during a missed spot in this match and was released from his WWE contract on September 12, 2007.


title: The Sandman (wrestler)

text: The Sandman appeared at IWA Mid-South's "Ian Rotten Retirement Show" in Plainfield, Indiana, on December 7, 2007, in a losing effort to Drake Younger. The next night, in Elizabeth, Pennsylvania, at the International Wrestling Cartel's "A Call To Arms 4: Controlled Chaos", Sandman defeated Dennis Gregory in a steel cage match to capture the IWC Heavyweight Championship. The next night after that, he competed at the debut show for Firestorm Pro Wrestling, Destroy Erase Improve, in a match against Samoa Joe which he lost. On January 3, 2008, at the All Entertainment Action Wrestling event "Crucifix Bombardment 2008" Sandman defeated 'The Raging Rhino' Hans Wilkshire in a Hardcore Match to win the vacant AEAW American Heavyweight Championship and the AEAW Hardcore Wrestling Championship. On April 19, 2008, he appeared on 1PW's supershow, 'Know Your Enemy 2008', in a losing effort to Damned Nation in an 8-man tag team match, where he teamed up with El Ligero and Bubblegum (Hubba Bubba Lucha) and Iceman. The Sandman then took part in a No Limit Wrestling special, in which he participated in a tag team match, in which he and his partner, Joe E. Legend, defeated Test and Chris Masters after a cane from Sandman allowed Legend to make the pin.


title: The Sandman (wrestler)

text: In October 2008, Sandman announced through a bulletin posted by his official MySpace account that he would be retiring from pro wrestling in the coming weeks. The bulletin stated that Sandman has a two-month-old child and a girlfriend to take care of, so he feels it is time to leave the wrestling business after a 20 plus year career. The bulletin also noted that he would still be accepting bookings over the next few weeks and that his official retirement date would be announced soon.


title: The Sandman (wrestler)

text: The Sandman appeared at the Armageddon convention in Auckland, New Zealand, wrestling for Impact Pro Wrestling between October 25–27, 2008. He defeated Joseph Kinkade in his first match and The Machine in his second match, both with the White Russian Legsweep. He then teamed up with IPW New Zealand Heavyweight Championship holder "The Deal" Dal Knox in a tag match against Kinkade and The Machine, which saw Knox take the win with a Knox Out on Kinkade. Sandman appeared at the Lonestar Bar & Grill in Temple, Texas, on July 13, 2009, wrestling for New School Federation. He was in a Tag Team match with the at the time NSF champion Ryan Genesis against the tag team of The Fringe Connection (Myke Fyre and Caribbean Tiger) in a NO-DQ match. Genesis scored the pinfall with the help of Sandman armed with a Singapore cane. On August 1, Fullington made an appearance at the Morecambe Carlton for the promotion SPW. There he along with fellow ECW alumnus Little Guido teamed up to take on the team of EGO.


title: The Sandman (wrestler)

text: Fullington made appearances with the Shane Douglas promotion Extreme Rising. Fullington's appearances mainly centered around him doing entrances to his theme music and performing "saves" for other wrestlers by caning their opponents. On February 2, 2013, Fullington made an appearance for WWC where he competed in a 4-way match for the #1 contender at the Puerto Rican title the match was won by Apolo. On June 21, 2013, Fullington competed for Family Wrestling Entertainment where he competed in a battle royal that was won by Tommy Dreamer. On February 8, 2014, Fullington teamed with his son Tyler Fullington to defeat Riley and Pete Lombardo.


title: The Sandman (wrestler)

text: On October 25, 2014, Fullington and Tommy Dreamer defeated Damien Darling and Danny Demanto. On July 2, 2016, Sandman lost a cage match to Sabu, in a match where Bill Alfonso was the referee. In March 2017 he teamed with New Jack and Justin Credible in a winning effort at an ECPW show.


title: The Sandman (wrestler)

text: In November 2018 Sandman lost to Silas Young on Ring of Honor (ROH) weekly television show. In February 2019, Sandman teamed with Tommy Dreamer to face Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Brian Pillman Jr. at Major League Wrestling (MLW). They lost the match after Dreamer was pinned.


title: The Sandman (wrestler)

text: During 2019 The Sandman made various sporadic TV appearances and has participated in a match for TNA, now known as Impact Wrestling, as part of a storyline involving Killer Kross and Eddie Edwards.


title: The Sandman (wrestler)

text: Fullington appeared as The Sandman in the video games "ECW Anarchy Rulz", "" and "WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008".


title: The Sandman (wrestler)

text: Fullington was married to Lori Fullington, with whom he has three children: Kelly (born 1987), Tyler (born 1989) and Austin Oliver (born 1998). Tyler was featured in ECW's Sandman versus Raven storyline and debuted as a wrestler himself in August 2008, wrestling as "Twisted Sand". Fullington also has another son with his second wife.


title: The Sandman (wrestler)

text: On July 20, 2008, at a party for Lou Albano, Fullington began fighting a Yonkers, New York, restaurant's employee when they called the police. Upon the police's arrival, he turned on them and started throwing glasses their way, injuring two of them. He was at first denied bail on July 23, due to two previous convictions for burglary in 1983. His bail was later set at US$10,000. The judge also issued a restraining order, barring Fullington from contacting the owner of the restaurant where the incident had occurred and Fullington was ordered to stay away from the restaurant. Fullington was fined $1,000, had to pay another $200 in court costs and was given a one-year conditional discharge. Fullington was also facing criminal mischief and assault charges, which were dropped in return for the guilty plea.


title: Devon Welsh

text: Devon Welsh (born September 3, 1988) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. From 2010 to 2016, he was the frontman of the electropop duo Majical Cloudz. He released his debut solo album, "Dream Songs", in 2018.


title: Devon Welsh

text: Welsh was born to film and television actor Kenneth Welsh. He lived in Sandford, Ontario, a community of Uxbridge, for a few years. His parents separated when he was four. He entered McGill University in 2007 and graduated in 2011 with a degree in comparative religion.


title: Devon Welsh

text: Welsh released his debut solo album, "Dream Songs", on August 24, 2018. The album was produced by Austin Tufts of Braids and self-released on You Are Accepted, a record label created by Welsh.


title: Devon Welsh

text: From 2007 to 2010, Welsh was in an on-and-off relationship with Claire Boucher, known professionally as Grimes. The two met in 2007 at a first-year dorm party while studying at McGill University.


title: Pedro Zamora

text: Pedro Pablo Zamora (born Pedro Pablo Zamora y Díaz, February 29, 1972 – November 11, 1994) was a Cuban-American AIDS educator and television personality. As one of the first openly gay men with AIDS to be portrayed in popular media, Zamora brought international attention to HIV/AIDS and LGBTQ issues and prejudices through his appearance on MTV's reality television series, "".


title: Pedro Zamora

text: Zamora's romantic relationship with Sean Sasser was also documented on the show; their relationship was later nominated by MTV viewers for "Favorite Love Story" award, and the broadcast of their commitment ceremony in 1994, in which they exchanged vows, was the first such same-sex ceremony in television history, and is considered a landmark in the history of the medium.


title: Pedro Zamora

text: U.S. President Bill Clinton credited Zamora with personalizing and humanizing those living with HIV—especially to Latino communities—with his activism, including his testimony before Congress. Zamora's personal struggle with AIDS, and his conflict with housemate David "Puck" Rainey is credited with helping to make "The Real World" a hit show, for which "Time" ranked it #7 on its list of "32 Epic Moments in Reality-TV History".


title: Pedro Zamora

text: Pedro Zamora was born in Diezmero, San Miguel del Padrón, on the outskirts of Havana, Cuba, to Héctor Zamora, a food-warehouse worker, and Zoraida Díaz, a housewife. Zamora was their eighth and youngest child. Díaz had been told she could not have any more children, thus Zamora's birth on a leap day was seen as charmed. Héctor had fought in the Cuban Revolution for Fidel Castro, but became disillusioned with changes after Castro came to power. This earned him an unfavorable reputation with local informants. As a result, life became increasingly difficult for the Zamoras, who lived in a small house with a dirt floor. Zoraida traded on the black market for food.


title: Pedro Zamora

text: In 1980, when Zamora was eight, his family left Cuba for the United States during the Mariel boatlift. After five days of processing in Cuba, the entire family was to board when, hours before boarding, Cuban officials ruled that his four older brothers were too close to draft age and had to remain. His oldest sister, a communist official, chose to stay. The older siblings insisted, over their parents' objections, to leave without them to give their younger siblings a better life. Zamora and his parents, his sister Mily, and his brother Jesús left in a boat filled with 250 people that had been built for half that number. The Zamoras settled in Hialeah, Florida, a suburb of Miami.


title: Pedro Zamora

text: Zamora's mother died of skin cancer when he was 13. His older sister Mily helped raise him. Zamora focused on his schoolwork as a means of coping with his mother's death. He was an honor student, president of the Science Club, and captain of the Cross-Country team. He excelled socially as well; his Hialeah High School classmates elected him as Most Intellectual and Best All-Around. He initially planned to become a doctor, as his mother's death had inspired him to study medicine.


title: Pedro Zamora

text: At 14, Zamora's father discovered that he had a boyfriend. His father was accepting of Zamora's homosexuality, but concerned about homophobia and its potential dangers. Although AIDS awareness was rising in America, Zamora was not educated about safe sex and AIDS prevention, as such things were not mentioned in school, with the exception of one guest lecture by a doctor who visited Zamora's class when he was in the seventh grade. According to Judd Winick's "Pedro and Me", AIDS and its victims were characterized by the doctor as "deviants, drug addicts, prostitutes".


title: Pedro Zamora

text: In late 1989, in his junior year of high school, 17-year-old Zamora donated blood during a Red Cross blood drive. A month later, he received a letter from the Red Cross informing him that his blood tested "reactive", though it did not specify for what. Zamora decided to be tested for HIV, and on November 9, 1989, the results confirmed he was HIV-positive.


title: Pedro Zamora

text: His family was devastated but remained supportive. Zamora's goal was to graduate from high school before he died, and he did so in 1990. Five months later, he suffered a severe case of shingles. Upon recovery, Zamora joined a Miami-based HIV/AIDS resource center called Body Positive. There he met others with HIV and AIDS, learned more about the disease and how he could still have a fulfilling life. Soon thereafter, he began to talk about his condition to others, wanting to raise awareness in his community.


title: Pedro Zamora

text: Zamora soon became a full-time AIDS educator. He lectured at schools for all ages, at PTA meetings, and in churches. In five years, he spoke nationwide hundreds of times, attended an international AIDS conference, and even served on the board of a charitable trust endowed by insurance companies—despite being denied insurance for himself. The constant travel exhausted Zamora, sometimes forcing him to cancel speaking engagements. In 1991, his work came to national attention when Eric Morganthaler wrote a front-page article about him for the "Wall Street Journal." The publicity resulted in invitations to talk show interviews by Geraldo Rivera, Phil Donahue and Oprah Winfrey. On July 12, 1993, he testified before the United States Congress, arguing for more explicit HIV/AIDS educational programs, saying, "If you want to reach me as a young man, especially a young gay man of color, then you need to give me information in a language and vocabulary I can understand and relate to."


title: Pedro Zamora

text: Zamora attended the 1993 Lesbian and Gay March on Washington, where he met Sean Sasser, also an AIDS educator, who would eventually become his partner. Sasser was moved by Zamora's presence and conviction, recalling, "I was kind of like, 'Wow.' I had never run across someone who was as good at it as he was." Sasser lived in San Francisco, and shortly after he'd met Zamora, he'd learned that producers of the MTV reality TV show "" were looking for an HIV positive person to cast in the 1994 season in San Francisco.


title: Pedro Zamora

text: Zamora sent an audition tape for the show, thinking that he could reach more people simply by the national exposure than by constant travel. Six months later, Zamora was cast on the show, beating out 25,000 applicants.


title: Pedro Zamora

text: Zamora and his castmates (, Rachel Campos, Pam Ling, , David "Puck" Rainey, and Judd Winick) moved into the house at 953 Lombard Street on Russian Hill on February 12, 1994. The producers had informed the other six castmates that one person was HIV-positive, but did not specify whom. Once all of the castmates were in the house, Zamora informed them that it was he who was HIV-positive, showing them a scrapbook of his career as an AIDS educator. At the time, Ling was the only castmate with background on how HIV was transmitted, being a medical school student.


title: Pedro Zamora

text: All of the castmates were receptive to Zamora, but Rachel Campos privately expressed (during the show's routine 'confessionals') her discomfort with Zamora's being HIV-positive. She was concerned how HIV would possibly affect her and the others in the house. She was afraid to bring up her concerns during the initial meeting, for fear of seeming intolerant. Thus, Campos initially distanced herself from Zamora, which Zamora interpreted as rejection.


title: Pedro Zamora

text: Later, Zamora educated Campos about HIV and AIDS, which eased her apprehension. Despite very differing political views, they formed a rapport as the show progressed. On one episode, Campos brought Zamora to meet her Spanish-Mexican family in Arizona. By the season's end, however, Zamora expressed his disappointment to Campos that they did not become the close friends that they could have been.


title: Pedro Zamora

text: Winick stated that Zamora had an almost "clairvoyant" ability to broach sensitive subjects. Despite Winick's never voicing it, Zamora sensed that Winick had lingering worries about sharing a room with him. Zamora educated Winick subtly through casual conversation, so much so that Winick did not even realize it. In later episodes, Winick, Ling, and Murphy often attended Zamora's lectures at schools in the Bay Area, wanting to learn more about HIV and AIDS.


title: Pedro Zamora

text: During filming of the show, Zamora and Sean Sasser began dating, and quickly became a couple. Sasser eventually proposed to Zamora, and the two exchanged vows in a commitment ceremony held in the Real World house. In so doing, they made history as the first same-sex commitment ceremony on TV. Their relationship was nominated for "Favorite Love Story" at the 2008 "Real Worlds Awards Bash".


title: Pedro Zamora

text: Midway through filming, Zamora's health suddenly declined. He was suffering night sweats, bouts of pneumonia, fatigue, and weight loss. Producer Jon Murray stated, "He got sick much faster than he expected. That's when he made us promise to tell his story till the end." The stress of the perpetual conflict between Zamora and castmate Rainey was contributing to his decline. Rainey's antagonism towards Zamora included mocking his Cuban accent, dismissing Zamora's and Sasser's relationship, and multiple homophobic comments. Zamora announced he was moving out, as Rainey's antics had become intolerable. The other castmates unanimously agreed that they wanted Zamora to stay, and evicted Rainey. "Time" ranked this episode #7 on its list of "32 Epic Moments in Reality-TV History".


title: Pedro Zamora

text: Zamora was able to participate in activities like parasailing during the cast's trip to Hawaii, giving viewers the impression that he was healthier than he actually was. The castmates knew he was unwell and often covered for him during their weekly confessional interviews, saying Zamora was doing fine when they knew otherwise.


title: Pedro Zamora

text: The cast vacated the Real World house on June 19, 1994, and the first episodes of "" began airing a week later. Zamora visited his family in Miami before returning to San Francisco to live with Sasser.


title: Pedro Zamora

text: When Winick, Zamora, Murphy, and Ling met in August for a reunion party, Zamora was visibly ill. Once talkative, he was often silent, having difficulty following conversations, and forgetting familiar places. He went to the MTV offices in New York, and could not recognize where he was. On August 17, Zamora checked into St. Vincent's Hospital and was diagnosed with toxoplasmosis, a condition that causes brain lesions, fatigue, headaches and confusion. Further tests revealed he had progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), a very rare and usually fatal viral inflammation of the brain that disrupts the electrical impulses of the nervous system. PML can dissipate on its own in patients with T-cell counts higher than 300–400. At the time, Zamora's T-cell count was 32. The inflammation was attacking the frontal lobe of his brain, causing his short-term memory loss. Zamora was given three to four months to live.


title: Pedro Zamora

text: On September 3, about three weeks after checking into St. Vincent's, Zamora was flown to Mercy Hospital in Miami, and his family gathered around him. Then-President Bill Clinton called Zamora to thank him for his work. Zamora is said to have expressed elation and was able to respond, though Mily Zamora stated that whether he understood who was calling is unclear, given the severity of his PML.


title: Pedro Zamora

text: As a gesture of gratitude for his work, Clinton asked if there was anything he could do for the Zamora family. They replied that they wanted Zamora's remaining siblings in Cuba to be with him in his final days. This resulted in Alonso R. del Portillo, Attorney General Janet Reno, Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala, and Florida Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen forming an agreement with Cuba that would admit 20,000 Cubans per year to the United States. Zamora's three brothers and their families arrived in the next couple of weeks, reuniting the family for the first time in 14 years.


title: Pedro Zamora

text: On October 21, Winick announced that MTV had set up a trust fund in order to pay for Zamora's medical costs, as Zamora had no medical insurance. He had received Medicaid, but was rejected for any private company coverage due his pre-existing condition of HIV.


title: Pedro Zamora

text: Before his hospitalization, Zamora told his family to not keep him alive by artificial means—his mother had a prolonged death, and he wanted to spare his family that pain. Zamora developed a high fever. Once he became unresponsive, his family honored his wishes and withdrew life support. Surrounded by his family, longtime friend Alex Escarano, Sasser, Winick, and Ling, Zamora died at 4:40 a.m. EST on November 11, 1994, at the age of 22, hours after the final episode of "The Real World: San Francisco" aired. He was buried on November 13.


title: Pedro Zamora

text: After his death, Zamora was publicly praised by President Clinton and Donna Shalala for his leadership and work in educating high school students, saying that through his appearance on "The Real World", Pedro had become a part of viewers' families, and that all people who watched the show could now say that they knew someone who had lived with AIDS.


title: Pedro Zamora

text: On February 28, 1995, the portion of the street in front of McMillan Middle School in Miami was renamed Pedro Zamora Way in a ceremony attended by Zamora's father and sister Mily.


title: Pedro Zamora

text: Mily Zamora became a public speaker about AIDS. Winick continued lecturing on behalf of Zamora for three years. His autobiographical graphic novel, "", was published in September 2000. It was nominated for the 2001 Eisner Award for Best Graphic Album: New, won a 2001 American Library Association Stonewall Book Award for Non-Fiction Honor Books, and the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comic. It has been incorporated into school curricula across the country, such as UCLA, which made it its common book in 2013. Winick's experiences with Zamora would also help shape his work in mainstream superhero comics, which would receive considerable media attention for storylines in "Green Lantern" and "Green Arrow", which explored gay or AIDS-related themes.


title: Pedro Zamora

text: Pedro's partner, Sean Sasser, continued his activism for LGBT issues, and his work as an HIV educator. In 1995, he spoke at the inaugural White House AIDS conference, and was appointed by President Clinton to the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS. He became a pastry chef in Atlanta, Portland, and finally Washington, DC., at RIS restaurant. In June 2013 Sasser married Michael Kaplan, whom he had dated off and on after Zamora's death, and with whom he had moved in six months prior. While in Washington, Sasser served as a board member of the AIDS Alliance for Children, Youth and Families. He was active in youth and mentoring organizations, and he and Kaplan served as foster parents to a four-year-old girl. In July 2013, Sasser, who had also been HIV positive for 25 years, was diagnosed with mesothelioma, a rare cancer of the lungs. He died at his home on August 7, 2013, at the age of 44.


title: Pedro Zamora

text: Queer theorist José Esteban Muñoz dedicated a chapter to Zamora in his 1999 book "Disidentifications: Queers of Color and the Performance of Politics" In the chapter titled, "Pedro Zamora's Real World of Counterpublicity: Performing Ethics of Self," Muñoz describes the ways in which Zamora used the shows' confessional booth to perform an ethics of self, and in doing so disidentified with the mainstream.


title: Pedro Zamora

text: In 2008, Bunim-Murray Productions produced a film, "Pedro", directed by Nick Oceano, dramatizing Zamora's life. The film was an Official Selection at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival, and was Bunim-Murray's first scripted project. Zamora was portrayed by Alex Loynaz.


title: Pedro Zamora

text: In 2009, the National AIDS Memorial Grove in San Francisco began the Youth Essay Scholarship Program, renamed the Pedro Zamora Young Leaders Scholarship in 2014. Every August, the scholarship program gives awards ranging from $2,500 to $5,000 to high school seniors and college students who are actively fighting HIV/AIDS through public service and leadership.


title: Pedro Zamora

text: In June 2019, Zamora was one of the inaugural fifty American "pioneers, trailblazers, and heroes" inducted on the National LGBTQ Wall of Honor within the Stonewall National Monument (SNM) in New York City's Stonewall Inn. The SNM is the first U.S. national monument dedicated to LGBTQ rights and history, while The Wall's unveiling was timed to take place during the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots.


title: For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge

text: For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge (often abbreviated as F.U.C.K.) is the ninth studio album by American rock band Van Halen. It was released on June 17, 1991, on Warner Bros. Records and is the third to feature vocalist Sammy Hagar. It debuted at number 1 on the "Billboard" 200 album chart and maintained the position for three weeks.


title: For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge

text: The album marked the first time the band had Ted Templeman working in a producer capacity since "1984", when David Lee Roth was still lead singer. He had, however, assisted in determining the track sequencing for the 1986 effort "5150".


title: For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge

text: The album's title came from lead singer Sammy Hagar, who wanted to push the issue of censorship by naming Van Halen's album with a vulgarity, stating, "That's when censorship was a big issue. I wanted to name the album just "Fuck"." Hagar eventually backed away from the outright vulgarity after he was told by his friend, former world lightweight boxing champion Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini, that the word "fuck" was an acronym for the phrase "for unlawful carnal knowledge" (though this is a false etymology). Their tour promoting the album was unofficially named F.U.C.K. 'n' Live. Prior to recording, the term "for unlawful carnal knowledge" was used by the band Coven as a track on their album "Witchcraft Destroys Minds & Reaps Souls" in 1969.


title: For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge

text: Van Halen started work on the album in March 1990 and finished in April 1991, two months before its release. The album itself was marketed as the "return" to Van Halen's hard rock roots, with most songs being guitar driven, and the synth sounds being replaced by pianos. The band also reconciled with producer Ted Templeman, who produced earlier Van Halen albums to return to work on the album. According to Eddie Van Halen, this happened because singer Sammy Hagar did not want to work with Andy Johns and Templeman "let him get away with everything". The year-long production led to the labored sound.


title: For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge

text: This was the first album that Eddie recorded without his trademark Marshall Super Lead serving as the primary amplifier. The Marshall was fading, so Eddie went with his 1989 Soldano SLO-100 to record the album primarily, though the Marshall was used sparingly. A prototype for what would become the Peavey 5150 series of custom amplifiers was also used. Peavey's release of the 5150 series coincided with the release of the album.


title: For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge

text: "Poundcake" featured the sound of a battery-operated power drill, which Eddie held to the pickups of his guitar and revved, creating the intro. The song "Top of the World" features a riff that was first heard during the outro of the 1984-era hit "Jump". For this reason, "Top of the World" is frequently played directly after "Jump" and appears immediately after it on the "Best of Both Worlds" compilation. The instrumental "316" is named for the March 16 birthday of Eddie's son Wolfgang, who was Van Halen's most recent bass player, although the song predates his birth (as part of it was used by Eddie at the beginning of his guitar solo on tour, as seen on "Live Without a Net", and was originally written for "5150").


title: For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge

text: "Rolling Stone"'s John Milward rated the album two out of five stars, explaining that it "is so stuffed with zigzagging guitars and blustery vocals that it almost forgets to rock. Eddie Van Halen, who probably has more guitars than teeth, upends such a tackle box of hooks that they only start to surface after repeated listenings. Tasteful simplicity, which is never really simple at all, would have proved a better course to follow." He concluded that the guitars "are busier, the beats are heavier, and the fun is fleeting. Van Halen has chops to burn, but "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge", like its lumbering opening track and first single, 'Poundcake,' is stale."


title: For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge

text: Gina Arnold of "Entertainment Weekly" gave the album a C and said, "It would be nice to believe that the acronym formed by the title of Van Halen's new, top-charting album was intended as a covert blow against censorship in America. Unfortunately, it's far more likely that the punny name merely indicates VH's love of the kind of bathroom talk that third graders think is funny. [...] "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge" doesn't contain even one mind-numbingly catchy melody. Only 'Top of the World' and 'The Dream Is Over' come close to working up a truly fist-thrusting chorus, and the gist of the latter—'dream another dream, this dream is over'—may well be advice that Van Halen and their fans ought to take to heart."


title: For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge

text: A retrospective review by AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine was mixed. He stated that the title "indicates the true nature of "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge" [...] Backing away from the diversity of "OU812", the band turns in some of the most basic, straightforward rock & roll of its career." However, he also stated that it was "undeniable that [Sammy Hagar's] limited vocal power had a great deal to do with the obvious nature of most of this music." He concluded that, even though the band continued to be tight and professional, the songwriting "is, by and large, undistinguished, with the anthemic 'Right Now' standing out as the most memorable song of the batch, mainly because of its incessant chorus."


title: Jurassic 5

text: Jurassic 5 is an American alternative hip hop group formed in 1994 by rappers Charles Stewart (Chali 2na), Dante Givens (Akil), Courtenay Henderson (Soup aka Zaakir), Marc Stuart (Marc 7); and disc jockeys Mark Potsic (DJ Nu-Mark) and Lucas Macfadden (Cut Chemist).


title: Jurassic 5

text: shortly after releasing their fourth LP "Feedback", citing "musical differences," but returned to the stage in 2013 and released a new track in 2014. The members have continued to release music individually.


title: Jurassic 5

text: Jurassic 5 debuted nationally in 1995 from TVT Records with their first single, "Unified Rebelution". Jurassic 5 released their first record, "Jurassic 5 EP", in 1997.


title: Jurassic 5

text: After Jurassic 5 put out their first record, it "cemented their position in the 1990s alternative hip hop movement, alongside artists such as Company Flow, Black Star and Kool Keith." The group later signed to Interscope Records and the EP was repackaged with additional tracks and released in December 1998 as the full-length, eponymous debut album entitled "Jurassic 5". In a 2002 interview with "The Sydney Morning Herald", the group explained the origin of their name. Chali 2na revealed, "I played the song to my friend’s mother and she made a joke: ‘You guys think you sound like the Fantastic Five, but you sound more like the Jurassic Five.’ And we started laughing but, well, the name stuck."


title: Jurassic 5

text: This was followed by their second album "Quality Control", which peaked at #43 on the "Billboard" 200.


title: Jurassic 5

text: In 2002, they released their third album, "Power In Numbers" which peaked at #15 on the Billboard 200 chart.


title: Jurassic 5

text: Jurassic 5 eventually toured without Cut Chemist, who left the group to pursue a solo career. The remaining five members released their fourth and final album, "Feedback", on July 25, 2006. The album peaked at #15 on the Billboard 200.


title: Jurassic 5

text: The group split in 2007. Reasons for the break-up were attributed to disagreements among members of the group.


title: Jurassic 5

text: In 2013, the group re-formed, including the return of Cut Chemist, for the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and an international tour, primarily in the UK but also including dates in Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Japan and the United States. They played at Glastonbury in 2014 and had a Word of Mouth Reunion Tour during the Summer of 2014.


title: Jurassic 5

text: Jurassic 5's music has been used in several video games. In 2000, "Jayou" was featured in "Grind Session". Also in 2000, "Jet Set Radio" was released in North America including the track "Improvise" from the album "Quality Control" - though it only appears on the US pressing. All other pressings of the album have the track "Concrete And Clay" instead - and an instrumental version of the same song. The following year, the track "Great Expectations" from the same album was also included in "Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX". In 2002, "What's Golden" was featured on "ATV Offroad Fury 2". The song was additionally included in the video game "Forza Horizon 3" on the fictional radio 'Block Party'. "A Day At The Races" featuring Big Daddy Kane appeared in the 2003 skateboarding game "Tony Hawk's Underground". The song "In The House" from "Feedback" was featured in "NBA Live 06". and "Work it Out" was in "NBA Live 07", while "Red Hot" was featured in "SSX on Tour". "Sum of Us" and "High Fidelity" from "Power in Numbers" was included in the 2019 game "Trials Rising".


title: Lush (company)

text: Lush Retail Ltd. is a British cosmetics retailer which is headquartered in Poole, Dorset, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1995 by trichologist Mark Constantine, his wife Mo Constantine and five other founders. Lush has 951 stores globally.


title: Lush (company)

text: It produces and sells creams, soaps, shampoos, shower gels, lotions, moisturisers, scrubs, masks, and other cosmetics for the face and hair.


title: Lush (company)

text: The organisation claims it uses only vegetarian recipes, 85% of which are also vegan. The company operates stores in 49 countries globally, with most locations located in the US, as well as production facilities located in the United Kingdom, Canada, Croatia, Germany, Japan and Australia.


title: Lush (company)

text: Co-founders Mark Constantine and Liz Weir met in the 1970s and subsequently set up a cosmetics business. Constantine began training as a hairdresser and, after completing his training, began working for Elizabeth Arden in London. Constantine began working at Marc Young's Beauty Salon in Poole, where he met Liz Weir, who was freelancing at the salon as a beauty therapist. Weir and Constantine started their own business selling natural hair and beauty products.


title: Lush (company)

text: Constantine and Weir started supplying Anita Roddick's Body Shop when she launched her second shop in 1977. The pair would become the Body Shop's biggest supplier until, in the early 1990s, the retailer became uncomfortable with not owning the formulations of many of its products. The Body Shop bought Constantine and Weir out, paying them £6 million for the manufacturing rights to the products they had been supplying. Both co-founders signed a non-competition agreement, which was enforced until 1994.


title: Lush (company)

text: In 1995, Constantine and Weir opened a cosmetics shop on High Street in Poole, creating cosmetics from freshly purchased fruits and vegetables. The company's name was chosen after a customer competition in the store's newsletter. Lush opened two new stores in Covent Garden and Kings Road, London. Lush expanded into other countries, first with stores in Croatia and then Australia in 1997, Brazil in 1999 and Dublin, Ireland, in 2000.


title: Lush (company)

text: "B Never Too Busy To Be Beautiful" was an experimental brand launched in 2003 by Lush. The first B Never store opened in 2003 and was located on Carnaby Street in London, before Lush expanded to opening 205 stores overseas. B Never closed its stores in 2009.


title: Lush (company)

text: In 2010, Lush launched Gorilla Perfume, a collaboration between perfumers Mark Constantine and his son Simon Constantine. In December 2010, Mark and his wife Mo Constantine were awarded the OBE in the New Year's Honours list, for services to the beauty industry. In 2014, Gorilla perfume opened its own standalone store in Islington, London. In December 2018, Lush launched its Naked skincare range, which includes solid facial oils and cleansers and a seaweed gel eye mask, and opened a number of Naked shops, in Manchester, Milan and Berlin. In 2019, Lush opened its biggest store in the world in Liverpool.


title: Lush (company)

text: At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Lush offered the public free handwashing in all its stores, as a means to help slow the spread of the virus. However, on 16 March 2020, Lush closed all North American stores but continued to pay staff, with stores in Australia closing four days later and those in the UK closing on 21 March. Later in March, the company announced it was laying off staff in Canada due to the impact that the pandemic was having on its operation, facing a future with a "much smaller business".


title: Lush (company)

text: In 2021, Lush removed its Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok accounts citing negative mental health and body image effects caused by such services.


title: Lush (company)

text: On February 25, 2022, following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the company announced that it would be closing all 15 of its stores in Ukraine due to safety concerns. Mark Constantine also stated products would be distributed to people affected by the invasion. Its Russian stores are majority owned by a licensee, who stated stores in Russia were blocked from closing for the time being. Lush announced on March 11 that it would be halting supplies to its licensee in Russia, and also any online sales or deliveries to the country. As part of UK efforts to help those fleeing the conflict, Lush announced it would open up internal job vacancies to Ukrainian refugees. The company has a history of offering refugees employment, starting during the 2003-2011 Iraq war.


title: Lush (company)

text: Lush is a privately owned company with a small number of shares available on an invitation-only basis. The company operates in 49 countries, with approximately 20% of its stores located in the USA.


title: Lush (company)

text: Many of the global operations outside the UK were founded via joint venture agreements between Lush and third parties. In 1996, a joint venture agreement was signed to expand the cosmetics operation to North America. This began by opening stores in Canada, and six years after the initial move into the North American market, Lush opened its first store in the United States. A similar arrangement saw the launch of Lush Australia in 1997, when the first store opened in the country.


title: Lush (company)

text: The company follows a "no advertising policy", in which it does not spend money on TV campaigns or celebrity endorsements, and instead relies heavily on user-generated content. However, the company partnered with drag queens from RuPaul's Drag Race alumnae Kim Chi, Detox and Shea Couleé in the holiday season of 2018 to create photo campaigns for their new products. Products are also advertised through staff engaging in "random acts of kindness", where they are allowed to give away products to customers. Lush states that it does not have a target demographic, and that as a brand it is "trying to make [its] stores welcoming to all".


title: Lush (company)

text: Lush produces creams, soaps, shampoos, shower gels, lotions, moisturisers, fragrances, scrubs, toothpaste tablets, masks and other cosmetics for the face, hair, and body using only vegetarian or vegan recipes. In 2016, Lush produced 41 million products, of which 13.3 million were bath bombs. In July 2012, Lush began selling their "Emotional Brilliance" makeup collection, which includes liquid lipsticks, liquid eyeliners, cream shadows, and mascara. Lush products are made in factories around the world including England, Canada, Croatia, Germany, and Australia.


title: Lush (company)

text: Prior to the foundation of Lush, all the co-founders were interested in plant-based colourants, particularly henna. When Cosmetics-to-Go was formed, the co-founders began to consider the option of supplying The Body Shop with henna products.


title: Lush (company)

text: Lush does not buy from companies that carry out, fund, or commission any animal testing. They test their products on human volunteers.


title: Lush (company)

text: The founders have been involved in cruelty-free cosmetics throughout their careers. Two of the founders, Liz Weir and Mark Constantine, began in 1977 when they launched a treatment business, Constantine and Weir. In the 1980s, the founders worked with Cruelty Free International (previously known as BUAV), with the aim of developing an ethical testing standard, specifically for cosmetic companies. The project led to the creation of cruelty-free standards still used today in the field of cosmetics.


title: Lush (company)

text: Lush stipulates that they will not knowingly purchase from suppliers or supply chains that have been party to animal testing in any way, including the testing of raw materials on animals. This stance against animal testing has meant that there are some countries where Lush refuses to sell its products. An exception to this is REACH legislation, which was implemented by the European Union in 2007.


title: Lush (company)

text: In late 2007, Lush introduced its first palm oil-free soap entitled "Greenwash", utilising a blend of sunflower oil, rapeseed oil, and coconut oil. Due to the soap's success, the company decided to switch both UK and overseas production from palm oil to this blend, significantly reducing the amount of palm oil the company purchased. However, many Lush products continue to contain palm oil, and palm-oil derivatives such as stearic acid, cetostearyl alcohol and sodium stearate. Since 2017, Lush has campaigned against the production and harvesting of palm oil, which is associated orangutan habitat destruction in Sumatra, and since 2018 has purchased two plots of land bordering the Leuser Ecosystem on Sumatra to reforest.


title: Lush (company)

text: Lush products are 100% vegetarian, and 85% of the products are also vegan. They often contain fruits and vegetables such as grapefruit juice, vanilla beans, aloe vera, avocado butter, rosemary oil, fresh papaya, and coconut. However, some products contain lanolin, honey, and/or beeswax. Egg used to be in products but was removed early 2019. Parabens are used to preserve a number of the products.


title: Lush (company)

text: In 2006, the REACH legislation was proposed by the European Union and contained legislation that Lush believed would increase animal testing. The cosmetics company wrote to its European customers and also ran an in-store marketing campaign, asking for postcards objecting to the legislation be sent to MEPs, a move which resulted in 80,000 Lush customers sending postcards. In December 2006, Lush protested outside the European Parliament in Strasbourg, by dumping horse manure outside the building.


title: Lush (company)

text: Lush is a supporter of direct action, animal rights operations including Sea Shepherd. Lush has been a supporter of anti-taxation-avoidance grouping UK Uncut.


title: Lush (company)

text: In 2007, Lush started openly supporting campaigning groups by sending a dozen cheques for £1,000 each, including road protests groups such as Road Block and NoM1Widening, Hacan Clear Skies (anti-aviation group), and Dump the Dump (which is fighting against an incinerator). In 2011, Lush supported OneWorld's track Freedom for Palestine, which led to backlash from Israel advocacy groups, such as StandWithUs. Lush has since claimed to support collaboration between the two nations especially in almond farming. It uses both Israel and Palestine as suppliers for almond oil. In 2012, Lush had a performance artist endure ten hours of animal testing in the window of their Regent Street store window as part of their 'Fight Animal Testing' campaign.


title: Lush (company)

text: Lush Cosmetics donated £3.8 million to charities in 2014. In 2014, Lush supported the first Hen Harrier Day, with all its UK stores prominently highlighting the illegal persecution of hen harriers on upland grouse moors.


title: Lush (company)

text: In 2012, Lush created The Lush Prize, a global award and grant given to researchers that find solutions and alternatives to animal testing. In the first six years, The Lush Prize donated nearly $2 million to award winners. Past winners of the award have included PETA and a research team at The University of Cambridge. Recently the Lush Spring Prize was introduced, a biennial award with prize fund for projects that assist repairing the planet’s damaged systems.


title: Lush (company)

text: Following the 2019–20 Australian bushfire season, Lush launched a campaign titled All The Wild Things, with proceeds from the sales of the koala-shaped soap bars would go to relief efforts aimed for Australian wildlife affected by the bush fires.


title: Lush (company)

text: On 31 May 2018, Lush launched a campaign aimed to highlight previous abuses by undercover police officers in the UK. The company put up window displays in its stores with a mock-up of a police officer in and out of uniform alongside the tag-line "Paid to lie #Spycops". In some stores replica police tape was put on the shopfront windows with: "Police have crossed the line". The campaign attracted immediate criticism from serving officers and members of the public due to its "broad brush" approach which appeared to suggest that police officers were liars and involved in a cover-up. Many notable figures were critical of the campaign by Lush, including Chief Police Officers and the Home Secretary, Sajid Javid. Lush responded to the backlash by stating that the campaign was "not an anti-state/anti-police campaign" and that they were aware "police forces of the UK are doing an increasingly difficult and dangerous job whilst having their funding slashed". They also stated that the campaign was "not about the real police work done by those front line officers who support the public every day – it is about a controversial branch of political undercover policing that ran for many years before being exposed." Lush suspended the window campaign "for the safety of our staff" on 8 June 2018, but resumed it on 13 June.


title: Lush (company)

text: In 2015, Lush was criticised for insensitivity when it stocked a new product, "Lavender Hill Mob" – a brand of incense inspired by the 2011 London Riots, featuring a graphic of a burning building. Lavender Hill itself had been targeted by looters and rioters, but Lush stated that it was "created to emphasise the importance of community".


title: Lush (company)

text: In July 2018, Lush Australia admitted owing more than 5,000 staff members up to $2 million in back pay. Lush Australia director Peta Granger said staff across the retail and manufacturing businesses have been underpaid since 2010 due to incorrect interpretations of the retail award. In 2020, "The Guardian" raised concerns about the labour conditions at the Lush kitchen in Sydney, Australia, due to the high rate of injury reported by factory staff. During the August 2020 resurgence of COVID-19 in Auckland, New Zealand, Lush employees were given 48 hours notice that they would not receive pay for the duration of level 3 restrictions when the stores were unable to open, prompting negotiations between Lush and First Union New Zealand. Lush were ineligible for the government wage subsidy for staff, as their revenues had not decreased enough during this period.


title: Lush (company)

text: Beginning in 2020, Lush North America faced criticism for union busting and poor working conditions. In September 2020, Lush workers in Toronto launched a campaign to unionise. Employees complained about having their voices stifled by the company; facing retaliation for speaking out; having pay well below a living wage; and unfairly barring some employees from stability and benefits by abusing the company's seasonal contract policies. In response, Lush handed out anti-union leaflets, held captive audience meetings, and allegedly targeted union organizers. This is in contrast to the company's ethical buying policy, which states the importance of collective bargaining. Workers United Canada Council, the union representing Lush Workers, filed charges against the company in both the United States and Canada. The charges allege that the company's actions in response to the union organizing drive, as well as retaliation against individual employees was unlawful. Lush North America was officially acquired by Lush UK in 2021, but these issues remain unchanged.


title: Clapperboard

text: A clapperboard (also known by various other names including dumb slate) is a device used in filmmaking and video production to assist in synchronizing of picture and sound, and to designate and mark the various scenes and takes as they are filmed and audio-recorded. It is operated by the clapper loader.


title: Clapperboard

text: In the silent era the principal requirement of film stock identification during a day's shoot was the slate.


title: Clapperboard

text: The clapper as two sticks hinged together was invented by F. W. Thring (father of actor Frank Thring), who later became head of Efftee Studios in Melbourne, Australia. The clapboard with both the sticks and slate together was a refinement of Leon M. Leon (1903–1998) a pioneer sound engineer.


title: Clapperboard

text: The clapperboard combines a chalkboard slate or acrylic board with a set of clapper sticks across the top. The slate displays the name of the production, the scene and "take" about to be performed, and similar information; a camera assistant holds the clapperboard so the slate is in view of the cameras with the clapper sticks already open, speaks out information for the benefit of the audio recording, then claps the clapper sticks shut.


title: Clapperboard

text: The shutting of the filmsticks is easily identified on the visual track, and the sharp "clap" noise is easily identified on the separate audio track. The two tracks can later be precisely synchronized by matching the sound and movement. Since each take is identified on both the visual and audio tracks, segments of film are easily matched with segments of audio.


title: Clapperboard

text: Finding a way to synchronize visual and audio tracks was essential to traditional filmmaking because film stock reacts to light, not sound. During a film shoot, the audio track was always recorded by the audio engineer with a separate system on separate media (so-called double-system recording). (For early sound films, playback of the audio track was synchronized during post-production with sound-on-disc techniques; engineers later figured out how to directly add an audio track to a release print with sound-on-film techniques.) Failure to use clapperboards can prevent the film editor from synchronizing the visual images on film footage with the accompanying audio recordings, as actually happened with the long-delayed film "Amazing Grace".


title: Clapperboard

text: Methods were later developed to directly record sound to film (technically, a magnetic stripe on film) as part of a single system integrated with the film camera (so-called single-system recording), which was most commonly used with small formats like Super 8 film. However, single-system recording did not render clapperboards obsolete. First, single-system recording of sound-on-film is "decidedly inferior in audio quality" to traditional double-system recording. Second, footage from single-system recording is difficult to shoot and edit. Since the sound playback head cannot block the projector gate and must be placed after the gate, the soundtrack must be offset by several frames (usually 28, 26, or 18 ahead) to maintain sync with the frame in the gate. With such footage, cutting to the next shot when an actor's lips stop moving will risk cutting off their last syllable, unless the soundtrack is copied and edited on a separate system, and actors must be directed to pause to allow for such cuts. Because of these technical limitations, the film industry has continued to use double-system recording for professional-quality film projects.


title: Clapperboard

text: Traditional clapperboards consisted of a wooden slate with a hinged clapper stick attached to its top. Modern clapperboards generally use a pair of wooden sticks atop either a whiteboard or a translucent acrylic glass slate (the latter being easily legible via the light coming through it from the scene about to be shot). The clapper sticks traditionally have diagonally interleaved lines of black and white to ensure a clear visual of the clap in most lighting conditions. In recent years sticks with calibrated color stripes have become available.


title: Clapperboard

text: Digislates are simply clapperboards with inbuilt electronic boxes displaying SMPTE time codes. The timecode displayed on the clapperboard will have been jam synced with the internal clock of the camera so that in theory it should be easy for an editor to pull the timecode metadata from the video file and sound clip and synchronize them together. However, electronic timecodes can still drift during a long shooting day, so the clapper sticks on the clapperboard still need to be closed together in order to ensure there is a way of manually synchronizing the footage and audio if matching the digital timecode fails.


title: Clapperboard

text: The slate typically includes the date, the production title, the name of the director, the name of the director of photography (DoP) and the scene information — which follows two popular systems:


title: Clapperboard

text: A verbal identification of the numbers, known either as "voice slate" or "announcement", occurs after sound has reached speed. At the same time or shortly thereafter, the camera will start running, and the clapperboard is then filmed briefly at the start of the 'take' and the clapper sticks are clapped sharply as soon as the camera has reached sync speed. Specific procedures vary depending on the nature of the production (documentary, television, feature, commercial, etc.), and the dominant camera assisting regional conventions.


title: Clapperboard

text: A clapper board is generally used to identify all takes on a production, even takes that do not require synchronization, such as MOS takes, which have no sound. When a slate is used to mark an MOS take, the slate is held half open, with a hand blocking the sticks, or closed, with a hand over the sticks.


title: Clapperboard

text: The clapper loader (or 2nd AC) is generally responsible for the maintenance and operation of the clapperboard, while the script supervisor is responsible for determining which system will be used and what numbers a given take should have. While these are usually fairly obvious once a system has been agreed upon, the script supervisor is usually considered the final arbiter in the event of an unclear situation.


title: Clapperboard

text: Sometimes a "tail slate" or end slate is filmed at the end of a take, during which the clapperboard is held upside-down. This is done when the slate was not captured at the start of the take due to the camera being set up for the shot in such a way that the board cannot be captured, for example when a specific focus or frame is set up and cannot be altered until the take is complete. Tail slates are also commonly used when the director makes the decision that clapping a slate at the beginning of the scene would be distracting to the actor, such as when filming a highly emotional performance.


title: Gundam model

text: Gundam models, or , are model kits depicting the vehicles and characters of the fictional "Gundam" multiverse by Bandai.


title: Gundam model

text: These kits became popular among mecha anime fans and model enthusiasts in Japan and nearby Asian countries beginning in the 1980s. Gundam modeling spread in the 1990s with North America and Europe being exposed to "Gundam" through television, video and manga.


title: Gundam model

text: The name "Gunpla" derives from the phrase ""Gun"dam "pla"stic model," most kits being made of plastic.


title: Gundam model

text: Bandai sold over Gundam plastic model units between 1980 and 1984, and over units by May 1999. By 2015, Bandai had sold an estimated 450million units worldwide across nearly 2,000 different Gundam models. , Bandai Namco has sold Gundam plastic model units, including standard Gundam units (since 1980) and SD Gundam units (since 1987).


title: Gundam model

text: Gundam models are based on the "Mobile Suit Gundam" franchise, which debuted in 1979 as a television show. The show was not highly successful, and the toys produced by Clover did not sell well.


title: Gundam model

text: In 1985, Bandai introduced poly-caps (soft plastic, typically Polyethylene) as connectors for better articulation of joints.


title: Gundam model

text: "Mobile Suit Gundam SEED" introduced a new type of non-graded (NG) 1:144 model, with a completely different design plan. While these still feature snap-fit and color molding, they omit major joints, opting instead to only allow critical pieces to move—typically the neck, hips, shoulders, and feet. These are budget models, usually retailing much lower than other models; and this line was extensive, covering nearly every machine to be featured in the TV series.


title: Gundam model

text: In 2010, Bandai released the 1:48 Mega Size Model RX-78-2 Gundam kit as part of the franchise's 30th anniversary campaign. This kit features many innovations that make it easy to assemble for first-time Gunpla collectors. For example, the parts are attached to sprue gates thin enough to break without the need to use of plastic cutters, and excess gate plastic can be removed from the parts without using a hobby knife. Some sprues have been designed to snap together for easy and quick removal of assembled parts.


title: Gundam model

text: Gundam model kits come in many varieties, but the majority made from the late 80s on - standard "plastic" kits - are manufactured and assembled similarly. Kits come as a collection of plastic parts, decals, and sometimes other decorative accessories which the purchaser assembles by hand into the finished model. The plastic parts are delivered in the exact form they exit the injection molding machine, on a "sprue tree" - a grid of interconnecting plastic rods, called runners, created by the channels in the mold that carried the molten plastic into the cavities that create each part. Each part is connected to the runners by a small plastic nub called a "gate" where the runner connected to the cavity.


title: Gundam model

text: The kit builder must cut away this excess plastic - usually with a pair of side cutting pliers - to free each part, then (optionally, but usually) clip, carve or sand away the remaining plastic tip where the gates attached to leave a clean surface.


title: Gundam model

text: Once the parts have been freed, the builder must then snap them together to assemble the model. Early kits required glue, but from the late 80s onward all kits assemble without special tools or materials.


title: Gundam model

text: Some kits use an internal frame - a complete "skeleton," fully articulated and able to stand on its own - to which panels are then attached to finish the appearance of the mecha.


title: Gundam model

text: When it comes time to assemble the panels making up the external appearance of the model, the builder may choose to customize the model in a wide variety of ways. The most basic is simply to paint the model, which allows for a large amount of personal creativity. Applying decals is also a common technique - decals are included with most models, but are also available as separate products for customization.


title: Gundam model

text: All of these are optional, and the model can be assembled and displayed using nothing more than a side-cutter.


title: Gundam model

text: Most models, once assembled, are poseable to some degree. Many are "fully poseable," with a wide latitude of motion. To help hold models in "dynamic" poses, gunpla can be mounted on a stand, with some recent models having a dedicated attachment point for this purpose.


title: Gundam model

text: Over the decades, Gundam plastic models have been available in many forms, with many levels of intricacy and functionality, from immobile display units that are static once assembled, to fully poseable, highly articulated models with interchangeable parts (weapons, shields, etc.) and complex mechanical engineering.


title: Gundam model

text: All parts fit together with a variety of glueless, toolless joints, such as ball-and-socket pivots, or posts on one component that fit tightly into holes on another. While models are designed to be posed for display, these joints are not intended to hold up to action figure-style play; even during gentle pose adjustments, it is possible for parts to come loose and need to be pushed back together.


title: Gundam model

text: Components are made of plastic materials selected to fit the needs of each part. A given unit, like a foot or leg, may use parts made of multiple different materials. Bandai casts colored pigment into each part to provide a basic color scheme for the finished model, so the builder does not need to paint it if undesired.


title: Gundam model

text: The picture above illustrates the detail level of a higher end (Real Grade, 2011) model. This is one part of the model's "foot", less than an inch across, which not only has many details in a very small component, but is built around a very small doubly-articulated hinge. The fully assembled leg unit uses many more parts which allow it to bend at two major joints, and also has trim panels which slide apart as the leg is bent to allow the motion.


title: Gundam model

text: The typical mass-market kit is made from "thermoplastics," such as ABS, polypropylene or polystyrene. These are referred to in the community simply as "plastic" models, and use the snap-fit assembly method described in this article.


title: Gundam model

text: Plastic Gundam model kits are manufactured in Japan or China by Bandai, which has an exclusive license in manufacturing and marketing them around the world.


title: Gundam model

text: A less common type, known as a "garage kit" or "resin kit", is made from a "thermoset resin", typically polyurethane, often simply referred to as "resin." These are not assembled with the snap-fit approach, and the builder must assemble them with glue. Many other assertions of this article will also not apply to resin kits, since they make up a very small minority of the product line.


title: Gundam model

text: Garage kits were originally made by amateur or small-scale manufacturers (hence the name,) a cottage industry that predates gunpla, but Bandai has released some first-party Gundam resin kits under a separate marque, B-Club. These models are made of unpainted resin with no decals provided and often require touch-up work by the builder due to the inherent limitations of the manufacturing process.


title: Gundam model

text: While comparably more expensive (some surpassing $400) and more complex to assemble compared to plastic kits, they offer higher detail for the dedicated and experienced model builder.


title: Gundam model

text: A few select kits have also been manufactured from metal. These kits are offered by several different manufacturers and most commonly will result in a finished model of about MG level. These types of models usually take days to build.


title: Gundam model

text: As with hobby models based on real-world military equipment, Gundam models are intended to be "scaled down" replicas of realistic designs, based on the dimensions given in the fiction. These scales are given in terms of the ratio of actual model size to the size the machine would have if it were actually built. 1:60, for instance, means that every inch of the models height is equivalent to 60 inches of the machines height if it was real.


title: Gundam model

text: Generally, kits range from 4~5 inches for small-scale models, 6~8 inches for mid-scale models, and 12 inches for large-scale models. Common scales, and the grades (discussed in the next section) typically associated with them, include:


title: Gundam model

text: Bandai uses a convention called "grade" to describe generally how detailed a given model is. Many models are available in multiple grades, depicting the same fictional machine with the same general appearance, but with different levels of part detail. A High Grade (or HG) model for instance will have noticeably less detail than a Master Grade (or MG.) The models are also different sizes, with the HG being about two inches shorter than the MG.


title: Gundam model

text: Most models within a grade are the same scale, to the point that grade is often used as shorthand for both, though this is not consistent. For instance, "Perfect Grade" models are typically 1:60 scale, and "High Grade" typically 1:144, but there are "High Grade" models that are 1:60, yet have inferior detail to a 1:60 "Perfect Grade," and vice versa.


title: Gundam model

text: Grades have no specific definition, but generally improve in quality over time, so as models are re-released over the years, a High Grade model from one year may be inferior to a re-release from several years later, so grade alone does not entirely define the quality of a model.


title: Gundam model

text: For instance, the RX-78 has been released several times as an HG model, with each one having more intricate detail than the last, yet each release is considered HG. Likewise, a PG model from several years ago may look better than an HG model from today.


title: Gundam model

text: The following sections will cover in detail each of the common grades, "roughly" in order of "quality," defined as the general detail level and intricacy compared to other models in the same grade at the same time.


title: Gundam model

text: The original 1980 line of Gundam models does not have an associated grade, since this terminology was not introduced until 1990. These kits are limited in articulation, some require glue to assemble, and they must be painted for a correct appearance. Model Kits released to coincide with a show or movie usually that did not have a grade associated with them are generally referred to as No Grade kits. These were released in 1/144, 1/100, or 1/60 scale and made to coincide with a new series (some 1/100 models used the High Grade name on their boxes).


title: Gundam model

text: After the adoption of the grade nomenclature, Bandai rereleased the designs of the RX-78-2 and Zaku II with minimal updates as First Grade (FG) starting in 1999. Four mobile suits from Gundam 00 were also given First Grade Models, with limited color separation.


title: Gundam model

text: HG models were introduced in 1990. The original kits featured full snap-fit assembly, an articulated internal frame (for the first two kits, which provides better range of motion and is more poseable), and utilized the molding technique known as System Injection, wherein multiple colors would be cast on the same part. In 1999, the High Grade Universal Century Line was introduced, which collected mobile suits from the Universal Century Timeline. In 2010, the line was expanded to include mobile suits from Future Century, After Colony, After War, Correct Century, and Cosmic Era, and Gundam series that did not fit in those timeline (Like Gundam AGE or Iron Blooded Orphans) received their own HG lines. In 2015, HG Revive, a subline within the HGUC line was introduced, which gave older HGUC kits redesigns that adhered to modern HG standards in terms of detail and articulation. The High Grade line is not exclusive to Gundam, as other mecha series, such as Mazinger, Kyokai Senki, and Evangelion receiving HG kits of their own. HG Amplified IMGN was a subline introduced in 2022, which redesigned smaller robots with more humanoid proportions.


title: Gundam model

text: MG models were first introduced in the summer of 1995, designed and made to higher standards than most other models. These kits take much longer to construct and are often much more expensive than their lower-grade counterparts. More recent Master Grade plastic models typically feature a movable inner frame system which enables extensive movement and bending of joints, as well as including standing and seating miniature figures of the pilots of each Gundam model.


title: Gundam model

text: Beginning in 2005 with the Zeta Gundam and Gundam Mk-II, Older MG Kits would be redesigned under the Ver.2.0 moniker with features such as improved articulation and a full inner frame. The RX-78-2 Gundam has had multiple MG iterations, including a Ver.1.5 that uses a mix of old and new parts, a Ver.2.0 that is more faithful to the original anime, a Ver.3.0 that is modeled after the life size statue similar to the Real Grade version, and a version based on its appearance in Gundam The Origin. There is also a Ver.Ka and Ver.OYW (One Year War).


title: Gundam model

text: The Master Grade line is not Gundam exclusive as a few Master Grade offerings have come from mechas in "Patlabor" and "Dunbine". Bandai also released a line featuring a series of character figures from "Dragon Ball Z", "Kamen Rider", and "Tiger & Bunny" under the name of "MG Figurerise".


title: Gundam model

text: In 2002, a new line of Master Grade kits subtitled "Ver. Ka" was released, which are Master Grades designed by mecha designer Hajime Katoki. Mobile suits chosen to become "Ver. Ka" kits are chosen by annual fan votes. In 2020 a new line, Master Grade Extreme (abbreviated as MGEX) were redesigns of Master Grades that contained additional gimmicks called "Extreme Points". The first model kit of this line, the Unicorn Gundam Ver. Ka, contained an LED light strip that ran across the mobile suit. A second, the Strike Freedom released in November 2022 and uses metallic coated and plated parts for the inner frame.


title: Gundam model

text: In 2010, Real Grade (RG) was released to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Gunpla. Real Grade kits are differentiated from HG kits by a number of features previously found only in larger scale kits, including near perfect color accuracy without the use of color-correcting stickers, a full inner frame, high part counts, advanced articulation, and extensive decals. These kits have also been redesigned to appear more "realistic" by adding additional surface detail, color separation and mechanical detail. Most RG kits use a technology called the Advanced MS Joint, where the inner frame for the chest, arms, legs, and feet are prebuilt and fully articulated, requiring the other parts to be attached to it. Later RG kits have used the MS Joint more sparingly, limiting its use to accessories or specific limbs.


title: Gundam model

text: PG is the highest grade line of Bandai kits. The first PG Gunpla kit was a RX 78-2 Gundam model released in 1998, but an Evangelion Unit-01 kit labeled as Perfect Grade released the year prior. Only 19 kits have been released as 1/60 Perfect Grade since then. A Perfect Grade Millennium Falcon kit released in 2017 and was 1/72 scale instead of 1/60 scale. The first PG Unleashed kit was a RX 78-2 Gundam model released in December 2020.


title: Gundam model

text: As the name suggests, Perfect Grade gunpla kits attempt to represent the Gundam as perfectly as possible within real world and design limitations. These limitations result in the Perfect Grade line sometimes taking several years between releases to wait for advances in model making technology. Perfect Grade Unleashed is an updated version of Perfect Grade that uses more advanced technology and concepts, such as the return of Advanced MS Joints, the use of LEDs and Metallic stickers, multiple points of articulation in the same limb, and the Evolution Link System, where the construction is separated into multiple phases (starts with the bare inner frame, then the extra detail within the frame with metallic parts, then the armor attached to the frame) to simulate building a real mecha, with the final phase displaying the detail of the inner frame using multiple hatches.


title: Gundam model

text: Features like metal joints, increased detail in plastic molding and plastic quality, as well as LED lighting kits are signatures of the PG line.


title: Gundam model

text: Not based on any particular scale, the super-deformed style features comically proportioned models, the most noticeable features of which are their very large heads. Super Deformed Gundam kits are often very easy to construct but offer very limited articulation and require paint and detailing.


title: Gundam model

text: The most famous line is "BB Senshi" (or "SD GUNDAM BB Warriors" in English), which ran from 1987 to 2018. Various other SD gundam lines have run alongside and replaced it, including:


title: Gundam model

text: In 2011, Bandai released the Entry Grade (EG) line in Southeast Asia. Originally manufactured in China, the EG line contained fewer parts than the FG kits, thus having very limited articulation. Only four Gundams were released in the line. Bandai later rebooted the Entry Grade line in 2020 to be released worldwide. While most releases were static figurines from other franchises, the RX-78-2 Gundam was the starting Gundam model, with the kit having articulation and proportions similar to the High Grade kits and advanced color separated parts without the need of stickers (for example, the silhouette in the eye that would normally be a sticker is done through shadow).


title: Gundam model

text: Bandai released the 1:48 Mega Size Model (MSM) line in 2010 to commemorate the 30th anniversary of "Mobile Suit Gundam". 6 suits were released:


title: Gundam model

text: These kits are similar in build quality to their 1:144 HGUC counterparts, but priced much lower than the 1:60 Perfect Grade line. Once assembled, these models stand 37.5 cm tall (about 15 inches), 3 times the size of a 1/144 kit.


title: Gundam model

text: Bandai developed these kits with ease of build in mind as they require no tools to build. The individual pieces are attached to the runner by a very thin piece of plastic so that they can be broken off by hand or by a parts separator. The assembly process can be sped up even more as the runners have been developed in a way so that you can attach two together and break off the individual pieces that way. Bandai also included a 'Double Separator' tool to help with the new method of building.


title: Gundam model

text: The Universal Century HardGraph line is 1/35 scale and centers on military scenes on a more conventional scale such as land vehicles, tanks and troops. However, some kits do include detailed to-scale mecha parts which are particularly useful for the creation of dioramas. For instance, the "Anti-MS Squad" kit includes an articulated lower Gundam/GM arm. The High Grade UC Hardgraph subline includes 1/144 scale vehicles as well as a full mecha


title: Gundam model

text: Iropla was released in 1983 as a budget line. 4 kits were released in 1/250 scale and it was the first to use multi-colored runners for better color separation.


title: Gundam model

text: Haropla is a line of model kits based on Haro, a robot helper that appears in various Gundam timelines.


title: Gundam model

text: Advanced Grade, released to coincide with Gundam AGE, had limited articulation (restricted to the head and shoulders) and came with microchips and trading cards for use with a "Gundam AGE" arcade game.


title: Gundam model

text: A 1:400 scale model line is designed for large mobile armours and battle ships in the Gundam Collection line, which the line's ordinary mobile suits as figures, not models. Only extremely large units like Mobile Armours and Warships need assembly. These are pre-coloured models, and the warships need minimal assembly.


title: Gundam model

text: An earlier line of model, the High Grade Mechanics, with a scale of 1:550 held a similar function in introducing large mobile units, but the line only consisted of 3 mobile units from 0083.


title: Gundam model

text: Another high-detail line is the EX model, in scales of 1:144 and 1:100 (non-humanoid units like aircraft) and 1:1600/1:1700 (spaceships), ranging from the Universal Century to Cosmic Era productions. This series is not Gundam-exclusive, having models from other series like some of the jet aircraft from Sentō Yōsei Yukikaze and at least one aircraft from Ace Combat 5.


title: Gundam model

text: HI-Resolution Models are 1/100 scale and, in addition to redesigning the mobile suit, included a pre-built inner frame similar to an action figure.


title: Gundam model

text: Reborn 1/100 kits are 1/100 scale and cover more obscure mobile suits and those that would be too large to make into a standard MG model. As such, these kits are less complicated than a typical MG kit.


title: Gundam model

text: 1/100 Full Mechanics kits are less intricate 1/100 scale models separate from the Master Grade line. This was introduced in 2016 for the second season of "Iron Blooded Orphans."


title: Gundam model

text: Bandai's line of Action Figure Model Kits, Figure Rise Standard, has few releases based on human characters in various Gundam series, most recently Suletta Mercury from the series "."


title: Gundam model

text: Action Bases are display bases that allow a Gundam model to be displayed in mid-air poses. 6 variations of the Action Base, meant for 1/144 scale, 1/100 scale, and SD kits have been released since 2006, and some models will have an action base included, although it is uncommon


title: Gundam model

text: Gundam model building as a hobby is a worldwide phenomenon. Participation ranges from simply assembling kits as sold, to mild personalization with paint and decals, to creating nearly original works with parts from multiple kits, additional custom-made components and in-depth, highly detailed multi-layer paint jobs.


title: Gundam model

text: Like any hobby, gunpla building can be extremely involved and expensive, but with model kits starting at less than US$20 and requiring no special tools or materials, barrier to entry is low.


title: Gundam model

text: Some hobbyists build dioramas around finished models using techniques shared with other miniature model-based hobbies such as model railroading and wargaming. A diorama could depict a mecha in combat, undergoing maintenance or even destroyed on the battlefield.


title: Gundam model

text: Bandai holds an annual international contest, Gunpla Builders World Cup, in at least 16 countries. Winners are awarded trophies and model kits.


title: Gundam model

text: The Gundam FIX Figuration (aka G.F.F.) series of collectible figures was started based on the Gundam mechanical designs of Hajime Katoki and his 'Gundam FIX' illustration artbook and are released by Tamashii Nations, a Bandai's characters based toys line. These figures share similar features as those found in the MSiA series, but are considerably more detailed and often include more accessories.


title: Gundam model

text: Changeable parts and variant models are often utilized throughout the line, offering the collector a wide variety of display abilities. The collectible figures use PVC (with some ABS plastic) for construction materials, and a recently introduced expansion to the line use metal in the skeleton of the figure. Gundam FIX figures are designed to be true to Hajime Katoki's vision, and as such often adopt design elements and styling found throughout his artwork. The Fix series caters to Gundam fans who enjoy the scale, possibility and durability of the MSiA line, but seek the extensive details and variations that can often only be found in the Master Grade Gundam model-kits.


title: Gundam model

text: The G.F.F. line does carry a higher price than the MSIA and MSIA Extended lines, which can represent a concern for some collectors. However, overall the G.F.F. represent a more "high-end" line of collectibles, which often contain better detail, more accessories, and the option to build multiple variations in the same box.


title: Gundam model

text: As the series has progressed, G.F.F. collectibles have been improved. Changes include sharper-more precise part casting resulting in better detail, improved articulation, and improved durability.


title: Gundam model

text: The G.F.F.N. line up is a significantly better than the old G.F.F. series, though usually sporting a considerably higher price due to materials, production and shipping. The quality has improved thanks to a new durable plastic that is distinctively reminiscent to the Gundam Model plastic (HG, HGUC, MG, PG) thus replacing the resin that shrank while curing. There is also little, or no casting lines, professionally cast heads, and considerably less of the brittle gray-ish plastic that plagued the G.F.F. series. Rubber is now being used sparsely, often to be used for the hands to allow ease of swapping weapons or spare hands without breaking or warping the joint socket.


title: Gundam model

text: There are very few toys in the line-up, with some costing between $70–$150 or more (the price of a Perfect Grade, or large Master Grade.)


title: Gundam model

text: Over the years, Bandai releases special limited editions of various kits, usually as competition (such as the yearly Bandai Action Kits Asia (now Universal) Cup held in Hong Kong) prizes, or as an event-limited (such as Japanese toy expos, movie launch premieres) item, although sometimes these kits are sold as limited web-shop items or discreetly sold by Bandai.


title: Gundam model

text: These kits usually come in clear plastic, metal-plated (certain kits are in so-called 24-k gold finish), "gloss-finish", "pearl-finish", "titanium-finish", or any combination of these. Their prices are usually much higher than their regular-release counterparts.


title: Gundam model

text: For trade shows and toy fairs, Bandai displays some extremely large models in 1:6 or 1:12 scale. True to the scaling, some of these models are well over 5 feet (1.50 m) tall.


title: Gundam model

text: Although most of these are one off promotional models used for display purposes, Bandai has produced a few of these for commercial purposes under their HY2M line. Notably, these are MS-06S "Zaku II Commander Type" (Char Aznable custom), which is now out of production, and the RX-78-2 "Gundam". These generally retail for approximately $2,000 and are intended to be sold primarily to store owners as display fronts.


title: Gundam model

text: As part of the 30th Anniversary of the Gundam series, the company officially announced a project on March 11, 2009, called "Real-G" planning to build a 1:1 real size scale Gundam in Japan, it was completed on June 9, 2009, and displayed in a Tokyo park. The 18-meter tall statue was later moved and reconstructed in Shizuoka City, where it stayed from July 2010 to March 2011 when in August it was dismantled only to reopen in Odaiba, Tokyo on April 19, 2012. It stood in front of a gift shop, "Gundam Front Tokyo", until 2017 when it was replaced by the titular mobile suit of Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn.


title: Gundam model

text: In April 2010, Bandai sued two Chinese toy manufacturers for manufacturing and selling counterfeit Gunpla kits. The lawsuit states that Bandai demands 3.69 million RMB (roughly US$540,000) compensation from the companies.