The Download Munkey : Tracking the Treasure Down …

This opening cinematic for Initial D : Extreme Stage, the PS3 edition of the game series inspired by the manga/anime of the same name, is probably one of my favourite racing game trailers for this year, the other video being this trailer for Codemasters’ GRID. Thankfully, the Initial D trailer focuses totally on fast cars and slick driving skills instead of having ladies strutting their stuff at the starting line for half the trailer in one of the “underground/street” style racers (can’t really recall the game now but I think it was probably Juiced 2 : Hot Import Nights)

There’s shiny cars modelled in intricate detail (just keep in mind it’s CG and not the actual gameplay though) and skillful drifting action covered by some great camera angles in this trailer which you can view online or download at Gametrailers.

While I have never read the manga or watched the anime series before, I did watch the 2005 movie starring Jay Chou although all I can remmember from the movie were the dark mountain passes and the three cars – the white Toyota AE86, the yellow Mazda RX-7 and a Nissan Skyline which are all shown in the trailer. BTW, if you’re looking for the Eurobeat track in the video, it’s Dive into Stream by M.O.V.E.

Dowload or watch the trailer at Gametrailers or visit the official site for Initial D : Extreme Stage.

MORE @ THE DOWNLOAD MUNKEY:
Wangan Midnight : Maximum Tune 2 Soundtrack
Be a Despatch Rider!

A stunning vexel illustration of a Heckler & Koch MP5 and definitely one of the best firearm illustrations that I’ve ever seen out there on the Net. According to Scottsdale Gun Club, it should be a MP5A3 with the “Navy” trigger group with full-auto and semi-auto firing modes only (the MP5A5 has an additional 3 round burst mode).

© John Norris

This beautiful illustration is also conveniently sized for use as a wallpaper on a 1280×960 screen

Illustrated by John Norris aka donbenni who also does a mean vexel Mitsubishi Eclipse (below) among the various car illustrations in his deviantART gallery.

© John Norris

Check out John Norris’ MP5, Mitsubishi Eclipse and his other artworks at deviantART.

MORE @ THE DOWNLOAD MUNKEY:
Tracking Your Favourite Deviants via RSS
Masada ACWS Technical Drawing
Heckler & Koch Catalogue 2007
Russ Schwenkler (dangeruss) – Vexel & 3D Cars and Motorcycle Art
Wallpapers from JDM Option : Japanese Car Tuning and Modification Magazine

Tompei’s Museum of Machines contains an excellent pictorial reference to modern Main Battle Tanks (MBTs) and other armoured vehicles in service worldwide. Of note are the many quality photos of tanks and other armoured vehicles of the post-WWII Japanese Self-Defence Forces taken during the JSDF’s Fuji Firepower Review exercises like this 203mm self-propelled artillery exhibited during Fuji Firepower Review 2005.

© Tompei’s Museum of Machines

As the description of each vehicle is completely in Japanese, readers who are interested in a more technical study of the major MBTs are recommended to visit Fabio Prado’s The Armor Site!.

© Tompei’s Museum of Machines

The Japanese language site also has a section devoted to the owner’s favourite (primarily military) machines on land like this sleek Kawasaki Pashina-type pre-WWII steam locomotive, air and sea of the 20th century.

© Tompei’s Museum of Machines

There’s also a series of photos taken at military museums like the Yamato Museum in Kure, Hiroshima with a massive 26.3m long 1:10th scale model of the Imperial Japanese Navy battleship Yamato. More photos at this page.

© Tompei’s Museum of Machines

Other photos include those taken at the museum of the controversial Yasukuni Shrine like this sculpture of a Fukuryu suicide diver. More photos from museums around Japan.

© Tompei’s Museum of Machines

I found the photos taken at the Yokosuka Naval Base Open House and Fuji Firepower Reviews quite eye-opening experiences too – imagine clambering on top of the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk or watching live firing by a platoon of Type 90 tanks during Fuji Firepower Review 2006.

© Tompei’s Museum of Machines

More photos at the Events archive including photos from several Tokyo Motor Shows like this Hino Ranger Dakar truck from Tokyo Motor Show 2007.

Visit Tompei’s Museum of Machines.

MORE @ THE DOWNLOAD MUNKEY:
Kyoshi Harada’s 3D Renders of WWII War Machines
Motofumi Kobayashi – Japanese Military Artist
800mm Dora Railgun
The Book of Tanks

Drivey by Mark Pursey is a cool application perfect for use as a screensaver or as a relaxation tool.

The graphics in Drivey reminds me of those driving simulation toys I played as a kid back in the 80s. Watching the landscape go by really relaxes me

The screenshots below don’t really do Drivey justice so download and give Drivey a test drive.

Default setting

Going home

Before sunrise

Tunnel vision

My favourite setting

Some useful keys for playing around with Drivey. Check out the other keys by pressing F1.

F3 – Toggle dashboard
Esc – Quit
1 – Change environment to very sparse road
2 – Change environment to tunnel
3 – Change environment to city
4 – Change environment to industrial
H – Change colours
K – Toggle colour cycling
C – Toggle between 0,8,16 and 24 cars
Ctrl – Speed up
Shift – Slow down

Download Drivey 0.15 (298k).

MORE @ THE DOWNLOAD MUNKEY:
Russ Schwenkler’s Vexel Car Art & Photorealistic 3D Car Renders
BMW Art Cars
Nissan 2009 GT-R Wallpapers
Forza Motorsport 2 Wallpapers

Eight photos of the 2009 Nissan GT-R downloadable from the official site here in 1024×768 or 1280×1024 resolutions. There are also PDF versions of the photos which can be printed out in A3 size if you wish

© Nissan

I like the production version a lot more than the 2001 concept or 2005 prototpe featured in the Gran Turismo HD Game Convention 2007 trailer plus I really like the circular brakelights which reminds me of its Nissan Skyline heritage

© Polyphony Digital

Thanks to Kenny of The Mediation Chamber for the Nissan links. Can’t believe I’m can be so lazy at times to search for downloads nowadays.

As a sidenote, I personally feel that the Nissan GT-R looks far better than the latest iterations of my two other favourite Japanese cars – namely the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X (maybe a custom paintjob might be helpful) and the Subaru 2008 Impreza WRX.

Download the photos in JPEG or A3 PDFs here.

MORE @ THE DOWNLOAD MUNKEY:
Official NISMO Wallpapers
Russ Schwenkler’s Vexel & 3D cars
Forza Motorsport 2 Wallpapers
JDM Option Wallpapers