Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with figures

Is it time to sell my vintage Star Wars figures?

friarjohn — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 16:08:05 -0800

Is it time to sell my vintage Star Wars figures? I saw this post on Uncrate about a complete set of vintage SW figures for $2,700-$3,500. I don't have a complete collection - far from it. But I have a couple dozen loose figures and three Empire edition figures in their original packaging (Darth Vader, C3PO and a rebel soldier). I didn't keep them as an investment, but they don't take up a lot of space in a box so I kept them around. I don't have (and won't have) any kids to pass them down to.

Is ebay the best place to sell/research the value on these? More importantly, is this a good time? I think I read somewhere that there is a Star Wars live action TV show in the works, but I tend to doubt that will be relevant. I'm thinking values may have leveled off.

Who are some literary figures who either 1) had a knack for words or 2) who analyzed other people's words?

Java_Man — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 19:28:08 -0800

Who are some literary figures who either 1) had a knack for words or 2) who analyzed other people's words?

The Various Workings of a Cube-Shaped Gallery

0bvious — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 18:14:20 -0800

Imagine a cube-shaped building, with ten cube-shaped rooms along each side (10 rooms long, 10 high & 10 deep). Each cubular room has 4 walls, 1 ceiling and 1 floor. Each of the 6 interior surfaces in all 1000 cubular rooms is decorated with a different piece of art. The rooms can be moved around the building, as if it were an enormous Rubik's cube, but they can also be spun on their axes, so all 6 walls of all 1000 cubes is capable of touching all the others (if the cube is so arranged). How many combinations of art within the 'Cube Gallery' are possible? If you can run me through the workings of the maths I would be extra grateful. Also, what technical words/phrases/language are useful/interesting in expressing this concept? To restipulate the numbers:

- A cube gallery with 10 cube rooms along each side (10x10x10)

- Each cube room has 6 pieces of art on its interior surfaces

- All the cube rooms are capable of being rotated into every possible variation (ceilings becoming walls becoming floors etc.)

Thanks in advance!

Designing Math Figures and Shapes with M$ Products

msacheson — Wed, 22 Mar 2006 20:15:18 -0800

Help me, please, with creating shapes, symbols and figures for teaching math class. I teach 6th-grade math and like to create my own worksheets and transparencies. Sometimes I need to design figures (such as circles, parallelograms or angles) with text (dimensions, directions, etc.) and layout multiple shapes on a page. I typically use standard Microsoft Office software (Word, Excel, PowerPoint). Any tips on the best way to create these? (By best, I mean sharp-looking, easy to make and manipulate.) Thanks....

I'd like to have some custom action figures made, and then mass-produced on a smallish scale....

mudpuppie — Fri, 21 Jan 2005 10:17:55 -0800

I'd like to have some custom action figures made, and then mass-produced on a smallish scale.... Google turned up links for companies that will make a likeness of me for $500. What I'm looking for is something like this, sort of.

Anyone have experience commissioning these, procuring an artist, etc? Have an idea of the cost? Know where I can get it done?

Thanks much.

Technical editing: if repeating a figure within a document, do you repeat the figure number or use a different number for the second occurrence of the figure?

booth — Tue, 04 Jan 2005 08:19:21 -0800

I am editing a technical document that contains figures. One of these figures is referred to twice (on pages 13 and 33). What is the accepted way of dealing with this?

I want to show the figure twice, with different figure numbers. I think this will make it easy for the reader to see what's being referenced in both places. It doesn't bother me if the same picture has different figure numbers associated with it on different pages. It does, however, bother my boss, who wants to either show the figure only once and refer back to it in the second reference, or show it twice and use the same figure number in both places. (Have I explained that clearly enough?) (Chicago Manual of Style doesn't seem to address this.)