tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54513580250853818242024-03-28T07:15:34.401+00:00A LESS THAN REPUTABLE SOURCEby James AshelfordJames Ashelfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06921809149099140714noreply@blogger.comBlogger923125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5451358025085381824.post-85203191816994421982020-06-01T05:00:00.000+01:002020-06-01T05:00:08.957+01:00Pre-9th edition project: The Cult of the Bladed Cog<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Okay,
so its new edition time. Again. Already. Too soon, in my opinion, but
capitalism gonna capitalism and the bare minimun decency has been
adhered to and the codex books are backwards compatible. </span></span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">For
the most part I like what's been revealed. Vehicles can fire their
weapons in combat! My Deathwatch get the new starter set Primaris!
There are Primaris bikes (congratulations White Scars fans)! Necrons
are getting the mother of all range refreshes! No more clear green
plastic! More command points! Whatever the hell they were talking
about with that flyer reveal!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">And,
my goodness, do I need some motivation to paint right now.
Intellectually I know I have to do </span><i>something</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
fun between shifts as an underappreciated and ridiculously at risk
frontline worker. And, honestly, painting is just about the best
hobby I have right now: I can do it sitting down in my home; I have
plenty of it to be getting on with (who doesn't in this hobby?); and,
its pretty undemanding of energy. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">But...
motivation. </span></span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Well,
new edition, motivation restored. A bit. I guess. </span></span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">(Oh,
shut up, James, and get on with it...)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">So,
I want to try and finish off my 100 power level Genestealer Cults
army. Or get a nice chunk of it finished. I have almost all the models built
and at least undercoated with more than a few of them firmly in the
“work in progress” stages and even a couple finished completely.
I have a colour scheme (the Cult of the Bladed Cog) and I've played
enough games that I know I enjoy the play style. </span></span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">The
army, incidentally, looks like this: </span></span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">1
Magus with 1 Familiar. </span></span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">1
Primus. </span></span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">1
Acolyte Iconward.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">1
Abominant. </span></span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">10
Hybrid Metamorphs. </span></span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">2x5
Aberrants. </span></span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">1
Clamavus. </span></span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">1
Locus.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">1
Kellermorph. </span></span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">20
Neophyte Hybrids. </span></span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">15
Acolyte Hybrids. </span></span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">2x10
Brood Brothers. </span></span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">1
Achilles Ridgerunner. </span></span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">4
Atalan Jackals with 1 Atalan Wolfquad. </span></span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">2x
Cult Leman Russ.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">1
Goliath Rockgrinder </span></span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">So
far finished are the Magus; the Iconward; 5 Aberrants; 15 Neophytes;
5 Acolytes; and, the Ridgerunner. Its a start and it means I have the
basic methods down. The only things I haven't built are the Brood
Brothers (I'm subbing in some Imperial Guard troops from another
project in the mean time).</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">I
also need, and this is debateably more important, to start writing
some background for this army. The basic premise is simple: they're
rebels with a particular grudge against the Adeptus Mechanicus. My
own rational for this group is that they've escaped their original
world before the Hive Fleet arrived in order to spread the cause of
freedom and brotherhood under the benevolence of the six-armed space
gods to other Forge Worlds currently suffering under the iron boot of
a regime that doesn't want to eat them (exploit, yes, digest, no). </span></span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Oh,
but I do love being the bad guys. Its so much more fun.</span></span></div>
<br />
James Ashelfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06921809149099140714noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5451358025085381824.post-80444167526585607282020-03-23T06:00:00.000+00:002020-03-23T06:00:04.730+00:00Socially isolating with the Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Like
everyone else in this country I'm rather cut off from social contact
for the moment. I'm not full-on self-isolating (yet!) because of
where I work but its not like I'm going out of an evening any time
soon. </span>
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<span style="font-size: small;">My
housemate and I decided we needed a project to throw ourselves into
in the meantime and so we've decided to get into the Middle-Earth
Strategy Battle Game. He's bought the rulebooks and the Battle of
Pelennor Fields box set and I dug up some old Haradrim models I
bought once upon a time when they were new. </span>
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<span style="font-size: small;">At
the moment I have absolutely no idea how this system works, my
housemate is still working his way through the rules and I'll have a
look once he's finished. All I know is that I have six cavalry and
twenty four infantry that need painting. </span>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Why
the Haradrim? Because I love their colours. A lot of the LoTR armies
are either very plain silver armour or a very plain selection of
earth tones but the Haradrim have a gorgeous palate of deep reds,
purples and blues with gold armour to work with. I also want to try
out some ways of doing non-Caucasian skintones. Hopefully my first
fumbling attempts at this won't come out too stereotypical. </span>
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<span style="font-size: small;">At
the moment I have a box of infantry and a box of cavalry, which I'm
told is a not-inconsiderable force in its own right. I actually like
that. I mean, I love collecting a massive and varied army in
Warhammer and 40k but for a new system I'd prefer to start small. </span>
</div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Pictures
once I complete some test models. </span>
</div>
<br />James Ashelfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06921809149099140714noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5451358025085381824.post-86201055206812267102020-02-04T07:00:00.000+00:002020-02-04T07:00:01.379+00:00Taking a chance on Norba Miniatures "2nd edition"<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Norba
Miniatures is a Spanish company that makes models compatible with
Warhammer Fantasy and a few other game systems. In the past they've
made a lot of miniatures I liked the look of but used a terrible
resin that was far too fragile for my taste. </span>
</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzsRmN34R0G9VnVTieomL82lYr-gxv2P9XxVby9H1dbrL4IItu169z92kGg3QiVB3d0wzN8eCvh0UgNVwT1AKNMtmsVNUfiWONFoFK0Vq7R4bmRkUWdUopnrL0FC2FUcVctBUOOq9E-vdk/s1600/norba+caballeros-andantes-a-pie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzsRmN34R0G9VnVTieomL82lYr-gxv2P9XxVby9H1dbrL4IItu169z92kGg3QiVB3d0wzN8eCvh0UgNVwT1AKNMtmsVNUfiWONFoFK0Vq7R4bmRkUWdUopnrL0FC2FUcVctBUOOq9E-vdk/s400/norba+caballeros-andantes-a-pie.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Enter their
“2<sup>nd</sup> edition” project. I went to their website
basically just out of curiosity and discovered that they'd dumped
the resin and moved to plastic. Unfortunately I can't find any
reviews of the new products so I'm taking a chance and throwing the
dice on a box (or possibly bag) of ten Not-Questing Knights On Foot.</div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">If it works
out I am going to waste so much money on their Not-Bretonnian and
Not-Chaos Dwarf range. And if it doesn't? Well, I've made worse
financial decisions in my life. </span>
</div>
<br />James Ashelfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06921809149099140714noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5451358025085381824.post-40828984539458601192020-02-03T07:00:00.000+00:002020-02-03T07:00:07.390+00:00No hobby points for my for January<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">I failed.
Some last minute work commitments got in the way of finishing the
Angels of Defiance Master. He's nearly done, just needs a little work
on the metallics but, as I said, I didn't get my Warhammer Resolution
for January done. Didn't finish any other projects before (God help
us) Brexit Day rolled around. So, no bonus points and I've lost those
ten points for finishing the twelve monthly projects, as well.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">When faced
with moderate failure there's only one solution:</span></div>
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<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">GO BIGGER!
TEMPT FATE WITH EVEN GREATER POTENTIAL FOR FAILURE! </span>
</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZZfUZ813adwgct1WOut1qPBOgL0jhW450sGbnMdffnSIdlNUx8j4jIcTyRTrKJXdufkN9sIM708IJAIQzzY_GntPs3UodIyzMbcGBylCId_ajEeHaMdW1x7MNmajBnYhHTfcY2s35gwWs/s1600/House+Cadmus+Knight+Warden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1179" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZZfUZ813adwgct1WOut1qPBOgL0jhW450sGbnMdffnSIdlNUx8j4jIcTyRTrKJXdufkN9sIM708IJAIQzzY_GntPs3UodIyzMbcGBylCId_ajEeHaMdW1x7MNmajBnYhHTfcY2s35gwWs/s400/House+Cadmus+Knight+Warden.jpg" width="293" /></a></div>
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February's
Hobby Resolution is going to be to paint an entire Imperial Knight
Crusader. That's the one with the battle cannon and the gatling
cannon. I got the model cheap on eBay a few years ago and havent so
much as touched it until now. Yesterday, I built the big boy and I am
so jazzed to get to work on it.</div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I'm going to
be painting the model in the colours of House Cadmus, which is the
colour scheme from the box art above. I love their background as,
basically, fox hunting toffs on an epic scale (well, a 28mm scale).
Its a relatively simple colour scheme but striking, its also not
predominantly dark red or black which I'm doing my best to avoid
right now out of sheer fatigue (Deathwatch, Word Bearers, Cult of the
Bladed Cog Genestealer Cults, red and black are FAR too common in
Warhammer 40,000). </span>
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<span style="font-size: small;">A few
other... not “goals” but intentions for the month include aciding
bathing my Blackstone Fortress Traitor Guard because I have a much
better idea of how to paint them than I did originally; building some
of the Mechanicus kits I got for Christmas; and, choosing a Chaos
Legion for the very small number of Chaos Marines who'll be part of
my Lost and the Damned army. </span>
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<span style="font-size: small;">So, let's
march hoprefully towards inevitable failure...</span></div>
James Ashelfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06921809149099140714noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5451358025085381824.post-17752972113720562752020-01-26T06:00:00.000+00:002020-01-26T06:00:08.051+00:00This Week's Project #1: Angels of Defiance Primaris Master<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Having dealt
with some pretty heavy personal stuff over the last couple of weeks
its time to get back on the horse and have some damn fun. That is to
say, getting back to some hobby and making a tentative stab at White
Dwarf's Warhammer Resolution Challenge. </span>
</div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">To this end,
this week I want to complete the model I have chosen as January's
Monthly Challenge, the newly released Dark Angels Master Lazarus...</span></div>
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… <span style="font-size: small;">with a
couple of modifications. To wit: my absolute favourite Space Marine
head (the Sternguard Marine who looks like Charles Dance) and a 3D
printed Angels of Defiance shoulder pad from Shapeways. I have an odd
things about Primaris Marines in that I kind of hate how they look
bolted in to otherwise old-style Space Marines but I kind of like
them as their own thing. Thus, grabbing some shoulder pads off
Shapeways to do an Ultima Founding chapter.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy9nSTuMvCLAhfISPa4ftr13hAYFJiL018_XXMQlhM-3KyyqFvvF8fG9X3pHit9zAu8AsDUtPnQIdEOeKW6JHJUxHeNTNd56V317JaV3TjYsO7ITBrvWT_Z4hox5I97SzVGXCXqvq93A5k/s1600/angels+of+defiance+colour+scheme.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="502" data-original-width="340" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy9nSTuMvCLAhfISPa4ftr13hAYFJiL018_XXMQlhM-3KyyqFvvF8fG9X3pHit9zAu8AsDUtPnQIdEOeKW6JHJUxHeNTNd56V317JaV3TjYsO7ITBrvWT_Z4hox5I97SzVGXCXqvq93A5k/s400/angels+of+defiance+colour+scheme.png" width="270" /></a></div>
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The Angels
of Defiance also have a quartered colour scheme (bone and black)
which is something I've wanted to try out for years. I even started a
Novamarines army many, many years ago but didn't have the patience or
skill to pull it off, especially the white the colour scheme called
for. The contrast between the bone and the black should be a lot more
forgiving, though, as I know I can paint those pretty well.</div>
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<br />
</div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Now, to
actually get this done.</span></div>
James Ashelfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06921809149099140714noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5451358025085381824.post-9986858064567843112020-01-08T06:00:00.000+00:002020-01-08T06:00:04.056+00:00Thundercracker is actually quite pretty<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMvXEG2eKW4zu98DP-KgfPoYkhJjZjrkTLVDz49S7gRPZOv95AIU3OFmRW6e5O8-Ed3fUiMMUVeKkeCF3dkXUHN_S2DNxNVREN1vJQvyVX4TEgIzEnd46Ig5FxBVVtqoyeWBLW5OfkeGXP/s1600/Robot+mode+group+shot.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMvXEG2eKW4zu98DP-KgfPoYkhJjZjrkTLVDz49S7gRPZOv95AIU3OFmRW6e5O8-Ed3fUiMMUVeKkeCF3dkXUHN_S2DNxNVREN1vJQvyVX4TEgIzEnd46Ig5FxBVVtqoyeWBLW5OfkeGXP/s400/Robot+mode+group+shot.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
I don't know
who originally said it, I know the first time I heard it was from
Thew Adams on YouTube, but Thundercracker seems to be everyone's
second favourite Seeker. For most people the best one is Starscream,
which is more than fair since he not only has a personality but a
really fun one as the archetypal traitorous lieutenant. Then there's
Skywarp who has the cool black and purple colour scheme as well as a
fun little superpower with his teleportation.</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">And
Thundercracker is also there. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Not that
there aren't good versions of Thundercracker. I absolutely adore the
version from IDW with his pretentions of becoming a screenwriter and
weird as all hell friendship with Marissa Fairbairn. The thing is,
though, that he's mostly just sort of <i>also there</i><span style="font-style: normal;">.
</span></span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">And
I never had any of the G1 Seekers back in the day so it never really
occurred to me that...</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0rg9RPkHr7GGyt4V2ni9cLG3ZT4TEMgzeGwIVmgIJ6Gd-yVsbb2_57peupIMc40IVW3jZbqI4HVyNnMJ3RNdn_WcLNQSXBgjE0PLS29hnPkntqxGLPTMtaa8ECLxDVXpf7Ss-Zelh6kP5/s1600/Thundercracker+robot+mode.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1350" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0rg9RPkHr7GGyt4V2ni9cLG3ZT4TEMgzeGwIVmgIJ6Gd-yVsbb2_57peupIMc40IVW3jZbqI4HVyNnMJ3RNdn_WcLNQSXBgjE0PLS29hnPkntqxGLPTMtaa8ECLxDVXpf7Ss-Zelh6kP5/s400/Thundercracker+robot+mode.JPG" width="336" /></a></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
… <span style="font-size: small;">Thundercracker
has a really nice colour scheme. Sorry for the downright disgusting
state of my painting table, it was the only surface available at the
time. But, yeah, the blue and silver with the little splash of red on
the wings is actually rather gorgeous now I have it in hand. Even in
this very flawed knock-off version (its the Pocket Toys knock-off of
the DX9 War In Pocket version) with shoulder thingies that don't
match silver of the the cyber-titties, sprue marks all over the place
and all sorts of flaws in what few paint apps there are he still
looks great.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">I
bought the set for Starscream and Skywarp but in the end I found
myself more impressed by Thundercracker here which was a very
pleasant surprise. Its rare that I'll buy a figure just to complete
the set and its nice that one of the few times I did it I ended up
quite enjoying the figure on its own terms. </span></span>
</div>
<br />James Ashelfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06921809149099140714noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5451358025085381824.post-69524747850655325482020-01-07T06:00:00.000+00:002020-01-07T06:00:05.471+00:00Hobby Project: Tyrannic War Veterans<br />
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I need to
get back into painting. I haven't done any since before Christmas.
Best way to do this, in my experience, is to start a small,
self-contained project. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">So my
beloved Deathwatch are going to be joined by a small training cadre
of Ultramarines Tyrannic War Veterans. For those unaware, the
Tyrannic War Veterans were a unit introduced in the fourth edition
Space Marine Codex to represent those battle brothers who were
survivors of the Tyranid invasion of Macragge. They don't really
exist anymore, subsumed into the broader category of the Sternguard
Veterans. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">So, a few
questions to answer before we begin:</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>How to
make them?</b></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">For the base
models I have a box of Sternguard Veterans; an Ultramarines Upgrade
Sprue missing a few parts I used for Deathwatch Veterans; a plastic
Librarian (because I think this unit needs an officer); a Venerable
Dreadnought; and, these...</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFJJnmi3zkTC31QsuqSc8PztthxnaFzg5n3VEPh820zmXm-RhBbxfOyHSnY4YqntoiLx9hx0OBdnsqSeLjbyFkFFg2-yyYfQ8WuuSrD7Epa0Swgq3cJ1BIlowfjeRGoQLqVSMXVPw8GvR6/s1600/tyrannic+war+veteran+shoulder+pads.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="282" data-original-width="676" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFJJnmi3zkTC31QsuqSc8PztthxnaFzg5n3VEPh820zmXm-RhBbxfOyHSnY4YqntoiLx9hx0OBdnsqSeLjbyFkFFg2-yyYfQ8WuuSrD7Epa0Swgq3cJ1BIlowfjeRGoQLqVSMXVPw8GvR6/s400/tyrannic+war+veteran+shoulder+pads.PNG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
These are
the “Alien Skull V.7 Shoulder Pads” from Plokoone's Bits on
Shapeways. I love Shapeways, a 3D printing website that has so many
wonderful upgrades for Space Marines that just wouldn't be worth GW's
time and effort to make. Thats not a knock against GW, by the way, I
have my problems with them but even I have to admit that it just
isn't economically viable for them to do a wide release of Black
Guard shoulder pads. They're just too obscure a chapter.</div>
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<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>What will
they count as?</b></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The way I
see it there are two choices. I can either build them as Sternguard
Veterans as the start of a full-on Ultramarines detachment. With what
I'm planning already I'm only one Elites choice away from a Vanguard
Detachment.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Or I can
make them as Deathwatch Veterans who just happen to be painted blue.
It gives me a better choice of wargear and I can take them as part of
the army I'll be using them with. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">This will
take some thinking about, to be honest. </span>
</div>
<br />James Ashelfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06921809149099140714noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5451358025085381824.post-31991737517610263052020-01-06T06:00:00.000+00:002020-01-06T06:00:00.559+00:00Transformers legends scale wish list<br />
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">On Saturday
Bobby Skullface published his Transformers Masterpiece Wishlist as
part of his Sit Down Saturday series. It got me thinking about what
figures I'd love to see come out from the third party scene for my
Legends scale collection. Not in any particular order, just
spitballing:</span></div>
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<br />
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>The
Aerialbots</b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWzQTBb0Rwsficai0K9bxOl7f8v-tu9BjeJa1BdWcZEFKYcIUDQzSnn0okvqD-AkPnXhhHa01xU7cpTrnK1p2q0RWJ-Bg6iu8U2vqBjEGFEj8Dj741J5AsLaKekJaj2YXH9Xuqzob1ECBB/s1600/Superion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="428" data-original-width="340" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWzQTBb0Rwsficai0K9bxOl7f8v-tu9BjeJa1BdWcZEFKYcIUDQzSnn0okvqD-AkPnXhhHa01xU7cpTrnK1p2q0RWJ-Bg6iu8U2vqBjEGFEj8Dj741J5AsLaKekJaj2YXH9Xuqzob1ECBB/s400/Superion.jpg" width="317" /></a></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Superion is
my favourite Autobot combiner, made more special for me because I
never managed to complete the thing as a kid, either as secondhand G1
figures or the G2 recolours coming out at the time. Their origin
story from the G1 cartoon was one of the three Transformers VHS tapes
at my local video rental place when I was a child. I adore
Silverbolt's character.</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I'd also
just like to see Autobot combiners in the Legends scale. We're
drowning in Devastators, IronFactory made an amazing Bruticus and
their own original effort with the Decepticon Justice Division set
and, Magic Square have a Menasor in thr works. </span>
</div>
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<br />
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Sunstreaker
</b></span>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNx99Sb205kQqGY104OkNiMopxeEdvXuMWqcuqjTPKBVOjvNU8QLbdkUnKzn9Pmyg9CEfrO3k8QJRId0TYkckqR70BG1tXPytsF3HH9II5JT3w8ybNhV6yfDsmu7Q9_EvQotL6vmvtDGpZ/s1600/sunstreaker.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="223" data-original-width="290" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNx99Sb205kQqGY104OkNiMopxeEdvXuMWqcuqjTPKBVOjvNU8QLbdkUnKzn9Pmyg9CEfrO3k8QJRId0TYkckqR70BG1tXPytsF3HH9II5JT3w8ybNhV6yfDsmu7Q9_EvQotL6vmvtDGpZ/s400/sunstreaker.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The
IronFactory one is too expensive now and only available with their
Sideswipe, a character I already have a toy for. It just feels wrong
to have Sideswipe and no Sunstreaker (plus, I actually do like
Sunstreaker's design a bit better than his brother's).</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Astrotrain</b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGvrYNdF9ARnWthfWX0hWlVfzH817hoZNcprGVSNwP31s-rqF3Amuf8VYQ5vJo9w7kF4EInUU3kycR84Ygisu0g-mdPq-8g3X9zxLr2ek1b0bbll6AyzLywAx8LPGcOAGD0wSZx_J_2DyT/s1600/astrotrain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="734" data-original-width="848" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGvrYNdF9ARnWthfWX0hWlVfzH817hoZNcprGVSNwP31s-rqF3Amuf8VYQ5vJo9w7kF4EInUU3kycR84Ygisu0g-mdPq-8g3X9zxLr2ek1b0bbll6AyzLywAx8LPGcOAGD0wSZx_J_2DyT/s320/astrotrain.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Flat out my
favourite Transformers character and toy of all time. For five year
old me there was nothing better: it was a transforming robot who was
a steam train and a space shuttle. If it had also been a dinosaur it
would have been the perfect object.</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I have high
hopes for the Mech Fans Toys version that's been teased recently but
I am picky as fuck with this character. I passed on any version that
was a bullet train and there are just a few little problems with the
Siege version that stop me from buying it. And, no, none of those
problems are the size. When Siege Astrotrain was announced as a
Leader class figure I was all for it: he would have been huge against
my Legends and I think that could have worked. No, it was the hollow
back end of the shuttle mode and the <i>bloody</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
battle damage paintwork. </span></span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">So,
in theory I'm onboard for the MFT version but we'll see.</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-style: normal;">Whirl,
Sandstorm and Broadside</span></b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMPKPhoyIM21hgpf0pndjHU9Tk7HOctSz3c_wwrBALiEgJfhmXeCjzZxF6H44CmE_sTGahlX3BfweRhFWi5RlFurQmbFn-6mzNcah1RO3ev6RTIkNi0GLsYhpWO8_AEF4xLu4Cm9sZza5e/s1600/wreckers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="186" data-original-width="270" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMPKPhoyIM21hgpf0pndjHU9Tk7HOctSz3c_wwrBALiEgJfhmXeCjzZxF6H44CmE_sTGahlX3BfweRhFWi5RlFurQmbFn-6mzNcah1RO3ev6RTIkNi0GLsYhpWO8_AEF4xLu4Cm9sZza5e/s400/wreckers.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
This
is my main shortlist for characters I need for my little Wreckers
shelf. I love the Wreckers but it has to be said they're a team of
also-rans, literally cobbled together by Simon Furman from characters
the US comic couldn't be bothered to find a use for. As such even the
official toylines don't revisit these characters much aside from
Springer. I mean: have Whirl, Sandstorm or Broadside had more than
one modern toy?</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">I
could hope that Mech Fans Toys makes a Sandstorm remould of their
Springer but the other two would have to be original moulds with no
potential second use so I'm not hopeful. </span></span>
</div>
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<br />
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Getaway</b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0VWF6MVdsd4UoNmEMF-34bHdSwXo-_H0ICsHMNFFhQw1v-ut7LkfWX1PWJhRLCEsdJsXIyBNW11o4sS04seG-UN4amvi7vSUE8J9rcBjCqzw3MlZSUO8K2VJ8JftdQ4S-w-yz4ZFdYroI/s1600/getaway.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="354" data-original-width="230" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0VWF6MVdsd4UoNmEMF-34bHdSwXo-_H0ICsHMNFFhQw1v-ut7LkfWX1PWJhRLCEsdJsXIyBNW11o4sS04seG-UN4amvi7vSUE8J9rcBjCqzw3MlZSUO8K2VJ8JftdQ4S-w-yz4ZFdYroI/s400/getaway.jpg" width="258" /></a></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Another
themed shelf I have is my MTMTE/Lost Light shelf and that wouldn't be
complete without evil mastermind and frequent quoter of Theresa May
Getaway.</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">A
MTMTE-style Rodimus would be rather nice, too. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Basically
any Targetmasters</b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz9tTc4Ys12mv48K5vd3L6CFMWFJQw_GG4wGAtTcEACqWykyIACIl8D2N2vNim0M5zTMPMExQGdrNY0kTTM95tOS4s8QKEJFQEcq5IAjuQo3CBxEbTPMH1SfMo6fARrH-5DTTIe7sqS2vo/s1600/decepticon+targetmasters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="144" data-original-width="349" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz9tTc4Ys12mv48K5vd3L6CFMWFJQw_GG4wGAtTcEACqWykyIACIl8D2N2vNim0M5zTMPMExQGdrNY0kTTM95tOS4s8QKEJFQEcq5IAjuQo3CBxEbTPMH1SfMo6fARrH-5DTTIe7sqS2vo/s400/decepticon+targetmasters.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Mechanic
Studios (one of the many heads of the Mech Fans Toys hydra) have
finally popped the seal on Targetmasters with their Hot Rod/Rodimus
set. I know they're kind of dumb and no one seems to know exactly why
they need little robots to stand in for their guns but I always loved
those toys as a kid, especially the Decepticons Targetmasters. I'd
love a decent Legends scale Quake or any of the Targetmasters planes,
especially that one with two cockpits.</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Legends
Plus scale Fortress Maximus</b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI3YQjq-HxbhHSAH4qibL01RT-MdpQPjhKeLPZLKAjIG9mhP-Uihq7c4AqytAQyzCWIr_9DJXsdTDQ409z1JCmOpSc2nWNdNpTMduF0Jq4KAnwqyoXHk0LIkdmesDEoOLOAq2-zbdn4pMC/s1600/fortress+maximus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="925" data-original-width="447" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI3YQjq-HxbhHSAH4qibL01RT-MdpQPjhKeLPZLKAjIG9mhP-Uihq7c4AqytAQyzCWIr_9DJXsdTDQ409z1JCmOpSc2nWNdNpTMduF0Jq4KAnwqyoXHk0LIkdmesDEoOLOAq2-zbdn4pMC/s400/fortress+maximus.jpg" width="192" /></a></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The thing
about Fort Max is that as far as Hasbro/Takara are concerned he's a
citybot. As far as I'm concerned, having met him through the UK
comics of my youth he's just a quite tall Autobot. IronFactory did a
great Skorponok and I'd love a Fort Max to match him (or tower over
him by an inch or so). Right now I have the Kabaya model kit version
of the character which looks great but, sadly, has all the
articulation of the G1 original which is to say not much.</div>
<br />James Ashelfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06921809149099140714noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5451358025085381824.post-68504073903268581492020-01-04T06:00:00.000+00:002020-01-04T06:00:08.506+00:00This week's comics<br />
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Comic
reviews. Spoilers here. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Star Wars
#1</b></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The Destiny
Path part 1</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Charles
Soule writes a great Lando. With the <i>Star Wars</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
comics moving up into the gap between </span><i>Empire</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
and </span><i>Return</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> one of the
things I'm looking forwrad to the most is watching Lando going from
the guy who betrayed everyone at Bespin to the guy the Rebellion
trusts to lead the second Death Star run. But on to the actual issue
at hand...</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">So,
as promised, its just after the climatic events of </span><i>Empire
</i><span style="font-style: normal;">and the Millennium Falcon is
heading for the rebel fleet: no one trusts Lando, no one knows hat
they're going to do about Han, and Luke is being mopey as hell about
the whole father thing. </span></span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Actually,
I'm being a little unfair on that last one, both to Luke as a
character and Soule as a writer. Obviously, the next time we see Luke
on screen he's going to have a new lightsaber and a wardrobe that
heavily suggests he might be on the verge of breaking bad and
following his father into the family business of betrayal and
recreational genocide. Soule takes that doubt and really runs with
it, putting Luke in a position of questioning absolutely everything:
Ben, Yoda, the Jedi path and his own destiny. Its a great angle. </span></span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Also,
it seems Poe Dameron's parents are going to be a big part of this run
which was unexpected but quite nice to see. </span></span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Thor #1 </b></span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The Devourer
King part one:</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The Black
Winter</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I've not
read much by Donny Cates. A couple of crossover issues of Venom
and... that's it, I think. I must admit I didn't really warm to his
work there. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I liked
this, though. Its not a huge departure from Jason Aaron's just
finished epic arc but it certainly has its own flavour. I like the
idea of Lady Sif being the all-seeing guardian of the bifrost, for
one, and Cates' Volstagg is brilliant. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Beyond that
the issue is all set-up: Thor is sad because he's bored on his throne
but then a new threat literally falls on top of his royal duties and
we're off to the races. That leaves me with not much else to say
about this issue. I enjoyed it but it'll take another issue to see if
the story actually grabs me. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Daredevil
#16</b></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Through Hell
VI</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">You know
what I love about Elektra in this series? She talks. She talks a lot.
She's not chatty and she's not transparent but she does talk. I get
the character is meant to be mysterious but I've never really felt
like I knew her under most writers. Hell, even Brian Michael Bendis
who could write dialogue-filled pages in his sleep mainly had her as
a silent, looming figure when she turned up in his <i>Daredevil</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
run. </span></span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">And,
of course, for the first time in a long time, we have an old
fashioned scene of Daredevil and the Kingpin talking in a room. Love
those things, its been too long. </span></span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>X-Men #4</b></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Global
Economics</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">So we get to
the big obvious thing that needed to happen: the mutant nation of
Krakoa in a diplomatic environment. In this case Magneto, Xavier and
Apocalypse at an economics conference. I have to say, I love how this
main X-Men series is doing one off short stories exploring different
aspects of the Krakoa concept whilst the other series are doing more
cohesive, arc-based things. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">So its all
fun, small things: the delegations bodyguards being the two mutants
who have to wear sunglasses anyway; Magneto lecturing the humans on
how human society collapses every few thousand years; Xavier
impressing on everyone that he still believes in co-existence but
isn't fucking around anymore. Its delightful and, it has to be said,
a lot more digestible than Hickman's <i>Avengers</i> run. </span>
</div>
<br />James Ashelfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06921809149099140714noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5451358025085381824.post-74202468724496370942020-01-03T06:00:00.000+00:002020-01-03T06:00:05.944+00:00A Little Conversion Project<br />
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Yesterday I
received a model I bought off eBay: the Feast Of Bones Ogor Tyrant,
new on sprue. Its a lovely model but I'm rather set on having the
pirate Maneater as my general. The Feast Of Bones dude is a little
too impressive to be a mere Bruiser.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">So I'm going
to convert him to be a Battle Standard Bearer. He has a massive spear
that'll do for the banner pole with a little extension. Not sure what
I'll use for the banner itself though I have plenty of spares. Maybe
something using the Mournfang or Thundertusk kits. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Hopefully
I'll have a build to show off in a few days. </span>
</div>
<br />James Ashelfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06921809149099140714noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5451358025085381824.post-68761777286370680632020-01-02T06:00:00.000+00:002020-01-02T06:01:45.921+00:00The greatest mystery of modern fantasy literature<br />
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Why did
Terry Pratchett hate horses so much? Did anyone ever ask him? Was
there a reason he portrayed horses as congenitally insane?</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I
particularly remember this bit in <i>Lords and Ladies</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
where Granny Weatherwax tries to “borrow” the Elven Queen's
unicorn and she describes its mind as being even more frothingly
insane than an ordinary horse's. </span></span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Seriously,
the man hated horses and no one seems to know why. Its always the
questions you never think to ask...</span></span></div>
<br />James Ashelfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06921809149099140714noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5451358025085381824.post-87151185194079396002020-01-01T06:00:00.000+00:002020-01-01T06:00:01.906+00:002020 Visions (New Years Resolutions)<br />
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I'm sorry,
the pun was irresistible.</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Yeah, its
been a while but what better time to make a fresh start on things than
the beginning of a new decade. Last year was a year of stasis for me,
various family health issues leaving me without the energy or
motivation to do much of anything. Or at least anything worth
blogging about. I am painfully aware of how little entertainment
value existential despair has considering the recent general
election. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Anyway,
lining up the projects for the year:</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Reviews
and stuff</b></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Over the
Christmas period I actually managed to get the comics backlog down to
nothing. I am, for the first time in years, all caught up and so I'm
going to try and do the thing I originally started this blog to do an
review some comics! I might even try out some random trade paperbacks
now the new stuff is under control. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Talking of
reviews and collecting, I recently started collecting Legends scale
Transformers (that's the small ones). I picked up IronFactory's
Windblade on a whim and, me being me, I now have a small bookshelf
full of the little 'bots. I like them just as decoration and as
fiddle toys but I feel the need to do something with them. Reviews,
certainly, but I think I could stand to do some sort of photography
project with them. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I also
recently realised that I have been collecting the new Doctor Who
blurays without actually watching them. It might be a decent chance
to rewatch them with an eye to how my opinion has changed over the
years. I've already lived through the VHS and DVD eras so this will
be the second or third go round with some of these stories. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Warhammer</b></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I have
chosen two big projects, one for Fantasy and one for 40k, to be my
main focus for the time being. I'll work on other things because I
have so many unfinished projects that need only a little work to get
them past the finish line. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">For
Warhammer 40,000 it will be the Adeptus Mechanicus because my family
got me a whole bunch of AdMech kits for Christmas. I love the look of
them and they are so different from the standard Space Marine and
Imperial Guard armies of the Imperium. I have no idea how they work
on the tabletop and that in itself represents a fun challenge. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Over in the
both defunct and upcoming world of Warhammer Fantasy I'm going for
something a little simpler: Ogre Kingdoms. I recently snapped up a
Feast Of Bones Ogre/Ogor Tyrant for cheap on eBay. The attraction of
the army is simply: monsters, its an army of monsters. What's not to
love about that?</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Other
projects on the docket include a Dwarf army I've been chipping away
at for years; the Sisters of Battle army deal that I've undercoated
and not really done anything else to since it came out; Deathwatch;
and my eternal quest for the perfect Traitor Guard models. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Writing</b></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The blog,
obviously, but also I want to get back into writing short fiction.
I'm going to go looking for writing prompt blogs and the like since I
think Write Anything has ended since I used to contribute to their
weekly challenges. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I'm also
going to be posting some of my Warhammer background to this blog to
get some feedback, maybe also try to set up an AO3 account. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Personal</b></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Cooking.
Always meant to learn and, to be frank, I need to eat healthier. I'm
told by people who do it that cooking is fun and satisfying. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Travel. A
year and a bit ago a friend and I went to Switzerland for a week. I
went up multiple mountains! Cable cars are terrifying, by the way,
and sometimes you get out of one expecting the majestic sweep of the
mountains but instead you find yourself face to face with a lifesize
cut out of James Bond (that actually happened). It was an amazing
experience and I'm keen to repeat it, hopefully with less unexpected
James Bond. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">That seems
enough to be getting on with. </span>
</div>
<br />James Ashelfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06921809149099140714noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5451358025085381824.post-57950283597438035312019-01-04T10:00:00.000+00:002019-01-04T10:00:04.602+00:0030 Day Doctor Who Challenge #1<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijgIMwZkqaBkxXQaBemzR4HqTkj0q8TGeJzSWLC7B4hLPe-1pvpLzu2IjvS9boc0WAKAiNJikiAJRCcslhX2AQKiXazSZzmgSYVeLzxdoKgAIebaMbTzavszWUSnaQnTLEi7g4kqOHZLwk/s1600/doctor+who+30+day+challenge.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="549" data-original-width="523" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijgIMwZkqaBkxXQaBemzR4HqTkj0q8TGeJzSWLC7B4hLPe-1pvpLzu2IjvS9boc0WAKAiNJikiAJRCcslhX2AQKiXazSZzmgSYVeLzxdoKgAIebaMbTzavszWUSnaQnTLEi7g4kqOHZLwk/s400/doctor+who+30+day+challenge.PNG" width="380" /></a></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I saw this
knocking about Twitter the other day and I thought it might be good
for a laugh.</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Day One:
Favourite Doctor</b></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">For
me, it has to be Matt Smith. My first instinct was to say Sylvester
McCoy because he was “my” Doctor but that owes more to the New
Adventures novels than to his actual TV stories. I grew up in the
1990s, the books were all the new Doctor Who we were getting and, to
be frank, there was lots of sex and violence in them and that really
appealed to twelve year old me who didn't have the internet. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">But
speaking for actual performance it has to be Smith, the youngest
person to ever play the role and somehow the one best at selling the
idea that the Doctor as truly ancient being. The Eleventh Doctor is
also one of those rare incarnations where I can see some vestige of
Hartnell's scientist explorer in the mix. The performance owes a lot
to Troughton, which is always a bonus, but also to McCoy in his
darker moments. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Sometimes
the lighter, “zanier” moments of the character feel forced but in
the end that works because a big part of the Eleventh Doctor's
personality is that he's consciously avoiding dealing with his issues
which is a level of depth not really afforded to any previous
incarnation. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Plus,
every now and again Alex Kingston turns up to force Smith to up his
game just to keep the audience's affection which helps.</div>
<br />James Ashelfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06921809149099140714noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5451358025085381824.post-10383757529905463492019-01-03T08:00:00.000+00:002019-01-03T08:00:00.150+00:00Pride March of the Dinobots<br />
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Last year I
bought a Transformers toy on eBay. Just one, a little one: the Iron
Factory version of Windblade (“Miko for Iron Titan”) because it
was cute and I needed a new fiddle toy for my desk.</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Ever since
then the eBay algorithm has not let this one impulse purchase go and
keeps recommending me all sorts of Transformers stuff. It knows how
to tempt me, too. Like, reissues of the G1 Seacons who I adored as a
kid but never completed the set. Cheap (read “knock-off”) modern
Combaticons and Protectobots. There was a fan made masterpiece-style
First Aid the other day. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Masterpiece.
First Aid. Really. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Anyway, eBay
threw one at me the other day that I just <i>have </i><span style="font-style: normal;">to
share with the world: </span></span>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW8h0ch94UO5iF7UN1zATRBUjip_UjKs1EVUNOwMu94cpeF6CoY2xy-wZiUzww1hZWafvz7cF4B3tbjmmaWx82KoetjVynldysUXEYhsg76iFn6KhmJHVMNZU9_67aE-E5u3glzyJzYBuh/s1600/pride+flag+dinobots.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="529" data-original-width="621" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW8h0ch94UO5iF7UN1zATRBUjip_UjKs1EVUNOwMu94cpeF6CoY2xy-wZiUzww1hZWafvz7cF4B3tbjmmaWx82KoetjVynldysUXEYhsg76iFn6KhmJHVMNZU9_67aE-E5u3glzyJzYBuh/s400/pride+flag+dinobots.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Yes, an
entire Pride Flag of knock-off Dinobots based on the Power Of The
Primes combiner version of the team. So, according to the Wikipedia
article on the original 1978 Pride Flag we have Grimlock
representing life; Sludge representing healing; Swoop representing
sunlight; Snarl representing nature; Slag/Slug representing serenity;
and, Slash representing sex.</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I
unironically adore how Snarl looks in green, by the way, it really
suits the guy.</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
James Ashelfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06921809149099140714noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5451358025085381824.post-59572258255179178182019-01-02T08:30:00.000+00:002019-01-02T08:30:07.446+00:00High Elves pt.1: cobbling together an army list<br />
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I have no
idea what I'm doing. I love the High Elves, I love their background
but as far as the mechanics go I am going in completely blind here. I
wanted an army list to work to but trial and error is very much going
to be a thing here. The following is mainly based around units I
have, units I definitely want and a strong feeling that magic and
shooting are what I should be focusing on here: </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Lords</b></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Loremaster
of Hoeth, great weapon and heavy armour. 230 points</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Heroes</b></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Mage, Level
2 Wizard. 120 points</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Mage, Level
1 Wizard. 85 points</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Lothern Sea
Helm with spear, light armour, shield and Reaver Bow. 125 points</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Core</b></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">20 Lothern
Sea Guard, full command, spears, bows and shields. 270 points</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">5 Ellyrian
Reavers, full command, spears and bows. 125 points</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">5 Ellyrian
Reavers, full command, spears and bows. 125 points</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Special</b></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">20
Swordmasters of Hoeth, full command. 290 points</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">10 Shadow
Warriors with champion. 150 points</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Lothern
Skycutter with Eagle Eye bolt thrower. 120 points</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Rare</b></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Eagle Claw
Bolt Thrower. 70 points</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Eagle Claw
Bolt Thrower. 70 points</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Flamespyre
Phoenix. 225 points</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Total: 2005
points</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The
Loremaster of Hoeth is my general for no better reason than I really
like the model and want to use it. He has a couple of Mages backing
him up in the Magic Phase, though I don't know what lores I'll be
going with just yet. Finally, character-wise, is a Lothern Sea Helm
who I'll have spare after making the Skycutter. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Actually,
Lothern units have turned out to be something of a theme of the army
with the Sea Helm. Sea Guard, Skycutter and Eagle Claw Bolt Throwers.
I just happen to like the looks of them, to be honest. I just don't
like Archers and Spearmen, the models are very old and chunky so
their more modern (and more heavily armed) Lothernii brethren made
the cut. Similarly, I got a couple of units of Ellyrian Reavers cheap
on eBay so that's the Core taken care of. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The
Loremaster needs some friends to stand with so the Swordmasters were
a natural inclusion. The Shadow Warriors are, again, just a unit I
like and one that will let me take a break from painting white. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">And,
finally, a Phoenix. I want one. They look great. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Its quite
elite by my standards with just over seventy models and only two
ranked infantry units. I usually don't have this many ranged units,
either, so that's a whole new play style to try out (and eventually
fail at and just refocus the army on White Lions and Tiranoc Chariots
if I know myself at all). </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
So, I've got
the Loremaster undercoated and the Reavers halfway built, its time to
clench my teeth and once again try to paint white.</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
James Ashelfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06921809149099140714noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5451358025085381824.post-9350787086836751392019-01-01T08:00:00.000+00:002019-01-01T08:00:13.050+00:002019<br />
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The end of
2018 I had a bad couple of months healthwise but with some recent
improvements on that front I find myself rather looking forward to
2019. Well, at least on a personal level, as far as the big picture
is concerned I still live under a government whose principal reaction
to diplomatic reality is to threaten to eat live hand grenades unless
their demands are met but let's focus on the positive...</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">And I
suppose that's where I want to begin. I've spent so much of the last
few months (a fair whack of the rest of the year, too) sick and
unmotivated and the world is just horrible right now that I want to
write more about things I enjoy. I'm not saying I won't complain, the
Tory Party still exists, but I want to focus more on things that
bring me joy. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">A few
projects to help me do that:</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Weekly
Comic Reviews </b></span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I'll say one
thing for being ill over the Christmas period: I got a lot of reading
done. The ever-present comics backlog has been reduced from
“horrendous” to “manageable” so I feel I can actually get to
a fair majority of the comics I buy soon enough to review them. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Various
Hobby Stuff</b></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">There are a
couple of army projects I want to make headway on this year. First of
all: High Elves. I have the models. I've had the models for years, in
fact, but I've been too scared to paint them. I've decided to say
screw it and just paint all that damn white. I've already got the
first one undercoated: a Loremaster of Hoeth, my absolute favourite
HE model ever and therefore my General. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">That's going
to be my big start of year project. Naturally, once the Sisters Of
Battle have the decency to be released that'll happen. I've wanted
that army for over a decade and now its happening in plastic I have
no intention of resisting. On that subject we're getting new Night
Goblins in a week (oh my goodness, that plastic Mangler Squig!) so I
foresee my Orcs & Goblins being dusted off in the near future. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Big
Finish Backlog</b></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Yes, the
other shameless act of overspending weighing down my hard drive: Big
Finish audios. I have a horrible habit of pre-ordering things,
downloading them and forgetting them. Its the curse of digital media.
Might as well write some reviews of the things whilst I'm at it. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Expand My
Reading</b></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I feel like
I've fallen into a bit of a rut with my reading. I tend to default
back to old Doctor Who books, Black Library stuff and the same old
comics series. So I'm going to spend the year trying out new things
lit-wise. There are a couple of stone cold classics that I want to
try out but I'm just looking all over for new stuff. </span>
</div>
<br />James Ashelfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06921809149099140714noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5451358025085381824.post-79054515790275188912018-11-02T06:00:00.000+00:002018-11-02T06:00:03.789+00:00A very silly Transformers: The Movie headcanon<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidK45v-17yp9WljMKwXnbG0bQpWdLtqGTb12eqre0aYuY0BFNRK7qzSKyh-EPshyphenhyphenmCUsYuBNTJAa1BhDakwCJCbHAukxoG3ZPv7RCJKrLjzlZOzSKKjA701GxrdI_eDof1TWCX0ExWqW-5/s1600/Transformers+the+movie+dvd+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="445" data-original-width="315" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidK45v-17yp9WljMKwXnbG0bQpWdLtqGTb12eqre0aYuY0BFNRK7qzSKyh-EPshyphenhyphenmCUsYuBNTJAa1BhDakwCJCbHAukxoG3ZPv7RCJKrLjzlZOzSKKjA701GxrdI_eDof1TWCX0ExWqW-5/s400/Transformers+the+movie+dvd+cover.jpg" width="282" /></a></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Okay, I know
the main cast of <i>The Transformers: The Movie</i> aren't the
Wreckers and can't be the Wreckers because the comic wouldn't come up
with them until months after the movie and television canon wouldn't
acknowledge the name until... <i>Transformers Prime</i><span style="font-style: normal;">,
I think. </span></span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">However...
</span></span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Ultra
Magnus and Springer are basically in charge for most of the movie.
Kup, Arcee, Perceptor and Hot Rod were all Wreckers in the IDW-verse
at various points (I think). I think that just leaves Blaster and
Blur as the only real non-Wreckers in the bunch. Admittedly, this is
because endless comicbook and cartoon continuities have made a lot of
Transformers characters into Wreckers. </span></span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">So,
yeah, this is why in my head the film is pretty much </span><i>The
Wreckers: The Movie</i><span style="font-style: normal;">. </span></span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
(Also,
I never noticed before Superion right there on the cover of the DVD
despite his complete non-appearance in the film. Bad form, Hasbro.)</div>
James Ashelfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06921809149099140714noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5451358025085381824.post-86054553105453096652018-11-01T06:00:00.000+00:002018-11-01T06:00:12.510+00:00I adore this Adventure Zone cover<br />
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">I
have not ranted enough about how much I love The Adventure Zone
and... well, I'm not going to today but I am going to make a quick
post about how much I love this cover to the second graphic novel
adaptation by Carey Pietsch:</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRXz89_OvNoLyZLeLS5MPqcfKOxR_2CruKuOTAsKV2hjZLcF-Kg-VImVyHJf9uYJBXXH9_JBNO9k5-GBXb9_Yt41ShjiQRD86DCYmmIOGuiYBJMev4voCsJ14p4KM2FQ55qxbn73OP8fZ1/s1600/adventure+zone-+murder+on+the+rockport+limited+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="676" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRXz89_OvNoLyZLeLS5MPqcfKOxR_2CruKuOTAsKV2hjZLcF-Kg-VImVyHJf9uYJBXXH9_JBNO9k5-GBXb9_Yt41ShjiQRD86DCYmmIOGuiYBJMev4voCsJ14p4KM2FQ55qxbn73OP8fZ1/s640/adventure+zone-+murder+on+the+rockport+limited+cover.jpg" width="432" /></a></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
You
see, what I adore about this cover is how it perfectly captures the
characters of the four main entities of the series. You have the Tres
Horny Boys and their long suffering DM facing a moment of imminent
physical danger. On the right we have Taako, who has recognised the
danger and is running the fuck away from it; on the left we have
Magnus, completely ignorant of the danger he's in but sort of
coincidentally moving to avoid it more by luck than judgement; in the
centre we have Merle, unaware and about to die; meanwhile Griffin
watches on fascinated and appalled.</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Its
just perfect and I cannot wait to see how Pietsch renders Taako's
merciless treatment of Jenkins the elven sleeping car attendant.</div>
James Ashelfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06921809149099140714noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5451358025085381824.post-87705165750439942312018-10-01T05:00:00.000+01:002018-10-01T05:00:14.218+01:00March to 200 Models pt.1: Marching Orders<br />
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Its been a
while. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">So, here's
the deal: at the end of July I had managed to finish painting a nice,
round one hundred models since the beginning of the year. I set
myself a little task of bettering that total in the second half of
the year. Over the last two months a lot of personal stuff, work
stuff and general stuff happened and I have not had time for much in
the way of hobby (or writing or much of anything really) and my grand
total so far has been...</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">*checks
hobby diary*</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
… <span style="font-size: small;">three
Zoanthropes. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">This leaves
me ninety-seven models away from my aim of finishing a second hundred
miniatures this year and four months to do it in. Its not impossible
especially as this push was always to <i>finish</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
models, not start them from scratch. There are any number of
half-finished models in boxes and draws I could turn my hand to.
Knowing me that won't happen so much as new things will catch my
interest but a man can dream. </span></span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">One
thing I definitely want to get on is that of the one hundred and
three models I've finished this year not one has been for Fantasy. I
remember wanting to do an elf army of some sort earlier in the year
that never materialised and this seems as good an opportunity to
start on that. I've also joined a Warhammer Fantasy group on Facebook
since the Deathwatch group I joined has been such an inspiration on
that project. </span></span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Okay,
if I'm being honest the main motivating factor with the Deathwatch
group has been the chance to show off my models and get nice
comments. Sue me. </span></span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">I
don't really have a definite plan, I'm just going to pick up whatever
from the backlog. I do want to paint a mode varied set of miniatures
though, my recent Deathwatch monomania perhaps being a factor in how
unmotivated to paint I've been recently. </span></span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
And
if I need to hurry through the process and make up the numbers a bit
there's always my overstuffed shoebox of Skull Pass Night Goblins
aka the easiest starter set miniatures ever devised.</div>
<br />James Ashelfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06921809149099140714noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5451358025085381824.post-19214771749924910092018-08-14T07:00:00.000+01:002018-08-14T07:00:06.329+01:00The return of "my" Doctor<br />
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Nostalgia is
a funny thing. I got into Doctor Who when it was nothing but a
nostalgia object. It was the mid-1990s, the show was off the air
except for a dwindling number of repeats on BBC2 (we didn't have Sky
so no UKGold and no endless repeat cycle of old stories for me);
videos came out every other month or so and my pocket money went on
Spider-Man comics so I didn't get Doctor Who Magazine. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
“<span style="font-size: small;">New”
Doctor Who at that stage meant one thing: Virgin Publishing's New
Adventures novels, books whose back covers promised adventures “too
broad and too deep for the small screen”. What this generally meant
was stories with too much gratuitous sex and violence for Saturday
teatime BBC1 but I was a teenager so it was all the same to me. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">And now Big
Finish are bringing that era of Doctor Who back. Again. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">This is
actually attempt number three. In the early years of their Doctor Who
Main Range they tried a couple of stories featuring Bernice
Summerfield and the grown up space marine version of Ace (long story
but basically an attempt to rid Ace of teenage angst by putting her
in a black latex bodysuit. Did I mention the gratuitous sex stuff?)
that just didn't hit home for me. In fairness, its not like that
version of Ace worked even half the time. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Attempt
number two came in the form of novel adaptations with the company
adapting some of ranges high points including <i>Love and War</i><span style="font-style: normal;">,
</span><i>The Highest Science</i><span style="font-style: normal;">,
</span><i>Damaged Goods</i><span style="font-style: normal;">,
</span><i>All-Consuming Fire</i><span style="font-style: normal;">,
</span><i>Theatre of War</i><span style="font-style: normal;">,</span><i>
Nightshade</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, </span><i>Original
Sin</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, and </span><i>Cold Fusion</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
as well as some Fourth Doctor Missing Adventures. By and large this
went a lot better and I was genuinely disappointed when the range
ended due to low sales. The adaptation of Russell T. Davies' </span><i>Damaged
Goods</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> was particularly good (a
bit of an improvement on the novel, actually). </span></span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Now
Big Finish are bringing back the team of the Seventh Doctor, Chris
Cwej and Roz Forrester in four original stories. The important thing
for me is that only one of these stories is going to be written by
someone who worked on the original novels, the other three will be
written by writers of a later generation of the fan-industrial
complex. </span></span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Why
this interests me is that the nostalgia filter is going to be applied
for Doctor Who that I was around for but that has a lot more distance
than... for instance... </span><i>The Tenth Doctor Adventures</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
Big Finish have done. The last </span><i>New Adventures</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
novel was published in 1999 and I'm interested in seeing how a new
generation reinvents things. Its an interesting discourse what later
fandom decides to focus on when they go back to things, what they
choose to erase or emphasise. </span></span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Will
anyone try to address that bloody awful idea the Virgin authors had
where they kept recasting old monsters as creatures from the
Lovecraft mythos? </span></span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Hopefully
not.</div>
<br />James Ashelfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06921809149099140714noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5451358025085381824.post-68722514394226911872018-08-13T07:00:00.000+01:002018-08-13T07:00:11.474+01:00This Week's Project: My Inquisitor's Deathwatch Kill-Team<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjzF7wxg7uoE2QQQWDKBV27BU-SFKVDmi_Jg2ZEvQ8dFaF0wTFtT2gLQ4W1-8GS2QgA9JLqZVDFiHzhUJLR9kkooigj37iR45EAtMl6A-OE1RgpuDAVpRGkSLksbAQqi_bhgNR8QX0Jv2b/s1600/Hex%2527s+Kill-Team.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="539" data-original-width="960" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjzF7wxg7uoE2QQQWDKBV27BU-SFKVDmi_Jg2ZEvQ8dFaF0wTFtT2gLQ4W1-8GS2QgA9JLqZVDFiHzhUJLR9kkooigj37iR45EAtMl6A-OE1RgpuDAVpRGkSLksbAQqi_bhgNR8QX0Jv2b/s400/Hex%2527s+Kill-Team.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">This is the
Deathwatch unit that will accompany my Ordo Xenos Inquisitor Laurento
Hex on his adventures with other armies. I usually tailor my Veteran
squads to a purpose like killing infantry or tank hunting but since
this will the be whole of a detachment (plus a random character to
stay game legal) they're more geared towards taking on all comers
with a deliberate close combat bias. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I've got a
Watch-Sergeant with combi-plasma and xenophase sword, a power fist, a
power maul, a heavy thunder hammer, a frag launcher and two Vanguard
Veterans with bolt pistols and power weapons (a sword and an axe).
Also, thanks to various lovely sellers on Shapeways, the unit has a
nice spread of different chapters with a Relictor leading an Invader,
a Son of Guilliman, a Death Spectre, a Lamenter, a Rampager and a
Disciple of Caliban into battle. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I have to
admit I get a silly amount of pleasure from deciding what chapters
each Kill-Team will contain. It a peculiar pleasure but you take what
you can get, you know?</div>
James Ashelfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06921809149099140714noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5451358025085381824.post-87725914339055181612018-07-07T06:00:00.000+01:002018-07-07T06:00:00.129+01:00Treading the Path Of Damnation once again<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg0Low9qa5t479JTr6s8oi9EyO2aNGNitdNeX2DfiZrkwxwfXZmwFCiVwr1mcKiOEOVSLk_Y-81610eJN0v0ZK8WE0Lf10pj2HN46BDH-MwDxcwyKZ2KzSUPcgbTZGubOisFntuPFT2gwe/s1600/Traitor+Guard+Tempestus+Scion+test+model.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="697" data-original-width="535" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg0Low9qa5t479JTr6s8oi9EyO2aNGNitdNeX2DfiZrkwxwfXZmwFCiVwr1mcKiOEOVSLk_Y-81610eJN0v0ZK8WE0Lf10pj2HN46BDH-MwDxcwyKZ2KzSUPcgbTZGubOisFntuPFT2gwe/s400/Traitor+Guard+Tempestus+Scion+test+model.jpg" width="306" /></a></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The other
day I cobbled this fellow together. I found a bad of Blood Warrior
heads in a box. I'd got them off eBay a while back because I kept
seeing this same concept crop up on the internet.</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">You see,
I've been tinkering with the idea of returning to my Lost And The
Damned for a while. For those not familiar with this undeservingly
niche army they are the mortal followers of Chaos. Traitor Guardsmen,
essentially. They were a variant army list in 3<sup>rd</sup>
edition's <i>Codex: Eye of Terror</i> and then, after an absence of
some years during which that list became practically unusable, they
returned as the Renegades & Heretics army list in Forge World's
<i>Siege of Vraks </i>trilogy. </span>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlAQf5kNzLxzlJvtl_H3smlNuW6rcEilxc7xsSiQHCddKy5-uwVTNnc-ydvcSB5U6FEprOr-Xs28F1KAdJ5k8MMM8V3soXX7zJOmx4tr_FhGR1c7JfiSQzUjM2s5aBJUQYPOy2LVfaYtQA/s1600/eye+of+terror+traitor+guard+art.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="497" data-original-width="477" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlAQf5kNzLxzlJvtl_H3smlNuW6rcEilxc7xsSiQHCddKy5-uwVTNnc-ydvcSB5U6FEprOr-Xs28F1KAdJ5k8MMM8V3soXX7zJOmx4tr_FhGR1c7JfiSQzUjM2s5aBJUQYPOy2LVfaYtQA/s320/eye+of+terror+traitor+guard+art.jpg" width="307" /></a></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The list got
a seventh edition makeover in <i>Imperial Armour: War Machines of the
Lost and the Damned</i> before eighth edition came along and rendered
that obsolete and the current list is included in <i>Index Imperial
Armour: Astra Militarum</i>.</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">And I don't
like it. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">It has a lot
of issues. In fairness, it is an Index list but since its going to be
a while (possibly never) before a proper Codex version comes out the
problems pile up. Whilst I like the idea of random Leadership, I
don't like being charged the same power level as the Astra Militarum
equivalent for random leadership and lower skill values. A bunch of
units have just straight up evaporated. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">So this time
round I'm rocking it old school. My group is pretty chill about house
rules so it was no stretch to just agree amongst ourselves that I
could use <i>Codex: Astra Militarum</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
replacing all instances of the IMPERIUM keyword with CHAOS so I can
use some Chaos Space Marines allies. </span></span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">I
have a few vague ideas of what I want to do with the army in terms of
models. In terms of army list, not so much. It has been a long time
since I played Guard, possibly not since 4</span><sup><span style="font-style: normal;">th</span></sup><span style="font-style: normal;">
edition, as their own thing, at least. There's going to be a lot of
trial and error and a lot of consulting with Tom, our resident
footslogger Guard player. I am, I admit, much more interested in the
sea of dudes with lasguns than the fascinating array of tanks. Don't
get me wrong: tanks will feature in the army, there's no getting
around that and I absolutely want to do something horrible and
organic with the open crew compartment of the Basilisk. </span></span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">So,
the concepts so far, are to make Tempestus Scions pretty much
straight out of thebox with head swaps and little bits of Chaos
iconography to make them look more evil. They really lend themselves
to simple kitbashing: they have tons of detail and that spiky trim on
their armour will just look Chaotic simply through an appropriate
paint job. </span></span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Veterans
will be much the same in that they'll be Cadians with the aquilas
filed off but with heads from a European company called Puppets Of
War. Specifically, these ones...</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU7hWEn-9fLk5ggdK5Iz8Mhar9rMPBWrUt0mJhQvD3dCScLfi-wwzbQzHLbDdVhlEu-mmqUJ_9xElCLwYjHxgF4pF2otuCaNkXnDGOxIveFcQpvSs87c-mHIyo60YQZKLghW9svglqNNHG/s1600/puppetswar.eu+hooded+skulls.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="484" data-original-width="483" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU7hWEn-9fLk5ggdK5Iz8Mhar9rMPBWrUt0mJhQvD3dCScLfi-wwzbQzHLbDdVhlEu-mmqUJ_9xElCLwYjHxgF4pF2otuCaNkXnDGOxIveFcQpvSs87c-mHIyo60YQZKLghW9svglqNNHG/s320/puppetswar.eu+hooded+skulls.PNG" width="319" /></a></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The
colours of this army have always been black fatigues and white flak
armour so skull masks suit the theme pretty well. This will represent
the infantry that are more towards the inner circle of the cult, the
ones with abilities and skills the Traitor General places some value
on.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIrZB9Fa2rdLJhs52mRoee2mLnxUksu-WAEhsTQjoiNL5AbBLxpnHMJVAvMDYjJszP6SojZSFgVw-90b78HdVVI_D1tdkHYydE_pvdX2AD3_A7bHtbbTpDGpx6oHmFRGiucoV-0zpjNJpy/s1600/Forge+World+Renegades.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="227" data-original-width="220" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIrZB9Fa2rdLJhs52mRoee2mLnxUksu-WAEhsTQjoiNL5AbBLxpnHMJVAvMDYjJszP6SojZSFgVw-90b78HdVVI_D1tdkHYydE_pvdX2AD3_A7bHtbbTpDGpx6oHmFRGiucoV-0zpjNJpy/s320/Forge+World+Renegades.jpg" width="310" /></a></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Finally,
there will be the Infantry and Conscript Squads who will be
represented using Cadians the Forge World Renegades upgrade sets of
which I've acquired a few over the years. These will be the cannon
fodder, the expendable scum the army has recruited on the way. I love
the cobbled together look of these bodies but I've always had more of
a professional military vibe to my Lost And The Damned, naturally
considering most of my concept of the army comes from Dan Abnett's
Blood Pact and Sons Of Sek.</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">And
then, to one side of the army, are the Chaos Space Marines. </span></span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">As
I said, I want the Chaos Marines to be the smaller contingent of the
army. Just a single character and a few units. If I have daemon
engines they'll be painted to match the Traitor Guard. In fact, it
might be a Spearhead Detachment so I can take a bunch of daemon
engines with the minimum of power armour getting in the way. </span></span>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWz4vFk7uXF9a5Czhedmb2xUQWhc5B0klF4njiLuKJGywylxfcmMXDuJBh_jc9I1KGB0BMsx4vtjhyphenhyphenj0dacFCvuu0tRJj9_xs4-wsiXCF1a764eUr13N0QxZNs1wMgAso0LPldpGtI_WvB/s1600/Renegade+Space+Marines+chapter+from+Codex+Eye+of+Terror.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="458" data-original-width="600" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWz4vFk7uXF9a5Czhedmb2xUQWhc5B0klF4njiLuKJGywylxfcmMXDuJBh_jc9I1KGB0BMsx4vtjhyphenhyphenj0dacFCvuu0tRJj9_xs4-wsiXCF1a764eUr13N0QxZNs1wMgAso0LPldpGtI_WvB/s400/Renegade+Space+Marines+chapter+from+Codex+Eye+of+Terror.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I
also rather fancy avoiding the Chaos Legions and having my Chaos
Marine allies being a little more... low rent. In fact, I'm tempted
to go for one of these chapters who featured in Codex: Eye Of Terror
(or possible the Chaos Marine codex, I just got this image from
Google Image Search). Basically none of these chapters aside from the
Warp Ghosts have any sort of background which suits me fine since
they'll just be there to offer a little extra hitting power.</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">The
Extinction Angels appeal as a design since the bone trim will tie in
with the infantry whilst the purple armour will make them stand out
against the rest of the army.</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">First
up, though, is to finish building the first five Khornate Scions and
paint them up as a test unit. Whilst they'll naturally have red
armour plate they will have black fatigues and bone trim so I can
practice the methods I'll be applying to most of the rest of the
army.</span></span></div>
James Ashelfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06921809149099140714noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5451358025085381824.post-29361070841187149422018-07-06T06:00:00.000+01:002018-07-06T06:00:00.198+01:00The Comics Ramble: Batman #50 and spoilers<br />
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">[The
following is basically a massive rant about spoilers so be aware that
if you have managed to avoid the massive fucking spoiler going around
for <i>Batman</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> #50/</span><i>Catwoman</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
#1 and haven't read them yet do avoid this post because I can't vent
about the thing and how it affected my reading without mentioning
what the thing is.]</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">So I managed
to avoid the <i>Batman</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> #50
spoiler until literally one hour before the package turned up on my
doorstep. Ye gods, but I hate spoiler culture. It sucks. I despise
the idea, now practically supported by the companies it harms, that
telling people the big reveal long before the actual event somehow
enhances the experience or encourages people to tune in / read /
experience the thing. </span></span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Ugh...
anyway... </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">What
even was spoiling it meant to advertise? We knew the new Catwoman
series was launching the same day and that is literally the only
thing, other than the ongoing plot of <i>Batman</i>, that spins out
of that story. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I
mean, look what else came out this week: <i>Man of Steel</i> #6 and I
am pretty sure that was allowed to stand on its own. That issue sets
up Bendis' <i>Superman</i> and <i>Action Comics</i> as well as the
new run of <i>Supergirl</i> and has one hell of a cliffhanger for
whichever Superman series is going to handle the serial arson
storyline Bendis has been setting up for the last six weeks. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">But
the very possibility that Bruce and Selina's marriage could go off as
planned? Oh no, better spoil that just to confirm that the obvious,
tragic ending everyone saw coming was not going to be subverted. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">You
monsters! </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Let's
face it: what else was anyone expecting? I admit I <i>hoped</i> for a
happy ending, I thought that Tom King might have convinced DC
editorial to let him do something brave and psychologically healthy
for the Batman character given that he's gone deeper than pretty much
anyone else into Bruce's trauma and how he copes with it. King, as it
happens, responded to the leak or the spoiler or bad bit of
advertising or whatever it was by saying this wasn't the end of the
Bruce/Selina story he was telling. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Whether
or not that's true <i>Batman</i> #50 is a great issue. As I've said
before, King has probably the best grasp of single issue storytelling
at DC today. The narration of this issue plays out two letters Bruce
and Selina are writing each other to explain their feelings as the
ceremony looms. Interestingly, once again King returns to that thing
he keeps bringing about how Catwoman remembers their first meeting as
the <i>Batman: Year One</i> version whilst Bruce remembers their
first published meeting from 1940. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Given
what's going on with <i>Flash War</i> and other hints here and there,
this might be more than a cute nod. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I
really do hope this isn't the end. The Bruce/Selina relationship has
been pretty consistently the best part of this series for a while
now.</div>
<br />James Ashelfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06921809149099140714noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5451358025085381824.post-51458908053469300552018-07-05T06:00:00.000+01:002018-07-05T06:00:03.499+01:00Doctor Blu #1: Season 12 in Song and Story<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizo1MWhHeTciXUndH52RMwQgqJnUFN_2njrZaQs5dpYrRzHCGxxX8B42TwdORr7m_okqyIF7bBdBhvsVhEJxH5EpJEkF5OFWOFzJnMeUHXtsStomR1WZylWH04Tt4wDKh5hOrICyi0P94R/s1600/tom+baker%252C+robot+episode+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1079" data-original-width="1403" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizo1MWhHeTciXUndH52RMwQgqJnUFN_2njrZaQs5dpYrRzHCGxxX8B42TwdORr7m_okqyIF7bBdBhvsVhEJxH5EpJEkF5OFWOFzJnMeUHXtsStomR1WZylWH04Tt4wDKh5hOrICyi0P94R/s400/tom+baker%252C+robot+episode+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Doctor Who's
twelfth season is a funny one. Now, I get why it was chosen to be the
first bluray season box set, the logic is sound: its Tom Baker, its
his first season, it has a bunch of classic monsters in it including
an absolutely iconic Dalek story. Its a good choice.</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Its just an
odd season. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">To set out
my stall a little: I'm of a generation that I got into Doctor Who
after it was cancelled the but also before it came back as
a magnificently successful revival. When I entered this fandom, and
for a long time afterwards, Doctor Who was not a TV show. It was a
series of video releases beholden to no logic of season or theme,
released pretty much at random or when decent film prints became
available for restoration. As such I've not really ever watched the
classic series in any sort of order. I've tried once or twice to do
one of those “everything in order” marathons but I don't have the
patience. My best attempt got me as far as... <i>The Keys of Marinus</i><span style="font-style: normal;">,
I think? Maybe </span><i>The Sensorites</i><span style="font-style: normal;">.
</span></span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">A
season at a time, though? I think I can do that. </span></span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">So
here we are on bluray with Season Twelve, the first of Tom Baker's seven year run in the title role. Now, I've seen all
these stories before, many times in the case of </span><i>Ark In
Space</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, but I've never watched
them as a body of work. </span></span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">So
what are my impressions of the season before I watch it in order?</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Well,
like I said, its an odd beast. </span></span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">The
reason is simple: Season Twelve effectively has two creative teams.
The production itself was largely handled by the new production team
of Philip Hinchcliffe and Robert Holmes but the scripts were
commissioned by outgoing producer/script editor team of Barry Letts
and Terrance Dicks. The first story was even made by the old
production team because the series had been banking a story between
seasons for the last couple of years.</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Bizarre
to think in these days of obsessive brand management that a big
relaunch with a new Doctor and a new creative team would wait four
weeks for the old creative team to finish out their contracts but
there you go. It might be the most extreme example of the problem but
the whole structure of the season is like that: Letts and Dicks
ideas, Hinchcliffe and Holmes execution. Three of the five stories in
this season use old monsters, a well Hinchcliffe and Holmes would
studiously avoid for the remaining two years they stayed on the
programme. The nearest they come under their own steam is using the Master once and even then they basically create a new villain
and slap a familiar name on him. </span></span>
</div>
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<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">So
Season Twelve basically represents the transition from the UNIT years to the body horror theme of Hinchcliffe and Holmes. In
my memory its rough. </span></span>
</div>
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<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">It
has its highlights. If there's a Doctor Who story I've watched more
than </span><i>The Ark In Space</i><span style="font-style: normal;">...
well, its probably </span><i>City of Death</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
but </span><i>Ark </i><span style="font-style: normal;">is still one
of my favourite go to stories when I just want a solid story to
watch. I'm not one hundred percent convinced of the masterpiece
status </span><i>Genesis of the Daleks</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
has in fandom but it is a really good story (and I am very interested
in seeing what the cut down “TV movie” edit included on the
bluray does for its pacing). </span><i>Robot</i><span style="font-style: normal;">,
whilst being very different from what follows, is a solid effort
simply because its written by Terrance Dicks and able performances
from the old UNIT crew to smooth the transition as Baker finds his
feet.</span></span></div>
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<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">That's
the good. Then there are the problem children of the transition, the
ones popular legend says Robert Holmes could not save: </span><i>The
Sontaran Experiment</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> and </span><i>Revenge
of the Cybermen</i><span style="font-style: normal;">. Both stories
are production experiments as Hinchcliffe and Holmes tried to make
production cheaper so they could justify dropping six-parters. </span><i>The
Sontaran Experiment</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> was a
two-parter filmed entirely on location whilst </span><i>Revenge</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
was filmed on the same sets as </span><i>The Ark In Space</i><span style="font-style: normal;">.
The problem with production experiments like that they need great
writers to make them work in the very tight parameters they're given.
Here we have Bob Baker and Dave Martin, the crazy ideas men of
the Pertwee era asked to make a tightly plotted two-parter that can
only use physical effects, and, Gerry Davis in his last (and only
solo) contribution to the series and, boy, you can see why. </span></span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">And
then there's Harry Sullivan. </span></span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I
admit to being a little split on Harry Sullivan. I kind of like the
character. He's a comedy idiot but Ian Marter always plays the part
with conviction. Yes, even the giant clam incident. Standing next to
the all-time dream team of Tom Baker and Lis Sladen, however, he can
look superfluous to requirements. I wonder how he'll look to me when
I see the lion's share of his stories in order.</div>
<br />James Ashelfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06921809149099140714noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5451358025085381824.post-80817527395134610982018-07-02T05:00:00.000+01:002018-07-02T05:00:10.882+01:00100 models complete, 100 models to do<br />
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I am a
somewhat compulsive list maker and this year I've been keeping track
of how many miniatures I've managed to paint. A few weeks ago I
realised I was on the verge of finishing one hundred models in the
first six months of this year. I was twenty-two models away and on
Saturday, putting some grass on bases, I reached my target with a few
hours to spare. </span>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlD6ngk1bfIhy2WrigO5Bo9bG4QoLrhV6ySKBo-uE17zBDryeRjHZ8eTx-g4O6hKAD_tgk0KSZJSc3DZQW1w4ntBvK5HDw7N6XSj_lsS-brmrllIMMpEyojBbefo_IpjkZn5Z2YODcGcNl/s1600/Tyranids+Raveners.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="913" data-original-width="1600" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlD6ngk1bfIhy2WrigO5Bo9bG4QoLrhV6ySKBo-uE17zBDryeRjHZ8eTx-g4O6hKAD_tgk0KSZJSc3DZQW1w4ntBvK5HDw7N6XSj_lsS-brmrllIMMpEyojBbefo_IpjkZn5Z2YODcGcNl/s400/Tyranids+Raveners.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
First up we
have a trio of Raveners and I can finally make use of Hive Fleet
Jormungandr's bespoke Stratagem to deploy infantry units underground
with their burrowing creatures.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh93o0mEFNCYa58mnErL1VKHAQ16r13CHYq5KZuh2LJsRIqpsl0HDIM82nTArarnPOPuX-XxqInQ529vMj7wfWLK4e_3ySCjdT5VTWF32fJzCo9DGFVoIcDCAftoz4nhwRPRzlaSPL1HSR_/s1600/Tyranids+Termagants.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="864" data-original-width="1600" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh93o0mEFNCYa58mnErL1VKHAQ16r13CHYq5KZuh2LJsRIqpsl0HDIM82nTArarnPOPuX-XxqInQ529vMj7wfWLK4e_3ySCjdT5VTWF32fJzCo9DGFVoIcDCAftoz4nhwRPRzlaSPL1HSR_/s400/Tyranids+Termagants.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Next up are
five Termagants, the first finished model from a job lot of very
random smaller bioforms I received from eBay a while back. I hope
I've managed to cover every single bit of the original owner's
hideous neon green colour scheme but I keep noticing bits I've
missed.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglIyTlcPH_loluMvifzeQSTM30c0KKCMCLmIBHmlQVqVyqhVZ0YvhUnwSI71pWvUj0g5PlVtXM3KlCdP_hsXiOOb48H5le6a6M4HYu1CuEpEwuNfA9jE5HTCPITTT9ruL_G4SleZx5ylnK/s1600/Tyranids+Purestrain+Genestealers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="755" data-original-width="1600" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglIyTlcPH_loluMvifzeQSTM30c0KKCMCLmIBHmlQVqVyqhVZ0YvhUnwSI71pWvUj0g5PlVtXM3KlCdP_hsXiOOb48H5le6a6M4HYu1CuEpEwuNfA9jE5HTCPITTT9ruL_G4SleZx5ylnK/s400/Tyranids+Purestrain+Genestealers.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Twelve
Purestrain Genestealers ready to combine with the eight I already
have to become a horde of twenty vicious killing machines.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsTn0ejQqte_n98o9RxY7EVoGf5nzBKbMnVBQPE7x7n7vHW2mjUgFD00tSossHprsaNo3P6FgXwbL0DJiCBq3K9CZBF1-GveJoMphitkf221GhNeVUSMRwMYhjaJyd3c7YUD4k3ZnicyMD/s1600/Genestealer+Cults+Patriarch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="537" data-original-width="588" height="365" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsTn0ejQqte_n98o9RxY7EVoGf5nzBKbMnVBQPE7x7n7vHW2mjUgFD00tSossHprsaNo3P6FgXwbL0DJiCBq3K9CZBF1-GveJoMphitkf221GhNeVUSMRwMYhjaJyd3c7YUD4k3ZnicyMD/s400/Genestealer+Cults+Patriarch.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvs8oSHwv2-O2qTkhofbeVVdSw-jKiKD6uURMXrELEL1gdv3KOycSbNIslr-ugvKdm17U1e0Lonor26rhbTFLlp3h-_gfAINAysMHFJLvkjA5s5hP6TbnhvYDTnhtaHHN27DuKHDukGDOT/s1600/Genestealer+Cults+Primus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1110" data-original-width="1300" height="341" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvs8oSHwv2-O2qTkhofbeVVdSw-jKiKD6uURMXrELEL1gdv3KOycSbNIslr-ugvKdm17U1e0Lonor26rhbTFLlp3h-_gfAINAysMHFJLvkjA5s5hP6TbnhvYDTnhtaHHN27DuKHDukGDOT/s400/Genestealer+Cults+Primus.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
And,
finally, taking me up to a nice, round one hundred are a Primus and
Patriarch for my Genestealer Cults detachment.</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>So the
plan from here...</b></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Quite
simply, I want to beat this total over the rest of the year. I got
one hundred models finished in six months and I'd like to make it two
hundred (at least) before the end of the year.</div>
James Ashelfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06921809149099140714noreply@blogger.com1