Paint Day 24/07/07

Paint Day was, frankly, a bit slow. I made some progress on my Royal Marine sharpshooters, I managed to get my airbrush working, so some progress was made on my sentinel, but the only thing that was finished was one of my objective markers, the hatch marker:

Paint Day Again

Tuesday is Paint Day again, so in preparation I have been making objective markers.

The first uses the wounded Praetorian figure from the old boxed set, and represents a fallen comrade awaiting rescue:


The second uses a rhino hatch, and represents the entrance to an underground complex, storeroom, or maybe the exit from a bolt-hole that the army must secure:


Painting will commence Tuesday morning.

Friday Rodent Blogging

Some fool is setting off fireworks at 11:30 on a Friday night here in Lexington. Which, needless to say, woke Her Majesty up, who promptly shot out of her house and demanded to know what the heck was going on.

And Again...

Once again, my homeland informs the god squad that they have to obey the law just like everyone else.

I'm trying not to gloat, here, but it is nice to see England keeping up with the ancient tradition of "believing in the invisible man in the sky does not entitle one to any special privileges, no matter how much one might wish it".

You Know You're Getting Old When...

...Auntie Beeb lists the twelve finalists for the 2007 Mercury Music Prize, and you haven't heard of a single one.

Don't Leave Home Without It

Something every Imperial Guard player needs, a die specifically for rolling those saving throws:


Yes, it's real. Yes, I own it. No, I don't think it'll be used in games...

Dr Who

Sci-Fi has just started showing the new season of the ancient and beloved BBC gemstone, Dr Who. David Tennant is just, again, brilliant as the Doctor.

So far Sci-Fi has shown three episodes (Runaway Bride, Smith And Jones, and The Shakespeare Code), of which my DVR managed to record the first two. So, I'm already an episode behind.

Friday Rodent Blogging

WHAT?!

Sniper Gets Another Buddy

The third in my trio of Praetorian Royal Marine snipers has emerged:


And here is a side view showing the rifle:


And the three together:

Sniper Gets Buddy 2

Here's another WIP shot of my latest sniper. I've snipped off the bayonet lug (because a sniper rifle doesn't need a bayonet) and turned the scope into something more like a - well - scope.

Nighstalkers

I thought it was time to haul out my Nightstalkers Chapter (what little of it there is) and take some pics.

First, here is Captain Stone:


Rear view:

And the side:

Stone was originally conceived as the lead character for a story about a Space Marine chapter who were sent to guard an Adeptus Mechanicus base. In the course of the story, Stone was fitted for an experimental backpack mounted cannon, linked through the black carapace so it tracks and fires by mind impulse. I thought the idea was so cool I just had to make the model. In game terms he just has a storm bolter and a power sword, the backpack gun is just decoration.

Friday Rodent Blogging

Selene, apparently, is not taking callers today.

Sorry.

Sniper Gets Buddy

I spent some time today assembling this, my second Praetorian Royal Marine sharpshooter. I decided to try something different with the scope, mainly because I don't have another of the previous type in my bits box. I've also left off the bipod, because I'm out of space marine knives, too..

One more sniper (and I know which model is getting the treatment) and three lasgun armed troopers and my marine sharpshooter squad will be ready.

4th July

Tomorrow (well, actually, today) is the 4th of July with all the fun that that date entails. Independence Day! Fireworks! Revelry! Parties! Patriotism!

A day off!

Cool.

Happy 4th everyone, whether you're American or not.

Praetorian pics

Firstly, something I haven't done in a while, here is the 22nd on parade:


Here is my now completed lascannon squad:


And here is the (near) completed rhino that carries Colonel Ironfist and his retinue around:


Side view:


Again, if you don't know why it's a rhino, you haven't been playing long enough.

In game terms it simply counts as a chimera with a turret-mounted heavy bolter and a hull-mounted heavy bolter.

I've also created a photobucket album. You can see it here.

Friday Rodent Blogging

We at Legal Alien would like to extend our humblest apologies for missing last week's FRB. This was the look on Selene's face when she found out about the unforgivable oversight:


Doesn't she look like Marlon Brando in the opening scenes of The Godfather?

So.. you come to me on the day of my daughter's wedding to tell me that you missed last week's Friday Rodent Blogging? What have I ever done to make you treat me so disrespectfully?

So, in an attempt to make up for this, we present two editions in one:


Selene.. Awake. Hungry. Don't keep me hungry. You won't like me when I'm hungry.


Told ya.

The 22nd Praetorian

Using Mrs Doombreed's excellent suggestion of using my magnifier (see yesterday's post) we present more pics of the 22nd.

You were warned..

Colonel Ironfist:


The 22nd's Command HQ:
Back Row l-r: Mastervox Operator; Veteran
Middle Row l-r: Standard Bearer; Medic
Front: Colonel Ironfist.

Nork Deddog, Ogryn Bodyguard:

Infantry Squad:

Ratling Snipers:

Anti-Tank Squad from the Heavy Weapons Platoon:

Stormtroopers:

The Sergeant from the Rough Riders:

A Rough Rider trooper:

More to come.

Cracked It, Finally

I finally figured out how to get good pictures of my models. Using my magnifying light which was bought to help detail panting, I magnify the figure and then take a picture of the magnifier, thus good pics of my Praetorian Marine sharpshooter have been taken.

Front:


Back:

Watch out for my entire range being photographed using this technique in the days (or weeks) to come.

1408

Mike Enslin (John Cusack) is a writer who specialises in haunted stuff. He travels around the country visiting haunted houses, mansions, graveyards, hotels and the like, then publishes books on them, usually with less-than-complimentary opinions on the sites.

After receiving a card telling him not to go to room 1408 in the Dolphin hotel in New York he, of course, does so. He expects to be greeted with the same rubbish he's experienced time and time again, the same pitch-to-the-tourists buildup, the same anticlimactic stay in the room.

See, Enslin is an atheist and does not believe in ghosts. And right there is my single complaint about the movie. It's yet another "prove the atheist wrong" piece of modern entertainment.

Anyway, Enslin is surprised when the Dolphin's manager, Gerald Olin (Samuel L. Jackson), tells him that room 1408 genuinely has a bloody and horrific history and that, in fact, the room is no longer open for guests. Enslin can't stay there. Enslin insists. Olin capitulates. And thus begins a night of terror and horror.

Okay, there are a few genuinely scary moments in this film, and a lot of jump moments. There is almost none of the gore that we expect in modern horror, just a little blood, but plenty of fright, some very clever directing, some above-par acting and some great special effects.

A very intelligent movie that is a great break from the lakes of blood that horror movies rely on these days.

Doombreed Rating: * * * * 1/2

They're At It Again

Remember Nadia Eweida vs British Airways in the case of "you're making me obey the same rules as everyone else but I'm a Christian so it's discrimination"?

Well, here they go again.

16 year-old Lydia Playfoot was told that she has to obey her school's uniform code just like everyone else, and that means no rings.

But because Playfoot is a Christian, she feels that she should be exempt but refuses to admit it and, instead, describes a uniform code that applies equally to everyone as - you guessed it - "discrimination."

In typical "persecuted" Christian style, she compares her pointless "purity ring" that she chooses to wear but her faith does not require with headscarves and turbans which are exactly the opposite.

Sheesh. They rule the bloody country. You'd think persecution would be hard to fake, but they're right there doing it.