Dol Guldur Rises: Pt 2

 Here are some more remaining shots of the castle and diorama before moving onto specific models and event coverage from this past weekend. Enjoy the shots!

 Hobbit models released: I hate the new orc look
Elf Cavalry: I love the new cavalry models
Army Planning: I plan elf cavalry and need a counter force.
Buying hunter orcs: I get my hands on them and things start to turn.
Finished army: These orcs maybe my favorite models to date in the GW model line.

They screamed Native American style when I was considering paint schemes. I heavily based the face paint on the movie, "The Last of the Mohegans" and some pop culture; braveheart, the joker, and Johnny Depp from that awful lone ranger movie...

 This piece of work was developing all the way through getting primer on it. The late addition of the lit hood in the center was possible by having some open space where the 3 models meet.

 Big props to the helpful hints I got from friends, the main one being the addition of that creepy hand busting out of the ground.

This is a public service announcement, thank you, and humble brag. If you have not seen previous posts, the lighting effects used were from a great company called PoweredPlay Gaming. They came to being from a successful kick starter and really deliver.

They got the product completed and shipped fast and it allowed me to get this lights in the diorama. If you have any projects or models you want to add light to, you have to look into these. Battery powered based, window kits, and light effects circuit boards are all great additions to standard lighting.

Finally, I wanted to thank them for giving my work a shout out on the website showing off completed projects. http://www.flickr.com/photos/poweredplay/

Lots of other great projects from hobbyists over there as well.

Check back for model close ups, event coverage, and more nonsense in the days to come.

Dol Guldur Rises

 "We could remain blind to it but it will not be ignoring us, that I can promise you. A sickness lies over the Greenwood. The Woodsmen who live there now call it Mirkwood. They speak of a Necromancer living in Dol Guldur, a sorcerer who could summon the dead."

I seem to take to building evil towers....should have that checked out... Here it is, in all of its glory, the finished Dol Guldur display board.

Many more photos and complete coverage of Bilbo's Birthday Bash will follow as it is this weekend, but this quick update should tease enough of you to come back for an in depth look at my armies, the castle, and the overall event.

Many references have been made of this project being FUBAD 2013. We came up with this at our last tournament. As hobbyists, we wanted to challenge ourselves and each other. We wanted to show case our terrain, conversions, painting, and going extreme. What follows represents the past seven months of work, cramming till 3am after working a regular 10 hour day, six days a week, and just crushing progress.

Freaking
Unbelievably
Big
Ass
Displays

I can honestly say that I have learned a lot of new paint techniques and styles that I never would have really improved upon had this not come along. 

Shall we ring the begin?

 You know what they say about billy goats and trolls under bridges....

A lot more in depth looks at individual models will follow but enjoy a couple of these close ups. I actually ran into an issue with space. Two feet by two feet just was not enough to convey the scale, engagement, or scene.

"Dol Guldur? But the old fortress is abandoned." ...

"No, Gandalf, 'tis not. A dark power dwells in there. Such as I have never felt before. It is the shadow of an ancient horror. One that can summon the spirits of the dead. I saw him, Gandalf, from out of the darkness. A Necromancer has come!"

 You are not prepared. FUBAD 2013

Tricky Treats

Merry Halloween! Well technically it is past, but who is to say we are not still in the hour of ghouls, trickery, and creatures of the imagination!

While my phone sits around downloading update 7.00124, I will post some hobby news!

Those may remember last years great pumpkin competition.

Unfortunately, last year it did not win and this year pumpkins were safe from my knife due to the crazy amount of work still left to do on this Lord of The Rings project.

 The battle of Pumpkins is over, but the battle for Bilbo's Birthday Bash has just begun...

So as we near the one week count down, here is a couple more teases of the board, army, and progress.

Why So Serious?

 Just a quick update here. I finished off the first warband of hunter orcs late into this morning. Time lines are beginning to become an issue so every hour is counting.

Played around with a couple skin tones and clothing variations amongst the 12 models, will continue the rotation with the other groups. Keep up the painting!

Red vs Blue

Part I: Red Death

"There are chords in the hearts of the most reckless which cannot be touched without emotion. Even with the utterly lost, to whom life and death are equally jests, there are matters of which no jest can be made. The whole company, indeed, seemed now deeply to feel that in the costume and bearing of the stranger neither wit nor propriety existed. The figure was tall and gaunt, and shrouded from head to foot in the habiliments of the grave. The mask which concealed the visage was made so nearly to resemble the countenance of a stiffened corpse that the closest scrutiny must have had difficulty in detecting the cheat. And yet all this might have been endured, if not approved, by the mad revellers around. But the mummer had gone so far as to assume the type of the Red Death. His vesture was dabbled in blood--and his broad brow, with all the features of the face, was besprinkled with the scarlet horror."  -Poe

Well, my continued new years resolution has been failing in getting more blog posts up, but it is about the quality not the quantity right? I hope this one does not disappoint.

 With the looming Bilbo's Birthday Bash Lord of the Rings tournament, I have revisited the Red Death.

Fans may remember these guys from last April when I first painted them up for Adepticon. I was under a bit more of a time restraint then and I wanted to go back and really spruce them up. So without further ado I am happy to remix.

 It was fun making the darks darker and lights lighter.

 The basing will also be added to once the display board gets up to snuff. Excitedly, that is next on the chopping block.

On the left is the updated army, with the right being the first coat basically.


Part II: Blue Steel

I give you, Blue Steel!

This guy is the Elrond conversion. I do not think anyone wakes up and thinks, "Gee I would love to spend $45 on 1 finecast model from Gamesworkshop...."

BLOG POLL: To the listeners, I have a question for you guys; my army list calls for a captain. Which pose do you think should be the captain? Vote now!

 

Found this on the world wide web, it was appropriately appropriate. 

LED Life

 BY THE POWER! The kickstarter santa came today and left a wonderful package full of LED's. This is the fruits of Powered Play Gaming kickstarter. It shipped close to on time and did not hit the common snag of being months late.

I picked up the Alpha kit which included 4 boards, 4 on-off switches, and 4 9V battery connectors. As well as 16 light cables with 2 lights per connector.

 My previous attempts into the world of model electronics involved tea lights at the basic level and the more advanced model railroad transformer set-ups. That was fun figuring out useful tips to how actual lights and wires work but a pain in the butt for small modeling situations.

This product is AMAZING. I highly recommend this to anyone looking to add lights to the table top. It runs on a 9V regular batter or as seen in the first photo, a mini 9V battery they just finished.

Currently in post production is the light effects board for strobe, pulse, fire, and many more options, those will be shipping later in the fall.

Summer progress and plot lines are going according to plan; so the triumphed return of Dol Guldor, Fubad, and the LEDs will hit the project table again on September 1st.

So now that I have the wires and lights, check out some previews of what will be coming down the assembly line...

P.S. check out the daily puppy pic at the bottom of the page, moving up in the world!

80s Rock & Roll

GO JOE!


I might be late to the party and I do not usually do movie reviews but this is the exception.



Before I jump into the amazing movie that this was, we must first pay our respects.

A good friend was lost today. Close to 5 years of service I retired my primary Winsor and Newton. It was time as the side by side of a new brush can attest.

And we are back to GI Joe Retaliation!

Starting off, this review is close to half a year late. I don't get out much.... 2nd spoilers ahead, and 3rd, I grew up playing with the 3/4 inch toys so this is totally my jam.

If you saw the first movie, forget about it. It was good for a laugh or two, but took itself too seriously and when it tried to be campy or cheesy, just forced it. Retaliation throws it all out the window. Opening scene kills off Channing Tatum's Duke and somehow he still gets top billing... but enough of that, THE ROCK is in this movie. He is all you need. Big fan of the rock and he sells the part.

All the vehicles, costumes, and plot is just ripped from the classic TV show. Throw in modern fight scenes with cliche fight music and slow motion explosions and works on all levels.

They do not even spend a single moment explaining how Storm Shadow comes back to life after being left in pieces at the bottom of the ocean Darth Maul style; and it did not matter, no one cared, it was a reboot without a reboot. I hope the new X-men movie can take note and just not mention how Xaviar will come back to life, just accept it.

Yes there are plot holes, yes there are cheesy lines and the acting is bad, and yes things seem unbelievable (London has been an unfortunate victim since the Fantastic Four sequel targeted it), but it is exactly what a GI-Joe movie should be. At one point The Rock picks up a .50 cal machine gun and fires it with no recoil to his body, just cause he can. The Rock's main antagonist is Ray Stevenson from the most recent Punisher movie, so you know a lot of ass was kicked. 

Two thumbs up for a nostalgic wild ride, cause knowing is half the battle!