Archive for the ‘Sci-Fi’ Category

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Crowdsourcing

May 29, 2012

Crowdsourcing is a process that involves outsourcing tasks to a distributed group of people. This process can occur both online and offline, and the difference between crowdsourcing and ordinary outsourcing is that a task or problem is outsourced to an undefined public rather than a specific body, such as paid employees.

As a blogger, I have approximately two things I need to do: come up with ideas and write the actual posts. Unless I’m feeling particularly blank, the former isn’t usually a problem, and the latter I prefer to do by myself. However, there are times – such as today – when I’m thinking of doing something a bit bigger, and would definitely like some help and feedback. Instead of calling it “politely requesting”, I’m going to get all marketing-trendy and call it “crowdsourcing”.

What do I need it for? I’ve been thinking a long time of doing a Gaming the movie Aliens review. I’ve already covered the main players, the Aliens and the Colonial Marines in their respective reviews. What about the supporting cast? Here’s what I’ve got on an idea level (and what I currently think is needed):

Ripley – There are four or five variants that I know: Leading Edge, Hasslefree, Woodbine, em4 and at a pinch Copplestone.

Bishop – Leading Edge and Woodbine.

Burke – Leading Edge and Woodbine.

Gorman – Leading Edge and Woodbine.

Newt  – Leading Edge, Woodbine and Hasslefree.

Ferro – Leading Edge and Woodbine.

Spunkmeyer – Leading Edge and Woodbine.

Colonists  – Various, including Heresy, Hasslefree and Woodbine.

Sentry guns  – Leading Edge, Antenociti, Woodbine, em4.

Power loader – Leading Edge, Prince August, possibly Reviresco.

APC – Leading Edge, upcoming Khurasan, Old Crow, Scotia Grendel…

Alien Queen – Leading Edge, Horrorclix, Konami, ERM.

And now I turn to you. What am I missing, either as categories or models? Feel free to flood me with ideas, I’d rather select from a bunch than run dry. Do note that I’m only talking about Aliens here, not the entire quadrilogy – so Jones the cat and the rest are out I’m afraid. I’m also trying not to get into the whole scenics/terrain thing to keep this somewhat in check.

Dear readers, gimme all your lovin’. It’s much appreciated!

Posted in Editorial, Miniatures, Sci-Fi | 9 Comments »

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Some hasslefree defiance

May 21, 2012

I recently added the Defiance Games UAMC marines to my Colonial Marine review. As I was playing around with assembling the minis, I remembered I had some of Hasslefree‘s wonderful pulse rifles kicking around. These guns are the pick if you’re looking to convert minis to an Aliens setting, so I figured I’d try one out on a DG marine. I did a very quick, rushed job (it’s still in need of putty work and filing), but as you can see, it makes for a very nice Colonial Marine. The size and scale of the HF gun is spot on, and the end result works really well. This combination is definitely worth considering, if you’re looking to make your own on the cheap.

Click for a larger version

The more I keep looking at that, the more my inner struggle against laziness increases. While the guns the DG marines sport are nice enough, the HF pulse rifle is a perfect rendition of the Aliens gun. Luckily I only have a few HF pulse rifles left…for now.

Posted in Miniatures, Sci-Fi | Tagged , , | 1 Comment »

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All together now

May 14, 2012

Time to get back on the posting horse again, after my trip to Malaysia. I’ve been a bit busy lately, so really needed to stop for a moment and put a post together in order to keep this blog from going dormant.

I was recently asked to do a group shot of the terrain pieces I’ve finished for the Aliens board game, so I quickly rounded up the nine finished pieces and added some Colonial Marines and Aliens for style and scale. Below you can see the set piece of a valiant CM last stand.

Click for a larger version

Personally I think the miniatures and terrain pieces go together very nicely. What’s most important to me is that they capture that Aliens feel. Then again, I might just be blind to my own work, what do you think?

Also, I have to mention that I just got a new job as a project expert, working on a project focusing on preventing video gaming and gambling addiction in adolescents. So happy about this, as I actually get to combine my degree (MA in Education) with my interests and get paid to do it!

Posted in Miniatures, Scenics, Sci-Fi | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments »

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Bursting with joy – Aliens game board update #5

April 21, 2012

Work continues on my Aliens game board pieces. This post showcases one of the larger pieces on the board, a large vent with a hapless colonist who has been used for Xenomorph breeding. He still grasps a pistol, but his arm has been secured into the wall to prevent him from ending his miseries prematurely.

Click for a larger version

Click for a larger version

The item is another case of trash bashing. It consists of a deodorant spray bottle cap, some bug screen, a gadget piece from an old Ral Partha Shadowrun mini, a few decorative beads, electrical conduit tubing and a hefty amound of silicone paste. I gave it my normal paintjob for this project. The metal parts were drybrushed first with Vallejo Oily Steel and then Vallejo Natural Steel. The Alien goo was given a drybrush first with Citadel Codex Grey and then Citadel Fortress Grey. It was then washed over with Citadel Badab Black and given a gloss varnish. The OSL from the red warning lights was simply drybrushed on with Citadel Blood Red. It gave me quite a headache, as I had to repaint it from the start once – you know, the “I’ll just add a little..ARGH! Well, I’ll fix it up with some more…ARGHHH! Just a little more then..ARRRGHG it looks horrible!” syndrome.

The colonist is a chopped up pre-painted plastic mini from the Horrorclix Aliens set. Too large to use with most 28mm miniatures, I’ve been trying to find a use for him as I have several. Here I chopped off his feet, crudely repositioned his arms (the paste handily covers the rough cuts on the shoulders), drilled a hole in his chest and then added some detailing with Procreate putty. The model has a suitably horrified expression as the original model is fittingly enough about the get attacked by a Xenomorph. I gave him Bishop-style blue-grey coveralls as they immediately remind me of Aliens. I think he turned out pretty nice, I guess all that zombie painting has helped with the dead look.

I’m very happy with how the piece turned out. The different parts fit together to form a nice whole. In my opinion, it’s the nicest yet on the board! I really liked constructing this, as it was kind of like a mini diorama. I might add an Alien egg on a separate terrain piece in front of the colonist to complement this one. Comments welcome, as always.

I’m leaving for Malaysia for two weeks tomorrow for some kung fu training, so the blog will be quiet for a while. Fear not, I’ll get back to updating once I’m back here in sweet Finland.

Posted in Miniatures, Scenics, Sci-Fi | Tagged , , | 5 Comments »

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From the painting desk #15 – Marine medic

April 2, 2012

After a moment of despair and bafflement  I’m back on the painting track. I’ve decided to keep adding to my Colonial Marine force, slowly expanding it outside the Alien canon and building it more into a generic human scifi army. This means I finally get to paint all sorts of wonderful stuff I’ve collected over the years. Maybe I’ll even find a new use for some old models.

I’m currently working on a group of four minis, who will all join the ranks of my CM force as various specialists. First up is a medic. Unarmed and -armoured, she doesn’t really seem to be geared for combat. The model’s posing still suggests that she’s out in the field, so maybe she’s been called up in an emergency situation or perhaps she’s aiding some civilians.

The miniature itself…well, what can I say. It’s a repaint of a Heroclix Paramedic. This was pretty much what I was working with (pic lifted from eBay):

Click for a larger version

While I did strip the model of paint with acetone, I was still left with some gritty, uneven surfaces, flecks of paint etc. Also, I didn’t notice some glaring mould lines until I was far into painting, so I had to go back and scrape them off. To be honest, this was a miniature I just wanted to paint quickly as it had been sitting (with a twin sister) in my miniatures cupboard for ages, so I didn’t do a very thorough job . Some will certainly be bugged by this, for me it was much more important to just finish the mini before I got frustrated by the soft detailing.

I think the model turned out ok. There are problems with it, especially a lack of detail on some parts. For example, a large part of the hair strands have been painted on. The paint coat is very uneven and frankly ugly in some parts, but the varnishing will help a little with this. Below is the medic on her own, as well as with a selection of other Marines. I think she fits in nicely.

Click for a larger version

Click for a larger version

Posted in Miniatures, Sci-Fi | Tagged , , | 8 Comments »

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More hive accessories – Aliens game board update #4

March 20, 2012

Work on the board is progressing steadily. Since the last post I’ve managed to complete five more obstacle pieces for the board. Shown below are four normal, one square filling obstacles.

Click for a larger version

The first one is a collection of beads and hardware store goods. The second one is a hollow wall anchor (as shown in the previous post). The third one is a container from Ainsty. It has been heavily alienized with conduit tubing and insulation paste. The fourth one is a small container from Ainsty. It has been left clean, as some parts of the reactor room will be relatively free of infestation.

The fifth piece I’ve completed is a large obstacle covering four squares.

Click for a larger version

I have no idea what it is. It’s built out of a toilet bowl cleaner bottle cap, two wooden IKEA furniture pegs and two small beads. It looks scifi-ish enough I think. I was even adventurous enough to try some OSL when painting it. I tried to convey the look of emergency/alarm lights, and I think it came out ok.

Comments, criticism, new ideas? Hit me!

Posted in Miniatures, Scenics, Sci-Fi | Tagged , , | 4 Comments »

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Accessorizing the hive – Aliens game board update #3

March 4, 2012

This is an update on my Aliens game board project. I’m at a point where I’ve glued most of the magnet pieces to the game board. I’d show you pictures, but it’s not much to look at currently, just black squares on a foam board. I’m going to focus on something much more interesting, in other words the various obstacles dotting the board. These are based on magnets, and should be pretty interchangeable throughout the board. I had three guidelines for these:

  1. Quick and easy. On a quick count, I need to make 23 of these. Since I want to eventually finish the board, I don’t want to spend an hour on each, but rather be able to churn them out at a steady rate, while still having them look nice enough.
  2. Cheap. See above. While it would be lovely to have 23 exquisite resin terrain pieces, I’m trying to keep my costs down.
  3. Large enough to block LoS. In the board game, all obstacles block line of sight. Me being something of a pedant at times, I didn’t want obstacles so small that I couldn’t see them blocking line of sight.

These guidelines were easy enough to follow. So far I’ve constructed three pieces, and I’m happy with all of them.

Click for a larger version

The first one is composed of a hollow wall anchor, available from hardware stores for a few euros per a bag of four or five. I removed the screw in the middle for an instant scifi-industrial looking structure. Next I added on some electrical wire and conduit tubing, applied a liberal amount of insulation paste and left it to dry. I then sprayed everything black and gave the Alien goo two drybrush layers of grey (GW Codex Grey and Fortress Grey) followed by a black wash (GW Badab Black). The visible part of the wall anchor was given a drybrushing first with VMC Oily Steel and then VMC Natural Steel. I finally gave the Alien parts a layer of gloss varnish for a wet look and to create more contrast between the alien and the man-made. The final step was to add a few drops of Scotch universal glue gel. As it began to dry, I stretched it around with a toothpick to create strands of that sticky resin the Xenomorphs tend to leave around, the messy critters they are.

Click for a larger version

The second one basically consists of a resin container from Ainsty. I simply glued it on a piece of magnetic sheet, which I’d covered with plastic bug screen to match the game board. Some insulation paste was added to Xenomorph it up a bit. Again I sprayed everything black, and then drybrushed the container with a suitable colour (GW Shadow Grey), and painted the Alien stuff as above, with the same gloss varnish treatment. While this piece is generally more expensive than the previous one, I happened to have the Ainsty bits around already, so I didn’t have to buy new stuff specifically for this.

Click for a larger version

The third terrain piece is a very simple, cheap scratchbuild. Like all of my hive accessories, there’s a square piece of magnetic sheet. On that I glued a 30mm stainless steel washer. On top of the washer I glued a plastic base from a Mantic miniature, and covered that with a small square of bug screen. I then glued four beads in the corners to look like rivets. Once more out came the black spray, followed by painting the steel like above. There was one problem, however: guideline #3, the line of sight one. Nice enough as it was, there was no way that flat ventilation thing would block line of sight. However, as I’m a clever little monkey, I’d taken this into account! I glued some white craft wool to the grid to represent steam billowing up (sadly not too visible in the photo), and gave it a spray of matt varnish to keep it in shape. Quick, easy, cheap as chips and guaranteed to block your LoS.

Here’s a final shot comparing them with a Woodbine miniature. I think they look fine. Opinions?

Click for a larger version

 

Posted in Miniatures, Scenics, Sci-Fi | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments »

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Prometheus

March 1, 2012

I try to avoid hyping (apart from some zombie flicks) but I believe I speak for a whole lot of Alien franchise fanboys, when I say Prometheus by Ridley Scott is one of the most hotly anticipated movies coming out in 2012. Of course, the big question hanging over the movie is “Is it an Alien prequel?”

Ridley Scott has been both denying and admitting it  – saying that Prometheus is a new story, set in a new world. The following from Wikipedia:

In February 2011, Scott maintained that the film was not an Alien prequel, but confirmed in December 2011, that the Space Jockey was still an aspect of the plot. [Actor Michael] Fassbender stated the film would feature elements of Alien, saying “Prometheus is absolutely connected to Alien… There’s a definite connecting vein.” In June 2011, [writer Damon] Lindelof stated that he concurred with Scott’s belief that the Alien creature had been “diluted” by the exposure it had received since Alien and did not want the film to be “burdened by all the tropes of that franchise with Facehuggers and Chestbursters”. Lindelof stated that the film takes place in the same universe as Alien, but is not a story about the events leading into that film, saying “a true prequel should essentially proceed [sic] the events of the original film, but be about something entirely different, feature different characters, have an entirely different theme, although it takes place in that same world.”

In July 2011, Scott stated “by the end of the third act you start to realize there’s a DNA of the very first Alien, but none of the subsequent [films]” and called it “pretty organic to the process and to [Alien]”, but maintained a distinction between the two films, saying “we go back, we don’t go forward.” In a February 2012, interview, Lindelof described the film as a hybrid in tone between Alien and Blade Runner, pushing a philosophical idea alongside action.

To support the above, a new viral advertising video just recently popped up, showing one Peter Weyland from Weyland Industries delivering a speech in TED 2023.

What’s that got to do with Alien? The big bad corporation in Alien, Aliens and Alien³? It’s called Weyland-Yutani. I’ll let you compare the company logos:

To further underline the connection between the films, here are their respective trailers:

So, Alien meets Blade Runner? Count me in.

Posted in Movies, News, Sci-Fi | 1 Comment »

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From the painting desk #14 – Colonial Marines

February 28, 2012

I just completed these five models. They were specifically painted for my Aliens board game project. What these five models reminded me of is that I [expletive] hate batch painting. It’s dull, it’s dreary and it takes most fun out of the area of the hobby that I enjoy most – painting. After much eye-rolling, cursing and exasperated sighs, they’re finally finished – luckily they turned out alright. All miniatures except Frost (holding a pistol), who is a conversion of an em4 plastic trooper, are Woodbine Colonial  Marines. They were nice enough to paint, and I pretty much just followed my regular recipe for painting CMs. I’m quite happy with how some things turned out, such as Vasquez’s darker skin colour. Some of the teeth sculpted on the models make them look a bit squirrel-ish, but who’s counting.

Painted Colonial Marines

Click for a larger version

With all the minis I need for the project now finished, I can move on with the game board as well!

Posted in Miniatures, Sci-Fi | Tagged , , , , | 10 Comments »

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Predator review updated again

February 18, 2012

Just a short note to let you know that my 28mm Predator review has been updated with two more models from Predastore – the Jungle-Predette and the Chasing-Hunter. See the review post for details and comparison shots.

Jungle-Predette

Chasing-Hunter

Posted in Miniatures, Sci-Fi | Tagged , | Leave a Comment »

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