USS Longbow, NCC 92947

A few pics of my Exploration Cruiser from STO:

Turtle Head pokin' out

Turtle Tank from Eureka Miniatures.

Going to Cold Wars in a few weeks.  Thought I would pull this mini out and work out it to 'kill some time' before I get into whatever I buy there.

Turtle Tank From Eureka

Couple quick WIPs.  Havent done much with it other than prime, base coat the shell, and start working on some of the highlights and shading on the shell.  STO is taking up most of my painting time right now.

15mm Bradley and Hummer from IrishSerb

Found IrishSerb through The Miniatures Page, and ordered two Bradley FVs and a hummer with a 50 cal machine gun.  Very nice models - looking forward to painting them up, but Im also waiting on an other Bradley, an Abrams tank, and (I think) another Hummer.  The only thing Im not sure about is the scale - the hummer looks too small vs the Bradley but I need to do some research to see if it is right or not....

 

EDIT ON MY PREVIOUS POST -

After doing a little searching, it looks like the Bradley is 21 feet long, and a little over 10 feet tall.  The HMMWV is 15 feet long, and the height is variable based on the top 'stuff'.

Here is a decent pic of a Bradley and an HMMWV together.

So, its a little disappointing - the HMMWV model is definitely not 'in proportion' to the Bradley.  Still, they are nice models, and its not THAT far off.

Captains Log - Stardate 24022011.7

Thanks a lot Corey - bastard.

Got back into ST Online for at least a month before Shogun Total War 2 comes out. 

Captain T'Chal (used to be green, now he is a Klingon lookalike) of the USS Longbow, sitting on the bridge.

More pics to come as I go where many other gamers have gone before.

Near future SWAT team from Foundry Miniatures

28mm SWAT team from Foundry miniatures - I bought these on sale somewhere, and they have just been itching to come out of the lead box.  Cool little figures - I really like Foundry's stuff.

Also, tried out a new camo scheme

LEGO Space Shuttle Adventure completed!

We finished working on this this morning....great fun.  It has rekindled my love for LEGOs.

Spartacus Blood And Sand

I just finished watching the first season of Spartacus Blood and Sand from the Starz channel, and I wanted to slap up a small review this morning.

The show is based (sometimes loosely) on the Thracian (we think) gladiator that led an uprising of slaves in the Third Servile War around 71BC.  The first season revolves solely around Spartacus' capture, and his rise through the ranks of a gladiatorial ludus in Capua to become the people's champion.

It stars Andy Whitfield as Spartacus (who it seems has now been replaced for the second season due to an illness), John Hannah (Four Weddings And A Funeral, The Mummy series) as Batiatus, the ludus operator, Lucy Lawless (Xena, BSG) as his wife, and many other actors and actresses you may recognize from other shows and movies (Peter Mensah, Manu Bennett, Viva Bianca).

I was very excited to watch this series, hearing that the filming was akin to the movie 300 (which many people will either love or hate).  If you are a 'sword and sandals' person, this is a good series to check out.

The first 1 or 2 episodes I thought were a little far fetched, and at times, the acting was absolutely horrible.  At one point, I mentioned to my wife that I probably wouldnt make it through the series.  However, as the 3rd or 4th ep comes around, the show starts to find itself, and you really get a feeling for Mr Whitfields acting.

During the series, each of the main characters growth is shown, particularly Whitfield, John Hannah, and Manu Bennett (the mighty current Champion of Capua).  Each character's story is fleshed out, and you are left wanting more at the end of each episode.

The series is not for the faint of heart - blood and gore are at its all time high, from the bloody battles in the gladiatorial arena to a punishment scene where a gladiator is crucified and has his penis hacked off (that one is gonna stick with me for a while).  It is also very sexy - there are typically one or two sex scenes in each episode, and full frontal nudity (both male and female, so there is a little something for everyone!).  Extreme violence and sex in every episode????  Yeah, sign me up..

In particular, if you enjoyed the movies 300 and Gladiator, you are in for a real treat.  Check this series out....stick with it through the first few episodes, and hang on for a wild ride.  Im looking forward to season 2!

Ultra Modern SWAT camo?

Im working on some SWAT figures from Foundry.  I thought Id try out a different color of camo - its my take on the flecktarn scheme....its a light grey, with dark grey dots, then black dots, then white dots.

I took this on my cell phone this morning as I was walking out the door, so its dark and not good qualtiy.  Can you see it (just look on the figs left arm)?  What do you think of it?  My wife likes it, but Im not sure...

Change of pace: Celebrity Hot Tub!

My wife and I went to a "get together" this weekend with several people we didnt really know all that well.  It started out kinda awkwardly, until my wife brought up celebrity hot tub!


Everyone has had someone on the 'freebie list' (if you ever have the chance with 'X', you get to...), or a list of hot celebs they have the bone for, but my wife and I have attached some rules to it and it turns into a great ice breaker.

The rules:
- FIVE celebs make up the hot tub.
- It can be any one who is considered a celebrity - it can not be someone 'real' or someone you know.  That always causes problems.
- It can be someone from any era like Marilyn Monroe, etc.  I have a friend who says 'I want 5 versions of Halle Berry'.  I suppose thats ok, but that just shows a lack of imagination...
- You can pick someone for any reason - it doesnt have to be perverse (but why would you do that????)  For example, I have a girl friend who has Charles Gibson, former Good Morning America anchor, because he would be interesting.  Fair enough.
- Finally, and the most important rule of all - NO ONE CAN MAKE FUN OF YOUR HOT TUB!!!!  This one is VERY important!

After much deliberation this morning, here is my current hot tub in order!  (after all, it can change daily!)

Believe it or not, I think American Idol and country music star Carrie Underwood is my #1

Closely followed at #2 is Emmanuelle Chriqui, the super mega hottie from Entourage (a show that I have rarely ever watched).  Seems I need to get my DVR in gear!  She should be my #1....she gets two pictures:

Coming in at #3 is Brazilian born Alesandra Ambrosio - she has been a long time member of my hot tub, but is currently fading from the pages of Victoria's Secret due to a baby, and Father Time, and dropping in rank out of my hot tub!

#4 is a bit of a sleeper - Lara Logan. Attractive, intelligent, and cajones made of steel propelled the CBS journalist and War Correspondent into my current hot tub.  While searching for pics of Lara this morning, I saw a quote from Bill Maher that said "Now that Hosni Mubarak has released Lara Logan, he must put her intrepid hotness on a plane back to the United States immediately."  Amen brother.

Finally, coming in at #5 is Kristen Bell.  My last spot was a tough one to give out - Bell, Natalie Portman, Marissa Miller all making strides to sit with us in the tub.  For now, Ill stick with the girl next door.

WHO IS IN YOUR HOT TUB?!?  Remember the last rule of celebrity hot tub....NO ONE CAN CRITICIZE YOUR DECISIONS!!!!  If you blog, slap up a post today with your pics in it, and let me know!  Why work, when you can think about your hot tub????

You've got to be kidding me!!!

I happened across a cool Battle Of The Nile game at Historicon last summer.  It was my first time seeing 1/1200 Napoleonic ship models.  They grabbed my attention, and it just so happened one of the vendors at the con were selling Langton boats, so I picked up a couple.

I finally got around to trying my hand at one.  My first and last....

The ship itself wasnt terribly difficult to build or paint, but the standing rigging on the masts were friggin' insane.  And what I have done is just the standing rigging!!!!  They have instructions for doing the running rigging too!!!!  Very fiddly, and Im not the patient type.

Anyway, here is my attempt at a 64 gun Spanish vessel, 1/1200 scale from Langton Miniatures:

Pirate from Black Scorpion

Pretty sure this fella's name is Mad Jim, but he doesnt appear on the Black Scorpion website any more.  Very good miniature - if you havent checked out their website Black Scorpion yet, you should, especially if you like pirates or Old West figures.  They also have some nice looking US Marines and and Iraqi militia, although I havent seen them up close.

Lego Dork, Part 2

My wife and I have been working on this about an hour or so each weekend since XMas.  It is really friggin cool if you have ever been into LEGOs as a kid or the US' space shuttle project (which I am both).  We are working on the booster rockets and external fuel tank now - I think we only have another 30 minutes to hour left!

It has a retractable arm, a satellite, and working landing gear!

Hoods Texas Brigade

Hood's Brigade was a Confederate infantry brigade under the command of John Bell Hood, and was the only Texas brigade to fight in the Eastern Theater of the ACW.  Along with the Stonewall Brigade, Hood's Brigade was considered one of Robert E Lee's Army Of Northern Virgina's shock troops, and became famous for their exploits at Antietam and Gettysburg.

These troops are 15mm Peter Pig miniatures, and are my first attempt at ACW soldiers.

Langton Spanish 64 Gun WIP

My first attempt at 1/1200 Napoleonic sailing ships.  Initial base coat started

January 2011 Totals

Another year come and gone, but that means I get to start a new Label on my blog - 2011 Totals!  This year, I have three goals when it comes to my painting hobby - speed up my painting, work on my miniature ADD, and keep better track of the money I have spent.

As far as speeding up my painting, im having a hard time really keeping up with the amount of time I spend.  I tend to paint while my wife and I are watching TV, and I stop from time to time to look at the TV, etc.  Im also an avid video gamer, and depending on the 'game of the week', I may put much more time into that than I do my 'little men'.  I estimate I spend 5-6 hours a week painting - maybe as many as 10, so, maybe Im not as slow as I think.

I bounce from subject to subject, which isnt necessarily bad, but Id love to stay focused on one period, or era, or one anything!!!  Last week I painted some US Marines, the week before that it was samurai, and currently its ACW.  I have some Napoleonic 1/1200 ships waiting on my desk, as well as one 28mm pirate, and a sci fi ship, not to mention about a million zombies, and other things too!

Finally, the money - Im probably better off not knowing - but I went over $1000 last year, but that was mostly just in figures!  I didnt really count basing material, books, etc.

So here it goes:

Completed, for January, 2011:

28mm infantry completed: 5
5 Outlaws (Black Scorpion)

28mm cavalry completed: 3
3 Mounted samurai (Perry Miniatures)

15mm infantry completed: 9
9 US Marines (Peter Pig)


In progress, January/February, 2011:
28mm infantry in progress: 1
1 pirate (Black Scorpion)

15mm infantry in progress: 24
24 ACW Confederate soldiers (Peter Pig)

1/1200 Naval Vessels in progress: 2
2 Napoleonic Spanish ships (Langton Miniatures)

Mini Sci Fi Vessel in progress: 1
1 NAC Suffolk Class escort (GZG Miniatures)  Still sitting on my desk - Im sort of waiting for the weather to get better to pull out my airbrush (at least that is my excuse)


My current 'thing' is the Napoleonic vessels from Langton miniatures.  They are beautiful models, but not only do you paint and base these, you also add the rigging as well.  Its very daunting to me, but Im looking forward to them.

Im nearly finished with the ACW figures, and then its on to the sailing ships and the Black Scorpion pirate.  (which I dont see on their site any more).


Yearly Completed Totals:
25-28mm infantry completed: 5
25-28mm cavalry completed: 3
15mm infantry completed: 9


Purchases in January, 2011:
QRF Models - $16.25
Albris, Inc - $18.59 (Napoleonic sailing vessel book)
Gale Force Nine - $33.12
Triangle Miniatures - $19.00
Brookhurst Hobbies (two orders doh!) - $21.20 and $72.45
GHQ Miniatures - $24.65

Total Purchases, 2011
$205.26