Little known fact

Did you know that miniatures projects can be finished?  I finished the gun drones that were the final piece of my UNSC force.  Here's the group photo...

Krylon Camo Spray Results

Trying something new.  As I mentioned in a previous post I got a new phone that the blogger app works on, so I'm trying the camera on miniatures and attempting to post directly to the blog.

I finished the test of the Krylon spray paint earlier this week. Here is a comparison shot with the Krylon painted figure on the left and one painted with Reaper Terran Khaki on the right. The khaki and the wash are the only differences.  (The color I originally used for the wash had dried out so I used MSP Brown Liner which brought out the detail better but gave the overall figure a different feel.) The Krylon is a bit more grayish than the Reaper paint, but it is closer to what I had in mind. Overall I'm happy and don't think the difference between them will be too noticeable at arms length aside from the level of detail.

Edit: let's see if I can add a picture after the fact.

Kick In the Pants

When the Robotech Kickstarter ended I realized that sometime in the near future I'm going to have over 100 new miniatures in the To Do List and resolved to reduce the amount in the Cabinet of Shame.  Over the long weekend I did get a very little bit of painting done, but nothing major.  Since I ended up having to stay home with one of the boys (he got pink eye over the weekend) I decided to complete something, so I finished up the half painted GZG UNSC figures that I had base coated with the Krylon camo spray paint.  They turned out quite well and are the last of the infantry figures I purchased for that force.  All that's left are the gun drones and that group will be finished...well until I get some rides for the squads that is, but that's going to be some time coming I think.  

After the gun drones I think I'll finish the Heavy Gear figures that have been languishing on the table for quite some time.  They are Hunters from the northern faction IIRC, been a while since I looked at my HG stuff.  They may end up being used as 15mm robots or as smallish mecha for 6mm more than actual games of Heavy Gear.  After that I'm not sure, though I'll probably opt for stuff that I've started but never finished which means there will probably be a dragon or a giant back on the table.

I might get around to taking and posting some pictures tonight after I seal the figures.

My Kingdom For Some Extra Time

Well here we are almost at the end of May and I don't think I've touched my brushes once or even played a game. I did however throw some money at the Robotech Kickstarter project. That will give me plenty of stuff to gripe about not having time to paint. I am really excited about this though. I can't seem to go more than an hour without having some kind of Veritech related thought.

With restarting my quest for a bachelor's degree my time has been at a premium. By the time I'm done being husband, father, soldier, and student there isn't a lot of time left to be a geek. Hopefully as I get closer to retirement things will let up some and I'll have more hobby time.

On a geek note, you need to go see Into Darkness now. Seriously, stop reading and go to the theatre. I enjoyed the movie. I'm and old fan of the original series, but I have no beef with the new films. This one is good and I think I'm going to have to get the bluray to see if I missed anything.

Also, got a new phone today. Matter of fact I'm composing this post on it. This may result in more random thought type posts.

Robotech RPG Tactical Gameplay Video

This video was posted on the Kickstarter page.  It is a one turn demo of the basic mechanics of the game, which apparently is already close to being done.  Looking at it, I might actually use the rules for ground combat, where originally my primary interest was only in using the figures for space dogfighting.

Robotech RPG Tactics Adepticon Gameply Demo

Woohoo! Legal Macross/Robotech Figs....Maybe

OK, I'm a mecha fan.  I fell in love with mecha sometime in late grade school or early middle school when I first an episode of Robotech, then was later introduced to Battletech in 8th grade.  I've been a sucker for Big Stompy Robots ever since.  I had known about an effort to bring Macross to the tabletop as a wargame, but when Palladium Books (owner of the license for all things Robotech on the tabletop in the U.S.) killed the project to announce their own I lost interest due to their track record for getting things published.  So I'm probably behind the times on this, but today I found out that they have partnered with Soda Pop and Cypher as Ninja Division to do a Kickstarter to get the game off the ground.  While I'm still apprehensive about dealing with Palladium Books, the fact that they have gone out with a 3rd party makes me more likely to contribute when it goes up.

I've been trying to work with various game systems to work up a usable Macross fighter combat game, but to be honest the problem was always finding affordable Zentradi figures.  Sure I could have gone to Hobby Link Japan and ordered a bunch of gashapon, but to be honest they focus on the Valkyries and getting a Tri-Fighter seemed near impossible.  I know there have been some stuff on Shapeways, but to be honest I don't like the looks of their material.  Even the stuff that is supposed to be smooth seems to have a rough surface and excessive stratification from the printing process.

Apparently the Ninja Division Facebook page will be the mouthpiece for the project and the Kickstarter has been submitted for approval and posting.  I expect this one to go large for nostalgia's sake if nothing else.

Derailed

Just back from a trip to the homeland (Ohio). Brought some stuff with me to work on, but never opened the box as I was too busy.  Hoping to get back on track after some volunteer work and some homework.

Update on Yesterday's Rant

I received an email from the site yesterday.  They removed the content and were very respectful in the email.

Stolen Content

So I'm poking around the stats for this blog and come across a source site "tutofig.com." I hover over the link and see "how-painting-shieldgenerator-powerplant" as part of the URL.  I recognize this as being suspiciously similar to my shield generator/power plant post from last year.  Curious, I follow the link to tutofig and see a picture of my piece with the text of the post...surrounded by advertisement.  Now, I'm all for sharing my experiences, techniques, painting tips, scratchbuilds, and so on. That's part of the reason I started this blog in the first place.  What upsets me is that nobody asked for my permission to repost the content and that who ever owns tutofig.com is using my content in conjuction with advertisements that generate income for them.  Granted, per click ad schemes don't generate a lot of money, but it's the principle.  This person is making money using my content without my consent. This person is using my work to generate income.  Sarge mad.

I've sent them an email nicely explaining that the content was reposted without my consent and that I'd like it removed soonest with a response when they have pulled the content.  I did a quick search in Google on "painting a shield generator power plant" and tutofig was the first result with my (original) content second, so it's not like the content won't be available if they pull it.  It's about the fact that my work was stolen.

For those of you who have your own blogs, you may want to see if any of your content has been similarly taken without your consent.

She'll make .5 past light speed...

Made a random stop today at a game store and they had the X-Wing wave two ships.  A quick call to Household 6 and a financial transaction later I became the proud owner of the Millenium Falcon, no knowledge of Sabaac required.  Looking forward to flying that hunk of junk that doesn't look like much on the outside but has it where it counts.

Here she is being escorted by two X-wings.