Unboxing Chaos Dwarf Warmaster warriors

 Think of this as an Etsy "try-out" to have a look at the quality and service.

So I ordered some Chaos Dwarf 10mm strips for Warmaster, enough to form a full 3 base unit, from Etsy store RealmOf3dPrints, based in Poland.

Because somehow, Poland is the new promised land it seems for wargame printed figures...  

The sculpts are from the Ankylo line, of whom I have read some good reviews, so with the plan to build a 10mm force in 2024 I went in and ordered the first models for that project.  It was shipped about a week after ordering, and arrived about another week later.

Now, let's unbox the little parcel and have a look:

 

 

Truly clean and crisp little models, this is one store to definetly order from in the future to expand the whole army by a factor of a lot!

 

 

Moonfall

 When I saw the first trailer back in 2022 of what seemed a disaster movie, I wanted to see it.

When I saw the second one, and it involved aliens... not so much anymore.

Because the premesis of the Moon being knocked out of orbit, and the images of it scrapping against earth looked awesome on the trailer for sure.  But heck, in the end I decided to watch it anyways.  So let's sit down for 2 hours of mixed feelings on what to expect...

It all begins when three astronauts are on a sattelite repair mission back in 2011, as they are attacked by an alien swarm, killing one of them before burrowing into the surface of the moon.  Ten years later, a conspiracy theorist, KC Houseman, believes the moon is actually a megastructure, and when he secretly accesses a research telescope, he discovers that the moon is veering away from it's orbit.  He tries to share this with Brian, at the time NASA also discovers the phenomena.

A global panic breaks out when the news goes viral on social media, and NASA sends a manned vessel to see what is happening.  But the same swarm attacks it, killing all astronauts and dropping the probe in a shaft that opens on the moon.  Natural disasters start occuring as the moon comes closer and closer to Earth, and Jo meets an old employee of NASA who tells her NASA covered things up as far back as Apollo 11 and 12, and they knew something was on the moon.

They want to bring an EMP to the moon, being forced to bring the retired Endeavour out of the museum, launching together with Brian and KC as a tsunami destroys the base they launched from.  They find out the moon is indeed a Dyson Sphere with a white dwarf at the center, and Brian comes into contact with the moon's AI.  It reveals to him that the moon is an old Interstellar Ark, which carried their ancestors who where running from the swarm, an awakened, malevolent AI system.

They manage to lure the AI away as Earth suffers more and more dramatic events, and KC sacrifices himself to make sure they are destroyed as the others return to Earth.  The moon's systems are restored, returning it to it's normal orbit, but now shed of it's rocky exterior.  KC is reconstructed in the system's AI environment, and is told things must now get started...

So yeah, beuh I guess.  This looked way cooler as I said in the beginning in it's first trailer, but soon I got a feel this was another attempt to do the second Independance Day movie "right", yet fails in this horribly.  Some special effects where nice, the tension of the Earth closing was fine, and it was a good movie up to and about when Endeavour launched.  After that, it quickly became a mess with goldike AI consciousnesses, morale lessons, and a total lack of doom lurking for a disaster / sci-fi movie.  You even just knew that even when KC died, he would return in some form of the other, so thick was the plotarmour of the main characters.

So nope, this was a huge let down for me.

The Witcher season 3

 So sadly is is time to watch Henry Cavill, aka Geek-lord, do his last dance as Geralt of Rivia.

Because unless you have been living under a rock, you know he will be recast for season 4 sadly.

Geralt, Yennefer and Ciri are on the run and hiding, with Yennefer trying to teach Ciri magic and how to control it.  But the evil forces are on the hunt for them, causing them to relocate often.  Never the less, Ciri gets a break going to a festival, but even their they are tracked as Rience, the firemage, has her bloodsample.  Forced once more to relocate to an elven ruin, the caravan is ambushed by elves, who also suffer from internal strife.  Killing the elven leader's brother, they do escape once again, before splitting up.  Geralt will be going after Rience, while the girls will travel to the school Yennefer trained.

As Yennefer and Ciri travel to Aretuza, Ciri warns a messenger named Aplegatt of his impeding death, resulting in Yennefer lecturing her on how one single decision can change the future and cause a lot of more death and suffering.  Geralt, having learned Rience apparently stays at a castle called Vuilpanne, travels there.

Ciri and Yennefer have another fall-out as she makes another rash decision based on her seeing the future, and Yennefer decides to take a detour to show her where she came from.  In Vuilpanne, Geralt faces off against a monster as he saves a young girl who claims she is Ciri, as she has been brainwashed by magic.  Gallatin in the meantime seeks the fallen top general Cahir, who is being punished for his failures in the previous season.

Vespula, Jaskir's muse, deduces he has a crush on prince Radovid, but are interfered by Geralt who takes him to see a druid, Anika, with the mysterious girl.  They meet Otto, who can control his lycantrophy by an amulet given by Geralt, and she deducts the powerfull magics used on the girl's mind.  In the meantime, Yennefer and Ciri arrive in Gors Velen, and while she leaves Ciri with a chaperone, Fabio, she goes to see Tissaia to get a favour, to have Ciri trained.

King Vizimir seems to have struck a deal with Nilfgaard, much to the chagrin of Dijkstra and Philippa for being left out of the loop, so they decide to send a message.  Dijkstra has the queen murdered and her head gifted to the king, to make him believe Nilfgaard is behind it.  At Anika's, they seem to figure out that the mage controlling the girl is working from Aretuza.  Ciri on the other hand learns the hard way being a novice there is no fun at all, and after a fight with Yennefer decides to leave.

Cahir murders Gallatin though, as he needs the elves united and fears his ally is to headstrong, chosing to serve Francesca instead on Emhyr's orders.  Ciri, running from Aretuza, is beset by The Wild Hunt, only to be saved by Geralt.  But as she finds a piece of armour, she realises this was real and not just in her dreams.

Yennefer makes her plea before the Brotherhood, gaining the support even though Stregebor opposes her.  But novices are seemingly disappearing from the mage school, all of half-elven lineage, and Triss sets out with Istredd to investigate.  Geralt, Ciri and Jaskir take the ferry to Aretuza, overcoming a seamonster during the journey to cover their payment.  Yennefer, portaling back from Queen Hedwig's funeral where she invited Philippa, Dijkstra and prince Radovid to the conclave, is diverted and faces an illusionary attacker looking like Geralt.  She and Geralt discuss the matter, suspecting Stregebor to be behind it.

The next episode, episode 5, which was also the mid-season finale is in my view the best of the season.  In a heist like build up, it follows the ball at Aretuza first in general, and then in viewpoints of the characters, every time revealing a bit more of the complexities going on in the political scheming.  We learn that Geralt and Yennefer work together with Istredd and Triss to capture Stregebor, but Geralt realises something when Yennefer finds the bracelet Volgefortz gave Tissaia, that the ore used was near the castle where he found the Ciri imposter and the novices.  It isn`t Stregebor after all behind it all, but Vilgefortz, and they split up to hunt him and warn Tissaia.

 

A coup starts on Aretuza,as Thanedd is invaded to grab the power and captures the mages.  Tissaia is brought forth to uncover Vilgefortz, but fails to do so blinded by love.  Geralt notices a fog creeping up, covering people not of Thanedd.  Vilgefortz reveals himself as the traitor, opening a portal to let the elves and Nilfgardian troops in and a bloody battle ensues, killing many of the mages.  Outside, Geralt and Yennefer run into Rience, but they swiftly decapitate him.  Francesca, the elven queen, sees her husband murdered by Tissaia in the battle, and she unlocks her full power for revenge, dropping a huge flaming circle on the courtyard.  Tissaia, sensing loss, starts summoning a last resort spell, Alzur's Thunder, which unleashes lightning bolts on the enemy and slaying many.  Stregebor buys time by using forbidden fire magic, seemingly sacrificing himself in a huge conflagration to take as many elves as he can with him.

Geralt and Ciri flee the battle to bring her to safety, but she faces Cahir... who surrenders to her.  Unable to take his life, he tells her to run with Geralt as he faces off mounted troops heading their way.  Vilgefortz faces Geralt, and soundly beats him leaving him a badly wounded and his back broken, but sparing him as a lesson to the Continent.  Ciri flees into Tor Lara, tapping into it's power and blowing up the tower and Vilgefortz as she is sucked into a portal.

 

Ciri finds herself in the desert, and wanders across to find civilisation.   She is troubled by visions that take form of her past and future, and is saved by a Unicorn that guides her to water as she faces the ordeals of the hot sand.  But when the unicorn gets poisoned, she summons forbidden fire magic to heal it, instigated by a vision of the power mad princess Falka, a figure of legend that once let a huge rebellion. Geralt in the meantime is seeingly dying in Brokilon, where the dryads try to take care of his injuries together with Jaskir.  

Francesca, arriving in Niflgaard with Fringilla, is offered a ruling position, but only over the elderly and sick elves.  The troops must remain in Emhyr's service, and she is infuriated about this.  King Vizimir, angry at Dijkstra for the failed coup, is murdered, putting Radovid on the throne instead.  Geralt and Jaskir leave to search for Ciri, joined by the archer Milva, while Ciri herself is captured by bounty hunters.   However, the rats, a band of rogues, free her and she takes her first human life in a duel, and takes the name Falka.

In Nilfgaard, the fake Ciri is presented before the crowd, including a severly disfigured Vilgefortz.  This draws Geralt and his travelling companions to journey that way to free her, unknowing it is not the real one, while Yennefer and the surviving mages band together to form the Lodge of Sorceresses...

And so ends Henry Cavill's awesome stint as Geralt of Rivia.  We know he has been recast for season 4, but Liam Helmsworth will have some immense shoes to fill!  But never the less, I`m looking forward to the rest of the story, so let's hope future seasons are somewhat decent!

Blue Period volume 8 - Tsubasa Yamaguchi

 Time to dive into the next volume of this excellent series!

And the more I read it, the more it touches my inner self, how weird that might sound.

After the disappointment of his first assignment piece, Yatora has been cheered up by Maki, tackling his second piece: the scenery of Tokyo.  Yakumo, a narcisstic boy in his course, takes an intrest in him as they visit the Edo Tokyo Museum.  Not intrested in the assignment topic, Yatora suddenly gets a revelation and inspiration after seeing an exhibit of the Kabuki form of art.

When the intermediate reviews are due, he has an oil painting and his sketchbook, but struggles for the maquette he wants to make of Shibuya, the subject of his blue painting that started his journey into arts.  The review goes better then with his first assignment, showing him the directions he could take to continue his project.  He asks his classmate Hacchan for advice, resulting in them and Yakumo to go fishing.  

Thanks to Yakumo, who he gets to know better, he sees his art again through refreshed eyes, and ends up with an okay review even though his maquette didn't reach his own expectations.  But the cultural festival is around the corner as summer break arrives, and they must create a portable shrine, happi coats and a foodstall.  Yatora is assigned to the shrine building team led by Kinemi, the girl that during the entrance exams throw his mirror on the ground by accident.

But more students start dropping out of helping, putting all the work on her shoulders and causing her to go down with a heatstroke due to the long days she pulled to make up for the deficit in help.  This makes Aizawa to step up and try to lead the project, but she keeps a lot of the work for herself as well.  To make matters worse, a typhoon heads their way while they are behind schedule already.

Yatora cancels his planned trip with his friends to help out more, but when the typhoon hits their shrine gets damaged.  Kinemi, returned from her illness, lifts their spirits, and they get back to the job at hand.  Bunking at Tanashi's place, Yatora and Kinemi have a good talk together.  But with the final days approaching, everyone is reaching their limit, and the shrine still needs to be painted.  But unexpectedly, help arrives with Yakumo...

There was also an extra short story, taking place between the reviews and the start of the festival works, about a classtrip and a curry contest which was a good laugh. 

This was another great volume, and I will dive into the next one immediatly as I just want to know how this plays out further!

On the Painting Desk 246

 Last week there wasn't an update, as my father has passed away after a long struggle against cancer.

So with the funeral and all, my mind hasn't been on making video's obviously...

But now the mourning process has begun, and in order to loose myself in thoughts, I have been painting to regain some focus, as life moves on and we need to be there for Thorin as school also started again.

So the goblins... Those did get finished, huzzaaah, leaving only the lord and the warriors to do now.

Let's try to make some strong progress in the coming week, and get on schedule for a beginning of october finish.

1883

 After all the sci-fi of the past weeks, it is time for some good old historically footed amusement in this Yellowstone spin-off prequel.

And I found that with the series 1883, which follows the Dutton family in their journey across the Great Plains towards Montana.

Starring the always delightfully grom Sam Elliot (so this is what Bufford was up to after Gettysburg!) as Shea Brennan, a Pinkerton agent leading the expedition.  He had lost wife and daughter to the smallpox, and just when he was about to commit suicide his partner Thomas arrives, convincing him to take a job at the Pinkerton agency in Fort Worth for an escorting job across the Great Plains.

Together with the Dutton family, whose father is a Confederate civil war veteran, and a group of Slavic and German immigrants, the wagon train sets out.  The tensions between the immigrants and the american members of the train strain though, and leading to the death of Dutton's niece Mary Abel.  The inexperienced travellers find themselves victim to nature's harsh reality like dysentry of rattlesnake bites, as well as thievery amongst the group.  Shea forces the cullprits out, while Dutton's daughter Elsa takes on the cowgirl style of life, becomming smitten with one of the cowboys in the caravan, Ennis.

With food running short as one of the food wagons gets lost in the crossing of a river, as a group of bandits wants to raid the wagon train.  In the ensuing fight, Ennis is killed, and Shea tries to comfort Elsa.  They enter the Comache lands, paying the tax to be allowed to cross.  And Elsa befriends a Comanche who just goes by the name Sam.  A storm arrives, scattering the cattle and destroying wagons, but as Elsa is confronted by rustlers as she tries to gather the cattle, Sam and his partner save her.

Shea wants to cut the journey short now that their supplies and wagons are destroyed, but Dutton challenges the decision and wants to push on to Oregon.  Elsa has fallen in love with Sam, and taking their ways marries him.  She will accompany the train to Oregon, then return to Comanche territory to be with him.  But in Lakota territory, the dwindling group suffers more casualties, and when they find a massacred group of Lakota women and children, Shea and Thomas realize they will get the blame.  As Shea, Thomas and Dutton find the murderers, the rest of the settler's have retreated towards a nearby US army fort, but a Lakota attack kills a number of them before Elsa defuses the situation, but getting seriously wounded.

The Wagon Train moves on into Wyoming territory to find help, but find no surgeon to help Elsa.  Threatened by the Crow tribe, she realizes she will die, and at their advice travels with her father to a valley called Paradise to find her burial spot and a place for her family to settle.  Here, she dies in her father's arms under a tree.  A year later, Shea arrives at the Pacific Ocean, and his promise to his late wife fullfilled, shoots himself on the beach to be back with her as the other's start to build homes for their new life...

So, this was an intense series for certain, and worth the watch.  And of course, Sam Elliot always adds to a series, he just is one of those enthralling, gruff actors.  And the finale was so "bold" it dare to do what a lot of other shows don't.

The Haul Report 372

 Thrift hunting.

I always loved doing this, but it has been YEARS since I got round doing it.

But this week, I stumbled upon the Kringwinkel in Wijnegem, and went in for some good old fashioned scavenging.

But when watching the video, I thought "heck, I should have taken that as well", so three days later I returned for some more grabbing...

 

 

In between, I also went to Kruidvat to pick up some Lego investment boxes, as it was a second at half price action.  And they are already listed higher then what I paid, so let's give it a few years before putting them out there.

So, a good haul, and some nice additions to Noshi's collection to boot, so let's call that a win week!

The 9th Age: Infernal Dwarves Vassal Levies

 So we are back into the hobby at a decent rate, and I opted to go the The Ninth Age path in earnest as you could read in the past months on this little corner of the internet.

With of course what other force then the Dawi Zharr...

As you might remember from quite a while ago, I got a whole lot of metal Clan War figures from a collegue at work, and while sorting through the force, some ideas hit me.  

You see, he played Shadowlands, and while the skeletons didn`t float my boat, all those cool and comical samurai goblins seemed like the perfect models for the Levies (aka, the old Hobgoblin regiments).

I started out with a big block of 30 of them, as the whole lot contained 58 of them, and I wanted both a warrior and an archer unit.  I opted for a mixture of linked 20x20 bases (for the duo cast figures) and 2x2 bases, as they tend to die in droves anyway, making packing and handling far easier.  The command standard and musician had some slight greenstuff modifications from regular rank and file models, and the champion got a flaming sword to pick him out in the unit.

For the colourscheme, I went for a beige brown armour, just because that contrasts nicely with their green skintones, and is something else for once to paint compared to all the regular colours I used in the past.

The remainder of all the models I have lying around will, over time, be painted up to expand this unit far beyond it's T9A maximum unit size, but still have them suited then as either goblin slaves for 8th edition and the likes.  But for now, 30 is a nice sized block to act as a speed-bump for my Chaos Dwarf forces to try and flank the opposing units.

Touring after the Apocalypse volume 1 - Sakae Saito

 I can't put my finger on it why I was attracted to this manga exactly, but when I saw the cover I decided to go for this series and picked up volume one from Archonia.

Seemingly, this should be an after apocalypse roadtrip story, visiting places in Japan after something big happened.

At the end of the days, and all alone, two girls undertake a motorcycle trup across the ruins of Japan.  These girls are the impulsive Youko and level headed Airi.  Because now civilisation has ended, they have all the tourist spots to themselves!

Youko has lived her life so far in a shelter, and now makes the tour based on pictures her older sister posted on her social media back in the days.  Though at the first spot they visit, Hakone, they get chased by the AI of a damaged tank.  Airi stops it though, her arm capable of changing into a plasma cannon.

At their next stop in Yokohama, they find Anuld Schwar-chan, a cyborg.  Bringing him to the portside where he used to work, he secretly remembers where his family passed away, and he waits for his battery to die down before falling in the waterfilled crater they died in an explosion.

On the outskirts of Tokyo, they have a break as they go foraging, finding a secured house.  Though it's owner has passed away, they manage to fill up on rations, have a good meal and a solid night sleep before heading to Shinbashi to cross the water across an old railway track.  

Arriving at the Tokyo Big Sight, they stumble upon the remains of the very last Comic Marmot (a reference to Comiket) before going for a swim.  They pick up a radio signal, apparently from Akiba, hinting at the presence of other survivors...

So this was a good book, and even though it isn`t revealed yet why and when the apocalypse took place, nor if it is global or something regional, it does fill you with impending doom.  Every chapter was another location, and it is quite fun how the known spots have been re-imagined after a huge disaster.

Definitly a series I`ll keep following, and I wouldn`t be suprised if this is one that gets an anime in the future...