Hi all,
A friend and I went to see the 2d version of Passengers. The ship design was original, for a deep space vessel. The inboard ship graphics were well done and not too complex to understand. The story line does have a few inconsistencies, and they do juggle with the laws of physics in places, but that's Hollywood for you. For details check out the IMDB database.
http://www.imdb.com/
Good performances by the cast.
7 out of 10, 8 out of 10 if you ignore the physics errors.
Ivor
This is for my war gaming and role-playing exploits, including SF worlds, fantasy and post-apocalyptic settings, with a dash of history. A mix of solo and group gameplay. Terrain making is also included, with reviews of figures, TV shows and films.
Tuesday, 10 January 2017
Tuesday, 27 December 2016
Merry Christmas
Festive Greetings to one and all.
I hope you and yours are having a great time over Christmas and hopefully getting in a bit of game related fun. I have just been watching a TV program about the Must Farm archaeological excavation, a 3,000 year old, Bronze age settlement that has been preserved by fire, mad as it may sound. The wreckage dropped into the water below the platforms the village were built on. They are calling it Britain's Pompeii.
The preserved textiles, wood, bronze swords, bowls and beads are giving the archaeologists a glimpse into the lives of the people living there with hints of the overseas contacts for trading. So for all of you Ancients battlers out there, take a look, it might give you an idea for a game.
http://www.mustfarm.com/bronze-age-river/archaeology/
Ivor
I hope you and yours are having a great time over Christmas and hopefully getting in a bit of game related fun. I have just been watching a TV program about the Must Farm archaeological excavation, a 3,000 year old, Bronze age settlement that has been preserved by fire, mad as it may sound. The wreckage dropped into the water below the platforms the village were built on. They are calling it Britain's Pompeii.
The preserved textiles, wood, bronze swords, bowls and beads are giving the archaeologists a glimpse into the lives of the people living there with hints of the overseas contacts for trading. So for all of you Ancients battlers out there, take a look, it might give you an idea for a game.
http://www.mustfarm.com/bronze-age-river/archaeology/
Ivor
Sunday, 18 December 2016
Thoughts on - Rogue One (No Spoilers)
Hi there,
I think that Disney are finally getting their act together with this franchise. It seems like they may actually done a little bit homework before writing the film script. Rogue One: A Star Wars (TM) Story (I saw the 2d version, but intend to see the 3d version too), was much slicker than Star Wars VII - A Force Awakens, as it was more of a general action film, not needing too much background knowledge apart from the main character details.
It probably helped that the plot itself was fairly linear. The graphics and acting were very good, as you would expect of Disney. There were nods to Star Wars that the fans will recognize, which was nice to see. A few old faces appear as cameos, just to wet our appetites for Star Wars VIII.
All in all, it slots into the Star Wars History with barely a squeak out of place.
Niggle - How is the massively mighty (not to mention heavy) Star Destroyer able to just hovver in the atmosphere with only the rear engines going ? I suppose anti-gravity of some sort, like the land speeders ?
Lets see how they do with the next one.
It is worth a look.
Rating - 8 out of 10.
Ivor
P.S. I was deeply saddened to hear of the passing away of Carrie Fisher and then her mom Debbie Reynolds. They were icons of their age that will be missed indeed.
I think that Disney are finally getting their act together with this franchise. It seems like they may actually done a little bit homework before writing the film script. Rogue One: A Star Wars (TM) Story (I saw the 2d version, but intend to see the 3d version too), was much slicker than Star Wars VII - A Force Awakens, as it was more of a general action film, not needing too much background knowledge apart from the main character details.
It probably helped that the plot itself was fairly linear. The graphics and acting were very good, as you would expect of Disney. There were nods to Star Wars that the fans will recognize, which was nice to see. A few old faces appear as cameos, just to wet our appetites for Star Wars VIII.
All in all, it slots into the Star Wars History with barely a squeak out of place.
Niggle - How is the massively mighty (not to mention heavy) Star Destroyer able to just hovver in the atmosphere with only the rear engines going ? I suppose anti-gravity of some sort, like the land speeders ?
Lets see how they do with the next one.
It is worth a look.
Rating - 8 out of 10.
Ivor
P.S. I was deeply saddened to hear of the passing away of Carrie Fisher and then her mom Debbie Reynolds. They were icons of their age that will be missed indeed.
Saturday, 10 December 2016
Thoughts on - Arrival (Spoilers)
Hi all,
My feelings after coming out of the cinema was that this was a bit of a missed opportunity. The alien spaceships looked more like floating giant seeds than spacecraft, as you can see in the trailer. Rather boring. (They could have omitted the spacecraft landing out of the trailer, at least that would have been one more surprise to be had, even if it may have been a bit of a wet blanket moment.) The aliens were shrouded in mist. Quite possible for their atmospheric needs, trying to add to the tension, but boring once again. Not much texture or colouration in their skin, another opportunity missed.
The alien language and its actual decoding was handled in an interesting way, but why would the aliens have evolved its written / squirted usage in the first place? Just sound would suffice, unless they have genetically modified themselves at a later date. How were they able to control the smoke / ink once it had been emitted from their "hands" and into their atmosphere ?
How had they managed to contact Dr. Bank's mind and not everyone on the planet (I know, that would blow the film), she was in the right place at the right time.
I will confess that I had to leave before the film had finished, (about 5 mins to go, she was talking to an ambassador) so I may not have gotten some of the plot details, but I did not miss much, according to my friend who had seen it earlier.
A qualified 5 out 10.
Ivor
My feelings after coming out of the cinema was that this was a bit of a missed opportunity. The alien spaceships looked more like floating giant seeds than spacecraft, as you can see in the trailer. Rather boring. (They could have omitted the spacecraft landing out of the trailer, at least that would have been one more surprise to be had, even if it may have been a bit of a wet blanket moment.) The aliens were shrouded in mist. Quite possible for their atmospheric needs, trying to add to the tension, but boring once again. Not much texture or colouration in their skin, another opportunity missed.
The alien language and its actual decoding was handled in an interesting way, but why would the aliens have evolved its written / squirted usage in the first place? Just sound would suffice, unless they have genetically modified themselves at a later date. How were they able to control the smoke / ink once it had been emitted from their "hands" and into their atmosphere ?
How had they managed to contact Dr. Bank's mind and not everyone on the planet (I know, that would blow the film), she was in the right place at the right time.
I will confess that I had to leave before the film had finished, (about 5 mins to go, she was talking to an ambassador) so I may not have gotten some of the plot details, but I did not miss much, according to my friend who had seen it earlier.
A qualified 5 out 10.
Ivor
Saturday, 29 October 2016
Terrain - Junkers Base Test Bed
Hi all,
I'm just tinkering about with bits for my 6 mm scale Junkers base. Nothing set in stone by any means. I did a very rough paint job on the "tents and garden" (not sure on the colours either) and nothing on the "junk pile". There has got to be a junk pile to go along with a junker base, probably with most other bases too.
Its not exactly the Ritz hotel standard, but that's the way it is when you pick a new planet to play with.
The items were formerly sauce holders, drink caps, old store cards and broken tags. An armed soldier (Pendraken, I think) is shown for scale.
Tags and modelling clay were used in this partly constructed Fortified Vehicle Entrance.
The gate itself is under construction and I need to make some supports for the pulleys.
Ivor
I'm just tinkering about with bits for my 6 mm scale Junkers base. Nothing set in stone by any means. I did a very rough paint job on the "tents and garden" (not sure on the colours either) and nothing on the "junk pile". There has got to be a junk pile to go along with a junker base, probably with most other bases too.
Its not exactly the Ritz hotel standard, but that's the way it is when you pick a new planet to play with.
 |
| Junker Base Prototype |
 |
| Lower View |
 |
| Added soil. |
Tags and modelling clay were used in this partly constructed Fortified Vehicle Entrance.
 |
| Fortified Vehicle Gate 1a |
 |
| From outside - lower angle |
 |
| Better view of ditch |
 |
| Gate from the inside. |
The gate in blocked position.
The gate now open.
Resting on the ramp.
From the rear.
It is still missing the pulley system to raise and lower the gate. I should also have made the rampart bigger, so that the figures could stand on it easier. But it is a learning curve, as they say.
Friday, 28 October 2016
Thoughts on - TV Supergirl Series 2 Episode 1 (Spoilers)
Hey folks,
I have just watched the latest TV episode of Supergirl (Series 2 Episode 1 - October 2016), change is very much in the air.
There is a new base for the Defense force. Fair enough, a new set to stop the audience from getting bored. We are just suppose to ignore the fact that there was no mention of it before, no intelligence etc. came from it. Such is life.
Superman and Kara finally get together in the same place, it should have happened ages ago, possibly it was supposed to, but we never got to see it. So Clark / Superman is going to be in the show some more ? So this must mean there will be stronger baddies to go up against.
Kara and Jimmy's relationship, is it all systems go ? yes / no, yes / no, just keep us guessing. Par for the course.
Is Lady Lexx a goody two shoes ? I doubt it very much. But she looks like an interesting new character to develop. I am glad they had not forgotten Lex and co.
So Kara's new job is a reporter. Hmmm, so hopefully there will be less of her as a Catco runaround person, I thought it was it was getting a bit stale. (Good luck, Miss Tesssmacker. Is she a spy for Lady Lexx ?)
Lets enjoy together.
Ivor
I have just watched the latest TV episode of Supergirl (Series 2 Episode 1 - October 2016), change is very much in the air.
There is a new base for the Defense force. Fair enough, a new set to stop the audience from getting bored. We are just suppose to ignore the fact that there was no mention of it before, no intelligence etc. came from it. Such is life.
Superman and Kara finally get together in the same place, it should have happened ages ago, possibly it was supposed to, but we never got to see it. So Clark / Superman is going to be in the show some more ? So this must mean there will be stronger baddies to go up against.
Kara and Jimmy's relationship, is it all systems go ? yes / no, yes / no, just keep us guessing. Par for the course.
Is Lady Lexx a goody two shoes ? I doubt it very much. But she looks like an interesting new character to develop. I am glad they had not forgotten Lex and co.
So Kara's new job is a reporter. Hmmm, so hopefully there will be less of her as a Catco runaround person, I thought it was it was getting a bit stale. (Good luck, Miss Tesssmacker. Is she a spy for Lady Lexx ?)
Lets enjoy together.
Ivor
Thursday, 6 October 2016
Pause 6
Hey folks,
This is just to fill you in on why there has been a pause in the action of late. I work in a national retail store, which shall remain nameless, but it is now stocking up and swapping things around for Christmas, So I have been getting overtime when it is available, as you do. That means I am playing catch-up with all of the other stuff I have to do. I did manage to fit some new lights and reflectors to my pushbike, ready for the darker nights.
I have got some more 6 mm items from an online store, but these still need painting. I have done running repairs to a couple of critters that needed a bit of attention. I have been gathering some raw materials for my next area, bases which will need cutting, painting etc. you know the drill. Things are moving forward, but slowly.
I have made a bit of terrain for my Junker Base, some tents, a rubbish pile and a partially completed fortified vehicle entrance, with a swing drawbridge.
I may do a quick fantasy game to keep my dice warm or possibly something based on the Ultramarines board game. (This is still in the planning stage, my fingers are getting twitchy for lack of dice play).
I have just started getting into the wargame scene on Youtube, a bit late, I know but better than never. I have watched a few diy tutorials and a few demo games of SAGA games. If you have any recomendations, please leave them below in the comments.
Time Commanders was back on the Uk TV, yaaay.
I did get to see Star Wars : Rogue One on Saturday. (See my Review.)
While passing a railway hobby shop, I purchased a few goodies, landscape wise.
Also purchased, a command post in a ruin made by airfix.
Regards all,
Ivor
This is just to fill you in on why there has been a pause in the action of late. I work in a national retail store, which shall remain nameless, but it is now stocking up and swapping things around for Christmas, So I have been getting overtime when it is available, as you do. That means I am playing catch-up with all of the other stuff I have to do. I did manage to fit some new lights and reflectors to my pushbike, ready for the darker nights.
I have got some more 6 mm items from an online store, but these still need painting. I have done running repairs to a couple of critters that needed a bit of attention. I have been gathering some raw materials for my next area, bases which will need cutting, painting etc. you know the drill. Things are moving forward, but slowly.
I have made a bit of terrain for my Junker Base, some tents, a rubbish pile and a partially completed fortified vehicle entrance, with a swing drawbridge.
I may do a quick fantasy game to keep my dice warm or possibly something based on the Ultramarines board game. (This is still in the planning stage, my fingers are getting twitchy for lack of dice play).
I have just started getting into the wargame scene on Youtube, a bit late, I know but better than never. I have watched a few diy tutorials and a few demo games of SAGA games. If you have any recomendations, please leave them below in the comments.
Time Commanders was back on the Uk TV, yaaay.
I did get to see Star Wars : Rogue One on Saturday. (See my Review.)
While passing a railway hobby shop, I purchased a few goodies, landscape wise.
Also purchased, a command post in a ruin made by airfix.
Regards all,
Ivor
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