Sunday Showcase # 5 - Eldar Farseer

Happy Sunday everyone!

For Today's showcase, I would like to show you an Eldar Farseer model I painted up for a friend for Christmas. 

For a long time, we struggled to figure out a scheme that would pull lore ties, and look striking on the battlefield. The solution we finally settled on was a mix of those two concepts. From the get go, the Craft world that spoke to him was Uthwe'. The idea of death, rebirth, and redemption struck a cord, but he wanted more than black and bone. This may sound truly ridiculous, but the idea struck him while he was looking at a Monster energy drink can... Bright green. So he put that to me... and I struuuuugggled with it. I had no idea how I wanted to combine that pretty defining feature into an army of Eldar who are defined by bone accentuation. I was aiming to make the model pop without making it too busy. I decided I would get a start on the model itself, and see how it spoke to me. Eventually, I got down to the spirit stones, and I knew. This was it, this is what I wanted to change, This is how I could make it fit. So, with this Farseer done, I can eventually mode on to the next things on my list, guardians, and pathfinders/rangers. 

Thank you for looking!

Have a great week!

-Rob-

Fun Friday # 4 - The Rise of YouTube

Hi there everyone!

Happy Friday!

YouTube. 

YouTube is so prevalent in our culture now...you can find anything on there. 

In some cases, that is a bad thing, with embarrassing things that you did in high school posted for the world to see. But for the most part, the majority of videos are constructive and informative... especially when it comes to hobbies and Video games. You can find a tutorial for anything if you look hard enough, from 4 other people who had the same issues as you. YouTube is also a fantastic way to discover new things. I want to talk about 3 major aspects that I use YouTube for, and why I think it is a great thing. 

The first thing I want to talk about is miniature war gaming. There are millions of different videos on what games to play, how to play them, what models to get, how to build/paint the models... the varieties are endless. Perhaps the biggest reason why I am always interested in building, painting, thinking about these things is because I watch videos all the time about these games. I have two main groups I watch, Miniwargaming, and Guerrilla Miniature games. Both of these groups cover a fairly wide variety of games, and cover other aspects of the hobby as well, from hobby showcases to rules discussion, with all sorts of battle reports in between. Perhaps the best thing about these channels is the wide variety of games they run. I have discovered Infinity, Frostgrave, Bolt action, and Age of Sigmar because of the battle reports posted there. 

As for video gaming itself, I have to speak to the success of the Let's Play Crew over at Rooster Teeth. They have a huge channel, and a big company just based on YouTube channel awesomeness (And Merch). The Videos they make are humorous and enlightening, and really showcase the games they are playing. I can not tell you how many games I have picked up because I watched them play them. I also have to send a shout to the group of streamers who play War Thunder, Phly Daly, and Baron. When I was really into War Thunder, those are the guys I watched to show me how to play right. They are who I watched when learning a new aircraft. 

Lastly, Magic the gathering has a huge following on YouTube. Perhaps my favorate thing to do, if I have a lot of time, is to watch though past Magic championships. The way those guys play, and the decks they build... they are so intense, scary even. Interesting to watch, and hear the commentary following, however. 

Do you watch anything on Youtube?

Anything peak your hobby fancy?

Let me know!

-Rob-

Wednesday Weekly # 4 - X-COM

Happy Wednesday everyone!

Ok, going to be honest, got nothing done model related this week. If you were hoping to see something like that, I am sad to say you better keep scrolling. 

However! If you want to see what I have been up to this week, stick around! I am going to tell you about it!

First off, talking about Friday! Got a chance to play in the first session of a hopefully ongoing campaign for 13th age. We were on a boat. It was awesome. I nearly drown, and did get thrown into jail. Again. That happens a lot to my characters in RPGs. Clearly has more to do with how the world reacts to me, rather than how I react to the world. 

Anyway! Something else nerdy I have been doing this week.  I have spent the last 5 or so days watching an awesome show called The 100. I actually posted about it on Friday (Sunday). Really an interesting show, I wholeheartedly encourage you to check it out. 

It is Winter in the Pacific Northwest, so that means Rain and Rain and Rain. As such... my hobby space has developed a leak in the roof. So I spent my Sunday trying to rectify that issue, to no avail, though I may have slowed it some. 

In the extra time I have in there, I have been playing the heck out of X-COM. I recently discovered the Long War mod, which extends the game exponentially. Love X-COM... one of my top three games. 

Anyway, how was your week?

Do anything hobby related?

Have a great week!

-Rob-

Sunday Showcase # 4 - Warhammer 40k Orks

 Happy Sunday everyone!

Today I thought I would show off a few Orks I painted up for a buddy, in the Freebootas colors. 

Now, as I am sure you can tell, I am still working on my photography. 

The Ork Boy I painted first, nearly a year ago as a test piece for the army as a whole. I was testing my ability to paint skin tone, as well as the extra little bits that go along with it. I was happy with the tone of the green, as well as the contrast i was able to achieve on the muscle tone.

Now, the War-boss I painted up as a Christmas gift for the same friend. Again, tried using more advanced techniques for getting a good coverage all over the model. I was also trying to make it look more realist, so I did quite a bit of dusting with lighter tones to simulate more light hitting the raised parts of the model. 

Thank you for looking! 

Have a great week!

-Rob-

Fun Friday # 3 - The 100

Happy Friday everyone!

Television is a tough thing for me. It is difficult for me to sit down and commit to only watching a show for any amount of time. I just don't have the attention span. So, when something grabs my attention... it is a big deal in my book. Enter.... The 100

The 100, a show I found on Netflix... well, I am intrigued. Definitely goes hand in hand with the current Sci-Fi kick I am on for my reading. 

The show takes place about 100 years in the future, in a world where nuclear holocaust was a reality, and life on earth is thought to be unstable because of radiation. A group of space stations from different nationalities ended up banding together to create the Ark, a massive space station that holds around 2400 people. The problem is that the life support systems are failing... so in order to see if Earth is survivable again, the Ark sends down 100 of it's juvenile delinquents to the surface. 

I really enjoy a whole lot about this show, but some things really stand out to me. For one, the special effects they use to show certain events happening are really awesome. Really well done, without being over the top, A la Battlestar Galactica. Another thing I really like about this series is how it approaches livability in an overgrown earth with no infrastructure. The kids realizing they have to figure out how to survive, and how the heck they are going to do it seems really well documented, and a natural progression. Another interesting thing about this series is the types of beings they meet on Earth. Without giving too much away, they meet several different tribes of humans... not all willing to help. 

So far, the only thing that is bugging me about this series is how quick people are to change nature. i mean, sure, I understand about pressure of survival, and having to make difficult decisions... but it doesn't make sense to me when a person has gone though several tough situations and sticks to his guns the whole time, before changing on something that has no where near as much impact. 

Have you seen The 100?

What do you think of it?

-Rob-

Wednesday Weekly # 3 - Terrain!

 Happy Thursday Everyone!

I know, I suck. Working on it, I promise. 

So, my update for this week is a follows... I have been working on terrain for various things. I also got to play some Dungeons and Dragons, but I may talk about that a bit later. 

Terrain. Terrain is so important in miniature war-gaming. It builds your atmosphere, assists your narration, and enhances your experience. And, frankly, I have very little terrain I am actually happy about. Sure, I have some line of sight blockers, but just not enough to add variety to my gaming tables. So... that is what I am working on these days. First up, I have a couple of ruins that will be using primarily for Frostgrave, though they will work for anything. Again, work in progress, I still need to add texture, and detailing before painting.

I chose to use packing Styrofoam for a couple of reasons... I had quite a bit of extra narrow, rectangular pieces, and they seemed to work well. I also thought that maybe the foam bubbles from this size would look like cobblestone... I guess we will see after I get some paint on them. 

On this last one, you can see I included an Imperial Fist Sergeant to model sizes. Again, I should be able to use this terrain in Warhammer 40k battles, even if it is just an ancient castle setting. I will be showing off the other Imperial Fists I have painted in a future showcase post. 

Lastly, I finally finished painting a mesa piece I worked on about 4 months ago... two more to go, though I did get one done. I was imagining a strange stone plinth, with a glowing chaotic rune emblazoned on it. I think it looks pretty cool, and works pretty close to what I want. I also was thinking it would be pretty striking on the battlefield, and yet still block line of sight. 

What do you think?

Have a great week!

-Rob-

Sunday Showcase # 3 - Grey Knights

Good afternoon everyone!

Today I thought I would showcase a Grey Knight Strike Squad I painted up for a good friend of mine. First things first, some good things to know. This is not the first group of grey knights I have painted... the first group was some of those old, pointy pewter models that Games Workshop was still selling 4 years ago. And let me tell you... they were bad. I recently stripped them with the intention to repaint them in a scheme that would actually match this group. 

Now to talk some about this group itself. This is the first group that I would truly consider my "Commission" pieces. This was the top of my quality for that time, about 2 years ago. These were completely brush-painted, with some subtle blue painted into the recesses. Each of the shoulder pads were free handed so they are each unique for the model. For the bases, I was going for a Shale/Basalt look, so went with grays over a cork base. At some points this worked well, but looking back it is pretty one dimensional. 

For these models in particular, the one thing I was truly proud of was the force weapons... the dry-brushed crackling weapons actually came out really well. 

Just to add a bit, I do have additional pieces i will eventually add to this squad. The first being that Original strike squad, re-painted of course. I then have a second strike squad that is built and primed. I also have a Terminator/paladin squad to build, and am working on the Man himself, Kaldor for the HQ unit for the army. All told, with everything painted, this will actually be a pretty sizable army, turning in just around 1500 points. 

Thank you for looking!

Have a Great Week

-Rob-

Furious Friday # 2 - The Sword of Shannara

Hi there everyone!

Welcome to my second fabulous Friday... though if you may have noticed, this is a Furious Friday. 

This is for a few different reasons, but I will get to that shortly. 

Now, today I will be talking about the Sword of Shannara series, by Terry Brooks... a series which was recently given life by MTV. Let me preface this by saying... I watched the pilot for the series, and the production value actually looks pretty incredible. I will perhaps expand upon my feelings for that at a later date, but for now, I need to rant about this damn book. 

OK, firstly, there is 26 books in this series. The first chronological book in the series is called the Sword of Shannara, and that is what I will be talking about today. In terms of the actual Shannara chronicle, this book come about at the halfway mark, maybe a little earlier. It takes place in a post-apocalyptic world, thousands of years after our modern era. Don't let that statement fool you, this book is high fantasy, elves, dwarves, gnomes and all. The justification for that is a stretch, but somewhat believable. 

Hang on, I need to make one more preface to this post. I have not finished this book yet. I fully intent to, but I need to clear my mind of some of this... vitriol first. Ok, that warning finished, I will continue. 

Two things really irritate me about this book. Irritate me so much I am struggling to enjoy this book. 

The first thing that really irritates me is the way Mr. Brooks writes in this first endeavor. I hate his narrative style... he jumps characters to abruptly, changes perspective with little to no indication of change. It sometimes takes several sentences to realize... crap, we are talking about that guy now. I think I am going to come up with a name with this narrative... I am going to call it a Virus Narrative. This "Virus Narrative" goes as follows. He will be following a singular character, following what they are doing, sometimes talking about what they are thinking... then when that character interacts with another, all of a sudden the narrative switched to the second character. It is pretty frustrating.  

Second thing that frustrates me to no end is that the story concept for this book thus far, about two-thirds of the way through the book... is that it is nearly an idea for idea copy of Tolkien's Fellowship of the Ring. Just a few character comparisons for you. 

Chosen One - Shea/Frodo

Best friend who stays because loyalties? - Flick/Sam

Magic user that guides party and randomly leaves - Allanon/Gandolf

Really douche bad guy everyone thought was dead - Warlock Lord/Sauron

The scary black beings that are evil and searching for chosen one - The Skull Bearers/Ring Wraiths

If that was it, fine. But no, the story concepts are the same. Wizard meets chosen one, tells him of his danger. Naive chosen one and buddy have to leave home because scary baddies are closing in. Hard travels till they reach a nearby town that has someone that can help them. Eventually reaching the safety of a realm of a different race... where the wizard meets up with them again, and holds a council of races to decide that... a small group of people can complete the task together after a journey. 

Are you kidding me? Literally, concept for concept copy of Lord of the Rings. 

Now, I do have hope for where this story is going. I am really hoping it will shortly divert in the ideas, because as it stands I am truly struggling to read this. 

Now, I want to make it a habit of including some good things that I have found in the book. 

The one good thing I care to talk about at this point... is the created world of the book, the setting. I am engaged in the background story, the world. 

And with that... I think I will end this rant. 

Have more to add? Have some good things to put in? Feel free to comment below. 

Have a great weekend everyone!

-Rob-

Wednesday Weekly # 2 - Frostgrave

Hi there Everyone!

Happy Wednesday!

Alright, well, I am going to be totally honest here. I did not get much Hobby work done this week. My WIP table was looking pretty... well... full of the stuff I showed last week. So, last night, I took some time to get a base coat for each of the Frostgrave models I am working on. My idea for these wizards/witches was to define them pretty aggressively with bright colors, because you better believe if you have power you are going to flaunt it. Now, again, this is the sprayed on base coat, with no detail finished at all. I still need to give the models a wash or three, and possibly a glaze to tie some of the highlights together. 

E'Vereta Becot

Saval Dormier

With no further ado, I would like to present my Elementalist, E'Vereta Becot. I thought red was an appropriate color for her, seeing as she will be tossing fireballs literally everywhere. Following her, I have Saval Dormier, her apprentice. Following the elementalist theme, I went with a bright blue to represent ice. The flames he is holding in his hand will also be icy blue. 

Tartus the Crazed

One-Eyed Sue

Now, I am working on three more Frostgrave models, one being an archer for my warband. The last two models I am currently working on are for a friend of mine who will be rolling with the Summoner. I am sad to say, I actually forgot to take a picture of the Summoner himself, but I did get his apprentice. I would like to introduce Tartus the Crazed.

The last model I will show today is a test scheme for the hirelings of the warband. I would like to present One-Eyed Sue. 

Now, I would like to talk a bit in terms of hobby experience from this week. I am happy to announce that I have set up my first Frostgrave games, to be played on monday. We will be using proxy models, and very anachronistic terrain, but we will get to actually play the system a few times, which is awesome. I spent a fair amount of time building my Wizard sheet, so it is completely ready for Monday!

Hope everyone is having a good week! 

Any tips going into a new game?

-Rob-

Showcase Sunday # 2 - Aragorn, and the Masque

Alright, I have to admit, taking pictures is HARD. Like.... Really hard. So if you think they suck, i promise, my professional photographer (My wife) and I are working on it. 

So lets go on with Showcase Sunday, # 2. This week I have decided to showcase two models I painted for my dear wife when I was first wooing here. Thankfully for me, she still married me. 

First up, we have Aragorn, from Lord of the Rings. You all know him, Strider, the lost king of Gondor, all that jazz. I painted him up for a few reasons. Firstly, he is one of her favorite characters from the books/movies. Secondly, I actually really liked the dynamic nature of the model in questions... it screams headlong charge into a band of Uruk-hai to me. 

Some things that I remember being REALLY proud of when I painted this model... The base is badass. This is from right after I learned to build and paint much better display/showcase bases for models, and I was really excited about how this one in particular came out. Another thing I thought really turned out well was the cloth on Aragorn's tunic. It looks worn, dirty even, just vibrant still. I was happy with it anyway!

Now, the second model I painted for my wife is... the Masque. I know, strange choice, but i had a good reason behind it... I think. When my wife was looking through the W

arhammer page at the armies, humoring me, the demonettes of Slannesh actually stood out to her. I know, I know, you are sitting there saying to yourself, what kind of woman likes those scantily clad demons.... well, lets just say I got pretty damn lucky. So when I was looking for a second model to send to her, this HQ unit... with the Corset, screamed at me. So.... I attempted to paint a Demonette of Slannesh. I was pretty proud of my results here as well, I was really proud of how the cloth on her robe came out, as well as the underlying petticoats. Sadly, this model suffered the indignity of mauling by small fuzzy monster of batting piece chewing (Read, Kitten). The model mostly survived, and had some touch ups since.

What do you think of these models from 3 years ago!

Let me know below

-Rob-

Fantastic Friday # 2 - How to RPG and Have a Damn Good Time Doing it

Hey there folks! 

First things first... yes, I know it is Sunday. Yes, I know this post was supposed to come out on Friday. Lets just say life got crazy, and I didn't get a chance to get to it. Or we could also say I just didn't know how to put to computer what was floating around in my head. You know what, we could say lots of things, but I think we should talk about RPGing. 

Role Playing Games. 

Of the paper and pencil variety, at least. 

That is what I am going to talk about today. 

So this is going to be a Part - How To, and a Part - Good Player Etiquette guide to RPGing. Lets simplify, make this Part 1, and Part 2. I have put quite a bit of thought into this, and Part 2 is very derived from Part 1, but it all makes sense together. I think. Or not. Whatever. Apricots. Fandango. The Ministry of Silly Walks. 

Part 1 - How To Role Play

Guideline # 1 - Become your Character - This is the true heart of role playing. You are acting out as this character. You ARE your character. Understand as much as you can about your character when playing him/her/it, so when you are engaged in interactions, you respond not as yourself, the player, but as your character. This can be very difficult, and it definitely takes practice. Ask yourself, what are the motivations of my character? What does he/she/it want?

Guideline # 2 - Never be Embarrassed - You are playing in an imaginary world with imaginary people. There is no room for embarrassment in that. Don't judge people for the character decisions they make, roll with what the DM gives you. And always remember, there are no bad decisions, there are just bad rolls. 

Guideline # 3 - The Dungeon Master is God - The Dungeon master is your best friend and your worst enemy. RESPECT THEM. They are there to bring enjoyment and adventure to your group. It is your job to assist them the best you can in that. That means NOT second guessing them, that means NOT trying to tell them what is and what is not possible. A good DM can craft an incredible story that can span for months if not years of real time. Embrace that. RESPECT THEM

Guideline # 4 - Have Fun - At the end of the day, you are playing a game with friends set in an imaginary world. Set the drama at the door, and embrace the immersion in the experience. Don't be afraid to try things that sound crazy, or off the wall. Think outside the box. 

Part 2 - Good Role Player Etiquette

Suggestion # 1 - Don't Stomp on Other People's Ideas - Always remember that this is a game where teamwork is key. Anyone may have a good idea for how to get past a certain situation. be willing to ask for help, or take suggestions... but don't take all night with it, the game must go on. 

Suggestion # 2 - Don't Meta-game - You know what your character knows. not what the party knows, unless the party shares that information. Always remember to keep track of what your character knows in game. 

Suggestion # 3 - Be Involved - Play the game! If you get to a part where you do not understand what is going on, ask questions. If you need to disengage for a few minutes, step away from the play area. The single most irritating thing to do as a DM is to have to repeat information because players were not paying attention. Heck, most DMs will not repeat information. Pay attention to what is going on. 

Suggestion # 4 - Play as a party - This sounds like a dumb suggestion, but everyone is there to play, so let everyone play. Involve everyone. Discuss plans. Let others try that charisma check. Let someone else talk. RPGs revolve around teamwork, so play as a team. 

Ok, some closing statements here. Now, I am not trying to flame anyone. Heck, I think I myself may be guilty of... at least most of these. But the trick is learning from experiences, and building from them. As well as that, you may have noticed that there are not "Rules", or "Commands". These are Guidelines. Suggestions. They may work for you, they may not. 

I found a great resource for being a great RPGer on a blog, which I will post a link to. 

11 ways to be a better roleplayer

Thank you all!

what do you think it takes to be a good RPGer? Any suggestions or Guidelines to add?

-Rob-

Wednesday Weekly #1 - Frostgrave, Horus Heresy

Hi there everyone!

Firstly, yes, I know it is Thursday. Loads of things have been happening this week, probably the biggest being I started a new job, and have been trying to keep my head on around that. Also, because I suck, and forgot... the batteries to my camera were dead... so... Hey! Welcome to Wednesday Weekly... on Thursday!

I have a couple of things I want to share today! I haven't gotten a whole lot of painting done this week, but I did get some very important things built and primed. I also had an opportunity to play some D&D, so I will share at least one of my misadventures with you. 

First up, lets do some pictures. 

I got some packages delivered this last week with some nice Frostgrave models/bases in them... so I figured my best bet is to go ahead and build them up so I can get right to painting them. Well, the Treasure markers went together easy and quick, so I just painted them up right away. And, well, because I had my airbrush all set up any way, I figured it would be awesome to take care of priming some metal figures as well. I would like to present...

E'Vereta Becot, and her Apprentice, Saval Dormier

I am pretty excited about getting some pigment on these models, the figures themselves actually have quite a bit of detail in them. 

I also have the Summoner and his apprentice, but I may have to take the liberty of naming them at a later date. Picture to follow! I was also able to build one of my archers, I believe this will be One-Eyed Sue

The last projects I am currently working on is two-fold. I am working on a Pre-Heresy Imperial Fist army.... and a Pre-Heresy Emperor's Children army. 

So first up I have a test model with my purple color scheme on it. This is... attempt number 4? I
finally like the gradient of the color though, so I am pretty happy. The real trick will be translating that into bulk models! So first, the test model, then two more HQ units that only have the armor colored. I have given some thought to doing a fine edge highlight
at some points, but am undecided. Thoughts?

My last picture I wish to share is my armor scheme for my Pre-Heresy Imperial Fists. Now, it has taken me a long time, and a ton of research online to fine a scheme that works for me... and so I present my Imperial Fist Contemptor Dreadnought. Not the best pictures, but still working on finding a medium that works best.

And my last little bit, a tidbit from my RPG. I was exploring a room in the basement on a tavern where a Ghoul attack took place... and rolled a 20.... so I found a locked door. Me, being a Bard, thought... well, I better just bash the door down. (Trust me, cross classing as soon as I can). I hit the door once with the pommel of my dagger, and I hear it give way some. I think, well, this is working well. I do it again. Attack roll against door... 1. Strength roll for effect...19. Pommel hits door, breaks lock, embeds itself... in my chest. Needless to say, I was having a bad day. 

I hope your week is going well! Do anything hobby related?

-Rob-

Showcase Sunday - #1 - Aldis Silver-String and a SBD Dauntless

Happy first Sunday of the year, everyone!

Welcome, as well, to the very first Showcase Sunday... a day where I get to show you what I have completed!

Today I have decided to go ahead and show you two separate things. These things are directly unrelated, with one exception... they were each the first of their kind I have finished. 

First up we have Mr. Aldis Silver-String, my ongoing D&D character. Now, Aldis is a Bard... a talker, a singer, a lover. My experiences with him are definitely varied to begin with. We are both learning, if you will. Firstly, Aldis has next to no offensive output... he has to talk his way out of situations. As you may see, he does have a sword, but he definitely does not know how to use it. No, Aldis is very adept at talking his way out of situations. He is quick on his feet, though his mouth does get him in trouble. He is quick to offer help to those in need, but does not take kindly to laws of any sort. He definitely rolls to the beat of his own drum. Or Bittern. Or whatever

As for the model itself, I believe it was a Reaper Mini, or some sort of D&D mini that I got for a campaign we were going to play a couple years ago. I finally got some paint on it about a week ago, and a fairly happy with the result. I was pleasantly pleased with the way the paint flowed on the model, and the way the detail stood out. Now, because of the nature of taking pictures of miniature figures, i was not able to get a good picture of the face, but on the opposite side of his face (This is his good side) Aldis has a scar actually modeled into the flesh of the face. Very cool modeling technique, and looks very cool as well, giving the mini more character. 

The Second thing I am going to show you today is my SBD Dauntless, a US Navy plane from the early years of the Pacific theater of World War 2. Again, this was my first airplane model, but I was very excited about how it turned out. I will say that the frosting on the windows was not intentional, but it really rounded out the model very effectively. The Dauntless was a Navy dive bomber, hence the huge air brakes in the rear of the plane. I was attempting to make it look like it was just pulling out of a dive, and so had the flaps deployed. Really a joy to build and paint. Some parts did not fit together as well as they should, and others needed to be shaved down, but that is all part of the hobby. The painting was done primarily via Airbrush, with some brushwork touch ups here and there. This was also my very first use of Decals, which was cool. 

Thank you for looking! Have a great week!

-Rob-

Star Wars - The Force Awakens -NO SPOILERS-

Well, I finally did it. I went and saw that movie that everyone has been trying to avoid spoiling. Star Wars, The Force Awakens... well... it is fresh, so I figured I had better put down my thoughts about it before I forget about them.

 

First off, before anything, I had heard mixed reviews about the movie. I was trepidatious at best. I mean, sure, it was the quickest movie to reach one billion dollars gross, and its opening nights were bigger than... well... anything. But I was perfectly willing to chalk that up to the masses flocking to garbage that they thought was acceptable. Several Star Wars aficionados I talked to were not pleased, and having seen the movie, they are not particularly wrong about what they were upset about.

 

Let me enumerate. 

 

The biggest complaint I heard about the new movie is how derived it is from all the old ones. Well, yes, it is very very derived. Sometimes it is over the top, yes, but other times it is witty and nostalgic. and that, Ladies and Gentlemen, is exactly why I think it is there... Nostalgia. I think the movie director, and producers were trying to bridge the gap in their fan base, from the people that will only ever recognize the original trilogy  to the people that like the universe for what it is. For me, episodes 1-3 were really not awful. I liked them, actually, though they were nowhere near 4-6. But I am not a hard core Star Wars fan. For a true star wars fan... it seems like the lack of any truly new and unique content is a pretty significant issue. But hey, they have 2 more movies for that.

Here are some of the things that really struck me as awesome about the movie as I watched it.

Sound Design was really great. It may sound trivial, but sound can make or break a movie, and star wars has always had a really great sound track, and this is definitely a spiritual successor to the original movies in this regard. Throughout the entire movie, there was only one point where I thought to myself, "Well, that sound cue was a little over the top... this must be a good guy". Overall, very impressed.

Another thing that was really awesome was the special effect content... the original trilogy is really starting to show it's age, and even the new trilogy is to in the face of new technology, but The Force Awakens really did a great job combining that new technology to immerse the viewer in the movie.

Another silly thing I really enjoyed... the Storm troopers were kind of awesome. It made sense that they were some of the most disciplined, strongest military force in the galaxy.  They started out pretty well put together, anyway. But then we go back to the normal Storm trooper tomfoolery.

Lastly, the Cameos are great. All I will say.

Things I was not impressed by... throughout the time I have had to think about this, I have only be able to come up with more and more that... I was not impressed by. Now, like I said, I did not go into this movie expecting perfection, so my sights were set pretty low. But, as a whole, these are the things that I saw that disappointed me.

First of all... the character development. The character development for 3, maybe 4 or the main characters was truly lacking. I felt like I knew nothing about them, and all of a sudden they were going against their nature. All of a sudden they all could do various things that just... didn't make sense within the confines of their character development... and I expected more. Now, again, there is room for growth, to show where these characters came from, their motivation in future movies. I, for one, fully expect back stories to be fleshed out. But, for a kick off, I expected more.

Another thing that really bugged me after a while was... I know, I hate to say it... how derived it was. There was so little changed in terms origin stories, role within the story, even core planets. it is a great, big, wide universe. Show us more of it. There is really not a lot i can say about it without doing spoilers, so I will stop there.

Regardless, it was definitely an enjoyable movie. Would I go see it again in theatres? Probably not. if I had endless free time, maybe, but as it stands, I don't, and thus, I will not.

What did you think?

-Rob-

State of the Blog Address

The State of the Blog

Ok, I know this blog is very young, and may never go anywhere. But on the off chance it does, this is something I want to make a habit... and Annual discussion of the goals for the blog, and any challenges we may be facing.

And so....

Musings of a Hobby Butterfly

Goals for 2016 -

- 2-3 posts a week for the full 52 weeks of the year.

- Content that appeals to a variety of viewers/readers.

- 10 subscribers... or 1 subscriber

To meet these Goals, I have decided to set up a schedule of content to keep up to date.

It will go as follows.

-Showcase Sunday-

-Wenesday Weekly-

-Fun/Fantastic/Furious Friday-

Showcase sunday will be a place for me to show you completed projects I, or others, have been working on.

Wenesday Weekly will be a hobby update for the week from the following Wenesday, what I am working on, what movies I am watching, what games I am playing.

Fun/Fantastic/Furious Friday will be... well, everything else. It will be the posts I may make about silly things that make me mad, or an awesome game experiance I had. There is no limit to things I may put there.

Lastly, I would like to talk about the challenges I forsee having with this Blog.

The first, and foremost, challenge I will have will be to keep posting. Even on weeks when I am run down from work, getting something, anything up.

The second challenge I forsee is a lack of variety in subject matter for posting.

So I guess I am asking this... If you like what I am doing, or like a particular type of content, Let me know! Comment, post, shoutout, anything. Tell me what you like and don't like, tell me what I can do to improve this Blog!

Thoughts? Comments for the Good of the Blog? Post Below

-Rob-