Happy Halloween!

Miniatures: Delvers Lost in the Dungeons of Doom III Kickstarter

     Alright, there are just 10 days left to get in on +Darcy Perry 's latest Kickstarter Delvers Lost in the Dungeons of Doom III!  Both of his previous miniatures Kickstarter's have been fantastic.  This guy has talent.  I won't rehash all of the details of the previous campaigns here, but here are links to my review of Delvers Lost in the Dungeons of Doom I and to a preview that I did for Delvers Lost in the Dungeons of Doom II.  Those will give you a lot more detail, but just let me say that Darcy makes some great miniatures, and both previous Kickstarters have been right on time.  

     These are excellent miniatures for any fantasy game, but I particularly love them for Dungeon Crawl Classics.  If  +Goodman Games is ever planning on doing an official line of DCC miniatures, then +Darcy Perry is the guy that they should look to for the sculpting!  I mean, just look at these miniatures:

Miniatures from the first Kickstarter

Miniatures from the second Kickstarter

     Oh, and did I mention the Beholder with an optional party hat?  Or the Dragon?  Yes, if funding reaches $10k NZ, there will be a dragon add-on available...

     Also, there is a pledge option of around $370 US where he will sculpt a custom miniature for you!  That pledge level is limited, and there are only 3 left.  If someone doesn't claim those last slots, I may need to scrape together some more cash and subject my gaming group to a Skullsword miniature. ;-)

Let's be honest guys.  Nobody wants to see that, so hurry up and get on board while there is still time!

PS:  Here are some more photos that I took of miniatures from the second Kickstarter.

Holy Toadstools Batman!

The Dark Knight investigates some giant toadstools.  Possibly the result of the Mad Hatter's mind control.  Or maybe just a sign that I need to mow my lawn...

Plant Monster

I was doodling on the iPad again today, and this is what showed up.  I think that it's some sort of plant monster being pollinated by a winged eye, or maybe it's a sentient shower head.  Honestly, I'm not sure.  Whatever it is,  it really dwarfs poor No Face the Sorcerer though.

Cyborg Guitar Warrior

I was playing around with an Apple pencil, and this is what I came up with.

Purple Sorcerer Games 2017 Free Tools Pledge Drive

There are just over 5 days left in the 2017 Purple Sorcerer Games Free Tools Pledge Drive.  If you are a Dungeon Crawl Classics fan, this should be a no-brainer.  If you aren't, well then you should be. ;-)  Purple Sorcerer makes some incredible RPG tools.  The free 0 level DCC PC generator alone would be enough, but add in the iOS and Android Crawler's Companion, or the Demon Generator, the Dragon Generator, or any of the other free tools that are available, and it's tough not to part with a few coins to support +Jon Marr in his efforts.  So come on guys, if you can afford it, reach into your coin pouches and send some gold pieces (or silver pieces) over to help support these tools!

Skull Sword Compels you to spread the word! :-)

R.I.P. Adam West

Adam West, best known for his portrayal of Batman in the trippy 60s television series has died at the age of 88. :-(  While his was never my favorite version of Batman, I have very fond memories of watching him and Burt Ward socking villains after school when I was a child.

Miniatures Monday (Special Edition)

Look what has arrived from new Zealand! These are latest miniatures from Star Hat Miniatures.  Another great set from +Darcy Perry I still need to assemble the troll.

I'm so very far behind on painting that I'm note sure when I will get around to these, but I've singled out three for priority painting!

Star Wars Turns 40

     Wow.  It's hard for me to believe that Star Wars is 40 years old today.  I was 7 1/2 when it was released, and I was already a fan of science fiction and fantasy films.  I loved the Buster Crabbe Flash Gordon serials that our CBS affiliate would run as filler for movies that didn't cover their entire time slot.  I watched Star Trek reruns on Sunday afternoons, because football was boring.  I was glued to the TV on Saturday afternoons to watch hokey sci-fi films from the 1950s.  Monsters in rubber suits and ray guns that fired sparks were kind of my thing, but none of that prepared me for what I saw when my parents took me to see Star Wars.  It was awe inspiring.  I'd never seen anything like it before.  My imagination didn't need to fill in the blanks created by poor special effect and black and white film stock.  It was all there on the screen, and it looked real!
     As great as the film was, there was still another surprise waiting for us in the autumn of that year.  The toys.  My friend Keith had pre-ordered the first set of action figures, and I remember him brining them in to school in second grade.  They were the coolest toys ever, but of course, nobody wanted to get stuck with the droids! :-)  My own collection of toys started soon after.  I had 4 Boba Fetts from sending in proof of purchase labels from other action figures.  I had an X-Wing and lost the clear canopy somewhere.  I had Darth Vader's tie fighter, and like everyone else, I struggled to keep its wings on.  I had the Death Star, and I can't count the number of times that Boba Fett and his three clones shoved farm boy Luke into that trash compactor.  I spent hours recreating the movies and making up my own Star Wars stories.  Those were great times, indeed.
     More films followed.  The Empire Strikes Back was a thing of beauty, even better than the original.  Return of the Jedi was a little bit of a letdown though.  I was almost 14 by that time, and the Ewoks just weren't cool to me.  Star Wars had begun to lose a bit of its magic I guess as I got older.  Other things were just cooler to a teenager I guess, but fortunately, that didn't last.  Somewhere along the line, in college, I managed to recapture what I loved about Star Wars, and I'm a fan to this day.  I doubt that many people would have predicted that 40 years later we would still be getting new Star Wars films, or that there would still be Star Wars action figures on my desk.  The later films of course have been a mixed bag, some good, some less so.  But when I hear that John Williams score, I'm reminded that even a so-so Star Wars film is still Star Wars.

Happy Birthday Star Wars!

R.I.P. Roger Moore

He was never my favorite Bond, but it's difficult to deny his charm.  Though it often ranks as one of the lesser Bond films, I'll always admit The Man With the Golden Gun as a guilty pleasure.  I know what I'm watching tonight.

These Tiki are now the ultimate power in the universe

In honor of Star Wars Day, my wife bought me this set of amazing Tiki mugs!

Now I need to set about creating some Star Wars themed Tiki drinks. :-)

Miniatures Monday

This week, we take a trip into the sewers to visit a Ratman champion.  Ratmen are usually kind of pushovers, but this guy seems to be carrying a hill giant femur as a weapon, so I'm not sure that I'd mess with him.  The sculpt is by Ben Siens from Reaper Miniatures and is 02761: Skrattle, Giant Ratman.  Its still available from Reaper for just $7.99.

Miniatures Monday

Deep beneath the earth in perpetually lightless caverns dwells this fearsome creature.  Though rooted to the stone floor, its flailing tentacles and gaping maw allow it to make a meal of anything unlucky enough to wander within its grasp.  The figure is from Reaper Miniatures 2658: Stone Lurker ($9.99) sculpted by Bob Olley.  I'm not overly happy with the way that the eye turned out.  I think that I need to rework that a bit.  Its been a few weeks since my last Miniatures Monday post.  This isn't because I haven't been painting, but rather because I haven't been photographing my work as regularly.  With the weather improving, I'm hoping to increase my output a bit.

Another map made with Hex Kit (and some further thoughts)

I started playing around with layers in Hex Kit, and I'm pretty pleased with the results.  I really love the art style used in the application.  It sort of reminds me of the board icons from the Avalon Hill version of Titan.  I'm a real sucker for hand drawn things.  So far, the beta of Hex Kit seems pretty darned stable.  A couple of minor bugs such as duplicate icons being placed in adjacent hexes, but that may be something that I'm doing wrong.  It seems to be able to handle maps up to 999 x999 hexes, which is way bigger than I would ever use, so it should cover the needs of most people.  In any case, based on what I'm seeing so far, the release version is going to be awesome.

A quick map made with the beta version of Hex Kit

I'm looking forward to playing with this more over the weekend, but so far, I'm really liking it.