Hobby Weekender 10/05/19 A bit of gaming philosophy this time

[mageParticipant 20596xp 0]

A fine day of priming, errands, jogging and exercise, assembly (until I ran out of glue), and painting was had by yours truly.

 

I have finished one Intercessor Sergeant and four of his buddies are on the verge, the very verge I tells ya, of completion! The three Inceptors (fat floaty dudes) are not far behind them either. Also finished a terrain pipe for 40k which was surprisingly quick to do. Plenty of snacks, sun and star trek today, Ive been in heaven. Pics later, maybe. Might have an early  night with work tomorrow morning.

[limburger 21685xp 0]

@mage  all I know are the movies (which include the Christopher Reeve era Superman and Batman up to and including the Nolan variants). I haven’t seen all of the Marvel movies (yet).

To me these movies are entertainment … unlike Star Trek (the JJ Trek is not Star Trek … not even close) I have no real commitment to them beyond a few hours of fun.

Classic Superman movies were solid, predictable and a product of its era, and not too bad. Superman is what he is … a basic goodie two-shoes hero from another galaxy. It’s a bit boring, which is why I don’t mind what they did to him in the re-imagined grim dark variant.

The Jack Nicholson era Batman movies were fun, but I think they also couldn’t decide whether to be deadly serious or fantastic. Which is probably why they ran out of steam.

The Nolan era trilogy … had a good start, but I liked the Joker more than Batman in that trilogy. I also think they kind of missed the opportunity to explore Joker and Batmans’ relation in the second one.
Bane … fun as a villain, but I don’t know the man so the plot or his behaviour made little sense.
Plus the ‘real world’ setting made his antics ridiculous.

So back to SvB.
Lex Luthor should have been introduced in ‘Man of Steel’, because then there’d be a point to his obsession and his m.o..
I get that they were trying to do something different, but he was a bit too psychotic to be believable as the president of a mega corp. Had they shown him in ‘Man of Steel’ in a minor role or something then this push over the edge would have been an easy sell. As it was I had flashbacks to Dark Knight.
The irony is that Bale had already played the perfect psychotic business man in American Psycho.
I’m even tempted to argue that there should have been a Lex Luthor movie *before* batman vs superman.

I can buy Batman going into overkill mode after Superman & the office destruction.
However the snap back to reality as a result of that one word didn’t feel like he earned it.  The guy was already killing people without mercy (I don’t buy the pacifist Batman schtick for a second in this movie)
I think something involving Alfred would have worked much better than a random strangers’ *spoiler*.

And then there’s the three things that made no sense at all and that can be summarized as : Batman having visions of the future.
Sorry … nope.
We’ve spent one and a half movie building a world that has high tech, zero magic and aliens.
And now we’re supposed to believe that someone as rational as Batman gets visions that tell him what to do next ?

btw : I think the post-credit scenes in the Marvel movies are overrated. Yes it was fun the first time, but it sucks now.
I don’t mind sitting in the theatre to watch all of the credits, because it allows me to see/remember what actors and music was used. But to force people to sit or elses they are going to miss potential important plot points of the next movie ?
That’s lame. Why not make it into a tv-series if you know you’re going to do another one already ?

Speaking of Captain Marvel (beware of spoilers) this is rather fun (if a bit too long) review/critique :

 

[crazyredcoatParticipant 13642xp 1]

So after one very frustrating keyboard error… I have actually built stuff! Only 5 of the chaps, so far, and it’s not a ‘legal’ section in Bolt Action for Volksgrenadiers, right now, because of the MP40 on the loader…but I thought it looked cool, so I did it. It’ll work in a 10 man section, so no biggy.

And here’s a close-up of my LMG team for the section. I liked how they turned out.

I’ll possibly build the rest of the sections tonight with all their StG 44s.

[sundancer 42933xp 1]

I haz done hobby! Well I did my first semi freehand aaand it leaves some things to be desired but I’m happy with it at the moment. Plus there is so much more to do on that thing that my wobbly lines won’t stand out 😉

[mageParticipant 20596xp 0]

@limburger <25 points>

Im about to head off to bed but I shall continue the debate in the morning. 25 points for discussion

@sundancer <20 points>

Nice work on the speeder with that… I cannot remember the words for what it is called when you spray something over another thing to leave a pattern. Im that tired. Stencil? 20 points

@crazyredcoat <10 points>

Great work! Inspired conversions for sure. Now prime em and start painting! 8)

Off to bed for me. Hopefully tomorrow will result in a squad of 5 Marines being finished.

[mageParticipant 20596xp 1]

One marine and some terrain pipes

 

 

[sundancer 42933xp 1]

@mage the spraying on of the white shape is called stencil… I think… the freehand referred to the black pin striping between the two reds.

Also: Good morning everybody. I have coffee! I am invinczzzZZZZzzzZZZzzzzz….

[horati0nosebl0wer 19618xp 1]

Soooo much since my last post…it’s rough to keep up

@evilstu Its good to see those Middenheimers come along. Definitely my favorite portion of the Empire for mercenaries in Mordheim. I was partial though to how they were drawn up more like the Cult of Ulric. Now, as I known @sundancer can back me up on this, the colors reminds me of the coat of arms for Bavaria in Germany. I remember as a kid seeing the coat on the coasters for Oktoberfest. Checking out Spaten its plastered on all their Oktoberfest specials.

As an aside on beer I see that Spaten has a doppelbock, Optimator, which piques my interest as I’ve had Paulaner’s Salvator and found it quite good. As of the moment I’m in a great place in the US for beer with quite a few nationally known craft breweries within an hour’s drive. Right now I’m sitting with a wonderful porter caller Death Before Disco and the imperial stout Yeti waiting as its second. I really would like to get back to Europe and partake of fine fermentation.

@robert There is no judgment about the knitting of dice bags. Now, if you go off about how you happen to have a preference on the manner that you throw with a follow on rant about the problem of knitting in the round or cabling there might be issues (lol). Having gone out with a knitter for a while I tease on the matter. If I had known that you knitted then I would’ve sent you the wool that I added to my last Giftmas care package.

@wolfch Its always a good idea to do the gloss coat over layers you want to try and protect before the final sealant. I’m finding this out right now from the work on my Mordheim Freelance Knight. The dry pigment work I wouldn’t dare touch afterword without making sure that it was fixed and had no chance of being messed up with further liner washes.

@warzan You’ve really done a good job on bringing that army to life with the base work. Those look much better than simply putting them on textured gravel and calling it good. You can see the difference in the sculpts between the ranges and time from where you pulled the minis. Its akin to the way that other companies and GW put out lizardmen for Blood Bowl.

@woldenspoons Those looke like they would be great to have as play pieces for the Hellboy game. I fell for Brutality for the minis in the same way you might’ve here.

@sundancer Aha, so just like the mini truck I posted you’ve got the tank hauling around stuff. Keep at it because you’re gaming pieces look awesome. Great work to do some stencil detailing too. It does take a bit to tackle the process to get it right. Was that with a rattle can or airbrush for the rebellion insignia?

@limburger From what you describe as Batman with visions all I can draw up is the ‘lunacy’ from Moonknight. It was pretty trippy with the art and the character was just as dark as Batman in the sense of personal gravity. I don’t know too terribly much because I only read a couple of issues but it sounds similar.

@crazyredcoat Swanky work on the Volsgrenadiers. Seeing all the cool plastic for WWII makes me think it might be fun to play but then I remind myself I’m trying to be minimalist with this hobby. All the cool toys take up space to display and carry around when moving. Like barnacles things need to be scraped off from time to time in order to manage the weight carried.

@mage Sleep well when you do. I’m getting myself into a position where I will be able to do that weird thing called rest. I am accomplishing this by quitting my current job. Now, you may think this is rather a rash decision and ask what kind of a fool just chucks in the towel on stable employment. I’ll tell you that it is this guy. I do it with the backup plan of having already met with another business, had a face to face interview with the owner and direct supervisor, had a second round of meeting with the hiring personnel. In the morning I will go out and print my offer letter to sign and turn in to the new company before driving all the way to the main office and tendering my resignation in person with a written letter. This is all before any efforts of the present company to try and stifle any actions I’m taking. I have a colorful way of describing this whole scenario but I’ll defer to propriety and the geniality of the Scottish Pub Rule. I really really enjoy being literate with the realization that words are just magic spells for some people. Say the right words and people sit up straight while their poop-chutes pucker.

Aside from my unkind streak I will turn now to your better known, friendly, Nosebl0wer. I do like the weather on the pipes for table play. Was that just a general blotting with a drybrush or did you hit those with dry pigment?

Ugh.. maybe one beer is ok for the night. I’ll have another for tomorrow then. Hooray beer! Night all

[sundancer 42933xp 0]

@horati0nosebl0wer Well Bavarias colours are blue and white but other than that I’m as clueless as any other one here 😉 Bavaria is literarlly the other end of Germany from my point of view and every federal state in Germany is really somewhat unique. I’m from Lower Saxony, that’s the northern part and we’re called Fischköpfe (fishheads because of the north sea) by other non-sea states. We, on the other hand, call the Bavarians “Weißwurstfresser” (veal sausage eater). And our dialects are very far apart. Like… I don’t know… Scotts and Londoners 😉

And the insignia was a rattle can. Still no airbrush at my place 😉

[mageParticipant 20596xp 0]

@sundancer Ah, Stencil indeed. Im tired. A coffee would be nice but I am trying to cut down.

 

Bavaria Colours = Middenland from Warhammer?

 

@horat0nosebl0wer <25 points>

 

25 points for responses and memes.

 

I try but its not easy. Sometimes you just gotta get out of a workplace that is either literally or figuratively killing you. So the current company cannot torpedo you into getting a new job? If business tried that here in Ireland you could easily sue them back to the stone age.

 

Ah, lying: word magic. Lol. Seriously though, Im glad you are making a positive life choice. Best of luck. Unkind streak? I see pragmatism.

 

Drybrushing with a bigass drybrush all the way dude. No piggymints. Hee hee. Oink. God Im tired…

 

Ah, beer; sleep-coffee.

[mageParticipant 20596xp 1]

@limburger

 

The Marvel movies are all pretty solid and entertaining for the most part. Thor 2 and Iron Man 2 and 3 are probably the weakest imho.

 

The old Superman movies, imho, haven’t aged well and while a product of their era, aren’t as good as say, Star Wars. Very corny, not too true to the comics, Lex Luthor was ridiculous, well I could go on. A lot of people probably wouldn’t be happy because a lot of folk are fond of these movies and the story of Christopher Reeve beyond them, but they are not my cup of tea.

 

I think a one dimensional superman: either too dark or too goodie, is boring. The character, like many, has evolved over the years. I think an omnipotent paragon is boring, but making stuff grim for no reason is equally redundant. Either way one lacks room for growth or plausibility while the other is reactive and contrived. The animated Superman from the 90s and early 2000s had interesting layers at time; it was one of his fears that he’d harm his friends and love ones. He progressively got stronger and stronger over time so it was pretty interesting to see that be a very human insecurity.

 

With the movies from ‘the Jack Nicholson era’ things are not cut and dry. The first two are noticeably different. The first one was super successful, the one that followed it just as successful but the dark tone was critiscised.  What happened next I copied and pasted from Wikipedia:

 

Although Batman Returns was a financial success, Warner Bros. felt the film should have made more money. The studio decided to change the direction of the Batman film series to be more mainstream. Joel Schumacher replaced Tim Burton as director, while Burton decided to stay on as producer.[47] However, Michael Keaton did not like the new direction the film series was heading in,[48] and was replaced by Val Kilmer as Batman. Chris O’Donnell was introduced as Robin, Jim Carrey starred as The Riddler, while Tommy Lee Jones starred as Two-Face. Filming started in September 1994,[47] and Schumacher encountered problems communicating with Kilmer and Jones.[49]Batman Forever was released on June 16, 1995 with financial success, earning over $350 million worldwide and three Academy Award nominations, but the film was met with mixed reviews from critics.[50][51]

 

The George Clooney Batman movie followed the same trends but was the less financial successful, despite being profitable, as well as being considered one of the worst superhero movies read. So it is not a case of the movies could not decide what they wanted to be: producers and the studios meddled with a successful formula out of greed. Tim Burton left, and the tone completely changed. A reverse Zack Snyder effect, if you will. Though indeed they ran out of steam.

 

The Joker in the Nolan Trilogy stole the show. As for the second one, they only had so much time to show so much and it was an awesome movie. Seeing more would have been great though.

 

Back to BvS

 

Introducing him earlier, and being more normal in Man of Steel would have been great. I think it didn’t happen was because they were afraid to invest in a universe like Marvel after their previous attempt, Green Lantern, flopped like a Magikarp.

 

Now you mention it, I think Lex was kind of like a foil to Bruce Wayne in how he reacted to Superman. So, less is more, as you say. There is a Tropic Thunder reference that is super politically incorrect that I shan’t post, regarding acting.

 

I wouldn’t even call it a snapback. He is still Batman, and he will always be Batman first and Bruce Wayne second, because he still has not dealt with nor moved on from the deaths of his parents. It made perfect sense to me. Also, a thing in the comics was Batman did not drink. In the movie, you see he has an empty thing of wine beside him when he gets up in the morning. Alfred makes a crack about the Wayne family wine cellar being empty; this Batman had a drinking problem that was only subtly referenced in the movie. Not to mention one of the Robins is dead. So, there is more than just the office building baggage.

 

The Batman pacifist thing is ignored frequently; in the early days he killed. I think it is only important if the plot calls for it and it is inconsistent at times. I don’t like a Batman who is too goody goody myself. He did kill plenty of people in this movie.

 

Lois also wasn’t random if you think about it. He knew who Superman was before the ‘snap back’ and he was warned Lois was important by the Flash too in the time travel warning.

 

In the comics, Time Booms occurred when Time Travel was done: a potential vision by characters of the future or a possible future. These were from the Flash comics.

 

Also magic became established in both Suicide Squad and Shazam. Gods appear in Wonder Woman, too. So, go figure.

 

The post credit scenes in Marvel are great; many books have epilogues and this is no different. It teases at what is next, or sometimes not. I love ‘em. Also in this day and age nobody is forced: youtube is there. Movies tend to make more money than tv, regarding the tv series point. Movies also have a higher quality and have more merchandise and licensing opportunities.

[Anonymous 0xp 0]

@horati0nosebl0wer I didn’t know I knitted until a couple of weeks ago.  I’ve a longer bag 2/3s knit now, this time in red!  I’ve even learned how to purl and crochet as well over the weekend.    I find it more relaxing than painting or building models at the moment.

[mageParticipant 20596xp 0]

@robert If it is relaxing then full steam ahead. Crocheting? Crotcheting?

 

How do they look on a table as scenery with minis? Do they look like terrain/scenery and blend in well to the environment?

[Anonymous 0xp 0]

@mage don’t know yet as i haven’t got my teddy bear fur/blanket wargaming table cover done yet.  I reckon I’ll have to throw a bit of paint on it.  But the fact it can all be rolled up into and put away in relatively little space (even less space if I use a vacuum bag) is probably more important than realism at the moment.

[woldenspoonsParticipant 3557xp 0]

We do know the DC movies had scenes after the credits too yes?

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