What the hell has he been doing...?

As you may have noticed updates have been rather sparse this past month. Why you might ask?

Well I've actually been indulging in my hobbies, finishing some paintjobs, playing some new games and generally being awesome! To share the love around her

e are some of the things I've been focused on over the past month...

GAMES!!!

Picked up many new toys this past month. On the hardware side I've got the new Playstation Move peripheral, and the Sports Champions game.

Now this was an interesting move picking up this accessory, as I'd been a Wii owner in the past but ditched it pretty fast after getting the PS3. Why? I liked the Wii and some 'select' games, the problem being that the vast majority of the games out there for the Wii wer

e just plain crap, and the movement functions were able to be reduced to just wrist flicks in essence, due to the simple, early gen motion sensing tech incorporated in the wiimotes (which I understand has been fixed with the wiimotion plus addon). Despite this I do remember wiisports as being a great deal of fun.

As the entry cost for the PS move tech is fairly cheap, especially when I have the camera component already I thought I'd check out the device and download a couple of demo games to test it out. The one I enjoyed the most (and since purchased) was Sports Champions.

Sports Champions has the same feel as wiisports (and in the US is packaged with the PSMove starter pack...we get an average demo disc and have to buy the game individually), in that it maintains the same social aspects and competition. Where it differs is the range

of sports branches out to a couple of very eclectic, non-mainstream sports. The events covered in SC are -

Archery

Gladiator Duel (sword & shield combat)

Disc Golf

Bocce

Beach Volleyball

Table Tennis

While I've played and enjoyed all of the games the top4 from that list have a

ttracted most of my time. Archery is a strong workout due to the kind of movements it requires, gladiator duel is intense and also a strong workout. When I start a session of GD I usually switch the fan on as by the end I've worked up a strong sweat. Bocce is a simple, yet addictive ball sport made more entertaining in the game by the variation of courses/courts played on...and Disc Golf...

I like disc golf A LOT! Simple, addictive, and unusual. The courses provided are a challenge...even more so at higher difficulties. It has even inspired me to take up the sport IRL (facilities a two minute drive from my place).

The next game on my spin list this past month was Enslaved: Odyssey to the West.

A post-apocalyptic retelling/interpretation of Saiyuki (or Journey to the West...or as many may know it...Monkey!) You play as Monkey, a tough loner captured by slavers. The game starts with you in a containment pod being transported west by the slavers. You awake to see a young lady by the name of Trip (or Tripitaka) having escaped and running through the slave ship to freedom. Through certain events the slave ship is forced to crash. Monkey awakes to see a scared Trip looking upon him. Monkey is then alerted by Trip to the hacked Slave headband she has affixed onto Monkey to 'force' him to rescue her, for if she dies the headband will kill Monkey... and thus their journey began.

Great story, gameplay similar to Uncharted (Very good thing), very well scripted. It suffers from some major downsides though...it is very glitchy, so much so I find it amazing

it was released in this state. In certain parts of the game the controls just don't work as they should which creates some major frustrations. Lastly the ending, while interesting in a sense felt tacked on to provide a quick, unsatisfactory conclusion to the game. It would have been much more satisfying if the team behind the game had either kept the ending open, for a possible sequel to pad out their ending further or the game having been delayed for 6 or so months to allow a more satisfactory ending to be developed.

Next was Gekijouban Macross F: Itsuwarino Utahime - Hybrid Pack. This being the combo disc featuring the blu-ray Macross Frontier movie coupled with the game Macross Trial Frontier for PS3 on the same disc.

Despite the movie not being subtitled (and due to the EVIL Harmony Gold unlikely to ever receive an official english release) it is an enjoyable movie.

The game (as pictured above) I believe is a preview version of an upcoming Macross game for PS3 (Trial in the name indicative of this). You are provided with the majority of the mecha available in the Macross F series to pilot, some requiring unlocking though.

The gameplay is fantastic, graphics pretty as and is an enjoyable experience. Glad I took the time to import it.

Games coming soon that will take my time are Vanquish and CoD: Black Ops.

I've also been painting up a few of my outstanding minis for the GW games in preparation of the Dark Eldar arriving early next month...but more on the minis next time...

Progress shot: Vulkan He'stan

I really should buy a proper digicamera one day...

Warhammer/40K...will i ever play...

Well, I've been working on my Warhammer 40K and now Warhammer fantasy armies for a long time. All three are very near, or already completed...sans painting. First I'll give you guys a glimpse of my Vampire Counts army, as it currently stands.

As we currently stand -

1 Vampire Lord (Sartosan Vamp mini)

10 Crypt Guard

10 Crypt Ghouls

20 Zombies

30 Skeletons

3 Corpse Carts

6 Blood Knights

Very near finished collecting. What I'll add -

1 Vampire (or Necromancer)

1 Varghulf

1 box of either Crypt Guard or zombies

Should place me at approx 2000 points, a reasonable force.

Later in the week I'll give you a glimpse at both my Tyranid and Salamander armies...

My Gundam kit, the Sinanju is coming along swimmingly, as can be seen in one of the shots below -

Revisiting old projects

Watching KICK ASS while typing this...

Now I'll admit I've put my gundam building off for too long. Passed a resolution today to return to a major project I started a long time ago (about a year I'd say)...my MG Sinanju. Here's an example of some of the build to the right.

What's pictured there is just some of the straight build...those that followed the build on th

e Gundam Australia forums last year would note I'd been painting this one. As I'm without a compressor and airbrush I've been pouring in ridiculous dollars into spray paints on this kit. Why ridiculous dollars? To get my desired effect for the red armour panels I need three coats of different paints.

Below you'll see an example of one of the legs with paint on it. My approach with this kit is to get a metallic red coating through a black undercoat (TS-14 Tamiya spray), cove

red by their special formulation metallic silver TS-83 (that gets a fantastic shine but requires the black undercoat to work) followed by a final coat of clear red paint (Mr Color 47).

I've also been using Tamiya polishing compound to give an extreme shine to the coat. This involves alot of work, but the shine it provides is without compare. You'll

note the second pic is more orange than red...that's because I was aiming to gradient a transition from orange to red on the kit. It is not as effective as I'd have hoped, but I'll live with it.

In other news...Hot Tub Time Machine lands this week on disc...You must get it as it is the BEST MOVIE EVER!!!

There's been little progress on Rin Farrah...my primary soda-pop mini project at the moment. I've been busy with both changing jobs and interviewing for others. While I didn't enjoy the work I was doing with my previous team at work I loved and appreciated the people I worked with. Each had their own charm that made

them a pleasure to work with.... But back to topic... There isnt much progress but here's a pic of Rin in her current state...the flesh has started to grow. The flesh tone on the legs is how I'll run this one, the rest hasn't had its finishing touches. The hair will be that greenish tone, built up to a light blue/ice highlight. I've not undercoated the mini as you'll note with the progress shot...it is one of my foibles as I rarely do undercoat.

Shopping list for the next 6 months...maybe ;)

Dear Ozmecha,

Instead of spending money randomly on whatever pretties shine brightly enough to attract your attention how about making a definite shopping list that you can tick off as you go!

Best Regards,

Ozmecha

Well that Ozmecha fellow may be on to something eh? Below will be my wants list that I'll revisit and edit accordingly once they become GET! Categorised of course to allow easy reference.

Video Games

Call Of Duty Black Ops Hardened Edition Preorder made

A.C.E.: Another Century Episode R (Macross vs Gundam vs many other modern anime mecha)

Blazblue: Continuum Shift (Because the first was awesome)

BluRay Movies

Hot Tub Time Machine GET!

Scott Pilgrim Vs The World

The Expendables (cause these past two should be out within 6 months)

The 5th Element GET!

Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn Vol1

Macross Frontier Movie (comes with PS3 game)

Dr Who Season 5, Vol's 2, 3 & 4

Miniatures

Coming later today...gotta get ready for work... :(
Updates at work...YAY!

Anima Tactics
Legacy of Solomon
Black Sun Starter
Marchiosas

SodaPop Miniatures
Princess Mayla
Isabeau Durand

Forgeworld
MkII Armour set

Studio McVey
Y'Sidyra

Gunpla
1/144 HG Gundam 00Q

Oh the Pain!

Well, the past week has been interesting. I managed to catch Scott Pilgrim last monday at the cinema (free advance screening :D) and later in the week I had the pleasure of watching The Expendables. Both movies are spectacular, and both are incredibly flawed. Their respective target audiences though will forgive those flaws and find both movies entertaining and memorable.

Scott Pilgrim was a truly funny movie. The breakneck speed in which it dishes out the

comedic elements and humorous references to various pop-culture paradigms truly overwhelms the senses. This is also a weakness of the film as due to both its pace, and the lack of character development associated you do get the feeling that, if the pace were slowed slightly it would be a very empty and dull movie. Ultimately however it is an entertaining experience and a movie I enjoyed enough that I intend to go see it again!

The Expendables is another movie that I found entertaining for very different reasons. The

ensemble cast was truly epic (Dolph Lungrens character - Gunner Jensen was my favourite), the action scenes memorable and inspired by the classic action movies this pays tribute to...evidence of which being the location of the final battle, a militia camp/ammo dump. Was a

little disappointed in Jet Li's role...it seemed he was only there to be a foil to Lungren's character. Obviously this movie was not a cinematic masterpiece, however I like to think of it as the 'Sex in the City' for blokes, there is just something primal in this movie that once cannot help but love.

I did receive a new shipment of accessories/miniatures on

Friday and here are some pretty pics below. The first of

these is Ar-Fienel, a release from Studio Mcvey. Those with a games-workshop past will recognise the name of the studio head, Mike McVey. Studio McVey is delivering some truly fantastic sculpts (in resin). Not featured in the pic (as I havn't attached them yet) are the quiver and the falcon resting on her hands. I will be treating these miniatures from Studio McVey as both display pieces and painting treats...minis I'll spend a long time working on to get a beautiful result to do justice to the sculpt. I hope next to pick up from Studio McVey their latest sculpt called Y'Sydria. Mind you I'll also settle for Lisbeth. Check out their range at www.studiomcvey.com.

Also picked up number two for my Soda Pop minis, Fiametta. I've started on her and Rin Farrah from the earlier post. Both with resin bases from various retailers. I tend to start from the bottom up these days with minis I paint...but that may just be me being new to scenic resin

bases ;). The next purchases I'm looking at from Sodapop are Isabeau Durand and Princess Mayla - www.sodapopminiatures.com. You can see some of the progress below with the two sodapop minis.

The next of the minis I picked up I'm really excited about. It is Rin Farrah from the Soda Pop Miniatures line. Think anime/manga tokyopop like feel and you've got the groove of these figures. Rin here is awaiting a custom base before I continue further work on her...but that wont be long in coming. Cant wait to get started on her :D

New minis to start painting

Just picked up a couple of new miniatures with which I intend to kill some time ;)

First here is Erika, from the Anima Tactics range. As you can see she has a fantastic pose, incredibly animated. I've already started painting the base.

Anima Tactics has a great range of minis that I truly love working with...and their game itself is entertaining with a compelling back-story. Check out some further info on Anima here.

First Post

Hi all

Hope to turn this blog into an entertaining site for all things geeky and hobby related that catch my fancy.

My current focus is miniature gaming/painting/collecting but this blog won't be exclusively focused on that. Expect to see card game, gundam kit, video game, movie and comic features appear regularly too.

I have worked, both volunteer and actual in the hobby/comic industry in the past, and while I no longer do so, I'd like to think I have a good nose for entertaining, quality products, and one of my aims in this blog is to try to bring to the wider community some exposure for these products that catch my eye.