So, I started modelling again.....Part 2: Tankie, Teef, and a Tinboy

What the hell, lets make a series. Not necessarily a weekly thing, I don't create to a rota, but what the hell.

Let's talk about the tankie. I was putting the finishing touches on this when I last posted, and to recap, its a bitz box job, rather a true scratch-build. There are three major components, the resin tracks, a central hull being made from off-brand lego, and a turret from a crappy tank toy. These where then dressed with mix of resin, white metal, plasticard, anything that fit really. I call it "Tankie", as its cute much the same manner as the Metal Slug tank, but its more of an Infantry Fighting Vehicle with the rear door. The project then turned into another rust painting exercise, I like how it came out, but I think I over did the orange. Then again, we've had Mad Max: Fury Road, and that was a bright as a supernova, so why not?

Oh, and I've been practising teeth, with mixed success. I pulled this somewhat badly glued together boy out of the bitz box, and got some new paint. Its not a great job, but at least its game-worthy.

As for other projects, I'm planning to slowly build up to a Stompa/Gorkanaut type/thing. I did make some progress on that, but I dropped it, so its been shelved in 17 different pieces. I plan to come back to it once I've had a bit more practice, or I stop feeling daft. Whichever happens first. For the meantime, in a no doubt shocking turn of events, I'm doing some robots. I am continuing to experiment with painting techniques here.

There's a few more, but they aren't really ready to show yet.

Back soon.

So, I started modelling again.....

OK, as I've mentioned in previous posts, its not been a great year for me. I don't feel I can discuss it here, but its coming to a logical end. Things may be improving finally, but I've needed to get a new hobby to distract myself. As it turned out, an old hobby. I went back to model making, something I've not really done for three years. To provide context, like numerous Nottingham nerds, I was a big fan of Games Workshop games. I played Orkz, still have a quite expansive army, but I went off the hobby. There are various reasons for this, but the main reason was the most recent Ork codex, followed by the head-in-bum stupidity that was their Warhammer reboot. I'm not quite over those things, so I don't think I am gonna be commanding an army in WH40K any time soon. However, after some light toy customisation, I found the process of creation to be very relaxing. So, I rummaged through my still very expansive bits box, and went to town.

Not to sound too much like a prat, but its nice to remember you are good at something.

First off, is the bandit, which I suppose in rules terms would be a Looted Wagon or Rhino. The main hull is a Space Marine Predator, of the hairy-chested Space Wolf chapter, if I recall correctly. While a Predator is a main battle tank, for real life money reasons, its based on the Rhino transport. The turret and guns were long gone, but it was only a matter of filling the holes and bolting on new bits to make into an APC. Several of the new parts, such as that big ram, come from a company called Ramshackle Games. If I post more photos, you'll see more of their stuff. Also had a happy discovery during painting; orange is a great way to do rust.

Smokey here is however pretty much solid Games Workshop. There are fairly modern plastics used here for the head and shoulder pad, but its mostly old school white metal. I'm still experimenting with paints and remembering techniques, so he's not quite done. The armour is painted in the same manner as the tank, more-or-less, but the skin is a “Vallejo Game Color Goblin Green”. That was a little odd to work with, as it basically inks itself as it dries. I need to remember how to do teeth....

Another project I'm working on is “Tankie” here. Its much more a scratchbuild, in that while the tracks are resin, the main body is lego, and the turret is off a cheap tank toy.

More to come, if I feel like it.

A Brief Review Of Doctor Strange

Sorry, I know its been a while.

Well, its a Marvel film, do we need to say any more?

Dum-dee-dum-twiddle-my-thumb.

You can go now.

Oh, we do, sorry.

Right, Doctor Strange is the latest in the generally very consistent Marvel canon, and one of its smaller scale entries, as its an origin story for a single character. Like last year's Ant-Man, its almost a throwback to the “Phase 1” films, and has a fairly light connection to existing plot threads, excluding a mid-credits sequence and a rather notable name drop. This was probably for the best as this film attempts to place hand-wavy magic into a world of soft sci-fi, a tough sell at the best of times. This film however pulls it off, creating utterly beautiful action sequences that feel like lucid dreams. I do want to see this film again in 3D, I feel it would add to the effect, rather than than be a cheap gimmick, which is high praise from me. Its also a generally slick production with a strong cast, and a general feeling of competency. Benedict Cumberbatch is another great casting choice, fitting into the role as well as Robert Downey Jr. did with Tony Stark, and the beard is a massive boost to the man. The remainder of the cast do well with what they have, the narrative progressing in a solid manner for the genre, and there is no obvious weak point in the entire enterprise. 

This however is not quite the same as saying Doctor Strange is a great film in its own right. Something about it didn't click with me. There is where the comparison to Phase 1 comes back. Those were always entertaining films, but I didn't love any of them until the Avengers assembled. Doctor Strange has so much going with respects to its core concept that its almost surprising it works as well as it does. But we are still in a position where the rules of the world still need to be explained, and this undermines the concept of danger. The formula of the Marvel films, or perhaps just the genre at large, also shows through. Doctor Strange doesn't look like any other Marvel film, including Thor, but it has a similar feel in places, and the same sense of humour. You'd be daft to say this film was identical to say Guardians of the Galaxy or Captain America, but you can pick out common themes. If you'd been inclined to sketch out a plot for this film beforehand based on the trailer, you'd probably have got the specifics wrong, but I wouldn't be surprised if you got the broad strokes. The ending was a surprise, however. Doctor Strange, while quite trippy could have been a lot stranger, perhaps to its benefit. Then again, to misquote someone, you have to have your feet on the ground, before you can build castles in the sky.

And, you'll forgive me if I don't open the can of worms that was casting Tilda Swanson as the Ancient One. She does a good job, but that's a topic for another day.

All this is however is me attempting to draw a line between the merely good, and the exceptional. Doctor Strange is good, and there's nothing wrong with that. While I don't wish to make comparisons with the distinguished competition, this film certainly handled magic a lot better than Suicide Squad did, and remains infinitely more watchable than some films about superheroes released this year.

The Verdict

Doctor Strange is exactly what it looks like, no more, no less, and that's just fine.