A new challenger approaches!

Eighteen sleeps to go until Little Wars and my Impudent Mortal Kickstarter Terrain has arrived: 

That's one large building, two billboards, two subway entrances, air conditioning for the roofs of existing buildings and two sheets of graffiti transfers. Plus a friend gave me a stack of Tyranid sprues when I said I needed some more alien bugs. Gonna be a busy couple of weeks.

More Terrain Finished

A couple more weeks to go and I think some solid work will get me there. 

 Collection of vehicles, I'd love some more, but money is an issue right now. 

 Alien spawning points, Stormtrooper for scale. 

 Patriotic communications tower. 

 Flower beds to break up the expanse of grey and black concrete. 

 Shipping containers. 

 The TARDIS got a touch-up and varnish. 

 Industrial silos. 

 Mad Mecha Guy's Monorail cars. 

 And the raised station. 

 

Thinking out loud.

Has anyone ever done a cool "Matter-Eater" hero? I was working on some heroes the other day and the idea of matter-eating just wouldn't leave my head. There is, of course, Matter-Eater Lad from the legion of superheroes, who, like most Legionaries, sucks out loud.

Yeah, that's what he does, eats anything super-fast. I dated a girl like that, and it wasn't as fun as it sounds at first. Plus, his logo is a giant tooth; 'cause he eats things. So when your super power's banner-waver is, at best, a joke, what can be done to bring a little street cred back? In myth, a kith of fae known as "redcaps" can eat anything that they can fit their mouths around, that could be a good start, especially for a villain or anti-hero. Plus, according to the old World of Darkness Changeling: The Dreaming RPG, they look like Jack from The Shining: 

There was a thing on QI once about a French soldier that ate live cats and that sort of thing, but I can't find the actual history of the guy just at the moment, which is bugging me, because I actually have a miniature set aside to be this guy for my French Revolution supers. Oh wait, just found it whilst I was typing the last sentence, he's called Tarrare. Quite a gross little history there if you care to read it. 

I'm using the big guy up the top as my mystically-enhanced Tarrare, though after reading the article, maybe I should track down the smaller one. Who would give such a person super powers and what does it have to do with the future of France? Only time will tell. But seriously, matter-eating? I know Jerry Siegel gets pretty much a free pass for being 50% of the team behind Superman, but some of the Legion stuff is really bottom of the barrel. Maybe Frank Miller could do a dark re-imagining of Matter-Eater Lad in which the titular character battles his addiction to save his whore-encrusted city from Muslims. 

Wow... I am out of it... goddam Testors Dullcoat...

 

Ultimate Alliance: Annihilation - Every Miniature

Just what it says on the tin, every figure for the big game: 

Every hero, ready to fight for the Earth. 

 

The Annihilation Wave. 

 

Galactus an his Heralds.

Fifty Civilians.

Superhero Media: Big Trouble In Little China

Yo, this James Wright on the Lead Capes Express, talking to anyone who's listening on this dark and stormy night. It's a pretty darn amazing planet we're living on here and you have to be crazy or a communist to think that Big Trouble In Little China was anything short of a masterpiece. As I told my last wife, I never paint faster than I can see, and other than that, it's all in the reflexes. So let me tell you about David Lo Pan and his quest to please an ancient daemon, he started out as a basket case on wheels and he ended up an eight feet tall maniac; like nothing you can understand... Mister Burton. 

I love this film, but who wouldn't? John Carpenter does Wuxia, with a big Western vibe and Kurt Russel channeling the Duke to a comedic extent, great action and classic practical effects that still look great. Lo Pan would make a great villain for any Magic or Martial Arts hero and the whole adventure would translate well to a street-level hero campaign like Gotham City or Heroes for Hire. On the other hand, crank up Lo Pan and the three Storms and have Doctor Strange and John Constantine battle up a Pagoda to face off in a battle of mystic might! 

If you're one of the few wargamers/roleplayers who hasn't enjoyed Big Trouble In Little China yet, check it out. The Carpenter/Russel team is always worth a look and it's one of the few American films that manage to get Chinese cultural tropes more or less right and the representations of Race are pretty tasteful. 

Also, there's this: 

Until next time! 

Miniatures Finished: The Last

That's it! Every miniature for my display game completed. Now just to organise a group shot... 

 Rocket Racoon (Bombshell), Prince Vultan (Dirk Garrison), Blade (Footsore) and Hit-Girl (USX). 

 Miss Marvel (Clix), Slowbro (toy) and Bateu (Hasslefree). 

 20 Streetlamps from C&C. If I never have to assemble one of these again, I'll die happy. 

 Obligatory scale shot. 

 The TARDIS got a new coat of paint, like the real one, it was getting a bit worn and chipped. 

 The Phantom (Avolka), Devil and Nidoking get some flock and Zatana (Clix). 

It's been a bit of a marathon and I'm glad that the minis are all ready. Now just to finish eight more character sheets and at least ten more terrain pieces. In six weeks. Wish me luck. 

Superhero Media: Maximum Choppage - Season 1

I've always enjoyed Laurence Leung's comedy, so I was pretty keen to check out his new show on ABC2 this year. Drawing on Wuxia, Blacksploitation and even the classic Adam West Batman TV programme, Maximum Choppage tells the story of a reluctant vigilante protecting a Sydney suburb from the machinations of the corrupt mayor. Simon Chan returns from his studies, welcomed as a great warrior, his friends and family thinking he was at Martial Arts School; in reality, Simon was at the Marshall Art School, focusing on gouache. Simon's dad was a great warrior, a defender of the people until his death battling 100 ninjas, and Simon is expected to follow in his footsteps and defeat the local gangs terrorising the shop owners.

Maximum Choppage is a comedy about race relations and family expectations more so than a Superhero adventure, but Simon's struggle to keep peace and negotiate his way out of fights does have the ring of a street-level vigilante preferring to defuse a situation rather than start by cracking heads.The villains Chan faces are no more grandiose than local gangs propped up the corrupt Mayor, but the colour they're given in their loves of Kylie or fish-fighting make for a good laugh. 

Maximum Choppage draws heavily on the Australian racial comedy that has come before it like Akropolis Now and Fear of a Brown Planet, which typically does not translate well into overseas markets, so it'll be interesting to see if it gains a following outside of Australia. If you're looking for inspiration for 7TV or Fistful of Kung Fu games, it's worth checking out.