Sunday, June 29, 2008

Bit of a time slip by the BBC

At the end of last night's epsiode of Dr Who, fans were left with a series of cliffhangers which had them on the edge of their seats (not least in my house!).

However, we were all excited to be told that at 1pm today there would be a special trailer for the series finale - so I expect that there were a lot of fans like me waiting patiently for the end of the Politics Show to get a glimpse of what is coming.

Nothing. Not even a faint sound of drums. Nada.

Seems like the folks at the Beeb had a little senior moment and the trailer never aired.

Clever marketing tool to boost viewing figures for Sunday afternoons or just a bit of a cock-up? You decide.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/s4/news/latest/080628_news_01

Created quite a few unhappy fans I would guess ...

*UPDATE* Looks like the BBC are revisionist, as they've taken down the apology for not showing the trailer and just say "if you missed it"! Anyway, the trailer is now online, enjoy.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

1/20 Heavy Use Worker Suit

I put this together during the Bay 37 build so took the odd ten minute slot to finish it off.

This is a prototype of the AFS used by the Mercenary Forces in the Maschinen Kreiger universe, it existed only as a sketch in one of the books until Jason Eaton created the kit master for the IHYC and sold a limited number during the Japanese Wonderfestival earlier this year.

Anyway, I choose to finish it off in the civilian colours, as it reminded me of the powerloader from Aliens, so I used a mix of yellow and ochre acrylics for the base colour and simply weathered and washed it.

Need to do more work on my face painting, but I reckon it's done ... for now ...

It's not up to Jason's standards, but here's my HUWS:


More pics can be found here: http://flickr.com/photos/26399668@N03/2613726207/in/photostream/

Thanks!

Need more practice on my face painting methinks ...

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

The Long Walk - Vintage Polaroid

Playing around with Photoshop tonight using directions from www.myinkblog.com.

A very nice effect that I think I'll use again on some of my other model photos when they're done.


Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Supermarkets, do you have a choice?

Okay, so I've just been to Sainsburys' supermarket to quickly get something to eat. Whilst I was there I thought I would just get some new deodorant - it's quite warm at the moment and my current one is running out.

So I trundle up to the meager men's toiletries section (not even a full aisle) and all they have are body sprays.

That's it. Two brands at the most, but all body sprays.

So I enquire as to the whereabouts of the roll-ons (my preferred method of deodorising) only to receive the response "I guess they've taken them off the shelves because it's summer".

Hmm ... for my money I would trust a roll-on in the heat. So I wander up to the women's section and strangely all they have on offer are roll-ons! There are a few small sprays, but not deodorants.

So, as I meander around the other aisles looking for the kid's favourite cereal (nowhere to be seen) I notice that the aisles, although well stocked, actually offer very little choice in the way of brands. Usually the own brands and the higher priced main named brands.

I wonder if this is deliberate marketing on the part of the supermarket (well, dur!) and whether this is the case across the country?

So, to my work colleagues and friends, I apologise for being a bit smelly at the moment ... I'm purely a victim of circumstance.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Bay 37 Wins Online Competition!

Well, it didn't get first place in the SFM:uk Group Build, but imagine my surprise when my Bay 37 diorama nabbed the top slot in the Mecha Model Comp Maschinen Kreuger online competition.

The results table can be found here, but to summarise, the diorama received 24.67 points overall with the following comments:

"I love the display base on this one, it's got a satisfying level of grime to it, looks worked-in but not excessively cluttered.

The maintenance guy looks maybe a little bit too clean and/or flat in terms of color variation - but otherwise the model and display look great, the modifications are well done, etc."

"The only complaint I can offer is the pics are too small to see detail really well."

I shall be enjoying a drink or two to celebrate my first ever competition win!

Thursday, June 05, 2008

[WIP] Hundespinne: Here's some leg for you!

Some progress on the news legs for the Hundespinne. Essentially using parts from the Scopedog arm, with other parts from the Uchikoma legs and a 1/72 Tiger (plus some styrene tube).

Now I just need to assemble three more ...




Wednesday, June 04, 2008

Web 2.0 Logos

An oldie but a goodie, this post is from 2006 and looks at the trends associated with logos for the Web 2.0 apps and sites.

Although it could be considered dated now, I feel it is still relevant and worth a look at:

http://www.fontshop.com/fontfeed/archives/the-logos-of-web-20/

[WIP] Hundespinne (Dog Spider)

Yet another ongoing build, this started off with the cockpit from a 1/20-scale Scopedog and will eventually become an experiemental walker for the SDR. I see it as a prototype for the Sturmkafer (which is a design I love, but is almost impossible to obtain).

The pilot's head is a resin one and the canopy is from a Hughes helicopter. The last picture shows the start of the engine block, taken from a 1/35 Flakpanzer kit.




Monday, June 02, 2008

Space:1999 Homebrew Emblems

Here is a link to the PDF of some homebrew Space:1999 emblems that I created back in 2006. Feel free to use them as you will, just as long as you credit me at some point.