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Topics - Dark Jimbo

#2
Off Topic / Hivemind - Ranking dinosaurs?
11 May, 2017, 10:14:31 AM
Bit of an odd request, but I know this is the place to ask it.

Could someone knowledgeable in such things rank these dinos in rough size order? And yes, I know a few of them aren't really dinosaurs.

Stegosaurus
Triceratops
Pterodactyl
Ichthyosaur
Ankylosaurus
Tyrannosaurus
Apatosaurus
Gallimimus
Velociraptor
Hadrosaur
#3
Classifieds / 1/6th Ro-Jaws for sale.
31 May, 2016, 08:08:32 PM
As it says on the tin!

If anyone's interested I can send you pictures and more details.
#4
Does what it says on the tin!

A place to document my Millsverse customs and conversions, based around 3A's excellent figures - and I might as well kick things off with part one of my single most ambitious build!

Mek-Quake 1: Getting mouthy

Some time ago I took it upon myself to build a 1/12th Mek-Quake killdozer to go with the rest of the crew - it seemed unlikely that 3A were ever going to make something quite so insane. From the get-go I knew I wanted to make something as close as possible to the Kev Walker Hellbringer-era version, while liberally borrowing bits I liked from the Bisley-era killdozer and others. In terms of a blueprint or plans, these scrappy sketches were as much as I ever did - with the (very) rough design locked down, the rest was made up on the fly to suit the requirements/possibilities of whatever components I managed to scrounge together. (I was making it all up as I went along, basically.)



I started with the chassis, tracks and backplate of a remote control tank kit (a WWII German Jagdpanther, for those who care). The 1/16th scale kit would be almost a perfect size for 1/12th Warriors.






First (because it would be easier than doing it after assembly) the tracks and gearwheels got an undercoat, paint and ink wash.



Next I started work on the front end. With a bit of plasticard and a lot of epoxy putty I gave the front chassis a curve instead of a simple straight angle, as well as bringing it a few centimetres forward. Gaining this space was important so that later I would have room to angle Mek-Quake's 'mouth' panel backward – it'll sit just above this.

(That weird little sculpted hump you can see in the photos gave me a solid prop to glue a later section of bodywork against.)




When the tank kit was still a tank kit, the inside was never designed to be seen, but this was now where Mek-Quake's flatbed 'floor' would be (the bit where the other Warriors ride) so there was a lot of existing moulded plastic gubbins to take out of the chassis with a hacksaw – including the whole top of the moulded battery compartment. I was originally going to take out the entire thing, but at the last minute had an idea of how to work it into the build, as you'll see.



The next bit I decided to tackle was Mek-Quake's 'mouth' – that daunting front grill through which many a Nerve Centre droid has disappeared, never to be seen again...

I always assumed that the mangled droids slide down a chute into the bowels of Mek-Quake, where they get crushed and mangled. As I wanted to make a mouth that could open and close, there needed to be something to look at inside, so I made a fairly truncated plasticard chute.

It's a bit of a funny shape, but it had to be – without the twin gear mechanisms the tank tracks wouldn't actually move, and where's the fun in that? So taking those out was not really an option, meaning space at the front end of the chassis was at a premium. The 'chute' had to be made to sit snugly between/on top of the drive gears, without getting in the way of any moving parts and in such a way so that you wouldn't see them when you look in through the mouth.






I added some plasticard buzz-saws to add a bit of danger to the idea of being sent down the chute – Mek-Quake needs a way to grind those recalcitrant robots up, after all!




Next was the mouth itself. I cut a window through the middle of a sheet of plasticard (5) (fairly thick, as it would be part of the actual bodywork.) I cut a slightly thinner sheet into a square about 1cm wider all round than the window; then cut this in half with a scissored edge to form the top and bottom halves of the robot-mashing teeth (2 and 4).





The bottom half of the teeth (4) don't need to move and so were glued into place on the back of the mouth section (5). At the top corners I stuck small but thick squares of plasticard (3), making sure they were just slightly thicker than the teeth sections. These were the supports onto which I glued a plasticard guide (1), which the top tooth section slots neatly into. All of which essentially means that the teeth can be opened and closed as I want – the movement is really smooth, the two supports (3) mean the teeth can't move to either side, and they can't be opened so far that they fall out. The fit is also just snug enough that the teeth stay in place, wherever I put them.







And here's how the chute looked after a quick paint. It turned out that you can't really see any of these details once the frontplate goes on (you can barely even make out the buzzsaws) but hey ho – if a job's worth doing it's worth doing right!


#5
Books & Comics / Ron Smith does Red Dwarf
19 November, 2012, 07:59:39 PM
When fandoms collide!

I know this is little-seen and thought it might be of interest to some here. Seriously, how good was this bloke?






There's something like another 12 pages, but I won't waste my time scanning them all yet in case it turns out nobody's bothered, so... register your interest.
#6
Links / Dredd Reckoning
01 February, 2012, 05:28:53 PM
I've not seen anyone link to this blog before, and I've only just discovered it myself. Essentially it's just a blog whose aim is to review every Dredd TPB in existence - a nice mix of Rebellion, Simon and Schuster and even some older Titan/Hamyln editions - but they do so in exhaustive detail and with an obvious love of Dredd lore. It's a real pleasure to read.

Better yet, I think the chaps are American (there are some sweet occassions where they're left nonplussed by our slang, such as Anderson's use of the word 'Muggins' at the end of Necropolis) - which suggests Dredd material is making real inroads to colonial culture at last.

http://dreddreviews.blogspot.com/
#7
Help! / Steve McQueen help
12 January, 2010, 01:19:18 PM
Erm, I don't suppose the hivemind knows the registration of the motorcycle Steve McQueen rode in The Great Escape...? I can't find a clear enough picture to make out all the letters/numbers.

Thanks in advance if anyone can help!
#8
Website and Forum / Avatars
26 June, 2008, 10:21:09 AM
Much appreciated to have the avatars back, Wake - now I can see who everyone is without trying to squint at the names!

However, I can't help but notice that this shiny new forum allows icons that are 100 pixels square. I thought I'd give myself a nice big new one but can't seem to work out how to load a new image to the site. Is there a knack to it, am I being dense or is this just not available yet?
#9
Prog / Prog 1592 - Liberty or Death!
25 June, 2008, 10:29:08 AM
*First post on the new board, so bear with me if I arse it up...*

Someone once said that it's hard to review a prog when almost everything's going right, and the past few progs have proven the truth of that maxim. I can't say enough good things about Dredd, Defoe and Dante - you're on the way to a fairly perfect prog for me with those three - and the Vort is only struggling to make the same sort of impact becasue it's up against such stiff competiton.

Sin/Dex is, inevitably, the weak link, but even that's managed to get me interested for the first time in a long while.

Go Tharg!
#10
General / Future Dredd artist collections
28 May, 2008, 02:44:14 PM
Just wondering who else we'd like to see. I think the concept of these books is a cracking one, even if, as with Flint and Ezquerra's books, the selection of stories on offer isn't always fried gold. My progs aren't going to be around for ever, so I like to have some of the fondly remembered one-offs in trade form - it's nice to be reminded that Dredd doesn't always have to be an epic with a high body count.

So, may I humbly suggest -

Ian Gibson - One of the founding fathers of Dredd. His Robo-Hunter work became prety substandard, but he always seemed to up his game when working on Dredd. There's more than enough to fill a collection - the Planet Gary stuff, Judgement, Global Psycho, The Marriage Game, Lost in Cyberspace - all minor classics. And it might always help to build a few bridges.

Paul Marshall - A bit of an unsung hero, in my book. Always turns in nice work, and he really 'gets' the crazy cits of the Big Meg. He's basically the new Ron Smith. I'm sure he must have done enougb Dredd by now to merit a collection, even if none of it's overtly classic stuff. Rennie and Spurrier have written him numerous stories that were just good, madcap fun, but he's also done some Wagner.

Dave Taylor - Still a new kid on the block, sure, but the quality of his work surely merits a collection. His rendiitons of the city are spot-on, and given that most of his Dredds up till now have been Megazine stories, that already gives him quite a healthy page-count (stick the Anderson tale in there too, which I'm sure would read better in one go.)

Cliff Robinson - Dubious about whether he did enough colour Dredd strips to make this viable, but what he did do was aces.

Anyone else?
#11
With a certain amount of foreboding, given what's gone down on past review threads...

Dredd - Say what you will about Robbie on Dredd, but he's getting there. Slowly but surely, there's a definate improvment to be seen in his scripts. And I like the fact this was a self-contained tale; multi-parters drag over several months.
Thought the artist was Si Fraser at first glance - which is a pretty big compliment! Don't know who this guy is but I hope we see more of him.
A fun little story all in all, and I love the return to the days of old where you'd begin with a splash panel of some action moment that doesn't actually occur until later in the tale.

Low Life - Little to say about this as not a great deal happened, and it's still very clearly in 'slow-burn' mode. Still good stuff, and I love the return to the grit of the earlier Low Life tales before it became 'The Dirty Frank Show' (fun though that was).

Bob The Galactic Bum - Still going. Fairly inoffensive, but I find myself hoping it ends next month. Not really any of the creator's finest hour.

Anderson - Yikes. I admit I was totally thrown by the opening page of Tharg lambasting his droids. Thought I'd turned to the wrong strip.
Not sure how I feel about this one yet. It could be a little in-jokey for its own good. Nice art, but it doesn't quite feel up to Boo's usual standard.

All in all - Not a particularly overwhelming issue, unfortunately. Thank god for Dredd.*


*Disclaimer - The views expressed in the above review are those of the individual in question and in no way reflect those of Rebellion or its employees. So please don't have a go at me.
#12
Film & TV / Young Indiana Jones Chronicles
17 February, 2008, 11:43:47 AM
I know there are a few fans of this series on the board, and I just found out the first set of this is nearly out (25th, according to Amazon). Might wait for the price to drop a tad, though.

As much as I was looking forward to finally owning the series on DVD, I was not looking forward to the 22 seperate discs I thought I was going to have to buy - but I won't have to! It's coming out in 3 boxsets of seven episodes apeice, with a ton of extras. They really seem to have gone to town on these.

Set 1 looks like being all the 'Indy as an ickle boy stuff', moving in the latter few episodes to 'Indy as a teen'. Which means Set 2 will be 'The War Years' and maybe some of 'The Spy Stuff', which is where the series really earned its wings. Can't for the life of me remember what happened in the latter episodes, though. 'Indy studies for his archaeology degree'?

Link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Adventures-Young-Indiana-Jones-Vol-1/dp/B000Z63ZPQ/ref=pd_ybh_3?pf_rd_p=138755991&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_t=1501&pf_rd_i=ybh&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=1A0H3H1N1WFY6SB0PVET" target="_blank">Linky Link

#13
Help! / Graphics Tablets
21 August, 2007, 06:18:45 PM
The pen of my old A6 tablet is literally falling to bits in my hand, and as a new pen would cost about the same as I paid for this tablet (£35ish) I thought I may as well take the chance to upgrade entirely.

What I'd specifically like to know is how much difference the size of a tablet makes to working with it? A4 seems a little needlessly big, but I'm thinking of going for an A5 this time. Any thoughts? Any recommendations?

Cheers for any help.
#14
Prog / Prog 1528 - Insurgency Exit
12 March, 2007, 09:57:29 PM
The prog thread!! Bwa-ha-ha! This is what happens when no-one else realises the board's back online.

Dredd - For me, this was a significant story - it was the one where I finally felt I could say with absolute certainty 'Yes, Rennie gets Dredd.' I haven't been much of a fan of his Meg tales before, but consider me a convert now. Moving, gripping and not a little touching at the end. I think I enjoyed this more than I had been Origins.

Savage - Not a great deal happening, but I can't fault it. Looks like we're getting set-up for something very interesting, and nice to see that the Volgs don't necessarily have to be the enemy of the day.

Robo-Hunter - Sigh. Alan Grant, please stop it with the celebrity cameos. They really aren't funny.

Sinister-Dexter - Nice to have a story where the named leads barely actually appear, and this looks to be building to interesting things, but I'm confused - are we in the middle of a run of stories that is collectively 'The Moses Wars' saga, or is that still to come?

Dante - Hurrah! I loved that character! I won't spoil just who unexpectedly returns in case someone reading this doesn't have the prog, but it was a really nice surprise. Although to be honest, it doesn't look like he'll be back with us for very long. That Konstantin really is a bastard.
The story is taking some really dark twists, and the momentum is staggering considering how interminably long the pirate saga seemed to drag on for. It's like I'm just along for the ride on this story, struggling to keep up (in a good way), rather than it being there for my delectation.
#15
Website and Forum / We're Back!!!!!
12 March, 2007, 09:46:05 PM
I hope.

Was anyone else very worried by just how big a gap the brief non-existence of this board left in their life?
#16
Books & Comics / Black Dossier update
19 January, 2007, 03:41:42 AM

Link: http://www.worldfamouscomics.com/bakersdozen/back20070103.shtml" target="_blank">Anticipation receptors to maximum...

#17
Help! / Caballistics
09 November, 2006, 12:25:59 PM
My brain isn't working today. How many members of the Caballistics team are there? Is it six or seven? I keep thinking I'm forgetting someone.
#18
Help! / Girls of Dredd
17 October, 2006, 03:18:08 PM
I fancy having a bash at a 'Girls of Dredd'-type ensemble picture, similar to the one I did of the Dante girls for the last art competition, but I can't actually think of enough, unlike Dante's world, which offered rather too many.

I've still yet to read a great deal of classic Dredd, and I'm only up to book 3 of the Case Files. Help me out, people - I'm sure the Dreddverse isn't as starved of appealing female characters as it seems.

Obvious ones are -

Cass Anderson
Hershey
DeMarco...

...and that's about all my dull-witted memory has come up with so far, unless people want to see McGruder and Maria pouting in the altogether*. Names and pics much appreciated. Minor characters are okay too.







*I have no intention of drawing this.
#19
A bizarre and baffling Dante question whose relevance will become clear in time. Just bear with me for now.

Of the following three characters, which two would you ideally rather see in a state of undress...?

Eloise De Jannissare?

Julianna Makarov?

Akira Sagawa?
#20
Film & TV / DOCTOR WHO - DOOMSDAY
08 July, 2006, 05:17:14 PM
Tonight at seven, peeps... I can't bloody wait...
It may be written by RTD, it may turn out to be a load of old donkey cack, but whatever else it's still CYBERMEN AND DALEKS!!!!!!!






(And apoligies to ARRISARRIS for blagging the thread, I know he seems to like getting these first. No hard feelings) :)