Robotech - Genesis pits Source Book

For those of you that haven't heard yet, the new Robotech source book is done!

Palladium Books® Weekly Update – November 29, 2012 

"UPDATE: Robotech® Genesis Pits™ Sourcebook finished!

Wayne Smith had one primary mission this week: To get Robotech Genesis Pits completely laid out and finished. As of this Weekly Update, only a few pages remain to be finished. This book is one of the biggest RPG sourcebooks for Robotech® yet, and introduces a wealth of information, characters, menaces and fuel for adventure, including new types of Invid and mutants and monsters from the Genesis Pits. If you haven’t read the updated and expanded Genesis Pits description from last week, check it out below. This book should be ready to ship around Christmas-time. We’ll give you an exact date when we hear back from the printer."

I cant wait for this book to finally be released, here is the full product discription:

In final production. Goes to the printer next week. This is an epic sourcebook that takes an in-depth look at the Invid Genesis Pits, their purpose, function, the mutants and monsters they unleash and the dangers they pose for non-Invid. It is jam-packed with never before seen information, mutations, mutation tables (so you can generate your own Genesis Pit monsters and characters) and more.

      - Inorganics and other war machines of the Invid Regent.

      - Gura-Invid – monstrous mutant Invid that do not leave when the Regess and her Invid legions   depart.

      - Bioroid and Zentraedi mutants, Simulagents and more.

      - Different types of Genesis Pits from across the galaxy.

      - Tables for creating Genesis Mutants as player characters and NPC villains.

      - Tables for creating Genesis Pit Monsters as player characters and NPC villains.

      - Secrets of the Invid and notable Genesis Pits of Earth.

      - Genesis Pit mutations, monsters and dinosaurs.

Artwork by Apollo Okamura, Allen Manning, Brian Manning, Mike Mumah, Ben Rodreguiz, Mike Wilson, Nick Bradshaw, and others.

Written by Irvin Jackson. 8½ x 11 inch book format. Available only in the USA and Canada.

$16.95 – 96-128 pages. Cat. No. 555 – December release.

Head over to Palladiums website and pre-order this awesome book!

The menagerie is all new!

Hello everyone! As you can tell I've updated the blog and I want to welcome by best bud "D" or Roy Folkker as he will be know here. In addition to new content on the blog, we are teaming up for a new Podcast! Last night we recorded the first episode and it should be ready to post this weekend if everything  works out. So stay tuned for updates on the podcast!

The castle project

So I have decided to complete the entire outer curtain wall surrounding the Keep. So, here is a run down of of the dimensions thus far:

The main gate and wall 

Total length: 54.5"

Height (wall): 

Height (tower/gate house): 10.5"

The Keep 

Height:

Width: 10.75"

Length: 14"

Keep Tower

Height: 14"

Width: 5"

Length: 5.5"

The Keep with an attached kitchen

Here is a shot from the west side of the castle, after looking everything over, im thinking of lowering the corner towers by 1.5". Possibly even swap them out with 4" diameter round towers.

What D&D Character am I? I'll give you one guess!

A lot of questions but pretty accurate results, best quiz I have found yet.

I Am A: Lawful Good Human Paladin (5th Level)-(Cavalier actually!)

Ability Scores:
Strength-17
Dexterity-12
Constitution-16
Intelligence-12
Wisdom-15
Charisma-17

Alignment:
Lawful Good A lawful good character acts as a good person is expected or required to act. He combines a commitment to oppose evil with the discipline to fight relentlessly. He tells the truth, keeps his word, helps those in need, and speaks out against injustice. A lawful good character hates to see the guilty go unpunished. Lawful good is the best alignment you can be because it combines honor and compassion. However, lawful good can be a dangerous alignment when it restricts freedom and criminalizes self-interest.

Race:
Humans are the most adaptable of the common races. Short generations and a penchant for migration and conquest have made them physically diverse as well. Humans are often unorthodox in their dress, sporting unusual hairstyles, fanciful clothes, tattoos, and the like.

Class:
Paladins take their adventures seriously, and even a mundane mission is, in the heart of the paladin, a personal test an opportunity to demonstrate bravery, to learn tactics, and to find ways to do good. Divine power protects these warriors of virtue, warding off harm, protecting from disease, healing, and guarding against fear. The paladin can also direct this power to help others, healing wounds or curing diseases, and also use it to destroy evil. Experienced paladins can smite evil foes and turn away undead. A paladin's Wisdom score should be high, as this determines the maximum spell level that they can cast. Many of the paladin's special abilities also benefit from a high Charisma score.

Detailed Results:

Alignment:
Lawful Good ----- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (37)
Neutral Good ---- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (24)
Chaotic Good ---- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (15)
Lawful Neutral -- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (34)
True Neutral ---- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (21)
Chaotic Neutral - XXXXXXXXXXXX (12)
Lawful Evil ----- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (23)
Neutral Evil ---- XXXXXXXXXX (10)
Chaotic Evil ---- X (1)
Law & Chaos:
Law ----- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (22)
Neutral - XXXXXXXXX (9)
Chaos --- (0)
Good & Evil:
Good ---- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (15)
Neutral - XXXXXXXXXXXX (12)
Evil ---- X (1)
Race:
Human ---- XXXXXXXXXXXXX (13)
Dwarf ---- XXXXXXXXXX (10)
Elf ------ XXXXXX (6)
Gnome ---- XXXXXX (6)
Halfling - XX (2)
Half-Elf - XXXXXXXXX (9)
Half-Orc - XXXX (4)
Class:
Barbarian - (-29)
Bard ------ (-25)
Cleric ---- (-2)
Druid ----- (-21)
Fighter --- (0)
Monk ------ (0)
Paladin --- XXXXXXXX (8)
Ranger ---- XX (2)
Rogue ----- XX (2)
Sorcerer -- XXXX (4)
Wizard ---- (-2)


Find out What Kind of Dungeons and Dragons Character Would You Be?, courtesy of Easydamus (e-mail)

Tower Project - Part 4 + additions

Well the tower is nearly finished, I just need to touch up a few miss painted spots. Above is a shot of the tower behind the gate house. Below is a shot from the front of the curtain wall.

Since I was already messing around with the castle I decided to work on the two round towers I started a while back. When these are finished they can be used in place of the square towers along the curtain wall. Then I had another idea! Whats that your asking? Why yes I do think I need new wall sections!

So I set to work making the new curtain wall, but this one will have a tower base built in.

The first step is cutting the outer wall portion (I use two pieces of wood to form the base of the wall). Cutting the top edge of the wall down to .50" thick by 1.25" tall. The .50" Merlons will be cut out with a router later.

Here is the top of the tower section cut in half, this will be added to the card board tube after it has been cut to fit the wall.

The center top section of the wall has been removed to make an opening for the tower base.

Here is the tower section laying against the wall with a loose Merlon placed next to it as a reference point for the final assembly.
















Thats it for now, stay tuned for more curtain wall building fun!

Larry Elmore: the complete art book kick starter!

I cant believe I never knew about this kick starter! Larry Elmore is putting together a 306 page hard cover collection of all of his art work from the last 40 years! the goal was $17,500 but it has been meet, currently it sits at $72,500! Which means we get A LOT of cool extras, check out the kickstarter page or Larry's website for more details!

Miniature Round-Up

I wanted to take a bit of time to gather a list of sites that carry different miniatures for what ever game you might be playing. So lets get started:

CENTER STAGE MINIATURES: 

They have a very nice selection of fantasy miniatures and they recently fully funded a kick starter for their Demons and Devils series.                                                 FaceBook

REAPER MINIATURES: 

We all know Reaper mini's, we all have a few around the gaming table. They have multiple lines of mini's.                                           Facebook

HAMMER AND ANVIL MINIATURES: 

This new company has just released its first dwarven miniatures. Angus and Grom!                                                                                      FaceBook

DARKSWORD MINIATURES: 

Darksword has the greatest miniatures hands down. They are beautifully sculpted and their lines include Larry Elmore, Kieth Parkinson and George R. R. Martin.

MANTIC GAMES: 

Mantic has a nice range of metel and plastic 20mm mini's. Their games include: Dreadball, Warpath and Kings of war. They also have a 60 pack of plastic 20mm Zombies! 

GAMES WORKSHOP: 

Makers of Warhammer 40,000 and the Lord of the Rings war games mini's.

Francesco Francavilla: The Black Beetle!

THE BLACK BEETLE: NO WAY OUT #1

Black Beetle’s investigation of two local mob bosses is interrupted when a mysterious explosion murders them and a pub full of gangsters—taking out most of Colt City’s organized crime in one fell swoop. Who could pull off such a coup, and what danger might that murderous bomber do to Colt City and Black Beetle?

 New series from the Eisner Award winner!

Writer:

Francesco Francavilla

Artist:

Francesco Francavilla

Cover Artist:

Francesco Francavilla

If your a fan of classic Pulp magazines or more specifically the art style, than Francesco Francavilla is a man you should know more about. I want to start out by saying that I have seen his work in the past, on books I wasnt following and for some reason I never picked one up. His credits include the Shadow, Zorro, Black Panther: the man with out fear, the Spider, Scalped, Sorrow and Detective Comics just to name a few.

His latest project, which you can pre-order at your local comic shop or online store is The Black Beetle: No way out. This 4 issue mini-series is available from Dark Horse Comics in January 2013. If sales of this series are good, Francesco plans on continuing the adventures of the Black Beetle! So go order it already! Do yourself a favor and head over to his web site, check out his body of work .

Tower Project - Part 3

Part 3 - Well I've finished the tower down to its base painted form, next up is the detail painting. The following shows the steps leading up to painting.

The tower nears completion with the addition of the entryway to the base of the tower and then applying the sheet rock spackling/patching compound.

Here is a close-up shot of one of the tower windows before it was sanded. 

Now sanded, I sprayed the tower with a grey primer. As you can tell, I didnt spend as much time on the patching compound as I had first wanted. After seeing how some of the low spots made the tower look more distressed, I wanted to see how it would look after it was painted. These flaws (hopefully) will be painted a different shade to give the tower more character.

This is a bad picture but it does highlight the distressed surface of the tower. Coming Up next in part 4, I will show you the progress on detail painting. 

Stay Tuned!

Stan Lee's Fireside editions! 1974-1979

The other night the wife and I where at Barnes and noble killing some time and I found a book I wanted to share with you. Going through the clearance section of the store I picked this book up for $5! This over sized trade collects various Hulk comics (along with Avengers and Fantastic Four issues) with an introduction by Stan Lee before a few of the stories story. This gives the reader a bit of insight  behind the story. It is  the coolest book I've seen in quite a while, The behind the scenes articles by Stan Lee makes it much more than another collected edition. Unfortunately the book doesnt list the issue numbers of the comics that appear in it, which does bother the collector in me, but for a first time reader of a character I can see why it wasn't included or more importantly not necessary.

Wiki description: "The Marvel Fireside Books Series was a series of full-color trade paperbacks featuring Marvel Comics stories and characters co-published by Marvel and the Simon & Schuster division Fireside Books from 1974 to 1979.
The series enabled fans of the old comics to have access to the stories without having to pay exorbitant prices for the original back issues. It introduced new readers to the work of Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and other Marvel creators, and packaged the material in a traditional book format that carried more caché than the flimsy pamphlet style of a typical comic book. Many of the books featured painted covers illustrated by such artists as Bob Larkin, John Romita, Sr., and Earl Norem. In this way, the series was an antecedent to the now common practice of packaging "classic" stories into archival editions and trade paperback collections including Marvel's 1998 book Grandson of Origins of Marvel Comics.

Publishing History: Marvel Publisher Stan Lee came up with the idea of compiling the origins of some of their most popular characters in a book format similar to Jules Feiffer's 1965 book The Great Comic Book Heroes. Teaming up with Fireside, a young-adult imprint of Simon & Schuster, Marvel initially produced Origins of Marvel Comics in 1974, featuring the origins of the Fantastic Four, Hulk, Spider-Man, Thor, and Doctor Strange. Like the books to follow, Origins featured a foreword by Lee, and short introductions to each section, which followed the format of presenting the character's origin followed by a contemporary story by current Marvel contributors.
Origins of Marvel Comics was followed in 1975 with Sons of Origins of Marvel Comics, featuring the origins of the X-Men, Iron Man, The Avengers, Daredevil, Nick Fury, The Watcher, and the Silver Surfer.
The two Origins books were followed by Bring on the Bad Guys, origins of a selection of Marvel villains; and The Superhero Women, featuring some of Marvel's most popular female superheroes. Eventually, the series began straying away from origin stories and published collections of classic stories with individual characters such as Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, The Hulk, Captain America, and Doctor Strange.
One of the Marvel Fireside Books superhero story editions was not a reprint but was an original story. 1978's The Silver Surfer, by Stan Lee, with art by Kirby and Joe Sinnott, was a new take on the late 1960s icon; and is considered by many to be one of the first true "graphic novels."[citation needed]
In conjunction with their reprint collections, Marvel and Fireside also produced a number of activity and game books, how-to books, and even a cookbook, again all featuring Marvel characters. The most well-known and popular book of this kind was 1978's How To Draw Comics The Marvel Way, which is still in print.
Marvel/Fireside published 24 different books, many with multiple printings in both hardcover and paperback."

Now my plan is to try and find the rest of this series of books to add to my book shelf. If you have or have read any of these titles let me know what you think! 

Tower project - Part 2

Welcome back! I have been busy making changes and additions to the tower. Initially I started with a 3 step set of stairs, but I decided it needed to be taller and wrap around the base of the tower a bit more.

Now I know thats not the best picture but it looks better on the tower, you'll see. The next step was the entrance to the tower, my initial one was horrible! So I went back to the drawing board and measured out the door frame and cut out the area using a router. Getting the radius cut was going to be a problem, that is until my dad mentioned he had a milling machine!

 The piece turned out great! Here is a pic of the finished entrance.

As an added touch I added window frames cut from balsa wood, as I add the dry wall mud to the tower, the  windows will be blended in.

I'll be starting the mud work this week, so I will have another update in a few days.