It has been an exhausting and eventful week but fortunately, hobby-wise, I am feeling revitalized. Taking a break from the Stormcast Eternal project helped recharge my batteries. As part of my break, I decided to paint the Frog Monster for Hellboy which is a large mini that serves as a final boss in the game. I wanted to try to make painting it as quick and enjoyable as possible and fortunately, I was able to achieve that. I’d estimate it took me 6-8 hours to paint it which for a mini of this size is pretty fast (for me anyway) and the results are fairly nice all things considered.
One of the reasons why I wanted to paint this quickly is because I have another project to work on (with a deadline no less) but also because this mini had a couple of headaches including mold lines that were impossible to fully remove and a warped base that couldn’t be completely flattened out. I tried a couple of times to deal with both of these issues and neither problem is completely fixed though they’re both tolerable I suppose. You can still see some mold lines on the mini but only at the side and back angles I’m not going to show you so as to not ruin the illusion that this is a well-sculpted mini with an excellent all-around paint job! Here is a quick size comparison to Liz who is a normal sized Hellboy model. Contrast paints and drybrushing really did wonders to get this guy painted up quick!
The other big project that took up a lot of my free time was getting my closet ready for the new organizer. I will spare you the details of how painting and resurfacing the closet walls went. It could have gone better and I made mistakes because I’m not very handy. Fortunately, the closet organizer came out really nicely. The picture below has poor lighting but should be able to see how nicely organized everything is now.
The left side has my card collection (which is mostly Star Wars but I have Marvel and Game of Thrones as well) in addition to some Legos, samurai inspired Star Wars figures and books down at the bottom. The right side is terrain including Fallout and some stuff I made for MESBGA a while ago now. There’s more books, Hellboy, and Arkham Horror: The Card game as well. As nice as everything looks, it does highlight a couple of hard truths. Even with a room all to my own, I don’t have THAT much extra storage space room left over. It surprised me that my gaming stuff takes up less room than I thought it would and my card collection more than matches it. I’m still planning on getting rid of some cards to free up more room for terrain. I also am planning on getting rid of the board games in the upper-left since I don’t play or enjoy those games. It is probably time to get rid of a few books as quite a few of the ones I own, I don’t look at very often (they’re mostly artbooks for movies that I enjoy like Star Wars Rogue One and the LOTR/Hobbit movies). Once I downsize some of that stuff, I should have room for more Fallout terrain and minis. I think I can also do my Prehistoric/Pulp Lost World gaming as well. I might be able to get some Roman gaming in there if I don’t need much terrain but that’s probably pushing it. It is a shame as I’d love to do some fantasy wargaming. Feudal Japan would be great as well but I don’t know how likely either of those would be with the amount of space I have currently. The silver lining in this is that it does give me a focus gaming-wise. I can’t store many more board games or wargames so I will keep that in mind if I suddenly get the urge to buy something new. I’ll also use my limited storage as motivation to go through and get rid of more stuff that I don’t want or use as much as I used to. To hold myself accountable, I’ll probably check in later on and let you know how I’m doing with all this. Its going to take some time but I think it will be worth it in the end.
Finally, I finished Loki this week and as I promised, I wanted to share my thoughts on it. There will be some spoilers so don’t read further if you haven’t seen it!
My first thought when watching the show was: “Who is this for?” Loki is a time-traveling, sci-fi story about a dystopia which has next to nothing to do with Norse mythology like the Thor movies. Some parts of the show have a real retro feel to them (think 50’s and 60’s decor) which was surprising since Wandavision wasn’t so long ago and that had a lot of retro elements to it too. And yet, Loki was fairly entertaining once you get through the first episode which was slow. What made the show worth watching? Visually, the show is quite stunning. Sometimes, there are amazing sci-fi environments and there are even Lovecraftian elements to take in. The action is sprinkled throughout the episodes and it is well done too. Agent Mobius is a fun character and Owen Wilson plays the typical romantic/hopelessly optimistic character very well. Sylvie is not a bad character either though its weird to me that Loki fell in love with an alternate, female version of himself. Isn’t that just a bit incestuous? Regardless, I was surprised by the ending and that there will be another season of this show. Not because it is bad because I have no idea where the story will go from here. I also don’t know how big of an audience this show has. Loki is a popular anti-hero/villain but in this show, he is humanized and acts heroically most of the time which was definitely a surprise. Considering the universe shattering potential of the next season, you’d have to think that this will continue in the next season and he won’t be nearly the villain he has been in Thor and the Avengers. I guess that summarizes my feelings on the show. Its good, better than I expected even, but also jarring, confusing, and surprising in many different ways.
Here is my current ranking of the Marvel TV shows. I have Hawkeye to watch still so that isn’t on the list and I’m skipping What If since it got fairly mediocre reviews from critics.
1.) WandaVision – While this will cause some controversy, I like the suburban dystopia and the clever concept of the show. I felt more emotion watching this one than the other two.
2.) Loki – This one is so visually impressive and generally entertaining which is enough to edge out the next show.
3.) The Falcon and The Winter Soldier – While I enjoyed this one and thought the takes on race and racism were good and Baron Zemo was excellent, I feel like Loki had fewer plot holes and a tighter script overall.
So there is my ranking, inspired a bit by The Imperfect Modeler’s top five lists (even if my list is a little shorter for now). I’d love to hear your thoughts on the Marvel TV shows thus far too!
Kuribo's Painting 
Well, based on the images you posted I’d say the Frog Monster looks pretty good indeed but I do understand your frustration when you just can’t clean up a figure to a level of acceptance. The storage situation looks excellent and whilst I’m sure you will clear out the stuff you’ve listed I still fear that you will run out of space quicker than you’d like! Can’t really comment on your list as I haven’t caught up with any of these programmes yet but appreciate the shout out. 🙂
LikeLiked by 4 people
Thanks for the kind words as always, mate! I fear running out of space quickly too. I may be able to sneak my way into some other storage in the condo but its going to take some hard work and buttering up my wife 🙂 You’re welcome for the shout out as well. It felt like it would be rude not to give you one since you were the first person I know of to start sharing them!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Your Frog Monster looks excellent mate! But that is no surprise to me. You consistently bring models to life with your brush skills.
My rankings of those 3 shows would be reversed, with Captain America & Winter Soldier at the top and Wandavision at the bottom. I think you observations are spot on but the subject material of CA&WS is too good, too necessary right now in my opinion. Plus the show sold me on a new Cap, which I definitely did not expect. And got me to like Winter Soldier, whom I disliked very much in the movies as being boringly 2d. And Baron Zemo…. a very rare thing, a villain I like. That does mean to say I did not like Wandavision, quite the opposite.
As a heroic Loki… well this particular Loki is heroic. Vain enough to fall in love with a female version of himself but heroic. Not all Lokis are heroic though. OK, a couple of Lokis are heroic to be fair. Fine. I stand corrected. This is the thing with the multiverse concept. The thing that makes the Kelvinverse of JJ Abrams Star Trek and the Picard TV series remotely palatable… things can be different because it is a different dimension. Anything is possible.
Marvel moving into the multiverse is like Tar Trek moving from space travel to time travel. It opens up possibilities to keep milking the… er I mean creating fresh new ideas to explore.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, I look forward to more tv show and movie reviews from you!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Where is the bloody edit button? Correction to above…
That does not mean to say I did not like Wandavision, quite the opposite.
LikeLiked by 2 people
An edit button is something I really miss too. It seems like it would be so easy to have one too…
LikeLike
Thanks for the support as always! I’m glad you enjoyed my review as well. It was fun to write up.
I think the themes are what make a difference to us. For me, the theme of loss and having difficulty accepting losing someone close to you resonates much more than the military and political ideas in Captain and The Winter Soldier but I can also see where you really enjoyed them.
I think the multiverse thing going with Marvel is great for fans like us. There are all kinds of cool stories they can tell. I don’t know how more casual fans will respond and I wonder how many more Eternals and other unknown properties can be successful but time will tell! I’m glad the shows have exceeded my expectations and generally been fun to watch as well.
LikeLike
Great work on the frog monster Keith, even through the difficulties it came out well.
Nice looking storage, and if it helps you keep track of what you want to get rid of, and what space you have available that’s got to be a good thing.
With the shows I don’t tend to judge against each other, and just enjoy them for what they are. I haven’t disliked any of them so far. The What If ? series expands more on the multiverse theory, some episodes were better than others, and was tied up well at the end of the series, I preferred it to the Star Wars visions, which I wasn’t a fan of.
LikeLiked by 4 people
Sorry Jeff, just realised I got my names mixed up again, what can I say I’m old ! LOL
LikeLiked by 2 people
I’ll forgive you this time, Dave hahaha! 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
I agree on the storage. Its really nice to know what your limits are and when it is time to get rid of something too. It sounds like What If might be worth giving a try. I nearly forgot about Star Wars Visions, I will give that a shot too just to see what I think. I bet it doesn’t appeal to me but I won’t know unless I try.
Also, I don’t know who this Keith bloke is but I’m glad you remembered who you were talking to 😉 That’s why I call everyone mate! Can’t mess that one up hahaha! 😀
LikeLiked by 2 people
The big frog beastie looks excellent to me, especially as it seems to be more of a board game quality sculpt than most of your other minis. I reckon it will serve its purpose nicely being beaten up by Hellboy et al.
So far we’ve watched Wandavision, The Falcon And The Winter Soldier and a few of the What If?s and I’ve enjoyed them all well enough. The comic source material is highly varied in its tone and style and so I’m quite pleased that the TV shows are very different, not just from each other, but from the movies. Regarding Loki acting more heroically, he has a sort of redemption arc in Ragnarok and Infinity War and he’s clearly a popular character in general; plus I really enjoy it when characters are neither unmitigated villains nor unwavering heroes.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Thanks, mate and you’re spot on, its definitely board game quality for better and worse!
That is a very good point. Loki has been reluctantly heroic in the not so distant past. I was surprised how heroic he acted in the show but its definitely not out of character for him. I agree on the variety in the shows thus far. They’ve done a great job making them stand out from each other and just because someone doesn’t like one, doesn’t mean they might not enjoy the others which is smart for Disney to do. I can only hope that Moon Knight and some of the other upcoming shows are as good or better than what we’ve had so far.
LikeLike
That’s way too big to be a . . . frog! Very nice mini though. 🙂 Nice storage space you’ve got as well! I’m tending to think like you in that if the storage space is finite, something has to go to make room for new stuff – to some extent that does control what I buy! As far as the shows are concerned I haven’t seen any of them (that probably surprises no-one) so can’t comment I’m afraid – given a choice though I’d probably opt to watch Star Wars spin-offs (much as I like Marvel, you seem to be scuppered if you’ve not watched every single film or series from the start)!
LikeLiked by 3 people
It really is. Its a frog that has grown beyond human size because it is “blessed” by a Lovecraftian god, so scary stuff indeed!
Considering I called your taste impeccable recently, I’m not surprised we think alike when it comes to storage! What you describe just seems like a practical way to handle it 🙂
The Star Wars shows are quite popular with Star Wars fans. I don’t think they’re as good as the fan hype would make you believe but they are entertaining and worth a watch all the same if you decide to dip your toe into the streaming waters 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Quite the toothy frog you have there! Well done on the paint job, as you said some board games models can be real rough to get cleaned up and are definitely made more challenging to paint as a result. Glad that the break seems to have refreshed you!
I really enjoyed Loki because it took me by surprise, was not expecting that story and therefore really enjoyed it. I haven’t seen the falcon series yet, but may have to jump on that, although Boba Fett is also on the to watch list!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for the kind words, mate! Board game minis can definitely be a pain and this one was at times but thankfully actually painting it was fairly fun.
Loki surprised me with how fun it is too. I didn’t have high or low expectations and it entertained me more than I expected. I hope to get around to Boba Fett fairly soon myself. Hopefully, we both enjoy it!
LikeLike
That is one big bad giant frog! Interested in how you did the “tusks”.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I actually paint “rotted” bone (like with the Goblin King) in a similar way so the scheme is pretty handy. First basecoat the bone or tusks with Ushtabi bone. I usually layer it with Screaming Skull so that the highlight/brightest part of the bone is on the tip of the tooth though you could skip this part if you wanted. Then you just get some really thin Seraphim Sepia (use your Lahmia Medium to thin it!), something two or maybe three parts medium to wash should work and then I will layer the glaze of Sepia towards the top. So each layer, I will apply less and less moving to the top/darkest part of the bone. Its really simple and easy to do and it gives a pretty realistic result. The hardest part is waiting for the glazes to dry!
LikeLike
Thanks! Tempted to go back and do my mumakil again.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That is the perfect use of this technique! If you keep the glazes thin and stay patient, you’ll get a really nice and smooth effect.
LikeLike
Love the frog, the highlighting on his skin really pops and gives a him a realistic slimy look! Dunno why a frog has tusks, but they make him look even more terrifying.
I watched Wandavision and had to force myself to stick with it for the first few episodes but I did like it overall. Falcon & Winter Soldier wasn’t quite what I thought it’d be; I thought they’d play up the comedic aspect of their relationship more, but on the whole I really enjoyed it. I haven’t seen Loki yet but I should probably give it a go.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks, Matt! I agree on the tusks. They make no sense other than to be unsettling!
WandaVision did lack action and excitement but for some reason, I still really liked it. I agree on Falcon & Winter Soldier, it had good parts but was also not quite what I expected/hoped for. I reckon you’d enjoy Loki. It is of a similar quality as the other Marvel shows which is not bad at all!
LikeLike
That is for sure one menacing frog. Nicely done. If I didn’t have super powers (and I don’t) then I would never want to run into such a creature. Really well done. 😀 gruesome mouth.
Storage closet looks great. All organized and such. If you’re still thinking of shucking your really nice field let me know. I’m not trying to push for it understand; but if it’s got to go then I can give it a good home. Now or in the distant future. I have a whole corner in the garage to store miniatures and terrain.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks, Stew! Painting gross things (a la Nurgle) is not really my jam so its nice to hear I still got the desired result here 🙂
Thanks for the kind words on my closet as well. That’s a thing I never thought I’d say!
You can see my dilemma with the terrain now? Those crop pieces are nice but I could use the space they take up for other things and I don’t think any setting I’m interested in would likely use them in the near future. All this is to say that I’m definitely leaning towards sending them your way. I’ll be in touch about them eventually. It might take me a month or six to do it but I will do something with them eventually!
LikeLike
Lots of good stuff there mate.
I liked the smaller frogs you did, but this Big Bad, Mother-of-all-Frogs takes the biscuit!
Hey, I could do with a storage room like that – looking around and rolling my eyes – better make that two, or maybe three!
Loki, The Falcon, anything else they have lined up mixed in with these two, and then way down on the floor, WandaVision, that’s my ranking😉
I think Loki falling in love with a female version of himself is spot on. He’s so vain who else is he going to love but himself!
Also, I liked the fact that he was a bit heroic. In Mythology, he often tried to do the right thing but never got it right and ended up blundering and making things worse, so I sort of get they way he’s portrayed here. I do agree with you about the first episode and I did wonder if I’d continue with it at that point but it grew on me. The use of humour was good and the storyline twisted and turned, and I wasn’t as predicatle as the other two series.
Overall, I think they need, and can, do better, but so far Loki’s my number 1.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, mate! 🙂 I think we could all use a couple extra storage rooms if we’re being honest!
I can’t believe you ranked WandaVision that low on your list! That is unbelievable! 😉 This is going to sound like I’m stroking my ego (when that isn’t at all my intention) but I guess I’m so humble that I thought Loki falling in love with himself was just wrong on every level! I learned something about myself by writing this post I guess 🙂 I would have to agree that Marvel can improve with their shows but that Loki had plenty of strong points too. Personally, I’m hoping Moon Knight is where they put it all together. It should have the potential to be a really cool series!
LikeLiked by 1 person
All gamers should have their own warehouse, maybe with a small section dedicated to eating and sleeping, but only maybe!
If Marvel could knock out a series as good as the Mandalorian, then I’d be happy.
I don’t know much about Moon Knight, the series or the character, so it might be different going in with no preconceived ideas, we shall see. I still haven’t watched Hawkeye yet, though, what about you?
LikeLiked by 1 person
That does sound very nice to me! 🙂 I’m not as keen on the Mandalorian as many people are, nor do I think it is much better than the Marvel shows thus far but I have complicated feelings on new Star Wars content these days so its probably just me.
Moon Knight is one of the few superheroes who has a mental illness and I find that the stories they can tell are often interesting and different with that character when done properly. I watched the first episode of Hawkeye yesterday and will probably give another episode a shot tonight. I’m not sure how I feel about it yet. I can say that I don’t think its going to raise the bar for Marvel TV shows
LikeLiked by 1 person
I was late into Star Wars. Obviously, I’d seen the originals way back when, but only got into the later ones recently. I thought they were a mixed batch, ranging from just okay to excellent. The Mandalorian has been really enjoyable, especially the first series. I think it’s the play on Clint Eastwood and the Spaghetti western feel that does it for me.
Be interesting to see where Moon Knight goes, but if Marvel doesn’t raise the bar soon then things are going to get stale fast 😴
LikeLike
Great work on the frog – and importantly I’m so glad that you’re seeing how not every model needs to be your best work. A lot of them just need to be good enough – which doesn’t need to mean rubbish, either! Blown away by the storage – my house is overflowing with my gaming junk, though with Covid calming down I’ll be doing some culling again in the coming months.
The Loki decor was solidly early 80’s, as someone who was there and remembers how it looked! My main problem with the show was the de-powering of Loki. The same big bad from all those Phase 1 movies struggled in melee against regular humans, albeit in some cases possessed ones. Wait, wut? Well, also the way they treated the Infinity stones – that was a pretty bad script choice that probably shouldn’t have gotten through unless they want Phase 4 to be soley Kang vs Captain SuperMarvel & Wanda because everyone else is treated like underpowered trash now.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks for the kind words and you’re going to have to throw some time and money into organization it sounds like! Culling is a good idea too. I’m working on a bit of that myself even with the new closet organizer.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hit reply too soon! That is a good point on Loki. I hadn’t thought about him being de-powered but its clearly being done to suit the story that the current movie or series is trying to tell so I guess we have to live with it…
LikeLiked by 2 people
It will come down to time (and culling) rather than money. If I could just throw money at the issue it’d be solved! 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
I do like the frog mate and as for the organized gaming closet! what can I say but if your over my way you may tidy up mine which is bloody deplorable. Ha Ha!!
LikeLiked by 3 people
Thank you for the kind words! I’ll pop over to Oz and give you had with that closet too, Pat! 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person