It has been a very eventful couple of weeks and I’ve been really busy hobby wise and yet, I have very little to show after two weeks. Why is that? Well, I’ve been working on my Arkham Horror: Third Edition organizer which is taking a lot longer to finish than I expected. Right now, I have everything built but everything needs to be touched up with some black paint and varnish before I can actually call the pieces done. I’m just about out of black paint and have to wait a couple of days to get more so the work has stalled out. When I get done with the organizer, I’ll do an in-depth review/look at it but until then, I’ll just show off bits and pieces as I finish them most likely.
First off, I guess I should show you why I needed the thing in the first place. Here is what Arkham Horror looks like in my closet.
If I want to play Arkham Horror, I have to move the boxes around and then grab all the stacks of cards and counters and hoof them upstairs to my gaming table. It takes a lot of time to do that which is far from ideal. With multiple expansions now in my collection, it takes further work because cards have to be sorted further as well. Unfortunately, as is the case with all Fantasy Flight Games, they provide no organization in the box and you have to figure that out on your own. In fact, I would say most of their games once you open them become really difficult to store in the original box. So this is not a surprising problem and that is why I finally bought this organizer from LaserOx, who are based in Hungary.
With that said, here is the one thing I finished which I painted up a bit further than I needed to but it looks nice as a result.
This is much better than the plastic card cases I was using and obviously, it looks really nice with the painted etchings in the tray. Now, I just have to give a bunch more pieces the same treatment! I’m starting to run low on gloss varnish so I imagine that will slow this process done in the future if I run out before finishing this project. All this is to say, I will chip away at it over the coming weeks as its good work to do when you’re tired or don’t want to think very hard and I will try to get going on Lokaris again after this two week long interruption, if I can. I was really building up some enthusiasm and focus on that display project before the organizer arrived and interrupted things so now I will see if I can’t get back into display painting.
I forgot to mention that I’ve been off work this week, though I truthfully poured hours into building and staining the wood for the Arkham Organizer so it hasn’t felt as productive as I would like. I promised that I would play Hellboy and take pictures and so my goal is to do that this weekend and report back next time. The only other thing I’ve done that I wanted to mention is that I did something very rare for me and carved out some time to watch a new TV show. It was kind of ill-timed because I expected to be on a big Batman-kick with painting those miniatures and I mentioned last time I updated, it didn’t work out. Fortunately, the show I watched lived up to the critical acclaim. The Penguin ties into The Batman movie which I really enjoyed and I really liked Colin Farrell’s version of the Penguin there as well. Everyone says it, because its true, but his transformation into the character is just mid-blowing.
The Penguin is an interesting show though because it reminds me a little bit of classic mob movies like The Godfather, which is a very good thing, in my book. It also has elements that remind me of Game of Thrones where a cast of characters are all vying for power and chaos and violence ensue. And there is a lot of interesting psychology mixed in the show too. A little bit like the Sopranos, I guess you could say, but there’s very little humor in The Penguin. I was impressed by how the two main characters, Oswald Cobblepot and Sofia Falcone are both very flawed and damaged, but still likable and relatable in many ways. Too many forms of media can’t thread that needle so it was nice to see.
A number of years ago, when I was in grad school, studying literature and creative writing, I wrote a story about someone who was convinced that working a normal, steady job is a scam and that “hustling” and constantly looking for ways to make money by reselling and things like that, was way smarter and took less work. It also granted you freedom from “The Man” and things like that too. It was far and away one of the best things I wrote in grad school and so I look back on it fondly. I was surprised that Oswald Cobblepot, embodies a lot of that thinking and energy in the show and naturally, I loved that part of his character. The Penguin is a very American character (for better and worse) and while more John Dillinger than Robin Hood, I guess you could say, he is in that kind of mold. I also liked how he mentored and seemed to care about another character who has a speech impediment because this version of the Penguin has mobility issues. That made Penguin likable, especially when you consider that he is a part of the criminal underworld.
There is lots more cool stuff about the show but I don’t want to spoil anything. The last thing I’ll say is that ending genuinely surprised me with both how good it was. It actually felt like the way a lot of noir things end, which was interesting because I wouldn’t say the show felt noir up until the ending, if that makes sense. If there is one thing I value in works of fiction, it is a good opening that grabs your attention and the perfect ending which makes you think or feel something. The Penguin definitely has that in spades and try to avoid spoilers for it so you can enjoy that last episode of the show to the fullest. Between The Batman and The Penguin, DC really has a great “corner” in the DC Universe for anyone who likes gritty stories. I think The Penguin may only be a single season show and I say its all the better for it. At the same time, I really hope we get more content set in this version of Batman as I think its as good as anything coming out right now.
Kuribo's Painting 
Oh my, that insert sounds like quite something! Definitely more than the Folded Space inserts I’ve got for Outer Rim and Dune Imperium. I can imagine the finished product is going to be amazing! Looking forward to seeing that when it’s done, anyway.
Also looking forward to some Hellboy write-up!
I’ve completely missed out on the whole Batman thing, but it’s sorta coming onto my radar recently. Aren’t they supposed to be making a third one? Sounds like I should take the time to investigate this stuff, after all.
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So far, I really like it though I only have one piece done so its hard to judge! 🙂 I’ll give you my full thoughts once its done as “loading” everything into the organizers will give me a better perspective on the product as a whole, if you know what I mean.
I played Hellboy last night and it lasted 30 minutes (not including setup time). Read into that what you will haha! Its looking like you may get two write ups for the price of one.
Currently, there’s The Batman, which is excellent and The Penguin which is equally good, though quite a bit different since it focuses on criminal organizations. They’re starting to work on The Batman II which is exciting. The big reason I was interested in Knight Models is that they actually have miniatures for The Batman and The Penguin… That would have been my next purchase if I got along better with Batwoman, but alas, it wasn’t to be! If you like the Netflix version of Daredevil (which is now the Disney version, confusingly enough) then you’ll probably enjoy this version of The Batman. They’re both dark and gritty, which I really enjoy!
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After reading this post, I did have a look online to see the full thing, and that is really quite the beast! It’s going to be very impressive when done, at any rate – much better than the way I just have everything stacked precariously into the core box!! I’ll be looking forward to both this and the Hellboy write-ups, at any rate!
That’s interesting that you compare it with Daredevil, because I suppose there are some very strong parallels between the two aren’t there? I know I haven’t seen it yet, but I get the impression that this series is less about the Penguin being a literal man/penguin and more like the Kingpin in Daredevil? At any rate, I’m definitely intrigued now!
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Cheers, mate! I hope it meets your expectations 😀
Yes, the comparison between Penguin and the Kingpin is a great one. Colin Farrell’s version has no real affinity for penguins and his name is more like a slur. Its definitely a different take on the character than what I’ve seen in the comic books. For some fans, that is a bad thing in their eyes but I like that they can still find fresh ideas for these old and frequently used characters.
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With the pile of stuff you need to move, I can totally see the need for an organiser, look forward to seeing the finished item. Hope you’ve had a good week off, and interesting thoughts on the Penguin, as I’ve not actually watched that one.
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The last time I played, I felt like I couldn’t keep doing this and the effort required to setup the game was too high so I look forward to trying the organizer out. Its been good to get away from work this week, for sure. I didn’t realize I was trading a job that pays for one that doesn’t, but that’s okay haha! If you like dark and gritty things, then The Penguin is a great watch. While its set in the Batman universe, it appeals to people who like mafia/crime stories more than superheroes, truthfully!
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Nice work on the insert! It would have been easy enough to leave the engravings blank or just one colour, but you have to appreciate the effort you went to there!
I quite enjoyed The Batman, I’ll have to check out penguin. Also had no idea that was Colin Farrell, that’s nuts!
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Thanks, Nic! Funnily enough, I did try and do a single color but when I saw the results, I couldn’t help but feel that I could do a bit better so I put more time and effort into it.
Glad to hear you also enjoyed The Batman! If you liked that then I think chances are good you’ll like The Penguin too. I think Colin gave one of his best performances as the Penguin because you’d really never know it was him unless you saw the credits or someone told you. I would have never guessed an Irish person could get the “mafiaso” voice down so well!
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Nice work on the organiser, Jeff! 🙂 I’m not a big Batman fan and the closest I can manage is that I’ve just started watching Spider Noir!
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Its a decent start with plenty more work to go! 🙂 I like the most recent version of Batman which is pretty dark and serious and grounded in reality but I was not a huge Batman fan growing up myself! I’m really curious about Spider Noir. It looks like it has a lot of potential. I love that you can watch it in Black and White or Color as well 🙂
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It’s always dangerous reading your blog. Seeing the pile of games reminded me of one I have buried under a pile of lotr articles. Probably should pull it out and see if I should do something with it.
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When you type this URL on your keyboard or click on the bookmark, you know what you’re getting into! I’m very curious as to what game it could be and what you’re up to…
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My hidden game is Games Workshop’s 2005 Battle of Five Armies. The only thing I’ve used out if it is the mountains. I’m glad I can’t post images here to show how buried it is. (Check your email)
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That storage solution looks super cool, and it’ll save you loads of hassle both in transporting the tokens when you want to play, and also finding the right token in the moment.
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Cheers, mate. That is my hope. Its a heck of a lot of work but it will pay off… eventually 🙂
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