I really like these models and glad they are finally completed. I would like to add some more at a later date.
The Canny Canine figures are all the way from Scotland’s Alternative Armies Flintloque range. The model are from the 666th Zoltan Zombie Dog Line Infantry (phew what a mouth full).
Like most of Alternative Armies models, the sculpts are superb, and are a rather chunky 32mm scale.
After this weekends games my AFL football team, the Western Bulldogs’ finals chances may well be dashed, and they should be relegated to join the 666th Zoltan Zombie dogs! We will have to wait and see if I need to paint some numbers on the back of these models!
But not just yet!
Guru says “What is hope without optimism”. He also says “GO DOGGIES”!!!!
I have not had a chance to get much hobby stuff done over the last few days so I do not have much to report. Today I was able to get to Bunnings to buy some acrylic spray paint to start undercoating everything. Given the hill cliffs and the dungeon stones will all be grey a black undercoat was ideal.
I chose this brand as I have used them before:
With two coats on the hills and one and a “touch up” on the dungeon there is still a bit left in the can. I will need to buy at least another one to do the green foam. A warning with this brand – most colours are NOT acrylic and are NOT suitable for use with foam.
Paving stones.
The stones with the cave system.
Close up view.
Skull Mountain with two coats of undercoat.
Skull Cave
Will not get much done tomorrow so may be a few more days before I get a chance to undercoat the foam and start working on the paving stones.
These will be used for either British Commandos (surprise surprise!) for WW2 games, or Army units or Department X for 7TV. The can also be used for the Unit in Dr Who games.
This figure is the Commodore Colin Maud RN from Warlord Games. Commodore Colin Douglas Maud, DSO & Bar, DSC & Bar was a Royal Navy officer who d commanded the destroyers Somali and Icarus and acted as beach master of Juno beach at the D-day landings. His blackthorn stick and dog Winnie provided an image when portrayed by Kenneth More in the film The Longest Day. More used the actual Shillelagh Maud used on D-Day.
For me he is just a humble Commando leader or a 7TV Hero Star (the military genius)!
His loyal and trusted 2IC.
The squad leader.
The 4-7 “troops” allowed for 7TV.
A Bren gun team will make up the ten man Commando Squad.
Ten Man Commando Squad
In 7TV the Army team is allowed a Land Rover or van/truck for transport. I am using the Bedford QLD truck from Rubicon for two squads and a Land Rover for the command but these will have to wait for another week as I need to pick up some more plastic glue.
The crystal Cove Police Department is headed by Sheriff Bronson Stone. In the 24th episode of Mystery Inc., “Dead Justice” we find that “Sheriff” is actually his first name, as his mother knew he would eventually be a sheriff. As far as I can find none of his deputies are ever named.
The Sheriff, Sheriff Bronson Stone
Mystery Inc in the Crystal Cove “lock up”.
Crystal Cove Police Department (Precinct 388)
The cars are assorted 1/43 and 1/42 discount store toy cars. The figures are Crooked Dice with a Sheriff’s Campaign Hat.
Deputies with SMG
Deputies with pistol and baton
Sheriff (blood stripe)and deputies (blue stripe) with pistol
Deputies with rifle
The Sheriff, Sheriff Bronson Stone
Sheriff Stone is a 7TV Heroic Extra fighting alongside Mystery Inc.
Deputies with rifles
Sheriff and deputies with pistol
Deputies with pistol and baton
Deputies with SMG
Crystal Cove Deputies can assist the Mystery Inc in their solving of various strange happenings.
The Sheriff Posse can be fielded as an Heroic Unit. Vehicle stats are as follows:
I have just finished watching the first series of “Stranger Things” on Netflix and have thoroughly enjoyed it, but it made me want to delve a little more into the mythology and D&D lore surrounding such a large part of the show.
In D&D lore, Demogorgon is a demon prince with two heads that strive to dominate one another but are unable to do so. In mythology, Demogorgon is a god or demon associated with the underworld, and whose name is taboo and should not be spoken.
Perhaps the only thing preventing Demogorgon from taking over the rest of the Abyss was his own dual nature. If you want to have even a chance at stopping him, you need to distract him. That is Demogorgon’s weakness. Have the two heads in conflict with one another!
Demogorgon is a deity or demon, associated with the underworld (the Upside down?). Although often ascribed to Greek mythology, the name probably arises from an unknown copyist’s misreading of a commentary by a fourth-century scholar, Lactantius Placidus. The concept itself can be traced back to the original misread term demiurge.
Lactantius Placidus
The Demogorgon appears in Milton’s major work Paradise lost:
Note, however, Milton does not refer to the inhabitants of Hell, but of an unformed region where Chaos rules with Night. In Milton’s epic poem Satan passes through this region while traveling from Hell to Earth.
Abaddon, an angel of the abyss, is depicted as a 7 foot tall, reptilian hermaphroditic tanar’ri (a type of demon) with a somewhat humanoid form. Two heads sprout from his twin snake-like necks, and his arms end in long tentacles. His two heads have individual minds. So the Demogorgon is well entrenched in myth and literature.
For all of its pillow-clenching moments of horror and sweet ’80s nostalgia, though, the deeper appeal of Stranger Things lies in its exploration of relationships. In particular, there is the interplay between the masculine and the feminine; also the themes of freindship, fatherhood, motherhood, and self-giving love. Ultimately, the show’s heart and humour stops it from being a simple gore-fest, transcending geek appeal to become a powerful story about friendship, redemption, and the victory of good against evil.
The end is predictable, but isn’t that what the themes genre is all about. There is also a sense of a blurring the lines between good and evil as characters resort to more and more desperate measures to achieve victory. The character of Elle and the use of her powers can be seen as treading a fine line but she has a strong sense of friendship and belonging despite her upbringing.
While we contain the potential for what evil that is within us, it’s only ever a distortion or destruction of the good that is our true nature.
Throughout the show, we see the best and the worst sides of human nature, but dare I say when masculine bravado and feminine insight work together in harmony (whether in individual characters or in the balancing of the two forces within one character), the light prevails and true human heroism emerges.
The characters of sheriff Jim Hopper and mother Joyce Byers demonstrate this quite starkly as they undergo significant changes throughout the movie and more particularly when working together.
