My Hobby Lair

Hello Chaos fanatics and mutant scum! Welcome to yet another fatal and furious edition of Chaos Corner. Old Man Chaos is here for a look behind the curtain if you will. This will be a bit of a look into my hobby life. A look into... THE CHAOS CORNER itself. If you are not prepared for this, turn back now... otherwise, get ready to see horrors beyond imagination...

Recently, my wife and I bought a new house. The house had an unfinished basement that was the footprint of the house. All my life, I have wanted a man cave, complete with big TV, videogames and... dedicated Warhammer space (that is NOT common for a man cave huh?). I really wanted a place where my hobby flag could fly; a place where I could leave my Warhammer out for all to see.

In my previous house, I had a painting station on a desk in my bedroom. All of my armies were kept in foam trays and boxes in my basement. The aforesaid basement was an unfinished basement filled with all my family's stuff. I had a gaming table down there, but it made for a crowded basement. Furthermore, there was a boiler down there and as my friend Pete often said, when the boiler was on it felt like the gates of hell had opened down there (very fuel inefficient too).

At any rate, that was then. Let's talk about now. My wife and I had visions of doing work on our house (new kitchen, etc). The basement beaconed to me---- but would it be feasible? So after a lot of discussion with my wife, and planning and more discussion, we came to it. We would divide the basement into two halves divided by a wall (with a door, obviously). The one side would be laundry, etc. The other half would be my man cave. I would finally get my chance to have a dedicated hobby lair.

First and foremost, was the table. As my loyal readers know, I had some great friends and family build a suitable table. I have made one alteration to the table since then. I got some felt and added it to the sides of the table. These are my "rolling lanes" for the dice. While throwing dice on the war gaming area is nice, the truth is I hate "cocked dice", and I really hate the dice hitting into my lovingly painted (and sometimes delicate) models. Hence the rolling lanes. Now I put the felt so that the table is protected. Further, it makes it look really professional LOL.

The other rolling lane can be used for rolling dice, or as we do, use it for command points, cards, books, dead models, etc. Having the two lanes on either side of the table really gives the table something special. If you are going to build your own table, I strongly recommend a 4x8 table (rather than the traditional 6x4). My friend Joe, who has a gaming table of his own, says that the rolling lanes make a huge difference in both keeping things organized and keeping the game moving (again, no cocked dice, no dice knocking models around).

Another thing that I did was really try to utilize the space under the table for my terrain. Over the years I have collected a ton of terrain. Personally made terrain, odds and ends, GW terrain, friend built terrain, etc. I can't store it all under the table. So I did the best I could, organizing it so I could maximize the amount of terrain that was under there, but having it still be accessible. I got some boxes for the terrain, and used them to add more storage space (terrain won't spill out of the box).

Around my table I have placed some Warhammer art. I found a couple of pieces on Amazon that I really liked. One is a winter scene from one of the Dawn of War games. I love it because it is just so evocative of the Guard, as well as the cold environment. My second piece of art is one of the new renditions of THE battle of the Horus Heresy, with the Warmaster fighting the Emperor with Sangunius laying "dead" in the background. This is the largest art piece and it is near the center of the table. I think this is THE moment in Warhammer, so it deserves the special prominence. Interestingly (and unintentionally) the grey color in the art is similar to the paint color I used on my walls... The third art piece is the Chaos symbol with the artwork from 3.5 edition codex for the Chaos gods. I saw this and said how could Chaos Corner not have this on the wall?! LOL

Finally, I have several pics that I cut (literally) out of the old edition rule books- how many do you recognize? And I have two that came with the box sets of special characters. They just needed an 8 1//2 x 11 frame each. Small, but still effective for my purposes.

Next up in the Chaos Corner is my 40K model display cases. The cases are from Ikea. They go together pretty quickly, though I recommend having at least two people putting them together- I thank my brother for doing that with me. At any rate, I have (many, but not all) of my models on display. Again, this is something that I have always wanted to do- have my models out for all to see.

I have in my cases Ad Mech, Khorne, Thousand Sons, and of course, nearly two cases of Plague Marines (and that doesn't include Plague Zombies). My Ultramarines are not on display, as I let Brian use them and thus they are kept in carry cases.

Up next is my painting station. It is still just a desk, buttressed by two bookshelf units. I get to place extra models and paints on these bookshelves because... its my Chaos Corner and why not? Previously I couldn't have done that. Now I can. I have all my 40K books and White Dwarfs in easy reach too so I consult while painting.

That is the first half of my Chaos Corner. The other half is my multimedia setup. I have connected most of my old videogame systems up to my TV. I can now play my old TurboGrafix 16 system then switch over to my Super Nintendo! Again, a dream I have always had and has now become a reality.

Finally there is my collection of autographs that I have gotten from various ComicCons and I-Cons and the like. I am particularly proud of my George A. Romero signature. I also have Darth Maul, the Emperor, Captain Kirk, and more! I am happy to display these in my Chaos Corner.

So here is the whole thing: 

Well, now the curtain has been lifted, and you can see the complex operations happening in the Chaos Corner. I am very happy to share my gaming area to inspire you as you build yours. It took a long time, and a lot of work, but is such a pleasure for me. I am grateful to my wife for supporting me in what I wanted.

Until Next Time...

Movie Reviews In Brief: Argo and Silent Hill 2

Well, well, well... look who's here: my fellow Chaotic brethren! Welcome to another edition of the Chaos Corner! I just bought the newest White Dwarf, and it continues the changes that have been put in place with the last issue. It's really solid, though it has more fantasy than 40K (to be expected, but I'm only a 40K player). There's a few painting and conversion articles, a section about terrain, two interviews with Black Library authors, and a lot more. All they have to do is have some small fluff/fiction, and it'll be perfect.

Anyways, I haven't had a chance to go to the movies, due to my illness. The last movie I saw was The Dark Knight Rises. I will review that after I get it on Blu Ray, as I was getting sick when I saw it, and I was just too tired to do the review. Besides, seeing it on Blu before review will give me a chance to really dissect the themes, as well as it's flaws. At any rate, I've only just now been able to go back to the movies again (though I missed some good ones like Looper). So, I've seen 2 movies now: Argo and Silent Hill 2. I'm going to briefly review both. One is excellent, the other... hehe, not so much.

So let's take a look:

Argo

I saw this one with my wife. I have never been a big fan of Ben Affleck (he was the bomb in Phantoms... ;-). His performances have ranged from just OK to truly, truly awful (Pearl Harbor, anyone?). However, his acting and direction of The Town was just great- a solid, suspenseful crime drama. Well, he's back with Argo, which takes place during the Iranian Hostage Crisis. The movie is based on an actual event, and the movie only takes a few "artistic liberties" with the events, which is even more amazing. Basically, a few Americans escaped the Iranians who attacked the US embassy, but their still stuck in Tehran. If they are discovered, they will be executed as spies. With the clock ticking, one CIA operative comes up with a plan: he's going to disguise himself as a Hollywood producer, go in with fake papers, get the Americans and pass them off as his movie crew, and then escape. To make it convincing, he enlists Hollywood guys to really sell a fake movie to the press, the "science fiction epic-- Argo".

Sound far fetched? Haha! That's the point- its a scheme that's just crazy enough to work. It is a true story. The CIA actually did this, in 1980. This isn't Hollywood- this is an intersection of entertainment and real life. That's what makes this story so fascinating. Even better, Affleck does a great job of making this a thrilling, energized, suspenseful, and even humorous movie. The movie simply sizzles every second- the stakes are high, and you can't help but be on the edge of your seat- can they pull of this crazy rescue? Affleck makes sure that the tension is ever-present, but he's not afraid to let the absurdity of the plan shine through- the humor that occurs as these guys put together this fake movie is just great. Alan Arkin, as a Hollywood mogul, in particular, is a blast ("Argo fuck yourself" is something I now say, its such a great line).

Since this is a review in brief, I don't want to give it all away. I will say that the movie works on so many levels, it is a bit of a wonder. There's a lot of Oscar talk about this movie (IF that's important to you), but its easy to see why. This is an great suspense/thriller, but with a sense of humor AND it is historically "accurate"- it mixes together such disparate parts and makes them into a hugely effective combination, and you can't get better than that. I give it 4 out of 4 Marks of Chaos.

Silent Hill 2: Revelations

I have played Silent Hill games before (The videogame Silent Hill 2 is one of my favorite games of all time- this movie is NOT based on it though). I have also seen the first Silent Hill movie. That movie is perhaps the best video game adaptation ever put to film (not saying much when you see movie like Doom and Super Mario Brothers as the competition). That movie was a solid horror movie in its own right, but it happened to be based on the game. The images were right out of the game, as were its themes of religious persecution and hysteria. The actors all did a great job, and the effects were top notch.  Best of all, the movie had some scares, and it had a foreboding and nightmare like quality. It was even occasionally unsettling. It had flaws, but it was an entertaining horror movie.

Unfortunately, Silent Hill 2 has none of those things going for it, really. I saw this with my brother yesterday (he's a die-hard fan of the games), and I was very disappointed. I wanted to like this movie, and there were MOMENTS where I thought it was going to get its act together, but it never quite did. Basically, in my mind, it seemed as if the creative team LOVE the games, but didn't know what to do with it. They didn't know how to make a movie out of the games. It is basically the plot of the 3rd game, with several key differences. However, the core problems were the poor writing and lack of tension.



The movie lacks all the things that made the first one good (or indeed, anything that makes for a horror movie). There is no sense of dread, fear, or horror. The movie lacks any tension whatsoever. The script is filled with bad dialogue and double talk about cults that really go nowhere (and don't make much sense). However, the chief sin is that you're never afraid for the characters- you never feel like any of the characters are in danger. You simply can't have a horror movie where there is no sense of threat to the heroes. In this movie, that just never happens- the suspense is never built up. If you fail to have that, the movie must fail, and this one does.

It does have a few things going for it, though, which only made the disappointment worse. The creature effects were still top notch. There were some unsettling glimpses at these hell spawn (the spider made out of child doll parts was a particular standout, while Pyramid Head still is great looking) but again, without tension, the creatures just don't scare. The actors TRY to do their job, with the actress playing Heather, in particular trying her best, but the script and direction manage to ruin her conviction. Solid actors like Sean Bean, Malcolm McDowell, and Carrie Ann Moss are wasted, relegated to cameos, and again saddled with bad lines.

Again, if the movie had scares, a lot could be forgiven. Since this is a horror movie, the fact that there are no scares, no dread, no tension... well, that makes this movie a failure. Its a shame, as the first one was good, and there was potential here for a solid sequel. Unfortunately, the filmmakers squandered all those positives, making a mess and, quite probably, killing the franchise. Silent Hill could have been an anthology series, but now, if there is a sequel, it will be of the Direct to DVD bargain bin. That is a real shame. I give this 1 and a half out of four Marks of Chaos.

So, if you want to see a great movie, see Argo, as you won't be disappointed. As for Silent Hill 2- if you MUST see it, wait till DVD or Netflix. My brother liked it, but even he as a huge fan of the series could see it's flaws.

Until next time everybody!!

Initial Thoughts: Gears of War 3

Hey there Chaos fans! I've got a brief look into Gears of War 3 for the X-Box 360, in case you're interested...

I have long been a fan of the GoW franchise/series/money maker or whatever you'd like to call it. The first GoW is one of my favorite games of all time. That game is a masterpiece of graphics, atmosphere, imagination, and game play. Yes, other games have done all of thee things too (apocalyptic city- check. Hiding behind cover- check. Ugly bug-like enemies- check.), however, GoW put them together in a fantastic, compelling way. The cities of Serra look lived in, yet totally ruined. The Locusts are vile, and the big baddies are a delight to see (and fight). Finally, the character (and voice work) of Marcus Fenix totally pulls you into the game.The cover and fire mechanic keeps you playing the game. All told, it was one of the best games ever made- it certainly helped to blunt the emergence of the PS3 and its "360" killer, Resistance. Compare the two games, there's no comparison- GoW trumps. Released in November 2007, GoW was the right game at the right time. It changed video game history, making the 360 a true contender, AND raising the bar for third person shooters. Whew! And don't get me waxing nostalgic for the trailer (complete with "Mad World" as the song)!

One of video-gaming's best heroes of all time

The second GoW was quite good in its own right, but lacked the "newness" of the original, and of course that is to be expected. However, it certainly lacked the narrative "umpf" of the original. Of course, you knew there would be a third one, right?

Marcus Fenix versus the Locusts

The game came out well over a month ago. However, I haven't been able to get it, due to time constraints, playing Space Marine (which bears little actual game play resemblance to GoW, despite what critics say), modeling, etc. However, being my birthday and all, my wife decided to get it for me as a gift.  Woo hoo indeed!

Gears of War has atmosphere to spare!

After popping it in, I selected the ""Previously on GoW" video, reminding me of the plot points from the last two games. Then, I started playing... and it was like seeing an old friend again. Hearing Marcus bark orders at his squad, running, gunning, hiding, and gunning from cover brought it all back to me. Whoa- this is a fun game, just like it's predecessors. The voice acting is solid, the graphics (thus far) have been amazing, and the new addition of getting your squad mates to target a particular foe is a great idea that I have to get a better look at.

Ger the "Cole Train" in here... fast!

Again, I haven't played it for that long. However, being a GoW game, you already know what to expect. So, that should make it clear to you whether you want this game or not. For my own part, its been great so far, and I know that I'll enjoy the explosions (which my wife said were quite loud) till the end. I hope that the story is better than GoW 2, but hey- we shall see. If you're a fan and sitting on the fence, I say get it!

Well, that's my 2 cents. Until next time...