Moongrunt

Earlier this year GZG released a new range of hard suited near future models for 15mm Combat on the Moon called "MoonGrunt".  Somehow I missed them but now I'm aware of them they have really captured my imagination - they are very cool!

USMC troops from Ralph's great Putting the Colour into Space Blog

If you ever wanted to do some sort of lunar combat and near future fighting on Mars, these are the business.  The range currently has USMC and PLA-SC (People's Liberation Army Space Force) infantry (riflemen, heavy lasers and rocket launchers)

[June 2018 EDIT] - The first (?) wave of British Lunar Force models has now been released also

Ralph's wonderful PLA-SC forces from his Putting the Colour into Space blog 

And good news - Buggies and Rovers have now joined the range too!

https://shop.groundzerogames.co.uk/moongrunt.html

Detail of the recently released Lunar Rovers, from the GZG website here

I’m thinking some Infantry focused low intensity combat with a squad or two per side could be a LOT of fun with minimal investment.  And if you've ever read books like Stark's War which depicts a lunar war (with WW1 trench raid parallels) this is you chance to reenact those fights.

Combat in a different hostile environment might be a lot of fun too - separatist colonists perhaps?

Yes, I think you might see some of these figs in my Painting Challenge efforts this year.
Because I needed another project...

Movie Review: The Martian

Back in July I read the Andy Weir's book The Martian and posted a positive review of that here.
I went and saw the movie today and thought a follow up was warranted.

Ridley Scott has doen a great job with the film adaptation and stayed very true to the book.  At 2hr 22 min he had to cut a few of the challenges that Astronaut Mark Watney faces on the Red Planet, and he added a few scenes at the end which overall I think gave a better sense of closure to the story.

With only one exception, I thought the casting was very good and the characters.  Sean Bean doesn't even die in this movie, which makes a change for him.

Overall, a very good movie.  Read the book first and its even better.

Star Wars Costumes exhibit

I resented posted (here) about my trip to the EMP Museum in Seattle and all its great SciFi and Horror movie props.  Those were the permanent exhibits.  What was also super cool, was the special exhibit displaying a wide range of Star Wars costumes from all 6 movies.

I always thought these guys were really cool

Everyone will recognise this costume I think!

Put together by the Smithsonian, there is a lot of detail on the inspiration behind each of the costumes.  If you have the chance to see this, grab it

http://www.sites.si.edu/starwarsandthepowerofcostume/

Geeky Artefacts at the EMP

This guy needs no introduction!

During my Summer adventures I took my family to the EMC Museum in Seattle, and what a treasure trove of geeky goodness it is!  Among its other exhibits it has original props and costumes from a large range of classic SciFi and Horror movies.  Here are some of the highlights:

The original light sabres

War of the Worlds, 1953 style

Aliens fans will recognise these immediately

Deckard's Police Cruiser from Blade Runner

Deckard's "PKD Service Revolver"

Zhora's costume

Pris's costume

5th Element props

The original Klingon D7 Battlecruiser model

BSG fans will be most familiar with this dress

Ovian from the original BSG

Viper Pilot costume

The Spice must flow...

I shall not fear, fear is the mind killer...

Discovery 1 from 2001: A Space Odyssey

Space weapons and zap guns - how many do you recognise?

The Creature from the Black lagoon

Zombie Werewolf - I knew they were real!

Conan's Atlantean Sword

Weapons from Lord of the Rings

...and your father smelled of elderberries!

Fans of the Princess Bride know who has 6 fingers on his right hand

One of Tyrion Lannister's outfits

We all really loved seeing these goodies fro our favourite shows.  And then the Museum had a temporary exhibit of Star Wars costumes...more to follow on that!

http://www.empmuseum.org