Dinosaurs in Miniature has been updated with all the latest releases: Some cavegirls from Reaper, some running dinos from Hasslefree and a Megatherium and Smilodon from Rattrap.
And at long last someone, Amazon Miniatures as it happens, has made the killer pig itself, an Entelodont:
cheerful
Venice was simply amazing. Lovely weather, great food (especially the seafood), amazing sights.
We stayed at the Hotel Rivamare on the Lido, which meant we took a boat across the lagoon into Venice proper everyday. In the city itself we saw all the big names: the Palazzo Ducale or Doge’s Palace, the Basilica di San Marco, the Piazza, the Bridge of Sighs, Rialto Bridge, the Grand Canal.
Things that appealed more directly to me included the Museum of Natural History was only partially open but we did get to see the excellent Ouranosaurus and Sarchosuchus; The Museo Storico Navale or Naval History Museum which only costs €1.55 and is packed full of relics from Venice’s and Italy’s seafaring history; The Rome and the Barbarians exhibition in the Palazzo Grassi was a ten times more expensive (and I really wanted the exhibition book but at €48 it was too much) but much more extensive than I’d expect for a temporary exhibit.
We also visited some of the other lagoon islands: Murano for the glassmaking; Burano for the lace making and painted houses; and Torcello for the eleventh century cathedral.
For one day we got the train to Verona, passing castles and vineyards on the way. There we visited the Arena and the Castle and had another fantastic lunch. One day wasn’t enough and we plan to go back sometime.
Venice photos and Verona photos.
cheerfulWent to see 10,000 BC this afternoon. Oh boy, history, biology, geography, astronomy - they all get a hammering in this film. I can’t be bothered to even start listing everything that was goofy here.
It was one of the most by-the-numbers renditions of (the easy to understand bits of) Joseph Campbell’s monomyth that I’d seen in a while. I smiled at the bemusement when hunter-gatherers first came across the evidence of agriculture, but of course in Campbell’s scheme there has to be a ‘boon’ to take back home at the end (sorry, that was a spoiler). There were also bits lifted from the Bible, Stargate, Conan and 300, just in case the mention of Campbell misled you into thinking there were highbrow sources being used.
The action and CGI were very good, the actors managed to keep straight face. It’s not a bad movie in the sense that it’s exciting and visual, but it’s certainly one to watch with the brain switched off.
Oh, by the way, the Doctor Who and Star Trek trailers look amazing on the big screen.
sleepy2 packs of Doctor Who micro-universe figures from Woolies, @ £4.99 each.
1 rare Star Wars collectible miniature from eBay, @ £4.51.
1 Dinosaur Planet RPG supplement from eBay, @ £6.24.
4 OOP Grenadier dinosaur miniatures from eBay, @ £10.29.
Total: £31.02. Just about on budget.
I’ve just updated the Dinosaurs in Miniature pages with the latest releases and re-releases.
Wargames Illustrated have finished re-releasing the DZ Miniatures prehistoric mammals. They’re also selling a set of rules called Tooth and Claw to tie in with this range. Written by Chris “every other set of rules out there” Peers who has pedigree on this area with Saurian Safari. My copy is in the post, so with luck I’ll be able to post a review soon.
There are also new rules out from Magister Militum called DinoMight and MM continue to expand their range of 10mm figures, now including some non-dinosaurs.
Finally on the pre-historic front Reaper have released a “Jungle Girl with Sabre Tooth Tiger” which is okay-ish except for the huge mold line in the photo and the fact that it’s an idea that’s been done several times before. Very nice cat though.
Meanwhile… It was only a matter of time… Pre-painted, collectible (i.e. random sealed boxes) miniatures for Doctor Who (via Forbidden Planet). They’re by Character Options which is a good sign (they make the very nice DW action figures) and the price is the same as for the Star Wars minis. On the downside (apart from the collectible nature) is the scale, 35mm, and the lack of anything from the classic series. Will I be buying them? They’re Doctor Who miniatures!
excitedLooking through some old comments that I’d left to moulder in the moderation queue, I cam across this gem:
why will we never know how dinosaurs died because we never knew what they were like i think that we will never know what and how they went extinct and you scintist stop tring so hard
First things first, this comment was left on a page listing 15mm scale miniature dinosaurs. Yes, a page about toy dinosaurs that doesn’t discuss the science of dinosaurs or the reason for their extinction at all.
It is true that we may never know with 100% certainty what caused the extinction of all non-avian dinosaurs some sixty five million years ago. However, their is a large and growing body of evidence that lets us form a number of hyoptheses. Falling sea levels, increased volcanic activity and a massive meteorite impact probably all played their part.
Further study into the K-T extinction will not only tell us more about the end of the dinosaurs but will provide us with insights into the effect that climate change can have on the Earth and the creatures that live here. A subject that is of obvious importance to all of us.
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snapesbabe. Post a comment with “top ten” or “top five” and I’ll give you a subject to base your list around.
Maybe because we start our names with the same three letters but I’ve always liked Steggy. One of the classic dinos that all the kids know, and one of the most fantastically strange looking creatures to ever walk on land.
A big mean predator, not as unbalanced to look at as T.rex but still big enough and toothy enough to give you nightmares.
Of Lofty as we call him round our way. Not only is it one of the biggest dinos but it’s also unusual in having longer legs at the front than at the back (hence the name).
Walking tank. My default user icon.
Velociraptor : Deinonychus = Hobbit : Human
tiredWhen I saw the trailers for yesterday’s episode of Primeval I wondered whether they were going to give any explanation of how the giant arthropods could survive in our atmosphere, and pleasantly they did - oxygen rich air leaking through the rift anomaly from the Carboniferous.
Then they go and spoil it by having the good looking bloke use a blowtorch right in front of the rift anomaly with no side effects what so ever. If the oxygen levels were high enough to affect the soldiers then wouldn’t any flames also be affected?
Oh, and they doubled the size of Arthropleura. There could be a larger species that simply hasn’t been found in the fossil record yet…
Science aside, it’s fun tea time nonsense, but the geek is very annoying and only Douglas Henshaw shows any signs of actually being able to act.
One last thing. We’ve all been conned. On the ITV web site for the series there’s a list of creatures. Have a look and see if you spot whats missing:
Not one of those is a dinosaur. No dinosaurs. Weren’t we promised dinosaurs? But all we get is arthropods, synapsids, and birds (I know birds are dinosaurs). Give us some proper dinos!
irritatedJust watched the first episode of Primeval. Hmm, The X-Files (the lead character even has a family member who vanished in mysterious circumstances) meets Jurassic Park (academics versus “dinosaurs”).
Fairly predictable stuff all round. The creatures are presented in a now-familar fashion - on the technical side this is from many of the same people as Walking with… and Prehistoric Park - and it doesn’t look like the plot is going to find a cliché it doesn’t like.
Oh well, there’s nothing else on the telly on a Saturday evening for the next few weeks. Let’s see, six episodes takes us to March 17th and the 24th is the rumoured start date for Doctor Who. Not taking any chances with the ratings on this one are we ITV?
The reason I don’t post so much at the moment is partly that my brain is a bit frazzled at the moment and partly that when I write a long post (like version one of this one) it get’s eaten by the computer-interweb-monster.
Anyway, here’s some of what I wanted to tell you all.
Wordie “Like Flickr, but without the photos.” Silly but funny.
A Preacher TV series? OMG. How fucking cool would that be if they did it right?
Speaking of TV (oh I’m smooth I am). Is Robin Hood the gayest programme on the box at the moment? Can you point at any one of the regular characters and say “Yes, they’re 100% heterosexual”? Let’s look at them all:
So much denial. They must have cut down Sherwood Forest to make all those closets. Still good to see this getting airtime at 7pm on BBC1. And the only complaints are about the historical accuracy. That’s progress for you.
Built my first AJAX powered web thingy. It’s very Web 2.0 - even got popup message box things with semi-opaque backgrounds.
Back on Web 1.33333 I’ve updated the Dinosaurs in Miniature web pages. Added 10mm and 6mm listings and updated the existing lists.
Oh, and that fuckwit who thinks MI5 are stalking him through the telly has spammed radw, presumably thanks to some cross posted threads from a uk. group. Still it makes a change from the normal moronic trolling. Why do I still read? Must be some form of masochism.
Going to see Mitchell and Webb tomorrow. In Cryodon, but it’s okay - I’ve had my innoculations. That’s the start of a long weekend and we have big plans. Take in a film or two, do the Christmas shopping, visit the British Museum, giroscope’s birthday curry, clean the flat from top to bottom. Come Tuesday I’ll be glad to be back at work.