tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post2245630619831380999..comments2024-03-19T05:48:34.142-04:00Comments on GROGNARDIA: Different Worlds: Issue #8James Maliszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-42721142503744562402021-04-02T08:07:02.988-04:002021-04-02T08:07:02.988-04:00Adding to the anecdotal evidence, I never heard ga...Adding to the anecdotal evidence, I never heard gaming miniatures called anything but "minis" or "figs" in my areas (upstate and western NY, and central PA) - and that's going back to the late Seventies. "Lead figurines" were old-fashioned toys, usually around 1/12 scale.Dick McGeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14521293874696659063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-20200097930724846372021-04-01T10:35:08.811-04:002021-04-01T10:35:08.811-04:00There's a name I haven't heard in a while....There's a name I haven't heard in a while. Still wish he'd write a few more Drake Maijstral books for us, but after a quarter of a century I'm not holding my breath. Not that the Dread Empire's Fall series has been bad, but I really liked Drake for all the silliness inherent in the setting.Dick McGeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14521293874696659063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-86705654992022963662021-04-01T10:30:19.224-04:002021-04-01T10:30:19.224-04:00Fair enough. Pre-internet hobbyist/gamer/geek cul...Fair enough. Pre-internet hobbyist/gamer/geek culture was a very different thing, for certain.Dick McGeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14521293874696659063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-32680320364520173192021-04-01T08:36:32.998-04:002021-04-01T08:36:32.998-04:00I think you're right. I did know this, but, li...I think you're right. I did know this, but, like so much else, it receded into the recesses of my brain, only to resurface now. Thanks for the reminder.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-36718054616167969592021-04-01T08:27:57.212-04:002021-04-01T08:27:57.212-04:00"Dave Arneson and Steve Perrin review the two..."Dave Arneson and Steve Perrin review the two volumes of Walter William's Tradition of Victory Age of Fighting Sale wargame and RPG."<br /><br />I assume this is the sci-fi author Walter Jon Williams. His game was reissued (I think) in the early 80s as Privateers and Gentlemen, coinciding with the release of his historical fiction novels of the same name. There are five in all, telling the tale of the Markham family of American privateers from the American Revolution through the War of 1812. They're actually quite good--a bit long and dense, but more literary than the usual sail 'n' cannon adventure tale.<br /><br />I've got a reprint of Privateers and Gentlemen, which I'd love to play someday, but it's a hard sell to my gaming group (who are highly resistant even to non-5e D&D). The reviews I've read tend to say it's a good game, but that the RPG and wargame parts were clearly written separately.Nat 20https://www.blogger.com/profile/05723723386691404829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-1063001348967106812021-03-31T22:47:03.447-04:002021-03-31T22:47:03.447-04:00I was operating off of something I was told at the...I was operating off of something I was told at the time. It seems that the person who emphasized that it was MM who built the miniature in the movie was misinformed and therefore misinforming me. Ken Ralston built the movie miniature. Martian Metals were licensed to produce <a href="https://www.nobleknight.com/P/2147726752/Vermithrax-Perjorative---The-Great-Dragon-w-Ulrich" rel="nofollow">a 25mm kit with an Ulrich figure</a>. I should keep in mind that we were basically playing telephone with a lot of the information we got back in those days.faoladhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03691952430041394614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-21468021826653245612021-03-31T20:52:47.265-04:002021-03-31T20:52:47.265-04:00Yikes! Repair a TV meant it had some kind of CRT,...Yikes! Repair a TV meant it had some kind of CRT, and those things could be dangerous. Here's to your Dad. Salute.John E. Boylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02424841103552780730noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-521682530483424662021-03-31T20:42:31.900-04:002021-03-31T20:42:31.900-04:00"Miniatures" or "minis" was wh..."Miniatures" or "minis" was what we always called them in suburban Maryland. I don't recall anyone saying "lead figures" in my area, but that doesn't really mean anything.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-67540533476256687802021-03-31T20:29:58.886-04:002021-03-31T20:29:58.886-04:00When did "lead figures" become "min...When did "lead figures" become "minis"? Or was that a regionalism we had in the early 80s?Logan 5https://www.blogger.com/profile/03212191058868399042noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-72637563112970231202021-03-31T10:29:35.492-04:002021-03-31T10:29:35.492-04:00Really? AFAIK the film miniature was made by ILM,...Really? AFAIK the film miniature was made by ILM, although the SFX team on it was huge (over 80 people) so Forest Brown might well have been involved without my knowing. The film dedicated almost a quarter of its budget to bringing Vermithrax Pejorative to life, and it shows even when held up next to modern CGI. Dick McGeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14521293874696659063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-47844818071951853522021-03-31T07:43:22.218-04:002021-03-31T07:43:22.218-04:00It's probably worth mentioning that Martian Me...It's probably worth mentioning that Martian Metals built the miniature of the dragon used in the movie <i>Dragonslayer</i>. I'm not sure if that's related to the trademark snag alluded to here or if it was simply due to the line of figures from that company. Since the movie didn't happen until 1981, it's likely the figure line.faoladhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03691952430041394614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-77553297633557188412021-03-31T02:50:11.073-04:002021-03-31T02:50:11.073-04:00I don't know what the deal was in Heber city, ...I don't know what the deal was in Heber city, Utah, circa 1980, but my mom had Conservative Mormon friends back in the Early '80s and the thing about my playing D&D that really freaked them out was that it was a game with no winner. Not the demons, not wizards or Drow or Orcus or Chaotic Evil, but the fact that it was a "Game" that no one "Won". That seemed to disturb them on a fundamental level. <br /><br />This is only my own personal experience. Make of it what you will. Parvel Shunkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11797860937349949157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-528905335856511692021-03-30T15:38:32.598-04:002021-03-30T15:38:32.598-04:00That's very cool. Thanks for sharing that.That's very cool. Thanks for sharing that.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-48985121016966426442021-03-30T15:31:18.591-04:002021-03-30T15:31:18.591-04:00cover artist Steve Oliff was the colorist on the M...cover artist Steve Oliff was the colorist on the Marvel/Epic comics run of Akira and helped pioneer digital comics coloring.Mark Argenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01171156591700122298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-9756475675796009822021-03-30T14:00:09.299-04:002021-03-30T14:00:09.299-04:00Before I forget and succumb to rambling, I want to...Before I forget and succumb to rambling, I want to mention that the covers on both the DW and Howard items are really captivating. A bit in the vein of the Farrah Fawcett poster: they may not represent exactly what you're thinking, but they strike directly at "how you feel". What an immensely powerful device. <br /><br />There were never any Satanic mutterings among the parents with D&D. The Iron Maiden poster, KISS Army (blood-face), or Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap? Yes and oh yes. <br /><br />I also can't discern if the outcry is a sign-of-the-times evolution. Half of our fathers were Vietnam soldiers. They typically had bigger things on their minds than the Green Ghost wearing a Redline BMX tee hurling an ess-storm at Captain Kirk and Magnum PI. I waved Tomb at my dad once and he said (gripping a Wild Turkey brimmer, neat) "I don't know what that cartoon is, but I've got to repair this TV, so leave me alone until dinner."<br /><br />REPAIR a TV? HuckSawyerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13381444935904172318noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-48687460989805322852021-03-30T11:17:50.455-04:002021-03-30T11:17:50.455-04:00Oh, what a surprise, a dink town in Utah being upt...Oh, what a surprise, a dink town in Utah being uptight about something. Have to admit "communistic" is a new complaint, though. Those Mormons always did like to add their own twist to things.<br /><br />I never saw any of these figs myself, but some quick research shows that Martian Metals had "DragonSlayers" figure ranges in both 15mm and 25mm scales that probably predate both the Disney film and the RPG that became DragonQuest, so I guess that explains that. You can see some of them over on the eternally-useful Lost Minis wiki here:<br /><br />http://www.miniatures-workshop.com/lostminiswiki/?title=Dragonslayers<br /><br />http://www.miniatures-workshop.com/lostminiswiki/index.php?title=DragonSlayers_15%27s<br /><br />Some of them actually look pretty good, although most are typical products of their time. I mostly remember MM for their screwball upside-down (and once sideways) ads on the back covers of the Space Gamer, a small Runequest range, and for making teeny tiny Ogre figs.Dick McGeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14521293874696659063noreply@blogger.com