Angry Lurker Honest Movie Review 91: The Hobbit Part 1 (4 STARS).

"Bilbo Baggins is swept into a quest to reclaim the lost dwarf kingdom of Erebor from the fearsome dragon Smaug"

While I was off my mate booked tickets for "The Hobbit" even though I was a little unwell ( I apologise to the other patrons of which there wasn't a lot on a Christmas Saturday afternoon for the occasional sneezing and coughing fits!)

I read The Hobbit a long time in the early days of my security career and remember fecking little except for the dragon, gold and some dwarfs, so I was quite happy to watch it with little idea of a story and after a visual slapping of my eyes and ears I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the movie, great effects, great action, great acting, Martin Freeman played Martin Freeman (never liked him until the new BBC TV series "Sherlock Holmes"), the dwarves were excellent (real good bunch of actors) and Gandalf was "Gandalf".

It's a series of stories as the group of dwarfs, Bilbo and Gandalf head for Erebor with appearances from Galadriel, Elrond, Gollum, the goblins and goblin king are some of the better bad guys and there's a bit of orc bad blood as well.

I thoroughly enjoyed it and there was no sign of the dreaded numb bum for a long movie (166 mins I believe) but it gets 4 STARS and no more and that's because I don't like to wait for the next fecking instalment, 2 more fecking parts, 2 more fecking years, Peter Jackson is extracting the urine big time. 

I need to read the book again......... 

28mm Wild West "Grand Hotel" in the town of Angry!

Back to flaming work, I was ill all my annual leave and fecking Christmas, it's Ray's fecking fault coughing and sneezing all over the car and gatehouse before Christmas the bleeding typhoid Mary!, got nothing done, sneezing like an allergic cat owner, cost too fecking much for too fecking little, more phlegm than a stutterers convention, explosive coughing fits and more snot than 12 kindergartens!!!!!!!

Here endeth the rant........

A lovely painted building among with others I acquired before Christmas by swapping something the previous owner wanted and behold one of the first buildings for my town of "Angry" down south (bleeding hot though), don't know the company though?

Not a large hotel but I've bought some poker tables and a piano with some patrons..........

"I'm out of here but have a good one if you can!"

Off on annual leave for Christmas now for 12 days for no reason other than I've got some annual leave to use up, I'm more of a "Bah Humbug" git myself but I believe some people like the season, especially those with kids, I'm godfather to one of Ray's daughters and my brother back in Ireland has just had a child (I'm in my mothers bad books but that's another story)and my other half still has a 22 year old at home (good lad) and this coming from a lapsed Irish Catholic as well (once in, never out), so Happy Christmas to fellow bloggers, readers and friends.............and I'm out of here to spread the cheer and feck Ray up, back on the 28th!

I really do like this picture.......

Damn right..............

I believe some people might like her in their stocking, ho...ho...ho!

This for some reason cracks me up..........

You have to be Irish to understand this but maybe not............

Ray has already tried to cheat on the challenge (these are figures for the challenge) but I've sorted the git out, he's had a kick in the Jacobs!

15mm Sci-Fi Khurasan Colonial Marine APC and Games Workshop Sentinels....

....we now have 28mm Games Workshop WH40K sentinels posing as 15mm sci-fi walkers for my colonial marine forces.

The APC is a federal Caiman M2189 from Khurasan Miniatures and the sentinels were re-painted from my days of WH40K, Khurasan 15mm exterminators for scale. To me the sentinels are an iconic piece of kit from the boys at Games Workshop, the resin Caiman isn't bad at all either.

6mm Sci-Fi Painted Walls posing as 15mm Sci-Fi Painted Walls from.......

.....Angel Barracks.

Saw these on TMP and had an idea that maybe I could use 6mm for larger scale stuff like 15mm, well I think you can and these walls which I painted dirty white just about do it (they're not bad but I'll have to probably base the walls up as they move...a lot!).....

......put in a 15mm critical mass games building and some 15mm Khurasan miniatures to show some scale.

The lovely Clint sent me and Ray some chocolates which I have to admit were fecking excellent (I got more than Ray but don't tell him), nice surprise, nice guy and seemingly a damn good cat herder!

3rd Annual Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge....and "Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war" again!

It's that time of year again over at Curts blog ( Canadian Thor look-a-like!) and a fellow reject and he has launched his annual painting challenge (otherwise known as Ray's cheating challenge), I'll be honest that I didn't want to enter this year, the painting funk and I'll probably be out of a job before the end of the challenge doesn't help but then I got over myself and entered with a project I've been collecting/hoarding for quite a few months now....

......a 28mm ACW/Wild West skirmish period, Outlaw Josey Wales meets True Grit and takes a turn at The Horse Soldiers with a pinch of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly!

There's a few new rules (I think), new points system (I believe) but no rule regarding cheating shites (Ray!) but at least the 20% extra Reject point bonus should be in effect this year (Curt still remembers the pasta and t-shirt) but Ray is exempt and I will be watching the rule bending, pre-painted, not my figures cheating work dodging Ironsides git for all other participants, I feel it's my duty!

Plastic and metal goodness........

May not make it until the end but let's paint it like we stole it people (..like Ray!).

15mm Painted Critical Mass Games Sci-Fi Buildings....

.......or not only do the dice gods feck with you but then the fecking painting gods come and urinate in your cereal bowl! There's a clue in the last two pictures, anyway lovely buildings I got for my birthday and other sources, great company with an excellent after service.

Lovely pieces of kit with nice detail on the interior and exterior......

Just a hint of peeling.....

....and another!

It may have been where I stored them, I may leave it to show sci-fi neglect on a planet, maybe it's time for a new period and scale and a challenge but that's for tomorrow!

15mm Sci-Fi NSF "Kurgan" APC from Khurasan.

Some APC's from Khurasan Miniatures to beef up the forces of the NSF, these are real monsters in size compared to other APC's but lovely resin kits and a few pictures of Khurasan figures to show scale....

On days at work at the moment but no Ray (bliss).........