PAX has begun

PAX has begun! This year's PAX is a blast and I think that soon 3 days isn't going to be enough for it. There is so much to do there and more than I will have time for. Yesterday, Friday was pretty much just a reconnaissance and preview day with so much stuff to do. So much new stuff like "Super Dungeon Explore" from Sodapop miniatures (pictured to the right), the new Tron game, new Fallout game. Plus lots of prizes and goodies to win from old well known companies like NVIDIA, Intel, Warner Brothers, etc. Today I've got 3 or 4 panels to attend as well plus a PAX tournament game of Anima Tactics!



It might take me a long while to blog and catch up with all the stuff I've seen and done!

Sodapop miniatures announces Ryu Beat!

Sodapop miniatures just announced a couple new releases. Calico Kate and Ryu Beat were awesome figures I got to see at Sakuracon, but I was asked to keep a lid on Ryu Beat.

Now for those of you prepping miniatures I want to share this handy link of test results for different Primers wargamers are likely to use. The results confirmed what I already knew but couldn't prove, stay away from Citadel primers due to weaker adhesion and stay clear of craft store primers because they're more prone to bubbling. Oh, and don't use really ancient primers (Ral Partha in his case) because the chemicals degrade.

The test is missing two things due to no fault of the author. One is thickness, which is difficult to measure without the proper tools because they all go on thin. You can guess this from trial and error due to overspray and thinness of the coloring agent. The second is environmental conditions. Some primers due better in cold temperatures, warmer temperatures, or higher humidity (if you've got really high humidity though I recommend a brush on primer).

Now if this guide helps you out please drop me a comment or better yet shoot me some pictures of your work!

Sodapop miniatures

So something I haven't spoken of enough yet is Sodapop miniatures who was sharing a booth with Cipher Studios at Sakuracon. Their miniatures are cast by Cipher Studios but they have a seperate online store from them at their website and at coolminiornot. Their sculpts in my opinion are top notch and on par with Anima Tactics, though their style is a lot more comical. I'll be keeping an eye on sodapop miniatures in the future.

Also, to all you gamers out there: They do have a game in the works which is aiming for a 2011 release. Right now they're just building the miniatures line for collectors. Keep coming back to this blog because I got a photo of a nice new painted miniature that hasn't been released to the public yet. I was asked to hold off on showing it for a couple weeks, so come back again to get a sneak peek of one of their awesome new figures that is coming up!

Sakauracon 2010

I just got back from my first day at Sakuracon where I volunteered at the Cipher Studios exhibit booth.



Sakuracon is just non-serious fun. People in costumes everywhere. All the controversial Japanese pop culture I grew up with is everywhere. Anime, Manga, music, women in Kimonos chasing after guys with Samurai Swords. Fun! Even the Cipher Studios booth I was at had its own Booth Babe to show off the new exciting line of Sodapop collectible miniatures. Miniatures gaming is always nice to look at!



But for this first day I'm not just roaming around. I'm focused on introducing more people to the Anima Tactics game. But as a bonus, I get to see a number of sneak peeks of things that have never been seen before!

I love this dynamic looking model. Her abilities fit with it too. Her innate ability Mjolnir causes her opponent to be thrown and lose an action point whenever she scores a critical hit against them. She also has a 3 action point ability "Ka-Boom" which causes ALL enemies in her control zone to lose 1 action point at an effect of 15. That is one powerful hammer girl!

I got to see a bunch of new minis which I will write about soon.