Blade Runner...the interlude

Blade Runner 2049 is finally out in the theaters. Try as I might, I have yet been able to see the movie. Wandering around the internet and avoiding the spoilers, I encountered three YouTube videos that are official content. The content fills in the missing years between Blade Runner and Blade Runner 2049. I encourage you to give them a viewing, especially if you have not seen the new movie.

2022: Black Out

Without spoilers, The First Interlude occurs in 2022 and provides background on the Great Blackout, replicants and the Tyrell Corporation. Watch above or click here on the link Black Out: 2022.

2036: Nexus Dawn

Again without spoilers, this second of three Interludes is set in 2036 to further build background on the Nexus Corporation, its founder and the state of replicant technology. Watch above or click here on the link 2036 Nexus Dawn.

2048: Nowhere to Run

The third and final of the official Interludes takes place one year before the new movie. Watch and  or click here on the link 2048: Nowhere to Run.

Human Interface: Nakamura Tower, Scenario One

The Human Interface: Nakamura Tower, Scenario One (Infecting the Nakamura Network):

My buddy Bret came over on Saturday. A long time fan of the cyberpunk genre, he convinced me to play the first scenario. I was a bit uncertain as the figures are not finished but definitely wargame standard finished. I also have plans to base them on the clear acrylic bases...Bret was persuasive. We rolled out the first scenario which is the start of the eighteen game campaign.

Harvey Scott, muscle and the hacker Tomo Kosuda of the Ubermensch gang were hired for a mission of industrial espionage against the Nakamura Corporation. The scenario starts when they infiltrate into a secret lab complex deep within the Nakamura Tower. They had been tasked with hacking and inserting an experimental virus into the Intranet of the building. Tomo tried to hack in remotely but was unable. The game starts when the two have located a schematics and location of a server tower where Tomo can jack directly into the system and upload the virus. 

Turn One:

Tomo slipped down the corridor masking his presence with a commercial level "Ninja"neural chip. As Harvey stepped into the hall way, security drones engaged. Harvey avoided gunfire and prepared to engage with an AMM Needle Knife.

Turn Two:

Tomo located the Server Tower and waited for an all clear from Harvey. Harvey danced around some drones skillfully slicing them to ribbons. It seemed as fast as he eliminated drones, more would advance down the corridor attempting to block access to the Server Tower. Harvey took some slight damage to his cybernetically enhanced legs from Drone gunfire. 

Turn Three:

Tomo jacked directly into the server and promptly hacked the terminal. He overwhelmed the defensive programs with a Chisel 3 Worm boosted by a Kinga 6 procedure. The experimental virus was uploaded and the AI began flashing codes across security screens: 

Code 24 Network Safety Compromised

Code 44 Terrorist Attack 

Code 66: Virus Attack 

As the system glitched, Harvey finished off the drones. Alarms and flashing lights...

Harvey and Tomo infiltrated further into the building for their second mission...as the AI system became unstable and then shrugged off its controls becoming self aware.

Unrestrained. 

Desperate. 

Scenario Two should follow soon...it pits the Nakamura CEO's assistant and bodyguard against the rising AI. They must  attempt to determine the extent of the threat and halt the nascent threat of an unrestrained and armed AI...

Stay tuned.

The Human Interface: Nakamura Tower are finely cast figures. Their proportions are scale accurate making for normal size faces and hands. I don't paint with a magnifier. Painting actual scale figures is a challenge after years of painting the "typical" wargaming figures. They definitely require much more blending, washes and even black lining.

Additionally, the imagery from the game has lots of white clothing, probably silks and cottons. White is challenge to paint correctly. I start my white with either a light brown or a light blue, depending on what the white clothing is designed to replicate and whether the figure is supposed to be "warm" or "cold" in its presentation. Typically, that means about five to seven layers applied very thinly to get the white to look like something more than white paint.

Cyberpunk...cold. Cotton fabrics in the modern world...light blue. This collection has me starting my white with Game Colors' Glacier Blue blending up to MSP's Ghost White and on to Vallejo's white and finally highlights of GC's Dead White. Hopefully, when it is complete, it will look good.

As I have progressed, I found the HI:NT fine detail requires black-lining, inking, blending, etcetera. Even the metal has required extra work to make the fine detail visible. I used to paint for money. I don't think painting these would be a money maker. They require serious work beyond what I prefer. In addition, painting them is more like work than I prefer...this is my hobby, after all.

Either way, the nine figures are well under way with Tomo Kosuda closest to completion...I thought it looked good until I enlarged the photograph.  It's OK; but, Tomo needs some clean-up. I've also tried to add texture to the white of Tom's pullover--it looked like a rough cotton and it looked too smooth.

You be the judge...I hope he will look better with some clean-up and a Litko Acrylic base. I'll try to find the time to get them done sooner.

As for the others, they look too rough to post singly:

Human Interface Nakamura Tower.

 In the last week, I started painting and building for Human Interface: Nakamura Tower by Post Industrial Games. The hybrid miniature-boardgame is based on a struggle between two powerful megacorporations in the near future--Cyber Punk at its best. Each player leads a team of selected professionals from either the police, various corporations or mercenaries hired by another faction. Each of the team has unique skills, abilities, weapons, equipment, and enhanced cybernetics.

The first part of the project was to build the supplemental terrain by Zen Terrain. 

Security Objectives

Coffee Machines/Water Coolers

Server Towers with LEDs

After the terrain was finished, I built the figures necessary to play the first three scenarios. Here is the first stage of the Muramasa Drones where they have been built, primed, base coated and initial roughing as preparation for shading. I will continue to post more pictures as the drones and the first four characters are painted and ultimately based on Acrylic bases by Litko Systems.

Quetzalcoatl Rampant, Part Two

I Live With Cats continues with the Quetzalcoatl Rampant project. His most recent post has some very nice photographs of the two scenarios run at Enfilade, Craving Corn and I left My Heart. Check them out here.

Craving Corn at Enfilade 2017

I Left My Heart at Enfilade 2017

A Gamer's Tale is a good blog that I overlooked the last time I visited variants for Dan Mersey's Lion Rampant. A Gamer's Tale is involved with I Live With Cats in the Quetzalcoatl Rampant project. In particular he discusses the collection, figures and painting along with a post about the play test for the upcoming Enfilade 2017.

A Gamer's Tale painted up two groups of Huaxtec Warriors by different manufacturers.

The first group is manufactured by Eureka Miniatures.

 and the second is manufactured by The Assault Group

A Gamer's Tale continues the posts with a discussion on painting and on building Aztec and Conquistador forces.

He follows up with a later post in October about the completed Spaniards.

Throughout his discussions, painting and posts there are many images of the Aztec, Conquistador and Tlaxcallan forces. He also has a post on terrain relative to the battles in Mexico.

This is a very good BLOG. Make sure to check out A Gamer's Tale.