COOL STUFF: "Flirting Robots Are Here!" (19 December 2007)

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TOP: Bring it on, Rosie the Robot...

The Jetsons are bored!

Hi Everyone,

Quick post today: I read this article about the advances that robots have been achieving lately the other day ago...

BEWARE OF FLIRTING ROBOTS:
"A program that can mimic online flirtation and then extract personal information from its unsuspecting conversation partners is making the rounds in Russian chat forums, according to security software firm PC Tools. The artificial intelligence of CyberLover's automated chats is good enough that victims have a tough time distinguishing the 'bot' from a real potential suitor, PC Tools said. The software can work quickly too, establishing up to 10 relationships in 30 minutes, PC Tools said. It compiles a report on every person it meets complete with name, contact information, and photos." More and more, we're living in a William Gibson world.

UPDATE:
Reader John Baker emails: "Professor: as much as I enjoy Gibson, ever heard of the Turing Test?"

Yeah, and it sounds like these robots are passing it in the real world on a regular basis. Though to be fair, I doubt Alan Turing envisioned administering the test with an audience of drunk, horny Russian guys.

I hate SPAM-bots!

They should written those into the Terminator movies... the audience would have cheered more when they were destroyed.

Link here:
http://instapundit.com/archives2/012697.php

And here:
http://www.news.com/8301-13860_3-9831133-56.html

The Turing Test:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turing_test

William Gibson:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_gibson

Have a great Wednesday!

And happy holidays!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).

COOL STUFF: "Gourds & Artificial Life" (7 November 2007)

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TOP: "At your leisure, my Lord"

Quoth the Cylon Jack-O-Lantern.

Hi All,

Simple post today because I enjoyed the above graphic so much and took a gander at the Galactica Watercooler web site yesterday...

Thanks for the cool graphic, Miranda!

And a few links:

The Galactica Watercooler can be found here:
http://www.galacticawatercooler.com/

One of my absolute favorite pumpkin carving sites:
http://www.extremepumpkins.com/

And for those of you who didn't know the Cylons have a sense of humour, check out this campy dialogue excerpt from the 1978 film:

Cylon Centurion: Our Raiders are all destroyed.
Imperious Leader,: All destroyed? How? We took them by surprise.
Cylon Centurion,: Apparently it was not as big a surprise as we had hoped for.

Have a great Wednesday!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).

MINI WARGAMING: "Necrovores: A Blast from the Past!" (17 October 2007)

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TOP: Cyborg Trucker's (CT) "Necrovores" shamble across a bridge.

Hi All,

Robots have been one of the staples of science fiction since "scientific romances" came into vogue around the early 1900's. And one of the earliest themes to be explored has been the relationship between man and robot, and particularly the theme of what happens when man and robot are mixed. In the early days of science fiction, these man-robot mixes were still called robots, but sometime in the 1960s, the term "cyborg" came into usage after two scientists, Manfred Clynes and Nathan Kline, used it in an article about the advantages of self-regulating human-machine systems in outer space. And the term has stuck ever since, becoming a part of several science fiction genres, and most notably, the cyberpunk novel.

Here are a few of the better know appearances of cyborgs in popular culture:
- Terminator movies
- The Borg from Star Trek
- The Cylons from Battlestar Galactica
- The Necrons from GW40k
- a variety of cyberware enhanced humans from the Cyberpunk sci-fi genre
- Darth Vader from Star Wars
- etc.

A link about the history of cyborgs here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyborg

A link about the cyberpunk sci-fi genre here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberpunk

TOP: CT's Necrovores wander an urban wasteland.

Now, one of my favorite fellow gamers is Cyborg Trucker (CT) USA! And the reason I wrote this post is to congratulate him on his article recently published on The Miniatures Page (TMP). Mazel Tov and congratulations, CT! CT has been putting out some of the most imaginative content on the web for some time, from goofy brains encased in robot walkers, to creepy mutated things, to Gamma Marauders turtle-bots, and much, much more. The guy's imagination must be brewing with fun sci-fi themes all day, and I imagine being a truck driver, that's a good thing to have in the back of your head when you're hauling cross-country. CT is also a great guy to chat with over the 'Net, a very enthusiastic person always happy to share ideas.

Mazel Tov, Cyborg Trucker!

A link to Cyborg Trucker's TMP work bench article here:
http://theminiaturespage.com/workbench/595567/

A link to Cyborg Trucker's blog here:
http://cyborgtrucker.blogspot.com/

A link Cyborg Trucker's Photobucket album of miniatures images here:
http://s165.photobucket.com/albums/u48/CyborgTrucker/

And Bill from TMP writes this about the Necrovore figures from CT's article:

Bill: The Necrovore figures were produced by Ral Partha as part of the Space Knights license from Steve Jackson Games. The license has since expired, and the figures are no longer available.

TOP: A Necrovore with an "energy sword."

TOP: Necrovore troops armed with energy weapons of arcane design.

Have a great Wednesday!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).

MINI WARGAMING: Traitorous "Tzeentsh" Titans From L-4!

. TOP: One of the Titans from L-4's awesome "Tzeentsh" legions.

Hi All,

My buddy L-4 is always working on something or another... ever since he retired from the Army, he spends part of his time at the gym, whether working or working out, and practically the rest of the time modelling and/or playing games. I've known him for something like over a decade now and seen him develop from a basic painter and customizer (...like me!) to a master in his own rights (...unlike me!). Today I'm going o showcase two of this latest creations, both Epic Titans, giant robots, made for the traitorous "Tzeentsh" legions of L-4's home-brew 6mm sci-fi gaming background.

The first Titan to be featured is one I call "Sorcerer's Bird of Prey," a four-winged walker with limited jump capability, medium to heavy armament and a bad attitude!

TOP: A front view of the "Sorcerer's Bird of Prey."TOP: A side view of the "Sorcerer's Bird of Prey."

TOP: The "Sorcerer's Bird of Prey" as it might appear to an enemy.

And the second Titan to be featured is one I call "The Master's Eerie Mount," a two-legged, two-armed walker with little to no jump capability, very heavy armament and an equally bad attitude!

TOP: A left side view of the "The Master's Eerie Mount."

TOP: A right side view of the "The Master's Eerie Mount."

TOP: A rear view of the "The Master's Eerie Mount"...

...accentuating it's rear defense turret.

TOP: A top view of the "The Master's Eerie Mount."

These basic chassis of these Titans were both made by the now out of print Seventh Street Games, which later turned into Flagship Games. L-4 mined his near-endless bitz box for pieces and decals, which he used to transform these cool models. Believe it or not, the mecha were originally AZTEC mecha in the Spirit Warrior background! While Seventh Street Games is out of business, Flagship Games is still alive and well although the miniatures themselves are most likely still out of print. If you wanted a couple, I'd recommend first making an inquiry with Flagship and then going to Noble Knight Games if Flagship doesn't have any.

You can find the Flagship Games site here:
http://www.flagshipgames.com/

You can find the Noble Knight Games site here:
http://www.nobleknight.com/default.asp

You can find all of the photos of L-4's "Tzeentsh" Titans here:
http://s48.photobucket.com/albums/f248/Legion4/Tzeentch%20Titans/

Have a great Friday!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).

MINI WARGAMING: Robot Gang Project Complete... For Now!

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TOP: Maksim's robot gang (painted and everything!).

Hi All,

Short post today... mostly I wanted to prove that I could finish a project. These are the same robots from a few weeks ago that I was working on... the "Savage-munda" gang. I assembled them, primed them, put a base coat, a wash, a little bit of detail and pronounced them ready for combat. I'm no Matakishi, but I'm proud that I got these guys from raw metal to ready in less than a week's time... with a busy work week.

TOP: The robot gang takes cover.

TOP: The robots scoured the cargo yard looking for the missing droid.

TOP: Maksim's droid gang really had to have something in this cargo yard...

They searched it for... like forever!

TOP: Maksim's robot gang (bottom) started next to...
An abandoned construction tractor (middle)...
And a weird ventilation complex (top).

I still have some more bots in my "28mm Robot" storage shoe box, but these guys are table-ready for now.

Have a great Tuesday!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).

MINI WARGAMING: 28mm Robot Gang In The Works!

.TOP: A 28mm robot gang in the making.

Hi All,

I've been long wanting to create a 28mm sci-fi robot gang and my friend, Dick's plan to run a "Savage Worlds / Necromunda" 28mm sci-fi skirmish game this upcoming weekend has been the catalyst to help me get my "robot gang" project going. I've always loved robots from the shiny, chromed bots of the pulps to the tubey-appendaged bots of the 1950s to the latest CGI bots of Battlestar Galactica and the present. I've been collecting robot miniatures for ages waiting for a project to use them on.

This gang was originally planned for use with Star Mogul so there are a few support bots that might be less useful in "Savage-munda." We'll probably only need gangs of about eight, but I provided more bots to have a fuller roster. So, without too much more talk, here's the robo-gang I'm working on:

BOTTOM: The Brains of the Outfit - "Dr. Sinestro"...
And his two bodyguards, DCK-550 "Dick" & RCK-565 "Rick."

TOP: These figs are all recycled Heroclix collectible miniatures.

BOTTOM: Foot troop "Robo Enforcers":
LNY-15 "Lenny", BRC-55 "Bruce," & SQG-35 "Squiggy."TOP: These are all old Grenadier minis from the 80s Paranoia line.

BOTTOM: A second shot of the "Robo Enforcers."

TOP: I love these old sculpts, I had to repair the left one who came in two pieces.

BOTTOM: Sergeant Bots:
ROK-1525 "Sgt. Rock" & STF-1515 "Sgt. Stiffy."TOP: These are the newer Mongoose Paranoia sculpts.

BOTTOM: Lieutenant Bots:
VLD-116 "Lt. Vlad" & IGR-118 "Lt. Igor."TOP: The left guy is an ancient 1970s Star Guard sculpt from Reviresco and...
The right one is a mangled I-Kore sculpt that I found a right arm for...
And will need to find a left hand for...

BOTTOM: The General:
DGR-1000 "Old Digger"TOP: This is an OOP Global Games - Legions of Steel figure that I had to strip.
The old paint was plastered on like Tammy Baker's make-up.

BOTTOM: Master Sergeant Bot:
MGO-001 "Mongo"TOP: This is a Reaper fig, "Iron Golem" or something like that.
It was a gift from my buddy, Mikos. Thanks, Mikos!

BOTTOM: Support Robot:
SPKY-5000 "Sparky" (right), a mechanic bot.TOP: I have no idea where this sculpt came from (Wish I did!)...
I REALLY love its' funky retro-50s look.

BOTTOM: Support Robot:
BNS-911 "Bones" (left), a mechanized medic.TOP: The doc-bot is also a Mongoose Paranoia sculpt.

So, priming is on tomorrow's docket...

Have a good one!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.