There comes a time for a man when he must act,  despite the dangers, knowing he may die... -  Leiji Matsumoto,  Captain Harlock Space Pirate Welcome back to The Art of Caesura! I hope you are having a fun summer! As you read this, my family and I are having a glorious time (I'm going to presume) in Lake Annecy in the French Alps. Usually we would go to Canada with the kids to visit my family for our summer holiday, but we're mixing it up this year for the first time. So, I write this, the day before we set off, with equal parts excitement and trepidation! Over the past few months we've been following my progress (or actually the progress that I made a few years ago when I painted these models) of my Space Station Zero Crew. Last week we made it to the last member of the crew, Captain Haarlock Varn; and today we have the very last post on my crew! As I mentioned last week, I'm really happy with how the model and character of Haarlock Varn have come together. In game term...

“Foul creatures! Filthy abominations!  I strike at thee in the name of  freedom for all peoples!” - CMON Hello one and all and welcome back to The Art of Caesura! After learning about my Space Station Zero crew in my short story , we've spent the past few months getting to know them up close and personal. And today, at long last, we have the big kahuna himself, the captain of the crew, Captain Haarlock Varn.  Like all of the other models that I'm using for my crew, Varn contains a multitude of sources for his inspiration. When I chose this model I basically wanted a stand-in for Janus Draik - my previous captain from Blackstone Fortress . I actually pulled Draik's model out of my display cabinet, but he didn't quite fit the scale of the other crew members. Then I found this guy - perfect! The model is Captain Warlock from Zombicide: Invaders, but I was heavily inspired by my model of Janus Draik when I was painting this model, I basically lifted the great coat off Draik...

With great power comes an even greater electricity bill! Recently we decided to step into the near future and buy an electric car! Here's a little taster to waylay the fears of anyone considering something similar.  It all started at a gathering of parents from my daughter's class. I got talking to a dad-friend and he put me onto this brilliant video: The video is fun because the speaker is funny and he cleverly reverses the paradigm in a way that opened my eyes to the real benefits of an electric car.  Actually, if I'm truly honest, my fascination with electric cars really started 20 years earlier when I saw this film with my mum at my university movie theatre.  Hard to believe that was TWENTY YEARS ago!  Anyway, t here is a curious point in any significant purchase where you realise you are no longer shopping.  You're researching, t hen creating spreadsheets, t hen watching YouTube videos, enthusiastically discussing charging curves.  Eventually, somewher...

 When this baby hits 88 miles per hour,  you're gonna see some serious shit! - Doc Brown, Back to the Future Hello one and all, welcome back to The Art of Caesura! Today, we're looking again at last week's Topin Tal, the Ship Engineer of the Relentless Asteryx , my Space Station Zero crew.  This hilarious miniature, a combination of Doc Brown (from Back to the Future), Doc Oc (Spiderman) and Dr Who (in the name), is from Zombicide: Invaders.  In Space Station Zero, he will be working with Dr. Falconer  to defuse bombs and don Hazmat suits and the like.  While not quite as capable as his Chief engineer counterpart, he will none-the-less prove a very useful asset in the bowels of this mysterious space station.  I really like the model, the monkey wrench which looks just as capabable at tinkering with machines as it does bashing up heads. And then the seriousness of the gun juxtaposed against the silliness of the drink cup with straw.  And there we ...

 "1.21 gigawatts! 1.21 gigawatts! Great Scott!" - Doc Brown, Back to the Future Hello and welcome back to The Art of Caesura! We have been covering my Space Station Zero crew over the past few months and now we're down to the final two! Last week we looked at my Chief Engineer, Boros, and this week it's his helpful assistant, Ship Engineer Topin Tal.  As is our wont with these fun, characterful Zombicide: Invader miniatures, let us first analyse his name. Clearly the model is an homage to Doc Browne from Back to the Future, but his name is a reference to another adventurous doctor, Dr. Who.  From a zenithal undercoat (sprayed black and then sprayed off-white from above), I started with his pants, painting them Leviadon Blue.  I thinned down Skavenblight Dinge and painted his shirt with this colour... ...before painting his lab coat with Apothecary White. I painted his bandoleer and shoes with Wyldwood which I shaded with Nuln Oil.  I painted all of his metal el...

Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change. - Dr. Stephen Hawking Welcome back to another Friday on The Art of Caesura! This Friday is a little bittersweet because my parents, who have been visiting from Canada for the past month and a half are leaving tomorrow. We've had such a wonderful time with them, and my kids have adored having them too! Now, let us turn our attentions back to Stephen Hawking...I mean Doctor Falconer, or Chief Engineer Boros, as he's known in my Space Station Zero crew.    In Space Station Zero, a Chief Engineer is a souped-up version of the Engineer who is only available to be taken on my ship type (Exploration vessel). He has +1 Intelligence and Reaction (both of which will be very useful for disabling bombs and any other tricks the Space Station might try to throw at me). To further improve his chances of success in these tests, he has an ability called "Bypass", which, once per challenge, allows him to reduce the target number on such a...