Chrispy
Active member
A message from Chrispy:
Hello to all of the CMON community!
As it¡¦s been 2 years since I disappeared, you all may be wondering exactly where I¡¦ve been (or some of you newer members may not have at all¡Xwhatever). The story of how and where I am is a long one, filled with much grief on me and my family¡¦s part, but to sum up: In May 2005 the FBI came to my house on suspicion of hacking different computers and pirating information. I, like an idiot, handed over my computer even though I had deleted everything months previously that I should not have had, and hoped that that would have been reasonably with a plea bargain. When it came to my sentencing in December 2006, the judge looked over my charges and with their point system, I had 28 points¡Xthe plea gave me -3, so I had 25 total. That got me 78 months in a federal facility, no appeal, and no time off for good behavior.
It¡¦s now been a year and some in the inside and I finally feel comfortable sharing it with y¡¦all. It¡¦s just another example of how the justice system doesn¡¦t work, where I get 2-3 times the sentence of someone who robs a liquor store, or commits a violent crime would get. Read your daily paper if you don¡¦t believe me.
Anyway, my dad is typing this up for your curiosities. You can write me on this thread, or snail mail me at: Christopher P Swan, 59950-180, FCI La Tuna, PO Box 3000, Anthony, NM, 88021. I¡¦ll be glad to receive anything you may have to write to me: mini paint job critiques, sympathy cards (none with electronic chips), flames, etc.,etc. Just keep in mind the turnaround for mail, but I¡¦ll try to write back in a timely fashion. Be warned that my handwriting sucks.
Oh, and about the only good thing that came from this is that I had my psychological evaluation to show the courts that I was not a criminal psychopath (I¡¦m not) and I was diagnosed with Aspergers syndrome. Basically, it¡¦s a form of autism that makes social situation intensely awkward because I am unable to discern joking, teasing and real slams and putdowns. I also can¡¦t read body language and verbal nuances. It also does not allow me to see myself as others see me, leading to my depression and lack of self confidence. To me, this is a poor trade off for the brilliance, wit, and intelligence it has endowed me with ƒº. Oh well¡Kmeanwhile I¡¦ve got some things to say and review and after 2 years it¡¥s built up so this will be long.
First my favorite critique fodder, G. W.:
I just realized when the 25th Anniversary came out this year that GW and I were born in the same year, so was Hooter¡¦s and Chicken McNuggets, so there may not be a coincidence. Anyways, that means I¡¦ll be out in 4 more years to help celebrate the 30th Anniversary! First up, though, the subscription monkeys at White Dwarf need to get their act together, as I subscribed in time for the Games Day issue and really wanted to see it, but they ¡§forgot¡¨ to mail it out. So congrats to all the winners, who ever you are, because I have no way of knowing!
Next, Citadel paints releases the Foundation paint set, which has more natural colors that aren¡¦t so saturated. Bravo! It¡¦s almost as if my use of natural colors has finally caught on! (I¡¦m still buying Vallejo for the dropper bottles, though). But seeing the newer boxed sets of Warhammer, I was flustered to say the least. What the H** is with these new stone trolls? It¡¦s like the LOTR designer wandered into the Warhammer fantasy section and people asked if he knew what he was doing¡K I liked the old stone trolls! They were an iconic piece of Warhammer and had such character. Oh well, march of progress and so forth. I also hope the one pose gobbos from the main set aren¡¦t replacing the multipart plastic gobbos. I like the 6 position gobbos. Moving on to newer releases..
Vampire counts. Overall GW is relying too much on a ¡§strong wind blowing cape of guy with sword¡¨ pose. Take away Mannfred, Vlad and Konrad von Carsteins capes, you see a guy with a sword. Vlad especially has a few things funky with his new model. First, his face looks like he should be giving cheesy, ghoulish puns and cackling madly on late night TV. Second, I¡¦ve confused his paw on his pelt cloak for his hand too many times now. Third, the bat motif can be overdone, even on vampires. His armor looks more like on the flying monkeys from ¡§the Wiz¡¨ than creepy. I give Mark Harrison props for Konrad¡¦s bat cape, though. That looks tough to do with the scale, but the blood is too goopy looking to me. The winged vampire lords idea is really cool looking, but this and the idea of the Varghulf are soiled by one fact: the sculptor didn¡¦t make an effort to look real life bat wings which¡¦s ironic, because now the skellies are looking less cartoonish and more undead-ish. Only complaint of the skeleton boxed sets are $22 and you get 10, vs. around $10 for 20, years ago. Skeletons are important for me as basing materials and looks like I¡¦ll have to pay $10 for a sprue with less of them on it.
As a production note to GW: Check your flashes on close-ups. Some colors are coming out freaky! I use Martin Footitit¡¦s orkz as an example. Brilliant in the overall shot then somehow a rust brown changed to Day-Glo orange in the close-up. This isn¡¦t the first time, either. Mannfred¡¦s veins in some shots look like he¡¦s been to a rave and doing body painting, and in further shots, he was fine. Just a good example of how lighting will change colors perceived. Well, enough about GW.
Rackham! The new females vs. the kelt fiannas 1st edition seems to be making them more like Michelangelo¡¦s women (which if you look at his women, is not a compliment). I also have a beef in that I have to buy a $40 boxed set for canopic dolls that cost 40 cents to make. Ah well¡K They¡¦re making their own paints! Not only that the set comes with a mini everyone wants singly! Though Vallejo makes all the colors they do, I may invest in a few, because the silver looks lighter than others I¡¦ve seen. Though I enjoy the Uraken clan goblins, the Behemoth orcs aren¡¦t orcy enough for me. They kinda look like vicious alligator frogs. I also question their place in the Aarklash background. Oh well, long live the Despot!
As most other companies have their catalogs online, I am unable to mention anything about their releases, other than I¡¦ve seen a few adverts in Dragon magazine for Reaper and War Machine and they looked more than up to snuff. A few things on general pop culture new:
Simpsons movie¡K.could have been better. Add this description to Shrek 3, Pirates 3, and almost every other movie from summer 2007.
If Billy Ray Cyrus isn¡¦t embarrassed his daughter made more then he got from that Achy Brakey song, he should be.
American Idol kicked off my girl Kristy Lee Cook. Me and America are no longer on speaking terms.
A Marilyn Monroe sex tape has surfaced¡K but millions disappointed it will not be available for download.
An finally T-Pain is a robot.
Write me if you feel like it, do not if you don¡¦t but a few pointers: No plant clippings, hair clippings, musical cards, suggestive pictures, miniatures, money, stamps, or labels and nothing illegal can be sent in. Other than that, send what you¡¦d like, even a nice print of a mini you would like me to critique, plans for an article, etc. I¡¦ll get back to you as soon as I can.
Yours sincerely,
Chrispy.
Hello to all of the CMON community!
As it¡¦s been 2 years since I disappeared, you all may be wondering exactly where I¡¦ve been (or some of you newer members may not have at all¡Xwhatever). The story of how and where I am is a long one, filled with much grief on me and my family¡¦s part, but to sum up: In May 2005 the FBI came to my house on suspicion of hacking different computers and pirating information. I, like an idiot, handed over my computer even though I had deleted everything months previously that I should not have had, and hoped that that would have been reasonably with a plea bargain. When it came to my sentencing in December 2006, the judge looked over my charges and with their point system, I had 28 points¡Xthe plea gave me -3, so I had 25 total. That got me 78 months in a federal facility, no appeal, and no time off for good behavior.
It¡¦s now been a year and some in the inside and I finally feel comfortable sharing it with y¡¦all. It¡¦s just another example of how the justice system doesn¡¦t work, where I get 2-3 times the sentence of someone who robs a liquor store, or commits a violent crime would get. Read your daily paper if you don¡¦t believe me.
Anyway, my dad is typing this up for your curiosities. You can write me on this thread, or snail mail me at: Christopher P Swan, 59950-180, FCI La Tuna, PO Box 3000, Anthony, NM, 88021. I¡¦ll be glad to receive anything you may have to write to me: mini paint job critiques, sympathy cards (none with electronic chips), flames, etc.,etc. Just keep in mind the turnaround for mail, but I¡¦ll try to write back in a timely fashion. Be warned that my handwriting sucks.
Oh, and about the only good thing that came from this is that I had my psychological evaluation to show the courts that I was not a criminal psychopath (I¡¦m not) and I was diagnosed with Aspergers syndrome. Basically, it¡¦s a form of autism that makes social situation intensely awkward because I am unable to discern joking, teasing and real slams and putdowns. I also can¡¦t read body language and verbal nuances. It also does not allow me to see myself as others see me, leading to my depression and lack of self confidence. To me, this is a poor trade off for the brilliance, wit, and intelligence it has endowed me with ƒº. Oh well¡Kmeanwhile I¡¦ve got some things to say and review and after 2 years it¡¥s built up so this will be long.
First my favorite critique fodder, G. W.:
I just realized when the 25th Anniversary came out this year that GW and I were born in the same year, so was Hooter¡¦s and Chicken McNuggets, so there may not be a coincidence. Anyways, that means I¡¦ll be out in 4 more years to help celebrate the 30th Anniversary! First up, though, the subscription monkeys at White Dwarf need to get their act together, as I subscribed in time for the Games Day issue and really wanted to see it, but they ¡§forgot¡¨ to mail it out. So congrats to all the winners, who ever you are, because I have no way of knowing!
Next, Citadel paints releases the Foundation paint set, which has more natural colors that aren¡¦t so saturated. Bravo! It¡¦s almost as if my use of natural colors has finally caught on! (I¡¦m still buying Vallejo for the dropper bottles, though). But seeing the newer boxed sets of Warhammer, I was flustered to say the least. What the H** is with these new stone trolls? It¡¦s like the LOTR designer wandered into the Warhammer fantasy section and people asked if he knew what he was doing¡K I liked the old stone trolls! They were an iconic piece of Warhammer and had such character. Oh well, march of progress and so forth. I also hope the one pose gobbos from the main set aren¡¦t replacing the multipart plastic gobbos. I like the 6 position gobbos. Moving on to newer releases..
Vampire counts. Overall GW is relying too much on a ¡§strong wind blowing cape of guy with sword¡¨ pose. Take away Mannfred, Vlad and Konrad von Carsteins capes, you see a guy with a sword. Vlad especially has a few things funky with his new model. First, his face looks like he should be giving cheesy, ghoulish puns and cackling madly on late night TV. Second, I¡¦ve confused his paw on his pelt cloak for his hand too many times now. Third, the bat motif can be overdone, even on vampires. His armor looks more like on the flying monkeys from ¡§the Wiz¡¨ than creepy. I give Mark Harrison props for Konrad¡¦s bat cape, though. That looks tough to do with the scale, but the blood is too goopy looking to me. The winged vampire lords idea is really cool looking, but this and the idea of the Varghulf are soiled by one fact: the sculptor didn¡¦t make an effort to look real life bat wings which¡¦s ironic, because now the skellies are looking less cartoonish and more undead-ish. Only complaint of the skeleton boxed sets are $22 and you get 10, vs. around $10 for 20, years ago. Skeletons are important for me as basing materials and looks like I¡¦ll have to pay $10 for a sprue with less of them on it.
As a production note to GW: Check your flashes on close-ups. Some colors are coming out freaky! I use Martin Footitit¡¦s orkz as an example. Brilliant in the overall shot then somehow a rust brown changed to Day-Glo orange in the close-up. This isn¡¦t the first time, either. Mannfred¡¦s veins in some shots look like he¡¦s been to a rave and doing body painting, and in further shots, he was fine. Just a good example of how lighting will change colors perceived. Well, enough about GW.
Rackham! The new females vs. the kelt fiannas 1st edition seems to be making them more like Michelangelo¡¦s women (which if you look at his women, is not a compliment). I also have a beef in that I have to buy a $40 boxed set for canopic dolls that cost 40 cents to make. Ah well¡K They¡¦re making their own paints! Not only that the set comes with a mini everyone wants singly! Though Vallejo makes all the colors they do, I may invest in a few, because the silver looks lighter than others I¡¦ve seen. Though I enjoy the Uraken clan goblins, the Behemoth orcs aren¡¦t orcy enough for me. They kinda look like vicious alligator frogs. I also question their place in the Aarklash background. Oh well, long live the Despot!
As most other companies have their catalogs online, I am unable to mention anything about their releases, other than I¡¦ve seen a few adverts in Dragon magazine for Reaper and War Machine and they looked more than up to snuff. A few things on general pop culture new:
Simpsons movie¡K.could have been better. Add this description to Shrek 3, Pirates 3, and almost every other movie from summer 2007.
If Billy Ray Cyrus isn¡¦t embarrassed his daughter made more then he got from that Achy Brakey song, he should be.
American Idol kicked off my girl Kristy Lee Cook. Me and America are no longer on speaking terms.
A Marilyn Monroe sex tape has surfaced¡K but millions disappointed it will not be available for download.
An finally T-Pain is a robot.
Write me if you feel like it, do not if you don¡¦t but a few pointers: No plant clippings, hair clippings, musical cards, suggestive pictures, miniatures, money, stamps, or labels and nothing illegal can be sent in. Other than that, send what you¡¦d like, even a nice print of a mini you would like me to critique, plans for an article, etc. I¡¦ll get back to you as soon as I can.
Yours sincerely,
Chrispy.
