A Dance with Dragons

Hello Everyone!

Thank you for coming down and sharing in with our joy for nerdy stuff. JQ and I really appreciate your readership, for having followed this blog regularly for quite a long time :) We may never have chosen to be bitten by the geek bug, but we certainly choose to share our hobby with others in our lives.

You must have heard that HBO's take on the Game of Thrones (GoT) has finally arrived on TV (or download websites whatever your style is). Based on the legendary medieval-fantasy series by George R.R. Martin (and still on-going), GoT is a dark-fantasy world that is potmarked by intrigue, betrayal and lust. This time, I'll share a little on Martin's newly released book and more about the man himself.

An uncommon example of something common in Westeros: Ser Gregor Clegane aka Asshole-extraordinaire.

With some time on my hands, I had recently finished George R.R. Martin's 5th instalment of the Song of Ice and Fire series - A Dance with Dragons (ADwD). Martin never fails to disappoint, and delivers an engrossing tale filled with colorful details and very intriguing developments. Similar to the earlier books in the series, be prepared for classical Martin cliffhangers toward the end of ADwD!

ADwD did take a heck a lot of time to come out, being published 6 years after the previous book, A Feast for Crows. For those of us diving into the new book, I found it really helpful to read the summaries of the 4 previous books from Wiki of Ice and Fire to get myself back on track with the backstory of ADwD.

A spoiler-free tidbit I can share is this: the characters didn't have the auspices of facebook and the Internet, and be suspicious that the beginning of the Game of Thrones may seem neat in comparison to the chaos that happens throughout the series. Especially in this book, the spectres of the past will come biting on the asses of what was believed to be true!

Another thing that grabbed me was Martin's ability to extensively describe Medieval scenes filled with vivid detail...such as the ribald songs played during feasts, the 101 ways of making trenchers, and the many sigils that adorned knights and lords alike. Knowledge on medieval history and art may be one thing, but what Martin does on the side really spills the beans:

He does medieval miniature painting and collecting himself.

Some figures painted by the man George R.R. Martin himself (georgerrmartin.com)

You can take a look at his collection and this link, and he's more into the larger 54mm figures for their better detail compared to the smaller 25mm figures (traditionally used by Games Workshop). I guess he hasn't really seen the newer Warhammer collections, with improved molding techniques and greater artistic flair heh. Not sure if he'll go heads over heels over GW's Brettonia collection too :P

A gift from Fabio Feltrin to George R.R. Martin, Ser Brynden Tully of Riverrun. Check out the awesome detail (georgerrmartin.com).

Interestingly, his fans have also given him a fine collection of minis that resembled the characters from the books that are really well-painted to a professional grade. Martin's collection spans a very wide range of figures, as he also puts together dioramas of jousts, feasts, and villages...sometimes even commissioning custom sculpts! (eg. ladies in the court, a subject not common with miniature makers)

It's my guess that finding out about people's hobbies and their interests really makes them feel more human...which was certainly the case for me with George R.R. Martin. Hobbies are windows into one's soul, and I would dare say that this is why we fellow geeks/nerds bond so well with each other over the things that strike at our very hearts. Man, I love being a geek with fellow geeks.

Plus, George R.R. Martin also liked the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica series :) Boo-yah.

Youtube: BTR 60 vs. S-Class

Now this is what I call badass: A Lithuanian mayor uses a BTR-60 APC to run over an illegally parked Mercedes S-class.



The owner who came out certainly looked like someone who'd kicked my butt if I did it, and I am sure it took a lot of balls on the mayor's part to pull this off! I'm not sure if anyone is going to pay for the crushed car though :/

Captain America: History and Fiction

Hey Everyone

Thank you for your condolences, and safe to say JQ and I are coping after the loss. It has been difficult but we have enjoyed mutual support with each other + friends, and we'll honour his memory by carrying on forward. We'll resume putting up posts regularly and once again we thank you for your continued support for this blog!

Unless if you've been living under a rock, you would have heard that Captain America was finally released in cinemas to positive reviews...touching on the U.S. patriotic spirit when the country itself is facing some troubling times. Somewhat akin to Wolfenstein made into a movie, the film had America heroically confronting the mystically crazed Nazis and their disturbing creations.

The poster for the Captain America movie.

To me, the movie was a "typical" Marvel comic book film - featuring a mentor/father figure who sadly dies, a wash-out becoming a superhero through self-realization, the hero winning against the odds stacked against him, a dash of humour here and there, an awkward romance maturing into real love...and cameo appearances by the man Stan Lee himself lol.

Captain America did get the WWII geek in me thinking, on how it tried to contain a fantastic (as in "fantasy-like") story within a historical context. How would the events play out in Captain America that will capture our imagination, and yet avoid contradicting the historical events we know about WWII?

In a Game of Thrones-esque tone, the best of lies are told with a mix of truth.

Nazis are perfect conspiracy theory material, easily depicted as evil/inhumane people bent on world superiority, whose activities are shrouded in mystery that are open to interpretation. As a tale rooted in conspiracy theories, elements in the movie were based on actual events that occurred in WWII...and this really got my geek side dissecting the movie.

Do note, I am not an authority on the historical information and creative processes that the film-makers have used to construct the world of Captain America...but I'll share what I think are some poignant historical parallels to the movie. Most of my info comes from Wikipedia.

The HYDRA Organization

The fearsome Hydra army in Captain America: The First Avenger.

Cap America's main antagonists, the Hydra organization, is somewhat similar to the archaeological societies which researched into the mystical through archaeological research. These societies were indeed founded in Nazi Germany, which included the Ahnenerbe and Amt Rosenberg, and they aimed to present evidence to support the theory that pre-Germanic people had once dominated the earth in the past, thereby validating the existence of the Third Reich. Nazi archaeology was inspired by a Roman text, Germania by Tacitus, which contrasted corrupt Rome against the noble Germanic tribes.

The Ahnenerbe symbol.

In particular, they had searched for evidence that fingerprints of the Nords and Indo-Germans can be found everywhere, from "European-like" architecture of ancient temples to proving the Buddha was indeed an Aryan. Activities included archaeological expeditions (inspiration for Indiana Jones), education of the public on the historicity of German supremacy, and even medical experimentation sponsored by the SS (such as skull measurements to show distinctiveness of Jews as a race, and gruesome tests on how long airmen could survive in freezing water)

A page from Herman Wirth's book, Was Heisst Deutch? Wirth had an interest in runic symbology.

However, unlike the buff and masked super-soldiers of Hydra, the archaeologists/scientists in these societies were mostly amateurs/untrained archaeologists, with a small portion of professionals indeed trained in their field (who also held very extreme views). Funds for archaeological research came from Nazi grants and private donations, but such research was for propaganda purposes and there was no mention of translating such research into god-like weapon technologies.

U-Boats and North America

Captain America featured German spies who operated in the US, and Nazi Germany did plant spies in America using their U-boats. The German Navy made a number of successful U-boat landings in North America and even attacked shipping around Canada, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean throughout the war. The Germans aimed to plant spies to hold key jobs in the US and transmit strategic information back, and they even attempted to infiltrate the Manhattan project. But more often than not, the spies defected to the CIA which effectively dismantled their spying operations...perhaps evidence of the dwindling morale or poor conditions the spies have experienced in Germany.

The Amerika Bomber Project

Early in the war, the Luftwaffe mainly dealt with bombing targets within continental Europe, and medium range bombers like the He 111 proved sufficient in their roles. The Germans did start the Amerika Bomber project, which aimed on producing long range bombers to strike at American factories, in hopes of America being distracted with its own defence and leaving Britain exposed to German airpower. But the project was scrapped as it lost precedence to Hitler's "miracle weapons" (like the Me 262 jet fighter), and considerable material shortages due to Allied intervention.

The Ho Vb research aircraft, strangely similar to the one used by the Red Skull.

The B2-like bomber piloted by the Red Skull was nonetheless reminiscent of actual Flying Wing bomber designs by Horten which were put forward as a potential Amerika Bomber. The Flying Wing design ensured the bomber had considerably less drag due to its elimination of the tail and fuselage, while the bomber itself could carry an increased payload and have sufficient range for transatlantic travel. Also, the Horten 229 was the first use of stealth material on an aircraft, as its shape gave a reduced radar signature, and its construction used carbon powder in glue to absorb radar waves.

Blueprint of the Ho 229 flying wing (Arthur Bentely/Flying Wing Films).

Piloted Suicide Bombs

The suicidal bombs in the Red Skull's bomber were also not far from fact. The Luftwaffe had developed the Fi 103R Reichenberg (named where it would be built) piloted bomb, which was technically a V-1 rocket with a man in it. Just before impact, the F-103R pilot had to bail out of the aircraft by removing the cockpit and jumping out. However, the placement of the intake right behind the cockpit ensured that escape was more likely to be fatal (<1% chance!).

The F-103R flying bomb, inspected by British troops (wikipedia).

Alas, the F-103R never saw active deployment, as test pilots died in trying to land it (fitted with skis) after some trial runs...and it was dictated that the German warrior spirit did not involve explicitly suicide missions. But their Japanese allies thought otherwise, and deployed their own Ohka aircraft upon American ships invading Okinawa.

The Multi-turreted Mega Tank

The mega tank deployed by Hydra does have a historical precedent that was actually deployed during WWII. The Neubaufahrzeug ("New Construction Vehicle") was a prototype multi-turreted tank developed during the Inter-war years when tank technology was still at its infancy. The main turret had a 75mm main gun and 37mm coaxial, while 2 more turrets in the front and back were armed with machineguns.

The Neubaufahrzeugs in Oslo, crewed by 6 men and found useless during the war.

For propaganda purposes, the Neubaufahrzeugs were deployed in Norway but failed to make considerable military impact. One got immobilized by British engineers while another was blown up by German engineers after it got stuck in a swamp, and the rest were probably scrapped. The heavy tanks did not fit into the Blitzkrieg tactics of the German army, which favoured maneuverable tanks armed with a single main cannon. None of these giants were ever recorded in having completely levelled a town, unless the town was never to be found :)

That about sums up my historical summary of the movie's creations that may seem quite out of the world...but were actually somewhat true during the actual war. It's my guess that history is always prone to have gaps in its recording, which are always open to creative reinterpretation.

Till next time, take care and peace out!

A Painful Loss...

Dear faithful readers,

Qamarul Mifdhal, a very close friend and brother of JQ and me has just recently passed away.

Out of rememberance of our dear friend, toyconstruct will not be posting any new posts for this week.

We hope we have your kind understanding through this difficult period for the both of us.

Thank you for your support of our humble blog.

F-104G Starfighter

Hey Everyone

After some warhammer action, we'll be moving ahead with a military themed post...this time featuring Witty Wing's 1/72 Die-cast model of the F-104G Starfighter, which served in the JBG36 (JBG = Jagdbombergeschwader or "fighter bomber wing") stationed in Rheine-Hopstein during the 1970s. For this particular unit, they received F-4 Phantoms as replacements during 1976.

Top and bottom views of Witty Wing's 1/72 F-104G.

Originally built as an interceptor, the F-104 was literally designed as a "rocket with a man in it", by putting a very powerful engine (GE J79) into a very light airframe. The F-104G is the fighter-bomber variant, given improvements such as newer avionics and stronger landing gear and it was produced under license. Companies contracted to build F-104Gs for Germany included Lockheed-Martin, Fiat, Fokker, Messerschmitt and SABCA.

A close-up of JBG36's emblem, notice the macro lens is pretty unforgiving and picks up small dust particles unseen by the eye.

The F-104G came with an internal 20mm Gatling cannon and it was equipped with 7 hardpoints, with each capable of bearing 4,000lb of weight. Typical armament consisted of Lepus flare bombs, CBU-33 cluster bombs and LAU-3A unguided rocket packs. In addition, the F-104G can carry a 1-Mt B-43 nuclear store in its centerline. At the height of the Cold War, the Luftwaffe committed about 250 F-104Gs to the NATO nuclear force, with each wing maintaining 6 nuclear-equipped F-104Gs fueled and ready to fly within 17 minutes of authorization. Interestingly, orders to use nuclear warheads can only come through a chain of command originating from the President of the US.

Close-ups of the decals placed around the cockpit on both sides. The bottom picture has the gatling gun nozzle on the bottom right.

Unfortunately, the F-104G had a poor safety record during its service in the Luftwaffe. With an attrition rate of 30%, it was considered too high for peace-time operations (although its predecessor the F-84 had a 36% attrition rate). Moreover, Germany's top ace Erich Hartmann commented that the F-104G was plagued with poor handling and deemed it unfit for Luftwaffe use. A running joke was that the cheapest way to obtain a F-104G was to just buy a field and wait for one to crash into it! Nicknames such as "tent peg" and "widowmaker" became the mainstay in the Starfighter's service. Eventually, changes in training doctrine and safety standards helped to decrease the F-104G's attrition rate.

Imagine if you had a 30% chance of crashing in this. Would you fly?

Looking at this particular model, its weight feels rather substantial and appears to be well put together. The decal placements are very clean and precise, and in all the model is definitely a looker to me (I love the German color scheme). It seems to be a very minimalist model, as it does not come with any armaments or fuel tanks. The model is also a strictly display piece as the landing gear is fixed and cannot be retracted.

A close-up of the F-104G's undercarriage, simple and bare but otherwise well put-together.

Considering its cost (~USD 30), it seems that Witty Wings is able to produce good quality models at very competitive prices. Of course, if you're a real nit-pick about construction quality and accuracy of the smallest details, these planes might not be your fit (Corgi and Franklin Mint make pretty awesome minis at much higher prices). Some gaps can be seen between fixtures and cockpit details are minimal. However, if viewed from a normal range...this F-104G looks quite good and relatively well-constructed.

Overall view of the whole F-104G model.

Once, JQ and I talked about model enthusiasts who really go to great lengths to make their models as accurate as possible...and lo and behold, I found a website of a Greek enthusiast who modified an existing F-104G model with painstaking detail. He literally took it apart...checked it against existing plans to confirm its accuracy, and even made a highly detailed cockpit full of dials! I have a ton of respect for these guys, and if you're interested...you can look through his work here.

This is what I call real dedication! Dr. Menelaos Skourtopoulos remade the entire cockpit interior of a Century Toys 1/18 F-104G. (largescaleplanes.com) Check out the link in the paragraph above.

With the internet, I have to say that there's a lot of info to get on military equipment or vehicles that you're interested in. A variety of websites exist for the enthusiast modeller, which include military forums, databases pictures of actual aircraft, and modeling websites. A considerable amount of my info came from Joe Baugher's website, a military enthusiast who wrote a lot on US warplanes and offers a wealth of detailed info on any US aircraft you're researching on.

All I can say is: Hat's off to the hard-core military enthusiasts!

Warhammer: Pistoliers!

Hey Everyone

Thanks again for coming down to toyconstruct, and also to JQ for his posts on Soap MacTavish, a man who sure doesn't have clean hands in the gritty world of Special Ops. And yes...I agree with everyone, JQ please play Modern Warfare 2!!! I really hope you get to play it before MW3 comes out lol.

For this post, we'll turn back to warhammer, and this time looking at the Pistoliers of the Glorious Empire. Humans may only be weak and have low toughness, but the Empire is infamous for their bristling arsenal of guns.

The Pistoliers of the Empire, lead by an Outrider/Champion.

I love to deploy Pistoliers against archers or warmachine crew. It takes some guile and daring to use them as bait and become a nuisance to enemy formations. Just make sure they are not too near friendly units when making "forced flights", where they immediately flee as a charge response and can sap friendly morale.

The pistoliers keeping a disciplined line abreast formation...ready for a skirmish!

Take note, I did not paint these pistoliers...I got them off ebay second-hand, I think they cost about $38 which is a pretty good deal with the detailing and painting done for them. The trade off is that my army collection can seem to be incongruent as it combines units painted by different people...so I limit my second-hand purchases to special/rare units.

Focus on one of the pistoliers, as the unit moves across the battlefield.

Pistoliers in the WFB world are actually sons of nobles, and they serve as pistoliers before they can serve with the famed Knightly Orders of the Empire. The light armor they wear typically comes from family collections, and also do not provide much protection when faced by close combat. What makes them deadly is their pistols, as each of them carry a couple of pistols each and as a unit unleash a deadly barrage of gunfire.

This shot's centered on the champion, who happens not to be just a better shot but also able to wield a larger variety of guns.

On a lighter note, I used to be so demoralized when I played Empire and saw the trailers made for Warhammer Online and the Warhammer RTS. They featured Empire warrior monks, soldiers etc....and after a few moments of glory for the EMPIRE, the same theme always popped out: Empire men get owned/raped by almost invulnerable Chaos warriors. Sheesh. Then and again, when I look upon Emperor Karl Franz, I feel excited and ready to kill some evil in the NAME OF THE EMPEROR, CHOSEN OF SIGMAR!!!

The Emperor leading by example as he contributes to Orc population control.

To borrow some inspiration from the Green Lantern:

"In the brightest day and darkest night,

evil shall face the Empire's Might!"

(famous last words for quite a number of Imperials unfortunately)

Soap MacTavish! Part 2

For those who have watch the Film "True Grit", Soap MacTavish would be the modern day True Grit main man, Rooster Cogburn.


Not really because their storylines are related but Solely because, the guy is as hard and gritty as any of the toughest men on Earth


In this pic, I have interchange his arms to show him holding a sniper rifle. Look at the grit, determination and seriousness in his face.. INTENSE...
Sadly, all but a few who play him behind their computers would have the same physique or skill that he has.. :p


Anyway, this time round I shall be shedding more light on the company that sculpted this figure. Kotobukiya started out as a single toy store for dolls by Jusaburo Shimizu in 1947.


Going along with the times, it became a model kit manufacturer during the model kit era of the 1980s. It was able to obtain license to make the King Gozilla model in 1985 and was the only company other than Bandai to release Gundam Products by acquiring the model kit license for Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam, The-O Mecha. Mind you though, Kotobukiya didn't really compete with Tamiya, Pit-Road, Aoshima for the military model kit market.


By 1989, Kotobukiya decided to diversify its market by going into soft vinyl figurines and eventually Active Styling Figure.


"I'm from the UK...SAS.. recognise that"

Today, it has become renowned for its figures and have been gathering talented sculptors to make brilliant figures for Marvel, DC and many other gaming and comic companies. With Kotobukiya making a name for itself in the Toy Collector Industry and being sensitive to the needs and demands of the customers, I am keen to see what they have in store next.

One thing is for sure, I have my eye on another Kotobukiya figure. With some financial planning, I will be able to get my hands on it.

On a side note, for those who are interested in getting this figure, I could only find it available on eBay. They do not really sell it on their main website store. This is probably due to it being a limited edition figure. dedicated exclusively to the Veteran Edition of the Modern Warfare 2 Game in the UK.

For other figures, you can check it out at http://www.kotous.com/