The Ballad of Psycho Sam and the American Fanboys

Psycho Sam: American Highway Warlord

Yeah... one month. I haven't written a post in a month. Rub it in. I'm a horrible person and a failure.

Ok, i'm done with that. LET'S TALK ABOUT MINIATURES!!!

Or maybe just one miniature...

Those of you "in the know" have probably seen this little fella by now:

We are calling him "Pycho Sam: American Highway Overlord"

This upstanding citizen of post-apocalyptic America was inspired by Dark Future and Mad Max imagery. For those of you not familiar with Dark Future, it was a game put out by Games Workshop in the 80's. It's cool, check it out. A small group of us new-worlders came up with the idea and cash to cast up a few hundred. The hard work was done by AirborneGrove over at Give 'Em Lead 

If you haven't checked out his blog you should, it's a deep pit of mental instability and gratuitous violence. I love it

Yours truly came up with the concept and AirborneGrove handled the communications and logistics, including coordinating with our Australian and British brethren. I originally wanted to have Bob Olley sculpt this guy, but we eventually settled on the brilliant Mr Mark Copplestone.. Coming up with concept was a fun process. I know I wanted a half naked dude with a mohawk (who doesn't?), but figuring out what would make a good figure was new to me, so I decided to keep it simple.

This is the first full size concept drawing. I knew I wanted him to have a shotgun, but I wasn't in love with the pose. I thought it would be neat if he had a spear or staff or something, but then a sprak of pure genius exploded into my tiny brain.

Yeah. That's right. This beautiful bastard right here. My muse. My Idol. A metaphor for my life. I don't think I've ever seen a more beautiful, more perfect moment captured on film. So from this wonderful maniac came this next concept drawing.

Yes, his legs are way out of proportion. I was drawing at a weird angle and I also have a day job. Back off. Me and Rob Liefeld have problems drawing legs... and neither of us went to art school... but at least I can draw feet. BUT I DIGRESS....

After the US group blessed this concept I sketched up a clean drawing and we sent it off to Mr. Copplestone. I'm sure he cursed us many times for our amateurish scribbling and ranting.

So there you have the final sketch. From that ink-blot-like scribble Mr Copplestone pulled the beautiful miniature that some of you lucky bastards will have in your grubby paws soon! Again, head over to Give 'Em Lead for more pictures. Everything was shipped to AirborneGrove, including the green and the mould. The green now resides in a display case in my secret mountain lair.

It was very fun to have a miniature cast up and is a major hobby milestone for me since it was my concept. Not going to win any awards or take any supermodels home because of it, but it was a fun experience, but it is great to "take charge" or my own hobby experience that is part of the "Oldhammer" ethos. SPEAKING. OF. OLDHAMMER.....

For those of you in the land of freedom and assault weapons COME TO OLDHAMMER USA!! If you have not done so, please register for the event here: OLDHAMMER USA Ticket holders get a miniature, there will be hosted games, open gaming tables, a paiting competition, and a hobby table. Also we will have FABULOUS PRIZES!! More info on the event here.

While we are on the subject of awesomeness, check out this new Facebook hobby group The Emporium of Rogue Dreams it's a cool place, filled with cool people. The only rule is: don't be a douche. Be excellent to each other, as Bill and Ted would say. One of the organizers is working on an exclusive miniature, and i'm sure there will be more to come in the future. It's a great time for old school gaming right now and hopefully things will be getting even cooler as we continue to network and work together to acheive even greater levels of awesomeness.

Until next time......