Star Trek Exhibition / Miniature Review

As highlighted in my previous blog post, a Star Trek Exhibition finally landed here at Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia. So is it worth the RM20 (US$6.50) admission price? Well ... yes and no.

Floor decal on the way to the exhibition proper

Banners showing the main characters and the Malaysian flag

If you are a die-hard Star Trek fan like me, then yes ... and only because we never had any exhibition of original Star Trek props before in KL. This is a golden opportunity to get to see some of the original props, costumes, scripts, replica of the Enterprise-D's bridge, transporter area, etc, etc. I was literally grinning from ear to ear like a kid in a candy store, looking at all the stuff on show. So if you're a Trekkie ... what are you waiting for ... go and see the exhibit now at the National Science Centre!

However, I kinda felt that the exhibit was way too short and I left wanting more, or more accurately, I left feeling there should have been much more to the exhibit than what was actually on show. If you aren't a fan, you would have left the exhibit thinking ... "what's all the fuss about Star Trek?"

Technically, taking pictures aren't allowed although that didn't stop many of the visitors from snapping away non-stop. I didn't really get to take much pictures and I don't want to spoil the excitement for future visitors by showing the pictures I took, so below is just some of the photos I took of miniatures ... in keeping with the theme of my blog. ^^

A Borg Sphere

Details on this miniature are simply mind boggling

This looks like the Enterprise B

Some miniature shuttles on display

A miniature replica of the Enterprise

FourEyedMonster revealed at long last ... that's me wishing you a long and prosperous life

Oh yes ... you can also take a three-picture set (for RM25) in which you can be in the original captain's chair (from the original series), in the deck of Enterprise-D and finally in the Transporter area. Those pictures are well worth it and I finally have one of my family and me in the deck of the Enterprise. How freakingly sweet is that! XD

One more thing - my previous blog had some official pictures showing Data's head and a big shuttle - both were NOT in the KL exhibition. As for the Ferengi, there was a miniature Ferengi ship as well as a Ferengi head on display. That's all for this post ... Live Long and Prosper!

Star Trek Heaven

Whoa … a Star Trek Exhibition in Malaysia … how awesome is that. It was recently reported in the local papers that Star Trek is coming to Kuala Lumpur, and the official site also states that there will be some official miniatures on show. How awesomely cool is that. ^^

As a self-confessed “trekkie” – some prefer “trekker” but I couldn’t care less either way as I am unashamed of my love for all things Star Trek – I hope I am able to make the trip to the National Science Centre before year-end to have a look at the really cool exhibits.

Below are some pictures that were displayed on the official site.

I am in Star Trek heaven. Hmmm … wonder if there are any Ferengi models on display.

Happy Holidays and New Year 2013

Time sure does fly. Before you know it, the seasonal year-end holidays is upon us once more.

Has peace come to a universe that knows only war?

Just wanted to wish everyone who has been reading my blogs peace and health for the holidays and may the new year bring happiness to you and your loved ones.

I leave you with a quote from The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien ... “Then something Tookish woke up inside him, and he wished to go and see the great mountains, and hear the pine-trees and the waterfalls, and explore the caves, and wear a sword instead of a walking-stick.”

May the Took in you lead your mind (and hands) to explore all the wonders of miniature painting.

Transmission was lost shortly after the picture of camaraderie was taken

Word Bearers Chaos Cultists

Despite being laid low over the past couple of days by heavy medication to counter a gift from Nurgle, this past two weeks has been my most productive yet hobby-wise. I managed to finish painting nine chaos cultists from the Dark Vengeance set, in the colours of the Word Bearers.

As this squad is part of a Word Bearer army, the predominant colour scheme is Red Gore/Scab Red 

Glory be to Lorgar

This squad of chaos cultists presented me with a lot of details to paint and allowed me to practise painting both skin and cloth. Initially I had targeted to have them finished under 1-week but family commitments and a recent illness put that ambitious target out of reach.

Chaos Cultist Champion and a cultist with a flamer

The Champion provided me with ample practise in painting cloth

Chaos Cultists with autopistols

Both miniatures provided opportunities to practise painting skin-tones

More cultists with autopistols

Mini on the right allowed me to utilise purple paints for the first time

Yet more cultists with autopistols

Details on the head of both minis were a challenge to paint

Cultists with ... yes you guessed it ... autopistols

Close combat weapon on the right hand of the cultists look pretty neat 

 
Well that's it for now. Any comments on how I can improve on my miniatures are always welcome. Heavy meds are making me sleepy already. Zzzz Zzzz Zzzz -_-

First Word Bearer Chaos Cultist ... and a lady in waiting

Well, I am off the starting blocks. Just recently finished my first Word Bearer chaos cultist. Previously I would have been really proud of my achievement. But after seeing the Iron Painters finish 30 over models each over a 24-hour period during MaGaCon 2012, I am setting the bar higher i.e. I hope to finish between 5 to 9 cultists over this week. It will my little mini-Iron Painter. ^^

My ongoing experiment with painting flesh tones

Papa Nurgle seems to have taken a liking to this guy's back

This time round I completely changed the way I take pictures of my miniatures. I mounted a DSLR on a tripod; used only lighting from lamps i.e. no flashes; and set the shutter speed to a slow 1/60 which meant I couldn't hold the camera while taking it without getting blurry pics hence the tripod.

Lady in waiting ... Cyrene Valantion (Work-In-Progress)
I also managed to get some work done on the Kingdom Death model that I am using to represent the reincarnation of Cyrene Valantion of the Word Bearers. Nothing too fancy as I just managed to finish the basecoats. Next will be the washes followed by the midtones and then the highlights.

Front View - Reincarnation of Cyrene Valantion WIP (aka Kisya of Kingdom Death)

Back View - Reincarnation of Cyrene Valantion WIP (aka Kisya of Kingdom Death)

Word Bearer Inspired Books
Obviously Cyrene was inspired by Aaron Dembski-Bowden's The First Heretic. Meanwhile, I just finished reading Dark Apostle and have started on Dark Disciple by Anthony Reynolds. The former book gives some insight into Chaos Cultists while the series as a whole will make good background reading and inspiration before I attempt work on the Dark Apostle miniature.

Ahhh ... religious fanatics ... you can't help but love 'em. Heh heh.