Miniature Books

First off, I have to say that THIS book is the one that started me into miniature collecting and painting. Even before lead miniatures were available in my city, this book comes chock full of designs and ideas that will help you to sculpt your own figurines.

This book contains a section regarding the nature of games (boardgames, wargames and roleplay) wich is insightful and inspiring. The middle chapters deal with the creative process of figure production, from concept-art sketches to the actual sculpting of a full range of minis.

Last, but not least, comes the chapters devoted to assembly, painting and displaying your collection. Especially, I found the painting section to be the most useful, with useful color-charts and diagrams.

There are lots of photographs, mostly from the Citadel range of miniatures circa 1985 as well as color illustrations from masters like John Blanche. Be sure to check out the last page, for it contains color designs for banners an standards.

Very complete index for a world wide results of auction sales for the last season. Absolutely necessary for dealers, auctioneers and for valuation purpose. Easy to find and understand.Referenses to day of the sale and lot number as well as auctionhouse.

This book brings to the English speaking world the extensive work of Professor Jurkowski that has heretofore only been available in Polish. Professor Jurkowski is justifiably known as the highest authority on European Puppetry and this book amply illustrates why. It is a well written and thorough scholarly work. However, it will appeal to many, other than scholars. Some will find of interest references to Roman Puppets and puppetry. Others will be facinated by ancient Greek drawings of mechanical puppets representing the Gods. There are complete histories of classic puppet characters such as Punch and Judy and Karagiosis. Further, Professor Jurkowski delves into areas not often included in books on the puppetry arts. For instance, he gives the history and development of the mechanical figurine, and the mideaval motions (a kind of 3D story book.) Its all here from Polish castle stages to the Italian Orlando Furioso marionettes. I would not often spend this much money for a book. This is one time that I am glad that I did.

George Speaight wrote several books. Among them were:THE HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH PUPPET THEATER. Another one: THE HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH TOY THEATER. Somehow, the reviewer mixed the wrong title with the wrong book. However, both books are excellent resources for their subject matter, interesting and highly informative.Anyone wanting to research either of these subjects areas should read them.They are the bibles in their field. Highly indexed- with extensive bibliographies and fine historical illustrations and photographs they are first rate books.

MUST HAVE REFERENCE BOOK FOR ENGLISH HOLLOWCAST FIGURES, PLUS A FEW AMERICAN AND FRENCH. TOP NOTCH PHOTOS AND ACCURATE PRICE GUIDES!

This review is for the Starter box for Horrorclix, a collectible miniatures game (CMG) by WizKids. WizKids is better known for their HeroClix CMG, with superhero miniatures. HorrorClix uses the same concept (painted miniature on base that clicks through different ability stats based on damage) with classic horror monsters, plus niche monsters that appeal to certain fan groups (Lovecraftian monsters particularly stand out). Rather than review the entire CMG/Horrorclix concept, I'll only review the starter box.

The idea of the starter box is to provide enough material for two people to play a game, and hopefully get you interested in buying more. I ordered the starter to play a game with a friend and was quite pleased by the product's visual appeal. It is packaged like a shadowbox, with all the figures and terrain pieces visible and in place like a diorama. Unfortunately, the shadowbox had to be torn up in order to get the pieces out; being able to store them in the same diorama would have been nice.

You get a LOT of stuff with the starter. First, you get 6 monsters and their monster cards, There is a map, 12 victim tokens, 6 portal squares, 6 terrain squares, 3 terrain items, 10 plot twists, 2 subplots, and the rulebook.

-The monsters are nicely sculpted, but the plastic feels cheap and the dial clix don't always align with the window well. Every starter has the same monsters, which are a red vampire lady holding a skull, a skeleton, a werewolf, the ghost of a lynched man, a chainsaw slasher, and a straitjacketed monster with tentacles. It's fairly representative of the monsters in the base set, with most of the powers and monster types. The monster cards look nice and detail the miniature's powers, but NOT dial clix statistics. (Maybe we're supposed to be surprised at the clix results?)

-The map is dual-sided, with a graveyard on one side and a haunted mansion on the other. Maps are hard to come by for this game, so this one is nice to have. You can, of course, make your own. There are plenty of obstacles, winding passageways, and atmospheric decoration to make these maps interesting. They have the downside of buckling at the folds - very difficult to make them lie flat.

-You get three 3-D terrain, a haunted tree and 2 tomobstones. I don't think WizKids produced any other 3-D terrain, so this is more for novelty's sake than strategy.

-You should have 12 victim tokens for a game, and they are included. They are cardboard pogs, with a victim stereotype (jock, cheerleader, reporter). Their purpose is to be eaten by the monsters, but it's also fun to watch them flee.

-There are portals and hindering terrain squares available to be used. They are double-sided, so you can choose which image to place (cobwebs, scary eyes, mold, a swamp, etc.) which adds to the atmosphere.

-The plot twists are events that you can play (horror-movie themed) which help you to control victims. The subplots give you a way to score extra points by completing a mission. The two subplots were to kill all opposing monsters and to eliminate all victims.

-The rulebook is about 50pg, B&W softcover. It could have used some play examples, and I found some of the rules rather opaque (such as using portals).

All of my quibbles with the starter have more to do with the game than the set itself; it's a very nice starter kit with everything you need to play. And you really can play with just the starter; I divided the 6 figures with a friend and we sat down for a game. I learned that the chainsaw slasher is incredibly powerful and definitely tournament worthy. Probably the blood vamp as well, while the other figures are nice starter pieces. I'm definitely pleased with the value and have bought more boosters since to continue playing.

This is a detailed study of an illuminated manuscript of the late 15th century. The primary value of the book is the reproductions of the complete manuscript which are of outstanding quality. They rival those of much more expensive facsimiles. The beauty and craftsmanship are evident on every page.

Eric Inglis' commentary demonstrates a concerted effort to produce a detailed analysis of the artistic milieu which created this beautiful work of art. The commentary also provides a basic background to those who are new to such works of art. Readers interested in medieval art will find this a wonderful introduction to a facet of the medieval book arts.

This story has a great moral to it as well as being very entertaining and interesting to both children and adults. The plus side of the cassette is that Jack Nicholson tells it in such a way that everyone will enjoy listening to it over and over again. The illustrations are perfect to fit the story and are great at intriguing the children. We have had this story through both of our sons and they both STILL enjoy this book. Hopefully will pass it on to the grandchildren. Tell your friends and family about this one.

This book-tape set has to be one of the best books on tape that rabbit ears has produced. Jack Nicholson's smooth magical voice is just perfect with predictably great music from Bobby McFerrin. A must for every child's library!

136 page book filled with step-by-step b/w photos for creating bonsai. There is a large section in the book on marketing opportunities selling bonsai trees.