8 May 1945: The Price of Freedom

Si(x)th of May

After May the Fourth Be With You and Revenge of the Fifth, it’s time for Si(x)th Happens.

Desolation Ornithopter

Ron Cobb created this “insectoid” ornithopter for an early attempt to make a Dune movie. That film did not materialize, however; instead we got very different and quite jumbled movie some years later.

Anyhow, this is a beautiful flyer that I’d love to see in some other setting. It would for example fit nicely in my baroque-futuristic Wolframfästet (The Tungsten Citadel) RPG milieu, in which the Earth is a worn-down desolation.

Dieselpunk Deathstar

This picture is from the Final Fantasy game series. However, the first time I saw it, my instant reaction was Star Wars: an interior shot from a dieselpunk Deathstar. The Tibetan mystic must sneak across the abyss without attracting the attention of its grey-coated sentries.

Boba Fett 1944

A dieselpunk/Star Ears crossover model of Boba Fett. Artist unknown. Click on the picture for a larger version.

Rogue One: Jedha City

The adventurous Jedha City, painted by Andrée Wallin. Click on the picture for a much larger version.

My 2016 — a summary

When a year approaches its end, it is tempting to summarize it in a few bullet points. So here are my significant SF/fantasy/RPG experiences in 2016, listed in chronological order.

• Collaboration of the year: Gustaf Gadd and I wrote Skymningshavets gåtor, a seafaring fantasy campaign book for Drakar och Demoner, during the spring.
• Boost of the year: I received the Swedish RPG Dragon Award at Gothcon in April.
• Book of the year: I read and re-read Agent of the Imperium, an complex and enjoyable science fiction novel in the Traveller universe by Marc Miller.
• RPG campaign of the year: We were Pinkerton agents investigating a murder in New Orleans in early 1870.
• Boardgame of the year: Terraforming Mars by Fryx Games — wow!
• Tragedy of the year: Evert Johansson, one of my old Traveller buddies, suddenly passed away in November at age 58.
• Movie of the year: Rogue One.
• TV-series of the year: Agent Carter S1 — yes, I know it is not new, but I did not have a chance to watch it until a few weeks ago.

The Burning Streets of Endor

A classic Star Wars event moved to a diesel-era setting, perhaps inspired by the uprisings in Warsaw 1944 and Budapest 1956. I also see a connection to the Lemuria dieselpunk setting that Krister Sundelin, Tomas Arfert and I created more than ten years ago.

Artist: Sergey Vasnev at ArtStation. Click on the picture for larger version.

Nausicaa!

I am a great fan of the Studio Ghibli movies since many years and my particular favorite has always been Nausicaa of the Valley of the Winds: great post-apocalyptic world, good plot and a fantastic protagonist. Here she is in a pseudo-realistic rendition. Click on the picture for a larger version. (And here is the soundtrack — link >>> )

Star Wars Hoshino — a quality fan-fiction film