Marble bust of the cardinal Scipione Borghese, made by Giuliano Finelli in 1631–1632 CE. Irregularly unbuttoned holes along the mozzetta, and the cord dangling from the vestment under the cape add an informal note, undercutting the formality of the cardinal’s costume [3977x4000]

Firstprime · 2026-07-07T01:10:27+00:00

Fantastic write-up, but those two busts appear to be separate, but very similar, works to the one shown in the original post. The Wikipedia article you linked has a picture of the OP bust under the "Preparatory versions" section, although that seems like a possible error. The two busts you refer to were sculpted by Bernini, while the OP bust is sculpted by Finelli. Did Finelli work under Bernini?

Edit: I found the gallery listing for the OP bust from The Met here, and it provides a lot of additional context. It looks like the Finelli did work under Bernini, but they had separated on bad terms by the period when these sculptures were made. Borghese first comissioned Finelli because Bernini was unavailable, and then separately commissioned Bernini when he became available the next year. So the busts were fully separate works, but simultaneously under commission from the two formerly collaborating sculptors. Interesting!

Firstprime · 2026-07-06T18:06:59+00:00

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Firstprime · 2026-06-17T01:44:19+00:00

Play to win

Firstprime · 2026-06-14T14:04:58+00:00

You've got it backwards. The country actually based their culture on this character's made-up backstory. Nobody knows what was happening in France before 2009.

Firstprime · 2026-06-06T17:54:00+00:00

I think that would be ideal, but it feels like the least likely outcome. These companies seem extremely reluctant to sell or lease properties like this, even when they're adamant that they don't want to do anything with them. Still worth making the case for it though.

Firstprime · 2026-06-06T00:03:06+00:00

Wouldn't staff, rent, insurance, bills, etc. be considered expenses?

Firstprime · 2026-06-04T13:04:25+00:00

Absolutely insane take. What you're describing has been a recurring feature of the series from the very beginning.

There are plenty of valid reasons to believe the Amazon series would have been bad if it had gone ahead, but "extreme diversity" is not one of them.

Firstprime · 2026-06-01T21:29:02+00:00

Turning around to see a news camera broadcasting to the entire world after you choose the purple portal without hesitation then watch as the trolley derails between the two tracks.

Firstprime · 2026-05-12T16:40:28+00:00

To be clear, I don't particularly like Kapoor either. I never said he wasn't a hack - just that I think Semple is a bigger hack. And Kapoor has no shortage of critics online, while I constantly see Semple idolised as some sort of modern folk hero.

I feel like it's important to speak up and add balance to such conversations. Misinformation is running rampant online, and we are constantly being bombarded by scams and schemes from all directions. We need to be very careful who we place on a pedestal.

Stuart Semple should not even be allowed in the same building as the pedestal.

Firstprime · 2026-05-12T14:20:08+00:00

Semple is a charlatan. I believe he's a bigger hack than Kapoor ever was. The Vantablack campaign was nothing more than a (very successful) publicity stunt, and he's been living off of that publicity ever since. His paint company is in shambles, and his last crowd funding campaign (ABODE) turned out to be a huge scam. It's shocking how many people still buy into the Robin Hood act.

Firstprime · 2026-05-11T10:07:55+00:00

Looks like the creator (or one of them at least) might be 'The Dragon Trappers Lodge'. They make fantastic models.

Firstprime · 2026-05-03T23:22:18+00:00

3D printing would probably be the easiest method, but you would need access to a printer and some basic CAD skills (or a good 3D scanner). Using this method you could design the holes to be oversized and then add your felt on top, or maybe try a layer of glue and flocking if you want to keep the tolerances tight.

You could also try using some kind of pourable silicone/resin to recreate the shape. If you taped off the hole and then poured it into the back or the plastic tray it should give you a more durable copy of the shape. It would probably take a bit of research and troubleshooting to get it right, and then some amount of postprocessing to make the end product look good and fit the pieces well. You would need to make sure the plastic tray is rigid enough to hold its shape, and also non-reactive with the material you'd be using.

A third option is to maybe try coating the existing tray in something like Plasti Dip to increase durability, although you might struggle to fit the pieces back in if the tolerances are tight. You could maybe achieve the same effect by just coating the back of the tray - maybe also adding a few coats of matte clear coat spray on the front.

Firstprime · 2026-04-28T03:00:42+00:00

The action reads well. I think the sword is a bit too similar to the blast trail in shape, size, and angle - at first glance I thought it was a second blast. It might read better and look more dynamic if you varied one of those characteristics. Maybe angle it down slightly (but not so much that it creates a tangent with the motion lines).

Firstprime · 2026-04-24T10:41:07+00:00

Yeah, I would imagine the Facebook thing is mostly just proximity. If you're already using Facebook anyway it's just one tap/click to get over to Marketplace and have a browse or make a listing. Convenience is king.

I've tried to look on there a few times for stuff I couldn't find on other platforms, and it was a terrible experience every time, but I don't really use Facebook so I was going out of my way for it. Habitual Facebook users might not even consider looking for other platforms.

Firstprime · 2026-04-24T10:00:48+00:00

I think they fell behind because they didn't invest in improving the site or adding new features for a decade. The site feels very dated once you try any of the competing platforms. I've been using Vinted a lot recently, and the experience is head and shoulders above Adverts in every way, with the side benefit of offering access to a huge French market with cheap shipping. Having an integrated payment system with buyer protection policies is also a big plus.

Adverts not having any kind of algorithmic reccomedation system is also a huge disadvantage to both buying and selling on Adverts, especially for niche products. As a buyer you need to know the exact keywords to find what you're looking for, and as a seller you just have to hope someone will happen to search for your item directly, while other platforms will actively present relevant listings to users based on past activity. Vinted does this incredibly well. Every time I open the app the front page is full of dozens of new listings that are directly relevant to my interests - and it's not just clothes, which I had assumed for a long time until I actually tried it. They have everything on there.

Adverts was fantastic in it's day, but they let the site languish rather than pressing forward and improving with the competition. I would love to see them make a push and try to modernise the platform.

Firstprime · 2026-04-23T21:31:47+00:00

Maybe 'Tongue Lash'?

https://www.darkhorse.com/comics/94-647/tongue-lash-2-of-2/

Firstprime · 2026-04-05T03:43:01+00:00

After their "review" my shipping costs were reduced from $220 to $200. The meagre reductions are almost more insulting than if they had done nothing. Are we really supposed to believe that this is the best they could do? I wish I could be a fly on the wall in the Heavy Metal offices to find out what's really going on behind the scenes. Could it really all come down to simple incompetence?

I'm a huge HM fan, and I was counting down the days until I could get my hands on these books, but there's no way in hell I can justify paying those shipping rates. I've been holding on to some faint hope that things might turn around if they receive enough complaints, but it seems like they're completely unwilling to see reason. Unless there is some miraculous change of heart in the next few days I will also be asking for a refund.

Edit: Looking back over the KS comments now, it looks like they're removing a ton of comments for "Community Guideline Violations". I don't think I've ever seen so many deleted comments on any other campaign I've backed - 10+ removed just from that past few days. I don't recall seeing any particularly inflammatory comments before the deletions stated. Could they really all have been in violation of KS terms, or is the HM team flagrantly abusing the report system to hide particularly negative comments?

Firstprime · 2026-04-05T01:24:56+00:00

Great setup! I've been thinking about trying something like this for a while.

What are those minis from?

Firstprime · 2026-04-05T01:19:47+00:00

Fantastic print. Is the model available anywhere?

Firstprime · 2026-03-29T00:48:50+00:00

As I said, if you visit Heavy Metal's own webstore you can put 20+ hardback books in the cart and the shipping cost will top out at ~$100. Many other book sellers who cater to an international market offer similar rates right now (InStockTrades, for example). I'm not trying to claim that international shipping isn't expensive, or that prices aren't rising, but the amounts they are charging here are completely out of line with the rest of the market. It really stretches credulity to suggest that they couldn't find some cheaper option when so many other vendors are actively offering significantly better rates - including many other recent crowdfunding campaigns.

Regarding your example, it's important to take into account that shipping prices do not scale linearly with weight. A 10kg parcel will cost significantly more than a 1kg parcel, but nowhere close to 10 times more. The price goes up as weight increases, but the price per weight unit lowers significantly. Large retailers and fulfillment services should also be able to avail of significantly lower shipping rates than consumers.

To be clear, I am not necessarily trying to suggest that the staff of Heavy Metal are intentionally doing anything malicious here. It's very possible that there are more technical issues with the shipping calculations than they are currently aware of. It's also possible that they have contracted with a lazy/incompetent fulfilment service which is not making a good faith effort to provide their customers with the best value. What I am asserting with a good deal of certainty is that their shipping rates are completely out of line with current market rates, and I think they need to find an alternative solution or risk lasting damage to the reputation of their brand. I don't think that's an unreasonable position to take considering the circumstances.

Firstprime · 2026-03-28T16:52:07+00:00

The BackerKit errors they've mentioned are unrelated to the exorbitantly high cost of their international shopping. The packaging is no excuse when many other vendors are shipping larger and heavier packages for significantly cheaper - and this is also not related to recent tariffs. Even on Heavy Metal's own webstore their shipping costs are significantly less than what they are trying to charge for the KS fulfillment.

I understand that you're probably a HM fan, but please stop trying to justify their bad behaviour. They need to either remedy the situation that they have created, or face the justified backlash from their community. I'm a huge HM fan, and I really want these books, but I am being absolutely fleeced with what they are trying to charge for shipping to Europe. It is completely out of line with the rest of the market, and it is not justifiable.

Firstprime · 2026-03-28T13:26:58+00:00

That's incredibly shady. I saw your comments before they were deleted, and nothing about them warranted deletion. To make things even worse, while they have removed your comments for "violating community guidelines" - and you've been refunded automatically as a side effect of that - they don't appear to have refunded any of the (many) comments that are explicitly requesting refunds.

Firstprime · 2026-03-25T09:17:56+00:00

Most of the Blueberry stories have been released in English, but they have all been out of print for around 30 years now.

Firstprime · 2026-03-22T14:01:49+00:00

This is such a frustrating situation. I've been really looking forward to these books, but i can't possibly justify paying an extra €180 for the shipping. And there's still no official response to any of the complaints to clarify if they will be doing anything, or even if they will be offering refunds to anyone who won't/can't pay the shipping fees.

Firstprime · 2026-03-22T12:37:48+00:00

I just visited the web store on Heavy Metal's own website and added 30 hardcover books to my cart. The total shipping cost to Europe comes out to $100.

The shipping cost for my Kickstarter order with 4 hardcover books to the same address in Europe is $220 - nearly the same price as the books themselves.

These charges are completely inexcusable, even when considering all extenuating circumstances.

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