crew creator

Fed up with deciding which models can be used with which masters under which circumstances?

What you need is an app, something that knows all the rules, prevents you from making invalid selections and shows you how many Soul Stones you have left to select from and what your pool will be.

What you need can be found on Malifaux's web site, right here - Crew Creator

This excellent little on-line app is truly superb.
Select your faction and game type, game size, Master(s) and Henchman with Totems or without and if applicable select your masters Avatar.

Crew Creator

Then select your minions.  Special forces and mercenaries are all handled correctly dependant on master.


Nothing could be easier.

Each minion is listed in a colour relevent to the faction it is from, Guild Burgandy, Arcanists Blue etc.. so you can see where you're hiring out of faction.

Add and delete minions, see what mix you can come up with.




If you change your master, and you can, the list will also disappear, which is a pity but hard;y surprising.

One thing I'd like to change is the seemingly random order that Minions are listed in the drop downs.  They're not listed alphabetically, or by faction or soul stone value.  It'd be nice if you could specify how you want them listed.

In addition you have to be on-line to use it.  Please Wyrd, can we have this as an App soon?  (Android preferably).

weekend thoughts

Not much of interest, but a few thoughts from the weekend.

Enjoyed hearing of the UK Masters tournament event.  Kept in touch via the wonder of Twitter.  It has made me fancy having a pop at a tourney this year.  Not because I think I'd win but simply because it seems to me there are a lot of fun people out there playing Malifaux and I'd like to meet some of them.
It seems filth lists were the order of the day.. There's some talk of wyrd needing to even things out, that some things are broken.  I don't see it myself, we've all got the choice..  If you want to win pick a master that will win.  If you're more interested fluff or models because of how they look then select accordingly, it's what I do.
A totally even game is a dull place to be.  As it is the power level shifts between books anyway so what does it matter?


Was able to spend a little more time on SnowStorm.  Have decided that rather than 2 mould lines it's really more like on large, wide line that's about 3 - 4mm wide.  Very tricky to clear up but I am getting there.

(c) Wyrd Miniatures

I've been doing some thinking and research as to a paint scheme for my December crew and I think I'm coming down on the side of White.  Which is going to be a pain.  I've painted white before when I started a white Scars Space Marine force.  What bothers me about it is that I really want to try and stay within a white pallet, white, cream, Ivory, a little shading in a pale brown maybe and that'd be it.  I've seen s few figures like this and they're superb, but, get it wrong and it'll be awful I think.  So my thoughts continue, but, if I can get this white/cream scheme straight in my head I may well go for it.

Talking of paint schemes, this thread on the Wyrd forums is well worth a look.  Mako's Crew(s)
Painting and sculpting of the very highest caliber.

uk masters

The UK Malifaux masters is underway.  The top 16 players meeting up for the ultimate contest.
I suggest you revert to twitter for up to date progress, follow @MythicFOX83, @UkRocky90, @ImMagicPockets, @GingerestNinja & @CalmdownUK for latest news and results.  Or search for #mfauxm.

Whilst there why not follow me too? @russoliver.

There might also be a thread on the wyrd Malifaux forums.

UPDATE: Overnight top 6 after 4 games according to twitter as far as I'm able to tell:

@ImMagicPockets
@CalmDownUK
CunningStunt
Stryder
@UKRocky90
Stern


UPDATE: UK Masters of Malifaux 2012 was won by @ImMagicPockets, 2nd was @CalmDownUK.
Congratulations to all who took part and thanks for all the tweeting keeping us up to date.
Please check here for full names of the top 4

Looks like Hamelin and Lord Chompy Bits ruled the weekend but full lists should be being published soon on wyrd forums and I believe on MythicFox.com.

february releases

Wyrd have posted their February releases on the forum:  February Releases

Here are my favourites from this months selection.

Witchling Handler

Witchling Handler (c) Wyrd Miniatures

Original artwork (c) Wyrd Miniatures

I really like this figure, very much reflective of the gorgeous artwork.  I currently have no Withcling Stalkers, but I feel I may have to change that.  I'll certainly get this figure at some point, even if just to paint.

(c) Wyrd Miniatures

Kirai Avatar

This is a gorgeous sculpt, really organic and flowing.  The sleeves are almost too much for me, but I love the detail of Kirai lying on the floor, her hand reaching out.  If I ever get Kirai, and she's top of my resers list, I'll definately be getting this figure too.

(c) Wyrd Miniatures

Rafkin the Embalmer

Yet another reason to go resurs sooner rather than later.  nice figure.  Though I know I've no chance of re-creating those trousers, beautiful paint job here really helps to sell the figure.

(c) Wyrd Miniatures

Ghost Town Bases

Lastly this month I love the Ghost Town bases.  They look cool at all sizes, however it's the 50mm which I love the most.  It really looks like a diorama all by itself.  It wont suit all figures, SnowStorm wont look in place on here for instance, but, get the correct figure and it's going to look so very very cool on here.

snow storm

as mentioned on another post, I'm having a lot of 'fun' with snowstorm at the moment.
As the figure that was a key motivator in my purchase of Rasputina it's important to me that he's as good as he looks.  His effectiveness in the game for his cost is questioned by many and now he's causing all sorts of headaches to put together.

Resin is an odd material to work with.  It somehow manages to feel soft and brittle at the same time.  Removing mould lines with a scalpel is not generally tricky however SnowStorm has a double mould line through his hair.  It's a bitch.  Also the mould lines run down his arms and legs over the whorls engraved in to his body, removing those can, if you are not careful, make the whorls more shallow, be careful not overdo it or you might lose them.  Also, you get mold lines in the hair above his hooves.  Overall then, it seems to me, that he's a bit of a git to prepare perfectly.  This is his head after a couple of hours work.

2 hours work and still mould lines are visible.

If you look at the picture full size you can clearly see the dark line of a mould line, or what's left of it running from his shoulder across his head.  If you look down from that you can just make out a pale line paralleling the dark one.  These lines delineate a raised area on his head of 3 - 4mm in thickness.  It's a real pain to get rid of though easier now I've realised it's one large area not two small lines.

To remove these I am scraping with a scalpel, each hair individually at at least 2 angles.  I have, I think, removed a little too much detail from the hair in a couple of places but nothing that can't be renovated with judicious application of a scalpel or mounted needle.

I understand these issues can arise with these figures and that many people have Snowstorm figures with no blemishes at all, it's just a pity I picked a duff one.

Any air bubbles are confined to the bottom of his feet apart from a coupl eof smallish ones in his arm pit that will hopefully be covered up by his arm. If not some liquid Green stuff will sort it out.

On the positive side, all this preparation time is giving me plenty of space in which to come up with a paint scheme for the crew.  Though I can't see me straying far from the pale Blue/White which seems common, I can use this time to try and think of something original.

a malifaux blog - update

OK, that's everything moved from rascallings.  Hopefully you'll all appreciate my Malifaux content having it's own dedicated space.
I'll start to update the pages today so that you'll be able to browse by category, if you'd like to.
Do feel free to message me or leave comments if you have anything to say regarding the look of the new site, the content, positive or negative I'd appreciate it.

Thank you.

a start on rasputina and her crew

Had first hobby night in a while last night so I had grand thoughts that I'd quickly put together my entire Arcanists crew (Rasputina, 3 Ice Gamin, Ice Golem, Snow Storm, Essence of Power & Hoarcat Pride).  Actually I knew I wasn't going to get the Ice Golem done due to lack of 40mm base but otherwise I was hopeful.
Little did I suspect how SnowStorm was going to scupper my plans.

The SnowStorm model is the one, the driving force behind me going for a Rasputina crew.  OK I liked the Rasputina crew before SnowStorm but this model is just awesome and really swung me away from Colette.  So, first thing I head for on my Arcanist night?  No prizes, it's SnowStorm.

Snow Storm is a part Resin part metal kit, I take out the resin pieces, I have my tooth brush ready for a gentle scrubbing to remove any mould release agent left behind so it glues and paints perfectly first time.  But, first, mould lines, taking out my trusty scalpel I prepare to remove the mould lines.  This shouldn't take long, I'm sure it's a nice clean kit.
Yeah right.  Double mould lines across all the hair on it's shoulders and back?  Lovely.  Splendid.  Thanks.

I'm not sure how long I spent removing flash off this model.  An hour, maybe an hour and a half.  It's not finished yet.  I want to make a good job of it, so I'm making sure that I don't mess it up, or I'm trying to anyway.

Meanwhile one of the arms, the kit comes as 3 parts of resin which are the torso, legs and head in one lump and two arms and  his antlers and the smaller figure are made of metal, fits fairly well, the other does not and will need a lot of Green Stuff.  Probably too much for using Liquid green Stuff.

Rasputina based.

So, after a while I got fed up of removing flash and instead started to look at Rasputina and the contents of her Cult of December box set.

Rasputina herself comes with her arms separate.  Her tiny, tiny little arms..  still, she wasn't so bad and I got the arms on in a position that I like.  Her base, and indeed that of the Gamin I'll get to in a minute, will be a snow & rock theme.  Nothing unusual in that but I had no better ideas and it'll still look good enough if I can make a half decent job of it.

As you can see from the picture I've still a some flash to remove form her but nothing that shouldn't be quite easy to remove.

The Gamin are quite small models.  they're quite fun with some quirky poses.  Again they are on rocks and will be accompanied by snow once painted.

Rasputina and Ice Gamin

No Pictures of Snow storm, but then again there isn't much to see. When there is I'll post something.  Might be a while though with all the flash removal and green stuff required.

(Previously published elsewhere January 2012)

sarissa precision heroic old west shack review part two

So, my Shack is built, minus the window frames and door. How do I feel about it?

Well, I like think it's rather cute.  I really like the etching on the surfaces that provides texture and decoration and make this model good enough to use without painting (more of which later).








The roof is removable so the interior is useable (Unless you glue it down) though it's rather plain inside, but it is useable.















I'm looking forward to trying it in a game.  I think it will make a very nice atmospheric piece of terrain.
If I have one problem with it it's that it's almost too smart.  I think I'd like to 'weather' it a little.  The odd raised or missing roof tile, a plank missing from the back or side wall.  I'd like to see it a bit run down.  I have to say though that I suspect that I wont do this myself as I'm a sucker for not damaging things I've bought, even in a constructive way.  We'll see, I may have a go.

The next question I was wondering about, when I bought this, was how well would it fit with Malifaux?  I was pretty sure that the standard 28mm Old West models wouldn't be suitable but these Heroic ones might be more suitable as I think they have larger scale features, doors etc..
bearing in mind that I haven't yet fitted the door and window frames here are a few pictures.
Lady Justice seems OK, a little large maybe, or at least a little high, but I think this is due to the scenic base she's on.  without the base she'd probably be fine.




Also Perdita here, I've stuck on a big rock, so she looks a little tall for the shack, but that's not the shacks fault.

Large models may not be able to fit under the roof of the porch, and there's not enough room for a 40mm base on the porch.  This executioners claw is just too high to fit under the front of the roof, but maybe that's a good reason to keep it removable?





















I was also a little worried about how it would fit with other bits that I use as terrain at the moment.  Games Workshop LOTR ruins for instance.

Thematically I'm aware that they're quite different, but I was worried they might not look right together size wise, but I think they're OK.  The ruins seem a little larger, but, as they're completely different styles of building I don't think it matters.

To Glue or not to Glue, that is the question?  Apart from the window and door frames it is possible to leave this kit unglued so that it may be taken apart and stored flat between games.  This is good news if you are short of storage.  However, I'm not sure how much repeated taking apart and putting together again this may take.  Already one of the tabs on mine is showing signs of wear, though this is probably due to my cack handedness.  Also, when not glued, although the fit is very good, the porch roof is easily moved out of position and I noticed that when I took the roof off it didn't hold together especially well.
I think either option is fine, depending on your needs, but I think I'm going to glue mine.  I will definitely be glueing the roof together as one piece though will always leave it so that it may be removed from the building.

To Paint or not to paint, that is the question?  I like how this shack looks out of the box (or bag).  With this Shack all readily visible surfaces are textured apart from porch roof supports and under the roof where visible.  So I'm seriously tempted to leave it as is.  In fact, I'm going to leave it unless I either come up with a paint scheme I can't do without, or have a go at weathering the Shack, in which case I may paint to disguise any damage I may do.

Overall then I think this is an excellent piece of scenery at a decent price, good value for money.  It was dispatched reasonably quickly and packaged well enough, it's quick and relatively easy to put together and doesn't need to be painted, though you might like to.  I will most certainly be buying some more, just as soon as I'm able to resist using my monthly allowance for more Malifaux figures ;-)

Part 1 of the review

Sarrisa Precision Old West Heroic Range

(Previously published elsewhere January 2012)

sarissa precision heroic old west shack review - part one

this weekend I received the Sarisaa Precision Old West Heroic Shack I ordered last week.  I thought I'd share my thoughts.

Sarissa precision make a large number of nice looking laser cut mdf buildings in a number of different

styles from Wild West to their new infinity highly customisable sci-fi range.

This shack is from the Heroic scale Old West range.
I thought I'd try one out to see how it worked with the Malifaux figures before potentially buying numerous more of these.  A toe in the water as it were.  After all, I didn't want to spend lot's of money just to find they didn't work in scale with the figures...

This is what turned up in the post, after extraction from a decent padded jiffy style bag.

The Shack Pack

Pack contents

And this is what the contents look like after unpacking.

What you get is




A floor section, two side walls, two end walls, two roof sections, two triangular pieces that hold the removable roof together and a pack containing the porch roof, the supports, window and door frames.

Contents of the sub pack

The porch roof, supports and frames come in a separate pack.










You also get an A5 piece of paper with the instructions printed on it.  The instructions take the form of an exploded diagram of the shack and a couple of sentences below this.  This is more than you need but it does leave you wondering about a couple of things, namely how best to go about fitting it together and what type of glue to use.  It does say words to the effect that you fit the walls to the floor but doesn't really say which order to do this in.  Without the floor the walls don't fit together so well that they stay together on their own, so putting them together then fitting the floor to all walls at once is a tricky option.  If you insert the walls into the floor first and fit them together as you go, you do end up relying a little on flexibility and the last wall in is a tricky fit.  As a result I did end up with a slightly 'fluffed' tab on the bottom of one of the walls, which isn't going to help longevity if I want to flatten and build this each time I want to use it/ put it away.

With regard to gluing Sarissa have informed me they use PVA.  Whilst another option is to use Super glue, but this will, apparently, set quickly on the mdf.  I will probably be using PVA and will report back on the success or otherwise of this option.

Each piece of the kit is laser etched with appropriate texture - wooden boards, roof tiles etc..  everything looks lovely.

The kit smells a bit.  Like the ashes of a fire gone cold.  It's not unpleasent or overbearing, But it is there.

Once the dry fitting pieces have been put together it's time for a little gluing.  The window and door frames need to be glued into the relevant places on the outside of the building.

It's a quick and easy job to put this kit together, apart from the gluing I completed this shack in 10 minutes, even with experimentation to find the best way to fit it together.

Once complete it looks very nice indeed, whether or not it needs painting is a matter for consideration as it actually looks rather good as it is.

Check back shortly for part two of this review where I will post pictures of the completed shack and also discus it's suitability as Malifaux scenery.

Part 2 of the review

Sarissa Precision

(Previsouly published elsewhere January 2011)

gaming resolutions

It's that time of year, they're all doing it, so why shouldn't I?  That's right, it's gaming resolutions time.

Thing is, you see, it's virtualy pointless for me to do this.  I have a full time job, a 15 month old son, and I'm having to find a new place, pack and move all within the next couple of months..
However, that all said, here's my 'aims' for 2012.

Play more - I now have two possible opponents, my regular and a good friend who's had his first intro game and is interested in more, so this may be feasible, other restraints permitting.  Also there is a gaming club not a million miles from here that I could get to on a Sunday evening.

Paint more - had a brief period last year where the painting picked up a bit, but apart from a few finished sorrows all that left me was a bunch of half finished models.  And of course I now have new stuff I'd rather paint than finish the half done stuff.  Minimum one evening a week shouldn't be unreasonable.

(c) Wyrd miniatures.

Paint an entire crew - Will focus my painting toward my new Rasputina crew and try and get them finished.  Not entirely certain on a scheme yet but they're likely to be similar across the crew so should make completing the crew easier (if I don't get bored).

Stick to buying Arcanists - At least for a few months, so I don't get distracted from painting the crew and playing them.

Buy Twisting fates - I still don't have this, must rectify.

Paint better - painting more will help but I need to be brave and try out some new techniques maybe.

And that's it.  Nothing unusual or desperately exciting, but hopefully this will serve to focus my efforts.



(Previously published elsewhere January 2012)

new crew

So, after Christmas brought nothing what so ever hobby wise I was left to my own devices as to which new crew to purchase next.  In the end there was only one choice for me, though Resers had been appealing to me for a while it was Arcanists that grabbed my attention when money was on the line.  So, Rasputina or Colette?  Well, Colette had been top of my list recently but, in the end, as per usual, fluff got the best of me.  That and the fact that I've always liked Rasputina, and I just love the SnowStorm model.

So, what did I get?  Here's my haul:

Cult of December box set, SnowStorm, Silent one, Hoarcat Pride and Essence of Power.
To me this was a combination of models I liked, Cult of December and things that are more strategic.
The Essence of Power is the strategic option.  I really like the Wendigo model but the EoP enhances Rasputinas casting more so is considered the better bet.
The Hoarcat pride is a model.fluffy choice.  Not generally found in tournament lists I like it and will in fact be getting a second set at some point as the benefit from more prides nearby.
SnowStorm was bought as it can be a strategical piece in large SS games but mostly 'cos I adore the model.  Can't wait to get it together and paint it.  It is an expensive piece SS wise at 11SS, so probably only for 35ss games and above I think.
Finally the silent one, again a lovely model that also enhances the team.
There are a number of models I want to add before I consider this crew complete, Gunsmith(s), Another Silent one , another Hoarcat Pride, and I want to add a Coryphee duet team to it, not a Cult model but something that can move fast, hit, then get out again will add a dimension to this team that it just doesn't have.  A mechanical rider might find it's way in at some point as well for similar reasons.
I'm also intending to add Kaeris at some point.

Now I need to start considering strategies and game plans. :-) Oh, and paint schemes. And basing ideas, with snow - obviously.

(Previously published elsewhere December 2011)

musings on a new crew

Here I am again, my periodical phase where I try and decide which crew to purchase next.

(c) Sarissa Precision

I was thinking I'd get twisting Fates but as I've only a certain amount to spend and I'd like a new crew and some Sarissa Old west scenery then the book will have to wait.

Sarissa-precision Old West buildings








I've had a Resurrections itch for a while now.
Seamus was looking good along with his Avatar, but I think Kirai would now be favourite.  Spirits of Vengeance box, Lost love, Seishin, Gaki.  Would leave enough for one Wild West building.
Or, Nicodem/ Undertakers Lot with Mindless Zombies, Canine Remains, Flesh Construct & a Vulture.

Alternatively I'm rather Fancying some Arcanist action too.
Rasputina was at one point going to be my first master and I rather fancy a December crew.  Cult of December box with Silent one, Hoarcat Pride and SnowStorm is awfully tempting.. would want a number of other models too but they could wait until next month.
Lastly, my hot favourite for the past few months but now moving backwards into 2nd or 3rd place is Colette.  Showgirls Box set, Angelica, Coryphee Duet & Mechanical Doves to be started with.

So many great figures, so little money ;-(
I will wait until after Christmas, you never know I may get some hobby bits - although I don't think it's likely - and that might affect my choices.  I will of course keep you informed.

Happy Christmas all.


(previously published elsewhere December 2011)

painting - a tale of 3 sorrows and 2 ladies

So, finally got the time to 'complete' my sorrows.  I also did some work on Candy and Lady justice.

3 Sorrows and 2 Ladies

First off then the Sorrows.  Some work on 'rusting' the ironwork on the bases, believe it or not I also did their eyebrows and eyes.  Doubtless there's more work that could be done, in fact I've just noticed a few white spots on the bases to fill, however, this will do for now, or I'd be there forever.

Candy

Candy I had started last week, just worked on the base which still needs a little tidying up, however, this time it was time to start work on Candy herself.

Not the best photo, the light colours are so washed out by the flash.

Anyway, pretty simple stuff so far.
Her pale flesh is Valejo Ivory, her clothes a mix of Hermagaunt Purple and White with White lace trim.
Her hair was painted Sunburst Yellow and then washed with a watered down mix of Golden Yellow and Baal Red, though I notice I've missed a couple of bits with the wash which could prove tricky to replicate if necessary.

Reasonably happy with her so far, wondering how I'm going to make her hair look Blonde and not yellow from here. Also worried about doing her eyes, so difficult yet critical.

Lady Justice

Lasty, Lady Justice.  From scratch, wasn't sure how I was going to paint her so was just winging it.  I did once have a plan, but.. well.
She was part of my badly undercoated batch of figures so my first step was a black wash to reduce the effect of the rough finish.  Went with blue for the jeans.  It's a bright blue but one that I should be able to make look reasonable with washing and highlights.  Her flesh painted Bronzed Flesh and then began to highlight with Ivory.  However, I realised that highlighting and shading was probably unwise prior to painting her hair, blindfold, gloves and top.  Being not the most accurate of painters it's almost guaranteed that I'll be making some mistakes that will need correction.
Next up was her hair, I really didn't know where to go here, in the end it had to be red, but I'm aiming for a fairly 'natural' red.  So, I based her hair with Caltharn Brown and then washed it with Baal Red, however I notice I've not covered very well with the wash..  There's so much hair.  Just keep finding more bits of it to paint.. But it's key to this model, must make a good job of it.  her gloves, top and blindfold I've painted black.  I'm not sure I shouldn't have made the blindfold another colour, perhaps whatever colour I paint the scabbard.
The base was painted using foundation colours Khemri Brown and Knarloc Green.  The base will get in the way a bit, but nothing so bad that it can't be managed I don't think.  I've noticed through the photo that there are a few bits of undercoat showing through, especially around her trousers, however it should be easy enough to correct.
Taking photo's of your work is such a valuable painting technique.  It really shows up any imperfections.  Expect a dedicated post on the subject soon (ish).

(Previously published elsewhere November 2011)

painting - how to get it wrong

OK, this one is tough for me.  I have to show you my worst piece of painting ever.. Not that my usual painting is all that.
So, without further ado, here it is..

Pretty bad huh?
So what went wrong?

Bad undercoat.
Paints too thin
Badly posed (for painting purposes)
Should have been painted before being glued together.
Missed areas
Paint where it shouldn't be.






Is there anything else?  Could there be anything else?
Lets break this down..

Undercoat.  I have struggled for some time with white spray undercoats.  I'm fine with black, goes on fine, but white?  Shake it as much as I like, whatever brand, whatever temperature, it just goes on gritty and not smoothly.  This model was one of a batch that I did as a last attempt.  I should have stripped it but I didn't.  I've since started hand undercoating using Foundation paints as I don't like to undercoat in black as I can't see the detail.  I've also found that a wash applied afterwards counteracts much of the problems that arise from such a poor undercoat.
The roughness of the finish is murder on your brushes, and makes it difficult to control where the paint goes, especially if you..

Make your paints too thin.  Had a brain storm, decided really thin paints were the way to go.  Which maybe it might be in the right conditions, but with this rough finish the paints just get pulled all over the shop I think via capillary action or something similar.  Check out the paint from the hood on his face and the big line across his chest.  Again a pre-wash would have limited this problem, but never the less it was rather stupid and naive of me.

Badly Posed.  Well, I don't mind the pose really, but it makes it almost impossible to get every surface covered in paint.
Check out the crook of his bent arm.. There's a bloody great white patch, and trust me, there's more of it than you can see here, some form the arm, some from the torso, so multiple colours will be required.  We might have a view in form here but getting a brush in there?  it might be possible to get it all covered, but make a good neat job of it?  I'm not so sure.

Which means it would have been much better to have painted this model before I put it together.  My impatience has cost me again.  I rarely pre-paint and I really aught to, it can pay dividends.  The alternative is to find a pose that isn't going to cause you problems, but do give it some consideration before you apply the glue.
The base would have been much easier to make a good job of if I'd painted it before glueing the figure on, with the fallen statue facing the Executioner it's going to be a 'right laugh' getting any detail painted on it.  Might have to leave it as base coat and wash.

Missed areas.  This is just plain sloppy on my part.  If I have an excuse it's the poor light I work in most of the time.  Poor lighting is unhelpful with any of the issues I've had with this figure so do ensure you have plenty of lighting, daylight bulbs if you can.

Paint where it shouldn't be.  Again, this is just me being sloppy.  Mostly this will be easy to tidy up, but is just another example of things to get wrong.  Don't paint when you're tired, be careful and steady handed.  Odd misplaced spots are not unusual, but can be avoided.  Luckily they can also be easily covered, especially if you're using foundation paints that cover so well.

I think it's going to be tough to turn this into anything other than a poor figure, but I'll post my efforts once done.

(previously published elsewhere November 2011)

more painting and initial liquid green stuff thoughts

A little more painting done last night and my first use of Games Workshop's Liquid Green Stuff.

Elbow gap

First the LGS.
I had, as mentioned previously, stuck the arm on Santiago but the glue had left a gap.

Filled

It was my intent to fill this gap using LGS.  So I popped the lid on the bottle, selected a brush - Nylon bristled - and painted green stuff into the crack.


Worked  a treat, how simple.  Any excess was easily wiped away and the result seems quite neat, although there's still a little extra on there that I will have to trim off later I think, in the crease on the left hand side as you look at it.

Wash brush thoroughly after use, it's easy to do, comes off nearly as easily as paint, but I wouldn't use my best brushes for it.

The proof will be in the painting I think, so no formal conlcusion, but until then a big thumbs up.


On to painting then.  I did not finish off the Sorrows, which I aught really to have done, but decided to partly move on to something new from the Neverborn and partly make some further progress with models that were half done or less from my Guild collection.

Candy, Austringer & terrible Executioner

Here then is a picture of how the 3 relevant figures were when I thought I'd finished last night, as you can see the Executioner was simply awful, I was aware that he was in trouble but not quite how bad things were until I took and viewed this photo.  Just about everything you can do wrong with a figure I'd done wrong here.  I've decided to dedicate an entire blog post as a lesson to those that listen.  As I hope you can see here though, I've started to tidy things up where I can.

Candy, Austringer & still terrible but improving? Executioner

The work on the Guild models last night consisted in applying a wash of Devlan Mud on the Austringers bird.  On the Executioner I finished off his claws/ backpack and pipes, applied a dry brush of Gretchin Green on the base before tidying up the statue and applying a Devlan Mud wash to the statue.

The work on Candy was entirely on the base, I decided to complete the base before taking on Candy herself hoping, by dividing it this way, to keep it to two smaller projects to concentrate on and complete, rather than getting bogged down in too much at once.

Candy with base near complete.

Firstly I applied some Liquid Green Stuff arounf the edge of the base insert to fill the gap, this worked nicely but I should probably have been more patient and applied a second layer before painting.

The stonework and sewage were treated the same way as the sorrows, though it looks like a re-visit with the wash on the sewage might be required.

The Ironwork I treated a little differently.  The phones flash has, to some extent, washed out the detail and shading.  I went for a brighter finish this time.  Boltgun Metal base, then Shining  Gold was over-brushed onto parts of the flat surfaces very lightly.  I did not apply the black wash this time though I think maybe I should have.  The 'decoration' on the pipe was painted with Shining Gold.  Burning orange was applied to certain areas to represent rust and then the whole thing was washed with Gryphone Sepia.  As gaming quality was the aim I think this will suffice.  If I was aiming for better I would have applied some highlights along the edges of further Boltgun Metal and applied a black wash before the rust and Sepia wash.  Need to apply highlights to the stonework, then I'm ready to go to work on Candy.

I look forwad to cpmpleting Candy.  The Executioner will be a pain in the neck.  Look for a specific post shortly.

(Originally painted elsewhere November 2011)

random bits and pieces

Not too much to report but a few things I thought I'd jot down.

(c) Wyrd Miniatures

Last night I put together Santiago Ortega.  Nicely modelled figure with little to no flash.  It's a two piece kit, his right arm is a separate piece.  This has a small contact point for gluing, there's a 'ball and socket' join to give more gluing area, but this was tricky to clean up as it was on this 'elbow' the arm was attached to the sprue.
Once I had it tidied up I was once again very grateful for my Filla Glu super glue and Kicka pen, which sets the glue off quickly.  My only worry is that the angle of the arm might make painting the face tricky, specifically his fabulous mutton chop sideburns, and I think they're important for this figure.  I should probably have pinned the arm in place but I am very impatient.  The glue, though I only used a very small amount, has left a gap between the parts of the arm.  I don't think the glue fills it all so this will give me a great opportunity to try out GW's Liquid Green Stuff tonight.  Will post pictures and thoughts on LGS afterwards.

Tonight I hope to finish off the Santiago build and to do some more painting.  The big question is what to paint?
I probably aught to finish off the Sorrows, but I'm mighty tempted to paint Candy, or Perdita, or maybe even Lady Justice.

On Thursday this week I will be giving my brother in law an introduction to Malifaux.  I plan to start with a very small game to get him used to the mechanics, before, if we have time, opening it up for something slightly larger.
hopefully I wont have to look too much up as we go along.
I'm planning on using 2 Guild crews - Lady Justice and Perdita, with 2 minions each.

There's a very interesting thread on the Wyrd miniatures forum regarding the future of Malifaux, worth a read if you have 10 minutes.  For what it's worth my take is that Malifaux is not and probably never will be 'complete'.  that we will see a regular output of new books and models.  Each of these will be independent of the main game (which I consider to be the Rules Manual, or first 2 books if you will) so you could play a core crew against an expanded crew quite reasonably, giving the player the choice as to whether or not to buy and play the expansion.
Anyway, you could check out the thread here - Malifaux Complete?

Scenery.  Don't know about you but I love having good scenery to play with.  However, when I sit down for a hobby evening it's the last thing on my mind, so I end up with half built un-painted scenery.  Here's a place selling laser cut HDF wild west buildings that I think would be fabulous for a game of Malifaux, I've added half a dozen of these buildings to my Christmas list. Check out Sarissa Precision cut Heroic scale Wild West buildings.

Lastly, I'm enjoying reading the  stories from Twisting Fates, should have bought this book a long time ago.  Am particularly enjoying the Ortega sections, Nicodems brief appearance and the Collette sections, this may fuel where I go next in my model collecting.

(Previously published elsewhere November 2011)

try try again

Time for some Malifaux advice.

(c) Wyrd Miniatures

Malifaux is a fabulously rich game.  Hundreds of miniatures, most of which have something to recommend them and many of which are nothing short of fabulous and interesting.  Each one has a full background and has it's place in the folk lore and tales that create the games universe & atmosphere.  Each one has it's own unique set of rules giving it it's own slant on the game and giving it's owner tantalising thought's of how they could use this model in a game.

In addition many of these models are not hugely expensive, making it even more tempting to add another one and another.  One of those will tip the balance.  With that in my crew I can do this and that and I've go to win..?  Right?  Does this or something similar sound familiar?

Well, I'm not here to stop you buying figures, but, I do think it's worth while trying any given list a number of times before giving up on it.  Until you've played a crew a number of times it's very hard to a) get all the rules correct and b) understand all the synergies between the models.
Even the simplest of crews has a number of things that require experience to really get to grips with.
Activation order for instance, try activating models in a different order, it can make a huge difference to how a crew plays.
Opposing crews - the crew you play against could well make a big difference to how your crew plays and it's effectiveness.
Rules - many characters have lots of rules, I find it very difficult to get a new figure right until it's been played half a dozen times sometimes, it's well worth persevering with until you know you've got it nailed.
So go ahead, add new figures, try out new crews, but don't give up on a model or crew until you've tried it many times.

(Previously published elsewhere November 2011)

new additions for neverborn and guild

Managed to free some funds for new Malifaux additions at the weekend.

(c) Wyrd Miniatures

Finally I've been able to pick up the second rule book - Rising Powers.  I love to read the stories in the Malifaux rule books and was feeling somewhat behind the curve now that 3 books are out.  So first step was to  rectify this a little bit.  The 3rd book will have to wait until Christmas I think, but it's good to have Rising Powers, enjoying reading the stories and finally being able to check out the full details of the 2nd books masters and Henchman, there are even a number of Minions that I've not heard of.  So, plenty of excellent reading ahead, beautiful book, as always, well presented with atmospheric and beautiful artwork.

The question remained though, what to spend the remainder of my money on?  The other book?  A boxed set, some of the single figures I've been after?  In the end I opted for another fate deck - this will enable me to play demo games against people who are interested in trying the game - some 50mm bases to use as blast templates and a few figures.

The first two figures I chose were easy - Perdita and Zoraida.  Giving me double my master count just like that.  Guild wise I already have half of Perdita's starting box crew and enough options to run her in a viable configuration.

(c) Wyrd Miniatures 

Then Zoraida.  I've been interested in her as a master for a while but I'm on keen on her box contents.  The Silurids might be viable but I'm not a great fan of them and I'm not at all keen on the Bad Ju Ju Mire Golumn, there fore buying her separately, as I think I have enough options for her, made sense.

(c) Wyrd Miniatures

I also picked up Santiago Ortega.  Not sure about this purchase yet.  It was a night before change to my wish list, which had Papa Loco and Abuela Ortega on it.  I changed my mind after reading the first book the night before, I'm still not sure if this was a good idea or not.  7 points.  I feel he's a bit much, and I'm not a huge fan of the model.  I may yet see if wayland games will allow me to swap him for something else.

Mature Nehpilim was my last pick.  He's a bit pricey but I wanted a reasonably quick beat stick to charge out and quickly kill a few weak opponent models, the mature Neph. seemed like a decent option for this, though possibly I could have left that for Teddy to do.

That's it, I didn't pick up Zoraida's Voodoo Doll as I'm not a great fan of the model.  I thought I'd try and build one myself, I have ambitions toward something like the 'bad things happen' doll.


(previously published elsewhere November 2011)

painting sorrows pt 2

Last night I was able to spend a little time doing some further work on my Pandora crew, specifically the 3 sorrows I've been working on.


Bearing in mind that I'm only aiming for 'table top' or gaming quality.  I'm not expecting to win any competitions with this lot.

Nearly completed.

1st off, the sorrow I showed you last post, this week I've been working on the base, touching up a little and applying washes.  In the case of the iron work I've used Gryphone Sepia to give it a weathered, rusty look.  Around the pipe you'll see I've applied some Orange, I thought this might be a bit heavy handed but I'm actually quite pleased with the result, be appreciative of any views you might have on this, should I apply more of this to look like rust?
On the sludge flowing from the grill I applied Ogryn Flesh wash, I like the result.  I was going to do a highlight on the sludge but might leave it as is, after all, as I said, I'm only after gaming quality.  Lastly I applied a highlight of Adeptus battlegrey to the stone work on top of the Black wash I'd applied earlier.

Pointing Sorrow, nearly finished

This is the most progressed of my Sorrows but here's another one that's almost done, the base is less interesting but I've followed the same process as described above.  The camera flash has rather taken out the effect of the wash on the metal work.  Might have to apply some 'rust' to this too.








Finally here are all 3 sorrows.  One more session and I think they'll be done.
The one in the middle is very weak.  It bends with no provocation so needs to be treated carefully.  If you're building them.. you've been warned.

3 Sorrows

I've also painted the bases, these are GW foundation paint Hormagaunt Purple, but I'm wondering if I should bring them up to Liche Purple.. any thoughts?





(Previously published elsewhere October 2011)

south essex facebook group

I have created a new facebook group for players of Malifaux, specifically those living in South Essex UK.


If you're interested in locating new players and you live in that area this group may help you do just that.  Join on facebook and meet new players, chat with them and arrange games.

South Essex Malifaux Group

(Previously published elsewhere October 2011)

game report: pandora vs victorias 35ss

Game last night.
35 ss
Pandora (that's me) vs Victorias.

My Pandora crew
Pandora 8ss
Baby Kade
Candy
Teddy
3 x Sorrow


Victorias crew

Victoria x 2 4ss?
Killjoy
Mizaki
Freikorp Tracker
Ronin
Desperate Mercenary

Basically I had my ass handed to me on a plate.
Within 3 turns all I had left was Pandora.  In return all I'd got rid of was Killjoy and done some wounds to Mizaki and the Tracker.
Turn one - the Viki's slingshot into Teddy and take him down to a couple of wounds.  I got Mizaiki to wound herself, failed on everything else with Pandora, having only a Red Joker to cheat with which I wanted to save (big mistake) for when I really needed it - doh.
Anyway, turn 2 I win initiative, good.  Except my opponent burns a ss in order to re-flip and flips an 11 so I burn one too and get a 5.  So Viki one kills Teddy (an end before I've done anything with him in his first outing) moves and slingshots Viki 2 across to start taking out Sorrows.  He sacrifices the Desperate Merc and brings on Killjoy, getting a healing flip (3 wounds) on Misaki at the same time. Killjoy is just out of range on Candy.  Candy triple casts Self Loathing at KillJoy, succeeding twice and doing 2 x weak damage for 8 points plus two failed WP within 12" of Pandora so he's 2 wounds left.  Pandora gets off three incites against KillJoy, Mizaki and Tracker then one self loathing against Mizaki (I think).  Kade, who's been round the back of a building comes out with a double move, dragging his Sorrow with him, the sorrow the Links to KillJoy ready to inflict his last wound if he activates.
Turn 3 and it's all over, he kills remaining sorrow with tracker who inflicts severe damage with blasts, which hit Candy taking her out as well.  I get rid if Killjoy, Kade gets taken out and that's it.
Pandoras left.  She can be useful on her own but I've scored no VP, he's scored 4 so far and will easily get his remaining four.. I can't win, we call it.
A few things would have helped immeasurably.  Firstly we made a mistake with Desperate Merc.  when sacrificed he shouldn't have been able to heal Mizaki, which meant I'd have killed her later (probably).
And one or two high Crows in my hand would have meant I could have had Mizaki (if not dead) and Trapper on the run after turn 2, which would have meant Kade and Candy and a sorrow still alive and much still to play for.  Never the less I was Hammered :-(

(previously published elsewhere Oct 2011)

painting sorrows pt 1

This is another post about an incomplete paint job, but these ones are on the way now.. I'm using a fairly quick technique involving the use of washes and consequently I've 3 nearly complete figures after about 4 hours of painting which is dead quick.  For me.

I base coated them white, then washed them with a coat of Badab Black.  Then after setting to dry I washed them again with Leviathan purple.

Next session I dry brushed over the purple wash with Skull White before another wash of Leviathan Purple.

Malifaux Sorrow, part painted.

After that I used foundation red on their tongues and skull white on the teeth.  I will shade the tongues and teeth a little though I'm not sure how yet.
The bases, which are sewers, were Adaptus battle grey base coat for the flag stones, Gretchin Green for the sewage and Bolt gun metal for the metal work.  I've washed the stones and metal work on one of the bases heavily with Badab black and started the sewage with a Ogrin flesh wash.

The white undercoat wash method seemed a good approach for these figures.  They are convoluted and I don't have the patience (or ability) to do all that by hand.  Using this approach gives you a nicely shaded figure with minimal input.. The only real issue for me is they don't have the 'pop' that I like on the table top.  But perhaps once they're finished a manually applied highlight may help.

The camera flash makes the figure look lighter than it does in real life.  As you can see haven't done the eyes yet and the base needs finishing.  need to highlight the stone work, weather and rust the pipes and complete the sewage.

I do like the way it looks like it's emerging from the grill.

They go into battle tonight.  ;-) Wish me luck.


(previously published elsewhere October 2011)

neverborn new additions

For first time in ages I had a few quid spare and managed to get to my local suppliers to re-inforce my Neverborn crew in light of my enjoyable first Pandora outing.

Previously I had the Pandora box set of Pandora, Baby Kade, Candy and 3 Sorrows, a Teddy and 3 additional sorrows.
Now I've added the following -

Insidious Madness - I've heard good things for these, especially with Pandora as they provide plenty more will power tests for models to take.  It looks rather fragile though, perhaps I should have more of them at only 4SS but I'll try this one out and see how it gets on.

Dopplegänger - Again I've heard good things, Mimicking Pandoras' 1 wound per failed WP test could be nasty.

Stitched together - Not sure exactly how these are going to work, but they should fit well with Pandora, have Cannot Die' which may allow for a double activation the round they're killed.

Nothing individually tough or combat nasty but between them they should augment Pandora well I hope.
The Insidious madness and Doppleganger are not the best of Wyrd's miniatures but I really like the stitched togethers.

(previously published elsewhere Oct 2011)

first pandora outing

Had a game last night, well, part of one, and got to use my Pandora crew for the first time.  My opponent was using his C. Hoffman crew for the first time too and as we didn't start until late thanks to my wife cooking us a lovely Curry, we only got two turns done.. But, they were fairly interesting turns, turn two in particular.
Here's an overview of how it went down.

20SS Game

Pandora
Kade
Candy
2 x Sorrow

vs

C.Hoffman
2x Guardian
Watcher
Mechanical Attendant



Strategies  Pandora - Turf War, C. Hoffman - Deliver Message
Schemes Pandora Bodyguard & the one involving being in opponents deployment zone, C. Hoffman Kill Candy & 1 other I can't recall.

We'd set up our small crews virtually opposite each other, there wasn't a huge amount of scenery, 3 trees and 3 ruins, but just enough to ensure it wasn't quite a straight run accross the table.
The Hoff was set up in a gaggle with everything in base with the Hoff.  Pnadora set up with both sorrows in base, one each side, Candy in base with one of them and Kade off on his own a bit to my left.

Turn 1, not a lot happened.  Hoff won initiative and moved a guardian up dragging Hoffman with it.  I activated a sorrow to link to Pandora, he moved up his other guardian. I moved Pandora, tried to use Incite (or Pacify, I can't remember which) and failed, managed to cast Self Loathing on Hoffman for a total of 4 wounds, failed everything else.  Not much of significance happened that I remember that turn, my deck was week with a solitary 9 being my only remotely high card so couldn't force much.

Second turn was more interesting.  I don't recall the exact order of everything but some of the highlights were, Pandora getting off my first sequence of wounds/moves caused by Pacify/Fading memory, pulling it off 3 times causing a wound to Hoff, 2 wounds to one  Guardian and 3 wounds to the 2nd Guardian (multiple wounds thatnks to Sorrows Emotional Stress) whilst also triggering Mental Anguish that saw one Guardian falling back to within a few inches of my table edge.
One sorrow bought it as did Kade, eventually, after successfully using backstab on Hoffman, only to see his damage limited by borrowed armour.  A Guardian cast a spell that put all my casts within 6" on  -ve flip, which is nasty, luckily it was the guardian I sent packing so impact wasn't too sever.

That was it really, no objective points scored, however he'd killed two of my models and I'd got Hoffman down to 4 wounds both guardians damaged and one of them a push away from being off the board.  Could have gone either way, with a good hand next round I think I'd have had him, but I was low on soul stones (though I wouldn't have used my penultimate one had I thought the game was going to continue).
had some bad luck, twice using Soul stones to add to my casting value or dual value only to flip a one, and had some good luck, he flipped black joker a couple of times.

Great game, if a bit slow, both crews more complex than we're used to.  So nice to play something different.
Got a good idea of the power of Pandora though :-)   great fun when it comes off, but Soul stones and good cards are important I think.

(Originally posted elsewhere October 2011)

half painted death marshal

Not an auspicious posting really, a half finished figure, but, as it's the most completely painted malifaux figure I have so far I thought I'd put it up..

Colour scheme so far is as follows
Coat - Valejo Lemon Yellow will be washed in Gryphon Sepia (GW) or possibly DEvlan Mud and highlighted.
Skin - Valejo Ivory (4pts) and Pale Sand (1/2 pt)
Hat & Bandages - Valejo Crimson & GW Black Wash
Jeans - Valejo Medium Blue
Coffin - Valejo Pale Sand (I think) Washed with GW Devlan Mud
Leather - Bestial Brown
Gun wood - GW Scorched Brown
Chains - GW Boltgun Metal with Black wash
Other metal - GW Boltgun Metal

Still some tidying up to do before washing and highlighting.  Still undecided whether or not to do another coat of yellow on the coat as well in order to even it up or whether or not I'll rely on washing and highlights to cover up the unevenness.
The idea also is to tone down the blue of his jeans and make it look more like denim, washing and highlights will hopefully achieve this.

(Originally posted elsewhere October 2011)