Hobby Grab-Bag

I've been bouncing from project to project lately so I thought rather than keep everybody waiting until something is done I thought I'd show off a few of the things I'm working on and let you know what they're for.

First up....Project Scrapheap Zombie Pirates
I haven't forgotten my undead pirates, I've just been back and forth on other things lately but my next 4 are almost done.  Here below I've shown the 2 that are furthest along.  I like theses figures because they look like a cross between actual naval troopers and Cygnar Gun Mages so I think they'll work great for Warmachine.

Next up....The first crypt from my Garden Of Morr
The Garden Of Morr is an AMAZING piece of Warhammer Fantasy Battle scenery that I will be using for Malifaux, Warmachine and Chaos In Carpathia.  The basic "garden" consists of 3 separate crypts and a statue all on really intricate bases along with an outer wall.  I'm doing up each piece individually so I can make use of it however I need whenever I need.  So far the base for the first piece is completely done, now I just need to get in an hour or so to finish the building itself.

 

Last but definitely not least....OWLBEAR!
Every year around the Christmas holidays I get together with some of my old gaming friends who don't game that regularly anymore and we play a game of D&D or Pathfinder.  Every year I end up DMing and we always end up playing some sort of horror themed game because that's what I have fantasy models for.  I've decided this year to get some more generic or classic D&D monsters done up so we can play a straight up heroes vs monsters fantasy adventure.  While reading my friend Darren's blog I was reminded that we had both painted Owlbears 15 years or so ago and I decided to dust off the extra Owlbear I bought and make him the start of my return to the old-school.

Well there you have it.  I'm all over the map today but hopefully there will be some cool stuff finished and on the tabletop soon.

Cheers

-Jay

I'M BACK!!!  Also, look at this werewolf!

Hi all.  First up big thanks to my friend Dave for "unpooping" my computer (I'm assuming I'm still good on these technical terms?).  Looks like everything is back up and running fine so over the next couple of days I should be posting extra-regularly to get caught up on all the stuff I failed to post last week.

One of the quickie little side-projects I managed to get done last weekend was basing up the werewolf that my friend Carmin painted for the Secret Santa painting event that Strategies Games & Hobbies ran in Vancouver over Christmas.  I decided to base the werewolf to match my existing Malifaux/Warmahordes/Helldorado figures as I will probably be using a selection of these figures to play some Chaos In Carpathia shortly.

To that end work has continued on my Garden Of Morr and a few more undead pirates are done.  All that and some cool Frankenstein figures should be appearing here in the next day or two....stay tuned.

-Jay

Project Scrapheap: Revenant Crew (10/20)

My Revenant Crew are now at the half-way point!  With the first 10 models done they are beginning to feel like a proper unit for gaming.

With my first 9 trooper models I've gone with some fairly bold and assorted colours to capture a motley pirate feel but the next 9 models are attired more as if they were wearing uniforms.  So I'm hoping that when they all stand together it will create 2 good looking units.

Some fairly simple colour choices here.  Bone, brushed over with white and then a light brown wash followed by a light drybrush of white over top, Deneb Stone for the shirts and then a primary colour for each of the trouser/bandanna combos.  The only colours that will continue to re-occur and tie all the models together will be the bone and the weapons.

I've also finally started working on my Garden Of Morr so I have some cool undead themed scenery for my Warmachine and Malifaux games!

-Jay

Up on a soapbox: Crowd-funding

Today I'm beginning a new semi-regular (not too regular) series of entries on the blog I'm calling "Up On A Soapbox".  Basically it's just going to be me giving you my 2-cents worth on an issue I see affecting gaming and the gaming industry.  To be really transparent about ALL these entries they really are just my opinion and I would certainly like to hear any responses any of you have.  And now without any further ado...crowd-funding.

I decided I wanted to speak about crowd-funding in the gaming business because I've spoken up about it a bunch of times on Facebook and I realise that some people might have misunderstood my position and I'd like to delve into it a bit more deeply.

First up let me say I think crowd-funding is GREAT!  Not just for the gaming industry but across the board.  It gives aspiring artists and business people a chance to bring products to market that might otherwise never have seen the light of day.  I think crowd-funding is the best example I can think of in recent years of the free-market actually working the way it's supposed to.
...but...
Based on the success that a lot of independents in the gaming industry had in the early days of Kickstarter and Indiegogo something has changed, and that thing is larger more established companies jumping into the pool.  Now on it's face I don't think there's anything wrong with that but in the last year or so I have seen 2 products on Kickstarter from companies that have been in this industry for 30 years or so that are basically part of their existing product lines and 2 products from a company that is owned by the license holder of the product they're "kickstarting".  My issue with these types of releases is that they are little more than thinly veiled attempts to cut retailers and wholesalers out of the marketplace.  When someone new or unconnected or any kind of outsider goes this route they are trying to succeed in the face of an industry that they have no support from but when you've had other businesses contribute to your success over the years and you cut them out of the pie at your first opportunity I think that's just low.

I'm not saying anyone reading this should boycott crowd-funding or anything radical like that but what I am saying is this; if you get value from your local gaming store don't buy products you could be buying from them (and will end up playing with in their store) from other sources just because they're cheaper.  Our local gaming stores need all the support we can give them and the good ones have earned our business.

Agree?  Disagree?  Let me know.

-Jay

Project Scrapheap: Revenant Crew (5/20)

I got the first of my 2 leaders done for my 2 Revenant Crew units today.  This figure is not much fancier than the average undead pirate but he does have a cool looking 4-barrelled pistol/carbine of some sort.

I've got 5 more pirates close to done on my desk now and then I'll be perilously close to having to make a decision about what to spend the final 2 of my 35 points on.

-Jay

Nicodem & Rafkin

Another quick side-step back through the breach.

When I was starting up my McMourning crew last year my plan was to have as many models who could farm corpse/body part counters in the starting force and then to create the rest of what I needed once the game had started.  To this end I always used Sebastian and Mortimer and it had been my intention to add Rafkin but I didn't get the model until I had moved away from Malifaux and was playing other games.

Having circled back I decided to paint up Rafkin for when  I start playing again and while I was at it I thought I should finally paint Nicodem (Nicodem is one of the Wyrd models I had bought before Malifaux even existed as a game so he's been waiting for paint for YEARS).

Nicodem was a super-basic paint job.  I basically painted him a very dark grey and then applied a couple of layers of black washes.  After that I just picked out some details and he was basically done.  The paint job in the rule book was much more elaborate but as nice as it looked it didn't actually fit the description of the character in the background.  I'm still not sure if he'll see tabletop action anytime soon but I'm happy I finally got off my butt and painted him.

I spent more time on Rafkin but the truth is I found him a lot more difficult to paint.  One of the things I have really liked about all the Wyrd models I have bought is that the detail s really crisp and easy to pick out.  I found that Rafkin was a little sloppy (which I think is intentional) and because he's not as bulky as a lot of the other figures it was harder to tell where some textures ended and others began.  I'm still happy with how he turned out overall though.

Tomorrow it's back to the seven seas for more undead pirate action!

-Jay

Project Scrapheap:  Revenant Crew (4/20)

Back to project scrapheap today and my first 4 undead pirates are done!

I'm applying a similar strategy to painting these models that I did to painting my Starship Troopers Mobile Infantry.  That is  have separated the models into groups based on how many variants there are (4 different troopers & 2 different leaders) and I am painting them in small batches.  My first 4 figures are probably the most basic of the bunch, they are really just skeletons with weapons and the tatters of some trousers.  I'm really happy after many years to finally get some paint on these figures.

Tomorrow I might focus on one of the leaders and then jump back to a small batch of troops on Saturday.

-Jay

Iron-Man Mk7

I'm not sure I can even call this figure a "touch up"; I popped him off his Clix base, re-attached him to a standard 25mm base, coated the top, varnished and done!

I've gotten a lot of Iron-Man Heroclix over the years but it wasn't until the Avengers movie set that they felt like they scaled right with my other figs.  The thing I like best about this figure (which is from the Iron-Man 3 movie set) is that he came with a metallic red (rather than flat red) paint job.  I think he looks terrific and if I ever game with a 21st century Avengers team he's definitely ready to rock!

Now I just need to scrounge up one of the new Iron-Patriot figures (that the fig from this set I REALLY want).

I'll be back tomorrow with more Malifaux and/or Project Scrapheap!

-Jay

Please stand by, we are experiencing technical difficulties

Sorry for the lack of updates lately.  My computer has (I believe this is a technical term) pooped itself.

I'm going to be trying to do some updates from another computer until mine is back in the game but things may get a little irregular for the next week or two.

-Jay
 

This week in hobby A.D.D. presents....more ladies for Seamus!

I was plugging away today assembly line painting 20 skeletal zombie pirates for Project Scrapheap but then a funny thing happened; every time I looked over to my right to pick up my coffee I couldn't help but notice 2 Dead Doxy models for Malifaux that would look great if I finished them and added them to the stuff I showed yesterday.  So my skeletal zombie pirates (who I must say have been very patient with all the waiting) moved slightly over so I could get these 2 figures painted.

One of the things that the Resurrectionist force in Malifaux does really well that I wish more undead themed armies would do in miniature games is include figures elements that are clearly stolen from other forces in the game.  Obviously it's great that they include tons of interesting stuff of their own but units like Guild Autopsies, Crooked Men & Dead Doxies are not only interesting in their own right but have the added the narrative appearance that your necromancers aren't fresh from school with some new stuff but that they are making do with the materials at hand.

Of those 3 units the Dead Doxies are by far my favourite.  They fit very well into a themed Seamus force and they have some background fluff to tie them in nicely.  In addition they have the 'Belle' keyword so they work really well with an existing collection of models without have to shoehorn in new rules to include them in combos.

I'm looking forward to using these in any game but I really want them to hit the table against a Collette crew just for the "this could happen to you" factor.

All right, back to Project Scrapheap, no more distractions......say is that a Rafkin The Embalmer figure......

-Jay

A blast from the recent past: Malifaux Resurrectionists

I was poking around on Facebook tonight and I saw that a few of my old gaming buddies from out west are starting to get into Malifaux.  It got me thinking about the game again and I hauled out my figs to have a look at them.

Malifaux is probably the game I played the most last year.  I think it's an amazing and amazingly balanced game system with fantastic figures, terrific art, cool background and a unique game play mechanic that actually adds something to the game rather than just being a gimmick.  I always seem to choose to inject a little horror into my fantasy games so I went with the Resurrectionists starting out.

My first choice for a Master was Seamus.  I picked Seamus because I thought he was the best looking figure the Resurrectionists had and it turned out his rules were pretty good too.  Like all Resurrectionist masters he is extremely durable but of the original 3 he is also the one capable of dealing out the most damage, on more than one occasion he has single handedly taken out an opposing master in a single round!  Pictured alongside Seamus is the Copycat Killer who is a hilariously awesome model in his own right and can change the outcome of an encounter with one well timed shot.

The Seamus starter box also included Madame Sybelle and her Rotten Belles.  For all the cool models I've seen from my opponents when playing Malifaux, most of which are better painted than mine, the thing that always seems to draw the most attention from passers by in game stores are the Belles.  "Are those zombie prostitutes?"...."Yes, yes they are".

Straddling the line between Seamus as a living necromancer and the mindless Belles is Molly.  Molly was featured prominently in the background material in the first book but wasn't introduced as a model until the first supplement released.  With Molly I tried to do a bit more weathering to convey her nature because she is a lot more intact than the Belles but I think I went too far, before I play Malifaux again I will probably clean up her paint job a little.

Although Seamus is my favourite Resurrectionist master he isn't the only one I played with regularly last year.  Dr Douglas McMourning got almost as much table time as Seamus.  McMourning is a cross between Victor Frankenstein and The Joker, I almost painted his hair green but decided against it.  McMourning has a selection of nurses and orderly-types available to him in addition to his constructed creatures.  My favourite McMourning sidekick is his 'pet' chihuahua, the chihuahua has a rule called "backup materials" just in case the good doctor hasn't been able to collect enough scraps from the battlefield to create his monsters.

And last (for tonight) but not least we have the Flesh Constructs.  These are big powerful creatures who can dole out a lot of damage and attract a lot of attention from your opponents.  In addition to being able to purchase them for your force McMourning can also create them during the course of the game out of extra body part he might find laying around.

That's my first look at my Resurrectionists.  I've got a bunch of the more generic stuff in my fig case as well as a few of the newer figures I haven't gotten around to finishing yet  might show later.  Let me know what you think.

-Jay

An (almost) original superhero character!

I've been toying around lately with doing some complete repaints on Heroclix models as well as painting a few other "generic" supers from the ground up to create some new characters for RPGs and Supersystem.

My first kick at the can is a repaint from the Superman set for Heroclix.  This character was meant to be a generic Kryptonian soldier and although he is completely repainted from head-to-toe he didn't require any conversion work as he didn't have any distinguishing characteristics.  It was great for me that I ended up with this fig as right off the bat I could picture a new paint job and the background that went along with it.

During James Robinson's run on WildC.A.T.S. (a Wildstorm comic which is now part of DC New 52 continuity) he scripted a side story called Team 1.  Team 1 was effectively a faux silver age superteam comprised of somewhat familiar characters (although using different names) in the guise of an earlier generation of cold-war era heroes.  One of those character was John Colt who was the living predecessors to the Spartan android from WildC.A.T.S.  John Colt was a Kherubim soldier (Kherubim warlords have a power set similar to Superman, Wonder Woman, etc) who passed himself off as a Captain America style patriotic hero.  The character has a typically convoluted back story as do most comic heroes (he was a good guy, he died heroically, wasn't really dead, became a villain, except he wasn't, cloned, re-born as a cyborg, etc, etc) but I thought if I needed a generic PL10 Paragon character for DC Adventures or somebody to join up with USAgent and Iron Patriot in a Supersytem game he could be the son of John Colt or something similar.

I'm also considering making a new Supersystem team with John Colt Jr as the leader.  I've already started on another team member from the same set, just have to see if I keep up the momentum.

I also painted another figure today, a Space Hulk Terminator, but I'm going to refrain from posting a photo until the fig gets to the person I painted it for (the price of my lost painting bet).

-Jay

Project Scrapheap: Harrower

After a day of building and two days of painting the Harrower is done!

I had a lot of complaints about the assembly and fit of this model but I have to admit when it's all put together and painted it looks pretty sweet.

Harrower - Right side

 

Harrower - Left side

 

For Project Scrapheap zombie pirates are up next but I need to make a quick diversion to make good on a lost bet first.....

-Jay

Project Scrapheap: Harrower (WIP)

My return to Project Scrapheap tonight has me taking on the most daunting but also potentially the most satisfying piece in the force, The Harrower.

I mentioned previously that everything I was using in Project Scrapheap had for one reason or another been something I didn't use the first go around with Warmachine.  In the Harrower's case it wasn't due to the rules (which I think are awesome) or the model (which looks cool) but the packing that kept it from making the cut.  When I originally purchased The Harrower it was missing a leg and unfortunately it took long enough to get a replacement that by the time it arrived I had moved on from Warmachine and was playing Malifaux.

So far I'm tremendously satisfied with how the Harrower looks.  It's a cool piece with tons of character and even in a world of steam-powered magical robots this one stands out as something unique.  I am definitely looking forward to using it on the tabletop.  Having said that I have also decided that this will be the last metal warjack I buy/paint/assemble.  I'm not swearing off Warmachine or anything crazy like that but this model was a nightmare to build and I'm convinced if I pack it to take to a game it will bust into a million pieces.  Fully assembled there are 7 pins inserted into the model holding it together, which for a model with only 13 pieces seems excessive, and the legs are glued into holes drilled into the base due to their narrow contact points.  Plastic is the way of the future anyway so it's not like I'm making any grand pronouncement here but I figured I'd put it in print so that if I get tempted to stray into the realm of insanity again someone can use this blog to talk me down.

Hopefully tomorrow the Harrower will be finished and I can get the zombie pirates done in the next week.

-Jay

Rogues Gallery: April 2013

Time to look back at what got done in April.  Surprisingly little as it turns out (feel like I've said that once too often lately...).  A total of only 14 figs added into the collection this month.  This month I fell into a trap that I normally avoid, the trap being that I spent more time planning my painting than doing my painting.  Obviously changing gears on Project Scrapheap halfway through had a lot to do with that but now that my schedule and some of my friends schedules have calmed down a bit I'm starting to actually plan some roleplaying rather than just aspiring to play.

Anyhow, I did get 9 figs painted from the ground up and added 5 touched-up pre-paints in as well.  If all goes to plan (famous last words) I'll beat that number in zombie pirates alone in the first week or so of this month.

-Jay