The Sisters' sister - Vanessa!

Just finished up a new model for our Malifaux league tonight; Vanessa.

Vanessa is the sister of Victoria (and her other sister...Victoria) and is another Enforcer level minion for the Outcasts of Malifaux.

To be honest I picked her without reading her rules at all just because I liked the model.  I was pretty happy when I went over her stat card to find that she had some really good synergy with Lazarus and would also be really effective if I end up playing against the Guild robots with her.

For the final week of the league I will need to commit to a Master, once I read Vanessa's rules I had my mind set on Victoria but it turns out that it might not be available, so I'll have to pick somebody else.

-Jay

Blast From The Past - Mordheim

We're closing in on the end of our Malifaux campaign (still haven't made a final decision on a Master....) and I was talking with my friend Stan about what's next on the gaming horizon for us.  It took him about 30 seconds to convince me to hop into the Way-Back Machine and play some Mordheim.

Mordheim was a fantasy skirmish game produced by Games Workshop about 15 years ago (give or take) and when it first came out I played it all the time.  I'll definitely be painting up a new force for it but thinking about it and discussing it made me pull out my old Witch Hunters for a trip down memory lane.

The heroes of the Witch Hunter force are pretty cool but my favourite was always the guy with the sword and the torch.  Something about him just seems like the ultimate bad-ass.

The henchmen for the Witch Hunters were a pretty motley crew but I really thought the creepy guys with the placards around their neck captured the dark but somewhat humourous feel of Warhammer pretty well.

So in a couple of weeks an odd assortment of Warhammer figs will probably start showing up here.

-Jay

Plan B?

Sometimes you paint miniatures and a game falls through, or rules change or you just plain end up not using them.  That's a fairly common occurrence when you're a casual miniature gamer because you buy stuff without fully thinking through what you are going to need for a themed force in various circumstances, but it's less common (in my experience) when painting miniatures for an RPG.

Nevertheless, as I have been painting stuff for my current D&D game I did end up plotting out a couple of encounters that I ultimately didn't go through with and therefore the miniatures never made it to the table.

First up a steampunk witch from Reaper.  When I plan encounters I usually plan them around miniatures I want to use.  This is the first case where a Reaper Bones figure completely let me down.  When I saw the original (metal) steampunk witch I thought it looked great and I had just read the first Girl Genius novelisation of the ongoing web-comic so all around I was excited about the idea.  Unfortunately the Bones version loses a lot of detail (I could have sworn she had a nose before).  So basically I dropped the idea all together.  Having said that she's done and she'd be great if I needed an extra fig in a Malifaux or Warmahordes setting.

Next up are 5 (of 10) figures I've had half painted for months and finally just decided to finish last night.  These are Imps for Ex Illis.  I had originally started painting them because I needed some lowly non-goblinoid minion models for my current D&D game but eventually I realised I just liked the Malifaux Ice Gamin figures better.  I still like these little guys and I'm sure they'll see a tabletop eventually.

There you have it.  I thought I knew what I was painting these for but it turns out I was wrong.

-Jay

Second Convict Gunslinger done!

I just finished up my second Convict Gunslinger, again the model is made of part from the Through The Breach Male Multi-Part Set.

I'm pretty stoked about these two guys joining Taelor's crew as they definitely feel very Malifaux-y.  It also continues the trend of going a bit outside what I've painted for Malifaux in the past.

So here is my new and revised crew at 30 Soul Stones.

The big challenge now is that I basically have a week to make a real decision about who my Master is going to be.  Suggestions?

-Jay

First Convict Gunslinger done!

I'm up to 25 Soul Stones (without upgrades) for my Outcast force for Malifaux!  The plan is by bedtime tonight to actually have 32 Soul Stones worth of models done at which point I'll be dropping 1 Desperate Mercenary from my force and adding 2 points worth of upgrades.

This figure was made from the excellent Through The Breach Male Multi-Part kit.

I'm keeping this update brief because I'm pretty sure there will be a second one later tonight!

-Jay

Taelor's starting crew done!

This morning I was able to finish up my 2 Desperate Mercenaries to bring my starting Outcast Crew led by Taelor up to 20 Soul Stones.

This is a great start, but as I eluded to earlier I'm actually running a week behind so I need to get the crew up to 30 Soul Stones by Friday.  The easiest way to do this would be to add a Master but I honestly still haven't decided which Outcast Master I want.

So my next addition will be 2 Convict Gunslingers.  I have actually built the Gunslingers out of models from the Through The Breach male multi-part kit for a couple of reasons.  First up; I don't actually feel like the Convict Gunslinger figures work very well with their own background.  The idea that somebody is trying to avoid notice and live free for as long as they can, I can't help but feel they would ditch their prison garb and shackles.  Second; my buddy Stan is also painting those figures and will be doing a better job of it than me so I don't want his figs and mine on the table at the same time being compared (because that won't go well for me).

So hopefully there's another Malifaux update coming tomorrow and then I can get the last couple of figs done I need for my D&D game this weekend.

-Jay

Donate Or Paint - Reaper Ranger

Today while sitting down to paint I was listening to the new episode of my favourite hobby podcast; Hobby Night In Canada (check them out at http://hobbynight.ca) when during the cast Ward called me out for the Donate or Paint challenge.

The Donate or Paint challenge is conceptually similar to the ALS ice-buck challenge that was going on a while back only this time it's to help raise money for a member of the hobby community suffering through multiple medical issues (check the story out at http://chain-attack.com/donate-or-paint/) 

I was mid-way through painting a Desperate Mercenary for Malifaux when I heard my name but I figured it wouldn't really be in the spirit of the idea to just carry on and finish it so I put it aside and painted up a new character for my ongoing D&D game.

This is a Reaper Bones figure that will be representing a human ranger who will be joining the party during our next session.

Thanks for the call-out Ward, it was fun to do something off-plan and hearing you guys makes me feel like I'm back home again.

-Jay

Starting to remember how this game works....

Last week I played my first 2 games of Infinity in about 2 years.  It was an interesting experience because I forgot how much over watch really controlled an dictated the pace of the game.

With that in mind I circled back around and added a sniper to my Pan Oceana force.  It's still 2-3 weeks before we increase our game size so the sniper will probably sub in for one of my existing models.

Once I get caught up on my Malifaux I might put together a Fusilier link team.

Anyway a brief pause and then back to my Desperate Mercenaries...

-Jay

Lazarus done! (WIP)

Two down, two to go!

Tonight I finished up Lazarus which is fantastic because one of the things missing from my fantasy miniatures collection was clearly a ten foot tall robot with a grenade launcher...now I can check that box!

All joking aside Lazarus is cool because it gives me something completely different than anything I've played Malifaux with before.  I'm looking forward to having a model with a reliable shooting attack that is also sturdy and can hold it's own in close combat.

I just need to paint the two Desperate Mercenaries to have my 20 Soul Stone force done, then I can relax because the campaign doesn't increase to 30 Soul Stones for 2 more entire days!?!?

-Jay

Taelor done! (WIP)

I'm working (slowly) on getting Taelor and her companions done in time for my first game with them on Friday.  Tonight I managed to get Taelor herself finished!

One down, three to go!

-Jay

The start of my Malifaux Mercenaries/Outcasts crew (WIP)

Taelor was the winner of my mini-survey so I'll be building a crew around her for the Malifaux league at Lords Of War here in Oakville.

I got assembly, priming and a start to painting on Taelor and 18 Soul Stones worth of her closest friends today.

I figure I have until Friday to get these 4 models done so I can can get a game in before the first week of the league ends, then it's time to add another 10 Soul Stones worth of models!

I'm pretty excited about the possibilities of what other models could join her crew but I realised the one thing I need to start thinking about is who the Master will end up being for the final week.

-Jay

Help me decide what I'm painting next for Malifaux!

Hi everybody, going to depart from telling all of you what I've been working on lately and ask any of you who are interested to tell me what I'm painting next.

I'm joining an escalation league at my FLGS Lords Of War Games & Hobbies in Oakville and I'd like to try taking a vote to decide what I'll be painting and playing.

The league grows from 20 Soul Stones (points) to 50 Soul Stones over 4 weeks.  It all kicks off this week so my only restriction is that I have to start off basing my force around a henchman (that's a leader in low points value games) that I already own the figure for.  I've listed the 3 options below, please vote in the comments section:

Sebastian - Resurrectionists
Sebastian is the assistant to Dr McMourning who you would have seen in an earlier post.  A force built around Sebastian would be comprised largely of zombies and zombie-like creatures as well as some of Dr McMourning's lovely morgue assistants.

Taelor - Mercenaries
Taelor is a mercenary armed with a magical hammer she uses to smash her foes (particularly robot-types) into pulp.  A force led by Taelor would have a mish-mash of outcasts and mercenaries and would generally represent a melting-pot of the people of Malifaux.

Sidir - Ten Thunders/Guild
Sidir is a mysterious figure from the middle-east.  He generally fights at the side of gentleman-adventurer Lucas McCabe.  His speciality is wrangling ne'er do wells and "gentlemen" who have fallen on hard times and using them as an effective fighting force.

Due to the league starting this week I have to make a decision ASAP so I will take votes all weekend and start painting Monday as soon as I get brush in hand.

-Jay

Last night my Medic needed a Medic!

Last night I had one of those moments every miniature painter dreads.  I had finished my final model for game 1 of the Infinity escalation league I'm going to play in, I had just carried it in from gloss-coating it outside...at which point I clipped the box I was using on my door frame and sent the model to my tile floor.  The little headset piece broke off and flew off never to be found again and I was left staring at a no longer finished (or even decent looking) model.

So I ended up puttying up the hole where the headset is supposed to mount and doing an hour of paint touch-ups to the hand and head to salvage the model.

Except for the irregularity around where the beret now blends into the head a bit I think it turned out okay.

.....definitely a good reminder why I prefer chunky plastic models as opposed to fine detailed metal models.....

-Jay

To Infinity and beyond!

Tomorrow I take my plunge back into Infinity.  So tonight I've been doing some touch-ups and cleaning up some scenery.

First up I've got two of the three holo-ads from Micro Arts Studios done.  This is the laser cut MDF with printed acrylic inserts.  I think they look pretty decent but unfortunately I don't have any other matching scenery yet.

Next up I have five of the six figures I need to get my first 120 points done.  I still need to finish up a Fusilier Medic tonight and I will be using the Fusilier Hacker as a regular Fusilier in my first game.

Lastly in prep for gaming with my daughter I had some familiars out on my desk so I could add a fun talking animal to her party.  I decided to paint up a black cat to go on her adventures with her.

That's it for tonight.  Hopefully I'll get that last Infinity fig I need done before I go to bed.

-Jay