My first figures for Wolsung SSG

Today I painted the starter box for the Inventors faction for Wolsung SSG.

Wolsung is a steampunk-fantasy-skirmish game that I would say falls halfway between Malifaux and Warmachine in terms of being low vs. high fantasy.  Wolsung feels a lot more grounded than either of those other systems but also includes 'classic' fantasy races (elves, dwarves, gnomes...especially gnomes, etc).  I just downloaded the free rules from Micro Arts Studio's website so I don't know much about it mechanically yet but I know it looks cool.

I started off by painting the Inventors starter box and that's probably exactly what I'll use in my first game.  I have three more single figures (and another one on order) I can paint once I've had some time to digest the rules and figure out what next should look like.

The leader of my inventors team is Thorvald Nielsgaard.  As far as I can tell the two most important things about Thorvald are that he has a giant punchy-fist and that he's Scandi-weigan.

Next up is Alice Tinkerly.  What's funny to me about Alice is that when you collect miniatures you buy a lot of similar stuff (I own multiple lines of space cops for example) but usually that's because it plays to one of your interests.  Somehow unintentionally I've ended up with at least four different steampunk-lady-mechanics for four different systems.

There is also an unnamed lab assistant who seems to be posed like a left-handed baseball pitcher.  The lab assistant also allows me to bring the purple-drank into another one of my miniature collections.

Last but definitely not least are the models that made me choose the Inventors as my starter; the lab golems.  To be honest when I first looked at the box I assumed they were Tuxedo-bots which just seemed like the coolest thing ever.

The other thing I'm stoked about with the Wolfsung figures is that some of my friends keep talking about playing Through The Breech and all of these figures would work for that as well.

It's super-humid outside today so my next choice of paint project will be based on whatever is already primed on my desk.

-Jay
 

Please state the nature of the medical emergency

My small but growing force of robots got a new member last night; the Heal-O-Matic for This Is Not A Test by Worlds End Publishing.

The Heal-O-Matic is a medical variant of the Depend-O-Bot that I did a few weeks back and I have to say I'm  very happy with how it turned out.

One of my biggest struggles in the hobby has always been painting things white and after how this went I'm tempted to circle back to my Peace River gears for Heavy Gear.  This time out I primed black and then basically lightly (very lightly) sprayed multiple coats of white on over top, giving each layer time to dry before applying another coat.  Once that was done I thinned down Nuln Oil with Lahmian Medium and went over the whole thing, overbrushing with a dry paint brush to make sure there were no puddles on the surface.  After that I highlighted the original white back up and voila!  It was a lot less work and a lot less frustration than I typically experience painting white, the only downside is that it only works if 75%+ of the model will end up being white, if I wanted to use a similar technique on a model with some white on it I'd have to finally get around to learning how to airbrush.

Next up are some figures for a new game (new to me anyway) set in a steampunk fantasy universe (but don't worry, it still has robots).

-Jay

Some Hogs for many if not all seasons

It's fun when you're playing a narrative campaign to decide on scenarios well ahead of time as it lets you customise your figures an build any scenery you need to fit the situation.

A little while back I painted four Mootant Cows for the Caravan scenario for This Is Not A Test, in addition to the pack animals the caravan also needs six guards.  For my six guards I decided to stick with my animal theme and do up some Hog-men.

These figures will be incredibly multi-use for me.  In addition to being my caravan guards they could also be a new type of Feral Mutant for me for This Is Not A Test.  They could easily stand in as Porkers for Gamma World and they might (probably will) be the starting  point for my new Gorka Morka gang.

I atually just let  myself get talked into starting another game so I should have some entirely new and different miniatures next week.

-Jay

Greyhound light support vehicle

One of the great things about the Mutant Chronicles universe is that it has this really cool unique look based on a lot of military ideas being cut and paste jobs from the two World Wars with some sci-fi/techie bits added on after the fact.

The Greyhound is the Imperial mega-corporation's version of the Commonwealth's Universal Carrier of the second World War.

Personally I think this small vehicle is the best piece in the Imperial starter box but the big question is how it will stack up against the Bauhaus starter box's robo-suit-thingy.

Tune in next week to see if the Imperial forces were able to win one for King and Corporation or if the forces of the evil Space Kaiser (I'm sure that's a thing) were able to thwart me.

-Jay

Eyes in the sky

My next two models for Broken Contract once again represent something that's otherwise missing from my miniature collection that I'm a bit surprised by, drones.

The use of drones has become very common in the modern world so I would assume their usage will carry forth into our sci-fi universes but outside of servo-skulls in Warhammer 40,000 I don't actually see a lot of drone miniatures out there.  But enough of my droning on (see what I did there) on to the models.

In Broken Contract drones are both used for observation and they all carry a (usually) less-than-lethal weapon.  The drones have the options for either a sonic weapon which causes disorientation in the target or a taser which straight up zaps people.

I've got two models left for my Black Squadron, which  I suspect I'll get to next week, and then after that I'm going to get started on the Breakers.

-Jay

Second Imperial Trencher Officer done!

First up I just want to declare that I've decided today and tomorrow are hobby days so if I don't get projects for at least three different games done I'm going to be pretty bummed.

The hardship that is my never-ending war against banners and flags continues but I'm going to consider this skirmish a draw.  I have never been very good at these things so my end goal is always for is to look (reasonably) clean and (reasonably) good from a distance.  I don't think I won, but I don't think I necessarily lost on this fig either.
You be the judge...

That means I'm one model away from having my Imperial starter box done and then I'll be ready to throw down against the evil forces of the Bauhaus mega-corporation on Friday!

-Jay

Black Squadron Security employs only the best in hired goons

Late (very late) last night, or perhaps early this morning depending on your definition I got my next two security officers done for Broken Contract.  If the last two were examples of reason and moderation these next  two are not.

Overseer Wire Billins is a petty tyrant of a man with something of a Napoleon complex.  He generally enjoys using his baton on miners and their families and is a pretty classic example of a conventional bully.

Lamal Tulson is a gunner for Black Squadron which means he is more heavily armed than most officers and his job is to use his scatter gun to stop Breakers who breach the lines of conventional security forces with their batons and shields.  Tulson has a reputation for being an exceptionally cold man who follows his orders without question.

Again as with my previous Broken Contract security officers these could do double duty as Peacekeepers for This Is Not A Test and I'd have to math it out but I'm pretty sure at this point if I did one more figure I'd have a starting force done.

Got one more WarZone fig to finish tonight and then a week of extra hobby time is next!

-Jay

First (of two) Imperial NCOs done!

My plan was to be checking in today and showing you two painted NCOs for the Imperial corporation....well one out of two ain't bad?

My second NCO is just as completed as this one but unfortunately also has a flag (not a banner, an actual flag) that is lagging behind the schedule.  For my first WarZone game (countdown, that's 6 days away) I need to complete that flag and then paint my universal carrier.

Tomorrow morning before work I'm going to try to get two more Broken Contract figures done, and then circle back to that flag after work.

-Jay

More security officers for Broken Contract

I had an opportunity to paint two more security officers for Broken Contract last night during the All-Star game.  As an aside if I'd had an actual shock baton in my hand while some idiot was butchering my national anthem I might have made some bad choices.

It's funny how sometimes you sit down to paint something you have a massive collection of (in my case space-cops and security officers) and you suddenly realize you have something in your hand that is surprisingly poorly represented in that collection.  In this case female security officers.

The first addition is Naria Anlika.  I mentioned the other day that Officer Hickley represented the worst Black Squadron had to offer, Officer Anlika on the other hand represents the true middle of the road.  She is moderate in her approach to her duties Officer Anlika prefers to start things off by trying to reason and discuss conflicts with people but she does know where the 'on' button is on her shock baton when it's go time.

Next up is Sarie Moerta.  Sarie is a young eager officer who's parents bought (read as bribed) her way out the need to serve a hard labour contract.  She was accepted in Black Squadron and now has a world of possibilities ahead of her.

So far the team is looking pretty good.  On one hand they look fairly uniform, on the other hand they all have enough slight variations to make them stand out as individuals.

I'll be looking at a two day break from Broken Contract as I circle back to finish my Imperial WarZone starter and get some special caravaners done for This Is Not A Test <oink oink>.

-Jay

Broken Contract - Officer Hickley

Last night I got my first miniature for an awesome new game, Broken Contract done.  Officer Hickley is an example of the worst the forces of Black Squadron Security have to offer.  Officer Hickley is a bully who relishes the opportunity to lay either his boots or his baton into the mine workers he 'oversees'.

Broken Contract is a game set in a future where mankind has reached the stars in search of new lands and new resources, a journey that started with an optimistic view towards a universe of opportunities but where corporate employment contracts have effectively created a new generation of indentured servants.  As people reach their breaking points as a result of poor pay, unsafe working conditions and mistreatment by their employers some choose to break their contracts and risk everything for a taste of freedom.

The two initial forces for the game are The Breakers which represent the miners and their families attempting to throw off the shackles of the corporation to earn their freedom and the men and women of Black Squadron Security who are employed to keep workers in line and violently put down any worker uprisings.

I'll be working through the forces of Black Squadron Security first as in addition to Broken Contract I will be using them as Peacekeepers in my games of This Is Not A Test.  Once I'm done those I will also be painting The Breakers which have some truly exciting figures that are to my mind some of the most unique and interesting sci-fi figures I've seen in a long time.

More on Broken Contract to come...

-Jay

Mootant Cows

Okay first up; that 'Mootant Cows' thing, not even my pun, that's the actual product name.

In the Fallout universe there are certain creatures (Death Claw, Rad Roach, Mire Lurk, Rad Scorpion, etc) that feel like a defining part of the background.  One of the most pervasive animals in the wasteland is the Brahminn which is a two headed mutated cow that functions both as a source of food and as a pack animal.

One of the scenarios for This Is Not A Test requires a caravan of four pack animals and six caravan drivers.  I decided to get the pack animals done first because I'm sure I have enough poorly armed survivors to sub in as the caravan drivers if I don't get something specific done in the next few weeks.

The figures themselves are part of Armorcast's Lance & Laser line.  The detail level is good but I suspect the molds are getting older as some of the parts didn't fit together quite as cleanly as I would have hoped.  Having said that I think they were great value for the price given that they look perfect and will be perfectly functional.

Alright, back to my desk.  What's next?

-Jay

First two Imperial Trencher squads done!!

Of my first two time-sensitive projects from the start of the week the first one is now done!!

Ten Imperial Trenchers for WarZone.  Trenchers are the basic line infantry of the Imperial (British themed) mega-corporation.

Once I get the two Imperial NCOs and Universal Carrier I have done my buddy Ash and I will be giving the new beta playtest rules for WarZone a try.

The Trenchers were cool figures to paint although I have to admit I struggled a bit with their Imperial shoulder flashes.  Either those things used to big bigger on Heartbreaker's metal models for WarZone or in my old age (this is way more likely) I'm starting to really struggle with fine details.

I've got some daytime activities planned with Zoe and then hopefully I'll get my four Brahmin finished tonight.

-Jay

Return of the hobby grab bag!

Hobby A.D.D. is back in full effect!

This week I have six different projects on my desk for five different games.  Two of them I MUST finish before the end of the week because they are for games that are looming on the horizon, the other four I really need to get done before I can move on and do some other things.

First up, I have got to finish my Imperial Trenchers for WarZone.

The Beta just got released for Prodos' updated version of WarZone so my buddy Ash and I are going to try to get a game in this month.  To do that I need to finish these ten figures and then get three more done from scratch.

Next in terms of priority is four Brahmin for This Is Not A Test.

There is a caravan scenario I want to play and if you've played the Fallout games the Brahmin is very distinctly Fallout-ish.  The Brahmin miniatures are from Armorcast under their license with Lance & Laser.

After that I need to get started on my Black Squadron security forces for Broken Contract.

Broken Contract is a new sci-fi miniatures game that went through a successful Kickstarter last year and has some really awesome models.  In addition thematically (big corporations vs the little guy) it seems very in the now.

After that will be Johnny Atomic for This Is Not A Test.

Johnny is a wasteland radio DJ and alongside Gas-Mask Girl is one of the semi-official mascots for the game.  It's impossible to tell from this picture (sorry) but he's a fantastically detailed model that is covered in cool post-apocalyptic survivor bits.

My final two projects are definite maybes because I don't need them for any game soon.  So if they're not done by Monday they'll be moving to the back of the line again.

First up on the B-list (actually that's really appropriate in this case) is Catman!

Catman is one of my favourite DC Comics characters and is the alpha if not the actual leader of the Secret Six.  I'm super-stoked about finishing Catman and playing with him at some point but I don't have any Batman games planned so he's not a priority right now.

Next up is Sophia Illmora for Anima Tactics.

I've never actually played Anima Tactics but my plan was to use Sophia as a replacement for my apprentice in Professor Vitale's Frostgrave warband.  I may be changing plans and starting a new warband so I may or may not need her but I'd like to finish painting her eventually.

So that's what this week looks like hobby-wise.  I have a track record of NEVER completing all the things I lay out in these WIP posts so hopefully the fact that there's a couple things in there I don't really need means I can at least get the relevant stuff done.

-Jay