Rick Flag

Recently my friend Kevin painted up Knight Models new Enchantress model and it made me a little bit nostalgic.  A few short years ago I was very excited about Knight Models superhero models for both DC and Marvel and was really enjoying their games, but, due to some really disappointing interactions with both the company's customer service and social media outreach I packed all my stuff up over a year ago and just walked away.

Seeing Kevin's Enchantress reminded me that I never did paint my last two Suicide Squad models; Rick Flag and Enchantress.  I decided to go back and paint them up and it led me to another decision.  But first up here's Rick Flag:

I've decided that instead of painting up more Infinity models to play Last Days next month I'm actually going to build my force out of some Knight Models stuff.  In preparation for playing through the Suicide Squad campaign way back when with Kevin (which sadly never happened) I had purchased some additional law-enforcement/military models that I think would work well for Last Days.  I need to dig those guys out but I think there's some more in the pipeline.

Maybe I'm back in, maybe I'm not.  We'll find out soon enough.

-Jay

Black Flash

I've got a rare weekday off today so I'm trying to work my way through 2 larger projects but I had this guy sitting off to the side and decided to get him done during breaks in between waiting for things to dry, etc.

In DC Comics the embodiment of death for characters who have access to the Speed Force is Black Flash.  The basic idea being that Death needs an avatar who can 'catch up' to speedsters when their time comes.

Having the figure is a bonus when playing the Batman Miniature Game as a speedster can inadvertently trigger the arrival of the Black Flash which effectively gives their opponent and extra model in their force.

Hopefully I'll have a Warzone update later tonight and some Mirkwood at some point this weekend.

-Jay

How many Floyd Lawtons are enough?

Back to my Suicide Squad box set!  Today's addition Floyd "Deadshot" Lawton.

This is actually the third Deadshot model I've painted so far.  To put that in context I still haven't painted a single Batman or Joker for the Batman Miniature Game...but 3 Deadshots.  Other than Amanda Waller herself there is probably no character more identified with the Suicide Squad than Deadshot.  Its probably fair to say that he is to the Suicide Squad what Captain America is to the Avengers, he hasn't been part of every line-up but somehow it doesn't feel like the genuine article unless he's there.

Deadshot has the checkered past typically associated with members of the Suicide Squad but he got a ton of additional character development during his time (pre-52) in the Secret Six.  Lawton is arguably the most pragmatic and realistic member of both the Squad and the Six which makes some of his actions seem shocking in the context of comic book stories.

The Suicide Squad box comes with 2 different heads for the model.  I chose his classic masked head but the other one is Will Smith's likeness from the movie.  I think Will Smith is great but I couldn't help shake the feeling that him being unmasked through most of the movie reminded me of Stallone being without his helmet in Judge Dredd.  It feels like once a studio pays for an a-list Hollywood actor they want the audience to see the actor rather than the character once they're up on the screen.  I also would have had a hard time gaming with the model with the Will Smith head without constantly making 'Fresh Prince Of Belle Reve' jokes.

I'll close out by asking; now that I've painted 3 versions of the same character is it bad that I'm waiting on an Arrow-verse version next?

-Jay

Katana

Perhaps its oddly fitting that the one member of the Suicide Squad who isn't really a member is the one I got a defective figure for and then had to substitute with a non-Suicide Squad model.

Katana is a character that has hung around the fringes of Batman comics for years but to be honest I didn't truly become aware of until she showed up on Arrow.  Katana is a classic Batman character in that she isn't a meta-human but is someone who has undergone an unbelievable amount of training and has one additional element (in this case the Sooultaker Katana) that makes her extraordinary.

From a game mechanics point of view Katana is extremely useful for securing objectives as she is a volunteer and not subject to the normal Suicide Squad rules which can result in models suddenly (explosively) being removed from play.  I'm assuming Rick Flag will also have this rule but I'll have to wait until he's released to take advantage of that.

This figure is from the core Batman Miniature Game line as unfortunately the Katana I got in my Suicide Squad box was miscast to the point of not being salvageable.  Having said that I do like this figure and I'm extremely happy with how she turned out.

Well, this is what I got done on my lunch break today so with any luck I can still get Deadshot done after work today.

-Jay

Two more recruits for Task Force X - movie edition

Over the last couple of nights I've gotten my next two members of The Suicide Squad done.

First up is Boomerang (I guess by the time line of the movie he hasn't been promoted to Captain yet).  I've got to say that as much as Boomerang has been a staple of comics and animation for decades he was one of the characters I wasn't confident would translate well to a movie.  The character is fantastic but his comic book costume has always made me think of a 70s era flight attendant.  I really feel like the movie team did a great job updating the character's look and feel without falling into other even worse tropes or stereotypes (although the Fosters was a nice touch).  I also feel like after at least 10 years of Hollywood trying to make Jai Courtney happen this might finally be the breakthrough.

Next on our list is Killer Croc.  This is going to sound really minor but one of the things I like about the inclusion of a character like Killer Croc in the Suicide Squad from a cinematic-world-building point of view is that he feels like he subconsciously forms a bridge between Batman and Superman.  The question/challenge most non-comic fans have had with the idea of Superman and Batman existing in the same universe is their power disparity.  The idea that it's hard to believe both these guys can be considered 'superheroes' in the same shared universe.  Killer Croc is effectively the first non-Kryptonian meta-human we've seen so far in the DC Cinematic Universe, this gives the audience a practical frame of reference to understand that there are beings in this world that are significantly more powerful than Batman who aren't nearly on par with Superman.  To me that starts to fill in some of the grey space and start to make the cinematic world feel more like the comic world.

I'm happy with how both figures turned out but of the two I'm definitely happier with Boomerang.

If everything stays on track I should get Katana and Deadshot done tomorrow night!

-Jay

First 2 members of Task Force X - movie edition

This week I was able to get prep work on a lot of miniatures done but with Black Friday craziness I didn't get much actual painting time in.  I've got a small cluster of fantasy figures I'm hoping to finish when I have time this week but my primary focus will be on two separate sets of superhero figures.

This afternoon I finished the first two members of the Suicide Squad from the Suicide Squad box set for the Batman Miniatures Game (soon to be DC Miniatures Game?).  I decided to start with two of the easier figures to paint which resulted in my painting one of the most interesting and one of the least interesting members of the Suicide Squad.  <spoilers ahead>

First up is Slipknot....poor Slipknot....

There's something of a tradition in new and/or one-off adaptions of Suicide Squad stories that the writers need to establish that the danger is real and unlike most comics the characters lives are in real jeopardy.  To establish this the writers always have to offer up an early death to sell the audience on what they're seeing/reading.  To my recollection the only story to break this rule was the Justice League Unlimited  episode "Task Force X" that due to being a cartoon marketed to kids probably wasn't going to have any neck bombs going off.  In the New 52 launch Voltaic drew the short straw, in Assault On Arkham KGBeast decided to test The Wall, in Arrow the character played  by Sean Maher (who's name I didn't even catch before he got neck bombed) learned the hard way that escape wasn't an option.  When the cast poster came out there were two things that struck me right away:

1.  Slipknot had less of a 'costume' than any of the other Hot Topic models in the movie

2.  Adam Beach is playing Slipknot!  Wow I haven't seen him in a major studio movie since....oh....

If you knew the formula it was pretty obvious that getting emotionally invested in Slipknot was probably not a good idea.  In addition I consider myself a comic-book fan of reasonably extensive knowledge and I don't think I've ever owned a comic with Slipknot in it.  Totally unrelated to DC Comics or this movie I would also like to point out that when my daughter was younger she watched an educational PBS show called Word Girl that had a superhero theme and the one villain that never got taken seriously (even on a show directed at 3-6 year olds) was "Amazing Rope Guy", draw your own conclusions.

The other side of the coin is El Diablo.  I hadn't been reading much DC stuff in the years before the New 52 launch so I'm not sure how prevalent El Diablo was then but when New 52 Suicide Squad title launched there he was and he was one of the characters that work best in stories like this.  He's clearly not a hero and he's done some terrible stuff but he's got a conscience and he's not a one-dimensional psycho.  But once again, unfortunately for El Diablo he has a place to play in fulfilling the Suicide Squad formula and it can't be every version of the story where Rick Flag is either the noble sacrifice or the good man left behind.  Sorry El Diablo you were (ironically) too good for this world.

There you have it (so far).  I've got Deadshot and Killer Croc on my table next as well as some newer Pulp City figures.

-Jay

There's only room for one dandy on this team....

If you understood that title you read the same comics I do.

I finally finished up the Mad Hatter today.  I'm pretty stoked because much like Bane the Hatter can be a member of the Secret Six but he is also the leader of his own gang (The Wonderland Gang).

Mad Hatter is very likely to end up in any version of the Secret Six I play with for the next little while.  Until more Secret Six members become available the Hatter's low recruitment cost should keep him in my warbands.

I'm a bit torn right now.  I've got Captain Boomerang on my desk as well as the Guardians Of The Galaxy and I'm also trying to sculpt a Pip-boy onto an Infinity miniature so it might be back to hobby A.D.D. for me.

-Jay

Bane crew

Progress on the Secret Six and/or Suicide Squad continues.  In the meantime I am also trying to circle back and paint some of the henchmen I have that have been half done or untouched.

When I first tried the Batman game I painted Bane and got 2 of his 3 mercs started (3 colours and based) so I could try the game out.  Yesterday I finished all 3 mercs that came in the Bane starter.

What generally seems to make playing villains with henchmen (as opposed to all named DC villains) more flexible is that a lot of henchmen are available who don't use extra resources.  The biggest challenge I've had figuring out crews so far is what I can "afford" in terms of funding rather than reputation.  If anyone has any suggestions for good crew builds I'd love to hear them in the comments below.

I'd also like to point out that if you ignore the meta-humans this game's henchmen figures would work for a variety of modern/near-future games.

A little bit of hobby A.D.D. is looming on the horizon with figures for 5 different games sitting on my desk waiting to be painted right now.

-Jay

The Fresh Prince Of Belle Reve

(I will literally NEVER get tired of referencing Suicide Squad to Fresh Prince Of Bel Air)

Tonight I got my third Secret Six member and first Suicide Squad member done; Deadshot.

Deadshot is a core member of the Secret Six who has been on every (pre-52) version of the team and is also one of the longest serving, most re-occurring members of the Suicide Squad.  In fact to my recollection his longest absence from the Suicide Squad since the mid 80s was the pre-52 period that he  spent with the Secret Six.

Deadshot has frequently been depicted as more of an amoral anti-hero than a true hero or villain throughout his career.  Typically if Deadshot is coming after you with intent to kill you probably deserve it.

There are currently two version of Deadshot available for the Batman game.  This one I believe is based on  the look of the character in one of the Arkham video games.  I'm not familiar with the series but his costume looks pretty radically different than this in every comic I've ever seen the character in.

I've got to be honest, I'm not 100% happy with how the mask turned out.  It definitely could have used a bit more work on my part but I was struggling with the overall lack of texture on the mask as compared to the rest of the figure.

I've got one more Secret Six model to paint and then I'm going to detour into the world of Marvel comics for a bit.

-Jay

Catman!

Yes!  CATMAN!

In my area there is suddenly a ton of interest in the Marvel Miniatures game by Knight Models so for some reason that has translated into me wanting to paint DC characters for the Batman Miniatures game.

I finally finished Catman (so see, I did paint something brown) who is still one of my favourite DC comics characters.

With the addition of the Flash/Arrow supplement for Batman there is now a ton of support for the two CW network TV shows and the other chunk of content in the book is bringing some more comic teams into the game.  Catman is the leader of the Secret Six which as I have mentioned before was (pre-52) one of my favourite DC comics.  At this time there are only models for four members of the Secret Six; Bane, Catman, Deadshot & Mad Hatter.  The plan is to get Mad Hatter and Deadshot done over the next week or so and then transition to painting some members of the Suicide Squad which will both give me more figs to paint and be useful if I ever get around to running a DC Adventures RPG.

-Jay

Do you feel in charge?

About two months later than I thought I'm finally getting into my figures for Batman: The Miniatures Game.

I'm starting off with the Arkham Origins version of Bane and his crew but the plan is eventually to transition into The Suicide Squad.

First up is the man himself; Bane.

Bane has been one of my favourite Batman characters for a long time.  I've always liked the idea that he looks like the typical comic-book brick stereotype while also being a tactical genius.  The Arkham Origins version of the character straddles the line between his traditional luchador-look and a more paramilitary version.

When I get some of goons done you'll get a real sense of how big he is.  It's hard to tell in a single shot but he's standing on a 40mm base.

More on the way soon.....

-Jay

Bane!

I decided to take a quick side-step tonight and do a re-paint on an old Heroclix figure I've been coveting for a long time that a friend of mine recently sent to me (thanks Mark!); Bane.

Bane has been one of my favourite Batman villains since the Knightfall series and although I did enjoy his new depiction in the Christopher Nolan movies "classic" Bane is still the version that will appear in my DC Adventures game if I ever get around to it.  He's also yet another member of my favourite super-team The Secret Six.

I'd also like to point out that one of the factors that influenced me to get Bane finished is that I have settled on a game system for Zoe and I to play some games with so I need to get started on some new superhero figs this week.  After weighing my options I've decided to use some of the Goalsystem games starting with SuperSystem.  I've already rounded up three heroines for Zoe to paint and play some games with and then after that we will be taking her two previously painted models and trying out Chaos In Carpathia.

Guess that means I've pushed my sci-fi reveal back a few days....

-Jay

Fairchild

I got some more Teen Titans Heroclix packs today so I thought before I go full bore into my paint contest entries I'd do a bit of touch-up work to knock out a quick project.

One of the Wildstorm characters that has found a new home in DCs New 52 is Caitlin Fairchild; formerly of Gen13, currently of The Ravagers.  One of the things that is cool about the Teen Titans set is that it includes both a "classic" Gen13 version of Fairchild as well as a New 52 version in new costume.  In addition one of the things that worked out well for me is that I got 2 of the Gen13 version (which I prefer) and 1 of The Ravagers version, so I can have one of each for Heroclix games while still having an extra one to chop up and re-paint for my other superhero games.

I'm fairly happy with how my repaint turned out, although I wish I had noticed that rough spot on her leg before I took the picture instead of afterwards.  This will give me another "brick" type hero for my games.

-Jay

A team mate for John Colt Jr!

Awhile back I re-painted a Kryptonian Soldier with the intent of using him as a descendant of John Colt (Spartan) and mentioned I might like to re-visit the idea and build a super-team around that character.

Here is the first addition!  I've decided that I'm going to try to add in 1 of each of the basic superhero arch types (strong guy, psychic, blaster/shootist, etc).  So my first addition is a brick type character.  Again this figure came from the same Superman Heroclix set and was a complete re-paint.  The figure is originally meant to be Non one of General Zod's men but after cleaning up the head and re-painting the figure I think he makes a perfect sidekick or partner for John Colt Jr.  The other great thing is the colour scheme means he can also fill in as a generic patriotic US or UK hero as well.

-Jay

Super-Cop From The Future!

Today I decided to take a quick side-step back into superheroes and paint a Supersystem figure I bought quite awhile back; Krieghund.

The character is meant to be an evil villain from a pseudo Fourth Reich organization but when I first saw him my first thought was that he would work really as a member of the XSE (the future mutant police force of which Bishop of X-Men fame was a member).  I painted him up and realized almost immediately I didn't like how he had turned out, I had used some red and yellow details to match him up to Bishop's 90's era uniform but it just looked too bright for my liking.  So back to the drawing-board I decided to abandon the idea of using him as a Marvel character and decided he would be used in either DC Adventures or for actual Supersystem games. 

I'm very happy with how he turned out but I am very unhappy with my ability to get good photos of him.  In going with my darker pallet the whole thing looks vey monochromatic in the photos.  he actually has blue uniform, black boots and dark grey gloves and belt but in my pic it looks all one generic shade of "dark".

-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

A civilian for all genres (I think?)

I decided to touch up another figure for use as a generic civilian for superhero/post apocalyptic gaming and when I took a step back and really looked at him realised that as a civilian with no relevant gear he also works really well for Shadowrun and possibly even Steampunk games.

I think the vest and tie but without any other items to define the period the figure is from means it would be passable for alot of different times.  I also thought that the style of the pants made it look somewhat out-of-time, but I might be over thinking that last bit.

Incidentally this is the Harvey Dent figure from the most recent Batman Heroclix set.  As soon as I pulled him from the pack I knew he was destined for a re-basing and some non-clix gaming.

-Jay

Secret Society Of The 52: Obsidian

Back with a quick superhero interlude before diving head first into Warmahordes this afternoon!

Two characters who found themselves in limbo after DCs reboot who now look like they probably won't be coming back are Jade and Obsidian the children of the Golden Age Green Lantern Alan Scott.  Obsidian was a great add to my DC collection because he has a fairly uncommon powerset in DC which is none the less fairly common in Marvel so he feels great for gaming in both venues.  Obsidian has a number of super powers based on his ability to tap into a dark energy (much like the darkforce dimension in Marvel).  He's also a really cool figure that has like many of my new Supersystem team done time as both a hero and a villain.

Like I said just a quick diversion, I'll be painting my Machine Wraith today, which as far as I can tell will be useless against Hordes armies but hopefully I can find some use for it in games as it is a sweet model.

-Jay

Justice League Dark:  Zatanna

A while back I posted a picture of a Reaper female magician with the stated intent of using her as Zatanna in some superhero gaming with the caveat that I wasn't sure if I could get away with using her in my DC Adventures game because her look in the New 52 reboot was radically different.  Just last week I got my hands on one of the New 52 Zatanna figs and decided to touch her up so I had the appropriate figure on a base that matched the rest of my new/current superheroes.

I have to admit I'm somewhat conflicted about this figure.  The design is well executed and I love the energy halos around her hands but I still prefer the "classic" Zatanna to the new reboot Zatanna.  I've moved away from my original plan for my game so I'm not certain I need her for DC Adventures anymore but I wanted to get her done and the figure itself could be used in lots of different modern/near-future games.

I think for my next superhero fig I'm going to dig into the backlog to pick out another member for my Secret Society of The 52 for Supersystem.

-Jay

Killer Croc

Another member of Batman's rogues gallery touched up and re-based tonight; Killer Croc.

Killer Croc is a great villain to have access to because he makes a good second banana to a mastermind-type villain and also in DC Adventures he offers a different option for a PL10 Gotham City campaign in the event that the players make choices other than Bat-family style crime fighters Croc can trade blows with legitimate meta-humans.

I'd also like to point out that this new Killer Croc model from the recent Streets Of Gotham set is an absolutely fantastic model with great depth of detail.

I feel fairly confident that Croc will see some action in DC Adventures and even if he doesn't I can always do some kind of b-movie 'Killer Croc vs King Shark' and that would be fantastic in it's own right.

-Jay

Killer Croc