Steampulp? Sure, I Suppose

 I finished up the Malifaux models I included in the previous post. They painted up more quickly than I was expecting. I didn't go gangbusters with the highlighting and all that. Just colors and inks. Rough and ready, looking for some table time.

And a reverse of the lot

I can't explain the blue base edges; it just sort of happened. 

I did test out a new set of skirmish rules I've been working on Saturday evening with my wife. The intention of the rules is "group friendly" and "very little explanation needed." The test went well. We used my 15mm toys - it was an X-Files episode again.

The Week's Painting

 Hi all. I finished up a few models this week and started on some more. The first lot is another group of Battletech mechs from the pile Wayne cave me. They've been painted in Clan Fire Mandrill colors. I figured Steel Viper had enough and it was time to spread out.

That's a Pouncer, Spirit, Bowman, Hellion and Baboon. 

Next up are some Malifaux minis I've had for quite a while and just hadn't done anything with. As is often the case, I bought them without a plan because they were very inexpensive. They will, however, make for an interesting support group for the goblin horde!

Mechnical 'Skeeters with goblin riders. Because who doesn't need that in their life? The models were every bit as fiddly to assemble as you'd imagine. Malifaux models are usually 10/10 and trouble-free when it comes to assembly. These were substantially more complex. I'm happy with the end result though, that's for certain.

The stuff I started today was the last group of ten Wargames Atlantic goblins. Hey, it was a mighty gobbo weekend.

These guys have hand weapons, and look! I scratch-built a banner! Or at least the pole. More in the work with that...

Bubble Bubble... Toil and Trouble

Perhaps a bit off-season, but progress was slow.

I picked up these lovely Malifaux models just before Halloween for my bride who's quite the Samhainophile. Is that a word? She's a fan of all things spooky. The models were the Wyrd 2021 Halloween special and right up her alley.

The gang. It's essentially a re-release of another crew with entirely new models. I added most of the pumpkins and the plant on the base of the kettle that's gone off the rails.

The three weird sisters. Part with, part tree. One with the swamp.

Our leader, the animated kettle and an unlucky prince! I put that pumpkin under him in keeping with the Halloween theme.

And a close up up big stinky. I understand how disappointing the text in the tome is. Poor monster is reading an empty accounting ledger!

The Joy of Painting

 Having finished off those knights and cannons, I had cleared another level of lead/plastic mountain. With more than two weeks until Southern Front (game con in Raleigh) I needed something to fill time so I picked up some Malifaux minis. They're always a pleasure to paint and easily the best plastic sculpts you can buy. These three revelers are Tanuki. It's not hard to see why I fell in love with them.

The wine in the shallow cups was the only part that bothered me. a more skilled modeler might have made some clear inserts to replace the spilling "milk" that I've ended up with. 

We did get in that game of Swordpoint yesterday. Maybe I'll post the AAR tomorrow. It was a doozy.

Some Painting!

 I had the itch (no, not that itch!) to paint some Malifaux minis, so to scratch it I picked up the supplement to the Hamelin crew that I painted up quite some time ago. I did have to refer to the older models to look at basing style and color palette / tone. I'm pleased with the results.

Eight rats, two rat catchers and two rat kings!

Alternate angle of the characters.

The sculpts have such character, particularly those rat catchers. Between the bald one who looks like he's rocking about a 67 IQ and the long-haired freak, mouth agape, holding the rat up to his face, Wyrd puts out some of the finest scuplts.

So I figured it was worth it to post the other half of the crew. Here they are.

And the whole gang, together.

We seem to have a bit of a vermin problem. I'll get a recap of the Dragon Rampant games I played on Saturday posted some time today. Be well!

Finally Malifaux

Malifaux 3rd edition was released a couple of weeks ago and after a review of the rule book, I was able to convince my bride to give it a try. Actually, it didn't take a lot of convincing; she's a fan of the creepy and weird so the Malifaux aesthetic is right in her wheelhouse.

Being a "first game," I kept things very small - three identical minis per side - all shlubs, no leaders or characters with loads of special abilities.

We played on a 2' x 2' board I recently made. A little scenery and we were good to go! I had three Guild Witchling Stalkers and my wife used three spirits known as "Sorrows."

The Sorrows were rather frustrating once they got close - they sap nearby enemies of their life energy and regain health when they do it. Case in point - that poor Stalker surrounded by three purple ghosts is HOSED. 

But revenge isn't far off... my Stalkers burst into flame when they die. The Sorrows were whittled down almost as quickly as my heroic ghost busters.

But in the end, fortune smiled upon the creepy and my last Stalker fell. The spook slunk back off to the crypt.

I enjoyed it. More importantly, so did Wifey. There will certainly be more Malifaux in our future. We have been watching Supernatural for the last few years and the "monster hunter" situation of the game was quite reminiscent of Sam and Dean duking it out with some nasties in our show. I liked the card mechanics, as much as I am a fan of dice. Card hand management is a big deal, even in a game this small - in a more normal-sized game I imagine it becomes paramount.

"Recently" Painted Malifaux

I finished this crew up last weekend. They're typically fantastic multi-part plastic Wyrd miniatures, in this case "The Plague Cometh" box set. It says a lot about the minis that I continue to buy and paint them even though I still haven't played the game. Now that 3rd edition is close on the horizon, I'm not going to invest any time in learning 2nd since it looks like a significant overhaul. Anyway, on to the pics.

The lot.

Scraps. His eyes are a little tribute to "I Am The Walrus."

The Rats.

Orphans / street urchins. The poor girl is chowing down on a rat!

 She's a bit more enamored by the rats.

And here's boss man, summoning a truly hideous monstrosity.

Believe me, this great green thing was a challenge to assemble.

But I really like how it turned out.

My painting was inspired by the TV show "The Frankenstein Chronicles." It's a period piece set in London in the 1820's and 30's. Everything is very dreary, dirty and dingy and that seemed to suit these guys perfectly. I very purposefully muted all the colors I used with grays and browns to eliminate bright catchy colors. They're still colorful but not gaudy.

This Week's Painting

Painted up another Malifaux crew this week.Yeah, yeah, I know I still haven't played the game but the minis are gorgeous and I really just like painting them. One of these days I'll try it as a game. This is the Guild "The Torch and The Blade" box.

As ever with their minis - beautiful and interesting multi-part plastic models that go together very easily.

Merry July 4th

It's Independence Day, woo hoo! A day off in the middle of the week is kind of ridiculous really but hey, a day off is a day off. Any excuse to burn burgers and have a brew is a good one.

I've actually done a fair amount of gaming the last couple of weekend, it's gone undocumented here but I'm about to rectify that. The day after Zig and I played Firestorm a couple of weeks ago, I met David up at Morningstar Games for a Dystopian Wars Fleet Action battle.

I used a fun pairing of Prussians and Eclipse Company mercenaries. David brought along his Blazing Sun Japanese.

So the general setup was that I was defending a channel and the EBS forces were trying to clear me out and capture the large building in the center (next to the robot).

By turn two, it seemed that David wasn't moving quickly enough towards the objective building. I was fine with this.

My swarm of little boats and subs drew a massive amount attention and really helped the Prussian cause. While David was expending considerable resources killing the hard-to-hit little guys, I was knocking on his larger, more threatening units.

Ol' Stampy gets up close and personal with the Blazing Sun sky fortress. Sadly, I completely botched the attack and did not crush the thing mercilessly.

In the end, it was a solid Prussian victory. My aggressive defense paid off - I took the battle to the enemy a long way from their objective. It felt great to put the DW toys back on the table. They really are a lot of fun.

Last Sunday, Dave and I met again at Morningstar, this time for some X-Wing. David flew a by-the-book TIE swarm - 8 x 12-poit TIES, while I used a Rebel mix including Poe Dameron, and ARC170 and a new Resistance Bomber.

Early into the proceedings I just could make anything happen and I wasn't feeling good about it at all.

The shot of the week - Poe gathers the attention of seven TIEs. Poor shooting by the Imperials meant that Poe's luck held out.

The TIEs at the bottom had finished of the ARC170 while I'd managed to bump off three of the Imperials. Things were starting to fall into place for me.

An example of David's fine driving skills. Keeping it on the table like no one's business!

The final result. Poe kills yet another TIE - he turned out to be quite the killing machine - and the Bomber hangs on to its final two hull points. I had managed to kill seven TIE fighters and only lost the ARC170. The Bomber is very nice and a good pickup for the collection. I've been eyeing the Ghost for a while, but I'm glad I went with this ship.

I've been painting a bit recently and have finished up a few things.

Here's a fun little well / fountain with some creepy crawlies in it.

Another good pickup at Morningstar...

 I can't believe Jeff had one of these on the shelf. A very nice pickup for my Red Fleet for StarDust.

And they got painted up quickly. I haven't touched the fighters yet.

And lastly, some Malifaux minis.

 This is the "No Shelter Here" box set.

Creepy little girl and zombie baby

Three ghosts and a poltergeist

One of these days I'll put Malifaux on the table and try to learn the system, but until then, I just really love painting the models. Happy Fourth and stay safe!