A Second Foundry Swashbuckler

I found this figure last night; he was languishing in my unpainted minis bin, probably been there for at least five years. Anyway, he'll fit for my game this Saturday, so I took an hour or so last night and got some paint on him.









And here's a comp shot with one of my recent favorite Reaper figures:



This figure is not as good as the one I featured yesterday--his facial details were not as crisp, but he's still a fine figure and well worth the time to add to my collection of painted historical/fantasy models.

Thanks for visiting!

--Scott

Freeport via Dragon Age

This Saturday I plan to run Green Ronin's Freeport fantasy pirate fantasy setting using a modified version of Green Ronin's Dragon Age RPG mechanics. There's a certain symmetry there.

Anyway, I am getting together some figures for it to use as NPC's, and I thought I might show off a Foundry Swashbuckler I painted a while back, as I intend to use him.







Everything about this guy oozes character. A superb mini, and I really feel like I got the most out of the time I put into the paint job.

Thanks for visiting!

--Scott

Great Source of Cheap Bases

I was wandering through Staples yesterday and I came across a package of 101 toy U.S. coins for $1.00! The first thing I thought was: cheap bases!

After pressing the package into my wife's hand and telling her my intentions, she smiled ruefully and bought them for me. Thanks, JoAnn! Anyway, here they are:







I'll do a follow-up post where I use these for some basing sometime soon, but I had to share this ASAP so folks could grab them while they're there.

Thanks for visiting!

--Scott

Skaven Stormvermin Unit Finished!

At least for now. It counts as 28 strong, but I built the movement base to accommodate 35 rats.

Here are some shots!







I'll fill that empty back rank up with giant rats until I can get 7 more Stormvermin from somewhere.

Below you can see a better shot of the unit standard:





And below you can see a closer shot of the second Rat Ogre filler model:



I really like the look the Rat Ogres bring to the unit.

Thanks for visiting!

--Scott

Warmachine: Decimator

In between painting Skaven I sneaked in a bit of work on my Khador force.

I needed to break the ice on my Khador Warjacks, and I have in a big way--the Decimator. This 9 pt. Heavy Warjack packs ranged punch and a deadly Rip Saw for close-in work.





On the brassy metallic I mixed Vallejo Brass with a bit of GW Calthan Brown to mute it. This about a 60/40 mix of brass to brown. I then went back after it was dry and stippled in a darker brown from one of my Reaper triads (African Flesh tone, I believe). The silver metallic is just Vallejo Genmetal with some Badab Black Wash on top. Nothing fancy there.







And here's a shot of the big "D" with The Butcher and a Man-O-War:



Thanks for visiting!

--Scott

Skaven Stormvermin Unit Filler!

Right now I am not in a position to field a 35-rat Stormvermin unit, but I'd like to. So to buff up the 20 Stormvermin I got in my boxed set, I am adding in the two Rat Ogres from the WFB starter box. These guys will act as unit filler, effectively standing for 8 more Stormvermin, and they'll look darn cool doing it.

Here's the first one done:







I hope to have a shot of the nearly completed unit by Friday or Saturday! Work continues apace!

Thanks for visiting!

--Scott

Skaven Warlord Skivak Whitefang

I wanted to do a new warlord to go along with my new unit of Stormvermin for my Skaven army, so I utilized one of the Stormvermin models and added a tentacle arm for good measure. Skivak Whitefang has led the White Rats for more than a year, and works very closely with Master Moulder Tak Fleshshaper to get things done for the army as they compete for control of the Bretonnian city of Mousillon.

Here he is:







Next post, Skivak's bodyguard in the White Rats!

Thanks for visiting!

--Scott

Skaven Warplock Engineer

I needed a magic user for my Skaven army, so I acquired the lovely plastic Warplock Engineer from the the latest WFB boxed set, and painted him up!







All week I'll be featuring more shots of the White Rats, a unit of Stromvermin I am working on for this week's first big installment of our 12 week Warhammer campaign!

Thanks for visiting!

--Scott

Warmachine: Man-O-War Demo Corps Group Shot

Here's a group shot of the completed Demo Corps and the Butcher!



Notice that I corrected an issue with the assembly, the lower armor piece was glued on the outside when it should have been tucked under! Fixing this required a complete re-basing as I could not get to them any other way. We suffer for our art.





Thanks for visiting!

--Scott

Warmachine: Man-O-War Demo Corps Leader

I finished this guy last Friday night, but here he is:





Here is a comp shot with the Butcher:



Thanks for visiting!

--Scott

Skaven Stormvermin Test Model

Before undertaking any unit, I always do a test model. Here is the first Stormvermin model for the WFB campaign we're doing at Phantom:









As Stormvermin of Clan Moulder, the mercenary unit known as the White Rats were all bred to be great warriors with an affinity for handling magic weapons. They seek magical plunder as a biological imperative. Whether this translates into any real luck or power on the battlefield remains to be seen!

Thanks for visiting!

--Scott

Nobody Asked Me, But...

Being an occasional installment of my musings on gaming.

• Sometimes you have to go with the flow. I was all set to jump headlong into a Warmachine Khador project, but then my buddy Andrew decided to launch an awesome Warhammer Fantasy Battle story-driven campaign entitled Dread Secrets of Mousillon. Mousillon is a ruined city in the heart of Bretonnia. We've got about six really solid performers from the local shop in on this, so it should be grand! Every participant will have a well-painted army, finished bases, and a fun-first attitude. It's essentially a "cool-kids" campaign.

• So what will I be running? Skaven! I already have a bunch, and I intend to paint up a brand new unit for this campaign, Stormvermin! I will be painting them as all albinos, a Skaven merc unit known as the White Rats. This week I will figure out the particulars of the paint scheme. I'll certainly share them here.

• Although Khador is back-burnered, I will not abandon them entirely. Yesterday I assembled my first 'Jack, and I will get some work done on it this week as well, time permitting.

• On the RPG front Rico will run another installment of D&D 4E this weekend. We're going to find the secrets of a lost Dwarven city, even if it kills us! I will also run another installment of Villain Mission Force at some point. Just need to get inspired to write another story. Something shocking, perhaps.... I did manage to score a Stilt-Man figure, so he will be an option for the players in the next go-round.

• I am still puttering away on RoboFire and getting some solid play-test reports from Jaye and his Basement Generals. Thanks, guys!

• I am eagerly awaiting the release of John Carter from Disney. I hope it proves as good as the previews suggest.

• Core: Adventures in the Old World has piqued my interest. It's essentially an open-source revision of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd ed. I have a great fondness for that game, so I hope this makes it out soon!

That's all for now! Look for some Skaven pics later this week!

--Scott

Warmachine: Man-O-War Demolition Corps

Got four of the five possible troops for this unit done! I am really loving the figures, and the plastic kits are a real pleasure to build and paint.











And here's a size comp with the Butcher:



Thanks for visiting!

--Scott

Warmachine: Khador Project

I confess to being an unsubtle player of PP's games. I like simple Casters/'Locks who possess simple Feats. That's why I play Barnabas and the Blindwater Congregation. Barnabas knocks non-amphibious models down. Very simple. And his warbeasts either buff or attack. Pretty simple.

On the Warmachine end, I have threatened for years that if PP did plastic Men-O-War I'd build a Khador force. Well, they called my bluff! So I am all in on a Khador force, but I need to build one that suits my simple, meat and potatoes play style. Here is my initial 25 pt. and 30 pt. lists. They feature my favorite Khador caster, the Butcher--the normal version. His feat epitomizes the unsubtle philosophy I prefer. All friendly faction models get an extra damage die.

I usually play my games at either 25 pts. or 30 pts. When my group plays bigger, we usually do "mixed doubles" games. So here are two lists covering those levels of play:

25 Point List
The Butcher +6 pts.
Destroyer 9 pts.
Juggernaut 7 pts.
Man-O-War Demolition Corps (Leader & 4 Grunts) 9 pts.
Man-O-War Shocktroopers (Leader & 2 Grunts) 6 pts.
======================================
Total = 25 pts.

30 Point List
The Butcher +6 pts.
Destroyer 9 pts.
Juggernaut 7 pts.
Man-O-War Demolition Corps (Leader & 4 Grunts) 9 pts.
Man-O-War Shocktroopers (Leader & 4 Grunts) 9 pts.
Battle Mechaniks (Leader & 3 Grunts) 2 pts.
======================================
Total = 30 pts.


One other factor I kept in mind as I put it together was the models themselves. I won't field models I don't like the aesthetics of, no matter how good their rules might be. And I am not fond of many of PP's more complex metal model builds. Having done a lot of merc painting of PP's stuff, I can say that kits like Bane Thralls and Bane Knights are not the kind of projects I'd ever do for myself, for pleasure! As an aside, I wish Cryx players had the option to have those in plastic! Anyway, those sorts of builds get dismissed straight off.

Here is part one of the project, the finished Butcher model:











On the paint scheme for this force, I was determined to avoid red. I am tired of red. I am also tired of blue--I've merc painted almost an entire company of Crimson Fists in the last year or so (sorry, Mr. B.!) . I wanted something military, simple, and executable over many models.

Enter my old friend, Vallejo Dark Sea Blue (VAL898). It lays over black beautifully, and mixed with GW Foundation Dehneb Stone, highlights wonderfully. You'll see more examples of this as the week goes on and I start showing pics of the Man-O-War Demolition Corps.

The Demo Corps are simply some of the coolest models I have ever painted!

More to come on this project!

Thanks for visiting!

--Scott