Warboss_Waaazag wrote:Sorry to hear about your infected brood. I hope everything turns out for the best. On the bright side, that's an enviable box full of hobby wonder. Looking forward to seeing more completed stuff from you. You're always an inspiration.
Yeah we're finding that once you break out the booster characters Champions gets (perhaps inevitably) rather better, though that may just be playing a character you like
Theophony wrote:I pray you all get through this quick and unscathed, except for the giant floating murder head .
The naga sorceress and crew look great, love the colors you chose.
Love me a bit of MODOK. Really enjoying the Disney plus show, tbh, as idiotic as it is. Glad you like the Naga, it's good that someone does, cos I sure don't
Viterbi wrote:Hope everyone gets well soon!
And great tip with the recipe for the Bronze statue, feels counter-intuitive from the order, but looks great.
Thanks amigo on both counts. You can sneak in an extra layer of black or brown drybrush after the Nihilakh for a dirtier look, btw.
endtransmission wrote:Ooooh heck, I hope you're all ok!
That's an impressive delivery from Asmodee! Have fun with them both, I look forward to seeing some reports appearing for both. The figures keep tempting me, but the scale difference and lack of gaming group is currently keeping me away
Well, the Champions review should be up on Big Comic Page tomorrow but, tl;dr, it's really bloody good - especially given that you can get the starter (which is plenty for 1-4 players) for around £40 now; if you like Marvel it's a great co-op game that avoids a lot of the regular ccg/lcg pitfalls - the solo mode is really strong, which is great in current climes. I know what you mean about the scale, but KM's DC scales have been wacky for years, so I don't let it bother me what I will say is that the cost is truly brutal, as you're generally talking £20 per fig. That's GW levels of insanity. Also, the starter set (and early wave) figs, whilst really nice sculpts, are murder to build.
Slinky wrote:Hope all the Gravens bounce back quickly!
Cheers mate. Little miss Graven is on the mend, Grandma Graven is raging cos she can't taste the wine Mrs Graven is finding it tough though, and nerves a bit frayed hereabouts :/
So obviously, I have begun to... assemble the Avengers (sorrynotsorry)To start off the month's painting, though, I'm clearing some backlog:
I'm bringing sexy dewback, baby.
Check out that tail.
Went for a slightly more dusty, weathered look to the white on the bucketheads this time. Really pleased, overall.
Part of the reason I'm clearing backlog, apart from the obvious, is my order of primer has got lost in the mists of covid-era post. It'll turn up no doubt, but in the meantime I suppose I'll have to actually paint some of these other toys.
Yeah, COVID is going bonkers here in Missouri (Always read the states name as Misery and you'll usually be right ). Was just talking with one of my Providers in the last half hour and the Pediatric hospital I work for (I am at an off-site clinic) is seeing far too many cases right now and it's grim. You can ignore the hype on the news, just listen to the Doctors.
Still praying for your family. Also praying for the post office worker who doesn't get the primer to you quickly .
Yorkright wrote: Hope everyone feels better soon. On a hobby note those dewbacks look awesome.
Thanks amigo!
Theophony wrote:Yeah, COVID is going bonkers here in Missouri (Always read the states name as Misery and you'll usually be right ). Was just talking with one of my Providers in the last half hour and the Pediatric hospital I work for (I am at an off-site clinic) is seeing far too many cases right now and it's grim. You can ignore the hype on the news, just listen to the Doctors.
Still praying for your family. Also praying for the post office worker who doesn't get the primer to you quickly .
Funny man lol. Yeah it's a bit grim. Me and the wee man are good, at least. Everyone else is ok, just a bit miserable.
bobbuilder wrote:really like the weathering on the statue
cheers buddy! Good to see you!
Warboss_Waaazag wrote:I'm not certain I'd agree that those Dewbacks are "sexy" but they do look good.
Are you kidding? Check out that tail!
So yes it's been a funny few days. On the one hand, it's stressful and frantic running after the horde and making sure everyone is well enough to function. On the other, it's been weirdly relaxing: we've all been getting up late and spending time with one another and the animals; Mrs and eldest have used Covid as an excuse to build the massive Lego World Map; little miss is repeatedly thumping me at My First Carcassonne; and I'm playing lots of Marvel Champions with middle one. It's... Quite... Nice?! Trying to make the best of the unenviable situation.
And whilst I don't really have much time to p&m, I am doing odds and sods. Working on a couple more big bads for Forbidden Fortress, starting with the XL boss, the Jorogumo:
Spider queen, spider queen...
Not one for the arachnophobes.
And built the starter set for Marvel Crisis Protocol.
Villains. Ultron was ultra fiddly, even when I was forewarned, but the rest fine - Doc Ock particularly impressive.
Heroes. Captain Marvel was gappy, the rest fairly ok although multipart arms are ridiculous, even at 40mm.
The out of the box scenery is also excellent, btw. It's a fun wee game, not a fab rulebook but actually very straightforward, with a lot of tactical depth to unpack. Apart from the fact that it's kinda 2D (no falling rules), it's great fun.
Look! Bouncing Cap's shield off Ultron into Red Skull! What's not to love?
Also got built Black Panther / Killmonger (easy/not too bad) and Thor/Valkyrie (bad/worse). The multipart heads and hair are preposterous, even if it is just to avoid mould lines. Sigh. Still got Loki/Hela and Angela/Enchantress to do.
Would folk want a review of the game? Is that of interest?
Anyway, more to build for FoFo on the slab: Japanese bandits, mutant samurai and Giant Oni Warlord, thanks to endtransmission. Cos I need more to build and paint Graven
Theophony wrote:All I can say after seeing your post is
"Baby's got Back!!!"
and I'd like to hear your thoughts on the Marvel game after you get a few games in with the kiddos.
Well, if you insist
Spoiler:
One of the first things that strikes you is the very neat range rulers that the game comes with, even tucked away as they are in the sides of the box. It's great that you have something more sturdy than a cardstock ruler or fiddly about with bits of cut-out paper. That's not to say that the tokens aren't of good quality: they're durable, heavy-duty cardstock, and not so many as to be bewildering. You also get a pleasing amount of scatter terrain of various sizes: cars, dumpsters, news-stands and street furniture, all easy to build and adding real character to any gaming surface without additional expenditure - always a bonus. I would, maybe, have liked a paper playmat (in the style of Heroclix or Batman 2nd edition) for a surface in there for novice players - I don't think it would've been that much of a stretch for such a high-end product - but it's not the end of the world.
The figures themselves are 40mm, so larger than a lot of standard gaming scales, in hard plastic. This allows for an impressive level of detail, though they are not really poseable and somewhat prone (at least in the core and early waves) to a preposterous number of parts, with some fairly strange duplication also - why do I need two of Red Skull's hand or Spider-Man's head (answer - some bits are so tiny you will misplace them)? Especially when on the (very lovely) base sprues you get urban litter such as bottles. But, this notwithstanding, the sculpts are dynamically posed without too much reliance on tactical rocks - Spidey in particular seems to defy gravity - and the fact that all the bases are detailed as city streets are really impressive. You get a set of 10 highly characterful models here, Captain America, Black Widow, Spider-Man, Captain Marvel and Iron Man on the one side and Ultron, Baron Zemo, Doc Ock, Crossbones and of course Red Skull on the other. Comic sculpts all round, but fairly iconic MCU characters nonetheless. There is a degree of notoriety about how tricky some of the builds are - Ultron is a bit of a faff, and Captain Marvel needed some GS work - but the rest were far easier than I'd expected, with almost no flash to clean and the excellent instructions meaning all figures and scenic elements were done in a couple of hours. As a licensed product, I think they really hit the sweet spot between what gamers expect and the novice or casual fan can reasonably tackle.
As for the game itself, it has a number of unusual, but highly thematic, elements that give it it's unique flavour. Each Mission is made up of 2 crisis cards (one per player), a Secure and an Extraction. Presented as Daily Bugle front pages (very neat), the combination of these two sets of objectives determines the victory conditions - and whilst this inevitably descends into a slugfest, it doesn't necessarily mean the path to success is just bludgeoning the opposition. That being said, one of the game's most integral mechanics is that characters gain power (for abilities, super or otherwise) from taking damage. It turns out you WOULD like them when they're angry. Not only this, but once a character becomes injured, their card flips to a (typically) more powerful version - Cap can quite literally Do This All Day. It ensures the game feels true to the comic book action throughout whilst still functioning as a tactical skirmish game.
Speaking of comic book feel, one of the most unusual aspects of this game is the team up side of things. You bring a collection of models to the table (typically 10) and assemble - sorry - a group of around 4 there and then, based on the level of Crisis you're facing (averaging 16). Characters have a cost of typically 3 or 4 (outliers are 2 or 5) so you need build your team accordingly. Not only that, but you will typically want to play a faction (Avengers and Cabal of Evil in the starter) to take advantage of faction specific card effects and Leadership abilities, such as Cap giving his whole team a reduction in the cost of the first superpower they use each turn. Interestingly, whilst more than half of your team has to belong to a faction, not all of them do, to represent the strange and shifting alliances and team-ups we see playing out in the page. Finally, you bring a set of tactics cards with you to the table (8) from which you choose specific cards (4) for the situation you're in. It can all feel a bit overwhelming but actually it's remarkably straightforward: if you're playing Avengers, for example, you're probably going to want Cap and Iron Man along with the card that allows you to bounce repulsor blasts off that famous shield.
The game itself has a decent beginner's guide with an introduction to various aspects of gameplay. Once you get going, it is pretty straightforward. One of my main gripes with DC Multiverse (which the boys and I love) is that you are constantly checking what different special abilities do. Fundamentally, the core rules are very simple, with players alternating turns for their characters taking any 2 actions - move (or climb), attack, use superpower, or shake (remove negative status token) - which means the game goes through 6 turns fairly quickly. Also, I should mention that part of the reason you get such an abundance of lovely terrain in the box is that throwing (terrain or characters) is a key part of the action, and rightly so. It's interesting to compare this mechanically, again, to DC Multiverse where throwing is just as integral but is, if anything, overpowered: in Marvel, because you have relatively less power to spend per turn, it becomes less of a default tactic, and hence more balanced. On the other hand, it's not immediately obvious from the rulebook that characters can only Throw if it's printed on their cards in some way, which led to a bit of head-scratching.
Card layout is clear and the symbols are all reasonably obvious. I was learning this alongside the younger of my boys (11) and he grasped the various symbols and mechanics pretty quickly - not AS quick as Champions, perhaps, but still in good time. The custom dice are slightly more complex, though coming from having played X-Wing there's a degree of familiarity. I would perhaps have liked a handful more dice (you get 10, but you want each player to really have at least half a dozen to hand) but that's being very picky.
So what are the issues? Well, it does have a lot of different symbols to wrap your head round, and I'm always a bit leary of game-specific dice with extra rules to remember, especially with the kids. It also bugs me that you don't get a full rulebook, but instead have to go online for that. From a rules perspective, the only one that really annoys me is the lack of falling rules: it wouldn't be that difficult to integrate and strikes me as odd for a game so dependent on terrain. In some places, they're a little cursory and need a bit of digging to clear up (like throwing, as mentioned), not just in the intro rules but the full set; not a deal breaker, but a bit irritating. In terms of the physical product, it's very strong indeed, though I think that, given its target market is more than just "regular" gamers, a paper playmat wouldn't have gone astray.
Gitsplitta wrote:Uugh... spiders...
Ha! You sound like my wife. I'm quite fond of spiders, they have a habit of eating any wasps that try to nest in our roof. Wasp nest + spider silk = spider larder...
endtransmission wrote:Those descriptions of the Marvel figures are putting me off somewhat... they are giving me Infinity flashbacks. At least this lot is plastic I guess
Yeah the horror of tiny Spanish metal, this is not. Having built some infinity and a LOT of tiny metal Batman figs, I can confirm these are easier. Better than comparable fiddly plastics like Malifaux, too, because they're 40mm.
Today I had an hour or so whilst both dog and wife had a nap, so I decided to crack on with FoFo. The Fallen Shogun is the daimyo of the Takobake clan, who cast in his lot with the dread Void Dragon Sho Riu.
He's the big boss for the Haunted Castle, the Forbidden Fortress from Temple of Shadows. I used a Green Stuff World Chinese roller for the flooring (mostly) which I wanted to look like ruined, damaged panels and carpets, along with some rubble, boards and assorted scatter (a ninja mempo, coolie hat and helm from a Shikarri Nomad Crusader )
For scale purposes, here he is with a Takobake Ashigaru and Rifleman:
Ah, squiddly mutanty goodness! It was a good opportunity to get the scheme down for all of them at once. Not much fun freehanding (the mon on the sashimono) but there we are. I've got a dozen of the footsoldiers to do plus 3 samurai (which are larger, 40mm base figs).
And a scale shot of the recent FoFo efforts together. Yeah, going fairly well.
Rolling along...
Graven
hmmm you're somewhat tempting me. Price wise it's still a fair chunk of change for something I don't have opponents for, but I may dip into it if I can clear out some of these other games that are kicking around as I do like me some Marvel (currently reading through everything released (in order) since 2010
Very! More good stuff, love the current mystic Japanese focus
Thanks, need to get some primer on the rest now
endtransmission wrote:hmmm you're somewhat tempting me. Price wise it's still a fair chunk of change for something I don't have opponents for, but I may dip into it if I can clear out some of these other games that are kicking around as I do like me some Marvel (currently reading through everything released (in order) since 2010
It's certainly not cheap. I'm not a mega marvel fan by any means. I'm DC first and foremost (well. Trek FIRST, but still ...) but it easy enough to play the game with just characters you like, even at competitive level. The starter is very good value indeed.
Solar_lion wrote:Excellent group shot. Squid face guys are too funny.
Cheers. I love the squiddly dudes, I've got another 5 of each plus the 3 samurai i to do (and eventually, I suppose, the cannon crew when they finally come out post KS).
The very astute amongst you may have twigged that we've been on an... Olympic odyssey so to finish up with everything that's primed so far for our feudal Japanese journey...
Harionago! The barbed woman. Lovely sculpt of this yokai, and I'm very happy with the green cloth.
Floaty hair. Woo! And onwards...
Thunder warriors, yokai servants of the Raijin storm demons. All about the lightning.
We're nearly out of isolation. Thank. God. Meanwhile, also got more mcp built, continued to battle Ultron in Champions and still crushed by a 5 year old at my first Carcassonne Almost there...
Graven
You're continuing to do an awesome job on the Brimstone stuff (I particularly like the Squidily Guys!).
Looking forward to seeing what you do with the Marvel stuff.
I picked up the starter set a while back and thought it was great, despite some patches of soft details on the minis, but I was just too far behind on releases and no way was my inner-completionist going to let me get away with not buying all the things, so I had to drop it.
Yorkright wrote: Again I have a lot to catch up on! Enjoying this last batch you’ve painted up, great choices on the color schemes.
Thanks amigo! I'm very glad I went for the green on the harionago, I think it really suits her.
aku-chan wrote:You're continuing to do an awesome job on the Brimstone stuff (I particularly like the Squidily Guys!).
Looking forward to seeing what you do with the Marvel stuff.
I picked up the starter set a while back and thought it was great, despite some patches of soft details on the minis, but I was just too far behind on releases and no way was my inner-completionist going to let me get away with not buying all the things, so I had to drop it.
Thanks! I know exactly what you mean, that's why I avoided it, and it's brutally expensive. Getting the starter and a couple of boxes to review has mitigated that somewhat. I've realised also that I'm happy enough just to buy for factions that I like or characters that interest me. If it were DC that would be another matter, I'd be all over that like a seagull into a bag of chips
Theophony wrote:Thunder warriors are great.
Getting beaten by a 5 year old is always worth it later on .
Hope your isolation woes end quickly and joyfully.
Thanks man, I really enjoyed them, they came together much better than expected.
After a flurry of painting, things have slowed down a bit on that front as we have... FREEDOM! Which is great but has meant some very frantic days of back to school shopping I did get to swing by my FLGS and pick up Spider Miles & Gwen for MCP and Once and Future Kang for Champions; it was just great to be out of the house tbh. I have managed to get all the MCP built and for all that it's fiddly, I CAN see the logic in the design of the sprues/parts. Particularly having just built this big fellow:
The seams are down the sides of legs and arms so they'll need filled, even though it's a big lump of plastic which could've been moulded easily in multiple parts. WIP female gunslinger for scale; he is a very large chap indeed. The gunslinger is part of a stack of very poorly cast brimstone KS stuff that I'm just trundling through tortuously. The casts are so dire I can't even face showing finished stuff, tbh. It's interesting (on both counts) seeing how impressive the plastics for MCP are even if it is stupidly tiny with its multi part arms and heads.
Speaking of MCP toying with picking up a couple more packs, just to round out the Web Warriors probably. Ah, the addictive nature of hobby Anyway, back to work tomorrow. Feeling ok about it tbh, a bit wary but it's been a good, long summer regardless. Not sure how it'll affect output, latter part of last year we're still ok considering, though no puppy to contend with then. We'll see,
Graven
The tiny bits of the MCP models really hurt it for me, especially with the 40mm scale, there should not have been that many issues. I dropped one of Iron mans pads while assembling him and crawled around looking for it for over an hour. Found it the next day by accident.
Good luck with school. Glad you made it out of your home prison in one piece. Our schools start up next week, it'll be nice to have the twins back in a routine.
The tiny bits of the MCP models really hurt it for me, especially with the 40mm scale, there should not have been that many issues. I dropped one of Iron mans pads while assembling him and crawled around looking for it for over an hour. Found it the next day by accident.
Good luck with school. Glad you made it out of your home prison in one piece. Our schools start up next week, it'll be nice to have the twins back in a routine.
Thanks Theo. I had a similar problem dropping one of Ultron's it's a bit tricky for me also with my manual dexterity issues.
I've been really struggling to paint this week. I've been trying to motivate myself to paint the remaining brimstone heroes but I ... Just... Don't... Wanna. I have so many great figures that I want to paint, why do I feel... guilty about not being able to finish off these?! I have, however, been building:
Or should I say... Assembling Don't know where Enchantress got to probably hiding in plain sight I also dug out these two civilian models that a mate had found on "Chinese eBay" as possible Hellboy customs, they're a bit big for most games but as such perfect for this. Off with their moulded bases and onto MCP ones, and, sorted for Xtremis dude and shady Super-Serum dealer!
Part of messy head is being in much more the "work zone". My timetable has only changed twice so far in the last two days... and the kid aren't even back yet I'm sure it'll all be fine Later dudes
Graven
I can absolutely understand not wanting to paint some of those KS heroes... they are fairly poor. You've got quite a nice collection of heroes there though
Sorry to say it, but I’m glad to see it’s not just over here with constantly changing school plans. There’s not even enough bus drivers to pick kids up .
Don’t force the painting, then it really becomes a chore, that’s when I fall intonations the trap and then burn out happens.
Assembly should be included with the MCP models, especially the Avengers, they’ve had plenty of assembling practice over the years.
You are an endless supply of projects, my friend. One day I would love to see a table covered in everything you've painted, all the projects you've finished. Your steady progress is a constant inspiration to me, graven.
endtransmission wrote:I can absolutely understand not wanting to paint some of those KS heroes... they are fairly poor. You've got quite a nice collection of heroes there though
Thanks mate. I know you know all too well the quality of the SoBKS stuff so that's oddly reassuring.
Theophony wrote:Sorry to say it, but I’m glad to see it’s not just over here with constantly changing school plans. There’s not even enough bus drivers to pick kids up .
Don’t force the painting, then it really becomes a chore, that’s when I fall into the trap and then burn out happens.
Assembly should be included with the MCP models, especially the Avengers, they’ve had plenty of assembling practice over the years.
I'm just trying to roll with it. As long as I get to teach kids I'm happy. I've got my classroom back this year so that goes a long way to helping.
Yeah I've hit the burnout before so I just need to walk away. It's partly the completist wants to "finish" the boardgame but when it's just crap figs that give you no joy, what really is the point?
Warboss_Waaazag wrote:You are an endless supply of projects, my friend. One day I would love to see a table covered in everything you've painted, all the projects you've finished. Your steady progress is a constant inspiration to me, graven.
Well, lol, I suppose I can say with pleasure that there isn't a table big enough and, many thanks.
DJJazzyJeff wrote:
Brilliant. And so is your work, Graven. Can’t wait to see the Avengers painted up.
Me too lol cheers mate
So whilst this has elements of completism, here's some Imperial Assault figures instead.
Fancied doing some Endor troopers. I don't normally even do IA bases but why not eh?
It occurred to me that this was another board-mini hybrid with unfinished components, and that wasn't really bothering me. I just picked them up and started painting on a whim instead. I still have some Rodians, Shapeshifters and 3D printed Cara Dune & Dr Aphra to do, but getting there.
Little and often Graven
IF the models are trash for the boardgame, maybe let the kiddos practice on them. IT will allow them to get more immersed in the game and say it's something they have done to "HELP" dad. They might stick out compared to your work on the other models, but they will be done until you can find some replacements to 3D print them.
Warboss_Waaazag wrote: You are an endless supply of projects, my friend. One day I would love to see a table covered in everything you've painted, all the projects you've finished. Your steady progress is a constant inspiration to me, graven.
"Welcome ladies and Gentlemen, Welcome to the IMGI gallery. Please don't touch anything and feel free to visit the cakeshop on your way out.. Ok... were walking, were Walking"
Gitsplitta wrote:I feel a bit of "Big Trouble in Little China" coming on...
Great work graven! (as always)
Lo Pan sucks! Cheers mate (as always!)
Theophony wrote:IF the models are trash for the boardgame, maybe let the kiddos practice on them. IT will allow them to get more immersed in the game and say it's something they have done to "HELP" dad. They might stick out compared to your work on the other models, but they will be done until you can find some replacements to 3D print them.
Nice work on the latest batch as well.
That's a... Really interesting idea that hadn't even occurred to me. I might well do so. And there's a fair bit of old West out there in terms of STLs... Yeah. Interesting.
Yorkright wrote:
Warboss_Waaazag wrote: You are an endless supply of projects, my friend. One day I would love to see a table covered in everything you've painted, all the projects you've finished. Your steady progress is a constant inspiration to me, graven.
. Table? I think you mean tables and floor.
Don't know whether to laugh or cry...
Solar_lion wrote:"Welcome ladies and Gentlemen, Welcome to the IMGI gallery. Please don't touch anything and feel free to visit the cakeshop on your way out.. Ok... were walking, were Walking"
To be fair, my chocolate cake is legendary. I can't really bake - I cook, rather than following recipes to the letter, whereas Mrs G the scientist is of course the bakeasaurus - but it's a very forgiving recipe that I've largely internalised.
endtransmission wrote:There's a reason none of the resin characters were ever built
Damn fudging right.
Trying to get back into the swing of things. Card games are a bit easier with the kids though so we've been playing Champions against Kang the Conqueror (and his Variants) with Scarlet witch, Gamora and Cap which is our current go-to team.
Meanwhile, I am working on the logic that under normal circumstances a figure a week is not unreasonable. So, on that note...
Oonta goota, Solo?
Fun figure to paint, nightmare to photograph - though that's in part my interpretation of the colours.
Very happy I think. Need to do a bit of tidying of the nerd cave this weekend before a fellow nerd swings by (weirdly, not a nerd buddy of mine, but the husband of one of the wife's mates - turns out he's a gamer!) Going to try to get Cara Dune done over the weekend, and maybe even Dr Aphra.
Hey ho
Graven
Llamahead wrote:New opponents are always good! With burnout a little of what you fancy does you good.
Well said. So, on that note...
Cara Dune from the Mandalorian.
I'm happy with the face, less happy with the left arm which was a repair job - she was 3d printed on the but that gap needed filled. Skin looks a bit shiny too. Still, print scales well with the rest of the imperial assault stuff so I'll use her as an elite alliance ranger, which sounds about right.
Tattoos turned out ok on the right arm and below her left eye too. I wonder whether she was supposed to be related to Kanan from Rebels aka Caleb Dune?
I also decided to tackle Gloom, from the leshavult faction for Moonstone.
He's a faun Sorcerer of the natural order, though he leans towards the darkness (leshavult are neutral, but many of them are dual faction with Commonwealth or Dominion)
I am not sure how I feel about the OSL but I think it is a reasonable experiment. Unfortunately, I may have to buy more leshavult now
The OSL is looking good. I think it's possibly looking a little off as it doesn't seem (from the photos anyway) to be catching all of the surfaces that face the lantern?
and for internalising the chocolate cake... you mean eaten it all right?
Which Lo Pan? Little old basket case on wheels or the ten foot tall roadblock?
Just remember what ol’ Jack Burton does when the earth quakes, and the poison arrows fall from the sky, and the pillars of Heaven shake. Yeah, Jack Burton just looks that big ol’ storm right square in the eye and he says, “Give me your best shot, pal. I can take it.
Baaaaaaaah. I'm actually trying really hard to going full on with the Fauns as a sub faction. They have some great sculpts but some less so, which hurts my completism.
Theophony wrote:Maybe paint the left arm lump like a bandage, got a bit of first aid between missions.
Osl is way better than my attempts, and looks good to boot. Like that figure, still not going to look at moonstone .
Possibly a plan. Moonstone is awesome. Just saying
endtransmission wrote:The OSL is looking good. I think it's possibly looking a little off as it doesn't seem (from the photos anyway) to be catching all of the surfaces that face the lantern?
and for internalising the chocolate cake... you mean eaten it all right?
Omnomnom .
Just my shoddy photography
Solar_lion wrote:"Lo Pan Sucks"
Which Lo Pan? Little old basket case on wheels or the ten foot tall roadblock?
Just remember what ol’ Jack Burton does when the earth quakes, and the poison arrows fall from the sky, and the pillars of Heaven shake. Yeah, Jack Burton just looks that big ol’ storm right square in the eye and he says, “Give me your best shot, pal. I can take it.
Classic movie
yeah, absolutely love it, even reference it on one of my terrain pieces
Spoiler:
Busy weekend, caught up with folk including a long chat with the husband of one my wife's pals that I don't know that well... turns out he's a Warhammer devotee! Which I kinda knew but we'd never really spoken. Much discussion of inks, washes and greenskins was had. So that helped tick my nerd box, as it were. Oo-er.
I am however trundling through bits and pieces. First up, everyone's favourite space archaeologist, Dr Aphra! She's a star wars comics character, amoral treasure hunter working at the behest of Darth Vader.
She's highly likely to cross over into TV at the very least. I find Jason Aaron a bit hit and miss as a writer but he has his moments.
I decided to do her base in the style of my Derelict Ship bases for Brimstone. She makes a credible model for that too!
Oh boy.
Also got on with some scatter.
Simple and effective mantic plastics And this fine fellow
Reaper bones pig
Done as a venerable British Saddleback. I think I'll call him George.
This pig went to market.
I love the sculpt and he makes a great roaming obstacle for Moonstone, trundling about and getting in everyone's way.
Might try to do the last of the IA stuff next. Just 4 clawdites and 2 Rhodians left to do! Remarkable.
Till then
Graven
Aphra looking great. Hope she does make the jump to TV eventually, it's refreshing to have a Han Solo type in SW that turns out not to have a heart of gold and is just straight up terrible... unless they've changed that in the recent stuff I've not read yet, in which case, shame.
Paradigm wrote: Aphra looking great. Hope she does make the jump to TV eventually, it's refreshing to have a Han Solo type in SW that turns out not to have a heart of gold and is just straight up terrible... unless they've changed that in the recent stuff I've not read yet, in which case, shame.
No, she's still a terrible terrible person out for herself. She's such a refreshing character to read and definitely one that would make a great spin off show (or at the very least an appearance as an older version in Mandalorian/Ahsoka). I'd love to see the droids make an appearance too
Gitsplitta wrote:I love that terrain piece! One of my favorite movies!
Me too, many thanks, and it's nice to throwback to older stuff sometimes.
Paradigm wrote:Aphra looking great. Hope she does make the jump to TV eventually, it's refreshing to have a Han Solo type in SW that turns out not to have a heart of gold and is just straight up terrible... unless they've changed that in the recent stuff I've not read yet, in which case, shame.
No, she's pretty duplicitous still. A far more successful double-crosser than the lamentable DJ.
endtransmission wrote: No, she's still a terrible terrible person out for herself. She's such a refreshing character to read and definitely one that would make a great spin off show (or at the very least an appearance as an older version in Mandalorian/Ahsoka). I'd love to see the droids make an appearance too
Yeah them gosh darn psycho droids would make great TV
Kid_Kyoto wrote:Love the piggy!
Oink! Loved doing it
Theophony wrote:Bacon and Pumpkins..... That's a thanksgiving tradition to be upheld in any part of the world. Nicely done
Wise words indeed
So, finishing up my Imperial Assault collection, we have first a couple of roguish Rhodians: Decent sculpts, nice to paint. And some clawdites (the Shapeshifter from episode 2) Bit soft and rubbery in the detailing, but done nonetheless. And now the bittersweet moment of a game "complete", all boxed, painted and ready to play whenever... Better start another game then eh It's ok. I have a pile of Moonstone primed, FoFo built and ready to go, and all the Crisis Protocol too. I'll be fine Graven
How do we know what a shapeshifter looks like? Maybe they look like Odo from DS9 in his puddle form. Besides Episode 2 doesn't exist , there are only episodes 4,5, and 6
Theophony wrote: How do we know what a shapeshifter looks like? Maybe they look like Odo from DS9 in his puddle form. Besides Episode 2 doesn't exist , there are only episodes 4,5, and 6
I think you mean Clone wars, Rebels, Solo, Rogue One, 4, 5, 6, Mandalorian
endtransmission wrote:Nicely done on completing all of Imperial Assault! Not sure I've ever had the patience to finish painting everything for *anything*
Not sure I have either lol
Theophony wrote:How do we know what a shapeshifter looks like? Maybe they look like Odo from DS9 in his puddle form. Besides Episode 2 doesn't exist , there are only episodes 4,5, and 6
I quite like episode 2 tbh for all its rubbish romance plotline (ducks)
endtransmission wrote:
I think you mean Clone wars, Rebels, Solo, Rogue One, 4, 5, 6, Mandalorian
Lol well said
aku-chan wrote:Congrats on getting all your Imperial Assault stuff done!
*bows in nerd* ta Of course, now there's this to tackle:
My spray and foam have been eaten by the postal service, but my box of Champions and MCP GotG that I thought was locked in the (flooded) local post office turned up back at the central sorting office undamaged. Result!
Now I just need some primer...
Graven
endtransmission wrote:
Of course, now there's this to tackle:
My spray and foam have been eaten by the postal service, but my box of Champions and MCP GotG that I thought was locked in the (flooded) local post office turned up back at the central sorting office undamaged. Result!
Now I just need some primer...
Graven
More Shame.. though you do go through it way faster than most
Solar_lion wrote:
More Shame.. though you do go through it way faster than most
True enough I've realised that in the box with the missing primer are also 2 more packs of figs (Gamora/Nebula, Ronan/Drax) cos I don't have enough to work on.
endtransmission wrote:Well at least Champions doesn't need painting! I look forward to seeing your work on all the rest though.
so true
Yorkright wrote: I am just catching up too, lots of good things painted up. SW stuff looks really good, but that little porker and cart are my favorites.
Cheers buddy! There's a lot to be said for just painting something totally random for the fun of it.
Well with the new Champions goodies we decided to try the Rise of the Red Skull campaign. The first scenario in the campaign is Crossbones, with Hydra, breaking into a SHIELD facility. We initially went for Ant Man, Spider Woman and Hawkeye and... promptly got massacred by Madame Hydra, who turned up as backup. It was brutal my youngest really didn't like Hawkeye - he's fragile and tricky to use, to be fair. So we restarted the campaign, switching out Cap for Hawkeye and THIS time saved the day (just) love that antman's card unfolds double size to be Giant, really fun switching mechanics - a bit like triple changers in Transformers TCG, but tbh better executed. He's my eldest's new favourite - and I've hardly managed to tear Gamora out of his hands since we got her. Great fun!
That doesn't mean that I haven't got on with the minis though. First up a couple of lovely walls from the lovely endtransmission .
I really enjoyed these, found them quite therapeutic. They'll make great scatter for Moonstone and other fantasy. And talking of Moonstone, I got another goblin in the bag!
The Mortician, along with his raven, whom I shall name Mortimer in honour of the children's books.
I must admit I simply love these figures, despite increasingly swearing off resin (other than home made).
Although slow and fragile, the Mortician's ability to resurrect any of your characters is enormously powerful
Plus, the Raven (as a promo card) enables you to do it at range.
He would normally be positioned on the Mortician's hat but I want to be able to use him as an independent model, so the AoS gravestone came in handy.
And whilst I don't normally share wips, especially just at the prime (ish) stage, I thought you might like to see what's up next:
One of the figures most like the stuff from Labyrinth is Ribald the troll, and I'm really looking forward to tackling him Onwards!
Graven
One of the figures most like the stuff from Labyrinth is Ribald the troll, and I'm really looking forward to tackling him
" She chose Down" " wait was that wrong" " too late"
Solar_lion wrote:
" She chose Down" " wait was that wrong" " too late"
Helping hands!
Anyway, hello again team. No painting as such to report but... I have grey primer! Very exciting.
Crisis Protocol core set all primed along with some extras. My wee girl (she's 5) had the best comment: "Aww you made a MODOK! He's adorable!... Modok wouldn't like it if I called him adorable." also had a great game with the boys:
I also got a km supply drop: new 2 player starter and Black mask. Can't lie, it came in a giant box and thought it was going to include the new DCU stuff (Zod, Black Adam, Saint Walker and Larfleeze) but alas no. Still, it's a great giveaway for the big Comic Page blog. Feel free to check it out and maybe win, who knows?
https://bigcomicpage.com/2021/09/04/knight-models-batman-miniature-game-giveaway-back-to-gotham-2-player-starter-set/ Not much done otherwise, lots of house and garden stuff. Ah, the necessary. Still, also got in a great game of DC Deckbuilding with the older boy, so odds and ends of geeking done.
I'll try to get more done in the days ahead - but trying not to get stressed in the process, keeping the fun going.
Till then
Graven
endtransmission wrote:M.O.D.O.K is quite a cute model.... for a homicidal floating head...
For the competition, clearly it needs to be Axel Asher (Access), who also comes with a card for Crisis Protocol
I know, I'm very fond of him. Excellent choice of obscure character, and very clever at that Amalgam universe my arse.
So a little muted hereabouts, as I'm positive for covid. Luckily I'm double vaccinated, but I do feel pretty fluey. Family all seem fine, bit worried about middle spawn as he's not had it yet (and he has a heart condition). Trying to convince myself that it means I have lots of p&m time, but tbh I'm pretty wiped out.
I did, however, start my entry for Rise from Resin's 50 Shades challenge. Everyone gets the same artisan's guild ogre to paint and given a colour at random:
I got green. I'm ok with that I've started with my usual goblin skin recipe (vj heavy dark green, sick green, livery green) and then probably off-white hair - we're allowed to use white and black as a blend, so green khaki blended up.
For the leather, Cayman green - very dark green with some blue tones. For the axe head, Jade using Scorpy Green. For the chains, probably a Verdigris of sorts. For furs and armour... not sure but probably the very brown greens of Ww2 English uniforms and/or Russian uniform. For skull details, obsidian in some way. Each has advantages and challenges. Thoughts?
Cheers team
Graven
That's a great mini, I'm keen to see how it ends up in all-green; it's looking good so far. I;m also deply impressed by the sheer array of green paints there, I think I have about 4, and 2 are nearly empty...
Automatically Appended Next Post: That's a great mini, I'm keen to see how it ends up in all-green; it's looking good so far. I;m also deply impressed by the sheer array of green paints there, I think I have about 4, and 2 are nearly empty...
Paradigm wrote:That's a great mini, I'm keen to see how it ends up in all-green; it's looking good so far. I;m also deply impressed by the sheer array of green paints there, I think I have about 4, and 2 are nearly empty...
Artisan's Guild do some great sculpts, and they print up really well too. There's a fair bit of pin-up in the aesthetic, it's explicitly Franzetta style, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.
I have way more greens than anything else, for a couple of reasons: I picked up a flames of war paint set dirt cheap, and struggled to get to grips with Orc skin so picked up that full set of vjs.
JoshInJapan wrote:You got The ‘Rona? That sucks. Is school out of session over there? Either way, stay away from livestock anti-parasitics.
The ogre is looking good so far. I look forward to the end result.
Yeah, back in the Petri dish of teaching. On Monday, 5 staff were positive, 57 kids. As of today it's 9/120. Not good, that's 10% of staff and roll, never mind all those self isolating. I heard about the horse thing. Madness. I shall just keep the faith I've actually made a bit more progress on the green dude this morning (I'm now wiped out on the sofa watching Futurama reruns).
Rubbish pics but hopefully you get the idea. Colours blocked in and highlights wave 1 done. No inks or washes yet. C&c? Be gentle, I have plague Graven
Paradigm wrote:Yeah, I love AG's hero minis. Might actually go and grab that one while it's on sale on MMF.
Nice work keeping the mini readable despite the single colour limitation.
That's appreciated, certainly what I'm going for.
Gitsplitta wrote:Making good progress there old son!
Thanks OLDER son!
youwashock wrote:Looking very cool. Hope you get over the bug quickly and your family stays safe.
I find it's very up and down, bursts of energy and then total exhaustion. And I definitely have Covid brain. I built Taskmaster and punisher. Dropped multiple bits multiple times, struggled to glue way too many parts and then inexplicably sprayed the same side twice... Totally gummed up all the details. blitzed in the ultrasonic, loosened up, and they'll go into stripper salvageable but really hacked off. Really need to take it easy.
Still, today I finished off the Jade Oni
It occurred to me that Nurgle's Rot was a green I hadn't used, so it's my blood substitute.
15 shades of green!
I probably should rebase him on a 40mm so he matches the other Brimstone Oni.
Still, all in all, I am happy with him.
Not sure what's next, but I did get my review copy of OVERDRIVE in, the new Kaiju-crazy, Robot-rasslin', Super-slammin' sports game from Mantic games! So that's exciting, I'll be getting a copy as a playtester so this will be a nice giveaway over on Big Comic Page.
Hey ho
Graven
Gitsplitta wrote:That's a really cool job on that Oni graven. Never tried to pull off jade myself, but I think you've done an excellent job.
Cheers amigo. It wasn't too tricky, tbh. Easier than marble.
aku-chan wrote:Nice job on the Oni, that's a lot of green paint!
Well, I have a lot to spare lol. Many thanks.
Not a massive amount done. Very tired, need to take it easy. Intensely frustrating. However, working on the Crisis Protocol core set scenery (and a wee mantic street sign).
Surprised how well this worked. I printed the signs onto paper and just sized accordingly. Hardest part was figuring out which other street is nearest 177a This is the second time I've painted the newsstand, having done it for a mate previously.
I can't believe there was an official Gillette/Stark industries tie-in.
Generally I went for something closer to the "official" look, albeit more... Grubby lol.
First time using a mix of Sharpies and paint for tags. Not bad.
A bit of research also revealed how incredibly common white tags on Dumpsters are.
Really pleased with the spider verse miles tag on this one
So not bad considering this morning they were just primed, but feels like small beer for a long time off work. I appreciate that I'm ill, I am just impatient.
Hopefully perk up in the week ahead.
Graven
The newstand looks fantastic, that Iron man photo is perfect. Love all the graphetti.
interested to hear about the new Mantic game. Wan't too excited by the announcement by them, but hopefully optimistic. None of the local shops carry Mantic, and Miniaturemarket only carries a tiny assortment, so I'll have to get it direct if ever.
Take a breather, your output is so massive that taking a small breather if you are beat won't mean anyone will catch up to you . Of course if this is your therapy like most of us that probably won't happen.
Too often tags on terrain throw the scale off due to application, media used, etc, but this was very well done. And the weathering is excellent. Also appreciate the "glass effect" on the window. At first it looked "smudgy" but I looked again and it worked. Looking forward to keeping up with your progress.
Paradigm wrote:Nice grubby terrain, excellent use of that Stark/Gillette ad, thought you'd photoshopped it at first. The graffiti, as always, is thoroughly convincing
Hope the recovery continues apace!
I couldn't believe it when I found it! Unlike DC there's very few in-universe adverts. I'd like to print up the Journey into Mystery one from Thor but can't get a decent screen grab.
Slinky wrote:Very nice terrain - I love the way you have done the windows, so effective!
Cheers, just quick wet blending.
Gitsplitta wrote:The news stand and dumpsters are fantastic!
Aw you'll make me blush
Theophony wrote:Oni turned out great, nice effect for the jade.
The newstand looks fantastic, that Iron man photo is perfect. Love all the graphetti.
interested to hear about the new Mantic game. Wan't too excited by the announcement by them, but hopefully optimistic. None of the local shops carry Mantic, and Miniaturemarket only carries a tiny assortment, so I'll have to get it direct if ever.
Take a breather, your output is so massive that taking a small breather if you are beat won't mean anyone will catch up to you . Of course if this is your therapy like most of us that probably won't happen.
Thanks man on all counts. Overdrive is a blast, highly recommended, and really shines at League play level where you create a coach vying for sponsorship deals. I smell a family League brewing!
Skalk Bloodaxe wrote:Too often tags on terrain throw the scale off due to application, media used, etc, but this was very well done. And the weathering is excellent. Also appreciate the "glass effect" on the window. At first it looked "smudgy" but I looked again and it worked. Looking forward to keeping up with your progress.
Skalk! Great to hear from you old son. And many thanks indeed. I think mixing media with Sharpies, paint and paper is certainly paying dividends.
Today, Street furniture!
Pretty happy with these though the crossing guy is a bit laid-back lol. Mellow... I also laid down the base yellows for my two ny taxis, just need to get some checkerboarding on them (thanks Ork transfer sheets!)
Again, not loads done - I can't really sit hunched over for an extended period, end up not breathing properly - but steady progress on all fronts. I certainly feel more myself today, fewer painkillers and less general brain fog. Slowly getting there. Perked up by the news that should be getting some more freebies - Dormammu, Blade and Moon Knight for MCP, Mad Titan's Shadow for Champions (with an extra copy to giveaway) and X-Spanse, the transformers x-jet. Ain't it great to be a geek?
Hey ho
Graven
Skalk Bloodaxe wrote:Obviously the crossing signal is for people listening to Ska
Pesky nutty boys.
Yorkright wrote: Hope your feeling more like your old self soon. Terrain is looking fab, love that you did the walk and don’t walk lights on the stoplights.
Definitely feeling old lol. Thanks man, I am surprised that the Don't Walk looks decent.
Solar_lion wrote:That is some nice Urban terrain. The little touches that really tie things together.
Cheers bro! Easing myself back in.
I've started work on my actual MCP characters! Shock. I've decided to try to go with a much more comic aesthetic than I would normally do. Welcome... To a new Age!
I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it, but, cautiously, I think it works - at least for Ultron.
Also, I didn't show the side view of my street signs yesterday, I realise, so here's a quick snap.
I also did this lovely plastic cart from Mantic (via the equally lovely endtransmission).
Another neat bit of scatter for Tumbledown, my Moonstone town.
A good day. Made it to half 2 without a nap. had enough concentration to read Spidergeddon as well, which was... Ok but worth it, on balance. Tomorrow? Maybe another marvel fig.
Till then
Graven
Paradigm wrote:Ultron definitely looking good, the style changes work nicely.
Thanks my friend!
endtransmission wrote:That's all looking great! I really need to look at adding more scatter to the MCP bases. So far they look a little empty.
I hope you're starting to feel a bit better too!
I'm a bit rubbish today actually. Thanks mate. I initially really liked the bases but there's minimal variety. Similarly there is a missed opportunity for so much scatter - it's a shame, but newspapers and tape are easy enough to do.
So although I was feeling dreadful I got some stuff done today, mostly to take my mind off it. As he features in this week's What If? I decided to do Killmonger
Perhaps unsurprisingly I'm more of a fan of the DC version of the character, Red Lion, but I still enjoyed painting him up.
And one of my favourite teams, at least Skottie Young's take on them
I Am Groot!
I decided to use some scenics to enhance him.
Ain't nothing in the world like me, except me.
Love that gun. Oh ... Yeah...
Fun to do.
And, finished the Taxis
If you get the license plates, you get a cookie.
An internet cookie, anyway.
I also blocked in the skin on all the remaining MCP, which is one of those legwork jobs that's tedious but necessary, and lets me get on with the next stage. There is a lot of black to block paint - Black Panther, Black Widow, Red Skull, Warmachine, Crossbones, Hela - so that might be tomorrow, then back to work Friday if I feel up to it.
Hey ho
Graven
Don't rush back too soon, it's better to take one more workday off and add three days of recovery than to jump back for one day and run yourself down for 5 more.
Killmonger looks good. I was not overwhelmed with the What If...? this week. I liked the concept and all, but the way they did Tony , and I was never a big Iron Man fan until the MCU movies.
Those area all looking fantastic! Is that ASM 279 or 299 on the first taxi? 279 was the death of Kraven; 299 is the first (and only) appearance of a side character called Paul
The other taxi is the first appearance of the black spider-man outfit.
As the others said; if you're still feeling terrible, don't force yourself back to work for one day as you'll undo a lot of the rest that you've had and make next week even harder to deal with!
Theophony wrote:Don't rush back too soon, it's better to take one more workday off and add three days of recovery than to jump back for one day and run yourself down for 5 more.
Killmonger looks good. I was not overwhelmed with the What If...? this week. I liked the concept and all, but the way they did Tony , and I was never a big Iron Man fan until the MCU movies.
Well, teacher guilt and all that.
Yeah, Tony's arc of redemption matters, in any universe. I felt that it was also a missed opportunity to flip Killmonger's narrative. Best bit was the Queen!
JoshInJapan wrote:Your Marvel characters are quite nice, but I really like the street terrain. It looks like it would be a blast to play on/around.
I had one of the ASM issues you reference, but I stopped collecting for a while before the later of the two was published.
that's pretty impressive dude.
endtransmission wrote:Those area all looking fantastic! Is that ASM 279 or 299 on the first taxi? 279 was the death of Kraven; 299 is the first (and only) appearance of a side character called Paul The other taxi is the first appearance of the black spider-man outfit.
As the others said; if you're still feeling terrible, don't force yourself back to work for one day as you'll undo a lot of the rest that you've had and make next week even harder to deal with!
299, which teased Venom Paul indeed lol.
Thanks all for kind words. Didn't feel great Friday but not awful either so just went in. Glad I did, but very draining.
Haven't painted over the last couple of days; instead, I've been working on Captain Bamboozle's tower from tt combat for Moonstone etc. Brutal. Appalling, inaccurate, incomplete instructions. It's going to look stunning but oh your God it's been a nightmare. Whilst much of it stays together through simple tension (bonus) it's a shoddy kit and a reminder of why TT frustrate me - particularly when you can get such excellent, precision-cut MDF with proper tolerances from other sources. I also have the Lord Fancyhat's House kit to build but this has put me right off. The wee cottages were so good as well.
We shall see what the weekend brings...
How bad is TTCombat stuff I've been hankering to get a lot of their SoB themed scenery for Frostgrave I haven't mucked about much with MDF yet and I'd like some advice before I go heavily in.
I have no idea what their more recent stuff is like, but some of the early kits that I had didn’t seem to quite fit together properly and were fairly basic shapes lacking detail. Looking at the site just now, they seem to have done some nice new kits for surprisingly cheap. It’s not 4ground level of quality, but for the price you can get 3 or 4 buildings for the same price point!
Camkierhi wrote:Still knocking it out the park I see, glad some things don't change!
Love the vibe you have been channeling lately.
Cheers old son. It's good hear from you and thanks for kind words.
Llamahead wrote:How bad is TTCombat stuff I've been hankering to get a lot of their SoB themed scenery for Frostgrave I haven't mucked about much with MDF yet and I'd like some advice before I go heavily in.
Well now. USUALLY I'm full of praise for TT stuff, it's affordable, fairly easy to build, and looks great on the table. However, this tower categorically the worst kit I have every had the misery of building, for any game, in any material, ever. That includes old forge world resin and tiny km metals.
endtransmission wrote:I have no idea what their more recent stuff is like, but some of the early kits that I had didn’t seem to quite fit together properly and were fairly basic shapes lacking detail. Looking at the site just now, they seem to have done some nice new kits for surprisingly cheap. It’s not 4ground level of quality, but for the price you can get 3 or 4 buildings for the same price point!
Well yeah, to be fair the trade-off is the price point. but that's no excuse for incomplete instructions.
Gitsplitta wrote:Beautiful job on the light posts and such... that'll really make the game board so much more enjoyable.
Oh, absolutely. Especially when you can throw them at opponents
And, here it is:
I will happily admit that it looks the business.
Nevertheless, construction was a nightmare.
And it has an accessible interior, which is neat.
Scale shot with Quack, the moonstone alchemist. Needs to finish the priming - I primed one side of the MDF, then ran out of spray - and then on to painting... Once I'm over the build trauma I had seriously considered buying a set of the gw creeping vines, but they're not cheap and I'm genuinely loathe to spend any more money on this abomination.
The weekend was mostly spent in non geek: taking the kids to rugby, doing the garden (cutting down conifers and doing dump runs), BUT there was time to play the next game in our Champions: Rise of the Red Skull campaign, taking on Absorbing Man with Spider Woman, Captain America and Ant Man. Not too challenging - probably less so than Crossbones - but still a lot of fun.
Speaking of Crossbones, he's in next week's paint cue along with Spider-fam and a lot of villains. We're going to try to get the wee fella playing by taking on the Ultron scenario for MCP, where you play as teams against an AI controlled Ultron opponent (yes, irony) who's trying to bring on doomsday. Fun and games, right?
Llamahead wrote:Cheers Graven seen some for sale at a shop in Norwich so I'll probably pick a kit up and see how I get on with it.
Seems a wise course of action.
Right troops,
Trying to get back into the swing of things. Part-way through building Lord Fancyhat's House, seemed MUCH better... Till the instructions ran out AGAIN piss poor if you ask me. It seems like it's just the exterior cladding and locking mechanism for the removable roof that's left... I think
I am toddling along with MCP. Next up, Warmachine!
Tricky to photograph.
A ridiculous pose, the first and (so far) only one I've had to pin.
Generally very happy with the comic aesthetic.
On the monochrome just now, Punisher and Crossbones on the table; nearly there, in the next day or two.
And not to be deterred from my fantasy delving, I got a wee mantic forge painted up to go with my ruined walls.
Another nice bit of scatter checked off the list
Finally got my white and black primers in, so getting on with my FoFo at last. Need to churn out some beasties, get the numbers up for September Graven
I'm a little confused....as usual. The first 3 pics of Warmachine almost look like varying stages of white while the last one looks more of the black and silver I'm used to seeing. Is that the tricky photography that is doing it or am I just needing an adjustment?
they all look great, just wondering if it's a screen setting on my side.
Rhodey's looking good. Nice and industrial feel to him and the explosion looks solid too. See what you mean about the pose, generally I like my minis on the base rather than hanging 2-3 miles in front of it...
That tower looks amazing, though I am more impressed at the saintly patience it seems to have required to put together!
endtransmission wrote:Great stuff! The explosion looks really good
Cheers chief
Solar_lion wrote:Nice Job on Warmachine. The explosion flames did come out well.
Very kind. I really just aped the official scheme
Theophony wrote: I'm a little confused....as usual. The first 3 pics of Warmachine almost look like varying stages of white while the last one looks more of the black and silver I'm used to seeing. Is that the tricky photography that is doing it or am I just needing an adjustment?
they all look great, just wondering if it's a screen setting on my side.
you're an observant chap. That rear shot is from before I finished the highlights, I clearly uploaded the wrong picture
Paradigm wrote:Rhodey's looking good. Nice and industrial feel to him and the explosion looks solid too. See what you mean about the pose, generally I like my minis on the base rather than hanging 2-3 miles in front of it... That tower looks amazing, though I am more impressed at the saintly patience it seems to have required to put together!
My wife would say my language was certainly... less than saintly
On we go with our little MCP adventure. This was finishing up lots of bits that were at the "nearly" stage. First up, it's the Amazing Spider...miles!
It's really well designed, with the hand as part of the newspaper stand with a peg for the arm.
I love the pose on this figure.
Quite tough to paint, and even more so to photograph, but I think he looks rather good.
Had to get plenty of slaps on the box. Hey, it's Miles!
Continuing my "I must paint all the black models" journey, next we have Red Skull
I spent along time debating just how much OSL I wanted to go for.
In the end, after a bit of discussion with Kid#1, I decided not to go too crazy as we felt it wouldn't fit the comic aesthetic I am going for (he's a smart lad )
One of the most under-rated characters in the core box next... Crossbones!
It'll be interesting to see how they rebalance him in the revised card release.
Couldn't resist some police line tape on his base. Too funny.
A friend gave me a couple of interesting 40mm figs he picked up on (and I quote), "Chinese eBay" and I did them up as Civilians for the game.
A dodgy dealer and poor unfortunate soul that's clearly been subjected to Extremis experimentation.
Great models, now I need some more though there a number of excellent STLs on thingiverse to be fair - can't really print atm as the dog is in the room with the Mars, but that will change in the next fortnight as he moves out of my study and into the shower room (the cat's litter tray is in there currently, but she's about to become an outdoor creature). I have also some extra supers that I might print up, I've got a nice Venom stl (not crazy about the official sculpt) that I know prints well and a couple of Hulk ones (but may just cave and buy the model there).
Meantime, to finish up the black parade... Punisher!
I've never really been a fan of the character, though enjoyed War Stories. I always think of the version of him in The Tick being patted on the head, "There, there, superheroes and guns don't mix."
Currently at late WIP stage are Black Panther and Black Widow, with MODOK, Hela and Loki at the early stages. So, toddling along. Away through to St Andrews for the weekend as it's my dad's 70th, but might get some bits done here and there.
I think you got the OSL just right on Red Skull , hard to balance where you want the focus when you have the choice of super villain or super powerful object.
While I liked the Punisher TV show, I too was never a fan of the comics. I guess it’s my inability to comprehend how he can still walk and breath after being shot so many times per issue over how many years? at least wolverine has a healing factor to offset the damage.
Y'know Tony Stark is a billionaire but I have no trouble seeing him picking up an extra couple of grand endorsing razor blades. That's how you stay a billionaire right?
Good think you finished this before we have to explain to our kids what a newspaper vending machine was.
Theophony wrote:I think you got the OSL just right on Red Skull , hard to balance where you want the focus when you have the choice of super villain or super powerful object.
While I liked the Punisher TV show, I too was never a fan of the comics. I guess it’s my inability to comprehend how he can still walk and breath after being shot so many times per issue over how many years? at least wolverine has a healing factor to offset the damage.
Thabks mate. I'm not actually a crazy wolverine fan either (ducks). I'm with Josh Whedon on that (ducks again). But not much else...
Kid_Kyoto wrote:
Y'know Tony Stark is a billionaire but I have no trouble seeing him picking up an extra couple of grand endorsing razor blades. That's how you stay a billionaire right?
Good think you finished this before we have to explain to our kids what a newspaper vending machine was.
Or a newspaper.
Lol absolutely Tony is a complete sell out, it's totally believable. I love that they really did do stark industries branded Gillettes.
The newspaper thing is particularly stressful as I'm a media teacher
Yorkright wrote: Is that spiderman delivering for the post office? All are looking good Graven, for a DC fanboy you're doing great by Marvel.
the irony is not lost on me that I'm finding the marvel minis far more enjoyable than DC, both in terms of game and figs. And, many thanks mate
So, speaking of which... Black Panther!
Or at least, somewhat purple panther.
Glad I went for this take on him. Much better than a flat black.
Continuing the theme, Black Widow!
Absolute bloody nightmare to photograph.
Looks really grainy. Weird.
Plus, did the range Rulers and Measuring Gauges
Another thing checked off the list! The aim is to have everything ready to play the Ultron scenario in a couple of weeks' time. Loki is a priority, as is MODOK, and then on to the web Warriors. I'm a bit sick of black so Peter will likely be done before Black Cat.
That being said, I might take a break from MCP, I don't want to hit super burn out. My primer FINALLY turned up so I've now got all my FoFo set, ready to get some paint on. Whilst the pile of shame is a bit intimidating, I'm keen to crack on.
Anyone care to make a wager as to what my final tally this year will be? At 670 now, with these newest additions.
Graven
I like the purple on Black Panther, looks like he has just absorbed the kinetic energy and is about to unleash it.
Black Widow looks great as well, though it looks like someone is wearing out that shiny spandex doing too many flips and kicks .
Sad Sad person who doesnt like Wolverine
Can’t say I liked any of the three X-men movies I’ve seen him in. They just don’t jive with how I mentally saw or heard them from when I collected all the X-titles. I didn’t like them using such big names in the movies, it was too hard for me to see Patrick Stewart in his chair and not have him say “Make it so”
Though Riker could have made a great Black Tom Cassidy .
Theophony wrote: I like the purple on Black Panther, looks like he has just absorbed the kinetic energy and is about to unleash it.
Black Widow looks great as well, though it looks like someone is wearing out that shiny spandex doing too many flips and kicks .
Sad Sad person who doesnt like Wolverine
Depends who is writing Wolverine. Some of the series are fantastic; others... not so much. Having said that I'm a little biased as I started reading Marvel when the shiny metallic cover of the Age of Apocalypse series first came out; so my ideal vision of the X-Men are from that series where wolverine has one hand, Sabretooth and Magneto are heroes and Cyclops is a bad guy so you don't have to pretend to like him
So much MCP goodness Killmonger is my favorite of the bunch, great work on so much skin! Hope you get everything together for the game, sounds like a fun scenario.
Black Panther is great but honestly the Widow is way good. Both aer in their classic pose's. I would have like a little more with her base. Panthers is busy. Hers is plain.
Theophony wrote:I like the purple on Black Panther, looks like he has just absorbed the kinetic energy and is about to unleash it.
Black Widow looks great as well, though it looks like someone is wearing out that shiny spandex doing too many flips and kicks .
Sad Sad person who doesn't like Wolverine Can’t say I liked any of the three X-men movies I’ve seen him in. They just don’t jive with how I mentally saw or heard them from when I collected all the X-titles. I didn’t like them using such big names in the movies, it was too hard for me to see Patrick Stewart in his chair and not have him say “Make it so”
Though Riker could have made a great Black Tom Cassidy .
Well many thanks indeed sir. I don't dislike the (first 2) X-Men movies, but it surprises me that despite being a big fan of the TV show as a kid I am not fussed about them generally. If the kids want X-Men characters, I'm just happy enough to print them.
endtransmission wrote:
Depends who is writing Wolverine. Some of the series are fantastic; others... not so much. Having said that I'm a little biased as I started reading Marvel when the shiny metallic cover of the Age of Apocalypse series first came out; so my ideal vision of the X-Men are from that series where wolverine has one hand, Sabretooth and Magneto are heroes and Cyclops is a bad guy so you don't have to pretend to like him
It's a valid point on the writers. When it comes to Marvel writers, JMS is still king for me, though I really like what Bendis did with MAX. Donny Cates evolution of the venomverse is interesting, and I do love a bit of Dan Abnett.
aku-chan wrote:Looking good! You've managed to get a lot of variation in all that black.
Many thanks old son. Unfortunately there's more to be fine! Hela through black/green, ghost spider black/pink and black cat black/blue all to come soon... ish... plus venom and bullseye down the line
Viterbi wrote:So much MCP goodness Killmonger is my favorite of the bunch, great work on so much skin! Hope you get everything together for the game, sounds like a fun scenario.
Thanks buddy! I honestly found his skin really enjoyable to paint, Vallejo air mahogany over a white prime is very forgiving (then highlighted with a varying mix of vj flat earth and flat flesh). I was very much inspired by your take on Red Skull, btw, with the subtle osl.
Gitsplitta wrote:That's really nice stuff graven, and a TON of it too!
Ach well you know me mate, quantity over quality
Glaiceana wrote:The Spiderman and Black Panther! Incredible! Looking forward to the next thing!
Much obliged, and welcome!
Solar_lion wrote:Black Panther is great but honestly the Widow is way good. Both aer in their classic pose's. I would have like a little more with her base. Panthers is busy. Hers is plain.
Very fair comment old son. Ask and ye shall receive, and she's definitely better for it, I agree. Pic further down...
Sorry for the delay, the long weekend there was my dad's 70th so we were through in St Andrews. Good times, although a long walk along the beach absolutely wrecked me on Sunday. Curséd covid. Me and the boys managed to take out Arnim Zola in our Champions campaign, although it was unbelievably close (and immense fun), whilst the elder spawn and myself had a game of DC Deckbuilding (Animal Man Vs Zatanna) in which he soundly thumped me.
Your take on MODOK is great. I'm thoroughly impressed by the NMM effects on the knees-- in the full-size gallery photos they're pretty rough, but in the smaller photos in your blog, and at tabletop distance in real life, they're just so accurate. Bravo, sir!
Theophony wrote:MODOK looks great...well as great as MODOK can look . He is a very Kirby character, which is always a good thing. The house looks good, sorry its a PITA to put together, hopefully it will stay together during painting and play.
Indeed, the 5 year old thinks he's adorable lol. Yeah, it's rock solid as a build, with clips so you can access the interior easily. Tbh it was only the roof that was a right pig. The other missing instructions were reasonably ok to figure out. I also need to figure out how to decorate I don't want to overdo it, but I think some scatter is called for. I might just raid my Hellboy stuff though.
Solar_lion wrote:Nice Modok. Really does deserve a cartoon look. Though he looks so angry you still have to laugh at him. Widow, better... still need a bit more.. What can I say.. she's Russian!
I feel like I should put a table on her base, as the only thing I can say in Russian is, "What is it? It's a table."
JoshInJapan wrote:Your take on MODOK is great. I'm thoroughly impressed by the NMM effects on the knees-- in the full-size gallery photos they're pretty rough, but in the smaller photos in your blog, and at tabletop distance in real life, they're just so accurate. Bravo, sir!
I learned long ago to ignore the horror of dakkasuperzoom or I just end up , or worse Many thanks, I'm rather pleased with them, though I'd hesitate to call it NMM.
Yorkright wrote: Love Modok may be my favorite marvel model you’ve done so far.
Honestly? I agree. He was a whole bunch of fun to do.
Slinky wrote:Modok is awesome, and this thread keeps educating me about comic characters I have never heard of
Poor deprived child! get thee to Comixology!
endtransmission wrote:M.O.D.O.K looks great! The shine on the yellow/ochre colour looks really good
Cheers mate, I did that in a slightly unusual way to try to create shiny yellow: started with german khaki, wet blended deck tan and then into white, washed cassandra yellow then highlighted again with deck tan and white. Think it's not too shabby.
Orktober is nearly upon us, so that's probably the excuse / kick up the backside I need to get on with my Moonstone goblins. So let's practice some greens, shall we? Hela, Queen of Hel. Shading that much black/green is always fun. Druchi violet is my friend. Tried to get some contrasts into the base colours also. Next up in the queue is probably her dear old dad (cos this is the comics), Loki. I've also been doing some gap filling on Ghost Spider, Black Cat and the Lizard, which is frankly infuriating when you're paying that much for plastics. In the end, I didn't put a table on Nat's base; instead, I've tried to make her flow with MODOK: With 29 figs done this month, that's me matched July, which was my slowest this year. I think that's pretty decent, almost a model a day still, which considering the twin evils of work and covid isn't too bad at all, I reckon. Who knows, might get Loki done tonight, depends how I'm feeling...
Solar_lion wrote:That'll do .. adds some " flow" to the figure.
Cheers mate, I agree, so thanks for the continued hassling after posting I realised there was a bit of white edge visible on the tape so that's now been trimmed also. I'd post another pic but I ended up editing the OP so much I felt yet another edit would be ridiculous.
Theophony wrote:Thick Russian Accent: "What Line are you saying I cannot cross?" followed by the sound of her spider-tasers
*Bzzt* maybe?
However, I decided that I would try to crack a figure per day this month so... Heeeeeeere's Loki!
Burden with purpose, certainly
It's kinda more water than ice I fear just now.
And a cute family photo
Need to get Spider-fam done next. May have bought Deadpool today too though Graven
JoshInJapan wrote:Your take on MODOK is great. I'm thoroughly impressed by the NMM effects on the knees-- in the full-size gallery photos they're pretty rough, but in the smaller photos in your blog, and at tabletop distance in real life, they're just so accurate. Bravo, sir!
I learned long ago to ignore the horror of dakkasuperzoom or I just end up , or worse Many thanks, I'm rather pleased with them, though I'd hesitate to call it NMM.
Well, it may not be NMM, but you certainly capture reflective surfaces really well.
Hela and Loki look great. They're both supposed to be human sized, right? Why is Hela's base so much bigger? Does base size have any effect in the game?
That MDF tower must have taken mind-numbing hours to build. I've built those before and know it can be a fiddley and cantankerous material to work with, especially the finer detail pieces. Yours looks great and it'll be a majestic focal point on the table.
JoshInJapan wrote:
Well, it may not be NMM, but you certainly capture reflective surfaces really well.
Hela and Loki look great. They're both supposed to be human sized, right? Why is Hela's base so much bigger? Does base size have any effect in the game?
Thanks. It does indeed, essentially you can't (usually) be thrown by something with a smaller base size than you.
Theophony wrote:I want crocodile Loki
Crocoloki! Such a missed opportunity. Alokigator doesn't quite have the same ring to it.
Skalk Bloodaxe wrote:That MDF tower must have taken mind-numbing hours to build. I've built those before and know it can be a fiddley and cantankerous material to work with, especially the finer detail pieces. Yours looks great and it'll be a majestic focal point on the table.
Lol so true old son. Truly, it was a bastard.
Camkierhi wrote:MDF *spits!* you want some real buildings made of foamcore.
Great work all round bud, never stop cranking it out do you!
Lol ah, yes, true believer I truly don't object to mdf. It's poor design and crappy instructions that kill me. I think that Brutal Cities stuff is so good that I'm unwilling to compromise now.
Solar_lion wrote:Ice is water... Science
Loki is excellent. Whomever is sculpting these figure really capture the characters signature poses.
Captn. Deadpool.. nawww just Deadpool. Waiting...
Agreed, the poses are cracking. Much obliged.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Far too busy for what should've been a lazy weekend - was getting stressed for no real reason beyond feeling like a didn't have time myself or with the kids. Did get a good game of Marvel Champions with the boys, took down Red Skull. Probably do Guardians of the Galaxy next with Rocket, Groot and Star-Lord. Plus Deadzone 3rd Ed. arrived and it's a crazy box of stuff.
There's so much terrain in it, for one thing, never mind 22 plastics, 2 resin heroes, playmat and lovely, coherent rulebooks.
The kids were so excited they didn't even wait to build the figs in the starter, just grabbed some bases and random terrain and tried it out.
Wee fella went straight for the GCPS (humans, somewhere between Aliens and Halo), and the bigger one dug out some Asterians (drone mecha) he had found and built ages ago in my bits box, which leaves me with the Veer-Myn (space skaven... Spaven?!), which I'm good with. I've never been quite sold on its cube based measuring mechanic, but the kids got it instantly and so I think we might play about with it a fair bit in the coming weeks. If anyone has any suggestions, advice, or indeed random bits we can pillage, do lmk.
Allegedly getting some preview plastics from the new KM Arkham Breakout KS too... But I'll believe it when I see it. I think my general love of DC blinds me to KM's utterly shambolic conduct.
Short week this week, hopefully be pretty chill... Aye right Graven
Automatically Appended Next Post: Aw man. Rollover.
.
what I will say is that the cost is truly brutal, as you're generally talking £20 per fig. That's 
(sorrynotsorry)To start off the month's painting, though, I'm clearing some backlog:
.
it's a bit tricky for me also with my manual dexterity issues.
that's pretty impressive dude.
but that's no excuse for incomplete instructions.
I had seriously considered buying a set of the 
.
Killmonger is my favorite of the bunch, great work on so much skin! Hope you get everything together for the game, sounds like a fun scenario.
