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^ interested in seeing this guy fully painted, I like him, alrhough to be honest.. I feel like he could use a few small wires here and there

Definitely still a wip, thanks for the advice though!

I may have to bring you both into the playtesting of the IA book I'm putting together... it won't be for a while, but I'll need campaign playtesters for me to balance things out

Vitruvian XVII wrote:Well Childe it apperars you get your wish for more sooner than expected!

I got hit with inspiration unexpectedly whilst watching Yu-Gi-Oh! and i leapt upon it, beating it into submission until it helped me achieve something

And with that, heres what ive managed to produce. This guy is gonna be an npc protagonist, a fallen noble swayed by the evil powers our Inquisitors are faced with.

He holds some deadly xenos technology, who knows what it does?

I started with one of the Empire extra fluffy bits... http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/productDetail.jsp?catId=cat440091a&prodId=prod800004a The Merchant i believe this guy is.

Spoiler:

Then off with his legs! And i scalped him for good measure too



The Adepts of Mars have provided him with antigrav technology...



The base! o.0



And here he is with preliminary GS work, and a terrible weapon, that is far deadlier than it first appears...

So theres the first NPC im producing, with at least 3 more in the works. Not forgetting the actual gang, and some hordes for the meat grinder.....

Hotdamn! That guy's an NPC??? I mean, I made my =I= Men guys to play with...

Lookin' forward to your Inq as well, after our "talks"!

-Remi

As promised, a small update on my gang! Without further ado, the pictures! Fluff-update introducing the new characters (and of course, more WIPs) to come tomorrow!

Created several bases for the figurines to go on. I'm pretty sure you create bases once you figure out which figures go on, but I created them first... whoops. Yes, there's a Madcat/Direwolf gauss gun on the base...



I've got the figures arranged with their possible bases... tentatively, of course.



Started work on one of the Viktorias models to represent one of my Assassins. Minor conversion work started by changing her chopper/sabre in the lower hand with a stub-type revolver. I don't expect much conversion to be done on this model, aside from a seal here and there to make her more... imperial-y.



The start to the former Lucan model, now being used as Tech Adept Edward Aelric. I chopped up an Eldar guardian biker arm as a start, and I'll be using GS to create armor plating and making it more mechanical in nature, yet thin enough to still be considered one of his arms.



And finally, a close-up of the NEW Lucan Pydren model, a Freikorps Trapper from Malifaux. He's got the cape, the hunter look... the ridiculously thin rifle... I considered chopping the head to put a human look, but I actually like the sniper goggles already there. All I need to do is put the wide-brim hat on him and a few imperialistic decorations here and there.


Anywho, that's it for me. More again tomorrow, but for now, I've got some serious BBQ-ing to do! Happy 4th of July, everyone!

-Remi

looking good! the last two however are definatly my favorite! nice character in them

Good morning yet again, Dakka! As promised, more pictures! Plus fluff! I had to stop before committing to some weaponry, especially on the tech adept, as I had written up my “List”, but unfortunately did not have access to the e-mail the draft was written on.

Anywho, enjoy Part 1 of “The Vanguard”, where I introduce some of the models of the retinue!

The Vanguard Pt 1

The Vanguard groaned with effort as it pulled from the atmosphere of Lastrati and into the darkness of space, it’s hold filled with Montreaux and his crew. From within, the battered cutter droned and creaked, the ship in obvious need of neglected repairs.

Most would consider the completion of a long-assignment with celebration, copious amounts of alcohol, and possibly even illicit substances banned by the Imperium, but obtainable by its elite agents for “research” purposes. However, the hold was void of noise save the inhuman protests of the ship’s hull against gravity. Most of the crew white-knuckled in their holds or pilot seats as their rickety ship crawled into the stillness of the stars- today, it was one mission to the next, and their leader’s cold fury permeated the small hold of the control pit.

The other members attempted to speak to Lucan after retrieving him from their rendezvous, but he remained as tight-lipped as his master. When trying to pry what little information they had failed, the majority had simply gone back to their cabins and duties, as asking Montreaux was akin to trying to pet a carcharodon with a hand dipped in blood. His deep-set eyes seemed to burn with an infinite hatred, turned toward anyone he chose to gaze upon, friend or foe. Quite simply, the man was someone Lucan and the crew knew to stay clear of, much as one would stay clear of the Assassinorium’s infamous Eversors. He was a stalwart ally, but between transitions from battle to peace, his quiet times were often consumed with darkness, unfitting of a commander. However, each and every one of them owed their souls to the man, and none could deny the results of his brutal methods.

Lucan stepped from his cabin and into the hallway that lead to the cockpit, glancing into the open cabins while lost in his own thoughts. He snickered softly as he wondered what others would see if they boarded their vessel to survey the crew. A bunch of freaks led by a psychopath, he thought as he walked on.

The first cell held the most taciturn of their group- tech adept Edward Aelric. A native of Mars, he was “bartered” from an exploratory fleet by Montreaux, after parting one of his brothers’ heads from their body over heated words. He had a youthful yet hardened look to him and was “short”, although no one in their right mind would ever say that to his face nor within earshot. A seamless bionic left arm and bionic right leg… add to that the fact that he faced expulsion and execution for his legendary and without a doubt, illegal and illogical temper… It was no surprise his master showed an extreme interest in the adept. He was much more sociable for having been a son of Mars, however, and it was much later that Lucan found a killer lay behind Edward’s thoughtful and innocent-looking countenance. Aelric sat at a workbench, flexing his mailed-fist as he tinkered with its innards, pausing to look up at Lucan with a half-smile.

Passing by with a nod, and a return nod and smile by Adept Aelric, he continued walking and stopped at one of the reinforced viewing ports. He pretended to check the quality of the rust-ridden rim, but all the while using his peripheral vision to look into the reflection and into the next cabin. Tall, lithe, and dressed in tight-outfits that bordered on functional/fantastical, the “twins” (for they responded to nothing but Montreaux’s own titles of “Libra and Virgo”) stood in silent communion, swaying subtly to some unheard tune. Lucan did not deny that they were beautiful, the stuff of mens’ dreams, but stayed within he realms of dreams. They were both mute or worked hard to be so… Whether they had taken vows, lost their tongues or their minds due to traumatic events past, or simply detested the crew, he did not know. What he did know was that the gleaming pistols and cold-bladed weapons that adorned their hardened limbs did the talking for them in the universal language of death-dealing. Smiles that would make a man’s heart flutter were reserved only for the moment before their targets’ souls left their bodies.

Sensing he had lingered for a bit too long, and that the rust just wasn’t THAT interesting, he turned and moved on, feeling the cold, unfeeling eyes of the women boring into him. Discretely ogling the two just wasn’t reason enough for him to receive a personal introduction to their steel. Not today, anyway.

FIN – for now! You ready for some pics?

First up, I present Edward Aelric, ex adept of the Mechanicum. I want this guy to be a grimdark version of the Full Metal Alchemist. Yesterday evening, I got to work on making a hood for him and started his bangs. He’ll be needing a pony-tail, as soon as I figure out how I want to do it. (either braid actual GS, or lay a thicker strip and mould it from there)



Side view of the hood. Still needs to be sanded and cut into a bit of shape, but overall looks good. There’s enough space to put a short pony-tail in the hood. Also, I’m adding a bolt-pistol to his bionic arm. I was thinking about giving him a chainsword in-game, but I think his bionic punch/kick attacks should be enough that he can handle not having a CQC weapon.



Next up is the second of the lovely assassin duo. This model was pretty hard to do… the arms and hands are tiny, nearly the diameter of the GW drill. The arms are pinned at the wrists to the swords. As you can tell, Agent Libra focuses on blades… I’ve given her dual powerswords in my list, although I should probably downgrade one- she’s not a dual-wielder at time of creation. She also takes care of my Roronoa Zoro craze, as she has more swords than she has arms to wield them! As to grimdarkerizing, she'll have a symbol on her left shoulder pad, possible fleur tattoo somewhere, seals, eyepatch on one eye. (with her sister possibly having a scope eye on the opposite side).



And finally, a bit more work done on Cristobal “The Beast” Montreaux. Added a GS skirt, plus two small strips as the start of some purity seals to cover the shaved off “front tails” (see page one for original model)



Also, got to work on his whip weapon. When pinning it in there, it’d be implausible having a thicker whip than the wire in the handle of the cruciform. I’m planning on keeping it without GS on top. “So what is that crap you put on there?” Good question- I did try covering it, but that turned out horribly. As I started ripping it off, the GS had “wings”, making a sort of flame effect. They’re kinda crap right now, but I’m going to be adding more/thicker detail, also giving me a chance to practice OSL (blue-white?) from the energy discharges of his counts-as Electro-flail weapon.



Anyways, thanks for stopping by! Progress is actually a bit further on for these models, but that's all I had time to put up before studies took over. Comments and critiques are always welcome!

-Remi

wow! im really loving the beast! he is so cool, and his gun is all fancy cool like!

This is all looking very good. I have a few crits, not sure if they will be helpful or not. The hair on Libra (?) - the one with four swords - looks a bit anime to me, doesn't look quite 40k enough. maybe you could add a strand texture to it.

The Beast (I have a ganger called the Beast, who I just realised I never posted a pic of) is great but the head looks fractionally too large to me. It's a space marine sized head and he is midway between space marine and regular sized by the looks of it. I'd also try making the whip extend out a bit more before it curves behind him, following the line of his leg and his head, this ought to add more movement.

Rogue Wolves wrote:wow! im really loving the beast! he is so cool, and his gun is all fancy cool like!

Thanks! His gun truly is "all fancy cool like"... just gotta hope my game group will allow him to take a weapon based on fluff rather than strict "rules". Not like it's a lascannon in disguise, so I'm sure it'll work. But thank you all the same! It's probably the most involved weapon I've ever made!

Bruticus wrote:This is all looking very good. I have a few crits, not sure if they will be helpful or not. The hair on Libra (?) - the one with four swords - looks a bit anime to me, doesn't look quite 40k enough. maybe you could add a strand texture to it.

The Beast (I have a ganger called the Beast, who I just realised I never posted a pic of) is great but the head looks fractionally too large to me. It's a space marine sized head and he is midway between space marine and regular sized by the looks of it. I'd also try making the whip extend out a bit more before it curves behind him, following the line of his leg and his head, this ought to add more movement.

Thanks Bruticus for the critique!

1) Libra's hair : It's part of the reason I bought the mini- if the model was seriously minimalist or lacking in detail throughout, I would consider adding a thin layer of GS to the structure then giving it a bit of texture... ah hell, I might try that anyway. It sounds like fun!

2) Beast's Head : Yea... this one, I won't be able to do anything about, unfortunately. It was either have a scarred pin-head from the original model (too small for my taste), or go a bit more on the "heroic scale" of things and give him the SM head with the breather and make him some sort of KOTOR Darth Malak... on steroids. I had an eldar head, but the armor screamed "ugly man" to me, and it wouldn't suit a model-esque gaunt face with flowing long hair.

3) The Whip : The formation of the whip was a bit different before I started screwing with it. It's a bit higher due to the copper deformation after adding GS and pulling on it to make the start of the flames. I might experiment with the flow of it a bit more this weekend.

Thank you both again! I've got an update on my new-favorite character, ex-tech adept Aelric. Did a session to make his "Auto-Mail" arm. Very pleased with the results. Stay tuned!

-Remi

waiting in bated breath remi

Good afternoon, Dakka! As promised, another update- this one focusing on Full Metal (Tech) Adept Edward Aelric. For the past few updates, you’ve probably noticed that I do a lot of little updates on several models at once. Probably some form of ADD, but I like getting as much work done as I possibly can… so while waiting for GS to cure, I drill/pin/glue. While waiting for glue to set, I shape GS. And while waiting for the shaped GS, I do other things, like make bases.

This time, I was just a bit too engrossed with getting a good replica of Edward Elric’s auto-mail arm… and yea. Just focused on this instead of going around trying to work multiple figures at once.

Without further ado, I present, Edward and his automail arm!

First one from the front. I had a couple of minutes to use a reference pic on my computer before the wife decided to commandeer it. Based on that, I started working in the arm. First component was the textured forearm guard.




I also added a “pad” of GS (under the shoulder plating). I cut three strips of different widths/lengths from a leaf of flattened GS to make the plate-mail.




Decided to deviate from the full-on copy of FMA’s automail by adding a couple of more grimdark-style rivets to the elbow and the shoulder. Also not related to this post, is the start of his ponytail hair. I put it in a semi-loose style, and will add the braiding in the hood recess for my next run.



In the end, I intend for this arm to be definitely showing a bit of wear and tear- slight rust or blackening, and some damage on the plating. I’ve got a bit of sanding to do for the rivets, as well as adding a wire running from the shoulder/armpit to the under-bicep area and into the elbow… Also considered adding FMA’s signature “auto-mail blade”, but seeing as how he has a bolt pistol already there, probably not.

As always, comments and critiques are always welcome! No guarantee I can implement the changes in time (seeing as how the updates are done a half-day later?) but I like to hear what I can improve… especially for V2 or V3 of the model…

-Remi

They all look awesome! Great modelling Remi, loving the whip.


The automail arm on Ed is looking sexy too, rewatching FMA has made me want to do a marine in a suit or armour like Al's!

Keep it up, will be doing work in the doldrums of no-internet land rest assured.

Thanks Vit!

LOL, that'd be pretty cool to get the set together of Ed and Al for a pic.

Finishing up some GS on most of the guys... I think Ed, Libra/Virgo, and Lucan should be ready to paint... possibly tomorrow? Definitely looking forward to working with a paint brush again!

-Remi

Good afternoon, Dakka! Ed is complete, as well as the ladies, Lucan is waiting for a few more bits on his hat, and Montreaux is pretty much finished as well! Painting updates will be next! But for new, Vanguard Pt 2 and the TRUE inquisitor leader of my band... revealed!

The Vanguard Pt 2

Lucan walked on towards the cockpit control, attempting to control his fear of the two assassins with slow and deliberate strides. As if the heavens heard his prayer, Montreaux’s voice came over the intercom, cold and grating.

“Comm room in 5 minutes.”, he rasped. What little sound came from Edward’s room stopped, and Lucan knew that both of the women were a few paces behind him after his little stunt. Wordlessly, the crew made their way from the cabin hallway to the communications chamber.

The room was set up as a small, circular amphitheatre, crude but functional. The floor was grating with backlit a soft orange glow from underneath, plasteel panels made for rounded benches. Overhead, cables of different sizes hung carelessly and strung into a central circular pedestal, hi-tech stalagmites and stalactites jutting out respectively from pedestal and corresponding ceiling panel. A central “throne” meant to control the communications sat occupied by Montreaux, who deftly worked several buttons and dials in preparation. The crew took their seats around the throne in silence, cut by clacks and whirrs of the Interrogator’s actions.

As if on cue, the orange glow darkened into nothingness as the doors to the chamber shut with a clamping hiss. Neon green light began emanating from the central pedestal, as the particles formed a blurry, 3-D image that clarified with Montreaux’s continued dial adjustments. The team gazed upon a secure entry prompt, which Montreaux answered by attaching a node into his temple, transmitting his credentials in-secret through the software. The room darkened yet again as the password was accepted, before exploding into a system labeled Vanah Prime, and magnified onto the main planet Vanaheim.

The seated group took in the details in silence- population, ruling bodies, security strength, etc. After the lists completed, a non-mechanical voice cut into the hum of the electronics.

“Greetings, Cristobal. I trust you are well. And greetings, to the rest of you…” The voice stated as the image of Vanaheim continued to dissect itself with increasing levels of detail.

“Inquisitor. It has been far too long.” Montreaux replied, the respirator making his greeting sound almost threatening. Murmurs of ‘Inquisitor’ and nods came from the rest of the crew, despite communications being only verbal at the moment.

“My deepest apologies for the secrecy, but believe me when I say that it was absolutely necessary. Montreaux is the closest thing I have to a son, and the deeds he has accomplished speak volumes not only of his own prowess, but the talent he has gathered around him.” the voice continued.

Although the Imperium consisted of numerous worlds and galaxies, it was rare to hear such a pronounced, yet “extinct” accent. The voice on the other side was smooth and modulated, yet almost theatrical- in what would be considered an ancient-Terran accent from a place known ages ago as the United Kingdom.

The visual changed into a visual recording several minutes long- a young man, an Inquisitor, speaking into a shaky video before facing an adversary and jumping off the vehicle, ending in a glowing green cruciform. The team watched in grim silence, interest piqued at the final confrontation. Using the dials at his command, Montreaux reviewed the last few seconds of the video several times. Lucan noted that he seemed more interested in the glowing cross than the man the inquisitor was going against. The image oscillated out of focus, and refocused on an image of Inquisitor Estav- a gaunt, hard-lined, yet ageless face seemingly frozen in time at a point between youthful and mature. With his silvering ravens’ peak hair slicked back, he was the very image of a gentleman killer.

“We are Ord Hereticus. And this is probably one of the most insidious threats I’ve ever seen, especially if Veran is not mistaken in that it permeates all levels of Vanaheim’s society.” Estav continued as he raised a metallic hand to his chin in thought. “I’ve given much thought to this mission and hearing the plight of our source personally has left me with many sleepless nights… as dangerous as this sounds, it is almost a matter of personal honor to me. As such, I’ve decided to join you in your investigations… Cristobal, I trust there are no objections?”

“None whatsoever, Inquisitor. It would be an honor.” Montreaux growled in response. Lucan and the others sat silent, awestruck at the chance to work with a former field legend. They looked to one another, their eyes speaking tales of excitement and a hint of apprehension being unable to read into their leader’s gruff response.

“Splendid.” Estav replied jovially as he clapped his hands. “I’m en route and will arrive before you by a day. Meeting coordinates are here-” the inquisitor’s image faded out back to the planet, marking the green area with a contrasting red marker and coordinates. “-I’ll be waiting for you at the Eyrie.”

“Understood. We will see you soon, Inquisitor. Vanguard out.” Montreaux replied with a nod. The hum of the electronics faded slowly as the chamber flooded with darkness once again.

FIN

Alright! I have no idea how I came upon this guy, but I'm so glad that I did. Dude has the feel of an inquisitor, and sinister-looking enough to be the trainer/owner of the mad-dog Montreaux. LOL... I'm sorry I keep coming up with these ridiculous names for Montreaux - "The Beast", "Mad Dog"... it just flows with his name.

Anywho, Infamy Miniatures- Sherlock Holmes sculpt! Much props to the start-up company for producing such a gorgeous model! There will be very little modification to the model, if any at all, although I'm not so much of a collector (despite the limited ed print thingy he comes with)... I'm trying to figure out how to put his spider-arms into play: He's got an autogun with "shoulder-rig" in-game plus shock-maul to represent his cane... if you haven't seen the scheme on this guy, check him out www.infamyminiatures.com. I'd like mine to be about the same pallid-shade of skin, but his clothes will be black and his pants a pinstripe black/grey if I can pull it off.

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Anywho, as I said above- next updates are gonna be paint! I've also been assured that Vit has been hard at work on his own minis! Thanks for stopping by and stay tuned for more!

-Remi

-EDIT- Mc YEA!! My Infamy Mini just came today!! Suh-weet!!

Ooooh nice fluff Remi!! Seriously juicy stuff

And i cant wait to see what you do with such a sexy mini, been waiting since you first showed it to me

Vitruvian XVII wrote:Ooooh nice fluff Remi!! Seriously juicy stuff

And i cant wait to see what you do with such a sexy mini, been waiting since you first showed it to me

LOL... sorry to say, I didn't do ANYTHING to the mini. He looks fantastic without my "help"... the only thing different I did is the configuration of his arms. Put as many weapon-y things on him as possible. He's the right height... Montreaux happens to outsize every single model in the gang, but that fits his role as the big bad attack dog. Estav is no different- he's super-thin, thinner even than Edward, but he's super-tall... dude looks like an inquisitor that retired from the field years ago.

... I aim to write him as still just-as-deadly, or even moreso, given his accumulated experience/despite his age. Next fluff installment will be at The Eyrie... it's gonna be good.

All models except Montreaux and Lucan primed. Painting update tomorrow night! Let's finalize the rules, get the rest of the scenarios written... and get this show on the road. I've given the others in my group 1 month to finish their toys. Hope that's not too late/too soon?

-Remi

Good afternoon, Dakka! The next episode to the Vanaheim Saga-

The Eyrie

Arrival on Vanaheim was rather mundane; the Inquisitor already having procured a port and clearance for his protégé’s crew. The Vanguard very much looked a hulking wreck next to the luxury cruisers and sleek speeders it landed next to. To anyone else, the crew looked much like lower-class travelers who somehow found themselves in “up-town”, the only thing drawing suspicion being their more-functional clothing and ragged mantles amongst the designer-cuts worn by the upper-crust they had unfortunately parked next to. Lucan took it the worst, bristling at the port population’s glances- contemplating just stopping on the spot, opening his rifle case and letting all hell break loose. A dark look from the twins and a cautionary nod from Edward stopped him dead in his tracks.

“Montreaux and friends, I presume?” a polite voice called out to them. The crew looked about and spotted a young man in a non-descript chauffeur outfit, waving them over to a deluxe long-rider.

“My name is Tullian, and I’m to take you to meet your party- a noble by the name of Harker.” The chauffeur explained. The title brought snickers to the lady-assassins’ faces, as well as Edward. Montreaux simply shook his head and nodded towards the rider for his crew to enter. As soon as the doors closed, the windows tinted grey, blocking out the afternoon lights as the rider sped to its destination.

--------------------------------

The rider came to a smooth stop and the tint that had previously covered the windows began to slowly fade out. They had come to a high-end part of Vanaheim’s commercial sector, buildings reaching high into the sky and covering the streets in shadow. The chauffeur also exited the vehicle and removed their baggage from the rear compartment.

“Your destination is down this alleyway, and the first stairway downward. Bright sign. You can’t miss it.” The youth said.

“Enjoy your stay in Vanaheim.” He called out with a courtesy bow. With that, the man entered the vehicle and sped away, no doubt paid in advance to lead and not linger.

The crew moved as instructed and upon descending the stairway, stood face to face with a sign labeled “The Eyrie” in electronics being beyond-bright. From without, a deep urban rhythm could be heard like the steady beating of a heart. With a nod, Lucan and Edward opened the double doors- allowing both Libra and Virgo to enter and followed by Montreaux.

[AUTHOR’S NOTE: For your reading pleasure, I recommend Alex Clare's “Too Close” Original or Dubstep Remix to simulate the music in the Eyrie]

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The team froze at the doorstep, taking in the scene that played out before them. The entire “Eyrie” was filled with what looked like high-powered individuals, scantily clad “birds” of both sexes perched on their laps. Nude silhouettes behind ceiling-high silk drapes writhed to the music, candlelight backlit in a soft fuschia light. The place smelled of sweat, sex and intoxicating perfume. The doors closed behind the group and both clients and the establishment’s entertainers began to move with groping hands towards the female agents and the younger men. They froze as Montreaux came to the fore- the team immediately reformed, the women taking both of his arms while Lucan and Ed stood behind as the bodyguards. The hands cringed back as if touching a wall of flame, but the scene quickly dissapated into the seductive flow as they went on to available men and women.

Montreaux and team moved into the establishment and right towards Estav. He looked up and grinned sheepishly at the crew, legs crossed and both arms spread-eagled to hold two gorgeous women young enough to be his daughters.

“Montreaux! How good to see you here! My dears, I’m afraid we’re going to have to make some room for our little group here. Also, bring a couple of drinks and friends, particularly for the young man in the red coat- no he doesn’t bite, love, and the handsome rogue in the nomad’s cape.” Estav said smoothly as the two ladies lost their smiles, stopped their methodic massaging of his thighs and did as asked.

“Sit, everyone. Ceil, Valeria, would you care to join me?” he asked as the men. Both “Ceil” and “Valeria” took the previous ladies’ places, their dangerous eyes softening as if on the verge of a kill, a look of ‘love’, eyes only for the devilish Estav. Montreaux crashed heavily against the L-shaped leather seat to one side of Estav’s threesome, while the wide-eyed Edward and Lucan were ushered by equally lovely ladies wanting to sit on their laps.

The team spoke for a time over the alcohol provided by the bar, speaking of past conquests and lives. Lucan was quite taken with the woman at his side, and despite the woman touching a heartstring by possibly being a sister of his lost love, he managed to keep up the pretenses the others were playing along with. Edward’s company seemed genuinely enthused as he explained the origins of his bionic arm and opposite-side bionic leg. As the conversation continued, the women who had joined them laughed musically, and Lucan was amazed that their coded stories and current action plans was actually understandable to the point of being humorous. The message sang over the pounding music, colorful debauchery and crystal clear in the stories – We wait til Taglio enters his club, then we get our private audience. He’ll give us what we need. We need only ask.

About an hour and a half later, Taglio, the heavy-set owner strode through the club, and the younger men released their women with regret. The entire team stood up, polished off their drinks and began making a subtle procession towards the owner’s office- a story above the open floor, where he could survey his kingdom of seduction.

Estav led the team up the stairs and rapped sharply on the door with his bulb-headed cane. Without waiting for an answer, he swung the door open to the sound-proof room with a flourish, startling the armed bodyguards and Taglio himself at his wide mahogany desk. Estav strode forward, while the others remained in line with the bodyguards at the door, carrying their long-cases and baggage.

“What is the meaning of this!?- Inq… Estav! Wha-what a surprise! I didn’t expect to see you so soon!” Taglio stuttered, his chins jiggling as he spoke and blot out sweat on his forehead. The bodyguards to either side moved their hands to the sidearms located within their jackets, but were stopped by an open hand from Taglio.

“Taglio- good friend… how are you? It’s been ages since we last spoke- I came to check in on an old friend!” Estav replied cheerfully, although his eyes spoke volumes of business rather than pleasure.

“Why… yes, good to see you… I… I thought we came to an ‘arrangement’! I’m a legitimate business man!” Taglio continued, the sweat pouring off of his forehead and staining the collars of his shirt and seeping into the fur jacket he clothed himself in.

“Yes, far from the ‘flects and other rubbish you used to offer, no doubt. Congratulations on your success. No, my man… I’ve come to ask a favor… a debt outstanding.” Estav said benignly, as he smoothed out his palms on the desk and looked down at the cringing brothel owner.

One of the mercenaries did not take too well to the scene playing out before him, no doubt a new hire, and strode purposefully towards Estav’s back as Montreaux and friends stood back silently, watching. Estav’s eyes flicked back once as he continued to speak. “My friends and I have errands to run in the city. You know the type of which I speak. And we’d like to ask for your help in procuring a residence… preferably far away from this hellhole.” Estav continued with a grin. The guard had reached Estav and whipped out his pistol, the muzzle tapping the back of the Inquisitor’s head as Taglio’s eyes went wide with terror.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you… boy. You’re liable to lose an arm… or worse.” Estav cautioned. The guard smirked insolently as he pulled the hammer of his high-caliber stubber.

Lucan’s eyes went wide as the next moment flew by with no recollection. In one moment, the gun was put to the back of the Inquisitor’s head. In the next moment, it seemed as though Estav’s cane had wrapped itself around the bodyguard’s arm, the man contorting upward in pain. On closer notice, the Inquisitor had wormed the cane around the man’s joints, making it conform the the cane itself. The guard’s eyes went wide as he realized his mistake, his eyes reaching the cold eyes and arrogant smile of the now-angered Estav. What began as a protest ended in a howl of pain as Estav jerked the cane downward, shattering the trapped arm in several unnatural places.

With a deft flick, the aged Inquisitor unwound the cane from the limp and off-angled arm. The other guard reacted quickly, his gun out of the holster and taking aim at the slender figure stepping over his whimpering comrade. As quick he was, the Inquisitor was that much quicker. With a deep lunge, he flashed the span of the room and dug the ball-head of his cane into the man’s eye with a twist, pinning him to the door. The man screamed and tried to wrench the cane ball from his face, but Estav was immovable, a bronze statue holding fast. Lucan looked down at Estav and back up at the pinned guard, his long arms making the cane perfectly level into the man’s eye socket. With a small grin, Estav flicked a switch on the cane, sending a high-voltage shock into the squirming guard in a forward spray of blood and clear goo.

Estav stepped back with his spindly legs and flourished the gore from the head of his cane, then strode back to the desk with a smile. The team beamed as they surveyed the efficient destruction the old man wrought. Estav leaned his cane to one of the high-backed chairs in front of the desk, then reached out to grab Taglio’s shuddering form by the collar. Tilting his head contemptously, he slowly reached over and backhanded him with his fist, causing the man’s shirt to rip as he fell to his seat with a squeal.

“You should have kept a tighter leash on your dogs, Taglio… that first shot was a warning. Next one will be with this-“ Estav said, his smile holding no sense of warmth as he held up the augmented fist that gripped the torn remnant from Taglio’s outfit. “- and I guarantee you’ll spit out more than blood. Again, my friends and I have some errands to run here. We need a place to say. You’ll be giving us that place. Or you’ll be obstructing us and I’ll feed you to that hulk of a man you see behind me.” Estav continued with a nod towards his protégé.

“Here… here! Take it! Near Port Helena! Bad news! 50 clicks from here!” Taglio squealed as he threw the keys limply at Estav’s chest. Estav picked up the keys daintily, wiping the sweat from Taglio’s paws away on the coat of the downed guard.

“My thanks, good friend. We have no other business with you. Enjoy your day, and as always- I enjoy our little ‘chats’..” Estav said as he picked up his cane and led the team out toward Port Helena.

FIN

Thanks for stopping by! Painting updates tonight!

-Remi

That is a mighty tasty chunk of story Remi!! Really great, you had me completely engrossed.

Awesome stuff you inspire me !

lots of cool stuff here guys.. especially like sherlock and the merchant.

VitruvianXVII wrote: That is a mighty tasty chunk of story Remi!! Really great, you had me completely engrossed.

Thanks, Vit! A 40k story is just that much better with a bit of violence…

ghostmaker wrote: Awesome stuff you inspire me!

Glad to hear it, ghostmaker! Stay tuned for more!

Neil101 wrote: lots of cool stuff here guys.. especially like sherlock and the merchant.

Thanks for stopping by, Neil! A lot of the I-blogs here on Dakka (yours included) turned me back on the road… only spent about a year talking about it before bringing it up to Vit to fan the flames. He liked the idea, and it just took off. Rules are nearing completion. I’d say we’re at about 65% completion- new rules complete, new enemies complete, scenarios are getting done, and we’ve got core rules to avoid reinventing the wheel!


Good morning yet again, Dakka! Fluff on my side, for the most part is complete. “The Eyrie” ended with the team speeding off to their safehouse near Port Helena, graciously provided by the flesh-peddling Taglio. Port Helena happens to be our start destination, where Inquisitor Camille (and crew) have landed on the Jerolin.

Today I present my PIP of Edward Aelric- mixture of AB and standard paint. It’s been AGES since I took up the brush, but it’s great to get back into it. I’m saving Inquisitor Siward Estav for last, just so I’m sure I’ve got my game face on when it comes to colouring him.

Anywho, let’s get into it. I started with ABing Red Gore (lol.. is it still called that?), followed by some black/red mixture I use on my 1K sons for shadow, and then straight red again for repair and highlights from above. It came out… ok. As the AB hasn’t seen much action in a year or so, a few of my mixtures were too watery… then too goopy… then juuuust right.



Here’s the arm with the basic coat on it. I planned on keeping as much with the Full Metal Alchemist series as much as possible, so his initial Automail is a dull metal. So yea… I tried highlighting, and a craptastic attempt at NMM.



And to cover that horrid attempt, I put a bit of battle-damage onto it. Simple watered-down black with a super-thin brush, followed by watered-down white with that same brush on the lower lip areas of each scratch and dent. Then followed by whatever grey mixture I used to make the white as thin as possible.





Ed pointing and smirking at something in the distance… The skin of the face I’m extremely displeased with... looks like he's got some sort of skin disease... I’m going to have to redo it tonight.



Anywho, that’s it for me. I’ll be checking out some references to see what I want to do with his boots, too. Redo the face… After that, it’s the base and he’s done! Apologies for the gakky pics. Currently using a new piece of machinery that I haven’t totally figured out yet… Comments and critiques are always welcome!

-Remi

Wow, you really nailed the modelling there! It looks strikingly similar to Ed.

I love the battle damage on the automail, looks really realistic, great work.

I agree on the face, sorry to say but that does indeed look like some sort of skin disease! Id advise a redo

Just one little thing, im not seeing a pocket watch?

that model is awsome! the swave look with the awsome red jacket, and the cocky (and AWSOME) finger gun.. overall a great model

Vitruvian XVII wrote:Wow, you really nailed the modelling there! It looks strikingly similar to Ed.

I love the battle damage on the automail, looks really realistic, great work.

I agree on the face, sorry to say but that does indeed look like some sort of skin disease! Id advise a redo

Just one little thing, im not seeing a pocket watch?

Thanks a bunch! The shirt and jacket totally do it for me to seal the image of Ed Elric. The gak-face is the only thing pissing me off. Definitely will redo.

And alas, you remind me of the pocketwatch detail too late... dang... perhaps for V2??

Rogue Wolves wrote:that model is awsome! the swave look with the awsome red jacket, and the cocky (and AWSOME) finger gun.. overall a great model

Thanks a bunch! The final version looks much better, started doing a bit more targeting of the shadows to add depth after going over it with the AB.

In other news, unfortunately, I don't have an update this morning... I did manage to nearly finish this mini, and aside from the face, the pants/boots detail is painted and cleaned and base all finished. I'll work on the face tonight and try to get the images up. I'm happy I started first with this figure. He's pretty quick to paint up and the simple colors (red/black/white) were easy to apply. Next up... hmm... thinking of starting up either Libra or Virgo... probably Libra, as the long-coat and guns are pretty simple... Again, saving Inquisitor Estav for last!

-Remi

looking good there man. can't wait to see the inquisitor painted that is going to be exciting

alabamaheretic wrote:looking good there man. can't wait to see the inquisitor painted that is going to be exciting

Thanks! I can't wait either on the inq... but I gotta make sure I'm back in painting form before even thinking about touching that mini.

Tech Adept Aelric looks pretty good close-up, but I can tell I'm out of practice for painting... hence, using the henchmen for the practice minis before going into the meat! (Montreaux and Estav)

As said before, I should have Ed finished tonight (face is the only thing left to do) and start up on one of the assassin sisters!

-Remi

Good afternoon, Dakka! A quick lunch update on SoV from yesterday evening's progress!

Tech Adept/Full Metal Alchemist Edward Aelric is just about complete! I'm very pleased with the way he came out- the model lent itself well to mimicking the anime character. Without further ado- my tech adept Aelric!

Added a bit more shadows to his jacket so it wasn't just bright red.. the face is nearly complete, but I'm not going to do an entirely new update on that until I finish more minis later.









And a final overhead of his base. It's nothing special... but nothing too plain either. The =I= Men's bases were just a wee bit too much... Awesome, but over the top for my time budget these days...



And after finishing, I got to starting Agent Libra! To start, a really blurry picture- going very close to Inquisitor colors- Purple/Black/Grey/White, and her sister Virgo will be a variation on this.


... aaand another crap-picture. I tried to get a closeup of her hair, as I did my pain-stakingly super slow watery highlights/shadows... and I thought it came out pretty well. She looks like the lady from Ghost in the Shell- Kusanagi something-or-other.



Anywho, thanks for stopping by! Comments and critiques are always welcome! I'll get some better pictures of Libra tonight as I continue painting her.

-Remi

Awesome Remi!

The extra shadows on the cloak definitely make all the difference. Love the hair as well.

And another reference to one of my all time favourite animes! Kusanagi is indeed right, Major Motoko Kusanagi. God i love GiTS!!

I'll put what ive been doing in the dropbox for you to peruse.

Vitruvian XVII wrote:Awesome Remi!

The extra shadows on the cloak definitely make all the difference. Love the hair as well.

And another reference to one of my all time favourite animes! Kusanagi is indeed right, Major Motoko Kusanagi. God i love GiTS!!

I'll put what ive been doing in the dropbox for you to peruse.

Thanks! Thinking about it... I'll probably do a bit more shadow-depth on his white-glove arm. But yea, it totally finishes the model.

LOL... believe me, the Ghost-in-the-Shell reference was NOT planned. Now I gotta figure how to differentiate her sister... without going into ANOTHER anime reference.

And yes, we spoke about the dropbox. The product is going to be absolutely fantastic! As much as I want to play, I can't wait to see peoples' positive reactions to your work. Friggin' wizard, yo.

Finished Lucan's hat and bits. I'll post WIP on him and PIP later tonight or early tomorrow morning!

-Remi