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Sending good wishes your way my friend!

Wow.. you just churning out great stuff. Excellent.

Love the gargoyle.

Fingers crossed the hand gets some good news!

Great stuff well done on scoring the terrain, well deserved as well!

Thanks for all the kind words and wishes gang.
The answer about the hand is long term woirk related muscle damage. Nothing to be done, really. Can't exactly stop writing on the board! Still it's nothing sinister - not early onset arthritis, which was thought likely.
Anyway, getting on with the cathedral:


Cheers gang

The cathedral is looking very nice so far Graven, really like the weathering.

Thanks mate. It's even better in focus

Yes, looking good! The interior rust in awesome.

Thanks, I used blackfyre earth before ryza rust. I wondered if the front needed to be just as rusty but I decided to go down the verdigris route with eagle. Once, it was steel and bronze, but now all is ruin. Next, washes, and metal edges for where they rub clean.

Great looking terrain buddy. Fits in well with the whole grimdark Gotham setting. And best wishes with the ailments. I'm beaming positive energy through the Internet your way matey!

Looking splendid! Definitely taking the look of something one might find the pages of a Batman comic now!

Nice weathering effects. Looks great.

Early onset arthritis is not a pleasant thing, as I know all too well :( Especially in the thumbs. Muscle damage though, you can fix, from what I am told. Lots of painful PT though.

That is an impressive Cathedral, but really, it needs a belfry... you know why

Oh, the MDF. Seal it before you paint it. Water based paints can cause warpage, and the stuff really soaks up moisture. Some people use hairspray. Can't say that it works. But something like a varnish (solvent based) or a sanding sealer ought to work too. Don't forve any of the joints either. If they are too tight, sand/file them until the fit just right.

That cathedral is a vision man. Seriously awesome work.

Cathedral is looking properly awesome mate! Love the interior weathering and damage!

The cathedral works as a setting not just a terrain piece. A setting is in itself a character and that fills that.

Stunning work graven. Really impressive undertaking.

Bash the Bosh wrote:Great looking terrain buddy. Fits in well with the whole grimdark Gotham setting. And best wishes with the ailments. I'm beaming positive energy through the Internet your way matey!

Thanks on both counts my friend!

Paradigm wrote:Looking splendid! Definitely taking the look of something one might find the pages of a Batman comic now!

Well ta I'm certainly looking forward to getting a game on it.

Warboss_Waaazag wrote:Nice weathering effects. Looks great.

Cheers, appreciate the wisdom of the master.

Red Harvest wrote:Early onset arthritis is not a pleasant thing, as I know all too well :( Especially in the thumbs. Muscle damage though, you can fix, from what I am told. Lots of painful PT though.

That is an impressive Cathedral, but really, it needs a belfry... you know why

Oh, the MDF. Seal it before you paint it. Water based paints can cause warpage, and the stuff really soaks up moisture. Some people use hairspray. Can't say that it works. But something like a varnish (solvent based) or a sanding sealer ought to work too. Don't forve any of the joints either. If they are too tight, sand/file them until the fit just right.

Thanks for advice on MDF. Belfry came from Dr H, so wait for batrep to see the whole cathedral in action! Waiting on date for the serious physio to start soon.

Januine wrote:That cathedral is a vision man. Seriously awesome work.

Thanks man, and cheers for swinging by!

MagosBiff90 wrote:Cathedral is looking properly awesome mate! Love the interior weathering and damage!

Well you're a man who loves a crusty weather!

Llamahead wrote:The cathedral works as a setting not just a terrain piece. A setting is in itself a character and that fills that.

Job done then! Thanks so much.

Gitsplitta wrote:Stunning work graven. Really impressive undertaking.

You are too kind my friend.

Seriously gang, thank you so much! Means the world.


So here it is. Needed my kitchen table!












Not sure how to get a better pic really. Going to try in the light box with the rest of the cathedral.

Any way, thanks for the feedback y'all!
Graven

Super, just super! The weathering, the graffiti, the damage, the colours... Considering that this started out as a repurposed 40k piece, it's just remarkable!

Thanks so much mate. Really appreciate that. Wondering what to do next. Well, the 4 cops are next. But after that? Choice is:
Batgirl (finishes my Law)
Huntress
Black Canary
Blackgate Prisoners II
Hmm. Decisions, decisions... thoughts?

Batgirl, if only to know that someone else has suffered through painting that mahoosive yellow cape!

Great job on the cathedral.

Liking the pastel graffiti.

Nice weathering too.

My first thought was batgirl, if only because I don't know who the others are. Maybe just prime them all and see what grips you...

...on that thought, hope the hand heals well.

I vote Batgirl. That mini is quite dynamic. Also very pricey around here. But it looks fun to paint.

Looks fantastic Graven, love the way you did the graffiti.

I also vote for Batgirl as well.

Ruined Cathedral is pretty darn amazing mate! I like the colour palette you've selected as well.

My vote would be Batgirl!

OK OK OK OK OK OK batgirl it is a swine of a model to build, AND I'm reposing - and then there's all the yellow - gee, thanks guys

Meanwhile...

The Not-So Long Hallowe'en

So, a bash at testing 2 starter gangs, Loeb's cops and Penguin's crew. Now in terms of the game's balance individuals have points costs and, in some cases, a $cost, with a basic game being set at 150 points and $500 (your dollars are also used to buy gear for your goons). Loeb, Branden and Echo come in at 148/$400; Penguin, Emperor (arguably the best basic henchman in the game), Royal and Blue from the starter at 143/$600, with Penguin giving you an extra $500 with his Lord of Business ability. Where do the $ go? Branden and Royal have $ cost to balance assault rifles in game, so we can buy an extra ammo clips for Royal to make him a real threat, radios for the gang and a lantern for Echo so he can light up targets. My opponent is a gamer too, but new to BMG; he's taking the Penguin gang, I'm taking the cops. Added into the mix, a further 2 friends decide to watch and learn; they are a couple who are more into cards/board gaming but like superheroes - in fact, my target market!

We set up my home-made ruined cathedral terrain in what feels like a logical layout (thanks Dr H, of course also), and place our streetlights and sewer tokens (Loeb giving me an extra of each) - streetlights allow you to see people (it's always night in Gotham), sewers shortcut around the board. We choose our objectives - Riddles, ammo and loot for Penguin (plus he grants an extra loot token, hence my shiny golden duck - who could resist?!), ammo, bat signaland Titan (venom drug, essentially) for the cops. Our randomly roles scenario requires us to have everything in the middle of the table, randomly determining where and when our gang members appear - all Penguin's guys turn up turn 1 on his side, with the cops doing the same except Loeb on my choice of table edge.

I'm not going to recount this blow by blow, because then it would be marginally less interesting than one of Rimmer's Risk recounts. But I'll give you an overview and an idea, hopefully, of how the game works, as well as the feelings of those involved.

Penguin's gang are designed to feel like, well, a gang. Players take turns to move models, but henchmen are able to circumvent this - you can get your next one to act immediately on a successful die roll, which gets progressively harder (4,5,6 for the first, 5,6 for the second, 6 for the third); penguin goons start at 3+ and the radios let them reroll. It's a mechanical device that feels neatly cinematic - a march of the penguins, even. So Penguin's gang neatly trot across the table, taking key positions before I can blink. Generally, it always surprises folk how quickly you can get about, and it adds a real sense of energy.

So the cops move in. Sniper on the roof, SWAT goes for the Titan drug boost, and Loeb heads for the Bat signal. Taking my time, moving into position. That might seem at odds with what I was just saying about pace, but this is a game of resource management also. Characters have a limited pool of action tokens each turn, which you assign before anyone acts; this set of cops have the ability to change the choice of 2 actions, making them reactive, careful - cops, in other words.


We trade shots (ammo is limited - like everything in. BMG it's a finite resource); even a glancing blow can stun, and close up on the middle.

I take out Emperor penguin through a mix of gunfire and repeated punching by the swat guy, but pay the price in losing him in turn to a face full of umbrella gun. I think I've clinched it when I get the bat signal on (many bonus points) and am on the verge of winning when I finally batter through the car door that Blue is holding to take him down - only for Mr Cobblepot to waddle over, umbrella stab Loeb through the heart and flick off the signal for the win.

Despite myself, I imagine my bent surviving sidekick, Branden, happily taking a kickback from Mr C.

It's a wonderfully narrative game. My main opponent's criticism is that the reference cards are cluttered and vague, which is not unreasonable. Interestingly, both of the couple were absolutely smitten with the game - they described it as balanced, engaging and enjoyable - and immediately started planning their own Green Arrow and Wonderland gangs to get into playing. So I'd call that a success!

Thanks for reading, Bat Fans!

Graven

Yellow ain't nothin' but a color. Easy-peasy to paint. Just don't ever mix black with it, or prime black.

Good batrep. And you can always make your own, better, reference cards.

Thanks for the batrep, looked like fun.

Cool battle report. The ruin looks great on the board.

Aye, good stuff. Interesting to see a game without any really powerful 'hero' characters (but that could be because I throw in Bats, Deathstroke and Ra's whenever I can! )