45 - Black Orchid

This week I went to work on Black Orchid for the Justice League Dark Paint or Die Challenge.  This was an interesting model to work on.  I was intrigued to try and paint a pink model (a colour I have had very limited experience with), and the colour pattern on her cape looked fun.  It did not turn out how I had initially planed, I don't hate it, but I also don't love it.  It is one of those projects that you just have to call it complete or move on or it will drive you mad.

I started out by painting the whole model  Citadel (C) Screamer Pink.  I then gave it a light wash with Carroburg Crimson.  I layered back on the Screamer Pink, then worked in some C Pink Horror for the highlights.  The finial highlight was achieved by adding a little bit of white to the previous mixture. 

I then when back and painted the webbing on the head, legs and hips black.  This was then highlighted by adding small bits of Game Air Dead White to it.  I ended up painting the cape multiple times.  I originally painted it pink with the rest of the body, then painted in the negative space with black, leaving some pink dots.  It looked horrible.  So I ended up repainting the whole cape with black.  I then worked up the highlights by adding Dead White.  I used Scale 75 (S75) Inktense Black with a lot of water to glaze the highlights together.  I ended up over glazing and washed most of the highlights out.  I added the pink dots with the same system as the body (minus the Caroburg Crimson wash). I then worked up the black highlights a bit more. 

On the table Black Orchid is a bit of a mystery to me.  I am not entirely sure how to use her.  She is a low level cost at only 8.  She has fairly average stats, with the only stand outs being a strength of 4 and Fly.  Her skills are fairly defensive, Infiltrator (can be deployed anywhere on the table at the start of the game), Regeneration/1 (heal 1 damage at the end of each turn) and Power Transference/1 (can give a friendly model within 4" one power at the start of BO activation).  She also has good Physical and Energy defenses at 17 (18 for Energy when in the grey injury zone), but average for Supernatural (15) and Mind (16). 

He attacks appear OK.  Average power cost, average damage, nothing really exciting.  Her Red (once per game) Pheromones attack could be devastating in the right situation.  A spray template with a Stun/5 (loose 5 power counters) could really mess up an opponents plan. 

All her Special Powers are defensive in nature.  Impersonation means that if Black Orchid has not activated yet the enemy must pass a willpower test to attack her.  Force Field gives her Resistance/2 to Physical and Energy (But it has a power cost of 4 and is an Active ability - not reactive).  Spy blocks the opponent from activating two models consecutively, which can also be nice, but it also costs 4 power. 

I think Black Orchid biggest draw back is only having a power of 7.  It basically means that she is only doing one thing a turn.  She is ether going defensive, turning on her Force Field and saving a few power for defensive improvements, or she is going to try and fly some where and maybe get one punch in.  I could see her as an objective runner.  Infiltrate would get her close early on, then she could fly to where she needs to go and throw up her Shield to hold the ground until backup arrives.

I really don't know.  Much like Deadman, she is very different from the models I am used to playing.  I am going to have to get her on the table and try and figure out how best she works.

There is one week left for the Paint or Die Challenge, and I have one more model, Swamp Thing!

Kevin 

44 - John Constantine

I chipped away at John Constantine through out the week and finished him off late Saturday night.  This was a rewarding model to paint. I tried using some colours for basecoats that have never worked out for me in the past because I could not figure out what to highlight it with, but finally cracked it. 

I wanted dark grey for his pants, but to stand out from Jason Blood's pants.  I decided to use Scale 75 (S75) Petroleum Grey.  This is a dark grey that has almost a slight brown/purple tint to it when it dries.  I have never used it right.  This time I mixed in some S75 Artic Blue for the highlights.  The light tones of the blue mixed well with the purple hue of the grey.  To darken the pants after the highlights and to add more shadow I did a light glaze of watered down black. 

I also wanted his trench coat to stand out from Jason's jacket.  I chose to go with an old Flames of War colour, US Field Drab.  It is a beige with a slight yellow tint.  I did the highlights by adding in Citadel (C) Pallid Wych Flesh.  I then used some watered down S75 Dubai Brown with a drop of black to add some shadows to the recesses.     

I got the dirty blonde hair by using a mix of Vallego (V) Middlestone and V Beige Brown.  I then added S75 Birch for the highlights. 

From looking at his rules I imagine that John Constantine will play the roll of hard to kill support.  He has good power level at 10, then fairly basic human stats for everything else.  A Willpower 12 is nice though.  He is slow, but does have access to a Blue/3 Power 14" Teleport move.  He has slightly below average defense for Physical and Energy defense with a 14, but great Mind and Supernatural defense with an 18.  However his low defenses are mitigated by a few of his special abilities. 

First is Charm.  Any model that wants to attack him has to first pass a Willpower test.  It is super annoying in BMG, I cant imagine it is any less annoying in DCU.  Secondly if Constantine is targeted by an attack, he can redirect it toward a different friendly model within 2 inches with Final Fate (once per turn).  Basically it is a reverse body guard.  Although he has to chose to do this before using this Charm rule. 

His Dirty Cheater ability is very reliable.  It allows you to choose the defense of the model you are attacking and the attack also ignores resistances (so if Constantine is throwing a Fire Bolt, which is usually Supernatural Damage, at Enchantress, who has high Supernatural defense, Constantine can choose to role against he Physical defense of 15 instead.  Making it easier to hit her and now the attack ignores her Supernatural Resistance/1). 

His attacks have a fairly high power cost (3 and 4) for relatively lower damage (1 and 2 mainly).  However all his attacks have a great effects.  His Fire Bolt is an explosive 2 (everyone within 2" gets hit).  The Magic Seal has Ensnare/8 (-8" to movement).  Mind Tricks has Stun/3 (-3 Power counters) and Dazzle/3 (-3 Mind Defense).  Hellfire is a spray template with Ensnare/3 (-3" movement).  He can really slow people down and hurt them if they clump together. 

His skills go nicely with his support/harassment role.  Luck Allows him to re-roll a single die each turn.  Mastermind adds an addition turn counter to the bag for his team.  Power Thief allows him to steal power from people he hits with close combat attacks (and for some reason the exploding Fire Bolt attack is a close combat attack).  Strategist gives his team an additional "pass" during activation. 

Constantine is not dealing the damage of Zatana, nor is he the brute force of Blood/Etrigan.  He is however survivable, effective and super annoying!

The Justice League Dark is coming together, two models left.  Up next with Black Orchid. 

Kevin

40 - Batmite! and a Custom Scenario!

Around two years ago one of the Batman Facebook groups had Scenario contest.  The goal was the submit an original scenario for BMG to be judged by the admins.  The winner would receive that years GenCon exclusive model, Batmite!

I love to write (hence the blog), and I love to come up with new scenarios for the games.  I wrote up a few (I think I submitted 3 in the end).  The admins liked my submissions and the Batmite was mine!  I was really proud to have won a contest (even if it was an online Facebook one!).  I even got to try out the scenarios with our gaming group during our next campaign. 

Sadly Batmite kept getting bumped back on my painting queue.  Part of it was that he is a Legend Rank, which means he is not usable in standard play.  I also did not have a lot of nostalgia for the character.  I knew who he was, but not much more.

Luck would have it, I recently found the prefect excuse to finally get Batmite painted up.  A new megabattle at Lords of War with a fresh custom scenario (seems poetic).   I got the little guy painted up over a few days of off and on painting.  I was trying out some new colours, some of which did not work.  However I light glaze with Contrast Leviadon Blue really helped. 

Since I dont really plan on playing Batmite in a regular game, I am not going to go into details on his rules here (but maybe if I get my hands on a Batman of Zur En Arrh I will).  I will however post the new scenario for the megabattle on November 3rd at Lords of War. 

Scenario:  Batmite At Your Service

Overview:  A misguided attempt to be helpful from Batmite, has turned the heroes and villains of Gotham city into miniature toy versions of themselves.  The only person that can undo this calamity is Batmite himself, but he is having too much fun playing with his new “friends”.  It is up to you and your friends to find Batmite and stop your enemies before they get their hands on his power. 

Crews:  You may bring two models, only one of which may be over 100 rep.  Both models much be from the same Crew/Team or be Free Agents.  Each model may take a single piece of equipment if it can usually take anything
. 
Game Length: 6 rounds or when we run out of time

Objectives:  There will be 5 Objectives.  There will be a Ammo Crate in Team 1’s deployment zone that only Team 2 can score.  There will be a Medical Supply in Team 2’s deployment zone that only Team 1 can score.  There will be a set of Safes, a Loot, and Fire Barrel in no-man-land that anyone can score.

Victory Conditions:  Victory points are earned in the usual ways (controlling objectives and KO/Casualties).  The side with the most VPs at the end of the game will be victorious.   

Special Rules:

The Damn Batmite:  At the end of every recount phase the Game Organizer will role a D8. On a roll of 2-7 the Batmite Model will be place in contact with the corresponding objective (2-Ammo, 3-Safe1, 4-loot, 5-fire Barrel, 6 Safe2, 7 Medical Supplies).  On a roll of 1 Team 1 may place the Batmite model in base contact with any objective that they choose.  On a roll of 8, Team 2 may place the Batmite model in base contact with any objective that they choose. 

Any objective that Batmite is touching is worth an additional VP.  In addition, the first time either side takes a “Pass”, the game Organizer will activate Batmite.  Batmite will never move away from an objective, but will use his powers indiscriminately (as best the game organizer sees fit – what is most entertaining, funny, dramatic, or thematic). 

If Batmite takes any damage of any kind, he immediately disappears, the model is removed from the board.  The objective is no longer worth an additional VP.  At the end of the recount phase replace Batmite as per the above rules.  When Batmite is replaced all damage previously accrued is removed.  He also ignores the “reload” rule for his “Energy Projection” attack.

Kung-Fu Grip:  All player models gain the KaPow!!! Special Attack (after all, the best action figures come with the kung-fu grip)

Can’t hit the Broadside of a Barn:  All weapons with the “Firearm” rule gain “Imprecise” (when was the last time a GI-JOE was actually shot).

When I was a Kid...:  All models gain the “Resilient” trait.  (Back in my day, toys where built to last, and not fall apart two days after you take them out of the box).

Kevin

39 - Zatanna

While I was at Adepticon earlier in the year, I played in the DCU tournament.  I batted the cycle (win, loss and draw) and placed 3rd overall.  I got to choose a prize from a pile of donated items.  I went with Zatanna.

She was a model that I have wanted to pick up for a while, but just never got around to it.  She is also a wonderful character in the comics (I am really enjoying the current Justice League Dark title with Wonder Woman). 

I tried out some more shading and glazing that Dai Viet had shown me a few months ago.  Instead of going my usual dark base-coat then highlighting up; I went with a mid-tone base-coat.  I then added shades to the recesses and then added some highlights as well.  This is evident in the white shirt.  I also did some glazing with Incubi Darkness over the black/grey highlighted tuxedo jacket to give it a blue hue.

I also tried highlighting the face more naturally.  I focused my highlights to the forehead, nose, lips and chin.  Then added some red/brown shade to the cheeks for shadows.  I did the same for the legs but then added a few coats of Contrast Skeleton Horde mixed with Lahmian Medium to get the nylon effect. 

In BMG she is pretty amazing.  She is a free agent for Brave and the Bold, and she is a little costly at 108 rep, and $400 funding.  She has Leader level stats with Willpower 8 and endurance 7.  Defense and Special 4 is also very nice.

She has an incredible magical damage output potential.  She has a Magical Power: 6, and can use Elemental, Divination, and Eldritch.  This gives her access to both Magic Bolt and Eldrith Bolt, which could do a combined 6 blood damage in a single turn.  Then in the same turn she could also use her regular shooting attack that has a rate of fire 2, double blood, light, throwing, s-rage, magic, fire!.  If she hits well she could do 10 blood a turn to an unlucky soul.  She is also a Homo Magi, so she gets +1 to her magical power willpower tests.

With her Distort Magic trait, she can also stay safe while casting her spells.  It allows her to pick a spot within 4 inches of her, and she can cast spells as if she was at that point.  It gives her a bit more range to her spells, and she can do it from around corners. 

If the enemies get close, she also has access to Hover.  This would make her hit on 6s in hand to hand, but any knocked down effect or if she was KO will result in her taking double blood.  I know my luck, and it seems very steep price.  Though she does have access to the Magical Healing spell, so maybe it is worth the risk. 

I have not looked at her to in-depth for DCU.  She looks like she has some great abilities and some solid high damage magical attacks.  But she also looks a bit squishy and has a high level cost.  I will have to player her to find out. 

Up next is some stuff for the up coming BMG Megabattle on November 3rd.

Kevin

37 - Bale-man and a Death Eater

Last Saturday (September 21st) was Batman day, a day to celebrate one of the more recognized heroes in the comic and film world-wide.  I wanted to do something to celebrate.  I decided that I would try to paint a new Batman model from Knight Models in a single day, start to finish.  I had the new Dark Knight Rises starter set sitting by my desk, so I chose to paint up Christian Bale Batman. 

I was looking after my daughter for the afternoon, so as soon as she went down for her nap, I put on The Dark Knight Rises and put paint to model.  I made some good progress with layering the grays and glazing them back down with some black.  The model was coming along nicely and with good time, it does help when he is 90% one colour.

Then the doorbell rang.  By the time I cleaned my brush and ran down the stairs the bell rang again.  It was an amazon delivery.  I signed for it and crept back up the stairs, hoping that the disturbance did not wake the sleeping child.  It was not to be.  I could hear my daughter start to stir.  It was not a bad thing.  She woke up and we cuddled and finished watching Batman defeat Bane and save Gotham together.

After she went to sleep for the night, I started back on the model.  I put on the Dark Knight and by the time the credits started to role, Bale-man was done. 

Bale-man in probably the best Batman in the Knight Models game.  He has one of the highest movement values with a 4 (double Bat-fleck).  He has the softer Bat-armour MKII, but that also gives him an extra inch of movement.  He is also the only Batman with Arrest.  So he can lay down a beating and then finish the job.

He is also very counter  efficient due to his Combo-Unarmed.  His only draw back is no re-roll to hit, and there will always be a Bat-wiff at some point.  However if he can pull off a Sneak Attack then he does gain +1 to hit due to Master of Stealth and with his high movement he should be able to do it more often then not. 

While the glazes were drying on Bale-man, I did a little work on my first Harry Potter model, a generic Death Eater from the starter set.   I was trying out the new contrast paints for this model.  I used the airbrush to do a zenithil highlight of white over a black base.  I then did two coats of Basilicanum Grey.  To add a little colour I then used a bit of Warp Lighting on the sash.  I finished him off with a gold mask (although I think I will probably go with a silver one next time).  It wont win any painting contests, but it was quick and time efficient.  I look forward to playing around with the contrast paints more in the future. 

 Kevin

14 - "They Watch You In Your Bed"

I went from painting the larger Knight Models Batman figures of Clayface and King Shark, to painting one of the smallest, Damian Wayne.  I love this Damian model and had a lot of fun painting it.  I started by blocking out all the colours.  The highlights and shading followed rather quickly.  I used a lot of layering and glazing.

I was very torn between which head to give Damian.  The box comes with two, one with the hood down wearing the traditional domino mask and one with the hood up wearing a Court of Owls mask.  In the end I decided to go with the owl mask, since I was planning on taking Damian to Adepticon in my Court of Owls crew.

Damian Wayne is a beast (if not a bit of a glass cannon) in the game.  He has some good mid-level stats (mostly fours).  The Willpower and Endurance of 5 is not the greatest.  However he is only 60 rep and counts as a henchman.  He is also a tri-affiliate, he can be used in Brave and the Bold, League of Shadows and Court of Owls.

He has alot of the rules most of the Robins before him had; Acrobat, Batclaw, Detective, Martial Artist.  This Robin also has Small (bonus to pings) and True Love: Talia al Ghul.  The Invaluable rule (this model is worth an additional VP is made a casualty) seems bad at first, but then I remember Damian is only a henchman so he is not worth much VP to begin with.  

He also has a new rule, Mentoring.  This limits Damian Wayne to only a single piece of equipment.  It turns all the blood damage that he inflicts into stun if he is used in a Brave and the Bold Crew.  However he then gains Boy Wonder (enemies cant re-roll hits against him) and True Love Bruce Wayne.  If there is a Bruce Wayne in the crew then he also gains True Love Damian.

He wields arguably the best close combat weapon in the game, the Katana.  This is then combined with Combo: Katana (bonus attack dice for every 2 attack counter spent).  So a basic maxed out Damian can use 4 Attack Counters but makes 6 attacks, dealing a potential 12 blood damage!  This can be made even worse in a League of Shadows crew.  If Damian is near the leader for an Inspire (bonus Counter) and Goro for his Kill Them (bonus Attack Counter), Damian could then make 9 attacks, dealing 18 blood damage...

Five more models left for my Adepticon crew; Styx, Lincoln and 3 owls!  

Kevin 

 

93/100 - Crimes Worst Nightmare

This week I was able to finish painting Nightmare Batman from the Batman V Superman movie.  This is the Batman from the futuristic nightmare scene where Batman is fighting a whole bunch of armed goons wearing the Superman logo.  Eventually Superman shows up and you see a swarm of Paradeamons in the background.  

I had some difficulties painting this model.  I was trying out some more of the techniques that I learned at my painting class a few weeks ago.  I was not happy with some of the glazing that I did.  Most parts of this model ended up being repainted 2 or 3 times.  In the end I decided to try and blend my old style of painting with a little bit of the glazing to tie the highlights together.

I also decided to try and focus more on the lighting source for this model.  I still over highlighted in parts, but it is much more toned down then usual.  I was happy with the results and will just have to practice some more.

I am really looking forward to using this model in BMG.  He has the same stat-line as Bat-fleck but looses "Batcape" (Don't take fall damage and can drop down etc) and "Sustained Defense" (for every 2 defense dice spent to block an attack you roll 3 dice).  Nightmare Batman does gain "Mixed Combat Style" (Can shoot and punch in the same activation).  He also trades his Batlings for an Automatic Gun and a Custom MG.  The original Bat-fleck is more defensive and the Nightmare Bat-fleck is all offensive!  

If Nightmare Bat-fleck is already in combat, he can drop 5 of his 8 action counters in attack, and then put 2 into special.  He can then activate "Mixed Combat Style" and use his Automatic Gun to shoot (since it has "light") for 3 shots, then follow it up with 5 punching attacks.  His punching attacks also get to be rerolled if missed (due to Close Combat Master).  He can put a total of 13 Stun Damage and 3 Blood Damage on some unlucky thugs.

If he is not in combat yet, you can put one counter into movement, 4 into attack and 3 into special.  You could then shoot with his Custom MG, Batclaw and move 12 inches into contact with the same (or different) target and punch him 4 times.  Max damage total: 6 Blood and 8 Stun.

I don't think there will be much finesse with this Batman.  I really want to team him with Rick Flag or new Gordon for the GCPD gun-line!   

I also made a quick BMD/DCU Victory Point counter yesterday.  This was a bit of a rough mock up to see how well it works.  I just made a pie chart in word and resized it to fit on a larger GW round base.  I then wrote 1-24 around the outside of the base.  Since some games can go above 24 VP, I added a second circle of numbers 25-48 on the inside.  I then added a magnet to the bottom of the large base and another one to a medium base.  I found an old Hero Click model (I will eventually repaint it) and glued it and a metal washer to a small base.  Lastly I painted on a yellow indicator to both bases.  Once I score more then 24 VP, I pop off the medium base and go around again.  

I got a few models to build over the next few days before I get back to painting, Red Hood, SWAT conversion and King Shark I am looking at you.

Kevin

92/100 - Rebirth Batgirl

I have been trying to improve my painting skill over the last year.  I am happy with how I paint right now, but it has not evolved during the last decade (well, maybe it is a bit cleaner now).  So I have branched out and have started to try new techniques.  I finally picked up an airbrush earlier in the year and have began to dabble with that.  I experimented with some of Scale 75 Inktense paint and tried staining.  Now I am trying some glazing and paying attention to light sources.

The thing that has helped me when try something new is having a wealth of knowledge in my local hobby community.   We have so many great painters locally, each with their own distinctive style.  I like looking in the display cases at Lords of War and being able to tell who painted what based on techniques used.  If I want to know how a colour on a specific model was accomplished, all I have to do is ask, and the painter is more then happy to walk me through it.

This past week I was able to sit down with Dai Viet and he walked me through thinking about light sources and glazing.  Dai Viet worked together at GW a very long time ago.  If you are near Lords of War in Oakville drop in and check out a few of his armies, you will not be disappointed! We sat down for a few hours and finished painting most of Rebirth Batgirl.  The lesson started with the airbrush to apply a white zenithel highlight over the black basecoat.  We then went on to blocking out the colours.  We then applied some built up highlights with very watered down white, then started the glaze layers.  Finally we went back in with a dark colour to add some more shadows to the recesses and creases. 

The tip that Dai Viet gave that I had never considered before was the direction of the brushstroke.  When applying the layer you want to move the brush from the lighter to darker area.  Start out with small strokes and work your way back.  Just that one tip made a big difference for me.  The session was a great help, and I am very thankful for it. 

The final result was OK.  With any new technique there is bound to be some growing pains (I still hate painting yellow!).  I am looking forward to practicing this method and cleaning up my brush control on future projects. 

I finished painting my Rebirth Batgirl in the same week that my old Batgirl got a resin re-release and a rules bump.  Both versions of Batgirl have near identical stat lines, with the only exceptions being that the original Batgirl now has defense 5.  Their Batlings are the same (but the original Batgirl has an extra ammo).  They also both have the following skills; Batclaw, Batcape, Combo Unarmed, Informer, and Stealth. 

Their different skills are: Rebirth Batgirl has Reinforced Gloves (unarmed attacks deal 2 Stun) and Tracking (end of the turn move D6 inches).  While the original one has Martial Artist (Cant be outnumbered in combat) and Sneak Attack (attacks cant be blocked if Batgirl could not have been seen at the start of her activation). 

I like the combo with the reinforced gloves on Rebirth Batgirl, but I would really have to pick my battles.  Without Martial Artist and only Defense 4 she can go down really quick if she gets outnumbered.  I think that the original one will be a good objective grabber.  Not having her Defense drop when outnumbered due to Martial Artist and a Defense of 5 makes her very tough to drop.  She can get to an objective and just sit on it (maybe throw a Batling or two). 

Both would be great in the new Bat-family Team list.  With everyone having Teamwork 1 (All), Batgirl becomes a action counter battery for the heavy hitters in the crew!

I think I will have to use both a few times before I am sold on either one. 

Kevin

29/100 - Another Caped Crusader

Last Saturday, I was able to attend a beginners' airbrush class by Pat from The Artisan's Edge, hosted by Lords of War Games and Hobbies.  Pat is an amazing painter, and very skilled in the use of airbrushes.  He was great at troubleshooting and helping work through some problems I was having.  The attendance was kept to around 6 people for this class.  So we all got a lot of great one-on-one help. 

I started the class working on some more Spirit Hosts for my Legion of Nagash army.  I ran into some problems while I was working on the white highlights.  Apparently white is a pain in the ass colour to use with either a brush or an airbrush.  The paint kept coming out in blobs.  I originally thought it was because I did not thin the paint enough but it turns out I had the PSI on the compressor too low.

We had learned in the class that when you want to do base-coats or covering a large area you should have the PSI a little higher (around 30).  Then when you are working on more fine details you can drop the PSI low (around 7-10).  Since I was working on some highlights on the ghosts I figured keep the PSI low.

However I found out that the pigment in white (and yellow) paint is heavier than other paints and tends to come out blotchy if the PSI is too low.  Pat got me to turn the PSI up to about 15 and the white went on much smoother. 

I wanted to try working on a smaller model while I was in the class.  So I picked my Batman from the resin Batman starter set.  I figured this would be a good model to try out the airbrush on.  If it really did not turn out, I had no plans on using him in a game.  If I use a Batman I like to use Bat-fleck.  I know my luck with rolling dice and Bat-fleck can re-roll combat dice (less chance at a bat-whiff). 

Pat showed me how to highlight the back of the cape.  I then did the front of the cape and the cowl/head (minus the skin) on my own with the airbrush.  I was very happy with the final product.  I then finished the model with a regular brush and paint.  I really like how it turned out, now I feel that I have to use the model in a game soon. 

By the end of the class I felt much more confident using my airbrush, especially when highlighting.  I feel that I am starting to build some control with the brush. 

It is a great class and I highly recommend it.  Keep an eye on the Lords of War Facebook page for the next time Pat will be running it.  If you want to be inspired (or humbled) be sure to check out Pat's work over at The Artisan's Edge.

I am going to finish up another dwarf for my Hobbit project soon, then I think I will turn my attention to some Discworld models that I have had on my desk for a while.

Kevin

21/100 - Nightwing, the Original Robin

I did not plan to paint anything this week.  I picked up the new Legions of Nagash Battletome and was working my way through it.  I am getting really excited to get more of my Death Alliance done (one of my hobby goals is a 2000pts Age of Sigmar army).  A while back a good friend of mine, Josh, was leaving the country (something about a pile of dead badgers I think) and needed to unload some of his models.  He sent a few boxes of Undead stuff my way.

It really helped my army grow as it was mainly models that I did not already have (Morgasts, Mortarch, Coven Thrown etc).  Have I mentioned how amazing Josh is?  Now if you know Josh he is allergic to everything, including keeping his models in cases.  So I figured that I would take a week off painting and repair some models. I got threw most of them (just Nagash left...). 

I got up early saterday morning  and decided to do a little painting before my wife and baby woke up.  I started to work on the vampire Lord Konrad, who I plan to use as a regular vampire lord on foot. Since I was painting the bats that make up his cloak black, I figured I would paint another model that was sitting on my "to-do" list for a few months that was also predominately black, Nightwing.

I did not plan on finishing either model that day.  However once I finsihed the black I realized that Nightwing was 90% done (it does help when a model is wearing a two colour onesie).


The only problem I had with this model was when I came to do the eyes.  I could not get the eyes even.  I probably painted them about 8 times and every time it looked fine at first, but then way off when I moved the model.  It finally dawned on me that there was a slight flash line going threw his right eye that was throwing it off... So I did the best I could with out having to scrape half his face off.

I also recently picked up an airbrush.  I have tired to use it twice...lets just say there is going to be a steep learning curve.  I had much more success today though.  A big thank you to Chris, Jay and Dai Viet at Lords of War for the troubleshooting.  I am really looking forward to the Airbrush Class with Pat from Artisan's Edge in a few weeks.    

I should be able to finish up the vampire lord early next week and put the finishing touched on my first airbrush models, a unit of Spirit Hosts. 

Kevin

16/100 Cyborg and the Multiverse

The world of comic books can be a weird place.  Especially when all the stories and characters that are produced by one company share a united universe.  DC created a early version of the Multiverse back in 1940 when it published the Justice Society of America.  This was very rudimentary shared universe, it brought together heroes from their own publication into a single title.

Years later in the Silver Age of Comics (late 1950 till 1970) DC relaunch one of the most powerful characters, The Flash.  The Flash ran so fast that he went to a different universe, inhabited by the Golden age (1940s-1950s) heroes.  This lead to the first "Crisis" titles, Crisis of Earth One.  Over the years there have been many "crises".

Why do I bring this up now?  I have been working on another special DCU event for a store Birthday Party at my local retail shop, Lords of War Games and Hobbies.  You my remember a few months ago we ran a large DCU game called Invasion.  We saw the Justice League take on and Endless swarm of Paradeamons and Darkseid himself.  Each side was about 150+ levels!  It was a blast.
 
For the birthday celebration we wanted to run another DCU themed scenario game.  Chris liked the idea of doing one based on Crisis on Infinite Earths.  So we started to brain storm ideas.  One of the problems with running a big themed game is; what do you do when two people want to bring the same character?  For the Invasion game each side talked about it and everyone decided which characters to use.  For a game featuring the multiverse, we had a unique opportunity.

I made 20 Multiverse cards.  Each character will get one card at the beginning of the game.  The cards have a brief description of that earth as well as one or two upgrades that that character gains for the game.  This way everyone could bring Superman, but everyone would have a slightly different Superman.

Here are a few examples of the cards:

I wanted to paint a new model for the game.  For Invasion I painted up Starfire.  So I figured that I would continue with the Teen Titan trend and paint up another member (well former member), Cyborg.  This model was fun to paint.  The Scale 75 metallic paints are very nice to work with.  I painted the red on this model twice because I was not happy with how I originally did it.  This was my second attempt at painting a darker skin tone and I think it turned out much better.

So remember that next Saturday (February 10th) is the birthday celebration at Lords of War Games and Hobbies.  Come by and check it out, and bring a DCU (or Marvel) mini and partake in "Crisis on Infinite Earths"!

Kevin

Hey Lou, get the bean bag gun

It took a while but I finally finished the final Arkahm Guard.  This was one of those models where I was just not happy with how it was turning out from the beginning.  So I ended up putting it aside for a few weeks.  When I finally picked up a brush again it only took a few hours to touch up and finish off. 

This guard has done fairly average in the two games that I have used him.  The stun damage riot gun is decent.  I do like that it has a good range and comes with 3 ammo.  He probably would have done better in both game if I had remembered that he (and all the other cops/guards I was using) had the "Arrest" rule.

All that is left to paint in my current Brave and the Bold crew is Nightwing.  I will be starting on this soon.  However I have been painting a lot of Batman minis this year, I may take a bit of a break over the next few weeks to work on some Warmaster and Battle of Five Army models. 

Kevin

Arkham Guard Reporting for Duty

I have been writing this blog for 5 years now.  That baffles me.  I started posting in an attempt to stay connected with the hobby community; to which I was feeling estranged at the time.  I had spent the previous two years focusing on college.  I was not able to hang out with my gaming friends due to my job and homework.  I was still painting models and terrain, but I was not really playing any games.  I thought that posting about what I was working on would helped me to reconnect with old friends (and new ones).

Now, half a decade later I am still writing (ok...there was a year that posts were very sporadic).  However my reasons for writing have changed.  I am now fairly involved at my local independent retailer.  I am part of the Lords of War Batman/DCU league and helped run a few events.  I have an online presence in a few hobby groups.  I am no longer writing to stay connected, I am connected.

I write now for posterity.  I write because I enjoy looking back on what I have completed.  I associate events in my life with projects that I was working on at that time.  For example, when I look back at the suicide squad that I painted last year.  I remember painting them at my desk that I moved into the back of my living room.  I moved my desk out there because we had a family member staying in our spare room for the holidays.  When I re-read those posts I remember hanging out with family in the living room, watching holiday movies.  For me it is not just the words but the feelings as well.

In the future when I look back to these last posts I will remember the first weeks home with my baby daughter.  I will remember sitting down to paint the Arkham Guards for a few minutes here and there while the baby ate or slept.  I will remember replaying Arkham City with the baby asleep on my chest.  I will remember the joy, love and debilitating sleep deprivation that this new phase brought.

So I continue now with the second member of the Arkham Guards.  I finished up the assault riffle guard over the last week.  I have never tried to paint a darker skin tone before, it turned out OK.  The base-coat that I used really did not go on well.  Any suggestions for how to paint darker skin?

I played a game last weekend and this model was spectacular.  The table was really set up for its advantage (the table was set up by a neutral third party).  He was on the highest piece of terrain with plenty of lights all around.  The unlimited range and 3 blood damage forced my opponent to think about this guy at all times.

Starfire was also very solid.  She put out a lot of blood damage early on, and could take a good number of hits due to her "Invulnerability".  The new Nightwing was good too.  He bat-wiffed in his first round of hand-to-hand combat, but his speed and ability to get around the board more then made up for it.     

There is another reason I write this blog, I enjoy writing it (...or maybe it is the whiskey I drink white I write it...).  One more Arkham Guard to go!


Kevin

Return to Arkham

I was really excited about the new resin models that came with second editions.  I really wanted every set!  In the end I went with the new Batman and Arkham Guards starter set and the Nightwing single.  The models are really nice.  I only had a problem with the assault rifle guard.  He had some really bad mold lines that I needed to file, fill with liquid green stuff, then file again. 

We are going to be starting a new campaign at Lords of Wargames and Hobbies this weekend.  I am going to play my Brave and the Bold crew, however with one alteration; no Batman.  I am using some cops and the three new Arkahm Guards.  The crew will be lead by the new Nightwing, with Starfire backing him up.  I got Starfire a little while ago and have not had a chance to try her out.  I do like the thematic feel of Nightwing and Starfire together. 

I was able to finish up one of the guards for the start of the campaign.  I am very happy how the blue uniforms turned out.  I am not overly satisfied with the vest.  I started with a grey base that I though was going to be much darker.  After some highlights it was far to bright, so I used some watered down black to bring it back down, but it just ended up washing the highlights out.  I will try something different for the next guard (then revisit this one). 

It felt good to get some paint on a model after taking a break for a few weeks, but it was the best break of my life.

Kevin