Time to relax, and an update

Things are winding down here on the blog for the next week or so.

We're away on holiday in the Lake District for a few days, but more importantly away from work, and life in general, which is burning me out. There will be no internet in our cottage there so for the first time in… ever, I will be cut off from the rest of the world. Just us, a corner shop, 5 pubs and a Michelin star restaurant in the village which will be great! There is a minor pit-stop in Wigan on the way to meet up with the family for lunch – this may or may not add to the stress level, we will see.

I've been desperate to get some painting time in but end up building something new instead for the blog or the Malcontent project. I was considering having a few posts on a scheduled publish but decided I didn't need the extra work – there's nothing ongoing that can't wait.

Had another game of Malifaux last night against Rasputina. I have been mixing up my Guild team for the last few weeks, introducing the Guardian who is causing Fugs a few problems. This week the construct teamed up with Sonnia, Sam and Nino plus a couple of Mercs and the totem. Raspy brought her new toy too – Snow Storm. We rolled Shared Distract which made for a lot of fun.

Highlights included the Convict Gunslinger getting multiples of Trigger Happy against Sam, causing a lot of wounds and finishing him off with a Red Joker – not sure there was much left after that. This was swiftly followed by Nino Headshotting Hans, and having just blown all his cards against Sam, Fugs had nothing to discard so Hans died.

Having charged into combat with the Guardian and Totem, Snow Storm (with a Gamin in tow) was having a field day but couldn't quite finish things off. Sonnia stepped in with her Runesword and killed the big man who exploded in great style taking out the Guardian, Totem and Gamin in one go – that's how to clear the room – only Sonnia left standing. In the final turn Rasputina had frozen Sonnia in place unable to get across the halfway mark of the board for her points and standing within a few inches of halfway herself. Unfortunately Fugs got a rush of blood to the head and had two shots at a nearby Witchling (which were both dispelled by Sonnia) only to realise that his final AP would only get him 3" nearer to my side of the table – 1" short!!…gutted.

We've got some time to go away and contemplate the outcome and conjure up new ideas.

Building Avatar Kirai: part 2

Post number 150 on the-dark-templar blog continues the Avatar Kirai build.

Read Part 1 here

I drilled pin holes, and fitted pins, into the shoudlers of the monster, filling the excess to ensure it was a solid fit (above). I had also started to fill in the gaps where the monster and Kirai parts met – help give the illusion that the monster is coming out of Kirai.

I finished off grinding off the sleeve hems and drilled pin holes in the arms ready to attach. The pin was slightly out on one side so the monster's left arm was a little low. I added some additional greenstuff when I filled in the gaps and everything looked good.

I also drilled a pin hole and fitted a pin to Kirai's outstretched hand. Given the (relatively) tiny scale of the arm I had to be careful.

I attached her arm and started to add more greenstuff around the base of the monster. At this stage – aside for some greenstuff on Kirai's arm – the model istelf is complete.

The only thing left to do is attached the model to my custom Bamboo base and add details. As I've mentioned previously, I will be casting up the 50mm Bamboo master (once complete) not only to make it available as part of my Malcontent project but also to give a more solid base on which to pin this model, just like my Avatar Sonnia.

Critical Mass Games – Hiring Cheap Mercenaries!

I've known the guys at Critical Mass Games for many years. They're based in my hometown of Wigan in the north west of England, but ironically I didn't meet them until I had moved 250 miles south to Kent. They have always been what I considered 'real gamers', the kind I spoke about in my Malifaux intro a few weeks back that don't get hung up on individual games or companies and will pretty much play anything if it looks like fun.

So it wasn't (much of) a surprise when I discovered that Craig and Dale had set up Critical Mass Games and were developing rules and figures for a 15mm sci-fi tabletop wargame. I have seen (from a distance) the company and game system develop and grow, visited them several times at the Salute show in London, and got sneak peeks and behind the scenes exclusives whenever I visited Wigan.

Being a graphic designer by trade I've been eager to help them out when I can. Whilst most of the groundwork was already being done by their artist Rob, I've managed to add my own thumbprint in there by helping to develop their logo and packaging and (eventually) the new all singing and dancing rulebook.

In addition to creating their own rules they have tied in with Robin Fitton's 15mm Gruntz skirmish rules system, which gives their fantastic miniatures even more application. I mean, how cool are some of these Mercenary miniatures?!

Talking of which, the Critical Mass Games website is running a 20% SALE on the entire Mercenary line of figures at the moment, so it is an ideal opportunity to pick up some of these cool minis. All bias aside, I am looking at the possibility of adding some unique looking totems to my Malifaux crews – you don't have to only use them for 15mm games!

You can find the CMG website at http://www.criticalmassgames.com

Their full line of Mercenaries can be found here, although I strongly recommend you browse the entire site; they have some great vehicles, building and terrain and I know for a fact that the casting quality of these models is fantastic! Just ask Doc Bungle!