The Dark Templar Meets The Joey Berry…

++ Go to ebay and see the auction here ++

It was one of those ideas that seemed pure genius at the time. As part of the Tale of 3 Painters auction I would take the finished models down to Plymouth and have a game against the famous Joey Berry. Emails were exchanged and arrangements made. It was a long way to go (for us living in the UK) but it would be a good laugh and help raise awareness about the project.

As the time to leave got closer I thought I could tweak the schedule slightly. Michael, one of my fellow painters, couldn't make it down to Plymouth so, given that he lived (relatively) close to me it would be great to pop in and say hello, thank him in person and let him see the models up close. Andy was also finding it difficult to get time away from work and the week before I left I decided to extend the journey further and 'pop' by Swindon also. This took me no further out of my way than a visit to Michael but the combined visits would almost double my journey time. People said I was mad but it seemed a great opportunity to meet my fellow bloggers.

I left at 9am on Sunday and reached Michael within a couple of hours – the road to Westham (#2 on the map below) being clogged up by tractors and Bradley Wiggins wannabes. Michael was full of enthusiasm and a finer gentleman you will not meet. It was great to catch up, exchange our painting stories and thoughts behind the project and auction to come. I got to see his painting table and a whole host of his models. We took a few photos and then it was time for me to be on my way. I felt very buoyed after that and was looking forward to the rest of my journey.

The next hour proved a little tricky. The road up to the motorway was heavy with traffic and, although I pretty much knew the way, the SatNav wanted me to go further West and a battle of wills ensued. Eventually I gave in to shut her up and before I knew it I was passing Gatwick airport and moving a little faster than 30mph. I arrived in Swindon (#3) pretty much as scheduled and Andy was there to greet me – a very affable chap it has to be said, if somewhat camera shy. I have been trading emails for a long time now, exchanging painting thoughts and comments, so it was great to finally meet him. He has the luxury of a painting ROOM in his house, not to mention display cabinets – I'm very jealous indeed. He is a very talented painter and I was lucky enough to see some of his recent Infinity models that he has on the go. But before I could settle it was time to go again – the road to Plymouth awaited.

Three hours later I arrived at the Premier Inn in Lockyers Quay and flaked out for the remainder of the evening. It was at this point that I received a text message from Joey. The guys at the Giant's Lair (the gaming venue where we were due to play) had decided that they couldn't open up at midday after all and the venue wouldn't be available until 6pm. Given Joey's busy schedule and my long journey home this pretty much derailed any thoughts of having our exhibition game. The fact that arrangements had been in place for several weeks it really hacked me off at first, especially after the long journey and cost involved for me to come down to Plymouth. However, one mug of tea later I had chilled out about it. We made some sketchy alternative plans instead.

Luckily Monday was sunny and Plymouth is a wonderful place to be in the sun. I caught up with Joey at 11.30 and we sat down in a beer garden to chat about the project and have a little interview. She spent a long time filming the models themselves to add as part of her video. The quality of her video camera means you really get to see them in all their glory.

Once that was done she took me on a mini tour of the Barbican area of Plymouth and some very Malifaux-esque streets and cobbled alleyways. We gave Hoffman and the crew a run out so they could stretch their legs and see the sights.

Joey and I grabbed a couple of seats outside a pub – it'd be rude not to in the lovely weather – and had a good old chat about gaming, tournament experiences and models we're painting. I got to pick her brain about how she became the YouTube phenomenon that is The Joey Berry and where she goes from here. She's been swept up in something of a whirlwind since starting with wargaming and, at the risk of sounding over-dramatic, it has changed her life. She is a very genuine individual who is very generous with her time and happy to help out any fellow wargamer if she can – one look at her schedule proves this beyond doubt. She is just as upbeat and friendly in person as she is in her videos and happy to chat all day about gaming.

Of course she's had her fair share of negative comments, critics and haters which could easily have killed confidence and desire to continue in a lesser mortal. However, she is a strong character and treats it all now as water off a duck's back. She's bursting with enthusiasm and ideas yet has her feet firmly on the ground – she's definitely doing it for all the right reasons. After spending an afternoon chatting with her, I have to say, I am now a definite fan of Joey and excited to see some of her upcoming and future endeavours come to fruition. Watch this space!

One final check to make sure that the video and sound levels were good then it was time to head back. I took a shorter route home, cutting across country towards London and managed to avoid the rush hour traffic and get home at 8pm.

657 miles in 35 hours –I've met two very talented painters, one YouTube celeb and visited a wonderful part of the country that I haven't seen before. I may not have got my game of Malifaux but it was a very worthwhile trip. Meeting and chatting to these fellow painters and gamers on this trip has given me a boost in energy and passion for our hobby. There are inspiring individuals out there doing wonderful things and their enthusiasm is infectious.

The video interview is now live on Joey's YouTube channel – go and see it here!

Charity Malifaux Crew Complete…

As post number 100 for this year it is only fitting that it be a cracker!

++ Go to ebay and see the auction here ++ 

As you know, just about a month ago A Tale of 3 Painters charity project was started. We managed to finish painting our models in around three weeks and here they are, finally united once again.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank my fellow painters, who donated their time, effort and paint to complete this project. I think you will agree that, despite three different people painting two models each in isolation and in their own unique style, the finished miniatures looks remarkably cohesive and are a crew that anyone would be proud to own and game with.

C. Hoffman

C. Hoffman himself is nothing short of wondrous. It's only when you see him in person and realise how small the model is that you can truly understand what a superb job Andy did to maintain the level of detail he has. The fragile nature of the harness made for a tricky job, but the finished model really is the focal point of the crew.

 

The Mechanical Attendant

The Mechanical Attendant, with his bright yellow armour, is a great contrast as Hoffman's totem. The idea of him being a twisted version of C3-PO with a gun has come to life. Despite being a similar size to Hoffman, the model didn't have nearly as much detail and allowed me the opportunity to use an extended range of paints, washes and inks to achieve a yellow that was bright but not garish, in keeping with the world of Malifaux.

Ryle

Ryle (Hoffman's mutated brother) is a great mix of meat and machine. He is also quite a large model, full of details, giving Michael quite a task. Tackling it head on he even added stripes to Ryle's trousers, which is so accurate it's not obvious at first that it is completely freehand. The final result is a character that looks truly tormented and is so wonderfully painted it makes him a must-have in your crew list. The foliage detail on the base adds another dimension to the character, as he stalks his prey through the streets.

The Watcher

The Watcher, flying high above the city, is a bit of an odd one out. The very nature of the character meant he needed to be on a different base from the rest of the crew. With this in mind, elements of plastic ruins were used to build up the base and add height to the model – implying it's battlefield drone-like nature – and the base weighted. Andy has managed to create great contrast between the metallic body of the machine and the leathery texture of its wings.

The Guardian

The Guardian is possibly the tallest model of the crew (excluding The Watcher). He is Hoffman's bodyguard and in my mind represents The Guild completely. With this in mind I went with strong red armour. The fact that he is likely to take more punishment on the battlefield than anyone else is highlighted by the scratches and scrapes on his body and shield. His blue glowing eyes and power cell, which contrasts so much with the red armour, hints at the power and strength within.

The Hunter

The Hunter is another unique model, who is more at home stalking the enemy from the shadows rather than combining with the rest of the crew en mass. Michael has managed to hit the nail on the head with his more metallic approach. He has created a striped effect along the machines body with alternate use of brass and bronze, which also reflects colours in Hoffman's harness. He definitely looks the most aggressive of the machines in the crew. The addition of autumn leaves to the base adds some colour without compromising the tone.

So that's the crew complete!

The crew is travelling to Plymouth this weekend to participate in a game against Joey Berry on Monday. I will be making pitstops in Westham and Swindon to meet up with Michael and Andy, to let them see the final crew in person and to have photos. In addition to Joey's video of the game itself, I hope to add a video diary of the entire trip.

The models will then go up for auction on Wednesday 5th September, together with all the additional goodies donated by our very generous project supporters. I will be going through these additional items in detail before the auction.

Hope you enjoyed our project – if you did please donate. If you want a recap of how we each went about painting our models see the links below.

Now we get to give it all away, which I have to admit is going to be really difficult!!

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As much as we are having fun working on this project, it is for charity. If you enjoy reading about our progress please donate towards our final total – even if it's only £1 – via the donate button at the top of the page or on the Cancer Research UK website directly.

What's A Tale of 3 Painters all about?

Follow Andy's progress here
Follow Michael's progress here
Follow Mike's progress here

Thanks for your support!

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Revisiting Malifaux…

As the Tale of 3 Painters project draws to a close – my two models are complete, Michael's two arrived on Saturday morning and Andy's are in transit – thoughts turn towards the scheduled game against The JoeyBerry next Monday. Given that I haven't played Malifaux properly in six months I thought I'd make use of the Bank Holiday weekend and arranged a game against Bull.

I had banked on it being like riding a bike – you never forget how it works or what you're meant to be doing, it just takes a little time to get back into the swing of it – errr…no!

I had totally forgotten what I was meant to be doing – even the fundamentals – and we played like two people who were learning the rules for the very first time.

Bull was intending to play Seamus and his Ressers but had left the cards at home. He decided on the Viks, with the addition of Von Schill who neither of us has seen before. I went Guild but for some reason thought that I would take Sonnia as Bull had never played against her before and she always seemed to do well. Unfortunately, Bull's crew had almost no spell casting so most of my crew's funky anti-magic abilities were rendered useless.

Bull took the initiative early on and threw Von Schill down my throat – despite multiple Fire Blasts and gun shots he would not die. In the end he managed to kill a rather hesitant Sonnia with ease. Santiago Ortega and The Judge made their way to the centre of the board to confront the Viks and pick up the Treasure. Alas they both died without getting off a single shot or swing of a sword. It was left to the Witchlings to step up. I managed to take out Sword Vik with a couple of exploding minions and a hand full of wounds off Von Schill, but that was it!

I had not even got to the treasure or close to achieving my schemes, meanwhile Bull's Wagon trundled to the centre of the board unhindered. Bit of a disastrous game for The Guild (the worst I've ever played if I'm honest) – it began with crew selection and went down hill from there.

However, we had a laugh and it helped to refresh my memory with Malifaux basic rules – mission accomplished!