More DIY Malifaux bases…

Some of you may remember my previous post about my Malcontent project, creating bases and scenery for Malifaux. Two months has almost passed since that post and things have not been idle. I have been testing my resin casting process to erradicate (as much as possible) any bubbles given that I don't have the facilities or space to use a vacuum chamber of any kind. Things have now reached a point where I am happy with the process, more to come in a future post.

This post is to give a sneak peak at the next few bits in production. You saw the Boardwalk bases in the original post, this was swiftly followed by a set of Bamboo bases (pictured above right after the devastation of the mould-making process and below showing the first few test pieces) which were designed for my Kirai crew.

This weekend a new set has been added to the ever expanding range – Sewer bases for my new Sonnia Criid crew (below). The photo shows them as of 5 minutes ago where the bulk of the construction is complete, just a few bits of greenstuff required to finish them off.

Stay tuned for more info…

Want to read more about this project?

Wyrd Gencon Releases… My Perspective

I have to hold my hands up and say yes, I was one of those geeks who kept checking the Wyrd website every 5 minutes yesterday to see if they'd added the Gencon releases to their online shop. Needless to say it happened at some point last night while I was out so only saw it in all its glory this morning – or I would have if the website wasn't sooooo slooooow. Not a good start to the weekend's madness if the website can't handle 400 visitors at once, while the bulk of the US was still asleep.

I got so swept up in all the pre-Gencon excitement and was going to order this, that and the next thing over the weekend until my sensible chip kicked in and I realised how daft (and expensive) the whole thing was for someone living in the UK. I've decided not to order anything and wait until the models are naturally released here. Let's be honest, I've barely played 10 games of Malifaux so I'm hardly up to using avatars.

I thought I would give a bit of a perspective on all the models available this weekend, or at least the ones of note, starting with the models that will impact me directly.

Lady Justice Avatar (pictured above)
I was very nervous about this model. The miniatures being shown on the forums were quite hit and miss and I was dreading Lady J being a duff. When it finally did come to light I have to say I was pretty pleased. The concept is fantastic; the ram and crow are ludicrous – too big and rather comical; Lady J's stance looks a bit odd but all in all a reasonable model. I will without doubt be purchasing this at some point although I may have to alter the crow and ram, scale them back a bit.

Lady Justice Alt
I have always liked the illustration in the front of the Rules Manual so it was quite pleasing that they used that as the basis for the new sculpt. I have to admit I don't like the paint scheme used to demonstrate the model – the original green that was leaked onto the forums looked good. It is highly likely that I will purchase this at some point but I love my original Lady J, so no rush.

Dead Justice
When the dead Lady J illustration appeared on the forums and the general consensus was that this was her avatar I was freaking out big time. The idea for this box set is fun but I never saw it seriously as a development of her character. The sculpts are very cartoon-like which makes for a great limited edition set, even if there is a whiff of Privateer Press about them. I will not be purchasing this.

Perdita Alt
This was the model that I was hanging on to see before ordering online or not. When I clapped eyes on it this morning I was pretty devastated – one of the worst models in the collection so far. Take into account Lady J and Perdita were the two miniatures that attracted me to Malifaux – they oozed sexy and dangerous in equal amounts, were delicate and vulnerable at the same time. This sculpt has lost everything I love about the original Gael Goumon Perdita sculpt. It's cartoon-like in a similar fashion to the LE box set; she's covered up all her bare skin; she's waving her pistols around like she's never used them in her life, or is completely pissed; she appears to have no neck and put on quite a few pounds from the delicate teenager of the original. So much could have been done with this model in terms of dynamic movement. Very very poor – absolutely gutted – I will not be purchasing this.

Sonnia Alt
As the third female in the list of Guild masters it was inevitable that I would purchase Sonnia at some point – currently on order. I'm not a fan of the original sculpt so the fact that this version comes from the illustration seen in the Rules Manual is great. My only concern is that in the above photo she looks a bit ugly but I'll reserve judgement till I purchase the model. Her avatar is fantastic, very iconic, and is definitely on the shopping list.

Other models I love
Many of the alt sculpts have come from Rules Manual illustrations it seems, which is great in theory as they are fantastic. The reality can sometimes be less impressive but with the Ramos and Rasputina alt sculpts I think Wyrd have hit home runs – cracking sculpts and whilst not on my shopping list per se, may end up on my painting table just for the experience.

Never a fan of the original Pandora – may be the sculpt may be the paint scheme – this alternative hits home big time. More dynamic, sexier, more intimidating. Love it.

The artwork for the Zoraida avatar was quite frankly stunning and a bit of a shock. I don't feel the final model quite matches up but it's by no means bad. Maybe if I ever get into Neverborn I would look at this more closely.

I also like the Seamus Avatar. The Mr Hyde concept is fantastic and very much in keeping with the Seamus character. Detest the alt sculpt as this has gone off on a tangent somewhere.

I noticed that the Kirai avatar is not now available at Gencon. I can only assume there were production issues. I love the concept in the illustration leaked so far so am looking forward to seeing this model in the flesh.

Now you're just being silly…
When I heard that the Nightmare release for this year's Gencon was Teddy I got quite excited. I don't play Neverborn but the original Teddy was so iconic that the concept of a nightmare version was very intriguing and filled with so much potential the mind boggled.

Unfortunately, what we got was…well, something akin to a rabid meercat …simples!

All the charm and cleverness of the original is gone – it doesn't even look like a teddy anymore!

This was definitely one instance where my reaction was "Really??!"

Following close behind this fatally missed opportunity is the Marcus alt and avatar – Really??!

Final thoughts
I have to say on the whole I'm rather disappointed so far. Don't get me wrong, I'm amazed at the volume of models being produced and Wyrd have a very healthy relationship and dialogue going on with their customers and fanbase. For that I applaud them. However, I do worry that in an attempt to outdo themselves they have actually taken a step backwards in terms of quality of sculpts. The models released with books 1 and 2 of Malifaux have been for the most part stunning and, whilst we've only seen a snapshot of the models for book 3, I do hope the quality for book 3 is as good. Maybe it's because the original sculpts were so good and so we're walking on hallowed ground – like George Lucas and the Star Wars Special Editions and Prequels. Let's hope things don't go all Jar Jar!

I would love to hear other people's perspectives, especially if you play Malifaux, and how these new models will (or not) impact your gaming.

Gaming Update: Malifaux & 40k

July ended with a late flurry a gaming, which made a pleasant change from the painting and constructing.

A fortnight ago saw me play a couple of games of Malifaux against Bull's Viktoria crew. He's starting to get the hang of them and combos now infiltrate his tactics. The first game, against my Lady Justice, introduced Nino and the Austringer to the Guild ranks who both played their part if not stunningly so. Their ranged threat alone did most of the damage. The Guild moved across the board en masse in order to achieve their Stake a Claim strategy as well as sympathetic Schemes. A close call but Game 1 to The Guild.

Game 2 introduced Perdita in place of Lady J and also saw The Executioner in place of a couple of Death Marshals – not the best choice given a Strategy flip of Reconnoiter but it was more about fun and trying out new models. I didn't fancy my chances to be honest so decided to protect the objectives for the Vikki's Destroy the Evidence Strategy and frustrate them rather than go out to achieve my own Strategy from the off.

The first main talking point involved the Vikkis slingshot to get Sword Vikki in melee with Nino and The Judge. The cards were cheated to get the trigger so both Guild members would die in the same activation. Alas at the crucial moment Bull flipped the Black Joker for damage and the whole move fell apart – Nino survived by the skin of his teeth, Vikki was then dispatched immediately and the game had been turned upside down. The Guild started to move around the table to complete Reconnoiter and the game was on.

Next talking point involved Taelor charging Perdita but, thanks to her (0) Action, Miss Ortega got to shoot at the incoming hammer of death! A chance flip of the Red Joker for damage saw Taelor on her knees and only alive thanks to her Hard To Kill ability. Damage was avoided and Taelor was dropped soon after. Perdita managed to survive a late exchange of intense fire with the Convict Gunslinger (and no soulstones left) before the Outcasts were wiped out to the man. Game 2 to The Guild …but only thanks to the cards!

This last weekend saw my first game of Warhammer 40k in over a year and the first game fielding Chaos in 5th edition. I was facing a newbie Necron army, my opponent only having played half a dozen games ever. I took my Bezerkers supported by a couple of tanks and some Obliterators. We rolled Capture and Control and Dawn of War. The game ebbed and flowed and I felt under little to moderate threat given my experience versus that of my opponent. I knew my Chaos Codex was broken, however, what I hadn't anticipated was the fact that 5th edition is …awful. Add to that the fact that I am a little rusty and the game devolved into a war of attrition. I had purposefully ignored the Phase Out rule to make it more of a game but was slowly starting to pay the price.

Carefully manoeuvring my Armour 13 tanks when charged in combat only for the attackers to hit the rear armour (what a stupid rule**) left me vulnerable and undermined my strategy across the board. Despite some rather naive tactical mistakes my opponent was pushing me to the limit and I was convinced come turn 4 that I could not win outright. The latter couple of turns saw us beat each other to a pulp (tomb spiders…grrr) and I eventually stole in to defend my own objective. A quick calculation saw that the Necrons did indeed Phase Out and the game was won. Having less than half a dozen models left on the board didn't feel much like a win I have to say.

Contemplation in the aftermath of the game did nothing to improve my lack of enthusiasm for GW's flagship sci-fi game and the one-dimensional aspect of play (compared to the subtleties and combos of Malifaux) made the experience seem rather flat. No doubt the Chaos codex didn't help but it's just not doing it for me.

Having said that I have committed to play again as my new local opponent dips his toe in the water and expands his Necrons. I already have an alternative Chaos lineup in mind to try and improve things – I even got briefly excited at the prospect of resurrecting my Dark Templar project, but let's not be hasty, it soon passed. In return my opponent has purchased a Malifaux crew – Rasputina – and this coming Friday will be his first foray through the breach with a handful of demo games. He's quite excited at the prospect of only having to paint 5 models!

** I have to say there were two rules that really annoyed me whilst playing. The first, as mentioned above, was the fact that all close combat against vehicles now hit rear armour values. Anything other than Land Raiders and Monoliths are so vulnerable now and can no longer be used as blocking mechanisms which, for a close combat army, is quite key. The second rule of no use to anyone is the wound allocation – what a load of rubbish! If your missile launcher or melta gun guy bought it in a firefight surely one of his comrades would pick up the special weapon and effectively take his place. Not only that but it complicates and slows the game down no end. End of rant, guess I'll have to find a workaround.

To be continued…