I'm taking some time off Hobbit to focus on putting together my Malifaux backlog. I've started with the contents of Guild's judgement box.
I really like new Death Marshals. Their poses are dynamic and they look as if they were in the middle of a fight. I remember that in one of the stories from a rulebook it was mentioned that the magical coffins were bulky and very heavy but despite that the Death Marshals seemed to be handling them with ease. These minis definitely give off that kind of vibe.
They were pretty easy to assemble. the only problematic areas were those where a hand or a leg is attached to the coffin. I pinned those and it was the only challenging part.
The only thing I don't care for are the alternative heads (who would use them anyway as you get the awesome flaming skulls in the box?). These are too... human. they don't have that emotionless, hollow look that the old metal versions have and that suits these minis perfectly.
I used Micro Art Studio cemetery resin bases here. There are some nasty gaps but that will be filled with GS and the flames will be sculpted over it later on.
I really like the new sculpt of Justice's totem. It looks much more serious and menacing than the previous one. The old metal version has a lightly comical, exaggerated feel to it. At least that is how it looks to me with thin, muscular body and large feet.
I'm not entirely sold on the Judge as his cloak seems a bit too simple in design and painting it will require several smooth highlights to get it right. Other than that, the hat is a nice addition, it goes well with his fluff (hiding true identity, never showing his face in public).
New Lady Justice was the most challenging miniature from the set to put together. Her sword and its sheath in particular. The blade is actually a separate part and it's too thin to pin it to the hilt. I ended up gluing it to the hilt and Justice's fringe to make sure there's more than one place that holds it in place.
I plan to paint these using the
classic color scheme from the original box.
I wasn't impressed with the New Miss when I saw the artwork. I don't have any other Arcanist minis so it seemed like an unnecessary addition to me. However, after putting it together, I can see potential for great looking model there. Gluing her legs to the base was a bit tricky but I ended up drilling three tiny holes in the resin base and attaching them there. The base is a MAS Factory themed one. I thought this kind of miniature will look good on it.
I'll probably start cleaning my painting backlog with her and this mini will most likely end up on ebay since I don't plan to use it for gaming.
Here's another plastic mini I've put together recently. I wanted the Pathfinder to be placed on top of a rock to make it look as if he was scanning his surroundings. In M1.5 he had a special rule that allowed to deploy him after all the other models in a distance of 12' from the enemy lines on or behind any piece of terrain. I thought that this kind of base would go in line with that rule. Let's hope it doesn't change in M2E. I also used a piece of the trap that I attached to the base. After painting it will look as if it was emerging from water.
The clockwork traps weren't easy to put together but after finishing one I decided that I don't want to have 4 identical minis and started cutting and gluing. I plan to use water effect on these bases.
And last but not least, here's a quick mock-up for the bases I plan to use on the Ortegas once the plastic version of this crew is released. It's MAS again, this time Wasteland theme with an addition of a cactus from Pegasus Hobbies. I bought a box of these a while ago on ebay. The mini is not glued to the base as it would make painting it very hard. I just pinned it through the boots. I'll paint the miniature and base separately and put it together later on. I really like the Pistolleros. These are some examples of really excellent sculpts cast in metal. What makes them even more impressive, it's all cast in one piece, no parts needed to be glued.
Now, let's put a few brushstrokes on these - my helpers are ready, as always.