Monday 25 December 2017

The Forgotten Marshal


I've never seen this model on table but it seems to bring a lot of interesting options for the Ressers. First off, it can bury and unbury next to any other friendly model at the beginning of next turn. The Forgotten Marshal also brings solid Sh with his Peacebringer. He can deal some damage and apply nasty conditions in melee as well. He has 7 Wds but he should be able to survive some beating with his Hard to Wound +1. There is also a funny ability called "Forgot it was in there", which means that a random model will be summoned when he's killed. It's either some kind of scheme runner or, if you're very lucky and flip Red Joker, Student of Viscera.




I had an idea of painting him to look like old undead cowboy so I used different shades of brown on his clothes and leather belts. Sick pale skin tone and empty eyes were added to complete this look. His base was painted to fit Molly's crew I painted a while ago.

Sólstafir - Lágnætti

Sunday 24 December 2017

Johana



I've painted the plastic version of Johan (with some Neverborn elements added) before. Johana is an alternate version of that model. As you can clearly see in the pictures, scale is an issue here. Johan is way too large for Ht 2 model, and Johana looks like a baby next to him, and her relic hammer like a toy. I like the way her proportions are defined as she looks more natural. The model has decent level of detail too.


#24/2017 A Brief History of Time


A classic, in which Hawking writes (using non-technical language) about things we take for granted. One can learn about space, time, black holes, the Big Bang, as well as major scientific theories used to describe the universe. There is also some space devoted to God's place in a scientific world and how some theories were eagerly embraced by the clergy, while others were rejected. The original book was published in the late 1980s but time has shown that many of Hawking's predictions have proven true, despite him limited access to advanced technology at that time. He's obviously one of the greatest minds of our times and while the language he uses here is not too scientific there were some moments where I felt the author assumes more than basic knowledge of certain principles from the reader and felt a bit lost.

Friday 22 December 2017

Ryle


I'd made my own version of Ryle a while ago before this model was released. I didn't care much for it as it seemed too large and somehow bloated. 
While painting it I wanted to make sure his skin looked damaged and partially rotten. After all, this guy's been through a lot during his journey through the breach to the world of Malifaux. After that it was just a matter of dealing with all the metallic elements on the model, which I painted using a variety of glazes and washes.



#23/2017 Norse Mythology


I've always been fascinated by Norse mythology. It is a harsh world where trickery, cunning, and sheer brutal strength are part and parcel of everyday life. It is also a world of complex relations between the deities, rivalry, comradeship, but also cunning and violence. Neil Gaiman interest in this area has led him to write this retelling of Norse myths. It reads really well as the author has succeeded in making the language modern, while still keeping the original spirit of the tales.


Friday 15 December 2017

Burt Jebsen

I've seen this model in most of the Gremlin crews I've faced. His lower Sh value of 5 is not that bad when you look at the potential triggers you can pull off, especially the ability to take the action again. His Ml is a solid 6 and with an extra ram he will hit for 4/5/6. There is also his tactical action that can clutter up enemy models (which is neat as his Sh attack has a blast on moderate and severe).
Burt is a Gremlin, so he can go Reckless. His is also Slippery, meaning he can choose another friendly model within 2' to be the target of attack instead of him. He is also immune to damage from Pulse effects. If he wins a Df duel on a Ram, he can deal 2/3/4 damage that cannot be cheated. And he's Hard to Kill. That's quite a lot for a 7ss enforcer. There's the mercenary tax to take into account if you hire him out of faction, but he may find his place in some of my Neverborn crews.


Painting skin was the main challenge while I was working on him. I used bright vivid shade of green to begin with, toned it down with bright brown glazes, and then brought it back by using base color mixed with increasing amounts of yellow. 


#22/2017 The Buried Giant


I'd be lying if I wrote that I'd been familiar with Ishiguro's works before he received the Nobel Prize in literature. I read a bit about him and gave his latest book a go. The Buried Giant is his latest novel and it belongs in the fantasy genre.
It started really well. Set in a post-Arthurian Britain, it focuses on the story of an elderly couple, Axl and Beatrice. They realize that the collective memory of their people is on the wane. They struggle with remembering events that happened only a while ago. Together they decide to leave their village in search of their son. 
At that point I was really captivated. The topic of memory/identity loss is very interesting and it was introduced really well in this novel. Unfortunately, what followed felt like very basic narrative with no dramatic events to push the story forward in a meaningful way. Perhaps there's some hidden symbolism that I'm missing, but reading the book felt like a chore.

Tuesday 12 December 2017

Bishops

Alternate Bishop used to be one of the rarest and most valuable miniatures from the Malifaux range. I managed to get him in a trade with another gamer from the US. Soon after that the mini appeared in Black Friday sale for $25... Oh well, at least I was finally able to paint him.
The model is based on a character from DC universe called Lobo. I'm not really familiar with it so after quick research I learned that he is some kind of badass alien bounty hunter. What I liked about him immediately were clearly distinctive features, style, and unusual colors. I decided to paint my miniature in a similar way and used this opportunity to simultaneously paint old plastic version of Bishop. I never cared much for that version of this model but it grew on me as I started working on it.


Bishop is a 10ss mercenary who is a versatile beater. He can choose a suit at the beginning of his activation and add it to all his duel totals until the end of his activation. Bishop can also choose whether he wants his opponent to resist his attacks with Wp or Df. His Ml value is a standard 6 with 4 different triggers that allow him to put slow on the target, push it 3' in any direction, deal one extra damage (not too bad on a 2/3/4 spread), or ignore Armor, Hard to Kill, and Incorporeal. The last one seems particularly nice. The only problems are Wk4 and his short range of only 1'. Still, he is swift and can flurry so a lot of damage can be caused as long as he is close to his target. His other Ml attack has a high value of 7, costs 2 AP, deals no damage but puts Paralyzed on the target.
His Df and Wp are solid 6 and if he wins a defensive duel in Ml, he can punch back for some extra damage.


#21/2017 Sleeping Beauties


I am a big fan of King's work and I consider myself a Constant Reader. So, whenever there's a new novel by him, I feel obligated to read it. Sleeping Beauties had been heavily advertised before its release. It also had an intriguing story of all women on Earth falling asleep. King has dealt with this type of post-apocalyptic scenarios in some of his other books (The Cell, The Stand, to name two off the top of my head) and it has worked out really well. Before starting this one I felt it was bound to be another solid piece from him. Unfortunately, I was very disappointed.
There's a plethora of characters and none of them are well developed. I also didn't identify with any of them. The language they use seems rather primitive, relations between them are superficial. I'm used to King's characters being more elaborate (teachers, businessmen, etc.). Having a narrator like that has always worked in favor of his work. In case of Sleeping Beauties they mostly seemed annoying (especially the "main" one - Eve Black). 
Apart from that I had an issue with the pace and how the plot developed. There are numerous short chapters. It seems like the story is cut into many shorter segments to avoid having to work on coherent plot, segues between events. I was even considering giving up and stopping after about 20% but forced myself to keep at it, hoping that it may get better in the second half. Well, it didn't. 
At the end of the audiobook there's an interview with Stephen and Owen King. It offers some nice insights into their work styles and family life but more than anything it gave me some food for thought on why the novel is so bad. They had been initially working on a script for a TV series and then decided to turn it into a novel. They were taking turns editing and modifying each other's chapters so that it would be hard to tell who wrote which section. Unfortunately, it didn't work at all. It's probably the worst novel by King I've ever read, even Desperation or Firestarter (terrible as they are), are outstanding in comparison.
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