Hannah, Chief Freikorps Archivist

This model was originally released as a reward for backers of Wyrd Game's Through the Breach campaign. Since then it has never been available in general release. It's probably one of the most rare models from the entire range now. I don't really care for the huge model that was released at a later date, so I had to pay through the nose to get this version when it popped up on ebay.

It's definitely one of the best models that Wyrd has ever released. It combines the steampunk and magical elements seamlessly. I chose a 50mm skull base from Micro Art Studio for her and did some trimming and filling with Agrellan Badlands to make sure she fit it well. The only part that doesn't look that good are her hands as they both seem a bit too large...

The pose is interesting and the level of detail is more than impressive. I wanted to make sure the mini stands out so I used slightly toned down yellow on her armor as no other models in my collection feature this shade. I used airbrush to sketch the lighting on this part of the model and proceeded to fill in the details. Marking the darkest areas with pure black and doing edge highlights on the armor was a painstakingly long process. That's one of the main reasons I've never enjoyed painting GW's Space Marines.  

After that I moved onto the Hannah model, and felt much more comfortable while working on her. I used green and brown for her uniform as these colors worked well with the yellow armor. The book she is pointing at is a nice element that allowed me to shift some of the focus there and I used red on the cover and filled the open pages with some writing.

Hannah is a henchman and a mercenary. I plan to try using her with my Neverborn. She provides solid melee attack with an impressive range of 3' and blast potential on moderate and severe. She can also copy a (1) casting action as her (0), which opens plenty of opportunities for her. 

Hannah is armor 1, has 9 Wds and can use soulstones, so taking her down shouldn't be easy. She also makes the crew she is in better with her passive abilities. Arcane Reservoir increases crew's hand size by 1, and Counterspell means that enemy Ca actions lose all suits. What's more, enemy models within 4' of her (and that's a big area since she comes on a 50mm base) ignore any suits associated with their Ca, Ml, and Sh attacks, which can be a great in limiting opponents' offensive triggers. 

Sweet Dreams

This is actually the third Dreamer Crew I've painted but the first plastic one. And I have to admit, the models look so much better now. It's obvious that the crew was designed as a coherent group rather than a random patch of weird creatures (that's the feeling I had while working on the metal versions). Painting them was a lot of fun. Preparing some of these was a challenge, especially Chompy. I had to use a lot of Green Stuff to fill in all the recesses left after putting the model together.

I followed the original color scheme from the first artwork. I've seen some interesting and colorful versions of these but I wanted to make my Chompy look like a truly terrifying nightmare. Now that he's properly sized, he finally looks like a Tyrant should. Getting that dark, grayish and slightly greenish and oily look on his skin took a lot of time but in the end I think the effort paid off. I also splattered some Blood for The Blood God technical paint, focusing on his talons but also adding random drops to his body. 

The rest was all about maintaining this overall dark look with room for some vivid colors (such as bright pink or blue on daydreams or hair on alps. I kept the bases coherent, using Orphanage base inserts and some themed accessories. With some I tried to tell a little story (such as the alp kicking the bricks or the one lifting carpet to find eyes below it).

I entered this crew into Frozen Moment painting competition run by Wyrd and it was third in the crew category. I'm quite happy with the result as the winner and runner-up painted really spectacular crews and I agree wholeheartedly with the final outcome. I also had extra motivation to paint another crew and managed to do that in just two weeks. 

I also added one more model to my Neverborn. A female I build using TTB bits. I plan to use her as a Beckoner.

TTB Austringers

I found inspiration for these on a FB group called "A Wyrd Place", where a guy named Kevin Kucharski uloaded pics of his conversions. I really liked the idea so I decided to try creating my own using (once again) bits from TTB male and female sets.

For the male one I chose the legs of a kneeling one, torso with a vest and a hat to finish things off. I wanted him to have this a cowboy vibe so I went ahead and added a Micro Art Studio Wasteland base and a large bull skull from Wyrd accessories. I didn't have anything that looked like a Peacebringer so I just used an arm with a pistol from the TTB set. The bird comes from an old Confrontation miniature - a Falconer of Alahan. 

For the female one I used the same parts that were used on the one I'd originally seen on AWP on Facebook. I only added something that looked like a handgun. Her hawk was made hist instant mold - I duplicated the first one.

Austringers are one of the most versatile minions Guild has to offer. Their primary attack is Raptor, which has a standard range of 12'. However, it doesn't have a projectile symbol so it can be fired into melee (or at a model within engagement range) without randomizing the target. And there's more - this attack doesn't need LoS and ignores cover. With focus, the range changes to impressie 18', but it also ains the projectile icon. Weak damage causes only 1 point of damage but it gets much better for moderate (3) and severe (4). It also has a Critical Strike on a ram and another interesting trigger with mask that deals no damage, but forces the target to discard two cards. Another of Austringer's attacks is a pretty standard Peacebringer gun. 

Austingers are quite slow with an unimpressive Wk of 4', but Unimpeded helps get them into position faster. They also have a nice (1) tactical action that allows them to push up to 4' in any direction. 

Their usefulness doesn't end there. Austringers have another tactical action. This one is (2) and it works up to 18' from them. Targeted friendly model pushes up to 4' and immediately takes a (1) interac action. Austringers also drop scheme markers when they die, which can be helpful for some schemes, provided they are well positioned .

All of that comes at a ss cost of 6, which is not that much for a minion that can easily hit an enemy while being safely hidden. 

Of course I eventually plan to use original models but until Wyrd releases them, these will have to do

Lelu & Lilitu

I've had a chance to paint the classic metal version of these minis a while ago (I've done it twice in fact!) but this time I wanted to make them using TTB bits. The inspiration came from A Wyrd Place on FB where I saw these two heads used to create Lelu and Lilitu. It encouraged me to buy the set and give it a try.

I wanted to make them look almost human, and the parts from the set seemed perfect. Humanoid bodies with Neverborn heads. TThe only addition was a bit I used for Lelu's tail. It's actually a part of tentacle from the plastic Illuminated. At the same time I kept the original skin colors to make it easy to recognize the enforcers they're supposed to represent immediately. I plan to use both of them with Dreamer as summons so I used the same Orphanage base inserts. 

Lelu is clearly more of a beatstick. He has two decent melee attacks with a potential chance to heal up some wounds using his Vampiric Bite. His claws can also be a nasty weapon as the target he hits autmatically gains Poison +2. This attack gets a + if Lelu has 5 or fewer wounds remaining. He has a nice (0) action that allows him to push up to 3' and get Pounce Condition, which somehow compensates for his unimpressive Wk 4.

Lilitu's whip has an impressive Rg of 4 and can even cause the target to be Paralyzed with a Mask trigger. She can be also very useful with her Rg 18' Lure. With a very decent Ca of 7, it requires only a 5 of any suit to succeed. She also has a (1) action that gets her a + to all duels for one turn. She is also much faster than Llu with a Wk of 6.

While each has different characteristics and uses, they have a few things in common as well. They both have Black Blood and Regeneration +1. Also, each time one of them heals, the other gets to remove the same amount of wounds. The same goes for any conditions (unless 2 cards are discarded), so they can both have Pounce and a + to all duels (or both).

Illuminated

Two more minis I put together using parts from TTB male and female sets. I also added mutated limbs that I found in my bits box (I think they're from old WFB plastic Chaos Warriors set). The idea was to show how Brilliance changes humans and how it affects their bodies. 

I chose a "zombie" head for the female on purpose as I thought that even the part not yet affected by mutation might be showing signs of degeneration. i wanted to make it look as if she isn't fully aware of the changes taking place and that's why I chose an arm with cards held casually in hand.

I took a slightly different approach when working on the male one. I imagined him as some kind of veteran, possibly a bouncer at The Honeypot who was exposed to the effects of Brilliance. Unlike the lady, he is fully aware of the changes taking place and fully embraces them, understanding the power they give him.

The Illuminated are quite versatile beatsticks. Their Df 5 isn't impressive but they have Armor +1 and Regenaration +1. They are also terrifying, which can limit some threats from other living opponents. What's more, they have a (0) action that allows them to heal. It's not hard to pull it off as it requires just a 5 of any suit. 

Their melee damage output is solid and gets even better when the target has the Brilliance characteristic. A very good Cg 8 helps them get to the target much faster. They also have a Sh attach, at Rg 8. It has the same damage profile as the melee one, a little lower base value (5 compared to Ml 6), but it can help spread the brilliance among the opponents. 

The Illuminated have a strong synergy with Jakob Lynch but other Neverborn masters can also benefit from hiring them. A fairly fast, model that can serve as a solid beatstick and is very survivable is a welcome addition to many crews. One nice trick is to use Black Blood Shaman and have him attack the Illuminated to trigger Blood Infusion and add Black Blood to him.

Tuco(s)

Tuco is an interesting character. He once was a proud member of the Ortega family. During one of the many skirmishes he was captured by Neverborn. He withstood their imprisonment and tortures for a long time but in the end he was broken. As his mind got twisted, his body began to change and he grew a pair of horns. Still, even now he looks human enough to be taken for one as he continues his revenge on those who gave up on him long ago.
Tuco brings to the table a possibility to inflict damage using Sh actions, something that is rare among Neverborn. . However, he can be used form uch more than just that.

At first glance Tuco is just a solid sniper. He can be deployed From the Shadows, which more than makes up for his unimpressive Wk5 and Cg5. His shotgun doesn't have a great range (10') and the damage spread isn't that good too. Yet he can be pretty useful as he can pull off blast damage on moderate and severe. If push comes to shove, he can also deal some damage in melee with his Inhuman Claws.

His usefulness extends beyond these two obvious aspects of his character. He can use a 0 action to push any opponent 4' in any direction and follow that with a shot from shotgun which can slow a target down. His human appearance means that he is Disguised and as such, he can't be charged.

I really like the original metal miniature but since I don't own one (the one in the picture was painted for a friend), I built mine using bits from TTB male set. I only added two horns from some old chaos WH bits. I chose a face that I thought would be capable of producing Deranged laughter (as you can see in the pic below). I also used colors that would make him look more like a human and less like a Neverborn.

Witchling Handler

It's one of those minis I didn't buy when metal models were still widely available. Since she can be very useful for Sonnia's crew and I like my proxies to have some resemblance to the original model, I decided to create one using bits from TTB female set. I only added a blade from old plastic WH Chaos Warriors set as the katanas from TTB set didn't look much like greatswords. I also added a pistol.

I painted her using colors that would resemble those from WH's original artwork. I don't really have sculpting skills so I didn't even bother trying to create a pilot's cap for her. The base is made of resin and it's from Micro Art Studio (yes, I do like this company's products).

In game she can make Witchling Stalkers much more effective. First of all, if they activate withing 4' of her, they get a free +1wk and +2cg, which significantly increases their mobility. Her Runesword has decent damage profile, rg 2' and gives her a chance to turn an enemy into a Witchling Stalker. She also has two 0 actions. One allows her to push a friendly minion with 12' up to 4' towards another friendly model within LoS. The other has nice synergy with Sonnia as it causes (needs 6 of any suit, which isn't hard to pull off) attacks of friendly models within 4' to apply burning +1 to targets within 10'.

Some TTB conversions

I've been playing around with TTB male and female sets and created a few minis I want to use for my Guild and Neverborn.

From left they are: Witchling Handler (pistol and a greatsword, she should be easier to recognize once I get some paint on her), Latigo Pistolero, alt Nino, Lelu (claws and a tail), Lilitu (an elegant cigarette to go along with the Lure rule) and finally Tuco (claws-I've swapped a hand here, and a shotgun plus a face that looks capable of producing deranged laughter. And the horns ;).

Through The Breach

Now that's a way to announce a new project. It's no secret that Wyrd Games has been working on developing an RGP set in the world of Malifaux. It's a very interesting setting as it offers a blend of steampunk, victorian era, horror and western themes to name just the most obvious ones. 

The project will be launched on Kickstarter but at this point no specific information has been given to specify when exactly will this happen. 

I'm not too much into RPGs but I'll probably take part in funding it anyway as I love the universe and there should be some nice rewards for stretch goals (miniatures, tokens, etc.).