Latigo Posse

Here are two latest additions to my Perdita crew; Enslaved Nephilim and Francisco Ortega. It means that I have another crew fully painted and ready for gaming. I think I'll be using this one mostly (I also own LJ, Sonnia and McCabe's crews) as I really like their style.

Enslaved Nephilim is Perdita's totem. It can be pretty useful in game with its push action. I like to activate him early to get the things started and put other minis in position. Ha also has an obey-like actian available but making it work requires really good hand and these cards are probably better spent on Perdita's triggers.
The miniature is very nice as it depicts a sulking Nephilim who's slowly stalking towards his victim (or perhaps towards his much desired freedom?). I thought that it would look a bit boring with an empty base so I added a cacti and a damaged cart wheel. I think those changes worked well towards emphasizing his mean character.

Francisco Ortega is an interesting character. He passed the leadership in the Family on to Perdita as he decided she was more than capable of being the leader. However, even as a henchman he brings a lot of options to the table.  The El Mayor rule can be a great boost to 'Dita as it gives her +2 DF and WP for one turn. With a decent Sh of 6 and a damage profile of 2/3/4 he can be useful in shooting. Yet it is in melee where he really shines. First off, his (0) Finesse action makes it harder for other models to hit him in combat. He can attack as many as 3 times with Flurry and the (1) Enfrentate a Mi! can be both an offensive and a good tactical action that can free other crew members trapped in melee combat.
For some reason painting him took much more time than I had expected. Maybe it's because of the mainly brownish color scheme. Sometimes it takes a while to get the colors right. I was also not sure about the details on his sombrero and deciding on how to get them right took a while.

And finally, here's a picture of a happy family (only Abuela is missing - I have the metal version but I am really looking forward to the release of the plastic one).

And a nice vibe to go with the post.

Liebster Award

The Between the Bolter and Me team has nominated me for a Liebster Award blog. This was a very nice surprise for me as I enjoy following the blog as it features some exceptionally good work. Mostly 40K but there are also some other interesting miniatures presented on it. You can check it out here (and I do suggest checking it out).

The Liebster Awars is basically a way of showing thumbs up to fellow bloggers and helping each other in getting some more recognition of the web. Each person who is nominated needs to write 11 truths about themselves, answer eleven questions from the person that gave the nomination and think of 11 questions to ask another person. So, here it goes.

11 truths:

1. My recent decrase in activity on the blog is caused by Dark Souls and Dark Souls 2.
2. I work as a teacher at a lower secondary school (also in a private language school as a tutor) and I like it.
3. I 'm a coffee junkie.
4. Warzone (1st ed.) was the first game that got me interested in this fantastic hobby.
5. I've never used an airbrush.
6. My favorite brush is a size 4 kolibri 788 Echt Rotmarder and I always have several of these at my workspace.
7. I have more than 200 paints.
8. My favorite musician is Buckethead and I've probably listened to Colma and Electric Tears more than a 100 times.
9. I enjoy jogging. I've run more than 1000 kilometres, had a knee surgery and still continue jogging.
10. I have a fantastic wife who understands and encourages my hobby.
11. I also have two adorable cats that often keep me company while I'm painting.

My answers to 11 questions from Adam Wier:

1. Eisenhorn or Ravenor?

I'm not that much into WH40K but Ravenor looks more badass.

2. What is your favorite aspect of the miniature hobby?

Definitely painting. I'm most at peace then and have enjoyed this aspect of the hobby the most since the beginning.
3. Will dread Cthulhu rise from his sunken city of R’lyeh?

Who am I to answer such profound questions about the Great One. If he wants to, he will (and he'll destroy everything in his path).
4. Who is your favorite artist?

Salvatore Dali. A true genius who created extraordinary art and knew how to party.
5. If you are about to embark on a long drive with nothing to think about, what musical album would  you want to listen to?

Either Colma or Electric Tears by Buckethead.
6. Have you ever played the cRPG: Planescape: Torment?

I played it, got through most of the game but never got to the end. Great atmosphere, memorable characters and locations but too much clicking through the text. I read quickly and it just seemed a bit tedious to me. Still, I totally understand why someone would put this cRPG above others - it is quite unique.

7. Games Workshop’s White Dwarf magazine recently switched formats and is now weekly, thoughts?To be honest, I don't care much about GW these days. I haven't even seen WD in the new format. 

8. Is the Alpha Legion the Imperium’s doom or their salvation?

I honestly have no idea - I'm not into WH40K lore and fluff...
9. Benchmade or Spyderco?

Beats me, haven't used them and don't plan to.
10. What boardgame would you most like to play this weekend?

Dixit!
11. Who is your favorite sculptor?

The Perry Twins. I have a lot of respect for their skill and have painted dozens of miniatures that they sculpted. Each one was a joy to work with.

11 blogs I'd ike to nominate (in alphabetic order):

1. adm's miniblog - this guy has many interesting thoughts and while not being overtly prolific, each entry is a very good read

2. Antoli's Game Room - if you're looking for reviews of miniatures, board games, interesting movies, good PC games or if you're interested in WW2 history, that your new favorite blog.

3. Coloured Dust - a great painter who shares many of his secrets with the community. I've learnt a lot and improved my skills thanks to that one. I also learnt about some great hobby products that I would have no idea about otherwise.

4. Dave Taylor Miniatures - a veteran hobbyist wide a wide range of interests in tabletop games. His works are always impressive and you can learn a lot about many different producers of tabletop miniatures.

5. Gardens of Hecate - Ana's one of its kind work is spectacular. Dark, atmospheric. Fantastic conversions, impressive brushwork and something that makes the blog even more unique - there's always a description of a thorough research (folklore legends, myths, etc.) the author makes about the works presented there. Before you start digging into the blog's archives, make sure to hit the play button on the left.

6. Kevin's Miniature & Hobby Table -  visit it for regular updates with impressive WARMACHINE minis and many others. Check out his blog and try not to be too jealous of his Man-Cave.

7. MASSIVE VOODOO - probably my favorite artists on the blogosphere, I am a proud owner of their Figure Art album and each work their show is a joy to watch.

8. Muffins happy corner - this guy has a unique style that features a very creative use of bright and vivid colors. Definitely worth checking out.

9. Paint it Pink - you may know the author from Wyrd forums and regular articles in Wyrd Chronicles. A great source of knowledge about all things Malifaux!

10. Painting Mum Ana's blog - I think I've developed a love-hate relationship with Ana's works. While the stuff she paints is spectacularly impressive, it can also make you feel jealous. Very jealous.

11. SpirilingCadaver - I totally dig this guy's style. A prolific painter who always manages to surprise me with an interesting approach to painting minis that I though I'd already seen painted in every way possible.

11 questions from me:

1. Have you ever considered giving up the hobby?

2. What is your favorite miniature?

3. What other hobbies have you got?

4. Do you prefer to work alone or with a group of people?

5. What is the attitude of your friends and family to your hobby?

6. What type of music/audiobooks/radio etc. do you listen to when you paint? 

7. What is your greatest hobby ambition?

8. Game of Thrones - who is going to sit on the Iron Throne when all the dust settles?

9. What is your greatest source of inspiration?

10. What is your most prized possession?

11. If you could spend a day with any person out of all of human history, who would it be and why?

And that would be it. Putting all of that together took me a while but it was fun. Make sure to check out the blog I've linked above and once again, many thanks to Adam Wier from The Between the Bolter and Me.

The Leftovers

Looks like HBO is going to create yet another fantastic TV series. Trailer of "The Leftovers" looks very interesting.

Papa Loco

My work on the Latigo Posse continues with the latest addition of Papa Loco. He is the oldest men in the family and despite his mental problems (that straitjacket is not here by chance) he still commands respect. This is reflected with his "Hold this" ability, which gives +to damage flips for one turn to a friendly model. It's a very useful boost and sharpshooters like Perdita can greatly benefit from it. Still, using Papa Loco in game is tricky as he is quite unpredictable with triggers that can damage everyone around him and the fact that he blows up when killed.

The miniature is very nicely designed. Partly torn straitjacket, a few randomly attached sticks of dynamite, and a gun he's holding to his temple complete the crazy old geezer look. The details are superb, which always impresses me on plastic minis in this scale. However, some elements are so tiny that getting paint on them was a challenge. I'm talking about his eyes and teeth in particular. I had to use the tip of my 0 Kolinsky brush to get them right.

One more thing - a very interesting KS campaign has recently been started by Games & Gears Ichiban Studios. You can get some excellent brushes there for a reasonable price. Check it out here. The campaign is best summarized by one of the best painters in the business, Les Bursley.

I'm definitely going to back this one. My detail brushes need new replacements and this seems like the best choice in terms of price-quality ratio of the product.

Governor's assistant

I hadn't originally planned to enter a Wyrd painting contest at Wamp but I had so much fun working on this mini that I decided to give it a go. There are some really nicely detailed elements here, his face is particularly well sculpted.

'Dita!

I'm slowly continueing the work on the Latigo Posse. Here's my latest addition - Perdita (or rather two of them).

I'll start with the "special" one. This limited edition model was a bonus if you placed an order somewhere around Wyrd's birthday. This version is definitel;y smaller than the one from the boxed set. While I like this one a lot, I still prefer the version from the box, which is much more dynamic. 

The "normal" version is simply awesome - it perfectly encompasses all the characteristics I associate with Perdita.

Gaming table test

I mentioned in my previous post that I'd been working on a portable gaming table. Today I finally got a chance to put it to use. Here's how it turned out:

I started by ordering a 6mm wooden thick 110x115 cm piece of plywood. Malifaux is played on a 90 x 90 mm terrain but I wanted to have some extra space for ccharacter cards, markers, fate decks etc. 

I used an old gaming mat that was in a pretty bad shape. I had to cut it into several pieces and use some static grass to cover the whole surface. Once that was done I outlined the gaming terrain by gluing a thin line of darker static drass along the lines. I like the way it turned out as it's more subtle than simply gluing tape or using a marker.

Overall, I'm really pleased with the final effect. It's portable, the terrain (I didn't make it' ordered the whole set from an online store) looks nice on it and my living room can be easily turned into a neat gaming area.

The game itself was fun too. I wanted to show how Malifaux works to a buddy of mine so we played a quick 20SS game (Francisco, Papa Loco, Santiago and a Pistolero vs the Judge and 3 Death Marshals). The Judge seems much better in M2E and Death Marshals are annoying and it's not easy to take them down. Still, I managed to win. Cards turned against my opponent in a crucial moment. He had a good hand and wanted to use Judge's trigger and launch 2 attacks against a wounded Santiago but he got a Red Joker instead. I survived the attack and retaliated. At that point my opponent drew... Black Joker.

The pic above shows another funny situation when my opponent shot down Papa Loco. At first he was very happy about it but he quickly realized that his DM was within the 3' range and got 5 wounds from the blast.

OK, that will be all for now. I'll probably paint Perdita or Papa Loco next. Right now I'm mostly looking forward to the premiere of new season of Game of Thrones. Last week a plastic replica of the Iron Throne was showcased in a shopping centre in Warsaw and the nerd in me couldn't resist the temptation of having a pic taken ;)