Curryman

Absolutely. I've been a bit under the weather so I haven't been doing much painting or posting, but I have a bunch more stuff in the queue, including more Malifaux goodies. Thanks for asking!

Minis from the various incarnations of WizKids' Clix games are cheap and ubiquitous, and can easily be converted for use with tabletop RPGs or other miniature games with just a simple base swap. This article shows you the straightforward technique with step-by-step photos. Follow the link for full details.

http://thescreamingalpha.com/2009/09/10/cheap-rpg-minis-are-a-snap-with-clix/

Please forgive the crossposting. but I figured my fellow Guild players would be especially interested in this.

I'm proud to announce my first Malifaux miniatures review: the Lady Justice and the Death Marshals box set. This popular stater set brings the Guild's most feared hunters of the undead to the tabletop, ready to treat their unnatural foes to an eternal dirt nap. These five characterful and super-detailed minis really show the level of sculpting that Wyrd is bringing to the Malifaux line.

http://thescreamingalpha.com/2009/09...rd-miniatures/

I'm proud to announce my first Malifaux miniatures review: the Lady Justice and the Death Marshals box set. This popular stater set brings the Guild's most feared hunters of the undead to the tabletop, ready to treat their unnatural foes to an eternal dirt nap. These five characterful and super-detailed minis really show the level of sculpting that Wyrd is bringing to the Malifaux line.

http://thescreamingalpha.com/2009/09/09/review-lady-justice-and-the-death-marshals-crew-by-wyrd-miniatures/

@Jestor I completely agree with you about the price being very reasonable, but I hear complaints about the cost all the time from people who are used to spending $3-$4 for a brush. I personally don't think $8-$10 (which is what you can get 'em for online) is that much more money, but some evidently do.

@Malebolgia Obviously you're right that it's a sweeping statement, and I made it mostly in the name of cheap sensationalism to get people to read the article. Still, while I certainly acknowledge that there are other quality brush makers in the world (I think fairly well of Escoda, for example), I'll put W&N up against anybody else's product. Still, your point about the importance of personal style is well-taken.

I use the miniature version myself. Maybe I should have made that clearer. I did put a note at the end of the review explicitly recommending the miniature brushes, and the Dick Blick link goes to the brushes I use.

As for US shipping to Europe, I have no idea why it's so much more expensive than shipping equivalent goods the other way. It must cost US makers an awful lot of overseas sales.

Thanks for reading.

The more experienced painters in the audience have no doubt heard of the excellent Winsor & Newton Series 7 brushes already, but for the benefit of the uninitiated I have written a review on my blog. I rarely gush, but these are without doubt the finest brushes I've ever used. They're not inexpensive, but with proper care last practically forever. If you're using a cheap hobby store brush you should definitely read the article and find out what you've been missing!

http://thescreamingalpha.com/2009/09/02/review-winsor-newton-series-7-brushes/

@Supervike I'm glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading.

@Keltheos That's good to hear. Judging from the unexpectedly light readership of the review I guess there may be a lot fewer Pulp City players than I would have thought. I hope the wider distribution helps get the word out, because it really is a good game.

With the schedule disruptions of Gen Con behind us, it's time to get back into the review business! Fresh from their debut in Indy, we offer a review of the new Dr. Red & Howler box set, which adds two new Supremes to the ranks of the Ape Revolution Committee. Follow the link and check out the painted pics.

http://thescreamingalpha.com/2009/08/29/review-dr-red-howler-by-pulp-monsters/

Howler sez: Don't you dare miss this review, or else!

I don't have any corroboration for this, but one of the Aberrant crew mentioned to me in the course of my interviews with them at Gen Con that orders for the Warlands battleboxes have been running at triple what they had expected (and budgeted for). Since it can take 90 days or more to get paid for the product you ship, they may be in the midst of a cash crunch that will improve in a few weeks and allow them to spend some money on getting new product out.

That's not what gamers want to hear, of course. We all want everything right now, but the economics don't always work out that way. I think Warlands can be a really successful game, but it may take a little while to really gain momentum. It's going to need the full rulebook and a steady stream of new toys to really catch on in a big way. Can Aberrant manage that? We shall see.

While at Gen Con I stopped by the Wells Expeditions booth to get the lowdown on this upcoming "collectible mass-action miniatures game" direct from company President Ray Wehrs.

He explains the new game's business model and just what comes in each of the boxes here:

http://thescreamingalpha.com/2009/08/19/ray-wehrs-of-wells-expeditions-explains-arcane-legions/

And gives a brief gameplay demo here:

http://thescreamingalpha.com/2009/08/19/video-demo-of-arcane-legions-gen-con-2009/

I'll be interested to see if Wells can bring the CMG model into the mass wargaming space, even in such a simplified way. Judging from the big crowds they drew throughout the con, though, they may have at least a fighting chance.

There's been a fair amount of interest in Aberrant's newly-released auto-combat game Warlands, so I shot a video of a demo at their booth at Gen Con. It gives a good overview of how the game works, and at the end there's some discussion about future plans and releases for the game.

http://thescreamingalpha.com/2009/08/18/video-demo-of-warlands-by-aberrant-games/

Maciej "Morf" Zylewicz, the President of Pulp Monsters and the man behind the hit superhero miniatures game Pulp City sat down with me at Gen Con to discuss the past, present, and future of the game, including the upcoming releases for the next several months. The sound isn't the best thanks to the noisy dealer's hall, but it's still an interesting interview with a genuinely nice guy.

http://thescreamingalpha.com/2009/08/17/video-interview-maciej-zylewicz-of-pulp-monsters/

You've seen the swamp, now take a trip to town! I shot a little video tour of the magnificent Malifaux mining town demo board from Gen Con. Well worth a look if you haven't seen it.

http://thescreamingalpha.com/2009/08/19/closeup-video-of-the-malifaux-mining-town-board-gen-con-2009/

For those who didn't get a chance to see it, I shot a video of the amazing swamp-themed demo board the Wyrd crew had at Gen Con. It's really amazing work, and a bit humbling for some of us would-be terrain makers...

http://thescreamingalpha.com/2009/08/18/closeup-video-of-malifaux-swamp-demo-table-gen-con-2009/

Thanks, man. It means a lot coming from a pro like you. I really appreciate all you did for me at the con setting up interviews and the like. The whole thing was an amazing experience and I can't wait for next year. See you there!

Thanks for watching, guys. Sorry the sound isn't what it could have been. The hall was way noisy. I hope the sense of the game came through. I have some more Wyrd videos that will be going up in the next couple of days showing both the swamp and mining town demo boards, which both looked amazing.

If you wander by again can you get some close-up photos of the Swamp demo table :-)

I'll do my best. It's often obstructed by crowds of people, though. That's a good problem to have, I should think.

Direct from the Gen Con convention floor, The Screaming Alpha offers a video of the Wyrd Crew demoing the newly-released Malifaux. Can a game eschew dice altogether and still be fun? Oh yes...

http://thescreamingalpha.com/2009/08/14/first-look-at-malifaux-by-wyrd-miniatures/

Good to know TGN has them as well. They're good articles and should be as widely disseminated as possible.

It's quite common to see otherwise good miniatures pics diminished by an off-color cast or tint. This is usually the product of incorrectly-set white balance, and is easily correctable with most modern digital cameras. In this article reprinted from his late, lamented Wee Toy Soldiers site, guest columnist Hyun shows how easy it is to correct this potentially vexing problem.

http://thescreamingalpha.com/2009/08/11/custom-white-balance/

I'd hoped to get one more new review up before leaving for GenCon, but alas it was not to be. Instead I present a blast from the past, the very first review I wrote when I started my blog in January. The photography is a bit dire by my current standards, but I think the writing still holds up fairly well, and they remain some of my favorite zombie hunters. I hope you enjoy it.

http://thescreamingalpha.com/2009/01/05/review-zombie-hunters-from-westwind/

Ha! I forgot your background, Robert. Ok, so I;ll just try to keep you in frame and you take care of the rest, ok? I write pretty well, and my photography has come a long way, but video is still pretty new to me. I may well take you up on those tips...

Thanks, supervike. Philosophical bloviation aside, the enjoyment of the readers is the overall point of the exercise!

Make no mistake, Darkson is on my list, I'm hoping to set up a video interview about all the new goodies they have in store for us.. Perhaps I could even get that Darkson guy in front of the camera for a good grilling...

Yeah, the Helldorado bit will be a tall order, since I'm not sure anybody really knows what the future holds for it (if anything). I'll keep my eyes and ears open, though.