Moros

Many thanks, looks like an interesting starting point. Just had a 'proper' look through the puppet cards and realised that it only comes with 5 sidekicks so obviously 2 per side even at shoebox level is out of the question; Must pay more attention!! I like the idea of a suited out of faction puppet though, that will certainly be used with friends and at home. Interesting that you have generally kept the factions together, and I totally understand why. For some reason (probably just reading the fluff) I was expecting more inter-faction armies.

I'm looking for a little advice based on experience. I've just recently bought Puppet Wars Unstitched and have managed to get in a couple of games with my wife using the recommended Armies within the Rulebook, however I now have the possibility of showcasing the game to a couple of friends who have never played, later this week. My question to all of you in the know is; 'Using only the figures/puppets in the box, what would be your recommendations for 3 (relatively!) balanced armies to allow an evening of fair(ish) game play?' As mentioned, I've only played PWU a couple of times now but have a fair amount of Malifaux experience, so the systems and gameplay are certainly not new to me. Thoughts and suggestions very welcome, so over to you........

I've really started to enjoy the whole scenery thing. There's just something about this game that makes me want to build the stuff. Probably due to the fact that you only need around 10 minis to play (faction dependent of course!) so there is a little more time to devote to other aspects of the game. I like the idea of a build-off though. Have to admit that I'd be no good here; I find it very difficult to build to a timetable/deadline - too busy wanting to try out new techniques and the like along with the fact that annoying things like work tend to get in the way. @Wigwam- now that, as sports commentators would say, is a result! I'm chuffed with your wife's appraisal, obviously a woman with exceptional taste;), however, strike while the iron is hot and start a board today!

I knew someone had some in game photos lying around somewhere. First time that I've seen them, just shows how much of a 'bun-fight' was happening over the Cottage- probably turn four if I remember rightly. I had to clear out a few of those pesky Outcasts to make room for my boys:D. @greenbull- No problem what-so-ever. I do have several more photos including close-ups of various parts of the board if you require. @Jonas A- Love the phrase 'Functional Eye Candy' . There are projects in the pipeline as well, albeit in the very early stages. I will post details at a later stage. My intention for the coming year is to paint another crew (possibly two, and depending on what appears at our local club) and do two more boards. By that time I'll have no more spare space and will probably look to off-load the original swamp board. We've noticed that some good scenery and painted crews works wonders for getting the interest in the game. Although the majority of club members are in to historical games, seeing this board and the swamp board appear on a weekly basis is slowly encouraging people to have a look and pick up the game. Also helped recently by the fact we had a successful and entertaining Halloween Tournament and that Malifaux figures made up the winning entry of our annual painting competition. All-in-all, good stuff for the uptake of the game.

Many thanks for comments so far. @Wodschow - The rocks, hills, warehouse and track are all fixed. The rest is all movable. It is my intention to build a ruined mine structure (probably just up to the first level) to replace the current one on occasions, and possibly a free standing 'well type' mine or water tower for the centre of the table. I've currently got more crates and barrels of varying heights to paint along with some loads for the rolling stock. @yazza - the track is flexible OO gauge track from Hornby. It is mounted on 3mm foamboard to give it a little height over the surrounding scenery and has modelling talus (medium if I remember rightly) glued around it to give the heavy gravel/broken rock feel.

Well I've finally got the photos sorted out, and here are some pics of my latest board. The baseboard is 20mm blue craftfoam stuck on to 3mm MDF board. All the rock faces and any elevations are again 20mm blue craftfoam built up to the required level. All rock faces were carved with a mixture of hot wire tools and a sharp modelling knife. The sides of the board have been faced with more 3mm MDF to provide rigidity and prevent damage during transportation (yes, it fits perfectly in the back of my car). The cottage and mine structure are moveable, as are the barrels and crates and rail trucks. Both the cottage and warehouse have a removable roof to allow the game to continue inside. All of the trees are magnetised, so it is easy to move figures through the terrain area but they won't fall over when the table is knocked. The sandy area through the middle of the board is just that, bird sand painted yellow ochre whilst the grass is a variety of modelling flocks. The warehouse is scratch built using 3mm foamboard and a shed load of coffee stirrers. The roof is again 3mm foamboad with very thin corrugated aluminium. The hillside mine, cottage and rail trucks are all kits (plans and a handful of wood mainly) from those nice chaps at OzSteam. These guys have a range of interesting stuff obviously aimed at train modellers but some of which is ideal for steampunk themed scenery etc. Their stuff is 'On' gauge which translates to 1/43rd Narrow gauge. Ideal for Malifaux. The board has now had several games played on it and I can safely say that it has been a success. Despite the fact that some of the scenery is 'fixed', there is still enough variation with the movable terrain features to ensure that no two games are ever the same. When I'd first completed the board and stood back and looked at it, the first thing that struck me was the sheer number of trees (35 in all). I thought that as they were mainly around the edge of the board the volume wouldn't matter, however we have found that this actually encourages players to use this cover for some outrageous flanking moves despite the fact that there is more than enough cover around the central area of the board. Enjoy.

It's been awhile since I've managed to paint and photograph any minis, so whilst I've got a little spare time I thought that I'd share these. Nothing remotely original in terms of colour schemes I'm afraid, but I used these to try out some new painting techniques and consolidate some old ones. I'm fairly happy with the way that these turned out in the end, especially as I was painting to a deadline. These were required for our Halloween Tournament and I was having to build a board in the meantime as well. I'll post up pics of the board a little later. (Apologies for the odd picture sizes, I'm having software snags......) First up is Nicodem; I was torn between the Artwork in Book 1 and Eric J's multi-piece scheme. In the end, I felt like I needed a different challenge and I'd had enough of painting Black on other figures. Next up is the Vulture Totem: Next is the Killjoy Delivery System. This Necropunk caused me all kinds of trouble. I really do not like painting Undead flesh ( I only found this out after starting to paint Resurrectionists :banghead: ) and this chap had several acetone baths before I got to this stage. I refuse to paint the third and final one though. The ever reliable Flesh Construct. Again the skin caused me no end of aggravation. It's probably still a little too 'fleshy' for my liking, although I am happy with the slight yellow pallor (doesn't show up too well in the pics) to the skin. Finally, Killjoy himself. All in all, I'm happy with the results, the only thing I have to sort out now is Bete Noire........

Glad you enjoyed your first game. I fully support both Chucklemonkey and Peoples Champ in advocating Punk Zombies. Wouldn't leave home without them. Paired with Belles they make for an excellent combo; good board control coupled with decent damage output. As Peoples Champ says, put up your list, but also your opponents list, that way we can get an idea of the match up. Just for information, I run Seamus with 2 Belles, 2 Punk Zombies, a Necropunk and Killjoy in a 35SS game. Does leave me a bit tight on Soulstones but having Killjoy sat on the table edge, itching to get into play seems to reduce my opponents desire to kill anything of mine for the first four turns. And even if he does get killed quickly, he's normally diverted attention long enough to prevent my opponent making his objective or to allow me to make mine. But as always, crew lists are very dependent upon your own play-style. Personally, I don't use the Copy-cat Killer (in lists where I have stones to spare) as I don't feel it gives enough bang-for-buck, I'd rather use the Grave Spirit. I haven't had much success with Sybelle either, for some reason I just can't get the most out of her....... Hope things go well next time. And yes, we must get round to having that game and pint, although unlikely to be this side of Christmas at this rate

As above, but also there is a group playing out of Yeovil (Witch Engine). However myself and Amarel play up in Wells most Thursdays Nights which is probably easier to get to from yours. We have a small group of around 5 keen Malifauxians and trying to get more people involved. If you need any more information, PM either myself or Amarel.

Hey Guys, Been watching this thread for quite a while and picked up some useful tips and then I read this:

Beautiful, really beautiful. Particularly impressed with the satin/silk effect on the golden angel. And as for Seamus, well.... ....I'm off to find somewhere where I can to sob quietly to myself......

Wow… many thanks for all of the really positive comments. @Angus Khan: The Blue Belle is my favourite as well. If I play with less than 3 belles, which is the norm at present, she’s always guaranteed a starting slot. I probably enjoyed painting her the most out of the three.:proud: I think they’re probably best viewed at distance:whistle:……… Hopefully the pics below will suffice. Once again, many thanks for the comments, hope you enjoy these as well.

Whenever I've mounted buildings or scenery on baseboard, I've used 3mm hardboard. The trick is to weight down the item uniformly whilst it is drying, this way it sets in that position. This is assuming that you are using a PVA or waterbased adhesive. If the board is slightly warped to begin with, you can wet it, weight it down and let it dry thoroughly, it's worked for me to date. A little while ago I starting using a hot glue gun (mainly for speed) to attach buildings and the like to baseboards, and to date none have warped. I try to leave as little 'overhang' as possible as this doesn't gain any of the rigidity from the scenery. I can fully sympathise with you on the foamboard. I've just built a wooden shack for my swamp board and by the end of production, there wasn't a straight line on it, only the Sydney Opera House has got more curves.:doh: I'll be interested to hear about this masonite sheet and how you get on with it, although I'm not sure we can get it over this side of the pond.

I’ve finally managed to get some photos of my Redchappel Gang. These are my first Wyrd Minis, still trying to get my head around how on earth a 32mm mini can be smaller than a 28mm figure.:hmmmm: As you can see, not overly original in terms of colours but they did provide an excellent opportunity to experiment with new and different painting techniques from ones used before. It was also my initial attempt an NMM; something that is going to take a lot more practice to get nailed. All apart from Sybelle were a blast to paint (paint, strip and paint again before I wrapped my hand in), and I’m fairly happy with the way they’ve turned out. Just a shame, as was pointed out by friends, that the bases don’t match my swamp/bayou board.:hmpf: Anyhow, comments and critique always welcome. First of all, the Mad Hatter himself: Madame Sybelle The Alluring Belles ...their minders... and finally the whole gang ready for a night out on the town.

I'm with Lalochezia regarding Seamus. I started playing Malifaux with the Redchappel Gang but soon realised that they needed a little something extra. From experience, 3 belles are more than enough. The only time that I would have wanted any more was actually this last weekend when during one game there were a sack-full of corpse counters well within reach and a control deck stuffed with high :crows and 3 belles already in play. Oh well, at least I got Slit Jugular off several times! A blister of punk zombies balances the crew very well, I've had decent success running Seamus, Sybelle, 2 Belles and 2 Punk Zombies in a 25ss game. It also gives you an opportunity to see what works (or doesn't) for you before committing to buying much more. I haven't run the grave spirit yet (not painted) but on paper looks more in-tune with my style than the copycat killer. A further advantage of expanding the Redchappel crew in this manner is that you could easily covert the crew to be led by Nicodem for very little cost if you find you click with the Resurrectionists and want something a little more expansive. Bear in mind that the Ortega boxed set will come in at 25ss whilst the Redchappel Gang is only 18ss. Obviously you could just add stones to your cache but I'm sure your opponent would prefer to be introduced to the business end of some paired katanas! I've recently started using Pandora as well. The boxed set is good and more than capable of taking on most other crews, but as WombatCowboy pointed out, Teddy is a great addition and fills the 'maximum physical violence' slot that is currently empty with the starter box. If you can wait a few weeks, the Doppelganger is due to be released and he adds so much to the crew, but again this depends upon your play style and how soon you want to invest. I can't comment on 'Tina as of yet, as I have to paint what I've already got before I go a get any more (self imposed restriction), otherwise I'll end up like I did in my 40K days with stacks of unpainted and sometimes unopened figures. Hope this helps and hope you enjoy.

I'd recommend having a look at TOMPS Ltd (www.tomps.com). I've just started mould-making and casting and these guys were very helpful. Their RTV Value range is very good and they do some decent PU fast cast resins and fillers.