striker8

This I don't understand, forcing yourself to like and play a game that you don't enjoy. You're aiming yourself for a complete gaming failure doing that. I have to like a game to play it more than once, and I better well enjoy a game before I spend any money on it. I don't care how many other people like the game, if I don't I'm not going to waste my time and money on it. I learned my lesson with games in the past that playing something because others think it's great when I myself detested it. All that did was lead to friction and nasty arguments that fractured the group. There are plenty of other games you can choose from that you may enjoy and odds are others in your group will as well giving allowing you to play a game you enjoy. If that just doesn't work trust me you're better off finding something else as a hobby over hating this one.

Since I severely dislike this new edition's removal of the things that drew me into it in the first place, and since I have no desire to play the new edition means it will be difficult to find a game using the old rules. And once you add in the fact the game I like will no longer have anything new added to it I'm declaring Malifaux a game I use to play and divest myself of it. I'll just shift that time and money to a game with rules I like that has players I can enjoy playing the game with.

In Sabol foam I would sugest 1.5" foam for the small stuff you're willing to lay down since 1" won't contain the whole 30mm lipped base, and then just measure the tallest of your mini's and get a tray that's about 1/4" taller for the rest. The 1/4" should give you a bit of crush room and a cushion incase you get something a bit taller than what you have curently. Currently my 23 Guild models reside in a single 3" tray with some laying flat and some upright. Since that tray is now full I'll most likely start using 1.5" for the one piece smaller mini's, and add another 3.5" or 4" tray for the bigger stuff and contain them all in a Platoon case I have left over from buying a biger case for other mini's. I personaly love the Sabol cases and foam over the other options available. I've seen them all and nothing has the utillity that Sabol gives me plus the added feature that all major distributors carry it so as my collection grows I can replace and adjust the foam I use at a reasonable cost.

I don't think you can do that with Dispel magic from a stalker. Paralyze being an action modifier and not an actuall effect token/counter/marker. Same goes for Slow.

I paint for the JAC Painters Guild http://www.jacgames.com/warhammer-painted-service-pricing.html We're US based, established on 2006. We have done everything from single mini's to whole armies in all genres, and a large number of repeat customers. I don't know if we've done any Malifaux comissions as of yet but I've done stuff for myself and some of it's in my galleries. Drop us a line for pricing and other info.

But then it would effect people that may want the mini to set below the lip, or sets to high or low for what people want at that time, and will add additional problems for people that want to remove the tab completely since even flush cut cutters wil have issues in slipping into the junction where the step and actuall tab intersect instead of cetting at the point they desire. To make it easier to position a mini with a tab at the level you want in the slot of a base it's as easy as puting a slight s shaped bend in tab so it will hold the mini in place while the glue sets. Give the tab a bend and see how it holds, adjust as needed, it's worked for me for over 20 years with all sloted bases and tabbed mini's.

I'm going to assume you're rather new to the hobby. Trying to claim the large mini's Wyrd does are any worse than anyone elses shows proves inexperiene and more than a bit of bias. I've done mini's for 30 years with the last 10 as a comission painter, and they all have thier moments. I think for the most part the Wyrd mini's are done as well as can be considering the way the sculpts have to be cut up for casting.

From the looks of things you're picking things up. I can't say it too much, you have to understand the basics, dry brushing, layering, keeping the paint where it belongs, etc. Once you get those down it will click and the advanced techniques will follow. One thing I see from your pictures is the lack of contrast to your painting, the later show improvment so you're getting there. For brushes decent craft store brushes are fine for most people. No need to spend $15+ on high end brushes untill you get to a point you'll actually use them to their potential and not destroy them. And destroying them is easy to do! Try a samttering of different craft level brushes untill you find the sizes and types that work for you I'd say to start some brushes running from 2 round on the large end then something with a good point around 0 or smaller for details, either natural or synthetic bristle. I paint mostly display level mini's for comission and most of my general use brushes are synthetic ones around $3 a pop with my freehand and detail brushes being natural bristle in the $5 to $10 range. I tried the high end ones and destroyed them to quickly for it to be economic for me. Too keep your brushes clean I recomend an actual brush cleanning jar, one with some form of insert to help open the brush up a bit while rinseing( I like the coil type inserts but have used the ones with a brush in the bottom), and some acrylic brush cleaner for a now and then deep cleaning along with a non silicone hair conditioner or an actual brush soap if your using natural brushes . Remember never jab the brush in the rinse jar to clean it, stroke it accoss the bottom or insert! To keep the paint workable longer you can go with a wet pallet and/or try one of the drying retarders available. I use both depending on the job. You can buy a nice wet pallet for around $20 at most craft store or you can make your own. For retarder you can get gel or fluid versions, I use both depending on what I'm doing, The gel you mix directly into the paint on your pallet and the fluid I put in my thinning water. Again Craft stores tend to have them both, I've used both Golden, and liquitex.

Just because you don't see a use for something doesn't mean others feel the same. Trying to pin down competitive uses for things also just screams you're not playing for the enjoyment but just for the win. Play what you think looks cool and you and your opponent will enjoy the most other wise one of you aren;t going to be enjoying the game much.

What size table do you play it on? : 3x3 works the best from experience, 4x4 can work but you need to modify the deployment zones or the first 2 turns are nothing but manuver. Like all skirmish games you do really need to have a good bit of terrain on the table, stuff that blocks LOS and terrain that slows movement. How big is an average force? (including model count): Localy most people seem to use 7 mini's or so at 30 to 35 stones, with a few exceptions. Is it balanced?: Balance is subjective. There are people who will abuse things no matter what. If you're local group can control those people it;s as balanced as any other game. Does it lend itself to tournament play? : Some say yes, I say no. Again it's subjective. I don't think tournaments make a game and lead to people sucking the fun out of non tournament play in the search of win. Your opinion may differ, How big of an investment for a crew? (dollarwise): Depends on the faction and master. I have 3 guild boxes( Lady J, Sonnia, Hoffman) and a few odd blister minis and I think I just broke $125 total with 21 mini's total of Guild. The box sets are in the $30 to $40 range and the other stuff runs from like $10 to $40 depending on the blister or small box. It all depends on the faction and the individual what the final cost will be but for around $50 you can have a nice batch of mini's to start. what book/s do I need to get?: You only need the rules manual and can down load that from the Wyrd site for free. The other books are nice haves for the fluff and if you want to study the stats without buying the mini for the card. The only one that could be a must have would be Twisting Fates and that would be for the Avatar rules but if you aren't using the Avatars the book isn't really needed

That's my first piece advice after recomending investing in a pin vise. I use an upholstery pin( think of a really heavy tailors straight pin ) for this but know people that use pocket awls and prick pins as well. Anything with a nice point and a decent way to grip it works, Are you serious? Last person I know of that swore pinning was to much work and un needed got laughed out of the shop as his army fell apart during a game due to not pinning anything. He changed his tune after that and joined my cult of pin everything you can now so it doesn't break later. You should never clamp the twist part of a bit in the chuck of any drill unless you have no choice. First that is the weakest area of the bit, and second a chuck uses friction to clamp the bit and by "choking up" on the bit yoou are giving away crucial surface area needed for the friction to hold the bit tighly. The GS and glue thechnique works well, but is still not as durable as a pin and in my opinion should only be used where pinning is just not practical or in conjunction with a pin for optmal koint strenghth. If the bit is slipping, and i mean either puching back into the chuck or when spinning the vise, you need to check a few things. First make sure the bit is the right size for the vice or collet, most hobby grade pin vises will have one or two double ended collets( the little split thing with the hole for the bit is called a collet). If the bit slips, flip the collet around and see if the other end has a smaller hole in it and try that or any extra collets the vise came with( some vises will have a second collet under the end with the spinner). Second make sure the bit is oil and grease free, friction is what holds the bit and anything that reduces it will cause the bit to slip. Then check the collet and or split fingers of the vise. Make sure there are no chips keeping the fingers from closing, and there is no damage, I periodicly run a bit of emery cloth down between the fingers to clean things out. When drilling you should never use more than moderate pressure, press just hard enough to get the bit to bite. If you have to bear down hard before you see chips forming the bit is to dull and should be replaced. Using to much force is what will snap bits and lead to extra holes in your person. Paper clips are my go to pin stock as well. They're stiff enough to support more weight than you'll ever need on a mini, as well as being dirt cheap and readily available. Aother member of the pin cult! Hail brother! Thank you for mentioning having multiple pin vises. If you assemble a lot of mini's this is the way to go, I have at least 6 pin vises all set up with the bits I use regularly. For the most common size pins I use nice spinner top vices, for my less common needs I use cheap machinists vises that come in sets of 4 for less than $20. Lubeing the bit I'm not really convinced is beneficial in this aplication. You lube a bit when drilling materials to reduce the friction because the heat destroys the cutting edge and weakens the steel, as well as fluch the chips from the hole. I've never managed to spin a pin vise long or fast enough to produce friction to get the bit that hot. And getting oil on mini's is never a good thing as it produces extra work since it has to be removed or the paint wonlt stick. Wax might work if you have a problem with chips sticking to the bit but you'll also my have issues with wax making any glue in the hole not bond. I never recomend craft/floral wire as pin stock. It works, but I feel it's to soft and bends to easily to be reliable. The idea behind a pin is it takes the shear force that would break a joint so a pin that bends easily doesn't take the shear force as well. IF you need really thin pin stock I recomend plain unwound guitar string( It's hardend steel and while flexible does not bend easily when cut to pin length) or gauged brass rod( the manufacturing process work harden the brass so it preforms like the guitar string but is easier to cut). Ok here's my disclaimer lol: I don't insist that my way is the correct way or only way. Everything I've stated is based on 30+ years of hobby and real world experience and mistakes. Feel free to ponder, use, modify, or ignore as desired. If I can help a few I feel it's worth it.

TY for helping back me up. If people would start with the basics like block painting and then add on the other layers as they learn and practice painting wouldn't hold the mysterious aura it seems to have. I didn't touch on thinning and probably should have. I thin every paint I use and using paint out of the pot makes me cringe! It's gotten to the point that every time I'm asked for input on a paint job the first thing said is "You didn't thin your paint did you?" This is then followed by being told I'm to critical and they like painting out of the pot becasue thinning is too much work but they still pester me on how to be a better painter.

Ah, but one of the important aspects of painting that a novice has to learn is what the techniques are. The mastery of them isn't required but having an idea of what the techniques entail is since that is what you build you foundation of skill on. This is even more important in on line discussions since it's often hard to explain them in a simple sentence or two. Detailed explanations can found on line rather easily, Dr Faust's has been around forever, Cool Mini is full of really good tutorials, and there are many others. I firmly believe there is now right way to paint and there is only the way that works for the individual and that only comes from experimentation by each individual painter. That being said when I first started I did the old bronze flesh with a wash for years and couldn't get beyond that, then had the luck to talk to a few really acomplished painters at a convention and they impressed upon me that you need to think shadow, mid tone, highlight at all times and it's crucial for skintones. They recomended working with a simple 3 color shadow to highlight technique to start and then increase the number of layers/shades as I improved. So pick your base skin tone color, that is your mid tone, then pick you're shadow and highlight color. For example my usual "normal" skin is GW dwarf flesh mid tone, with dark flesh shadow, and elf flesh highlight. Paint from shadow out, so base coat the shadow color, apply the mid tone leaving the shadow color where it needs to be, then the highest points get the highlight color. Once you get the hang of it then you can start doing things like mixing the shadow and mid tone colors and having a intermediate step between the two, and doing the same with the mid tone and highlight and adding washes and glazes into the mix to soften the transitions from one color to the next.

I use the GS trick for situations like this. Mix up a little bit of GS and pinch off a tiny bit and roll into a ball, put a bit of glue on the point of contact for both parts, place the GS ball on one piece over the glue and press together. Since the GS will at this hold the parts in position enough for a little manipulation without falling apart you can quickly use something to scrap any of GS/glue that ooze out and then the catalytic reaction between the two will speed up the setting time of both. Word of caution though the GS will bond to the glue almost immediately so care must be used if you try to upscale this technique for larger parts or things with a large surface area joint. This technique seems to render a bond that sits between just glue and being pinned and can even be used if you're pinning to render an even stronger joint.

Well said! Hard to believe there are people who don't, or won't understand any of it though.