Alphawog

How about alphabetical by username?

35 here, and boy are my eyes feeling strained. I don't think this is a very good test to be administered by a computer as angle and exterior lighting effects perception of images on lcds. Either way, it makes the eyes burn and thats enough for me to not pass it on.

I vote for conjoined twins, but maybe I've watched too much Carnivale.

Nice review. I'm just waiting on funds from selling my backlogged GW stuffs before I buy a KoW army. I'm also excited to see more about Warpath, the sci-fi game Mantic is creating.

Don't get me started on that model. Absolutely hate it head to toe. If it wasn't my wife's I wouldn't have bothered putting it together.

The best advice on painting miniatures I have ever got is to start from the furthest in and work out. Usually this will mean doing skin first. I like this way of doing it because it reduces the amount of accidental paint on areas that have been "finished."

I think another thing that should be considered, when deciding on scenic or "stock" basing is the purpose for the model. Scenic bases can really made a model stand out and look great, but depending on the terrain you play with can end up being a real PITA. There's something incredibly annoying about replacing the model that you spent hours painting with a blank base, because the model was too tall to fit in a building or such. This is why in skirmish games I try to keep my models as low profile as possible. When height isn't an issue for gameplay or the model is meant for display I'll go wild. As a side note if any part of a model was visible(and not declared hidden) it could be shot at or charged(albeit with penalties). I once faced a dwarf player that used tall scenic bases that made them taller than 28mm humans and lost all the natural advantages of being stunty. Besides this being slightly humorous, its good to keep in mind if you may end up using your Malifaux miniatures for other games that do not judge LOS by base.

I'm not a huge fan of the pandora sculpt, but with that conversion it looks fantastic.

Mantic switched to a resin plastic mix for some of the metals they create. The video I saw showed that the plastic-resin they used was flexible not to break from a small drop and stiff enough to keep firm. Even weirder, the switch meant double the models in the box for the same price as the metals were. Maybe GW should ask them what mix they are using.

I actually prefer plastic(especially multipart kits) in many ways. It can make more dynamic models feasible. It is easier to convert with. I do like the weight and feel of metal models, but I can achieve the same feel with some base weights. I have alo had some metal models that wouldn't stay up right on an incline due to the top heavy sculpt, after based weights it was all right but a plastic would have been better IMHO. Now if it's a single piece mini that I am only going to have a single copy of metal all the way. That being said miniatures are never cheap so if the cost is substantially effected keep em metal and I'll deal with converting if needed. As far as the number of models needed for GW games, Mantic has managed to make models at a much lower price for horde combat type games. I have yet to get my hands on some, but I hear the sculpts are good. They also don't charge more for special units made from the same material. So basically 10 plastic minis is the same price-ish as any other set of 10 plastic mini's in their line. I always wanted to ask someone at GW why one set of 10 plastic soldiers cost more than this set of ten plastic soldiers?

So apparently Mantic Games has a sale going on Getting their dig in while trying to drum up a few more sales.

It depends on what kind of resin and quality management type systems you are using. Molds can be created very cheaply using silicone or latex. The same molds can be used for metal also, assuming the latex/silicone has a high enough heat resistance. However, air bubble can be a huge problem in resin casting. There are a number of ways to reduce the air bubble problem including using a more "watery" resin mix or vibrating the mold after the resin is poured. Also the molds must be constructed so that air can escape. However, the best method to reduce air bubbles is casting in a vacuum and I do not know how much more expensive that set up would be. Resin is also considered labor intensive(although this should be comparable to metal), when compared to typical plastic casting.

Is it permissible to use another Wyrd model that has been "converted"? Currently thinking the Living Impaired from the Twisted line for mindless zombies or Imps from that same line for terror totos as examples. Unless major conversion is done using other Malifaux models could cause some confusion, but the Twisted line has no rules associated and therefore are easily seen as proxy types.

Same here but add a "with children......" I still find some time to play mini games, board games, and video games. Every now and then I get out for a round of disc golf.

I think you may have missed the final remarks from PeteScete's post. He was merely offering the counter-point to what he thought was being stated. In reality I don't think PeteScete or myself really care much either way about GW, to attack or defend them. I feel this discussion is within the bounds of general chat about the gaming industry. I also did not intend for this post to be directly about GW's current actions, there are plenty of forums on the internet with these arguments. I found the PP sale to have interesting timing and was curious if anyone else had noticed or thought it was of interest. I did not link to it, give specifics about it, or suggest that the readers should go and buy or play those games. I do not intend for this thread to be a detriment to Malifaux or Wyrd Games. That being said, you never posted any thoughts on the idea of smaller companies possibly targeting some of the angry and frustrated GW gamers(or newly ex-GW gamers). I would be very interested in hearing them, if you don't consider it to be in poor taste.

@PeteScete My recap does not reflect my personal opinions. GW only ticks me off when they screw with the fan sites that have been supporting the games they no longer due. And honestly that is a minor annoyance. I like GW minis and some of their games. I very rarely buy miniatures from them because I have enough GW products that aren't even assembled yet. The prices and region thing really don't effect me whatsoever. I also agree the angry internet ranters make up a very small section of the GW community. However, the angry internet ranters are also some of the most vocal which makes them an influence on others also. I don't think GW will be hurt much by this because most will complain and pay as usual. GW's prices really aren't that bad if A) You use them for skirmish games or You have an army and only buy a unit now and then. Also, new GW players don't see a huge difference since they haven't been around for the previous price increases or will start after and not think of it as paying more. However, I think there is an opportunity to strike while the iron and tempers are hot and get people to try something they otherwise might not. While it may not be a large chunk of the GW base it might be a fair amount of new customers to the smaller mini companies. Also, excellent point about the "street presence" costs.

I actually just read the infinity rulebook(gotta love a company that provides free pdf rules) and it definitely has some cool mechanics. The models are a bit scarce on this side of the ocean though. I'll prolly give the rules a test with some proxies sometime soonish. Maybe some of that 40K/Warzone stuff I never got around to building/painting.

Quick Recap of GW news for those who have missed it: GW is raising prices again(somewhere around 17%), preventing ordering from outside of the region and generally ticking people off with lawsuits. The meat of this post: The net has been ablaze with people ticked at GW for any or all of a number of reasons. Multiple gaming podcasts have talked about it and honestly I haven't seen much sympathy for GW. Not a supremely uncommon event on the interwebs. However, PP announced today a "10 year anniversary sale" for Warmachine/Hordes that seems to be targeted at new players (Starter pack bundle deals). I don't know if it was planned prior to the GW stuff or not, but the timing probably couldn't be better(within this year) to capitalize on GW fans' peaked frustrations to try and get them to try something new. Thoughts: I think a lot of the smaller companies could benefit from starter set bundle sales to cannibalize part of the GW customer base. Anyone else agree/disagree? Anyone else suspect PP is attempting this, or is it coincidence that they have started the sale now?

Yeah, I should have put organized play instead of specifically tournaments.

They do have an open faction listing in gaining ground. I was asking why no one was supporting that? As it is the extension of the next step in options from faction fixed. That being said, it appears somewhere someone official has stated that the balance is based upon faction. Which IMO knocks the promise down a peg for those of us that not only have to convince ourselves to spend but our friends. EDIT: ADDED Way better sales pitch with fewer mini's and much less likely for a spoiler list from power gaming buds to rain on the more casuals fun.

Great work on one my favorite models.

I would like to know where this was said, as it may determine my willingness to participate in any tournaments(if any happen locally). EDIT: It appears this blog makes mention of it: http://carpealea.blogspot.com/2011/03/game-balance-don-quixote-of-wishful.html This is good to hear.

I agree and have never been arguing for a single tournament style. I think that allowing locals to determine their tournaments is a fine way of handling the issue. My argument have been in regards to the balance of the game. I could care less what tournament rules people want to play by, because even if Wyrd declared one specific set TO's would still house rule and make different tournament rule sets in a manner they and their players(hopefully) find agreeable.

This seems to work against the statement for variety. Excellent argument. I just think the better solution would be to fix any auto-wins by evening up the masters if necessary. Could it be possible for Hamelin to simply avoid the strategy and win via scheme completion? Maybe Hamelin's crew selection should be looked at, or maybe the strategy could be reworked or replaced, or maybe each master should have a strategy that is an uphill battle and the random draw of the game occasionally getting the best of you will have to be taken into account. I've heard that Hamelin is quite good at many strategies so maybe an achilles heal is in order. A more moderate master might not have an easy time with any scenario but not any difficult ones either. I can't get behind the idea that picking a different Master is the best answer to balance.

I agree the idea of always being able to pick the best tool for the job is appealing in certain ways and definitely different than most other mini games. In my opinion I feel this positive is outweighed by the negatives. The game even at a fixed master with X ss of crew allows this same type of play to a lesser extent. Instead of changing the head you change the support to match. I agree that the richest man in the world won't win a game if he isn't good. It's a question of who has the edge. Fixed master could mean (assuming masters are not balanced) that occasionally you have a steep uphill battle, but it will be somewhat random. With the same assumption of balance we can say the guy with the better toolset could typically choose to never have the uphill with few exception. Why should it have to be more expensive? One of the big perks of playing a skirmish game is that it is a smaller investment. Why ruin it? Its easier to get a buddy to spend $50-$60 to play the new game with you than if he has to spend $100 or more dollars. Granted most will play casually but for the tournament crowd a bigger investment to become competitive makes a bigger hurdle on getting people involved. Why shouldn't a person be able to? If a box lets him field 30SS, why shouldn't it be competitive at a 30SS tourney. Granted this goes beyond the fixed master discussion, but in general most people are talking fixed master with extra crew to choose from. So in this case we're actually saying a starter and a few blisters to be competitive. A few, I'm sure. Most will end up filling out a bunch of options for their faction/masters or moving onto new faction/masters. And a some will collect like Pokemon. My question to those in support of fixed faction(at least those that can answer with civility), why fixed faction instead of open faction? Its an option in the tourny rules and would add even more variety by the current logic as presented.