Kuro

I have a bottom feed airbrush, and while it's great for big jobs, like terrain, it's less good for miniatures. The bottom feed brushes require more air pressure, so that means the spray radius is going to increase and you can't do details as well. That said, I only use my brush for base coating and underpainting my minis. It's a huge help in that regard, but most of my painting is still done by hand.

I don't see how it matters for the purpose of a RPG. If you're counting cards in an RPG, you really should be in Vegas striking it big, not RPing in your basement. I've spent a lot, and I mean a lot of time developing my own RPG mechanics. There are flaws to every dice and card system out there. It really comes down to what works with the universe you're creating and how you intend to scale probability for modifiers. Since we don't know how they're going about with either of those things yet, I don't see how it can be criticized. Dice or decks are functionally the same, but have a different style. Just like how step dice systems are different than exploding dice pool systems. Either way, they help interpret resolutions.

Cards are just another form of randomization-- no different than dice or rock-paper-scissors or whatever weird mechanic you might use to simulate predictability. Since there is already a fate deck mechanic in the skirmish game, I don't see an issue at all with using it in the RPG. Not only that, but it's very thematic to the setting. I wholeheartedly support the fate deck for this game.

Wait... not all of my urges are supposed to be sexual? Guys, I think I'm a Neverborn!!! Seriously though, you bring up good points. Usually I would be right with you on this, but I think that Malifaux has already set up the fluff in a pretty unique way. A huge chunk of the books are told from the perspective of otherwise alien characters. You get to see the world through the eyes of Molly, Pandora, Zoraida, Lilith, a witchling, etc. Those are (non)people that normally I couldn't identify with, but it seems the writers really want to put you into their shoes. I don't think that you're at all wrong, but I think this setting is uniquely suited for letting you play "the dragon" so to speak.

I think all of the factions are esoteric. Sure, the Neverborn have nebulous motivations and a mysterious back story, but I could say the same for the Guild, or the Ressers, or the Arcanists. Do we really know more about Lucius than, say, Zoraida or Lilith? Malifaux is supposed to be a crazy place where people arrive and start entirely new lives that shoot off in every direction. Shouldn't players be able to do the same thing?

I can see your point, but I think it would be a waste for a RPG based off a miniature skirmish game to not utilize miniatures as a primary feature of the game. You already have a really nice range of minis to support it. If that isn't something somebody wants, it wouldn't be difficult to just use the source fluff and put it in another game system. Too true! Just don't play RPGs with those people. Power gamers completely miss the point of RPGs, anyways.

I love the blue and complimentary orange. That's a really sharp looking crew! Are you using an airbrush for these?

As far as combat goes, I think there should be an emphasis on miniatures, but it should be entirely optional. (For people who complain about this, it's almost always optional in any game with a few house rules.) Overall, I hope the game emphasizes heavily on non-combat situations. No doubt, there will be plenty opportunity for fighting, but we already have a skirmish game that does that quite well. I really want to see what it's like to live in Malifaux and have to struggle with the politics and intrigue. As a bonus, it would be nice to have survival mechanics. Malifaux has strong wild west and frontier themes, and I think for those to be immersive, you have to be wary of rattlesnakes and horses breaking their legs in gopher holes, etc.

Nice! There should be a Murphy mechanic somewhere. Like every time a player draws a control card, they draw 2 face up, and discard the one with the highest value.

I've played several games with him in a Zoraida crew, and with good success. I like using obey to move a couple enemy models up next to him, so he can get off a Flurry and a Landslide on his activation. He's not exactly a powerhouse, but he's very good at diverting an opponent's attention. The last game I played, he managed (with the help of Zoraida's obey) to kill an austringer, a death marshal, and an executioner. The diversion he was creating while doing that I credit to wiping out an entire 35ss crew. The best thing I did with him is going toe-to-toe with the executioner and then suiciding with landslide, denying him the chance to heal.

All of these awesome Show Girls crews are making me want to toss my hat into that ring too. Also, your cat bases really make the models. Great work-- I hope to see more in the future.

I voted for Pere Ravage, but I second the above opinions that the photography is really unfair. That Bete Noir looks like she might be very well painted, but I can't tell from the image. The Pale Rider is such a bad photo, that I can't even tell.

Thanks for the review, though I sorely hope I disagree after I receive my tree in the mail. I have mixed feelings about 3D modelling miniatures. It has its pros and cons, which can be said for hand-sculpted models too. One big issue is that I think it's difficult to maintain a tabletop miniature perspective when you're working with the CGI. A sculptor knows how to exaggerate the figure correctly by simply eye-balling his mini as he works on it. I feel like a CG artist will have to perform that skill based on experience from previous prints. I wouldn't be surprised if detail would be less punctuated than on a hand sculpted model. On the bright side, you won't get all of the deformed and inaccurate details that you're guaranteed to find in a hand sculpted model either. I don't know anything about the artists making these new models, but I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. Remember, that there probably is a learning curve involved in these new models too. Just food for thought from an artist, by trade.

Fantastic! Inspirational stuff, for sure. I think I need to start sneaking coffee stir sticks out of the cafeteria...

I was checking out the same stuff actually. I'm in the middle of a Halloween/graveyard style board, and they look like they fit the bill. An easy way to make shingles is to cut a bunch of tiny squares out of a cereal box, or similar material. Some people use plasticard, but that's more expensive. You don't have to cut them out even-- they actually look better a bit lopsided. Yeah, I used to operate a laser engraver. The residue it leaves on wood is pretty gross. If you get it on your hands, it's all you smell for the rest of the day!

I haven't had the same issue with that particular mini, but I know exactly what you're talking about. A lot of fine, round features on metal minis can have that issue, particularly hair. I think it helps to wash your mini off with soap/water and sand the surface a little bit before you prime. That advice isn't any good to you now, though. What I would do is get some paint on primer, and just touch up the problem spots. Maybe try to wipe off any leftover mold release with a q-tip or something first. Also, out of curiosity, what brand of primer did you use?

Your gremlins are probably the best I've seen. They're really vibrant!

Those are fantastic! I love the muted tones and the art nouveau style. A little anachronistic for the setting, but I'm glad that didn't stop you from making these beautiful models.

I second this! It's also useful as a first aid antiseptic. After I cut myself with a craft knife, I just pour some of this stuff on the wound and I'm back to modeling.

The single most important thing you should know is to take your time and respect the quality of the model you're working on. Prepping, priming, thinning paints, etc are all important fundamentals that you can learn about from lots of different people. Attention to detail and patience are skills that will help you do all of those things better, and you really need to learn that for yourself. You have this awesomely sculpted miniature that an artist worked really hard on. It was so awesome, that you decided to drop some cold hard cash to make it your own. Remember that, and don't uglify someone else's artwork by taking shortcuts or hurrying through just to finish painting. In the long run, you'll paint faster, anyways, since you won't be trying to correct your mistakes. Good luck and happy painting! It takes a lot of work to get good at it, but it's definitely worth it.

That looks really nice so far.

The way that acrylic paint works is that as you thin it with more and more water, the pigment isn't going to be held in as well by the acrylic medium it's suspended in. Red is already a notoriously difficult color to get proper coverage with, so that doesn't help either. With water as thin as what you're describing, you're probably staining the surface more than actually painting a layer onto it. There are a few things I recommend depending on what you're trying to do. You can try to add 1 part flow release into 10 parts water to get a deeper stain, since that will make it kind of a wash. You can add acrylic medium, as mentioned above, as it will keep the pigment thin, but will make it stick. The other thing you can do is just make a nice healthy layer of paint by leaving it the consistency of milk. Also, red always goes on easier to a white surface, so underpainting might be a consideration if you want to get it nice and vibrant.

Compressor and airbrush look good. I don't know what you would want a flow pen for, though. It's seems unneccesary if you have a real airbrush. Airbrushes are great, but just be prepared to spend lots on little accessories that you didn't think you would need. Also consider a cheap bottom feed brush if you do a lot of terrain. You can hold more paint that way.

I've tried a variety of primers over the years, and I have to say the highest quality stuff is Citadel black primer. It's not cheap, but like many things in the hobby, you really get what you pay for. It's much more forgiving than other brands, since the only way to screw up a mini with the stuff is to just drown it with too much paint. So it's obviously designed for new painters who don't know what they're doing, but it still goes on smooth and maintains a high level of detail. I've never had a bad prime with the stuff, and consistency is important. Last night I actually ran out of Citadel primer while working on some terrain, so I switched to this Board to Pieces gray primer that I had lying around. I used it in the exact same conditions, spraying from the exact same distance, and it nearly ruined everything. While Citadel primer went on smooth, this garbage went on gritty and left a fine sand-like dust all over the place. Most of it didn't even bond to the surface of the plastic I was spraying. There were some spots where it was smoother, but the paint went on way too thick, like it was spurting out unevenly. I took every precaution and shook the hell out of it... so it's really just a bad product. Stay away from Board to Pieces primer.

If I don't get any rocks packed in with my Gencon order, I'm going to make like a million complaints about it. Just FYI.