ttsgosadow

Another installment to my painting progress. I finished up my Colette Crew. On paper and on the table-top I really love the crew. Also the miniatures are awesome, but I found myself not enjoying painting them as much as I had expected. Think it's party because my painting skills can't do them justice - they are very hard to paint right. I struggled with the faces (especially the eyes), all the tiny details like the small knots on the dresses and the stockings. I just did a couple of pictues of them. They turned out a bit grainy, and I feel that the pictures show them painted to a lower standard then when I hold them for RL. Waiting till the summer for better lights wasn't an option, so here goes The first models of the crew I painted where the doves. I actually liked painting them. There where some new techniques to the models that where fun to do. I added some stuff to the bases of two of them to give them more presence on the table, as I felt that - especially the one with the book - was so easy to overlook otherwise. I found it impossible to paint actual cards in that small detail, and tried to at least paint the suit on it. The bases for these models are the wooden plank bases I did from a DVD case. Then Colette and Cassandra. The Golden Girls of the team. They are a blast to play! With Cassandra being the only real 'offensive' model (wel, bar the Coryphe) I thought a little snarling dog would do great on her base. Had fun doing Colette's base, as I found a little snail figure in one of my bitboxes. Last game with Coryphe was madness. That model is so good! Too bad it got one-shot by a Ronin in a turn where I had to chose between saving Cassie or Cory. Chose to save Cassie, as she was targeted with a scheme. These models where very hard to paint. Don't think the knots come out good I magnetised the models, so I can transport them to the other base when they dance together. The standing Coryphe didnt have enough ground surface to put a magnet under her without it showing, so I figured she might be standing on a little hatch on the floor. I think it doesn't disturb the base too much. Tried to do blood splatters on the model and the base. It's a little bit hard to see on the pictures. When I googled 'painting blood' I found some disturbing sites about people actually making real paintings with real blood... A couple of search results down there where a couple of good suggestions, which I used to do the blood. Needless to say half my painting area is covered in blood splatters now Well, that's kinda what Coryphe does to you! Last but not least the mannequins. They come with performers. When I received the box one of the mannequin where missing her arms. I reported that to Wyrd. Couldn't wait to paint them (the arms actually showed up about 4 weeks after I got the other models, 3 weeks after I put in the complaint that I missed the arms), but I have grown to like the armless mannequin. Mannequin are my favorite models, but again hard to paint. The head has some tiny details, which look like little rivets holding the mannequin together. Anyways, that's my Colette crew table-ready. Didn't like painting them as much as I expected, which is a shame. Maybe it's because I couldn't paint them to proper standards. Maybe in a couple of years, when I have become a better painter (which I sincerely hope!) I might do another Colette and try to do them justice. Feedback and comments are more then welcome!

I do exactly that. It usually twists the leg or ankle, but I just turn that right to how it belongs after I have filed the insert to a 'built-in' pin. Works like a charm.

I like From The Warp ( http://fromthewarp.blogspot.nl/ ) for their tutorials and insightful blogs about painting. Though the focus lies on GW models, I find it has useful stuff for my Malifaux as well. Also Doctor Faust's Painting Clinic Youtube channel ( http://www.youtube.com/user/ThePaintingClinic ) has loads of good tutorials. There are quite a lot of Malifaux specific painting tuts there. Also Googling when you have a specific problem, like painting blood splatters, helps a lot. There's loads of painting tutorials spread around the web.

Looks like a nice dancefloor! Will follow your progress

That's a nice painting style. I think the seishin and avatar Sonnia look really great this way. Never see em oainted like this. Think I will use your paintng as inspiratin when I get mine!

http://www.malifaux.com/Errata.php#DamResSec has a clarification on this. With the example you've given consuming touch will happen before unstable.

It's easy to see the detail on the miniatures allready. Looking forward to the painted figures. I also like Ramos a lot! What colour scheme do you plan on using?

I think this is something they should make really clear if a v2 of the rules ever comes out. Is really confusing.

Is it possible to damage a wagon with a spell that has the type?

Totally agree!

Alphen Games Guild (AGG) in coöperation with the Hoge Ogen gaming store are organising a Malifaux demo on 3 november this year. The location is Hoge Ogen, in Alphen aan den Rijn, Holland. See the flyer below. Ofcourse, being a Dutch event, the flyer is in Dutch! More info and discussion on the AGG Forums.

The painting is coming along nicely. My Colette crew is completely based and painted. I only have a problem with the varnish. The first coat I have done is a shiny clear car varnish for a good protection. I noticed that the matt varnish I used didn't protect the miniatures very well. A friend of mine tipped shiny varnis ("gloss varnish has better protection"). I was wondering if more people share that opinion. After a coat of that the models indeed where shiny. Very shiny. Did I mention they where shiny? Anyways I used a matt varnish spray to get the models matt again. But it didn't really work. I must admit its an old can of varnish, but even after three coats the models are still quite glossy. It's okay for the wooden plank bases, but the shiny Executioner really looks silly. On another note, I am logging my gaming progress through a spreadsheet I found online (Dead Tau Project spreadsheet). These are my stats so far. Colette is doing very well

They look very good! The bases for the dreamer are original. I especially like the way you painted Nekima. She is really is part attractive and part scary monster.

Not much to add to the excellent post Rancor709 made. Something to consider is what faction appeals most to you. If you buy into multiple masters in the same faction, its possible to reuse models with different masters. So you might want to consider your second and third choices when making your first. I started out with Criid, because that's a box I could easily get my hands on. I am expending that with a Lady Justice box and a couple of clamshells. Now I have more variety in minions for Criid, but also for Justice. The other crew I have, Colette, although complete, is not possible to combine with the guild minions.

Damn, that looks good. I just finished painting my showgirls, and know how hard they are to paint well. You have done an excellent job! Really like the stockings. It's something I couldn't pull off. The colours on the models are vibrant, and the purple/lila looks very good on Cassie and Colette, especially in contrast with the black. The bases are a bit dark, but that focusses the attention to your beautiful models even more! I chose a lighter wood colour for my bases. Can't wait till you get to paint the Coryphée!

Looks great! I especially like the vibrant colours. The, almost toxic, green on the grass works great with the miniatures. Are that pieces of the 40k building set you're using for the bases of the Outcasts?

Your painting is top-notch! Nice to see aSeamus in another colour then green - suits him well. Less hulky feel, more jeckyl/hyde. That's the kind of paintingskills I aspire to Just painting a lot will eventually get you there, right?

I actually like the mannequin and corryphee models. I am not fond of the avatar lilith, and have to admit that there's a lot of models I disliked initially, but grown accustomed to.

That's exactly the way I pinned my Colette crew! Works like a charm.

Tutorial: Wooden plank bases As one of the masters that most appealed to me, I really wanted to start a showgirls crew. Colette is awesome! The bright coloured showgirls, and the neat tricks. One of the things I really like with Malifaux is the small number of models that make a crew, and the effort you can put into getting them ready for gaming. One big thing is the base, as it really stands out on the mini's. For Colette I wanted to make a wooden plank basing, as if she and the girls where on stage. So searching around on the internet I found a couple of good tips and tricks, and got to work making my own base inserts. I figured I might as well write out the way I made the bases - someone else might find it useful! Equipment - Plasticard in two different thickness: 0,50 mm and 0,75mm. I got a sheet of each (250x500mm). With the 0,50mm thick one costing € 1,15, and the 0,75 one costing € 1,55. It's called 'Polystyrol' here in Holland - Ruler - Stanley knife - Metal saw - Fine sanding paper - Scissors - Plastic glue Making plank strips We start off making small strips. I made 3mm wide strips from the 0,75mm thick plasticard. You need quite a lot of them. For a total of 12 bases I needed around 15 strips 250mm long. It doesn't matter if they come out slightly different, because that enforces the natural wood look of the planks. I first drew the strips on the plasticard, then carefully cut them out, watching my finger and table. Don't want to damage anything When you have the strips you're ready for the next step. Using the saw scratch it along the length of the strip. I did three passes over the strip. The more passes you make, the deeper the wood-texture will be. Having 'sawed' the strip its easy to see the wood-pattern emerging. Nice! After that its time to give the strip a light sanding, to get rid of all the small strings of plasticard that are left behing by the saw. That gives you the basic planks you need for the bases. Making the insert Next up grab a base you're making the insert for, and cut squares approximately the same size from the thin (0,50mm) plasticard. This will form the basis for your insert. Then grab your strips and cut them roughly the same length as the width of the base. This will be the basic planks. You can then start glueing the planks to the square you just cut out. I started with a full length plank in the middle, then randomly made cuts in the other planks to get some variety in the basing. Using a coin that's roughtly the size of the inside of a base, I drew a circle on the planks. Along the circle cut out the inlay from the square glued planks. Use sanding paper to sand the sides to smooth them, and also to make them fit. Sometimes I had to sand quite some time because I was really carefull with cutting out the circle, not wanting to make the insert too small. After some sanding - and lots of white powder on the floor - you got your insert. And it's a wooden plank base! Glue the insert in the base. It should fit snuggly. That basicly gets you a wooden plank base. This is how they looked after a quick paintjob. I used Tausept Ochre for a base colour, drybrushed with a bright yellow and gave the bases a light brown wash. Tips 'n tricks - Use good plasticard, it doesnt work as well from other plastics. I tried the plastic from a DVD case to make planks, but it didn't look as good. You can clearly see the three bases I did this way in the picture of the finished bases above. I ended up using those bases for my Mechanical Doves. - Use plasticard to glue the strips to. I tried using paper, but the insert kept falling apart during the sanding of the insert.

Nice paintjob, like the added bottle. The miniature does look a bit plain. Do you plan on adding a distinct colour for the crew, or keep it in brown-tones?

Looks a bit like a shark this way! I really like the base, it most certainly looks like a poker chip.

The pictures are a bit dark, but they look very nice! Really like the green/pink contrast. Nice! And I agree it paints way different then models from certain other companies ^^

I found the Guild on a Budget thread very helpfull. It suggests the following order of miniatures. I am also following that list

The next model I painted is an Executioner. I liked painting him, and tried a couple of new techniques: glazing to ease the passing between layers and stripes on the pants. I am quite happy with how he turned out. Also I am making wooden plank bases for my Colette Crew, will post those later.