SpectreEliteGaming

You guys are making it very difficult for me to make snide remarks as of late. This is top-notch. I kind of just sat here gazing at the model for little while, "lost in its eyes", as it were. Can't wait to throw some paint at this. I'm really hoping for a generous size - and judging from the fiddy-render it looks just fine. Can't wait to see the rest of them. Not to be too positive, or anything - there's no way I can use this as my Bull in my CD Blood Bowl Team because its too steam-punky... so there. Now show us the rest!

Its sooooo prettttty. I can't wait for Dagon, Shugnaggroth and that shipwreck golem in Bones 3 kickstarter. Freaking awesome stuff they are doing. I needs moar lovecraft! And that Cthulhu monolyth is freaking sweet. I just wish their Cthulhu model wasnt such sheit. I still buy metal when psossible - the only bones stuff I buy are the huge pieces. Great piece, btw - your stuff is always top class. Yellow with earth tones and good contrast - a lot of theory there.

Great stuff in this thread! I'm glad to see a Chompy that isn't purple! You sure get a lot done - good work overall - and would you look at that Barby!?! Can't wait to crack mine open - glad he isn't tiny - paint him up stat! This is a thread I will be following closely.

This is a concept that I am really interested in. As soon as I heard that Wyrd was not producing new avatars and just bases for the avatars I thought "screw that - I'll make my own avatars." Yo dawg - heard you like bases -here's a base to put your bases on. I'm going to do something over the top for any avatar that I make - like the Hamelin I did for Iron Painter 2015 - a really over the top centerpiece that will honestly never see play but will look really pretty being a tray warmer. Glad to see others taking initiative and doing stuff like this.

... go on...

^ Fair enough. The huge skulls bothered me too but after I coverted it I figured it was too late and I was generally okay with the way it looked so I just kept it the way it was. I'm big on the grimdark and overly excessive stylized models like WWX or Raging Heroes TGG minis and wanted a battle standard that looked both mechanical and "necro" if that makes sense. The shine has been killed since that pic - to make my models more playable without me worrying about chips and stuff I always use gloss varnish first then flat varnish overtop - sometimes I have to go back and further kill the shine after a day or two if the matte layer wasn't thick enough. The big problem with matte is that if you put it on too thick it makes the paint job look chalky or cloudy and basically ruins it so I'm conservative with it and just touch up the shiney spots that remain. I took those pics right after I varnished the first time and I was too lazy to go back and retake them after another couple matte layers. Even so, after applying the matte-over-gloss technique - the model will still be a little shinier than it should be but the added protection is worth it and it looks great for metallic painted models - like the peacekeeper (which was also still too shiney in the pic too). I think I might just start taking pics before varnishing from now on to avoid that - my pics and lighting aren't of the highest quality either so that doesn't help. Thanks for the interest.

"Return, From Beyond Page 5 - Now With 100% More Lechery and Other Srs Shit!" Wow... I haven't updated in a loooooong time. Bet you thought I just up and quit, didn't you? Bet you were happy. Okay, here we go: Hey, you know what's boring? Page after page of just "look at what I did today" that the majority of people simply scroll through to look at pretty pictures for like 5 seconds then make a 5 second comment - lets spice this shit up a bit with a little more meaningfulness and depth of discussion/content and add some much needed personality to this message board (while continuing to balance on the line of getting perma-banned? oO ). This thread is no longer just a "hey everyone, look at my shit thread" - it is now a "Super Happy Hobby Funtime Thread" and it will include whatever I want. In other words, it will be more of a series of message board thread posts in a "blog" style that - in addition to painting - will include my geeky adventures around North America (I go on 1-2 trips a month) and how I fit gaming into my lifestyle, random thoughts, and other interesting tidbits. Since I'm currently 90%-Hobby/10%-Gamer in my geek-life, this thread will still be mostly about painting anyway so it shall remain "on topic" (so hah). But... I mean... if you still really don't care about anything I have to say then just lurk down to the bottom, look at the pics, shrug indifferently, and move on to the next thread. Well, at least enjoy the bit about the lechery, though... I put some serious thought into that shit. ---------------------------- In regards to my absence - and to be fair, it is 2/3 because I've been extremely busy with non-geek adventures (and some crappy stuff like "working") as of late. Painting plastic toys and playing board games has grown somewhat unfulfilling by itself as of late and, for whatever reason, I decided that the change I needed was to put my life in immediate danger to make things a little more interesting. Hence, my return to spelunking/free-climbing and other forms of mountaineering after about a 3 year absence and - in an effort to find something that gives me more of a sense of competition and fulfillment - I ended up face planting into the ever growing popular trend of OCR (Obstacle Course Racing). I will also be doing a series of Extreme Adventure Races and Ultramarathons in starting in January 2016 and continuing until I finally break myself. Instead of doing the "New Year's Resolution" BS everyone else does, I've decided for 2016 that I will activate "Quest: World's Most Badass Geek" and really push myself to excel at both miniature/card/board gaming (emphasis on hobby and attending conventions) and extreme endurance sports - talk about two sides of the spectrum. oO After only three months of training and a handfull of OCR events - not to mention absolutely no background in any kind of running sport what-so-ever - I've actually been doing extremely well - already capable of running towards the top of the pack with the big boys (and always getting better every time) and I have already qualified for the pro-elite heat of the 2016 OCR World Championships after placing 5th at the Dallas Spartan Beast Elite Men's Single Heat on Halloween weekend earlier this year. [Pic Related] Problem? [/trollface] After a bunch of competitive races of all different lengths and styles, I have decided that I will be focusing almost exclusively on extreme endurance events and adventure challenges of >12hr/75mi in length. My main focus for 2016 will be the Canadian Death Race (already signed up!), all of the main OCR World Championships (Battle Frog Series, Spartan Race - already did Tahoe in September - and OCRWC), and World's Toughest Mudder. Otherwise, if its supposed to be hard as fuck and >12hrs - I'm probably interested. One of my biggest pet peeves is [copy] the subculture of geekdom that has festered itself into existence over the years and then legitimated itself through pop culture trends ("geeky is cool" = Big Bang or Revenge of the Nerds, and other crap like that)... not to mention - and lets face it - straight up passive acceptance of mediocrity coupled with low self-esteem, an insidious lack of ambition or integrity, or even just simply poor social skills to deal with the general public [paste]. As such, my plan is, over the course of next year (and beyond!) - to become the world's most badass geek (like, really - who is my biggest competition? Vin Diesel? NBD). My goal is to do one major event every month (in addition to all major OCR championships and any extreme ultra marathons I can find) plus hitting all three of the biggest miniature conventions (Adepticon - my fav, Gen Con, and Nova Open) and any other local events or big-ish Malifaux specific events (Breaching the Faux or Califaux), if possible. I believe life is all about balance and I really want to show that being geeky doesn't have to just be an awkward crutch, a security blanket, or - on the flip side - that normal functional people can enjoy geeky things without talking their brain into accepting a specific lifestyle because they feel they need to in order to fit in. When I was in highschool, I never would have told anyone that I liked geek stuff because I wanted to fit into the cool crowd and it just shouldn't have to be like that. Geek stuff is super cool - and i think that more "normal" people would be interested in it if your typical gaming communities were less... ehhhhh... "particular"? TL;DR? - I feel its time for geeks to toughen up, drop the hyper-sensitivity and stigma we haul around, ditch the passive acceptance of mediocrity, and start aspiring to constantly better ourselves in all aspects of our life to become fully functional individuals - after figuring out what that means for you, on an individual level, and however you decide to do it for yourself. And off I go. -------------------------- So then, back the the whole painting thread thing... the other 1/3 of my time spent messing about that I was talking about was because I was holding off posting my stuff with intention of perhaps entering some of it into the Rotten Harvest competition but I gave up on that idea half way through the month - training and work took up just about all my time. Not to mention I've been on a terrain making bender as of late - not sure why, exactly... probably because its easy to bang out a bunch of big stuff quickly without thinking about it too much. Okay - so onto the core subject matter of this post now... its time to get serious now. --------------------------- Lechery (yeay!), Malifaux, and You! As promised - the main minis this time are going to be lechery related. The other models will be completed pics of my last "models-I-don't-really-want-to-do-but-did-anyway" WIP post). I bet half of you are like "Whaaaaaat? Okay, so there is Leveticus and Alyce - which is a bit Wyrd - but like how can lechery be that big of a theme in the Malifaux universe?" Here's the kicker - what if I were to say that there isn't just a single or even two potential lecherous interactions but an actual love triangle of lechery... AND THEN say that there isn't just one trifecta of forbidden lust... but TWO! (Oh, yes >8) ). Then, to really cement my point - there is also a case of "lechery of convenience" and a pretty obvious, though shadowed lecherous relationship that may or may not involve some freaky -furry-fetishism. So then, quite obviously, the first love triangle involves Levy (pervert), Alyce (crazy with daddy issues), and - if you know your fluff - Ramos (totally indifferent to anything that isn't mechanical and has more than two legs - just think of all the weird shit he's probably into). Well, actually - that made for one of the more interesting Malifaux stories - so that's cool, right? The second (more relevant to this post) love triangle is Seamus (serial killer - probable necrophile/rapist), Molly (goody-two-shoes victim, probably 20 years younger at least) annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd... Albous von Schtook! (decrepit old professor with a crush that manifests itself as a habit of writing creepy love letters). So, in my own mind, I decided that Albous would rescue Molly (who's mindstate is all but FUBAR by now) and go toe to toe to toe to toe against the Steampimp himself, Levy - and his boo, Rusty - for a battle to become the ultimate steampimp of all of the skanky slums of Malifaux City. So, uh yeah, I made a Levy and Rusty proxy out of JP Smith and a bio-tech'd metal molly... Please note that I did everything I could to make Molly look as "evil jailbait" as I possibly could. Don't judge... afterall, what young woman of questionable morals/ethics wouldn't want a moustahe ride from that bad mofo, right there? Additionally, one of my biggest criticisms of Malifaux models is [copy] that the masters rarely seem to have, what I started calling, a "commanding presence" and kind of just blend in with the rest of the crew [paste]. From now on, I pretty much plan on directing as much attention to my crew's master as possible - your cheesy gamey riders shouldn't be the center pieces of your crew - your master should be commanding that shit. So that is why he's got the necro-pimp staff as a battle standard of sorts and the attention stealing paint job. Oh, and just in case you were wondering about all that other lechery - Nicodem takes full advantage of some good ol' fashioned institutionalized prostitution with the much younger Kirai and in regards to all that freaky furry lechery ... well, if you don't think that Marcus (who is super old balls, from what it sounds like) and Myranda (just look at that pose - she's down for anything) don't get it on shapeshifter style - you are probably just naive. Did I miss any other lecherous activity in the Malifaux fluff? Probably... Malifaux is a dark place indeed. More Minis! I recall all the bitching from the Monday Preview Forum about how the new Peacekeeper model looked "too orc-y" and no real mention of how the old one looked pretty much the same and just as orc-y, as well. Well, here's proof: A tribute to one of the only three factions worthy of being played in Fantasy (others being Chaos Dwarves and Dwarves, naturally). Also, here's a little flying dude who will see more time on the tray than the table... oh well, at least he looks pretty (notice his "skin wings" - I'm trying to keep a consistent trend of keeping my minis corrupted and bio-mechanical so that I can swap them between all the different construct using crews I have without them looking out of place unless they are specifically with their main crew - I like to think ahead about the possibilities and not have clashing themes just because I take an atypical model): ----------------------------- So, as far as the next update goes - I was thinking we might delve into some more super serious discussion. Perhaps I will jump start my ass in regards to my project dedicated to re-imagining Jack Daw (not to mention his cheesy boy-band) in a much more appealing light - that was my plan for the Rotten Harvest, after all. Well, actually, I was also kind of hoping that we would discuss Nathan and Eric's obvious unconscious attraction to strong, powerful, red headed women. Who knows? ------------------------- In my next update - Albous and Levy will be getting a very large delivery of big ol' plug uggies to add to their arsenals for their face off - not one, not two, but THREE Desolation Engine Proxies! Here comes the pain... mega-sized... with one that I've taken to calling the "Entropic Siege Engine" (McMourning might be interested too!). I also have finished most of the rest of the metal minis that I felt needed to be repainted. All of these models are actually done already but I just want to make sure I have enough backlogged to make these hobby thread updates more consistent. I will also be discussing some interesting points about all of the FLGS that I had visited during my OCR event trips in the last quarter of this year (Dallas, Sacramento, and LA specifically). 'Til next time!... and Merry Ho-Ho!

I've started flipping right to the back and looking at the back image first before anything else with the latest issues. That little guy looks like a bloodwretch hybrid in an underground boneyard/mass grave - its wyrd that he appears to be standing on a decrepit street next to a brick wall - gives the impression of the ruins of a city, despite being in a large cavernous area. The brickwork and graffiti style iconography give a modern impression so I'd hazard a guess and say its from The Other Side. Confusing scene none-the-less.

The only way I would have bought this set is if all sculpts were different. I didn't expect a third oogie and I actually did expect this to be one of the "updated but practially the same" models - like the Widow Weaver or Rat Catchers - since these are iconic from 1st. NBD though - If I didn't already have 4 I would have bought these for sure but not worth it if you have the metals IMO. Betcha the detail on the metals are a lot deeper than these will be, as well. Still look good, though - the new third sculpt is my least favorite.

Not sure if you're missing much anyway. When I do get games in I have been using Hamelin and honestly I don't think Plague Hamelin is all that great - feels like too much work - and it makes my head hurt - looking after all your activations is annoying and I hate using beads and shit like that. Unfortunately, Obey Hamelin just feels like a shitty Zoraida - I'm a little disappointed actually - especially with the Mysterious Emissary coming out to buff Zoraida tenfold - don't see me playing Hamelin very often. To stay on topic: Rat Kings are some of the best designed recent models and I'm slightly disappointed that the rat catchers are pretty much the same.

Perhaps - but the point I was trying to make that you are missing is that I tried to take myself outside of myself and think about Malifaux in terms of the general public consensus. Not sundance film festival - we are talking Hollywood blockbuster thinking. My Malifaux movie would center around Levy and Alyce with the Viks in a Hellraiser meets Kung-Fu type badass action-body-horror type movie - and I think that's cool as hell but I also know it wouldn't be most people's cup of tea. I look at particular characters like all the ones closely linked to Tyrants and I think how the hell could a bunch of silly little green people or a collection of ragtag brusiers and thugs compete with these. Furthermore, like him or not, Ramos is basically the Dark Knight of Malifaux. He is what Batman only wishes he could be. Top that.

Sounds like some silly random hypothetical story telling rpg musings to me. To be fair - I think we're just thinking of this topic differently. I am coming at it from a "typical motifs" perspective that you would expect in big blockbusters, best sellers, or anything geared towards the mass or general consumer. Remember that this is purely fluff related. For starters - it seems to me like people have different levels of "awakening" through the breach - some respond not at all and others get master status. It would be reasonable that there would be some masters more powerful. Ramos' wealth, influence, power, and intelligence just adds to this power. The abilities of these characters are just not equal no matter how much you might like one over the other. For instance, in the Arcanist story I referenced - you can just feel that Ramos is the big cheese and Colette (along with almost all arcanists) is just his pawn -she might eventually think shes sneaky or can manipulate or best Ramos but chances are he is three steps ahead of her at all times and knows very well what all of his subordinates are capable of. Another example: Hamelin isn't Hamelin - he is the physical manifestation of a Tyrant... whereas someone like Mr. Cooper or Lynch just seem to make bad decisions in life and can do some magic tricks. Read any of the stories that involve the Dreamer - you really think all the masters are on par with the power that that whiney annoying little brat has? So like - basically I'm just thinking "if Malifaux was a movie - who would be the main players" - and the others are just not that important/take a supportive position. You got your bad mofos like Ramos and Lucius with some super schemey and very integral characters like the three neverborn sisters and Levy for backup - as well as the heroes/anti-heros like especially Perdita, Sonnia or Justice - then you have largely boring, typical, or generally uninteresting niche characters - who a few people here and there will like/relate to but, in general, just aren't that important, interesting, or just "main character" material. Woe-is-me-poopy-pants-Hoffman comes to mind as well some weirdo who likes puppets and quite a few generic tough chicks that might get a little time on the screen in a major brawl but no speaking parts. There probably wouldn't even be any gremlins - and if there were - no one would take them seriously at all and they wouldn't pose a real threat to the major players. Think drunken green ewoks. Like I said - the idea of balance from a fluff perspective is not happening. IRM ("In Real Malifaux") some masters wouldn't even pose a threat to others - wheras in game, well - anything can happen. How disappointing it would be to have someone like Levy/Seamus/Lucius/Ramos, etc. be killed by anyone but the strongest most relevant characters. In comparison, Mei Feng is a gimmick and Collodi wouldn't even get screentime. Finally, this is all just fluff related and totally irrelevant anyway - but hopefully you see where I'm coming from.

The new render is friggin' sweet. It's now sleek and sharp looking with a big ridiculous extreme saw blade contraption. Good focal point that really draws your attention. Still looks sharp but now it is alot more interesting and very badass. Top marks with this one - as of late I've been pleased with what I've been seeing in general. Bonus points for changing the concept upon feedback - did not expect that.

This. It's also nice to see sentiments like this come straight from Wyrd, too. It reaffirms a good mindset that both cares about the game but isn't paranoid and nitpicky about little things that more often than not end up amounting to no big deal most of the time anyway. A game being "balanced enough to being playable" is more than enough to ask for. The player base will break any game but who cares? M3E will keep it fresh when shit goes down... and so on. I couldn't imagine being a game designer racking my brain thinking about all the little loopholes that exist and have people constaintly on your case about little tiny imbalances all the time. Game breaking? - pretty important... A model being +/-1 stone cost - give me a break. On a side note - fluff wise - there is no way that an Ironsides or Viks crew should be able to be balanced with the likes of badass geezers like Ramos or Levy. In fluff, those guys are important characters whereas most other masters are supporting characters at best. Ramos waves his hand and Colette's contraptions turn tail just like that. Do you really think a bad mofo like that is going to have trouble taking on a gambling junky, crazy doctor, or a ragtag crew of mercs or bruisers. Hey cool ghosts and stuff Kirai - check out my freaking world killing Leviathan I just rolled out the cash for nbd. Levy is literally integral to the fate of Malifaux and I think his in-game incarnation gives you that feel. He'd wipe the floor with just about any master irl (if you could call it "irl" ) . Expecting these guys to be balanced with the others would do them an injustice in my mind. In that sense, having master tiers - when they work out appropriately - almost seems legit.

^ Pretty sure the shooty saw blade is housed in the sack looking thing right below the lightning dong. Logically.

Woh woh... hold on a second here... These look very nice but I thought the large arachnid was already released though... ...one came in my Ramos boxset. >8) ----------------------------- I'm on the rules reflection side of things. Totally agree with zFiend - I would like to see models being accurately portrayed - then, it is up to us as the hobbyists to modify them as we see fit. Unfortunately, I am very happy with these... they look very sleek and attractive looking... so I won't bother complaining this time. Very happy with the fiddy-render, as well. Wyrd, I am most pleased with you as of late. Lightning dongs are coo with me.

Clearly, few people in this thread have played Magic. No such magical thing exists and you are kidding yourself if you think there is a balanced mini game. Unless you just play chess or checkers you aren't going to find even many balanced games. There are well known strategies that break even super simple board games like Risk, Monopoly, and Catan - so what hope does a ridiculously complicated (srsly) game like Malifaux have? The only reason games like Malifaux look balanced is because 1: Not enough people play it, 2: Most people who play it do not play it competitively, 3: Small metas over large distances, 4: This game is honestly getting to be way to complicated with a steep uncompromising learning curve so you'll alwas find new things and screw up and make errors etc. ... and blah blah blah. Thankfully, you can be a really good player and excel at any crew for the time being. Once there starts being a more distinct seperation between the elite and casual players you will start seeing people flocking to the "netdecks/netlists." That's just part of the game and as an individual who has an "optimal or nothing" mindset, I see no problem with this. When you see the lists that the Chicago crew bring out (Brett in particular) or from Icemyn/Godlyness or even ones that win the UK tournaments its hard not to jump on that bandwagon and try to tweak it to perfection for yourself. Otherwise you can can just sit there and try to be content with your flawed but "unique" list if thats fun for you. And, therefore, through optimization of strengths some masters will just come out on top of others and that's the harsh reality. So, yeah... I don't really see a problem here. Games are meant to be broken... and then the new edition gets released to sucker us in for more.

I suprised no one said "Absolutely nothing!" yet. I see them as dedicated terrain pieces. They look like shit on the "appropriate" bases - 40/50mm are too small for them and the big tree is too big for the story terrain piece, as well. They do look rather cool though. They would add a lot of character to a tray diorama for your resser/daw crew to sit on.

"Fauxshow" and "Scheme's and Stones" as well. Malifaux's Most Wanted is the best. I laugh the whole episode long and yet they still have good points so long as you are not the sensitive type and can appreciate their points with an openmind. It would be easy to dismiss them because of their brash personalities but keep an open mind because they are smarter than they sound and the often shotgun blast you in the face with the honest truth.

Can't ask for more than that. Simply knowing that you took it into consideration is enough for me - even if it can't be changed in time. I'd hazard a guess and say a number of other people probably feel the same way. Bottomline line for me is - geta shoes or not - these are still some wicked looking models. So I'll stop nitpicking for now... ... until next week.

I somehow missed this post - your models, as always, are great. This is one of those games I'm disappointed about not kickstarting - I never got into the kickstarter craze until like almost a year after it. I'm definently interested now though! A number of models are totally despicable and, therefore, right up my alley. With my dive into WWX though - my modelling queue is extensive as is. I need to retire so I can spend more time hobbying me thinks. Even so - practically impossible to pass this stuff up and I've got a WP of 3-4 at the best of times. Glad to hear the gameplay matches the quality of the models.

Heh - I saw what you did there. In addition, you have probably shocked or slighted about 4-5 people with this post and I salute you for it. Honestly, I was not culturally aware enough to know the shoes were backwards and would have thought nothing of it. Only now that I know they are backwards it bugs me - one of those dumb brain things you just cant undo. What I think would be cool is if two of them had proper footwear and one was legitimately wearing them backwards - like with the thongs somehow wrapped around the back of his heel. Then it would look intentional - all it looks like now is a mistake. What bugs me a lot more is going to be figuring out how to pin them (+1 for flock tufts I guess). I would also like to point out at this time that Aaron incorrectly asserted that they are using soulstones to be able to walk with backwards footwear. Since these models aren't actually capable of using soulstones in the game, I am now wondering if you were right in deciding to let him design your newest flagship game. Annnnd let the games begin. Also, Merry Christmas to you as well!

I smell a trap... and I am not biting. I do appreciate snappy witty remarks like this, however, I like how the people at Wyrd aren't politically correct and superficial people like those who represent most companies. In particular, I find that Aaron and Nathan are really interesting because they can be edgey at times - and with the addition of Mason and Eric - they are just a bunch of normal guys who enjoy gaming and appreciate the hobby. Of course, I am fully aware that I am kind of a dick. So if I appreciate you guys... well, that might not be the best thing for you.

I kind of felt like lately the poses and general feel of Malifaux is going from less "badass or horrific" to more "goofy/funny/silly" which I am not a big fan of - but then A&D still feels scary and every once in a while we get a model like the Changeling, so its hard to say. At the very least, I'd like to see "goofy" stay firmly within the realm of gremlins and not leech out into other factions unless specifically called for (fermented monks - but then even those have a good balance of goofy vs badass). Silly cute minis and ones that are really plain or boring or maybe just too static are just not for me.

Great review - love all the stuff you paint and all the effort you put into the gaming community - keep it up! I dove in pretty heavy to WWX but mostly for the models/painting not so much the gameplay. The simplified rules is definently a plus for WWX as I am getting sick of how ridiculously in depth Malifaux is getting with every new model - too much to keep track of and I find myself easily forgetting what I learn between games because I get next to no games in. Losing to a "gotcha" because you didn't know/forgot sucks and I find that Malifaux is too much for me to want to deal with. Having said that - if I paint it, I'm willing to play with it, but still. Having a simple system that is "complex enough" is more up my alley. Honestly, I started buying the WWX minis to proxy Malifaux models I dont like - can't wait for my Marie/Snake to take the place of Z/Juju. Then I backed the second kickstarter for the starter pack and went heavy into outlaws/lawmen for a big giant dual diorama in the future... now I am hooked. The models are just so damn good looking and thry are all very interesting to look at. I spend a lot more time with them now than Malifaux because they are more enjoyable to paint - resins are top notch and even their plastic is deeply detailed and the models aren't 18 pieces, 5 of which are just for the face/head. :/