I Love a Crew in Uniform

[Sign Ahead]

I'm looking for a painting project: a small Malifaux Crew that looks good in a uniform. They don't have to be military uniforms, per se, but I do want an armed band with a strong color and costume theme.

My ideal crew would:

• wear clothing with common themes and elements - like hats, coats or masks
  
• look good with a single dominant color - preferably something vivid, like red or royal blue rather than brown or olive drab
  
• start simple - ideally in a boxed set
  
• be expandable - in other words, there are other models in the faction who would look good in the same uniform once I finish the boxed set
  
• have a variety of body types, genders, poses and gear - even though everyone's dressed the same they should still look like individuals
  
• require very little conversion - I enjoy conversions, but don't have a lot of time for them right now. I want to get this crew painted and on the table.
  
• have a small(ish) model count - again with the "getting them painted and on the table"
  

After browsing through the boxed sets, these are the most likely candidates:

• Von Schill: Freikorps
  
• Lucius: Elite Division
  

There are a few others that might work if the criteria stretched a little. Rasputina and the Cult of December don't look like uniformed soldiers, but they do have a very strong visual theme and could be very vivid blue. Sonnia Criid and her Witch Hunters or Kaeris and her M&SU Assets would be similiar, but with a fiery color scheme instead.

Since I'm not too familiar with Malifaux, I'm sure I'm missing some options. If you were trying to create an armed, uniformed band, who would you choose?

Edited January 7, 2012 by Sign Ahead

[Tarragon]

My immediate thought was also Von Schill. If you can find a vivid colour that looks good on them, then you're sorted.

[Ratty]

I would say Freikorp or Lucius and Guild Guard would be the way to go.

Hoffman can look very uniform, lots of contructs all with plate armour in one colour. Ramos with Kirai can look very uniform too, for similar reason all the constructs can have similar plate colours. Kirai crews can look uniform if you keep to a limited palette. I sure you could do something with Collodi with 2 contrasting colours on all the mannaquins and him.

[dsmiles]

I'd vote for VonBadass as well.

[Todd]

I think Lucius/Guild actually fullfills more of your criteria, though Freikorps may fullfill certain ones better.

Right now, the only way to expand Freikorps is by adding more of the models that already come in the box set. You'r stuck with a maximum of 6 models/poses (including Von Schill). Guild, as a consequence of having more models, also has more variety (Guild Guard x3, Austringer x2, Guild Guard Captain, Drill Sergeant, and a ton of other models that have similar looking hats/coats).

If you want to buy a box/blister and be done with it, go with Von Schill. If you want some variey later on down the road, go with Lucius.

The one drawback of Lucius might be that he doesn't actually dress like his crew himself.

[i_was_like_you]

I think Lucius/Guild actually fullfills more of your criteria, though Freikorps may fullfill certain ones better.

Right now, the only way to expand Freikorps is by adding more of the models that already come in the box set. You'r stuck with a maximum of 6 models/poses (including Von Schill). Guild, as a consequence of having more models, also has more variety (Guild Guard x3, Austringer x2, Guild Guard Captain, Drill Sergeant, and a ton of other models that have similar looking hats/coats).

If you want to buy a box/blister and be done with it, go with Von Schill. If you want some variey later on down the road, go with Lucius.

The one drawback of Lucius might be that he doesn't actually dress like his crew himself.

Agreed. Would definitely love to see a second set of Freikorps sculpts at some point.

[Borzag]

For some reason I'm also thinking Showgirls (use a Moulin Rouge colour scheme of red & black). You're limited with poses again (Colette, Cassandra, Angelica, Performer x 2, Mannequin x 2, Coryphee x 2, MechaDoves x 3) but it may be worth a look.

[col_blitzwell]

i say Lucius is your best bet

[Mirarii]

For some reason I'm also thinking Showgirls (use a Moulin Rouge colour scheme of red & black). You're limited with poses again (Colette, Cassandra, Angelica, Performer x 2, Mannequin x 2, Coryphee x 2, MechaDoves x 3) but it may be worth a look.

Yeah I thought of Colette first. You could easily paint them in vibrant colors, the models are beautifully posed and sculpted, and she doesn't require that many models for a crew. Colette, Cassandra, and the Coryphee duet are the most important. All you really need to buy alongside the box is a blister of Coryphee and a blister of doves.

[Sign Ahead]

Thank you all!

Sounds like there are several good options. After reading your replies and doing some of my own research, here's what I'm thinking now:

Von Schill

Von Schill and the Freikorps are my favorites. I like most of the Freikorps models, and there are a couple other crews in the faction that I would enjoy trying out in the future. That would give me some flexibility for the list-building phase of a Malifaux game.

The limited selection of dedicated Freikorps models does make expansion interesting, but with them as the core there are several mercenary models who would look good as heroic irregulars. I'm imagining battle-tested veterans with large personalities who've earned the right to modify their uniforms.

At 35 points, Taelor and Hans could round out the crew, giving it 5 fully uniformed models (2 Freikorpsmen, 1 Specialist, 1 Trapper and 1 Librarian), 2 partially-uniformed models (von Schill and Hans, whose coat and goggles are fairly close to the Trapper's) and one wildcard (Taelor, whose armor and gear make her look a little bit like a new type of Freikorpsman who jumped into battle before she put on all her gear).

Or I could add the Viktorias instead of Hans and Taelor. Then it would look like crew members get more gear flexibility as they move up in rank.

Lucius

I do like the expandability, but I'm not as enthusiastic about the models (especially after seeing some of them in person - the Freikorps models made a much better impression, even William Shakespeare: Action Hero). I also think I prefer the selection of Outcast models in general to the selection of Guild models.

Other Crews

Collodi and Collette are two leaders I hadn't considered but they are both very intriguing. I'll need to read more before I decide.

[cob]

Sound like Von Schill or Lucius would meet most of your desires.

With my Friekorps I went with a faded blue with red accent boyscout look.

[rascally]

Perdita's Ortega family could possibly be tied together nicely with a good paint scheme I recon'

[Sign Ahead]

Thank you all!

I decided not to decide.

Von Schill and the Viktorias are based and sitting on my desk...right next to Collodi and his small army of dolls. This is a long weekend for us, so I hope to have everything base coated and a few models finished by next week.

Thanks again.