McHammish All Ready to Go

My cohost on the Gamers Lounge, Bill, opened up yesterday morning saying some people had already received their McHammish and Yan Lo boxed sets.  I cursed a little because I had not received my shipping tracking order number.  Eventually I dug around and looked on the Wyrd store site and found the tracking number there - it had already shipped!  And to make matters better, it was out for delivery.  After a half hour of frantic F5-pushing, the package said "delivered" and I rushed out to grab it.  On the way back to the office, I stopped by Kinkos and laminated the cards.

Next step: convince my wife to help me paint them up.  After a little maneuvering and negotiating (in which she totally outplayed me), I convinced her to help me paint up McHammish.  So we got home, popped in Inception, and got to painting.  She took both versions of McHammish.  I took everything else.  I went with my standard Guild theme with the desert bases and the khaki / green color scheme, except for the masters who have been painted in white uniforms.

Without further ado, here's how the models came out.

McHammish came out looking fantastic.  The model actually went together fairly easily, and I was happy to see that the dismounted version had an option to drop the netgun (which he can't use dismounted) and pick up a sword.  My only complaint is that his mounted version had no option for a sword, so he's stuck with a bullwhip that he can't use.  The painting was great, and side-by-side with other Guild masters, he fits right in.

Next was Sidir and Luna.  Both were very easy to fit together.  Working with Sidir, I actually really like his model.  My picture's a little blurry, and my painting isn't great so it's hard to tell, but there's a lot of detail to him and he just looks really nice.  Makes me wish his rules were better.

Finally, I painted up two of the Wastrels.  I have the third one put together and ready to paint, but I held off on him last night because I'm not sure I'll ever want a third Wastrel in my crew.  Two seems to hit just enough.  Only reason I think I'd want him is for the starter-box games where McHammish wants to make an appearance.

Anywho, there is McHammish and the gang, ready to take the fight to the enemy.  Can't wait to get him out there and flipping cards.

Deliveries and Painting

Over the past couple weeks I've been a little light on playing Malifaux. After playing a bunch in August, September has seen only two games, and in one of them I pretty much cheated left and right (entirely unintentionally, I assure you).

But my lack of playing games has been made up for in other ways. At the NoVA Open I used my prize money from one of the games to help fund my new carrying case - the Battlefoam Go PACK. Well, it and all the foam for it arrived and I moved my entire army into the new pack.



It carries 9" of foam, so with the padding and dividers, I ended up going with one 3" pluck foam and three 1 1/2" troop trays. With my Neverborn and Outcasts, I've already filled up two of those troop trays and started on the third, and I've filled up probably 2/3's of the pluck foam. Damn in Neverborn doesn't have a lot of large models. Of course, Nightmare Lord Chompy Bits takes up a big chunk of that space on his own.






But that's not all I got over the last couple weeks. Back when Advanced Deployment first released their burned wood tokens, I wanted to jump on them, but then I was laid off from my job so my wife and I had to tighten our belts. Now I've been working again for a few months and decided to go ahead and order some of the tokens. They had a lot more I wanted to get this time around.




Finally, I've been pushing myself to get my Ressers painted up quickly so I can start fielding them. I've been concentrating on getting McMourning table-ready first and over the past week I've gotten another batch of models ready to go. Add to that the fact that I was able to purchase a bunch of Big Jay's old Ressers and am slowly getting those primed and ready to paint and I expect to have a nice sized Resser crew pretty soon.



Don't be too critical of my paint jobs. Sam Adams Oktoberfest has hit the shelves and I may or may not have been drinking while I paint. Evidently it doesn't mix all that well. But still - they're table-ready, and that's what matters to me.


Finally, I've been invited to join Bill on the Gamer's Lounge with a few others to help go over the Twisting Fates book. A couple weekends ago we were out there talking about Avatars, and this weekend we're heading back to talk about the minions. Plus there's a bit about the recent Neverborn-hate out there in which Bill makes a pretty ballsy statement (for him). Not one I haven't heard before, but for the guy who tries to make his opponent enjoy every game, it seems to run against the grain. I'll leave it at that for the moment.

Moving On to Ressers

So after buying all of Neverborn and picking up the Vikis, Hamelin and Von Schill, I was trying to figure out what I wanted to move into next. I had always kinda liked the idea of Hoffman and Lucius (not together), but the rest of the Guild didn't excite me as much. Besides, a good buddy, Brian, just picked up a bunch of Guild to learn the game and I didn't want to step on his toes. And when Twisting Fates came out and I got a look at the Resser section, I knew exactly where I wanted to head next.

It also helped that my wife liked the Seamus and Kirai boxes and wanted to paint them up. I've always liked McMourning, so I started with him while my wife was working on Kirai. Last night I got two more models painted up and now I'm ready to unveil my next project: THE UNDEAD!!!!



Doesn't mean I'll be shelving Neverborn - they'll still be my primary faction - but as I get enough of my Ressers painted up and ready to go, I'll be fielding them too. Might try a Resser Month or two down the road to get some game time in with them. But they're not at all like the Vikis in prep-work - I was able to get the Vikis fielded in almost no time. The Ressers take a bit more effort. There are a lot of them!

Malifaux Collection (Mostly)

I'm working on figuring out a better way to store my miniatures and figured while they were all out of the case, I should get a full picture of everything I've got painted so far. So here we have my entire Malifaux collection (with a few minor exceptions: a second Insidious Madness is on loan to Dan, a second Black Blood Shaman is unpainted, a pair of Coryphee and a Duet also needs painting, and a Seamus box is sitting aside unassembled waiting for my wife to paint up).



It's quite a party.

Pictured are:
Stolen x4
Malifaux Rats x12
Obedient Wretch
Hamelin (Master)
Rat Catcher x2
Nix
Von Schill
Freikorpsmen x2
Freikorps Specialist
Freikorps Trapper
Freikorps Librarian
Miss Pack
Hamelin (Minion)
Jack Daw
Desperate Mercenary x2
Ronin x3
Viktoria (Gun)
Viktoria (Sword)
Student of Conflict
Convict Gunslinger
Hooded Rider
Doppelganger
Teddy x3
Poltergeist
Pandora (Master)
Pandora (Avatar)
Candy
Baby Kade
Sorrow x3
Insidious Madness
Bad Juju
Waldgeist x2
Silurid x3
Zoriada
Voodoo Doll
Collodi
Marionette x4
Wicked Doll x3
Mechanical Doves x3
Performer x2
Mannequin x2
Cassandra
Colette
Terror Tot x6
Younger Nephilim x4
Mature Nephilim x2
Lilith
Malifaux Cherub
Nekima
Blood Shaman
Lelu x2
Lilitu x2
Stitched Together x3
Primordial Magic
Dreamer
Alp x6
Daydream x3
Lord Chompy Bits (Nightmare)
Copellius

Painted Models for Grow Lists

I was able to spend my commission money from Josh on a few new models and got them all painted up. Two new Younger Nephilim and the second Desperate Mercenary.





With these, I should be ready for another test of the Grow List. While I've been largely disappointed with the original Grow List, trying to get Nekima and two Mature Nephilim charging across the table, because it's too slow, my next attempt will bring in four Younger Nephilim on the first turn and get them moving forward. It has the added bonus of not needing to bleed out Nekima any to get it to work. Though with killing two Desperate Mercs in the mix, I'd probably bleed her anyway so that she can have an extra blood for later and can heal back up twice.

Lilith (8 stones)
- Primordial Magic
- Nekima
- Terror Tot x4
- Desperate Mercenary x2

I know a lot of other people have been using the Grow List without Lilith, but I am still very fond of Lilith being used with the list. She's fast, hits hard, and has a lot of movement shenanigans. She can toss around Earthquake to get the whole crew moving on the first turn, and can put up her forest to help control opposing movement.

Ronin

Painted up a few more models over the weekend and finally finished off my Ronin. Wasn't really going too fast on these guys since in the summer league at Huzzah I'm playing my Neverborn, so my Outcasts are sitting on the bench.

Collodi's Crew Painted

Just finished painting up Collodi's crew. I ended up going with the black clothes for Collodi himself. Overall I'm quite pleased with how they turned out, especially compared with the annoying color scheme of the official models. They're ready to get on the table now and do some fighting.

More Painted Models

Got a couple more models painted up yesterday before I ran out of primer. My first Marionettes is finished, as is my Desperate Mercenary.

I'm going for the same charcoal gray theme that I did for my Wicked Dolls here. I decided that the Marionettes were made of birch wood and clothed in the grays and blacks. Just like I did with the Wicked Dolls, I'm going to make one of them blackwood with off-white clothes. Still trying to decide how I want to paint up Collodi himself. I'm going to wait and see which scheme I like better on the Marionettes before I make that decision.




Then I've got the Desperate Mercenary. I painted him with the same deep red coloring that I've used for all my Viki and Freikorps crew since he's technically one of them, even though I'll be using him with Neverborn from time to time too.

New Painted Models

It's been a little while since I painted up anything for Malifaux. Got a few more done and posted.

First up is one of my Black Blood Shamans. Have a few games in with him already and he's proved pretty interesting. I haven't used him beyond being fuel for a grow list. I'll want to give him a try where he's not running around nearly dead after the first couple turns so he can actually support his crew more in the mid-game at some point.




Next is the first of my Ronin. I have the Outcasts on the shelf for the moment, but I still do want to get these girls painted up for when I bring the Vikis back out. It'll be nice to have some non-Freikorps choices available.




Finally, I've got the Wicked Dolls. I don't like the color scheme that's the official one on the site. Too colorful and bright. I went with more of a black leather look. And then thought it would be cool to go with one that was a white leather to mix things up. I'll be getting three more of these guys eventually. I think I'm going to stick with the black leather look for the other ones.

The Ladies

Laura just finished painting up the Colette box I bought for her a while ago. Here they are. I love all the different colors in the dresses. She told me I had to find her more models to paint, so I guess we'll be expanding the crew a bit.


In the meantime, I went through and painted up the Miss Pack I had lying around.

The Viktorias

Got the Vikis all painted up a little while ago and then just added in the Student of Conflict a couple days ago. My Viktoria crew is pretty much finished. May add some Ronin later on down the road, and I'll be picking up the Desperate Mercenaries when they come out, but for the most part, I can call them done.

Adding to Hamelin's Crew

Last week two new models came out for Hamelin's crew - the Rat Catchers and the Obedient Wretch. I picked up them, another blister of Stolen (to bring me up to 6) and two Insidious Madnesses for my Neverborn. I managed to get the Rat Catchers and Obedient Wretch all painted up.

Von Schill's Crew is Painted

About a week and a half ago I picked up the Von Schill box and started painting it up. Finally got the bases in yesterday, and put everyone up finished. I got the two Viktorias and will be painting them up to match soon enough. Enjoy what I've got so far.

Next week I think the rest of Hamelin's crew will be arriving too and for a short time, anyway, I'm going to start learning how to play a couple of the Outcasts and putting my Neverborn down.

Painted Hamelin

Yesterday my wife finished off Hamelin and I now have the entire crew painted and ready to go. I'll be buying the Obedient Wench and the Ratcatchers later this month, but for now, meet the gang!

Three Sisters Against Zombies

Allow me to introduce you to the three sisters who will be fighting against the walking dead once we get our next game of No More Room In Hell campaign going. These three sadly lost their parents when the undead hordes began rising. They found each other and stuck together, fighting for survival against impossible odds. Each one has learned to deal with the nightmarish situation in their own way.



There is Alice, the oldest. Home from college, she was out for a night on the town with her boyfriend when the undead struck. Her date turned undead before her very eyes, but she did not waver. She knew exactly what to do. A card-carrying member of the NRA, she drew her hand cannon out of her purse and blew his head off, followed shortly by the heads of every other zombie in the restaurant. She keeps track of her two sisters, making sure they're safe. Just being near Alice inspires them to stand firm.



Next in line is Rose, who was just entering middle school and suffered greatly from middle child syndrome. Constantly rebelling against her parents, she would often be caught by the cops trying to vandalize or steal. Her parents did not know what to do with her. Numerous trips to the shrink's office just ended up costing money and solving nothing. When the zombie apocalypse struck, she was already sneaking out of the house anyway. Phone books on the seat and tin cans strapped to her feet, she stole her parents' car and went for a joyride. She excels at sneaking around and driving is the only way she feels at peace anymore.



Finally, there is sweet Katie, happy to be entering the third grade. She's something of a tomboy and enjoyed beating up the neighborhood boys and climbing trees. She was, unfortunately, home when the undead struck and her parents were taken. Now undead themselves, her parents tried to catch Katie themselves. The little girl did the first thing she could think of, grabbed her bat and went to town. By the time Alice returned home, Katie had already re-slain over fifteen zombies. Alice shot her way through the horde around the house to get to her sister and when all hope seemed lost, Rose pulled back down the street honking the horn. Alice and Katie jumped out the window, rushed to the car, and sped away with Rose. The three made a pact to never leave another behind and to always look out for each other. Because if you don't have family, you have nothing.

Dindrenzi Reinforcements Clear Space Dock

I haven't played Firestorm Armada since the beginning of November, but after seeing the topic of the newest d6 Generation podcast (check it out if you enjoy gaming podcasts), I got the itch to pull out the fleet once more. I went back through my bag and found two squadrons that had not been painted up yet, so in my home-bound illness days over the last couple days, I painted up my squadron of Heavy Cruisers and Gunships.




I have played only a couple games with the Heavy Cruisers, and only once with the Gunships, but I did post up my thoughts on them. Check them out back in this post.

After Distopian Wars came out, I have to admit I was a bit disappointed. From everything I was seeing, it looked like Firestorm Armada would end up being the game Spartan Games left behind. There were still plenty of boats coming out for Uncharted Seas, and they had just received their new book. Distopian Wars hit the tables with far more options already than Firestorm Armada currently has, and their push of that game made it feel like Firestorm Armada was being left in the dust.

But yesterday I came across a post on the Spartan Games website that talked a little about their plans for 2011:

Hi,

I'm sure there is going to be a lot of speculation about these books. Right now I will share the following, but the rest will have to wait until January:

2 Books
64 pages each (could be more, but use this as a baseline)
1 for the Alliance of Kurak (Terran, Sorylian and Aquan)
1 for the Xenian Alliance (Dindrenzi, Directorate and Relthoza)

The Book Contents:

Each book will introduce Alliance Races to the Firestorm Universe, races that can join forces with your existing fleets. As a player you will be able to build an alliance fleet using a core fleet as the backbone. So you could have 50% of your fleet formed from Terran vessels and build the rest from Aquan, Sorylian or one of the other 5-7 new races we will introduce for each Alliance.

New ships designs, new ship classes will be introduced to you. And in preparation for large scale planetary invasion in 2011, ships that will allow you to transport giant armies from planetary system to planetary system will arrive.

Each Alliance will gain 20 new ship types from the various races.

The books will also pull together any necessary statistic and any rule extensions for all current fleets and any upgrade models.

More information in January, but I hope that helps you understand the two books.

All the best,
Spartan Neil

Digging around, it looks like they'll be doing a few website updates this month, and then the two free pdf books will be coming out in February. I have to say it's made me excited for the game again.

More Painted Goodness

I got another couple models finished up last week.



Coppelius is finally finished and ready to go. I had most of him done earlier last week, but finally got the heads put on the bases for him. Only things left to paint for the Dreamer are three more Alps.



Once Coppelius was finished, I decided to paint up this guy I picked up not too long ago. He doesn't really fit in any game that I currently run, but I thought it would be a cool model to have. Reminded me a bit of an evil Halloween monster, kinda like something out of Grimm.

Day Dreams

I got three more models painted up for my Dreamer crew. The Daydreams are ready to roll!

Painted Nightmares

Six down, seven to go. I managed to finish three of my Alps and my three Stitched Togethers. Have to get Coppelius, three more Alps, and three Daydreams done. Plus still only halfway done with my Hooded Rider.

Back Into Painting

I don't think I've done any painting since my wedding, so a couple months ago. Partially it's been a matter of not feeling like it, but mostly it's been because I don't have a whole lot left to paint. Earlier this week I got a few new models, and last night I spent the evening watching Deep Space 9 and painting. I was going to watch V For Vendetta (Remember, Remember the Fifth of November) since I wouldn't be able to watch it tonight, but I didn't really feel like a movie when I got home.

Anywho, that's a longer story than it needed to be. Among the models I recently acquired were two sets of the Neverborn siblings. I've painted up two of the girls and one of the guys, and the second guy is about halfway done. I wanted to paint them up in alternating schemes - I liked the light blue and the red that the official models had, but with two sets of twins, I had to switch it up a little. So one of each twin has blue skin with red clothes, and the other has red skin with blue clothes. Makes a nice synergy like that. Here they are!