ToMB2: Month One Zoraida Box Complete

I signed up for Zoraida for this round of the Tale of Malifaux Bloggers.  I’ve completed painting her box ahead of schedule.

I went for slightly different basing for these models than I have for the other Neverborn.  I figured it should be a little more dilapidated and run down.  Instead of nice wood plank floors, I decided to do wood planks forming a path through some wetland.  Hopefully that still ties into the rest of the Neverborn, while giving the Bayou models a bit of their own twist.  It may tie into Gremlin basing, too, if I decide to go down that path.

Zoraida
Zoraida

Zoraida herself was pretty straightforward.  I don’t think the mushrooms turned out as well as I would have liked, but I do like the heavily green tinted skin.  Her three main colors (green, brown, and gray) tie into the three Silurids, below.

Voodoo Doll
Voodoo Doll

I decided not to try to pin the Voodoo Doll’s legs.  Hopefully the CA glue holds.  Otherwise a really simple model.

Bad Juju
Bad Juju

Bad Juju had nasty nasty gaps all over the place.  I think I filled them pretty well, and fortunately the texture helps to hide the putty.  I tried putting in some undergrowth type basing materials in the branches, but it didn’t really fit in.

Silurid (gray)
Silurid (gray)

This is my least favorite Silurid.  The spikes along the sides of the back are separate pieces, which left really obvious looking gaps.  I didn’t do a very good job of smoothing them over.  The base paints are all a fairly neutral grays, but then I used a green wash to bayou it up.  When I went back to drybrush with the highlight, it did not blend well with the green-tinted sections.

Silurid (brown)
Silurid (brown)

This Silurid is much better.  I decided not to use the rock basing piece that came in the box, so he’s stomping around instead.  I had a lot of trouble with the foot that’s attached to the base.  It kept breaking off, even after being reinforced with green stuff.  I’m not sure how confident I am that it’ll hold up, but at least the tail is a nice large contact area.

Silurid (green)
Silurid (green)

Leap, my friend!  This guy is the best Silurid of the bunch.  Seam lines and gaps are cleaned up pretty well, and no broken feet.

I also got a game in, but more on that next time.

Updated October 2016 with improved images.

Malifaux: Herald of Obliteration (and some friends)

I’m a sucker for limited editions, so when the Nightmare Edition Herald of Obliteration box was available again at Wyrd’s Black Friday sale, I knew I had to pick it up.  I’m not a big fan of the clear plastics, but for only $5 more I figured I’d see if I could do anything interesting with it.

I’ve only played Neverborn so far, so they’ve been sitting unloved. I decided to break them out  for Wyrd’s Frozen Moments painting contest in the crew category.


Read on for some commentary on each model.

Tara
Tara

I left Tara’s freaky arm transparent, and hit it with some green washes and a bit of drybrushing.  The rest was primed and painted as normal.

Karina
Karina

I struggled with what to do with Karina.  Doing her left hand like this maybe isn’t very different than Tara.  I considered offering to swap with a non-transparent one.  In the end, I decided to use what I had.  I hit the left the hand clear, then hit it with Tamiya Clear Red. The idea is to evoke the glowy magic from the art.

Nothing Beast
Nothing Beast

The Nothing Beast got primed gray for the lower body, leaving the it transparent from about the waist on up.  Painting directly on the clear plastic didn’t work well, as you’d expect (paint pooling up, and tending to rub off), so a layer of Dullcote acted like a clear primer.  Successive drybrushing and washes brought it up to mostly opaque, with just a but of translucency in the arms, hands, and tentacles.

Bête Noire
Bête Noire

Bête is the clear red version from the Black Friday sale.  Waist down was left transparent, but with Dullcote and some washes to give it some depth and texture.  I had kind of hoped for a smoother transition from opaque to transparent, but it didn’t really turn out.

Miss Terious
Miss Terious

Miss Terious is the one non-transparent model in the crew, but at least she’s a special edition.  After I went painted the arm breaking out of the coffin green I remembered that it’s not some zombie breaking out, but whoever got trapped there.  Oops.

The Wretches were all painted up like the Nothing Beast, although with no fully opaque priming.

Overall I think I made the transparent models work, but I’m not super excited about transparent in general.  It works pretty well with Tara’s theme, and the neutral color of the plastic meant I could do interesting things to it.  I’m not sure I could do the same with the pink Dreamer box, for example.  The clear plastic is also harder to work with than regular gray plastic.  It’s brittle, and doesn’t cut or sand as easily.  Seams are harder to fill and clean up, which really shows on the Void Wretches.

I’d like to give a shout out for Element Games.  I purchased the MicroArts Studios Wasteland bases from them using my winnings from being the best (and only?) newcomer in #MFXTOP.  Even though it was shipped from the UK to the US, it was fast and competitively priced.

Updated October 2016 with improved images.

Malifaux: Nekima, featuring the Spin-o-matic

I bought Nekima in Wyrd’s Black Friday sale, and was able to paint it up in time for the Frozen Moments painting competition, in the single miniature category.  It’s also my first posting to feature my shiny new Spin-o-matic 360º viewer.

Nekima
Nekima

I decided the model looked a bit small for Height 3 50mm, so I figured I’d build up the base a bit.  The bar and stools are 4Ground.  I added a bit of texture, although honestly it still seems a little flat.  The mugs are made out of a bit of tubing for the body, wrapped in green stuff to  sculpt a little shape.  The handles are made out of paperclip wire.

Nekima (detail)
Nekima (detail)

I’ve also been experimenting with building a 360º view.  I’m still not fully satisfied, but I think it’s workable.  Click once to load, then drag to spin.  It’s tested in Chrome, Safari, and Firefox.  It probably works in IE9+, too.  Let me know what you think. [Note: I’ve improved the Spin-o-matic, including updating the images on this post, so I’m much happier with it now. You’re still welcome to let me know what you think]

Updated October 2016 with improved images.

Malifaux: Depleted


The Depleted are the last pre-ToMB models I’ve completed.  They’ve got some synergies with Lynch and Brilliance, but Hard to Kill, Hard to Wound, and positive flips to disengaging strikes ought to make them a nice cheap tarpit in any crew.

Depleted (stretching)
Depleted (stretching)

I mounted this model too far forward on the base, but otherwise I’m pretty happy.  The shirt is just a shade lighter of the dress, which I think works, even if it’s not super exciting.

Depleted (uh oh, arm)
Depleted (uh oh, arm)

The blend from flesh into Brilliance-soaked tentacle here isn’t very smooth, but I did get the floating leg working.  Hopefully it stays on the base.

Depleted (tentacles)
Depleted (tentacles)

This guy is definitely having a bad day.  He’s a little plain, but it gets the job done.

Updated October 2016 with improved images.