Miniatures Monday - July 27th

Miniatures Monday at Battleground Games in North Charlotte!

This was the second game for Andrew.  He just was initiated into the world of Malifaux and selected Mei Feng and her Crew Box for Arcanists as his intro. The miniatures look great and she is just amazing on the table.  I think she is the toughest Master I have had to deal with so far!  I will add my spin on the battle report in another post, but for now I wanted to share the table we played on, our deployments and a snapshot of the 6th turn when the final blow was dealt. 

Andrew and his crew of Arcanists did prevail against Seamus' band of Resurrectionists.  It was all about completing his Scenario and Scheme. Mei was a melee powerhouse the entire game so the Arcanists had 3 VP from Reckoning, while Seamus only was able to get 2 VP.  I was able to Assassinate Mei while keeping Seamus at 12 Wounds, but I failed to keep four scheme markers down on the center line for Line in the Sand - that Emberling was dropping Scheme Markers like it was getting overtime at the USPS. We shared Strategy and Schemes and had them declared since this was his second game and it is best to slowly acclimate to the rules and add the complexity in layers.  All in all, it was a great game!

Well played, Andrew, and welcome to the game!

Seamus and the beginnings of my Fox Hunt crew!

Mei and her Rail Crew!



Lots of corpses in the end.  I think Kang and the Emberling were all that remained of the Rail Crew.  Seamus and the Carrion Effigy were all that remained on my side.  I was able to summon only 3 Dead Doxies due to bad Fate hands.

Small Houses

The idea for these houses came from various period photos of houses that were built for the mining towns that cropped in the United States at the beginning of the 20th century.  I also see the potential for these to be used on a bayou/swamp table.  I want to capture the inhabitant's poverty - not only in the monetary sense, but also of the time available to the inhabitants.  These were functional buildings that provided shelter, but little comfort.

Right now, I have the basic structure created.  I still need to add the frames for the window and doors which will be done with a thinner strip of bass wood.  I knew I was adding frames, so you will see the edges for the door and window are not even - I did not see the need to re-cut since the edges will be covered.  I will also be staining the wood once the trim is completed.

 

 

After the staining, the roof and flooring will be created for these.  I wanted the roof and flooring modular to allow me the flexibility to use these houses in desert and bayou settings which might require different looks for each location. I will attempt a short foundation, a slightly raised porch, and a raised-on-stilts foundation.  The interior flooring will be the same wood I am using for the trim.  I have even thought of creating a dirt floor.

More of that to come!

Update: Corpse Markers

Some more progress with my first batch of Corpse Markers!  

I have pretty much finished with my initial six markers and I am very pleased with them.  I may go in later and add tiny details, but their look will not change from this:

For my next set I attempted a smaller batch of 4 markers.  I decided to experiment with spackle paste as a potentially faster, easier medium considering Milliput has to be mixed and then it will set in a short time, so what is mixed has to be used which leads to procrastination until I have side projects ready to accept the inevitable surplus of Milliput I mix.

Skeleton - again, balsa wood and wood glue attached to metal washers

Fleshing out - layers of spackle paste.  Each layer dries in less than an hour and really easy scrape and carve after it dries.

Glue/paint - this was different than the  others.  The spackle paste felt much more fragile than the Milliput so I am nervous about it breaking off.  I made a sludge of wood glue and paint and edged the sculpts with it to create a solid base that might strengthen the marker once set.

 

I wanted these models to look dug-up so I could use them with my Resurrectionists, especially the ever-loving Canine Remains, so I used some coffee grounds  and glue to cover the washer and partially the models.  They are drying right now, but they will just get a brown/green wash again and maybe a beige dry brush just to the two highest points on each marker.

Corpse Markers

I am currently working on a series of posts concerning running demonstrations, but it is taking me longer than I had originally planned. 

For now, to keep the blog-blood flowing, I am posting WIP pictures of some corpse markers I am working on.  I have gotten as far as the base coat and the first wash of six tokens.  I still need to work on the detail painting and filling in the bases to increase the contrast and conceal the metal.  If all goes well, I will be making 12 total.



Skeletons - made from balsa wood and wood-glued to metal washers :

Fleshing out the skeletons:  pictured are all Milliput sculpts, but you can use anything that air-hardens.

Base coat and wash:

 

 

More pictures to come of these as well as some Wild West/Mining Camp buildings I am working on.
Also coming in July are some discussions on how I like to run demonstrations and maybe a bat rep or two!