June Oath Complete

Painting Oaths has been a positive influence, not just to my painting; but also my personal life.  So to have this group pushing me and making me grow as a painter, has been a tremendous benefit to me.  This month has been the hardest month so far, with regards to model choice and the sheer effort it has taken; to master even a little of the skill involved in freehand.  There is no way I would have done it without this group, so thanks again guys and gals.

So the month started out like this:

 

Barring some touch ups and completing the base, my oath is complete for June.  Included is freehand work for the Secret Ingredient, of Skull and 2 Cryx faction symbols (10 images):

 

UK Nationals

As of today (30th May), there are just 6 spaces left for what is shaping up to be the best WM/H tournament in the UK……if not Europe.  So what makes this so special?

First of all, this is the first time it has been held outside the UK Games Expo.  Even though there was a Masters event at the Expo, the UK Nationals is an official PP event.   Much like Lock and Load or Gen Con, Privateer Press have organised and providing all prize support for this event.

So what do we get for the entry fee?  Other then fact that you are taking part in the premier WM/H event, you will get to compete against the best in the UK; while meeting some great people.  Ok you also get an exclusive UK Nationals t-shirt, hints of other ‘goodies’ and food during both days; but they are the fluff to the crunch of butting heads with the best in the UK imo.

So why not come along, you could even come fight me for the wooden spoon (yes my sights are set high); or just experience something different to anything you might have seen before.  It promises to be a fantastic weekend, which will hopefully lead to bigger things in the future.

 

Mission: Nationals

Since signing up for the Nationals, I have come to the realisation that I have a mammoth amount of work to do.  If you’ve not been to Warmachine/Hordes tournament, the format is usually 2 army lists, with other criteria determining what you can include in each army.

In a Masters event like the UK Nationals, the criteria will be:

• 3 army lists
• Character Restricted
• Play each list once
• No Reinforcements or Specialists

So this presents me with a huge amount of painting to do, as while it isn’t a requirement; having 3 fully painted armies will be great on the table.  To this end, I have still to paint:

• Kraken
• Blood Witches (10)
• Blood Hag
• Seether (2)
• Satyxis Raiders (10)
• Satyxis Raider Capt
• Satyxis Raider Sea Witch
• Ripjaw
• Iron Lich Overseer (2)
• McThralls (4)
• Harrower

So looks like a few late nights are in order.

 

UK Nationals

Last year the decision was made to take the UK Nationals out of the UK Games Expo and create something more in keeping with the American events like Lock and Load.

On 29th – 30th June, the first ever UK Nationals will take place; with 128 player tournament; as well as the Iron Gauntlet qualifier.  For those not familiar with the new Iron Gauntlet, the UK Nationals will be the last place (this year) to be able to qualify for essentially the World Championships of Warmachine/Hordes.

It’s been a tough decision, but I have booked my hotel and bought my ticket and I will be going down to Stockport to play in the UK Nationals.  I don’t expect to do well, but it is more for the experience of it.  As of this time there was still 15 spots left, so if you fancy taking on some of the UK’s best players; head over to this thread on Warhammer Forum.

Malifaux Commission

I’ve finally got started on this, after stripping them of primer; twice now. The second time was my fault, due to the cold weather we have been having here. Trying to do it indoors, isn’t always a good idea; as it still stinks no matter how little you spray.

Having painted some of the original metal models from Wyrd, I was looking forward to getting my first look and painting; of the new plastics. Sadly this has been a bit of a disappointment, which I hope is only restricted to this crew.

So what are the problems:

Lots of moulding gaps and seam lines. Thankfully a lot of the cleaning was done before hand by the client, but there is still a lot of large gaps that needed filling. One of the worst was on Mei Feng, around the hairline a gap of about 0.5 – 1mm; made it look like she had a badly fitted wig.

Sculpting is very lacking, with hardly any definition on the bodies and especially the faces. These are supposed to be 32mm ‘heroic’. which is nowhere near what these are. At best they are 28mm true scale. This can be seen clearly in the photo, with Kang, the largest of the models against Privateer Press 28/30mm Bane Lord Tartarus.

The plastic is very flexible, which is great if you want curves and arches. In the handles/shafts of weapons (shovels, mallets in this case), bendy plastics are not a good thing.

I appreciate that this is new to Wyrd, as it is with many of the companies switching from metal to plastics/resins. However, this isn’t endearing me; to take up Malifaux again given these issues. As I said originally, I hope this is only restricted to this particular crew; but we will see.