Mountain King

The Mountain King is probably one of the most impressive wargame miniature ever made.  Privateer Press has released a Gargantuan/Colossal model for most of its factions at this point, all of which are incredible.  As a crazy collector, I will showcase at least three more of these in upcoming posts (in addition to the Prime Axiom previously discussed).  The Mountain King is my favourite, although it is hard to get enough work out of him during a game to justify his point cost.  I still use him in almost half my games (when using Trollbloods), even though most players now give the Mountain King a miss.

Mountain King

Mountain King

Because the model is so evocative of the mountainous wilds, I have created a mini landscape on his back - a little grassy knoll with a tree.  I wanted him to look like he recently burst out of the ground where he has been chained up for hundreds of years.  It seems that as these massive trolls age, they grow more rocks on their backs.  This idea was first seen on one of the Trollblood character Dire Trolls, Mulg the Ancient.  I first got the idea to add a tree to a Troll's back when I first painted my Mulg (see below), and so it was natural to continue this idea on the Mountain King, which benefits from a larger working surface area.

Doomshaper, Mulg, and Mountain King

Incidentally, this is the second Mountain King that I have painted.  The model pictured below was painted for a friend, using his army's colour scheme.

Khal's Mountain King

Absylonia, Daughter of Everblight

The Hordes faction Legion of Everblight consists of a race of elves (Nyss) co-opted and mutated by the dragon Everblight, along with a host of dragon-spawned monstrosities.  Absylonia was once a Nyss, but has been extensively mutated to become basically a half-dragon, at least in appearance.

Absylonia Daughter of Everblight is her epic version (following Absylonia, Terror of Everblight), in which the mutations coursing through her have been finalized and locked into place.

Absylonia, Daughter of Everblight

I have converted the original sculpt of this model such that her wings are on her arms, rather than sprouting from her back.  The wings for arms was always my favourite part of the earlier version of Absylonia, and I wanted to replicate that idea in her epic version.

Absylonia, Terror of Everblight

The earlier sculpt of Absylonia is disliked by many, perhaps because true to her terrifying nature, she is portrayed in a non-idealized way.  I quite like the old sculpt, as it is very characterful and intricately detailed.  This model needs to be painted very carefully (in my opinion) to bring out her character and mood - it looks to me like she is almost sad and introspective, realizing just how much she has been changed by Everblight.  And then with the new model, she is finally enjoying her mutated powers.

Kirai Ankoku

Many game companies release a host of exciting new products at GenCon, and Wyrd is no exception!  As I was not able to attend, I need to extend a huge thank you to Stinkmunk (Malifaux blogger, gamer, painter, and all around enthusiast) for offering to "ninja" shop on my behalf!  One of the amazing sets picked up for me was the Kirai crew, which I am trying to get onto the tabletop as fast as possible!  So far I have finished Kirai herself, and Ikiryo, her soul - that literally leaves her body to wreak vengeance upon those who have done her wrong (principally the killers of her lover/fiance, who died while saving her from assassination by the Guild of Malifaux).

Kirai

Kirai

The new plastic model of Kirai has certainly grown on me during the painting process.  The original sculpt (see below) was very grim and evocative, while the new one with its "skipping" pose, doesn't quite sell the spirit of vengeance motif.  This is partially explained in another GenCon release - the newest Malifaux rulebook "Crossroads." In this book, Kirai meets Molly, another Resurrectionist master (see my earlier post).  So as Kirai makes friends and slowly comes to terms with her lover's death, she isn't quite so angry and depressed all the time.  She still has the powers that were unlocked through her traumatic experiences, but now she can move past her specific issues and begin helping others.

Kirai - original sculpt

I was never able to get my hands on the original sculpt of Kirai, but I will still keep my eyes out for it.  While I might somewhat prefer the old Kirai model, the remainder of the new Kirai set is absolutely amazing.  In particular, Kirai's projected soul, Ikiryo is a dramatic improvement over the old sculpt.  The new Ikiryo is massive and terrifying.  The long hair evokes the Japanese horror movie Ringu right at the moment when the spirit starts crawling out of the TV.  One of the scariest movies I've ever seen (as an aside, many people debate which movie is better - Ringu or its Hollywood remake The Ring.  In my opinion, the scariest is the version you see first).  I am sure this same fear is duplicated in players who have Ikiryo materialize beside one of their key models during a game!

The Resurrectionists' story in the Crossroads book describes how Kirai meets Molly, and shows them hanging out together.  While reading this narrative, I kept being reminded of a website that continually amuses me - They Fight Crime: Movie Idea Generator .

Molly is an undead newspaper reporter down on her luck. Kirai is a spirit of vengeance looking for love in all the wrong places. Together they fight crime!

Goreshade, Lord of Ruin

Goreshade Lord of Ruin is the third version of Goreshade, a warcaster of Cryx.  Probably one of my favourite warcasters in the Warmachine game.  He was fun to paint, featuring a few technical trial runs that I wanted to try.

I used the Games Workshop technical paint Agrellan Earth on the base, which dries into a thick cracked surface.  For my first use with this product, I had to experiment with paint thickness to generate a pleasing cracked earth surface.

I also tried out some "object source lighting" - his magical frozen sword is depicted casting light onto nearby surfaces, hopefully demonstrating the mystical powers at his command.

Goreshade also rides a ghostly undead steed.  To illustrate this, I decided to paint the horse glowing green.  I am not entirely happy with the glow effect, as it sort of evokes a Scooby Doo monster vibe to me.  Goreshade's big vampiric grin contributes to the effect!  But then Scooby Doo monsters are cool.

Convergence of Cyriss

The Warmachine faction The Convergence of Cyriss is a clockwork army, with a strong retro science fiction feel.  These models were painted in basically two tones of metallic (blue steel, and brass), with glowing electrical accents.  Many of the models are meant to fly or hover, which presented a bit of a modelling challenge.  The default solution is to use clear plastic flying stands to mount the models on, or in the case of the Prime Axiom (the Convergence Colossal Vector), mount it on a lump of rock.  I personally don't like using flying stands, as they tend to stand out and dispel the illusion the model is trying to convey.

I chose to instead create arcs of electricity to hold up the flying models using paperclip wire and modelling putty.  In the case of the large and heavy Prime Axiom, it turns out that six large paperclips are perfectly adequate to hold it up!

Father Lucant, Divinity Architect

Reciprocators

Heavy Vectors: Cypher, and two Monitors

Iron Mother Directrix and two Exponent Servitors

Prime Axiom

Prime Axiom

Prime Axiom

Forge Master Syntherion

Vectors: Assimilator and Corollary

Philip and the Nanny

As Malifaux Second Edition continues to roll out, there has been much speculation about what the new models will look like.  At the moment we are still waiting for a number of models from "wave 1" to be released - all of which have rules in the main M2E rulebook.  In the meantime, playtesting has completed for wave 2 models, and Wyrd Miniatures has posted official PDF cards (i.e. their rules) on their web site.

One of the most intriguing models coming in wave 2 is "Philip and the Nanny."  Philip is a severed (yet animated) head that historically was carried around by Molly (see her model in a previous post - Philip is there, in her arms).

In game terms, Philip is Molly's Henchman, and if his model release follows convention, he will appear in Molly's M2E box set.  Because no one has any idea when this will be - to date we have only seen beautiful artwork for a Molly resculpt, but nothing else for her crew's prospective new plastics  - I was beginning to get impatient.  I really wanted to add Philip into my games, and so I took it upon myself to attempt a scratch-built pram (as called for by his rules), and modification of a Nurse to create his Nanny.

I don't profess to be an especially good sculptor, but I think the result should tide me over until the official model comes out!

Philip and the Nanny (scratch built)

Philip and the Nanny (scratch built)

The pram is built from plasticard, wire, modelling putty (green stuff), a Warhammer skeleton head, and some wheels off an old model kit.  The framework around the pram was taken from a Warhammer Mortis Engine cage, bent around the pram.  The Nurse had her right arm re-posed, and then modified with putty.

Colette

These are the models that first got me started collecting Malifaux miniatures - particularly the Coryphee, esentially clockwork mannequins with giant shears for hands.  How could one go wrong with that?  Colette is a stage magician, making use of costumes, shell games, and fancy tricks to achieve her aims.  I assume that whatever new plastic models Wyrd Miniatures makes for the reissue of this crew will be amazing (and I will buy them), but I would really hate to give up using these ones...

Colette, Cassandra, Coryphee (X2)

Performers

Morvahna the Dawnshadow

In the midst of all my Malifaux activity, I am also working on my collection of Warmachine/Hordes models!  Up next is a few models from the Circle Orboros - a Hordes faction representing druids and various wilderness creatures.  Since Morvahna the Dawnshadow is everyone's new favourite Circle Warlock, I figured I would start with her.

Morvahna the Dawnshadow

Pureblood Warpwolf

Argus Moonhound

Rasputina

My first Arcanist master for Malifaux is Rasputina.  Her crew consists of ice spirits and creatures inhabiting the cold wilderness outside the city of Malifaux.  She channels freezing magic through her crew as if they were a shattered mirror, bouncing her spells towards her targets.

Rasputina

Wendigo and ice pillars

Ice Gamin

Ice Golem

Molly

Molly

Since the release of Malifaux Second Edition, I have been steadily painting my collection of miniatures for this game, centring around the Resurrectionist and Arcanist factions.  Nicodem was the first of the Resurrectionists that I started working on (see below).  Nicodem is the resident undertaker and zombie master of Malifaux, who spends his games raising the dead and making them stronger and faster.  I could almost play him all the time (he is that fun), but then so are the other Resurrectionist masters - including Molly, depicted above.

Nicodem, Nurse, Mortimer, Punk Zombie (X2), Rotten Belle, Vulture

Molly also raises new undead models into play, although her tactics and methodology are sufficiently different from Nicodem to make her a worthy master in her own right.  My crew focusses on her theme of undead "horrors," and her ability to make them activate multiple times per turn.  I may delve into crew lists and tactics in future posts, but for now I just want to show off some recently painted models!

Molly, Nurse, Dead Doxy (X2), Rotten Belle