The Performing Belles...

As mentioned previously I'm planning on converting some of the none Resurrectionist female Malifaux models into forms that Seamus 'The Mad Hatter' and myself find more...interesting...Colette Du Bois and her 'Showgirls' were to be the first...victims...

To start I bought a pack of 'Rotten Belles' so I could use their umbrellas and fans to add to the Performers so they fitted the Belle theme better and hopefully I'd be able to do something with the left-over Rotten Belles so the models would still be usable as 4th, 5th and 6th Belles in my Seamus crew should it ever become necessary.

I came up with the following...

'Performing Belle' 1

The hand holding the fan looks a little large on the picture but I can soon cover that up with a sleeve or something. The performers hand was donated to one of the Belles and together with a hand from an old metal 40K/Warhammer Daemonette made the model usable and different enough from the original Belle to make them okay to use at the same time...

Come hither...

....I have something for you...

For the 2nd Performer I drilled a hole under the arm and made an umbrella handle...which looked rubbish...so my girlfriend messed around with it and made it look a bit better and then I added one of the Belles umbrella's to it...the resulting combination turned out rather pleasing...

'Performing Belle' 2

I turned the Belle's umbrella into a walking cane by the simple addition of a skull and it actually looks better on the model than I thought it would so it can stay, lol.

Rotten Belle Conversion 2

I then came up with somewhat of an issue with what to do with Cassandra. She needed to fit in with the umbrella and/or fan concept but also needed to keep her big-ass sword thing...This is what I came up with...

Kassandra 'The Belle'.

I turned what was left into a 3rd Belle using another Daemonette arm as the size matched. Unfortunately my spares stock consists mainly (well exclusively actually) of Games Workshop spares and the scale on those parts doesn't really work with Malifaux stuff which somewhat limits my conversion options.

Rotten Belle Conversion 3

With that lot done it just left Colette Du Bois...So it's time to Introduce...Madame Kolette...Apparently not all the Showgirls decided to join the new club.....

...and for my next trick...

So that's what I came up with...Thoughts and comments are (as usual) most welcome...

'New' Look White Dwarf?

I'm told that White Dwarf is now a hobby magazine again rather than the giant advert that it had become...I'll withhold judgement till I've seen it 'in the flesh' but hopefully GW are finally listening to what people want.

The Games Workshop Newsletter 22.09.2012 In this issue: The all-new White Dwarf

White Dwarf Reborn The planets align, dark omens abound, the Eye of Terror opens, and nothing will ever be the same again: the new White Dwarf is here! After many months of hard work, Games Workshop's monthly hobby magazine has undergone a dazzling transformation. You can see the results for yourself in the October issue, which goes on sale today. With more pages, new features dedicated to every aspect of collecting miniatures, and a wealth of astonishing photography, the new White Dwarf is packed full of hobby wonder. An all-new team is your guide through the worlds of Warhammer, Warhammer 40,000 and The Lord of the Rings, surveying what's new and exciting in the hobby every month from the Design Studio, Forge World and Black Library. First and foremost, you'll find the new White Dwarf to be a celebration of the brilliance of Citadel miniatures, and the stunning New Releases section kicks things off in jaw-dropping style, showcasing the new Chaos Space Marines in a way you'll never have seen before. Following that you'll find a treasure trove of new features, from the hobby heaven of Army of the Month to the new-look Battle Report, to the art of converting in Kit Bash to the in-depth rules discussion of The Rivals and beyond. There's also reviews of the latest Black Library novels, a massive feature exploring the history of the Horus Heresy (which also spotlights a quite astonishing new miniature) and much, much more besides, including a free double-sided Horus Heresy poster. The new 'This Month In' section delves behind the scenes of October's hobby happenings to offer designers' notes on the new Chaos Space Marines miniatures and books, what the new White Dwarf team get up with their own hobby, and a peek behind the curtain at the mysterious goings-on in Black Library and Forge World. It's a bold new age for White Dwarf, and we'd love for you to join us on our epic new hobby journey. The October issue goes on sale today, so what are you waiting for?

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Games Workshop Limited, a company incorporated in England and Wales. Games Workshop, Willow Road, Lenton, Nottingham, NG7 2WS, England, United Kingdom. Company number 1467092. Copyright © Games Workshop Limited 2012 excepting all materials pertaining to the New Line theatrical productions:The Fellowship of The Ring; The Two Towers; and The Return of The King which are © MMXII New Line Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved. All quotations from J.R.R. Tolkien's literary trilogy The Lord of the Rings (including any of the volumes thereof) © The Tolkien Estate 1954-55, 1966. All rights reserved. The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring,The Two Towers, The Return of the King, and the names of the characters, items, events and places therein are trademarks of The Saul Zaentz Company d/b/a Middle-earth Enterprises, f/k/a Tolkien Enterprises under license to New Line Productions, Inc. and Games Workshop Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Games Workshop, the Games Workshop logo, 'Eavy Metal, Citadel and the Citadel device are either ®, ™ and/or © Games Workshop Ltd 2000-2012, variably registered in the UK and other countries around the world. All Rights Reserved.

Games Workshop 'News' letter 22.09.2012

I hate the new Maulerfiend 'Zoid' looking thing, the Raptors heads are weird and the models that really need updating...haven't been updated.....i also dislike the idea of a hardback codex as It makes them fucking awkward to take anywhere.....

.....and people still wonder why I've gone off 40K....

The Games Workshop Newsletter 22.09.2012 In this issue: Death to the False Emperor!

New Chaos Space Marines and First Hardcover Codex Chaos Space Marines are corrupt and treacherous super-warriors hell-bent on tearing apart the Imperium. Though they once strode the galaxy as noble defenders of Mankind, a lifetime of unremitting war has driven them to worship the gods of Chaos. These fell deities have rewarded them with arcane powers, daemonic war marines and hellish weaponry with which to slaughter the armies of the Emperor. This is a landmark day. On Advance Order is our first ever hardback Warhammer 40,000 Codex as well as astonishing new plastic kits. Codex: Chaos Space Marines is a high quality tome that contains 104 full-colour pages. It comes with the full background and rules for the forces of the Chaos Space Marines, including a gatefold reference page, incredible artwork and a stunning miniatures showcase. If that wasn't enough, feast your eyes on this: The Chaos Space Marines Heldrake is a winged Daemon Engine that plummets out of the sky like a comet, hurtling towards enemy aircraft and crashing into them from above. It's an enormous, dragon-like construct, a Chaos fusion of flesh, bone and metal. That's not all, though, as we've the barbaric Forgefiend/Maulerfiend kit, an incredibly dynamic Raptors/Warp Talons kit, and our first ever Warhammer 40,000 plastic single figure, the Aspiring Champion. Not to mention a host of spectacular new Chaos Space Marines releases available in our premium resin, Citadel Finecast. Also available is Psychic Cards: Chaos Space Marines, the complete set of Psychic cards available to this army, and which can be used in conjunction with Psychic Disciplines. Make sure you visit games-workshop.com to make your offering to the Dark Gods...

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Games Workshop Limited, a company incorporated in England and Wales. Games Workshop, Willow Road, Lenton, Nottingham, NG7 2WS, England, United Kingdom. Company number 1467092. Copyright © Games Workshop Limited 2012 excepting all materials pertaining to the New Line theatrical productions:The Fellowship of The Ring; The Two Towers; and The Return of The King which are © MMXII New Line Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved. All quotations from J.R.R. Tolkien's literary trilogy The Lord of the Rings (including any of the volumes thereof) © The Tolkien Estate 1954-55, 1966. All rights reserved. The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring,The Two Towers, The Return of the King, and the names of the characters, items, events and places therein are trademarks of The Saul Zaentz Company d/b/a Middle-earth Enterprises, f/k/a Tolkien Enterprises under license to New Line Productions, Inc. and Games Workshop Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Games Workshop, the Games Workshop logo, 'Eavy Metal, Citadel and the Citadel device are either ®, ™ and/or © Games Workshop Ltd 2000-2012, variably registered in the UK and other countries around the world. All Rights Reserved.

McMourning and Crew

I've pretty much completed McMournings Crew now....The faces need a bit of work but other than that I'm going to call these done.

McMourning and Crew

McMourning

Sebastion

Flesh Construct

Nurse 1

Nurse 2

I'm nearly done with 'Dead Justice' so I'll have some pictures of the finished crew in the next day or so (Wednesday probably) and I've made a start on turning Colettes 'showgirls' into something a bit more...well...undead, lol.

I also got distracted by this model that was sitting on the shelf at Titan Games whispering 'buy me'...so I did...

Thoughts and comments are (as usual) most welcome.

Some Malifaux Progress

Not a great deal to show you all as I spent most of my hobby night playing Malifaux rather than painting Malifaux, lol.

I had a good game against Tom's Colette crew during which I learnt quite a lot and also (and more importantly) had a load of fun. It came down to a final attack that my opponent kindly allowed me to do even though we'd technically finished. I'd forgotten to use a 3rd attack I was entitled to and only remembered at the last minute.....well technically just after the last minute. I'll have to remember that I now owe him a 'do-over' during our next game, lol.

They still need at few more layers of wash and dry-brushing and the nurses need loads more work but I'm reasonably happy with how they're progressing.

McMourning and pals...

Fortunately (or not depending on your point of view) washes take a long time to dry so I had some time to assemble 'Dead Justice'. I've based them the same as my Seamus crew as they'll occasionally join him as other things. 

Nightmare Justice...

Hopefully the next post will contain a finished McMourning crew and a started Dead Justice one and perhaps some zombie hooker conversions ;-)

Thoughts and comments are (as usual) most welcome.

Dead Justice

I made an acquisition recently...very recently in fact...

It was an impulse buy and initially I only wanted it for the 'Nightmare' Lady Justice model. However it occurred to me that it was a good way of staying true to my Resurrectionist tendency's while simultaneously allowing me access to a different faction should I so desire ;-)

Fortunately the nice people at Malifaux were way ahead of me and had already taken that concept into account by virtue of the fact that they have provided cards for both the Guild version and alternate cards to allow the models to be used as a Resurrectionist equivalent.

Like so...

Dead Doxy/Lady Justice

Punk Zombie/Judge

Crooked Man/Death Marshal

Guild Autopsy/Death Marshal

The Drowned/Death Marshal

 

That lot will be my next 'crew' after I complete my McMourning one. I should have some pictures of McMourning and pals fully painted by the end of the week and I'll be working on some 'Belle' conversions based around the Colette starter set mixed and matched with some Rotten Belle models in between crew painting. I've heard some people say that they don't like the Dead Justice models but I'm quite pleased with them as a purchase.

I'm considering applying as a 'Henchman' so I'd like to be able to use more than one faction for the purposes of showing people how to play the game...as long as they don't mind being taught with zombie versions of other factions most beloved masters that is.....

Thoughts and comments are (as usual) most welcome.

The 'Zombie Hookers Everywhere' Project

As followers to the blog may have noticed I'm on a bit of a Malifaux kick at the moment and have been using Seamus of the 'Resurrectionist' faction as my Master and his associated crew. As an extension to this I've also been using models that are in some way connected to him through the background material.

Effectively this gives me the following list to choose from If I'm staying true to the 'Fluff' so far...

Seamus (obviously) and his Totem,

Belles (Sybelle, Rotten Belles, Dead Doxies),

Molly (Also a Belle but by extension this means I can use 'Horrors' as well) and her Totem,

McMourning (He and Seamus have some kind of arrangement it seems) and Totem,

McMournings 'Crew' (Nurses, Sebastion, Flesh Constructs, Canine Remains etc.),

Crooked Men (Seamus uses them to attack the guild) and by extension I can probably justify any even vaguely guild looking undead such as Guild Autopsies,

and Killjoy (Seamus is hunting him in one of the Wyrd magazine stories).

Obviously there are some female mercenary models which could work as well. If I've missed any possibilities then I'd love to hear from you in the comments section.

Additionally I've decided to stretch the 'Belles' concept slightly by converting other female models into more suitable forms ;-)

I have therefore compiled a list of models that should make the transition to zombie strumpet quite easily with the addition of a few touches such as umbrellas and fans. I'm going to start simply by utilising the 'Showgirls' Colette box set to create some 'Dead Doxies' while simultaneously keeping them close enough to the original models so I can use them in their intended form should I desire to branch out into other factions at a later date.

That's the plan at least...

Thoughts and comments are (as usual) most welcome.

Mollys Crew

As I'm using Seamus as my 'primary' master and I've decided to stay themed and fluffy with my crew and crews, my options are limited.....though not as limited as I thought before reading the background material more thoroughly...

Obviously, Molly is a given as she's a 'Belle' and is in nearly all of Seamus's stories and appears as a major character in her own right in several tales....however....

The crew that comes with her in her starter box isn't particularly well themed around her. The Crooligans are in the one Molly story but are working for some-one else and the Rogue Necromancy isn't mentioned at all. The whole 'weird stuff is attracted to her' justification is a bit weak in my opinion but perhaps it will be elaborated upon in later Material. That said I've gone with it as who am I to argue with the Malifaux design team, lol.

Molly and her 'Horrors'

Rogue Necromancy

I have also acquired Mollys Totem but it's a bugger to assemble and is now in a pile on my painting tray awaiting me to give a shit about it enough to pin the fucker....

My next crew will be the McMourning' one as he and Seamus appear to have some arrangement with one another as indicated in their story in the 1.5 Malifaux rulebook. I've ordered some of the Morgue bases so won't be assembling and painting the models till they arrive as doing them separately would probably be somewhat of a chore. I should hopefully be picking them up tomorrow along with some more Belles I'm going to use as the basis for a conversion project I'm contemplating.

I've also took some better pictures of my girlfriends Rasputina crew and she's put together a rough guide to the bases on them for the person who asked how she did it. I'll put them together into article form in the next few days. Tomorrow is game night so I'll be doing bugger all blog related till Wednesday at the earliest.

Thoughts and comments are (as usual) most welcome.

To 40K or not to 40K that is the question...

Several people have e-mailed me asking if this is no longer a 40K blog and to be fair it's a question I should probably answer....The answer is both simple...

The Simple Answer.
This blog is what it has always been, which is a log of my progress in my hobby and a forum for me to put out my viewpoint on issues that interest me. In short it's my blog and what I'm currently doing is playing Malifaux ;-)

and less simple...

The More Complicated Answer.
I don't really enjoy 6th Edition 40K anywhere near as much as I enjoyed 5th Edition for a number of clearly definable reasons.

Reason 1 - Balance.
6th Edition isn't balanced to anywhere near the level 5th was. It is in my opinion no longer possible to create a balanced 'all comers' list using the rule-set as it stands. The 'rock, paper, scissors' match-up is now a strong possibility in any competitive environment and I shouldn't have to be ten times better than my opponent to win a game of 40K just because GW designers cant play-test for shit or don't care or are so confident in their marketplace position that they don't feel they have to listen to the people who actually buy their product.

Reason 2 - The Same But Not Really...
I'll be playing a game using the new rule-set and be fine...and then some stupid situation will occur that reminds me that I'm dealing with something different...and not different in the 'evolved into something better' way but in the 'what the fuck were they thinking' way...like the feeling I had when I was watching Highlander 2 and discovering that some script writer has decided that the immortals were aliens all along and completely ignored very specific bits of the characters background from the first movie...for no apparent reason...

So I've decided to have a break from the system for a while. I've been playing Malifaux and enjoying it and this has had the knock-on effect of making me put more effort into my painting as I'm only having to worry about a handful of models rather than a bucket full. I'm also going to give Warmachine a go in a few weeks time and may give Infinity a go as well some time after. All these systems are being supported by my new FLGS so finding opponents is no problem...in fact it's easier than finding a 40K opponent some nights...which in itself tells you something about how 6th Edition is being received locally, lol.

So I'm not giving up on 40K, but I am exploring other possibilities. If GW want my money then they're going to have to start earning it rather than getting it by default...

GW product development meetings were dangerously vague....

Thoughts and comments are (as usual) most welcome.