Thinking Outside the Box

It's a good time to be a fan of tabletop, comic-themed gaming. There are a lot of options out there now; Marvel Universe and Batman Miniature Games both from Knight Models , Pulp City by Pulp Monsters , and even a few build-your-own character games like SuperSystem and Power Legion . Batgirl was the earliest free agent model that I purchased, as well as the first one that I started applying paint on. However, I found the level of detail off-putting and didn't get very far at first. When I built the model she required a bit of putty work, and I ended up adding some pouches on her hips to cover up some unsightly join lines. I confess that I like her pose but I dislike the single point of contact with the base as it has a lot of metal to support. I've already dropped her once and every time I pick her up I'm afraid she's just going to fall apart. When painting her I had originally opted to go with the straight black and yellow colour scheme from the ...

Shortly before the Marvel Universe Miniatures Game was released by Knight Models I picked up several single pack figures at a slight discount. The game dropped shortly after, but has so far seemed difficult to acquire in Canada. I'm hoping once I get out an do a few demos it will pick up locally like the Batman game has started to do. This is the original model for Black Widow, which I prefer greatly over the highly sexualized one that comes in the Avengers starter box. Don't get me wrong, she's a sexy character but I think the new sculpt is a little over the top. She was the first Marvel figure I painted. It a pretty easy paint job and I think she turned out well. This figure proved more difficult to paint than I expected. It's a great looking pose, but I wish the details on the shield were a little deeper. I'm not the greatest when it comes to steady detail work, so found doing the stripes on the shield highly frustrating. A wash or two would usually b...

Ok I'll confess right up front that I know next to nothing about the character of Swamp Thing, and am unclear as to why he would align himself with Poison Ivy or Batman at all. However, when I saw the miniature I was really impressed, and when I painted it earlier this month I was truly in love. This figure is superbly sculpted and very well cast. As with any model this size and number of pieces there was some gap filling required, but it was super easy to blend in and I dare anyone to point it out on my painted figure. This figure almost painted itself. I think total it took me less than 3 hours and was a lot of fun experimenting with different shades of greens, browns and yellows.

During my April painting frenzy I finished up a few more of the SuperFigs models that have been sitting around waiting for colours. According to the profiles available for SuperSystem , first two are members of the "Crusaders of Crime"; Dark Templar and Black Claw. After I painted Dark Templar I realized that he's almost a perfect looking figure to use for The Master, to lead my Omega Flight team. I considered repainting him without the gold and adding a little more red, but opted against it. Most people aren't familiar enough with the character to really know the difference, so he'll do just fine as is. Black Claw was going to get a bit of glow effect on his left hand but I messed it up and just went back over it with the previous colours. I like the dark outline on his eyes, which feel like they make him look a little more eeeeevil. Finally I finished up the massive-for-no-reason Stalker. There is nothing in the character profile that would explain h...

With round 2 of our local BMG escalation league fast approaching, I decided I'd better paint up some henchmen for Poison Ivy to take with her. Round 1 was played at 150 rep, and I played several games with AC Catwoman and Classic Poison Ivy. I ended up winning 1, losing 1 and tying 3, so pretty middle of the road all said. I tried one game with Swamp Thing and it was a tough go having only one character on the board. I had already constructed both sets of Blackgate Prisoners and my Killer Croc figure. I decided to batch paint them as I was planning on having them all wearing the same clothes. As a bit of an experiment I tried painting the prisoners' jumpsuits with my under-used airbrush, using Badger  "Minitaire" Charred Stone for the main colour and going over it with a light touch of Badger Fur. Croc got the same treatment, but I also painted his skin starting with Pestilence Flesh, then Rotten Wood on his underbelly and finally some Gremlin Green on his back to b...

It's been a pretty crazy spring for me personally, so having some regular things like hobby and gaming time actually take shape has proven very helpful. Today the second round of the Batman Miniature Game league started. It's been fun running that; answering questions, helping people source models, build their crews, understand synergies and best of all play some games! Today's game was a 200 rep match playing the plunder scenario against Sebastien's League of Shadows crew. He had Nyssa, all three female ninja, plus Seeker and Shadow if memory serves. I had Classic Ivy along with some of my newly painted Blackgate prisoners Turk, Little Spark and High Security Henchman. It was back and forth all through the game. Turk neglected to defend himself against the katana-wielding ninja and paid for it with his life. Little Spark ran in from an end and zapped the male archer into unconsciousness before killing the kama-ninja. High Security Henchman killed the other female ...

March was a rough month, with all of my hobby progress happening in the first week. The rest of it was spent on real life stuff, as the poor economy here has resulted in my renewed quest for employment. Lots of other folks are in the same boat as I, but I'm looking at it as a chance for something new and interesting. While I have some more free time I'm also looking forward to a short break and some gaming, while I prepare for the next career step. When I looked at what I did accomplish in March though, it wasn't too shabby for a seven day span: - Built Killing Joke Joker, Mr. Hammer, Joker's Daughter, Master of Ceremonies, and Frank Miller Batman - Built two custom Joker clowns for BMG: August for Harley Crew, and a version of "Six" - Gap filled a ton of KM models and Grimms for Pulp City, 44 in total! - Based all remaining models (16) Today we started our first round for the Batman escalation league here. Scheduling conflicts kept our attendance dow...