Silent King - Necron Overlord

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Warhammer 40,000 – The new Necron range is very cool. After years of sitting on just a few kits Games Workshop has finally updated the entire range to bring them in line with current modeling standards. I for one am super happy the glowing acrylic rods are a thing of the past, they didn’t add much to the models and made painting and assembling unnecessarily complicated.

Having painted a few of the new kits I was excited to see the big boss come across my table. The Silent King is one of the signature “BIG” kits that has been dropping with each new release. This model is huge, complicated and stands as a centerpiece for your force.

Of course to match the existing force this guy is supposed to go with I had to match the scheme I’ve been painting with the very generic silver black and green. I’m happy with the results sticking to a simple scheme on a complicated model really helps to tie it all together.

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More Indomitus Crusade

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Warhammer 40,000 – The Indomitus Box has so much good stuff in it that its no surprise another set has found its way onto my painting table.

This time around part of the set is for a Death Watch force and part of it is going to be used for a Dark Angels force. Both of these are painted to match existing forces that I’ve been painting on and off over the last couple of years.

Necrons - Alternate Colors

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Warhammer 40,000 – Necrons are usually printed boring to paint. Gunmetal with a wash and glowy bits means they’re simple to crank out. This project I had to come up with a different color scheme that looked cool but was just as easy to crank out.

Since Necrons are essentially skeletons in space I opted to work on a color scheme that feels bone-like but different. My solution wash to start with a khaki base coat with a heavy wash. Once that dried I applied a off-white dry-brush to the whole model to pick out the details and smooth any pooling from the wash. I then picked out the details with a neon green and gold before applied a wash to each of those colors. The end result is a different looking scheme that is easy to replicate quickly.

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Marvel Crisis Protocol - WIP

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Marvel Crisis Protocol – A few years back skirmish games were popping up all over the place and I fell into chasing each new game hoping to find a replacement for my main game of Warhammer 40,000. Back then 40K was in a weird place and I just wasn’t enjoying it. Which seemed to be the case for many gamers as skirmish games were taking off with Malifaux, MERCS, Helldorado, Relic Knights Guildball, Deadzone, Batman The Miniatures game and a bunch of others snagging huge chunks of disenfranchised players. Of course Games Workshop course corrected with new editions of their core games and bringing back old favorites like Necromunda and Warhammer Quest, which seemed to the downfall of many of those start up skirmish games. I’ve noticed that skirmish games are coming back for a variety of reasons.

The most notable reason for the rise in skirmish games is the pandemic. Right now it’s not really safe to spend several hours in close contact with someone else in a cramped game store. In some states like Michigan it’s not even a viable option because most stores have their gaming areas closed off. Of course basement gaming is an option but there again spending hours in an enclosed space, even masked up increases your risk of possible exposure. Which means for many players getting a game of 40K isn’t happening.

In my group we were able to play variations of Necromunda over video conference for a while. With a skirmish game it works to a degree but it’d not ideal. So over the last year my primary gaming group consists of my wife and sons. The challenge there 40K, Necromunda and Killteam have to much information having to cross reference multiple books and investing a significant amount of time on the lore before you can really enjoy the games. (Because lets be honest, people love the 40K universe for the depth of story and modeling opportunities not the quality of gameplay).

So that’s a long way to go to get to the point. In order to enjoy a miniatures game with my young sons and wife I needed to find something that was already something they liked, that has concise consolidated rules that they don’t need to study ahead of time and is playable in under an hour or two. Which lead me to Marvel Crisis Protocol.

I had painted a few of the models for a client and knew that the game was pretty solid so I felt pretty safe in investing in it. Worst case scenario I’d have some nice minis to display from one of the family’s favorite universes. After receiving the core set for Christmas I had what I needed to get started. Of course other projects required my attention first but once I got to it I was hooked.

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Atomic Mass has created a unique game that has all the flavor of the Marvel Universe as well as pretty balanced gameplay with all the rules you need to know printed on the cards or a quick reference sheet. (yea the full rulebook is online and way more extensive for competitive play but you don’t need to reference it much for fun games).

I have a few modern terrain board I had put together for Batman and MERCS so revisiting those projects to actually finish something is an exciting proposition. After a few games with my older son he’s caught on quick and really enjoys the game. I think this will be the gateway to other mini games or could possibly become my go to game. It plays quick and is tons of fun.

Mothership - Set Engines to Fun?

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Mothership - Set Engines to Fun?

Board Games – Space Battle games can range the from super complicated affairs like Twilight Imperium and Battlefleet Gothic to fairly simple like X-wing. Mothership is billed as being closer to the latter. Getting right into the heart of the battle is it’s primary selling point.

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Star Trek Ascendency Core Game

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Board Games – I’ve previously painted up the expansions for this game so it was a nice surprise to see the core set make it’s way onto my painting table. As with the expansions I needed to keep the paint scheme super simple with the same colors as the molded plastic bits.

To make this work I started with a metallic silver base and then applied the appropriate contrast paint. The result is a nice hot rod metallic color that feels a bit nicer than the solid color plastic.

Zombicide Black Plague - Special Guests

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Board Games – Zombicide Black Plague has had a ridiculous amount of expansions, not only new gameplay mechanics, board and minis but also many “Special Guest” Boxes which bring in a guest artist to do a character design for the game.

Each box adds a few characters that could be enemies or heroes depending on the box. The designs range from pretty unique to pretty generic but if you’re a completist you’ll need to track these down.

Baby It's Cold Outside - Last Aurora

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Board Games – When I was a kid Post Apocalyptic always meant desert wastes and fighting over water/food/fuel after a nuclear war. Over time that scenario seems to have changed Water World had the ice caps melt, other films have had it be a plague zombie or more traditional and for a period of time the disaster of choice was a new Ice Age. Last Aurora follows along with the frozen wasteland theme caused by nuclear winter.

From the manufacturer:

“The radioactive dust of the Last War has frozen the northern countries. In the ice desert, the few survivors live in an icy hell as the resources of the "old world" are now exhausted, and travel to the south is too long and dangerous. But a radio message is rekindling hope: The last icebreaker ship, the Aurora, is cruising along the coast, looking for survivors. The winter is coming, and in a few days, those who cannot get on board will be doomed by the ice. It will be a race against time to arrive at the ship or surrender to despair: there's still the light of hope on the horizon, a light to grab before it's too late...

Last Aurora is a post-apocalyptic game for 1-4 players set in a frozen, desolate land. Each player has to manage their crew to gather resources, recruit survivors, improve their vehicle, and fight their enemies as they race to reach the ship before it's too late!”

Having a unique look to your miniatures is always a bonus for a game, sometimes you stumble upon a new look that creates a trend and other times your unique look makes you stand out from the crowd. The gas-masked little soldiers for this game are pretty unique looking and the other tokens do a good job representing what they are.

Flying Saucers with Death Rays?

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Warhammer 40,000 – Necrons find their way to my table in tiny bits, I’m not sure why that is with this army in particular but I rarely will get asked to paint a whole force in one go. instead it seems I get little bits of random pieces salvaged from bargain bins. This is the traditional black green and silver scheme.

Dwellings of Eldervale – Now with Sound Effects!

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Board Games – Successful Kickstarter games can go bonkers with stretch goals. A great example of this is Dwellings of Eldervale, I mean seriously sound effect bases that have little to no value for gameplay but do push the “blinged out deluxe version” envelope. Apparently there are multiple versions of this game available with out all the extras that play exactly the same, which means if you didn’t back this you’ll likely be paying a premium if you want to track down the special version.

Anyway everything I’ve read and watch about this game is very positive. Not only are the super premium components great but the game also has a well developed story and solid mechanics.

Each of these minis can be represented with a cardboard standee in the basic version of the game but the miniatures are pretty solid and do come “pre-painted” in a weird color wash. It was easy enough to prime over that and paint these up to look pretty slick.

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Ad Mech - Are they set to dominate?

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Warhammer 40,000 – Ad Mech has some of the coolest models in the Warhammer 40K range. They are also some of the most annoying models to paint. I kid of course, the combination of mechanical parts with flowing robes creates an interesting contrast on the models.

Secret Society – Stygian Society

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Board Games – Some of the games I’m asked to paint have very few models. Sometimes I wonder if they were just added to the game to say, “We have Minis!” Not that I’m complaining but in some instance it seems like having a meeople or other counter would be a most cost effective option rather than having models tooled and cast.

Anyway Stygian Society is a Kickstarter-Funded board game that bills itself as a diceless dungeon crawler. The concept looks fun and the minis while super tiny are pretty detailed.

In Like a Raging Lion - Barbarians at the Gate

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Board Games – I previously painted all the expansions for Blood Rage. This time around I completed the core set. Since its release in 2015 this game has held a really high rating on Board Game Geek and has won numerous awards.

Here’s a summary from the manufacturer:

“In Blood Rage, each player controls their own Viking clan’s warriors, leader, and ship. Ragnarök has come, and it’s the end of the world! It’s the Vikings’ last chance to go down in a blaze of glory and secure their place in Valhalla at Odin’s side! For a Viking there are many pathways to glory. You can invade and pillage the land for its rewards, crush your opponents in epic battles, fulfill quests, increase your clan's stats, or even die gloriously either in battle or from Ragnarök, the ultimate inescapable doom.

Most player strategies are guided by the cards drafted at the beginning of each of the three game rounds (or Ages). These “Gods’ Gifts” grant you numerous boons for your clan including: increased Viking strength and devious battle strategies, upgrades to your clan, or even the aid of legendary creatures from Norse mythology. They may also include various quests, from dominating specific provinces, to having lots of your Vikings sent to Valhalla. Most of these cards are aligned with one of the Norse gods, hinting at the kind of strategy they support. For example, Thor gives more glory for victory in battle, Heimdall grants you foresight and surprises, Tyr strengthens you in battle, while the trickster Loki actually rewards you for losing battles, or punishes the winner.

Players must choose their strategies carefully during the draft phase, but also be ready to adapt and react to their opponents’ strategies as the action phase unfolds. Battles are decided not only by the strength of the figures involved, but also by cards played in secret. By observing your opponent’s actions and allegiances to specific gods, you may predict what card they are likely to play, and plan accordingly. Winning battles is not always the best course of action, as the right card can get you even more rewards by being crushed. The only losing strategy in Blood Rage is to shy away from battle and a glorious death!”

To paint these guys I started with a Khaki base and heavy Earthshade wash. Once that base dried I went in with various browns and earth tones from the Contrast Range. With the pre-shading I did with the wash the contrast paints do a good job adding color on natural furs and straps like these models have.