From Curt: Marie Lambeau 'The Entertainer' from Mansions of Madness (5 Points)

I think I'll take in the sun and the surf at 'Douglas' Shallows', so here's my fare for Sarah's Balloon: Marie Lambeau 'The Entertainer' from 'Mansions of Madness'.

Marie is a creole jazz singer, originally from The Big Easy, but now based in Arkham. In the game she benefits from a very solid stat line paired with an awesome special ability, one which allows her to cast a spell at the start of her turn without having to spend an action. This is huge in a game where players are always nibbling their fingernails deciding on how to spend their two actions per turn. Paired with the right spell(s) Marie can be an invaluable addition to the party.

Again, I've tried to follow the art on the character card. For a bit of additional colour I gave her a pair of Dorothy-Red pumps. Oddly, the basing was a bit of a swine this time around, with me having to go through three of the blighters to finally get it right. More a lack of patience on my part than anything else. 

Next up: Douglas' Shallows!

-Curt

***

I really love these character figures that you do Curt.  I appreciate you matching the colours to the character cards as well, as I have some friends that make up their own colour schemes and while many look great, I find it really distracting looking at my character sheet and then instinctively looking for something that matches on the game board and not finding it.

I am still not sold on clear bases (even though I am the one that cuts them for you) as I find the glare distracting on them, but if there is one thing I have learned about gaming and painting over the years, it's that everyone likes and dislikes different things!  So keep using them since you like them, and since I make some cash off you using them :-)

Regardless of the base, I love the character and think you have caught her essense completely.  I look forward to playing with these sometime soon.

- ByronM

P.S.  For a guy that walks so much in real life, why does it seem that your online character is averse to walking a single step on the island???

From EvanH: The Riddle of the Sphinx - Awdry's Atoll (45 points)

Greetings, Challengers and Challenge Fans! I've taken a balloon trip to the azure waters and pristine beaches of Awdry's Atoll, where the locals venerate shiny discs which are used in a multitude of ways.

Hoping to blend in, I have secured one of these discs, and here is the result.

But wait a minute, who's this young fellow in the travel-stained tunic? And why is he looking so apprehensive?

It's Oedipus, Prince of Corinth, on the road to Thebes. He's had an eventful journey. He accidentally killed a nobleman in a road rage incident, and fought off the man's retainers, barely escaping with his life. It's understandable that he's feeling a bit rattled. But this is something else...

On the road outside Thebes, with the tombs of the citizens on one side and a sheer cliff on the other, a monster has taken up residence; the Sphinx. Beautiful and terrible, she demands that all who approach the city answer her riddle. The bones of those who have failed rest among the grass and cobbles of the neglected road.

Oedipus composes himself. A prince of Corinth should not show fear, even if the smell of blood and musk around the monster threatens to overwhelm him.

She lazily stretches her wings, surreptitiously extending her claws. This will be easy, she thinks, he looks so tasty. She asks her riddle.

"What walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three legs in the evening?"

Oedipus considers his answer. The Sphinx is crafty. Her riddles will be anything but literal.

He speaks.

"The answer is... man. He crawls on all fours as an infant, walks upright on two legs in his prime, and uses a stick to support himself in old age."

The Sphinx stares at Oedipus. The moments stretch into an eternity as the prince stares back, his heart pounding. But he knows he's answered correctly, or the Sphinx would have leaped upon him by now...

The Sphinx screams in rage. She leaps over Oedipus' head and over the cliff behind him, folding her wings and plummeting to her death on the rocks below. The curse of Thebes is lifted!

Oedipus enters the city and is acclaimed as a hero. The widowed Queen Jocasta notices the young man as well, and the Fates begin weaving new threads to snare mortals and drag them to their doom...

That's enough of the story for now. Let's look at the component parts of this vignette. Firstly, the base; a disc of foamcore was glued to the CD to give it a bit of depth, and the edges roughly chamfered back. The cobbled road was made by gluing a strip of textured paper to the base.

As you can see, the paper is perfect for the job. I picked it up at an art supplies shop in Sydney.

The groundwork was laid down with Vallejo White Pumice Paste and a mixture of sand and fine gravel. Pebbles and skulls were strewn about to emphasise the desolation of the Sphinx's lair, while Tajima Tufts provided the finishing touch. The grass tufts were drybrushed with light brown to give them a sere, dried-out look.

Oedipus is a Crusader Miniatures Apulian Spearman, given a head tilt and a bend to the leg so that he can prop up a foot and look the beastie in the eye.

The Sphinx is a Reaper Bones monster, painted in leonine colours to bring home her bestial nature. Make no mistake, this is a dangerous man-eater!

So points-wise, that's 5 points for Oedipus, 10 for the Sphinx (based on my previous lion hybrids such as Challenge IX's Griffin and Manticore), and 30 points for completing Awdry's Atoll, for a respectable 45 points.

Not sure about where to go from here, so we'll just have to see what grabs my attention next. Earth Goddess worshippers? More monsters? Floppy hats? Who can say?

Stay tuned...

Ev

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Wow, what an excellent little diorama here Even, really top notch.  While I have never been a huge "bones" fan as I find a lot of them pretty cartoony and some of the sculpts are pretty weak detail wise, there are ones like this that make me wish I would have backed some of the kickstarters.

Excellent choice of colours and composition here, please keep stuff like this coming!

-ByronM

From SimonM: "Knight Models" Black Manta (5 Points)

This 35mm scale metal miniature of the Black Manta is produced by "Knight Models" for their "Batman Miniature Game", and can be purchased as either part of the DC Universe/Batman Miniature Game: Secret Society of Super-villains set, along with Killer Frost and Professor Zoom, or as a single blistered figure. Sculpted to depict the "ruthless and murderous underwater-based mercenary" wearing his infamous "nigh-invulnerable battle-suit", the archenemy of Aquaman was created by Bob Haney and artist Nick Cardy, and made his first appearance in the September 1967 issue of "Aquaman" by "DC Comics".

"Currently in the New Suicide Squad under the command of Amanda Waller" this four-piece model was carefully assembled and primed using a double layer of "Citadel" Abaddon Black. The "expert in mechanical engineering and military tactics" was then enthusiastically dry-brushed with "Vallejo" Heavy Charcoal before being drenched in "Citadel" Nuln Oil.

I 'picked out' Black Manta's advanced technological suit, his jet pack propulsion system, wrist-mounted speargun, diving helmet and hand-weapon with a combination of "Citadel" Ironbreaker and Nuln Oil. Later I dry-brushed both the helmet, jet pack and Death Ray with (more) "Citadel" Ironbreaker. As a final touch I layered his eye lenses with Vallejo" Heavy Red, and shaded them in "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson.

***
Black is a very hard colour to pull off and look right, but I think this one looks good.  Maybe a bit more edge shade with a grey to pull a bit of detail out, but then again maybe not as the gloss to make him look wet may just make it pop too much.

Either way, your recipie sounds pretty close to mine, so it might just be the closs covering it in the pictures.  Don't we all wish pictures were easier to take that match what the figures look like in real life???

Keep them coming Simon, I love all the Knight Models, and the game.

-ByronM

From ScottM: Burch's Bluff: Rausenburg Army Squad (80 Points)

Continuing down the Path of the New Shiny, we arrive at Burch's Bluff and it's 30K theme. I don't actually play 40K (or 30K for that matter), but at one point I was considering it. At the time I had picked up a bunch of infantry and heavy weapon teams from Victoria Miniatures. Perfectly suited for use as Imperial Army in 30K. Here is a 10-woman Rausenburg Siege Corps squad of infantry.

I went with a Prussian type paint scheme and I think they turned out quite nicely. The resin figs themselves are quite nice and have all sorts of bits and bobs that can be attached. If you're looking for some squads that aren't bog-standard GW Imperial Guard, I'd recommend giving Victoria Miniatures a look. That completes Burch's Bluff as we continue our trek across the island.

So that should be: 10 28mm foot figs = 50 +30 (location bonus) = 80 points.

***

A very nice entry here Scott, and very fitting for guard in 30k.  I really like the miniatures and the colour choices here.  The overall look and colour choices make me think almost more Great War French rather than Prussian, but the blue would need to be a little more pale for that, but they do remind me a lot of my WW1 french.

Great work here Scott, keep it coming!

- ByronM

From Barks: Ginger Ninja (35 points)

I got some second-hand assassins a few years ago, assembled and undercoated. I painted the Vindicare for the AHPC VIII BFG theme round two years ago. I was daunted by the Callidus' synskin and held off, but have decided it is time to Just Get It Done.

My synskin technique involves various blue-grey shades up to white, then a wash with Army Painter Blue Tone, which gives it a satisfying black tone. I know, right?

I should add more rubble to the base, it is a little threadbare and visually unbalanced.

I dug up my still unfinished 1997 Callidus- it is satisfying to see how many nods the 2015 sculpt gives to the Jes Goodwin original- sadly for my side duel, there are less skullz on the new model!

1x 28mm- 5 points
Sarah's Balloon- first trip!- 30 points

Skull-o-meter™: 5
Cumulative Skullz: 18

Now to choose a dropzone...

***

While it is very nice to see this new model, and you have done a bang up job on it, there is just something about that original model.  I know the original is very 2 dimensional, and it has some issues, BUT it is such an iconic part of 40k it's hard to look past it to anything new.

I agree with you on the base issues for the new one as well, it needs something more to add to the base (maybe more skulls?).  

Overall though, great work on the new one, even if I do prefer the old model better.

- ByronM