From StuartL - Counting Down the Days - Western, Gift Shop & Limo (289 Points)

Hello all,

I have quite a few things to post today, so let's get started.

First off, a trip in Lady Sarah's Limousine to an unplanned stop at the Gift Store. To pay for this, I offer this model is from Wyrd Miniatures' game Malifaux. Malifaux has 8 factions each with about 8 sub-factions (known as Crews) and this model is taken from the Showgirls crew of the  Arcanists. The Showgirls are illusionists and tricksters, running a smuggling operation from the basement of the Star Theatre in Malifaux city. This figure is the leader of the group, Colette DuBois.

Last week, my wife found some garden ornaments at our local dollar store (100 yen store actually), that she really liked. However, they were quite plain being mainly white clay with just a hint of colour. Knowing that I have a room stocked full of paints and other colourful substances, she suggested that they would look much nicer if they just had a tiny bit of pigment added. Figuring that these would qualify for the Gift Store bonus, I agreed to take time out of my schedule and paint them up.

Miniature Arab for scale.

So, after googling some pictures of hedgehogs and having my wife select one that she likes, I set to work. As the ornaments had a lot of texture sculpted on already, I settled on a 'wash and wipe' technique. I first applied some dark fleshy tones to the feet and mouth, then put Vallejo washes on the parts of the body that needed them. Before that had a chance to dry, I wiped a folded tissue over the figure, trying to remove some of the wash on the top layers of the fur. I then added a second darker wash over the top of the body and repeated the process. Finally, I painted the eyes a bit more, as the originals just had small dots of black in the centre rather than a fully black orb. Once everything was dry I varnished them and quickly grabbed some pictures before my wife could transfer them to the garden. 

With that quick pit stop out of the way, it is on to the next part of the studio, the Western stage, but to get there I need to pay my way in the Limo, so here is another Showgirl for Malifaux.

The Western stage is a tricky one for me as I don't have any real Western figures. However, I do have a lot of Weird West figures, or more accurately Wyrd West. Malifaux is a game set in an alternate world circa 1900, where magic is real. Using magic, people opened a breach between dimensions, linking Earth to the strange land of Malifaux. In this new land, humans have gone forth to settle and plunder, creating a new frontier of colonisation. Leading the way are an organisation called the Guild, they control traffic through the breach and maintain law and order in the most draconian ways possible. They maintain magically powered automata to bolster their forces as well as countless guards, undead hunters, monster slayers and more.

These are some Guild riflemen backed up by two Wardens, machines designed to apprehend and detain possible suspects using grappling claws. These five will form the start of my Guard crew. The Wardens can also pull double duty in one of my existing crews as well, so that is a bonus. Malifaux figures are usually in the 32mm range, but the constructs are bigger, standing around 40mm+.

With my main studio visit out of the way, it is time to see what else I painted up this week. I've been on a bit of a Bolt Action/WW2 kick this time and so I present the following, in 5-man Squirrel sized squads.

Some African soldiers to fight for the British against the Japanese in India and Burma. Models are from Warlord Games with heads from Gripping Beast.

Some Frenchmen, equipped by the Americans to fight the Germans in Italy. Models are from Warlord and Artizan (or Crusader, I forget) with heads from Gripping Beast.

Some Germans to fight pretty much everyone in Europe. Models are from Warlord Games.

And some Russians to fight for the Motherland. Models are from Warlord Games.

And some Death Korps of Krieg, just because I was painting Germans and thought the colours would be a good match for these models. The figures are from Games Workshop and are part of their Kill Team range. Being GW Imperial figures with a name like Death Korps, they obviously bear a lot of skulls. 1 on each helmet, belt and backpack and 2 each on most guns.

So, with that, I just have to pay for my trip to the last section of the studio before the Director's Chair, the Fantasy Studio, which I will be tackling next week. One more Malifaux model should do the trick.

Ok, on to the scores.

31x 28mm models @5 points = 155 Points.

2x 40mm models @7 points = 14 Points.

3x Limo Rides + 2 Studio areas @20 Points = 100 Points.

Hedgehogs = ? These were really fast and simple and I didn't paint large sections of the lower body. If my minion feels like giving me some bonus points, that's fine, but it was mainly just splashing on two layers of wash.

Total = 289 Points

My side duels.

Squirrels + 6 = 34

Anglo-Saxons, Vikings, Dwarves, Fire Giants, WW2 Polish, Daemons, Viridians, Vasa, Junkers, Turnips, Necrons, Tau, Genestealers, WW2 Japanese, Teutonics, Lizardmen, Gnolls, Arabs, Space Marines, Kung Fu Chinese, Wolf's Dragoons, Merfolk, Fishmen, Fish, Mummies, Greek Myth, Peasants, Desert Terrain, Guild, WW2 Africans, WW2 French, WW2 Germans, WW2 Russians, DKoK

Skullz + 24 = 224

Turnips - 115 Points

That's a lot of squirrelling. Great work, love the western ladies. I'll count he hedgehogs as 28mm cavalry, just for cuteness.