Zomtober 2014, week 4: final victory, with bonus figs

I am not great at completing challenges, so I am going to bask in the glory on this one. Four figs complete, plus two extra because I made the time! Yes, I know for many of you, completing six figs in a month isn't tough, but for me, it's a minor triumph.

First up, the last of the Zombicide four originally slated for this Zomtober. I am sort of looking forward to painting some dupes of this fig, because all that exposed skin is a great palate for tattoos or fresher gore or what have you. And again, it's another solid pose with a lot of character and detail (like the slash across his back.) So angry!

During the course of Zomtober, one find was reading about the Eclectic Gentleman's triad paint scheme. Like I said, an idea worth stealing.As I knew I'd be getting the challenge done this week, I went down to the Basement Full of Minis and dragged out two figs I'd based and primed many moons back, and never got around to painting. I believe they're both from the late Mega Minis, but don't quote me on that. I used the red from above (Delta Ceramcoat Red Iron Oxide) and kept going.

First up is King. Clearly another Leader type. I was worried about all the details coming out on this one, but they popped right out. Not the best painted fig I have ever done, but easily the best painted fig I have done that quickly. I'm learning more to not just dump everything in a wash, but to use them more selectively and highlight around the details thereafter. Hooray for learnin'. [Sculpt by Zombiesmith, thanks to arabianknight for the correction.]

And lastly, the Thriller. He is definitely a little short next to other 28mm figs, but that works just fine, thematically. And while the Mega Minis sculpt... lacks a lot of detail, I give it style points. I would adore if someone put out a handful of walkers in the Thriller pose, because yes, I am dumb and like throwing my money at cheap jokes.

Three for the week...

 And the final results for the month. A rousing success!

Happy Zombtober everyone!

heading soon to Pulp City...

Zombicide fig for scale

Just arrived in the mail, my Pulp City giant robot monster, a.k.a. the Mars Attacks Giant Martian Robot (plus one smashed car for appropriate terrain.) It's huge, folks. The question is, should I keep the canpoy clear, and if so, who should I put in the driver's seat?

Zomtober 2014, week 3: ripped!

 Fresh off the night shift, although that jumpsuit has seen better days.

Cause of death: likely whatever jacked up his right side there.

The gang of three.

Zomtober 2014, week 2: saggy!

Minutes to midnight, still on time! Still a couple details I'd like to hit (now that I see the pics fully blown up) but hey.

Such a hard time getting good pictures in this week.

Really, hard time with the pics.

As noted previously, lots of lovely details on these figs push them beyond other board games. Those saggy pants!

The boys of October

Zomtober 2014, week 1: the Leader

"What do you mean, 'They cut the power'?! How could they cut the power, man? They're animals!"

As noted previously, Zombicide has some great sculpts, and when I was looking for which to get painted up first, this was my go-to starter. As a walker, it's a nice calm-but-intimidating pose, but it's something about the Luthor-ish suit that made me think of him as one of the fabled 'smart' zombie mutations, such as Big Daddy from Land of the Dead, or even one of the liches from Wellington's lovely Monster Island trilogy. 7ombieTV calls them Leaders, hence the use here.

I kept the bases clean, until I figure out a unified scheme for them. Or they will be kept flat, because you know, zombie horde. The edge will be kept gray so it can be used for the board game, to boot.

Meeting Misty, from last year's challenge.

Gencon 2014: day three

OK, let's get this put away before another month rolls in. Couple items to mention before we get back to the gaming.

Our hotel (the Crown Plaza) was pretty good, and very conveniently located. But the price you pay for that is a bunch of creepy statues all over the place. You know, like eerie ghosts appearing out of the corner of your eye.

Seriously.

So if you're ever in Indianapolis with a Doctor Who fan, you know where to stay.

As the con has been there for many years, some of the local restaurants really get into the spirit of things. Age of the geek, baby.

And one for fans of Parks and Recreation, while I am here.

Saturday was the day I skipped the Critical Mass demos, as Aaron and Maurice were kind enough to give me time to be ready for my tournament.

So it was all Protolene and Praesentia that day.

More Uncharted Seas, this time versus kaiju! Almost makes me wish I liked ship games. Almost.

And then, the event that would take the majority of my Saturday, the culmination of virtually hours of effort: the Bushido tournament.

What I done brought. Also known as, the figs from the Temple starter, plus two blisters. 

Turn one, I was up against Chris and his dastardly Cult of Yurei, the foul undead. Scenario was 'Keii,' and was slated to last six long rounds. 

With the fearsome Ikiryo in the backfield, and the Wraith sitting like an 400 lb. gorilla in the middle of the field, I knew I would have to move aggressively if I had a chance to dislodge them. Also, I had an (actual) 400 lb. gorilla of my own to send in. A few dice rolls go my way, and while I lose the Guardian, I also get the advantage by taking out their heavy hitters.

Above, the Gaki and the Nezumi (plus many rats) work to take down Yumi and score some last minute victory points, but the Temple take the day in the end. Whew!

Unrelated interlude! Blackwater Gulch being played at a nearby table!

On another table, the Silvermoon square off against the Cult. Danger abounds!

In some sort of symbolic coincidence, this is my only pic from game two that came out halfway decent. Hoj, of Dark Age tournament fame, brought some well-painted Ito to the table, and made quick work of my monks. Scenario was 'Ryodo,' and I just couldn't get anything done versus their pile of poison. We called it halfway through when we saw the way the wind was blowing.

Round three was a flashback: I drew Mr. Jack and his Savage Wave, my opponents from day one of the Dojo! Scenario was the Idols, a fan favorite, and we tucked in for an all-day beating.

Battle lines quickly form up, monsters everywhere.

Kenko, the monk with the iron fists, holds off against a Kaihei and a Giant Cave Bat. Which he does. For tuns on end. I couldn't fail a roll to save my life. He couldn't really significantly hurt them, but that wasn't what he was there for.

He holds the objective like a champion, and the remaining Temple forces come to pull his bacon out of the pan. A hard-fought win!

Inexplicably, my performance lands me in contention for the title, so I stick around for round four. I'm up against Anthony and his Savage Wave, many more Bakemono today. The final scenario, as teased by our Retainer? 'The Envoy.' It's... certainly something. You name the VIP on the enemy side, and they name a VIP on your side. Points are for getting your VIP off their side of the board, and/or eliminating their VIP. So it's a quick and brutal clusterfuck. Beautiful.

Team Greyscale

He picks Aiko, because who better to beat up than a slow, weak, and cowardly little girl?

Team Painted Well

On his side, I pick... one of the Bakemono. Who knows which one, I can't tell them apart. I think he was a Beater.

The board is a rocky mountain pass. So thematic! I send Kenko to the northeast to draw off the heavy hitters, and Yumi to the southeast on some sort of assassination black op.

This is, of course, a disaster. Yumi gets tied up, as does Kenko, but we did manage to spread outselves out far enough to let an Oni sneak in and plaster our VIP. On turn three. Sigh. 

I mean, don't get me wrong, it was a good game! And Robert was a true gentleman and a scholar. But that's a rough scenario (hence why our Retainer was excited to spring it on us.) I end up in fourth place, but I will take that any day of the week. My mission was to play a lot of Bushido, and that was accomplished. Good folks, good figs, good game.


I suspect I will take a few years off before returning to Gencon. It's fun, but it's a lot of people and a lot of money. And it'll be there when I am ready to go back. Back to the smaller local con scene, for me.

pre-Zomtober post

rise

Ah, autumn, when pumpkins and fake cobwebs appear in front of stores nationwide, there's a bit of a lovely chill in the air, and a gamer's thoughts turn to the undead. And for us, that can only mean... Zomtober.

Despite my faltering at the end of last year's event, I'm coming back for more. For the big list of upcoming eye candy, go here or here. As always it's not just about challenging myself to, you know, finish painting things, but also to drink in all the delicious inspiration from my fellow Zomtober participants. 

Now, I was toying with the idea of cheating this year and going with 15mm walkers, but it's been a 28mm kind of year, so let's go with this instead:

In proper zed fashion, there's plenty more where these come from.

My ambitious selection comes from last year's Zombicide II bounty. With so many wonderful pre-assembled, pre-based shamblers, how can you go wrong? They're perfect for any modern-era zombie game, such as 7ombie (or even the upcoming S.D.Z.A. that I know more than a couple of you are watching.)

No, I don't think I will get through all nine. I will definitely be aiming for four, anyhing after that will be icing on the rotting, fleshy cake.

I was so tempted to go for the grayscale black-and-white paint jobs, as seen elsewhere, but I think that might be ambitious for my deadlines. We'll see.

And while I have you here, don't forget that the Studio Miniatures kickstarter is entering the home stretch. I've put off picking up many of their zombies for far too long now, and this is a great opportunity to play catchup. Perfect for fans of certain TV shows, a popular horror video game, and certain classic movies. Check it out, you'll find something to tempt you.