Master Assassin

Two days later than I hoped for, but my side of the Freebooter's Fate Painting Challenge is done. Rob inevitably got his done on time, but I am glad all the minis are finished, even if I had to right to the end of the month to do so!

It has been great to see Rob's Crew building up (see here) over the weeks and it will be nice when we can get some games in with them., Who know, we may each have some more options by then.

The Master Assassin is a Leader, so that means I now have a core Brotherhood Crew and can add more Specialists since the unlocking models (Deckhands and Leader) are complete. In fact, the Specialist from the Staretr Set is in the queue since I substituted Apagado for that mini. I also have some very special stuff on order too, so more on that when it arrives...

Painting the Master Assassin himself has been a big pain in the bum from start to finish to be honest. I think it is a great looking mini, just that mine fitted together pretty badly, which meant green-stuffing, which in turn meant it could not be painted in separate components. And as it had to be assembled first, it has some very hard to reach parts. Not a mini I would ever choose to paint another of I think.

But it is done, and that is the main thing. Well it was until I lined up it up to take a picture of the whole Crew, and then pinged off his left arm which know needs to be put back in place. Grrr.

I will try and get a group shot soon after i have repaired the Master Assassin. I may look for a less fragile Leader too while I am at it...

Harlequin

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Whew! Just in time.

This is far from brilliant, but it is done, which for me is the main thing given the vast numbers of unpainted minis I own!

I struggled a bit with this, partly down to my poor prep as it was a pain to clean up, and then I just rushed putting it together. I will say that as nice as the sculpts are, some of the part fits are poor and some of the casting has been aggravating. Still, I should have been more diligent, so only myself to blame for not being so.

Eagle eyed readers may noted I have not painted the hair tie; that will be rectified as soon as possible now I have noticed!

Over on Rob's blog, he has stayed the course despite technical difficulties that have made blogging awkward. We are 75% done and both on course. In time we should be able to get some gaming done with these which would be nice.

The Harlequin adds some minor variation to the overall colour palette I have been using with the Brotherhood, but I hope she will still look like she fits appropriately among the rest of them. Still, I felt I was rushing this (and to be honest I was), but that is part of the Challenge. I am also trying a new way of doing eyes since that has been annoying me recently, so not ideal, but I think I know how I will be doing them going forwards.

In terms of the Brotherhood as a Crew, the Harlequin like the Coscritti is a Deckhand. Each Deckhand allows up to 2 Specialists to join the Crew (such as Apagado), so I will look at Specialists when I eventually bolster the ranks. Between the 2 Deckhands the Harlequin looks more formidable in terms of cost in Doubloons, but until I get some games in I cannot comment with any semblance of insight.

The next mini for the Challenge is the Leader - the Master Assassin. I am still putting that together, so there is nothing quite like pressure, eh?

Will I succeed? Stay tuned!

Coscritti

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My second Freebooter's Fate mini for the Paining Challenge is a Coscritti, a Brotherhood Deckhand. As near as I can tell Coscritti means conscript, so the idea of a conscript assassin is quite interesting. In Brotherhood terms a Coscritti is in fact a low-rung member, the lowest rungs of their agents who must prove their worth.

In Freebooter's Fate Deckhands are the building blocks of you force along with your mandatory Leader. Deckhands allow you to pick Specialists, so you cannot focus on an uber-elite force - you always need some of the less powerful guys.

With all my Brotherhood minis I aim to work with a dark colour palette to emphasize their shadowy nature, even if they are painted in a non-uniform way, masks and weapons excepted.

I have blocked out most of the colours on the next unit I will be painting for the Challenge, and if I can finish that blocking out in the next few nights I will be content that i should complete that on time. In the mean-time I need to assemble and undercoat my fourth model for the Challenge, so I am behind on that so far.

Rob has now finished his first two minis (click here for link) so we are both on course. Stay tuned to both blogs to see how we get on.

Apagado

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My first Freebooter's Fate mini, and my first deadline met of the Challenge. A couple of days ago I wondered if I had left too little time to finish this, especially as I planned to watch some of the Wimbledon final, but here it is, done on time.

Apagado is a member of the Brotherhood, a faction that dwells in darkness and shadows, and characterized by the assassins in its ranks. He is a Specialist, meaning that a Crew will need at least 1 Deckhand to field Apagado. I have the Brotherhood Starter box set, and picked this blister pack up too. S

I have yet to give the game a try but have heard good things. It should be interesting to play since it is dice-less; cards are played to resolve conflicts including battles. In addition, each Faction seems to have its own unique play style from what I read in the rule-books I have picked up so far. Naturally the Brotherhood are stealthy, sneaky types with special rules to reflect that.

The eventual plan is that we get our respective Crews painted up; gather some scenery that is suitable; and maybe get some games in before too long. Rob kindly gave me a resin ship as a birthday present this year, and I have since picked up a cool little rowing boat from Fenris, so I hope to build up a little harbour set-up to reflect Longfall (the setting for Freebooter's Fate). I also have a growing collection of GW jungle trees, so an island jungle seems a certainty, and should be a cool alternative to Longfall-based games.

We have 3 more weeks for the Challenge to go, and so far so good; however I need to keep my momentum if I am going to complete this one. At the same time I have a few Anima Tactics and Pulp City minis on the go so if I can get more than the 4 Challenge minis painted this month I will be pleased.

I have two more Freebooter's Fate minis prepped, one of which I have tickled a little with the hairy sticks so hopefully I will hit all those deadlines, but stay tuned to see how I do.

Quarter 2 Painting Summary

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Like the previous collage this was produced using fotor.

If you read the previous post, then you may recall I am aiming to paint more minis this year than last (target one), and ideally want to hit at least 50 minis (target two).

Well target one is already achieved as of this month. I have now painted 26 minis this year in 6 months, versus 24 in 12 months last year; and that is even with some big minis in the assorted paint-jobs of 2013.

(clockwise from top left)

Luzbell (Anima Tactics)
Green Emperor (Pulp City)
Valis Ul Del Vilfain (Anima Tactics)
Juliette Kaim (Anima Tactics)
Elhaym, Maiden of Light (Anima Tactics)
Odin Goldsmith (Anima Tactics)
Yuki (Anima Tactics)
Grimm Elder (Pulp City)
Azriel (Anima Tactics)
Styx (Anima Tactics)
Janus Faith (Anima Tactics)
Night Fright & Leech (Pulp City)

(centre)
Wrath of Nature (Anima Tactics)

In point of fact, I also painted an exchange mini, but for this count I am focusing on those minis staying in my own collection!