Tuesday 16 June 2015

"Guild Ball" - WIP - Part Three

Rage WIP - Boots and slaughtered rabbit on hip have been finished. Just working on his red trousers
Having played a couple of matches of “Guild Ball” by “Steamforged Games Ltd” over the weekend I’ve found my enthusiasm for the game’s wonderful, but rather expensive, miniatures at an all-time high. Indeed I’ve subsequently ordered not only another Union player to fill out my squad so I can field a full Captain and four players, plus mascot. But I’ve bought the makings of a second opposing team in the shape of the Engineer’s Guild and a load of plastic templates and tokens.

As far as my painting table is concerned however I’ve been concentrating on my Union team’s attacking midfielder Rage; a character who has more than a passing resemblance to that of William “Bill the Butcher” Cutting, as portrayed by Daniel Day-Lewis in the 2002 motion picture “Gangs Of New York”.
Avarisse WIP - Boots and trousers have been completed. Brown trench coat is next
Rage is undoubtedly the star of my squad and proved invaluable when I snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in my second match. In a game where models require ‘Influence’ in order to be activated, run and fight, his ‘Furious’ ability allows him to very usefully charge (enter close combat with an improved attack) for free. Coupled with his ‘Bezerk’ power (gains a free attack when he damages an opponent) and this cigar-chomping killer can very quickly do some serious damage. In addition any successful attacks Rage makes also cause bleeding as a result of him always slicing a ‘Crucial Artery’.

I’ve also been slowly painting away at my incredibly large, and annoyingly cumbersome model of Avarisse. His magnetised chest loop is essentially finished, and I have finally managed to complete work on his trousers and leg studs – though the latter still need to be washed with “Citadel” Nuln Oil.
Coin WIP - The fat snake has been washed and dry-brushed. Just need to pick out his eyes and flock the base
Finally I’ve almost completed Coin, my team’s animal mascot. This model has actually proved incredibly difficult to ‘stick with’ as for some reason the edges of the snake’s scales don’t seem to like having paint on them. As a result the rather large python has had at least four green undercoats, been washed and dry-brushed repeatedly and still tends to ‘flake’ or ‘chip’ if even slightly handled. I’m therefore rather keen to finish this mascot and get him varnished, flocked and done… 

18 comments:

  1. I'm pleased to hear that you're enjoying playing Guild Ball. Any chance of a batrep in future?

    I must admit that I''m not impressed with the figure of Coin. It looks nothing like a python. With its highly pronounced scales (totally unrealistic) it looks more like a limbless crocodile. Having said that, it is the only figure out of the complete range that I don't like. I can't wait to see your Engineer's Guild.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bryan, there will certainly be a BatRep in the future - probably just a 3v3 game to begin with, once I've painted up the Engineer's captain and two players (when they arrive). Coin is rather nice in the flesh and remarkably large but not my fave mini of the team for the reasons I've mentioned above.

      Delete
  2. Rage is a rather cool looking mini.

    Based on the prominent bulge, it seems Coin has just eaten an opponent.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Finch. I'll cover Coin's abilities once I've used him. But he hamstrings his opponents rather than eat them (though his model does indeed look as if he's scoffed someone).

      Delete
  3. Oooh! Bill the Butcher is fantastic!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. He is an astoundingly nice model Gordon, and though rather expensive, should be well worth the time and effort when finished. Certainly destined for a few BatReps as Bill the Butcher :-)

      Delete
  4. Keep up the good work, Simon.

    The paint flaking sounds weird, though

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Roy. Plugging away at these slowly but surely. Fingers crossed Coin will be finished within the next few days.

      Delete
  5. I thought Coin was a limbless croc at first. Have you thought about giving your initial green a coat of matt varnish and then going over it with your highlights and washes? Should help lessen the chipping/rubbing off of paint.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've actually given Coin an undercoat from an old OOP "Citadel" pot of Flesh Wash which was a little goopy. This has made my next undercoat of Green stick to the metal like glue, so I'm confident its all good now. He will be getting a coat of gloss varnish thought to seal and secure him. Thanks for the suggestions though Dai, very much appreciated and I'll give that a try next time I'm facing a similar flaky situation.

      Delete
  6. I'll second the request for a batrep, or at least an introductory review of the rules. Pretty please :-) ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No worries C6. Just as soon as I've got these and three opponents painted I'll be posting a BatRep. I've really fallen for this game in a big way, and made a sizeable investment in it as a result, so I need to get a few BatReps posted at the least. I'll also try and incorporate the different skills each player brings during these WIP postings.

      Delete
  7. Excellent mate. Is it worth giving him a coat of varnish. Then painting him again or perhaps mixing some varnish with the base colour. I have had similar problems before and it is quite tiresome.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Simon. As above with Dai's reply, I'm hopeful my oop Dark Flesh has glued the green down. I will try that varnish trick next time though. Thanks for the suggestion. Much appreciated.

      Delete
  8. Lovely work Bk! I must admit to admiring the "Butcher", cracking mini. I'll have to add, that I too would like to see some action from this game.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cheers Bob. "The Butcher" is a real cracking model imho and as soon as I can I'll get some BatReps up for this great game :-)

      Delete
  9. Nice work Simon, they are coming along nicely. but am I the only person here who likes Avarice more than "the Butcher"? I think he's a great hulking brute of a figure.

    Cheers Roger

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Roger... and yes you probably are :-) Although as you say Avarisse is a huge miniature... and actually hurts the hand if I'm holding him for too long whilst painting due to his weight.

      Delete