V.H.

V.H. is my second Blood Watch Supreme (after Youngblood) in less than a month, after a spell of not painting any Blood Watch minis for four years - it is funny how these things turn out!

I admit, I am far from the most disciplined of painters, and certainly not an especially productive one, so each time a mini is finished, I am pleased, even if my output is erratic and somewhat sporadic at times. What does help focus me is a deadline for a specific purpose. In this instance the annual Hallowe'en Madness game is coming up, and I want V.H. on the table for that game!

By my standards this was a very quick paint-job, being finished in a couple of hours over around 3-4 sessions in one day, and I am satisfied with the final result even if not my best work. Right now, getting stuff finished is most important for me, as I see painted minis as the means to the end of playing games, and the latter is my favourite part of the hobby. I think finishing the mini so quickly was feeling sufficiently motivated by the deadline necessitated by the upcoming game. It has also helped get me one more painted mini closer to my target of 12 Pulp City minis this year, and is the 128th Pulp City mini I have painted for my collection.

In game terms V.H. can be potentially very hard-hitting if she is used smartly, as she has an Action allowing easier EFX achievement and always rolls at least 3 dice for Action Rolls. Her biggest downside is that her primary Trait for Damage-dealing purposes is Agility 6, which is lower in value than most other Leader's primary Damage-dealing Trait, but should still be sufficient against most Targets. Unlike most Leaders, V.H. does not bring any Minions as a matter of course, so her Team are very much dependent on their own
resources without that extra support available from expendable Minions.

V.H.
Hero, Leader, Level 3, Mystery
30 mm

Youngblood

The latest addition to my Pulp City Supremes, Youngblood is the 127th mini I have painted from the range for my collection, and a pleasing addition for me, especially as it has been 4 years since I last added to the Blood Watch!

After finishing M.O.D., Amok and the selection of new Grimm before them, it has been nice to get a little renewed momentum for additions to a few different Factions.

Youngblood is a vampire child taken in to the Blood Watch fold. The Team has helped restrain the darker urges he experiences due to the power that lies within him, but even then they are not totally sure if he will stay on the side of good.

I really liked this concept as soon as I saw it, another great idea from Melvin. Part of the problem for us is ensuring that we can translate new concepts to sufficient sales to justify making minis from them all, which was part of the major reason why the first Kickstarter was so beneficial to a small company like Pulp Monsters as it gave us the opportunity to grow the range significantly.

In game terms, Youngblood is an interesting proposition. Like many other Level 1 Supremes he can be taken out by overwhelming Attacks, yet he has a couple of ways of Self/Healing, which opens up the possibility of increased durability, especially coupled with him having Stealth, Flight and a Self/Defend buff. He is an Infiltrator, and one that you can dump into an awkward position, knowing he can generate a few defensive dice and recover small amounts of Damage. Add in his ability to control Enemy Minions and he can offer some disruption to an opponent, while only using up one of your Team Levels.

Youngblood
Hero, Infiltrator, Level 1, Mystery
30 mm

M.O.D.

M.O.D. is the little Heavy Metal droid who could, and also the 126th mini I have painted for my own Pulp City collection!

I was eager to paint M.O.D. as soon as my own spoils from the KS campaign arrived, but settled on tackling a few Grimm first. Then I put a couple of colours on M.O.D. and got side-tracked by painting other minis (including Amok as well as stuff for other games). Once I finally [properly did some work, he was painted in a couple of hours in stages over the course of a day, so it was  nice to get him finished this week. The trickiest part was picking out the wire from his Walkman. I decided against trying any kind of logo on the cap simply as I had no ideas of what I wanted there, so kept it plain.

I had expected to finish Papa Zombie after Amok, but that didn't transpire, although I have made a start on the Coven Leader, and hopefully can get him finished in the next few days.

M.O.D. came into production because of last year's Kickstarter, and underscores that one of the biggest benefits of that campaign for us was to be able to add so many much-needed models to the range.

In game terms, M.O.D. is arguably the quintessential Support Supreme, yet unlike many other Supports in that he has no offensive capability whatsoever (Blood Rose and Virus excepted), which to me is a 'good thing'. Level 1 Supports are more efficient AP generators than Level 2's, but tend to be less hard-hitting. Therefore in lower Level games it is about finding the best fit when faced with a couple of Support options; larger games allow for a couple of Support models to be accommodated and their differences.

What M.O.D. offers is that his lack of attacking Actions is arguably an asset: it allows the player to focus on using him at what he is best at: repairs (Heal), and Attack and Defend buffs. This is boosted by the fact he can Activate immediately after a Friendly Heavy Metal Supreme (in the same Turn), meaning he can raise all important Shields of run a repair without losing the opportunity to attack with the preceding Supreme.

M.O.D.
Hero, Support, Level 1, Science
30 mm

Giant Hadron

Captain Hadron's transitions to giant-size required a lot of control and meant that he could not utilize other abilities when doing so, and even his transformations back to other sizes were time consuming when grown to his maximum height. 

Wow. Even with the deadline of last month's Challenge, I did not get this finished on time.

And having already dawdled for over two years, the first of my Giant Hadrons is finished (yes, I have another! That could be another terminally slow painting log in the making...).

It is done at last. Not my best painting by any stretch, but what surprised me is how difficult painting a big model is. I don't think I have completed painting on a model this size before now. I guess painters get habituated to working at a given scale and so stepping beyond that is going outside of your comfort zone, which may be part of why this has taken so long to complete; that and I am a notoriously slow painter of course!

Not my best work, but hopefully I have learned some lessons from tackling this big model; lessons that will inform other big models eventually.

In the new Supreme Edition rules Giant Hadron is a Powerhouse; what this means is that we hope he lives up to his stature, and unlike the previous edition he can stay giant-size for the whole game (he was limited to 1-2 Rounds previously).

We are still gathering feedback on the new rules, so let us know what you think of our biggest Powerhouse, who gets Size Matters against all other Supremes as things currently stand. With the importance of dice pooling to achieve SFX, that is a good advantage to have.

Hopefully this month's painting slump will not continue into next month, and I hope that I can start to overhaul the total painted minis I achieved in 2012, especially with so many new Pulp City minis on the horizon: Green Emperor and Terror Cotta Warrior; V.H. and Blacksmith; Red Bella and Primates of Power; Papa Zombie and Comte Vendredi; new Starter sets and much more besides.

Time to get those last few currently remaining minis done then: Doom Train; Night Fright and Leech; Green Serpent; Pulp Monster.

Captain Hadron & Mini Hadron

Click to enlarge-ify

Captain Hadron is one of the admired heroes of the world’s greatest Supreme Team, Heavy Metal. Yet that reputation sheds little light onto his past and the uncertain future he faces

Woo-hoo! About flipping time these were done!

Anyone who has read or Followed this blog for any considerable length of time will likely be aware that the various Hadron incarnations  (Captain Hadron; Mini Hadron; Giant Hadron) have been in my painting queue, unfinished, for a long, long time. In fact, it was two years ago this month that I received my Giant Hadron.

Well 2 of the 3 for the set are done as part of one of this month's Challenges: New Broom January.

Evidently I needed the carrot (or is it a stick?) of a Challenge to get these done, and it has worked.

The finished work is probably a bit rough by recent standards, but that is probably because I have struggled so much to get these done. I am not overly worried that they may be a bit rough as I am more than happy they are done. they have been hanging over me for far too long, and sometimes things need to simply be finished off. That includes accepting Captain Hadron leans at a funny angle (due to being re-attached to his base; I am not doing it again).

While I still have 21 days to get Giant Hadron finished, I have one other Challenge this month. Add to that that I have painted one Anima Tactics (click for link here) mini this month, and if I succeed in all the Challenge minis I should have a fairly successful month by my meager standards.

Sculptors on these are: James Van Schaik (Captain Hadron), and Jarek Smolka (Mini Hadron).

In game terms the Hadrons can swap between different sizes. In the current edition Giant Hadron is limited to 1 or 2 rounds depending on other choices (like taking Dr. Mercury), but expect more choices around the use of Hadron in the upcoming Supreme Edition.

Harrier (Paint The City Pink)

Okay, Super-November (title subject to change based on better suggestions) is underway for Rob and me; one mini per week as a minimum deadline for the month.

So what to paint first? Well for me it was a case of finishing my contribution to Hendybadger's Paint The City Pink initiative. Harrier is now done and will be headed to Hendybadger pretty soon I hope, with just some varnish needed.

This is the second Harrier (first is here) I have painted and I think it is a nicely sculpted mini, and even though one of the earlier Pulp City sculpts, still a strong concept in my opinion. Finishing the mini was eventually quite nice as I enjoy painting flesh tone like this more and more these days, finding it more straightforwards than I used to.

Sorry that the pictures are a bit grainy - I think I placed the mini much further back than usual when setting up, but sine i needed to post to hit the deadline, I am stuck with the pictures as taken.

I implore readers to look at Hendybadger's Paint The City Pink initiative, and to try and support it if they can - it is in a very good cause.

As for Super-November? Well I have three more minis in various stages of painting and one other in the 'would like to get done' queue. Stay tuned...

Crimson Oni

Wow. I have painted a new mini; it has been a while has it not?

For me this has been a long gestation period. Even before having the mini in hand, I have been 'working' with Crimson Oni for what seems like a long time - 20-21 months ago working from the brief I was given, Crimson Oni took shape in rules terms; and took further shape, and changed again, and again and again. And that is all part of the process I guess.

Anyone remember the 'mysterious stranger in red' from Christmas Madness 2010? Part of Crimson Oni's play-testing!

It has been weird and enjoyable  taking a concept that was sketched out by someone else, but then putting what is inevitably my own stamp on things. While by the end it is not a single voice that creates the rules for these guys - Maciej, Devon and me will all argue things in different ways to make things as good as we can - I will take the rap for anything you are not happy with with Crimson Oni.

In game terms he is a beast in melee; he does not necessarily have the best close combat Traits and Skills, but he has some potent Actions meaning he can deliver a lot of punch, and yes, Five Point Exploding Heart Technique was always intended to be particularly deadly. He can mix it with the best of them so enemies should approach with caution.

I know some may think that the Little Asia guys have come out of nowhere- basically the Jade Cult and Crimson Oni and Foxxy Blade - but the seeds have been around throughout the history of the game's fluff; Chronin faced and killed an earlier incarnation of Shadow Mask in her fluff, and Green Emperor is mentioned there; there has been mention of the Green Army (the original name for what is now Jade Cult) going back that far; in the Guide p. 103 has a couple of paragraphs hinting at what was (and still is!) to come, as well as showing the Crimson Oni and Foxxy Blade concepts.

The coolest thing about Pulp City for me is that the potential is pretty much limitless, and that is in a game with lost of Sub-factions as well as playing from mixed Teams.

Back onto the mini, when I thought I had finished it the other day I realised after taking photographs I had forgotten to paint his lower teeth - that has since been rectified.

Hopefully I will be able to feature him in a new Battle Report soon.

Perun

In every generation there is one brave Polish man who wields the lightning in the mankind's darkest hour. He lifts up the runic axe, older than the people of this land and the power of the ancient deity starts coursing through his veins. Old gods still watch over their children and stand vigilant when tides of evil rise.

The current wielder of Perun's power is a student from Warsaw whose grandfather and great great grandfather used to be Lightning Lords years ago. Stanislaw Starzynski became marked with the lightning rune when he confronted Forgotten minions sent to recover Szczerbiec, the coronation sword of Polish kings.

A pre-release at Salute, Maciej was kind enough to have one of these on hand for me, and from the moment I saw the first shots of the green (and became aware that there will be some international Supremes - expect more by the way!), I knew how I wanted to tackle him, and I don't think that changed at all during execution.

I really enjoyed painting this mini. I guess that my enthusiasm has been no doubt fulled by the recent Thor movie, and reading Thor stories in New Ultimates and Ultimate Thor as well as Avengers comic books. Marvel have their own Perun (and maybe DC also?), but this is a special mini to me. I have seen at least one other super-hero mini styled on Perun and I think this one wins hands down. I think James Van Schaik has done a stunning job in sculpting this one.

I green-stuffed what I would hope would pass for a tiny wind-swirl/cloud beneath his foot to represent wind lifting him into the sky.

Perun's game rule are yet to be finalised, but let me say that he is likely to be a true powerhouse of Nature on a par with Solar; Villains beware...

Moonchild/Moon Coyote

This teenage Native American is a werecoyote, choosing between here human support form and coyote speeder form. She belongs to Blood Watch but thanks to the half of the Moon Amulet, under certain conditions, she may be fielded in The Coven.

The human-coyote hybrid form (Moonchild) was sculpted by James van Schaik, and the animal form (Moon Coyote) by Jarek Smolka. A quick paint-job this on as I painted both minis together and there is little variation of colours on offer on either.

I like to think the paint-jobs are pretty understated, but fitting I feel, and I have pretty much used the official versions as a broad template, even including a magenta half moon motif to help break-up the look of ther tunic as with the studio version.










Just as Moonchild/Moon Coyote allows Loup Garou II to be fielded as a Blood Watch Hero, so the reverse is true: Loup Garou II allows Moonchild/Moon Coyote to be used as a The Coven Villain. Lots of Team-buildings combinations available there then.









In game-play Moonchild/Moon Coyote is a Shapeshifter, with each form having some specialisation, but overall offering a Supreme specialised in Support and mobility.











Further out it hopefully won't be too long before Blood watch can field their own Level 12 Team with at least a couple more Supremes lined up.

Loup Garou II

Loup Garou II is the second of his name to work for the Coven. Though Hoodoo has slain the orginal Loup Garou this new incarnation is entirely different. His fragment of the Moon Talisman transforms him into half man half beast. A creature of uncontrolled savagery he seeks out his enemies and rips them limb from limb.

Sculpted by Erick Redling - his first foray into Pulp City I believe, this Loup Garou is the second known bearer of the name.

A big brute of a dread-locked werewolf, I was very eager to get painting on this one. Alas a bit of paitence would have helped since I noticed that as I was painting there were parts I did not prep adequately enough.

Loup Garou II is a real combat monster in every sense of the description. Normally a Villain, if Teamed with Moonchild/Moon Coyote, he then becomes Blood Watch and a Hero! Very useful!

Forgive the funny angle on the pictures - I was trying out a new mini tripod and so will need to elevate the minis if using it again in the future.

Sovereign

Sovereign is more of an idea passed down the generations than a real man of flesh and blood.

My first new mini post in almost 2 and half months; moving house had a considerable effect on my output. On the plus side, painting/finishing off this latest batch was 'easier' than painting has felt for a while, probably due to the break I have had.

I picked Sovereign up at Salute 2011; Maciej was determined to get him ready for then and didn't fail. I even used the 'studio' version to run Pulp City demo games with on the day, and so trust me when I say he is one tough hombre.

I knew straight away I wanted a red-white-and-blue primary theme, even if I did not trust myself to accurately render a coloured version of the union flag mounted as part of his body armour - hence that painted as I continue to persevere with hopefully improving my NMM technique. Still a long way to go, however.

Sovereign is one of the first 'Direct Only' minis from pulp City, intended to be available from the Pulp City/Pulp Monsters web store and at some conventions and shows. I love the design even if it isn't to everyone's tastes; to me it strongly echoes typical 2000 AD style characters and so is a nice reflection of the difference between British and American comics characters.

Dark Solar/Solar

He took the mantle of Solar to wash the guilt off of his soul. Promising he’d never take another human life, Solar patrols the streets of Pulp City day and night, a loner constantly brooding over what might have been and will never be

The original 'spandex Supreme' has had a makeover (see Solar here), and what a makeover! The original divided opinion in some quarters I know, due to the cape (I have read comments elsewhere from posters who struggled with it, even though I thought it was a great solution to creating the appearance of Levitation), but I really liked the first iteration. This new one is probably even stronger in overall execution and the fact that it is single-piece makes assembly very simple. It is easy to see the evolution in the creation at the hands of a different sculptor.

I actually finished this a lot sooner than anticipated, starting it only as an afterthought along with Sovereign (and later Perun - all with a similar root palette), so it was pleasing for me to see it finished. I elected to continue my previous Solar colour scheme this time around. I decided against trying a free-hand version of the chest emblem as my confidence to do so is not sufficient - may next time when I try a different colour scheme.

In gaming terms Level 2 Solar (Hero) has had a bit of a makeover; nothing drastic, just some tweaks to better reflect how the game works now with more than 50 Supremes available, and the fact that he should have been able to fly all along!

Level 3 Dark Solar is a very powerful proposition; a Hero/Villain, he unites Nature Supremes as a very formidable force. His all-Nature Team Power generates an additional Power-Up die per Round; not to be taken lightly. Just as the Level 2 Solar is a fairly formidable option even as a Level 2, so too is Dark Solar relative to his Level 3 peers, armed with some powerful Damaging Actions (Tactica here). Along with Dead Eye he may be my current favourite Level 3 available.

Lady Cyburn

If Cyburn has a PHD in trouble seeking, that would surely make her more in line with the rest of the big brains on the team. She doesn't. She is a natural warmonger, and that dates back to the times she was just a 100% flesh teenager. Her abilities to cause trouble had been significantly raised with all those shiny new things.
Her service in Heavy Metal is more to her liking than serving her time in jail, but once the 5 year contract is done, who knows where Cyburn will sign up?

Lady Cyburn was added to the ranks of Heavy Metal along with Captain Hadron, and was a mini I liked straight from the off (due to its recognisable influence from WildCATS' Ladytron), but after putting a couple of colours on the mini it joined the back of my WiP queue.

It wasn't until I painted C.O.R.E. in fairly short order that I thought to make a slight change to how I was doing the metallic surfaces and so the rest of the mini followed fairly quickly thereafter. please forgive the photographs - not my best as they came out pretty dark. I like to think the mini looks better up close than it does in these photographs, and I was pretty happy with the way the flesh tones turned out, which may not be too apparent from these images.

In game terms Lady Cyburn is very much a 'blaster', and so adds flexibility to Heavy metal since many of the Team are brawler or brawler-support types.

C.O.R.E.

C.O.R.E.: Conscious Omnipotent Replicated Entity. Its pursuit of a new lawful and compassionate order attracted a lot of following and when more and more of Supremes pledged their allegiance to C.O.R.E.'s crusade against all-things-evil, the birth of Heavy Metal team was imminent.

C.O.R.E. is the leader of Heavy Metal, and one of the few Level 3 Supremes available so far. He is versatile and powerful (with an attack that can be extended as far as 18" at the cost of a lot of AP), and he shouldn't lose many Starting Rolls. That versatility extends further to the upgrade he offers Heavy Metal Team members using Ranged Combat Actions: Lady Cyburn and Nuclear Jones especially benefit here, allowing some decent sniping between the Actions available to the 3 Supremes.

Given that Dr Mercury offers buffs for the whole Team, I think he is almost mandatory in a Heavy Metal Team using C.O.R.E. (Encounter Level 12 and above). In fact my ideal Heavy Metal Team at EL 12+ right now would probably see Captain Hadron or Iron Train relegated to last choice, with Iron Train edging things (therefore comprising C.O.R.E., Dr Mercury, Nuclear Jones, Iron Train, Chronin, Lady Cyburn & Androida; no need for a Merc like Gentleman to fill out ranks here).

I put off painting C.O.R.E. for quite some time as I am still trying to improve my NMM techniques. I still have a long way to go, but I think he looks reasonably effective. Eagle-eyed readers may spot that he does incorporate the red-blue colour motif I have used on many of my heroes, even if only in a small way.

The small Tokens around him are his Access Points; these resources are used like remote Exclusive Minions that are static, but have various defensive and offensive upgrade options. They also allow C.O.R.E. to use his Download* action to travel instantly across the board to be in Base to Base with an Access Point.

Skyline

For some Heroes their new lives are shaped by the pain of tragedy, while others are called to the fight against evil by their own personal crusades. A very rare few can say their new lives as heroes began simply because they were there.

Skyline was one of the joint Supreme Genesis 2 winners, and very much takes a 'rooftop vigilante' theme to match Jade Hawk, his unofficial companion mini (and box mate).

I loved this James Van Schaik-sculpted mini from the moment I saw it, but I was wary about how to tackle it because of one major thing; the model is supplied with a massive grotesque on which it sits ordinarily. However, that did not fit with my attempt to make most of my bases 'street side' in nature. Therefore I had to work out how to mount Skyline onto a base while allowing for the sweep of his cape. What I settled on was cobbling-together a base from Fenris with some broken brick wall (also Fenris) which gave just enough lift.

The colour scheme was intended to sit easily with that of Jade Hawk without being identical (they are not official partners after all); it is very dark being predominantly dark grey and dark sea green. I am pleased at that as it seems fitting for a night-prowling vigilante.

Eventually I plan to do another mounted on the accompanying grotesque with Jade Hawk similarly mounted, but basically as a display piece only.

Iron Train

Tony was a simple man, working on the railroad before he became a Supreme. Iron Train is the iconic defender of Pulp City, loved by crowds and his colleagues in the Heavy Metal team. Relying on his supernatural resilience granted by the armor, Tony can withstand almost anything Villains bring to the battlefield.

I promised some new pictures, and here is the first. Iron Train (sculpted by Edgar Skomorowski - Degra) was one of the earliest Pulp City minis, yet it has taken me until only the past week or so to actually finish it. It has been in the 'part-painted' queue for quite some time, and this was my second attempt (the first was dunked in the stripping bath).

I am glad that the mini is finished, and although the paint-job is not brilliant, I am quietly pleased with how it turned out. Certainly not a professional standard, but good enough for me. And of course it helps to build up my Heavy Metal forces further. I liked this mini from the outset, but when I started slapping it with one of my old 'standby' paints (GW Bolt Gun Metal) it just looked a horrible mess. That was the turning point for me to try NMM, and while I have a long way to go, hopefully I am improving here and there.

On the gaming table Iron Train is a bit of a beast. While he has a lower than average AP Allowance, this is more than made up by his Trump Traits and Skills. Basically the guy is tough as nails and only really vulnerable when his Mind or Spirit is called on.

Iron Train can dish out a lot of hurt and can take it too; he can do well standing toe to toe even against a couple of other Strength Trump foes as I recently found out to my satisfaction. In that regard Iron Train is fairly forgiving, but don't get overconfident - Gemini Y can shut him down for the Round quite easily for as little as 2 AP (3 AP if trying to make it count with a Power-Up).

One of his greatest assets is shielding his Team-mates - don't overlook his capabilities in that area; he can take the Damage - most of the time.

Jade Hawk

A voice whispers in the darkness….. “Armed robbery sounds like my kind of scene.” A dark figure leaps from the rooftop and into the shadows. The hunter has begun stalking its prey.

Okay, so it has been two weeks since I last posted a painted mini. This was the 51st completed mini of my Pulp City Painting Challenge, and Jade Hawk is one of the ones I enjoyed tackling the most. That enjoyment was and is tinged with some sadness, however.

This tremendous sculpt is from the hands of the extremely talented James van Schaik, and there is a sad story attached to it. Jade Hawk was a winning entry into one of the (fairly) regular Supreme Genesis contests, and its creator was Matt Randy, a Pulp City Herald and one of the guys that had been working to help develop the game towards its eventual upcoming edition. Matt took his own life earlier this year, and in doing so left a hole in a the gaming community where he had been before that.

He will be missed.

I'd like to quote the words of Maciej Żylewicz (quoted from the Pulp City Forum):

"I just can't sit here and do nothing, so I thought you may want to remember Matt the way he was: funny, totally dedicated guy.

I loved the Jade Hawk idea - mind I read the entries blind not to get distracted by the author's name. There was only one problem - Hawk was initially male and I wanted a female character to accompany my other favorite, Skyline.

Matt, like an expert lobbyist, dropped me an email saying: you know, we reinvent her gender!

We started working on Jade Hawk, and he had a clear vision. A couple of concepts were scraped, Matt labeled them "Jade Parrot" and "Jade Owl".

Finally, his concept got finished by Melvin and it ended up in James van Schaik's workshop. I was so happy to send the pics to Matt, he was sending me one "Where's the Jade Hawk?" email a week.

The last email I ever got and will get from Matt said:

She does look good. I can't wait to see her in pewter in my own hands.

Should have known something was bugging him because Matt I knew would send me a long list of likes and dislikes. Matt, I hope you really like her."

Chronin

Chronin still keeps the Shadow Mask’s finely crafted blade. She is fully aware that in the Green Emperor’s court, there is always a Shadow Mask and one day, he or she will come to reclaim the sword along with Yuriko’s life. But she will be more than ready.

Sculpted by the talented James van Schaik, Chronin is a mini that has confounded me - and again, and again.

This is actually my third attempt at finishing the mini. I started one and didn't like it. I assembled another, started it, and again was not happy. I then stripped the first one and started yet again, and this is the result. there are elements I am content with, but it has simply been a mini that has proven frustrating to paint. Which is nothing to do with quality, rather my limitations as a painter. The Pulp Monsters version is stunning, which proves that the mini is good and decent for painting. And yes, i know that the scabbard is on the wrong way - I am not touching that now, I can tell you.

After photographing the mini, I will touch up a couple of places, but it is largely done, and that is what I am focusing on. Maybe one day I will paint a more satisfying version of this mini, but until then this is the Chronin I have.

Chronin herself is a level 1 who neatly side-steps one of the core game concepts; normally a model is Activated to perform one or two Actions. Chronin can begin her Activation by performing whichever suitable and available Actions that she has, and then continuing performing more actions as her AP Allowance and the AP Pool permits, without need to declare them all. Her Actions run a mix of offensive and defensive, as well as offering a counter to Trump Rolls and Lucky.

Dead Eye

Dead Eye is the driving force behind most of the unregistered crime fighting in Pulp City.

Heavy Metal may be the media darlings of the Supreme Hero set; Blood Watch may protect the citizenry against things that lurk in the dark places; but there are many unaffiliated Heroes, and Dead Eye is pre-eminent amongst them.

This is my second attempt to photograph Dead Eye; the first pictures came out unfocused unfortuantely.

Another Pulp City mini sculpted by James van Schaik, Dead Eye is a tough Level 3 Supreme who comes in a pack with the Vigilantes. Originally I intended to paint him in the colours of my old American Football team, the Chester Romans, and give him my old number (22 - I played corner back), but that would have been an 'ineligible number' for a quarterback, so I settled for number 1 for two reasons: 1) painting one freehand number twice is easier than painting 2! 2) his number reflects that he is the daddy. The colours were changed to simply try and tie him in with the Vigilantes, so in all it made sense to follow a US-flag themed colour scheme.

Playing him recently showed that in-game as a character he offers some finesse as well as a heck of a lot of durability and stopping power: in other words he was great fun to use.

Vigilantes

With the most recent shocking Supreme-caused crimes, citizens of Pulp City look up to the greatest heroes and take the justice in their own hands.

Sculpted by Wojtek Flis, the Vigilantes are Level 2 Hero Minions who come with Dead Eye. They are not exclusive to Dead Eye, but become more potent when fielded alongside that particular hero of Pulp City - becoming Level 1 Supremes, which don't count towards the number of Supremes selected! Instead even with dead Eye they are purchased as Resources.

I had my first games with them yesterday and found them to be fun and effective - not game winners, but a nice addition to the range of Resource options.

The minis were painted along with Dead Eye to give a cohesive feel, hopefully making them look like a combined 'unit' as may be the case in some other games.

Originally I had a different colour scheme in mind for Dead Eye, but when I settled on the US-patriot theme for the Vigilantes his colour scheme changed to something resembling his 'official' scheme to fit more nicely with them. I am probably most pleased with the wood-grain effect on the baseball bat - not too readily visible here (however try clicking on the top image for a larger image view), but it is there I assure you!