Painted Papa Loco Ortega

Finally, here is the last of the Ortegas from the starter box, Papa Loco.  I’ve never actually put him on the table (which is pretty odd I suppose) since the main thing he does is blow things up, and then blow up himself.  If I need that then I just reach for Sonnia Criid, who does all that and more (and critically is not going to be Obeyed by Zoraida to blow up half of my own crew on turn 1).

Much like Perdita, I was initially underwhelmed by the sculpt but it really came to life as I put paint on.  The colours are selected simply to match the rest of my Guild crew.  As Papa Loco is supposed to be dangerously insane I reverted to my early days of painting when it came to the eyes, hoping that the wild-eyed look I had achieved on every single one of my first forays would finally come into its own.  Sadly it doesn’t work at photography scale (though it doesn’t look too dreadful at table top distance).

Next on the painting table: Chaos Warhounds.

Painted Ghorgon

A long time ago, I received a Ghorgon for my birthday.  At the time I was in the throes of painting Ogres so the poor chap just stayed in the shrink wrap feeling all unloved.  But good things come to those who wait, and finally it was time to see what was in the box.  It turned out to be enormous; the Ghorgon is much bigger than I’d expected.  As it happens, this is bad news in the game thanks to true line of sight and the existence of cannons, but since he’s massively overcosted that’s probably not too important.  What is important is how entertaining the Ghorgon was to paint.  He’s absolutely covered in bling, and there’s easily twice as much remaining on the sprue that I left off just so I’d be able to see the big guy under all the skulls.  Two of the hands are meant to just be huge spikes but I thought that looked a bit silly (admittedly, he’s still a giant cow-man-monster, but the spiky hands were too far for my disbelief) so I did some minor work to fit the alternative set, which I suppose are intended for making a Cygor.

The Ghorgon is actually big enough to be worth taking close-ups of, though it’s sure that they don’t do my painting any favours.  There are a frankly ridiculous number of skulls on him: a necklace, on his loin cloth, woven into his fur at various parts.  There is even a Bestigor skull being used as a vambrace.  I really had a good time putting paint on the Ghorgon because at this size he’s so different from the entire rest of the herd.  If only I could get more use out of him on the table top…

Next on the painting table: Papa Loco Ortega.

Painted Perdita Ortega

My second Guild master is Perdita Ortega. Like all masters in Malifaux, she has a ridiculous list of abilities, most of which come in useful at various time, but the one I always fall back in is just shooting people in the face repeatedly. Presumably she has more depth to discover, but after only a few games with Perdita leading my crews I’m very happy with the way she plays.

Initially I wasn’t very keen on the understated pose of the miniature but it’s really grown on me lately so I like the idea of just waiting to quick-draw someone and put them in the dust at high noon. The hair, which is something of a focal point of the miniature, is a failed experiment for me. I tried a highlight in purple to try and give it some ‘lustre’ (which is something people apparently look for in hair; I wouldn’t know – no-one advertises products to give a lustrous beard) but it turned out to be too light and it just looks like she has purple hair. I only finished painting it just before a tournament and didn’t have time to fix it, but since then I’ve grown to like it so I’m not going to change it now.  I have, however, fixed the chips in the hat.

These pictures also feature a guest appearance from my assistant, Argentbadger junior.

Next on the painting table: Ghorgon.

Another painted Gor herd

After another age of non-Beastman-related blogging, I got round to painting up another herd of Gors.  They’re 20 strong, a number that conveniently fits into the Watchtower should the need arise.  Gors with additional hand weapons love buildings as it means that they get the full value of that second tasty attack.  Not coincidentally, 20 is also a number I am comfortable being placed into an awkward position by a poor ambush roll which is where they often end up in non-Watchtower scenarios.  For this herd I opted for orange as their signature colour and I’m happy with the way it contrasts with the grey skin.

The Foe-Render is on my favourite of the body choices, the ‘running forward to eat your family’ pose.  I just love the dynamism of the sculpt, and the posability of these plastic kits means that I can always get a result I like.  The last shot of him (alone, and from behind) is a depressingly common feature for this herd as I ram them into the way of something hard and then have them break and flee after a thorough mauling.

Annoyingly, I used the same body for the musician as I did for the champion.  I’ve always imagined that it must be hard to blow a horn when running at full tilt, but evidently it’s no problem for a Beastman.

Finally, the standard bearer.  After some consideration of the motif for the banner I just selected a simple moon design as I felt that the Beastmen would not be in for complex works of art on their flags.  Also, I can’t paint a decent free-hand.

Next on the painting table: Perdita Ortega.

Painted Nino Ortega

The last of the younger Ortega boys, here is Nino Ortega. Popular opinion seems to be that he is amazing on the table, but my experience has generally been that it’s either feast or famine. In a recent game I did manage to get 5 shots out of two action points, both ‘ending’ shots being headshots to boot, but that’s an exception. Headshot in general is not likely to be a kill as most turns there will be a couple of low cards in hand to discard. On the other hand, milling cards away can be effective under some circumstances.

By contrast to Francisco and Santiago, I really dislike the miniature itself. The pose is really wonky – I don’t know much about guns but I imagine that shooting a massive rifle like that while standing on one leg is not ideal if you want to hit anything. I tried to make it so he looked like he was resting the front foot on the kerb of his base, but it’s not really come out well. Nino’s face is very blandly sculpted, with almost no detail, and the whole thing is supported on one very spindly ankle. It’s only a matter of time before that comes off and I have to pin his leg back together, but I’m putting it off for now. Something weird has occurred with his face in the photo, as the ‘just finished eating chocolate’ look isn’t there is real-life.

Next on the painting table: more Gors.