12/11/13: Review: Puppets War Mankind Rippers Unit

Howdy folks!

So I was recently approached by Nick over at Blood of Kittens about a little 40k proposition he was throwing together to combine 3rd Party suppliers and commission artists. Personally, I love the idea, and not long after, I was paired with Puppet's War, a bits supplier based out of Poland. I dove right into the box of goodies, and the first project that caught my eye was the Mankind Rippers Unit. Lets jump right in, shall we?

Disclaimer: Although I received these models through a promotional offer to promote both myself and Puppet's War, I have no obligation to give a biased or favorable view because of the circumstances. If I don't like a kit or piece, you better believe I'll speak my mind about it! Same goes if I love it! Now, without further adieu...

Puppets War's Mankind Rippers Unit Review

Cost: $40 (approx USD)

Contains: 5 Complete models minus bases

The kit consists of 5 bodies (torso and legs are a single piece), 5 heads, and 5 sets of arms. Personally, I would have liked to receive some bases for these bad boys, but I had a set of 40mm round bases lying around, so it wasn't a big deal for me, but just keep that in mind when ordering. 

As you can see, I received a 6th set of arms; I can't imagine it was intentional, just a packer's mistake, but I'm not complaining! I gave the models a good bath to release any release agent, though the models seemed to be fairly devoid of it, thankfully.

The biggest question I'm sure you all have is, "How is the casting quality?". Impeccable, my dear sirs and madams! There are virtually no airbubbles on the models, as well as flashing. The only places I found them were on the tips of the fingers and the bottom of the feet, which is no problem whatsoever.

As you can see, the pieces scale very well to Warhammer 40k bits and pieces. While I opted to go with minimal additions, you could very easily throw Space Marine or Imperial Guard heads on them, or cover the shoulders with a Terminator Shoulderpad. The standard Marine ones are too small. You can also see the detail on these pieces; CAD design and casting has come a long way! 

One of the biggest selling points of the kit is the holes for magnetizing the arms. This makes these badboys very versatile, as you can use the arms supplied with the kit, or opt for Terminator arms. I only magnetized the sergeant, as I'm still playing around with army choices for the unit, but in reality, you can easily magnetize all five models.

The arms take standard 1mm rare earth magnets; be sure you mark one side with a sharpie to keep your polarities straight! 

My magnets stick out just a touch; I prefer the extra girth they add to the shoulders, but you can easily drill the sockets a touch deeper if you so chose. Ahh, the beauty of resin!

My first Ripper WIP; I've opted for a more neutral style to allow me to play with the 40k allies chart. I've been playing around with doing a small Adeptus Mechanicus force as Necrons, but with the armaments included with the Rippers, they'll work just fine as Mega-Armored Nobz, Shooty Terminators, Necrons, or even Tyranid Warriors (Instinctive Behavior represents their control over the skitarii). 

And, an overall assessment of the product as a whole:

Quality: 5/5; 

Clean casts and well designed models ensure you'll be able to paint every detail without problem!

Price: 4/5;

Cheaper than a box of Space Marine Terminators, but with less pieces and weapons. At $8/model though, you can't go wrong!

Value: 4/5;

The casts are clean, and the detail is there, but some extra weapons and bases would have been a nice inclusion. Hell, I'd pay another $10 to get some extra arms and even a plain black base! 

Overall: 4.5/5

Puppets War has done an excellent job on these models; they're very striking on the tabletop, and with the sharp edges and little details, lend themselves very well to both beginner and advanced painters. As I said, some extra weapons would be nice, but you can pick those up on their website, as well as sculpted resin bases. 

Expect more reviews in the coming month or so as I slowly work my way through the box of goodies I was sent. Thanks to the guys at Puppets War, as well as TastyTaste over at Blood of Kittens, for giving me this opportunity. I've got a couple of tutorials coming as well from the group of models I received, so stay tuned for some strange, fun projects coming your way!

I was working on that first WIP guy during the Broncos/Titans game this weekend, so I was almost too tense to finish him up! I should have more pictures of these badboys painted up towards the end of the week, so stay tuned! Should, as well, have another blogpost up tomorrow showing you all what I've been working on this week. Realizing its only been a week, the amount of stuff I've painted is kinda scary, even to myself. Anyways, stay tuned!

Granesh

Smells Like Wargaming

12/1/13: Finished: Alpha Legion Helbrute 'Lernaea'

Hey guys!

Happy December! Can't believe we're nearly done with 2013! Got some fun plans coming up in 2014, so stay tuned on the social medias, as well as here!

Its been a strange week! Last week and early this week, my girlfriend was in town, so that's dominated most of my time. I managed to clear my commission schedule though, so after she left, I had a little bit of a dilemma; what do I paint for myself! My Alpha Legion army is a constant WIP army, so I decided to do a little hack-and-slash and get my Helbrute converted and ready for the tabletop!

Here he is, in all his ugly glory! The markings on the base will be explained in the fluff later; I've wanted to go all out on this army, so not only are we going to see fluff, but a fully modelled display board as well!

The skintone on this model was the toughest part. Its a mix of Caliban Green and Pallid Wych Flesh, highlighted up to pure Pallid Wych Flesh. Mixing the color made the project a little tedious, but easily worth it in the end. The color sticks out perfectly and contrasts the dark turquoise of the armor.

Love the head on the model, though if I was going to do another, I'd probably throw a helmet on it. You can also see a minor mess-up on the waterslide transfer in this picture. Even the pros make the occasional mistake!

The detail on Lernaea's right arm plate. I opted for a quick hydra motif; I may go back in and play with it a bit, I'm only partially happy with it so far. Lernaea is the full name of the greek Hydra myth (the Lernaean Hydra fought Hercules, who bested it and completed his 2nd task), and I figured it was rather fitting!

I was aiming to have this bad boy finished by sunday, as I'm driving down to Farmington to pick up a new commission and play some 40k, and really wanted this guy to show off my paintwork. Its gonna be cool, my fully painted group playing on my fully painted terrain. I'll be sure to include some pictures!

Glad to have this project knocked out! I may do another one soon, but we'll see. I own 3 Helbrutes, and this is the only one I've assembled and painted. World Eaters, perhaps? Iron Warriors? Emperor's Children?! Next up is some more terrain for Good Games, the shop I'm visiting today (Wave One HERE), so expect pictures of the terrain again, as well as new pieces! Should have another Battleboard to do in that wave as well! Expecting Necrons and more Khador soon as well, so its going to be a busy December!

Stay tuned!

Granesh

11/5/13: Extra Life 2013; Alpha Legion and Terrain WIP

Hey guys!

So its finally come and gone! Extra Life 2013 was November 2nd and 3rd, and boy howdy, was it fun! Didn't get a lot of tabletop gaming in, but my thumb is still killing me from playing too much Super Smash Bros on the Wii! Not a lot of pictures, but I'll let them do most of the talking!

Sonic's my usual go-to character when I rock out Brawl. Good to have some actual challenges this time around! Played a little Sega Genesis too, but the Wii was our major focus. I did get a game of 40k in for the Badab War Campaign; I got my face stomped by the Raptors (damn you Lias Issoldon!)

My buddy's wife and her sister brought some snacks to keep us going all night. The Mario Mushrooms are made from Rice Krispies with a marshmellow bottom. Delicious!

RTGamer and the rest of the Fantasy guys got some Triumph and Treachery in, and seemed like they had a blast with it! Lots of laughing, yelling, and excitement was had! Their first game took forever, but I don't think they minded! I need to get my Vampire Counts up and running!

There was also some FIFA involved, a little Magic, lots of yelling, and a ton of fun! Overall, Durango Diceworks raised about $400 towards Extra Life and the Children's Miracle Network! Huzzah for the group, thanks to all my contributors and well-wishers for helping us towards our goals! I've got some bigger plans next year, we'll see how they culminate!

I've also jumped back into some projects, both personal and commissions. First off is a redo of my Chosen Champion. I wasn't happy with his color, so I scrapped the model entirely, and opted for a darker, greener tint. The glow effect on his backpack, chest and eyes is Moot Green dusted once dry with a lime green soft pastel. By taking your hobby knife and dragging it down the pastel, you can make your own powders; great for weathering, they help immensely with glow effects and tints. I may have a tutorial on it soon! 

And the commission! It consists of the Imperial Defense Emplacement here and two Defense Lines (4 sections). Gotta say, they paint up quickly and really nicely...until you get to the Cadians on the bases. They don't paint up quite as well, and the fact torsos and skulls just stretch on to oblivion just drives me nuts! Going to try to get 2 pieces done tonight and the rest done tomorrow, but we may just wait til Thursday. Depends on work tomorrow!

Alrighty! Back to work! Following the terrain, I'll be rocking out an Uhlan-heavy Khador group and an Imperial Vulture! Should be fun, so stay tuned!

Granesh

10/26/13: Finished: Charity Cygnar Battlegroup

Hey guys!

So about a month ago, my good friend Magilla Gurilla came to me, looking for prizes for his charity 40k and Warmachine event. He was looking for something like a Dreadnought or some vouchers, but anything would do. Jump back to March, as the shop I manage was getting rid of our Warmachine stock, as it just didn't take off around here. Everything was 50% off, so I had to pick up some paints and a Battlegroup. I saw Cygnar, loved the look, picked them up, built them, then packed them away. I decided I'd rather see the group do something charitable than collect dust, so I set to work!

I opted for a simple-yet-effective scheme to allow someone to add to the group easily, yet still making these pieces stand out.

Really happy with the vent glow; its P3's Arcane Blue layered up to white.

Really happy with Stryker, but getting photos of his face is driving me nuts! I layered him up to Pallid Wych Flesh, so getting that color to photograph right has been a nightmare.

The Power Sword effect turned out perfectly!

The Lancer; I'm really happy with the checkers on the shield, and the glow effect turned out nicely on his shoulders.

The Charger; probably my least favorite Warjack, just not a lot of area for customization on him.

Big Bada Boom!

And the Ironclad! This guy was fun, pretty intimidating-looking model, but lots of space for weathering and freehand.

The Cygnar emblem on his top part is all freehanded; really adds some personality and effect to the model.

Stryker and his bodyguard of Jacks holding the Smells Like Watchtower from those crazy Menoth jerks!

So glad to be done with these, and I'll be even happier to see what they raise for charity. Speaking of charity, Extra Life 2013 is only a week out, so if you haven't supported the cause, swing on over to the page HERE and show your support! Anything is appreciated!

Alrighty, I'll be out of the studio this coming up week, visiting my girlfriend for Halloween, but expect tons of pictures of Extra Life the following Saturday/Sunday, and I'll be working hard on terrain and some IG stuff the week after! Stay tuned guys!

Granesh

10/20/13: Finished: Alpha Legion Murder Sword Lord and Warp Talons

Hey guys!

So following close on the heels of the Skaven Screaming Bell was something for my personal collection! See, I don't get to play a lot of 40k these days; despite managing my FLGS, our 40k group is either fairly spread out or busy. Even less, I get to paint for myself! I decided to remedy that a bit by breaking out my Chaos Marines.

This is my beatstick unit for the army. Sure assault took a hit in 6th Edition, but there's no sense in doing it half-assed; go big or go home!

I run the Lord with Mark of Tzeentch, Sigil of Corruption (Shant turn down a 3++ save!), a Jump Pack, a Plasma Pistol, and the Murder Sword. Background is he's Arkos the Faithless (Siege of Vraks Alpha Legion Leader) who is currently hunting down the Dark Angels that messed up his Warband; most specifically, Azrael. He jumps in, causes a ton of wounds, and usually turns into a Spawn. But he's a blast to play.

The whole army is about the freehand, as you can see. Not entirely happy with his shoulderpad, but it works. I opted for a green phase effect, much like a Grey Knight's Force Weapon, to really hit home the dangerous nature of the Sword. His Jump Pack is magnetized too, so I can run him on foot, either as a standard lord or as Arkos from Imperial Armor 6. 

And the weird part of the army! When I picked up the new book, nothing really caught my eye. I was running a 5th Edition army with a 6th Edition book, and not really having any fun with it. I'd picked up the Aspiring Champion Clampack at Genghis-Con to give me some options, and one day while at work, I decided to grab a box of Warp Talons. Definitely a good way to get into the book!

Love the champion, I'm all for helmet-less leaders! The skintone is layered from Caliban Green, and mixed up with Pallid Wych Flesh. The most extreme highlights are pure Pallid Wych Flesh and a little white. I always buy the Boon of Mutation upgrade for him, just to see what nonsense he gets!

First two Warp Talons. I hated the head I'd put on the second one there originally (Its the reject MK4 helmet, he looks like he's grinning like an idiot), so I found one of the old Possessed heads and slapped it on there. Glad I did!

Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dumb! Didn't realize I'd done nearly the same model, just mirrored, til I started painting! Oh well, they're more filler than anything (tell that to their four Lightning Claw attacks!).

I've never used their blind special rule; pretty sure the only reliable way to do that is to run the Dimensional Key on something like a Daemon Prince so they don't scatter, but its kinda tricky. I prefer to hide the squad behind cover for a turn or two, then rocket them up and at something squishy. Five Hammer of Wrath attacks and essentially 26 attacks that demolish 3+ saves is nothing to sneeze at! The Warp Talons are definitely tricky to run, and they're by no means a hyper-competitive unit. But they're fun to rocket around the table protecting Arkos!

Ignore the unpainted terrain! I've shown him before, but this is my Alpha Legion familiar. Lets call him Roger; say hello Roger! Roger here is the little familiar model that comes in the Terminator Lord kit; after converting two Abaddons and a couple other models, I've got quite a supply of them lying around. These guys paint up quick, and make perfect markers for Combat or Spell Familiars! Probably only took half an hour to do. Its the little things that make your army, so get on it!

Alrighty! Next up is that Cygnar Charity group, along with some terrain, an Imperial Vulture, and what looks to be about 50 points of Khadorian goodness! Keep up!

Granesh

8/25/13: Finished: The Dreamer Malifaux Crew

Hey guys!

So this has been a project long in the waiting, but its finally done! This is Magilla's 4th Malifaux crew painted by your's truly, and I've gotta say, this is definitely my best one to date! A ton of fun, it just took me a little time to get into it! Lets jump straight in, shall we?

Lord Chompy Bits! I opted for a human-esque skintone to make him a little more menacing and creepy looking.

The crew leader, The Dreamer. Shame the shot turned out a little blurry. All Magilla requested was for him to be wearing a 'Tapout' shirt, for some added character. The black t-shirt changed the entire feel of the piece, which I'm extremely happy about!

Doppelganger. A really interesting model, her backside is missing all its skin, leaving just muscle and bone. Tried to do a quick see-through cloth effect on her, think it turned out pretty well for a gaming piece!

And the back! Didn't get a regular shot, just one from her WIP on my workbench.

Lelu and Lilitu! I've done these models before, opted, again, for a human skintone, rather than the daemonic I opted for last time. Really happy with Lelu.

Widow Weaver: Because spider's aren't creepy enough, they need to be wearing Victorian garb! The model was a pain to glue together, but turned out extremely well in the end!

Waldgeists. Not the most exciting models, but they turned out pretty well for mossy werewolves! Pretty happy with the bone-effect on his face!

Daydreams. Hilarious little models, they're really quick to paint up, but have a ton of character on their own or in a group!

Mysterious Effigy. A really strange model, I opted for NMM on the clock hands and his kneepads to keep him just as mysterious.

Every Malifaux crew I've painted has had one model that just doesn't seem as exciting as the others. This time, it was poor Coppelius. Interesting little model, but he's wearing men's Victorian clothing, which works best in all black. Fun for the most part, the eyeball is a creepy little touch for the piece.

My favorite piece, on the other hand, was Brutal Effigy. I wanted to play with some Object-Source Lighting, and his prominent lantern made him the perfect candidate! Again, played with the NMM to allow me to really play with the OSL effect as well.

A brighter shot of the OSL as he was being worked on in the studio.

I'm glad to be done with these badboys! I've heard...interesting things...about Malifaux 2nd Edition, so hopefully these guys will be seeing a lot of play time as 3rd Edition gets closer to dropping!

Next up on the painting block is some terrain, more High Elves (White Lion Chariots, anyone?), and continued work on the Astral Claws. I'm also working on a couple pieces with my girlfriend while she's in town for the weekend, so I'll try and throw a post up about that next week! Stay tuned!

Granesh