Miniature Focus: Cryx Deathjack

Deathjack is the most awesome (broken) miniature Cryx has access to. It has a great sculpt and has a repertoire of useful abilities. It only cost 12 points.

This monster has MAT 8 and three initial attacks (two P+S 18 and one P+S 15). SPD 6 and Advance Deployment gets you to where you need it fast. As long as its arms are not down, the Skulls of Hate provide 2 additional focus bringing the maximum to 5. For a heavy warjack, it has very good defensive stat line of DEF 13 and ARM 19. A 360 degrees front arc means it will never get backstrike.
The icing on the cake is Deathjack ability to cull soul and cast its Warcaster spells with its focus. Even though Deathjack is not an arc node. It can cast up to 5 focus worth of spells.

Tactics:
Deathjack is a very forgiving model to use. Even when not optimally used, it can still dish out a lot of damage. Even when not very well protected, it can withstand some beating before becoming a wreck.
An unsupported fresh Deathjack can on average deal 22 damage to a typical Khardorian heavy (DEF 10 ARM 20). With 3 more focus allocated, this goes up to an average of 37 damage, easily wrecking anything.

Deathjack is really a "point to where you need the most destruction" miniature and enjoy your opponent complaining how broken it is.

It is also a wonderful mini to paint. It decide to give it a orange-red and brass color scheme I used for my Skarre army. To make the model more awesome, I did some very minor conversions. Its left claws are slightly bent to crush a Menoth shield.

Since Deathjack can collect souls, I showed that by using the upper torso of Harbinger and attaching a soul to it. Adding some entrails to make it seems like she had been shredded into two. Well, even the Harbinger has a soul.

Reviving Necrotechnology

After a year of bouncing between game systems, painting this and that, I am back to my first love, Cryx. To minimize distraction, I sold away my Trollblood and Gatorman. The goal for 2013 is to get my Cryxian army totally painted.

Privateer Press has moved a long way in the past years. They have added huge base models, Battle Engines and Colossals/Gargantuan for Warmachine and Hordes.

Multiple leagues like Machinations, Journeyman and Steamroller are all happening simultaneously. Machinations: Umbra officially started today but the kit is not in my LFGS yet.

Paying tribute to Machinations, my first painting list will be Master Necrotech Mortenebra. Photos will follow as and when models are completed. 

Infernal Machines

15 Points (Tier 1)

Master Necrotech Mortenebra

Deryliss

Seether

Reaper (Painted)

Warwitch Siren

Necrotech & Scrap Thrall

25 Points (Tier 3)

Master Necrotech Mortenebra

Deryliss

Seether

Reaper (Painted)

Deathjack (Painted)

Warwitch Siren

Warwitch Siren

Necrotech & Scrap Thrall

35 Points (Tier 4)

Master Necrotech Mortenebra

Deryliss

Seether

Reaper (Painted)

Deathjack (Painted)

Leviathan

Warwitch Siren

Warwitch Siren

Necrotech & Scrap Thrall

Scrap Thralls

Long Live the Dragonfather!

Journeyman League

Privateer Press is always coming up with ideas to help grow their hobby. Journeyman League is one of them. It is a slow grow league which rewards players for painting their miniatures and playing games. Officially, over six weeks, the players will be able to grow a new faction and have a fully painted force.

However, our local friendly Press Ganger has decided to make this into a six months long event with Spore-Con 2012 as the destination. This would allow some of us who wanted a new faction at Spore-Con next year to be motivated to paint our miniatures. There are pretty cool patches for this league too.

The centre piece will be given to all players. As each player gain more points, they will be awarded chevrons. The overall champions will be awarded the additional patches on top.

So far, my Pyre Troll and Earthborn Dire Troll has netted me 5 points. I need to paint more! 

The Trolls Are Coming!

Been a while since I have done On The Painting Table articles. Partly because I was lazy, however the truth  was because I haven't done anything since my fourth half completed Shredder. In fact, it is still half completed. Over the weekend, I went on a painting spree and painted 15 points of models over three days. Sounds fantastic?! Actually it is only two models.

Pyre Troll and Earthborn Dire Troll.

I redid my Pyre Troll in more conventional flame color. Fire is still a bitch to paint well. Formula P3 Heartfire made this attempt look better than before.

Pyre Troll in old color scheme. I had problem with painting the usual flame and hence succumb to painting it the Cryx flame color.

Pyre Troll Mk II. New skin tone and the flame color. The flame is still too bright and probably will need to redo it. 

Pye Troll Front View. Actually the flames looked better in picture than on the model.

The new Pyre Troll has a new palette. The base color is Sanguine Base + Trollblood Base, then highlighted to Trollblood Highlight. This results in a more bluish tone compare to the burgundy from before. The flames are painted with Heartfire then 'highlighted' up to Fiery Orange. Scorched Brown was dry-brushed to dull the flames down. Seems like I botched that part. Overall, this is a slight improvement over the old color scheme.

What I am really proud about is my Earthborn Dire Troll. Putting aside the big stack of marking that I am suppose to do, I spent my whole weekend painting it.

Eathborn Dire Troll Front View.

Earthborn Dire Troll Side View. The teeth probably need some highlighting to Bleached Bone.

Two days of work to complete a 10 point model is a new record for me. I am on my way to reduce expectation, hence time required, for my painting. The speed painting still produce pretty decent result.

I discovered that Formula P3 paints have awesome, REALLY AWESOME, coverage. They are a bit thick if used directly from the pot (A habit I have when painting with Citadel paints). 

The colors used to paint this brute:

• Trollblood Base + Catachan Green + Umbral Umber
• Trollblood Base + Catachan Green
• Trollblood Base
• Trollblood Highlight

It is an interesting palette to play with. Some colors which I never thought can go well actually tied the model together. For flat regions I still have a hard time highlighting the musculature.

Back of Earthborn Dire Troll. The stones are highlighted 'roughly'. I am glad it still brings out the shape of individual pieces.

I did the stones very quickly. So far the rocks I have painted are grey. This is the first time I am attempting to paint brownish stones. It turned out well. There are a few layers. In fact I am now wondering if the Bestial Brown layer is necessary as it seems to hardly show. 

The leather cloth to make this Dire Troll more civilized. Actually I don't think trolls actually bother. This is just to lower the age limit of players playing this game. 

The leather is done in classic leather colors which I am rather proud of. The photo doesn't really show the highlights on the rock rune pieces.

Overall, this has been a great weekend with beyond expectation productivity. I hope to keep this up and have a fully painted Trollblood army for the Domination Book Release event in January. 

Now back to marking. :'(

The Great Cyclic Turn

Its funny that the last post declared that I'm shelving my Warmachine/Hordes for Malifaux. But now gone was my Malifuax. Trollblood is back on my painting desk again. Tonight I will be experimenting a new way to paint my Pyre Troll. I have my painting list drawn up in preparation for Spore Con 2012.


Model Name
Warlord: Grim Angus (Painted)
Warlord: Captain Gunnbjorn
Warlord: Madrak Ironhide, Thornwood Chieftain
Warlord: Borka Kegslayer & Keg Carrier
Warlord: Calandra Truthsayer, Oracle of Glimmerwood
Warlord: Jarl Skuld, Devil of Thornwood

Warbeast: Pyre Troll
Warbeast: Slag Troll
Warbeast: Troll Axer
Warbeast: Troll Impaler I
Warbeast: Troll Impaler II
Warbeast: Troll Impaler III
Warbeast: Dire Troll Mauler
Warbeast: Extreme Dire Troll Mauler
Warbeast: Earthborn Dire Troll

Unit: Pyg Burrowers
Unit: Pyg Bushwhackers
Unit: Trollkin Champions
Attachment: Skadi Bonehammer
Unit: Trollkin Long Riders (1 Model Painted)
Unit: Scattergunners
Attachment: Scattergunner Officer and Standard
Unit: Trollkin Scouts

Solo: Fell Caller Hero
Solo: Troll Whelps
Solo: Trollkin Champion Hero
Solo: Horthol, Long Rider Hero
Solo: Janissa Stonetide

Solo: Alten Ashley, Monster Hunter
Solo: Rorsch & Brine (Painted)
Unit: Dannon Blythe & Bull, The Bounty Hunters


This is my entire collection for Trollblood. No new army or model for another faction until this is done.

On the Painting Table

Things has taken a turn. Even the Legion of Everblight got temporary shelved. Work started to get busier, night class started. There are less time to paint now so I have to prioritize. Warmachine/Hordes gave way to Malifaux for the past few weeks. Now I am painting up Colette and her crew of Showgirls.

Not much to update yet because they have only been assembled and primed. Will do a proper posting when they are painted.  

On the Painting Table

I painted 6 points of models this week. Even though a week ago, every model in the to-paint list is a Trollblood model but strangely enough, all painted models are Legion of Everblight. I finally know why I am so drawn to the Shredders, they remind me of Squigs from Warhammer Fantasy Battle. For a long time I've wanted to paint the squigs and squig riders. I guess I might even convert some of my shredders to become mount. It'll be hilarious.

The black guy looks lonely.

To paint Everblight beast, some new colors entered my painting palette. Not the easiest colors to work with but constant practice will lead to improvement. I saw a black/purple color scheme for Everblight, I might copy it for some of my beast. 

Gone are the usual reds, greens and metallics. Enter shades of blues and pinks.

This week, I also tried to make snow. However, two attempts and I still failed. Even after varnish, the snow flaked off like dandruff when rubbed.

The other stuff now sat quietly at the extreme edge of the table. Surprisingly without influence from their warlocks, all the warbeast seems to become good friends.

And finally, due to the limited space on the painting table, the stealthy force of Everblight muster nearby. Maybe I should let them remain black to blend into their current background.

Nyss Strider (less one member), with UA, Nyss Strider Deathwalker, pLylyth and Legionaries.

Nyss Strider. Stripped, cleaned, pinned and assembled.