Caution: alliteration ahead

The most kick-ass B and B ever.

It's been far too long since I actually painted anything.  When combined with the looming league deadline this provided all the motivation I needed to get back to the table.  I felt a little slackerly when I picked assembling and painting Bethayne and Belphagor as my design-your-own hobby badge goal for the (tardy) Dark Secrets league...until a few days ago when I realized I had until Sunday to get the pair (plus inserts) out of the box and finished.    I flew through assembly, though I fear my lack of pining will come back to haunt me, and got the models primed yesterday morning.  Fast forward through today (you can slo-mo through some of the brushwork, I won't tell anyone) and I've managed to crap out not just one but two models (and a pair of inserts) in a single day of painting.  Even after being away from it for a while I slide back into my Legion scheme effortlessly, as if it were a thing I designed (mostly) myself and (arguably) perfected over countless (~70) repetitions.  Varnish will have to wait a few days, but this newly painted pair won't be debuting until Thursday at the earliest.  Hopes are high that Bethayne is the spell slinger I always wanted pVayl to be, or something close enough to hold me over until I finally free eVayl from her plastic prison.

A List, Mostly For Me

I'd love to use this mini, it just doesn't fit.

I'm gearing up for the IKRPG and need a mini.  Matters are complicated because I'm not entirely sure what I'll be playing, but I've found quite a few models that I like which will inform my eventual choices.  The huge collection of bookmarks I've put together is a bit unwieldy, so I'm putting together a "best of" for easier reference and figured maybe someone out there could get some use out of it as well.

Werner Klocke does great work, so I'm separating his out:
Female caster with staff and sword
Female in armor with sword
Female caster with (separate) familiar
Female swashbuckler
Female caster(ish) in armor with sword
Female hunter (pre-Sorscha)

Other ladies:
Generic caster(ish)
Rope-climbing adventuress
Flaming sword
Caster with many details
Steampunk caster
Fireballer with flaming sword
Generic caster with spell effect
Generic with pistol
Generic with hopefully removable head

And the dudes:
"Alas, poor Yorrick" caster
Caster with clingy zombie
Generic conquistadorish, needs more hair

As you might have guessed, most of my ideas are for casters.  I'm trying to avoid just using the closest PP mini as it seems like a bit of a cop-out to plunk down a Greylord from my Khador army.  Of course the fact that Zerkova (closest match) is more horsefaced than Sarah Jessica Parker doesn't help...

Something Is Better Than Nothing

A different sort of gun mage.

Despite the complete lack of blog activity over the past bit, I have neither died nor forsaken gaming.  Having finally obtained a copy of the IK RPG I've been deep in its pages for the last few days.  The game has a much stronger focus on combat than I'd hoped for, but on further consideration that isn't surprising.  RPGs are what you make out of them though so the possibilities are endless.  My initial impulse was towards a spell slinger of some flavor, a Greylord most likely to keep with my theme.  Pistoleers look interesting too though with the added benefit that there are lots of models out there that are appealing (this one in particular).  I could combine the two into a Gun Mage except that I'd want to do an Amethyst Rose flavor which doesn't really click with the Khador thing.  For now ideas will just swirl while I make my way through the book. 

Plus there's the small issue of finding a group, but I'm hoping that resolves itself with little fuss.

Also in recent news, I finally have a Dust army to push around on the table.  When I put the order in the Revised Core Set was out of stock which put a sizable spanner in the works since the plan incorporated most of the pieces in it.  Of course you can only get those in that particular box, which is a rant I've indulged in elsewhere, so I went back to the drafting table to hammer out a collection that could stand by itself until I could get the Core-only models.  After a pair of speedy field tests with EV I found my force to be fit for fighting.  Of course the real test remains: painting.  In addition to figuring out a scheme (I'd like something at least inspired by what the Germans wore while fighting in Russia) there's the question of mold lines and bent barrels.  Mold lines aren't as bad as they could be, though they're far from wonderful while also being trickier than usual to get to since the minis are already assembled.  Part of me wants to embrace the economy of the game and just paint them as-is, stock primer and all.  The rest of me knows that I'll get halfway through the first squad and wish I'd taken the time to clean them properly.  I think I'll give it a week or three to simmer and see how it looks after a couple more games.