Kfz. 222 Panzerspah Patrol

As painting on my Infinity models continues when I have the time, I have decided to show off in greater detail models I'd previously finished.

The Plastic Soldier Company is doing a monthly painting competition, and I decided to submit a patrol of DAK cars.

Based off the Zvezda 222, the three have been extensively converted, with the central vehicle a conversion to a 223. (I have used so many paperclips in my time...)

Almost all the stowage on the vehicles is my own conversion. The Jerry cans on the 223 are plasticard; all wound by modeling wire as a tow cable; extra Jerry cans strewn about along with puttied tarps and rolls; a tinfoil Nazi flag; and a customized (plasticard) MG turret on the 223.

The rifle on the 223 is from a spare that came with another PSC kit, as is the spare tire (you have to look closely to see it doesn't quite fit the vehicle, being made for a Hanomag Kfz. 251).

The entire patrol was done up with the DAK typical sand colour, and had grey sponged on  to look like the sand colour being rubbed away. The vehicles often showed up in the desert the typical German grey, only to be hastily covered with any sand-coloured paint the troops could find. Since it was applied in bad conditions, any use, bumping, or rubbing would cause the paint to flake off, so high edges and common crew handholds would go back to being the basic grey. It's a uniquely German thing, and helps to make their vehicles stand out from the others.

Soon, more Infinity, I promise. I've done some work, not really finishing off anyone, and just need to photograph them. Here's hoping the 222s win!

Contest Entries: Diorama

My final piece for the Wyrd contest was a diorama depicting Santana calmly fighting off a Flesh Construct. I bought the one with the hapless victim about to be flung:

Originally, I thought about making the base incredibly fancy, but realized that would just detract from the models themselves. I used a subdued paint scheme to ensure that the few elements that should pop would do so (the blood, the bile behind the flesh construct, etc.)

For Santana, I experimented with using a more illustrative/painterly style, especially visible on her stomach. I was tempted to source light the entire thing, but with the Wyrd requirement (or so I thought) of a white background, the source lighting wouldn't have really worked.

The Flesh Construct (and zombie) was fun to paint: A lot of grey was mixed into his flesh tones, and I used a colder brown than I typically basecoat flesh with. This resulted in a very pallid, 'off' seeming skintone that was strongly contrasted by Santana's warm olive tones. The brass fixtures were done to feel especially steampunk, and to tie together with the eerie fleshtone. His victim was painted very simply, meant to look like just an average dockworker.

Since Santana has such a solid, no-nonsense pose, I decided to imitate that in her painting. The dusty brown trousers and jacket, the functional white t-shirt, and even her guild-approved reds are faded and dulled. This is no flashy gunslinger, this is a woman who gets things done brutally and efficiently. (Even her garb is functional.)

The base was done in my typical Malifaux fashion: Grey stone, washed with various colours to infuse some variety, then re-drybrushed with grey to fade out the colours more. I added some moss and water effects to get across the grimy, dockside nature of this encounter.

Overall, I like the idea of this woman dwarfed by some necromantic nightmare, calmly dispatching one opponent and lining up on another. I have an idea for my next diorama too, so we'll see when Wyrd next decides to swing a contest our way!

Contest Entries: Single

Next up is a model I was toying around with a bunch, and this was finally the kick to get it finished: Izamu!

I did a bunch of research for this guy, attempting to make him as accurate as possible for a samurai. back banners are relatively accurate, the armour colour seems to be incredibly common, and I replaced his casual use fan with a Japanese war fan. His weapon is curious; it's a Chinese weapon (Dadao) in blade style, but a Japanese weapon (Nagamaki) in handle comparison. I ended up just going with a simple verdigrised gold/brass handle with leather wraps, a bright metal blade, and gold rings.

The fan is a curious one. Samurai were known to have the typical folding style fans, often metal-bladed and meant for when a weapon was not permitted. (A short club, hidden as an accessory!) That said, they were very unlikely to be brandished on the battlefield, especially not by a blood-crazed giant of a man (spirit?) like Izamu. I did what I figured would be his more logical choice, and gave him a General's war fan. The latter was used in battle to both mark characters of importance, and to direct troops in the chaos of combat. Izamu seems first of all like the General-sort, and also the kind who would want to command his troops in battle, even if they are just figments of his own broken psyche.

I also kept his warrior mask on, but rather than the full-face version given in the box, I cut it back so it more resembled the traditional variant. Samurai often wanted to look as fearsome as possible, and a certain division commander even enjoyed bright red armour and big horns off the top, which worked great until he was sniped.

All the metal on his armour is likewise verdigrised and tainted, which goes with the tattered look of his pants, and the plethora of arrows sticking out of him. Unlike most of my Malifaux models which live in a world of bricks, cobblestones, and mouldering docks, Izamu lives in a world where he's still on a feudal Japanese battlefield, and I wanted to represent this with the bright green grass, flower bushes, and of course, a half dozen other arrows on the ground around him. This last bit was to hopefully explain he doesn't just suck at deflecting arrows, he's weathered a full barrage!

Most annoyingly, I discovered as I painted him: I suspect when making the CAD file for this, the designer mirrored the legs to make the pose. His clan symbol 'twists' two different directions depending on the leg! I had confirmed this to be the case too late in the project to cut and putty, so I just reflected the paint on the back banners in the same way, so they twirl different directions depending which side of the banner you look from.

I am honing my NMM-style metallic painting, and am particularly happy with the way his blade turned out. I'll have to start infusing colours, and see how that fares next!

Contest Entries: Crew

Well, the Wyrd contest winners are now revealed, and alas I was not included. That said, it was fun to try to paint a bunch of stuff in one month, just to push myself. I don't know if I will push thus again, but still...

That said, to start off with, my Viktorias Crew!

One image, as posted, and I'll go through them in detail below:

The Viks themselves, as before, are meant to look relatively utilitarian. They're well-off mercenaries sure, but they're not exactly rolling in it. As a result, their armour isn't entirely clean and polished, the clothing is relatively drab in colour (except Vik of Blood's red pants and black leather jacket), and the swords have a nice nod back to my first iteration of purple. I am still a little frustrated that the woman with arms in opposite directions has a level-chest, and the one with arms mostly leaving at the same level seems to have an anti-gravity boob, but that's something to discuss with the sculptor, and not really an issue in painting.

I love the new Taelor: I'll do a direct comparison soon, but man, more awesome pose, more practical clothing, a relic hammer that looks bizarrely old, the new clockwork arm is fantastic... My only issue was the ponytail going over her head. There is no way her pose makes her hair do that, so I put it in the more logical location of flowing down.

I gave Taelor and the Student of Conflict almost an identical paintscheme. I liked the idea of the Student latching on to this powerful potent figure, and that while Taelor may be all kinds of condescending to the various mercenaries and ne'er-do-wells in Malifaux, this child with a brave heart would speak to her. The garb for the Student is very utilitarian, and so I matched that paint-wise with a rough-and-ready wool fabric, boring scabbard, etc.

Also, hard to see in the pic is Taelor's boots are visibly steel-toed. There's a few scuff-marks where the metal shows through. I don't especially like the boot design for her or Vik Ashes; there's a weird run of fabric and belt buckles that sent me back to the illustrations just to find out what was going on.

Finally the Ronin. I figured rather than in any way attempting to make them look subdued, I'd do quite the opposite and make them stand waay out. I remember a fluff-tale for the Viks involving them eschewing armour for speed, and I figure they've passed this on to their disciples. I also wanted to theme each of them with tertiaries, since in the crew they kind of are. Viks are the primaries, Taelor's the secondary, and then there's the Ronin.

I ended up making the Cyan ronin almost look like Wendy (the mascot) and she is paler than I usually do skin, with vibrant teal/cyan clothes. the back-armour has the kanji for "ronin" on it (I hope), and bright red hair, which I'll probably do a tutorial at some point for.

Purple was made with a mind to using colours I rarely do: gray, and muted purple. I know it doesn't look as muted in the photograph, but it is. In keeping with the tertiary concept, it's a blue-purple colour.

Finally comes my Latina Ronin (I know, anachronistic or what?) I intentionally shaded her skin darker, and attempted to imitate a bright, strong, Spanish-style colour mix. The colour fade on the sleeves and stockings match, but I kept it simpler for the kimono and sash, to help them stand out more. At first I was tempted to go complimentary as a detail colour, but realized I should just go black. The yellow-orange and orange-red was so strong that to just go with the opposing colour would have looked off.

I kept the bases mundane, with cobblestones and water effects, figuring this is a crew that does not spend its time in the finer areas of Malifaux.

And now, with this wall of text for all, I shall see you next time! I may edit and upload singles-pics to intersperse in this post, after I've uploaded all three entries. Then, another post about Infinity stuff! I am now counting off days until we get to enjoy the Icestorm starter set!