Grimm Lee Chan

Grimm Lee Chan is my first painted Pulp City mini of 2017, and that means I am happy to have made a start right at the beginning of the year. Even better is the fact he has been hanging around the painting queue for a few months and is now done. I actually finished him a week or so ago, but was waiting to be able to spray varnish him.

The jumpsuit is a colour reversal of the classic Bruce Lee outfit as I am planning to do another model from the range in the classic yellow scheme with black arm stripes.

Grimm Lee Chan is one of the many Grimm available, and a Level 1 Brawler. He can also be used in The Way Teams. In The Way he has great synergy with White Tiger as she boosts his basic Attack die pool to 3 dice, which can help trigger his Power that allows reduced cost Follow Up Attacks. The Attack that this works on is Grimm Chucks which has an impressive Damage 2 as basic Effect (FX), itself pretty unusual for a Level 1 Supreme.

Not sure what will be painted next. Maybe Feartigo, although I have my eye on Scarab too, but really I should get White Tiger and/or Grimmsham done as soon as possible for their respective Factions, so time will tell!

Grimm Lee Chan
Hero/Villain, Brawler, Level 1, Nature
30 mm

Grimminions (4-5)

My final Grimminions are done! I started all five Grimminions at the same time, then focused on the three I thought would be easiest to finish first, with every intention of finishing the other two a week or so later. That was a couple of months ago....

Anyway, the little guy with the traffic cone on his head got some work done while waiting for paint to dry on another mini, and so made some quick progress. That just left the limited edition Kickstarter exclusive Grimminion on its mono-wheel, the most complex of the bunch due to the different 'bits' of the model, and which I finished today. That now takes me to a 'full' card of Grimminions, which can be surprisingly formidable to an unsuspecting opponent; the more there are, the higher value their key Traits of Strength, Defense and Agility become; in effect the Grimminions are treated as one model in terms of making an Attack, but with the option of which model it comes from, and as noted, with high Trait values backing it up.

Finishing the Grimminions is pleasing both in terms of having more painted Grimm (yay!) and finishing more Minions (also yay!). This takes me to 136 painted Pulp City minis, and halfway to the modest target of 12 Pulp City minis for the year which I set at the outset. I'd like to get a couple more Powerhouses done soon, including TINY!

Grimminions
Hero/Villain, Brawler, Level 2+ Minions
30 mm

Grimminions (1-3)

Some more Pulp City painting is done! This year I am determined to paint more Pulp City minis than last year, and within that get a few more Minions done for variety. The Grimminions are a nice easy win on both counts, being small and simple to paint.

Grimmionions are the smallest Grimm morphotypes commonly seen, with each as varied in its fixations as the larger Grimm. A card of Grimminions comprises 2-5 Grimminion models, and becomes more powerful as the number included is increased. On the downside, each card may only make one Attack Action per Activation, but with a potential Strength 6 Strike from a card of 5, plus likley Mobbing bonus from the group, then they can be a significant threat even against Tanks until the number of Grimminions is whittled down.

After these 3 minis, I have 2 more Grimminions to finish which are both slightly more complex than these, either due to colours, or in the case of the mono-wheel due to 'extras' on the mini. I am building up Grimm options ahead of a battle report planned for the end of the year. After the Grimminions, I really need to tackle Grimmsham and TINY!

Grimminions
Hero/Villain, Brawler, Level 2+ Minions
30 mm

Grimmbiote

My first Pulp City mini of the year! Painting Grimmbiote was nice and quick which was pleasant after losing some momentum late in 2015. Gripped by some impetus I decided to see this through which took a little over an hour or so.

This is the second Grimmbiote I have painted, the first was my contribution to a minis exchange last year and was done in red and black to evoke the colours of a certain symbiote-villain. I eschewed the obvious colour scheme to go for something that would look 'right' (to me!) alongside the rest of my Grimm. It also meant I could make a head-start on a few other Grimm models at the same time. The recent Grimm focus has reason for a battle report game Rob and I have planned for later in the year....

In game terms, Grimmbiote can be a surprising threat as far as Infiltrator's go: he has Rending Slash which has Damage 2 as its basic FX. He adds +1 die to Strength Actions. Ideally, leave Grimmbiote in Base to Base with terrain and use Grimmbiotic Webbing to Pull a Target model closer, benefiting from the bonus die from Wall-crawler, hitting them with Rending Slash in the same Activation!

Grimmbiote
Hero/Villain, Infiltrator, Level 1, Nature
30 mm

Spartagrimm

Painted Pulp City mini #124 is done! It has been nice getting a bit of Pulp City painting momentum back after such a barren spell. In that regard, the Grimm are perfect for a painter like me.

What I mean by that is that I am someone who naturally struggles to be productive in my painting, and struggles with the cat of painting; yet when it comes to the Grimm, I find it more pleasurable than with pretty much any other models. They are simple yet full of character, and make a nice little project because of that. In my opinion Melvin de Voor has done a brilliant job with the array of Grimm designs, and that is just those that have been produced so far!

In game terms, like most Grimm Spartagrimm is a Level 1 model, in this case a Brawler, and a pretty potent. one. One of the key things for mastering the Grimm is that they are plentiful because they are mostly Level 1, but can be taken out quickly with well timed Attacks loaded with dice. Despite that they can pack a surprising punch so can catch an unprepared foe unaware. As a Brawler, Spartagrimm has quite a lot of competition from other Brawlers as well as the Tanks that are abundant in the Faction.

After painting the four recent Grimm I may try and get some other Faction's minis done, although more Grimm are beckoning, and I have just started prepping TINY!....

Spartagrimm
Hero/Villain, Brawler, Level 1, Nature
30 mm

Grimmrock

Painted Pulp City mini in my collection number 123 all present and correct! Grimmrock was started at the same time as Toxic Grimmvenger and Supreme Grimm. I blocked out the skin-tone on Supreme Grimm, Grimmrock and Spartagrimm all at the same time, then focused on finishing Toxic Grimmvenger, before moving on to each of the others in turn. It has proven productive to do that, with 3 minis that were finished in 8 days (the dates of posting does not reflect when they were finished). After Spartagrimm (to be finished soon I hope) I plan to tackle TINY!, John Grimmsham and maybe the Grimmbiote soon, and maybe The Big Grimmowski, which would give me a painted Grimm force of 17 or 18 Levels, so basically plenty to choose from!

It feels nice to be getting caught up on my Pulp City painting at last.

In game terms Grimmrock is a Tank, like Hooligrimm. That is where the similarities end. While both pretty tough and hard-hitting for lowly level 1 Supremes, Grimmrock is more defensively orientated, while Hooligrimm is definitely more offensively orientated. What that underlines I think, is the sheer wealth of variety the Grimm have to offer as a Team.

Grimmrock
Hero/Villain, Brawler, Level 1, Nature
30 mm

Supreme Grimm

My second Pulp City mini this year! Another Grimm joins the gribbly ranks of the under-dwelling empire. Like every other Grimm, Supreme Grimm is influenced by what he saw in human popular culture, and in his case he adopted a mask and cape to accompany his Supreme powers.

This was a lovely little model to paint, as it was quick and simple which is a contrast to some other minis I have tackled this year. Being able to finish a couple of models within a few days of each other was a real pleasure. As a consequence I have more Grimm ready for painting on the horizon, so hopefully their ranks will start to fill out pretty soon.

Supreme Grimm is a Speeder, and potentially a surprising one for opponents as he has an Overrun that works off his AGL Trump. He can also provide Power Up dice for an ally in BtB each Round, so he is a mix of team support, objective grabber, and attacker; he is not brilliant at any of those functions, but is a good all-rounder. He is also well worth considering in a Dark Solar all-Nature team: offering extra Power Up dice to Dark Solar, Perun or Father Oak is a frightening proposition.

In game terms Grimm are an unusual proposition. They have two available Level 3 Supremes, and all the rest, like Supreme Grimm, are Level 1. That means they are more fragile individually than the usual mix of Level 1 and Level 2 Supremes, and given they can appear in strong numbers, they can be prone to falling in groups to Rays, Pulses and Overruns. Rob and I hope to do a battle report with them later in the year - we even have a title ready!

Supreme Grimm
Hero/Villain, Brawler, Level 1, Nature
30 mm

Toxic Grimmvenger

My first Pulp City mini of the year - Toxic Grimmvenger - and my first finished Pulp City mini in almost seven months. Wow - far too long (how often do I end up typing variations on those words?). However, he is the 121st Pulp City mini I have painted, so at least the total has grown. Hopefully the next few weeks will see a few more additions to the painted minis selection!

After some months of inertia a package of new stuff finally arrived with ye Citizen, and yesterday I prepped 6 Supremes and 2 Minions. Among those Supremes were 4 of the new Grimm unleashed from the Kickstarter, and I saw them as a way to kick-start my Pulp City painting. The first finished was Toxic Grimmvenger, mainly because I intentionally focused more on him while doing base colours on the others, and also because he had a very simple paint scheme. I could have used more variety of colours on the various objects embedded into his body, but I wanted to complete the painting quickly and satisfactorily, and I am pretty pleased with how he turned out given that it was a quick turnaround for me.

In game terms Toxic Grimmvenger is an interesting proposition; he is one of currently three Brawlers for the Grimm, and each is functionally different. Of the three, Toxic Grimmvenger is probably the hardest hitting simply because he can easily generate 3 dice, or 4 dice with TINY! in play, without considering extra dice from situational Combat Bonuses. Couple that with a range of Attacks from a cheap and basic Damaging close combat Action to a ranged option to a Damage 2 close combat Action, and he offers real threat against other Supremes, even those of Level 2 or 3.

Toxic Grimmvenger
Hero/Villain, Brawler, Level 1, Science
30 mm

Grimmancer (2)

Click to enlarge-icate

After the Fall, the Grimm have changed. They have grown more powerful, and increasingly there are new enclaves that have been found under the city’s boroughs.

Not my best work, but this has sat unfinished for months, so I was determined to get him out of the painting queue at the weekend. I actually enjoyed finishing the mini more than the preceding stops and starts which may explain why I was able to finish him quite quickly (I say quickly; that is relative to the months of stagnation on the work!).

In the current edition Grimm are a Minion or Resource option; in the SE version expect them to change and be something more, even though it may be a while before they re-appear fully. Be sure that they are not gone though!

Getting this one done has reignited my enthusiasm so I hope I can finish a few more Pulp City minis in June; I have 3 Terror Cotta Warriors and Night Fright & Leech part painted so they need to be my priorities.

Before they appear though, expect another Pulp City minis post or two in the next few days...

Digger Grimm (2)

Click to embiggenate

There is a hive mind structure to Grimm activities and behavior; some claim that it is actually a human that pulls the strings.

My second Digger Grimm (I qualified for two sets by ordering a ton of stuff when the offer was up way back when...). This was supposed to be finished by last Wednesday, or Friday (28th or 30th), to meet my deadline for Super-November, but therein lies a tale.

My original plan for the 4th and final Super-November mini was Foxxy Blade,  but I dropped her on the floor, breaking off her pinned arm (which never had a strong enough pin in the first place). I glued said arm back, but had to green-stuff it and the job on THAT was bodged as it was rushed. In addition, as her main colour is yellow, that meant multiple layers on the join to get back up to speed, but by then it was clear she needs that arm re-pinning and I had no time. So this Digger Grimm became the back-up plan, but there was not enough time to finish it alas. It was finally finished today.

I will get back to Foxxy Blade soon, but will take time to get things right. In the mean-time I have just one Grimm left to paint at this time (another Elder), and I am creeping ever closer to painting my 100th Pulp City mini, and closer to my 90th unique Pulp City sculpt.

I really must cajole Maciej  into getting other Grimm into production as they are fun sculpts and nice to paint; I want hordes of these guys one day.

All Grimms Together

With the new addition to my Grimm collection, this is what is painted in my cabinet so far; most by me but the new Grimm Flamer painted by Maru.

Mini Exchange - What Came In The Post

This little fellow arrived safe and soundly yesterday, and I have to say I am very pleased to acquire him!

Painted by Maru from the Pulp City Forum, who has done some studio painting for Pulp City, including some of the Ulthar if I recall correctly.

This is one of a future batch of Grimm - and will be called a Grimm Flamer, although of course that could change; in my Salute pictures you may have noticed that there were some resin masters for some of those future Grimm releases, and that this was one of those.

So not only do I get a really nicely painted mini, but it isn't even released yet! I know - I am very lucky.

I enjoyed taking part in the Mini Exchange with my own contribution (Sgt. Bale Extreme), and well done to everyone who has painted and dispatched a mini for someone else to enjoy. A big shout out too to varagon of the Forum and a fellow contributor to Pulp City as he organised the thing. Well done Bob.

Finally, a big thank you to Maru for painting this mini, and getting hold of it to send to me. Thanks again.

From Beneath The Streets!

Just a picture of all of my Grimm so far, and something I may repeat as my collection of the little blighters grows.

What will be interesting is that when more Grimm are available, as Minions they may be mixed and matched to provide different ability combos; pretty nifty I reckon.

Grimmancer

Grimm seem to be evolving much faster than other species. Creatures are able to adapt themselves to specialized functions within their society.

As with the Hulking Grimm and Grimm Digger, the Grimmancer was sculpted by Christian Danckworth. I think he did a great job on all three and I hope that future Grimm are sculpted by him. Looking at the concept art for as-yet-unreleased Grimm in the Guide, there could be some fun minis forthcoming in the future.

Grimm Digger

There is a hive mind structure to Grimm activities and behavior; some claim that it is actually a human that pulls the strings.

Sculpted by Christian Danckworth, this is another of the first set of Grimm. These characterful little under-dwellers make frequent forays to the surface world under the bidding of their master.

The (currently available) Grimm can be fielded in a couple of ways: they can be used as Minions to be taken by any Faction; or they can be used as a Resource that provides some kind of boost, however this requires the presence of a Grimm Master or Superior Grimm Master in the same Team (Guide; Errata p. 137).

The Grimm Digger adds Immunity to Difficult Terrain and Ram to the abilities of a card of Grimm Minions.

(Another) Hooligrimm

Here's how the Grimm invasion begins...

As I mentioned in another post, this could become my 'kick start' motivational miniature when I hit a painting slump. After slapping this second Hooligrimm around with the hairy sticks I was then full of sufficient gumption to tackle and finally finish the Necro GI's.

I really do need to finish the other Grimm soon...I have a couple of Grimmancers and a couple of Diggers to get done.

On the plus side, I may have to try to place a bulk order of these with Pulp Monsters at some point, to account that I will undoubtedly hit another slump again. unless I can find another 'go to' mini that is.

I love the mini (sculpted by Christian Danckworth) simply because it is quick and easy to paint, and is fun and full of character - a winning combo.I just hope I don't feel the 'need' to paint another one too soon if you get my meaning.

Of course, I am very curious as to seeing more Grimm in the future; the Guide should have art depicting a few other Grimm types, and if those minis are half as characterful as the first 3, then I look forwards to them.

Hooligrimm

Grimm invasions. First, a hole in the city center opens, cars fall in, people scream, then hordes of biped humanoids burst out and pursue their current agenda.

Sculpted by Christian Danckworth, this is the first of three (thus far) Grimm Under Empire minis.

The Grimm are under-dwellers that terrorize Pulp City from time to time. This model represents a Hulking Grimm; a powerful member of this strange species.

Grimm are numerous creatures, each different from the rest. Under the direction of John Gimmsham they have become a formidable force.

I really enjoyed painting this model; probably one of two I have enjoyed painting most this year. It was nice and straightforwards and I am pleased with the final results. It may not be award-winning standard, but I am happy with how it turned out, and look forwards to painting more Grimm as I can.