Feartigo

Feartigo is my second Pulp City mini of the year, making for a better start than 2016 (although I had a very good February).

I got inspired to do him when I saw someone else had painted theirs up, helping motivate me. As I had a few days off work (a lot spent assembling terrain), I felt confident I would get him finished without him falling into 'painting queue limbo', and thankfully that proved accurate. With all the browns he was going to have I thought the purple/magenta trousers would make a nice counterpoint while sticking with my colour vocabulary for Villains.

In terms of game-play, Feartigo straddles two Factions, as a Necroplane agent who has infiltrated the Coven ranks through subterfuge, secretly serving Dr. Tenebrous, but whose loyalties may be uncertain for either side. Painting him adds my first new Coven in fifteen months, and my first new Necroplane in three and half years! At least one of those Teams needs to make it to the table this year I think.

Feartigo is a Blaster with added durability, whose Actions all work against Spirit (ideal against A.R.C. or Heavy Metal). His added durablity is due to the fact that he has two defensive Trumps, adds +1 die to Defend when Attacked out of Base to Base, and because he also Damages Attackers who Damage him with Mind or Spirit Actions. Basically, as an overall package he can be a nasty surprise for an unwary opponent, especially as his main Attack will typically generate 4 dice against Living Targets.

Feartigo
Villain, Blaster, Level 2, Mystery
30 mm

Bramble

Bramble is one of the first Supreme Genesis characters that we have gained capacity to create through running Kickstarter campaigns for Pulp City. She was also a mini I was very much looking forward to tackling as a change of pace from a lot of recent stuff I have finished, especially in terms of colour palette. It has also meant my painting this month has been exclusively for my own Pulp City collection and it has been a long while since I last did that.

I went for a super-simple colour scheme featuring browns and greens for obvious reasons. Once I had laid down base colours I was unable to paint for a couple of weeks, which maybe helped me when it came to finishing her off as I was able to do the main work quite quickly in the end, maybe with fresh eyes.

In game terms Bramble is an Infiltrator affiliated with Settler's Green, and is also a Freelancer. That makes Dead Eye and Dark Solar ideal Leader options for her Team. Her Actions give ranged threat as well as some board control, and I think she will offer some interesting options and surprises for players as they get to grips with her. Hopefully we will be able to add more Supremes to Settler's Green before too long.

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

Chernobog

Another Supreme finished (my 140th painted Pulp City mini!), and this one has taken much longer than planned. I started painting this alt-Perun as Chernobog during the Cold war Kickstarter campaign, but then he got sidelined unfortunately. With some renewed painting resolve in July I finally managed to tackle him properly and that gives my first Supreme in readiness for the arrival of the Red Republik. Even better, the alt-card for Chernobog (which we unlocked as a special Stretch Goal during the campaign) allows him to work as a Forgotten as well, giving this mighty godling somewhat divided allegiances.

Chernobog returned to the mortal realm when he heeded a summons from the Red Republik using an imprisoned Perun. Chernobog answered the call, freeing his ‘brother’ as he arrived, while he listened to another voice, whispering he should bide his time with the Red Republik until the time was right to claim his rightful place in the Forgotten.

Just as Perun can be to Hero, Nature and Supreme Alliance Teams, Chernobog can be a very powerful model for Villain, Forgotten and Red Republik Teams bringing hard-hitting close combat, decent ranged attack at standard AP and an area effect ability all in one package, all backed up by bonuses from Flight and his Fire and Darkness Elements. He is vulnerable on Agility, so is ripe pickings for long-range types like Gentleman.

Painting Chernobog gets me a step closer to this year's planned goal, which I still hope to exceed. A couple more painted minis and I will match what I wanted, so hopefully I will get there sooner than later!

Chernobog
Villain, Brawler, Level 2, Nature
30 mm

Anansi

Anansi is finished, finally! Phew!

I started painting Anansi late last year, possibly around October or even earlier, and the mini sat part-painted for ages with main colours blocked out, but unfinished as the colour scheme didn't quite work - even though I had largely opted for my go-to Villain colour combo of green and purple (hey, it served Marvel well in the 1960's!). I made a very minor change on that and was able to complete it in an hour or two today, which was very pleasing. Not my best painting I will admit, but there are parts I am pretty happy with.

Anansi is the 139th Pulp City mini I have painted for my own collection, and puts me to 9 for the year, so I am well on course for my target. She is the first non-Grimm Supreme I have painted since Mr. Kraken back in December, so hopefully that can be addressed in the coming months!

Transformed into a Supreme by a mysterious force, Anansi is a one time petty thief later turned circus performer. She later came to Mysterious Man's attention, who used his outlandish science to add to her array of gifts.

In game terms, Anansi is a Level 2 Infiltrator who can cause a lot of disruption on flanks with a Pulse that Shifts models. He Powers give her boosted defensive capabilities and she gets a steady stream of Power Up dice through the game. As a Level 2 model, she has inherent durability that Level 1 Infiltrators lack. The important thing is to keep her in Base to Base with terrain to benefit from High Ground as much as possibly (which helps offensively and defensively). Anansi is not going to win a toe to to battle against Level 2 Brawlers, Tanks or Powerhouses, but she is more than capable of picking other models off or weakening them, so is ideal against level 1 Supports, Infiltrators and Speeders.

Anansi
Villain, Infiltrator, Level 2, Nature
30 mm

Mr. Kraken

Mr. Kraken is the 130th mini I have painted for my own Pulp City collection, and after losing a lot of painting momentum overall in the past month or so, it has been nice to get another mini finished, especially for Pulp City and more especially for the Forgotten.

The paint job was done pretty quickly simply because I needed to feel as though I had finished something. I struggled with some of the highlighting to be honest, but it is done.

As soon as we devised the concept of Mr. Kraken I knew it was a mini I would look forward to painting - who doesn't like the idea of a Lovecraftian corporate raider!

In game terms, Mr. Kraken is a Blaster whose Actions offer Damage, Mind Control and Suppress as FX. He also excels at targeting models with Trump MIND (who often will also have Trump SPIRIT, the Trait which defends against his Actions). Like all members of the forgotten, Mr. Kraken is a dangerous proposition - their downside as a team is that they are mostly Level 2 Supremes, meaning they will often be outnumbered, and they will often struggle to generate AP without good planning. His biggest weakness will be his low non-Trump AGILITY, making him a ripe target for sniper types who can stand off at good range (such as Gentleman, Ba-Boom and Trojan).

Mr. Kraken
Villain, Blaster, Level 2, Mystery
40 mm

Comte Vendredi

Comte Vendredi
Villain, Support, Level 2, Mystery 
40 mm

It has been far too long since my last painted Pulp City mini. I can only apologise!

Comte Vendredi is a minor spirit who has grasped power within the Coven, with particular mastery over the ranks of the Dead Guard. The mini depicts the tiny entity atop the shoulder of a Dead Guard host/platform.

In game terms, Comte Vendredi is a formidable and very durable Level 2 Support, especially when compared to comparable Level 2 Support models in other Factions.

I knew in general terms how I wanted to tackle Comte Vendredi as soon as I saw the mini, however when I started painting it my choice of green felt wrong, and that stalled motivation, until I over-painted the green with a different shade at a much later date, and I knew then how I wanted to proceed.

Comte Vendredi is the 120th Pulp City mini that I have painted. I have just today done a little projection of how many more minis I will need to paint to paint everything currently available now and due with the Kickstarter, plus a couple more duplicates, and it looks like I have a whopping 70 or so minis to go - let alone what future plans we have for further out! I really must start finishing more Pulp City minis much more quickly!

Aurelius (New Villain Starter)

Aurelius
Villain, Tank, Level 2, Mystery
30 mm 

Okay, okay, my last 'welcome' post stated that I planned to paint one of those minis I have not yet finished, but after a painting slump in May I had to go with motivation, and since I felt motivated to paint this, it is what got done!

Aurelius has mastered the art of alchemy and turned that mastery to himself, his body transformed into gold.

When we formulated the Roles for the Supreme Edition, Tanks went through a few changes until we were happy. We wanted as many different Roles as possible in the new Starter sets which meant we wanted a Tank. Unlike a lot of Level 2 Tanks however, Aurelius is a bit different. He is only on a 30mm base, but compensates with better AP generation.

We also wanted straightforward Powers and Actions for the new Starter minis, but that does not stop them having subtleties which will be clear when people get gaming with them.

I love this sculpt by James Van Schaik, and it is unmistakably Pulp City in style. I can definitely see Aurelius being used to bodyguard Mysterious Man in future games. Of course thanks to the new Leader Cards, any team will be able to use pretty much any Supreme, which of course includes Aurelius.

Pulp City Minis Painted: 119

Wildman (New Hero Starter)

Wildman
Hero, Brawler, Level 2, Nature
40 mm 

My first Pulp City minis painted since January, and only my second of the year. That needs to change. I have now painted 118 Pulp City minis in my personal collection (some of them more than once; I have painted a further 3 for 'mini exchanges'), and by the end of the year I want that to be at least 130. I have a few part-painted so that is not beyond the realms of reasonable possibility.

Wildman is one of the new Hero Starter Set minis. The new Starter Sets have been designed to have as few parts as possible. The Hero Supremes are all one-piece, making it quick and easy to prepare them for gaming and painting. The Villain set requires only minimal assembly on two minis, and the third is one-piece like the Heroes.

Wildman himself epitomizes a lot of key design features of Pulp City: Supreme Edition. He is on a 40 mm base which has an important impact as Size Matters in SE. He is able to pool dice very well based on his base size, his Brawler Power, his movement type (Bounding), and a built-in bonus to his core Combat Action (Rending Slash), meaning when he unleashes 5 dice or more for Rending Slash he gets to use another Action called Shrug Off for no cost. He is a tough hombre.

On painting him, I wanted to keep it simple; I thought about painting a tartan pattern kilt, but knew that I don't have the skill, so settled for plain black. It meant I finished Wildman quite quickly and right now, with so many minis to paint from so many games, completing stuff is key. Anyway, another cool looking James Van Schaik sculpt which I am sure many can't wait to use in their own Teams.

Night Fright & Leech

Click to enlarge-ify

Night Fright gently eased Leech into a turn towards the primary portal. They were both ready to feast on the horrors in the souls of any unfortunates whose paths crossed their own. Yet somewhere deep down, Night Fright could not escape the feeling he had experienced something very much like this once before.

As ever, this has taken a while to finish!

I finally got around to assembling the mini in January (see here for the WiP) when I worked out how I wanted to manage to lift the model up. I did not want to use a transparent strut, and I did not want it to be attached by an object, since more often than not neither is too satisfactory a solution for my liking. I have seen some flying/leaping models lately supported by capes and trailing cloth, and that gave me inspiration when I saw some smoke effects from Tabletop Art.

I had a plan.

And like any plan, and as any regular reader of this blog know, my painting plans rarely survive contact with the enemy; the enemy in this case being my ever-fleeting motivation.

Well motivation returned in the past few weeks and it is finally complete. I am pretty pleased with the outcome and think that this very cool sculpt by Paul Muller will both fit in with and stand out from my Necroplane and wider collection of Villains.

In a nutshell, Night Fright is some kind of unliving remnant, possibly from outside the Necroplane, and he rides atop Leech, the wildest of the Nightmare Engines.

In the upcoming Pulp City SE, Night Fright & Leech is a Level 2 Speeder. Speeders can use more Movement Actions than other Roles. they are much, much faster as a consequence, but generally less hard-hitting. Except when it comes to Night Fright & Leech. This Nonliving partnership has one of the most powerful Overrun Actions in the new rules; an Action Type that allows a model to crash through a number of Targets at once. Arguably the only better Overrun may be Seabolt's, but that should be clear when the new rules are formally unleashed.

For my Necroplane, currently I have Doom Train and the soon to be released Papa Zombie and Comte Vendredi to complete. There are a few other Pulp City minis I have yet to finish so hopefully soon I will have more done to show off. The horror-themed Necroplane could be a cool choice for this year's Hallowe'en Madness, so I must get chatting to Rob about that very soon.

Captain Hadron & Mini Hadron

Click to enlarge-ify

Captain Hadron is one of the admired heroes of the world’s greatest Supreme Team, Heavy Metal. Yet that reputation sheds little light onto his past and the uncertain future he faces

Woo-hoo! About flipping time these were done!

Anyone who has read or Followed this blog for any considerable length of time will likely be aware that the various Hadron incarnations  (Captain Hadron; Mini Hadron; Giant Hadron) have been in my painting queue, unfinished, for a long, long time. In fact, it was two years ago this month that I received my Giant Hadron.

Well 2 of the 3 for the set are done as part of one of this month's Challenges: New Broom January.

Evidently I needed the carrot (or is it a stick?) of a Challenge to get these done, and it has worked.

The finished work is probably a bit rough by recent standards, but that is probably because I have struggled so much to get these done. I am not overly worried that they may be a bit rough as I am more than happy they are done. they have been hanging over me for far too long, and sometimes things need to simply be finished off. That includes accepting Captain Hadron leans at a funny angle (due to being re-attached to his base; I am not doing it again).

While I still have 21 days to get Giant Hadron finished, I have one other Challenge this month. Add to that that I have painted one Anima Tactics (click for link here) mini this month, and if I succeed in all the Challenge minis I should have a fairly successful month by my meager standards.

Sculptors on these are: James Van Schaik (Captain Hadron), and Jarek Smolka (Mini Hadron).

In game terms the Hadrons can swap between different sizes. In the current edition Giant Hadron is limited to 1 or 2 rounds depending on other choices (like taking Dr. Mercury), but expect more choices around the use of Hadron in the upcoming Supreme Edition.

Crimson Oni

Wow. I have painted a new mini; it has been a while has it not?

For me this has been a long gestation period. Even before having the mini in hand, I have been 'working' with Crimson Oni for what seems like a long time - 20-21 months ago working from the brief I was given, Crimson Oni took shape in rules terms; and took further shape, and changed again, and again and again. And that is all part of the process I guess.

Anyone remember the 'mysterious stranger in red' from Christmas Madness 2010? Part of Crimson Oni's play-testing!

It has been weird and enjoyable  taking a concept that was sketched out by someone else, but then putting what is inevitably my own stamp on things. While by the end it is not a single voice that creates the rules for these guys - Maciej, Devon and me will all argue things in different ways to make things as good as we can - I will take the rap for anything you are not happy with with Crimson Oni.

In game terms he is a beast in melee; he does not necessarily have the best close combat Traits and Skills, but he has some potent Actions meaning he can deliver a lot of punch, and yes, Five Point Exploding Heart Technique was always intended to be particularly deadly. He can mix it with the best of them so enemies should approach with caution.

I know some may think that the Little Asia guys have come out of nowhere- basically the Jade Cult and Crimson Oni and Foxxy Blade - but the seeds have been around throughout the history of the game's fluff; Chronin faced and killed an earlier incarnation of Shadow Mask in her fluff, and Green Emperor is mentioned there; there has been mention of the Green Army (the original name for what is now Jade Cult) going back that far; in the Guide p. 103 has a couple of paragraphs hinting at what was (and still is!) to come, as well as showing the Crimson Oni and Foxxy Blade concepts.

The coolest thing about Pulp City for me is that the potential is pretty much limitless, and that is in a game with lost of Sub-factions as well as playing from mixed Teams.

Back onto the mini, when I thought I had finished it the other day I realised after taking photographs I had forgotten to paint his lower teeth - that has since been rectified.

Hopefully I will be able to feature him in a new Battle Report soon.

Riposte

Click to embiggenify.

I am glad this one is done. It has been a pain in the behind for me to be sure. Firstly my planned colour scheme just did not look right, and secondly I dropped it (maybe a couple of times), which necessitated repairs to re-fixing the sword arm and the mini to the base.

I like the model, and my end result is okay, maybe, but this particular painting experience has been frustrating at times - mainly due to my own clumsiness. I really like this sculpt by James Van Schaik, but it has nonetheless been an awkward process.

Oh well, done now. The original colour scheme had been intended to be a deep purple (which I kept) contrasting with a paler lilac or similar. the colour choice was influenced by Marvel Comics' the Swordsman, a former Avenger (so a complement to the Hawkeye them for Arquero). I just could not get a satisfactory colour for the lighter tone, so ended up with the blue-grey type colour here which works better I feel.

In game terms Riposte is no combat monster. Instead she is very much a finesse Supreme with Actions that benefit from considered use and planning - maximising benefits can require a little forethought and calculation by the player using her.

Perun

In every generation there is one brave Polish man who wields the lightning in the mankind's darkest hour. He lifts up the runic axe, older than the people of this land and the power of the ancient deity starts coursing through his veins. Old gods still watch over their children and stand vigilant when tides of evil rise.

The current wielder of Perun's power is a student from Warsaw whose grandfather and great great grandfather used to be Lightning Lords years ago. Stanislaw Starzynski became marked with the lightning rune when he confronted Forgotten minions sent to recover Szczerbiec, the coronation sword of Polish kings.

A pre-release at Salute, Maciej was kind enough to have one of these on hand for me, and from the moment I saw the first shots of the green (and became aware that there will be some international Supremes - expect more by the way!), I knew how I wanted to tackle him, and I don't think that changed at all during execution.

I really enjoyed painting this mini. I guess that my enthusiasm has been no doubt fulled by the recent Thor movie, and reading Thor stories in New Ultimates and Ultimate Thor as well as Avengers comic books. Marvel have their own Perun (and maybe DC also?), but this is a special mini to me. I have seen at least one other super-hero mini styled on Perun and I think this one wins hands down. I think James Van Schaik has done a stunning job in sculpting this one.

I green-stuffed what I would hope would pass for a tiny wind-swirl/cloud beneath his foot to represent wind lifting him into the sky.

Perun's game rule are yet to be finalised, but let me say that he is likely to be a true powerhouse of Nature on a par with Solar; Villains beware...

Loup Garou II

Loup Garou II is the second of his name to work for the Coven. Though Hoodoo has slain the orginal Loup Garou this new incarnation is entirely different. His fragment of the Moon Talisman transforms him into half man half beast. A creature of uncontrolled savagery he seeks out his enemies and rips them limb from limb.

Sculpted by Erick Redling - his first foray into Pulp City I believe, this Loup Garou is the second known bearer of the name.

A big brute of a dread-locked werewolf, I was very eager to get painting on this one. Alas a bit of paitence would have helped since I noticed that as I was painting there were parts I did not prep adequately enough.

Loup Garou II is a real combat monster in every sense of the description. Normally a Villain, if Teamed with Moonchild/Moon Coyote, he then becomes Blood Watch and a Hero! Very useful!

Forgive the funny angle on the pictures - I was trying out a new mini tripod and so will need to elevate the minis if using it again in the future.

Red Baron

The ace of the skies.

The Red Baron was very much my ‘grail miniature’ for a long time. Once I set out to paint every single miniature for the Pulp City line, I quickly came across the simple issue that even if I painted every currently available mini, including limited splash availability releases such as June Summers which I was lucky to have, that I would not have a ‘complete collection’ if I did not have a painted Red Baron.

And so began the search.

The search was not so dramatic as I try and make it sound. Basically posting on various fora periodically, saying I was looking to get hold of a copy of this mini. Eventually I got lucky and someone was willing to part with their own undercoated copy. A deal was struck. It arrived shortly thereafter, and I needed to create a minor repair to a foot (the mini is resin) and then of course I decided I needed to finish as many other Pulp City minis as possible before starting it. Well when I realized that I only had 5 minis remaining, including one I could not start yet due to a missing part, and including the 3 Hadrons who I am still trying to work out what to do next with, then I felt it was time to get cracking, and get cracking I did. The mini was painted in a couple of days and I am fairly satisfied with the outcome as it allowed me to work on a couple of techniques (the leather shine/sharp highlight effect on boots and coat), and I like the final colour scheme.

I have not gamed with the Red Baron yet, and he will probably be relegated to specially devised Encounters simply as he is a powerful proposition. When I do game with him, have no doubt a suitable Battle Report will follow!

Guerilla

Guerilla works for both Villains and Heroes, the apes side with anybody who is either eager to promise them enough money or enough recognition in the Pulp City media.

Guerilla has taken a long, long time in finishing. I would start doing bits of the mini and then it would be shoved back into the back of the working shelf or area until the next time, each abandonment simply due to lack of clear idea of how I was tackling it. It has been a source of frustration that I was not able to finish this in both a timely and fully satisfactory manner, but such is the peril of a creative hobby I guess.

Now, while it looks like a very basic model in some ways, the large 'metallic' surfaces with varying textures really threw me off, as did simple things like trying to work out how I wanted to highlight bits like his boots etc. The upshot is that it has taken me months from originally applying the first base colours to recently finishing it. While I am not 100% happy, it has turned out better than it was looking just a couple of weeks ago, so it is done.

I find it ironic that Guerilla is one of the earliest minis for Pulp City, and one that really grabbed me when I saw the first previews (2007?), yet it took so long in the completion. In fact it was completed alongside some of the newest minis, and it represents the last of the Starter Set minis I had to do. What that means is that I no longer feel burdened by a back-log that included stuff that had been waiting for a long time to be painted or finished. Hopefully that will help mitigate future painter’s block – time will tell!

In game terms Guerilla is one of ARC’s revolutionary leaders; he able to work well in close combat and at range, and so can be pretty devastating. When the options to upgrade a Level 2 ARC mini to Level 3, expect Guerilla to become an even bigger threat!

Sovereign

Sovereign is more of an idea passed down the generations than a real man of flesh and blood.

My first new mini post in almost 2 and half months; moving house had a considerable effect on my output. On the plus side, painting/finishing off this latest batch was 'easier' than painting has felt for a while, probably due to the break I have had.

I picked Sovereign up at Salute 2011; Maciej was determined to get him ready for then and didn't fail. I even used the 'studio' version to run Pulp City demo games with on the day, and so trust me when I say he is one tough hombre.

I knew straight away I wanted a red-white-and-blue primary theme, even if I did not trust myself to accurately render a coloured version of the union flag mounted as part of his body armour - hence that painted as I continue to persevere with hopefully improving my NMM technique. Still a long way to go, however.

Sovereign is one of the first 'Direct Only' minis from pulp City, intended to be available from the Pulp City/Pulp Monsters web store and at some conventions and shows. I love the design even if it isn't to everyone's tastes; to me it strongly echoes typical 2000 AD style characters and so is a nice reflection of the difference between British and American comics characters.

Avatar Of The Jaguar

Even Solar is not fully aware of his powers. The ability to call the Sun to his aid seems almost unlimited but thoughts as dark as the moonless night stalk his head more often and often. What additional price will the Mayan artifact demand from him?

Painted along with Stalker, simply as expediency and to practice my 'new' black technique, I found the outcome slightly less satisfactory with Avatar Of The Jaguar as the painting is probably not quite as smooth as on Stalker. I guess this is likley due to the larger and less defined areas on Stalker.

Along with Solar and Dark Solar, Avatar Of The Jaguar is but one aspect of billionaire Johann Sonnenbrandt - a Supreme empowered by ancient Ahau Kin, who is at once a tormented and torn soul.

I have wanted to get my hands on Avatar Of The Jaguar since the first previews and enjoyed painting it. The black jaguar colour scheme seemed a natural complement to the Stalker mini, and it is very likely I will try a patterned Avatar Of The Jaguar at some point in the future. I will hopefully post the whole Solar iterations line-up in the next few days.

In game terms Avatar Of The Jaguar is much more focused than Solar emphasizing Close Combat Actions and related abilities. Combined with Stalker he is a deadly proposition as their abilities can stack to create very debilitating effects on an unwary target.

Dark Solar/Solar

He took the mantle of Solar to wash the guilt off of his soul. Promising he’d never take another human life, Solar patrols the streets of Pulp City day and night, a loner constantly brooding over what might have been and will never be

The original 'spandex Supreme' has had a makeover (see Solar here), and what a makeover! The original divided opinion in some quarters I know, due to the cape (I have read comments elsewhere from posters who struggled with it, even though I thought it was a great solution to creating the appearance of Levitation), but I really liked the first iteration. This new one is probably even stronger in overall execution and the fact that it is single-piece makes assembly very simple. It is easy to see the evolution in the creation at the hands of a different sculptor.

I actually finished this a lot sooner than anticipated, starting it only as an afterthought along with Sovereign (and later Perun - all with a similar root palette), so it was pleasing for me to see it finished. I elected to continue my previous Solar colour scheme this time around. I decided against trying a free-hand version of the chest emblem as my confidence to do so is not sufficient - may next time when I try a different colour scheme.

In gaming terms Level 2 Solar (Hero) has had a bit of a makeover; nothing drastic, just some tweaks to better reflect how the game works now with more than 50 Supremes available, and the fact that he should have been able to fly all along!

Level 3 Dark Solar is a very powerful proposition; a Hero/Villain, he unites Nature Supremes as a very formidable force. His all-Nature Team Power generates an additional Power-Up die per Round; not to be taken lightly. Just as the Level 2 Solar is a fairly formidable option even as a Level 2, so too is Dark Solar relative to his Level 3 peers, armed with some powerful Damaging Actions (Tactica here). Along with Dead Eye he may be my current favourite Level 3 available.

Dr Red

Some beings are born to be leaders. The problem of Ape Revolution Committee is they have a few too many alphas in their ranks.

When Channel 4 mentions the bravado actions of A.R.C., Guerilla is usually the one mentioned. But only a few outsiders are aware that most of the progress made by the primates in the last years was sparked by the twisted mind of the alpha orangutan, the self proclaimed Dr. Red. Although his first attempt to take over the group while still in the space ended up with Guerilla beating him to a bloody pulp, Red mastered the art of patience.

Took a long time this one, it really did. Base colours were splashed about with hairy stick abandon when I was gripped with some great momentum, and as is always the way with momentum, it petered out...

Work on Dr. Red started many months ago, when I saw a short-lived resurgence of focus, and then he essentially got pushed further down the painting queue, generally in favour if some minis that were simple, or perceived to be simpler, to paint. I finally knuckled down slowly over the past week or so to occasionally dab some acrylics to the thing, and I have to say I am moderately pleased with how he turned out. Yes his power glove device could have benefited from a free-hand red star or some such, but lacking the confidence to pull of a weathered look to such an option as I would choose, I instead shied away from doing so. There are some parts that have or will be touched up a bit further before varnishing.

Dr. Red offers some useful Team-building options: Tactician 1 (adding AP) and a couple of Actions specifically intended to aid or buff other ARC members, and his Team Power can also offer help. He offers some ranged attack options with Throw Then Think, and Weapons Crate - if taking this Resource, seriously consider also taking Guerilla, Howler and/or Gentleman (with an ARC majority) to maximise benefits. Lastly, he can even stand up to moderate close combat attacks fairly well, so he is a good all-rounder.