New Member Monday - Supersized to Five and Why Someone Needs a 3rd Ed.

New Member Monday

Grunt Love
Keywords: 40k, Dystopian wars, Dropzone Commander, Firestorm Armada, Historicals, Painting challenge, Spending challenge, Kings of War,

The Burning Eye
Keywords: Warhammer 40k, Bloodbowl, Occasional random musings

Ray of Paint Studios Blog
Keywords: General gaming blog, one post a day or your money back

Darog´s Company
Keywords: Rumors, Warhammer 40k, Apocalypse, Horus Heresy, Russia is hard

Skulkers Surprise
Keywords: 40k, warhammer fantasy, bat reps, piƱa coladas, getting caught in the rain, not supplying keywords


Man, that's the biggest incoming class of new blogs we've had in a long while here at the House of Paincakes.  Definitely, super sized.  But in a cool way - not in an inane way like a certain movie with Morgan Spurlock.

"I'm legitimately surprised that eating McDonalds everyday makes you fat"
said no one in this movie's intended audience ever
Thoughts for the day:  A new edition of Malifaux was announced recently to much relief and fanfare from the game's fans.  It turned out the Wyrd had been quite aware of how broken the game had become and are now taking steps to fix that shit.  So good on them.

Now if we could all, somehow, convince Corvus Belli to do a 3rd edition for Infinity.  Because I love the game and spending as much time as I did last month trying to figure out exactly how broken the Combined Army's mind control ray (sepsitor) is was not something that made me happy.  Apparently a weapon that allows the other player to steal your models wasn't bent enough without the FAQ concerning mandatory ARO's and Zone of Control completely ignoring how poorly defined defending against Sepsitor was in the first place. Luckily, it turned out not to be a Hamelin crew situation (literally, game ruining) so it wasn't time to run out and buy an Avatar.  But in doing the research on why that particular rule didn't work, I came face to face with pretty much the entire "it's time to do a new edition" checklist. Sad face.

I could go into that, but the big thing for me is that a near constant stream of FAQ's resulting from the extremely loose language that exists in the original rules.  And the resulting mess that more FAQ's (across a bunch of different languages) are required to fix.

I guess I'm firmly in the territory of rant at this point, so let me just admit that I wanted to bitch about how frustrating the above FAQ conundrum is.

Anyway, given the game's popularity, it's past time for a new edition.  And, fingers crossed, one translated by someone who actually speaks English.

















[Weekly Top X]tra, Xtra! Read All About It!

So.
Apparently, Games Workshop wants you to cease and desist talking about what might be going on with their games in the future. At least, on blogs hosted by Blogger.
I am reminded, at this stage, of something my old mate and alleged co-author Lexington once drew, waaay back when he was being politely spoken to by the Reichstag's Foreign Affairs office - drawing GW's IP-protecting policy to its extremely illogical conclusion, he inferred that one day we might be playing with imaginary models on an empty board, and paying GW for the privilege of doing so. I mean, there's no way we could steal their ideas then, is there?

Tempting as it is to run the full researcharama and actually find out exactly what's going down in Workshop-town, I haven't the time, or the patience, or the willingness to sift through hysterical forum discussions and, to be honest, if I were going to investigate corporate intrigue and the silencing of citizens' voices, I might start with something a teensy bit more serious and important than toy soldiers.

If you haven't read Transmetropolitan, you should.
Therefore, the only thing to which I'll be linking on the matter is Blood of Kittens' call for a little common sense, a little awareness of how corporate IP protection strategies tend to work, a little reading of the actual announcements made by the people involved, and a little less chestbeating. Oh, and some sneering at the expense of Warseer, because it wouldn't do to be entirely sensible about these things when we could rake over the coals of nerd drama, would it?

The rest of your Weekly Top X coverage will be about, y'know, actual hobby stuff.
For those of you who are still remotely interested in WFB, Hero's Gaming Blog has some stuff on the spangly new High Elves. It's long past the point where removing army-wide Always Strikes First that isn't actually called Always Strikes First and thus operates outside the hard counters to that rule actually matters to me, but it's still nice to see. Also, they have a phoenix, and I'm quite keen on the phoenix, as mythological creatures go.

The Dice Abide offers some reflection on the ways to play WFB - specifically, taking a good hard swing at the paper tigers of composition scoring, banning bits of the game that you don't like, and the ETC restrictions pack. I think we've established, by this stage, that I don't think any edition of WFB except sixth has been something I'd care to play at tournament level, and that was largely an accident of the Ravening Hordes approach to redrawing the armies. That said, I'm broadly in accord with what Adam suggests here.

Quarantine World reviews one of the worst books I've ever read and, thankfully, doesn't approve of it. It doesn't mention that Nick Kyme's prose is, at the sentence level; both awkwardly paced and clunkily phrased - with the net effect that the eye stalls. With every sentence - stopping and starting like an under-maintained engine. It catalogues the rest of the book's faults with care, however, and for that, it gets a thumbs up from me.

Outsyder Gaming has a non-boring Pathfinder session report for you. I'm never sure how I feel about session reports, but I like this one for its glimpses into the GM's process, thoughts about the genre of the campaign, and sources for resources used in play. If you're gonna do it, do it like this and don't just tell me about your paladin.

Tales from the Warzone says Malifaux is going into its second edition and that Wyrd are running a public beta test. Saw this coming; Malifaux's a good laugh but it was born bloated and it's only gotten worse, while public beta testing worked out pretty well for Privateer Press, all told, and I'd like to see it become the norm.

Wargaming Tradecraft's gone all gelatinous this week, and is showing us how to make textured trees the quick way (rather than the Von way, which involves floristry wire, Milliput, a toothbrush, cheap artists' ink and a lot of swearing and mess - but which is quite good fun). Get it down yer gob.

Neverness Hobby has dug out the Battlemasters box and by Eris' waffle iron that thing is immense. The post, as well as the set; Neverness is well aware that Battlemasters will be news to most of us and is doing a fine job of showing and telling us the basics of what looks like it just might be a crackin' good game.

The Dark Templar shows us a step-by-step guide to painting fussy, detailed figures - it starts with priming and airbrushing and will, I hope, press on with a similar level of detail for each day of the project. I've never been keen on long, drawn-out painting processes myself, but I understand they're the norm among people who actually enjoy painting and want stuff to be the best, rather than people who mildly dislike painting and just want stuff to be done and not rubbish.

Lorenzen's Abyss, meanwhile, has a similar step-by-step guide to tabards. Given that I am a clumsy sausage-fingered oaf-creature, I am always in need of careful, detailed instructions for sculpting, including accounts of what can go wrong and why it's not working like it does in the pictures. Lorenzen delivers, warning for pitfalls and perils at the key stages and explaining with care but without smugness why you're doing everything that you're doing. It's pretty neat.

Aaaand that's your lot for the week! Go! Read blogs! Raus raus!

Through the Breach - Choosing Your Allegience - The Guild (Part 1)

Each of the factions in Malifaux has it's own general theme with the various 'Masters' of that faction representing aspects of it. As your allowed to select your crew after mission is selected there is obviously a significant advantage to having a lot of choices available and as your selections are (for the most part) limited to your chosen faction you need to pick one that our going to both enjoy using and like the models of...I therefore thought that a series of articles on the various factions might be useful...

We'll start with the Guild...


The Guild are the law, the government and the people who come for you quietly during the night...or loudly during the day. They existed solely to facilitate the production of Soulstone and desperate to maintain control of this priceless resource, conjurers, magicians, and wizards came together to establish the Guild in Malifaux. Together they ensure that the Breach is never closed and that Soulstone production is never threatened. They're also meant to be the people who maintain peace and justice...and they do...occasionally...if it suits them...which isn't often...


Lets first look at the three original Masters (though perhaps Mistresses would be more accurate) who enforce the will of the Guild...

Lady Justice.


The Death Marshals were created to combat the growing Resurrectionist threat, however finding some-one to lead them in their purpose was a bit trickier. Unfortunately the weapons needed to combat the undead are as corrupting as the Resurrectionists own techniques for raising them in the first place so 'real danger of going bat-shit insane' wasn't exactly causing candidates to line up for the job....that is until Lady J volunteered. Her past is a mystery to all but it is rumoured that the same incident that cost her her sight is the same one that granted her her immunity to the corruption that plagues others who take up the path of the Death Marshall.

A rare picture of Lady Justice from before the accident...
In game terms she's most useful for hunting undead though her melee abilities work well against practically anything. She has abilities that allow her to remove counters left by removed models and is also able to inspire other models when she kills something...and as she'll be killing shit anyway you might as well take advantage of the fact...

Sonnia Criid.


Sonnia's mandate from the Guild is to eliminate the threat to it that comes from those magic using rebels who work outside their authority, namely the Arcanists. Though to the outside observer her loyalty to the Guild seems absolute, her loyalty is actually to the pursuit of magic and she sees the Guild's theories and procedures as the last gasps of a dying art. With the Breach's opening she has discovered vast repositories of mystical knowledge which point to mastery of Soulstones as the truest arcane art Malifaux can offer her and she hopes to use this knowledge to remove the Arcanist threat and increase her own power. Illegal practitioners of magic are subject to harsh penalties under Guild law and Sonnia hunts them down using methods even other Guild members see as draconian...but she gets results...and that's what's really important...


If your crew rely's extensively on spells to get the job done then Sonnia is an absolute bloody nightmare to deal with due to her Advanced Counterspell ability. Though not as potent in melee as Lady Justice she is still very proficient with her own weapons and her ranged spells such as Violation of Magic and Flame Burst do considerable damage. Under the right circumstances she can even create new Witchling stalkers to assist her.

Perdita Ortega.


Perdita and her family are somewhat of a legend in Malifaux and their are few who have not heard of them and their beautiful and deadly raven haired leader. Their battles against the Neverborn are so famous that they even are the subject of dime store novels Earthside and boys and girls play out their battles during their games. The rest of the Ortega family have embraced the life of a frontier celebrity but not so Perdita who prefers to shun the limelight and rarely leaves the family compound for any purpose other than the hunting of Neverborn. Her ability to bend bullets around corners, see in the dark, even her lighting fast reflexes which give her the appearance of predicting the future aren't things she has pride in as she perceives them simply as natural talents...the thing that she takes pride in is killing monsters...and she's extremely good at it.

The fact that Perdita has one of the highest Df (Defence) scores in the game, has the 'Fast' Ability (giving her an extra Action each turn) and has Triggers and Abilities that allow her to interrupt an enemy models attack and shoot them first means you need to be really sure you can succeed in your attack before targeting her. Additionally, she can companion with any of the models that count as her family and create a seriously powerful torrent of attacks against any threat.

Next week (or thereabouts depending on how loud Lauby shouts at me) we'll look at the rest of the Guilds Masters...

Thoughts and comments are (as usual) most welcome.

4 Ground Miniatures Pre-Painted Ruins

I have had a number of revelations recently-

  1. I am no longer out of things to write about
  2. I love the hell out of Flames of War
  3. I want a table full of European buildings to play on
  4. Battlefront/GF9 buildings are nice, but expensive and in super limited supply
  5. JR miniatures is not currently producing anything on account of not existing anymore (plus the scale on their buildings always seemed a bit off to me)
  6. Miniature Building Authority makes good shit, but it's expensive and I'm not against assembling/painting my own buildings
  7. I cannot scratch build buildings 

So, with that in mind I did an exhaustive several day search of the Internet looking for buildings that a) didn't look like retarded rhesus monkeys molded them, b) were affordable, and c) were readily available.

Enter the UK's 4 Ground.  I snagged a few buildings from a certain web store that I like and decided to try my luck.  I was so happy with the results, that I've decided to spread the word and do an unsolicited product review or two for the HoP.

Granted 4 kits is perhaps a rather large "test run" but meh
4 Ground produces buildings, carts, bases, and other terrain pieces using laser-cut MDF.  Currently they have a 15mm "Europe at War" line featuring western and eastern front buildings, walls, and fences.  For Players of other games, they also produce several different 28mm series featuring terrain for classical, dark ages, high medieval, European civil war, ACW, etc etc.

Kits are mostly available as pre-painted sets, but an increasing number are available as "blanks" that aren't painted.  Additionally, roof tiles, interior detail kits, and wheels and more are available to help pimp out your scenery.  They also offer a full line of branded paint, glue, tools, and more for hobbyists.  

I've been wanting to work with laser cut buildings for a while ever since seeing some of Lauby's new Infinity terrain board.  This seemed like the perfect opportunity to do so.  Being a hobbyist first and a gamer second, I decided to purchase 3 unpainted kits and 1 pre-painted set of ruins.  I enjoy painting terrain, so made the assumption that the more work I got to do the more I'd enjoy it.

Setting out to prove myself wrong, I selected the pre-painted ruins kit for my first assembly.

you had me at scent of bacon


The first thing I noticed when inspecting the package was the smell.  It's fucking glorious.  Imagine a fresh campfire, bacon, that wood burning kit your uncle bought you that one Christmas and you never used, and cedar all wrapped into one hit to your pleasure center and you're almost there.

After that I whipped out the instructions which were concise, but pretty clear.  All parts are lettered/numbered and the directions tell you what to stick to what along with a photo guide and a few helpful hints.  As a bonus, this kit featured a selection of street signs and posters to be added to the building.  They were basically just inkjet printings, but certainly get the job done.  This is admittedly something I was already planning on adding myself anyway, but this did save me the time of tracking down posters and fucking about with sizing them correctly.

posters and such
With that I dove into construction.  I won't give a step by step of this since that sounds boring.  I'll show a couple of in progress shots and briefly describe the assembly.

For tools I didn't need much.  The pieces pop out of the frame with ease.  Sometimes far too little ease as they can become separated during shipping, but it's not a big deal.  I had to clean up maybe a handful of pieces with a hobby knife.  Everything else came out clean.


Each frame is comprised of parts that are a single color.  Due to the laser etching and cutting process, there wasn't any need to shade or highlight these, as the cutting pretty much did the trick.  Since the pieces appear to have been laser cut after the painting process, there's even a nice scorching effect that adds weathering to the ruins.

Walls went up with ease with a little bit of PVA glue.  They were cut in such a way that they generally fit snuggly into place without have to be forced, making it easy to assemble and not need rubber bands or clamps to hold drying pieces in place.  Each wall for the painted kit is two pieces- interior and exterior.  This allows for indoor walls to be a different color than external walls while also adding some heft and thickness to the building.

interior day


exterior
With the major components together, it was time for the fiddly bits- brickwork and window panes.  Due to being a brick color, rather than the color of plastered wall, the exposed bricks of the ruin were separate pieces.  It was a fair amount of work to get these parts put together, but it was well worth the effort.  All that was left was to grab some tweezers and put the smallest window panes and sills into place I've ever seen.  It helped add a great deal of detail to the model without being overly difficult to assemble.  Just don't forget the tweezers.

She's a Brick House.  Mighty Mighty
30 minutes later (including photos) and I had a building ready for the table.  At a cost of only about 20% more than the unpainted buildings, I was quite pleased with the color choices and ease of assembly for this.  I think I'd still rather paint the buildings myself, but for anyone looking to quickly add terrain to their tabletop, these things are ace.

Here are some pics of the finished product and my Fallschirmjaeger company in action.

As you can see the scale is quite close to the new Batlefront kits, so mixing them wasn't at all awkward.







Ok, let's put some dudes in that building.





How about a tank?  You got it.




And lastly, let's check out one of those posters in action as the 6.  Fallschirmjaeger move out.



That's it for today kids.  Go check out 4 Ground today, I think you'll like it.  I'll be back in the future to show you an unpainted kit in action.  We'll get to see how the assembly differs and figure out how well these things take paint.

New Member Monday - New Members and New Features

Howdy folks!  Were back for another week of fun and amazement here at the house of paincakes!  I'm gonna postpone some of the banter and head straight to the new members as I experiment with new formats!

New Members!

Akihabara Station
Keywords: warhammer 40k, anime, manga, movies, sci-fi, videogames

El Descanso del Escriba
Keywords: Warhammer 40k, Heavy Metal, Insanely huge back catalog of content

Epic Addiction
Keywords: GW Specialist Games (Epic Armageddon, Battlefleet Gothic, Necromunda etc)


New Feature:  Lauby's Thought for the Week

Ok, folks, now that I've moved the new member announcements further up to where I think they belong - being that this is still a blog network and all - it's time for a new feature.  It's been brought to my attention that I don't write enough on this site for some people's tastes.  Giving people nightmare's with pictures of cave spiders is fun and all, but maybe Monday could be more interesting.



Image from Hyperbole and a Half.
So this is an attempt to fix that slash find out if it's true in the first place.

Thought for the day:  The other day I was browsing through the blog rolls and saw a bunch of stuff on the new Tau releases and started poking around to see what the new kits where how the rules were being received by the community.  Long story short - I ended up at the GW mothership looking at Tau models.

Aaaaaaand being absolutely blown away by what the cost of starting a new army in 40k adds up to.  There's been a lot of Infinity these days (preceded by HoMachine and Malifaux before that).  So I hadn't seriously priced an army for even longer than that.  So there's sticker shock explained.

Clearly this is a 'no shit' moment for all of us.  This even occurred to me while it was happening.  I was all like: "ahbjgbkjklkfg WTF".  Followed quickly by: "Oh yeah.  Of course. This is GW. This is roughly what I was paying a year ago."

But that's not the point.  No sir.  The real shocker is what that 5 minutes of sticker shock actually meant for me as a gamer and as a self aware being.

What really got me is that now that I'm about a year out from the cycle of abuse that is GW's business model and now that I've been re-aquanited with what it would cost to build just the heavy support section of a Tau army... It's dawned on me how many excuses and rationalizations it took (back on the day) on my part to spend so much money on a game I hardly played. And didn't enjoy as much as I do the new stuff I've been into.

Was I fully participating in a sunk-cost fallacy?  Was I just too caught up in GW's pervasiveness?  Just what was going through my head that I could justify spending a grand on an army I used 4 times?  I dunno.  But the more I look around the intertubes, the more I see people waking from the same bad dream.

Not to bash GW unduly, but if you're the kind of person who complains about GW's shitty rules and insane prices:  try something new.  Even just a demo.  I'm not saying you should quit cold turkey.  Take it slow.  And think on this:  are you really happy with your hobby if complaining about the manufacturer and worrying about the next rules update are major parts of your 'enjoyment"?





Sexy Models Part II- Dat Azz: The Ladies of Infinity!

Hey, folks. SinSynn here.

Well, this post is gonna be late!
The Crazy Lady I Live With is laid up sick, so I gotta take care of her. And by 'take care of her' I basically mean, 'do everything that needs doing, and also be a butler for a miserably ill Terran Female.'

Did ya ever notice how the Terran Females in yer life may have a way of calling yer name that just sends chills up yer spine? I mean, it starts with yer moms, no doubt. During yer pupal and larval years, I'm sure there were times when you were all sequestered in yer bedroom, yer mom would yell yer name and despite the potentially deafening volume of whatever horrific music you were playing, you would hear it clearly, and cringe. Terran moms are quite gifted when it comes to terrifying their offspring- they can do it by merely calling their names. That's good.
If you're a Terran Male, however, you will learn that your biological mother will not be the last Terran Female to make you miserable. Just the first. Waddayagonnado?

*Dwight was Xenos, y'know. He never really 'got' Terrans*
I have a great fondness for The Crazy Lady, of course, and she's certainly taken care of me a few times when I was laid up, so it's not a big deal. I'll just grump about it a bit, cuz hey why not? 
So far my favorite part was when she talked me through exactly how many lil' scoopie things of coffee go in the coffee maker, and exactly how much water to add, and how I better pour it in slow so it doesn't splash cuz I always make a mess when I make coffee and she always has to clean up after me and ohmygodsomebodyjustkillme.
Sigh.
She'd nag from her death bed, I swear.
-_-

Like most males that have spent a fair amount of time living upon this planet, I've had my fair share of dealings with Terran Females. Some good times, some bad, but when all is said and done I hafta say that life is better when there's Terran Females involved in some capacity. Friends or lovers, moms, grandmoms, aunts, cousins and sisters. I've talked about my great-grandma before, and fer sure she's the most amazing Terran I've ever known.
I can say, without a doubt, that Terran Females make this world a much more interesting place to be, and I very much enjoy being in their presence. Just knowing they're out there makes me all happy and whatnot. And why shouldn't it? Mysterious and alluring at times, forthright and in-yer-face at others, Terran Females seem, from a Male perspective at least, as fickle and unpredictable as a spring storm. Trust me, no one would write corny, cliche lines like that if it wasn't true. It's part of their mystique, after all, and in this case mystique absolutely means 'those things they do that make you pull yer hair outta yer head in frustration.'
But, Lord love 'em, I wouldn't have it any other way.
Which is good, cuz I'm prolly about to piss a few of 'em off.
:)

It's Sexy Models (part two) Time!


*No soldier, ever, was lucky enough to have a commanding officer that looked like this*

Above we see some of the new figs for Raging Heroes. A quick perusal of their website is definitely in order, as they've got some really lovely stuffs over there.Check out this Orc, fer instance. Pretty cool, right? But certainly not as sexy as this. How hawt is that lil' tongue-action thing she's doing? Wow- talk about insanely detailed! So many companies are making ultra-high definition quality models nowadays, it's ridiculous.

Raging Heroes may be new to the 'scantily-clad' model-making biz, but they sure landed with a splash. Meantime, cheesecake manufacturers extraordinaire Soda Pop Miniatures (I couldn't connect to their webpage during the time I was writing this for some reason) and Kingdom Death , among others, keep crankin' 'em out.

This edition of Sexy Models is a bit more specific in it's focus, however. For today, we celebrate the lovely ladies of Infinity, produced by Covus Belli. A large part of the appeal of this game is the models- they're outstanding, and month after month Corvus Belli releases more, and every month they just get better. It's very hard to see this, as a gamer, and sit on the sidelines. I know that by the time I finally broke down and started playing Infinity, I was goin' nuts seeing those cool new models coming out every month and not having a reason to run out and buy them.
That's all over now, and two months or so later and I'm already purchasing the first models for my second faction- an all-girl covert action squad of Nomads.
:)
My first purchase? A Reverend Moiras.

*The green lipstick is a great touch, and that tush is just amazing*

As far as 'sexy models' in Infinity are concerned, I think the lovely Reverend here is prolly tops on the list. She's all about 'Dat Azz,' fer sure (and, like all of the lovely ladies of Infinity, shooting you in the face)! Of course, this decision is greatly influenced by the fact that Corvus Belli recently released a whole new friggin' boxset of Reverend Moiras!
Woot!

*Best 'nuns with guns (in space)' in the entire mini-gaming industry*

And there's another sculpt, as well:

*This one is the boss. You can just tell*

The Reverends are more than just a bunch of Sexy Models, they're a great unit in-game. Linkable in their Sectorial List (Bakunin Jurisdictional Commando), they come equipped with an ODD: Optical Disruptor, which imposes a negative six modifier on anyone using a Ballistic Skill on them. They don't need cover, and even if you manage to shoot one, she might very well shrug it off thanks to having a decent armor rating of ARM 3, which is pretty good for a Medium Infantry statline.
Additionally, Reverend Moiras are Religious Troops, which means that any force they're attached to won't break until they suffer 75% losses, as opposed to the usual 60%.
They're called 'Shock Commandos' in their fluff, and a full Link of five on the table would be a scary thing indeed.
I'm looking forward to it.
:)

The Nomads are also blessed with Infinity's resident 'bad seeds,' the Riot Grrls.

*Yes, the one with the Boarding Shotgun is flipping the bird*

Interestingly, these ladies are also Linkable, and available in the same Sectorial list as the Reverend Moiras!
Cha-Ching!
It's so rarely that things work out for me like this. I fully expected to have to finagle and make sacrifices to make an all-girls list that I not only liked, but that might actually rock on the battlefield. Infinity is great in this regard- you really can build a list by just throwing a bunch of models you like together, and then go and win with it!
That's just like, the greatest thing ever in my book.

Riot Grrls are Heavy Infantry, and although they're only ARM 3 (I told you Reverend Moiras had a good armor rating for Mediums, didn't I?), they have two wounds, as opposed to one. Since they're actually cheaper than Reverend Moiras (that Optical Disruptor ain't cheap!), and can be equipped with some very effective fire power in the form of the Blitzen; a two-use rocket launcher thingy that does E/M (electromagnetic) damage and an uncommon weapon in general. These things are murder on TAGS (giant mechs and monsters) and power-armored Heavy Infantry (I know this might be hard to accept, but 'powered armor' is not a concept exclusive to certain other gaming franchises, which will remain unnamed here), shutting them down in an instant.

Yes, their armor has lil' metallic nipples and the suggestion of a pubic hair 'landing strip,' but you know what? Those details will NEVER lead me to a weirdly embarrassing conversation in the way that THIS model did:

*I'm using the 'Hacker' version to illustrate my point, as the HMG model pics don't have a clear view of the...of the...oh gawd the horror*

You see that big bulge between the figure's legs? Yeah, that. We all know what it is. It's an Alien Insect Penis...or the armor, designed to protect an Alien Insect's penis. Whatever. Certain parts of the figure look like armor, and then other parts look fleshy. I'm not gonna analyze this too much (yeah, go ahead and crack the 30 jokes that line sets you up for, knuckleheads...).
Anyway- that Alien Insect penis is a actually a completely separate part of the model!
And I dropped it.
So there I am on my hands and knees, crawling around and under my desk, using my cellphone as a flashlight, when my stepson walks in.
'Wadda you looking for? What did you lose this time?' he asks, having seen this routine a few times.
'Shaddup, you,' I reply, 'and help me look. It's a lil' metal piece, this time. It's silver. It should be around here somewhere...'
He crouches down next to me and starts looking. 'What is it? What does it look like?'
...
...Oh, boy...what to say?
'Ummmm....'
He looks at me and makes one of his eyeroll faces. He has a gift for making faces, and I have a gift for not killing him when he makes faces, so it works out.
'Tell me, what does "Ummm" look like? How do I find "Ummm"? Can you point out something else that looks like "Ummm," so this way I have some idea of what I'm trying to find?"

I have no idea where he picked this sarcastic attitude up from.
-_-
He goes on...

'Lil' help? Looking for "Ummm," and I'm not really having any luck, cuz I have no idea what it actually looks li-'
'FINE,' I bark, 'it's an Alien c*ck. We're looking for an Alien c*ck, ok? I was building an Alien, and I dropped his c*ck. You happy now?'
'You dropped his c*ck?'
'Sigh. Yes. I dropped his c*ck.'
'His c*ck was actually like, a separate piece?'
'Yes. Yes it was.'
'Ummm...'
'See? I told you. "Ummm" is all you can say.'
'That Alien is really packin,' huh?'
'F*ckin' A, buddeh. Now help me look.'

So, yeah- maybe the Riot Grrls have armored nipples and sexy playboy magazine crotch haircuts, but I will definitely feel less awkward assembling them. Nyah.

*The sense of lightness and motion this figure possesses is amazing. You can almost hear the rapid pitter-patter of her running feet a split second before she bursts on the scene and starts decapitating fools. This level of quality and attention to detail is typical of the entire line of Infinity miniatures*

Here we have an entry for my buddy James. As usual, he has exceptional taste, even if he is a great big knucklehead.
As you can see, 'sexy' doesn't necessarily have to include 'scantily clad.' Kitsune epitomizes how well Infinity models convey 'sexy' in ways other than the blatant use of exposed flesh. Sexy can be an attitude, or contained in a simple gesture, like a Terran Female twirling her hair. In the case of Kitsune here, sexy is a set of lithe legs propelling a stabby death forwards at lightning speed. Sexy is the lil' smile- just a slight curve of the lips, perhaps in anticipation of the stabby. It's the long, whippy hair cascading behind her.
It really is the little things, sometimes, and Infinity figures are so good at that. No other modeling company does 'subtly sexy' as well as Corvus Belli.

Here's a fig that illustrates what I mean:

*I suppose you could say I also have a Haqq army, but I buy them for my buddy Nascar to use*

This is the Hacker version of the Djanbazan unit, available for Haqqislam. They're Medium Infantry, and like most of the entries in any army list in the game can be equipped with a variety of loadouts. This unit has six different configs you can choose, with different weapons and skills.
There are...five? Five different sculpts for the Djanbazan, I think, but this is easily my favorite. I think this one is hawt.
It's the line of her body, the tilt of her head- the way it's slightly turned away gives her an air of mystery. She seems to almost be walking tippy-toe, for some reason, in a sultry, languid manner. She's so thin, yet curvy enough that there's no mistaking that silhouette for anything but a lady.
What a great fig.

The forces of Haqqislam also include what can only be termed as 'Infinity's sexpots.'
The Odalisques.

*The recently released Odalisque boxset, with minty new updated sculpts*

Light Infantry with a dizzying amount of potential loadouts, including the new Haris Level 1 Fireteam config, Odalisques are pretty gosh-darned awesome.


*Linkable, 360 Degree Visor, No-Wound Incapacitation, and 31 points with a Spitfire? Yes, please*

Then there's the ladies of ALEPH. The super-mega-ultra computer thingy that runs the Human Sphere (I'm sure I'll get into the fluff during future Infinity posts, and there will be future Infinity posts, trust me), ALEPH has it's own lil' personal army. Somewhat android-robotic-like, and taking some of it's stylistic influences from the ancient Greeks, the forces of ALEPH include more than a couple of 'sexy models.'

*I'm gratified to see that even cyber-augmented hot chicks in the future still wear ski-tight spandex bodysuits*

I like this figure for more than the obvious- it's rare to see a model with large, flat, blank areas with no like, textures or lil' nooks, crannies or wrinkles. No gizmos strapped on her legs, or pockets on her shapely derriere to give a painter something to work with. You never see that in war-gaming minis.

Models like this challenge the painter to highlight really well, to emphasize the natural curves of the figure, or- if one is daring- to come up with a pattern for the clothing. If you look closely at the pic, you can see that a lot of work went into the white uniform. Look at the shading of the lower legs that makes her calves look rounded, and the highlight on the hamstrings that draw attention to the fact that she's wearing sorta-high heels, and her legs are long. Real, real long.
That pose is all business, too. This character wouldn't have looked out of place as a bad guy in an episode of Ghost In The Shell, and I betcha she would've given the Major a run for her money.

*Lookit those buns. He works out*

Well, it would hardly be a very inclusive 'Infinity Sexy Models' post if I didn't include the Brad Pitt of ALEPH now, would it?
I think not.
Mmmm...So brawny. So rugged.
Even his armor has a six-pack.
:D

*Why, yes...they do design power armor with high heels. Sorry, ladies, even in the far-flung future, you still gotta deal with 'em*

This PanOceana Heavy Infantry unit is another example of a set of curves and the right pose make it clear that this figure is all lady.
Another thing Corvus Belli and their Female Infinity figures get right is the models poses conveying a fun, sexy and sassy attitude. Now this might not be appropriate for a soldier in reality, but let's remember these are like, futuristic soldiers from a miniature table top game, and that they're all completely fictional, ok?

Here's a few more figs from the Nomads to show ya what I mean:

*A classic 'super hero' pose, a la Wesley Snipes*

*The 'Babe Ruth,' just...with a Rocket Launcher instead of a baseball bat*

*Classic Anime pose on this additional Riot Grrl sculpt. 'I'm sassy! Tee-hee!'*

*A standard action pose on an Infinity model is still a cut above most other game models out there*

*One of my personal favorite, the Catgirl Medic!*

And, just so I don't sound all biased and whatnot, let's take a look at some of the Sexy Models from the other armies!

*As a Mercenary, Valerya can be taken with any Human Sphere army*

*Lil' hint about the Xenos races in Infinity- their 'delegates' don't really 'negotiate' so much as 'blast yer face'*


*Another of my faves, Ko-Dali is build like the proverbial brick outhouse. She's in every list I write now*

*The only female Morat, she looks like she's daring you to call her 'sassy.' Go ahead- you try*

*I just finished assembling her the other night. I know she's got a tentacle head, but I think Sheskiin is SO cute*


*Sigh- yep, there's tramp-stamp tattoos in the future, as well*

*I like named characters in other armies. Hopefully, my Combined army can 'Sepsitorize' (basically brainwash) them and add 'em to our ranks, like we did with Yu-Jing and Ko Dali*

*Pretty sure I know which one of these skirts I'd rather go camping with!*

*Short-shorts and rocket launchers never go outta style!*


Okay, I think that's a pretty good selection of Sexy Models!
As you can see, scantily clad is in no way a prerequisite for 'sexy,' and the makers of Infinity know how to catch your eye without being overt about it. The ladies of Infinity are by no means 'trashy.' Their sculpts are a cut above, maturity-wise, than most Sexy Models.
Sure, boobies are great, but Infinity models don't really go that route. Nor do they need to. They're sexy without being overly silly, or out-of-proportion, in the way that so many other manufacturers put forth Female wargaming minis.
One thing I can say as an endorsement of these figs- I actually OWN a bunch of 'em! The only female fig I ever owned up until I started playing Infinity has been Shadowsun. I can't tell you how happy I was when I got Ko Dali and Sheskiin built. They're right here on my desk in front of me as I type this.

I love my Combined Army, but I'm looking forward to eventually having my mini-gaming fantasy on the tabletop- an all girl army,
In the meantime, guess who's racked up the biggest body count for a single fig for my Xenos?

*The thing is, 'she' is not really a 'she,' so much...*

Six kills in one game alone!
When this 'girl' shows up, she's a game-changer.

Can't wait to see what Corvus Belli does next month...and the next...and the next...


Until next time, folks- Exit with catchphrase!

- SinSynn