Seamus and Me: A Malifaux Progress Log

I'd like to keep this post short, as it's 1:40AM, I've had several beers, and quite frankly there isn't much to say. Without further adieu, I bring you the beginnings of my Seamus Malifaux crew.

There are several thoughts and/or questions you can take away by looking at my crew.

"Hey! Those aren't painted!"

No folks, I haven't got much done in the way of painting. While I have gotten all of these figures primed up and ready to go, I have yet to put any really color on these guys. About 85% of that is my fault, a result of being distracted by Portal 2, Ken Burns' Baseball, Star Wars, and Bulletstorm. The other 15% comes from a lack of preparation. Each time I become motivated to paint, I either do not have the paint I wanted available, waste my time diving into the Sarlacc pit of YouTube, or simply finding other ways to satisfy my hobby craving. Rest assured, in the coming weeks I most certainly will be livening these guys up.

Specifically, I plan on crossing the fiction bridge and paying homage to The Joker of Batman fame. From his dress to his fanatical behavior, Seamus would be his equivalent in the Malifaux universe. Beside that fact, I'm both a fan of what the character of The Joker has become and using bright colors with sharp highlights. Coincidentally, I often describe my painting style as a more "cartoon" or "comic book" look as opposed to attempting realism (although you can also toss that onto the "excuse for lack of talent" pile).

References aside, the plan is to give him a deep purple suit (I'm undecided on pin stripes, both because of the general look of them and my ability to freehand them effectively), with an orange or green undershirt/trim. Both would be appropriate, but I'm not sure which I'd like to accent most. I'd also like him to have relatively pale skin, but I'm not going so far as to do facial paint. Nor will I be painting any green hair or facial scars. It will be an homage, not a recreation.

"Nice bases, ace."

This was my first attempt at two things: First, at basing figures beyond a simple gravel/sand and flock. Second, it was my first real attempt at using green stuff for, well, anything. Overall, I'm indifferent with how the bases came out. Some of them came out beautifully:

Where others came out not so well:

Mind you that is certainly not the worst of it. I'm fairly confident of two things. First, they will look much better once they are painted. Even looking at them primed I can see much improvement. Second, the once they are painted up I think they will at least be at a table standard, which is at least decent.

"There sure isn't much variety there."

It is true, the crew at the moment is little more than what the box set has to offer (although since the picture I have added in a Copycat Killer). The reasoning is, I've only played a single game with this crew, which is my first Resurrectionist crew. Until I can get a feel for how it plays, I don't want to invest in much more. I'm also a huge fan of the dynamic between the Belles and the Crooked Men, which is enough for me to field plenty of them, anyway.

Closing 

Like I prefaced this entry, I want this post to be long winded and over explanatory, but it has to end somewhere! If everything works out, getting all of these words and pictures published for the internet hyenas to snicker and snort at should at least fuel my motivation and keep me pushing on. Getting in games has been a blessing, but it's time to release the undead.