Week 19 - Malifaux and Catan

So, rolling out with the new form of my blog posting here it is; first weekly post. Week 19 fits the role as any other. Well, maybe not as well as week 1 of the year, but I don't want to wait till next year and my time machine usage has ran out recently so there's that.

Hmm, that just popped in my head: If you had a certain usage allowance to use a time machine, how would anyone stop you from using your last 'go' to go back in time when your when you had your initial allowance? Hmm...? Mind bending thoughts! 

Malifaux

Recently I have painted three models for my Malifaux crew. I have painted two Samurai Zombies and The Spirit. The paint jobs I have done on them are rather quick, but I think that they way I have done them (base colour, wash, base colour, highlights) fits the grimy fluff of Malifaux.







My brother just asked (literally just now) if I am going to add some kind of tutorial on how I painted these guys. So here it is.

To paint these Samurai I drybrushed them Scorched Brown on Chaos Black undercoat. Simple thing, I do it with all my Malifaux models to keep them toned down and tied in. Then I applied thin layer of base colour and when that was dry I used Devlan Mud on skin which was based with Camo Green. Later on I repainted the raised areas with Camo Green, on the skin, and after adding some Bleached Bone have done the highlights. Nice and easy.
The Spirit was a bit trickier, as I had to sort of blend the lower stone colour with upper skin tone. To do this I refrained from using blending technique and opted for drybrushing with colour mixing. I started off with foundation Charadon Graphite, then washed the brush and used foundation Tallarn Flesh. then with bits of Tallarn Flesh and started mixing in the Charadon Graphite in it. Later on the skin got washed with Ogryn Flesh and bottom rocky part with Badab Black. Then resurfaced again with base colours and done the highlights.

Catan on XBOX Live

Some people here might now that I love my board games. I play Carcassone, Catan, Space Hulk, Ticket to Ride and many, many others. But there is one problem with board games. They need other human being to participate. That's why I like my iPhone versions of Carcassone and Catan. I can play whenever I want. But what I have found recently is the Catan on XBOX Live. For £6.80 (800pts I believe) which is not much you get the full game. I was a bit worried that it will be sort of a cut down version of the game as it is kinda complex. The thing I was concerned the most was in-game trading. For those who don't know the game, let me run you thorough quickly.

Catan is, what's called, a Euro game; you don't fight your opponent, you fight against the game to beat the rest to the score. You play on a randomly built board made out of hexes. You manage and trade your resources to build settlements, roads, towns and buy development cards. Each of those give you victory points. The person who gets the agreed amount of VPs wins the game. Simple as that.



Now, as you might expect trading resources needed to be done properly to make it work online where you can't speak (well you can but most people don't use voice chat) to your opponent. Luckily the way they solved it is a separate trading screen where you place, accept or refuse the offers. Pretty nifty, works brilliantly!

• So, was it worth the money? Yes! Sometimes I want to play in the middle of a night with people I don't know. Great!

• Is it the same game as the board one? Yes! I haven't seen any differences yet. What's even more interesting, you can upgrade your board by downloading different tile sets. Awesome!

OK, guys! I hope you all like the new format. Leave me your feedback below. I always appreciate any comments and the reader  interaction.

'Till next week!