M.O.D.

M.O.D. is the little Heavy Metal droid who could, and also the 126th mini I have painted for my own Pulp City collection!

I was eager to paint M.O.D. as soon as my own spoils from the KS campaign arrived, but settled on tackling a few Grimm first. Then I put a couple of colours on M.O.D. and got side-tracked by painting other minis (including Amok as well as stuff for other games). Once I finally [properly did some work, he was painted in a couple of hours in stages over the course of a day, so it was  nice to get him finished this week. The trickiest part was picking out the wire from his Walkman. I decided against trying any kind of logo on the cap simply as I had no ideas of what I wanted there, so kept it plain.

I had expected to finish Papa Zombie after Amok, but that didn't transpire, although I have made a start on the Coven Leader, and hopefully can get him finished in the next few days.

M.O.D. came into production because of last year's Kickstarter, and underscores that one of the biggest benefits of that campaign for us was to be able to add so many much-needed models to the range.

In game terms, M.O.D. is arguably the quintessential Support Supreme, yet unlike many other Supports in that he has no offensive capability whatsoever (Blood Rose and Virus excepted), which to me is a 'good thing'. Level 1 Supports are more efficient AP generators than Level 2's, but tend to be less hard-hitting. Therefore in lower Level games it is about finding the best fit when faced with a couple of Support options; larger games allow for a couple of Support models to be accommodated and their differences.

What M.O.D. offers is that his lack of attacking Actions is arguably an asset: it allows the player to focus on using him at what he is best at: repairs (Heal), and Attack and Defend buffs. This is boosted by the fact he can Activate immediately after a Friendly Heavy Metal Supreme (in the same Turn), meaning he can raise all important Shields of run a repair without losing the opportunity to attack with the preceding Supreme.

M.O.D.
Hero, Support, Level 1, Science
30 mm

Heavy Metal

Click on image to embiggen

It has taken me quite a while to get around to posting my Team shot of Heavy Metal, so apologies for that.

Apologies too for the ropy picture, but trying to get that number of minis in focus around the Giant Hadron model was a pain, so this was the best I could manage. I got my new Pulp City at salute (20th April) so look forwards to new painted stuff appearing sooner or later.

Heavy Metal are the celebrities of Pulp City's Heroes; they are the ones that the city turns to in times of greatest need, lead by the mighty C.O.R.E.

(centre)

• Giant Hadron: Size changing Supreme.

(surrounding Giant Hadron counter-clockwise from the back left ):

• Iron Train: Pulp City stalwart, this old-timer is every inch the blue-collar hero.
• Chronin: Time-bending warrior.
• Nuclear Jones: Nuclear powered cyborg, and Nuke's brother.
• Lady Cyburn: Punk flame-throwing cyborg, currently assigned to Heavy Metal on probation due to past crimes.
• C.O.R.E.: Possibly the most-intelligent being on earth; a sentient technological life-form able to adopt different battle forms to best fit the mission needs.
• Mini Hadron: Size changing Supreme.
• Captain Hadron: Size changing Supreme.
• Dr. Mercury: Tragic hero reborn into a living metal body.
• Androida: Super-fast artificial intelligence.

(front row)

• Access Points: Remote support units (Minions).

Giant Hadron

Captain Hadron's transitions to giant-size required a lot of control and meant that he could not utilize other abilities when doing so, and even his transformations back to other sizes were time consuming when grown to his maximum height. 

Wow. Even with the deadline of last month's Challenge, I did not get this finished on time.

And having already dawdled for over two years, the first of my Giant Hadrons is finished (yes, I have another! That could be another terminally slow painting log in the making...).

It is done at last. Not my best painting by any stretch, but what surprised me is how difficult painting a big model is. I don't think I have completed painting on a model this size before now. I guess painters get habituated to working at a given scale and so stepping beyond that is going outside of your comfort zone, which may be part of why this has taken so long to complete; that and I am a notoriously slow painter of course!

Not my best work, but hopefully I have learned some lessons from tackling this big model; lessons that will inform other big models eventually.

In the new Supreme Edition rules Giant Hadron is a Powerhouse; what this means is that we hope he lives up to his stature, and unlike the previous edition he can stay giant-size for the whole game (he was limited to 1-2 Rounds previously).

We are still gathering feedback on the new rules, so let us know what you think of our biggest Powerhouse, who gets Size Matters against all other Supremes as things currently stand. With the importance of dice pooling to achieve SFX, that is a good advantage to have.

Hopefully this month's painting slump will not continue into next month, and I hope that I can start to overhaul the total painted minis I achieved in 2012, especially with so many new Pulp City minis on the horizon: Green Emperor and Terror Cotta Warrior; V.H. and Blacksmith; Red Bella and Primates of Power; Papa Zombie and Comte Vendredi; new Starter sets and much more besides.

Time to get those last few currently remaining minis done then: Doom Train; Night Fright and Leech; Green Serpent; Pulp Monster.

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.

Lady Cyburn

If Cyburn has a PHD in trouble seeking, that would surely make her more in line with the rest of the big brains on the team. She doesn't. She is a natural warmonger, and that dates back to the times she was just a 100% flesh teenager. Her abilities to cause trouble had been significantly raised with all those shiny new things.
Her service in Heavy Metal is more to her liking than serving her time in jail, but once the 5 year contract is done, who knows where Cyburn will sign up?

Lady Cyburn was added to the ranks of Heavy Metal along with Captain Hadron, and was a mini I liked straight from the off (due to its recognisable influence from WildCATS' Ladytron), but after putting a couple of colours on the mini it joined the back of my WiP queue.

It wasn't until I painted C.O.R.E. in fairly short order that I thought to make a slight change to how I was doing the metallic surfaces and so the rest of the mini followed fairly quickly thereafter. please forgive the photographs - not my best as they came out pretty dark. I like to think the mini looks better up close than it does in these photographs, and I was pretty happy with the way the flesh tones turned out, which may not be too apparent from these images.

In game terms Lady Cyburn is very much a 'blaster', and so adds flexibility to Heavy metal since many of the Team are brawler or brawler-support types.

C.O.R.E.

C.O.R.E.: Conscious Omnipotent Replicated Entity. Its pursuit of a new lawful and compassionate order attracted a lot of following and when more and more of Supremes pledged their allegiance to C.O.R.E.'s crusade against all-things-evil, the birth of Heavy Metal team was imminent.

C.O.R.E. is the leader of Heavy Metal, and one of the few Level 3 Supremes available so far. He is versatile and powerful (with an attack that can be extended as far as 18" at the cost of a lot of AP), and he shouldn't lose many Starting Rolls. That versatility extends further to the upgrade he offers Heavy Metal Team members using Ranged Combat Actions: Lady Cyburn and Nuclear Jones especially benefit here, allowing some decent sniping between the Actions available to the 3 Supremes.

Given that Dr Mercury offers buffs for the whole Team, I think he is almost mandatory in a Heavy Metal Team using C.O.R.E. (Encounter Level 12 and above). In fact my ideal Heavy Metal Team at EL 12+ right now would probably see Captain Hadron or Iron Train relegated to last choice, with Iron Train edging things (therefore comprising C.O.R.E., Dr Mercury, Nuclear Jones, Iron Train, Chronin, Lady Cyburn & Androida; no need for a Merc like Gentleman to fill out ranks here).

I put off painting C.O.R.E. for quite some time as I am still trying to improve my NMM techniques. I still have a long way to go, but I think he looks reasonably effective. Eagle-eyed readers may spot that he does incorporate the red-blue colour motif I have used on many of my heroes, even if only in a small way.

The small Tokens around him are his Access Points; these resources are used like remote Exclusive Minions that are static, but have various defensive and offensive upgrade options. They also allow C.O.R.E. to use his Download* action to travel instantly across the board to be in Base to Base with an Access Point.

Iron Train

Tony was a simple man, working on the railroad before he became a Supreme. Iron Train is the iconic defender of Pulp City, loved by crowds and his colleagues in the Heavy Metal team. Relying on his supernatural resilience granted by the armor, Tony can withstand almost anything Villains bring to the battlefield.

I promised some new pictures, and here is the first. Iron Train (sculpted by Edgar Skomorowski - Degra) was one of the earliest Pulp City minis, yet it has taken me until only the past week or so to actually finish it. It has been in the 'part-painted' queue for quite some time, and this was my second attempt (the first was dunked in the stripping bath).

I am glad that the mini is finished, and although the paint-job is not brilliant, I am quietly pleased with how it turned out. Certainly not a professional standard, but good enough for me. And of course it helps to build up my Heavy Metal forces further. I liked this mini from the outset, but when I started slapping it with one of my old 'standby' paints (GW Bolt Gun Metal) it just looked a horrible mess. That was the turning point for me to try NMM, and while I have a long way to go, hopefully I am improving here and there.

On the gaming table Iron Train is a bit of a beast. While he has a lower than average AP Allowance, this is more than made up by his Trump Traits and Skills. Basically the guy is tough as nails and only really vulnerable when his Mind or Spirit is called on.

Iron Train can dish out a lot of hurt and can take it too; he can do well standing toe to toe even against a couple of other Strength Trump foes as I recently found out to my satisfaction. In that regard Iron Train is fairly forgiving, but don't get overconfident - Gemini Y can shut him down for the Round quite easily for as little as 2 AP (3 AP if trying to make it count with a Power-Up).

One of his greatest assets is shielding his Team-mates - don't overlook his capabilities in that area; he can take the Damage - most of the time.

Chronin

Chronin still keeps the Shadow Mask’s finely crafted blade. She is fully aware that in the Green Emperor’s court, there is always a Shadow Mask and one day, he or she will come to reclaim the sword along with Yuriko’s life. But she will be more than ready.

Sculpted by the talented James van Schaik, Chronin is a mini that has confounded me - and again, and again.

This is actually my third attempt at finishing the mini. I started one and didn't like it. I assembled another, started it, and again was not happy. I then stripped the first one and started yet again, and this is the result. there are elements I am content with, but it has simply been a mini that has proven frustrating to paint. Which is nothing to do with quality, rather my limitations as a painter. The Pulp Monsters version is stunning, which proves that the mini is good and decent for painting. And yes, i know that the scabbard is on the wrong way - I am not touching that now, I can tell you.

After photographing the mini, I will touch up a couple of places, but it is largely done, and that is what I am focusing on. Maybe one day I will paint a more satisfying version of this mini, but until then this is the Chronin I have.

Chronin herself is a level 1 who neatly side-steps one of the core game concepts; normally a model is Activated to perform one or two Actions. Chronin can begin her Activation by performing whichever suitable and available Actions that she has, and then continuing performing more actions as her AP Allowance and the AP Pool permits, without need to declare them all. Her Actions run a mix of offensive and defensive, as well as offering a counter to Trump Rolls and Lucky.

Nuclear Jones

Once upon a time, in the darkest alleys of Newport, two brothers led the sinful life of crime and terror. Such were their feats that the watching eye of the Mysterious Man turned their way and he nominated them the ambassadors of his evil empire in Pulp City. The goons became his trusted lieutenants, but when Heavy Metal invaded Kodo Island, the kingpin didn't hesitate and unleashed the brothers, side by side with his monstrous creations. The rampaging dinosaur, tore the goons to pieces before the might of C.O.R.E. stopped him. One of the brothers was beyond help, but the other still lived, and the heroes retrieved him from the island. To sustain his life, his body was rebuilt upon the small atomic reactor, the nuclear heart. Thus Nuclear Jones was born, half-man, half-machine, with a debt of returned life to be paid off.

Sculpted by James van Schaik, Nuclear Jones is the heroic antithesis of Nuke. On opposing sides, neither is really able to harm the other so they can cancel each other out, yet both are very dangerous in their own right.

I really enjoy James van Schaik's sculpting, and this mini is no exception. I am glad he has more upcoming Pulp City projects (Kitty Cheshire for example), and with minis such as Nuclear Jones it is increasingly possible to aim for a more 'spandex-y' looking team. One of the great things about the range is the eclectic nature, so much so that various themes are available to hobbyists.

I may re-photograph this model at some point as the lighting makes it appear darker than I would like, but that said I was fairly pleased with the painting, particularly on the NMM (Non Metallic Metallics) parts of the mini, as well as the OSL (Object Source Lighting). I have not yet perfected either technique, but I hope I am improving.

Androida

In Heavy Metal, Androida acts often as a public relations person, while on battlefield she employs her tremendous speed and cunning mind.

I am still working on my Non Metallic Metallics (NMM) techniques, and tried them out on this mini (sculpted, I believe by Gael Goumon). It is an approach I never tried before last year, and with my self-imposed painting challenge I am trying out techniques such as this that I have never used before. In other words, I still have quite a way to go, but I can see small incremental improvements.

This was the second version of Androida that I painted. The first was painted very quickly with regular metallic painting (see below), and even with the limitations of my meagre ability with the NMM approach, I think the NMM version is simply nicer to look at.

In game play Androida can be very quick, but also potentially very fragile, so she needs to be used cautiously. One approach some gamers take is as a resource delivery system (basically a super-courier!), carrying items like Force Field, First Aid Kit or Spare Parts. It may be something I try out soon. She can also be used to grab/contest objectives in agenda play.

Advanced Sentry Bot

Androida of Heavy Metal managed to build on the frame of the Ulthar Bot a new technically advanced version that possessed a higher AI and a very efficient and fast tactical computer built in.

Built using the extra backpack component form the Sentry Bots pack, Advanced Sentry Bots are exclusively available to the Heavy Metal team and just that little better than 'normal' Sentry Bots. The Sentry Bots/Advanced Sentry Bots are sculpted Jarek Smolka.

I painted this one at the same time as Androida, but opted for less sharp highlighting. I think it came out okay, and I am not unhappy with the result, but I am still working on the techniques I used, so hopefully there remains room for improvement.

Dr. Mercury

Dr. Mercury is a Heavy Metal Supreme able to shift forms and shape his body into weapons.

Sculpted by Jarek Smolka, Dr. Mercury is in some ways a 'utility' character, able to offer a variety of talents as well as crucially supporting Heavy Metal supremes through his exclusive resource. He is primarily suited to close combat or a support role, but in the latter he will use up precious Action Points. Interestingly the character was inspired by a contact known Pulp Monsters/Pulp City's mastermind and chief architect, who in turn felt that the creation known as Dr. Mercury would be a perfect fit for the game.

The character by virtue of his background is intended to be made of living metal. Planning for use in another game (more on that one day...), I decided to paint the first Dr. Mercury I did as a kind of 'living darkness' - well that was the intention anyway. It probably did not work quite as well as I hoped, so I will try again some day.