P-P-Paint Up A Penguin

Still riding high off watching The Penguin (which I, once again, thoroughly recommend), I turned my attention to the titular 'hero' of the show and finishing off the gang members that I had previously not got around to...

...of which there were several.

When I was playing the Batman Miniatures Game, I didn't immediately go for collecting the Penguin Gang as having not played the Arkham City video game, the look of them didn't really speak to me as being right for my vision of the Penguin and his cronies.

If I'm honest, they still don't (I've always viewed Oswald Cobblepot as being more of a monster - a vision the TV show supports).

However, Arkham City, and therefore the Batman Miniatures Game, went for a more uniform, paramilitary look, which I suppose is fitting given that they are a large gang trying to rule an open-air prison by force and it also made them visually distinct from the other gangs.

Therefore, in my original paint job (which I set out to emulated) I went for a blue grealy urban camo effect on the trousers, contrasting with orange elements from the prison issued gear.

I like the overall look but I was struck by how awkward and janky some of these 'premium' metal sculpts seem now.

To be honest, I can see why Knight Models made the switch to resin when I compare them with this unfeasibly large gang lieutenant, unimaginatively named Big A.

He's a model from the third edition of the game, which is where I stepped away, and it is just a much cleaner sculpt, although a bit boring in his stance.

Resin also allowed them to get smaller details (I still carry the trauma of trying to attach separate metal hands in spindly wrists) and so made these armed penguins possible.

They are clearly inspired by the ones that appeared in Batman Returns, but I chickened out of trying to paint stripes on the missiles, opting instead for an easier military look.

Whilst I was working on the gang and trying to match models I painted years ago, I took the opportunity to tidy up the handful of Penguin's goons I'd already painted.

I added a bit of highlighting to brighten them up and give more definition on faces and weapons. The baton had also broken on the armoured guy and so I opted to give him hand swaps ashus were tiny and would have been a nightmare to reattach a weapon to.

And so my Penguin gang is finished and looks suitably large. The only time I ever used them was in a tournament, backed up by my hulk proxy of Solomon Grundy. I believe I did okay with them but I remember Penguin as being one of the better 'swarm' gangs.

The only thing I can imagine I'll ever add to them is a Duck Tank like the one in Batman Returns.

Acquired: -73

Painted: 423

Lead Mountain: 349

Family Business

After really enjoying watching Peacemaker: Season 1, I realised that I still hadn't watch The Penguin either and it would probably be good to keep me in a DC frame of mind as I tried to work through my backlog from the Batman Miniatures Game.

Spoiler alert!

It worked.

I've burned through the eight part series and can highly recommend it as genuinely one of the best series I've watched in some time.

The action focuses on the Penguin scrabbling for position amongst the crime families of Gotham, most notably the Falcone family.

As it happens, a large chunk of the backlog I have to work through are from the Penguin gang and the Organised Crime faction, specifically the Falcone family...how fortuitous.

First up we have the head of the family, Carmine 'The Roman' Falcone, appearing here in the white-haired guise he takes in the seminal comics Batman: Year One and The Long Halloween.

However, it doesn't really matter what medium you encounter Carmine Falcone in. Whether it's in print, TV, game or film, things rarely end well for the Roman.

Along with Falcone, I had three more Knight Models mob goons which came with him. Technically their names are (from left to right) Vipera, the Bull and Troy Sins, but they are generic henchmen who could equally take order from other gangsters like the Ventriloquist or Black Mask.

I must admit, I'm not a great fan of painting men in suits. I'm not great at making single colours look good without plenty of folds to shade. I've done a better job on the grey suit, and I'm trying to not look too closely at the brown one.

This is Carmine's wayward son, Alberto Falcone, aka The Holiday Killer, as he appears in The Long Halloween.

The model is a Heroclix sculpt (and therefore has limitations) which always felt spindly alongside the other chunky models in that range. However, it matches fairly well with the more truescale Knight Models range.

Coincidentally, when Knight Models shifted their production to resin, the four models I have are bundled as a five with the Arkham Origins version of Alberto - meaning that I'd struggle to pick him up individually.

Finally, we have my take on one of the central characters of The Penguin, Carmine's daughter and Alberto's sister, Sofia Falcone/Gigante.

The model is from Crooked Dice, and although a little short let than the others (although this is often less of an issue with female characters), she does have an outfit close enough for me to Sofia's costume from the final episode.

Interestingly, whenever Sofia appears in stories based in Gotham, she almost always ends up as the head of the family once her father and brother have fallen by the wayside.

I'm a big fan of Cristin Milioti's version of the character in The Penguin, but this is very much a departure from the hulking brute that appears in The Long Halloween and Dark Victory.

I'm quite pleased with my Falcone gang, although I struggle to see a time when they will all be used in the same game. However, they are also generic enough that they probably have multiple uses.

Acquired: -73

Painted: 415

Lead Mountain: 357

Soldiers of Fortune

I've wittered before about the ad hoc way my brain works when selecting what to paint next, and so it should come as no surprise that finally getting round to watch season 1 of Peacemaker would cause me to return to my backlog for the Batman Miniatures Game.

These are Bane's mercenaries and represent a weird crossover between movies, games and comics.

In appearance they are similar to the hired guns who work for Bane in The Dark Knight Rises, but three of them came with the massive comic version of Bane, who generally works alone. However, the game is built around leaders and gangs, so this odd mash up is what we have.

In terms of painting, I've not done anything too special, instead relying more than usual on contrast paints. However, I have taken to doing a final light dry brush at the end with pale grey or ivory to pick out details, something that was necessary on this largely black armoured model.

The three models that came with Bane are actually resin rather the metal that the rest of my BMG collection are cast in, this is because they are from the third edition of the game, which is where I jumped ship.

I should stress, this decision was not about the switch to resin, as these were significantly easier to work with that some of the metal BMG minis I work with. However, I am concerned with the durability of some of the more spindly bits - specifically this sword.

The tomahawks on this chap are also worrying, although it was actually his foot that snapped when I was assembling him, which is why I used the tyre on this resin base to hide the damage.

Initially, I wasn't keen on this sculpt, but I warmed to it as I painted him, although I'm still perplexed by the tomahawks.

Whereas, ice axes are a much more sensible choice.

This sculpt reminded me of lots of the issues I had with Knight Models sculpts when I was heavily into the game. The metal is quite soft and to the ice axes are quite flimsy (although not as worrying as that sword); the right arm is joined at the shoulder and the junction wasn't clean, so there's a bit of a messy gap; although, if you look closely, the arms are different thicknesses.

Mind you, for all their failings, I am also reminded of what I liked about the range. This sculpt has bags of character with his pose and muttonchops giving real redneck hunter vibes.

The hat being red is entirely coincidental.

Here's the whole gang with Bane. Despite my misgivings about how they work together, I am really pleased with the outcome.

Will I play the game again? That feels unlikely, but these five miniatures are actually quite versatile in terms of modern gaming and so could easily get table time in other setting.

Acquired: -73

Painted: 410

Lead Mountain: 362

Strange Days

I don't know why or how my motivation strikes to bring me round to projects that have remained untouched for a long time.

Perhaps I should see a psychiatrist...

Enter Dr Strange...no, not that one!

Dr Hugo Strange, the cutting edge psychiatrist who, according to various versions of the Batman story, uncovers the truth behind the mask and uses that information for leverage and power.

This miniature comes from the Batman Miniatures Game, something I haven't played in many years and I think he's ended up getting painted today because he's quite a simple model to get done.

Does this mean I'm about to start playing the Batman Miniatures Game again?

Probably not.

Does this herald a run of Batman related content on this page?

Who knows?

All I know is he was a relatively easy win.

Acquired: -61
Painted: 380
Lead Mountain: 632

Breaking Bat

Bane broke the Bat.

The first graphic novel (or trade paperback, technically) that I ever bought was Knightfall.

It was around the time that Batman Forever was released I a truly began to embrace my inner Batfan.

The main antagonist, Bane, was new to me, but his looming presence throughout the storyline, not to mention the fact that he ultimately wins, cemented him as a major figure in the rogue's gallery of villains, and one of my favourites.

Sadly, Bane has been poorly treated in the media. I'm not knocking Tom Hardy in The Dark Knight Rises, but his version lacked the massive physical threat of Bane in Knightfall and also didn't look anything like a Mexican wrestler.

Similarly, in Batman: The Animated Series, Bane's introduction was limited to a single episode, and the less said about "Mr Bane" in Batman & Robin the better.

Likewise, in the Batman Miniatures Game, whilst I was involved, Bane was limited to just two sculpts: Tom Hardy Bane and a version from the Arkham Origins game that just never looked like Bane should.

It was only after I stopped playing that Bane got the sculpt he deserved and so became one of the few BMG resin sculpts I own (bought second hand, obviously).

It's actually a really impressive model and I can totally see why Knight Models moved away from metal to resin. The detail is crisp, the model goes together well and it's a model that could actually tempt me to buy more of their range.

In teens of painting, I went fir a blue costume rather than black. In the original comic the character is drawn in a combination of the two. It could be argued that the blue on the character is a highlight of a black costume, but you could equally say that the bkack is shading for dark blue.

In my head, he's always been dressed in blue, so that's what I went with.

The skin took a bit of work. I started with Gulliman Flesh contrast paint over Wraithbone, but I really didn't like pasty tone or the patchy effect. I revisited it with Kislev Flesh and Agrax Earthshade, but left it darker than usual to reflect Bane's Latino heritage.

I enjoyed painting Bane and after slating them in my last post I do have to give Knight Models credit for the step up in quality of their resin models. I have a few others to do and they seem consistently good.

I've also got a bunch mof metals to paint, which are as variable as ever.

Acquired: 85

Painted: 87

Bad Company

I watched The Batman recently. I enjoyed it. A lot.

It was, I suppose, inevitable that this would push me back in the direction of painting something from the Batman Miniatures Game.

First up are these three asylum inmates, ready to associate with whatever member of the rogue's gallery is tearing up Gotham.

Long time readers of this blog will know that the Batman Miniatures Game was my major focus for a long time. I was heavily involved in tournament gaming and was actually pretty good at it, winning a few events and regularly placing fairly high.

I got out of the game when they shifted to a new edition. Not only did I not want to invest heavily in a new version of rules that I would have to relearn, but I also didn't want to end up having to re-buy characters I'd already bought and painted as certain sculpts were 'retired' from competitive play.

It also seemed like a good time to step away from a company that I'd become very cynical about. Poor quality control, poor customer service and poor sales practices were hallmarks of my experience of Knight Models at the time.

I have no idea if their reputation has improved, but I became so disenchanted that for the last year of playing the game I avoided buying new as much as possible and instead bought second hand from those getting out of the game in frustration.

Painting these three prisoners has been a reminder of some of the negatives that led to my stepping away from the game.

Hefty mould lines and soft (at times invisible) detail litter the three miniatures. I personally think that they are nowhere near the quality of the earliest sculpts in the range, which I presume was due to Knight Models being in the process of switching production to resin at this time.

Having said all that, I'm happy enough with how they have turned out. They are destined to be used in 7TV when I get round to putting together some Batman profiles.

It's been an odd, melancholy trip down (bad) memory lane, but I'm still in a Batman mood and I have a small backlog to work through.

Thankfully, the miniatures do get better than this, and are somewhat more recognisable.

Acquired: 85

Painted: 86

Joker's Joyride

A bit of a different day of 7TV gaming in Darley Dale today. Not only were we playing 7TV Apocalypse, complete with modded vehicles, and stacked casts up to a whopping 50 ratings, we also ended up only having two games due to a teensy-weensy bit of overrunning.

In the spirit of not wanting to paint very much, I took my my BMG Joker crew out for a spin, matching them up with appropriate profile cards from 7TV Apocalypse:

Joker - Utopian Architect

Harley Quinn - Rebellious Youth

Ringmaster - Petrolhead

Hammer Clown - Wrecker

Cloak Clown - Bandit

Rifle Clown - Gunner 

Shield Clown - Mechanic

Other Clowns - 3 Joyriders

I kept my vehicles simple with a Buggy sporting a pintle mounted machine gun (crewed by the Bandit and Gunner), and a Truck equipped with mods I could reasonably explain: a running board (the flat roof), a hood ornament (the Joker logo on the side), and a sump dump and tombstone (stuff that could be thrown out of the back).

Game 1 - Thwacky Races (vs Matt)

The Apocalypse had come to Saturday Morning viewing, and the revving of engines signified that the Wacky Races had overrun into time slot of Batman: The Animated Series and the next leg of their perpetual piston-driven pandemonium would run straight through Gotham.

In the lead were the Ant Hill Mob, who had formed a temporary 'alliance' with Dick Dastardly and Mutley, with Penelope Pitstop's Pink Pussycat in 'hot' pursuit.

Determined not to be upstaged on his home turf, the Clown Prince of Crime ordered his three ring circus into the van to show these Hanna-Barbarians the true meaning of entertainment.

Screeching to a halt directly ahead of Chugga Boom, Joker honked his horn and clowns tumbled out of the van in all directions, ready to run this race off the road.

Unbeknownst to Joker, the Ant Hill Mob were already running off road, having been tricked into getting out by that nefarious ne'erdowell, Dick Dastardly.

To Clyde's annoyance, Yak Yak was laughing about the whole affair, Softy was crying and Dum Dum hadn't realised he was supposed to get out of the car and so was still manning the gun.

Meanwhile, the Chuckle-Buggy gunned its engines directly for the Pink Pussycat, but came off worst in a direct firefight, taking damage and losing its gunner to a spray of machine gun fire.

Meanwhile, Dick Dastardly saw the Joker Van blocking his route and swerved to avoid it, Dum Dum opened fire, whilst Mutley just chuckled.

However, this left his stolen ride vulnerable, and after a hail of Molotov cocktails, Hammer blows, a spray of acid from Joker's flower, Chugga Boom was T-boned by the Joker Van and went Chugga BOOM!

Only Dick Dastardly was able to crawl from the wreckage.

Meanwhile, having lost wingman, tje Chuckle-Buggy Bandit nonchalantly pulled into the gas station to fill up.

Having an increasingly bad day here, the Ant Hill Mob took their frustrations out on some of the Clowns responsible for wrecking their ride, peppering them with rifle fire.

Limping away from the crash, Dick Dastardly spotted some smilex gas Joker had planted as a trap, and moved in to syphon it with the intention of using it on the Creepy Coupe.

Not knowing her way around the big city, and terribly-terribly afraid of those awful clowns, Penelope Pitstop swerved round a corner and saw Harley Quinn in her sights.

A blast of machine gun fire saw Harley skip out of the way.

One of the Mob strayed too close to the Ringmaster and had his legs taken out from under him by a lashing chain. Two others were caught in the bkadt of an explosive lance.

Miss Pitstop tried a different approach and drove straight for Harley Quinn, knocking her flying.

After Joker got out of the van, the Mechanic tried a similar trick and drove straight for Dick Dastardly, but to no avail.

This left Joker exposed and the two iconic villains faced each other in the street. They both briefly contemplated the possibilities of a super-villain team-up before Jokr was caught from behind by unnervingly accurate rifle fire from the remains of the Ant Hill Mob.

Penelope Pitstop swerved again to get a bead on Quinn, but lost control of the Pussycat and sent it spinning into a nearby vehicle.

The Ringmaster managed to slip behind the remains of the Ant Hill Mob and managed to incinerate them in another explosion.

The Pink Pussycat found itself cornered between encroaching clown cars. With limited options to enable her to escape the jaws of the trap, Penelope Pitstop decided that attack was the best form of defence.

She put her foot down and went straight into a head on collision with the Joker Van. Unfortunately she once again lost control of the car and hurtled into an uncontrolled collision, the force of the impact snapping her neck and killing her instantly.

Even though Joker had been gravely wounded, several clowns had had their smiles turned upside down, Dick Dastardly had stolen some smilex and Professor Pat Pending had snuck through to win when no one was looking, Joker was pleased that he'd ruined the race.

It would be a long whole before they brought their cheaply animated automobiles through Gotham again.

Final Result: 11-10 to Joker officially, but we might have cocked up the scoring.

Game 2 - Just Walk Away (vs Simon)

Having successfully defended his territory on Saturday mornings, Joker decided to go on a little

adventure into the Bank Holiday late night schedules and bring a few post-watershed smiles.

Unfortunately this would bring Mr J into conflict with the Ayatollah of Rock and Rolla himself, the Lord Humongous and his dogs of war.

After taking a left outside Gotham, Joker's drove out into the wasteland, and after half an hour the satnav said he was in Australia. Aware of the brutal and uncensored nature of that land, the clowns advanced cautiously, only honking their horns a couple of times.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a ramshackle 'yute' accelerated straight into a head on collision with the Joker Van.

"Strewth! Yer on the wrong side of the road, ya drongo!" came a shout from the platform on top, Nd then in a display of typical antipodean hospitality they unleashed a storm of bullets, harpoon and fire at the van.

"Where do they get such wonderful toys?" said the Joker wistfully as the Ringmaster returned fire with awoefully inaccurate explosive. He turned to the packed van, "time send in the Clowns."

One after another, greasepaint covered goons leaped onto the truck and started laying about to occupants.

Meanwhile, the Chuckle-Buggy Bandit had spotted another brutal looking vehicle moving in, driven by what could only be described as a  bodybuilder in fetish gear.

"And we thought Batman was kinky," he joked to his gunner, putting his foot down hard and accelerating past it before pulling a handbrake turn to allow the machine gun to spray it with fire.

Meanwhile, the clowns were beginning to lose the fight on the truck, despite beating one of the occupants to death in a slapstick manner. The Ringmaster took aim more carefully and tossed another explosive into the fray. 

When the smoke cleared, the truck was a little emptier, the paintwork was even more scorched and the last Clown was cooked.

The shocked driver of the truck reversed out of danger, allowing Humongous to take his turn to accelerate into the Van, wrecking it and somehow knocking Joker and the Ringmaster all the way through to the back.

Whilst all this carnage had been going on, Harley Quinn had gone off on her own, exploring this exciting new environment.

She wasn't entirely sure what a submarine was doing in the Australian outback, but it was certainly interesting.

Meanwhile, Joker and the Ringmaster advanced on Humongous' henchman Wes. The disturbing grin causing him to back off a trip, leaving him vulnerable to attack from behind.

Seeing opportunity to level the playing field, the Chuckle-Buggy swung round and closed in, spraying Wes and Humongous with lead and somehow missing both.

This failed attack left the Chuckle-Buggy exposed and it was rammed and wrecked by the marauder truck.

The Ringmaster watch on from on top of some containers, where he was immediately struck by lightning causing him to fall to his death.

After cartwheeling along the Submarine, Harley Quinn jumped down to look at some of the military vehicles on the shore.

"Ya know Mister J. I don't think this is Australia."

Suddenly noticing the carnage, she whistled to the Joker, before jumping into the abandoned military vehicle and driving straight for him. Joker jumped aboard and waved goodbye to Humongous before heading back to Gotham.

Perhaps he would stick to Saturday Mornings for now.

Final Result: 6-5 to the Joker...somehow. Snaffling the macguffin and Harley picking up several objectives countered the absolute rout of the Clowns.

Overall the day was a lot of fun, although getting to grips with the vehicle rules (which I haven't used in well over a year) on the hoof did required a fair bit of book-flicking. 

I think that 7TV Apocalypse with vehicles is a very different beast from the other versions, and I was surprised by how maneuverable the vehicles were and a bigger table really makes for a very different game.

On top of the games, James, who organised the event, gave every player some 3d printed models. Two versions of Mad Max and a road sign not totally unlike this one:

I'm looking forward to tje next 7tv event in the calendar, which is a Fantasy event in February. However, I might take the opportunity to refamiliarise myself with the magic rules before playing to prevent more book-flicking.

Acquired: 165

Painted: 182