'Dim & Dimmer', Two-Headed Giant for 'Moonstone'

Continuing on with my obsession with all things 'Moonstone', here is 'Dim & Dimmer', a rather cantankerous two-headed giant, out for a stroll and a bit of lunch. 

Again, similar to many of the models for this game, there is a wonderful sense of whimsy and character to this fellow (these fellows?). I love the cow over their shoulder and the 'bagged lunch' hanging from their belt.

I had a bit of fun painting the tattoo on their belly. I figured the ubiquitous t-shirt meme 'I'm With Stupid' (with a Giant's take on the spelling) would be a suitable tag on their expansive gut.

In game terms, 'Dim & Dimmer' is quite unpredictable as they're largely governed by random card draw, but if the stars align, then opponents are likely to end up as a bagged lunch. :)

Thanks for dropping in. I hope you're having a terrific day!

-Curt

Goblin Airship for 'Moonstone'

Today I present to you a Goblin Airship. 

I know, demented, isn't it? When I first saw it on the Moonstone website I knew I had to get one for my collection. It's just so charmingly whacky.

The 'airship', a poor frog whose been bunged up to contain its 'hot air', provides some 'vertical dimensionality' for the forces of the goblin 'Dominion'. 

I used Kermit the Frog as my muse for this model. I shaved down the pupil of one eye, so it could painted with the eyelid closed. I think it helps convey the poor guy's sense of distress. For the flag, I kept the same blue and white checked livery as my existing goblins.

I scrapped the stock stand and replaced it with a magnetic ball and gimbal set-up, so it can be easily separated for transport.

If you look hard you can see that the gondola has a little goblin peering out, manning a Maxim gun, (really it's a 'pea shooter', with the hopper for the peas at the end of the barrel).  He also has a cup of tea (cappuccino?) sitting precariously next to him. You know, for when he goes on union breaks.

Love. It.

Next up: A Two-Headed Giant(!) from Moonstone.

Thanks for dropping in folks! Have a terrific day!

-Curt

Goblin Troupe for 'Moonstone'

What have I been up to lately? Well, since early spring I've become quite enamoured with the game 'Moonstone'. I posted a sampling of the human faction, 'The Commonwealth' a few weeks ago. Since then I've placed several orders for its figures, cherry-picking from the wide assortment of models offered from its catalog.

This group is from the base set representing elements of the goblin faction, 'The Dominion', which is part of the starter set.

As I mentioned previously, I really enjoy how wacky the characters are, they look as if they've walked right off the sets of 'Legend' or 'Labyrinth' - they're quite demented. 

As the figures are a bit over-the-top, I decided to paint them in a very vibrant, bright pallet, using lots of glazes, washes and wet blending.  Some of it worked, some didn't, but I've been having a blast working on them. Here is the group.

The Vicious Midget

Doug the Flatulent (love this guy!)

Grub

Beaky Bobby

In addition to the figure design, one of the things I quite like about the system is that there are no point values in the game. The figures are essentially 'equal' to each other in their bonuses and shortcomings, so you're not having to fuss around with puzzling over lists or shaving points here to bring in something your really want. I find this is quite liberating and simplifies game setup. More on the game in the next post.

Thanks for dropping in!

-Curt

For Nick: Fausto Rodriguez - Rogue Trader

For quite some time now, Nick and I have enjoyed exchanging painted figures to add to each other's collection. For those familiar with Nick's skills with the brush, you will know that I am definitely the greater beneficiary with this arrangement. :)  Anyway, I muddle along and try do something for him that I think he'll like.

This year, Nick had mentioned that he'd like something Warhammer Fantasy themed, so I dug up several items from my stores that I thought might fit the bill. The thing is, I just couldn't find the mojo to get them done (I know, I'm such a princess). 

While all this was (not) happening, I found that this 40K Rogue Trader kept drifting across my desk during the Challenge, slowly getting worked on in fits and starts. It's the classic story: While beavering away on other projects I would put down a colour here, and then add another a week or so down the line. Slowly he came to life. 

The figure is from the excellent Artel W. I have tons of their (his?) stuff for my Dark Heresy collection and always love working on their models.

We'll call him Fausto Rodriguez.

I asked Nick if he would be okay with a 40K figure instead of something from WH Fantasy and his response was typically accommodating, saying, 'ScFi is just Fantasy in Space, isn't it?' 

Well Nick, here you go. A burly Rogue Trader for your 'space fantasy' collection. Cheers mate, I hope you like him.

- Curt

Commonwealth figures for 'Moonstone'

While muddling around online this winter, I came across this wonderful boutique game called Moonstone. Being instantly charmed, I duly pulled out my credit card to snap up the base set (and well, perhaps, a few additional figures 'fell into' the order to give a nice round number).

The basic premise of the game has 2-4 competing factions battling each other over a 3' x 3' playing surface to dig up valuable moonstones which, true to their name, can only be found at night. The factions, or 'Troupes', are 3-6 figures strong, and are composed of humans, faeries, goblins, fauns, giants, etc. The scenarios last only 4 turns, which makes for a rollicking, fast-paced game.

The figures for the game are cast in very fine resin and are amazing in their over-the-top character. Charming, silly and sometimes grotesque, the figures definitely tap into the visual style of Brian Froud, Arthur Rackham and Jim Henson. When you look at them you can't help but think of creatures featured in Labyrinth, The Dark Crystal and Legend.

That being said, being a bit of a mutton-head, I'm debuting this project with the rather boring human faction first, whereas I should have kicked off with the much more whacky goblins. Oh well, you should be able to get a visual sense of what the figures have to offer, and hopefully it sparks you to visit me again over the next few weeks to see some of the other factions.

The humans largely compose the Commonwealth faction. They have a very Grimm's Fairy Tale, Renaissance German look about them. The four characters I present here are: 

Baron Von Fancyhat

Eric the Squire

Friar Flavius

Each figure has various abilities and a signature move during combat situations. Most of these are very much in-spirit of the character and often hilarious. For example, Friar Flavius' signature move is 'Spank'. It does no damage to the opponent, but he gets 'healed' for his efforts. It fits perfectly for this fellow in his S&M gear and spiked paddle (the pink 'combat slippers' were an inspired afterthought).

Flintlock

So there you go, four 'heroes' from the Commonwealth, ready to battle it out for some precious moonstones. I'm working on the Goblins next, so please feel free to drop by later to see how I'm getting on with this project.

-Curt