Grey

Yes of course, inevitably yet another Warrior! I promise that at some point some other classes will see minis painted up, honest, as well as some more models for the Dark Faction.

Grey is my first Church mini, and I have lined up a few others from the same Organization so I can try out a Level 200 game to see how Organization Advantages play out.

Grey is intended to be a 'tank' or 'bodyguard' of sorts through reading some tactics posts on the Forums, and looking at his Actions and abilities.  While a fairly decent Warrior looking at his attributes, and for his Level, he has a unique ability that prevents him from taking out enemies, so he needs to be used in tandem with an ally without doubt.

I love the idea of the grizzled veteran, which is picture Grey as, and I painted this mini up in tandem with Clover as a conscious effort to step away from the 'dark palette' of the first three minis I finished.

Red is going to be a motif for my Church units going forwards; I will try and work in at least some red into all of their schemes if possible. While some minis will suit it, others may prove a little trickier, so time will tell on that plan.

The 'studio' version of Grey has him bedecked in white; since my Saints will be in White, I wanted to paint him in a way that would stand out from that, and from the darker hues I plan for units like Lostaroth Marchosias. I am sure it will work out as planned, or vaguely like as planned!

As I finish more and more Anima Tactics units I am getting increasingly itchy to try the game. Hopefully by February or March I will have painted enough to have a few games trying a few different models and Party combinations.

So five models painted for Anima Tactics this month. the down-side is that my percentage painted is about to drop imminently as I have a few more minis ordered and en route. Oh well...


Running Totals
Anima Tactics Minis: 61
Anima Tactics Minis Painted: 5
Painted Minis Percentage: 8.2%

Clover

Well given my general slowness in painting, consider today's posts (this one and the next; Grey - click for link) as my likely peak in terms of any speediness in churning out Anima Tactics minis in quick order. I said I wanted to complete 12 more minis in the 12 months after my progress report - not sure if these should count as they were already under-way, but they are are done.

I had not intended to complete Clover at this time, as since he is a Leader he is primarily intended for games at Level 250 and upwards, basically around 5-7 minis I think. Well as i was deciding what to paint after Hiro, I thought I was going to paint Genma, but after splashing a bit of paint on Clover I knew quickly how I was going to tackle him and he was completed pretty quickly by my standards (those standards mean that I can quite happily start a mini and put it to one side to finish anything up to a couple or more years later...). Once I laid down the basics for coat, shirt and trousers it was a pretty swift job from start to finish over a few brief sessions over a few days. I lack the determination these days to sit for prolonged periods of painting, so doing 30 minutes here, or 60 there is how I tend to approach my painting at present.

Clover is one of the Leaders of Black Sun. The Black Sun Organisation is a corporation that specializes in Undead constructs of various Types.I have picked up some of these Undead and will get around to them in good time. One thing that has occurred to me is that I will try and include black-green as a motif among all my Black Sun Units. Other Organisations will get their own motif colours.

In the mean-time I do not expect that Clover will get a run out until I have gotten to grips with the game - I think Leaders will be 'off-the table' so to speak, that initial games will be in the 100-200 Levels range as we learn, until we feel comfortable with the game.

Still, it was a nice feeling to get another mini done. What I have noticed is that all so far have been Warriors; I need to get some Mystics (Including Summoners), Prowlers and Summons done to see the available depth of game-play in Anima Tactics. I have been doing some sorting towards that end, but need better weather to spray some minis up.

Running Totals
Anima Tactics Minis: 61
Anima Tactics Minis Painted: 4
Painted Minis Percentage: 6.6%

Progress Report

I love the Anima Tactics range, that is a certainty - it has an aesthetic that appeals to be, and is clearly influenced by console games I enjoyed in the 90's. All good. But like many minis hobbyists I can be obsessive, and after reviewing what I have accumulated since my last update I am determined to paint as many of these minis as I can manage among my other gaming and painting commitments - I aim to paint at least 12 in the next 12 months at least.

To that end I plan periodic updates of what I have painted, but also what I have ...ahem...accumulated...note never 'bought'..., and will offer a painted percentage of the sum total. My plan is that each period (probably each quarter but who knows) I will offer an update of minis painted so far (so should be aiming for at least 3 per quarter if I manage to stay in line with my updates), and a percentage completion. The idea being that as well as seeing the painted count rise, hopefully the painted percentage will rise, meaning I am not buying...ahem accumulating...beyond a realistic rate of completion.

So far:

Painted: 3
Painted Percentage: 4.9%

Painted

• Dereck Shezzard
• Hiro
• Kingsley Warlock

Under-coated or base-coated I have ready:

• Grey
• Clover
• Akio Kageshima
• Dark Cheshire
• Bael
• Genma
• Shinobi

Prepped but awaiting under-coat and in some cases a little green-stuffing:

• Al-Djinn
• Ahriman, Lord of Darkness
• Covel
• Ignis, Fire Demon
• Bella
• Aqua
• *Deimon
• *Juliette Kaim

In the pile of stuff in boxes and blisters:

• Legacy of Solomon
• Romeo Exxet
• Faust Orbatos
• Arkham
• Type 005 (blister)
• Type 005 (Black Sun starter)
• Alius, Holy Soldier (x2)
• Khaine D'Lacreu
• Khaine D'Lacreu LE
• Li Long
• Sophia Ilmora
• Kairos
• Saint Evangeline
• Kronen Roxxon
• Promethea
• Styx
• Tsubasa Kurokami
• Ophiel
• (another) Akio Kageshima
• *Arias Vayu
• *Elhaym
• *Tiamat
• *Lostaroth Marchosias
• *Wrath of Nature
• *Xavier
• *Saint Elienai
• *Grimorium
• *Hel
• *Kudoi
• *Kyler
• *Harod
• *Kirsten
• *Gemini – Zack & Zafini
• *Nahimana
• *Drake
• *Yuki
• *Sarah Reindhold
• *Adolf Brunner
• *Type 20: Verrier
• Samael Agent (F)
• Samael Agent (M)
• Church Agent (M)
• Wissenschaft Agent (M)

* indicates 'accumulated' since the last list...

Hiro

Go Avenger Ranger, go!

Hiro's background posits him as a boy reborn after an accident and rebuilt as the hero of his wildest dreams. He sees himself as an 'Avenger Ranger', a hero of justice, something he sees in the other Crows of Wissenschaft.

I love this nod to the Tokusatsu shows known to most of us in the west through Power Rangers, Masked Rider and V.R. Troopers. The rules of this guy emulate my memories of those shows, as perfectly demonstrated by his Posing rule; when Hiro defeats an enemy he has to expend an Action Point (or suffer Slow Level 1).

I have yet to play Anima Tactics, so I do not have a clue how he plays in the game, but I can guarantee that even when I have a few minis ready for my first games, I wholly expect Hiro to get a few outings!

I am pretty happy with how Hiro turned out, although I may do a little more on a couple of the areas of 'metal' on the model.

Hiro was started before Dereck Shezard, but it took until I felt I had enough focus and motivation to finish him off (if indeed he is finished) in a few stints.

I am pleased with how the figure looks in the pictures, and it probably photographs a little better than it looks in hand to be honest. That said, I definitely need to add some 'lighter' palette minis in my Anima Tactics selection I reckon; there is a lot of 'dark' going on so far. Well across the three minis if that counts as a 'lot'.

On my Anima Tactics painting slate now: Shinobi; Clover; Grey; Genma. 

Other minis that are base-coated include: Akio Kageshima; Bael; Dark Cheshire. 

I have a few other minis based and ready, but no under-coating: Covel; Deimon; Juliette Kaim; Bella and Aqua; Ingnis, Fire Demon.

Not sure which of these will be finished next, or whether something else will jump the queue - so stay tuned to find out!

Kingsley Warlock

Two Anima Tactics minis finished in 8 days? I am on a roll now - expect it to come crashing to an ignominious halt very soon no doubt!

Kingsley Warlock was started way before Dereck Shezard, but I stalled, mainly as I was struggling with the sword. NMM is still beyond me, but I like the final effect, and prefer it to regular metallics since I am not a fan of metallic paints. I find the changing of water and brushes etc too much of a chore.

As I say, I started this one quite a way back but stalled on the sword, which meant stalling on a few other bits as well, but once I repainted the sword, the remaining parts came together.

I really like the Kingsley Warlock mini; from the style (from the suit and long-coat matched with funky belt and shoes to the freaking huge sword).

For those that do not know Anima Tactics, all models have a class or role; well Kingsley Warlock occupies several of those (Controller - relates to Undead; Mystic; Warrior), meaning he is probably less effective than many mono-class counterparts. That said, I have yet to play the game so who knows! But what I do know is I need to get some of my other Black Sun Undead models painted soon. Being all of those classes opens up many, many choices in Advantage cards, since a lot are tied to classes. I am sure I will blog a bit about Advanatge cards at some point in the future.

Kingsley Warlock is Dark Faction too, and that means he can be played with other Dark and/or Neutral models outside of an Organization (Black Sun) list.

I have noticed that I go through phases in terms of the colour palette I use for minis, and the last two are no exception, with their dark hues. In the Anima Tactics minis pipeline I have Hiro (some commonalities with the palette of the first two, with added purple flourish); Genma (dark green and pale grey as key colours); Grey (who will be mainly, well, grey, with white contrast); and a Shinobi (dark palette again, dark blue as the main colour base).

Dereck Shezard

Click to embiggen

Wow. That took longer than I thought, or ever anticipated - finishing and posting my first Anima Tactics mini that is.

I only started Dereck Shezard very recently, despite having a couple of other minis in an almost completed state, but he got painted pretty quickly and I am glad I have finished one of these at last.

I love the visual ethos of the Anima Tactics range, and as a fan of games like Final Fantasy VII, FF VIII, Wild ARMS and others from the 90's, it is a game that pushes so many of the right buttons for me. I wish more of the minis were single piece casting like this one, but alas that is not the case. It won't stop me painting my way through this line, but it will slow me down, and as an admittedly very slow painter already, that is surely a funny notion.

I want to get playing this game sometime early next year, which means I reckon I will need around 6-12 minis at minimum to get started. And while I have plenty of the Anima Tactics line to do that with, my painting inertia will be the biggest hurdle without doubt.

Anyway, I am fairly pleased with this one; not my best paining ever, but some touches I am rather happy with. Hopefully Hiro and Kingsley Warlock will move into the 'finished' pile sooner than later. Watch this space.

Game-wise I have no idea yet! But his nickname is 'Godkiller' and he is one of he higher Level models in the game, and he is not a Leader which seems to bump the value of some characters up a little in comparative terms, so in all I expect he can kick some bottom when needed to do so.