Gears of War is probably one of my favorite gaming franchises right now, and definitely one of my favorite things on the Xbox 360. Its an excellent, well done 3rd person shooter from Epic Games, and one I’m actually really annoyed that is on the 360 only. Only the first game is on Windows, and its not on the PS3 at all. Really, its one of those games that could’ve been truly huge, if not for the fact its tied down to a single system.
Anyhow! There is a board game based on the series, published by Fantasy Flight Games, designed by Corey Konieczka. I don’t actually know who the guy is, but I do know he made Space Hulk: Death Angel the card game, which I also have. Given they mentioned him by name, I’m assuming he’s actually a big deal, and from my play-through a few Saturdays ago? I can understand why.
But, I can give my impressions of the game another time.
The game is great in and of itself. But one of the really stand out things about it would be the production values. Everything looks and feels solid; not a single thing feels cheap. That definitely includes the miniatures included! They’re absurdly well sculpted and detailed, not looking or feeling like they were rush jobs. About the only thing that gets me is they come in two colors; gray for the Locust, and red for the player characters. Now, given the game cost me $50, and has a MSRP of $69.95? You know, I can live with that.
Anyhow, a while ago I used an Amazon gift card to buy one of Army Painter’s starter kits. It came with ten paints, plus a can of black spray primer. I also picked up a container of Liquidtex black colored gesso as my “go to” primer after reading up some on Privateer Press’ forums. My overall plan is to try and keep as close to the Army Painter technique as I can (pdf here), as its ridiculously simple, and the results are very good. As a relative beginner, it looks like a great way to learn, and a good starting point to grow out from.
So, I’ve started off with the Tickers. Annoying little buggers in game; partly due to their speed, partly due to their suicidal tendencies. As you can see, I gave them a relatively generous coating of gesso. I chose black as the primer color so I could tell where I have and haven’t painted, plus in the little cracks and crevices I can’t get to? Well, its instant shading. I did this last night, and let them dry until this evening.
The way gesso just “goes away,” leaving a wonderful black layer along with all the details? Its wonderful.
The fleshy bits were about 8 drops of Army Painter's "Flesh,” plus about a drop/blob of a red acrylic. The metallic parts are painted with the imaginatively named "Metal." I painted the flesh first, then did the metal harness/bomb after. In retrospect, I should’ve done it in reverse. Why? Because one required mixing, whereas the other did not, thus would be easier to fix. Ah well.
Tomorrow night my friend will be bringing his Army Painter Quick Shade, which I’ve been told and shown several times to be proof of magic. It should fill in the cracks, add details, etcetera. I’m really looking forward to it! Also, time permitting, I’ll paint the Wretches tomorrow as well, but chances are that’ll wait until Sunday.
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