ToMB 2015 Month 1b - Advice Pig says hello

I was going to start this off by writing some blurb about whether McMourning is actually a Coroner, or whether his job is better described as a Forensic Pathologist. But you don't care about that, do you? No, you want to see pictures! 

So here it is, my first batch of models for the Tale of Malifaux Bloggers! Needless to say I'm pretty happy with how they turned out. The whole thing involved me branching out a little and learning some alternative paint schemes, namely undead gremlin flesh and how best to do gremlin blood. I also went for some slightly different basing with these guys as well - having replaced my usual green flock with a combination of static grass and tea leaves.

Anyway, enough chatter. Here are the models;

Dr Douglas McMourning, Bayou Doctor

It was perhaps inevitable that the good Doctor's double life as a Guild Forensic Pathologist/Resurrectionist would come to light. With his secret labs burnt to the ground and the guild hot on his tale, McMourning made his escape to one of the few places the long arm of the law would not find him - the Bayou.

Sebastian II

The arrival of a human, self-styled doctor was a cause for great concern among the local gremlin tribes. Initial attempts to eat him proved more difficult than anticipated so it didn't take long for most gremlins to accept their new neighbor, albeit with a healthy dose of fear. 

Of course as is typical of gremlins, a number of them took to admiring and eventually emulating their new Bayou Doctor. With his former lab assistant out of action McMourning was all to happy to accept new apprentices. Almost all inevitably became his test subjects, although one particularly bright fellow proved more useful alive than dead. Though he almost definitely had a name of his own, McMourning either never remembered it or was incapable of realising the gremlin was not his lab assistant from before. Nowadays, almost all the local gremlins have come to accept his new name - Sebastian. 

The Student of Sinew (with Advice Pig)

So what happened to the original Sebastian? Well he was somewhat less fortunate during his master's escape from the guild, and by the time they'd eluded capture Sebastian was left without the use of his...well... everything. Fortunately he was in the company of the self-described best surgeon this side of the Breach. So with a replacement part from the local fauna and some impressive needlework, Sebastian I's life was saved! 

McMourning has since moved on with his new lab assistant. So instead, Sebastian I has become the constant companion and teacher for one of the good Doctor's first test subjects - the very gremlin who first tried to eat McMourning. His undead "student" has proven quite receptive to the directions he gives and has become a lethal addition to McMourning's personal army. Sebastian I refuses to talk to McMourning, despite nevertheless following orders. However McMourning himself seems to have completely forgotten Sebastian I's origins and has now given him a new name - Advice Pig.

The Bayou Autopsies

If nothing else, moving his lab to the Bayou has given McMourning a near inexhaustible supply of bodies. Initially the gremlins had proven unwilling to move within reach of him, resulting in the Bayou Doctor spending almost as much time capturing the Gremlins as he did experimenting on them. However as his experiments proved fruitful and his reputation grew, he found himself with both a steady stream of willing "assistants", and a growing army of undead minions to capture the less willing participants for him. 

The Bayou Belle

When McMourning completed his work on the Bayou Belle he'd thought nothing more of it than any of his other creations. Somehow though, this particular subject retained one skill it was almost legendary for during it's pre-undead existance - fishing. It's skill with the rod has proven extremely useful to McMournings expeditions to acquire more test subjects, and has been repsonsible for luring in more than a few unwilling targets. 

The Zombie Chihuahua
It broke McMourning's heart to leave his first creation, the Zombie Chihuahua, behind when he made his hasty escape into the Bayou. For weeks he assumed the tiny dog had been incinerated along with all the rest of his beloved creations. So it was with some surprise that McMourning found him at the door of his new lab, tail wagging excitedly and gripping the hand of some hapless gremlin in his teeth.

One month down, 3 more to go...

So with Month 1 finished I suppose the hardest part is over - I've painted up a 35SS crew and worked out what techniques I'll be using to get the effects I wanted. I've yet to play a game with these guys (hopefully I'll fix that in the weeks to come) but I know what I want to add next - flesh constructs!

Unfortunately I've also hit a bit of a snag with my Flesh Construct plans. The standard flesh construct is a Ht 2, 40mm based model. However the Warpig I was planning to proxy it with is a Ht 3, 50mm based model. Wyrd has never been that consistent about the Ht of their models (the flesh construct is as tall as the new plastic warpig), but it still doesn't sit right with me. Besides, if I use something else for my Flesh construct then I could use the Warpig as a base for my Rogue Necromancy! So I'm wondering what I could use for a flesh construct instead? If anyone has any ideas on that front, I'd like to hear them! 

Until next time,

Adrian