Unboxing Aetherium part 2: the models

So I wrote most of this last week then delayed posting while spending a week in a tent with the family (kids aged 1 & 4, not so much sleep, lots of sunshine). While away I skimmed the rulebook, looking mainly at the fluff.
In the core box you get two factions - the Axiom and the Nanomei. The Axiom are Aetherium's version of quasi-religious officialdom - fanatical leaders in robes and enforcers in riot gear:

We get two characters - the priest waving his hand and the the female leader - five riot shield guys, the grenadier, two hounds and two scenery pieces - these are the little brothers of the monoliths from the last post, they are key to the game (it seems they stabilise areas of the digital dimension to allow human minds to exist there)

This is the Axiom leader - Lady Aemelia Mastrona - I won't spoil the backstory but she's an interesting character. The model is well cast (as they all are), there are a few bits to trim and mould lines to clean but nothing too difficult.

Opposing the Axiom we have the Nanomei - anarchist types, scrappily dressed:

We get two multi-model units (the picketers and the riot grlz) - and three more character like models (although except for the guy in the mask - The Masque - the single models can be fielded multiple times. My favourite at first glance is the Tov:

The Nanomei I received had several shades resin used for different models, as below. Whether there's any difference beyond colour I'll see when I get to cleaning up the models, the detail on each cast is crisp.

There was a third blister pack in the box containing the two Kickstarter exclusive models - an extra riot girl and an Axiom sniper. I decided (after reading the training scenario and seeing I'll need most of the models to play from the beginning) to paint these as test models. Here they are, primed...

... several times over. Yeah, read the instructions! The little paper insert with the model prep info from the caster is IMPORTANT! I cleaned up the vents and mould lines (less than 5 minutes work) and gave them a good wash. The instruction sheet specified a primer to use, but I figured (rather than looking for this or its UK equivalent) I'd just give it a go with what I had... Vallejo white brushed on wouldn't stick, neither would Tamiya spray. A mix of Vallejo white and some old Citadel foundation (Khemri Brown) eventually did the job on the riot girl, and several attempts with Vallejo grey brushed on worked on the sniper... at this point I decided I'd definitely prep all the other models together and prime as one with the advised primer.

Once primed, the paint went on easily - I'm further on than this now but here's how the riot girl started:

Workbench 010415

The daily painting session is producing just over 1 completed model a week so far this year (though of varying quality...) The latest finished is a warrior priest (Edan, the Cleric) from Legion of the Cow Predictably this was another Kickstarter derived miniature, one of a handful I bought from their project last spring. I don't have any wip shots from this but the resin cast was very good, easy to clean up, very detailed.

Geralt - almost.

There were three elements I wanted to try to capture on this model - the contrast between cloth types, the osl from the flame and the motion of the piece. The latter handled itself - this is a very good sculpt. I'm not happy with the flame - the red to black transition is too harsh. And the cloth is kind of okay, but the jerkin looks too glossy and the shoulder pads too matt.
I wasn't going to let myself just stick this one on a clear base (and I didn't buy it as a gaming mini anyway - although when Mantic's dungeon saga ships it might have a role there), so I painted a rock grey...

Currently in progress: along with a couple of mini's from Aetherium, I'm still working through Taban's Escape models, these two are wip (and with all these I've been trying to match the card art):

That's gonna be a lot of nmm... 

Next up: I've been trying to have one challenging model on my desk in parallel to the tabletop standards etc - I've mainly used Kingdom Death stuff for this so far. The paint jobs on these have been aspirational - none have hit the target yet but they've been getting better. I couldn't decide which to choose next for this so I'm going to try having three on the corks at once - and make it a skin tone project:

The challenge...

So here we have an Ax-Drune from Mierce (resin), the Kickstarter exclusive Male Barbarian from Minx Studios/Legion of the Cow (resin) and the Kingdom Death Architect Pin-up. That's a lot of flesh...

Unboxing Aetherium (Part 1)

So a little under a year ago I backed the Aetherium Kickstarter, a decision influenced by this interview at House of Paincakes.  I liked the vaguely Matrix like atmosphere, the sculpts looked good and the gameplay seemed a bit different. It was also a 'proper' Kickstarter - a new company (or rather Collective - Anvil 8 Games), a new idea, raising the cash needed to get it made. A couple of weeks ago a heavy box arrived, here it is:

My first thought was 'this box is heavy'. I'd followed the vaguely production updates from the Kickstarter but not looked in detail at the components as they were revealed. I wondered what I would find inside... This lot apparently...

This lot to be exact:

First the piece of paper - hang onto this! The models in the box are resin, this is a quick (and useful) how to work with resin sheet. Then - that is one big, heavy mat!

The quantum noise mat, on which the game is played. Having seen pictures of the game set up, it visually conveys the 'noise' very well. It's robust too, as is much of this game kit. Next out:

Counters - 2 types, acrylic and heavy card stock, colourful and thick:

(Ok it's not a micrometer but you see these aren't flimsy.

Cards:

There is a small pack of these, unit cars and some kind of action cards, more on these when I get to a play through.

Dice (17mm ish by my measure) 

They roll satisfyingly:

Bases (these are the only component I'm not sure about they're very chunky and will need some thought in painting):

Then it's the miniatures themselves - three clamshell packs, one with each faction, the third with the Kickstarter exclusive models (I'll look at these next time).

I haven't had a gone over the miniatures properly yet - that's for the next post - but here's a quick snap of the detail:

These are good! Clean details, minimal mould lines.

Then we have the game ("Schema") tiles:

These are also nice and thick, they have a nice gloss finish and bold colours.

The rulebook (Thick again - there's a theme here - and pretty too, plenty of art, I can't comment on the text, I need to read it...)

Another game tile:

The player boards ("Command Consoles"):

And finally a couple of odd rocks (yeah ok, they're actually nice, there is a lot of detail in the surface waiting to be painted, and I'm sure they're important in game, but when I first picked them out of the box there was a 'what's this doing here?' moment).

So that's a quick look at the contents, next time I'm going to open the miniatures. The plan with Aetherium is to paint before playing so I'll have a look at the rule book and see what's needed on the bench first...

Where it's at (aka Kickstarters received)

A few 'done' models from ongoing projects...

Myth - got this from the Kickstarter, have played (and enjoyed it) a bit, mostly low level solo play so far. I'm working through the heroes/agents before tackling the darkness minions, trying to paint to a 'tabletop' level. The game tiles from Myth are pretty and the bases the models come on are ugly, so with a little knife work they're all going on clear bases.

Escape - another Kickstarter, I've only played this once so far, also solo, it looks to have potential but I decided to paint everything and then dive in. The miniatures with this were hit and miss, some came out perfectly, others are weirdly proportioned or not so well moulded (or assembled - the pvc on this one was all pre-glued). While working through these I've been trying to figure-out/learn/practise some basic techniques, so there are a lot of attempts and non metallic metals, osl and little bits of free hand - the models had enough character to practise on but were not so good that I minded a few failed attempts. I have just a couple of the character pvc models left, the Puppet Master and then the bots. Oh and a load of resin I picked up with it. And all the bases need doing... quite a lot of work before this one gets played.

These are from Bombshell Miniatures, very nicely sculpted and produced metals. I have a load of these plus the space ship they Kickstarted, and the Counterblast rule book - which reads nicely but hasn't seen the table yet. 

Mantic/Deadzone - I went in big on this, and although I've only played half a dozen times I think it's a great game. The Reb's, Plague and (restic) Enforcers are all painted and the characters have been sitting on my desk getting occasional attention when I have too much of an appropriately colour on my pallet. These three are the latest to get that treatment (and yeah, all the DZ stuff is on clear bases). The new hard plastic Enforcers are looking very nice but are still sitting on their sprues, this will probably be the next big project after Aetherium.