Painting Marvel Crisis Protocol With 144Artist

I’ve decided I prefer the construction of and squared corners of the Really Useful Box.  I decided to use steel paper instead of magnetic sheets for weight and cost.  Also won’t matter which way a magnet is applied to a mini’s base it will still stick to the steel paper.  I picked up some 10 Packs of various Litko Heavy Duty Base Bottoms to see if I liked them and how well they might work.

Doctor Strange’s teacher and the former Sorcerer Supreme, the Ancient One is painted and in my collection.  A very nice sculpt that despite a static pose has a lot of movement. I really like how the cloak flows and appears to be caught in magic wind.  While the mini may be simple the character card looks quite formidable with a lot of big Mystic Attacks.  I might just have to assemble a Convocation affiliation just to try out all these mystic folks.

When I first started painting these fun little miniatures I just had a core set and a couple of additional individuals.  Storing them was easy as I could put each mini in a separate space in a divided bin.  As I collected and painted more I just filled the box, added a second box, then a third larger box for the biggest models.  As models were sharing spots I began using bubble wrap to protect them, not ideal for numerous reasons.  This was never the permanent plan as even in bubble wrap there is pressure being put on delicate parts of the models.

Despite having a bunch of Army Transport bags and foam trays, I’ve decided the best way to store these minis is standing up, not touching anything but the bottom of the bases.  Some research showed a number of different options, some more expensive than others.  In the end I didn’t want to get something 3D printed or that held the bases in place using pressure or rubber bands.  I am not a huge fan of rare earth magnets for a lot of reasons but found some excellent options that were traditional magnets that require less deforestation to manufacture.  I’m looking into different plastic bins to store the minis in as well different ways to attach them to said bins.

I’ll be sharing the results here soon.

Cassandra Nova, almost sister to Charles Xavier, is painted and ready to control those around her.  Most of my knowledge of this character comes from some internet searches and the film Wolverine and Deadpool and she is scary.  Like the Shadow King, Cassandra Nova is a psychic entity that seeks hosts.  She tried taking Charles over in the womb but he banished her.  Of course she came back later for vengeance as these beings do.

She was creepy and terrifying in the film so I can only imagine what she’ll be like on the table but as I am in no hurry to get Sentinels I have a feeling it will be some time before I run her.

So, now that I have a better understanding of what everything is and what might might get used more than others it is time to organize the Flip Top Tote or “big plastic bin that I can stack” full of still sealed up tokens and character cards… oh and Tactics cards. Pretty much all the bits and pieces that weren’t terrain or minis.

As soon as I’d played once I realized why each side generally bring their own peripherals.  Handing rulers back and forth wastes time as was handing token trays back and forth.  So my OCD said that I clearly needed to divide what I could evenly in half.  It just made sense to create a second complete “players kit”.

As to the painted minis and terrain… That will be quite the journey and worth it’s own posts.

Laura Kinney, or X-23, is a product of the Weapon X program that not only fused adamantium to Logan’s bones but also used his DNA to make her and her sister, Honey Badger.  She was programed as weapon but escaped with her sister and joined the X-Men.  In game she looks deadly and fast.  Kind of character that can get to objectives and hold them.  I look forward to finding out.

Elizabeth “Betsy” Braddock is the deadly psychic assassin known as Psylocke and she is a gorgeous sculpt and such fun to paint.  A great character in the comics as well as the sister to Captain Britain.  Jim Lee always drew her beautifully beautiful so I wanted to get her right.  I have to say I think she is one of my better pieces.  Faces are an ongoing struggle and I really put in some effort here.  I think it paid off.

Gambit (Remi Etienne LeBeau) is painted and ready for the table top.  Of questionable background and morals, this former follower of Mr Sinister became one of the most beloved X-Men.  He even ended up married to Rogue.  How his empathy and energy projection powers will play out are less obvious than the bō staff.  Another great pose and sculpt from AMG.

I couldn’t resist trying to hint at suits on the playing cards.

Oh how I do love this little dragon companion and am delighted that AMG included him not just on the figure but in the rules as well.  Shadowcat, AKA Kitty Pryde, was created by Chris Claremont and John Byrne during my favorite era of X-Men comics.  She is a phaser like Vision but also disrupts electronic systems when she does so.  That should be interesting to explore in game.

Looks like I need to get a few more pictures of this young hero and her draconic friend so will update this post when I do.

While I am on the subject of teleporting characters, here is the original teleporting X-Man, Kurt Wagner AKA Nightcrawler.  I tend to think of him as the thing that goes BAMF in the night.  He is one of my longtime favorite X-Men and this sculpt doesn’t disappoint.  It has a few options like Kurt’s cutlasses and the word BAMF that can be attached to the sulphuric smelling smoke like Deadpool’s FWOOSH. Unlike Deadpool, I don’t really think it fit the overall aesthetic of my collection.  Nightcrawler isn’t a fourth wall breaker so I left it off his base.

Colossus’s sister, Illyana or Magik, has joined my X-Men affiliation.  Well leapt from a portal would be a better description.  Another dynamic sculpt from AMG and so fun to paint.  I am really looking forward to learning how that teleportation works in game especially as she isn’t the only X-Man who can do it. Well, more on that later…

I guess I could call this “Double Post Fix” but this sounds more planned.  Now that I’ve played the game, have been organizing the peripherals, and have an idea of what to store and how one would think that’s where my mind would be. Nope, I’m painting more minis.  In my defense, I’m just waiting for a few samples to arrive in the mail so I can make some final decisions.  I’ll be sharing that journey as well.

So here we have the last of the founding X-Men members who currently have models, Bobby Drake or Iceman.  For such a big model it does have some tiny bits so I suggest working on or over a surface that can catch strays.  Maybe it’s just my clumsiness but I recommend that for any kit or Lego set for that matter.  I was tempted to add some snow effects but have been trying to solve my challenges with paint for all these minis.  All in all, I think he came out well.  Got to play with him in a game and liked how he slows any enemy that end up in his range.

So looking forward to the release of Angel.

I’ve posted some of the Work in Progress on this ferrous fellow but here he is in his finished glory.  Non-Metalic Metal still isn’t my strong suit in fact I’d go so far as to say it is still a weak point in my skill set but this is one of my better attempts to date.  I’m not ready to try and make him look chrome but he does look to be shiny and sort of metallic.  I got to use him in game and while I didn’t notice his Big Brother power until after Wolverine had been crushed under a garbage truck by Captain Marvel, Colossus did get revenge by Knocking Out the Kree warrior.  He is one tough character and literally a “Man of Steel”.  I hope to get to use the Fastball Special Tactics Card soon.

Another great pose and it went together easily.  More broken Sentinel pieces to tie the team together visually.

Looking back to the original founding X-Men I present Hank McCoy, The Beast.  Granted this is his later form as originally he was just a beefy guy with big prehensile feet.  I’ve always liked this version more so am glad AMG went with it.  I am looking forward the Angel coming out later this year so I can try and field the original team but I would love to see AMG release a version of the team in their original yellow and black costumes.

I haven’t yet decided on what he should be reading but when I do I’ll revisit him and add details.  Right now I am leaning toward comic book pages or Belle from Beauty and the Beast.

As I don’t foresee a lot of MCP games in my near future, let us return to painted minis.  Bishop is finished and looking rather dynamic. Not happy with how his face photographed so will have to rectify that next time I set up the lights and camera.

The last evening of the con found several people wanting g to learn the game.  Each person picked a character/mini they liked and got the appropriate character card.  There were enough of them make a side so I set up the X-Men for myself and any stragglers that showed up after we started.  It was just an excuse to try put different powers and show folks the basics.  Being the last game on Sunday meant folks were tired and not thinking too clearly but we did get in two full turns with characters going down on both sides.  I think next time I will set up two teams and divide each in half so the beginners can play doubles.

I have come to the conclusion that I need 2-4 of the MCP Apartment buildings but can’t pay the retail price. So I have a new quest- Find MCP terrain at a good price.

Another founding member and only female hero (until Giant Size X-Men 1 and the introduction of Storm) Jean Grey in painted and ready to put her telekinesis to work.  She is arguably one of the X-Men’s most powerful members and I applaud her for dropping the “Marvel Girl” moniker. Now that I have a slight understanding of how this game works, I am so looking forward to seeing her on the table.

Met up with old and new friends at PacifiCon Game Convention in Santa Clara, California this weekend.  A couple of us were eager to play MCP and one of my friends knows how so tutored two of us in a starer game.  As some may have noticed, I have collected and completed a few characters and terrain as well as terrain tiles so I had plenty to kit us both out and set up a pretty table.  The “GM” picked a couple Objective cards for us and we each built a team worth 17 Threat Level.  I just picked minis I loved painting and was eager to get on the table.  It just worked out that every one of them was in the Avengers Affiliation.  My opponent chose all Brotherhood characters so we had two thematic teams.

Sticking with my X-Men theme, I finished working on Rogue.  A great character in the comics and movies as well as a great pose in the mini.  Easy assembly and painting was straight forward.  I am very fond of these base covers that are showing up more and more with the newer kits.  I love the theme of Sentinel wreckage and parts with this team.