Ha Ha redux :)
This blog was written a while back but has required a proper update as my Joker collection has grown beyond the necessary...
The Jokerness started with the Back to Gotham starter then I added Clowns party and picked up the metal Joker's gang and finished up with Street Jesters and Gas Puppets As I write this I realise I have also painted up Batman Who Laughs and will add those pictures as well.
As an aside when I comment on abilities please take anything I say with a pinch of salt as I am no more expert in this game than any other game I play, nor in fact in any aspect of my life.
So having picked up a set on ebay, assembled, filled and primed it was all systems go but with whom to start? I went with the big guy Borgon.
Borgon
This was an easy choice as he is the stand out mini in the box and the most airbrush friendly with large areas of flesh and denim made for some nice modulation and blending. The flesh is my usual vallejo flat brown, cork brown, flat flesh, ivory mixes. I successively add eah to the previous to highlight up to get nice smooth blends but keep sufficent contrast between lights and shadows.
The hardest part for me was painting in the name as i literally couldn't make it out for ages on the illustration until my aged brain finally clicked in that it said Borgon but with the B covered!
I used to hate painting letters until i bought my windsor and newton series 7 brushes. A size 1 is perfect for this as it holds enough thin paint but with such a fine point that it doesnt splodge out but runs evenly. I use normal vallejo model color but thinned down with either flow improver in actual airbrush thinner - whatever is at hand.
The rubble is literally rubble as i smashed up some brick, mdf and wood with a lump hamer to make a mix which i just glue on with super glue.
I believe recently Borgon has become quite good rather than the useless lump he was!
Joker Arkham Asylum
Next up the Joker. as im not a big Batman expert I try to stick as closely as possible to the box art except that i do simplify sometimes when i think some of the added painted details detracts. This is just my preference however. sometimes less is more betterer! Joker was actually one of the easiest in this sense and only his trouser stripes and edge highlighting on the cuffs, lapels and pockets were tricky. Like an idiot i fully painted his face before realising it was going to be whited up anyway.
Here i didn't use rubble as per Borgon as with the smaller bases it doesn't work so it the old sharp sand and pva mix (see blog entry on basing).
Mr Dynamite was next and i initially bodged by using too purple a colour before reverting to the pink. This was a really straight forward paint with the only free hand being the Ha Ha on his back which you cant see because i forgot to photograph his back. This picture above shows nicely the size difference between the miniatures. Borgon is a beast.
Mr Dynamite
Whiteface came next as I wanted to paint the diamond pattern.
This was one of my favourites to paint as it had both the obvious diamond pattern of red and white but also the Green diamonds on the turned back cuffs as well as more trouser stripes. To do the red white diamonds do the white ones first as painting white over red has always been a bad idea. for some science reason the red shows through like a crime scene cover up. This does mean you need to be super careful with the red but the W&N size 1 is your friend. It doesn't show particularly well in this foto but it is possible to shade the red diamonds quite effectively with definite scarlet towards the top.
Whiteface
Rasta clown was another fun job. The pose is dynamic and the interest here was in reducing the amount of detail from the box art. I decided to keep the face make up and the T shirt design but dropped the tattoos and the nose on the batface T shirt.
Rasta clown
Ace of Spades
Ace. again simplified to just the ace of spades and a couple of tattoos. Looking at this i think ill go back and highlight up the green bomb things.
Gaggy
Gaggy was next and was easily the trickiest as not only is he smaller but also has very vague diamonds in parts which meant about half the diamonds are freehand. additionally the pose makes it tricky to reach parts once assembled so best not to attach to the pneumatic thing until painted. Also paint the yellow first as its way easier to do the dark over light than the other way around. I used an ivory base then yellow ochre then lemon yellow with a tincy bit of white for the yellow. The benefit of the airbrush is also visible in the dark to light on the machine. there is also a bit of delicate chipping effect on the machine.
Lastly my two least favourite but easiest to paint figures - Mr Yellow (Hobo) and Mr Green (Buffon). these were straightforward airbrush jobs with less brushwork. However neither mini was satisfactory and if I wasnt both too busy with commissions and too lazy with my own minis I would redo.. Of the two I think I have used Hobo Clown more as at 14 points with a chopper he seems to fill the gap I always have at the end...
Hobo
Buffon
My next Joker lot came with the 3rd edition big box with two diorama minis included, Joker on stage and Harley Quinn with a bendy hammer.
Joker (unknown)
Probably should have not gone all in on the stage Joker in terms of gameplay but to be honest I am the sort of gamer who prefers to lose stylishly than win being a bit of a min/max dick. Each to their own though... So huge base Joker it is. Looking at it now I might revisit it as i see room for improvement on the green smoky stuff which just seems too dark.
Harley tends to be in most any Joker crew I take as the ability to literally knock out some minion every turn is useful as is fast on top of normal move to keep her a bit safer
Chainsaw guy (Thug 3) is a very cool mini and at 20 points is an excellent bullet catcher. If he is out and moving I find people tend to shoot at him to stop the havoc he can cause. That is fine as then they arent shooting at somebody else who can do more important things.
Thug 4 - slightly cheaper and less good version of Thug 3
Thug 6 - despite being a great looking mini has never made it to the table for me. His Bodyguard ability requires him to be within 4" of Joker to work and I am definitely not able to make sure this happens due to ineptitude.
Thug 2 - cancer man
I thought he was completely useless at first but the expansive template and its potential to harm friend or foe to help scoring means he occasionally sees the streets of Gotham - usually briefly! So just useless rather than completely useless.
He is also a good example of the strengths and weaknesses of the new material at time of release. On the one hand detail capture is excellent when it works but look at the neck and right arm where hideous flash needed carving and there is no blade sharp enough.
Thug 1 - Kitchen Knife man
He's fast. Thats it really, not much else going for him but 10 inch move can get him dropping markers over half way at end of turn 1 - just!
Thug 5 - Gunman
I quite like this guy if you can spare an audacity and he can activate he gets 2 shooty attacks which is always nice. Best used early turns as unlikely to last past turn 2 to be honest as will have a big target on his head.
Joker (Jared Leto)
Cool mini but never taken him and might struggle to get my head around all his card text after just using same big base joker all the time! Might try him soon as just noticed he has 10" move which I am always a fan of.
Grin Twins
Again great looking minis but never had them on table. Very much enjoyed painting them though as with every mini in this set.
Eyeball man
What a weird mini. An expensive minion (27) but with a rubbish gun that is hopeless beyond 8". Has assault but unlikely to use it as already shooting a useless gun. Am i missing something?
Goat Head Priest
This is a better bet, 8 points more than Eyeball but with a proper gun which can actually go out to 16" - why would you take Eyeball above Goathead? That is a sentence you won't hear everyday.
Pandaman
Autotake for me even at 40 points mainly because he is a panda but also the gun is good against anything with dodge. 2 decent shots and you can be putting worrying damage into anybody. Only two ammo is the downside but always going to buy the extra ammo.
Street Jester 2
Decent melee ability if you can get him in. The Street Jesters and Gas Puppets were a change of painting style for me as I wanted to get my own toys painted faster so turned to 'speedy paints'. I have bith Vallejo xpress and actual speed paints and enjoy the way they go on. I tend to slapchop then highlight up with normal paints where I am not happy as you can see.
Street Jester 4
I see this guy as an Aldi Harley. An effective 12" move plus a good chance of a KO and a vague chance of a 360 strike at 18 points. Another good jester and for me more in the vibe of Joker than stuff like paramilitaries which I will not use for the same reason I only use Riddler minis in classic green - I am in it for style points as much as victory points.
Street Jester 3
This mini is cool because it has the Joker vibe but also has the ability to help scoring by popping out poison condition at admittedly shortish range but with no penalty for moving. Throw in Jokers Gas and this is a good 24 pointer for me.
Street Jester 1
Another Autotake based simply on the Boom rule. The opportunity to self destruct against 2 or 3 enemy is too good to resist even though so far results have been .... disappointing and in one game I failed to place him away from my own crew with foreseeable (not to me apparently) results. The embodiment of Jokeriness.
Gas Puppet 3
Love these minis and have played them a few times to literally no effect whatsover.. Not blaming the minis or the mechanics as i can see the value and a couple of them nearly always fill out the awkward points gap at the end but to date they have mainly floated around like lost childrens' balloons
Gas Puppet 1
Batman who Laughs minis - I have nothing to say about these Jokerish Iterations as I dont own them nor played against them but if I dont pop them here I dont know where i might put them!
Batman who laughs
Damien
Robins
The whole crew
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