Malifaux: First Finished Model

Having recently starting to collect Malifaux models, I have been spending quite some time assembling and painting them. I recently finished -- completely finished, paint, basing and all -- my first model of the bunch, and thought I would share it with you.

The model is called a Large Steampunk Arachnid and is exactly what it sounds like: a giant mechanical spider. It was a bit of a pain to assemble, as each leg was a separate piece that needed to be held in place to set; this was only made more difficult by my desire to model the spider in an action pose, climbing over a tipped oil barrel. Still, I think the end result was worth the effort. Check it out below:

The barrel was actually a cork cut in half and painted with a mix of metallic grey and black, while the supports for the barrel are layered paper, formed with super-glue and painted with the metallic grey.

The main body was painted with that same grey, with accents added for the 'casing' in a muted red. I also painted the edge of the base silver with a blue drybrush, to denote the Arcanist faction.

I tried to add a rusted effect to parts of the spider, showing it's age and wear, but the abdomen ended up getting a bit too much brown while the thorax got none. I will be going back to touch that up later.

The barrel is leaking oil onto the ground; this effect was gained by mixing simple black paint with a heavy gloss gel medium to create the right thickness and consistency of crude oil.

So there you have it: my first finished Malifaux model. The assembly was frustrating and the rust was probably the most complicated painting portion -- layering brown, orange and a wash in order to get the right effect -- but, all in all, it was worth it. As mentioned, I need to go back and touch up the abdomen to make the rust a little more subtle but, overall, I am quite happy with the model. Thoughts and comments are most welcome!

I will keep you updated with the progress of the rest of my models as I paint and assemble them. I think the next batch I will tackle will be the M&SU Assets box (Kaeris and company) as they require the least assembly and only really need painting. That being said, I'm still in the market for some good props for the bases, so I need to keep my eyes out. Yet I digress.

'til next time!