With my hobby supplies running out, I had to set the Fallout terrain I’ve been working on aside this week and so I focused on finishing off two more frogs so I have one of each sculpt painted. The most recent two were more time consuming since they had more clothes and one of them is sporting a weapon but otherwise, they came along pretty well. I decided to go with a plain black base for now though there are some mold lines on some of the bases that are tough to clean up so its possible that I may change my mind and add a small bit of dirt to them to cover those up better. I can even see them looking a little more visually interesting this way but I haven’t completely decided. Here are the first four of them done.
I figure I need to paint up around 8-12 of these before I can feel confident that I have enough to play with in the first scenario so you’ll be seeing more of these in the coming weeks though not too soon as I’m ready to mix things up.
Fortunately, I can do that because I got the paint I needed today to get back to the Fallout terrain I started and I also got some basing paste which had all dried up on me. I’m noticing that some hobby supplies are becoming tough to get again. Heck, even the grocery stores around me are starting to have spotty selection again for seemingly random things. It is a reminder that normal is still a relative term and the pandemic isn’t over I suppose. I just hope it doesn’t affect me or anybody else too much in the coming days as the weather is getting colder and hobbying is a nice escape.
Finally, I have a brief Arkham Horror update for those that are interested. I started my new campaign of Dunwich Legacy since I wasn’t able to beat it last time I tried but with new characters. Jenny Barnes and Daisy Walker who aren’t as powerful as the characters I used last time and it showed. Jenny is a dilettante and gets more resources than other investigators which is pretty fun. You can play expensive and powerful cards that you don’t normally get to mess around with. She also has her dual pistols which make her look like a pretty bad lady, if we’re being honest.
Daisy Walker is really good at investigating (gathering clues) and is pretty fun as well because she can carry around and use books for “free” which let her heal and draw cards, among other things. I had tried her once before and didn’t get on with her but I’m happy to say she is actually pretty good and fun to use with the right deck.
Unfortunately, while I got through the first two scenarios in Dunwich okay, the wheels fell off the wagon in the third. I had bad luck with Miskatonic Museum and got punished by Jenny Barnes low “brain” skill which made me discard tons of cards and it always happened at the worst times. Jenny was eventually killed by running out of cards and losing her mind to Lovecraftian madness and then Daisy was one action away from winning the scenario on her own and she died too! It was bad luck and unfortunately, I don’t think this pairing works all that well for Dunwich Legacy. I’m not quite sure where I’ll go from here. I’d like to get some new cards and to have some more scenarios to play as I’ve played the Core Set and Dunwich a few times now and not beaten it but I can’t beat Dunwich unless I get some more player cards it would appear. So I’ll probably see about making an acquisition or two so I can keep my excitement and enjoyment of the game going.
Kuribo's Painting 
Looking good mate!
I think I am going to change my original opinion on the bases and follow Bret’s. Simple dirt seems like a good idea to me now.
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I think Bret’s suggestion is winning me over too, mate. They just look a bit bare without some dirt on them even on an inside tile!
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Frogs are coming along nicely, Jeff, and it sounds like you’re making gaming progress as well! 🙂
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Thanks, John! Progress all around, indeed! 🙂
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I like the black bases, they look neat and tidy next to the cartoony tiles. Good going with the gaming, making me tempted to try out these players against the board type LCGs!
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I’m glad to hear you like them, mate. I think they might be a little bare to my eyes now that they’re done but I’ll get them worked out. LCG’s are a lot of fun if you like card games at all. I definitely recommend them 🙂
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Great work on the frogs Jeff, they’re looking fantastic. Good to hear you’ve managed to get the supplies needed to carry on with your terrain.
Shame on the scenario, is that a manufacturer design, to increase the need for more cards ?
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Thanks, Dave! I got the supplies by the skin of my teeth and I’m expecting their will be shortages for a while. That is a good question about the card game design. In theory, I can just build two new decks and say the previous investigators died and these new ones are going to go looking for them and take up the case, if you will. I don’t find that very satisfying and I want to try and beat the campaign in a single go. I mostly want to buy new cards, not so much to power up my decks (though I would certainly take that!) but to be able to play some different scenarios and take a break from the one I’m seemingly stuck on. With that said, I think I’ve got two new decks to try so we’ll see how I get on with those in the coming weeks!
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You could of course play Hellboy without painting the miniatures first. Lots of people do it. Go on, try it. 😀
Frogs are looking suitably green. I expect a post title of how it’s not easy being green in the future.
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Its a long story but I did play a bit of the game without painting the minis so I’m pretty confident that I like the game. I will definitely see what kind of green, frog, and Kermit based puns I can work into future titles just for you 🙂
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Nice work on the frogs Jeff. Generally supplies, well at least in respect of the stuff I want, aren’t to bad in the UK but as you say there is still some way to go before things can be described as normal.
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Thanks, mate! The supplies that seem to be running out here are made by European companies and since you seem to be well-stocked over there, I think the only logical conclusion is to blame you lot for our hobby supply woes! 😉 In all seriousness, I’m glad that the problem seems to be localized to the US currently and isn’t affecting you 🙂
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Those frogs are very cool, nice painting on them. I love that most of them are wearing rags or even less but one of them has the self-respect to wear a belt with his trousers.
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Thanks, mate and I think the four of them together does kind of show their descent from human into frog monsters pretty well. I hadn’t thought much of it but I appreciate it now that you’ve mentioned it 🙂
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Tidy work on the frogs mate
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Thanks, mate! 🙂
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Those frogs are looking wonderfully disturbing! Great work on the skin tones!
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Thanks, Matt! I’m glad to hear you say that after I painted them so fast (well fast by my standards anyway). Usually painting skin well takes time!
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The froggers look pretty nice. I’m assuming that they’re from the Hellboy Board Game (which I still haven’t opened, let alone played at this point). I know you’re pretty strict about keeping your models to the correct IP, but I could easily see those working as Muties in the Fallout universe and three of them working mixed amongst the many different types of PJ-film-style “orcs” from LotR.
Arkham sounds fun, I’ve never been a card guy but reviews from the circle of bloggers did get me interested in trying something in the LGC space, but we ended up with Marvel Champions and LotR from FFG, so the games from before and after Arkham! 🙂
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You nailed it. They’re from Hellboy: The Board Game. I hadn’t thought about trying to use these minis in other games. I think the scale of them is going to be a bit off as the Hellboy minis are taller than the Fallout ones I own which already pretty tall and lean. Outside of that, I’m sure you’re spot-on and they can be reused if I want to.
I’ll save the LCG talk for one of your future comments since I’ve read ahead a bit to keep it one place 🙂
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“It’s not easy being green” Not knowing the background on these figures, are they mutated humans or mutated frogs or something else? Whatever the background, you are doing an excellent job on the shading of the greens. One other question, is the tongue also suppose to be green?
Feel your pain on hobby supplies, the store that gets my money is having trouble getting orders from GW and when they do, always delayed and usually half of what they ordered. The owner has had to personally order some items vs using the store discount to satisfy some customers. I have also noticed that the paint rack isn’t being filled as often.
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You got it! The “Frogs” are people transformed into frog monsters by Cthulhu-like beings. It does seem weird but the frogs have green tongues they can attack with. I think that might be due to the limited color palette that the Hellboy comic often uses but I can’t say for sure.
I’m sorry to hear that you’re having troubles too. Since I’ve moved, I don’t have a hobby store near me and have had to order more online. I finally found a store that had good prices and fast shipping and they closed. I’m in need of finding something better than eBay prices because paint is expensive to buy that way. Almost double the price as if you buy it in store. These are tough times, indeed!
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Very cool frogs. I’m liking the plan!
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Thanks, Mark!
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More lovely frogs mate. I’m in full agreement with the ArgentBadger (above) the one that’s fully dressed just makes it for me, he looks so civilised in comparison to the rest of the gang. His pose is perfect as well, as if he’s trying to stop the fight before it starts – holding his hands up saying “Let’s all just calm down a moment, you’ll have to excuse the other lads, they seem to have forgotten to get dressed”.
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Cheers, mate! I’m glad you like that one and I like your interpretation as well. It was probably the most challenging of the lot to paint. Fortunately or unfortunately, I have to paint that one 4-5 more times before I’m done 😀
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The Frogs look great mate and I think the black bases work well, as they offer a good contrast to the green and make them ‘leap’ out at you😁
We played Jenny and Daisy in our last game. It was sometime ago and I can’t recall much about how it went other than we lost miserably at some point. Have you played the Essex County Express scenario yet? It’s a fast one to play and we’ve never managed to beat it, but it’s one of our favourites.
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Thanks, mate! I’ve been debating whether to add a bit of dirt on them still or not so they may look a little different when all is said and done!
I think Jenny and Daisy don’t quite work as a pair. Jenny is a bad choice for Dunwich because of her low “brain” score and some of the scenarios really punish that like Miskatonic Museum. I’ve only played Essex County Express once and I failed miserably in the opening turns. I am hopeful I can give it another go soon. I’ve heard it is a pretty challenging scenario overall and can believe it after one attempt!
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I just have to say mate that I love your frogs!!!
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Cheers, mate! Glad to hear it 🙂
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I like the frogmen very much; I think they’d be useful for many different games, especially rpg’s. They remind me of my early D&D days, back in the 70s, playing that Frog God adventure that Dave Arneson (if my memory isn’t playing tricks on me) wrote as well as later on the modules with the Kuo-toa.
Also, love playing Eldrich Horror and part of the fun (for me, thought not for some of the other people I occasionally play it with) for me is how hard the game can be to beat. Even if you have the greatest librarian, the most intrepid explorer, a cunning detective, and a lady with two pistols (lol) the Forces of Entropy, Evil, Tentacles, Etc. prevail more often than not.
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I hadn’t thought about their usefulness in RPGs but I can see why. Frogmen make a good villain!
I haven’t played Eldritch Horror but I’ve played Arkham Horror, Mansions of Madness, and now Arkham Horror: The Card Game and they all have that theme. You always fail when you can’t afford it and Cthulhu often gets the final laugh and that is all part of the fun! 😀
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