MCP: Daredevil (Matt Murdock) (2)

As I mentioned in my last post about 'Ancient One', I have been undecided on which Affiliation to play next, but have been leaning towards trying out Defender's.

Usually my son and I try not to purchase duplicate models unless we really have to, and in this I really had to since my son usually has 'Daredevil' in his rosters.

I did not really like the original pose of the model with only one secure point to the base (this scares me), so I rummaged through some of my terrain bits and found some crates that I could model 'Daredevil' on.

Next, I needed to think if what color I wanted to paint his suit.  I was leaning towards the traditional dark red, but my 'Wong', 'Dr. Strange' and my Web Warriors, I went with black suits, so I decided to paint this one with a black suit also.  This way it also different than the once we already completed.

Daredevil (Matt Murdock)

Daredevil (Matt Murdock)

Painting Points: 2

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MCP: Ancient One

It is actually already June 2nd and the models completed for this year are pretty low, but today I decided to sit down and get another model completed.

I have been undecided as of late what the next Affiliation I want to play, I have been leaning towards X-Men (why 'Professor X' was the last model painted), but now I may be leaning towards Defenders.  I came across a roster that seems interesting to me and I would not mind playing it for awhile.  One catch is that the 'Ancient One' is in the roster and our model was not yet painted.

Last night I primed the model black because I wanted to try the slapchop method of painting on her.  When the primer was dry, I dry brushed the grey and white and started on the Contrast paint.  I ended up doing some more dry brushing/highlights besides just the Contrast.  This was my first time doing slapchop and I think I needed more grey on the model, the cloak is a bit darker than I had hoped for, but she is still table top quality I feel.

Ancient One

Ancient One

Painting Points: 2

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MCP: Professor X (Charles Xavier)

I am still undecided what Affiliation I want to play next, I keep on going back and forth.  Obviously winning is fun, but I also want to have fun playing the models I like.  I know that X-Men are not currently a Top Tier Affiliation, but I think they may be fun with a couple of splash characters.

'Professor X' is a recently released model for the X-Men Affiliation and he is also a new Leader for them.  I cam across a list that I would not mind trying out and this model is in the roster.  So this past Sunday I assembled the model and Monday night he hit the painting table and I was able to wrap him up last night.

Professor X (Charles Xavier)

Professor X (Charles Xavier)

Painting Points: 5

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MCP: Nightcrawler (Kurt Wagner)

I am working on my new X-Men roster that I may be playing in Squad Goals 2024, and still have quite a few new models to finish.  Besides Iceman (which I painted first, just for fun), I am painting the models I need for my roster, then I will come back and finish the others.

So this past Friday I primed the next two models and Saturday afternoon 'Nightcrawler' hit the painting table.  I finished up the black colors first, then on Sunday I completed the rest of the model.  I am quite happy with how he turned out.

Nightcrawler (Kurt Wagner)

Nightcrawler (Kurt Wagner)

Painting Points: 2

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MCP: Iceman (Bobby Drake)

I actually finished this model just before AdeptiCon this past weekend, but did not have time to do a post.

The plan was for me to start playing X-Men after AdeptiCon (which I still may) since on March 1st a new wave of X-Men were released.  One of these models was 'Iceman' Bobby Drake.

Once I saw this model I knew how I wanted to paint him, so he was the first model assembled from the new wave and he hit the painting table.  I am very pleased on how he turned out and really like the effect of the ice.

Iceman (Bobby Drake)

Iceman (Bobby Drake)

Painting Points: 5

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MCP: Invincible Iron Man (Tony Stark)

It has been a few months since I last painted a model (I have been busy getting terrain ready for Cherokee Open 2024), but I finally say down and got some painting finished.

I am not in a need at the moment to have this model completed, I just thought I wanted to try something different with the color of suit (a lighter shade).  So here he is, 'Invincible Iron Man'.

Invincible Iron Man (Tony Stark)

Invincible Iron Man (Tony Stark)

Painting Points: 2

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What's in store for 2024!

Happy New Year 2024!

Well, here it is, the day I write out all my goals for the year only to find out on December 31st that I did not meet my expectations..

2024 I believe is going to be simplistic, very simplistic.

Bolt Action

I am going to keep Bolt Action on the list for another year.  I know last year I had thought I'd get in a few more games than what I actually did, but you never know.

Painting Goal: None

Gaming Goal:  None

Marvel Crisis Protocol

MCP was my main game in 2023, and it looks to also be in 2024.  I honestly do not currently see a game system that will be taking over in 2024.  I am excited for some of the new releases coming out early this year and it will allow me to play a new Affiliation.

That is one thing that I like about MCP.  If you get tired of playing one Affiliation, just change it up to another (and you can still "splash" in your favorite characters).

Painting Goal: 2024 will be much like 2023 in regards to painting, when I am in the mood or when a “new, cool” model gets released it will take priority.  I still have to get to some of the models in the newest Core Set that was released a few months back.  Right now models are getting done to fill in spots/roles in our current rosters.

Gaming Goal: With 80+ games played in 2023 (which once again was a record for me with a single game system), 2024 “should” be a good year too. Just like last year, I am going to set my goal of just shy of 1 game a week with a total of 50 games played for 2024.  I need to keep it reasonable just in case "life" gets in the way.

Star Wars Legion

Star Wars Legion (SWL) is one I am unsure about just like Bolt Action above.  Usually when I have time to get a game in, we play Marvel Crisis Protocol.  I think I will leave this one up as a "just in case".

Painting Goal: None

Gaming Goal: None

New Games for 2024?

I can HONESTLY say that I am not looking into any new games for 2024.  Star Wars Shatterpoint was a possibility last year (and we did not jump on that) and I really do not see anything else this year.  Atomic Mass Games is doing a nice job on releases for Marvel Crisis Protocol, and it is keeping me excited.

Events

2023 was actually a pretty good year in events for me and as much as I would like to keep that up, I think realistic 2024 may be a few less, and a few changes.  AdeptiCon is our yearly staple event and especially with living in the Midwest, so as long as we can get registered for the events we want, that one is a must attend. 

 
New for this year will be Cherokee Open 2024, the Tournament Organizer for Marvel Crisis Protocol in 2023 is not able to run it in 2024 and Frontline Gaming had asked for a volunteer.  I decided to step up and offer my services.  I do like attending Frontline Gaming events and had never been to the Cherokee Open yet, so I thought this would be a fun event.  This is where a lot my time at the end of 2023 went into painting terrain for this event.

Unfortunately with adding a new event, some previous events will fall of the list.  One of these is Frontline Gaming's Atlantic City Open.  I really enjoy attending Atlantic City Open, and we made it out there the last two years, but my vacation days are limited this year and I cannot justify that long of a drive.  Another event with distance in Nove Open.  I really thougt we had a chance in attending in 2024, but my company changed some of their days for their floating Holidays and removed a day from Labor Day weekend and added it to Christmas.  So with a shortage of vacation days, NOVA Open in 2024 will be tough to attend, but we still may do it.

A new event we attended in 2023 was Warfaire Weekend in St. Louis.  St. Louis is not a far drive (about 5 hours), but I was not too impressed with the event.  It may have to do that the location was under construction and some of the restaurants that were opened in years past have been closed/torn down.  It "may" be one to add again in the future, but I do not think it will be one to use up vacation for this year.
In the fall we also have a couple more local events, Michigan GT and Second Wind.  2023 saw us attending both of these events for Marvel Crisis Protocol, and I think these are two we will be shooting for once again in 2024.  Both events are less than a 2 hours drive, the issue with Second Wind will be if we can get in.  This event sells out quickly.

One of the big events of the year, Las Vegas Open is going to have to be a pass again in 2024.  2025 is doable (as I still have airfare credit), but it will depend on how much money is spent on our Fall 2024 events.

I am also still thinking about adding another Canadian event weekend, it is just a matter of finding the right one and what dates will work.

Here is my tentative list of events for 2024.

January 18th - 21st: Las Vegas Open (Not Attending)
February 23rd - 25th: Cherokee Open (Tournament Organizer)
March 20th - 24th: AdeptiCon
June 14th -16th: Atlantic City Open (Not Attending)
August 29th - September 1st: NOVA Open (?)
October xx - xx: Michigan
October xx - xx: Second Wind 6
October 31st - November 3rd: Warfaire Weekend (Doubtful)

As you can see above I still included events that I know we are not attending for sure, just so that I still have a record of the dates.  Michigan GT and Second Wind 6, the dates are unknown as of this writiing.

Now we’ll see if the above holds true for 2024. 

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2023 Year in Review

As we come to the close of 2023 and welcome 2024, it is that time of the year for my annual "2023 Year in Review".

As I do each year, 2023 started with a "What's in store for 2023!" so we will use that post as a basis for our year in review.

Bolt Action

Painting Goal: None currently, we have enough models painted for the 1000 point event and plenty for the 450 points for AdeptiCon.

Gaming Goal:  We will probably be playing 3 games at the event, and I can see at least another 2 for the year.  For now I am going to keep it real low at 5 games and we shall see what happens.

As stated above, I had no expectations of painting anything for Bolt Action, and that stayed the same.  I did manage to get in 3 games of Bolt Action, but fell short of 5 for the year.  We played at one event early in the year, but did not manage to play at AdeptiCon.

Marvel Crisis Protocol

Painting Goal: I am not making any promises on this one. For 2022 I painted around 100 models for the game and we now have painted what really need. I still have 30+ models in the back log for the game and I am currently painting them when I am in the mood. I am sure when a “new, cool” model gets released it will take priority.

Gaming Goal: With 60+ games played in 2022 (which was a record for me with a single game system), 2023 “should” be a good year too. I am going to set my goal of just shy of 1 game a week with a total of 50 games played for 2023.

Marvel Crisis Protocol was/is the staple game for my son and I currently, where most of our time has been spent with this game.  In regards to painting models, I did manage to paint another 22 models for the year and as stated, it was mainly models that I thought were cool or wanted to try out in a new list.  Most of my time the last few months has been catching up on painting terrain for MCP, and boy do we know have a lot of terrain.

For gaming, I set another new record with 90 games played for 2023 (a new record for single game system).  We ended up playing at quite a few events (local and distance) and quite a few games at home.  With the quick game play of Marvel Crisis Protocol, we will be riding MCP into 2024.

Middle-earth SBG

Painting Goal: This one is hard to say, nothing is currently planned, but there is a chance that a model here or there may need to be completed.

Gaming Goal: Also as above, a few games of practice will be needed, in either case, I think maybe I can get in 1-2 games in for the year.

Middle-earth SBG was a bust this year.  I did not play Battle Companies at AdeptiCon, nor did we attend the NOVA Open.  I think these models will still be staying in the gaming bag in the future.

Warhammer 40,000

Painting Goal: Currently no plans.

Gaming Goal: Currently no plans.

I had no plans for Warhammer 40,000 this past year and it stayed that way, even with the release of a new edition.  I realized the Games Workshop money grab once again and the game stayed on the shelf.  As of now I only see this game hitting the table again if Atomic Mass Games loses the license for Marvel.

Star Wars Legion

Painting Goal: No plans, but a few models may get painted in between painting MCP.

Gaming Goal: Tough to say with what we may see coming out this summer (see below).

Star Wars Legion was a bit of a disappointment for me in 2023.  No models were painted and no games played were played.  Atomic Mass Games did release a new game called Star Wars Shatterpoint which is more skirmish based like Marvel Crisis Protocol, but we did not jump on that game either.  We have been just having too much fun with Marvel Crisis Protocol, nothing else fit in.

New Games for 2023?

As I had mentioned twice above “see below”, Atomic Mass Games (makers of MCP, and current owner of SWL) are releasing a new Star Wars game this Summer called “Star War Shatterpoint”. AMG currently has only teased the game with planned demos at AdeptiCon 2023, but as of now looks to be played very similar to MCP. If that is the case, this game will be competing for time with Star Wars Legion.

I think I can honestly say that 2023 was the first year I probably did not get into a new game.  Already mentioned above plenty of times, MCP was the game.

Events

March 22nd - 26th: AdeptiCon

August 30th - September 3rd: NOVA Open ?

October 6th - 8th: Michigan GT ?

October xx- xx: Second Wind ?

November 3rd - 5th: Warfaire Weekend?

Events are what I look forward to in the year, and we actually had a really busy year (especially in the Fall).  We managed Adepticon in March, Atlantic City Open in June (not on above list), Michigan GT in October, Second Wind 5 in October and Warfaire Weekend in November (not on above list).  We also attended some one day events of MCP in Chicago, Lansing, Kalamazoo and even a trip to Ontario Canada.  Next year a new event will be on the list, but stayed tuned tomorrow for that one.

Come back tomorrow to see What's in store for 2024, I have a feeling it will be a very short list.

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MCP: Ultron, Metal Tyrant (Ultron) and Ultron Drones

I finally got around to assembling and painting a model from the new Marvel Crisis Protocol (Earth's Mightiest Heroes) core set, and elected to go with 'Ultron, Metal Tyrant' and his 'Ultron Drones'.

I elected to go with this model so I could have an updated Age of Ultron list that I play with my Avengers, but for the time being, Avengers are going to take a back seat.  Hopefully soon this model will hit the playing table.

Ultron, Metal Tyrant (Ultron)

Ultron Drones

Ultron, Metal Tyrant (Ultron) and Ultron Drones

Painting Points: 10

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MCP: Doctor Strange (Stephen Vincent Strange) (2)

I am not exactly sure why I painted up Doctor Strange at this moment, but since my second version of 'Wong' was recently painted, I decided to go ahead and paint up the second 'Doctor Strange' model that we have. 

I elected to go with the same look as how I painted 'Wong', which may make for a nice looking Midnight Sons Affiliation.  I also decided to place his portal on the base itself and make it look like Doctor Strange is coming out of it.

Doctor Strange (Stephen Vincent Strange) (2)

Doctor Strange (Stephen Vincent Strange) (2)

Painting Points:5

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