The ADHS Diaries - part 16

It has been a little while but life has been a little tricky to endure recently, and sadly the blog fell down the priority queue for a time!

But I've still been able to get some hobby done, so let's run through what I've been up to!

A War Transformed
Well it was probably inevitable... I got the A War Transformed rulebook and promptly bought a stack of packs from Peter Pig to make up forces of French (Mother) and German (Horned God).  I'm still waiting for a 3d printed statue for one of the French units, if it doesn't show up soon I may have to order another unfortunately.  I also added a spirit figure from CPModels to the French.

Broken Legions
I found in one of my various drawers of wargaming stuff a Hermes looking mini (think it's Artizan or Crusader) who will become a Demigod auxiliary in our Broken Legions collection!

The Burning Sands
Before they closed I got some ever so slightly Hunnic styled Orc warriors and archers which I've decided will find a home as a possible encounter in the Burning Sands.  I also got some ladders from CPModels that I am thinking about keeping unglued to the various buildings I have to allow me to mix up layouts etc.

Burrows and Badgers
I've prepped and primed the Giant Bear (I've called him Worrley) and the alchemist mole (Winthrop Hathawaye), along with a couple of 3D printed market stalls I got a while back.

Carnevale
I've finally prepped the Varcolac, pair of Lacrimosa and the Unholy Union.  There's a few random minis I'd like to add across the different factions - I'm also hoping for some new stuff for the Patricians as I need more of them to balance the collection out a little, but I'm not keen on the Guard and Navy sub-themes.

Dracula's America
I picked out the Winged Plagues, Metal Golem and Lord Chompy Bits from my previous post and have based them for Dracula's America - the Winged Plagues I'll make a new creature to use as an Unwelcome Guest, Lord Chompy Bits and the Metal Golem will get stories and stats for use in some kind of special scenarios tbd!

Malifaux
I've prepped and primed whatever was of use from the second hand job lot as well as the Apex keyword stuff I got.  Then I went and dropped the tray that I put them on after priming and will have some repair jobs to try to do 😞

Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game
Etsy recently ran a special offer where they took £10 off an order of a certain size.  I saw on Threads that this was funded by Etsy itself so decided to add a few more bits to the MESBG collection - 6 Serpent Guard to join the Haradrim, 6 Warg Riders for Mordor and 6 Shieldmaidens (Riders of Rohan).  I think I'm pretty much set now, but there's a couple more bits I would really like to add!

Of Gods and Mortals
Well in another one for the 'inevitable' list, I finally got the stuff for a Japanese OGAM force - I've got various ashigaru, samurai and monks from Peter Pig, some Oni, a Kitsune and a Miko from Alternative Armies and, for the gods, Ryujin (a dragon from the CMON game Rising Sun) and I'm waiting for a 3d printed female Inari Okami.  I've already got lots of 15mm Japanese scenery for Sengoku Monster Hunter (and Daisho/Ronin), so that can be easily used with these too.  I did also get a couple of bits by Baueda from Magister Militum before they closed - a Spartan Dokana (scenery piece that can also be used in Mortal Gods) and a unit of Gall-Gaedhil that I'll use for both our Celtic and Norse forces.

Proxima Centauri
I've got pretty much everything I could need for both Rogue Stars and even Xenos Rampant games in the little sci-fi setting I started making.  But I couldn't resist adding a cheeky 28mm walker drone bot thingy from CPModels as another mech!

The Silver Bayonet
I got a few bits from Magister Militum before they shut - mostly dwarves for TSB.  I also got various elementals, giant rats, Black Dogs, bats and witches.

Looking Ahead
I'm starting to run out of steam a little on the prep and prime (Operation Winter is Coming 2023) front, but still hope to pick up a couple more things and get them done and sprayed before the weather gets too bad.  I'm not sure I'll finish the Malifaux collection in time (Amalgam, Plague, Syndicate, DUA/Umbra, Frontier and Vagrant key words still to do 😅) but who knows, right?

The ADHS Diaries - part 13

It's been a funny old month - signed off sick with work-related stress and depression, the launch of Threads (@alexdoeshobbystuff - it's like wargaming Twitter but without the racism, misogyny and homo/transphobes!), and actually done some painting (shock!!)

Burrows & Badgers
I've ordered a couple of market stalls that I intend to add to the scenery collection for The Bear's Wood.  Hopefully they'll look as good as in the photos!

Carnevale
I finally picked up the Lacrimosa to add to the Vatican collection!  I also spotted the Varcolac (werewolf) for the Strigoi at a good price so snapped that up at the same time.  Finally I figured what the heck and ordered the Unholy Union to add to the Doctors - so many arms to work out where to put!!

Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game
The proxy Outriders, King's Huntsman and some more Rohan warriors with bows arrived and after minimal clean up have been prepped and primed to join their comrades.  I also finally got a Shagrat with sword/shield (rather than the one holding the mithril vest which is ten a penny) to add to the Mordor force - kinda felt I had to have him given I've got 9 Mordor Uruk-Hai!

Mordheim
Well first up, I only went and painted Da Iron Moonz warband (Night Goblins) - this means I've painted more this year than 2022 already and I'm actually hitting a stride painting-wise; as I write this I'm waiting for a wash to dry on the Black Lion Brigade (Witch Hunters).  I had originally planned to paint Grodrik Gromnisson's Last Hurrah (Dwarfs) but realised I was one shield down on each dude having a different design... well a quick shufti on eBay later and I have one of the Anvil of Doom guard shields, so they'll be next after the Brigade I think.

Punkapocalyptic
I wasn't sure what to get this hobby fund period and thanks to helpful Threads conversations I mostly opted to build up the terrain collection - primarily for Punkapocalyptic; some scrap/tyre/barrel barricades, a fairly large toxic pool (complete with half-submerged barrels of ooze) and a pair of billboards (TTCombat).  I think a couple of car wrecks might be good to add to this, and TTCombat do some nice ruined modern buildings that could be good options perhaps.

The Silver Bayonet
When I heard the news about Magister Militum closing/looking for a buyer I figured I'd better get stuff I really wanted ordered - all for Silver Bayonet shenanigans; bats, rats, black dogs and a cool looking Earth Elemental type thing.

Xenos Rampant
I had a £5 bonus from Amazon so figured I might as well get the XR rulebook.  It's looking rather promising indeed; I'm currently thinking it'll see use for both Star Wars and for Infinity.  This could well bump those minis up the 'to prep' queue!

The ADHS Diaries - part 11

 

Well with one thing or another *cough*brain gremlins*cough* it has been a while since I posted a diary here - but nevermind, let's run through where I am with various things that have been done since the last post!

Bolt Action
The antifascists' tractor came and is prepped.  As is the North Korean and American forces for some Korean War gaming.  I think that'll be it for Bolt Action, unless a) I get massively inspired by some relatively obscure battle and b) Pendraken have the options for me to do it.  Not like I haven't got plenty of forces to be cracking on with painting!!

Burrows and Badgers
I have the TTCombat Ancient Beacon from their Savage Domain range to build - looks a bit fiddly though so it has sat in cellophane for a while now.  I aim to get the new giant Bear from Oathsworn soon, but otherwise this collection is complete... until something else is released that'll fit in The Bear's Wood setting we have!

Carnevale
The models I mentioned last time arrived and have been prepped.  There's still a few I'd like to pick up at some point, but as it would require more cobblestone bases as well they aren't a priority. Still, got lots to be getting painted now!

Gorkamorka
I built the TTCombat Orc Lookout - and added a couple more hired gun type dudes using the new (by my standards) Necromunda minis; a krump-mad Digga (Goliath with a couple of Orky glyph bitz) and a sneaky Mutie on his bug-like steed (Dustback Helamite). That should be it for now; but maybe some more scenery if anything crops up!

Hardwired/Reality's Edge
The printed minis I'd ordered have all come - including cool versions of John Wick and Tybalt (Baz Luhrmann movie style).  Still need to decipher from Reality's Edge what else we might need in terms of NPCs/random encounters/programs but think the character-side is mostly there now unless Papsikels or UNIT9 release more cool minis 😅

Malifaux
As things stand the only things left to prep are Plague/Vermin, Amalgam, Tri-Chi, Swampfiend, DUA/Umbra, Syndicate, Wastrel and Frontier keywords.  I've got to get more bases to finish the Resser versatiles and there's a few Big Hat and Kin minis also to prep.

Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game
Everything is prepped, primed and actually sorted.  I've also prepped and primed the Gondor ruins from the starter box and the Gondor Tower I picked up.  I've got the four hobbits coming - only need a Boromir and Gandalf the Grey and I've somehow ended up with a Fellowship (OK, well not got Bill the Pony either).

Moonstone
Regular readers will know that when I don't have a good plan come a new hobby fund period that I get a bit impulsive... well that happened in April.  Thanks to a show special that Goblin King Games kindly made available on their website as well I picked up the starter set, rule book and expansion book.  To each of the forces (Commonwealth and Dominion) I added an airship and a big dude (giant/troll).  I'm planning on just using pretty much the same scenery as for Burrows and Badgers so don't anticipate needing to go too wild with this one.  Just couldn't resist the Labyrinth vibes!

Of Gods and Mortals
I'd got two gods/goddesses for the Greek force already (Ares and Athena) so figured it only fair to add second options to all the other forces we have.  They are all here (mostly via 3d printers on Etsy) - Wadjet for the Egyptians, Tyr for the Norse, Vishnu for the Indians, The Morrigan for the Celts and Perun for the Slavs.  The scales are a little mixed across the various gods and goddesses, but they are all significantly taller than the 15mm stuff I've used for troops so I'm happy enough!

Punkapocalyptic
So... what happened in April (see Moonstone above) happened again in May - I got the Punkapocalyptic starter set (Gangers and Mutards) as well as the Ganger and Mutard boxes.  I also got the Children of the Black Blood box, Momma Nutritora and a couple more Children.  I also got a couple of 3d printed Warboys - although they are a little taller than the official models they'll do to pad out the gang.  I do need some suitable post-apocalyptic terrain now though!

Rampanthammer
Everything is prepped and primed for the Empire, Nurgle and Skaven forces.  Just a matter of painting now!

Sengoku Monster Hunter
I've prepped a few more monsters from Alternative Armies that I hadn't gotten round to picking up.  Also got a gnarly 'final boss' style mini from an Etsy 3d printer - it's called 'Shrine Keeper' and looks like something out of a Sengoku JRPG.  Pretty much a must get then eh?

The Silver Bayonet
I got the Carpathians expansion - managed to find a suitable Forest Witch mini (via the Joan of Arc boardgame and a boxsplitter in France no less!).  Now to find some of the other options in 15-18mm...

Star Wars Legion
Got everything for this that I fancy - bases all sorted now too.  Only stalled because I can't face the LAAT/le build and I wanted to get it all done at the same time 😕


And everything else...
Other than the Infinity collection, everything else is all prepped and primed waiting for painting.  Infinity needs a massive amount of spoons to face assembling so unfortunately will likely sit sorted in their baggies with the resin bases.  As the resin bases are no longer available due to Antenociti's Workshop disappearing I can't really add anything more to Infinity so there's that at least in its favour!


Looking ahead...
Another hobby fund period looms and I'm trying to decide what to go for.  I know I have to finalise my Gangs of Rome KS but I'm not massively inspired by that now so will probably stick with just the rulebook.  Otherwise, the Giant Bear for Burrows and Badgers is an option to cross off the wishlist and I need to buy some resin bases to finish my Ressers... and I have spotted a couple of well-timed summer sales coming up that might mean a project or two I've been contemplating for a while become possible... all subject to change of course!! There's also the new Pendraken Russo-Japanese range that is ripe for a small project if I work out a couple of lists... decisions, decisions!  For a future hobby fund will be the final two Malifaux faction starters (Guild and Ressers) when they eventually drop at least.

It feels like the acquisition phase of my hobbying is greatly slowing down - barring 10mm Sikh Wars and Three Kindgoms China appearing somewhere that is!! 

Which means I may actually get painting and then gaming one day! 😲

The ADHS Diaries - part 10

Time for a catch up diary post... with added run down of current hobby fund purchases!

Bolt Action
I decided to get a different tractor for the antifascists (seeing as I seem to have lost part of the original one I did get...).  That'll hopefully encourage me to finish prepping this project as the vile fascists have been prepped for some time.  Then it's just the two forces for the Korean War and that's everything prepped.

Burrows & Badgers
I've got a few scenery bits and pieces coming for this from a range of sources; Alternative Armies, TTCombat, Spellcrow and a random 3D printer.

Carnevale
Well seeing as TTCombat finally added some things I'd been waiting for (ie. the Paladin of St Lazarus) to the single miniatures on their website I've got stuff coming to use up all the current cobblestone resin bases - a Barber and Butcher for the Guild, a Nurse for the Doctors, a Cat Burglar for the Patricians and the Paladin and the Angel of the Blooded Rose for the Vatican.

Gorkamorka

I finally got round to adding the Orc Lookout MDF kit from TTCombat to an order - this should go quite nicely with the Speed Freeks scenery I got recently.

Hardwired/Reality's Edge
A 3D printer I've used on Etsy had a sale on so I've ordered a selection of cyberpunk minis that I've had my eyes on for a while now.  Still need to get some minis as Avatars for Reality's Edge, but pretty well set for Hardwired once they are all prepped.

Malifaux
I've pre-ordered the Arcanist and Ten Thunders Starters.  Ties back to Mei Feng being my first purchase!  I've also got some Charm Warders coming to add to my Shenlong crew - eventually I'll get the Devoted Students box, but for now the hobby fund doesn't allow for them unfortunately.

Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game
Some actual hobby to report on this one - I've painted all the Dead of Dunharrow force! They are awaiting vegetation on bases - but still deciding what to do as I intend all the MESBG stuff we have to be based the same.  I've also prepped some stuff for the Mordor and Harad forces - got a couple more minis on order too.  I also realised I did a really shoddy job removing mould lines from a bunch of Rohan and Harad troops - luckly I spotted before priming, so I need to go back and fix that before they get their undercoat.

Rampanthammer
On a whim I've decided to add another unit each to our Empire, Chaos and Skaven armies - Dogs of War Birdmen for the Empire, an ancient Dragon Ogre for the forces of Chaos and a Plague Catapult to add to the ratmen.  Think that'll do now unless one of the 3D sculptors out there does something I can't resist.

The Silver Bayonet
I've finally ordered the Bone Cart from Alternative Armies - and seeing as their Spring Mega Event is on I took advantage and have added Jack Frost to the collection.

Star Wars Legion
I've ordered some bases that, hopefully, will match the official ones a bit better in size.  I've also ordered an Imperial Officer to add to the Empire side, mostly cause I wanted a mini with a little holoprojector communicator in their hand cause I thought it'd be cool to paint!

Sniping Spy and Fishy Guy

When I was placing an order for a gift with TTCombat I took the opportunity to get a couple of individual Carnevale miniatures - mostly to use up the last two resin bases I had in stock!

First, a Venetian Spy to offer some long-range support to the Patricians:

I'd wanted the Spy for a while so was glad to finally add her to the collection.

Finally I opted for the final Hybrid that I didn't have for the Rashaar:

Again, easy to put together and glad to boost the Rashaar without having to go the cultist route (which I'm not so keen on).

Rounding out the Patricians

To add to the two different starter packs, I also got some individual minis to bolster the Patricians direct from TTCombat (which is a great service if you only want one or two minis rather than a whole other starter box).

First up, a pair of money-grubbing Merchants:

And Colombina (a Gifted character so possible to use with any faction but I intend to align her with the Patricians in our Venice):

Finally, and the only one not direct from TTCombat, is a female Barnabotti that came as a promo freebie with an issue of Miniature Wargames magazine - she'd sat in the baggie waiting for some friends to create some murderous mayhem with so now she's all set!

I think that's likely it for the Patricians (at least for now... I do have a couple of spare resin cobblestone bases that have me wondering what else might work though!)

Patricians Hunting Party

To give more options to our newest menace in Venice I received the Patricians Hunting Party box.  First up the Adventuring Noble - who thanks to his (let's be honest) stolen talismans has some ability with magic:

I think he can also proxy as the Fencing Master that is also available to the Patricians.

Building on the theme of the Patricians being absolutely reprehensible aristocrats, the Party box includes a pair of Syphilitic Nobles:

And finishing off the box another couple of meat shields Household Staff - a cook armed with a rolling pin and a footman firing his pistol:

I would say here that the handles of the rolling pin proved to be a little fragile and needed gluing back on.  I'm not convinced they'll stick but if they do break again I think it'll still look OK.

It's another great box from TTCombat that really complements the starter box I posted previously.

Patricians take to the streets of Venice

I guess my better half thought three forces for Carnevale wasn't enough - so she got me some Patricians!

First up, the Patricians Starter Gang - headed up by the Venetian Noble:

I opted for the dagger in the off-hand as I thought it looked even more arrogant in it's pose!

Backing up the Noble are a couple of Barnabotti - one woman, one man:

I gave the man the pistol option, but the woman is holding a fan and stiletto.

Finally in the box was a pair of Household Staff (aka meat shields) - again, one woman, one man:

I particularly like the pan swinging cook!  The footman is nicely posed too - just drawing his pistol from his jacket.

As with the rest of the Carnevale collection, these are all on the resin cobblestone bases from TTCombat which will help the collection look consistent.

Poseidon, Neptune, or bloke with a bent trident?

 

I figured the WizKids Fountain would be quite quick to paint up so it jumped up the painting queue a little!

I hit it with a Citadel Nuln Oil wash with a drop of Vallejo Thinner Medium - this seemed to work pretty well and I'm happy enough with the outcome (given the impossible-to-fix trident and the weird squashed bits of the sculpt).

I still can't recommend this range - but at least I've got a usable scenery piece for a variety of games.

WizKids Deep Cuts - Fountain

 

So, as you may have seen, I picked up a second WizKids Deep Cuts piece - this time it was the Fountain:

As standard with this range it is allegedly primed and 'paint ready out of the box'... Well, again let's have a little look:

Well that trident is rather wonky and needs a hot water bend to look at least less bad (don't think it'll ever be quite right).  The rims of the water bowls (there's probably a technical name!) also have a squashed bit you can make out - it's not the worst but it definitely isn't round.  Finally, the pedestal that has been attached to the base isn't straight (not that evident in this picture but it was noticeable as I handled the piece).  But then, as it turns out it hadn't been assembled properly anyway and the pedestal wasn't glued to the base:

(and you can see how the trident is extra wonky from this angle too).  Well, it turns out this wasn't properly attached because some extra plastic was left in the hole in the water effect - I managed to clip it out and have reglued this together which has helped.

I like the design and think it'll be useful for all sorts of games  - Carnevale, Gangs of Rome, Broken Legions and Mortal Gods come to mind in particular. But, and it's a big but, for a product that is sold as ready to go out of the packet this certainly doesn't hit that mark.  I am very unlikely to buy any other WizKids products in the future (never say never though eh?) and based on my experiences I cannot recommend them to other wargamers. Caveat Emptor!

Rashaar Reinforcements

 

I was rather pleased when TTCombat took the decision to make their Carnevale range available as single minis - there were some from the Rashaar box set ranges where I knew I didn't need (or want) most of the minis but really wanted one or two!

First, as I had the two-player starter set I didn't need the seperate Rashaar Starter... but I really did want the Aglaope mini that it included, well that was now possible so it was first in the basket!

I had a couple of Hybrids, but thought it might be useful to pick up an extra one from the Deeper Denizens box - I opted for this rather stabby chap:

Finally, I knew I had two more cobblestone bases and decided to pick up the pair of Urchins from the Dagon Fanatics box (I prefer the fishy/hybrid style of Rashaar rather than the Cult-side of things):

The boy Urchin had a hole in the top of his head that needed a spot of liquid green stuff, but nothing major.

The Urchins and Agalope are all single-piece minis, the Hybrid comes in four parts but is an easy build.

For now I think my Carnevale collection is complete (well, gangs-wise anyway... scenery is another matter!) - but if I do get any more minis I'll have to pick up more of the cobblestone bases now!

Sarissa Precision - Streets of Rome Planter Set

You might remember me posting about an order with Arcane Scenery and Models which included the Sarissa Precision Planter Set from their Streets of Rome range - well, I've assembled and painted them and, I have to say, they are really nice pieces of scatter terrain!

The pack includes 12 planters in different sizes and shapes - they are easy to assemble.  You can make them up so they are either full or empty - as I wanted mine to include plants I made them to be full.  I used my usual basing sand dip to give an soil texture inside the planters before priming them.

I painted them white to keep them as versatile as possible - whilst designed for Gangs of Rome these will also work for Mortal Gods, Broken Legions, Carnevale and wouldn't look out of place in Infinity either.

I added some blue flower tufts that I picked up on a special offer from Serious-Play on a whim - I didn't have a plan for them at the time, but I think they look rather nice in these planters!

To give you an idea of size - here's one next to a random 28mm Warlord Games Samurai I had to hand:

The pack also includes a couple of larger hexagonal planters - perfect for trees.  I bought a pack of Sakura trees a while ago with plans for my Neo-Shinjuku collection - but had some spare and thought they'd look good in these planters:

I had some Sakura scatter that didn't get used on another project (went a different direction, you know how it is!) but thought these could do with a little something to break up the soil around the trees. I think it works alright even though it's slightly different pinks to the trees themselves.

In all - I really like these planters - they provide an interesting scenery option that's a lot more engaging and colourful than just boxes or barrels.  I highly recommend this kit if you play any games with settings that they'd work with.

Five games on my mind right now

Hopefully it is apparent to readers of the blog that I like to mix things up hobby and game wise.  From week to week (sometimes day to day or hour to hour!) the games occupying brain space change and flow - although none ever disappear completely these days, they just go towards the back of the queue for a time!

So, here's 5 games that are on my mind right now!

Dragon Rampant - I have two projects running side by side for this system, one 15mm and one 28mm.  Whether it's the proud armies UNORP against the denizens of the dark woods (or, once lockdown is over the Human Barbarians!) or the clash of Halflings both living and dead, this ruleset will accommodate!  For the fact that I will have three painted armies for this ruleset, with another still to go, this game is never far from my mind these days.

Carnevale - the unique setting of this game and the diverse cast of gangs we have in the collection make me keen to give it a try - however I do want to 'play it painted' so it's got to wait for me to paint up a couple of gangs before it will hit the table.

Mortal Gods - I'm going to chalk this one up to my better half playing (and thoroughly enjoying) Assassin's Creed Odyssey.  The metal minis definitely suffer from the Footsore issue of hand joints (seriously, can we at least have Gripping Beast style pegs on wrists?) so they are finding themselves pushed back on the assembly queue - which at the moment means they won't get primed any time soon either unfortunately. Still, the setting is cool, the miniatures are cool (hand joint gripe aside) so this is on very much still on the brain radar.

Burrows & Badgers - I've had a couple of warbands painted up for this for a while now, but real life has gotten in the way of learning the game and getting a mini-campaign going.  With the purchase of a third, neutral NPC style warband this has bounced back up the queue - and once some suitable terrain is painted up I really hope to get this to the table to start getting to grips with the game.

SAGA - well I finally got round to picking up the Age of Vikings supplement - and the fancy dice - to make use of my Irish and Shieldmaiden armies.  I'm hopeful that the armies shouldn't be too onerous to paint once I get into a groove, so this has bumped its way up the list a little.  However, I find the writing style of SAGA (particularly the 'in character' style of rules clarifications) to jar a little in this day and age with it's 'rarr masculine man' attitude - Mortal Gods has a much better example of 'in character' elements in a rulebook (and even then I personally find it a bit cringey).

Honourable mentions go to Infinity (thanks to the Infinity Army app - seriously, I wish all companies had that kind of approach), Dracula's America (now that I have some Wild West buildings) and Sengoku Monster Hunter (which, as a game, is totally 'me')- maybe next time I do a Five games post they'll have broken into the list!

Fish Fountain and Vardo

I've assembled the TTCombat Fish Fountain, part of their Streets of Venice range in support of Carnevale:

It came in eleven pieces but is a straight forward kit to build - it'll make a nice focal point in a piazza.

I've also finished assembling a caravan kit from Sarissa's Gaslamp Alley range:

The kit was very cleverly designed - the front axle is even steerable and the steps are removable.  The roof was a real pain in the proverbial though - I scored it and carefully bent it but it was a tough job to fit it to the frame.  Overall I'm really pleased with this Vardo, I just hope my paintjob does it justice!

Reinforcements arrive in Venice

I've been inspired by Carnevale a lot recently so decided to spend some of this month's hobby funds on rounding out the options across our three gangs.

First up, I had to get White Dove - I knew I wanted this to add to The Guild from the start!

As you can see it's a resin mini (like all of the Carnevale range from TTCombat) - but isn't too complex!

I also liked the Rabble Rousers set:

This includes a pair of Recruiters (Hero level minis), a Gondolier henchman, an Arbalest for some ranged power and an angry citizen to add to the others already in the collection.

For the Rashaar I opted for the Unholy Mutations set:

This adds a third Lesser Ugdru to the collection - but importantly rounds our Rashaar out a little with a pair each of Hybrids and Advanced Hybrids.  This box was a must-get to add to the Rashaar half of the two-player starter.

For the Strigoi I played around a lot with the Gang Builder app on the Carnevale website.  I tried all sorts of lists based on what we already have and could see that it needed some more henchman-level options.  The Footsoldiers set was the perfect solution:

Two Common Strigoi (the female one being one of my favourite Carnevale minis) and a crossbow-wielding Thrall give some solid options, with the pair of Reapers (think berserker vampires) offering some Hero-level options (useful if we don't want to go heavy with the Brides!).

I also decided to get the Black Spectre:

I figured with its backstory it would only see fit to work alongside the aristocracy of the night - any lesser gangs it surely would not deign to be seen with!

This little lot is going to need a good bath before it gets assembled - I've got cobblestone bases ready to use so they match the existing collection!