24 Hour Party People

After making such good progress last month, I decided to celebrate. Time for a few drinks, good food, and a select group of friends and companions hunting down and murdering commoners through the streets of Venice.

The Patricians have arrived in Carnevale.

In Carnevale, the Patricians are the nobility of the city (along with their servants) whose debauched revels have a habit of spilling out onto the streets where they engage in a bloodsport involving anybody caught out after dark.

The Patricians were actually the faction that drew me to the game and so when a second hand starter gang turned up on eBay I scooped it up. However, for some reason (I was possibly intimidated by the detail of the clothing) when I began painting them I ran out of steam and so they've sat unloved for about six months.

Until now.

The Venetian Noble is the leader, host and main threat of the gang. Not only is he a deadly fighter, he also makes those around him more dangerous as they strive to please him with their kills.

I love this miniature. It really encapsulates the aesthetic of the setting of nobles revelling whilst the world goes to hell around them. I've kept the colours similar to the box art and the details that intimidated me turned out to actually help as the sculpt is so crisp that it responds really well to contrast paints, washes and drybrushing.

I am wary of how fragile his sword is, and this feeling wasn't helped by me accidentally clipping off his scabbard during clean up thinking it was an injection point. However, one of the benefits of resin is that it responds so well to superglue, so fixing it wasn't a problem.

The Barnabotti were impoverished nobles of Venice who in the real world were prone to corruption and allowing their votes on the Great Council to be bought by the highest bidder. However, in the Venice of Carnevale their poverty leads them to engage in the debaucheries of the nobility with gusto in an attempt to secure a patron and provide the Patricians with a better class of henchmen.

This one is another dynamic sculpt full of atmosphere and character. I'm pleased with how I've managed to get the gold edging and filigree to work, although I backed off doing the cuffsand just went for suggesting inlaid leather.

When the noble head out, their Household Staff go with them to attend to their master's needs and bulk out the numbers of the party. As the lowest level member of the faction, this lady with her frying pan is either likely to be on objective grabbing duty or expected to give her life in the protection of her employer.

Of the models in the set, this is the one I'm least happy with. The sculpt is really characterful and I'm pleased with how I've painted her, but I've made a bit of a hash of attaching her arms and so there are clear join lines at her wrist an elbow. It's not really noticeable at table level, but I'll know and it will irk me.

Another Barnabotti, this chap is not on the box art. Instead, there's an alternate sculpt of a woman in a flowing ball gown, which I think I would have preferred. However, it makes no difference to gameplay, but I do prefer the woman so I may have to pick up that model at some point.

He's fairly static in his pose but the detail of the feather boa is silly. He was perilously close to being a miscast as there was a bubble in the resin of his sword that made it almost transparent. Fortunately, his is the most sturdy sword of the bunch and so there is still plenty of resin holding it together.

The Butler's role is to protect his master and as such he has the bodyguard special rule. He also doesn't have a specific melee weapon and so he has the tricky job of trying to stay out of combat but stay within the short range of his pistol.

Again I was following the box art and I like the contrast of his sombre clothing with the ostentation of the party guests. I imagine his manner being somewhat akin to Blackadder in the third series. In fact, if I get another Butler (there is a second sculpt) I might paint him as Edmund.

These two weren't painted as part of this batch but join the party taking my gang to around 100 Ducats (which is a decent amount for a game).

On the left is the first Carnevale miniature I painted, a Barnabotti that came free with Miniature Wargames magazine and is responsible for dragging me down this Venetian rabbit hole.

On the right is definitely not Cinderella from Reaper Miniatures who I painted to go with my Disney Princesses for 7TV. I had intended to use her as the Courtesan character, but that seems to have been removed from the game (possibly due to the House of Virtue being part of the Guild). 

Therefore, I've decided to use the Foreign Dignitary for her as the profile not only is the best fit but also explains her different style of dress (and lack of mask) and links to the character's roots in folk tales of various cultures.

As a side note, I took the colouring of the bases from how I'd done Cinderella as it ties them together, echoes how I've done some of the bridges and adds an element of flamboyance not present in the other gangs.

I'm genuinely delighted with how this gang has turned out and I'm incredibly likely to add to their numbers to bring them to at least the equal of the Guild and Rashaar.

Acquired: 90
Painted: 259
Lead Mountain: 432