Sunday 10 December 2017

Rumbleslam Twisted Shadows

At the same time as I ordered my Cryptborn Nightmares team for Rumbleslam, I also bought this team - the Twisted Shadows. What particularly drew me to this team were the two Witch Elves. When it comes to fantasy I have a particular fondness for Dark Elves. Way back when I played Warhammer regularly my two biggest armies were Vampire Counts (obviously!) and Dark Elves. Of all of the Dark Elf units, the Witch Elves were my favourite. Those ladies were vicious!
From left to right, the Twisted Shadows team is made up of Lysintra the Witch Elf Brawler, Zeeriel the Witch Elf Grappler, Madame Medusa the Gorgon, Blink the Shadowling Brawler and Switch the Shadowling Grappler.
The Twisted Shadows team is agile, fast, hard-hitting, and very tough to face. But they're also extremely weak when punched back, so watch out! Twisted players of Gomorrah will love a little extra power in their teams.
Dark Elf Brawlers and Dark Elf Grapplers can take a bit more punishment, and are very good at their respective roles. Their Art of Seduction ability turns an already good attack into an even better one by incapacitating the opponent's ability to defend properly.
Shadowling Brawlers and Shadowling Grapplers are best used to sneak in, do a devastating special attack, and then Shadow Jump away again before the enemy even notices they were there!
Finally, the massive Gorgons are out and out damage dealers. Their special abilities are very powerful, but its their grapples and Crowd Pleasers that really make them a mainstay in any Gomorrah team.
As well as buying the Twisted Shadows team, I also bought a couple of Superstars for them - Comet and Phage. 
“Comet is an enigma wrapped in mystery and perversion. Known by many as the strangest wrestler to enter the ring, this painted elf has exhibited some very strange tendencies over the years. Whether it is admiring himself in the ring, or tracing out the blackened lines of his skin-tight suit, he has surprised and chilled many a wrestler and viewer. In interviews, he has shown a definite lack of personal space and social norms. His face is meticulously painted each day, and the ritual of brushing his hair sixteen times before a match is never missed. Comet seems to love his body and appearance more than anything, and should his opponent smear his paint, they had better be ready for pain.”
Wow! Just look at that stat card. Seriously. Umm... I don't know what else to say. So. Much. Gold. Comet is a great Superstar for... well... anyone really. Seriously. Wow!
"In nature it is sometimes the most beautiful of flowers that contain the most poison. The same can be said for this Dark Elf. A wrestler of nearly unparalleled beauty, Phage has enjoyed the adulation of her peers for years. Her seemingly shy and modest appearance however is merely a facade she wears to lull her opponents into a false sense of security. Behind her sweet and charming mask is a soul as black as pitch. This sadistic superstar takes great pleasure in inflicting serious and debilitating injuries on her foes. Several promising careers have ended early due to Phage crippling or maiming the superstar but nothing has been done to stop her. She pretends they are all accidents and even apologises openly to her victims, but it is all an act."
When is a Dark Elf better than a Dark Elf? When she's Phage. Increasing on a Dark Elf's already decent stat line, Phage really does have it all. With great attacks on top, she's a formidable opponent. That said, she costs a lot of Dosh! If you fancy adding her to a Gomorrah team, she pairs perfectly with the Twisted Shadows, who make her even more mobile!
I must admit that I just fell in love with the three Witch Elf figures for this team. 😍 They are as gorgeous as they are deadly. The other team members aren't bad either and I'm very much looking forward to seeing how they perform in the ring. There are a lot of parts to the Gorgon, but she went together very well without the need of any drilling and pinning. When I glued the tails onto the two Shadowlings I had to slightly widen and lengthen the holes for them to slot into but that was a simple job. Note that as with all of my Rumbleslam figures, I have glued them to MDF bases instead of the clear plastic bases that they are supplied with. And in case you're wondering, all of their clothing items were painted with Humbrol Gloss Black acrylic paint.
The Twisted Shadows Team costs £22.00 from the TT Combat webstore and Comet and Phage costs £7.00 each.

18 comments:

  1. Another excellent instalment to your coverage of "Rumbleslam", Bryan, with plenty of Dark Elves on show - were you at all tempted to paint them as Drow at all? I really like the Shadowlings too, and your grey paint-scheme makes them stand out very well from the pale skin of the other wrestlers.

    Comet looks to be heavily based upon the "WWF" Goldust, so I might see about adding a cigar to Phage and turning her into Terri Runnels (a.k.a. Goldust's cigar-chomping manager Marlena); they seem such a good match.

    Regardless, the colour scheme you've chosen very nicely ties all the wrestlers together, and provides a pleasing visual cohesion to the stable. Good to see "Humbrol" Gloss Black acrylic getting an airing too - takes me back to my early days of abusing "Citadel" miniatures with it ;-)

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    1. Many thanks for the kind words, Simon. I was not at all tempted to paint the Dark Elves as a Drow. I much prefer this very pale flesh colour scheme. It's not quite white (but their hair is).

      There is no doubt at all that "Comet" is based on "Gold-dust" and "Phage" does seem to be heavily influenced by "Marlene." Good spot!

      When I started painting figures as a child, I used Humbrol Gloss Enamels all the time. At that age, i didn't know any better. Now, you can get Humbrol acrylics and they are much kinder to your paintbrushes - no more cleaning in turpentine!

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    2. Nice set. It couldn't be anyone but Golddust for the male figure but I don't agree about Phage. Like her ex Marlene was very distinct; Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar but if it was Marlene there would have been a cigar. I stopped following my, "Man soaps" years ago largely because the stories got bigger than the outrageous characters. I'm guessing Phage is the "Diva" era Page. Nothing unique about the figure is a tell. She didn't have anything for a visual gimmick other than being attractive but there was a lot of that so it wasn't anything. I started painting with Testor's enamels. They are the most common brand in Canada. I don't miss them but still swear by Testor's dullcote as a spray varnish.

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    3. Thanks for the insight, HP. I'm not as knowledgeable about WWE as some of my followers.

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    4. My pop culture on the matter is pretty tight into the early 2000s but I'm clueless after that point. Her name was Paige; I couldn't even spell it right :D .

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    5. Paige does sound a lot like Phage, so I suspect you're right about her, HP. I must admit I wasn't familiar with her at all. I had to Google her to find out more about her. Damn! She is a hottie!

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  2. Very nice Bryan, I think these are my faves in the Rumbleslam so far :-)
    Is the skin tone "out of the pot" or have you mixed it yourself? (and if it's a commercial colour, which one is it?) I'd love to add it to my palette :-)
    Ah, those were the days - the heady fumes of enamel paint and turps, when gloss was the mark of a WARGAMER who wanted maximum protection for his latest pride and joy!

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    1. Hi, Greg. The flesh tones for my Dark Elves is straight from the pot, you'll be pleased to know. It's Foundry Austrian White 67A Shade from their Napoleonics Colour Range. It's a very light warm grey. For the shading, I used Foundry Slate Grey 32C Light.

      Ha, ha, you are spot on about the old days of enamel paints and turps. How times have changed.

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    2. Yay! Thanks Bryan - I've just added those (plus a few more) to my last-minute-letter-to Santa ;-)
      Oh, and it's a good job the times have changed, or SWMBO wouldn't allow me to paint inside the house.... and it's F-f-freezing outdoors at the mo' !!

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    3. Attaboy, Greg. I'm glad I was able to help out with your Santa's gift list. :-)

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  3. Leeeeeeets get rdy to Rumble! Those look great Bryan. That fluff on Comet is hilarious.

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    1. RUMBLESLAM! Cheers, Tom! I'm glad you like 'em.

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  4. More interesting wrestlers for your collection Bryan, remember the old Humbrol enamels although used the matt mostly, only used the gloss to represent a shiney surface

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    1. Thanks, Dave. Well I know that now, but way back when I was 8 matt or gloss were not as important as the colours. It wasn't until my late teens that I realised how silly that was! Blushes!

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  5. There is something very intriguing about dark elves. BUT you just have to have the correct figures (correct as in what you think is correct!)

    Sports games no but maybe a HoT army!

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    1. Cheers, Clint. Having the correct figures is a must.

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  6. I'd not seen these until today. Great looking minis and you've done a great job bringing them to life Bryan.

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    1. Thanks, Simon. They are a bit special, I think. I'm glad you like them.

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