Foundry Thugs and Misfits

To make up for my lack of posts this past week or so I've decided to do a review of Wargame Foundry's largest set of 28mm scale Street Violence figures - BSSV001 Thugs and Misfits. This boxed set contains no fewer than 18 figures. Let's get the show on the road and have a look at them.

 

The soldier at the far left of the two photos above is called Ander, according to the Foundry website. Foundry have very helpfully named all of these figures, and whilst I don't like some of the names they've chosen I will use them for now for the purposes of this review. Ander is armed with a 5.56mm Colt Commando Assault Rifle. He is very well equipped with plenty of pouches, a backpack, gasmask and grenades. He is clearly a military type but the question is, is he a regular soldier or National Guard or a mercenary? Also, given the title of this set of figures, could he be a deserter?
His colleague in the centre is called Rissien. He is virtually identical to Ander apart from his choice of primary weapon. Rissien has chosen a 5.56mm Steyr AUG Assault Carbine, distinguishable from the Rifle by its much shorter barrel.
The last two figures in line, form part of a vignette - a sniper and her gimp slave. The sniper is called Bellatrix, whilst the gimp at her feet is called Gat. They come as a one-piece casting. They look like they ought to belong to one of the Foundry Street Girl gangs. Bellatrix is armed with the powerful .50 calibre Barrett Model 500 Sniper's Rifle. Gat is making himself useful by holding her bipod to steady the rifle. I painted Ballatrix's panties in a camo pattern, which is barely noticable as there wasn't much material to work with! Continuing the military theme, she's managed to acquire a helmet for some head protection. Gat was painted with normal acrylics but given a gloss varnish coating to achieve that shiny leather or rubber look.

 

This next batch of figures are the smartly dressed guys. Starting at the far left is Catigern (unusual name!), a low level thug in a black suit and red tie. He carries a 9mm pistol in his right hand and I find him a rather non-descript character.
Touko, who is standing next to him, is much more interesting. To me, he appears to have been modelled on the guy who did the water torturing to Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) in the first Lethal Weapon film. He was also one of Hans Gruber's gang in the first Die Hard film, not to mention countless other films, and almost always as a bad guy. I like the fact that he has shunned a tie to wear with his suit. A man after my own heart as I hate wearing ties! He is armed with a 9mm Heckler and Koch MP5 Sub-Machine Gun.
In the centre of this group of five is Miikka, a thug with a silenced 9mm Heckler and Koch MP5SD3 Sub-Machine Gun. He is dressed casually in a polo-neck sweater and a long coat. He is leaning forward in a pose that suggests he is trying to control the recoil of his SMG as he fires it on full automatic setting.
The oriental guy to his left is called Qu and he could be a member of the Yakuza or a Triad gang. He too,  has chosen the ever-popular 9mm Heckler and Koch MP5 SMG as his weapon of choice. I'm sure the red rose in his buttonhole has some significance; I'm just not sure what!
Pattin is the name of the last figure in this group. He is firing a 5.56mm Colt Commando Assault Rifle from the shoulder. Like Qu, he is dressed in a long black coat. His red shirt (or is it a waistcoat?) makes for a nice contrast.

 

This next batch of figures look to be lower ranking thugs, although the guy at the far left, Ludwik, would make a very good survivor type. Yet again, we see the 9mm Heckler and Koch MP5 SMG in evidence. It sure is a popular weapon. The interesting thing about Ludwik is the flight bag he carries over his shoulder. It could contain alls sorts of useful items and not just weapons.
To his left is Hadad, a dude in a sheepskin coat and a cowboy hat. He is the first figure out of this group to be armed with a pump-action shotgun. He is leaning forward as if advancing. Actually, my figure was leaning too far forward but I was able to correct that when I stuck him on a slottabase.
The thug armed with the knife and meat cleaver goes by the name of Gamba. He's using an unusual combination of weapons, and he might be quite useful in melee combat. His greying hair shows that he's been around for a while.
Next to him is Drake, who could be Gamba's son or younger brother. He also carries a meat cleaver but also has a small pistol to give him some ranged firepower. The white vests and faded denim jeans helps to tie them together.

 

The last group of figures on show are all female. At the far left of the two photos above is Cammi, who looks a typical "trailer trash" girl. Rather unusual for a figure, the sculptor has made her left-handed. You don't see that very often. The pump-action shotgun she is wielding does look massive in her tiny hands and the recoil could send her flying on her ass when she fires it. But then again, maybe she's stronger than she looks.
The punk girl with the 7.62mm AK47 Assault Rifle is called Keela. After painting the flesh of her legs I gave them a Citadel Ogryn Flesh ink wash. When that was dry I drew on the fishnet pattern of her tights with a very fine nibbed Rotring technical drawing pen. Then I painted on the big holes in her tights.
I used the same technique on Isis, the lady in the centre of this group. She also has a punk vibe to her. Note her Mohican haircut. I decided to make her pump action shotgun silver-plated as a change to my usual metallic black. The metal suitcase she is carrying is worthy of note. Just what is inside it?
Taryn, who wears the blue beret, is either making a call on her mobile phone or having a draw on a cigarette. I opted for the mobile phone choice. Her 9mm Benelli M2 Sub-Machine Gun is fitted with an underslung torch. Note that she has a long knife in a sheath on her left thigh.
Finally, the last figure from this set is Louise, and she's dressed for winter in a thick padded and hooded coat. I'm not too sure what her rifle is but I'm going with a 5.56mm SIG Sauer SG540 Assault Rifle. She has a bandolier of ammo pouches slung over her left shoulder.
I am a huge fan of the Foundry Street Violence range and I was delighted to see this set released. I know that some will criticise Foundry for including so few original sculpts in this set. The majority of the figures are conversions of figures from previous sets. This does not bother me in the least but I mention it as it may influence some of you in whether they are worth buying or not.
Obviously such a large group of figures comes with a large price tag. These 18 figures would normally cost you £30. However, they are currently on sale for just £24 as part of Foundry's Christmas sale. I bought my set earlier in the year during one of Foundry's many sales. At less than £2 per week (whether bought in the sale or not) I still think they are good value for money. Although the majority of these figures will work best as Gangers, some will still work well as Survivors and Military types. With Christmas rapidly approaching I think they'd make a nice Christmas present.