Next in line is Lords. It is true that females are allowed to join SWAT but their numbers are very limited. In 2000, they made up a mere 0.5% of the total workforce. Frequently they are used as hostage negotiators or in crisis management. A disproportionate number of the Foundry SWAT figures are female. Lords is firing a 9mm Heckler and Koch MP5KA5 Machine Pistol "gangsta-style," i.e. held to one side.
In the centre of this group is the extremely large Cook, armed with a 5.56mm M249 Squad Automatic Weapon, also known as the FN MINIMI. This is most definitely heavier than anything that SWAT Teams currently have in their armouries. It would seem that Foundry are taking some dramatic licence here!
Next up is Beck, wearing her baseball cap back to front. She is armed with the standard SWAT firearm - the ubiquitous 9mm Heckler and Koch MP5A Sub-Machine Gun. This is standard issue to all SWAT Teams.
Finally, we have Ed the SWAT Team sniper. He is armed with a 7.62mm Remington M24 Sniper Rifle. He wears a Nomex hood with a set of night-vision goggles perched atop of his head.
At the far left of my next two photos is Frank. All of his team are wearing helmets over their Nomex hoods. Nomex is a fire-retardant material. His primary weapon is the 9mm Heckler and Koch MP5A Sub-Machine Gun and he carries a 9mm Glock 19 Pistol in a holster as back-up.
From left to right the other four are Johnny V, Tesh, Kelly and Kathy. Note that Kelly and Kathy are female. I normally like to see females as part of a group but in this case I do think that Foundry have over-compensated.
I learnt a lot of useful information about SWAT Teams from the GURPS SWAT supplement, which ties in with GURPS Cops to form a pair of excellent supplements on all things police. Whether you like GURPS or not, there is no denying that their books are jam-packed with useful information usable in any game. This following quote from GURPS SWAT should give you a clear indication of what SWAT is and isn't -
"Cops, not Soldiers"
"SWAT officers are ultimately law enforcement personnel, not soldiers. They follow strict guidelines that dictate when and how to apply force of any kind, but especially deadly force. They are under the same restrictions as "regular" cops, and the GM should not hesitate to dole out appropriate in-game discipline for officers who insist on pushing the limits."
"The goal of any SWAT operation is peaceful resolution whenever possible. Crisis situations should end in the arrest - not the death - of any suspects, making SWAT operations especially difficult for the individual officer. He must identify threats, order compliance and attempt to resolve the situation without resorting to deadly force unless absolutely necessary."
I think a lot of gamers are guilty of treating SWAT Teams as the paramilitary wing of the police and shoot first and ask questions later. However, having said that, if you're using SWAT officers against a zombie horde then survival becomes the number one priority and in this case I'd say that deadly force is "absolutely necessary!"
These two sets, containing five figures each are a worthy addition to any contemporary gamer's collection. They retail at £10.00 per set. Even though they come with too many females and the fact that SWAT Team Alpha has too many non-standard weaponry, I can still recommend them.
Nicely Done Bryan. Like the wood on Ed's Rifle very nice
ReplyDeleteThanks, Simon.
DeleteThose are some very nice minis, and as usual. with excellent paintjobs. Thanks for the heads-up about the GURPS supplements. Those sound like they would be worth getting.
ReplyDeleteJoe, I love GURPS. I keep waiting for Steve Jackson to bring out a Zombies supplement and then I'd be in hog heaven! GURPS Horror came close but a lot has happened since then and they couls easily dedicate a supplement to nothing but zombies. GURPS Cops and GURPS SWAT are very good supplements, well written and well-researched and as I said in my review, very informative.
DeletePretty nice mate. I like the fact that some have bare hands although I do believe that most would wear gloves.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, Johnny, they should probably all be wearing gloves, but making them bare-handed provides a nice contrast against their dark uniforms.
DeleteI love the Foundry SWAT teams and you've don e agood job with them. I like that you keep them all in the same colour scheme. I agree that female figures are cool, but they are overly represented in these two sets. One out of each group would have been okay.
ReplyDeleteI think one female per set is still over-representing them. I'm kind of loathe to say this, given how much I like hard-ass females, but maybe if Foundry had made these sets all male it might have been better.
DeleteI agree, that even 1 per set is over representing. Perhaps a solution would have been to have a single female SWAT character to purchase on its own.
DeleteAs it is, however, I don't have much of a problem using the helmeted and masked female SWATs as males. As it is, it is hard to tell anyway!
You're right. it is hard to determine the sex of a figure once they're in their full gear. A small stature doesn't necessarily mean that the person is female. Just look at Bruce Lee, for example.
DeleteGreat figures, full of character, mine are slightly darker but your are painted brilliantly and as you said they're well trained police officers......
ReplyDeleteThanks, Fran. SWAT Teams are well trained police officers. It is worth stressing that they are not soldiers just because they have better weapons, armour and training than the average beat dop.
DeleteGreat job Bryan. Especially your attention to detail on the gear. You did your cops and swat opposite of mine. I am going to do my swat black. You are getting me in the mood to work on them and I have the lmtd ed guy as well :)
ReplyDeleteI paint most of my SWAT figures in navy blue uniforms, although I do have a couple of sets painted up in black, which I use as HRT (Hostage Rescue Teams - a branch of the FBI) officers. Look out for my reviews of them later next week. I, too, have the limited edition SWAT Sergeant Hall but rather stupidly, I forgot to photograph him with the other Foundry SWAT Teams. D'oh!
DeleteBeautifully painted Vampifan, they certainly look very uniformed, and one would expect formidable foes on the zombie scene, I couldn't help but notice one swat guy carrying a Light machine gun ! as you said Dramatic licence... big time ! lovely work otherwise Vampifan.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the compliments, TE. Yes, the guy with the SAW does stand out like a sore thumb, doesn't he? What were Foundry thinking of? Actually, the answer probably has a lot to do with their Street Violence skirmish game that they produced.
DeleteAs much as I think I'd prefer SWAT teams in black, I cant agree more that this would just make them seem "half done", plus the blue adds that "police" not to them. From artistic point of view, I'd say first group is better (with all the bright details producing some contrast, but dang, bottom group looks much more...hmm...professional, so to say. I love them. I understand the usage of "extraordinary" weapons, you could paint them as delta force, or similar special forces group. However, what bothers me is the "gangsta-style" (so unprofessional :P) and generally all the bigger sculpts in Foundry's groups.
ReplyDeleteYou make some good points, Mathyoo. There's no reason why you couldn't use SWAT Team Alpha as a military special forces group. A different colour scheme is all that's required. The overly large figures in many of the Foundry sets are there to fulfil a role in their Street Violence skirmish game. I'm not too bothered by them but I can understand why some people don't like them.
DeleteGreat job Bryan. I like the fact it has 'too many' women - makes it more cinematic!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Adam, but I do think you're in the minority for prefering more women. Actually, I never thought I'd be writing that sentence!
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