Wednesday 11 June 2014

Gripping Beast Civilians 01

A couple of months ago I placed an order with Gripping Beast for three packs of civilian figures. Two packs contained early to mid 20th Century civilians (review coming up next time) and the other contained four sci-fi civilians, as shown below.
This pack contains a family of four - father, mother, daughter and son.  At the far left is the father figure. He is holding a pair of binoculars in his right hand. On his right hip is a holstered pistol. I guess he is expecting trouble. Perhaps he lives in a hostile environment, like the Cursed Earth or even one of the Mega Cities from Judge Dredd, or even somewhere like the human colony on LV426 (the setting of the film Aliens).
His wife is similarly dressed and she too, is armed with a pistol in a holster on her right hip. I like the way her ponytail comes out of the hole in the back of her baseball cap.
The daughter is the most animated figure of the group. Is she playfully running along or is she running from some insidious menace? One of the straps of her dungarees has come undone, which is a nice touch.
The son is pointing at something. What has he seen? He is very nicely sculpted and posed.
The two children have less of a sci-fi vibe about them making them very usable in any genre from contemporary times onward. The two adults could work in a contemporary setting, especially if you removed their pistols. Even so, they could be security guards working for some big corporation research department. Or maybe they live and work in a war zone, of which there are plenty to chose from today. But for a contemporary setting, they scream out as survivors of a zombie apocalypse, which is why I have reviewed them here.
I like this set a lot. I was mainly interested in the other two sets of civilians that I bought, but when I browsed through the Gripping Beast webstore and saw these, I knew I had to have them. If I ever get back to playing Judge Dredd again, these figures will certainly feature. Will they appear in my ATZ-FFO campaign? Possibly.
As mentioned, these are sold by Gripping Beast and you can find them in their Products listing under Woodbine Designs Sci-Fi range. They are listed as SciFi06 Civilians (4) and they cost £5.50 for all four figures.

20 comments:

  1. Zombies and Dredd... That's an idea! Ok not a good one but an idea none the less. I can see you using these figures in a wide variety of settings as you say everything from Hadleys Hope to the Waltons.... Ok I said the Waltons. Nice one mate there is a lot to like about tem.

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    1. Zombies have appeared in the Judge Dredd comic strip a few times, so it is certainly a possibility. Indeed the new Judge Dredd rulebook features at least one scenario pitting Judges against zombies. I want to play it... naturally!

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  2. Very nice work Bryan.
    These definitely have a "Newt's family" vibe to them. All the better for that though Dude.
    Zombie apocalypse survivors for sure.

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    1. Thanks, Bob. I thought of Newt and her family as well when I first saw them.
      They are definitely very usable for a zombie apocalypse game.

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  3. They look sweet, I'm not sure why they are sci-fi, they look more like modern trailer trash

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    1. I like the idea of them being a trailer trash family, Shinto.

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  4. This ias a really good set - a ready made family !
    They don't look that SciFi to me, contemporary certainly but usable in both settings of course.
    They do need one of your inimitable backgrounds though when you thrust them into your apocalypse !

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    1. Given more time, Joe, I would have given them all names and a suitable background. It is something I like to do. They do have the advantage of being useful in both a contemporary zombie apocalypse or a future setting.

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  5. I've always thought of these as a farming/settler family on some newly-colonised sci-fi world. However, you're right - they'd fit in to pretty much any modern or future setting. Very nice, as always.

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    1. Hugh, your original thoughts about them were the same as mine, but the more I looked at them, the more possibilities I could see for them.

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  6. They are excellently done Bryan I do like this range and civilians in this attire are so ufeful for a lot of modern to sci fi settings! Also at £5.50 for the set a bargain!

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    1. I totally agree with you, Simon, and you're absolutely right about the price. They are great value for money.

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  7. I can certainly see them as Newt's family but I can equally see them as post Z-Day trailer park survivors. What a wonderful find they are.

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    1. Quite right, Robert. I was glad to find them.

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  8. Hmm, they'd be great as a survivor family on a stranded island...with zombies! I need more jungle terrain :D

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    1. Yet another good idea. Thanks, Mathyoo. I need more jungle terrain too.. I started making some when I was collecting a Lizardman army for Warhammer but I don't have nearly enough to make a decent sized jungle.

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  9. Dredd Vs Zombies!!! Epic! Very cool Bryan

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    1. Dredd vs Zombies - check. I think we all know who'll win that one, huh?

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