Into the Unknown

Continuing this month's theme of diversity I bring you a rather unusual post. The seven 28mm scale figures I'm reviewing today have a few things in common. First of all, they are all gifts sent to me by followers of my blog. The first five are from Stefan Witthaus and the last two from Simon Moore aka BlaxKleric. Secondly, they are, for the most part, unknown to me. Thirdly, they are all usable in sci-fi games. Let's take a closer look at them.

These five figures from Stefan are all made of resin and I have no idea who made them or for what system or range. The tall (she's about 35mm tall) woman in red at the far left arrived without hands. She has the look of a fantasy heroine about her but she came with a sprue fitted with a  pair of hands holding MAC10 Machine Pistols, so that's what she is holding. She'll make for a fine survivor in any zombie apocalypse game.
Moving to the far right is an over-scaled female who could be a bounty hunter, mercenary, pirate or survivor. She'd also make a great perp for a Judge Dredd game. She is a one-piece casting armed with a huge assault rifle and a pistol. A number of grenades hang from her belt and she is smoking a cigar. I love this figure because she is so full of character and she must have one hell of a backstory. She reminds me of Reaper's Anime heroines from their Chronoscope range. Memo to self - must buy them soon!

The three triplets in the centre utilise the same body but come with separate arms. From left to right I armed the woman in yellow with a pair of Big Ass Pistols (they look like .50 calibre Desert Eagles); the woman in blue with a huge hammer (note the cybernetic hand holding it) and a Big Ass Machine Pistol; the woman in pink holds a hat with large feather (very swashbuckler) and a combi-sword/pistol. I added a huge antique-looking pistol in a holster on her right leg, which came with the figures. To add more diversity to them, I gave the woman in yellow a ponytail made out of Milliput and for the woman in blue I gave her long curly hair, also made out of Milliput. These three women have the look of Warhammer Empire nobles armed with a bewildering assortment of fantasy and sci-fi weapons. Curious! They are beautifully sculpted and very detailed. Once again, they could fill a wide variety of roles from good to bad.

Moving on to Simon's figures, I know that the one at the left is a Cyber Controller made by Black Tree Design as part of their extensive Doctor Who range. He is an early version of a Cyberman leader. He was very easy to paint. He does look a bit chunky and rather crude compared to the Cybermen shown on Doctor Who nowadays but I still like him. He has an old school charm about him. He retails for £2.75 on the BTD webstore, where you'll find him amongst the Second Doctor Who figures.

The figure on the right is more of a mystery to me. When Simon sent him to me he wrote, "The metal sci-fi trooper is a limited edition Survivor of the Plague by "Mantic Games". I believe there is a plastic version which is a different sculpt but this one only comes with the "Deadzone" boxed set apparently. I hoped you'd like him as (i) he's a survivor and (ii) you need something to keep your splendid-looking Plague monster company :-)" Looking on the Mantic Games "Deadzone" website, I can find no mention of him at all, so I guess he is no longer in production. I certainly do like him. My first thought when I initially saw him was that he was a specialist Souther Trooper from 2000AD's Rogue Trooper series. His helmet has the look of a Souther Trooper. I had no idea what colour to paint him in. Eventually, I decided on a rather neutral Foundry Granite with Foundry Bay Brown for the straps and backpack. He is a great figure and I can see a lot of uses for him, including as an assassin in a Judge Dredd game.
If anyone has any information on any of the figures other than the Cyber Controller, please do let me know. Finally, I would, once again, like to thank Stefan and Simon for their very generous gifts. Such kindness is always much appreciated.