Sticking with my current contemporary posts, here is a bunch of figures I bought quite a few years ago and never got round to reviewing. They are two sets of four 28mm scale African Militia, produced by Chiltern Miniatures, who no longer seem to be trading. I have no interest whatsoever in African wars, but when I saw these figures I immediately thought of using them as gangstas in a modern day American setting. Sure, they are heavily armed with AK47 Assault Rifles, but a lot of gangs do have access to such weaponry in big numbers.
I have called this gang, the Chambers Brothers gang, who are named after an actual gang of that same name. Incidentally, the real life Chambers Brothers were the inspiration for Wesley Snipe's gang in the film,
New Jack City, a film I rate very highly. In the photos directly above and below are the four Chambers brothers.
At the far left is B.J. who is both the eldest brother and the gang leader. Moving on, in order of seniority from left to right are, Otis, Larry and Willie. These are all hardened criminals and brutal killers.
Brotherhood seems to be a common trait in this gang. At the left of these two photos above and below are twin brothers, Damion and Randy Bridgeforth. The other two gang members are Anthony King and kneeling down is Terrance Stewart.
The figures made by Chiltern Miniatures were not the finest on the market. These are very chunky and their AK47s are vastly over-scale. But... there is just something about them that appeals to me. They are nicely posed and they do have character. I do like the way the faces have been sculpted. They were fun to paint as I deliberately went for a very colourful palette on them, seeing as they are clearly dressed for hot weather. Otis's shirt really stands out!
These could have sat in a box for a long time before I decided to review them. However, I do have a pressing need to review them as soon as possible. They will be making their gaming debut very shortly in my next
Judge Dredd Miniatures Game Comic Life batrep. This is the gang that Judge Scott and PSI Judge Devereux will be tackling. Their AK47s will appropriately enough, be classed as Spit Gun Rifles. I have their
JDMG stats already worked out as well as the details of the scenario, which will be another one of my own designs. I'm planning on playing it this weekend so it should be ready for posting some time next week.
Great looking gang Bryan, your very right about the AK47 as it is one of the main go to guns of mercenaries and gangs, due to being relatively cheap and also the most reliable rifle on the market. Once saw a test where they rigged it to a belt feed to see if they could get it to jam or overheat, generally try to break it. They ran out of bullets with it still firing true !
ReplyDeleteA long time ago I made some African militia for MJ figures in 20 mm scale including a child and female model I'll see if I've still got some and send them to you
Many thanks, Dave. You are so right about the AK47 being one of the most reliable firearms ever made. I didn't know that story about the belt fed ammo belt but it sounds so true!
DeleteIf you can find those figures I'd really like them. Thank you so much, mate.
No problem mate, looking for them now
DeleteThanks, Dave. I've sent you a reply to your e-mail message.
DeleteThey should cause some trouble.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Clint, but how much of a threat will they be to two Mega City One Judges?
DeleteOn Paper very little threat to a MC judge.... But In D=D I have seen 3 lev 4 characters in dread fear of half dozen Kobalds... So in the right situation ..... need I say any more!
DeleteYou're not wrong, Clint. As has already been shown in my campaign, a small group of zombies killed a Judge. If the dice roll badly it can all go horribly wrong.
DeleteThese are great! I really like Otis's shirt. ;)
ReplyDeleteCheers, Tom. Otis's shirt is incredibly bright! No wonder he's wearing sunglasses!
DeleteCracking paintwork Bryan, I love the purple shirt!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Andy. Yeah, what's not to like about it?
DeleteGood flick and perfect inspiration for this lot. I think their chunky detailed style will fit really well into your MC1 setting. Just hope their Spit Guns do better against the Judges than the Robots did!
ReplyDeleteMany thanks, Dai. I suspect that this gang will not do so well against the Judges - after all, none of them are armoured. But we'll just have to see what happens on the day.
DeleteVery good and you can use them next time you touch base with your zombie roots.
ReplyDeleteThat is a very definite possibility, Phil.
DeleteLike so many others have said Otis' shirt looks awesome! I really like the bright print.
ReplyDeleteMany thanks, HP.
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