Vampifans Views 97 - Monthly Musings 70

Welcome to another of my Monthly Musings and once again it has been a very busy month hobby-wise for me. But first I start as always, with my picture of Vampirella. This offering is by comic artist, David Rodriguez, whose work I am not familiar with. I do like the cartoony look of Vampi here and I think the gold glasses are a cool touch. The orange moon and sky put me in mind of pumpkins, which is appropriate seeing as Halloween is only just around the corner. I love Halloween and I already have my bag of goodies ready for the trick or treaters.

I'll start with some news about the RPG I am most excited about seeing and that is Judge Dredd and the Worlds of 2000 AD. Previews of some of the pages of the book are now available for viewing (see https://www.worldsof2000adrpg.com/news-previews/) and we have been given a release date of this winter. Yes, I know, that could mean late this year or early next year but it gives me something to look forward to. I'll be covering this game in great detail on my WOIN blog.

Speaking of my WOIN blog, have you checked out my The Ace of Spades Campaign there? Playing and writing about it is a total labour of love. The scenario I'm running my PCs through is very long (I'm currently up to part 08), full of atmosphere and detail, and the way I'm writing it up, makes it feel more like reading a sci-fi novel than a batrep. The PCs are people you want to know about and spend time with. Please check it out if you haven't already. You may just be pleasantly surprised. 😉

I showed this picture of the main NPCs who were appearing in my current scenario on my WOIN blog. The female in the centre attracted the most comments. She was produced by Asgard Miniatures as part of their sci-fi range of 28mm scale figures way back in the early 1980's. I thought that this range was long out of production but to my great surprise I have only just discovered that Alternative Armies have revived it. You can check it out here - https://www.alternative-armies.com/collections/space-marines-and-adventurers The female whom I named as Sheas Danelish is HA6 Adventuress with Laser Pistol and she costs £2.00. I can't tell you how happy I am to see them all available again even though I have them all.

Work continues on the painting of my figures for Dracula's America and Shadows of Brimstone. In addition, I have started painting the four figures I ordered for the Frazetta Miniatures Kickstarter - 2 versions of Vampirella, a werewolf and a chaos knight on horseback. Photos will appear as soon as they're finished. Suffice to say, these are incredibly detailed resin cast miniatures. The chaos knight came in 12 parts, including his base! I'm pulling out all the stops on the painting of these figures. They deserve time and care being lavished on them.
I have also been painting some of my growing collection of micro-scale starships for my The Ace of Spades Campaign. For someone who was never interested in starship combat gaming I have fully embraced this genre of the hobby. My primary source for the starships I have been buying is Brigade Models (see here - http://www.brigademodels.co.uk/Spaceships/index.html) Their range is very extensive and they have just what I'm looking for. I haven't decided whether to showcase them on this blog or on my WOIN blog.
Finally, I have also painted all of the figures that came with and which I added to for a brand new game that has tickled my fancy. It is called Rumbleslam, the game of fantasy wrestling and it is produced by TT Combat. Expect a full review very soon.

It is a really fun game but I realise it won't be to everyone's taste. That's okay. I don't mind.

Kickstarters - love 'em or loathe 'em? Personally, I love Kickstarters and I've backed many over the years. This month I've backed two. One was for the Resident Evil 2 game by Steamforged Games. Backing this was a no-brainer. It features zombies, so of course, I'm going to be interested in it. Plus, I'm a big fan of the Resident Evil films and books. Oddly enough, I have never played any of the computer games, but that's simply because I'm just not into computer games at all. I have far too much to do anyway without having to find time to play computer games. My brother, however, is heavily into computer games, so he keeps me up to date with them.
The other Kickstarter I backed this month was for the Starfinder Masterclass Miniatures by Paizo Inc. and Ninja Division. My reasons for backing this project are not so obvious. The Starfinder RPG was only released very recently and it certainly intrigued me. However, at roughly £70.00 for the rulebook, I was in no rush to buy it. My patience paid off because a month or so after its launch, Amazon UK were selling it for £40.00, so I bought it at this bargain price. Running at 528 pages, it is a massive book. I've started reading it but I'm only half way through it. As I read it I keep making comparisons to the N.E.W. RPG by EN Publishing, which I absolutely adore. The two systems have much in common but of the two, I much prefer N.E.W. It is a lot simpler to play and more importantly, it does not have a fixed setting, which Starfinder does. I pretty much knew that I'd prefer N.E.W. before I bought Starfinder so why buy it? That's easy - to pinch stuff from it to use in my The Ace of Spades Campaign. It has cool new races, weapons, equipment, vehicles and settings I can use. This also explains why I decided to back the Kickstarter campaign. The resin cast 28mm scale figures are just a joy to behold. The level of detail on them is incredible. And they also make starships as well, although not in 28mm scale! So, I'm looking forward to getting some ultra-high quality figures to use in N.E.W. instead of Starfinder. Just check out these five figures from the range. I was wondering why they looked so familiar to me and then the penny dropped - they're the five characters who appear on the front cover of the Starfinder rulebook. I really love that purple-haired female. She reminds me of Lieutenant Gay Ellis from Gerry Anderson's UFO TV series. 😍

Next month, Battle Systems are going to launch their first sci-fi game, which will come with new card terrain and 28mm scale figures - a first for them. I'm immensely looking forward to that one.

That's all for now. Take care and have fun - that's what the hobby is all about!

Kick Ass Figures

One of my favourite superhero films and graphic novels is Kick Ass. The film Kick Ass 2 was okay but nothing special, in my opinion. I only recently discovered Bad Squiddo Games run by Annie the Dice Lady, who is such a wonderful person. Whilst browsing through her excellent range of female miniatures, I saw that she had made two versions of Hit Girl from the movie. I had to have them to go along with my Hasslefree Miniatures version of Kick Ass himself. And here they are.

Dave Lizewski was an ordinary teenager who lived in Staten Island, New York. Inspired by comic books, Dave planned to become a real-life superhero. He purchased and modified a bodysuit, and armed himself with batons. During his first outing, he got stabbed and then hit by a car. After recovering, he gained a capacity to endure pain and enhanced durability. He named himself Kick Ass.

In the centre is Hit Girl, an 11 year old vigilante, who along with her father, Big Daddy, are the real superheroes of the film, even though they have no actual superpowers. Big Daddy's real identity is Damon Macready, formerly an honest cop. Framed by Mafia boss Frank D'Amico, he was jailed. His wife committed suicide, leaving behind his daughter Mindy. Against the protest of his former partner Marcus Williams, Damon trained himself and Mindy as preparation for getting revenge on Frank. They undermined Frank's operations by raiding his warehouses, robbing his money and destroying his drugs.
The third figure shown here is Mindy Macready the schoolgirl. After taking out Frank D'Amico and his gang, Dave and Mindy retired from crime-fighting. Marcus became Mindy's guardian, after Big Daddy was killed by Frank, and she enrolled at Dave's school. Their retirement lasted until Kick Ass 2 started.
These figures would work well in almost any superhero game and they complement each other so well. Great figures beautifully sculpted. The figure of Kick Ass is produced by Hasslefree Miniatures as HFA071 Aaron (named after Aaron Johnson who plays Kick Ass in the film). He costs £4.50 and can be found here - http://www.hfminis.co.uk/shop?product=aaron~hfa071&category=modern-%26%0D%0Apost%252dapoc~modern-adventurers The figures of Hit Girl and Mindy are sold as Vigilante Schoolgirls on the Bad Squiddo Games webstore and they cost £8.00. See here - http://badsquiddogames.com/shop#!/Vigilante-School-Girls-2/p/71819722/category=21735093

Dracula's America Crossroads Cult Faction

Here is the third of the factions from the Dracula's America: Shadows of the West skirmish war-game - the Crossroads Cult. A Crossroads Cult posse serves diabolical masters, masquerading as wealthy rail barons back east, and can call upon unnatural Abyssal Entities in battle. Native American posses can never join this faction.

At the far left is Maximillian Underwood, a Harbinger of the Abyss. He is the true diabolical power behind the throne of this faction. A Harbinger is Flying, Supernatural and automatically knows the Summon Arcane Power, but does not count as an Arcanist. If he is not Downed and is within 6" of their posse's Magister, then the Magister gets a +1 Die modifier on all of their Casting tests.
Next in line is Brother Zebulon, the Magister and boss of this posse. He automatically becomes an Arcanist for free. One of his three chosen Powers must be Summon.

The other two figures are both unique Abyssal Entities who must be Summoned. All Summoned models disappear at the end of a game - they do not increase a posse's Infamy and they cannot Advance or suffer Injuries. The monstrous, four-armed Abyssal Entity whose eyeless skull is crowned by four curling horns is a Major Entity called a Behemoth. Its Special Abilities are Fearsome and Flying.
At the far right is a Hell Hound, a Lesser Entity with the Fearsome Special Ability. The Behemoth and the Hell Hound can only be Summoned by the Crossroads Cult, which is why I have included them here.
These figures are all official Dracula's America sculpts produced by North Star. Set DRAC112 - Crossroads Cult contains the Harbinger, Magister and Hell Hound and costs £7.50 from the North Star webstore - http://www.northstarfigures.com/prod.php?prod=10762
The Behemoth can be bought separately as set DRAC108 - Abyssal Behemoth. This multi-part figure costs £6.00 from the same webstore - http://www.northstarfigures.com/prod.php?prod=10758
To complete this faction I need to add some standard Cultists. There are a number of companies who make Cultist figures. At the moment I'm favouring the male and female Cultist sets sold by Crooked Dice Games to use with this faction.

Dracula's America Red Hand Coven Faction

In the wake of the American Civil War, with the country struggling to regain its balance, Dracula seized power. The Count's thralls assassinated President Lincoln and his entire administration in a single night and, in the ensuing chaos, their master made his move. Dominating the Senate, he declared himself President for Life, and now rules the Union with fear and an iron fist. His vampire progeny, the Coven of the Red Hand, infest every strata of society and enforce Dracula's will with ruthless efficiency.
In this post I'm going to review my figures for the Red Hand Coven, my favourite faction for the Dracula's America: Shadows of the West game. This is currently my largest faction because I have combined the official North Star figures with a set of vampires from Pontoonier Miniatures. The two ranges complement each other rather well, in my opinion.

At the far left of this group of male vampires is a Brood Sire, the Boss of a Red Hand Coven faction. He, and the two figures to the right of him, are official Dracula's America figures produced by North Star. This ugly-looking creature looks just like one of the vampires of Clan Nosferatu from Vampire: the Masquerade.
The next two figures in line are both Broodkin. A Red Hand Coven faction may have two Broodkin in its posse. Like the Brood Sire, they are Supernatural, have a Move rate of 6", are Hard to Kill and they have the Transfix Arcane Power (even though they are not Arcanists). Note that they are both wearing red-tinted glasses. I have painted all of the other figures here with red eyes just to reinforce their supernatural aspect.

The two vampires at the far right were produced by Pontoonier Miniatures. The chap with the sabre is a lot taller than the other one. He is clearly 28mm scale and the other appears to be 25mm scale, unless he is meant to be so short. Curious! I had to stick the smaller one on a slottabase just to raise his height a bit to make him not look too under-scaled. The vampire with the sabre could be a Brood Sire or a Broodkin, whilst the smaller one is most likely a Broodkin.

Moving on, we have the female vampires. The one at the far left is my second favourite figure out of the official North Star Dracula's America range to date. My favourite is the Seraphim, whom I showed here. Sadly for me, she is classed as a Vampire Fledgling, a creature who appears as an Unwelcome Guest on the Supernatural Events table. These feral creatures, still clad in ragged clothing, were once ordinary folks but are now in the first throes of vampiric infection. They are little more than ravenous animals, driven only by the urge to feed. Vampire Fledglings are Supernatural and Mean. Given my love of female vampires, I will most likely use her as a Brood Sire, despite what the rulebook says.

The remaining three female vampires are all from the Pontoonier Miniatures Old West Vampire Cabal set of five figures. Again, these all appear to be 25mm scale, but I still find them usable. These would also be classed as Vampire Fledglings. I have given them all blood-smeared mouths to emphasise their feral natures. Note that all of my figures, apart from the Nosferatu, are wearing items of red clothing, as a nod to them being members of the Red Hand Coven.
The five Pontoonier Miniatures are set OWS010 Old West Vampire Cabal and they cost £12.50 from the Newline Designs webstore - http://newlinedesigns.co.uk/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=490_508&zenid=64duvcck1kl1si82heufcl9203
The Nosferatu Brood Sire and two Broodkins are set DRAC104 Red Hand Coven and they cost £7.50 on the North Star webstore - http://www.northstarfigures.com/prod.php?prod=10754
You can get the female Vampire Fledgling as one of three figures from DRAC118 Dracula's America Characters (the other two are a Preacher and a Dark Confederate Revenant) also costing £7.50 from the North Star webstore - http://www.northstarfigures.com/prod.php?prod=10769
I am looking forward to pitting this faction against the Twilight Order in my first Dracula's America batrep. 

Assorted Androids 01

Let me start this post with a question - what is the difference between an android and a robot? It is the issue of free will. An android is self-aware and has rights - a robot does not. In RPG games such as N.E.W. and Starfinder, androids can be player characters. This is another one of my posts that could have appeared on this blog or on my WOIN blog. I'm posting it here simply because it has crossover potential for other systems and isn't limited to just N.E.W.

These five 28mm scale figures come from a variety of companies. At the far left is a very old figure produced by Grenadier Miniatures for Cyberpunk 2020 and/or Shadowrun. He is a cyborg cop, heavily influenced by Robo-cop from the films of the same name. In the few games where I have used him, I've always referred to him as "Robo-cop". I have no idea if this figure is still available for sale or not. I know a lot of old Grenadier figures are still available but I'm uncertain about this particular one.
Next in line is a figure I bought very recently. She is Maria the female android produced by Reaper Miniatures as part of their Chronoscope range. She looks like a female version of C-3PO from Star Wars. However, her name is a dead giveaway on who she is really based on - Maria the Maschinenmensch (German for machine-person) or robot in Fritz Lang's 1927 film of Metropolis. The figure is a very good likeness of her and the sculpting of her is quite exquisite. You'll find her in the Reaper Chronoscope webstore as 50246: Maria - She-Bot where she is priced at £5.22.

In the centre of this group is Narindan, who is an android produced by Space Vixens From Mars. I have been buying quite a few figures from them this year to use in my The Ace of Spades Campaign. I only recently became aware of this company and I have been very impressed by their friendly and swift service... and reasonable prices. This figure is listed as SV36 and costs a very cheap £2.00.
Finally are two androids produced by Alternative Armies for their Ganesha Games sci-fi range. They bear a slight similarity to the B1 Battledroids seen in some of the Star Wars films but they are different. However, it is fair to say that my colour scheme for them was directly influenced by the B1 Battledroid. They are listed as PSY04 Combots and they cost £2.00 each.
Anyone who is following my The Ace of Spades Campaign on my WOIN blog will know that one of the crew of The Ace of Spades is an android. Celeste is the most mysterious of all of my player characters and could well be the most powerful if she really is a Forerunner survivor. That should tell you that I like androids. My main use for these figures will be for N.E.W. but don't be too surprised if some of them appear in my Judge Dredd Miniatures Game campaign.

Alternative Armies Sci-Fi Figures 02

Following on from my last post here are some more of the Ganesha Games 28mm scale sci-fi figures produced by Alternative Armies. These four figures come from set PSY01 Psi Paladins. I guess the most obvious association with figures looking like these is with the Jedi Knights from Star Wars, and there is no reason why you couldn't use them in a Star Wars game. But for me, the reason why I bought them was to use them as Star Knights in the N.E.W. role-playing game.

In N.E.W. Star Knights are an elite order of warriors who are respected throughout the galaxy. They rarely use ranged weapons, preferring to engage their enemies with their laser swords. They also possess psionic powers, which makes them very similar to the Jedi Knights, albeit more openly accepted by society. Once again, I have taken the optional rules from N.E.W. to denote the types of laser swords they wield, with the colours being highly significant.

At the far left is a novice warrior who wields a blue laser sword. Blue is the standard laser sword colour and is the one described in the N.E.W. rulebook (see p.92). Technically, laser swords are not lasers; they are made of plasma contained in a magnetic field.
The female armed with twin green laser swords is slightly more proficient. If blue laser swords are classed as basic rank 1 weapons, then green laser swords are slightly better and are classed as rank 2. They represent peace and defence and are often used for deflecting energy blasts.
Moving up the ranks, yellow laser swords are classed as rank 3 and they are focused on melee defence, used by guardians throughout the centuries. The size of this figure's head suggests he is an android, which certainly could be possible, despite the fact that androids are non-psionic. Playing a non-psionic star knight would be an interesting challenge. Or conversely, perhaps he does possess psionic powers, making him unique amongst androids.
Finally, at the far right is the ultimate star knight, armed with a rare rank 5 purple laser sword. This weapon is a potent mix of offence and defence. His oriental look makes me think of him as a futuristic samurai. Certainly, he is a character to be respected.
Red laser swords, which I mentioned in my last post are classed as rank 4. The rarest of all laser swords are the black ones (rank 6), mainly (although not exclusively) used by those who have succumbed to the dark side of the Force. They cause damage which cannot be healed except by psionic (or magical) means.
There was an excellent article about laser swords published in EONS, the online magazine for WOIN a while back. I'd post a link to it but you have to be a subscriber to read it. Most of the info I have presented here came from that article.
These figures are all very beautifully sculpted with exquisite detailing. The hands holding the laser swords are separate castings and have to be glued in place. They cost £3.00 each and are available from here - https://www.alternative-armies.com/collections/ganesha-games-scifi/products/psy01-psi-paladins
I have yet to name any of these characters or work out their stats. I have already created one star knight character for my The Ace of Spades Campaign and she is a female Venetian. I'll show her in a later post. 

Alternative Armies Sci-Fi Figures 01

I recently discovered a range of figures produced by Alternative Armies for their Ganesha Games 28mm scale sci-fi range. I was instantly attracted to them and ordered the complete range. I want to start my reviews of them with a look at the following four figures shown below.

At the far left is Graul Granite, a rock-like alien and a bodyguard of Lord Phalag. He does look a lot like Ben Grimm aka the Thing from Marvel Comic's The Fantastic Four. I have yet to decide what race he is. He could be a Boromite from Warlord Games Beyond the Gates of Antares game but seeing as I have no interest in that game at present, I doubt if I'll go down that path. Most likely I'll come up with my own stats for him. The figure is a two piece casting - upper body and lower body.
The figure that most intrigued me from this set is the one second from the left. He is Lord Phalag and most likely a human. He looks every inch the cruel despot, powerful crime-lord or planetary governor. I plan to use him as a crime-lord in my The Ace of Spades Campaign for my N.E.W. RPG that I'm running on my other blog. I also think he would be a great rival of Lord Valatrix in the Death Match game by Wargames Terrain Workshop. The figure is made of resin with the four lower panels of the hover chair and the familiar sitting on his shoulder being made of metal. The alien familiar very much reminds me of Salacious Crumb, Jabba the Hutt's familiar in the Star Wars films. Note that he is not supplied with a flying base. Fortunately, I have loads of spare ones. I attached him to the base with a piece of copper tubing.

The light turquoise skinned female second from the right is another member of Lord Phalag's retinue. She is called Skarra and is described as a mutant mindblaster, so that means she is a psyker. To me, she looks like a Yazirian, an ape-like race with wings who appeared in TSR's Star Frontiers sci-fi RPG. Or she could be a totally different species.
Sticking with the Death Match theme, the final figure is Lord Phalag's champion gladiator - Silas the Strong. He is clad in tight-fitting silver armour and he wields a laser sword. Note that in the N.E.W. game, the colour of a laser sword denotes its core properties. Red laser swords symbolise aggression and anger. They do more damage than other laser swords. That seemed highly appropriate for him. I'm in two minds about whether to add a shield to him. The way he's holding his left arm means it would easily fit on.
These figures are all currently available from the Alternative Armies web-store, see here - https://www.alternative-armies.com/collections/ganesha-games-scifi
Prices are £8.00 for Graul Granite, £5.00 for Lord Phalag, £2.00 for Skarra or £15.00 for all three. Silas costs £2.00 and is also available as part of the Techno-Barbarian pack of three figures. I am very impressed with this range of figures, especially as I can get double use out of them in Death Match and in my The Ace of Spades Campaign. I realise that I could just as easily have posted this review on my WOIN blog, but by posting it here, ensures it gets seen by a wider audience.

Shadows of Brimstone Heroes 03

I recently showed some of the new resin cast sculpts by Flying Frog Productions for their Shadows of Brimstone game. As well as making alternative figures for the eight original Heroes in the two starter sets, they also make new Heroes that you can add to your posse. I have three of the new Hero archetypes so far, but more are available. The ones I own are the Drifter, the Orphan and the Prospector. Each set comes with male and female versions, which I most certainly approve of.

At the far left are the two figures for the Drifter. A Drifter is an enigmatic and deadly force to be reckoned with. An expert shot, and the grittiest Hero around, the Drifter's skills as a fighter and a survivor are unmatched. His long years of experience can prove invaluable in helping the posse as a whole, but a darkness surrounds his past and seems to be almost drawn to him, making his presence a danger to all. No prizes for guessing who the male Drifter is based on - Clint Eastwood's Man With No Name from the Dollar trilogy of films. To me, the female has a Mexican vibe about her. They're both great figures.
In the centre are the two Orphans. Orphans have low Health, but can constantly bounce back from damage with their Youth ability. They are Quick and agile, moving before enemies at their Initiative level, and automatically passing all Escape tests, but do not have the discipline or strength to Dual Wield guns. An Orphan's greatest asset is her speed and manoeuvrability. Combine that with a mission of vengeance, and you have one tough cookie. It is nice to see some youngsters added to the mix of Heroes, as they are most often overlooked.

Finally, are the two Prospectors, at the far right of the group. One of the most hearty classes around, Prospectors have very high Health and Sanity, as well as a Miner's Canteen to heal up either. With a powerful Heavy Pick Axe and the ability to make Deathblows (a critical critical hit, or Crit Crit if you will), Prospectors may be slow but they can deal out horrendous damage when the chips are down. This combined with their Crotchety nature, preventing them from using guns or Tech items, means the Prospector's focus is as a close quarters tank in the field. Their Expert Miner ability also means that they will never be short of Gold or Dark Stone, and can even help those around them get rich along the way. The male Prospector is very heavily laden with loads of gear. The female looks quite formidable with her dark glasses.
Every one of these figures has been superbly sculpted in resin. The detail on them is crisp and sharp. Sadly, these are not easy to get hold off outside of the USA, and they are quickly sold out when they appear in the web-store. I acquired all of mine from sellers on eBay. None of these were cheap as they are highly sought after and are swiftly snapped up. It is such a shame they aren't more widely available.
I haven't named any of these yet, but the male Drifter will almost certainly be used as the Man With No Name in my games.