Vampifans Views 100 - Monthly Musings 72

It's my end of the month musings and also my 100th Vampifan's Views post and 100th post of 2017. Yay! 😊 This month's Vampirella picture offering is by Tim Sale, who has done a lot of work for DC Comics and Marvel Comics. I don't have a lot to say about it other than I like it. Tim has certainly given Vampi a most impressive cleavage!

This year, Christmas was a strange affair for me as it was the first time I have spent it on my own. My mother, whom I live with and care for, has been very ill this past year and has spent more time in hospital than at home. Sadly, she was kept in hospital over the festive period. I did spend a couple of hours with her on the afternoon of Christmas Day, which cheered us both up a lot. But it was not the same being all alone the rest of the time. I do think that if she survives 2018, it will be a miracle, but who knows what the future might bring?

My mum gave me a big cheque for me to buy whatever I wanted for my Christmas presents and I spent it on gaming stuff, paying for two Kickstarter projects I backed in December. With the recent release of Necromunda by Games Workshop, I am devoting a lot of my time to that game by building up a large collection of scenery. The official scenery by GW is very nice but far too expensive, so I've been looking for cheaper alternatives and the best deal, in my opinion, are the Industrial Hive Complex sets produced by TT Combat. Check these three sets out.

TT Combat Industrial Complex Set 1

TT Combat Industrial Complex Set 2

TT Combat Industrial Complex Set 3

They just scream Necromunda, don't they? These three sets cost £43.95, £40.95 and £38.95 respectively. You can pay as much as £70.00 for just one platform item (the Promethium Refinery set) from GW, so this is a considerable saving. I was going to wait until mid-December to order these in time for Christmas but ended up buying all three sets on the Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend. The reason being, if you ordered them on that weekend you'd also receive an exclusive Escher ganger and Goliath ganger figure as well. These two figures are beautifully cast in resin and will be unbelievably rare. I'm busy painting them up right now so I'll showcase them very soon. My TT Combat sets were put away and I didn't open them until Christmas Day. I also ordered a few other official Necromunda scenery items from Wayland Games, because they offer them at 20% discount on most GW items. So I guess you could say I've had a Necromunda Christmas. Of course these scenery items will also see use in my Judge Dredd Miniatures Game and in my N.E.W. games.

Currently on my painting desk are the new Goliath gangers for Necromunda and some more Weird West figures. I have recently finished painting some figures for Judge Dredd, the Skinwalkers faction for Dracula's America and a lot of miniature starships as I build up my fleets for my The Ace of Spades Campaign using the N.E.W. role-playing rules. I think the reason that my painting output has increased so dramatically this past year is because I've spent so long at home on my own. Not having to care for my mother has given me a lot more free time to devote to my hobby.

Looking back on 2017, I'd say it has been a great year for me hobby-wise, possibly the best ever. There were a few highlights for me and the one I'm most proud of is that I posted more batreps in this year since I began blogging way back in 2009. I started off in January with my Judge Dredd Miniatures Game campaign, which used the Comic Life format to great effect. Expect to see more of this campaign in 2018. In June I spent a most enjoyable weekend in the company of Dave Stone of Wargames Terrain Workshop and he introduced me to his Death Match sci-fi gladiatorial game. Also in that month I took part in the Forgotten Heroes challenge. I originally planned on sculpting the two human characters from the Bug Hunters comic strip but surpassed my expectations by converting the four robots as well.

Kimberley Wells, the sexy and charismatic captain of The Ace of Spades.

In July I began a new blog devoted to the What's Old Is New role-playing games. This quickly became a labour of love for me as I created a unique sci-fi setting in which to set a long running campaign featuring the all female crew of The Ace of Spades independent scout ship. The first scenario of the campaign ran to 16 parts, which was a mammoth undertaking on my part but by far and away my favourite gaming experience of 2017. Indeed, I have to say that playing that scenario was my favourite gaming experience ever! Everything about it worked so well - the figures, the scenery and most of all, the story. It also introduced me to starship combat, something I had never done before. I enjoyed it so much that I am now building up a large collection of starships to use in future scenarios. Suffice to say, there will be a lot more stories to tell in this campaign throughout 2018, starting with the next chapter in January.

That was the past. So what of the future? What are my plans for 2018? Pretty much more of the same, which means more figure reviews and more batreps. As I said above, the Judge Dredd Miniatures Game campaign and The Ace of Spades Campaign will continue. I hope to do some batreps for Rumbleslam and Necromunda, although the latter will have to wait until I get the Escher and Goliath gangs painted as well as the scenery items. I also hope to be able to finally get some Weird West games played. I am slowly building up a collection of Wild West buildings, most of which are produced by 4Ground. By Easter, I should have enough made to run a small skirmish, either with the Dracula's America or High Moon rules.

All that remains is to wish you all a very happy New Year. I hope it's a good one for you.