Thursday 2 August 2018

Strontium Dog - the Stix Brothers

With Warlord Games having just released the new Strontium Dog sci-fi skirmish game last month, I plan on showing you my collection of figures for this game. Obviously, most of them will be the new figures produced by Warlord Games but two other companies made Strontium Dog figures as well and they were the Heroclix Indyclix offshoot and Wargames Foundry. This post will show figures from all three companies so you can compare how they match up. You'd probably expect me to start off with a look at the Johnny Alpha figures. After all, he is the main hero of the Strontium Dog stories but I haven't quite finished painting Johnny on his Gravbike. Instead, I'm showcasing the infamous Stix Brothers - a family of mutant Search/Destroy Agents who were more of a hindrance than a help to Johnny, even though they were all Strontium Dogs, the derogatory term given to all Search/Destroy Agents by pure-strain humans. Bounty hunting was one of the few jobs that were open to mutant-kind following a devastating nuclear war that mutated many humans, thus rendering them as second class citizens, pitied by some but hated by many.
At the far left are a pair of Stix brothers produced by Wargames Foundry. They have quite a chunky feel to them and are about 35mm tall. I really like them, mainly because of their facial expressions which capture the comic book look of them perfectly. Next in line is the one and only Indyclix sculpt of a Stix Brother, and he is such a close match to the two Foundry figures that I suspect the same person might have sculpted all three.
Then we come to the three newest Stix Brothers, who are sold as a set of three by Warlord Games. These are slightly smaller than the other three - about 32mm tall, and are more realistically proportioned. I did find that their facial features were not as well defined as the previous three but other than that I can't really criticise them. Their poses are very static but that kind of reflects their nature. Indeed, in the Strontium Dog rulebook, one of their skills is Purposeful - they cannot choose Charge or Sprint double actions.
For those of you unfamiliar with the Stix Brothers, you may be wondering how many of them are there? The answer is, no one knows. The info given in the rulebook about them reads thus - The Stix Brothers come from an unknown number of apparently identical mutants, all of whom are contracted to the Search/Destroy agency. They are, on the whole, utterly mercenary and without scruples - ice-hearted killers who affect the look of gunfighters from the Old West, with an unflinching and laconic demeanour to match. Nobody is sure how many Stixes there are. There seem to be an endless supply to take up the family feud and cause trouble across the galaxy. On the planet Freedonia there is a town called Stixville full of Stixes, including Stix women and children.
So, if I wanted to, I could field all six of these figures on a side in the Strontium Dog game. In my upcoming batrep I plan on fielding five of them against Johnny Alpha, Wulf Sternhammer and Durham Red. It should be fun!
The Stix Brothers boxed set of three figures, 1 character card (they all have identical stats so you only need one card for them, irrespective of how many you plan on using), 2 Armoury cards (Frag Bomb and Gas Bomb) and 1 Chicanery card (Stone Cold) are available for the price of £15.00 from the Warlord Games webstore.

24 comments:

  1. A nice family photo. I look forward to the batrep.

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    1. Thanks, Phil. The family that stays together slays together! :-)

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  2. That is quite the size difference, Bryan, and the comparison shows just how sedentary the new minis’ poses are compared to the “Wargames Foundry” or even “Indyclix” ones are. Looking forward to the BatRep and your thoughts on the rules :-)

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    1. Many thanks, Simon. There is quite a size difference, isn't there? Wait until I show you my six Johnny Alpha figures and you'll find the differences in height even more noticeable.

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  3. Very cool in fact! are all the warlord figures in that upright pose?

    Great painting, spot on to the comic versions.

    Cheers Roger.

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    1. Thank you, Roger. No, the Warlord Games figures are not as static as these three. Some are rather nicely animated.

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  4. Very different style models, but all really well painted Bryan. I prefer the Foundry models out of them all

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    1. Many thanks, Dave. I totally agree with you that the Foundry figures are the best.

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  5. Very interesting is it a game with solo rules Bryan ?

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    1. Hi, Frank. The game does not have solo play rules. It has been primarily designed for two players. However, I am quite used to playing multi-player games by myself. The trick is to play both sides equally and fairly.

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    2. That's how I do it myself Bryan & TBH it doesn't put me off if their are no solo rules, but not knowing the game I was just wondering, so thanks for letting me know.:)

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  6. Excellent Stix "family photo" Bryan - really good to see the different minis together for comparison. I like the Foundry versions best, but can't see any probs using them all on the table, so no 'scale creep' issues here :-)

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    1. Cheers, Greg. I'm reading from the same hymn book as you on all counts, good buddy. :-)

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  7. Always interesting to see the various differences between miniature companys. Some gel with you instantly, others not so. Important thing is you secure them before they become collectibles..lol...Another Fab and interesting post Bryan.

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    1. Much appreciated, SW. Yes, I am very pleased that I got those old Foundry and Indyclix figures when I did.

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  8. Marvellous work Bryan and they will all look good on the table top. If there ware Stix Women and children then naturally there may one or two largers brothers :)

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    1. Thanks, Simon. You do make an excellent point about the heights of the Stix Brothers. There is bound to be some variation given how many they are.

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  9. I am still waiting to be convinced about the rules. Go on give it another try you might just tip the balance for me....

    It really does sound more roleplay, (and nothing wrong with that)as you have one side (The comic book characters) battling an inferior force. They have to be an inferior force as if Stronty dies ten minutes into the first game I can't see many wanting to play again!
    But that could just be me!

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    1. Cheers, Clint. Get back to me after you've seen my first batrep and then we'll see what you think of the rules. As with many games these days, the two forces are meant to be balanced but the draw of cards, roll of dice and seeing who activates first can make things very unpredictable.

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  10. Hi Bryan, my vote is for the guys on the left the Warlord ones, really don't do it for me, especially at £5:00 each.
    Looking forward to the game report.
    Cheers

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    1. Hi, John. Most folk who've commented prefer the Foundry versions, and so do I. I'm looking forward to getting the game played and it should happen in the next day or two.

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