Strontium Dog - Wulf Sternhammer & Gronk

Johnny Alpha's partner for much of his career, Wulf Sternhammer was a Viking warrior brought to the future during one of Johnny's forays through time to hunt down the outlaw, Max Bubba. Wulf's loyalty to Johnny was unshakeable, as was his fondness for cracking skulls with his favourite weapon - a huge hammer he called "der Happy Stick." Here, I present three versions of Wulf, made by various companies.

At the far left is the Wargames Foundry version of Wulf. This is a cracking good sculpt of Wulf and he is dynamically sculpted in an advancing pose as he swings his hammer. When I reviewed the Stix Brothers and Johnny Alpha in my two previous posts I stated that the Wargames Foundry versions of them were my favourite sculpts of those characters. In this case, whilst I do like this sculpt a lot, I actually prefer the figure in the centre of the group, who was produced for the Indyclix game. It does same that both figures were sculpted by the same person, Shane Hoyle. What I particularly like about this figure is the way his face has been sculpted. His stern expression is beautifully realised.

At the far right is the official Wulf figure produced for Warlord Games' Strontium Dog game. Reading comments about this particular figure there has been a lot of negativity regarding the sculpting of him. The posing of his right arm is what displeases most critics, and having seen the figure in the flesh, I have to agree. The way the arm is attached to the body looks wrong. It is such a shame because the rest of him is nicely sculpted, although his hammer is a lot smaller than the Foundry and Indyclix versions. I doubt very much if I'll be using this particular figure in any of my games. He really sucks!

Occasional companion to Johnny and Wulf was the strange alien known as the Gronk. Though prone to fear-induced but non-fatal heart attacks, the meek Gronk nevertheless proved a useful ally. Able to digest metal and lick his way through steel bars, he rescued Johnny and Wulf from tight spots on occasion, but it was his medical skills that saw him become a useful member of Alpha's band of allies.

At the far left is the Wargames Foundry version of the Gronk. He is a lot larger than the Warlord Games version and so I've named him Big Gronk - a relative of my other Gronk. Warlord Games produce two versions of the Gronk, one on foot and one on the back of a skimmer. The one on foot, carrying his medical bag, is my favourite version. The size looks right and having him with his medical bag is an excellent choice. The Gronk is next to useless in combat but his medical skills makes him worthy of inclusion in a game. At the far right is Wulf and Gronk riding on a skimmer. Rather nicely, the Gronk is leaning to one side to see past Wulf. He doesn't look very happy! This skimmer is much longer than the single-seater version that Johnny rides. It is primarily a resin sculpt with a few metal parts - Wulf's upper body, his arms and handlebars and the Gronk's upper body.