Vampifans Views 119 - Monthly Musings 89

This piece of art to the left of her was painted by Bill Sienkiewicz, an American artist who worked on many Marvel Comics titles, especially, Elektra, Moon Knight and the New Mutants. He has a very distinct style and this is the only painting of Vampirella that I have by him.

So what have I been up to this past month? A lot of my attention has been focussed on the Core Space sci-fi skirmish game by Battle Systems. I'm pleased to say that all of the scenery items have been made and had their edges painted. I'm well on the way to finishing painting the first 19 figures which consist of the four crew members of The Black Maria, the four crew members of the Ion Hope, 5 civilians and 6 criminals. Once I finish them I'll move on to the Purge, the enemy of humanity.

I sent away to Mantic Games for a limited edition of Chris the leader of the Hunters in the comic version of The Walking Dead. He came with two resin supply pieces and they are all finished so look out for them real soon.

Gaming wise, I have finally gotten back to continuing my The Ace of Spades Campaign with a scenario that I wrote called Take a Chance on Me. The first three chapters have already been posted on my WOIN blog. Captain Kimberley Wells is participating in a high stakes poker game run over three days at the Casino Triomphe on the pleasure planet Golden 4 (Alhambra). It does have a slow start but soon it will get very messy and blood soaked as some of the rest of the crew (no prizes for guessing bounty hunter Julia Frostorm!) encounter the galaxy wide criminal empire known as The Organisation.

I am fully ready to start my my new Judge Dredd campaign on my WOIN blog using the Judge Dredd and the Worlds of 2000 AD rulebook but obviously that won't start until I finish my latest The Ace of Spades Campaign scenario.

I'm having so much fun with my hobby and I hope you are too. Until next time, all the best.

MC1 Citizens 05

Here are another five male citizens of Mega City One. From left to right the first and fourth figure were produced by Grenadier Miniatures as part of their  Traveller range. The second figure is from Citadel Miniatures Spacefarers range. The fifth figure is from Moonraker Miniature's Spacelords range. I have no idea who produced the third figure. As with the others he is a very old figure bought in the 1980's.
At the far left is an ambassador according to Grenadier Miniatures. I will use him as one of the Social Elite in Mega City One.
Next to him is another member of Mega City One's Social Elite. He is the only figure out of this batch that I have name. He is called Cyrano Curtiz.
Third in line is yet another Social Elite citizen. He is obviously dressed as an ancient Roman Senator. His mirror-shades look out of place but places him in a much later time period. The reason I bought him was to use him in my old The Ace of Spades Campaign using the GURPS rules. Many citizens of the Mercantile League dress up in ancient Roman costumes. Also, much of their architecture is inspired by the ancient Roman Empire. Given the wacky and weird costumes worn by many MC1 citizens, I figured he'd fit in well in this sprawling metropolis.

Second from the right is some kind of scientist. The best career option for him is the Boffin, who are skilled scientists and some of the most sought after citizens in the city.
Finally is a doctor. Sadly there is no career option for a doctor in Judge Dredd and the Worlds of 2000 AD, so I'll use the Medic career option from the N.E.W. rulebook for him. The beauty of the WOIN rulebooks is that they can all be used for cross overs.

MC1 Citizens 04

Continuing my look at my figures of Mega City One citizens here are six more males. These are a mixed bunch with the three to the left being the same figure from their 25mm scale Spacefarers sci-fi range (1980), the next two were produced by West End Games for their 25mm scale Star Wars range. Sadly I have no recollection of who made the figure at the far right. I do know that I bought him in the 1980's. Despite these all being 25mm scale figures they still fit in well with my 28mm to 32mm scale figures.

The figure at the far left was such a generic looking civilian that I bought three of them. Apart from their paint schemes, the first two are identical. The one at the far right is either a Blocker or a Citizen. Next to him is an Eldster as denoted by his pale grey hair. For the third one I added a can of a fizzy drink to his right hand.

Third from the left is the surly bartender, Cedo Partu from the Mos Eisley cantina on Tatooine from the film, Star Wars IV - A New Hope. He could be either a bartender or a barfly in Mega City One.
Next up is a rebel operative. I don't think he appeared in any of the films but he might have made a very brief appearance.
The unknown figure at the far right is just another generic sci-fi civilian.

MC1 Citizens 03

I still have lots more figures of Mega City One citizens to show you so without further ado, here is the next batch. These six figures were all produced by Citadel Miniatures in the 1980's. The three to the left were alternate Time Lords from their Doctor Who range. The next two are from their Judge Dredd range of figures and the final figure is a Rogue Trader psyker. Most of them have not been named.

First in line is a Social Elite civilian wearing the most extravagant clothing to show off his wealth and eccentricity.
Second from the left is an African-American Citizen. He walks with a limp hence his need to use a walking cane.
Next up is another eccentrically dressed Citizen. He is carrying a "boom box" in his right hand

Moving on is a Blocker. This figure was originally a perp holding a pistol but I clipped off his pistol to convert him into a Blocker. His T-Shirt features Belinda Plook, who was most notably arrested by Judge Dredd whilst performing at the Megavision Song Concert. Note that I have made figures of Belinda and her band which I'll show in a later post.
The only named character from this group is the second from the right. She is Melda Dreep, a Blocker, who lit the fuse to the Block Wars when someone from a rival block dropped an ice cream on her head. As a result, Block Mania spread throughout Mega City One resulting in a massive death toll. The Block Mania story was a prologue to the much longer The Apocalypse War story.
Finally is a Psyker citizen. Psykers are individuals with psionic powers but are not members of Justice Department. Justice Department tries to recruit as many psykers as possible into their Psi Division; however, many with appropriate talents are unable to be Judges. Some may be too old to enter the Academy of Law – although the age limit can be raised for those whose powers are revealed at a later date there is a limit to this. If powers are first spotted in a teenager or adult then they are considered far too old to become a Judge.

MC1 Citizens 02

Preparations are well in hand for the start of my new Judge Dredd campaign. In the past, I have shown a lot of my Judges, Perps and Robots but not many Citizens. In this post and the next few posts I'll be showcasing a lot more of my Citizen figures starting with these six, all produced by Moonraker Miniatures as part of their Spacelords range. Most of my Citizens have not been given names but some have.

At the far left is a male citizen from set 3706 - Civilians. Based on the career choices in the Judge Dredd and the Worlds of 2000 AD rulebook, I'd class him as a bog standard Citizen - one of the multitudes living in Mega City One who try to keep their heads down to stay out of trouble. Alternatively, he could be a Blocker.
Next in line is a Ship's Crewman from set 3720 - Ship's Crew. He could be a Pilot, Scientist or Engineer or even a Smuggler. He'll be in big trouble if the Judges spot him smoking that cigar!
Third from the left is another Citizen or Blocker who is also from set 3706 - Civilians. Blockers were born and raised in a city block and quite often spend their whole lives there, never venturing outdoors. After all, the block provides all they would ever want.

Third from the right is an armed civilian from set 3701 - Adventurers. He could be a small business owner or perhaps even a Survivalist. Note that ownership of a pistol is not necessarily a criminal offence - it all depends upon the type of pistol.
Second from the right is another Civilian from set 3706 - Civilians. He, too, is armed and is very similar to the previous Citizen in that he too, is armed with a Pistol.
Last up is the only female of this group and the only one I have named. She is Falujah Faliraki, the fourth figure from set 3706 - Civilians. In my mind, she has to be one of the Social Elite where she attends all the best social functions that happen in the best blocks in the sector.

Necromunda Ambots

I recently bought two boxed sets of Ambots for Games Workshop's Necromunda game. These multi-part plastic kits are very detailed and look very impressive when built and painted. Ambots can be hired by any gang in Necromunda.

The Luther pattern Excavation Automata is a heavy construct built in imitation of the Ambull, a huge, roughly humanoid xenos creature common to hot, arid worlds. Thought to have evolved in the endless deserts of Luther McIntyre 9 in the Segmentum Solar, the Ambull is now common across the Imperium. Humanity, having attempted to domesticate the brutes to make use of their traits. Ambulls are natural tunnellers, their powerful limbs ending in diamond-hard claws that enable them to dig through soft rock at a surprising speed. Their eyes see into the infrared spectrum, making impeccable use of even the faintest levels of light and they are even able to detect heat signatures as a visual stimulus.

The greatest success in domesticating the Ambull lie in using the creatures as the organic component of a heavy mining construct. Specially crafted instrumentalities are fused with the brain and nervous system of the Ambull, in a process perfected by the Adeptus Mechanicus, to circumvent the most ancient laws proscribing the "machina malifica", the dreaded "machine that thinks". When the creature awakens in its new robotic shell, it retains the natural tunnelling instinct it had when it was flesh, whilst its aggression and hunting impulses are suppressed by cranial governors. Consequently, Luther pattern Excavation Automata, or Ambots, as they are commonly called in the underhive vernacular, are not uncommon on Necromunda, where they are utilised for slag mining and ash excavation. A common danger of using such constructs, however, is that there is always an underhive gang waiting for the opportunity to liberate  such a prized commodity and utilise it as a weapon against their rivals.
You get two Ambots in the box, which come in different poses with a selection of options like heads and underarm weapons. The red and blue Ambots were built as per their instructions. As were the yellow and green ones but on these two I clipped off their pincers. Also, I left off the big right arm shoulder pad from all of them. It didn't look right to me. Just one of these is a very tough fighter in Necromunda with high stats across the board. However, not surprisingly, they are expensive.
The boxed set of two 40mm tall Ambots cost £25.00 if you are stupid enough to buy them from Games Workshop (greedy bastards!). I bought mine for £19.88 per box from Wayland Games. Element Games sell them for £21.25.
Although I primarily bought them to use in Necromunda, I also plan on using them in The Robot Wars for my upcoming Judge Dredd campaign. I plan on using them as Heavy Metal Kids in the scenario, although technically speaking, they should be twice as tall. Size-wise they'd work better as Industrial Robots but the Heavy Metal Kids are such an integral part of the story that I have to include them. Sure, this is a compromise but better this way than not using them.

Warlord Games Judoon

One of the first figure sets I bought for Warlord Game's Doctor Who game was the box of three 35mm scale Judoon. For some inexplicable reason they remained unpainted until the end of last month. They were incredibly easy to paint, so here, at last are my Judoon.

Single-minded in their pursuit of the Law, these black armoured Rhinoceroid bipeds serve as a mercenary intergalactic police force affiliated to thee Shadow Proclamation. Known for their strict adherence to the Law and their brutish application of it, the Judoon have been harshly but accurately described by the Doctor as logical but stupid.

Judoon carry scanners to identify their quarries, translator devices to communicate during their enquiries and powerful energy weapons capable of incinerating their foes.
These figures are quite exquisitely sculpted and were a joy to paint. Obviously they will get most use in the Doctor Who: Exterminate skirmish game but I really want to use them in a Judge Dredd scenario, in which they land in Mega City One in pursuit of a time travelling villain (Kahler Tek perhaps) only to be interrupted by the Judges. Judges vs Judoon would make for a fascinating encounter since they both have so much in common.
This boxed set of three pewter figures costs £13.00 from the Warlord Games webstore.

Resident Evil 2 Zombies 02

I continue my look at some of the 32mm scale plastic zombie figures produced for the Resident Evil 2 board-game by Steam Forged Games. These 12 figures were part of the expansion sets. Individually, they are not much of a threat with a Move of 1, Health of 1, Threat Level of 1 and they inflict 1 point of damage. They have just one special ability which is Suicide Lunge. With an attack range of 1 instead of their normal attack range of 0 , the zombie performs a move reaction then attacks. This attack cannot be evaded. After resolving the attack, the Zombie is killed.

As with the 12 zombies I showed last time, these come in three different poses made up of four figures.

These four are advancing with their right arm stretched out. The one on the far right of each set has been painted as an African American, hence his darker skin colour. All of them have been given different coloured clothing and hair.

Next up are four more males, casually dressed in T-shirts and shambling forward in search of fresh blood.

Once again, in order to provide some individuality amongst them, I have painted them in different coloured clothing and hair colours.

Finally are more shambling male zombies. To make each one look unique I have varied where their wounds are as well as giving them all different coloured clothing and hair.

Coupled with the 12 zombies I showed in my last post and the final batch left to paint you end up with about three dozen zombies, which is a decent sized horde. I have no criticism to make of the sculpts but I do wish there were more female zombies in the mix. Just four female zombies out of so many is a poor showing.

Resident Evil 2 Zombies 01

Obviously with a game like Resident Evil 2 you are going to get a lot of zombie figures and I certainly did buying all of the expansion sets when the game was released on Kickstarter. I haven't painted all of them yet but I have painted two dozen of them, which is more than enough for most games. This post covers the 12 zombie figures that came with the starter boxed set.

I start of with four policemen from the Racoon City Police Department who would obviously be in the front-line once the zombie apocalypse began.

The boxed set comes with three sets of four identically posed 32mm scale zombies. I have made these four look unique by simply giving them different hair colours. Also, for each set of four, I have painted one as an African American with darker skin. He or she will be the one at the far right.

The next four males are advancing with their left arms stretched out to grab hold of a victim. "I'm coming to get you, Barbara!"

Because these were once civilians I was able to make them look unique by giving them different coloured clothing and hair.

Finally, we have four female zombies with pageboy hairstyles that covers their left eye. Note that all of these figures are sculpted onto 20mm diameter bases which I have covered with sand and gravel.

Once again, by painting them with different coloured hair and clothing I was able to make each one appear to be a unique model.
Although designed to be used with the Resident Evil 2 board-game, there is no reason why you couldn't use them in any other contemporary or near future zombie apocalypse game. I had a lot of fun painting them. I always enjoy painting zombies.