DMH The Graceful Seven

As soon as I saw this set of The Graceful Seven from Great Escape Games' Dead Man's Hand range, I knew I had to buy them. They are listed under the DMH Collectibles (Stronghold Terrain) section and they cost £32.00 for all seven figures. A group of gunfighter saloon girls was just what I wanted, although I was a bit surprised they weren't called The Saucy Seven! I guess The Graceful Seven is  more tasteful.The one thing that I was slightly concerned about is no scale was given for them. However, all was fine when I received them and discovered they were about 30mm tall. I named them all and gave them stats for Six Gun Sound. Let's have a closer look at them.

At the far left is Goldie "Dusty" Cole, a Rep:5 Gunslinger with the Marksman and Tough Attributes, who is armed with a 12 Gauge Scattergun.
Second from the left is Lydia "The Cheat" King, a Rep:4 Gunslinger with the Marksman and Expert Gambler Attributes, who is armed with a Smith and Wesson .32 Pistol.
Moving on, is Irene "Lucky" Fry, a Rep:4 Gunslinger with the Marksman and Lucky Attributes, who is armed with a Colt .45 Peacemaker Pistol.
In the centre is Grace "Big Gun" Mullen, a Rep:5 Gunslinger with the Marksman and Quick Reflexes Attributes, armed with a Long-Barrelled Colt .45 Buntline Pistol.

The plump red-headed lady is Abbie "Brawn" Savage, a Rep:5 Gunslinger with the Marksman and Brawler Attributes, who is armed with a 12 Gauge Scattergun. She is my favourite figure out of this group.
Second from the right is Susie "Shootout" Lester, a Rep:5 Gunslinger with the Marksman and Crackshot Attributes, who is armed with a Colt .45 Pistol.
Finally, is Genevieve "Songbird" Hogan, a Rep:4 Gunslinger with the Marksman and Resilient Attributes, who is armed with a Colt .45 Pistol.

Knuckleduster's "California Kate"

Note that these are all Grunts and that I haven't nominated any of them as the Star Leader. I had planned on making Grace "Big Gun" Mullen the leader but when I was checking out the Knuckleduster Gunfighters' Ball range of figures I saw this figure to the left. She is called "California Kate" and I thought she'd be a perfect leader for this gang, although if I did add her I'd have to rename the gang. So, the gang will now be known as The Elegant Eight.
I could have made these ladies a gang of outlaws but I prefer the idea of them being Gunslingers in the style of The Magnificent Seven. I plan on basing them in the Sassy Gal saloon, made by 4Ground, a most impressive building.
As for the figures, they are very beautiful sculpts and look quite delicate. I do like that they come with various weapons instead of all being armed identically. I should point out that there is one potential problem with them and that is they come with separate hands and weapons. The hands have very small plugs at their wrists to fit into very small holes on the wrists of the arms. I glued them with superglue and when the glue was dry I added more superglue for extra strength. Mine fitted together better than I expected but it could be a problem to some. Be warned!
I'm busy painting "California Kate" right now and she'll be a Rep:5 Gunslinger Star with the Born Leader, Marksman and True Grit Attributes. I am very much looking forward to using them in a batrep but that will be later rather than sooner as I've yet to get the Sassy Gal Saloon. However, it is high up on my "to buy" list.

Vampifans Views 108 - Monthly Musings 78

With half the year gone already it's time for another of my Monthly Musings. The painting to the left of here was produced by Miguel Sanjulian, whose work I am showcasing this year. It is a stunning portrait of Vampirella surrounded by an assortment of evil creatures. I have no doubt at all that Vampi will prevail against them all.

This has been a good month for my favourite vampire as she has appeared in two batreps within the space of a week. First up was my first High Moon scenario set in Stillwater, New Mexico in 1875, in which Vampirella travelled back in time on the start of a quest to challenge Count Dracula, who had taken over the presidency of the USA. Here's the link to it - http://vampifansworldoftheundead.blogspot.com/2018/06/high-moon-scenario-01-high-moon-at.html
Then John aka Vagabond surprised me by introducing Vampirella to his ongoing Gothic Horror campaign and I couldn't have been more happy to see her. That girl sure gets around. Here's the link to John's batrep - http://vagabondswargamingblog.blogspot.com/2018/06/gothic-horror-hunt-for-mary-scroggins_23.html
I do plan on continuing Vampirella's quest in the Old West, so look out for part two coming soon.

I bought a ton of new stuff for my Wild/Weird West projects, including assorted cacti from Great Escape Games, Shellhole Scenics and Wargames Terrain Workshop, fences from 4Ground and the Tree Fellas (thanks for that link, Solo Wargamer), outside toilets from 4Ground, a stagecoach and a wagon both with horses, drivers and passengers from Great Escape Game's Dead Man's Hand range, 6 unmounted horses from Knuckleduster Miniatures (all painted now), the Graceful Seven figures (also from Great Escape Games and also painted) and the Black Fang Tribe supplement for Shadows of Brimstone. All in all, quite a haul. As you can probably tell, I am very enthusiastic about this project. My next batrep will hopefully be a scenario from Dracula's America. I know I want to include the Red Hand Coven faction of vampires in it, but I haven't decided whether to pit them against the Twilight Order faction or the Crossroads Cult faction. I'll make a decision soon.

The Graceful Seven as they appear on the Dead Man's Hand webstore. They are really beautiful figures.

Whilst I am still painting loads of Wild West and Weird West figures, plus some sci-fi figures for my The Ace of Spades Campaign, it was nice to have a change of direction with the annual Forgotten Heroes challenge. This year I only submitted one figure - a conversion of vampire Chastity Marks -but I completed her on time and was very happy with how she turned out. You can see my finished entry in the previous post to this one.

July sees the release of the Strontium Dog skirmish wargame by Warlord Games. I have read a lot of negative comments about the figures for this game, especially the sculpts for Johnny Alpha and Wulf Sternhammer, the two stars of the strip. Judge for yourselves. There is something odd about the way the arms are attached to the bodies. Their faces are very well sculpted but I will admit that I prefer the versions made by Wargames Foundry, which thankfully, I do own.

As for the game itself, and the other figures, I am very excited about them. My Battle Systems Sci-fi Terrain sets (the Shanty Town set in particular) will be perfect for this game. I have pre-ordered the complete collection as this saves me £21 over the cost of buying everything separately plus, I do want everything for this game. I am huge fan of the 2000 AD comic and Strontium Dogs was always one of my favourite strips. Indeed, my all time favourite 2000 AD character is the mutant vampire bounty hunter, Durham Red, who first appeared in this strip before going on to her own stories. I've seen an advanced preview picture of her figure for this game and it's fair to say, hers is the figure I most want. With all of the Strontium Dog figures I already have from Wargames Foundry (now sadly, out of production), which are all painted,  plus my scenery, this is a game I could start playing as soon as I've read the rulebook. Bring it on!

Dead Man's Hand Civilians 01

Anyone interested in playing Wild West games in 28mm - 32mm scale, can't have failed to notice just how many companies cater to this range. There are lots! 😊 My favourites are Black Scorpion, Flying Frog Productions, North Star and Reaper. I have just started collecting figures from the Knuckleduster Miniatures 32mm Gunfighters' Ball range and I like them so much, I want them all! I tend to favour the larger scale figures but I am quite happy to mix and match 32mm scale figures with 28mm scale figures. Last month, I purchased some furniture items and civilian figures from the Dead Man's Hand 28mm scale range, and it is these civilians I want to showcase here.

These three figures are from the Civilian Bank Figures Set and have been designed for use with the 4Ground Bank, although there is no reason why you couldn't use them with any other bank you have. The female included in this set could be a secretary working at the bank or, more likely, is a customer.

The two males are obviously bank staff. The elderly gentleman in the centre is holding a large book, probably an accounts ledger. The younger male at the right is surrendering, no doubt the victim of a bank robbery. I have yet to name any of these characters and the 4Ground Bank is still on my shopping list, but it is a model I will definitely be buying. This set of three figures costs just £5.00.

This next set is the Civilian Bar Staff Set, or more specifically, Rogan's Bar Staff. Rogan's Bar is another 4Ground model, and I do have it made and painted, which is the main reason I particularly wanted this set. Yet again, you could use any appropriate figures to replace these three, but I was happy to use these "officially" produced miniatures.

At the far left is Cathie "Cat" Rogan, the daughter of the bar's original owner, Jim Rogan, who was murdered 10 miles out of town a few years ago. No one knows who killed him or why, but they hadn't counted on Cat being so determined to make a success of the bar. Cat is cool, determined and resourceful, with a good head for business. Three years ago, she extended the bar upwards by adding a bunkhouse for travellers to rest overnight. 

The two males are the middle-aged bartender, holding a bottle, and an elderly general assistant who is brushing the floor. I have yet to give them names. This set of figures also costs £5.00 for all three.

This photo, taken from the Dead Man's Hand webstore, shows the three staff members standing outside Rogan's Bar. Note that I have based my figures on 20mm diameter slottabases, for two reasons - one, it gives them a smaller footprint, and seeing as they are in static poses, works well for them, and two, it just gives them a bit more height against my 32mm scale figures.

The third set I bought was the Undertaker's Staff Set. Yet again, these were designed to go with the 4Ground Undertaker's building, which I do have, and it is also made and painted. According to the signs on the building, it belongs to one C.F. Caldwell, so I named the undertaker, standing at the far left, Charles Franklin Caldwell.

In the centre of the trio is the firm's carpenter, who not only makes coffins, but also furniture items as well. At the far right is the firm's young assistant and general dogsbody. I shall name these two in due course. Yet again, this set of figures costs £5.00.

This photo, is also taken from the Dead Man's Hand webstore and shows the three figures inside the Undertaker's building. Here's a link to the webstore - http://www.greatescapegames.co.uk/deadmanshand/dmhminiatures/civilians.html
Whilst not essential purchases, these will help populate my towns and make for useful bystanders and NPCs. They are very well sculpted but note that they are true 28mm scale, which makes them look a bit small when compared to 32mm scale figures. This doesn't bother me, but it might be a concern to some of you. Note that they come with integral metal bases and not slottabases.