Assorted Dominatrices 01

I do like to mix things up on my blog and here's a post I'm sure no one will have been expecting! I'm taking a look at my collection of dominatrix figures from assorted companies. I do have a reason for showing these, which will be revealed below.

The figure at the far right was made by SLAP Miniatures but is no longer available from them as they have stopped making 28mm scale figures to concentrate on making 15mm scale figures. Bleurgh! 😠There is no question at all that she is a dominatrix with her black leather costume and whip. Someone is about to get a right thrashing from her.
Next up is Dominatrix Libby sculpted by Kevin White for Hasslefree Miniatures and available here - https://www.hfminis.co.uk/shop?product=dominatrix-libby~hfa048&category=modern-%26%0D%0Apost%252dapoc~%2Anew-moderns%2A
She is the reason for this post. As I am preparing for my new Judge Dredd campaign I realised I needed a figure of a Pleasure Robot, who had to look human. Dominatrix Libby was my number one choice and because she is going to be a robot I renamed her £1BBY. You'll be seeing more of her soon if you follow my WOIN blog. The question is - will she be a help or a hindrance to the Judges?

The next three figures are very old miniatures. The woman wearing the red robes was a wizard for a very early version of Warhammer made by Citadel Miniatures. I believe she was supposed to be based on glamour model Samantha Fox (who remembers her?) but if so, it's a poor likeness. She is the only one not to be armed with a whip: instead she has a dagger or short sword by her left side.
The manufacturer of the Dominatrix in the black Basque and holding a cat-of-nine-tails sadly eludes me. All I know is that I bought her in the mid to late 1980's. Her head appears to be too oversized for her body but otherwise she's not a bad sculpt.
Finally is a Dominatrix produced by Denizen Miniatures and still available from their webstore as FA49 Dungeon Mistress priced at £1.45. She is 25mm scale but I don't mind that as females are generally smaller than males and people do come in all shapes and sizes. The sculpting on her is exquisite.

SLAP Miniatures Survivors 01

Today, I have for you a set of heroes you probably never expected to see on my blog - Popeye and friends. I kid you not! SLAP Miniatures produce a range of three 28mm scale figures known as the Yacht Club. Although they have been renamed to avoid copyright problems there is no mistaking who they are meant to be. In addition, I also review another couple of humans from the same company.

At the far left of the photos directly above and below is Skipper Fred. Yeah, right! We all know it's really Popeye the Sailor Man. Popeye was created by Elzie Crisler Segar and made his first appearance in the Thimble Theater comic strip in January 1929. Can you believe he's been going that long? This figure has been beautifully sculpted. Yes, it is slightly exaggerated with the over-sized head but still passable for a normal looking human. I love his lantern jaw and pipe, which has so many uses you couldn't imagine - a cutting torch, jet engine, propeller, periscope, and, of course, a whistle with which he produces his trademark toot.
In the centre of the group is Steward Gladys, or as we all know her - Olive Oyl, the woman loved by both Popeye and Bluto. Personally, I could never see the attraction but different strokes for different folks. However, I do think think she is the best sculpted figure out of the trio. I am also extremely happy at how well I have painted her. By the way, Olive Oyl was created in 1919, a full decade before Popeye. Popeye's comment about her measurements is that she is a perfect 57... 19-19-19. (WTF!)

Rounding off the trio is Bosun Ace, whom we all know as Bluto or Brutus. Bluto made his first appearance in 1932 and quickly became Popeye's main antagonist. He was originally called Bluto the Terrible but in 1957 his name was changed to Brutus due to a misapprehension that the name "Bluto" was copyrighted by another company. Bluto is, of course, Popeye's arch-nemesis and love rival for Olive. Once again, the figure has been expertly sculpted and does not look too cartoon-like.

Moving away from Popeye and friends we come to a sculpt known as Angry Chef. On the SLAP Minis website it is suggested that you can use him with the Yacht Club or in a Pulp or Post Apocalypse setting. I favour using him in a zombie apocalypse game. The obvious influence for him is chef, Gordon Ramsay, but I already have a not-Gordon figure in my collection of Zombicide Season 3 Survivors. So, as a fan of the TV series, Masterchef (and its spin-offs), I decided to base him on Marcus Wareing, a judge with a fearsome reputation as someone not to be messed with. I renamed him Marcus Mainwaring and painted on his beard and moustache so that he looks just like the real life Marcus.

Finally, we come to Ms. Whiplash, a dominatrix whom I have named Dominique Strickland. She is dressed from head to toe in a sexy leather costume and wields a studded whip. Like Angry Chef, she is not a person to be messed with. As with all of  these figures, I like how she has been sculpted. She isn't too brazen, unlike some other dominatrix figures I have seen and own.
Angry Chef and Ms. Whiplash are obvious candidates for Survivors in a zombie apocalypse setting but I'm not too sure what I'm going to do with the Yacht Club trio. Even so, I just couldn't resist buying them, especially as they were all being offered at discount prices.
Currently, all five figures are on sale on the SLAP Minis website. Skipper Fred, Steward Gladys and Ms. Whiplash each cost £2.39 instead of £2.99. Bosun Ace costs £2.79 instead of £3.49. Angry Chef costs £1.59 instead of £1.99. You can find them here - http://www.slapminis.com/humans-23-c.asp 
I received my figures within two days of placing my order. Great service! Stuart Powley, who runs the company, also sent me a free a free Goblin Pirate figure, whom I will use when I receive my Rum and Bones game.

SLAP Miniatures Werewolves 02

Last time I reviewed the SLAP Miniature's male werewolves from their Moon Howlers range. This time, I'm reviewing the female werewolves from the same range. Whereas there were six males, there are only four females. The other big difference is that these are all one-piece castings. Once again, the character names come from the SLAP Minis website.

At the far left is Cadela. I have based my colour schemes on those used by SLAP Minis on their website. I was pleased to see more variety in the paint jobs than with the male werewolves. Their fur is much lighter on the front than on the back.
Standing next to her is Zuka. These figures stand about 37mm tall from the soles of their feet to the tops of their Mohican haircuts.

Third in line is Kuja. She arrived without a tail. It must have snapped off her before she was sent. It was not in the package I received but no matter. I was able to add one by drilling and sticking a piece of wire to the base of her spine then covering the wire with Milliput and shaping then scribing it. You can tell it's not the original tail as my tail is pointing upwards whereas it should be pointing downwards as the others are. I actually prefer mine as it makes her stand out.
And finally, is the leader of the females, Cho Chai. Just like the males these are very slim with tiny waists. They all stand tall and have big hands, Mohican haircuts and very prominent breasts. I'm really not sure if female werewolves should have such large breasts. I suspect not but it does make them unmistakably female.
These certainly complement the males of this range perfectly. They are lean, mean fighting machines and quite unique in the way they have been sculpted. I like these figures a lot.
Once again, they are very reasonably priced. Just like the males in this range they cost £1.50 each. You can buy all four females for just £5.50. By far the best way to buy these and the males is to opt for the Pack of Werewolves set, which gets you all 6 males and all 4 females for the ridiculously low price of £13.00. This is the option I chose when I bought mine.

SLAP Miniatures Werewolves 01

SLAP Miniatures are a new figure company that make various ranges of figures for different genres. I was particularly interested in their werewolf range, which consists of 6 male werewolves and 4 female werewolves. For now I want to review the males. I'll review the females next time. The figures were all named by SLAP Minis. Note that these are all five piece castings - body and legs, head, tail and two arms. They stand just under 40mm tall, which is perfectly in keeping with a lupine's Crinos form. These figures are taller than the Grekwood Werewolves I showed recently but a lot less bulky. These guys are tall and slim! I thought I might have to glue them to 30mm diameter slottabases but because they are so light and so slim I was able to stick them on my normal 25mm diameter slottabases.

At the far left is Canavar. I positioned his head to show him howling. I copied the colour schemes for these figures from the SLAP Minis website. They are various shades of grey with a final highlight of white, which provides a nice stark contrast.
Next up is Farkas. I should point out that I drilled and pinned the heads, tails and arms to the bodies. This was a time consuming process but the effort was well worth it as they hold together really well. For my pins I used a paperclip cut into small pieces. They were glued using superglue.
Third in line is MacTire. He is in an advancing pose and hence looks smaller than the others.

Fourth in line is Vilkas. Note that the body parts are interchangeable allowing for loads of customisation if you so wanted.
The penultimate figure is Kurt who is crouched down more than the others.
Finally, is the group leader, Serigala. I deliberately painted him black to make him stand out from the rest of the group. He still has white highlights on his front but from the back he instantly stands apart from the others. His head has been positioned higher than anyone-else's showing him in mid-howl.
There are a couple of things that make these figures stand out from other similarly sized Werewolves. One is just how slim they are. I don't see this a bad thing or a good thing. It's just how this particular tribe or strain has evolved. Secondly, they all have prominent male genitalia, which most sculptors ignore. Some of you may be put off by this and if you are you really won't like the females of this range! To be fair to SLAP Minis they do give a nudity warning on their website, so steer clear if offended. I liked this range as soon as I saw them. They are very different to any other werewolf figures in my collection and for me, they were a must have purchase.
You can find these under the Moon Howlers section of SLAP Miniatures' webstore. They can be purchased at £1.50 each or all six for just £8.00, saving you a quid. Given the size of them and the customisation potential I'd say they are excellent value for money.

Seeing as this will be my last post before Christmas I'd like to take this opportunity to wish you all the very best for the festive period, whatever your religion. Peace and goodwill, folks.

Ken the Zombie vs Kandy Pane

Another post with only two figures to review. You'd think I was slacking! Not so, I have loads to show you. Here, I present a duel between Ken the dapper zombie and Kandy Pane, a cheerleader and zombie slayer. Who will win? My money's on Kandy.

Ken the Zombie is made by the Network Model Soldier Company and I recently won him in an e-Bay auction. Apparently he was a limited edition figure for their Partizan range. He is quite a character and is clearly of aristocratic stock. His top hat and tails have seen better days, as has Ken! I like how he is doffing his hat. He must be a Smart Zombie to retain that much intelligence and good manners. He holds a cane in his left hand, which I gloss varnished to give it a shiny polished look. The blood around his mouth and neck may have come from a victim or may be his own. With his intestines hanging out of a big hole in his stomach he was clearly a victim of a zombie attack when he was human. Note that Ken comes with an integral metal base, which is something of a rarity these days.

Kandy Pane is made by a new figure company called SLAP Miniatures. I was looking at their range of werewolves, (which I bought) when I spotted Kandy in their webstore. They offer a very small range of survivors but in my opinion, Kandy really stood out as being the most useful for me. This teenager was once a member of her cheer-leading team before the zombie apocalypse began. Now she is a kick-ass zombie slayer. I like her a lot and I suppose she could just as easily be a vampire slayer similar to Buffy Summers. In real life a chainsaw is not the best of weapons to wield but in nearly every zombie apocalypse game it is invariably the number one melee weapon for taking out zeds.
Both figures are very nicely sculpted and both will fit in well with true 28mm scale figures, meaning they are not over-sized like some alleged 28mm scale figures. Ken is hard to come by but often pops up on e-Bay. Kandy Pane is much easier to buy. You'll find her in SLAP Miniatures' Human range, where she costs £2.69.