Hasslefree Post Apocalypse Scooby Gang

Way back in September 2011 I reviewed Hasslefree Miniatures' 28mm scale Scooby Gang. See here - http://vampifansworldoftheundead.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/hasslefree-scooby-gang.html
I have always been a fan of the TV series, Scooby Doo, Where Are You? and was delighted to see Kevin White sculpt these iconic figures. Since then Kevin has upgraded the gang as fully armed survivors from a post apocalyptic world. Here is my review of them.

At the far left of my two photos is Scooby Doo, the Great Dane dog and eponymous hero of the TV series. Here, he has been sculpted with head protection and body armour. Somehow, I don't think he's going to run away from a fight any more.
Scooby's owner and best friend is Norville "Shaggy" Rogers, who, like Scooby is renowned for his cowardice and gluttony. Here, he appears to have stepped up to the mark and "manned up." He holds a fireman's axe in his right hand and he has a Big Ass Pistol in a holster on his right hip.
I have a problem with the figure of Velma Dinkley. The sculpt is absolutely gorgeous and that's what concerns me - she is just too beautiful! Velma was always portrayed as the "Plain Jane" of the group with Daphne as the main eye candy. Here, Kev has sculpted Velma as a sexy-looking babe holding a chainsaw. If you check out my original review of the Scooby Gang, you'll see that I included an illustration of Velma and Scooby in a post apoc setting. In that picture, Velma is armed with a pump-action Shotgun and has a Machete in a sheath on her hip. She still looks like the "Plain Jane" of the TV series but that was the version I wanted Kev to sculpt. Maybe, just maybe, the apocalypse has forced Velma to rethink her appearance, so she has become leaner, meaner and a lot fitter. Hot damn, she is one sexy chick!

Fred Jones holds a 9mm Pistol in a two-handed grip and has a katana strapped to his back. I always regarded Fred as a bit of a dick and he was my least favourite figure of the group. This figure isn't a bad sculpt but it doesn't grab me as much as the others.
For some reason, Kevin sculpted two versions of post apoc Daphne Blake. The one I like the most has her holding a baseball bat. She also has a Pistol in a holster as a back-up weapon. Given that Daphne is a martial artist, she ought to be able to inflict some serious damage with her baseball bat. Fred and Daphne appear to have changed the least in this post apocalypse world.
The second version of Daphne sees her armed with a huge Gatling Cannon or a Minigun. How on earth she can even carry it never mind fire it is beyond me. Has this version of Daphne acquired super-strength? Whatever the reason, I think this figure is just far too over the top. I bought her for the sake of completeness but I doubt if I'll use this figure very often, if at all.
If you want to include the Scooby Gang in a zombie apocalypse type of game then these are "must have" figures. I suppose you  could paint them up differently and use them as a  normal survivor group, but knowing who they are meant to be, who's going to do that? Not me, that's for certain.
You can find all six figures in the Hasslefree Modern Adventurers range. Their individual codes are HFA082(b) Felicity (that's Daphne with the baseball bat), HFA086(c) Felicity (that's Daphne with the Minigun), HFA087(b) Barney (that's Fred), HFA088(b) Wolsey (that's Shaggy), HFA089(b) Louise (that's Velma) and HFA098 Post Apoc Hamlet (aka Scooby Doo). The humans cost £4.50 each, whilst Scooby sells for £4.00. Hasslefree do offer a good deal - HFA093 Post Apoc Gang, which contains five figures for just £20.00. The figure of Felicity/Daphne with the Minigun is not included in this set, but is that really a bad thing? I think not.

Armorcast Mystery Machine and Wrecked Car

A while ago I mentioned that I had bought the Armorcast 28mm scale Mystery Machine van, along with an extra one for my friend Joe/Zabadak. See here for his enthusiastic review of it http://zabadakszombieworld.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/bits-pieces.html
I thought it was about time that I do my own review of it. The Mystery Machine is sold as set ACAU001 Clue Contraption Hippie Van. At the same time as I ordered the two vans I also ordered set ACCS020 Wrecked Import 1. Here they are.

 I have included my figure of Vampifan in all six photos purely for scale purposes.

The Mystery Machine came in five parts, with the four wheels being separate from the body. The wrecked car came in two parts. The large I-beam girder was a separate piece that had to be glued in place. I suppose it could be left off, but I think it looks more dramatic with it on.

Armorcast are an American company (you can tell by the way they spell "armor"), which is why they have described the wrecked car as an import. I'm afraid I am absolutely hopeless when it comes to car recognition, so I can't identify the make of this model, although I'm certain it is based on a real life design. Perhaps one of you can let me know which car this is modelled on. Incidentally, in case you're wondering I do not drive and nor do I have any desire to learn how to.

Doesn't the Mystery Machine look small? And yet it is in scale. Obviously, you can paint it any colour you want but it's going to be really hard to get away from the Scooby Doo influence. For me, there was never any doubt that I'd paint it in the Mystery Machine colours. I did question my ability to paint the words "THE MYSTERY MACHINE" accurately and the same size on the sides of two vans, so I cheated! I had a 28mm scale colour paper model of the van that I'd downloaded from the Interweb, so I printed out two copies of it and then carefully cut out the logos to stick on to the sides of the resin models. Job's a good 'un as far as I'm concerned.

This photo above shows the number plates of both vehicles. I'm not sure what the actual registration number of the Mystery Machine should be, so I came up with SC 00 BY to spell out the word "Scooby." The registration of the wrecked car is VWM 562 and I decided that VWM should stand for Very Wrecked Motor!

Both vehicles are sculpted in resin and are nicely detailed. Incidentally, I painted the wrecked car in Foundry Spearpoint (i.e. silver) with a hint of Anita's Acryllic Metallic Sapphire to give it that nice silvery-blue shade. I'm very happy with the way it's turned out.
To give it its official name, the Clue Contraption Hippie Van costs $12.00, whilst Wrecked Import 1 costs just $8.00. If you own the Hasslefree not-Scooby Gang, you're going to want to get the not-Mystery Machine to go with them. Armorcast are selling the van with the Scooby Gang for $35.00 but be warned their Scooby Doo is not the Hasslefree figure but the Beaumont Miniatures Buster the Scaredy Dog, a much inferior figure. Incidentally, Kevin White, Hasslefree's sculptor, has recently made a set of armed Scooby Gang figures. They are very nice figures and ideal for those of you who want to use the Scooby Gang in a post-apocalypse setting. I'll be buying them as soon as they go on sale. Suffice to say, a review will follow.

Hasslefree Scooby Gang

Here is a set of figures that I've been dying to review for ages now - Hasslefree Miniatures' version of Scooby Doo and the Scooby Gang - Fred, Daphne, Velma and Shaggy. I've held off reviewing them until I got a decent figure of Scooby. Fortunately, Kevin White, HF's resident sculptor, sculpted an excellent version of Scooby earlier this year. I've only just got round to buying him but he got painted in double quick time.

At the far left of my two photos above is HFN005 Barney, whom we all know as Fred Jones, the handsome leader of the Scooby Gang. For copyright reasons, none of this range are called by the names we normally associate with them. It's no big deal as they are instantly recognisable. Kev has sculpted Fred musing over a problem as he strokes his jaw.Fred's interests include martial arts, wrestling, weight lifting and an obsession with traps. He is hopeless at foreign languages. He likes flirting with attractive women but seems oblivious to Daphne's attraction to him.

Next up is the hot totty of the group, HFN003 Felicity, aka Daphne Blake. Daphne hails from a wealthy family and is noted for her fashion sense and uncanny ability to fall into danger, hence her nickname, "Danger Prone Daphne." Whenever the group has to split up, Daphne always accompanies Fred, sometimes with Velma and sometimes without. Kev's sculpt just oozes sex appeal.

In the centre of my photos is the brains of the group, HFN002 Louise, or rather, Velma Dinkley. Velma has a great love for science and obscure subjects that help solve whatever mystery she's working on. She is extremely near-sighted and frequently loses her glasses at the worst possible moment. Velma is supposed to be a "plain Jane" but am I the only one to think that when Linda Cardellini portrayed her in the two live action movies, she was hotter than Daphne? Kev has sculpted Velma holding a large reference book, a typical pose for her.

The fourth and final human of the group is HFN004 Wolsey, whose real name in the TV series and films is Norville Rogers, whom we all know as "Shaggy." Shaggy is the owner of Scooby Doo and is renowned for his cowardice and love of eating. Once again, Kevin's sculpt, showing Shaggy in a typical slacker pose, scratching his head, whilst looking bemused is perfect.

Finally, we come to the hero of the show, Scooby Doo himself. HF have named him HFL405 Hamlet, after another Great Dane (groan!). When I first saw the figure of Scooby/Hamlet I thought it was too big. But looking at pictures of Scooby and other Great Dane dogs, he's not at all. They really are a tall breed of dogs. Scooby is as big a coward as Shaggy, despite his impressive size. he loves all the food that shaggy likes, but is especially fond of "Scooby Snacks," a biscuit-like dog treat. 

These are a great range of figures and are exceptionally well sculpted by Kevin. You could use them as generic students using the names provided by Hasslefree, but who'd want to? They what they are - Scooby Doo and friends. The four humans cost £3.50 each and Hamlet/Scooby costs £4.00.
For those wondering how they'd fare in a zombie apocalypse I present this stunning piece of artwork I found on the Internet. Velma has stepped up to the mark as a zombie killer. Scooby has "manned up" and now rips zombies to pieces. But alas, it's R.I.P. Shaggy, Fred and Daphne.