Wargames Terrain Workshop Future City Scenics 02

Wave 2 of the excellent Future City Scenics 28mm scale resin-cast scenery items were recently released on the Wargames Terrain Workshop webstore. Once again sculpted by Dave Stone, with a little input from yours truly, these will fit in well in any sci-fi or near future setting, but for me, they will see most use in my Judge Dredd Miniatures Game campaign.

First up is a ubiquitous drinks dispenser or Soda Machine as Dave has called it on his webstore. I asked Dave for this item to be made and he duly obliged. The beauty of this item is that it can be used in a contemporary setting as well as sci-fi setting.

I ordered two of them, one painted by Dave and one left unpainted. The unpainted version costs £1.50, whilst the painted version costs £3.00. Dave painted the Rad Cola machine, although I added the silver bits on the back.

I had a very specific design in mind for the unpainted version. I am a big fan of Super Dungeon Explore by Soda Pop Miniatures and Ninja Division Games. Their mascot figure is Candy and her odd little pet, Cola. Soda Pop Miniatures seemed like a good name for a drinks dispenser. So using a desk top publishing program, I cut and pasted some pictures of Candy and Cola along with the SPM logo to come up with front and side images for my drinks dispenser. Then I shrunk them to size, printed them out and glued them to the drinks dispenser. I am really, really pleased with how they have come out.

I now have a totally unique scenery item that I can use in numerous settings, including the fantasy world of SDE's Crystalia. I have placed my figure of Candy and Cola alongside her drinks dispenser and my figure of Judge Scott alongside the Rad Cola machine.

When Dave asked me for ideas for generic scenery items for this range, I immediately suggested flying drone cameras. Dave came up with this design for a surveillance drone. I think he's done a great job in sculpting them. You get two drones in a pack for just £1.00 unpainted, or if you want painted versions they cost £1.80 for a pair. Please note that they do not come with flying bases or any kind of bases. Dave explained this was for a few reasons - one, it kept the price down, secondly, some people like clear flying bases, as I've used here, whilst others prefer black flying bases. Some prefer the hexagonal bases but others prefer circular bases. I simply ordered these clear plastic bases from eBay and I'm very happy with them. In the photo above the drones are positioned from left to right with front facing, right side, left side and rear facing.

The obvious paint scheme for them would be an all-over silver, as Dave has done on his painted versions. But I wanted mine painted as Justice Department Spy in the Sky cameras, so I chose an appropriate colour scheme of black, gold, red and silver to tie them in with my other Justice Department vehicles. I mounted them on one large, two medium and one small flight stems and textured the bases. These will prove a very useful tool for my Judges. No one can hide from the Law! They're watching you!

Oops, I almost forgot - here's a link to the new scenery items - http://wargamesterrainworkshop.co.uk/?product_cat=futurecityscenics

Vampifan's Views 74 - Monthly Musings 49

Miss Vampirella December 2015 - Sascha Knopf

Welcome to my final post of 2015. As with all of this year's Monthly Musings I begin with a photo of one of my 12 favourite Vampirella models. This time it is Sascha Knopf, the first Vampirella model to appear on the front cover of a Harris Vampirella comic (Vampirella Strikes #1). In fact, she appeared on four different cover variants of the comic. Vampirella Strikes #1 sold well, giving Harris the confidence to use Vampirella models for other covers, but sadly not Sascha herself. However, she did feature on Scarlet Legion (the Vampirella fan club) photos and as a convention model.
Moving on from modelling, Sascha appeared in MGM’s What’s the Worst That Could Happen? as Danny DeVito’s social-climbing mistress, and in the film Shallow Hal with Gwyneth Paltrow and Jack Black. She has continued acting in a string of films to this day.
Besides being a versatile, actress who can play both leading lady and character, she also has a promising career as a professional photographer. Sascha feels her work in front of the camera has given her great insight in being behind the camera, an understanding of the need for a "connection" between the photographer and the model.
Sascha deserves her place in my top twelve. Whilst her boots are too long, I can't criticise them because they look so darned good on her! Incidentally, that's a snow globe she's holding in her hand. How very Christmassy!

This being my last post of 2015 I thought I'd look back over the year as well as telling you about what I'm doing now and what to expect next year.

2015 was once again marked by me indulging in my passion for board-games that use miniature figures. I began the year by playing Super Dungeon Explore and showcased the figures from the basic boxed set as well as the Von Drakk's Manor expansion set. These received mixed comments from my followers with most liking them but a vociferous few hating them (you know who you are!). At the end of March I received a huge parcel of goodies for the Zombicide Season 3 Kickstarter project I'd backed. This was quickly followed by a review of a board-game that I'd been after for a long time - A Touch of Evil, which was set in and around a small, spooky American town in the early 19th Century. I bought all of the expansion sets for it and thoroughly enjoyed playing it. May saw the arrival of the revamped Super Dungeon Explore rules called The Forgotten King or SDE version 2.0. This remained in its box until November when I finally tried it and fell in love with the solo rules known as Arcade Mode. I have yet to paint any of the figures for it. Hangs head in shame! In August I played my first (and to date only) game of Arkham Horror based on H.P. Lovecraft's Call of the Cthulhu mythos. I'd like to play more of it. In September I received another massive parcel for a Kickstarter project - Rum and Bones. This game of pirates was right up my street and is such great fun to play. I really must get round to painting at least some of the wonderful figures from the game. The Thunderbirds 50th Anniversary Board-game was the only board-game I bought that had nothing to do with the undead. It was purely a self-indulgent purchase because I have always loved Thunderbirds. It turned out to be a cracking good game. I did a comprehensive review of another game I'd bought, and have often played since, Castle Ravenloft. Given my love of all things undead it probably surprised no-one that I painted all of the figures from the game and loved most of them. Although there were some notable exceptions. The year ended on a high in mid-December when I received the boxed set for the Zombicide: Black Plague board-game. This was a game I instantly fell in love with and is now my all-time favourite board-game.

Moving on to the present and I'd like to tell you what I got for Christmas this year. I mentioned recently when I reviewed the High Moon rules by THW that I'd love to get into Wild West skirmish gaming. There is board-game produced by Flying Frog Productions (makers of A Touch of Evil and Last Night on Earth) called Shadows of Brimstone, which I have quite fancied buying. I checked on Amazon UK and saw they had the two starter sets for sale so I ordered them both and they arrived just before Christmas Day. Lucky me!

The two sets are sub-titled City of the Ancients and Swamps of Death. I'll review these fully in the new year. Both sets take place in an abandoned mine which can lead to alternate dimensions - the City of the Ancients or the Swamps of Death. So they play like a dungeon crawl. The heroes face supernatural creatures like zombies as well as assorted demons and other nasty surprises. As with all Flying Frog games, the production values are first rate and the miniatures are top notch.

Beatrix the Witch Queen - sadly not painted by me!

These were my two big presents from myself to myself. I also bought a few figures for SDE - Beatrix the Witch Queen (so cute and adorable), Jack Scarecrow and the Claws of the Wyrm Warband (a boxed set of 15 figures).
My good friend, Stephen Gilbert, gifted me a remarkable present - the complete set of Impact Chibi Miniatures. He had wrote a set of Chibi rules for Impact and received them as part payment. However, he soon realised he'd never be able to paint them all or use them all so he made me an offer I couldn't refuse. He'd let me have them all (bar a few he'd painted and wanted to keep) in return for a few Memoir 44 (a WW2 board-game) expansion sets he wanted. As far as I was concerned  it was a win-win situation. I bought Steve the expansion sets he wanted and he sent me his Impact Chibi collection. I now have well over 100 new figures to sort out and paint... eventually. My collection of fantasy Chibi figures is now immense, as the Impact figures are very compatible with the SDE figures! I'm happy and Steve's happy. Result!

Hobby-wise I have been playing lots of games of Zombicide: Black Plague this month, although that is now taking a short break because I've started painting the figures from it. I'm now playing more games of The Forgotten King.

Looking forward to 2016 and once again the year will be dominated by Kickstarters... or rather, stuff from Kickstarters that I backed in 2015. I'm expecting two Kickstarter parcels in January. One will be a huge package containing the Ninja All Stars game, which is both a stand-alone game and a tie-in for Super Dungeon Explore. I've ordered the basic game and all of the extras. I'm also expecting the add-ons for the Thunderbirds game very soon. That'll be a much smaller parcel. Another Kickstarter project I backed last year was for a batch of brand new Impact Chibi Miniatures. I dunno when they're due but, hopefully, it should be sooner rather than later. Around about Easter time are two more Kickstarter parcels I should be receiving. One will contain all the add-ons and stretch goals I ordered for Zombicide: Black Plague. I'm very excited about that, as I did order a lot. The other is for a miniatures-based board-game called The Others: 7 Sins. This is set in modern times and almost the whole world has been taken over by demons who follow one of the Seven Deadly Sins from the Holy Bible. A small band of survivors still stand against them. Can they prevail? The figures look stunning. In July I'm expecting LOADS of 3D scenery from the Battle Systems Urban Terrain Kickstarter. This, more than anything, will get me back to skirmish war-gaming with miniature figures. Zombie gaming is the obvious choice for this set. Hopefully, I'll get back to playing All Things Zombie. Last but by no means least, I hope to end the year with a massive parcel from Soda Pop Miniatures - Super Dungeon Explore: Legends. This is slated for a December 2016 release. I just recently backed this Kickstarter project for $300 but in return, I'll receive over $1,000 worth of product - an absolute bargain! Legends finally introduces campaign rules to SDE. Awesome!

As you can see, I have lots to look forward to. Barring illnesses, 2016 should be a great year for me. At this time of year it is customary to make your New Year's resolutions, a tradition I generally ignore. However, I do have a number of resolutions I'd like to make, all of which I think are achievable.

1. Play more games. This should be no problem at all. In 2015 I played at least one game per week throughout the year. I hope to double that for 2016.
2. Cut back on my hobby spending, especially on Kickstarters. I'm now at the point where I have  enough games to last me decades of gaming. I don't need any more games. If there is a new Zombicide Kickstarter launched in 2016 I'll back it but otherwise I'll be very selective about what I buy. I have already drastically cutback on my miniature figure spending but I really need to cutback on Kickstarter projects.
3. Drink more water. Health-wise, this is very important and easily achievable as water is just about all I do drink.

I will, of course, keep on blogging. It is such a part of my life now that I could never give it up. Expect more of the same - figures and games reviews mixed in with a few batreps and my Monthly Musings. This has been a very wordy post, so well done if you're still here. I'd just like to end by wishing everyone a very happy New Year. Peace, prosperity and good health to you all.

Vampifan's Views 73 - Merry Christmas

What is this? Vampifan starting a chatty post with a picture that isn't Vampirella! Who is she and who's the cute pet? They are Soda Pop Miniatures' pin-up couple, Candy and Cola. Candy is the narrator and mentor of the Super Dungeon Explore rulebooks. Cola is her pet and best friend. He/she may look like a cat but he/she has three tails (!). Candy and Cola are represented by figures for Super Dungeon Explore (Classic mode Candy and Cola, Brave mode Candy and Never Lost Cola, Shadow-Mode Candy (her evil twin), Ninja All Stars (Kunoichi Candy and Koga Kola) and Relic Knights. I have all of these figures except the Relic Knights versions.

The purpose of this post is simply to wish all my followers a joyous and peaceful Christmas, whatever your religion. Take care everyone, be happy and stay healthy.

I may or may not post again on Sunday. If not, you'll certainly be hearing from me next Wednesday, when I'll post my final Monthly Musings of 2015 with a look back at the year as well as looking forward to 2016.

Very best wishes from Bryan aka Vampifan.

Vampifan's Views 72 - Monthly Musings 48

Miss Vampirella November 2015 - Paula Labaredas

November's Vampirella model is actress, cosplayer and model, Paula Labaredas. Portuguese American beauty Paula started her career on a very promising note by winning her very first acting award, the “Shining Star Award.” She then hit the Big Apple (NYC) landing a starring role as a series regular in an international soap opera, “Mausum.” She has had the honour of working with legendary actor Al Pacino and the renowned producer/director Roger Corman. As a correspondent, Paula's charm, versatility, and doer attitude has given her the opportunity to interview such greats as James Cameron, Morgan Freeman, Patrick Stewart, Buzz Aldrin and Jim Lovell among others.
A model and an internet sensation, Paula’s modelling pics continuously go viral. She reached 9,000 followers, within two weeks, on Instagram.
Her last name "Labaredas" means flame in Portuguese. Normally, Paula has blonde hair. I'm not sure if she's wearing a wig for her Vampirella photo shoot or if she has dyed her hair. She is not as busty as Vampi but she still looks the part. Although Vampirella rarely uses firearms it does happen occasionally, so I have no problem with Paula holding a pistol in this photo.

It has been an interesting month for me with highs and lows. The low point was my failing health resulting in a short stay in hospital. On the plus side, I am back to normal health now. Moving on to the high points, it was my 58th birthday on the 24th of this month. I received a cheque from my mum for a large amount of money which left me speechless. I knew she was going to give me a cheque but I had no idea she was going to make it so huge. I am thankful beyond belief for having the best mum any son could wish for. God bless her!
My brother bought me two DVDs - the boxed set of "Bones: series 10" and "Mad Max: Fury Road," both of which were much appreciated.
The gift that I bought myself (well, you have to, don't you?) was the "Timber Peak" expansion set for the board-game of "Last Night On Earth." I plan on playing lots of games of LNOE in the new year as it is a game I have shamefully neglected for far too long.

I have only recently started painting figures again after a five week sabbatical whilst I was lacking any energy and just couldn't be bothered. So what's on the painting table? The last 12 Berserker Zombies for Zombicide, 4 Heresy Miniatures Vampires and 4 Studio Miniatures Survivors (the 4 heroes from Romero's "Dawn of the Dead" film). They're all over half way done by now.

I have also managed to play two very different games recently. First up was The Forgotten King expansion for Super Dungeon Explore using the Arcade Mode rules. These differ from the Consul Mode rules in that they are better suited for solo-play, although you can still play with multiple players working co-operatively. Heroes roll dice as normal but the bad guys have fixed stats for offence and defence, so roll no dice and their actions are determined by the draw of cards. Being such a big fan of SDE, I thoroughly enjoyed this new experience. I plan on playing many more games as I become more proficient with the new rules. At some point I'd love to post a batrep of a TFK game, especially one involving the Von Drakk Manor tiles and figures aided by the Stilt Town Zombies set of figures, thus mixing all of my SDE undead figures together.

The other game I have been playing a lot of is the Thunderbirds 50th Anniversary Co-operative board-game. As a child, I grew up with a deep love for Gerry Anderson's iconic puppet series. That love and affection has never faded and when I saw the announcement in February of this year that Modiphus were going to launch a new Thunderbirds board-game on Kickstarter I knew I had to back it. As Kickstarters go this was relatively cheap. £40 got you the board-game on its own or £65 got you the board-game plus all the add-ons. Naturally, I opted to pay £65. I have the board-game but the add-ons are due for release shortly. I don't mind waiting as it gives me time to learn the basics. There is much to admire about this game if you are a fan of the show, not least is the fact that it is designed for 1 to 4 players. Games with the solo play option always appeal to me!

Initial set up for 4 players. Solo players use 3 characters.

This is without doubt the best piece of merchandise released this year for the 50th anniversary of Thunderbirds. This game is a fantastic tribute, and playing it, you really do feel immersed in the show. Players each take on a character from International Rescue (Scott, Virgil, Alan, Gordon, John or Lady Penelope) and a craft, and work together to perform rescues on Thunderbirds-themed disasters and try to prevent the Hood's three nefarious schemes before it's too late. If too many disasters build up or if the Hood's schemes aren't defeated soon enough, the players lose. If all the Hood's schemes are defeated you win. There is a deep sense of satisfaction as you work together to carry out the rescues and defeat each of the Hood's schemes. The game has adjustable difficulty to make the game harder or easier, depending on how successful you are at completing rescues and foiling the Hood's schemes. Everything has been well designed: the counters, cards, dice and board. Production value is second to none.
Anyone doubting the long-lasting appeal of Thunderbirds should take note of a recent poll commissioned to find the most popular ITV series of all time. Thunderbirds came second behind "Auf Weidersehen, Pet." Not bad for a 50 year old TV series! The board-game is now available to buy from various retail outlets for around £40. It's fast, fun, easy to play and I absolutely love it.

Vampifan's Views 69 - Monthly Musings 47

Miss Vampirella October 2015 - Panda Valentine

This month's Vampirella model is called Panda Valentine - surely not her real name. She is a cosplayer from California. She is a big fan of Marvel comics and her favourite character whom she likes to cosplay is Emma Frost of X-Men fame. That said, she has done a great job of appearing as Vampirella and I certainly consider myself one of her many fans.

Moving on to hobby news and I want to chat about one of my favourite topics - Kickstarters. I know that some people hate them but I'm the opposite - I LOVE them! I know I back quite a lot of Kickstarter projects, but there are just as many (possibly more so) that I don't back. It's just impossible to back every one that takes your fancy. My top two favourite games are Zombicide and Super Dungeon Explore. I'll happily back anything to do with them.

A big part of the joy of watching the launch of a new Kickstarter is seeing what new stretch goals (always free) and add-ons (optional buys) are being added. Like anyone else, I always appreciate getting stuff for free. Add-ons are a mixed bag. More often than not I'll want them and buy them, but the problem is they can quickly cost more than the initial pledge. As an example, for Zombicide: Black Plague, I spent $150 on my initial pledge but $250 on add-ons. Yes, I know - OUCH! Earlier this month, the Battle Systems Urban Terrain Kickstarter drew to a close. They really pushed the boat out offering lots of stretch goals but far too many add-ons. The worst thing is, I want ALL of the add-ons but can I afford them? Most probably but it will hurt my wallet!

All of which brings me onto my main news of the month. I am backing a new Kickstarter project - Super Dungeon Explore: Legends. Check it out here -
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sodapopminiatures/super-dungeon-explore-legends/description

There are a number of initial pledge levels ranging from $45 to $200. The number of pledges for $200 outnumber the rest of them added together and is the option I chose. This pledge nets me everything, and believe me, it's a lot! Legends greatly expands the original game, offering rules for campaigns and character advancement, something I have been crying out for. Soda Pop Miniatures, who produce the game have taken a very different tactic with this Kickstarter. They are offering loads and loads of free stretch goals (always good!) but best of all, there will only be one add-on produced. This gets a big thumbs up from me and I applaud their decision to keep costs down. I hope other companies will take note. I don't yet know what the add-on will be or its cost but I'm sure I'll end up buying it.

One Kickstarter project I am not backing is Z War One: Damnation by Dice Sports, but it would be remiss of me not to mention it, seeing as it is another zombie apocalypse game. Check it out here -
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1519152481/z-war-one-damnation

I like the figures and the concept is intriguing but I can't help but compare it to Zombicide. Do I need another zombie apocalypse game? Not really. I would like it for the figures alone but I just can't afford it and so I'm passing on it.

That's all for now but I would like to end by wishing everyone a very happy Halloween! Have fun!

Vampifan's Views 66 - Monthly Musings 44

Miss Vampirella July 2015 - LeeAnna Vamp

This month's Vampirella model is the intriguingly named, LeeAnna Vamp. LeeAnna is an actress and professional cosplayer who has appeared as many super-heroines and villains. The picture I chose of her for my July calendar girl came from a photo shoot she made for Playboy. You can see a making of video of her Playboy debut here - https://youtu.be/CIIXchP_Hiw?list=LLprdr49Gj5eb0Px0xPa8EwA
Have no fear, folks, it is perfectly safe to view despite the Playboy connection: there is no nudity. I like LeeAnna and her depiction of Vampirella is spot on. Her costume is excellent, although her boots are too long, but that really is a very minor criticism. LeeAnna is a very friendly person, who likes meeting her fans at the many conventions she attends. Watching her all too brief appearance on that Playboy video gave me a good sense of how Vampirella would move in real life. As you know I am totally in love Vampirella but I do wonder how practical her costume would be in a real fight? Boob spillage would seem to be a very obvious drawback and yet it has never occurred in any of her stories. In GURPS Supers it was posited that female supers wearing skimpy costumes never suffer a costume malfunction because their costumes are made of a highly advanced material that always clings to the body. It's as good an explanation as any I've seen.

Moving on to my hobby news, it was a real treat meeting fellow blogger Mathyoo from Slovenia again, even though it was only for one day. He wanted to play Super Dungeon Explore with me. We played two games and he easily won the first but lost the second by the narrowest of margins. Balance was maintained but more importantly, we both had a great time.

Speaking of SDE, I have spent quite a bit of money on the game in these past few weeks. One of the biggest criticisms of the original SDE game was its lack of gaming tiles. It came with five double-sided boards. Now that The Forgotten King expansion set has been released, Soda Pop Miniatures (SPM) have addressed this problem in a big way. TFK contains six double-sided gaming tiles. I have just bought two more sets of six double-sided tiles. Shown above is  the set I most wanted - Von Drakk's Ghost House set, which contains six ghost house tiles and on the reverse of them, six graveyard tiles. In addition, the set comes with 12 Rattle-bone Skeleton figures. I also bought the set shown to the right - the Dungeons of Crystalia set, which contains six double-sided dungeon tiles and 12 figures of slime monsters. This gives me more than enough gaming tiles to play on and oodles of choice.

I also bought two Warband sets - the Mistmourn Coast Warband and the Stilt Town Zombies. Perpetually locked in an unnatural fog, the Mistmourn Coast is home to fickle and cruel faeries who make sport from tormenting trespassers. Trolls are some of the few mortal creatures who call the Mistmourn Coast home, and even they have been deeply affected by its magic. This set contains 1 Hero, 2 Spawning Points and 16 Monster figures with associated cards. Stilt Town Zombies adds the Survivor Marie-Claude Hero and Mr. Bitey the Zombie Bunny pet along with Gruesome George Mini-Boss, 2 spawning points, and 11 zombies with associated cards. I have been patiently waiting for SPM to add zombies to the game ever since I first saw the Von Drakk Manor expansion set. Now my prayer has been answered.

Finally, I bought some new Hero figures and a new Mini-Boss villain. One of my favourite SDE Heroes is Candy and her pet familiar, Cola. Candy is the narrator of the SDE rulebooks and often adds hints and tips on how to play the game. I was lucky enough to get the original metal figure of Candy and Cola (both on the same base). She is now out of production and incredibly rare. With the release of TFK, a new version of Candy and Cola were made - Brave-Mode Candy and Never Lost Cola - two incredibly cute figures.

Another Hero whom I considered a "must have" purchase was the Tabbybrook Mage. She is from a race of cat-like beings known as the Freyjans. Mages are a rarity in Freyjan society, which makes her something very special. She is a good all-rounder with healing skills as well as fire and ice spells. Being a cat lover, I have a great fondness for feline races in games and as soon as I saw the Tabbybrook Mage, I knew that I had to have her. The most noticeable thing about this figure is how tall she is. She stands 38mm tall from the bottom of her feet to the tips of her ears.

Finally, to redress the balance in the Consul's favour, I bought this figure of Ser Snapjaw, a   Kobold Mini-Boss. Ser Snapjaw is the greatest Wyrm Claw Exemplar in an age. Legendary among lesser Kobolds, they rally to Ser Snapjaw with zeal, his cunning leadership allowing them to fight with discipline that matches the mightiest armies. I just think he's a cool figure and I like him a lot. Some of my purchases came from Amazon.UK, whilst others came from eBay, courtesy of user-friendly sellers offering the "Buy Now" option.


My current interest in Zombicide remains undiminished. I have managed to play a few games of it, although none that I recorded. However, I do have Zombicide batrep planned very shortly. I took a short break from painting my Berserker Zombies (I'm two thirds of the way through them) to paint a load of Zombie Crows from the Murder of Crowz expansion set. As soon as I photograph them I'll review them on my blog. Grouped together they look damned impressive. The next few blog posts will be featuring some stuff that will most probably surprise you, but I don't want to spoil the surprise.

Oh, I almost forgot the biggest news I have to tell you. My collection of painted 28mm scale zombie figures has now broken through the 1,000 barrier. As of this post I have 1,010 fully painted and unique zombie figures. Now that is what you call a horde! I must take some photos of the assembled horde. Does this mean I'll now stop buying zombie figures? Don't be silly! Of course not. I'll keep on collecting as long as possible. Addicted, moi? Hell, yes!!!!!!!!!!

Vampifan's Views 64 - Monthly Musings 42

Miss Vampirella May 2015 - Julie Strain

This month's Vampirella model is Julie Strain, model, actress and just about anything else you can think of. Julie Strain is a one woman industry! From the age of 28 she has been merchandised on everything from a Zippo lighter to an interactive CD-ROM. Carefully orchestrated and planned, originally by Julie, but now by Julie in tandem with her husband, publisher, producer and co-creator of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Kevin Eastman. Together, they have made Julie the "Queen of All Media".
As a genuine cult heroine, her series of action/adventure and fantasy films have earned her a huge fan base. Julie has been featured on television, in music videos and she is found on calendars, posters, greeting cards, coffee mugs, dolls, watches and countless trading cards.
Her various skills include baseball, basketball, bodybuilding, cycling, horsemanship, jet skiing,  martial arts, modern dance, motorcycling, racing cars, roller skating, singing, track and field events, volleyball, water skiing and weaponry. All in all, an impressive career for a woman who had to sleep in her truck when she first arrived in Hollywood and who admits to being a "painfully thin, ugly duckling" in high school. It is a wonder that she has time to fit everything in!
One thing she did fit in, though, were quite a few covers for the Vampirella Monthly series.
Harris Publishing knew they were on to a hot item with Julie, and they even gave her her own Julie Strain Special comic book, featured her heavily on the Vampirella website and modeled a Vampirella Action Figure on her! And, yes, I do have that action figure in my collection of Vampirella memorabilia.
She is wearing the same costume that Arban Ornelas (Miss February) wore, so my criticisms of it still apply. The waistband is far too high on her hips, which means the gold bat logo is too high. It should be at crotch level. I must admit, I do admire her pluck for wearing such a revealing costume.

The big hobby news for me this month was the arrival of The Forgotten King expansion set for Super Dungeon Explore. YAY! It seems like I have been waiting ages for this but that's not true. It was delivered a couple of days ago so I haven't had time to fully assess it but first impressions are highly favourable. The first thing I noticed was that the box is smaller than the Super Dungeon Explore box and it opens normally with a lid, unlike SDE, which had a hinged opening. However, upon opening the box I discovered that it contains a lot more than the basic set did. Whoopee!

Unlike SDE, which came with one rulebook, TFK comes with five books. In the top row from left to right is a 4 page catalogue of Soda Pop games, with Ninja All Stars featuring prominently on the front cover. In the centre is the Explorer's Handbook, a 24 page book of background info on the world of Crystalia. I can't wait to read this book as I love background fluff. At the far right is a set of Quick Start Rules, designed to teach newcomers the basic rules of the game.
In the bottom row are the two main rulebooks. SDE can now be played two ways - in Arcade Mode or in Classic Mode. Arcade Mode is something new and this 44 page rulebook allows players to play the game solo or collectively against the Consul whose actions are determined by cards. Heroes still use their Classic Mode stat cards but all monsters have different stat cards to their Classic Mode counterparts. Effectively they have fewer stats and they do not roll dice. Their stats are a fixed value to make game-play run smoother.
The Classic Mode rulebook runs to 36 pages and will be most familiar to those of you who have already played SDE with the first edition rules. New rules have been added and a few things have changed but if you are at all familiar with old-style SDE then you should find Classic Mode very easy to grasp.

Here are the various decks of cards included in the game and a set of 16 dice. The dice have not changed from first edition. Red dice are better than blue dice and green dice are the best of all.

Two sheets of counters printed on thick card come with the game. Most are spell effects and not that many will be used in a typical game.

The game comes with six double-sided gaming tiles. On the side shown in the photo above are the tiles for the Fae Woods, which are the realm of the Forgotten King. The thick black lines are walls that block movement and line of sight.

On the reverse of the Fae Woods tiles are the tiles for an Overgrown Castle. TFK tiles are slightly smaller than the old SDE tiles but they still measure 12 squares by 12 but have less of a border. They also have more features on them. Note that the Adventure Tracker from the basic SDE set has now been relegated to the dustbin.

And finally, here are the set's 58 miniatures, with the heroes, pets and treasure chests moulded in grey plastic and the monsters, creeps and spawn points in green plastic. Incidentally, the Forgotten King himself is the third figure from the left in the back row. The figures do come pre-assembled and the level of detail and sculpting has improved over the earlier SDE figures.
I'll be spending a lot of time reading and re-reading the new rulebooks and playing some practice games to familiarise myself with the new rules and rule changes. However, much as I want to get the figures painted as soon as possible, they will be taking a back seat because I want to concentrate on reducing my mountain of unpainted Zombicide figures. It may be quite a while before I review any TFK figures.

Speaking of Zombicide, I have finished painting my second batch of 20 Toxic Zombies. I am well on the way to finishing another 14 Toxic Zombies as well as 6 Season 3 Survivors and Zombivors (three of each). Next month sees the launch of the Zombicide: Black Plague project. This project has me drooling at the mouth in anticipation. I'll be backing it big time. It takes Zombicide back to medieval times where magic exists and brave heroes do battle against evil necromancers, zombies (of course) and an assortment of fantasy creatures and monsters. There is already an expansion set in the works called Wulfsburg. This set introduces, werewolves, wolves and zombie wolves to the game. Oh, yes! Bring it on!
Whilst on the subject of Zombicide, let me tell you that I'll be devoting all of June to it on my blog. Expect to see more reviews of my Toxic Zombies as well as the biggest batrep I have ever published, as I go back to the very start of the zombie apocalypse and discover how the original six Zombicide Survivors from Season 1 meet for the first time. It is truly epic. It took me 16 hours to play over a period of three days and I took over 360 photos of the action. What fun it was. Zombicide rocks!

Vampifan's Views 62 - Monthly Musings 40

Miss Vampirella March 2015 - Avery Misuraca

I start this month's musings post with a look at the third of my Vampirella models - Avery Misuraca. Avery was an actress with a deep fascination for the horror genre. She is probably best known as the inspiration behind the character, Countess Vladimira, who appeared in a number of comics of that name in the 1990's. This photo was taken when she was invited by Harris Comics to join their stand at a New York comic convention in 1996. Her costume is very good apart from the garish yellow bat logo over her crotch. It should be gold and the wings should be much shorter. On her right wrist she has a plastic bat bracelet which doesn't impress me much. It looks cheap and naff. Although you can't tell from this particular photo, she is wearing strappy high heel shoes, which is just so wrong for Vampirella. Still, I can't fault her looks. Physically, she certainly looks the part.




Moving on to hobby news, this has been another very busy month for me. I have finally finished painting my Super Dungeon Explore figures by doing the Rocktop Turtle Gang from the Caverns of Roxor expansion set. So that ends my foray into Chibi miniatures for a while. I know this will please some of you. Currently on my painting table are a real mix of figures - 5 Reaper contemporary Survivors, an ultra rare Zombicide Survivor and Zombivor (Kyoko, whom I bought from e-Bay just last week), 5 Zombicide Toxic Zombies (an Abomination and 4 Fatties), 4 A Touch of Evil Heroes, 1 Rackham Wolfen and 1 Mantic Deadzone Plague Demon. The last two were gifts from my good friend, Lord Siwoc. I recently bought the two Zombicide paint sets and so, naturally, I am using them to paint my Toxic Zombies. My initial thoughts on the paints are highly favourable. Reviews of all these figures will follow soon.

Although my card modelling has taken a rest for the time being I did buy and make this 28mm scale detached house you see to the right earlier this month. It is from the 4Ground World at War range and is described as Detached House 2 on their website. This is the first time I have ever bought anything from this firm and I must say I was very impressed by the quality of the model, the very clear instructions on building it and on the speedy delivery. It cost me £30.00, which I think is a fair price to pay for an MDF model that comes fully painted with removable floors and roof, interior detail and working doors. This photo was taken from the 4Ground website. As I said, I have made the house but I don't know whether to review it soon or wait until I make and add furniture items for it. Although it is sold as part of 4Ground's WW2 range there is no reason not to use it in a modern day setting, which is what I intend do.

I have been playing a few more games of Super Dungeon Explore using the Von Drakk Manor expansion set. Von Drakk is one seriously powerful opponent and is hard to kill. However, I have mostly been playing A Touch of Evil and you can expect to see a review of this mighty fine board-game and its figures in my next few posts.

I'd like to say a few words about Super Dungeon Explore and The Forgotten King and which set should you buy? The simple answer is both. TFK changes the rules in a BIG way. It will come with four books, offering differing ways of playing the game. These will supercede the rules in SDE. In addition, the stat cards are changing, although in some cases it is nothing more than a change of graphics. Some characters, however, will change more dramatically. An upgrade deck of cards for all SDE figures currently available (this includes the Von Drakk Manor and Caverns of Roxor expansion sets and the unique figures that don't come with the boxed sets) will be available to buy separately for about $15.00. So what does SDE have to offer given the changes that are afoot? Quite simply, the figures. The figures are not changing and if you want the original figures then you should buy SDE whilst it is still available. The expansion sets of Caverns of Roxor and Von Drakk Manor will be re-released but will contain the newly designed stat cards. SDE will eventually be phased out. I don't know when (probably after TFK goes on sale) and I don't know if the figures will be re-released. I hope they are. It would be a huge shame if they were discontinued.

I received a huge parcel this month that contained all of the figures I had ordered for the Reaper Bones II Kickstarter project last year. My god, I had forgotten just how much I had ordered! There were so many figures in the box. I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of my Zombicide season 3 Kickstarter parcel, which should be soon. I recently received an e-mail saying it had been posted. Fingers crossed it will arrive next week. Looking further ahead, the Studio Miniatures Z-Clipz: Outbreak set of figures are due for release in April; The Forgotten King expansion set for SDE is due to be released in May and Rum and Bones should be released in July. I am very excited by what lies ahead. It's going to be a great year for gaming and figure collecting!

SDE Monsters 10 - Captain R and Succubus Vandella

I haven't quite finished reviewing my SDE Undead figures. Here are two limited edition figures that I bought from e-Bay - Captain R and Succubus Vandella. Both are Mini Bosses and both would make suitable replacements for the Death Spectre in Von Drakk's Manor.

ARRRR! The Drowned Isles be a constant headache for sailors an' ships of tha Clockwork Cove. Tha dreaded land mass be swarmin' wit cutthroats an' scallywags to spare an' none be as successful as the courageous Cap'n R. They say 'ees plied tha seas fer a hundred years an' sent just as many ships to tha deep. Riches will flow fer tha Hero who finally gets tha best of 'im because he who gets tha Cap'n gets 'is gold.
Captain R is an Undead Skeleton Pirate Mini Boss and a very interesting villain. He has a decent set of stats but not too powerful. Movement: 6, Wounds: 5, Actions: 3, Attack: 1 blue die and 2 red dice, Armour: 2 blue dice and 1 red die, Will: 1 blue die and 1 red die and Dex: 1 blue die and 1 red die.

Captain R has 1 ability - Pirate Hoard. This model may equip Loot and Treasure cards. When spawned, draw one Treasure card and equip it on this model. When defeated, Heroes gain all Loot and Treasure cards this model has equipped. That's pretty darned cool!
He has 1 Special Ability - X Marks  the Spot. If he spends 2 Action points he may draw and equip himself with 1 Loot card.
He also has 2 Special Attacks - Flintlock and Deep One Attack. Flintlock is a Missile attack with a range of 6 squares and adds a bonus +1 red die to his Dexterity. It costs 1 Action point to use. Deep One Attack is a Magic attack with Cross:5 (it forms a cross of 5 squares in four directions centred on him) and adds +1 red die to his Willpower. It costs 2 Action points to use.

The Dark Tower's shadow stretches across the whole of Crystalia and is a bleak reminder of the Consul's strength and power. Succubus Vandella represents a more subtle aspect of the Consul's power, the power to corrupt and beguile. She delights in tormenting her prey and sowing chaos within even the most steadfast Hero's heart.
Succubus Vandella is a Demon Mini Boss who should not be underestimated. She only has 4 Wounds but she is cheaper to activate than most other Mini Bosses, costing just 3 Skulls instead of 4. However, she has improved Movement and Action points with scores of 7 and 4 respectively.  Her attack is above average with 1 blue die and 1 red die. Her Armour is a very average 2 blue die. Her Will is much better with 3 blue dice and 1 red die and her Dexterity is best of all with 3 red dice.

She has 4 Abilities - Dodge, Fly, Magic:4 and Pacify. A model with Dodge may use their Dexterity when making defence rolls unless they are suffering from Immune, Knockdown or Slow. Fly is self-explanatory. Magic:4 allows her to cast spells up to 4 squares away and if successful will  also pacify the target. Pacify prevents a target from using any Special Attacks.
She has one  Special Ability - Come Hither, which costs 2 Action points. It has Wave: 3 and Compel:3 so any target within 3 squares of her may be moved 3 squares in any direction. Very useful for pushing enemies away or drawing them next to her.
Her one Special Attack, Alluring, also costs 2 action points to use. This Magic attack adds +1 red die to her Will and if the attack is successful she immediately heals one Wound.
These two figures were on my want list for quite some time and so I was pleased to be able to buy them on e-Bay. I love it when sellers include the Buy Now option! Captain R is a great figure. Who doesn't like undead pirates? His ability to collect Treasure and Loot like a Hero makes him unique amongst the villains.
I love the figure of Succubus Vandella. I love the way she is blowing a kiss with one eye opened and one eye closed. I've used her once in a game and she was a tough opponent to kill due to her ability to heal wounds. She is not Vampirella but she is the closest representation of my favourite vampire in SDE so naturally I have a deep affection for her.
These figures are currently out of production although they sometimes appear on e-Bay. However, they will be re-released with new stat cards once The Forgotten King goes on sale. I was delighted to see that the new stat cards will allow Vandella to be played as a villain or as a Hero. That just made my day!

SDE Monsters 09 - Von Drakk and Nocturne

And so I come to the last of my reviews of the figures from the Von Drakk Manor expansion set. I have saved the best (in my opinion) and most powerful until last.

Von Drakk has despoiled his homeland like an eternal plague. Once teeming with life the Glauerdoom moorlands are now a haven for witches' covens, foul swamp creatures and the unquiet dead. Von Drakk cares not, so long as his manor retains its splendour and his dark appetites are sated.
As you would expect, Von Drakk is an Undead Vampire Boss. Consequently, his stats are extremely powerful. He can move 8 squares, making him incredibly fast. He has 6 Wounds - most heroes only have 5. He can perform 4 actions per Turn - most Heroes can only perform 3. His Attributes are most impressive - Attack is 2 automatic successes plus 4 blue dice, Armour is 2 red dice, Willpower is 1 automatic success plus 2 red dice and his Dexterity is 3 red dice.

Von Drakk has 2 Abilities - Blood Drinker and Dodge. When a model with Blood Drinker rolls a Heart they gain 1 Heart in exactly the same way as a Hero. What this means is that Von Drakk can heal his wounds. A model with Dodge may use their Dexterity when making defence rolls unless they are suffering from Immobile, Knockdown or Slow.
The vampire lord has 3 Special Abilities - Shapeshift, Ghostly Vigour and Tide of Bones. Shapeshift costs 1 Action and allows Von Drakk to transform into Nocturne (see below). Ghostly Vigour is an Augment ability (it only affects friendly figures) with a range of 3 squares surrounding Von Drakk. All Undead gain a +1 blue die bonus to their Attack rolls. Tide of Bones has Wave:2 (a cone that reaches out for 2 squares). This affects Bone Pile counters. The counter is removed from play and is replaced with a model with the Risen Ability (that means Rattle Bones at present). If a model is in the same square as the target square Tide of Bones has no effect.

Those who meet the gaze of Von Drakk say it is like staring into the soul of the beast. None realise how correct they are. When in the full throes of bloodlust Von Drakk is overtaken by a hideous transformation; his new form ideally suited to bringing carnage and ruin to his foes.
Nocturne is the Shapeshift form of Von Drakk and he is one extremely frightening and powerful foe. His Wounds, Movement and Actions per Turn are the same as Von Drakk's. His Attack is 2 automatic successes plus 2 blue dice plus 2 red dice (gulp!). Armour is 2 blue dice and 2 red dice, Willpower is 3 red dice and Dexterity is 2 red dice.

Nocturne has 3 Abilities - Berserk, Blood Drinker and Fly. During its activation a model with Berserk may make a single melee attack costing no action points. That's 5 attacks per Turn he can make and with his Attack stats that can prove lethal for most Heroes (yikes!). Blood Drinker is described above for Von Drakk and Fly is self-explanatory.
He has 1 Special Ability - Shapeshift, which allows him to transform back to Von Drakk. He also has 1 Special Attack, which costs him 2 Actions - Terrifying Screech. This has Wave:3 and will Stun all enemies in that cone. A model suffering from Stun discards the highest result rolled any time it makes a roll using its Will attribute. This will prove most inconvenient against magic using Heroes.
Okay, what are my thoughts on these two figures? First of all, I was blown away by how well they were sculpted. Von Drakk may appear a bit too comical but I say, so what? I still think he is a great figure. Note how he is hovering above the ground. I like that! Nocturne is one of my favourite sculpts for SDE. There is nothing Chibi-esque about him. He looks scary and powerful... and he is.
Von Drakk is incredibly difficult to defeat. His ability to heal wounds is a huge bonus to his survival chances. His stats are truly frightening and in four games using this set the Heroes have only defeated him once. However, Nocturne is even worse if you're playing the Heroes. I like playing Von Drakk but I much prefer him as Nocturne. Nocturne is a party killer supreme and some may think he is over-powered but not me. He can be killed but it is no easy feat to vanquish him, which is exactly how it should be when facing a Dungeon Boss.

As promised, here is my group shot of all the villains from Von Drakk Manor. I really like this expansion set. This was the set that convinced me to buy Super Dungeon Explore due to my obsession with all things undead. You can clearly see just how large the Crypt Spider, Nocturne and the Death Spectre are. Those three are very frightening figures, both in appearance and in abilities. This expansion set is very different to the base set and a truly welcome addition. It is currently out of production but you can still buy it on e-Bay if you don't mind paying over £100 for it! However, the good news is that it will return after the new expansion set, The Forgotten King, goes on sale in a few weeks time. If you really want it I'd advise waiting a while until it is re-released. Blax, that's for your benefit.

SDE Monsters 08 - Crypt Spider and Death Spectre

As I draw closer to the end of my reviews of the figures from the Von Drakk Manor expansion set it is time to look at a couple of the "big guns" of this set - the Crypt Spider and the Death Spectre.

Spiders are favoured guardians of the many crypts and barrows of the Glauerdoom. They have no interest in the dead nor in their treasures. Cruel, cunning and immeasurably patient they wait in elaborately spun webs. They know the lure of treasure and plunder is irresistible to the living. Soon enough foolish Heroes will come and then the Crypt Spider will feast.

A Crypt Spider is a denizen spawned from the Pumpkin Patch. It costs 3 Skulls to spawn, has 3 Wounds and 3 Actions per turn. With an Attack stat of 2 red dice and an Armour stat of 3 blue dice it is a fearsome foe. It has one ability - Surefoot, which allows it to move across dangerous terrain without penalty. Its one Special Ability is Silk Spinner which has Spray 3 (hits targets in a cone up to 3 squares in range), Slow (causes the target to halve its Movement score, rounding up, during its activation) and Dangerous, meaning it affects friendly models as well as enemies. Finally, it comes with one Special Attack, which costs 2 points to activate. This is Enervating Bite which grants it +1 red die to hit and causes Poison as well as a wound. A model suffering from Poison loses 1 action point during its activation.

Death comes to us all, but within the shrouded mists and fog of Glauerdoom Moor death is all too common.  One might even say that death is a certainty.
The Death Spectre is an Undead Mini-Boss. It costs 4 Skulls to activate, has 4 wounds, 3 Actions per turn and an unbelievably low movement rate of just 1. However, this is not that big a disadvantage, as you will see below.

The Death Spectre has no normal abilities but does have one Special Ability - Ghost Form. This allows it to Teleport up to 10 squares away and in line of sight of his current square. He has a very poor Attack stat of just 1 blue die but this is countered by his one Special Attack, which is quite awesome! Lifesap has a range of 1 square. The Death Spectre does not roll to hit. Instead the target automatically takes 1 Wound and Death immediately heals 1 Wound. Damn, but that is nasty!
This are BIG models. You'll see just how big when I publish a group photo of the Von Drakk Manor Undead figures next time. Soda Pop Miniature figures now come pre-assembled and in most cases this is a good thing, although I certainly didn't mind making the figures from the basic boxed set. However, as soon as I saw the Crypt Spider I could see it was going to be a bitch to paint its underbelly. Fortunately, it was only attached to the wall behind it by one peg in its belly. I deliberately cut this peg to detach the spider from the wall, thus making it far easier to paint both spider and wall. I'd recommend doing this if you are at all concerned about painting it properly. I then glued it back in place once I'd finished painting both parts. I also added a spot of superglue to the ends of its legs to make the spider even more secure in place.
Moving on to the Death Spectre when you look at his stats he is not particularly impressive. In fact his Movement value of 1 and his 1 blue die for Attack are downright pitiful. But, and it is a big but, he is one of the nastiest Mini Bosses in the game. His two abilities more than make up for those low stats. With Teleport there is no hiding from him. As for Lifesap, there is no defence against it and he can use it even if he isn't wounded. The only downside to Lifesap, if you're playing the bad guys, is he can only use it a maximum of three times in a turn. Still, that's three guaranteed hits and in two Turns he can kill ANY Hero without having to roll a single die, provided they don't heal. Just think about that! Death Spectre can be killed but your Heroes had better make sure they inflict 4 Wounds on him in one Turn. He is one extremely scary dude!
The two figures are superbly sculpted. The Crypt Spider would not look out of place in any fantasy game. There is nothing Chibi-esque about him. As for the Death Spectre, if you thought Chibi meant cute then I suggest you reconsider. He looks evil and he is evil!