Wednesday 20 May 2015

Impact Chibi Pumpkinheads and Giant Pumpkins

I have a few more 28mm scale Impact Miniatures Chibi figures to review, which this time consists of three Pumpkinheads and four Giant Pumpkins.
The Pumpkinheads to the left and right of my photos are listed as CA-PUMP on the Impact Miniatures' website and the cost £3.49 each. I bought two. In the centre of the group is the Pumpkinhead General who is listed as CA-PMPA. He is slightly dearer at £4.19.
The Pumpkinhead General is the same sculpt as the ordinary Pumpkinheads but he comes with extras - a cloak, top hat and pet crow, which have to be glued in place. I used superglue, which worked fine.
The Pumpkinheads are unarmed but no doubt they will have some special power. I do not have any game stats for them yet, but I suspect that will change when Chibi World, the Impact Miniatures' RPG, is released.
It is just the way they have been photographed but the fire within their heads seems to be glowing with a white hot intensity. That is just the effect I was hoping for.
The Giant Pumpkins can be found in the Impact Elfball Sideline Figures range. All four can be bought for £11.69 and their reference code is EO-PMP4.
From left to right we have Looking Up, Side Look, Big Grin and Single Tooth.
Individually, they cost £4.54 each, except for Looking Up who is £5.93. I have no idea why he should be more expensive than the others. Clearly, you'd be better off buying the set of four.
I bought these figures after seeing one of the Spawn Points from my Von Drakk Manor expansion set for Super Dungeon Explore. It was a spooky animated tree holding a Halloween pumpkin aloft. As soon as I saw these Impact figures I made a connection. These will fit in perfectly as Minions of Von Drakk, no doubt brought to life by the Coven Witches of Glauerdoom.

36 comments:

  1. These are the first Chibi figures that I really do like. I would be tempted to get some for a one off Halloween game. They had me smiling since I saw them and that has got to be a good thing.

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    1. Good for you, Clint. I'm so glad you like them. See, not all Chibis are bad!

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    2. Sorry mate all Chibli are EVIL! Burn them, burn the witch! BURN them all (Rant over!)

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    3. Clint, seriously, why the negativity? Why do you feel the need to constantly slag off Chibi miniatures? I got that you don't like them the first time you commented on them. So why do you feel the need to pour bile on something I love every time I post something Chibi related? You post plenty of stuff that I don't like but I don't criticise. If I don't like something I prefer to say nothing rather than be negative. This is MY blog, not yours. I post stuff that I like. Just because you and Bob hate Chibis is not going to stop me from posting more articles about them. Just accept that we are all different and we all like different things. I am not going to change my love of Chibis just because a couple of people don't like them. For Christ's sake, just give it a rest! Rant over!

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  2. Chibis again? Never mind, I do like orange. Orange makes me all smiley and happy. Very nice painting Bryan. I like that inner glowing intensity. Oh, and the top hat is really funny. Great job Dude!

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    1. Yes, Chibis again. So what? I like them and I'll continue liking them despite the negative comments from you and Clint. That aside, thanks for an otherwise positive reaction.

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    2. Wow, Dude relax man. I didn't mean anything bad by it, just having some fun. Sorry if I offended you in any way. Post all the Chibis you like man, it's your blog.

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    3. Sorry, Bob. It's just that I got really pissed off by Clint's "burn all Chibis" comment. I'm not in a good mood right now.

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    4. No worries Dude! Do not let others destroy your inner peace. Abide.

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  3. Wonderful stuff Bryan. They look very nice indeed and you;re white hot colour scheme has really paid off. Love 'em and as always you continue to tempt me with minis I normally would steer clear of. If nothing else you've got me putting together some "SDE" minis for the painting table... though its a long queue. The only thing that could jump it at the moment would be a druid and a were-polar bear... hang on ;-)

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    1. Ha, ha! I can see where you're coming from, Simon. Thanks for the kind words, my friend. These were a lot of fun and I'm delighted at how they have turned out

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  4. Love the white hot intensity coming from their eyes... you have hit the mark, spot on.

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    1. Cheers, Steve. Whether by good luck or good judgement, I achieved the effect I was after with the glowing eyes and mouths.

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  5. These totally rock, Bryan. I love pumpkins! Great job!

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    1. Many thanks, Roger. I don't actually like pumpkins but I love Halloween pumpkins. There are so many cool designs out there for Halloween pumpkins.

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  6. Well, I absolutely love everything you post Bryan. There are rarely a few days go by when I don`t find myself needing to refer to your blog in some way or another. Your material is like source notes, a cyclopaedia of useful things, and atmosphere inducing inspiration, all rolled into one happy bundle. Whether you write about zombies (which I think we all love to hear about), or chibis (which is informative and bloody useful inside information on the working of the game... I fear there is not enough written about this interestng genre), or..... Mars Attack, there is always something interesting to find in your words. Heck, when I think about it..... I only discovered Zombicide because of you and your love of the subject. Same goes for Impact Miniatures.... okay I`m now writing for them, but do you know what mate.... I would never even have heard of that company if... yep, you guessed it, once AGAIN... I heard about these guys from you and your blog.

    I have learned wisely never to poo pooh the things you enthuse about Bryan, because you have this unerring knack of being right; and so, if you say a game is worth looking into, invariably nowadays, I take time to acquaint myself with it (where as I normally would not even bother spending time on something I hadn`t considered as possibly being of interest to me).

    I can be a bit of a stick in the mud sometimes, but you always manage to enlighten me. Rum & Bones, G.U.R.P.S Zombies, to name just a couple: your enthusiasm for these topics is infectious.. and you know what? I`m GLAD it is, because you have never steered me wrong yet.

    Thank you for being such a good and true friend.

    On a final note (I have no wish to fuel the fire of a `certain` subject any more than it is due) my wife has a very good and wise saying: "A friend is someone who should support ad encourage you; not just knock you down every time they feel they get a chance, or because they can."

    Okay, one more final note: Chibis... I find them fascinating. The best analogy I can think of is the following. When we were kids, we were probably weaned on Walt Disney "Cinderella, "Beauty and the Beast", "Aladdin" etc etc. But then we hit a certain `immature` age, and we shun these things as childish and silly. Then what happen? We grow into adults, possibly have children of our own, and guess what? It is suddenly cool to like Walt Disney all over again. Same could be said for `toy soldiers`. We love them as children, then we reach teenage and discover the opposite sex, drink, and all the pursuits of growing into man or woman hood... and we wouldn`t be seen dead playing with toy soldiers - or dolls. But what happens to us when we reach adulthood? We turn into gamers hahhaha... why, because we get over our immature belief that the subject is childish... we mature and grow.

    Enough said ^^

    Happy blogging and gaming Bryan. And may you never stop... and on any bl^^dy topic you want to write about.

    Steve :)

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    1. Ah, the welcome voice of sanity! Steve, this comment of yours was very much appreciated. It has both made my day and restored my faith in human nature. I have said many times that I play the games I want to play; I collect the figures that I want to collect and I blog about what appeals to me. We are all different and we all like different things. Thank God for that! Who wants to be a mindless clone with no individuality playing follow the leader?

      A year ago I had never heard of Chibi miniatures. Then you mentioned to me a game called Super Dungeon Explore and I was hooked on it right from that moment. It was totally different to anything else I had ever done before and I totally "got it." Yes, I know it won't appeal to everyone. Why should it? But I fell in love with those unusual figures with their large heads, big eyes and small bodies. I had fallen out of love with fantasy gaming many years ago and to be honest, I never thought I'd return to it. How wrong I was. Thanks to you, Steve, and to SDE, I learnt how to appreciate fantasy gaming once more, albeit in a form I could never have envisaged.

      I have no problem with people leaving critical comments on my blog. Indeed, constructive criticism is always welcome. But Clint's comment that all Chibis should be burnt was a step beyond the pale. It was uncalled for, bigoted and disrespectful. If I had said "burn all Jews, black people, gays, women or any minority group you care to mention" I'd be pilloried, and rightly so. Such inflammatory and insulting comments have no place on my blog or indeed, anywhere in decent society.

      As you, and others have said, this is my blog and I will post whatever the hell I like on it. I think I have proven that Chibis are worthy of inclusion on a blog dedicated to all things undead and so they will stay. There WILL be further posts featuring Chibis. You can like it or lump but I will not be deterred by one narrow-minded individual who should learn to know when to keep his hatred to himself.

      So, Steve, I'd like to reciprocate and say thank you for being such an amazing friend.

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    2. WTF Bryan, I can't believe anyone would be low enough to critize anything you do. You put so much work into your stuff and share so generously.Well you are one of my gaming heroes and I cant believe how much great stuff you do.
      I guess you never know what might crawl in thru the cracks....

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    3. Roger, thank you so much. You have always been a true friend and a huge supporter of my blog. God bless you, mate!

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  7. Part 1


    *feels a manly tearful moment coming on*

    You know Bryan, you say your fantasy gaming had reached a low, the joy of dungeons and dragons, Warhammer and maybe 40K (I assume) had dissipated, felt old, used up, dry and uninspiring. I actually totally relate to that. I too had been playing fantasy for much of my life, it even superseded my first love for historical games at one point, and continued to do so for many years... for over two decades, 20 odd years, I turned away from historical games entirely and concentrated on fantasy. I started in Napoleonics and English Civil War back in the 70`s, discovered the first Dungeons and Dragons in 1774, and then stumbled into Warhammer.... the first ever edition, back then called "Laserburn" and then the 1st true edition of Warhammer, a three book boxed set (I still recall the first scenario nade for that game: the Shakespeare MacBeth fantasy Lich Master parody). Throughout the 80`s and into the 90s I immersed in fantasy and then..... I was burned out. Nothing felt new, nothing appealed anymore *yawn yawn I felt like I`d done it all to death), I felt like fantasy gaming was one huge sham, and an endless clone of itself as more and more rubbish seemed to get churned out in an endless mass stream of `officialdom` and crass. In disillusionment, I sadly turned away from it all.

    And I practically RAN back to historical gaming once again... a sort of "come back, all is forgiven" attitude prevailed, as I got stuck back in with my history books, uniforms, and study. Only difference now was, I came back into it with additional tastes for the more, lets say, unusual genres to game in. Skirmish level American Gangster Pulp of the 20s and 30s. English Penny Dreadful Pulp, Sherlock Holmes, Poirot (makes really good gaming), and Victorian Wild West. Additions to this got me back into fantasy again in the form of Steampunk, Weird World War I & II, and "What If" Imagi-Nation "Lace Wars" of the 18th century.

    Fantasy (as in D&D type games) was gone for me, and was replaced with what I thought was a more "Mature" and gentlemanly pursuit of fantasy type gaming based within a quasi real life world. Flash Gordon, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, John Carter, and The Lost World and H.P.Lovecraft. Seated in reality, but altered just enough to be classed as fantasy.

    But then.... and the point of this reply.... along came Chibis and Super Dungeon Explore.

    Why did it appeal to me so deeply?

    Well, I still WANTED to love fantasy. I had a lifetime of happy nostalgic memories of earlier misspent youth sitting in dark rooms playing Dungeons and Dragons `til the cows came home. The joy of all that was past, but I still nurtured the wish... the desire to relive it again in some form... if I could only find how. I thought this was all just wishful thinking, but then Super Dungeon Explore caught my attention - on You Tube think it was.

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  8. Part 2


    Why Super Dungeon Explore? Why Chibis? Simply this: I immediately saw a way to enjoy Dungeons Crawls again, I saw the opportunity to fall in love with Goblins, Orcs, Skeletons, Ghouls, Liches, Ghosts, Pumpkin Heads, Banshees, Slithering Ooozes and Slimes, Witches, Wizards, Clerics, Elementals, Giant Spiders, Bat Hordes, Rat Swarms, Traps, Pits, Gaping Chasms, Fire Caves, Winding Stairs, Hidden.... Secret Doors, Heroes, Heroines, and EVERYTHING I had forgotten just how much I had missed, oh so much. But in Chibi form, it all felt NEW again, fresh and unexplored.

    The painting styles required to `bring these miniatures to life` was substantially different... and it wasn`t long before I realised just how much I was beginning to treasure my rapidly growing collection of these hitherto uncollected master pieces. They look utterly awesome when painted up.... and they play really well when put to use in a game. All the normal suspense of a Dungeons and Dragons game is still there, but altered just enough to seem exciting and unexplored. I felt like a fantasy gamer re-born.

    The charm of fantasy gaming as I played it of old might be dead! But long live Super Dungeon Explore.

    Steve :)

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    1. Hear, hear! Steve are sure we aren't related at all? Because your experiences and feelings mirror mine. In the early 1990's I totally fell out of favour with AD&D and Warhammer, two games I had played and loved for many years. Yes, I too have the first edition Dungeons and Dragons and the first edition of Warhammer. But, just like you, disillusionment set in and so I moved on to other games - primarily RPGs from Fantasy Games Unlimited like Aftermath, Bushido, Space Opera and Villains & Vigilantes. Plus, it was around then that Vampire: the Masquerade was released and I was in gaming heaven. Those were great days.

      Sadly, by the start of this new century my gaming colleagues had all departed. One died at a tragically young age (35) and others moved away from the North East, never to be heard of again. The early years of this century were a bleak time for me in terms of gaming. That all changed when I discovered the joy of solo gaming with All Things Zombie and my lifelong ambition to run a zombie apocalypse game finally became a reality.

      Fast forward to last year and you introduced me to Super Dungeon Explore and a few other superb solo games (Arkham Horror and A Touch Of Evil) and once more I was in gaming heaven. You, Steve, more than anyone else instilled in me a passion for solo gaming and that it could be the greatest gaming experience if you were prepared to make it work. This I did, and I'll be forever grateful to you for reawakening my passion for gaming.

      Yes, long live Super Dungeon Explore. SDE and Zombicide are far and away my favourite games and so my blog will reflect my deep admiration for both games.

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  9. Hear Hear, my friend!

    Oh my goodness, Aftermath... that has to be one of the most complicated, but gritty reality trips of all time. You can practically smell the bad breath on the unwashed heroes of that post apocalyptic world. Bushido, Space Opera and Villains & Vigilantes, WOW names I have not heard in so long. We are SO similar in our backgrounds.

    As for The Masquerade, I`ve never enjoyed a better vampire themed game in my life. So real you can almost feel the teeth sinking in to the maiden`s soft neck.

    Your gaming group experiences mirror mine in many ways too (we will have to discuss this more in Hotmail, as we do so many things), but suffice to say, I hear you.... and so sorry for the loss of your friend back then.

    I am so glad you have rediscovered your love for gaming, for fantasy, and for finding the full unadulterated pleasure in solo. YOU found that yourself, I merely opened a door.

    Talk soon my friend.

    Steve.




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    1. Steve, I have so many happy memories of those days when my gaming group shared my passion for these long forgotten RPGs. I am not surprised that you know them all as you're only a few years younger than me. But I do wonder how many new or younger gamers even know the titles of these fine games, never mind what they were about.

      Aftermath was indeed gritty and it had a very rich background but sadly, was poorly supported. Ditto, for Bushido, a game that introduced me to Japanese history and culture in the age of the samurai. My Bushido campaign was very successful and both much loved and remembered by all who took part. Space Opera appealed to me and my fellow gamers far more than Traveler ever did. The few Traveler scenarios I played were all converted to Space Opera. Space Opera and the superhero RPG, Villains & Vigilantes were extremely well supported by FGU. I think I bought every supplement and scenario published for both systems. As for Vampire: the Masquerade, this was an RPG that I took to like a duck to water. I did an awful lot of work for that game, including editing a fanzine dedicated to Clan Toreador. This was my clan for obvious reasons. The Toreadors were made up of many artists and lovers of art in its many forms. Yes, we will chat a lot more about past times via e-mail as I'm sure we can spend so much time reminiscing.

      I love that last comment of yours about me rediscovering my love of gaming myself. But it was YOU who opened the door for me and I can't thank you enough for opening my eyes to see just what can be achieved as a solo gamer. I will forever be in your debt.

      Much respect, Steve!

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  10. The glow from the inside of these pumpkins is especially effective, I think! Did you paint the other parts darker than usual to enhance this?

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    1. That is exactly what I did, Hugh. Well spotted!

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    2. Ah, I finally caught up on the blogs today!

      I agree with Colgar, the glow is great. I was a bit surprised that you went for white (you said it wasn't pure white?) but it is very effective either way. Not sure how noticable it is, but the highlights on the pumpkins themselves are mostly spot on, too.

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    3. Good to hear from you, Mathyoo. No, the eyes and mouths are pure white. You often hear people say that figures look better in real life and that the photos don't do them justice. Well, with these, the opposite is true.

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  11. ..... I always liked Clan Brejah. They`re loners, like me ^^

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    1. It's Brujah but I knew who you meant. They're rebels, too! Chuckle!

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  12. Aaah yes, Brujah. Hey, not bad as I remembered that from memory (haven`t opened the manuals in 15 years) hehe.

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    1. I was wondering if the Brejah are the Irish contingent of Clan Brujah! :-)

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  13. These look excellent Bryan. Really love the glowing eyes effect you've achieved it makes them really stand out.

    As for Fantasy Gaming in general I think a lot of the market is flooded with figures and games but there is nothing really fresh to unite any of them any more.

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    1. Much appreciated, Simon. You are right about fantasy gaming nowadays. I can remember when your main options were either Dungeons & Dragons or Runequest. Nowadays there is so much choice and variety.

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  14. Quote {{ I was wondering if the Brejah are the Irish contingent of Clan Brujah! :-) }}

    Clan Brejah: Family: 2 a gamer, his gaming wife, a bunch of `grown up` kids, and 2 mad dogs (do wild house mice under the floorboards of this old rambling long house, also count?).

    Location: Somewhere in the Mountains, between the Banshee ridden mists and the puka filled valleys of West Cork.

    Skills: Playing Wargames, Role Playing Games, Writing Rules and Supplements, Painting and Casting Figures, Making Terrain, and wandering around in long winter capes dead of night, often being vampires in what ever current rpg we are on at the time.

    Additional Sills: Guinness, Wine, Port and Sherry drinking.

    Element: Paint

    Opposing Element: Anything outside the house ^^

    Family Banner: a rampant Paint Brush dripping vampaire gore, upon a field of dead zombies.

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    1. That is just fecking brilliant! I am so glad I wasn't drinking when I read that!

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