Ral Partha Lakota Sioux

The Sioux are groups of Native American tribes and First Nations peoples in North America. The term can refer to any group within the Great Sioux Nation or to any of the nation's many language dialects. The Sioux comprise three major divisions based on language divisions - the Dakota, Lakota and Nakota. The Dakota reside in the extreme east of the Dakotas, Minnesota and northern Iowa. The Nakota are considered to be the middle Sioux and they mainly reside in Minnesota, Montana as well as Western Canada. The Lakota, also known as the Teton Sioux, are the westernmost tribe, and are known for their hunting and warrior culture. In any of the three main dialects, Lakota or Dakota translates to mean "friend" or "ally", referring to the alliance that once bound the Great Sioux Nation.
The Lakota Sioux took part in numerous wars including Red Cloud's War (1866-68), the Great Sioux War of 1876, which included amongst others, the Battle of the Little Bighorn, and the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890.
I have slowly been building up a collection of Plains Indians from numerous companies but the four 28mm scale figures I'm showcasing here were bought many years ago in the 1990's and were actually created for the near future Shadowrun game. That said, they are sculpted in such a way that they fit in perfectly in an Old West setting of the late 19th century.

At the far left is White Eagle, a Lakota tribal chief, who is wearing a buffalo skin head dress and cloak. He is armed with a coup stick and a knife. He is Jackson Ryder's adoptive father. He is a quiet, thoughtful man with a stoic exterior, although in recent years he has become more relaxed. He became leader early in his life, and now, not even 50, he has led the band for more than 15 years. Although a fine warrior and hunter, he is anticipating the toll that age will take on him and has been looking for a worthy successor. Against all the odds, he believes he has found one in his adoptive son, Splits Arrow. He worries that because he is white, the tribe will not accept Jackson as chief.

Next up, is Jackson Ryder, aka Splits Arrow, a white man who was raised by White Eagle when Jackson was orphaned as a child. Ryder is a character from GURPS Robin Hood, who is a reincarnation of Robin. In this supplement you can play Robin Hood in one of five alternative settings - 17th century Scotland, the Old West, a contemporary setting with superheroes, a cyberpunk world and a far future sci-fi setting, as well as the traditional Sherwood Forest setting. Jackson is now fully integrated into his adoptive tribe and regards them as his family. His skill at bow and arrow is legendary. He is also armed with a knife and a tomahawk. His efforts on the part of the Lakota have earned him a great reputation among the Sioux, whilst his reputation among whites as a renegade has grown; there is talk of hanging him as soon as he is captured.

Jackson's closest friend in the tribe is Lone Tree on the Plains. In the supplement, he was a male ally but I decided to change his sex, to match that of the figure. She is the daughter of White Eagle and is glad that her father is grooming Splits Arrow to take over the leadership of the tribe. She views Jackson as a brother and the two work well together. She is armed with a bow, arrows, knife and tomahawk.
Finally is Looks at Fire, the tribe's medicine man and shaman. He is respected and honoured for his wisdom and experience, and is consulted on every important matter undertaken by the band or a member. His love of children extended to the young Jackson, whose interest in tribal lore and ceremony Looks at Fire encouraged. Note that his figure was produced by Grenadier Miniatures, as part of their own Shadowrun range.
These are four superb sculpts and they fit in so perfectly with the GURPS Robin Hood characters that I had to use them as such. I do have plans for using them in a Six Gun Sound setting, so that is something to look out for.

Zomtober 2018 part 2 - The Walking Dead Survivors

In the Zomtober challenge you must paint at least one zombie or survivor figure per week. I have already shown eight zombies in my first post. Now I turn my attention to the survivors. These figures are all from the wave 1 boxed set of The Walking Dead skirmish game by Mantic Games. There are two very different groups here. First up are four of the Atlanta survivors who Rick Grimes teams up with when he goes searching for his wife and son. The second group are a gang of miscreants who are opposed to them. Most of these are only known by their first names in the comics and game but I have given all of them full names for use in my own games.

First up at the far left is Allen Lomax, who is a bruiser. His figure is armed with a bolt-action rifle.
Dale Horvath is the lookout and marksman of the Atlanta group. He is armed with a sniper rifle with fitted scope-sight.

Second from the right is Donna Bell, an unarmed support member of the group.
Finally, is Jim Rothenburg, another support member and a mechanic. He is armed with a 9mm pistol.

Leader of the gangers is Derek Prescott, who is classed as a tactician and a heartless mercenary. This brutal skinhead is armed with a 9mm pistol.
Next in line is Patrick Singleton, a bruiser armed with a baseball bat.

The weak link of the gang is Liam White, who is an unarmed support member.
Last of all is Sandra Vega, who is the gang's runner and she is armed with a knife.
These hard plastic figures are incredibly well sculpted, full of character and an absolute joy to paint. By the way, this weekend is the 15th anniversary of the launch of The Walking Dead comic, and to mark the occasion, Mantic Games have a 15% discount offer on all of their The Walking Dead products. I made use of it by placing an order for the Greene family farm scenery set and the prone bodies set. The barn, fences and hay bales that come with the farm set will also work well for my Wild West games and dead bodies are always useful.

Zomtober 2018 part 1 - The Walking Dead Zombies

This post is a bit late but that's only to be expected when I'm painting two batches of 20 figures this month for the annual Zomtober challenge. I've just finished painting the first batch and am about to start the second, so I'm way ahead of schedule. I am working on getting all of the figures completed from the Kickstarter wave 1 box of Mantic Games' The Walking Dead skirmish game. What better a way to start than with a bunch of zombies? It has been such a long time since I have painted any contemporary zombie figures, so it was nice to return to them as I always enjoy painting them.

At the far left is a severely wounded old man. His chest bears a pair of large cuts forming a cross and his stomach has been ripped open.
Next to him is a young punk with a Mohican haircut. He sports numerous cuts and wounds.

Second from the right is a young female whose left arm has been bitten off or ripped off.
At the far left is a police patrol-woman who has been shot, stabbed and bitten. The blood on her hands is still fresh, so most likely came from a victim she has recently fed upon.

In this next batch is a young man in a baseball cap who has lost his left arm just above the elbow. There is also a gaping hole in his stomach. The zombies fed well on him!
The guy in the yellow T-shirt appears to have died from a single gunshot to the heart. The entry wound is in his back and the exit wound in his chest. A nice clean kill... for a human!

The skinny-looking female second from the right has had half of her face bitten off.
The female at the far right appears to have been a shop assistant, judging by her clothing. She has been shot just below her right breast and there is a massive exit wound in her back. Also, her left arm has been broken and hangs at an odd angle, with bone showing through.
These were an absolute joy to paint. They were the first figures I've painted from this range and I like that they are made of hard plastic and that they are superbly detailed. I don't know why it's taken me so long to get round to painting them but I'm glad I've made a start on them. Lots more to follow!

Black Scorpion Townsfolk 02

Following on from my last post here are the rest of my Black Scorpion 32mm scale townsfolk from their Tombstone range of figures. I haven't got round to naming any of these yet but it's just a matter of time before I do.

These five figures come from the Civilians 03 set. At the far left is a dog, which I was pleasantly surprised to see included. Another useful figure is the little boy holding a poster. Figures of Wild West children are extremely rare, so once again, I was mighty pleased that he's included in the set.

In the centre of the group is a banjo player. Note his holstered pistol on his right hip. Next in line is a farmer or homesteader with a 12 Gauge Double-Barrelled Shotgun.
Finally, is a drunken cowboy who is having difficulty walking in a straight line. He has his revolver drawn but the chances of him hitting anything with it must be very remote.
This set of five figures cost £9.60 from Black Scorpion's webstore.

This next set of figures are the Town Watch, the brave folk who volunteer to join a sheriff's posse or defend their town from bandits and outlaws. They are a mixed bunch, that's for sure. At the far left is an elderly bespectacled gentleman armed with a .45 Colt Army Revolver and a 12 Gauge Double-Barrelled Shotgun.
Next up is another old timer who also wields a 12 Gauge Double-Barrelled Shotgun.

Not as old as the previous two, but still getting on in years as denoted by his greying hair, the gent second from the right is left-handed and is firing a .45 Colt Army Revolver.
Last in line is a spunky lady who means business as she wields a 12 Gauge Sawn-Off Double-Barrelled Shotgun. This set of four figure also costs £9.60.
As always, the sculpting of these resin-cast figures is just superb. They were very crisp and a pleasure to paint. They are also so full of character - each one looks like he or she has a story to tell - and I love that in a figure.
Note that my next posts will concentrate on my Zomtober challenge. Progress is going really well.

Black Scorpion Townsfolk 01

In this, the first of two posts, I'm reviewing a couple of sets of Black Scorpion 32mm scale Townsfolk from their Tombstone range of resin cast figures.

The four figures to the left are the Civilians 1 set, consisting of a miner/prospector, a store owner with broom, an elderly fat gentleman and a young lady with umbrella. I haven't named any of these yet. This set costs £9.60 for the four figures.

At the far right is a rambler and Humphrey the dog. I named the rambler as Russell Tucker, or as most folk call him, "Ole Man Tucker." He and Humphrey are inseparable, which is rather appropriate given that they are a one-piece casting. Together, they cost £4.50.

Next up are Civilians 2, which also consists of four figures -  a blacksmith, a bartender, a doctor and a middle-aged lady. This set also costs £9.60.

All of these figures are crisply sculpted and were a joy to paint. I will be using them in my Six Gun Sound games and I will name them all and give them character record cards.