Wargames Factory survivors

A few Bayou Wars ago, I decided that my Sunday Morning Brain Dead game wasn't difficult enough. I decided to give players only the choice of pistols or shotguns. A player asked me why most of my figures equipped so where mostly female.  I hadn't considered this.  I realized that there were nowhere near as many male figures equipped with pistols as female, and most were agents in suits or some sort.  I decided to remedy my situation with Wargames Factory's male survivors.

In emulation of the great Vampifan, who manages a post a week, I decide to show 4 at a time with front and back.  My background and photos are not as good, but immitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

From left to right, we have Mr. Wifebeater with pistol and knife, next Joe Sixpack with one pistol and a single pistol. The next fellow's black garb has started to fade from exposure to sunlight. (Doesn't he remind you of some bloke in the background on the cover of Chain Reaction FV?) And a welder, perhaps, with a machete and pistol.  Unfortunately, Wargames Factory only supplies automatics.  The only revolver is scoped and for the little girl in the female survivors box.

Here they all are in the position you hope to see them on your table top.  My painting is pretty simple. Base color with a brown wash. That's it.

Here we have Mr. Chubbs with a machete and pistol. I shudder to admit that I had a similar sportscoat to the next gentleman in the 1960's.  In my defense, the pattern was larger and more subdued. Sweatshirt, pistol, and machete.  And then our African American with two pistols and accutrement. Wargames Factory does have a good assortment of heads.

And from the rear.  I do like the fact that Mr. Chubbs is showing belly and back.  I thought the water bottle and magazine pouches emphasized the droopy shorts. Oh, that sportscoat is loud!  Could be Paul Harvey, a used car salesman, or a sportscaster! The backpack is included in the box, but there are no support straps, and since I'm to lazy to add any, I was very sparing in their use.

No apocalypse is complete without a bible-thumper with a pistol, warning you, blah, blah blah.  The boy has a semi-auto machine pistol.  This is because of my belief  that full-auto weapons in the USA are not as common as the movies would have us to believe.  In any Two Hour Wargames ruleset, it would be Target 1 or 2, Impact 1. Another sweatshirted gentleman with a pistol.  And a true survivor, with rifle and holstered pistol.  He's inspired by Don Johnson in "A Boy And A Dog."  He's only inspired by the character.

As a member of the 501st, I have to include some Star Wars references.  Obviously, the kid has a rip-off Star Wars shirt, probably bought at one of the "5 for $15" t-shirt stands in the French Market in the French Quarter.  The logo resembling the Order of the Garter is a poor attempt at the logo on the back of my t-shirt from the 501st Kilted Brigade.  As you can see, Don Johnson is heavily loaded with gear from Vietnam. The wash I used gave him, like Isabella of "Galavant" a skin tone of indeterminate ethnicity!

There we have it!  Now I am awaiting a bunch of non-military figures from Hasslefree Miniatures adventurers.

This week's finished figures

Since I'm not getting any game in, I decided to show the figures that I have finished painting this week. Click on the pics for larger versions.

First up are some Colonial Police from Brigades Games in the USA.  These are older figures, and are a bit crude.  The faces are caricaturish.  First I painted them to resemble the Nassau police.  The sun helmets have no indication of the 6 seams that comprise the cover, so those were painted with a brown wash and a tiny brush.  I wanted these guys to be pristine, so no wash was added to their paint.  The white was dry-brushed up from ivory, but that's about it.  The belts and shoes were glossed, since policemen are very proud of their appearance.

Then I did the same figures in khaki, with my usual wash.

Next up are men and women survivors from Wargames Factory.  I'm not thrilled with these figures due to the need to fill the joints between the arms and torsos.  I don't quite get the girl with the compound bow, bustier, and mini-skirt.  The figure in orange is an escaped prisoner from a work detail of the Orleans Parish Prison, hence the OPP.  And we can't do without Shaun of the Dead!

These are Wargames Factory Saxon Fyrd.  Of course, after assembling these about 6 months ago, I learned that these poor slobs would not have any helmets.  The other 24 are being assembled correctly.  I use Ambroid liquid cement to assemble these figures, and a little squishing around fills the small gaps between the arms and the torso.  I use a small ball-shaped grinder with my moto-tool to expand the necks so that the heads fit with little fiddling.  Once again, a little squishing with Ambroid seems to fill any gaps.

And I finish up with a few more figures from Wargames Factory male survivors.  The kid had the scope clipped off his rifle, because I don't think he would have sniper skills.

That's it 'til next time.  All comments are appreciated!

Hasslefree & Reaper

In the usual gamer's ADHD, I've been painting 28's instead of 15mm modern Africa.  These are all Hasslefree with the exception of one Reaper.

First up are fem-Asterix (Rennie) and fem-Obelix (Tilda).  Nice figures who only resemble the originals in clothing.  In this case, I'm glad that Kev added a top to Tilda.  I know, betraying my dirty old man mojo, but the figure is more useable. Hmmm, fem-Asterix eyes didn't come out quite level, did they?

Here are two of Hasslefree's modern figures.  I chose Morgan with a small pistol (held up behind her hair) because I grow tired of enormous pistols.  This is definitely an Impact 1 auto-pistol.  The other is Dionne, who appears to be several months pregnant.  I'm also very tired of painting people in black, so she got brightened up.  Morgan's base is by Bobe's Hobby House and has a Mauser Auto-pistol and another auto-pistol molded into it.  The base is a tiled floor.  The purse is from Wargames Factory's Zombie Vixens.  Hey, at least she HAS a purse!

This is the topless Hayden from Hasslefree and feral dwarf from Reaper.  I didn't realize just how muscular the feral dwarf was until I had her primed.  There is a difficult to remove mold line down the left side of her face, so I painted it as a scar.  Hayden might want to cover up around her. (Oooh, non-pc!)
                                            
I tried something new on Hayden.  I had read Matt Parkes Paints in issue 299 of Wargames Illustrated and he showed a method of painting Tudor gold engraved armor.  So I tried it in kind of reverse with a disposable .005 drafting pen.  Obviously, I need to improve my technique, but I thought it was more interesting than just solid tattoos.  I'd also like to get a dark blue drafting pen, if available.

I bravely show my first attempt.  By the by, the ink is non-water soluble, but is shiny, so a matte coat is needed afterwards, not a problem for me, since all my figures get a matte coat after everything but the metallics are painted.

I tilted the figure up slightly so the neck tattoo would show better.

And this one shows her facial tattoo better.

That's all for now, but there's lots more on the painting table, mostly Black Orc.  Having started painting figures in the '70's, I have some partiality to children of a lesser sculpture.

Salvage Run 2005

This is a post of a game that I put up on Two Hour Wargames in 2005.  Unfortunately, the original photos are no longer available, so I had to print out the pages in color, scan them into Photoshop, and do what I could.  Therefore, the picture quality is abysmal.

Salvage Run

The following is a solo game using the Xenoform part of 5150, and various interpretations from earlier Two Hour Wargames rules.

Planet New Iberia is the scene of sporadic combat between humans and bugs.  All has been quiet for several months now.  The mining outpost of Wheel Leisure has been abandoned since bugs were found in the lower mines.  Everyone left in very hasty way, so lots of valuables were left behind.

Bailey Mull had talked to enough drunken miners at the spaceport bar to realize that there were lots of goods in Wheel Leisure ripe for the pickings.  Her good looks and free hand with drinks brought some very exact info as to what she could expect to find for salvage.

Her ship, Grifter, had lain on a rocky ledge for 3 days as she and her crew scouted out Wheel Leisure for any signs of bugs.  For 3 days, there was nothing but the wind to disturb the dirt streets.

She had six crew in three vehicles to head to the warehouses on the far side of town n The crew consists of :

Bailey Mull: Rep 5, Hard Armor, Assault Rifle, Stone Cold

Froggy Hunter:  Rep 5, Assault Rifle, Slow

Al Scramuzza:  Rep 4, Assault Rifle, Hard As Nails.

The Ferret: Rep 4, Flamethrower, Brawler

Izzy Knot:  Rep 4, Grenade Launcher, Medic

Natalie Goodbody: Rep 3, Pistol, Ambidex- terous

Juliette Street: Rep 2, Machine Pistol, Runt

They were in three vehicles.

The lead vehicle was a Teixeira T35, an armored half-track, with a heavy machine gun in an enclosed turret, and a flexible mount light machine gun.  The T35 was cobbled together on a mid-tech world, and due to being just good enough to do the job, and low cost, was as common as a Volkswagen beetle was in the 20^th century. The vehicle was driven by Natalie, with Al riding shotgun, and Bailey in the turret.

Next was a pickup truck, driven by Izzy, with The Ferret as co-pilot.

Tail-end Charley was occupied by Sadie,a Salvage Dog halftrack with a lightly-armored cab and a flexible mount light machine gun.  It’s driven by Juliette, with Froggy riding shotgun.

Bailey led the parade down the main (only) street in Wheel Leisure until a bug hole opened up and out poured a mix of Big Ones and Little Ones to the tune of one dozen.

Bailey immediately let rip with the HMG and killed one Big One.  More bugs filled the holes in the ranks, and Bailey kept shooting, knocking out a total of 2 Big Ones and 2 Little Ones.  And then 4 Big Ones jumped on the T35, blocking the driver’s vision, and too close for the turret gun to bear.  As the T35 came to a halt, Izzy gunned the pickup around the bugs and headed for the warehouse.  Sadie lumbered up, and Froggy hosed the T35 with LMG fire, taking care of 3 bugs.

Bailey hoses the bugs that didn’t make it to the T35, and takes out 2, and tells Natalie to run over another 2.  She misses.  A Big One charges Sadie, but Froggy guns him down.  Meanwhile the last Big One on the T35 strikes frantically at it, but can’t damage the T35.  Since the T35 is impervious to LMG fire, Froggy takes care of the last Big One on board.

Up the street, Izzy and The Ferret jump out of the pickup and enter the warehouse.

The T35 takes care of the last Little One, and heads up the street.  Sadie inexplicably hangs back.  (Juliette’s lousy Rep 2 plays havoc with continuing activation)

While Izzy and The Ferret start looting the warehouse, the T35 turns around and comes up next to Sadie.  Bailey opens the hatch and screams blue murder at Juliette, who lurches forward.  Natalie keeps the T35 fender to fender with Sadie, as Bailey makes interesting comments as to the family history of Juliette, while the 2 vehicles make their way to the warehouse.

Bailey leaps out of the T35, and jerks Juliette out of Sadie, and continues to chew on her, while everyone else loads Sadie, glad not to be Juliette.

Natalie goes to check the fuel tanks across the street, and the pickup starts back to the Grifter.

Sadie is loaded, and Natalie moves the T35 to the tanks to fuel up.

Suddenly 14 bugs pop up between the crews and the way out.  The pickup is long gone, and going faster.  Only Bailey sees them.  She jumps back into the T35, and yells at Natalie to get in and drive.  Sadie rounds the back of the abandoned hauler, and Froggy spots the bugs and takes out 1, and runs out of ammo 

Natalie spins the T35 and Bailey takes out 1 bug.  Froggy reloads.

Bailey fires again, and knocks 1 out.  Froggy takes out 2.

The T35 and Sadie move slowly forward and fires.  Bailey takes out 1, and click, click, is out of ammo.  Froggy misses and is out of ammo.

Natalie guns the engine as Bailey reloads and Sadie lumbers forward as Froggy reloads.  But while they are unloaded, a Little One leaps on the T35, and another jumps on the front of Sadie, and attempts to get Froggy, who gives him a haymaker on jaw, with no effect.

Both the T35 and Sadie move out, with bugs clinging to them.  Froggy and the bug spar ineffectively.

As they roll forward, a sudden lunge from the bug kills Froggy.  The bug continues to slice and dice, and Sadie rolls to a halt, as Juliette grabs for her machine pistol.  The T35 continues on, unaware of what is going on behind them.

Bailey opens the hatch and kills the bug on the T35 with her assault rifle.  Only then does she realize that Sadie is halted, and can only watch as the bug slips into Sadie’s hatch and kills Juliette.

The T35 spins around, with Bailey firing with her assault rifle, since the HMG is too low to have any chance of shooting down the hatch, and might damage Sadie. 

As they pull alongside, she finally pink mists the bug.  She sends Al to get Sadie running so they can get out of Dodge with all of the goodies.  Al cleans out enough goo in record time, and Sadie lurches forward.

As they pass the only 2 story building in town, the second story door swings open and a young voice yells, “Hey, don’t leave me, you salvage skanks,” and Niki the Twister sprints down the stairs, onto the T35, and into the co-pilot’s hatch that Al left open. 

Bailey screams at her, and Natalie says they can’t leave her; she’s just a kid.

Bailey groans, “And you thought the bugs were trouble?”

Even in a vehicle, bugs can give you trouble.  The bugs were very unfortunate in activation rolls, or the game might have gone differently.  There was also a bug activation 45” off the table, so it was ignored.  The humans were drawn with the ATZ NPC table, with appropriate weapons for the figures I had.

This game was played shortly after 5150 came out, and uses the original All Things Zombie for characters.  The buildings are from WorldWorks.  The T35 is a modified US WWI M8 that I got from Ed; the salvage vehicle is lead, and the transport is paper.

OH, no Bayou Wars is around the corner!

Yep, Bayou Wars is just around the corner (June 7 - 9) so I'll be working on goodies for my 3 games.  This will leave me no time for solo wargaming.  So, I'm putting up a few more pictures of mostly recently painted figures.

First off are 3 Chronoscope figures, Eden, Farrah, and whatever his name is.  Eden will be called Fuschia for obvious reasons.  A very simple paint job.  There is an interesting flaw in the figure.  Both semi-auto pistols have their ejection ports on the left side of the gun.  All auto-pistols have their ejection ports on the right side.  She will be Big Bad Leroy Brown's main squeeze, and will be a Poser in Two Hour Wargames rules.
Farrah is so 70's with her big hair and sunglasses, that I painted her in 70's high fashion, with all accessories in shiny white.  And Big Bad Leroy Brown will be a gang leader in 5150 New Beginnings.  I never could warm to the figure, so his paint job is a bit uninspired.

And here's a Hasselfree and two more Chronoscopes.  I painted the Hasselfree in work-a-day clothes, so she's pretty plain.  Note her gigantic eyes!  Next is the Smuggler girl from Chronoscope.  I had just rewatched A Boy And His Dog, so her pants were inspired by Vic's shirt, one of thos late 60's multi-stripes (I had several).  She has had a bit too much callogen in her lips.  And finally Decker Detective from Chronoscope.  He has a gaudy tie, like the best film noire detectives.  My stepson really likes this figure because "nothing matches, because he's too poor to use anything but what he's already got."  Hey, how come no one has made a Vic figure?

The first two figures are old GW figures.  The alien is proof that some figures can't be improved with a paint job.  The center figure is probably Talisman, and an Indiana Jones rip-off.  Nice figure though.  The last was given to me, and I have no idea who the manufacturer is.  I call him Officer Unfriendly, with his sideburns and cigaret in his mouth.  I intend him to be a Freddy Kruger figure in my zombie games.  You can kill him, but he'll keep coming back in another episode.  I found a Chevy Tahoe diecast police vehicle for him, from Maquette.  I have a friend who is a Louisiana  State Trooper who wants me to paint another in their dark blue with yellow piping.  If another shows up, I'll do it.

And finally, this is a Reaper figure that my stepson gave me for Christmas.  I tried to do a little more exacting painting on him before washing him with my brown wash.  The staff was painted a medium grey and then washed with Windsor Newton Nut Brown followed by Windsor Newton Peat Brown.  I find it gives a good worn wood finish.

This will probably be my last post until sometime after Bayou Wars, so I hope you enjoy it.

Zombie Vixens!

...in which I give a realistic look at Wargames Factory's "new" zombie girls, know as Zombie Vixens!
http://wargamesfactory.com/webstore/dark-futures/zombie-vixens

One gripe I have heard in a couple of places is that they are Barbies.  I have a daughter, and 2 sisters, who have 3 daughters between, and one of the daughters has a daughter.  All have or had Barbies.  These figures ain't Barbies.  They are nowhere so developed, nor do they have ultra-tiny waists, incredibly long legs and gigantic heads.  They are all pretty well formed females.

First, let me explain how my zombies are painted.  They are primed in the cheapest grey primer I can get. They get skin painted in Reaper Pro Paint Ghoul grey.  Any exposed bones and teeth are painted in Ceramcoat Ivory.  Clothes are block painted.  Then they are washed with undiluted Windsor Newton Nut Brown ink.  When dry, the eyes are painted a soft yellow. They are dull-coated because the ink is shiny. I have over 100 zombies, and that's how they are all painted.

Why?  Zombies could be replaced in any game with coins, markers, what have you.  They are the mindless enemy; they are all the same, and want only one thing: to tear apart living humans apart, and Braaaiinns!

Now, on to pictures of the creatures themselves.

Here are the first six from the front.  We have the torso (and this head resembles Andrea from The Walking Dead) Suzy Homemaker, the cheerleader, the party girl, the executive, and the waitress.

And from the rear.
And more girls.

Here we have the bridesmaid, the surfer, the crawler, the crawler upright, the slip girl, and the jogger.

The crawler and the crawler upright are the same torso.
And here's the last torso, the one-footed girl.

Now you get 12 torsos per sprue, more heads than you can use, and lots of arms, and partial arms.

What do I like about these figures?  First, of course, the price.  They are well cast, and designed.  You can do a bit of difference by changing the arms and heads, like the following 2 photos.

Their poses are quite dynamic, and the faces are really good.  They come with 10 25mm bases per sprue, so you have to choose who you want to use.  They are not slotted bases.  You glue the feet to the base.  Patience.  The arms are quite thin.  I don't know how they will stand up to hard use.  Some of the arms and torsos and tiny joining areas.  There are a couple of purses (both the same) and 2 arms with shopping bags, and 2 with briefcases.

What don't I like about these figures?  The poses are so dynamic that it is difficult to make 3 figures different enough.  Since the minimum offer is 3 sprues, it could lead to problems.The evening dressed girl can only be a bridesmaid.  Why else would 3 girls be wearing the same strapless gown (lots of fun to watch catching the bouquet!).  By the by, that's why mine have that unflattering color of gown  The girl in the suit has limited applicable arms.

The surfer can be done as a girl in panties and bra; just don't use the arm with the floatie attached.  I would have preferred to have them made like the male zombies that were released a while back; with separate torsos and lower trunks.  I don't like the large bases, necessitated by the wide stance.  I have to use expensive Litko flexible steel bases to add them to my magnetic bases (all of my zombies are mounted on 3/4" washers).

So, overall, what do I think?  They are a good bargain at the price, but limited in their application.  Because I have so many zombies, I can disperse them in the crowd, so their sameness won't be apparent.  And with the same dress, different arms and heads, the bridesmaids can hunt like a pack!

TRUDY FINDS A CRIB!

It's been too long since I updated the former Miss Holly Wood's adventures.  So I decided that a romp in the countryside to find a safe house would be now Miss Trudy Holmes' new goal.

Seems she remembers an old desanctified mission way out on a dirt road, and hoped it was still available.
She and Myron drove the VW microbus and H2 close to the location, but out of earshot, and hopped out and walked up the road.

After their initial move of 8" up the road, Myron advised Trudy that they had zombies off to their left.

Turn 1: Humans 3, Zombies 1

Trudy and Myron move another 8" up the road, and Trudy takes a shot at the nearest zombie, and kills it.  The other zombies follow the humans.

The gunfire draws no zombies.  Since this is a rural area, they only appear on a die roll of "6".

Turn 2: Humans 1, Zombies 6

Trudy remembers that the mission had a stout gate, and heads in it's direction.  The zombies stall.

Turn 3: Humans 3, Zombies 1

Trudy moves to the gate and finds it locked.

Myron noticed an open window to their right, so they move to it, having been only 2" from the gate at the start of their activation.

The zombies have lost sight of the humans, so they continue towards the sound of gunfire.

Turn 4: Humans 5, Zombies 2

Trudy sends Myron through the window first, since he is only Rep 4, but can activate on Trudy's Rep of 5.  I decided that the building would have 2 sections in the main room, so they scan the main room and see no zombies nor humans.

The zombies continue on their current path.

Turn 5: Humans 2, Zombies 1

Trudy moves to the second section of the building, and sees no one and no zombies.

Myron searches the first section, and comes up with a set of house keys.  (no vehicles in this game, so keys need to be for something else.)

The zombies are confused, seeing no humans and hearing no gunfire.

Turn 6: Humans 1, Zombies 4

The zombies move to the sound of voices.

Trudy searchs her section and finds nothing.  Myron moves into the courtyard and sees another door.

Turn 7: Humans 4, Zombies 4

Trudy moves to back up Myron.  Myron moves to the door, finds it unlocked, and pulls it open.  The room is empty.

The zombies move to the window where they heard voices, but sense no one.

Turn 8: Humans 3, Zombies 5

Myron sees a ladder in the room and Trudy sends him up it while she searches the room and finds a crossbow!  When Myron reaches the top of the ladder, he sees 2 zombies and fires!  The one he hits doesn't even notice the bullet from his puny SMG, and he and the other one cahrge him.  Myron ties one zombie and kills the other in melee.

Firing attracts no new zombies.

Turn 9: Humans 2, Zombies 1

Trudy searches the visible courtyard and finds food!  Myron melees the remaining zombie, and kills him.  The 3 zombies in the road, maddened by the gunfire attack the gate.  Since it was so stout, and barred from the inside, I gave it a DV of 4.  The zombies would roll 1d6 each, and each success would lower the DV by 1.  They get one success, lowering the DV of the gate to 3.

(Myron and the zombie bodies are not on the roof.  It was more convenient to put them there.)

Turn 10:  Humans 2, Zombies 5
Trudy turns the corner in the courtyard, and sees a girl pointing a pistol.  Trudy adds her 2d6 for Charisma to her 5 for Rep.  The girl is a Rep 4 Ganger.  She is beaten by only one success, so she joins Trudy's gang only for the duration of the mission.  (So much for Charisma!)

Myron moves to the roof and finds it empty.

Turn 11: Humans 4, Zombies 2

Trudy searches this little section of courtyard and finds another Food.

Myron moves to the edge of the roof, and kills 2 of the zombies attempting to break down the gate.

Trudy sends the girl to watch the gate, in case the zombies break through.

The one remaing zombie claws at the gate, to no effect.

Turn 12:  Humeans 1, Zombies 6

Trudy fast moves to the gate, and has Myron throw her the keys.  She intends to investigate a building that Myron has seen to the rear of the mission.  The girl opens the gate on Turdy's command , and there's a zombie.  Both Trudy and the girl take an In Sight, and pass.  Trudy fires her semi-automatic rifle, and rolls two "1's".  Click, click, out of ammo.  The girl fires her BA pistol, and misses.

All this firing attracts no zombies.

Turn 13:  Humans 1, Zombies 3

There are no zombies.

Trudy backs up and reloads.  The girl fires and misses.

Myron fires and kills the zombie.

Once again, the gunfire attracts no zombies.

Turn 14: Humans 1, Zombies 3

There are no zombies.

Trudy and the girl move out of the gate, and come face-to-face with Charles Many, Rep 3 Survivor with a bolt-action rifle.  Trudy suceeds so well, even though she loses 2d6 for different philosophies, that Charles joins up.

Turn 15: Humans 6, Zombies 1

No zombies

Turn 16: Humans 5, Zombies 2

Trudy's group moves toward the building.

Turn 17:  Humans 5, Zombies 6

Trudy tells the girls to try the door.  It's locked, but Trudy's key fits the door.  Trudy and the girl enter the room to find a single zombie.  Trudy passes 2d6, the girl 1d6, and the zombie, 1d6 on the Zombie Surprise test.  Trudy fires and kills the zombie.

Trudy's fire attracts one zombie, in the woods to the left of the building.

Turn 18: Humans 6, Zombies 1

The zombie in the woods moves towards Charles, the only human he can see.

Turn 19: Humans 3, Zombies 1

Trudy searches the room and finds even more food!  Myron moves to the ladder to get down from the roof.  Charles fires at the zombie in the wood, and misses.  The zombie charges, and Charles kills him in melee.

Turn 19: Humans 2, Zombies 3

There are no zombies.  Trudy and the girls move into the back room, and face 2 Survivors, both male, a Rep 4 with an SMG, and a Rep 5 with a bolt-action rifle.  Trudy passes 1 more D6, so they join for the duration if the mission, but the mission is acheived, so they and the girl leave.

After the battle:  Trudy has gained her safe house, not to mention 3 supplies of food and a crossbow.  She has gained a gang member.  Myron advanced his Rep to 5, and gains the attribute Empathy. 

Keeping it together:  Trudy scored 6 successes.  Myron scored 3, and Charles scored none.  So everyone is fat and happy, and Trudy's group has increased to 3.