Best Foot Forward

Despite the lack of blogging,, I have actually been painting, and here are the results. My Foot Clan for games of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 7TV.

Crooked Dice only currently do one set of three ninjas and so a little bit of weapon swapping meant that there is more variation amongst them than was initially likely. They do, however, do some very Foot-like alternate heads (coincidentally) and so painting them up like the Foot Clan was actually a doddle.

Shredder is one of Crooked Dice's Claws of Shiva, and is a great little model. However, despite the resemblance to Oroku Saki, as the Claw of Shiva is actually an extra in 7TV, he actually lacks a little in stature, and was potentially going to be towered over by my rather bulky Turtles. I resolve this by basing him on some scenery I'd removed from a Black Mask Heroclix model I'd converted into a gangster. It not only raises his height, but also somewhat removes him from the context, helping with size comparisons.

I've also been painting the last few models of the 7TV Weird Science cast I'm taking to the Wargames Illustrated 7TV day this weekend.

First up if Dr Konnor Kurtz, the Herpetologist, hideously transfigured when experimenting with combining reptilian DNA with an extra-terrestrial ooze extracted from meteors that had fallen in a shower in the wastes of Siberia.

The model is from Westwind, and is part of their Empire of the Dead range. The more observant of you will have noticed that he bears a more than passing resemblance to Spider-Man's enemy, Dr Curt Connors, the Lizard. This is deliberate, as he will be performing double duty with my Marvel collection. In 7TV he will be an Aqua-Maniac, a creature from the Paranormal Exterminators Programme Guide.

Another product of experiments with the ooze is 'Ze Vurm'. I giant burrowing invertibrate unleashed on the world by my Mad Scientist, Professor von Schtebbyonde.

This chunky beast is the fantastically cheap Purple Worm from the Reaper Bones range and will be operating as the massive Death Worm, also from the Paranormal Exterminators Programme Guide. This was a really fun model to paint, and I'm hoping it will be equally fun to use.

 And here they are in their full glory: the staff and test subjects of Project Meteor. Professor von Schtebbyonde (Mad Scientist), Dr Konnor Kurtz - the Herpetologist (Aqua-Maniac), 'Ze Vurm' (Death Worm), Sylvia Smother (Administrator), Bob the Janitor (Failed Experiment) and Test Subjects 23a and 23g (Spawn).

You may notice a couple of extra models in the picture. There is an extra Spawn as due to one of their traits, I could potentially get a larger cast during the games as more Spawn appear. There's also an extra Scientist as...well...I'd...erm...got my sums wrong about what I was able to fit in my cast, so he had to be cut.

I'm really looking forward to the weeking and taking part in the movie, 'The Russian Job'. It'll be interesting to see what people bring. As I've already seen evidence of Ape-Men, Moon Nazis and the Old Bill, it should be...interesting.

I'll do a full write up next week.

7TV: Scooby Doo and the Gruesome Ghoul of Gatorsburg

I appreciate that I've been quiet recently. I've been a bit out of sorts with the whole blogging thing. I think it might be because I binged a bit in April and over-faced myself. Anyway I'm back now and here's a game I played with Mike a couple of weeks ago as I was keen to get Mystery Incorporated on to the tabletop.

We played 'The Search', which is a scenario in the free PDF from Crooked Dice, in which Mystery Incorporated and the Crystal Cove Police Department (played by me) hunt for clues surrounding the disappearance of a bystander (Father Addams, the local priest), whilst the baddies, led by the Gruesome Ghoul of Gatorsburg, try to stop them. I had to grab the objective tokens (for which I scored points), and each time I did I got to roll to see if I'd located the missing priest. Once found, I would need to keep him safe and get him off the table.

Mystery Inc. and the CCPD start the search.

The Gruesome Ghoul awaits with his Ghosts and Zombies.

The team decide to split up to search for clues...

The CCPD shoot first and ask questions later; one Zombie down.

Jinkies! A clue!

Scooby and Shaggy find another clue. The Ghoul takes a bullet.

Hey Fred! Do you think this might be important?

The Ghoul's horde finally gets close.

Sheriff Stone is knocked flat and in danger. 

He somehow holds on whilst the deputies thin out the horde. 

Fred continues to search, seemingly unaware that Daphne is with him.

Scooby gets attacked by one Ghost...

...then a second one. Scooby-Dooooooo! Noooooo!

The Sheriff finally succumbs heroically.

Velma takes over, directing the deputies.

Fred finds the final clue!

In a blur of action, snacks and gadgets, Shaggy avenges Scoob.

Concentrated fire brings down the Ghoul, and the cast is axed.

A typically convoluted plan means Fred doesn't find the missing priest. 

Scooby and the Sheriff were both found dazed, and information pointing the location of Father Addams was found, although Mystery Incorporated couldn't claim credit for his rescue. The Gruesome Ghoul was unmasked as Terence the Choirmaster, who was trying to force the church to repair his organ. The CCPD are going to face some serious questions about their excessive use of lethal force, as the 'ghosts' and 'zombies' turned out to be the hypnotise members of the choir...oops!

Despite the fact that by the end of my third turn I'd found three of the clues and begun to slaughter the zombies, the game ended up being quite close. Fred's intricate plan was foiled by the Gruesome Ghoul being unmasked, forcing the rest of the cast to flee, ending the game early. I didn't manage to locate the priest, which meant Mike grabbed enough points to bring the final score to a knicker-grippingly close 8-7 to Mystery Incorporated.

The game was loads of fun, and the Scooby Gang are suitably thematic in their abilities. The amount of gadgets they get seems odd, but I suppose this reflects the wackiness of their adventures. The only thing missing from the game, as you can see, was the Mystery Machine, and so I've recently rectified that issue with a small purchase...

This is a Hot Wheels Elite 1:50 scale diecast model and is really good in terms of scale. My only grip is with Shaggy and Scooby being in the front seats, so I may need to do something about that.

Otherwise, you can look forward to it showing up in the next episode.

Scooby-Dooby-Dooooooo!