7TV: Pulp Kickstarter

A quick plug for a short Kickstarter being run by Crooked Dice for a small range of miniatures to accompany their forthcoming release of 7TV: Pulp at the UK Games Expo.

There are only twelve miniatures in the Kickstarter and it’s a very simple set up with an all in pledge for all twelve, and then a pledge for just the heroes or just the villains.

All the miniatures have been sculpted by Ernst Veingart and are wonderfully characterful.

The heroes include the Crusading Crimefighter, Renegade Royal, Cynical Gumshoe, Occult Investigator, Intrepid Adventurer and Jungle Paragon.

Several of these are somewhat familiar from texts based in the genre, and my favourite is the Rebegade Royal, reminding me heavily of Princess Aura from Flash Gordon

The villains feature the Ancient Evil, Unholy Cardinal, Degenerate Monarch, Femme Fatale, Kingpin of Crime and Hulking Henchman.

This is the pledge I’ve gone for as the mummy and the priest will work with my Cultist cast (although I am tempted to build a pyramid), and the three on the right form the basis of a gangster cast. I’m not sure what to do with the bird lady, but ‘She’ will certainly find a home in one of my projects - if I didn’t already have one, she’d potentially work as the Sorceress from He-Man.

The Kickstarter only runs until Monday, so you need to move quickly to take advantage. There are, at the time of publishing, already two stretch goals that have been met, which add interesting objective tokens to your pledge.

Go here to find out more.

I’ve backed two Crooked Dice in the last year. Both have been delivered on time and with ta minimum of fuss. I highly recommend this.

New Figs & Chill(con)

Last Saturday saw me heading to the Chillcon show in Sheffield...which was not an arduous trek as that’s where I live.

Unusually, I went to the show alone as my usual band of misfits and miscreants has provided a series of increasingly unlikely excuses: ‘bad back,’ ‘child’s birthday,’ and least plausible of all ‘social life.’

This meant that I was denied the usual show activity of trying to goad other people into spending money. Therefore I endeavoured to goad myself, which was actually tougher than it sounds as I’m in one of those funny phases where there’s not much I actually want that isn’t already waiting to be painted.

Spending money was also made trickier by the fact that some traders who I’d expected to be there (e.g. Crooked Dice) due to their attendance in previous years weren’t. Also others (e.g. Mantic) seemed to have a smaller presence than previously.

I suspect that this is due to the show being quite small and so close to Salute, which I imagine takes a lot of work to prepare for.

There were however a range of other  companies there, including War Banner, who seemed to be sponsoring the show and were demoing Gangs of Rome, and their new Greek game Mortal Gods. In fact the show miniature that I got with my pre-bought ticket is an Ancient Greek. (Top Tip: if you’re going to Chillcon, pre-buy your ticket as it’s cheaper, quicker to get in, and you get free stuff.)

One of the things I like about Chillcon is that there are some small traders that you don really see elsewhere, and the show also acknowledges the fact that role players (and even Larpers!) exist. There is also an awareness that gamers have children and sometimes bring them along.

If I have a gripe about this show, it’s the fact that some features (e.g. the sticker card which you complete with several purchases of £10 or more for free entry to a raffle), although fairly interesting, require you to stay for most of the day to take advantage. To be frank, unless you play every demo game, the show really isn’t big enough to spend several hours at, which means that the spending incentive doesn’t really work.

Having said that, I managed to amuse myself for just over an hour (3 laps) and goaded myself into buying a few things that I’ve pondered for a while:

Kings of War Historical was available at the clearance price of £10, which delighted me as I’d talked myself out of buying it online due to Mantic’s flat £5 shipping.

Campaign: Gigant is the sequel to the Operation Sealion book for Bolt Action, and I complemented this with some Crusader Fallschirmjager from Ainsty Castings.

I also picked up some sabot bases from Warbases for my Sharp Practice force.

Sadly, the free miniature is destined for eBay as I already have a full hoplite army, however, I will add it to some plastics I’m intending to sell.

I also got this chap...

I’ve been hoping to pick one of these up for a while. It’s a pre-undercoated plastic miniature from Wizkids. The detail and casting is excellent, although as you might expect, the gap for that tail will take some filling. It’s also an absolute bargain price given the size of the miniature - drastically cheaper than the same thing would be in resin or metal.

It’s destined for my pulp games, and also a scenario from my supers campaign that I need to get back to.

These purchases, although restrained in the miniatures department, have left the tallies in an even more sorry state. I’m starting to reach the point where I can’t blame Prodos Games for my plight anymore:

Acquired: 97

Painted: 38

All in all it was a good morning out, but I’d hoped that Chillcon would have grown a little in its first three years. I hope it can stay afloat as I like having a local show, and I like shows that are brave enough to try to do things a little differently.

Pimp My Ride

This week I finally started on some of the miniatures that came with the 7TV: Apocalypse Kickstarter.

Starting with the vehicles...

When it came to choosing starter sets to go with my pledge, I opted for the Interceptor kit for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the main difference between 7TV: Apocalypse and the core set is the vehicle rules, and I wanted to take advantage of this. Secondly, the Interceptor came with a bunch of conversion bits that would allow me to tailor it, and possibly other vehicles. Thirdly, and arguably most importantly, it would only add one model to my lead/plastic/resin pile.

In terms of choosing how to set up my Interceptor, my hand was really forced by the first bonus miniature of the Kickstarter looking not unlike the film poster image, along with having seen a replica whilst in Melbourne.

Therefore, I set about using the conversion bits to create something not a million miles away from the last of the V8 Interceptors. This had the added advantage of meaning that there wasn’t that much to do in terms of painting.

The option I went with at rear of the car places my version firmly in Mad Max 2 territory. In terms of painting, I settled with dry brushing as it gave the car a bit of a battered look.

I also picked up a Humvee during the pledge manager stage, with the aim of giving my Resistance a bit of armour. I didn’t worry too much about adding weapons, as conceivably the roof hatch allows for anything to pop out of there.

I did however add a row of lights from the Interceptor kit as the future battles in Terminator (apart from in Salvation) all seem to take place in the dark. Painting wise, this was also extremely simple stuff. 

Although intended for games of Terminator: Genysis, there’s nothing stopping this vehicle turning up in 7TV. In fact the ‘Killbot’ profiles allow for battles between Skynet and humanity in 7TV.

Finally, I also added some guns from the Interceptor set to my alien fuel transport, as I can’t see myself giving the Visitors a Skyfighter any time soon. They are fixed guns which will actually count as hood-mounted in the rules.

So that’s another two added to the painted tally. Sadly, Wargames Illustrated arrived with four Zulus on the cover. However, I can see these getting used in 7TV: Pulp.

Acquired: 78

Painted: 38

I also went to Chillcon at the weekend, but I’ll leave the damage that did to the tallies for another post.

Unwelcome Visitors?

Unwelcome? Quite the opposite. This is the 7TV cast I always wanted but didn't realise until they became available.

The Visitors from ‘V’.

One of the abiding memories of my childhood was in the summer of 1984 or 85 (whichever year it made it to British TV) and the Cheaphammer clan were due to head off on holiday, starting with a long drive to Portsmouth to catch the ferry to Normandy. 

However, we delayed setting off (later forcing a frankly dangerous level of speed from my dad) as we were completely hooked on ‘V’, and the final two hour episode was being broadcast that night.

Such luxuries as Sky+ or catchup were not even imagined, and nobody in the early 80s ever trusted their VHS recorder to do anything other that miss the programme and record Ceefax instead.

A bleary eyed little me watch with mounting joy as the heroic resistance pulled off a classic bait and switch to successfully drive the reptilian aliens off the face of the Earth once and for all...well, at least until the TV series began.

7TV thrives on this sort of nostalgia, and so when these aliens were revealed as a stretch goal in the 7TV: Apocalypse Kickstarter I got very excited. Even though they weren’t unlocked in the campaign, they were put into production anyway and I was able to pick them up at Vapnartak.

Let’s begin with two regular Visitor troopers. I stole an idea from someone else on the 7TV Facebook group to put them in the black armoured vests rather than the plain orange. 

This is partly because it gives more uniformity, but also because the female Visitor reminds me very much of resistance leader Julie Parish when she’s disguised during the recon of the water pumping plant, and I wanted to break that mental link for myself and have this model just be a regular Visitor.

Next up are two Visitor shocktroopers, the armoured fist of the invasion. I’ve always liked the design of these uniforms and I’m likely to buy a few more. The only slight hiccup is that the Alien Spearhead unit card inly allows for one shocktrooper per unit.

As ever, the camera on my phone proves much better than my own eyes and has shown up parts of the helmet that need touching up as the red undercoat (more on that in a bit) I used is showing through.

I’d assumed that this model was based on either Pamela from V: The Final Battle, or Lydia from V: The Series. Both were domineering, power hungry women who tanged with the main antagonist, Diana. Despite the links to these two, this model lacks the command insignia and so I’ve kept the model in the plain orange (rather than trooper black) to keep my options open.

On the subject of the uniforms, there is some debate about whether to paint them red or orange. I’ve decided to go with orange in the grounds that the uniforms were actually orange. :)

In my quest to get the right colour I took the unusual step of starting with a red undercoat, then did the orange basecoat and gave it a Agrax Earthshade (liquid talent) wash. After picking out the black elements I gave the whole model a very light drybrush of pale grey. This was finished off with a yellow wash which turned the grey from dusty looking to highlights and gave the dulled down orange a bit more strength. I’m really quit happy with how the colour has come out.

John, the Supreme Commander is an excellent sculpt, with a jowly face perfectly capturing the original character. I copped out a bit with the rank insignia with relying on highlighting black rather than doing actual stripes.

Similarly, I’ve bottled doing the Visitor logo on the troopers’ hats and chests. My eyesight is not great and I don’t want to worry to much about messing up freehanding.

On the subject of my eyesight, I need to revisit a couple of bits on John’s belt and brighten up the orange in places. He’s probably the model I’m least happy with.

This one makes me smile because it’s clearly based on Marc Singer, the ‘actor’ who played Mike Donovan, the star of the show. It makes me smile because the sculpt is so good that there’s no hiding who it’s meant to be.

Whenever I use it I’ll always think that he’s about to turn on them (at least the Questionable Ally trait makes sense) and I’ll always be reminded of his completely hammy acting.

Finally is the model I’m most proud of, Diana, the villainous mastermind of the invasion as she appears at the end of the original miniseries when the attack on the resistance camp is drive off, complete with torn face.

This is a great sculpt and I’m really proud of how she’s come out and she’s a fitting star for my cast (even though John was in charge, Diana was the star). Although these models were released with 7TV: Apocalypse, ‘V’ seems to fit with the core box better and I’ve already identified the Otherworldly Invader profile for her as the Alien Duplicate special effect handily reflects the conversion process she uses to create spies.

 I’ll finish this tour of the cast with a gratuitous shot of Jane Badler’s bum - something that’s totally in keeping with the show.

This also allows me to focus on the basing, which was simply done with some asphalt flock I had knocking about. I went for this partly because the Visitors always seemed to spend time in car parks, but also because it was much easier than going for spaceship interiors.

I’ve also painted up a Sloth Fuel Crawler from Ainsty Castings that I won as a prize at the first Wargames Illustrated 7TV day I went to. In all honesty I’ve messed this up a couple of times with overdoing the spray paint, and the sculpt itself is a bit rough and ready (I sense it was donated as a prize because of this) so I’ve been very simplistic in how I’ve painted just to get it out if the queue as it’s begun to annoy me.

I’ll mainly use this as terrain in sci-fi games like Necromunda, but I can easily see it as a transport for the mysterious chemical the Visitors manufacture as a cover for their real reason for coming to Earth.

We’re moving in the right direction again with my tallies, but worryingly I’m going to Chillcon next weekend...

Acquired: 74

Painted: 36

New York State Militia

Yes, I’m as surprised by the appearance of Napoleonic troops on my blog as you are. I blame Wargames Illustrated.

I was all set to fill March with a series of apocalypse themed posts whilst wryly claiming that they were as unrelated to Brexit as the closure of a Honda factory, and then Wargames Illustrated give me some free Napoleonic cavalry. Even though I deftly palmed them off on Pete so quickly that I didn’t even count them in my tally, the seed was sown. Before long, I was flicking through Osprey books, sitting down in front of Sharpe and digging out a project I haven’t touched in over a year.

Fortunately, I had abandoned these five militia at the halfway stage, and getting them completed wasn’t as much of a pain as it could have been. However, I have been keenly reminded of the special part of hell reserved for whoever it was that designed Napoleonic uniforms.

Remember the patch on the packs?

Whose bloody idea was that? I need to freehand lettering on every single soldier!

The keen-eyed amongst you will notice that this says NY, for the New York militia, rather than US for the US army. New York was the most heavily involved state militia in the conflict (although Kentucky list more men due to several massacres by the natives they were fighting) and handily have a uniform that allows them to blend in with the US regulars.

The models are from Matchlock Miniatures and are single pose, chunky figures with a somewhat Frankenstein feel to them.

I’ve also painted this officer, which came in with a bundle of figures I bought off eBay. I’ve no idea of the manufacturer, although it’s noticeably smaller than the Matchlock sculpts, and I’ve no idea whether it is even a War of 1812 model.

However, the uniform is vaguely similar to an image I’ve found of an officer of engineers, and so he’s been co-opted as either that role or as a militia officer who’s designed his own uniform.

This leaves my rump force for Sharp Practice just two officers and a single unit away from completion, although I’d prefer to have a more suitable officer for either the Rifles or the Frontiersmen than the Engineer (I see him attached to artillery). Also, the remaining unit is cavalry, and you know how I feel about them...

My plan, should I ever actually play Sharp Practice, is to merge my infantry into one unit which in theory will look like an ad he scouting force, but will probably look more like a group of re-enactors than a realistic military unit. However, I’m trying to get by with what I have.

If Sharp Practice doesn’t materialise as gaming opportunity (I need someone to fight, after all), there is now an alternative in the form of A Song Of Drums & Shakos from Ganesha Games, which is a true skirmish game for around a dozen models per side.

This scale is handy because that is approximately how many Napoleonic British that Matt has painted, and so the opportunity arose for me to actually play a game with my Americans.

My force was as follows:

1 Infantry Officer

1 Infantry NCO

6 Line Infantrymen

3 Riflemen

Matt’s British were:

1 Infantry Officer

4 Centre Coy Infantrymen

5 Riflemen

The first game was about getting to know the rules, but after weathering a storm of rifle shots, my clump of line infantry met with Matt’s and came off better, even chasing down and killing his officer. This ultimately led to Matt’s force breaking, and so on the second game I decided to take some pictures to record my second glorious victory...

...well, that was the plan...

Taking advantage of leadership bonuses from the officer and NCO didn’t help much when I rolled double 1 and failed to active on my first turn.

I eventually got moving and the US riflemen proved how dangerous the marksman rule was by killing one of if the British line infantry.

However, not to be outdone, the 95th Rifles won the skirmish battle by killing two of their American counterparts.

With their skirmishers gone, the line infantry had to advance into the teeth of the enemy and took heavy fire.

Despite taking casualties, a presentable line was formed and lead flew in both directions, however, the Americans struggled to to more than force the British to recoil.

Although this looks fairly even, there were British riflemen sealing round both flanks.

Ultimately, the Americans were surrounded, hemmed in and forced to surrender by accurate British fire.

That’ll teach me to start taking photos.

The game is quick to learn and easy to remember, and there was very little rulebook flipping in the second game. The activation rules are cagey as you try to maximuse you chances of success. Matt’s higher quality Rifles has more freedom, but my officer and NCO giving bonuses and group orders to the line infantry was a deadly combination.

I think the game will really shine when we start playing scenarios with specific objectives, and I think the model count is accessible enough to encourage others into the period. Both Matt and I have found a bit of motivation to paint more models from the fact that even a couple of models are useable and can change the way the game plays.

I think this is something we are going to play more of.

That’s it for now, but for those who care, the tallies are as follows:

Acquired: 62

Painted: 27

It’s getting healthier, but the impending arrival of the 7TV: Apocalypse Kickstarter is not going to help at all. Looks like I need to build those cavalry.