Halloween Madness Battle Report (Pulp City)

My old gaming buddy and Pulp City obsessive Leon (AKA Pulp Citizen) and I recently staged a Halloween inspired game of Pulp City. We used the invasion scenario from the main Pulp City rules, and a huge horde of shambling zombies.

I played the villains, and Leon was the heroes. We held a truce (of sorts) while we dealt with a horde of zombies unwittingly unleashed on Pulp City.

Using the marvels of computers Leon managed to turn my photos into this fantastic battle report...

Battle of Causton

This weekend saw my Very British Civil War army batting in Evesham for the BG4 (which stands for Big Game 4). Many thanks to VBCW co-creator Mort for organising it.
The battle was raging around the fictional Midsommer town of Causton, and saw an alliance of Socialist and Anglican League defending the town against the armies of the Fascist government and the Royalist army. I fought for the upstanding Socialist Brigades.


There is a full battle report on the Gentleman's Wargame Parlor. Here's a link.

Jade Avenger Sighted in City

The mysterious hero known only as the Jade Avenger has been sighted in the China Town district, where he was believed to have been battling the forces of the nefarious Dr Fu and his Triads. One eye witness states that Jade Avenger protected a local herbalist from Dr Fu's gang, defeating seventeen of his hoodlums before the local law enforcement arrived.

Jade Avenger is believed to be a master of the esoteric martial arts forms, and may have studied at a legendary school in the Himalayas.

This miniature is by Hasslefree, and like all of their stuff, it was a joy to paint. The base is, as always, by Fenris Games.

Rapid- The Most Dashing Hero In Town!

Rapid is one of the new generation of superheroes. He is young, dynamic and enthusiastic, but often acts before thinking things through, a trait which, coupled with his smart mouth, often gets him into trouble.

The tabloid press tends to have a love-hate relationship with Rapid: They praise his heroism and good looks, while at the same time are suitably outraged by his wild partying and risk taking.

Rapid remains nonplussed by the frenzy of media attention his activities often stimulate. Rapid claims that, to date, his greatest achievement was winning Spandex-Rear of the Year.

I am not sure the make of this figure. I know it was a Sandra Garity sculpt, and I got it of a guy in the USA, and that it is now out of production.

The Order of Anubis Operatives: McLeod and Amelia

The Vampire community has many enemies, and their masters- the Old Bloods, although venerable and powerful, still fear the human hunters, the witches and of course, their most ancient foes, the Werewolves. Many centuries ago the Old Bloods formed an order of knights, The Order of Anubis, to watch over them, and protect them from their enemies.

The Order of Anubis still carry out their duty. Their methods and weapons might have changed, but their steely determination, relentless vigilance and deadly skills have not. Some of the order are mortals, who watch over the daytime world, when the vampires sleep, but most of the orders operatives are vampires, many of whom have centuries of experience at fighting their master's foes.

Amelia is relatively new to the Order of Anubis, having only served since the sixties. She has quickly earned a reputation as being both reliable and lethal.

McLeod is a consummate professions- a cold-hearted killer who will wait patiently for days for the right time to strike. When he does attack he is as fast and as deadly as a snake.

Amelia is by Copplestone Castings, from their Future War range. The fangs were just painted on, not sculpted. McLeod is by Heresy- He's not actually meant to be a vampire either, but I was particularly please that he had a bat on his belt buckle- a nice little detail I wasn't expecting.

These guys will from the bases of my modern vampire range, inspired by the movies Blade and Underworld (and their sequels) and by White Wolfs Gothic-punk game Vampire, the Masquerade. I am on the look out for more miniature that have the right feel for them, and will add to the range as and when I get them. They will be used in my supers RPG campaign, but if I paint up another one I could used them as Hired Guns for my necroplain team in Pulp City too.

Saxon War Band Grows

Gripping Beast, who are hosting the VBCW game in Evesham, are perhaps better known for their range of Dark Ages miniatures. They have just brought out an exciting new skirmish level game for this period called Saga.

In preparation for my forthcoming purchase of the Saga rules when I down to Beast Towers, I have been adding to my nucleus of a Saxon war band, with the addition of these stalwart defenders of England.

Here's a picture of my completed-to-date shieldwall. I recon I am about half way there, and then I have got to start on their foes- the dreadful Vikings (to be commanded by my old chum Leon- he has no taste for this Dark Ages nonsense but has agreed to play if I paint the figures).

The figures are Gripping Beasts excellent plastic 28mm Saxons. The guy without a helmet has a head off a Warlord Games British Tommy.

Crimson Dragon Back From The Grave

In certain circles, the name Crimson Blade is whispered in hushed tones- for many believe that even to speak his name is to risk invoking the terror of the undead samurai.
No one knows the origins of the terrible night-creature, but what is certain is that he is one of the most deadly fighters in existence; the fearful combination of the relentless martial arts training of the samurai, combined with the unnatural vigour and agility of a vampire make him a lethal opponent- one who can easily stand toe to toe with a pure blood alpha werewolf.

I am not sure who manufactures this figure: It might be Reaper. I got this one of Leon in a grab bag of old hand-me-downs he no longer wanted because they have integral bases (which I removed).

I painted it up, naturally as a super villain for my supers campaign, or as a Necroplane villain for Pulp City, but also, somewhere in the back of my mind I can see him in a game of Vampire the Masquerade. My plan is to paint some more vampires in the style of the movies like Blade, Underworld etc.

Old School Citadel Miniature Adventure

Many years ago, when I was a small boy of 10 or 11, a misguided but well meaning chum introduced me to Citadel Miniatures. I am, of course, going back somewhere around about 1983, so the very earliest days of the hobby. I have, since then, been irrevocably hooked on little pieces of lead.

Some of the earliest Citadel Miniatures I can remember owning were part of a box set of adventures which I had got as my 'main' Christmas present one year, entitled 'Dungeon Adventurers Starter Set'. I have no idea what happened to those figures- I can remember painting a few of them, and no doubt they got used in various games of Warhammer and Dungeons and Dragons.

A few months ago I was browsing on Miniature Heroes website- looking for old Judge Dredd and Rogue Trooper miniatures for my SciFi collection, when I spotted the same box set that I had received for Christmas all those years ago. Talk about a trip down memory lane!

I bought them at a very good price, and when they arrived in the post I was delighted to find that they were in fantastic condition, and that the box was intact too!

Given the age of the miniatures the sculpting and the casting was of a very high standard- much better than I was expecting. My plan is to paint them, as a occasional range, as well as I can manage- after that, who knows? I guess I could use some of them for Conan or Lord of The Rings, but given their venerable age and sentimental value, I will probably just sit them on a special spot in my display cabinet and revere them.

This Elven mage is, according to the box, called Andriel. The pit marks are, unfortunately, on the figure, and not because I mixed my paint to thick- in real life it doesn't look half as bad as when it is blown up to this size. You have to remember that this figure is at least 25 years old.

Miniature Heroes is a great website, and they sell a wide rand of miniatures, both old and new- including Reapers Chronoscope range, and a cracking collection of vintage Citadel stuff. You can find them by following this link. Just don't mix them up with the chocolates.

New Officers for Chester Royalists (VBCW)

I have continued to add figures to my VBCW armies ahead of Octobers Big Game. This time it is the part of the Royalists, in the form of commanders for my Chester Local Defence Force.

Brigadier Lord Gerald Grover,

of the Chester Local Defence Force.

It's 1938, during the Very British Civil War, and the Duke of Farnham, the most powerful landowner in Cheshire, has been entrusted by King Edward with the defence of Chester, and with continuing to maintain the Chester Line against the dastardly Socialist rebels in Liverpool and the Wirral.

At the outbreak of the civil war, Lord Gerald Grover, the Duke's nephew, was serving as a Captain with the 9th Lancers, one of the old cavalry that in 1936 had been converted to a tank regiment. At The Duke's request Lord Grover immediately resigned his commission in the army, and took on the role as Brigadier in the Duke's private army, the Chester Local Defence Force.

Like the Duke, Brigadier Lord Grover is a keen exponent of mechanized warfare, and is hoping to turn the CLDF into a truck mounted infantry brigade. So far a lack of fuel and suitable vehicles has thwarted the Brigadiers attempts, and only a modest portion of his force is mechanized. He also intends to train a portion of his force as light horse cavalry, to fight as mounted infantry, as he has more ready access to horses than vehicles.

The Brigadier's striking and stylish uniform was designed for him by the Duke of Farnham's mistress, as well known Parisian fashion designer, and it is based on the Brigadier's own hunting coat and jodhpurs.

Captain Archibold Warren; Adjunct to the brigadier.

The captain served with distinction in the trenches of the Great War.

Captain Dmitri Asadov, a White Russian poet and emigre, now CO of the Duke of Farnham's much feared 'Black Russian' assault company.