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Saturday, September 28, 2019

2019 Third Quarter Update: Games that were Played!


And it was a great quarter for gaming! Especially if you like In Her Majesty's Name!

1. Last Man Standing. China is in turmoil in 1895; Western and Japanese Encroachment, diminished Imperial power, Warlords, ancient evils and bandits have all contributed to the chaos. Some are trying to maintain order, in their own way, and that man is General Ronglu of the Imperial Chinese Army. Unfortunately, Ronglu is a ruthless man and he has been ordered to destroy a village that will not recognize the authority of the Dowager Empress. Standing in his way is Kwai Chang Caine and the Martial Monks of Justice.


2. Tintin versus the Black Brotherhood AKA The Cult of Doom! Once again, inexplicably, North Piddle, England is the center of the horrific secret War of 1895, "The War of the Witches." It has been discovered in the ruins of the Tamblin-Goggin manor house, next to Piddle (snicker) Brook and the British Railway line to North Piddle is the secret headquarters of The Black Brotherhood AKA the Cult of Doom!!!



3.  The Adventure of the Secret Lair. Sherlock Holmes vs. Fu Manchu! What more can I say?

From the Secret diaries of Dr. John Watson, MD: "Of course! That's the solution," exclaimed Mr. Sherlock Holmes.
"What's the solution?" I inquired.
"Who is behind it all! When Lord Ridgewell Hawkes Bickford-Smith was strangled in Berkshire (pp. 30, Sleeping Tiger, Rising Sun), he was strangled with a silk yellow rumal. This silk comes from China - but this was not just ordinary silk! It was silk produced by the larva of a silkmoth fed exclusively Osage orange. It is highly dependent on humans for reproduction, as a result of millennia of selective breeding conducting by the Chinese tong known as the Si-Fan. ONLY one man controls the Si-Fan, and based on the clay soil fragment found at Bickford-Smith manor it only matches the clay of the original Underground Station built in 1868 that is no longer in use and partially caved in.
The murderer must have gotten the silk rumal at this location, and this location is the Secret Lair of Fu Manchu!!!
"Hunh?" I said.
"Come Watson! The games afoot! 


4. Evil vs. Sinister. The Witch King vs. Fu Mancu!

"Master! Fu Manchu has captured the famous English Investigator who you said is the only one that can lead you to the sword of Gengis Khan to replace the Sword of Curses that was broken by the King of the Beasts."
"My loyal Captain of the Ruga-ruga guard, Fu Manchu is the most dangerous opponent (Curse that Cowardly Lion!) that we have ever faced."
"What shall we do oh Great Master of Evil?"
"Based on the powers of Page 34 of the ancient tome of IHMN, granted to me by Craig Cartmell and Charles Marton, I'm increasing you to  a pluck of 3+, a Fighting Value of +5 and a Shooting Value of +3. In addition, I grant you the privilege of carrying a Military Rifle and I will teach you how to use a bayonet. Now summon the rest of the Guard and the Troglodytes and lets go capture Sherlock Holmes form Fu Manchu for our own evil purposes.


Here's to a great Fourth Quarter!

Thursday, September 26, 2019

2019 Third Quarter Update: Miniatures that were Painted


It's been a wild quarter with quite a bit of work at, well, work. Be we had some great gaming and once again spent a lot of time in the late 19th Century and inching up into the Pulp Era. First up: What I painted:

1. The Witch King Returns!!! For Honorable Son #5's graduation present, I asked him to pick out a figure or figures for me to paint. Of course he picked a new figure to represent the Witch King of Sokur from GW's Lord of the Rings line.


2. Damsels in Distress. More great figures from Pulp Figures.



3. Kwai Chang Caine and the Martial Arts from Justice. Some great figures from NorthStar that were a delight to paint.

4. Fu Manchu! Pulp Figures again.




 5. Gunga Din and the Sergeants Three. Pulp Figures again . . . are we seeing a pattern?

 

6. The Mad Guru and Thugs. Yep . . . Pulp Figures again.

 


7. The 14th Sikhs Special Action Company. Yes I am personally financing Bob Murch at Pulp Figures.

8. The Mechanical Arachnids of Fu Manchu. When I saw these from NorthStar for the game Frost Grave, I knew they would be perfect for Victorian Sci Fi/Pulp Adventuring.

9. Pulp Figures D-Day Commemorative Figure. This came free with my first Pulp Figure's order.

10. Brigadier General Daniel Morgan. With the publication of Rebels and Patriots I am slowly going to build of forces for both sides of the American Revolution in the South. Figure from Perry Miniatures.

 11. The Mechanical Robot Man of Fu Manchu is the Warbot figure from Hydra Miniatures.

 12. Arkham Intrepid Investigators from Crucible Crush.com







13. Blue Blistering Bell-Bottomed Balderdash! It's Captain Haddock!

Next: The games!

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Barsoom: Work in Progress Part 2

“I do not believe that I am made of the stuff which constitutes heroes, because, in all of the hundreds of instances that my voluntary acts have placed me face to face with death, I cannot recall a single one where any alternative step to that I took occurred to me until many hours later.” Captain John Carter as quoted by his nephew, Edgar Rice Burroughs, in A Princess of Mars.

Well, my first figures for my Barsoom project are taking longer than I thought. John Carter was a breeze; but, I am not used to painted larger figures (more paint!) and the details I want to show. Anyway, I can't say enough bout the figures from Bronze Age Miniatures as they are detailed, animated and just look cool. 

 Just a reminder on the size: 28 mm Pulp figure on the left.

 Captain John Carter is almost finished.

 Tars Tarkas is coming along nicely.

"Mars. So you name it and think that you know it. The red planet, no air, no life. But you do not know Mars, for its true name is Barsoom. And it is not airless, nor is it dead, but it is dying."
 Great figure!
 Primed and ready to be painted. Notice the green meanie with the two-handed sword.

 Another view of the same two figures as above.

 My last 2 Green Martians - but Bronze Age Miniatures has more!

 Better view of the Martian with the radium pistol.

  . . . and a better view of the Martian with the radium rifle.

 One more view of the Martian with the two handed sword. Note that he also has a long sword in a scabbard on his back.
 

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Barsoom: Work in Progress Part 1


And it all started when a father gave his son A Princess of Mars when he was 11 years old . . .

I grew up with the Martian series of Edgar Rice Burroughs in addition to Tarzan, Pellucidar, Lands that Time Forgot and innumerable other worlds by Burroughs and others. While researching for my forces for the Battle of Cowpens, I "accidentally" discovered Bronze Age Miniatures and their stunning reproductions of figures from Burroughs' Barsoom. Marketed under their "Dead Earth" line of figures, these are by far the best reproductions I have seen. When I saw the Green Martians (I mean "Wasteland Mutants") the shiny new toy syndrome popped up and I purchased 6 of them to include one character that would be John Carter. My only complaint about their line is that all of the female characters are topless - even the warriors. Sorry guys, I'm not going to get those.

 Two of the Green Martians with my John Carter figure with base coats applied for the skin.

 Most of the Green Martians have one or two arms, some weapons and the occasional head that need to be glued on. The animation of the figures are stunning to me.

 As you can see, the Green Martians are big! I think they are at least 54 mm tall. This one is next to my 28 mm Allen Quartermain for comparison.
 
 Ole Captain Carter is starting to look like Captain Carter. Bronze Age Miniatures has another figure with a more distinct harness and weapons for John Carter, but I love the way this figure is advancing low on the attack.
 
 Another view.
 
 This guy is just awesome: Large sword, small sword and radium rifle - plus he's so darn big I have to practice taking pictures just to get the entire figure in the frame!

 Note the detail on the harness and sword hilt. Pretty cool radium rifle too!

 This is going to be Tars Tarkas, Jeddak of Thark. Tars has a long sword, short sword and radium pistol.

Another view and you can see more of the detail of the harness, wrist gauntlets and helmet.

Talk about getting distracted and going back to my youth! This is going to be a great project and they will definitely be showing up in my games.