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!

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.

 

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.

Mandrake the Magician

Mandrake is a magician whose work is based on an unusually fast hypnotic technique. When Mandrake "gestures hypnotically", his subjects see illusions, and Mandrake has used this technique against a variety of villains including gangsters, mad scientists, extraterrestrials, and characters from other dimensions. While dealing with an extraterrestrial threat from another dimension (sound familiar?) Mandrake and his companions Lothar, the Prince of the Seven Nations and Princess Narda of the European nation Cockaigne also find themselves trapped in 1895!

 Mandrake and Lothar.

Mandrake also demonstrates other powers, including becoming invisible, levitation, and teleporting. His hat, cloak, and wand, passed down from his father Theron, possess great magical properties, which in time Mandrake learns how to manipulate.

Name: Mandrake the Magician
Pluck: 2+

Leadership: +2

Speed: 2

Fighting Value: +1

Shooting Value: +3

Talents: Fearless, Martial Arts,
Mystical Powers: Up to 30 points of Mystical Powers (not included in the character's cost).

Basic Equipment: The Cloak of Levitation (same power as Levitate), The Top Hat that Mystifies (same power as Clouding Men's Minds), the Wand of Making a Dapper Dresser look Cool (same talent as Spitfire), pistol

Armor: 10

Cost: 72

Lothar is Mandrake's best friend and crime fighting companion, whom Mandrake first met Lothar during his travels in Africa. Lothar is often referred to as "the strongest man in the world". Lothar is impervious to heat and cold, (though not electricity) and possesses the stamina of a thousand men. He also cannot be harmed by magic directly (such as by fire bolts, force bolts, or spell incantations) but can be harmed by powers that affect the mind. He can easily lift an elephant by one hand.

Name: Lothar, Prince of the Seven Nations

Pluck: 3+

Leadership: 0

Speed: 0

Fighting Value: +5

Shooting Value: +1

Talents: Coldproof, Fearless, Fireproof, Martial Arts, Super Strong! (add +2 Fighting bonus and -2 Pluck modifier when fighting barehanded, plus all of the other characteristics of the talent Strongman cost is 10 points), Super Tough! (All weapons made by man cannot use their Pluck modifier if the hit - also regular rules for Tough count).
Mystical Powers: None

Basic Equipment: Mean Frown

Armor: 7

Cost: 64

Mandrake and Princess Narda. 

Name: Princess Narda

Pluck: 4+

Leadership: 0

Speed: 0

Fighting Value: +2

Shooting Value: +2

Talents: Martial Arts, Duelist (Saber)
Mystical Powers: None

Basic Equipment: Pistol, Saber

Armor: 10

Cost: 27

"We must be trapped in time for a reason . . . "

 Some new allies are met!