Sunday, 28 July 2019

From The Vault: Tcho-Tcho

Call of Cthulhu was the first real RPG I played, and for as long as I've been aware of Lovecraft and the Mythos, I've loved the Tcho-Tcho. I don't know why, exactly – perhaps because they are almost always creepy, with the setting's cosmic horror reflected in them in a less overt way than some of the other antagonist options. It's the same with Deep One Hybrids – they're brilliant and creepy, but full-on Deep Ones... meh.

Regardless, when these guys came out, I snapped them up!
While I have my doubts about some of the scaling on the firearms, these are incredible little models, and I wish I could remember the manufacturer.
I tried to get a sinister, unnatural complexion on these guys, using green inks on khakis and light browns. It worked better on some than on others (the chap with the kitchen knife looks like he's been to a kids' facepainting party!), but they definitely don't look entirely human.

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Disclaimer: All links to third-party sites are solely for the purposes of sourcing the products I have discussed, if anyone is so inclined. I have simply linked to the original manufacturer or the source I used (but feel free to shop around!) and make no money from people clicking through.

Friday, 26 July 2019

Here Comes The Vroom

With the release of Gaslands: Refuelled just around the corner, the Osprey Games office is once again full of Hot Wheels cars, random components scavenged from various sources, and the smell of superglue. A challenge was leveled - build a Gaslands car from the selection that was already to hand. That was it. No rules, no prizes. It really should take more than this to spur our competitive streaks into full flight...

Well, I think my car is the first one finished, so I win on that score if no other...
The underlying vehicle is a Hot Wheels Solid Muscle, which is described by the Hot Wheels Wiki as "a futuristic flatbed truck with what appears to be two nitrous tanks in the rear. The model has an adjustable front splitter."

First things first, the front splitter was rendered non-adjustable with the judicious application of superglue, as were the wheels. While Gaslands is really designed to be played with cars not mounted on bases, I prefer the look of based models and found some the perfect size from Renedra - just a little longer and wider than the car itself, but not so much that it interferes with measurements etc.

So, with the car in hand, I needed to figure out how to stat it up for Gaslands. It's obviously a truck of some kind, so I started with the Truck statline. This gave me a starting cost of 15 and 3 build slots to accommodate larger gear. The two tanks in the back of the truck are already intended to represent a nitrous system, but I don't really see myself (or a truck, for that matter) speeding to victory - gutting out a win by immobilizing the opposition is more my style. Flicking through the available weaponry, I lit up the Napalm Dropper... which does exactly what you'd expect. this is a pretty inexpensive, yet fun option that takes up 1 build slot. With one dropped weapon already equipped, I thought of Verney - a sponsor that specialises in dropped weapons. It's a perfect combination, and I furthered that synergy by adding a second dropped weapon - the Oil Slick Dropper (pricier than the Napalm Dropper, but 'free' in terms of build points). There are also two large exhausts on the Solid Muscle, presumably also for the nitrous system, but these take little effort to reinterpret as some form of weapon port.

At this stage, I had a decent rear-facing arsenal, and reckoned I could do with adding something to make me as dangerous to the vehicles ahead of me. Machine Guns are always a good option, so I took a couple of forward-facing ones to fill out the build point allowance. I could have spent a lot more time finessing and juggling different weapon options, but I wanted to skip to my favourite part of any project - kitbashing!

The long, flat roof of the cab looked perfect for the machine guns, so I raided my bitz box and found a couple of MG42s from Warlord Games' Bolt Action plastics. Clip off the stock, pistol grip, and that was it. I did consider mounting them on the bonnet, tucking them against the ridge, but I couldn't shake the impression that they looked to be shooting slightly downhill (the bonnet slopes very slightly) and the roof mounting offers a more interesting silhouette. I also found a random bit of plastic (maybe spare tank tracks? Ammo cases?) and glued it up against the exhausts to represent the Oil Slick Dropper.
That done, the vehicle was pretty much ready to go, but I thought it needed just a little something extra. I snaffled a load of jerry cans (another Bolt Action find), and mounted them against the rear of the cab. It makes very little sense to store petrol right next to a napalm-based weapon, but, then again, it makes very little sense to engage in high speed death races...
The painting was a doddle - grey basecoat, drybrush the edges with metal, then drybrush the lower areas with brown. Pick out the jerry cans in green, the napalm tanks in yellow (I considered the classic black-and-yellow stripes, but it was just a little more awkward than I cared for!), and a stray cable in red, then an all-over brown wash, and jobs's a good'un.
One touch I added, just to bring a splash more colour to the vehicle, was a smear of blood across the bonnet. It doesn't really fit with a game of Gaslands, but it does lift the generally dark vehicle a bit. I haven't done anything with sponsor logos or numbers or anything - it would look better with something along those lines, but I don't have any bright ideas right now. Something to return to, perhaps.

So the final vehicle looks like this:

Dusty Roads
Sponsor
Verney
Vehicle Type
Special Rules
Cost
Build Slots
Truck
-
15
3
Weapons
Cost
Build Slots
Handguns
-
-
Machine Gun (front-facing)
2
1
Machine Gun (front-facing)
2
1
Napalm Dropper (rear-facing)
1
1
Oil Slick Dropper (rear-facing)
2
-
Upgrades
Cost
Build Slots
-
-
-
Perks
Technology & Built
Cost
Total Cost
Trunk of Junk
-

22
Tombstone
-
That’s Entertainment
-

I've not spent any points on additional perks, but coming in at 22 points, it gives me a bit of leeway on that score if I want to improve this vehicle or invest in a more expensive teammate.

Coming up with a name for the vehicle was the hardest part! The theme for this team will be motoring puns based on the names of old-school professional wrestlers. This truck is named for the late Dusty Rhodes, 'The American Dream':
Hmmm... I might need to go back and add some polka-dots. Future vehicles for this team might include: The Macho Van, Harley Racer or 'Chassis' Freddie Blassie. Other suggestions welcomed (but no prizes for Diesel, Blacktop Bully, or Thurman 'Sparky' Plugg...).

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Disclaimer: All links to third-party sites are solely for the purposes of sourcing the products I have discussed, if anyone is so inclined. I have simply linked to the original manufacturer or the source I used (but feel free to shop around!) and make no money from people clicking through.

Sunday, 21 July 2019

From The Vault: Alien Bounty Hunters

A couple of alien mercenaries/bounty hunters, etc. Pretty sure I just painted these on a whim!
The aliens are from AE-Bounty and the robot is a Copplestone fig. Much as I hate painting white, the Stormtrooper-esque armour does look good, and I aimed for that Star Wars vibe with these figs.

My absolute favourite, though, is the pilot-type in front. I'd clearly been watching Firefly because this guy seems straight out of the Wash playbook – the shorts, the shirt, the paunch – he really looked like a down-on-his-luck smuggler. I leaned into this some more, giving him a Hawaiian shirt.
Minimal effort, really, but it brought the figure to life for me. I'm a ways off doing tartan or embroidered robes, but I should really try more stuff like this – I've fallen in the habit of painting for speed, using plain colours. A spot of flamboyance now and then never hurt anyone...

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Disclaimer: All links to third-party sites are solely for the purposes of sourcing the products I have discussed, if anyone is so inclined. I have simply linked to the original manufacturer or the source I used (but feel free to shop around!) and make no money from people clicking through.

Sunday, 14 July 2019

From The Vault: The Reikland Reivers

Ah, Mordheim. One of those games that always seems to offer a good time. Going back nearly ten years, we had an urge to play some Mordheim, and put together a selection of gangs. Joe had Dwarf Treasure Hunters, there was a Skaven mob (I think), and I had my Reiklanders.
All the figures are Vendel border reivers (hence the punny name). I remember nothing about the gang, and everything about their initial skirmish! We were playing a three-way game, and I managed to get my archers and crossbowmen into an elevated position on the balcony of an inn (Reiklanders were the 'shooty' warband, so that was sound tactics). My melee troops rushed out, grabbed a couple of treasure tokens, and drew back to safety with them. All the while, my ranged troops are pummeling the opposition with arrows and bolts (even the occasional pistol ball from my captain). This wouldn't have been so bad, except Joe's Dwarfs were SLOW and were focusing on the other warband, which was similarly focused, so he came under heavy fire for most of the game, while I sat back with most of the treasure and barely a scratch!
I'm particularly proud of this champion – the sleeves were worth the effort. My one niggle? The figures are open-handed, to be armed with a variety of weapons. This guy cried out for a halberd, but his scabbard is empty, meaning that he really should have been given just a sword. Oh well.

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Disclaimer: All links to third-party sites are solely for the purposes of sourcing the products I have discussed, if anyone is so inclined. I have simply linked to the original manufacturer or the source I used (but feel free to shop around!) and make no money from people clicking through.

From The Vault: Cobra!

I'm actually a little surprised that I haven't posted these before... This is my rough-and-ready interpretation of Cobra from the GIJoe comics. I LOVED the action figures as a kid, so it's no real surprise that I'd return to them as a wargamer...
Destro and the Baroness are from Artizan and Wargames Foundry respectively, while the nameless Cobra troopers in the back are from The Assault Group.

Do not ask me why I painted the forestock on the Baroness' MP5s brown. I couldn't tell you.

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Disclaimer: All links to third-party sites are solely for the purposes of sourcing the products I have discussed, if anyone is so inclined. I have simply linked to the original manufacturer or the source I used (but feel free to shop around!) and make no money from people clicking through.

Sunday, 7 July 2019

From The Vault: WWWII Germans

Man, what was I thinking? Look at those bases. Why did I think brown edges would look good? This is a very quickly painted Weird World War II German force, with miniatures from a range of sources.
The scientist is an AE-WWII model, and one that I keep painting. This was my first attempt at it, and (base aside), is more polished that my more recent effort. I am especially fond of the bloodstained apron.
I'm pretty sure the gorilla is a conversion – the main body is from AE-WWII, and the arm, I think, is from a Confrontation model. It kinda works.
The scientist and the gorilla are joined by two German officers from Artizan and a dog-handler and his pooches from AE-WWII yet again.

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Disclaimer: All links to third-party sites are solely for the purposes of sourcing the products I have discussed, if anyone is so inclined. I have simply linked to the original manufacturer or the source I used (but feel free to shop around!) and make no money from people clicking through.