The keystone item I worked on is the ISW-69F Scout Ship from Bombshell Miniatures (now Airlock Games); you can see it partially assembled in the picture above. This was a recent Kickstarter and a prelude to the Counterblast: Adventure Battle Game (now on Kickstarter; go check it out if you like retro-futuristic pulp settings!). I haven't worked with resin in a few years, but this model is high quality was was very easy to work with. (Quick reminder: make sure you wear a mask when sanding resin to avoid breathing in particulates [and on that note, wear a mask whenever you're sanding anything, for the same reason]).
In addition to the Scout Ship is the ship's Crew: Skip Westmoreland, Smap, and Macbot. These are some nice figures that I look forward to painting up!
Next were three Dwarf Halberdiers of Mid-Nor, from the old Rackham metal line for Confrontation. I really like the Dwarves of Mid-Nor, as they're a bizarre take on "Chaos" or "Dark" Dwarves. The figures often have bizarre disfigurations and scars, and the small canopic dolls provide an odd element of morbid whimsy. The Rackham figures were always expensive (perhaps because they were based in Europe), but now the figures are even pricier since they're harder to find.
While looking for figures to clean up, I found an old Skink Champion from Citadel Miniatures, for Games Workshop's Warhammer Fantasy Battles. I sold off almost all of my Lizardmen army a few years ago, but I liked the Skink Champion figure and decided to hang on to him. Maybe one day he'll even get painted!
Also from Citadel Miniatures (but for GW's Necromunda) is a gang of Ratskin Renegades. I really enjoyed Necromunda at the height of its popularity, for several reasons. First, it wasn't nearly as expensive to get into as the "army-based" games, since you only needed a single gang (usually around 8-12 models would suffice). Second, each character was an individual, giving the game a stronger roleplaying element as the characters could accumulate stat increases, new skills, and old battle wounds. Third, the setting itself was appealing - gang fights in a dystopian urban sprawl, located in the rough and oldest parts of an ancient mega-city that had developed its own ecosystem. I'd love to see a game similar to Necromunda get released by another company, and I'm hoping that Counterblast might have some similar elements (though I don't think it'll have the dystopian feel). Incidentally, games like this are an excellent way to introduce someone to wargames using figures, since they aren't immediately faced with controlling an entire army and it's easier for them to work out tactics on the fly as they learn the game.
For the final figures, we have a couple of western models. I think one is the Texas Ranger figure from Pinnacle's Deadlands line, but I have no idea who the guy in the poncho and sombrero might be (he's the figure farthest right in the picture). The figure has the marking "MPU" (or "MDU") and what I think is "94" stamped on the bottom. If anyone has any leads on this figure (manufacturer, line, etc.), please let me know!
That's it for this week. Next week we return to the Bones Vampire set with 77148 Mangu Timur.
- M:M
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