Ultra-Teens by Lucid Eye

Figures by Lucid Eye Publications

"Ho, ho, ho! Well, if it isn't fat, stinking, billy goat Billy Boy in poison! How art thou, thou globby bottle of cheap, stinking chip oil? Come and get one in the yarbles, if ya have any yarbles, you eunuch jelly thou!"

Presented for your Distraction, and intended as opponents to Little Alex and his Droogs,  are the Ultra-Teens, from the Plot Device range by Lucid Eye Publications.

Not much going on back here....

The miniatures are well sculpted, cleanly cast - presenting few if any mould lines, and have some great character. The figure with the handgun was converted - the original carried the same cane/cudgel as his cohorts. Clearly, some inspiration was drawn from Alex and his Droogs in A Clockwork Orange, but these figures transcend that opus and make their home in a 'Psychedelic themed Future of Dystopian Proportion!'

The Plot Device

Set in some presumably not-too-distant future, where bell-bottoms and other 70's fashions rule, The Plot Device revolves around the actions of Super Spies, their multi-dimensional opponents, and the threat these opponents present to the "Psychedelic Golden Age" of a future "Britain".

Lucid Eye has backed away slightly from their first introductory description of the Plot Device, but I was able to locate an early vendor (Sally 4th) which preserved the original fluff text as I remember it:

  "Welcome to the Pan-Dimensional Neo Golden Age! The Plot Device is a supreme artifact which eternally becomes throughout all of time and space, a writhing hub of actuality in an eternal sea of probability.

 Welcome to Lucidea, City Of The Empire Of All Realities, and look upon The Immortal Dowager Empress, Victoriana V, and her half mad brother, Albrecht, Commander Of The Guard, High Admiral Of The Fleets.

 Join the Queen's Favourite, Titus Verne, Psychedelic Superspy, and his sister, Julia, on their missions to protect the Empire from Synthetics, Seditionaries, Insergents and Infiltrators who all plot to bring down The Empire throughout several realities!

 Groovy!"

Groovy, indeed! This, IMO, sounds like a really interesting and gameable idea. Similar to Michael Moorcock's eternal city of Tanelorn, Lucidea in The Plot Device exists across multiple dimensions, and (I expect) much like Tanelorn, would come under attack from various, trans-dimensional factions. In my febrile imagination, the world of the Plot Device looks a bit like A Clockwork Orange, mixed with Jerry Cornelius and The Final Programme,  and a bit of Jon Pertwee's Doctor Who. As the bloke at the back of the crowd shouted best: "I"ll have one!".

The only hitch, however, is that the Plot Device has not been fully supported, and seriously wants for published material; several years ago, rules and support material for the multi-dimensional, 'Psychedelic Golden Age' were announced, but never released. There is some good news, however, in that there has been a release of miniatures.

Thus far, we have the Hypnocrats, lead by the Wild Lord Saarbrück Thus of the Balefire Club; The gun-toting Suburbanauts, lead by Clinton Shroud of Deathnell Green, and the Ultrateens, led by Zal Krete of Queensway. Perhaps opposing them are the individual agents; the aforementioned Titus and Julia Verne, Candy Peoples, Pryce Compere, Archie Bort (an ennobled monkey), Olga Blok, and as Men Who recently Fell to Earth; Zen Epsilon and Ixym Izveet - alien rockstars and infiltrators.

How will The Plot Device play? We don't yet know, though I'll hazard a guess the rules will be based on the Lucid Eye house system by Rick Priestly. One of the staff commented that the game will have both skirmish and RPG features. If it has a clean combat system with an intriguing campaign background, I expect it to be a hit...Ω