Crucible Crush - Nice Minis, Once You Get Them...

Late in 2019, a new line of miniatures was teased by the redoubtable Bob Murch, of Pulp Miniatures. Originally at home on the Pulp Miniatures page, the Black Sun line of Weird Viet Nam War eventually moved to Crucible Crush Miniatures. Crucible is managed by Lee van Schaik, nephew and son of the RAFM van Schaiks, and the connections to RAFM are apparent from even a brief glance at the various miniature lines offered.

For starters, Black Sun is a set of rules and campaign setting for Viet Nam Weird War, set in 1968. Of course, with my current fixation on 1970's street skirmishing, my interest in the project was immediately piqued.

While I'm not much taken by the Viet Nam setting - thus the GIs and VC are of little interest to me, likewise neither are the rifle-armed Adaro/Deep Ones (if they were armed with spearguns or eldritch magic weapons that looked like spun coral or metallic driftwood, I would change my mind) - my main
interest is in the Children of Hastur.

Have you seen the Yellow Sign?

Illustration by Robert Price

Hastur the Unspeakable is reckoned the brother of Great Cthulhu, and awaits imprisoned beneath the lake of Hali, either in or near the Hyades. Hastur was created by Ambrose Bierce, expanded upon by Robert Chambers, adopted by H.P. Lovecraft and fleshed out by August Derleth.

Crucible Crush has released three sets of the Children of Hastur.

Some Black Sun 28mm figures from Crucible Crush Miniatures arrived in the post one fine day last year, and I was, and remain, well pleased with them. Sculpted by living legend, Bob Murch, these figures are excellent. Three packs of miniatures were ordered: The Children of Hastur group. Three sets of un-armed and rifle-armed Hippies. Various states of mutations are shown, none, almost none, tentacles galore. There is an excellent "Charles Mansion" in jeans and freaky beard, a rich, daddy's girl "Tanya" in headband and SMG, and a number of other, less remarkable but well sculpted extras.

For Crazy Charlie, I removed a cluster of short tentacles from back of his right shoulder, as being just a trifle much. He's chanting from an Unspeakable Tome, anything more is just dotting a capital I.

The Hippie with the pistol originally had an M-16. He was converted using a an pistol available from Crooked Dice. Crooked Dice seems to be the only miniatures company who had the stroke of brilliance in adding an extra hand weapon or head to the base of their metal figure sprues.

The order was late in coming, well over a month. Once I emailed CC, Lee v. S. was quick in shipping it out - so quick, in fact, that a miniature was left out and a duplicate miniature included. I'm an odd duck, in that I would like what I've paid for, so I shipped the odd miniature back, with an explanation and a printed PICTURE, from their web store.

Almost another month goes by - I actually have no reason to expect my parcel ever arrived, since the address is shared with another business, but I email anyway.  They replied that they thought my replacement went out in early July - I inform them that it's quite possible; some of my parcels did go astray, disappearing into the black void of Camden County, NJ.

So, Lee kindly offered to send another. Which arrived.

And was the wrong miniature, again.

There's a point one just stops, and this was it. Perhaps they regretted that particular mini - a Black Panther "militant"?  The game industry is busy tying itself in knots over "woke" alleged-players.

But, no, as an email reply to my inquiry assured me there was no agenda, political or otherwise, they'd just got it wrong, twice.  They did assure me they were doing their best...

That's good to know, and a bit bad at the same time. "I did my best" is an admission of failure, it's what Dad or Granddad or "Coach" told us when we lost to the other team. It's what we tell our boss, after we skew the pooch at work, hoping s/he won't fire us.  To claim one "did their best" is to acknowledge your "best" isn't really good enough. Failure wasn't for lack of trying, it was for lack of doing.

The answer is, to do better, and the remedy is to review your processes and locate where and how the errors are occurring, and fix them.

Maybe the packer is doing six orders at once "to save time".  As a university student, I hand packaged for an Aerospace supplier, and we were told NOT to work on more than one order at a time, because any time saved would be lost "times ten" in straightening out the error, and we could possibly lose the customer. "People can get parts anywhere" my boss once said. "We have to offer superior service to keep them buying from us."  That was 30 years ago, and they're still in business.

In the end, the missing figure finally showed up - Lee van S. said it was a matter of personal pride, and to his credit, he stuck to it until he finally got it right.

Animation: 5

Detail: 5

Proportions: 5

Variety: 4

 
Overall: 4.75 out of 5...Ω

The Night Stalker in 28mm

 

No urban game set in the 70s, which included supernatural elements, would be complete without including a certain newshound who, in the opinion of his editor, "looks like he just came from a road company performance of "The Front Page."

The character is question is, as you have doubtless already concluded, one Carl Kolchack, reporter and journalist, and associate of the Independent News Service.

An excellent proxy model can be found at Pulp Figures, in their "News Hounds" pack, which also includes a potential Obstreperous Editor, plus sundry other Front Page folks.

For 7TV1 purposes, I would use the "Investigative Academic" profile, and purchase 3 Luck points. Our Carl always seems to be able to pull himself out of the fire...Ω

WIP: Columbia Rumble II - The Droogs of War

 

As the Holidays approached,  my wife suggested that the dining room table (upon which rested my partially complete 28mm streets) might be a better choice for Christmas dinner than sitting in the parlour, eating from TV trays...

Her logic was inescapable.

So,  I decided to have one more scrum before I boxed up "Lockdown City",  to await next year's convention circuit...if any.

As an interesting aside,  I've found that setting up my WIP urban terrain for six months did *not* encourage me to finish it - I just moved on to other projects. The Boulevard is now going back into the workroom,  where I will once again start painting bricks and mortar. 

Using the 5PfH supplement Gangwar, along with Full Metal Anorak,  I randomly generated the next opponent for the Africanus Agency: 'Roid Gangers.  Giving some thought, and considering that Gang War is a generic Sci-Fi setting, I decided to use the Friendsies from Crooked Dice, to represent the Droogs from A Clockwork Orange.  In Gang War, they are rated as 'Psycho' and, hopped up on Milk+Vellocet, rate a d10 Toughness, are armed with heavy melee weapons, but only a single figure has a firearm (shotgun) as fire support.

 Additionally, as I could see the repetitive aspects of another solo game, I added an additional mission from Mean Streets, by First Command Games: Bring Him Back Alive; an associate of the Africanus Agency was stranded in hostile territory, and needed an escort back to HQ.

Of course, "hostile territory" can be a relative term - in this case, Clancey Clark,  the Agency's "Banker", had stopped for a barbecued-pork sandwich at a local bistro...that was deep in the enemy gang's deployment zone, while the 'Roid Gangers descended on the West Boulevard.

Miniature by Brigade Games

The Game:

The first two turns were spent either hunkering down behind some cover (if you with the Agency) or advancing headlong towards melee, (if you were the Droogs/Gangers) your leader shouting vaguely Shakespearean insults about 'vengeance arising from a black and hollow shell..." or some such.

"These cats wear cricket whites and talk fancy - probably from Drexel..."

Reverend Bright moves to set up a cross-fire.

Turns 3 and 4: Once the Gangers entered effective pistol range, the Agency let them have it. Due to the chemicals in their bloodstream, the Gangers were difficult to put down, but a suppression is a suppression, and the hail of gunfire slowed them a bit.

The shotgun-toting devotchka, having fallen back to cover by the '63 Oldsmobile, let loose a blast that suppressed Alonzo. 

Turn 5 and 6: It was here that the dice, once again, failed me. I'm not entirely certain what the odds are of rolling two ones, twice in a row, but it sure felt personal. In any event, any advantage the Agency had was now lost, as the Droogs had initiative, threw off their suppression, and charged into melee.

Once again, Dame Fortune uses me a hussy...

Interestingly enough, while I had been dreading a melee, it was in melee that the Agency's higher quality made itself known. Defensive fire from Afrodite Jones had dropped Dimitri-the-Droog during the charge, leaving Leader Alex to attack alone. In FMA, melee resolution is decisive, and a bad roll is often not only a miss, but a self-wound. This is what happened now - Leader Alex bombed out on his melee roll and received a critical wound. 

With their leader and henchman down, the Droog's morale broke, and they scarpered off back up the Boulevard. The Agency had made another permanent enemy. 

"Time to head home for a bit of spatchka..."

Their secondary objective, Clancey "C-Note" Clark, following the gunfire, came sidling up the pavement, up to the nudie bar. He had cash for the Agency, and by his clock, it was lunchtime.

"Hey guys! They're open for lunch!"

Post-Game Thoughts:

This was a quick game, with the Psycho Droogs advancing toward melee and closing by the end of the second turn. Without a lot of firepower, they just muscled their way into the teeth of all that Scipio's posse could throw at them, only to be taken down by rotten melee dice. While I found it a bit anti-climactic, that's life on the Boulevard.

Mean Streets is a useful supplement for the combined Gang War/FMA rules set, and introduces primary and secondary missions to the street fight, also a means of incorporating police reactions - especially to gunfire. I'll need to paint up a few more Coppers, since when they arrive, they arrive in force...Ω

            

Chinatown Gate by Knights of Dice

Limping in after buying it one year ago is the 30mm+/- Chinatown Gate, from Knights of Dice in Victoria, Australia. This purchase had coincided with a visit to the Friendship Gate in Philadelphia's Chinatown district, during an adventure to some of the less-well-kept neighbourhoods of Philly. The model doesn't seem to represent any specific structure, but incorporates designs from Melbourne, Portland and Philadelphia, and probably others. 

The model itself took about two months - yes, two months, due in part to poor paint coverage over the mdf. This, after having primed it with Krylon White Primer. Acrylic paint doesn't require one coat, or two coats, but at least three coats to provide an even finish - the mdf is thirsty.  And yet, mdf is also slow to dry. Finish the coat, then come back later. So, after an hour or so a couple times a week, over December and January, I took a break, leaving it at about 90% completion, before finishing two weeks ago.

28mm miniatures by Black Cat and Old Glory,
included for scale.

By and large, I'm happy with the result. My main complaint with the model is that the tolerances engineered into the design are too narrow, failing to adequately account for priming, painting and gluing. Instructions were not included and had to be downloaded at the KoD website - and then, they print rather small.  The ornamental fish at the peak of each side roof broke during final fitting. Both sides. Also one of the roof mounts.

Over-engineered as it is, becoming more difficult to assemble as you go, the Chinatown Gate yields a very impressive visual result. Was it worth the effort? Well, where else can you find a 32mm Chinese Gate?

Ease of Assembly: 3 

Instruction Clarity: 3

Detail: 5

Quality: 4

Overall Rating: 3.75 out of 5

There are two other Knights of Dice buildings, partially assembled and put away on my shelf.  In general, they are scaled for the 32mm+ Heroic scale - they are rather a bit too big for true 28mm. Which is a pity, because they are nice buildings. If KoD could be convinced to offer a reduced size for their standard laser-cut buildings, say to 95%, they would open themselves up to a larger market...Ω

Finished 28mm Civilians for The Boulevard

 A wet October weekend hereabouts gave me the time to finish several small painting projects: One being some civilians for my urban-style 7TV/Gangwar setting: The Boulevard. These will also serve as additional investigators for my 1970s Call of Cthulhu game.

Pictured herein are some modern civilians from Old Glory's Civilian Pack 1. While OG describes these as "32mm" they're really closer to 28mm, and are shown next to some 28mm Crooked Dice police for scale.

Figures by Old Glory and Crooked Dice

These where cleanly cast and fairly straightforward to paint - a series of earth tones, blue jeans and polyestre. I plan to add a Jimmy Hendrix decal to the shirt of the guy in the red & white jacket, once I gather up enough nerve. 

28mm Figures by Old Glory Miniatures

28mm Figures by Old Glory Miniatures

The kid in the middle is another photographer - this one is a young cub, like Jimmy Olsen. I like the James Dean hair. The woman on the end is another favourite of mine, wearing that "Casual with Jacket" look of the late 70's.

The other projects compleated this past weekend were for my D&D game. Those interested are invited to view my Fantasy Blog: Countless Hours of Real Effort...Ω

Boulevard Reinforcements in 28mm

This past weekend, I took a break from working on West Philly buildings in favour of painting some reinforcements for the Norton Agency.

Reverend Iley Bright operates the Bethel Baptist Bible Mission, a store-front church that aids and supports the neighbourhood, (and occasionally, the Agency) spiritually and financially. A blood-and-thunder preacher, he has been known to take to the streets in a righteous cause, brandishing a shotgun and the Bible, because "You get more respect with a shotgun AND a Bible..."

Miniature is a modified Reverend Grimme from Deadlands.


The next miniature hasn't yet had a character name (actually, I like the name of Dynamite Jackson...) assigned; he reminds me of the fellow from Black Dynamite (a jolly great film, btw). Action Jackson is from RAFM, in their Modern Heroes category.

He so cool, he give Morgan Freeman pneumonia. I used him straight out the box. I would love to see a pack of disco/leisure suited investigators, some in shades, to round out "That 70's Look".

Can you dig it?...Ω

WIP: 28mm Columbia Rumble

Most of my readers already know that I don't like to show gaming on unfinished projects - it's simply one of my little peccadilloes. The lock down, however, has me stalking about the house, muttering like the mayor from "Jaws" - "Get past Memorial Day...Maybe we can save the summer...etc..."

And so I decided to have a wee scrum, using Nordic Weasel's Gang War rules and Full Metal Anorak, setup on some terrain that will eventually look like 1970's West Columbia Boulevard, Philadelphia.

Please excuse the foamboard pavement and unfinished buildings. Also, don't mind the gaps - they will be covered with crossing lines and other road markings.

Scipio's Squad L to R: Scipio, Ravelle H., Afrodite J., Alonzo H.

The scenario was generated using Gang War, with some modifications to make it less Apocalyptic. Five orange "Points of Interest" were set up around the 4-foot square playing area. These are either worth money ($100 each), are worthless, or result in a hazard (large sink hole, crazy wino, crack head, etc.) As these can remove a figure from play, they are best collected after resolving all game combat.

Also, it's a smoggy night, and all missile ranges are limited to 9".

Scipio "Africanus" Norton and his agency squad are cruiz'en the hood, collecting debts and looking to keepin' it peaceful, when they spot a group of Tong Boyz fixing to expand their territory. The squad sets up to defend.

Red Elephant Oriental Boyz

"Get some cover!"

The Boyz are the Red Elephant Tong; in FMA terms they are Trained/Motivation 3, with some Improvised Hand Guns. They are rated for Gang War as 'Aggressive', meaning they will advance on their opponents by half their movement at least, and will use available cover. Their leader is rated Average.

The Boyz advance

Scipio and his Agency are slightly better - all are average, with MOT 3, and armed with pistols, except Ravelle (who is rated 'Trained' and armed with a shot gun).

Turns 1 and 2: were spent with the Tong Boyz advancing and Scipio's Squad taking cover (using "In Position" markers for an additional bonus).

Alonzo and Afrodite take cover by the Chevy Chevelle

The Tong Boyz gather by the Pontiac.

Turn 3: Two of the Tong Boyz peeled right to flank Afrodite and Alonzo, who have taken cover by a 1970 Chevy Chevelle (as seen in the 2K release of "Shaft"). The leader and his two Tong-mates took cover by the phone booth and yellow Pontiac. Ravelle fired his shotgun at the lead Tong and missed. The Tong returned fire at Ravelle (crouching by the cab) and managed to knock him out/seriously wound him. "This game is rigged!" he muttered as he passed out.

"Do Not Scratch the Trim!"

Turn 4 and 5: With Ravelle down, Scipio was outnumbered. The lead Tong member fired, missed and then charged. Scipio shot him down...mutha&#@%!  This while the two Tong flankers, sheltering in a burned out building, negotiated the uneven ground over the two turns.

"One Saturday Night Special, coming up!"

Turn 6 and 7: Scipio put the charging Tong down, when the leader followed in a shoot-then-charge moment. Scipio was hit, but shrugged it off ("Ain't no thing at all...") and capped the leader with a Spectacular Death.  The rest of the Tong failed their morale, except the phone booth shooter who charged. 

"Nuh-uh man. Big mistake..." BLAM!

Turn 7 (continued) Scipio took a point blank shot at the charging Tong, and missed. The TongBoy then failed morale, and ran for the cover of the phone booth. Scipio put one into his back, and the TongBoy went down. That was enough for the last two survivors, who fled down the boulevard.

The result was a clear victory for the Agency. They made an Enemy of the Red Elephant Tong Boyz (We'll Be Back!), but between picking up POIs and winning the scenario, they netted $600. Ravelle had a local "Doctor" check him out, and the wound was light, only keeping him out of the next tussle.

Scipio was thinking "It doesn't get much better that this..." when his fav'rite bar suddenly opened for business.

"The Light is On and I'm Open for Business..."

"Well, Aw right!"

Post Game Thoughts:

This scenario was originally being prepared for a 7TV 1st Ed. game, only I hadn't finished adapting those rules from their British oeuvre to an American, Blaxploitation-themed one. Full Metal Anorak is flexible enough to handle this well.  Nordic Weasel's Gang War, though set in a post-apocalyptic world, also adapts well to handle a vigilante campaign, revolving around a neighbourhood "fixer" and his cohorts.

The odds are in favour of our protagonists. Despite that, Ravelle went down in the first exchange. I made a mistake with the Tong leader, as I should have sent him down the right side with the other two Boyz - I thought about just arbitrarily moving him, but then I heard Scipio (in my mind) say "Don't you mess wi' them figures, boy." I decided to let the action unfold automatically.

There was a bit of after-action drama - one of the POIs turned out to be a hazard...

"We Had a Noise Complaint..."

A successful Save vs. Int and a Franklin disarms the situation...Ω

28mm Civilians from Old Glory

Work continues apace on my 1970's game. In searching for some civilians as collateral damage/light backup, I discovered Old Glory's SuperFigs Civilian Pack #1. These are listed as 33mm on the Old Glory website.

SuperFigs Civilians #1 by Old Glory Miniatures

These were living in my cart for a bit, whilst I debated how much bigger 33mm was compared to 28mm.  As it happens, at least in this case, the answer was "not appreciably".

Below, the same miniatures are presented on a 1-inch grid, alongside a 28mm Copplestone Casting, painted as John Shaft. Taking into account the height of the slotta base, one sees immediately that the minis, even if mounted on standard washers, are size-compatible with regular, non-heroic 28mm.

Figs by Old Glory Miniatures and Copplestone Castings

Especially pleasing is finding two figures as a news team, and one as a photographer. Two of the figures will join my Funkadelphia street crew, as will the gentleman with the wine bottle. The rest will become random street civilians  The boy with the ball is interesting - obviously a football/soccer ball - but not appropriate for 1970 Philly unless he's attending one of the private academies...

...I think I'll paint it as a basketball and name the figure "Little Foul" as he's leading with his foot...Ω

I'm Talkin'bout...SHAFT! in 28mm

Miniatures by RAFM, Black Cat, and Copplestone

These figures presented herein were finished over Thanksgiving(US) weekend, only I haven't had me camera out for some good photies - and the table is cluttered with ongoing projects.

"Stay with the car, man, and guard those rims..."

These two (above) are part of the Copplestone Casting "Soul Section" - the third member was posted here. I liked the plain plaid pattern shown on Copplestone's website sample, and did my best to simulate it, to mixed effect, on the figure in the foreground.

Behind the Road Champs 1970 Chevy door, the second figure was a more straightforward paint job. The black leather jacket was underpainted light blue, and I'm pleased with the final result.

This pair will represent the Harwin Brothers, another freelance "Troubleshooter" team, sticking it to the Man and Cthulhu in equal portions. That last bit might go on their business cards as the motto.

"There's a monster behind you..."
"I know, but I'm losing the light..."

Finally, a RAFM Dimensional Shambler creeps up on the Black Cat Miniatures Photo Journalist. The Photo-guy paint-job is based on an old pic of George Lucas, circa "American Graffiti" with a bit more grey-white frosting that Lucas acquired later in life. Plus bluejeans, army vest and a lumberjack shirt.

For 7TV1 games, I'm planning on making photo-journalists non-player effects, giving them the ability to grant Audience Appreciation points to any Hero or Villian that starts the turn within 6" of them.  This is similar to 7TV2's treatment of TV Cameramen. Of course, Villains and Monsters will get VP for killing/incapacitating/munching Photographers, making it incumbent upon the Heroes to protect them....Ω

28mm City Police from Crooked Dice

It's not easy, finding miniatures that will suit the style of the 1970s, and without Crooked Dice, it would be less easier still.  Submitted herein are pictures of painted, pistol armed police officers, in the livery of mid-70s Philadelphia, aka the Roundhouse Boys.

Miniatures by Crooked Dice

These minis were purchased from Noble Knight Games, who stock a goodly amount of Crooked Dice miniatures. This particular batch were not quite up to the usual CD standards - two of the stances were a bit off, and the mould lines in the hard-to-reach areas were more pronounced than usual. Possibly the moulds are wearing out.

That minor quibble aside, these are really brilliant miniatures. They are sculpted in shirt sleeves, without body armour (again, hard to find). They have old-style "walkee-talkee" radios. One figure is female, which is I don't think was the practise in the 70s, but let's run with it.

These figures will be incorporated into a squad in my 7TV1 Disco Wars games. I've also ordered some police with shotguns. Whether mutant alligators in the sewer, rampaging androids in the Jewelry District, or minorities driving with a headlamp out, the Roundhouse Boys will bring extensive firepower to resolve the situation....Ω