Ship's Crew - 28mm Heresy (et al).

Miniatures from Heresy and EM4

Five Parsecs from Home (5PfH) looks to be an amusing way to generate sci-fi skirmishes without a lot of campaign back-logging.  After reading these rules, I decided to match the campaign shell to Full Metal Anorak (GZG's abortive StarGrunt II skirmish rules).

Heresy 28mm Ship's Crew

While I have a ridiculous amount of 25mm sci-fi miniatures, they are mostly old Grenadier Star Wars minis, and I wanted to capture the Traveller-esque flavour of 5PfH.  Fortunately, I had been given a small pile of 28mm sci-fi some years ago, and after a rummage about in my abandoned 5150 project, I was able to assemble and paint my first 5PfH crew.

Heresy and EM4 - Perfect Together

These are all Heresy 28mm SciFi, except for the auburn-haired gal on the end, which is EM4, painted to look like Hillard from Alien:Resurrection. Andy over at Heresy Miniatures hasn't added much to his scifi selection of late, and two of the figures seem to have been dropped from the catalogue.

Pity too, as I remember they were offered as part of a four-figure "Ship's Crew" set, which work very well together, as the reader can see - with matching jackets on three of the four. All four have badges on their jackets/vest, which make for nice corporate markings (and which my camera work doesn't show...). The engineer has the most variety, and I painted his undershirt black, and gave him non-regulation footwear.

(The scattered terrain in the background is for my 1970's 7TV game - yes, that's an old fashioned cigarette dispenser behind the blue post boxes. How times have changed.)

Coming soon: I'm working on another crew/gang, based on the crew of "The Betty" from the aforementioned Alien:Resurrection...

Update: The Ship's Crew are being offered again as a five pack...Ω

Foreven Shipyards Ships Painted

So, despite some minor issues with the primer (Testors grey) interacting with the Smooth Fine Detail Plastic of which the Foreven Shipyards models are composed, I'm well pleased with the results.

Gazelle-class Close Escorts

Vargr-class Corsair

Type M Merchant

Type M Merchant

The solution to the slow-curing tack seems to have been to hit the model with a puff of dull-cote. This was mainly an issue on the Vargr.  The Gazelles and the Merchant where primed with an oil-resistant base that's meant to cover grease spots for latex house paint. Worked a treat.

After the convention, I may go back and pick out some more details, but by-and-large, they're ready for the table top....Ω

Traveller Starships from Foreven Shipyards

In the run up for this years TravellerCon/USA convention, I ordered some classic ships from Foreven Shipyards, a Shapeways supplier of licensed Traveller ships.

This year's TravellerCon theme is the Vargr, the genetically uplifted canines often referred to as "the Wolves of Space", so imagine my delight when I realised that Foreven Shipyards offered a Vargr Corsair ship in 1/1000 scale.

Personally, I've never cared much for the Vargr. In our classic Traveller campaign of my youth, there was always one fringe player who insisted of playing one, and it usually made the session feel "off". Certainly, his character was not allowed on the settee. The irony of this year's theme is not lost on me.

All models displayed on a 1" grid.

Vargr Corsair

The ships are very nice - they are also, in some cases, rather pricey. This is due in some part to the materials in use, as well as the manufacturing process. Still and all, worth every penny.

Also ordered was a set of four Gazelle-class Close Escorts and a March-class Type R Subsidized Merchant.

Gazelle-class Close Escorts

In each case, the classic lines of the original artwork is faithfully reproduced, making these models a joy to behold. Cast in Smooth, Fine Detail Plastic, the detail is excellent. One thing to watch for is there seems to be a lengthy curing time for the plastic. I'm not sure how long, except to say that the models have a slightly tacky feeling, except for two models I purchased in October of 2018. I have had some 15mm Rhodesian Alligator APCs that had to sit atop the hot water cistern over the winter before the Smooth, Fine Detail Plastic lost it's tack.

Type M Subsidised Merchant

Flight stands were ordered from Litko, at the suggestion of the model maker.  I had a bad experience with them in the past, but Litko seems to have improved on both delivery time as well as customer service. My complaint with the execution is the post pieces have not been cut straight.

The idea that a company with "Aerospace" in its name making Out-of-Tolerance parts is rather droll....Ω

28mm Soul Sisters

STOP!, in the Name of Get Christy Love!

Several packages arrived earlier this month from various manufacturers, and the one which leapt out and demanded painting was "Destiny" from the nice folks at Hasslefree Miniatures.

Miniature by Hasslefree Miniatures

Despite Kev's obvious talent, I don't order a lot from Hasslefree - I might have a baker's-dozen HF miniatures at best. Kev's interests are far more eclectic than mine, and his modern figures tend to follow the lines of Post-Buffy, Post-BSG, Post-GoT and suchlike. Not that this is a bad thing, just not my cuppa rosy...

However, once I saw 70's icon Teresa Graves aka Christie Love sporting her best Charlie's Angel's (the original series, not the wretched wreboot) pose, it was an instant purchase, along with several other figures to round out the order.

Painting the blue jeans on this model was a lot of fun, as was the 70's-style vibrant colour palette. I'll need to go back and shade her platform shoes a bit, then find her a car model - maybe a 1969 Corvette Stingray.

Also jumping out at me was one of Copplestone Castings Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang series, titled the Soul Section. These minis shout "SHAFT!" (watch your mouth). I often wonder why this period failed to achieve greater popularity as a gaming genre.

Miniature by Copplestone Castings

I tried to simulate a late 60's/early 70's print pattern for her dress, plus nylon stockings. Once the orange colour started flowing, the metallic orange wig seemed to fit. The contrast is very attractive, I think.

Next up will be the other two minis from the Soul Section pack - a Richard Roundtree analogue and a shotgun wielding street preacher...Ω

Painted 28mm Tcho-Tcho Gang from Black Cat Bases

Figures from Black Cat Bases

The first batch of Tcho-Tchos are finished, and I must admit, I'm rather pleased with the result. I decided to use a mix of US army green and Chinese grey for the trousers, as though the gear was scavenged.  I leave the details of that to your imagination...

Here's another pic of recent finished figures for height comparison:

Left to Right: Crooked Dice, Black Cat, Reaper

Until next time...Ω

Horace "Action" Jackson and Ebony Foxx by Reaper Miniatures

Continuing my Philadelphia Chronicle 1970s campaign setting, here are two private investigators from the west Avenue.

Miniatures from Reaper, 1/43 '65 Pontiac GTO by Welly

These are two delightful minis from Reaper's Chronoscope line.  Horace "Action" Jackson is a tall mini, made all the more imposing by his 'fro. In his silk-rayon disco shirt, heavy gold-plated medallion, platform shoes and flared black slacks, this mini embodies the spirit of the 70s like an Isaac Hayes 8-track..

The Ebony Foxx miniature has a tied top with flared collar (lovely), flared slacks, platform shoes and sports a .357 magnum, with a Pamela Dobson attitude - kind of a "Tell it to the fuzz, sugah!" vibe.  Also a tall mini, which matches up well with Pam Dobson's 6' 2" height.

Both of these minis are forming a Private Investigator/Angel of Justice team for 7TV1:

Scipio "Africanus" Norman and Charelle "Foxy" Love are solid cats, keeping the peace on the neighborhood streets. Unless the Fuzz drop in to jock your jaws - then, it gets heavy.

Can you dig it?

I knew you could....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