Wasteland Warriors

One of the perks of Wiley Games' Fistful of Lead rules is that they adapt well to other genres, and with the small figure count it's easy to produce gangs or teams for a variety of styles of game; today's case in point, Post-Apocalyptic.  Wiley Games' supplement Wasteland Warriors covers gaming in a Gamma World-esque future wasteland crawling with mutants, scavengers and robots, and here's my first gang, all Grenadier figures currently released through Moonraker Miniatures.

Just names left to stencil in on their bases; I really like the smiley face I put on the kneepad worn by the fellow with a knife and length of chain. 

Recent Reapers

I've invested pretty heavily in the Reaper Bones 5 Kickstarter, but still have a fair amount I picked up as part of Bones 4 to complete.  Here's a couple pieces I've completed this past week:

First up is the Fertility Idol, released as part of the "Lost Valley" expansion.  Obviously based on prehistoric Venus figurines (especially the Willendorf Venus), she's surrounded by terracotta bowls filled with offerings.  I mounted her on a 3" round base and flocked with Gale Force 9 "Meadow Flock", leaving a bare patch in front where I imagine most supplicants would approach from. 

Next up is the Burrowing Behemoth, a hulking insect-like brute that I'm guessing is based on Dungeons & Dragons' iconic "Umber Hulk" monster.  I've seen some pretty garish color schemes done on this fellow online - including a vibrant purple-pink tone, but decided I wanted something a little more muted.  I decided to think about this monster as an ambush predator, something that sits motionless pretending to be a mossy boulder before striking; the underbelly and arms were done using Reaper's "Uniform Brown," highlighted with "Green Ochre," "Faded Khaki" and a final light brush of "Yellowed Bone." The back and shoulders were basecoated in Reaper's "Jungle Moss," and highlighted with successive drybrushings of "Highland Moss" and "Pale Lichen."

To break things up I basecoated the eyes with Vallejo Fire Orange, and then went over each eye with Vallejo Golden Yellow, leaving a little bit of orange visible around the rim of the eye.  Each eye was then glazed with a couple coats of GW Lamenter's Yellow.  Overall I'm super pleased with how he turned out; he'll be making appearances as an alien monster, post-apocalyptic horror or prehistoric nightmare from the Earth's core as needed in various Fistful of Lead games. 

Industrial/Post Apocalyptic Terrain

Nothing fancy to report tonight, but I've gotten out some 3D printed scenery that my better half bought me for Christmas and made some headway on getting it painted and ready for the table.  This is four out of the five pieces comprising a set of industrial chemical tanks, painted up as rusting and full of toxic waste for post-apocalyptic games like Wiley Games' Wasteland Warriors or Osprey's recent Zona Alfa release.  I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out.

These were just primed black, and given a couple layers of extra heavy drybrushing with a dark gray craft paint, then drybrushed more lightly with a regular gray craft paint.  They were then given spot drybrushing/stippling of Reaper "Rust Brown" and "Highlight Orange." A very light drybrush of "Tarnished Steel" picked out the rivets and then for the "full" tank I painted the contents with Vallejo "Escorpena Green." I added some water to the Escorpena Green and applied it to the vents to create leaks, letting the fluid flow naturally from where I placed it.  I think it looks really good.

Bolsheviks and a Game

Eesh, It's like I've forgotten how to update this blog.

I haven't done a ton of painting - or at least, I haven't finished many projects lately.  That might be a  more accurate statement.  I have a bunch of figures just waiting for their bases to be painted or flocked. 

I did finish off a squad of Bolsheviks for Fistful of Lead, to use in pulpy games opposite Count Casimir and his White Russians I posted previously.  The Leader, Agent Stransky, is from Pulp Figures, and the rest of the crew is from Copplestone Casting's Back of Beyond range of 1920s Central Asian figures.  I decided to go for a team weapon this time around, and purchased a pack containing a Maxim Gun. 

Once they were varnished (and I got some foam hills I'd ordered in, as I don't have the dedicated workspace available to make my own), it was time to get a game in.  I unrolled a 3' x 3' game mat over our dining room table, threw down some hills and ruined buildings, and came up with a quick scenario - a race to reach and control a sinister ruined temple before the end of the sixth turn.

Initial Set Up

The two teams rushed towards the temple, with the Maxim team moving towards setting up in the nearer set of ruins.  Before long, Commissar Aronovitch was crossing swords with the Count's fencer daughter Yolanda:

And Fireteam Leader Petrov was literally punched to death by Blotsky, the chief of the Count's secret police in the temple:

The game concluded with Stransky facing off against the Count's entire team inside the temple after the Maxim team got into position, set up, and then completely whiffed gunning down the Count.  It did not go well for Stransky.  By the end of the game, Stransky had been shot 5 or 6 times, the Count and his bodyguard Misha were both out of ammo, and Yolanda was prone from a wound. 

All in all it was an evening well spent around the gaming table, even playing solo; the Maxim Gun wasn't a great choice for this game, as it limited the Bolsheviks' ability to put bodies in the temple and once Petrov and Aronovitch were rendered out of action, the game was basically decided.