Four Characters from Brigade Games Post-Apocalyptic Miniatures

   Four post-apocalyptic survivors from Brigade Games -- I love the minis, they have tons of character!

With the success of my two games of Zombie RV...er, meaning the RULES were a success -- not necessarily how it turned out for the survivors -- I decided I needed more survivors. Considering we were losing them at a 25% rate, maybe I need even more than I think! Anyway, when I went to Historicon 2024 one of my missions was to find a survivor armed with a crossbow. All the rules sets seem to have mechanisms for these silent killers, and I don't own any figures armed with them. 

My first stop was to visit Lon Weiss of Brigade Games. When I asked him if he had any, he immediately walked me to the box full of his Post-Apocalyptic Miniatures. He pulled one out and said (I think) the character was meant to represent Darryl, the crossbow-armed survivor from the series The Walking Dead. At that point, I had not watched the series, so shrugged and snagged the pack of four survivors. It also included ones named "Curly," "The Fixer," and "The Mechanic." This week, when I went looking for more survivors to paint up, it was only natural to pull out that pack and get them primed and painted up.

    The crossbow armed survivor, who I painted up as Hispanic and named, 'Hector'

One of the things I like about painting post-apocalyptic miniatures, is I can portray them as different ethnicities. For the crossbow-armed figures, listed as "Bo" on the Brigade Games site, I decided to make him Hispanic rather than good old Georgia boy Darryl. I used a medium leather base color for the flesh, dry brushed in lighter shades. He appears to be wearing a leather vest and pants. So, I gave him a sleeveless, brown leather vest and blue jeans. His straps for the quiver and bag over his shoulder were painted as canvas or lighter leather. I painted the crossbow a very dark gray with lighter highlights. The flights on the crossbow bolts were a fluorescent green -- hey, that's what came up when I Googled it! I really like how Hector came out, and he will doubtless see use on the tabletop one of these days. In the meantime, if anyone knows where I can buy separate 28mm crossbow weapons to strap to the backs of other miniatures, I would love to get some!

    'Junior' is an iconic good old boy dressed in jean bib overalls and t-shirt, carrying a shotgun

Probably my favorite pose of the pack is called "Curley" on the Brigade Games website, but I immediately nicknamed "Junior." He is a walking stereotype of a good old boy. Heavy set, blue jean bib overalls, stained t-shirt, shotgun -- he checks all the boxes. I decided to give him a faded, light green t-shirt underneath the bib overalls, but otherwise, there weren't a lot of decisions to make on how to paint up this miniature! I really like how he came out. He's sculpted with a double chin and rotund body shape that is exaggerated but believable. Great miniature! I know Jackie and the boys could use Junior and his shotgun to beef up their ranks in our Zombie RV games!

    This pink-haired, punk rocker carries a shoulder bag with tools, as well as packing some heat!

Another figure that oozes character is named "The Fixer" on the Brigade Games site. She looks for all the world like a punk rock mechanic. She has a very punk rocker looking midrift vest, mini-skirt, and oversized, fancy boots. Her hair is shaved on one side and unruly, virtually screaming to me, "Paint me bright pink!" I faded out the hair color a bit, though, figuring that finding the time and supplies to re-dye hair might be hard to come by after the apocalypse. I gave her lots of tattoos, a black leather outfit, and impractical powder blue, knee-high boots to go with her pink hair. The tattoos were done with black and red micron pens and give her a hard-bitten look, which I really like. I named her "Daisy" because it sounded like a good name for a southern girl.

    Cleaner cut and more nicely dressed than the others, 'Jimmy Chin' seemed to be a city boy to me

Listed on the Brigade Games site as "The Mechanic," this figure looked anything but your stereotyped automobile mechanic. He looked very...well, almost "metro-sexual." Relatively clean cut, modern hair style, neat clothes -- I wasn't sure what to make of him. First, I decided to paint him up as Asian-American. Then I went with the city boy look, giving him a dark gray track suit pants and lighter gray long sleeve shirt. I gave him white tennis shoes and a dark red scarf around his neck (to pull up when splattering zombies, so none of their blood gets in his mouth). I gave him a military style web gear belt with a pistol in an olive drab holster. In the end, I really liked how he turned out, too, and named him after a former Asian-American coworker. 

   Junior, Jimmy Chin, Hector, and Daisy hanging out at their fortified trailer home

These figures painted up very quickly, I felt. They are not carrying a lot of excess equipment to slow things down. They're very cleanly cast and required almost no clean up of flash or excess metal. Not that I am hoping more of my Zombie RV crew dies, but at least if they do, I'll have some cool characters to substitute in! 

Miniature Painting & Purchasing Tally for 2024

• Miniatures acquired in 2024: 104
• Miniatures painted in 2024: 111

Aliens 3D Printed Figs - 'No One Can Hear You Scream'

    3D-printed minis from JS Wargamer Printing - 'aliens' from the famous Sci-Fi horror movies

I just painted the easiest miniatures I have ever done in more than 40 years. I have been getting various enemies ready for my Five Parsecs from Home Sci-Fi games. I decided it was time to paint up the pack of six 3D-printed "aliens" (think of the movie series starring Sigourney Weaver) that I bought off of John Leahy at CincyCon 2024. I had seen a painter on the Lead Adventure Forum post pictures of the alien creature models he'd received with the board game, "Aliens: Another Glorious Day in the Corps." So, I looked up the post and followed his recipe. I was seriously amazed at how quickly I finished them.

    There were three poses in the pack of six, including this crawling pose - love the detail on the head!

As with most 3D-printed figures, I spray-primed them black with Krylon Acrylic Black Fusion primer. And as always, I followed that up brushing on a 50/50 mix of acrylic black paint and water. I do this in hope this acrylic shell gives the figures a bit more strength and flexibility. Some 3D-printed figures are a bit brittle or fragile. Not counting flocking, there was literally only one more step to do. What, I hear you ask? All you did was prime them!

    SOOOO easy to paint up! Black, then a dry brush of gun mental and you're done (besides flocking)

"Michi" on Lead Adventure Forum said all he did was paint them black and then dry brush them with a gunmetal color. I did that, using the color I often use as a base for weapons for my Sci-Fi figures. The dry brush brings out the excellent detail on the figures from JS Wargamer Printing. Anyone who has seen the movies know the creatures are supposed to be dark, scary, and difficult to see much detail on. They also seem to be dripping with their acidic fluids, so after I was done with the flocking, I hand painted them with Vallejo Gloss Clear. And I was done! That was it!!

    I also gave the aliens a gloss coat to replicate the wet, acid-dripping look from the movies

Granted, I'm skipping talking about the flocking stage, mainly because I wanted to stress how quickly they painted up. In fact, I am thinking of NOT bothering to put together my board game models from my recently-purchased copy of Another Glorious Day in the Corp, and simply buying a couple more packs off of John. The models from the board game are supposed to be VERY difficult to put together. The ones from JS Wargamer Printing are one piece and look awesome, I think. So, I will likely be contacting John to get some more figs! If you want some easy-to-paint Aliens, I recommend you do, as well.

    "What are we going to do? We're in some pretty s%@$ now...!!!" I plan on picking up more of these

Miniature Painting & Purchasing Tally for 2024

• Miniatures acquired in 2024: 104
• Miniatures painted in 2024: 107

Gatorfolk Converted for Sci-Fi

    Beldolor Studies 3d printed Gatorfolk converted for Sci-Fi skirmish games - very cool Origins find!

One of my favorite finds in the Exhibit Hall at Origins 2024 was Beldolor Studios.  They have created an imaginative line of 3D printed miniatures. Most are anthropomorphic animals, such as the "Gatorfolk" that I picked up. They have various other animals, including an abundant Fishman line with everything from salmon to bass to several types of sharkmen. I picked up only two poses, the Gatorfolk Gig armed with a primitive looking spear, and the Thagomizer, with a laced-on Stegosaurus looking spiked tail.

    These three of the same pose were given modern/futuristic weapons and painted different colors

My intention from the beginning was to use them as aliens for my Sci-Fi miniatures, particularly as enemies in Five Parsecs from Home. The spear (or "gig") armed ones were bought from their "damaged" box that had the back half of the spear broken off. I was going to give them modern or Sci-Fi weapons anyway, so it was no big deal. I dug through my bits box back home and pulled out some large weapons to match their bigger size. Trimming the rest of the spear away was easy enough, but getting the weapon to settle realistically in their clawed grip was difficult. I'm sure someone more skilled at converting miniatures would have done a much better job!

    I love Beldolor's name for this pose -- 'Thagomizer' (after the Far Side comic) & barbed tails

My next dilemma was figuring out what color to paint them. I wasn't as concerned with the alligator aspect, as these were going to be aliens. The first one I painted had green scales on its topside and a faded yellow underneath. I liked how it looked, but decided that I wanted them to be all different. The animal kingdom has lizard-like creatures in all varieties of colors here on Earth. So, why not in space? So, I made each figure unique, adding in purple, blue, orange, and red scaled varieties. I decided to keep the underneath scales the same basic color for all five, thinking that would give them a unifying look, as well. 

    I decided to individually paint the scales & give highlighting rather than dry brushing

First, I primed the miniatures with spray acrylic black primer to give them more strength. Sometimes 3D printed figures can be a tad fragile, and I wanted to give the Gatorfolk the best chance at surviving handling during gaming sessions on the tabletop. I followed the spray up with my usual 50/50 mix of brush-on acrylic black paint and water. Now, the true dilemma: do I paint the scales individually, or attempt to dry brush them? I was worried that the detail of the scales might not be raised enough to avoid getting color in recesses between the individual scales (which I wanted to stay black). 

    Love the highly-detailed mouths and teeth on these figures -- look scary facing you down, don't they?

Masochistically, I decided to paint each individual scale -- for all five figs! It was very time consuming. However, I did them one at a time and was very happy with the first one when I was finished. For the top scale color, I added in a lighter highlight in the areas that would be exposed to skylight the most. For the bottom scales, I did not do that, rationalizing that part would be hidden from the sun most of the time. I hand painted each of the claw nails a light tan, with white highlights. I also painted the insides of the mouth a dark, blood red and the teeth white. The 3D printings were very crisp, and the mouth, tongue and teeth had particularly fine detail and resolution. I did the eyes yellow, with a black gator-like slit.

    I plan to use my converted Gatorfolk as enemies in my Five Parsecs from Home games

The weapons were done in my usual Sci-Fi theme. First, the entire surface of the weapon was done in Folk Art Gunmetal Gray. I then picked out details in their metallic brown, pewter, and silver. I gave some bright bronze accents, too. After those were completed, the figures were mostly done. My next decision was whether to do a black wash on them. I wanted to, but was worried it would darken them up too much. I decided to take my current black wash and water it down even more. I tried to avoid the eyes and teeth, but otherwise hit the top and bottom scales with it. I was happy with how it looked, softening the edges between colors just a bit, I feel. I used my black wash full strength on the weapons, because I like the effect it has on metallic colors. 

Last was the flocking, which I did in an identical style to my Five Parsecs crew. I paint the base medium gray, then paint it with white glue and swish it around in a tub of Woodland Scenics Blended Gray Fine Ballast. I did a spray coat, then a dark wash on the gray flocking. This was followed by some accent stones and darker colored grass tufts. I'm very happy with how my Beldolor Studies Gatorfolk turned out and am tempted to order some of their Fishmen...or Frogmen. They're all so cool, and I encourage everyone to check out their miniatures line!

Miniature Painting & Purchasing Tally for 2024

• Miniatures acquired in 2024: 104
• Miniatures painted in 2024: 101

Valkeeri Engineer - Color Shift Paints & Hydra Minis

    My first experiment with 'color shift paints' - which is the sparkly purple-blue of the uniform here

This single figure represents two "firsts" for me. The figure is from Hydra Miniatures "Retro Raygun" line of figures. It was sent to me as a freebie gift along with an order of their Valkeeri female soldiers I picked up for use with Xenos Rampant. It is the Astro Angel Engineer figure, which being female, fits well with the all-female Valkeeri force. I intend to paint them up as my next Xenos Rampant detachment...eventually. I did this one first because I found after I had painted my crew for Five Parsecs from Home that I was supposed to start with six (not five) characters. Serendipity, I guess!

    This was also the first Hydra Miniatures fig I painted - Astro Angel Enginner from 'Retro Raygun'

The other first is my first real use of color shift paints. This is a relatively new concept (I first heard about from John Leahy at Cincycon 2024 in March, though I'm sure they'd been out longer). The paint is essentially a glaze that reflects the light shining on the figure in a prismatic effect. The bottle I bought was from Folk Art, and advertised itself as having a Violet-Blue-Red shift. When I look at the miniature under my painting lamp, it looks mostly blue. However, when you change the lighting (as I hope you can see in some of the photos), it looks more purple. I think you really have to work with some strange lighting (or lack of?) to get any red out of it, though.

    The uniform's blue is what I see under my paint lamp. The purple comes out in other light

I had a color scheme in mind for my Valkeeri detachment, so figured this was a great opportunity to test and see if it worked. Ostensibly, I don't need this figure for my 24-point detachment, so it is a great test subject. I went back and look at how one of my favorite miniature painters, Dr. Matthias from the Lead Adventure Forum, painted it. Click on the link above where it says "Astro Angel Engineer" to see how much better a painter he is than me! Anyway, I decided to paint the unitard that goes from the boots to neck and gloves with the color shifting paints. I shook up the paint a little extra and then opened it up to see milky white. I figured that I hadn't shaken it up enough, so did it some more. When it was still milky white, I put an old brush in the bottle, stirred it up, and pulled it out. It was all the same color -- the paint was shaken up enough. It was then I noticed the tiny glitter-like flecks.

    I love the very retro 1950s Sci-Fi look of the rocket packs, raygun pistol sand helmets on these figs!

Okay, I thought, here goes! I researched beforehand how to prep the surface for a color shift paint. You are supposed to prime it black and then do a clear gloss on the black. As I brushed it on, I was thinking, "This isn't working." It looked the same milky white (and didn't appear to be covering the black at all). I came back about an hour later and said, "Wow!" It did indeed dry opaque, but what a color that was! It was very sparkly -- think of a gold lame dress. That's how I felt it sparkled. As I said, though, it looked blue under my paint lamp. I was planning on a purple and black color scheme -- which I felt would look cool with the light green skin I was going to give my Valkeeri. Now what to do for the rest of the figure?

    Is the uniform blue? Purple? Both? This prismatic effect is an interesting feature of color shift paint

I decided to give her purple boots and gloves, and make the flexible joints in the uniform black to see how that turned out. The helmet and metallic portions of the uniform I painted with a steel base coat and bright bronze highlights (also a Folk Art color). I thought this almost coppery tone would be a good accent and make it look suitably retro. I had decided my Valkeeri skin would be light green -- think of the Orion slave dancing girl that Capt. Kirk in Star Trek goes gaga over. Dr. Matthias paints his in a normal skin tone, but he is a master painter. I need something to make mine stand out...ha, ha!

    A final look at my sixth crew member for my Five Parsecs from Home - a very cool & unique fig!

So, how do I like my experiment? I do like it. I may change up the other uniform colors when I get around to doing my entire Xenos Rampant force of Valkeeri, though. In the meantime, the engineer will be my sixth crew for Five Parsecs from Home. Yes, yes, I know I haven't said anything about the game since my first post awhile back. That's because I've been so busy working on the Beldolor Studies Gatorfolk (which will be my next post -- if the confounded Columbus humidity ever lets me spray seal any figures!). This figure was actually painted after the Gatorfolk, but completed while I was waiting to be able to spray (still waiting, by the way...). Important note: my research says NOT to spray seal color shift paints. They are a sealant, in addition to a paint, glaze, and first-time use by me...! Hope you like it!!

Miniature Painting & Purchasing Tally for 2024

• Miniatures acquired in 2024: 104
• Miniatures painted in 2024: 96

Zombie RV - Into the Compound!

    Jackie, left, eludes mobs of zombies by skirting a muddy area, which would slow them down

It was time to give the Zombie RV rules from Grey Area Games another try. Our survivor's first foray onto the zombie-infested streets had been less than successful. We had lost Mophius and picked up only a couple supplies before being forced to flee (see "First Playtest of Zombie RV"). Now that we knew the system and what to expect, surely this outing would go better for Jackie and the boys? 

    Woody (near his noise marker) is first out of the van and quickly opens up one of the quonset huts

I picked one of the scenarios from the basic rules, "Into the Compound." I used my quonset huts and barbed wire fences to create the compound, which had been meant to keep people safe. From the looks of the zombies roaming the interior, though, it was clear that idea had failed as spectacularly as our last mission! We had picked up a new survivor named Quon. When he told Jackie and the crew he was a good shot with a pistol, Woody handed him the pistol he'd scavenged last game. "After what happened to Mophius, I don't trust the damn things!" He hefted his crowbar. "This hasn't failed me yet...!"

    At the other quonset hut, Coop forces open the door, releasing a zombie which shambles towards him

For Quon, I chose "Shooter" and "Sprinter" as his two skills. I figured being a little quicker on the tabletop might come in handy when you're trying to track down resource markers and outrun zombies. I didn't quite realize how key "Springer" would be to the survival of the crew this game! In short, Quon more than proved his worthiness and was doubtless the star of the game.

    More zombies emerge from Woody's hut to shamble towards he and Quon

We pulled through the open gate in our van, and slowly braked to a stop in front of the main part of the compound. We were braving this zombie-infested military compound in the hopes of finding some weapons and spare ammo. All of our firearms were running low, which didn't seem to be a problem with numbers of zombies. Jackie made a quiet, chopping motion and whispered, "Let's go. Quietly, if possible..."

    3 more zombies spawn in the center of the compound while those wandering shamble forward

Woody was the first out of the van and sprinted towards the closest quonset hut on the left. The door appeared to be jammed, but he passed his Might check and was able to force it open. Seeing the shambling movement within and the hearing the moaning of the zombies, he backed out of the doorway so he wouldn't block his teammates' line of fire. Meanwhile, Jackie slipped noiselessly out of the driver's seat and crept quickly and quietly towards the quonset hut on the right. She fiddled with the door, but it appeared locked. Throwing her shoulder into it had no effect. As always, Coop was at her side and whispered, "Let me try..." The door ground open noisily. A quick scan showed what appeared to be only one zombie lingering near what looked like a crate of ammunition. Coop also backed away, as Woody had done.

    Quon quickly proves his usefulness, splattering the two zombies in the hut with head shots

The sequence of play for Zombie RV has the survivors move, one by one, in whatever order the players choose. Next, the zombies move and attack, if in contact. Finally, noise markers are removed (survivors get them for moving, shooting, melee, etc.), and a roll is made to "spawn" more zombies -- typically in the center of the table. I had placed the center long quonset hut so it's doorway was at the spawn point, so new zombies were emerging from it. That seemed to make the most sense. Our goal would be to collect supplies from each of the four smaller huts (and a key to the larger one), and then enter it and collect any weapons or ammo we found. Would we be able to get supplies from all four AND survive entering a building whose entrance was the spawn point?? We would see...

    More zombies close in, most heading towards Quon as his two pistol shots made the most noise

Woody and Coop's backing off tactics worked. The zombies spent both of their actions moving into contact. On the next turn, Quon splattered both of their zombies with head shots from the pistol, and Coop crushed his zombie's skull with his rifle butt. Woody then dashed in and as my "Prepper," was quickly able to find some supplies -- a cache of food which he tossed in his backpack.  Jackie also darted in, but had to search around a bit before finding some ammunition on the next turn. Meanwhile, the newly-spawned zombies and those wandering the compound began to close in. Even though they move only 3" per action, they seemed to be closing fast!

    Jackie and Woody had to put off their 'end runs' to rescue their partners -- teamwork paid off!

The survivors hatched a plan to send Woody and Jackie to the far quonset huts, while Quon and Coop would attract the zombies with their rapid gunfire. Dangerous plan -- especially for those two! And it became even more dangerous when Quon missed one of his shots and Coop ran out of ammunition. Yikes! The zombies closed in quickly, and by the end of turn 3, three zombies (including a 'Runner') had him surrounded in melee.

    At the end of the next turn, Quon is in a tight spot - surrounded by zombies, including a Runner!

Somehow, both Quon and Coop survived to fight off the zombies clustered around them. At this point, Quon had an idea. He would use the muddy areas throughout the compound to slow the zombies down. What's more, as the fastest of the crew, he would try to draw as many of the zombies towards him as possible. He would lead them away from his companions, and hopefully whittle down their numbers some while maintaining his distance and keep from being swarmed. With that, Jackie and Woody were freed up to head towards the back of the compound. 

    Jackie & Coop are also in a tight spot near the van -- was this mission going to end like the last one?

The zombie "A.I." for movement dictates a zombie not in contact will move towards the closest survivor -- unless there is one within 9" that made more noise. Quon's challenge was to keep as many of the zombies within 9", but use the mud to make it so none ended their turn in contact with him. He would be unable to fire at them with his pistol if that happened (his specialty). The effect of this was that about three quarters of the zombies piled after Quon while those furthest from him would shamble towards Coop or Jackie. Meanwhile, Woody was careful to keep his noise down so that they zombies would be drawn towards Quon and would not notice him sneaking into the other quonset huts.

    Quick on his feet, Quon is able to keep the zombies j-u-s-t out of reach as they slog through mud

 

Jackie had to go back and help Coop once, so she had not gotten very far towards the back of the compound. Woody opened the door of one of the quonset huts and was relieved to see just one zombie. He backed off again, letting it emerge through the doorway before crushing its skull with his crowbar. He darted in and quickly found more supplies inside. They'd finally be able to fill their bellies tonight -- if they survived.

   Cooly, Quon contines to use one action to splatter the nearest zombie and then back off out of reach

As Quon continued to back up, a collection of barrels behind him caught his eye. The words "Flammable" were visible and it gave him an idea. Why not draw all of the zombies towards this collection of barrels? And then when they are close enough, fire into them? Even if there was only a little gas left inside, the fumes should be highly explosive. When he saw Woody emerge from the quonset hut, tightening his backpack with whatever he'd found inside, Quon set the plan in motion. He warned Woody to back up further, out of what he hoped would be the blast radius. He sprinted there and joined him. Waiting till the zombies shambled closer, Quon eyed the barrels and fired.

    BOOM!! The zombies following Quon are vaporized in the resulting explosion!

 Meanwhile, Jackie was sprinting towards the final quonset hut. However, as Quon disappeared from the spawning zombies' view, the newest arriving of them began to key in on her. Having finally dispatched the zombies near the first set of huts, Coop picked a few of the spawned zombies off with his rifle. However, things were looking dire for Jackie, so he jogged around the hut and began to move to assist her.

    The zombies begin to focus on Jackie, hear the fence at right, as Quon has disappeared from view

Meanwhile, Woody took advantage of zombies being distracted and headed towards the final, smaller quonset hut. He forced the door open with a metallic groan. Quickly, he recoiled as three zombies staggered towards him. He called to Quon for help as he hefted his crowbar and waited for them to come nearer.

    Finally in the clear, Coop begins skirts around the quonset hut to help Jackie

Just as the zombies began to corner Jackie, Coop appeared holding his rifle like a club. "That new ammo you gave me jammed my rifle," he explained to Jackie, who looked relieved and confused at the same time. "I'll keep them off of you -- just start picking off the ones coming out of the mud."

    Loyal as ever, Coop jumps in front of the zombies shambling towards Jackie

While gunshots and thuds of a crowbar signaled that their companions were taking care of the zombies emerging from the hut, Coop and Jackie began to struggle. Coop missed on two attacks, as did Jackie. Last game, Jenny and I joked how my dice rolling was awful and was a big part of our failure. This time, it was Jenny whose luck had run dry. And specifically, Coop's luck. The burly marksman and brawler was surrounded by zombies and knocked down, wounded. Coop struggled to his feet while Jackie looked on in horror. More zombies closed in on her friend as she fired desperately. "Get out of here, Jackie!" Coop shouted.

    Quon bravely rushes in to draw the attention of the zombies from Coop, who has been knocked own

Frozen in indecision, She saw a blur of green as Quon sprinted into the midst of the zombies clustering around Coop, firing as he ran. "Jackie, go!" he shouted. I will draw them off - they can't move fast enough to catch me.!" Reluctantly, Jackie turned and ran for the back fence of the compound and began to follow in the tracks of Woody, who was similarly moving away along the barbed wire fence. "God damn it!" she hissed under her breath, tears starting in her eyes.

    The survivors exfiltrate from the compound with Quon luring the zombies away from his friends

Quon was in a tight spot -- no question. He began his turn with three zombies in contact. He smashed one's skull with the pistol butt and then ducked and sloshed his way out of the mud. The remaining two grabbed for him. Zombie RV rules allow a survivor to leave combat with a zombie, but the creature gets a "free hack" as he goes. Jenny picked up two dice to roll their attacks. Early on, we decided to roll the attacks of the zombies on each other. Snake eyes! Both missed!! Quon avoided the arms of both zombies and surged through the mud onto firmer ground. With a 7" move, and the zombies needing both actions to go 6", Quon was essentially in the clear at this point. Our spawn rolls brought no "Nasty Zombies" and only two "Runners," which we'd dealt with previously. 

    Woody and Jackie hoofing it towards the van as the closest zombies peel away to follow them

Unfortunately, the zombies in contact with Coop did not miss. Jenny rolled to see the effects of the hit and rolled a "6" -- Coop was dead. What's more, he would transform into a Nasty Zombie next turn. It was time to get out of the compound. Forget about the firearms that may be in the central hut! Time to run and live for another day! Quon was first to the van, and started it up. He threw it into reverse, slowing down as Woody and then Jackie came running up. Both piled in and they peeled out, exhilarated to be alive, but still in shock from the loss of Coop.

    Time to burn rubber and get the heck out of there! The three survivors speed off in the van

Well, how did we do? We searched all four resource tokens successfully, this time. Last time, we grabbed only two before having to flee off board. We also made it back to our van to escape, which was somewhat questionable last time. However, we did not complete the mission. The scenario rules dictate that we don't get the "key" for the last hut until we search the last smaller one. So, we had to do them in the order we chose. Nevertheless, I would count it as a "mission failure," according to the campaign rules I've been brainstorming. What's more, we lost Coop, who had the skills Shooter and Brawler. AND our only rifle! So, in two games, we'd lost our shotgun and rifle, and were left with only two pistols. So, at best, this was a partial success -- even though it felt MUCH more successful than last time.

Most importantly, we had a blast. The more I play Zombie RV, the more I like it. I like the modifications I've made to it, as well. I am looking for a fast-moving game that I can take to conventions and play with up to eight players. I'm beginning to think that this might be it. Jenny and I seem to be having fun controlling just two survivors each. So, if I pair up the players, I could have two per vehicle containing four survivors and have multiple vehicles entering at different points on a much larger board. Maybe the next test is to try it out on the Sunday night guys? We shall see. Until then, I hope you enjoyed the report. Feel free to download the rules from Wargame Vault -- they are a bargain at the $1 suggested price (though feel free to pay more, like I did!). 

Miniature Painting & Purchasing Tally for 2024

• Miniatures acquired in 2024: 104
• Miniatures painted in 2024: 95

Historicon 2024 Purchases

    My haul from Bad Goblin Games at Historicon 2024 -- some amazing 3D printed trailers and more!

For the first time in a long time, I was attending a major convention and NOT running a game. I have attended a few here and there when I was just playing in a Saga tournament, but I honestly think it has been nearly a decade since I went to a big con just to play games. Why? Well, maybe my recent retirement from teaching got me in that relaxation frame of mind! Either way, I would have plenty of time in the vendor area this visit. And what's even better, I also had some "mad money" burning a hole in my pocket so to speak, with possibly more on the way.

    I bid adieu to my 15mm SYW armies in the Historicon flea market, gaining a nice influx of cash

The first influx of finances to spend in the dealer area came from my friend Dave W, who gave me a $100 Visa gift card at my retirement party. This was incredibly unexpected and generous! I immediately earmarked it for hobby purchases. Since I like to support the local vendors as much as possible, I used about 2/3 of it to buy the Aliens: Another Glorious Day in the Corps board game. We had played Keith's copy a few weeks back, and I really liked how it worked. I envisioned it being a good game to pull out when Jenny and I want to play a game some evening. Being cooperative (and possible to play in campaign mode), made it all the better! The second influx to my finances was another $100 gift card that came in the mail the day before we left as a rebate for my annual contact lens prescription. SCORE!

    A closeup of the two fortified trailers that I purchased -- out of more the dozen or so styles they sell

The "possibly more on the way" refers to the fact that I was taking stuff to sell in Wally's Basement -- the Historicon flea market. It had been more than a decade since I gamed with my 15mm Seven Years War collection. I figured it was time to get something out of it. I went with my usual price -- $1 for a painted foot figure, $2 for painted cavalry (or cannons). Then I took 25% off if the purchaser bought the entire army (my preference). Thus, the smallest army, the British, would go for $100. I would accept $175 for the Prussian and $165 for the Austrian army. The night before I left, I found my ziplock bags of unpainted 15mm Ancients and Seven Years War figures. I tossed those in a bag to take, as well.

    Flickering LEDs come with these scatter pieces -- a dumpster fire, barrel, and pit fire

My friend Jason M from South Carolina usually books a couple sessions of flea market tables, and usually lets me put some of my stuff on his table. I decided to sit alongside him during his Friday 10am-1pm session. In the end, I sold everything -- ALL OF IT! I credit Jason for selling the unpainted lead (for a lot more than I was asking). I was at the table and sold the painted armies, also for more than I expected. In the end, I made more than $400 off the flea market. Tossing in the gift cards, it meant that it would pay for all my purchases in the Exhibit Hall and my share of the hotel room. I was definitely feeling like a thrifty retiree after realizing that...ha, ha!

So, let's get on to the purchases! After all, that's probably why you're reading this blog entry -- not to listen to me rub my hands together in greed. My biggest purchases were from a new company to me: Bad Goblin Games. I played in their Saturday running of Trailer Park Warlords of the Apocalypse. This slightly tongue-in-cheek game is set in a world of hillbilly gangs battling it out with mutated animals and plants for control of a post-apocalyptic world. I enjoyed the game quite a bit. In fact, it was my favorite of the four games that I played over the weekend. We each controlled four figures and were shooting it out with each other to gain control of a monster truck stalled in the middle of the table. The key to gaining control was an ornery pig who had a "kill switch" implanted inside him by the former owner that would allow the truck to be started. It was a blast and I may likely pick up the rules when they are published.

Anyway, what drew my eye towards their table in the vendor area was the amazing selection of 3-D printed terrain and scatter. My favorites were the dozen varieties of trailers, most designed in a "ruined" or "fortified" state. For only $25 a trailer, I knew I simply could not pass them up. I picked up two varieties of the fortified trailers on Friday (before I'd played in the game), as well as a very cool porch to place alongside the one Sarissa Precision MDF trailer I have yet to build. After playing in their game Saturday, I made another visit to their booth to buy more! The GM told us our game tickets would be $5 off any purchases. Jenny handed me her ticket, so I added even more to my haul from Bad Goblin Games.

    Water tower & large porch I also purchased from Bad Goblin Games -- wonderful pieces of terrain!

One of their signature pieces, besides the trailers, were the huge, 28mm scale water towers. At only $25 ($15 with the two $5 off tickets), I couldn't pass it up. I have a 15mm water tower already, but this would be an amazing piece of eye candy for the tabletop. And speaking of eye candy, they also had a number of pieces of scatter terrain with built-in LEDs, batteries, and translucent material to look like flames. I picked up a dumpster fire, pit fire, and barrel fire. Afterwards, my friends and I were marveling at their prices and how incredibly affordable they were. In all, I spent about $100 at Bad Goblin. We agreed that at many other places, these terrain and scatter pieces would have cost much, much more.

    I wanted smaller zombies to match my 3D prints, and Lon of Brigade Games found these for me

My first actual stop in the Exhibit Hall was at Brigade Games, owned by Lon Weiss. He was inducted this year into the Historicon Hall of Fame for lifetime achievement. He carries most of our First Command Wargames rules and is always friendly and helpful with finding poses or specific miniatures. And that was exactly the quest I sent him on! I wanted a post-apocalyptic survivor armed with a crossbow. He walked me immediately to a box and quickly found a pack of four survivors, one of which was armed with a crossbow. When I mentioned I was looking for some smaller zombies to match my 3D printed zombies, he picked out a pack from his Drug War Z line of figures. It was two children zombies, but they looked like they'd match my current zombies perfectly. 

    

Finally, I picked up a set of rules on whimsy. Yes, I know that Jenny will tell you that I am the antithesis of "whimsy." Don't listen to her. My friend Keith F of OrcaFinn's Basement has run a number of "hunt" games for us in the past. Usually they are dino hunts, but we have done cavemen hunting mammoths and other fun games with him, too. Once, we even did dinosaurs hunting Nazis! Anyway, I saw this set of rules, "Mexican Jack Squint Presents the Lion East Tonight" by Howard Whitehouse and immediately thought of him. Hopefully, he'll find that they make for a good game and entertain us with them at some Sunday evening gaming session.

    These plastic zombies seemed to be smaller scale and will hopefully fit with the ones I've painted

And as long as we are talking about zombies, I may as well show you my only purchase from Wally's Basement (Historicon flea market). In general, I thought items in the flea market this year were priced WAY higher than I expected. I did a walk through on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday and found many a table with the exact same stuff on all three days. Little seemed to be selling -- at least on what I considered the higher priced tables. That's why I discount everything I am selling. I don't want to take it home. I'm not looking for "what it is worth," but instead the highest price that guarantees it will be sold. It's a fine line, and I'm thinking some folks missed high when aiming for that line this year. Anyway, I found a gentleman selling this box of 30 plastic zombies from Wargames Factory. They definitely seemed to be smaller sized for 28mm -- like my ones I purchased from JS Wargamer Printing. I talked him down from $25 to $15 and now I have to figure out a way to glue them together! Some come with separate upper and lower torsos, left arm, right arm, and head! KEEIITTHH! Maybe my friend Keith, who is much handier with gluing things, will do them for me...

    'Refugee Car' from Miniature Building Authority -- some of the scatter I picked up at Historicon

Speaking of favorite vendors, it was great to talk to Kirk from Miniature Building Authority. We compared notes on retirement, as he has recently retired from all but MBA. He said he WOULD be coming to Advance the Colors 2024 as a vendor, which made me happy. He did really well at our show in 2022, but then not as well last year when an estate sale masquerading as a flea market sucked the hall dry of the cash many people had brought to the show to spend. I promised last year's vendors that I would do my best to keep that from happening this year. Anyway, MBA's buildings and scatter terrain are phenomenal and an industry standard. Since I still have some of his buildings left to build, I focused on picking up scatter from him that I could use. I couldn't resist the "Refugee Car" this time around, and snatched one up off of his rack. I also picked up some other miscellaneous scatter that I am hoping I can use to create "noise markers" for my zombie games. His displays at conventions are always so inspirational. I'm sure when he comes to ATC this October 11-12, I'll be picking up even more of his buildings!

    Two more 28mm 3D printed vehicles I picked up from Diabolical Terrain, and a Sci-Fi building

I also always enjoy talking to Ron from Diabolical Terrain at conventions. I had just seen him at DayCon 2024 when he regaled me with the results of his Atlantic cruise that was supposed to include stops in Greenland and other places. Nearly every shore excursion was canceled because of dense fog, he said. I had been looking forward to his travel notes from one of the places I haven't visited and want to go, but felt awful when hearing about his and his wife's experiences. I had picked up some 28mm 3D printed vehicles from him at DayCon, but couldn't resist getting some more at Historicon. I want to take the large ambulance and see if I can use it as a core to convert into a recreation vehicle/camper. Jenny encouraged me to pick up the vintage VW bus, too, which I will have fun decorating up in a suitably stoner way! I also grabbed a large 28mm Sci-Fi building for either Xenos Rampant or Five Parsecs from Home. Ron will also be at ATC this October, so doubtless I will snatch up more of his amazingly smooth, 3D prints.

    This 'NYC Terrain' box was at 40% off and was a deal that I couldn't pass up

I have forgotten the name of the vendor, but I had one final "can't resist" purchase. At many visits to our local Guardtower East game store, I had ogled the terrain for the Marcel Crisis Protocal game. I even picked up one box of four wrecked cars, which painted up nicely. There is much other very nice stuff, but I feel it is way too expensive of a line. However, it was 40% off, and with it containing two buildings, two dumpsters, two cars, and two street lights, I felt I had to get it. I am actually trying to find a way to do street lights for my urban set ups, so I look forward to seeing if I can duplicate these pieces using craft store materials.

    Bag of "fool's gold" from Pastimes on the Square makes excellent concrete rubble when painted

Oops - I forgot! There was one final purchase (my cheapest, actually). I have bought scatter terrain from Pastimes on the Square at conventions for many years. They make many of the small shrubs and bushes that I place hear and there across my battlefields to give it a more realistic and irregular look. Well, for my zombie figures, I've been putting small pieces of what look like concrete rubble on the bases. My tiny bag of "fools gold" I was given years ago was about empty. What did I see at their booth but another massive bag for only $5? So, my final purchase was made, and I was ready to call my shopping at Historicon a success. The visa gift cards were all used up and some of my flea market money, as well. However -- as mentioned earlier -- I still had enough left over from my sales to pay for my share of the room. So, not only was my visit to the Exhibit Hall at Historicon 2024 a success, it was a bargain, too!

Miniature Painting & Purchasing Tally for 2024

• Miniatures acquired in 2024: 104
• Miniatures painted in 2024: 95