Wednesday 25 March 2020

"Officer! What The Hell --?!"

"I was just wondering why you didn't leave these late calls to your men!"
This 28mm scale pre-painted plastic model of a Gotham Policeman was produced by “Wizkids” and is miniature number 001 from their DC  “Heroclix” Hypertime range. Created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger for "DC Comics", the G.C.P.D is led by Commissioner Gordon, and services Gotham City. "Typically depicted in stories featuring the superhero Batman" as both an ally and opponent of the caped crusader, the department has "long been steeped in corruption, with numerous officers both high-and-low ranking, involved in bribery and even more serious offences such as drug-smuggling and murder."

Chopped from it's 'clicky' stand and permanently attached to a 25mm circular base, I carefully removed the sculpt's sergeant stripes from its left sleeve with a sharp modelling knife as I wanted the figure to simply be a generic law officer. The cop was then primed using a couple of coats of "Vallejo" Heavy Blue and shaded in "Citadel" Drakenhof Nightshade.
"Wizkids" WIPs - Another four "Heroclix" Gotham Policeman models are in the painting pipeline
The policeman's boots, holster, baton and pistol were 'picked out' with some "Citadel" Abaddon Black, whilst his firearm was later treated to a combination of Ironbreaker and (an old OOP pot of) Badab Black. I used some "Vallejo" Gold for the flatfoot's belt buckle, shoulder badge and cap badge, and subsequently washed these areas with a little Strong Tone Quickshade by "The Army Painter".

Having previously painted a few of this particular model seven years ago, and having five on the painting table currently, I thought I'd try to mix up the cops' ethnicities a little bit more than before. So decided that the skin colour of this latest recruit to my burgeoning Police Department would comprise of "Vallejo" Heavy Skintone and "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade. As a final touch the lawman's facial features and fingers were 'highlighted' with a little (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Skintone.
"Heroclix" WIP - Dum Dum Dugan is slowly having all his white straps and pouches 'picked out'.
Not only am I planning on getting these Gotham Policemen ready to help tackle a Dire Wraith invasion of Earth campaign I have planned (using my homemade rule-set "M.I.S.S."), but they'll also hopefully prove useful as I reacquaint myself with my first true full-on wargaming love, Marvel Super Heroes: The Heroic Role-Playing Game by "TSR". This role playing game absolutely floored me when it was first released in 1984, and I still remember my excitement when I discovered the American gaming company had released an expanded edition, entitled the Marvel Superheroes Advanced Game, just a couple of years later.

The initial module "Day Of The Octopus" features Spider-Man, The Thing, Captain America and Captain Marvel (Monica Rambeau), so my plan is to try and own painted miniatures of all the characters involved in this game adventure. However, where I can't or haven't the time, I'll instead be using the system's card-board stand-up figures, in an effort to try and create that Eighties feel to some of our games.

16 comments:

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    1. Thanks Michal. Simple(ish) stuff this one :-)

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  2. The cop has turned out well and although it's a simple enough model your paintjob has breathed life into an otherwise un-exciting figure.

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    1. Cheers Joe. I've got a few more to do and then I think I'll have a squad of ten ready for the tabletop. Dum Dum Dugan is almost finished too, so hoping to post him up soon as well.

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  3. Great work on the cop Simon, will add a human element to your games, are you having civilians in there also ?
    Not heard of Dum Dum Dugan before but looking good so far

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    1. Thanks Dave. I've ordered a few civilian "Heroclix" and will be rummaging through my collection for some more, as they're definitely a big part of Marvel Super Heroes: The Heroic Role-Playing Game. I've also bought a Monica Rambeau, as I don't seem to have one of her either for some reason.

      Dum Dum Dugan is Nick Fury's right-hand man, or rather robot these days. But didn't get the love in the MCU like he does in the comics. He also leads S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Howling Commandos, so I really need him for my Dire Wraith campaign as they're going to be the good guys :-)

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  4. Wow I really like that Gotham Police Officer a lot.

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    1. Cheers Steve. The cops have been lurking around my painting table for a while now, so I thought I'd knuckle down and at least finish one - Another is now done too, but I'll probably wait until the rest are completed before posting them up.

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  5. Nice work on the Cop Simon, that top picture looks like they are doing the "Charlies Angel's" pose, is that still the same Dum Dum figure you have been painting for what seems like years? or have I missed one and you're painting up another?

    I guess having him in the "Howling Commandos"" circa 1940's meant they couldn't really add him to the modern day Shield line up without having to come up with some complicated back story, he was in an episode of Agent Carter along with the rest of the team though.

    Cheers Roger.

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    1. Thanks Roger. LOL!!! That is indeed the same Dum Dum mini I have been trying to finish for years. The good news is that this time he'll be done, as I've just a couple of washes to do on him :-)

      Dugan was around as a human well into the seventies/eighties comic book wise, Roger, and then at some point becomes an LMD (Life Model Decoy). I actually thought it was quite a good idea tbh, as he seemed to be getting no end of heart-attacks in the later comics due to his age.

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  6. Very nice police officer, looks really great. Dum Dum looks interesting too. You must have an absolute ton of these super hero figures painted now!

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    1. Cheers Undercoat. Ton would be the right word too, but always room for more... many more ;-)

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  7. cant wait for the next convention to come around, hopefully wont get cancelled, im gonna drop like $50 on Heroclix mini's and start this superhero tabletop.,every time u post something related i get the itch.
    great job man!!

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    1. Thanks Mr Martin LOL!! You could try "Troll And Toad" webstore. They're really cheap, to the point where I buy most of mine from them and get them shipped across the Pond.

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    2. awesome, thanks man, gonna dive into this now.
      what superhero gaming system do u often use or recommend??

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    3. Great stuff, Mr. Martin. I actually use a homemade set of rules for most of my super-hero games currently. But I also use "7TV" - which I thoroughly recommend from "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio", and can be bought as a PDF etc. Plus I'm just going back to Marvel Super Heroes: The Heroic Role-Playing Game by "TSR", which is entirely free these days if you search one of the websites dedicated to this old game. Hope this helps?

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