"Other Natives Of Colony 87 Are..."

"...A strange tree dwelling feathered chameleiod."

This 28mm scale metal model of a Chameleiod is sold by “Crooked Dice Game Design Studio” and can be bought as part of their Alien Pets deal. The animal is only 7mm tall and is designed to be used with the company's other "Colony 87" sci-fi civilian miniatures "for any RPGs and tabletop wargames."

The miniature was initially undercoated using "Vallejo" Heavy Grey, before being drenched in "Citadel" Biel-Tan Green. The tiny little critter was then thoroughly dry-brushed using (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Grey, before having its bulbous eyes 'picked out' with a dollop of "Vallejo" White and a dab of "Citadel" Abaddon Black.

"Someone give me a gun!"

In addition to my most recent Alien Pet I have finished restoring a previously pigmented Zombie Trooper from Mark Copplestone's "Future Wars" range. The figure's rather uninspiring paint-job was unfortunately damaged when I was re-basing him a few years ago, so I thought I'd take the opportunity to give the walking cadaver quite a significant makeover.

For starters his overalls have been completely redone using a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Blue and an old pot of "Citadel" Asurmen Blue, whilst his rifle and metal-kneepads were treated to a mixture of "Vallejo" Gunmetal and "Citadel Nuln Oil". I also picked out a number of the dead soldier's pouches with "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna and some Strong Tone Quickshade by "The Army Painter".

"Atomic Mass Games" WIPs - Killmonger has had most of his detail 'picked out' and shaded

Lastly, I've found some more hobby time to work on a small number of hard plastic models by "Atomic Mass Games" for their Marvel Crisis Protocol super-hero tabletop game. I haven't really worked on this increasingly large range figures for quite a while, but with the imminent release of the Uncanny X-Men, Brotherthood Of Evil Mutants and Inhumans, I thought it was about time I cleared some space in my backlog.

I have predominantly been painting Black Panther's arch-nemesis, Erik Killmonger, and fortunately have only a little dry-brushing left to do on the mercenary's blades before the impressively posed sculpt is finished. However, I have also dusted down my miniature of Venom and assembled the 'original' Spider-Man multi-part kit from the Marvel Crisis Protocol Core Box.

"The Testudo Bird Is Imported From The Core Worlds..."

"...For its delicious meat and rock-hard shell."

This 28mm scale metal model of a Testudo Bird is produced by “Crooked Dice Game Design Studio” and can be bought as part of their Alien Pets deal. The "flightless creature", which "is renowned for its stupidity", is only 13mm tall and is designed to be used with the company's other "Colony 87" sci-fi civilian miniatures "for any RPGs and tabletop wargames."

The bird was originally undercoated using a double helping of "Vallejo" Heavy Red, before being shaded in "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson. It was then mercilessly dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Red before having its tortoise-like shell (and frustratingly difficult to reach underbelly) layered with paint taken from an old pot of the "Citadel" Foundation colour Calthan Brown.

"Future Wars" WIPs - This Zombie Trooper has had its arms and legs repainted.

The shell was later washed with some Strong Tone Quickshade by "The Army Painter" and I 'picked out' the tiny extra-terrestrial's eyes with some "Vallejo" Heavy Ochre. Finally, having looked at the 'official' paint-job on the "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" website, I decided to dry-brush the tiny monster's beak with a little "Citadel" Abaddon Black, and blend it in with the Testudo Bird's red face.

Alongside my latest Alien Pet I have been patiently restoring a previously (somewhat poorly-painted) Zombie Trooper from Mark Copplestone's "Future Wars" range. The figure has proved an absolute joy to 'touch up' owing to all of its easy-to-reach detail, and I think my idea of actually pigmenting his automatic rifle, metal knee-pads and ammunition pouches will pay off well once the figure is finished, varnished and based.

"Modiphius Entertainment" WIPs - These three Federation Officers have had their flesh layered

Unfortunately, I have had to spend a bit more time on the miniature than I first anticipated, on account of my inability to match the dark blue of his re-worked overalls with the colour of his sleeves. As a result, I have subsequently re-painted all of his clothing, as opposed to just his legs, and simply left the tear in his right sleeve alone so it still shows the animated corpse's livid green flesh.

Lastly, I've managed to make a little more progress on three of the figures found inside the Star Trek Adventures: The Next Generation Away Team boxed set by "Modiphius Entertainment". Being predominantly black in colour, I'm hoping these Federation officers will prove reasonably straightforward to get on the tabletop, and have already 'bedded down' the initial "Vallejo" Heavy Skintone layers on Lieutenant Commander Lian Zhang (Conn Officer) and a Male Tellarite, as well as the light blue flesh of Cuellas Zharath, the U.S.S. Magellan's Andorian Chief of Security.

 

(Lead) Mountain Musings - "Future Wars" November 2020

"Future Wars" WIPs - This Zombie Trooper is having his weapons, rifle and legs repainted

This month's themed attempt to reduce my mountain of metal, plastic and resin models will be somewhat different than my normal overly-optimistic projects, as I essentially plan to just continue working through the number of Undead related miniatures I had hoped to complete over the past few weeks as part of Zomtober. However, rather than tackle anything new, my initial goal will be to simply complete repainting/restoring a handful of old zombie sculpts by "Copplestone Castings", and then take things from there...

First up will be a Zombie Trooper from Mark Copplestone's "Future Wars" range, which not only required rebasing, but also a major repaint, courtesy of its decade old predominantly all-black colour scheme. Resultantly, I have already 'picked out' the soldier's heavy firearm, some of his ammo pouches and his trousers with some base layers ready for shading - tricky stuff to be honest as I'm having to pigment over the PVA glue I used to apply to protect my paint-jobs.

"Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" WIPs - The Alien Pets are all at different stages of completion

I've previously used my rebased models from "Copplestone Castings" to replace the rather disappointing softly-detailed plastic sculpts found inside "Resident Evil 2: The Board Game" by "Steamforged Games", and hope that by finishing a few more of the walking dead it'll encourage me to get the rather enjoyable "cooperative horror board game" back out the cupboard. In addition, I do still own quite a few other unpainted zombies from the "Future Wars" range, so could possibly be encouraged to make a start on them too...

Alongside my restoration work though I'll definitely be cracking on with some more of the colourfully characterful Alien Pets by "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio". These diminutive sculpt's from the company's "Colony 87" range have really helped restore my somewhat flagging mojo recently, and got me back to the painting table after a short sabbatical.

October 2020 - "Alternative Armies" enters my Top Five favourite Manufacturers for the first time

Productivity wise, it is difficult not to see the past month as something of a major disappointment. Apart from a single post-apocalypse survivor, self-sculpted using "Hero Forge", I didn't manage to complete any of the other zombie-related models I had lined up for the Zomtober challenge, including three Justice Department brain-hungry cadavers which were already both assembled from different converted body-parts and even partially-painted.

True, I did manage to finish off the remaining (Fire) Elemental unit for my 15mm "Hordes Of The Things" army using "Alternative Armies" miniatures, leaving just the force's wizard residing far back in my painting queue, and additionally scratched my persistent "Doctor Who" itch with five shape-shifting Zygons by "Black Tree Design". But none of these monsters or aliens were particularly planned, nor frustratingly really helped motivate me to crack on with my intended project.

(Lead) Mountain Musings - "Judge Dredd" Zomtober 2020

"The whole damned planet's covered in zombies!"

This month's themed attempt to reduce my mountain of metal, plastic and resin models will actually focus upon a handful of partially-painted figures dusted down from my collection of "Mongoose Publishing" sculpts. Surprisingly, these models weren't part of the Swindon-based manufacturer's infamously notorious "Judge Dredd Miniatures Game: Block War" Kickstarter from September 2012, but were actually bought to bolster up the Mega-City One zombie forces I painted as part of Zomtober 2016.

Shortly afterwards however, "Mongoose Matt" lost the future lawman's licence to "Warlord Games" and despite some extensive searching I was unable to locate any more of the metal torsos, knee-pads, shoulder-pads and heads they produced to convert the plastic multi-part zombies produced by "Mantic Games" into more Undead Citizens. At the time though I clearly attempted to create a few more Justice Department cadavers by hacking away at the last surviving Zombie Judge model I owned with a sharp modelling knife so as to kit-bash three more flesh-hungry figures.

"Copplestone Castings" WIPs - Both zombies require repairs and re-painting

Other bloggers taking part in Zomtober 2020 are:

Dizbusters Gaming Ephemera

The Wargame Addict

Dead Lead Project

Colgar6 and the Infinite Legion of Toy Soldiers

Alongside these Walking Dead I have also found another couple of old “Copplestone Castings” Plague Zombies from their Future Wars Range. These miniatures were actually pigmented well over a decade ago and seem to have been forgotten when I re-based and re-painted my entire collection back in 2015 as part of a drive to remove all my older figures off of the two pence pieces I used to use as bases..

Time has definitely not been kind to either of them. Both have areas where their paint has clearly flaked off and the PVA glue around their feet has gone positively opaque in places. In addition, there certainly isn't much contrast going on between the armed zed's boots, armour, automatic rifle and belt. All of these faults will need correcting, and the models based in line with the rest of their brain-chomping brethren.

September 2020 - Despite not appearing as a top manufacturer this was a great month for "Alternative Armies"

Progress wise, the past four weeks saw me enjoy a reasonably productive September, largely thanks to the "Hordes Of The Things" Challenge I held with Roger 'Dick Garrison' Webb of "Rantings From Under The Wargaming Table" fame. This 15mm event saw me power through a number of units produced by "Alternative Armies", and whilst I still have a wizard to complete before I'm able to field a full twenty-four point strong Elemental Army, I still managed to paint twenty-two of the somewhat diminutive miniatures.

In addition, I managed to finish the last two "Westwind Productions" British soldiers I needed from their "Secrets Of The Third Reich" range in order to field a 500 point Great Britain and the Commonweath force for "Konflikt '47" by "Warlord Games". Being a bit older than many of the models in my collection, these figures were a lot more straightforward to paint but came with the challenge of my having to 'match' an old(ish) colour scheme with newer paints.

Top Ten Miniatures Of 2019 - An "Undercoat" Personal Choice

Well 2019 has come and gone and there were lots of highlights to remember. We had the end of the Star Wars trilogy trilogies, Avengers Endgame saw the stunning sacrifices of Black Widow, Iron Man and Cap and I think there was an election! In terms of the miniature painting hobby some highlights included the Clone Wars coming to "Star Wars Legion", the superb "Warcry" from "Games Workshop" and the great new "Marvel Crisis Protocol" game from "Atomic Mass Games".

It also means I get the chance to review the miniatures painted on the "Fantorical" blog for the year. And what a year it was too, with a huge output making my choices very hard indeed. My choices are a personal opinion based on a variety of factors, such as the painting, the imagination used and of course the rule of cool! So, without further ado onto the list, in reverse order of course!

No. 10 - Borg by "Modiphius Entertainment" - August 16th

These Borg are part of a much larger force painted over the course of the year and these ones just stood out to me. I think the paint scheme has done a great job of capturing the menace of these iconic "Star Trek" villains and the collective as a whole has been a great project for the year.

No. 9 - Punchline by “Kitbash Games” - January 10th

This miniature is from a "Kickstarter" project and uses several superhero/super villain tropes to come up with a great looking figure that has been painted very well in my opinion. I like the paint scheme of this one enormously making it an easy choice for the Top Ten.

No. 8 - Imperial Royal Guards by "Fantasy Flight Games" - February 7th

These stunning miniatures are from the original "Star Wars trilogy" and are the personal bodyguards of the Emperor himself. I chose these because, a) they are from Star Wars! And b) they are a great exercise in painting red. I find red quite a tricky colour at times and these miniatures are an example of how to paint the colour effectively!

No. 7 - Deinonychus by "Copplestone Castings" - December 15th.

These miniatures are great sculpts and I just adore the painting. The colours used are very natural (if we can say natural for a species that is extinct and we don’t know what the colour of their skin was!!). I just think these look really great overall and would look awesome on any dinosaur themed game!

No. 6 -  Skeleton Swordsmen by "Lucid Eye Publications" - December 8th

The whole "Toon Realms" range has featured quite heavily on this blog but I just adored the skeletons. A simple enough colour scheme but done so well they just stand out as the pick of the bunch for me. The bone colour has been painted superbly in my opinion and looks fantastic. Just a cracking group to look at!

No. 5 - Romulans by “Modiphius Entertainment” - September 27th.

Another "Star Trek" entry in my Top Ten. I just like everything about these: the sculpts look great, the paint scheme really captures the look of these enigmatic villains and overall they look great! The skin and faces have been painted really well on these miniatures and the colour scheme really reflects how they look in the television series.

No. 4 - Drathro by "Black Tree Design" - July 25th

I just really like this miniature. It is from the "Doctor Who" television show and has a look about it that I just adore. The paint scheme looks deceptively simple but the metallics have been painted superbly in my opinion and make the whole thing so memorable. I think Simon has really mastered painting metallic and I am jealous of the way he paints them as they look so realistic. A great looking mini!!

No. 3 - Iron Golem Armator by "Games Workshop" - October 4th

The whole "Warcry" series of miniatures has really caught my imagination this year as they are well sculpted and really capture the different facets of chaos in the Warhammer universe. There are eight Iron Golems in the warband who are heavily armoured in a really distinctive style and this duardin (dwarf in old money!) is my pick of the bunch. The metallics and the red armour are just great on this mini. I know that the painting process on these particular miniatures has been a bit of a trial but in the end they have turned out great.

No. 2 - Wookie Warriors by "Fantasy Flight Games" - January 18th

Another "Star Wars" entry in the Top Ten. The wookies are one of my favourite alien races in George Lucas' universe and these miniatures look awesome and capture the “walking carpets” brilliantly. The paint job on these minis is really good. The fur has been painted brilliantly and the accessories and weapons have been picked out so they don’t get lost in the vast amount of hair!! Great looking unit.

No. 1 - Hexgorger Skulls by "Games Workshop" - April 19th.

These models are from "Age of Sigmar" and are prayers summoned onto the battlefield by the followers of the Blood God, Khorne. They look awesome in my opinion. All of the elements have been painted brilliantly: the bone looks tremendous, I really like the shading and the way it gives the appearance of aged bone, the blood flowing from them looks really effective and overall they look stunning. They are a real centre piece model that will be a stand out in this army. A great bit of painting that has resulted in a fantastic model that has stuck in my memory since I first saw it.

Well that concludes my Top Ten and the reasons behind them. Happy New Year to all the readers of “Fantorical”.

“You Bred Raptors?”

"The point is, you are alive when they start to eat you."

These two 28mm scale white metal dinosaurs from the late Cretaceous Period used to be produced by "Copplestone Castings" under Code K12 , but currently only seem to be available via the "Honourable Lead Boiler Suit Company" as Code DI54 - Deinonychus x2. Coming in two different poses the Terrible Claws "measure approximately 63mm long" and form part of the Birmingham-based manufacturer's rather extensive range of dinosaurs, prehistoric animals and monsters.

Rather shockingly, I've actually owned this pair of models for a significant number of years, and initially super-glued each of them upon a couple of adjoining two pence pieces. Fortunately, my somewhat ad hoc basing methodology of yesteryear is well behind me, and as a result they were more recently re-based upon a couple of "Games Workshop" plastic 40mm circular bases.

"Clever girl..."

The two Deinonychuses were also re-undercoated using a double layer of "Vallejo" Heavy Grey, which quickly masked the original (and horribly translucent) "Citadel" Dark Angels Green paint I had applied so many moons ago. The sharp-toothed meat-eaters were then drenched in "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade and dry-brushed using some (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Grey.

It was at this point, approximately eighteen months ago, that a desperate attempt to finish these carnivores first failed, as I unsuccessfully attempted to paint some lines down one of the dinosaur's backs. This time round though, I simply decided to leave them well enough alone, and instead focused on 'picking out' the crest using a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Red and "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson. These colours were also used on the monster's tongue.

"Warcry" WIPs - The Drillmaster now just needs to have his red armour pigmented

I pigmented both prehistoric animals' "unusually large, sickle-shaped" talons with "Vallejo" White, as well as all their tiny teeth and formidable-looking claws, and subsequently washed them with some "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade. Lastly, I spotted the duo's eyes with a dab of "Vallejo" Heavy Ochre, and shaded them with a little "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade.

With two reasonably straightforward painting subjects completed, I have managed to subsequently make some very visible progress on my Drillmaster for "Warcry". This Iron Golem by "Games Workshop" has caused me some significant frustration on account of all his brass-coloured chain-mail and uber-dynamic fighting pose. However, I have finally reached the stage where I am ready to apply some "Citadel" Flesh Tearers Red Contrast paint to the figure's armour...

"Dark Indeed Is The Hour."

"And at such times you are wont to come, Mithrandir."

These three "cartoon scale" white metal figures of King Victor's Men-at-Arms are produced by “Lucid Eye Publications” and can be bought from the company's "Toon Realms" range as a pack of four identical miniatures. Sculpted by Steve Saleh, I have painted them all in the colours of Gondor so as to hopefully field a twelve-model strong unit of (Heavy Foot) Minas Tirith Knights for “Dragon Rampant” by "Osprey Games".

Initially undercoated with two layers of "Citadel" Abaddon Black, Denethor's warriors were dry-brushed using some "Vallejo" Heavy Charcoal in order to bring out some of their large cloaks' detail, and subsequently washed in "Citadel" Nuln Oil. The soldiers' boots were then treated to a touch of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna, whilst their sword hilts and belt buckles were given a lick of Gold.

"Copplestone Castings" WIPs - These two Deinonychus just need some washes and a tidy up

Both of these areas were later washed with "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade. Finally I 'picked out' the Men-at-Arms' helmets, neck armour, chain-mail and shield emblems using a combination of "Citadel" Ironbreaker and Nuln Oil, and eventually dry-brushed these parts with (more) Ironbreaker.

What with the vast majority of my partially-painted "Toon Realms" figures now being finished, I have been rummaging around for some thematically different miniatures, and subsequently stumbled upon a pair of Deinonychuses by "Copplestone Castings" which have sat upon my 'To Do' pile arguably for as long as I can remember. I actually tried to finish the duo of dinosaurs about eighteen months ago, but was something put off by some failed attempts to provide them with some stripes...

"Heroclix" WIPs - Titanium Man, Namor the Sub-Mariner, the Abomination and a Doombot

Stepping over towards the imminent Tenth Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge, I have also been busily re-basing a veritable host of "Heroclix" models for the competition, and giving them a bit of a prime. Perhaps unsurprisingly, I've been selecting some of the "Wizkids" range's more straightforward sculpts to re-paint, yet am equally as keen as to ensure that they'll get a place on my tabletop once they've been varnished and had their base's flocked.

Having recently perused my gaming collection, I'm definitely in need of a few more "Marvel Comics" foes, so have selected some of the more memorable super-villains of my childhood with which to challenge the Avengers, the Hulk and the Fantastic Four. As a result, I'm hoping to add to my stash of Russian armoured patriots with Titanium Man, pigment an army of Doombots for the monarch of Latveria, menace Susan Storm with the unsolicited advances of Prince Namor, and finally batter Bruce Banner's alter-ego with the (original) Abomination...

Top Ten Miniatures Of 2018 - An "Undercoat" Personal Choice

Happy New Year to all "Fantorical" readers! Well after stepping into the breach last year to do a Top Ten for this blog last year, I have been asked to repeat it for 2018 despite Roger being back. So apologies to Roger for duplicating his efforts, but hopefully I have chosen some different models to him...

This blog is a great source of inspiration to me, helps spur me on to paint my own models and has seen me having to invest in quite a bit of storage in order to house my own growing collection. However, as well as looking at the wonderful minis on "Fantorical", I have also found the website to be a great signpost to dip into the efforts of other bloggers, like the wonderful “Tail Feathers” World of Mice and Mystics miniatures on the "Da Gobbos Grotto".

I will be honest with Simon's prolific output this year it was actually hard to pick just ten models, so it became a bit of family effort. This then is the Undercoat Top Ten of 2018...

No. 10 - Nurglings by "Games Workshop" - August 27th

This may be a surprise choice as these are little models representing daemons of Nurgle, the plague god. However, despite their small size, they are amazing sculpts and the paint job is also just amazing, resulting in a miniature that I want. I want these Nurglings so much!!!

No. 9 - Chaos Chosen by "Games Workshop" - September 17th

A chaos champion playing fantasy football that has bags of detail. The paint job picks out the detail superbly while staying true to the evil theme of the forces of chaos. The skin is well done and the metallics look great. I really like this a lot.

No. 8 - Hydro Man by "Wizkids" - June 13th

This blog has a knack of introducing comic book characters I have never heard of and this chap is no exception. This has a great paint job. The face is well done, but the star is the water effects which I think are stunning. Another model I wouldn’t mind owning!

No. 7 - Slisssk The Adder and Shrew Warrior by "Oathsworn Miniatures" - May 12th/21st

We stumbled across the incredible "Burrows & Badgers" range of miniatures at Salute. I love nearly all these fantastic sculpts and there were plenty to choose from as the warband was painted over several months. As a result, I cheated and chose two to represent one choice. The little shrew looks so characterful he had to be selected, but so too did the adder, whose armour and scales are just amazing. A great "range of anthropomorphic animal miniatures" really brought to life.

No. 6 - Destroyer by "Wizkids" - February 6th

A comic book character who I did know about! But only because he was in the movie "Thor"! Simon has a great technique for painting metal, and is far more patient about it than me. His dry-brushing, highlighting and “polishing” (as he calls it!) is really top notch and this sculpt captures that perfectly. There were plenty of other examples but this one was the best for me.

No. 5 - Arnulf by "Games Workshop" - May 18th

This Reaver of Khorne, from Games Workshop’s "Age of Sigmar" setting, is essentially a blood thirsty barbarian charging into battle, whose excellent skin tones really stood out for me. I also liked the way Simon didn't copy the traditional red of the followers of the Blood God, but used a more original colour scheme that still captured the character perfectly. Very nice indeed.

No. 4 - Demon Bunny by "Wizkids" Heroclix - July 13th

A blood soaked giant rabbit. Need I say more! Great paint job that is so full of character!!

No. 3 - Yeti by "Black Tree Design" - December 10th

Well it wouldn’t be "Fantorical" without "Doctor Who". This classic Patrick Troughton baddie looks great. The fur is so well done and it just begs to be in a unit and on the tabletop. Simon’s techniques for picking out fur and hair are really, really good and this is a great example.

No. 2 - Wendigo by "Wizkids" - February 8th

I had never heard of this "Marvel Worldwide" comic book character before, but had to pay attention when I saw him. The sculpt is very dynamic and he really stands out because he is pure white. White is such a difficult colour to paint, well in my opinion at least, and the shading on this model is very subtle, very clean and precise, so this super-villain was always going to be high up the list.

No. 1 - Polar Bear by "Copplestone Castings" - March 22nd

This is a great sculpt and what makes it stand out is the realistic painting of it. It looks great in the photograph, but even better in real life. Simple, but so effective. This model really stood out for me.

Well that concludes my Top Ten and the reasons behind them. Happy New Year to all the readers of “Fantorical”.

"Resident Evil 2" Board Game Report: Spider-Man & Black Widow Verses Zombies - Part Two

SPIDER-MAN AND THE BLACK WIDOW BATTLE BRAIN-CHOMPING ZOMBIES

"The story so far... Whilst visiting Raccoon City on a photography assignment, the Daily Bugle's Peter Parker has uncovered some alarming report's concerning the Umbrella Corporation. Having contacted the Avenger, Natalia Romanova, for some much needed support, the friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man has donned his crime-fighting costume and started to make his way to Raccoon City's Police Department. However, both Web-head and the Black Widow soon find their way to their rendezvous point blocked by the brain-chomping Undead..."

THE TABLETOP -  THE ALLEYWAYS AND ROOMS SURROUNDING THE R.C.P.D. BUILDING

"Resident Evil 2" Board Game Report: Spider-Man & Black Widow Verses Zombies

Trapped at the beginning of an alleyway, Spider-Man utilised his web-shooters to their maximum potential by rapidly firing three volleys of webbing at the fast-approaching zombie in front of him. The Daily Bugle photographer's aim was off though, and only succeeded in allowing the Undead cadaver blocking off his escape root to make an "Out-Of-Sequence" Reaction, and stumble directly into the costumed crime-fighter.

Ordinarily, any subsequent attack risked the chance that the flesh-eating ghoul would be able to gouge a chunk out of its prey, however, because Web-head had the "Cool Under Fire" special ability, it was agreed that he would be able to use his web-shooters (an item) on this one occasion "while one or more enemies are in his square without making an evade roll." This decision potentially somewhat jarred with the rule "Attacking An Enemy In The Same Square", within where it states "If the attack is unsuccessful, the targeted enemy makes a basic attack which cannot be evaded", but it was felt under the circumstances that our 'house rule' better represented the smart-mouthed vigilante characteristically keeping his head when under intense pressure.

SPIDER-MAN DEMONSTRATES HIS "COOL UNDER FIRE" SPECIAL ABILITY

Shockingly, the triple attack once again missed, and it was only during Spider-Man's third action that he finally managed to buy a little breathing room by pushing the moaning minion backwards. A fourth attempt to overcome his foe resulted in the super-hero completely running out of web-fluid and the walking dead being right at his throat. The Black Widow would seemingly need to come to the rescue of Peter Parker's alter-ego. However, having sensed movement inside the Upper Room, Natalia ended her activation outside the location's open eastern door. Confirming her worst fears, Romanova spotted a zombie shuffling towards her...

Spider-Man attempted to somersault over the Undead corpse before him, and evading the ghoulish monster's attack bounded north past his ungodly opponent and further up the alleyway. Behind him, the youth could hear his pursuer groan and turn in his direction. Meanwhile, the Black Widow managed to push the zombie bothering her up against the Upper Room's locked south-western door with a triple blast from her Stingers, and race up to the door which adjoined the Final Room. The walking ghoul at the Avenger's location slowly stumbled north towards the black-clad S.H.I.E.L.D. agent.

THE BLACK WIDOW BLASTS AWAY AT THE WALKING DEAD

Activating her "Reckless" special ability, the Black Widow took "an out-of sequence activation" and opened the door to the Final Room. A double-zap from her Stingers pushed its Undead occupant from the centre of the location back to the R.C.P.D. entranceway. With a groan, the zombie lurched towards his assailant, whilst behind Natalia she could hear the brain-hungry ghoul in the Upper Room shuffling after her. Meanwhile, Spider-Man, deciding against entering the Tiny Room, simply rushed up to the Upper Room's locked south-western door and caught his breath. The walking cadaver he'd previously somersaulted over could be heard slowly stumbling along the alleyway some way behind him.

Peter Parker's alter-ego opened the door to the Upper Room and due to not having any remaining web-fluid acrobatically made his way towards the building's north-east corner. His dramatic entry caused the location's zombie to turn its full attention upon him rather than Romanova, and it closed to within biting range. Unfortunately the sound also allowed the Undead in the Final Room to react too, and the zed frighteningly closed upon the Black Widow as a result.

SPIDER-MAN RACES TOWARDS THE BLACK WIDOW'S FINAL BATTLE

Despite "attacking at point-blank range... only [being] advisable as a last resort" Natalia manged to push her attacker back and took the opportunity to run to the R.C.P.D. entranceway. With an inhuman snarl, the zombie lurched towards her, hoping to get in a tasty bite before his prey escaped. Behind them, the ravenous brain-eater circling Spider-Man attacked, but was unable to take a chunk out of the costumed crime-fighter due to the super-hero's spider-sense.

The Daily Bugle photographer finally kicked free of the hungry monster and sped into the Final Room, slamming shut the Upper Room's door as he went. Unfortunately, the noise caused the zombie which had been previously bothering the Black Widow to leap upon Spider-Man instead, and only the youth's speedy reflexes saved him from a nasty bite.

THE BLACK WIDOW OPENS THE ROUTE TO THE RACCOON CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT

Realising that her would-be-assailant in the Final Room was now otherwise occupied, Romanova decided to put her mission first and foremost, and escaped through the entranceway into the Racoon City Police Department. As she sought sanctuary she heard her costumed companion somehow manage to dodge yet another attack from the walking dead.

However, Spider-Man was unable to steer clear of a savage claw down his arm as he hurled his opponent backwards one final time and raced to the safety of the R.C.P.D. himself. Fortunately, he felt he would have time to tend to his solitary wound before returning to his investigation of the Umbrella Corporation, and perhaps by then other super-heroes would have joined his cause...

"Resident Evil 2" Board Game Report: Spider-Man & Black Widow Verses Zombies

SPIDER-MAN AND THE BLACK WIDOW FACE OFF AGAINST "RESIDENT EVIL 2"

This game was played using Scenario 1A - Getting To The Police Department from "Resident Evil 2: The Board Game" by "Steamforged Games". However, in order to allow us to set-up a quick(ish) play through, the in-game plastic figures were replaced with a handful of my painted "Copplestone Castings" zombies and a pair of re-painted "Heroclix" miniatures. The table was set-up exactly as instructed by the "Capcom" licensed game's rulebook, including the contents of its Item Decks, Tension Deck, Character Start points and zombie locations 

Spider-Man was armed with his famous web-shooters and enough web-fluid for fifteen shots. He also had the "Cool Under Fire" special skill, which meant that once per activation he "may use an item while one or more enemies are in his square without making an evade roll." The costumed crime-fighter would start the game in the top north-western corner. The Black Widow was armed with her Stingers and enough electricity for fifteen shots. She also had the special skill "Reckless", which meant "at the end of any character's activation including her own" Natalia "may take an out-of-sequence activation" and "after doing so, she must forfeit her following activation", and the "Intrigue" ability, which allows her "once per scenario" to "discard a card drawn from the tension deck without resolving the effects." The Avenger would start the game in an alleyway south of the Tiny Room.

The super-heroes would successfully complete this scenario if they all leave the playing area via the western door in the Final Room. Once a character has left the playing area though, they cannot activate."

THE TABLETOP -  THE ALLEYWAYS AND ROOMS SURROUNDING THE R.C.P.D. BUILDING

"The story so far... Whilst visiting Raccoon City on a photography assignment, the Daily Bugle's Peter Parker has uncovered some alarming report's concerning the Umbrella Corporation. Having contacted the Avenger, Natalia Romanova, for some much needed support, the friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man has donned his crime-fighting costume and started to make his way to Raccoon City's Police Department. However, both Web-head and the Black Widow soon find their way to their rendezvous point blocked by the brain-chomping Undead..."

Spotting the ghoulish zombie shuffling towards him down the alleyway, Spider-Man immediately activated and spent the first of his four actions shooting at the walking cadaver. The masked vigilante's web-shooters were a "rapid fire" weapon, which meant he could "spend one additional ammunition point to roll an extra attack dice". One of his shots pushed the zombie back, allowing the super-hero to move south and then fire both his web-shooters at his target again. The groaning corpse was nicely wrapped up in sticky webbing, and out of the game for good. As no other Undead were around nothing occurred in either the subsequent reaction or tension phases.

SPIDER-MAN HEADS SOUTH AS THE BLACK WIDOW BEGINS BATTLING NORTH

The Black Widow ran east along the alleyway she found herself in and turning to head north saw a zombie stood between her and a potentially useful item. As her "Widow's Bite" was also a "rapid fire" weapon the former Russian spy fired a double burst at the fiend, and pushed it further north up the alleyway. Disconcertingly, the creature staggered back towards her, making a loud painful groan.

Spider-Man headed south-east, opening the door to the First Room and stepped inside. Everything was eerily quiet, and the place seemed deserted. Meanwhile the Black Widow fired a second double-powered blast at her would-be assailant and brought the creature down permanently. Natalia then made her way up north to search amongst some debris, and considered whether to perhaps enter the Lower Room next time..?

THE BLACK WIDOW FINDS AN ITEM AS SHE NAVIGATES HER WAY TOWARDS THE R.C.P.D.

Peter Parker's alter-ego swung himself south across the First Room towards a potentially useful item located in its south-west corner. There was clearly no-one else in the place to worry about as far as the reaction phase was concerned, but during the tension phase it seemed the claustrophobic location was ideal for an "Undead Ambush" as two dark silhouettes outside were the wall-crawler's "only warning before glass shatters to jagged shards and death resumes its tireless pursuit!"

Suddenly, instead of simply facing something useful on the floor in front of him, Spider-Man was looking into the hungry faces of two freshly spawned zombies. Completely oblivious to her colleague's plight, the Black Widow searched the end of the alleyway she was in and discovered a green herb. This would allow Romanova to heal herself or a friend "in the same or adjacent square one level." The Avenger then kicked open the door to the Lower Room and immediately fired a double-blast at the zombie she saw inside. Unfortunately the shots went wild, and only succeeded in attracting the green-hued creature's attention. It unpleasantly stumbled towards the former Russian super-spy, it's arms outstretched...

SPIDER-MAN GETS MORE THAN HE BARGAINED FOR AS ZOMBIES BREAK IN TO HIS LOCATION

Spider-Man acrobatically somersaulted back away from his assailants, threw open the First Room's south-east door and hurled himself through it, slamming it shut behind him as he went. He was momentarily safe, but was now facing another zombie which stood between him and his passage north. Hearing the super-hero's dramatic entrance into the dark alleyway, the Undead monster shuffled south towards him.

Determined to bring down her foe fast, the Black Widow actually used her "rapid fire" "Widow's Bite" to its maximum potential and used one action to fire a triple-burst at the cadaver stomping towards her inside the Lower Room. The zombie was destroyed, allowing Natalia to race west and open the location's door. There were still a few hurdles between Romanova and the Raccoon City Police Department, but she had plenty of juice left in her Stingers, as well as a little time on her side.

To Be Continued...