"Beachhead" Loot 2020

"Warpainter Scenics" - A flower patch, vegetable patch and collection of resin cobblestone pavements

This weekend I decided to make my second trip to the Bournemouth International Centre, Dorset, so as to visit the tabletop games show “Beachhead”. The team behind this event, now in its fifth year, are clearly becoming increasingly ambitious and it was clear from the larger trader hall and surrounding tournament areas just why they're "really pleased that it is rapidly becoming the go-to show on the South Coast.

Hoping to start slowly by circling clockwise around the venue's outer stalls first, I quickly stumbled across "Warpainter Scenics" and their collection of pre-painted garden scenery. Of particular interest was a fantastic looking collection of cabbages, beetroots, lettuces and cauliflowers all penned together in resin, as well as a large packed box full of some clearance items.

"I-Kore" WIP - A long out of production Koralon Hydra

These 'end of the line' pieces were incredibly priced, and suddenly enthused with the notion of the Third Reich being bravely battled across a quaint British village green I dived in with great gusto. Ultimately, I desperately tried to be restrained, but still ended up carting away four marvellously colourful flower displays, and a load of resin pavements to encircle the numerous pre-painted cottages I already own...

Similarly as tempting were the pre-printed wargame terrain produced by "XLC Wargame Terrain", whose "Desecration City" range of heavily fortified concrete positions, seemed particularly suited to either "Warhammer 40k" or Weird War Two. Fortunately, despite being strongly tempted by some of their barracks, cell blocks and towers, I ultimately walked away with just one of their Dice Tower: Police Box kits in my hand. I'm a big advocate of populating a tabletop with just a single manufacturers' scenic items, as I think a mix of resin, plastic, and wood from different sources tends to shatter the environment's illusion, and therefore thought the dice tower would prove simple test product to try out.

"Precinct Omega" WIPs - Two large "Beachhead" show specials and a pair of smaller Microclopi

Most of the show was unsurprisingly populated with the usual suspects like "Great Escape Games", "4Ground", "TTCombat", "Warlord Games" and "Plastic Soldier Company". These companies are great if you're after their very latest release or they're doing a special show deal, but it wasn't until I spied a battered box beneath the "Scotia Grendel" table that my I spied my prize pick of "Beachhead"; a load of old "Void" boxed miniatures from "I-Kore". These resin/metal marvels immediately took me back to a distant past when I was absolutely infatuated with the sci-fi skirmish rule-set, and for just a fiver each I simply couldn't stop myself picking up the lot, including a mighty Koralon Hydra.

Besides a quick visit to my regular e-store "Element Games" in order to snag their sole "Warhammer 40,000" Start Collecting! Necrons box for use with the "Space Marine Adventures" boardgame by "Games Workshop", the last dealer to catch my eye was "Precinct Omega" and their utterly bizarre range of "Ballmonsters!" Sculpted to work with the manufacturer's partially-written fantasy sports miniatures game, I thought these tiny heads were splendidly different, and despite deciding to superglue mine onto normal 25mm circular bases, as opposed to the clear plastic flight stands they come with, they should hopefully prove an interesting project to paint.

"I Am Awake!"

"And I thirst for vengeance!"

This 28mm scale resin miniature of a Trigon Portal is one of the eleven resin miniatures which can be found inside the Teen Titans Bat-Box for the "Batman Miniatures Game" by "Knight Models", and is used as an objective marker during the Teen Titans scenario: Portal of Evil. Able to bestow two Victory Points to "its owner when they control it", this marker's owner can also score "an additional Victory Point for each friendly model controlling it after the first, up to an additional two Victory points", and can cause "all models within 8 inches" to suffer a "Push effect of four inches (no roll is required) directly away from the portal."

The single-piece casting was primed using a double coat of "Vallejo" Heavy Red, shaded in "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson, and thoroughly dry-brushed with some (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Red. I then started building up the magical doorway's highlights using "Vallejo" Heavy Orange, Heavy Ochre, Iraqi Sand and a smidgen of Dead White. The entire ensemble was subsequently glazed using "Citadel" Bloodletter.

"Crooked Dice" WIPs - This Fishfolk Devil has been primed, washed and dry-brushed

Having ensured that I had one less miniature in my painting queue, I recently made the annual trip up to the Rivermead Leisure Centre in Reading for the Wargames Association of Reading's event "Warfare". Ordinarily, as "one of the largest [shows] in the country", this convention causes my wallet considerable pain, as I usually come away with a number of purchases I could never have anticipated buying prior to walking through its doors.

Disconcertingly however, I didn't find this year's array of traders to be especially enticing, with the notable exception of "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio", who not only ensured that I walked away with a handful of their characterful Fishfolk Devils. But also a reassuringly heavy copy of their 7TV: Pulp Boxed Set, a "tabletop skirmish game inspired by the American cinema serials and pulp magazines of the 1930's and 1940's", which was on sale at a modest discount for the weekend of the show.

"Warcry" WIPs - An almost completed Iron Legionary and Drillmaster

Indeed, even the much publicised "ever popular (and huge) bring and buy" sale didn't get close to making me put my hand in my pocket, and in the end the only 'out of production' figures I found of interest were three blisters of metal "Confrontation" models by "Rackham", which were simply sat on the table of a dealer in the main hall. It was though certainly nice to once again briefly meet up with fellow blogger Ray Rousell of "Don't Throw A One" fame.

Setting aside my disappointment with "Warfare", I have almost finished the fifth member of my Iron Golem warband for "Warcry". Chock full of excruciatingly annoying fine detail, these hard plastic "Games Workshop" figures have proved frustratingly time-consuming to progress, but having changed tactics so as to pigment their brass-work first, I'm hopeful that I've now discovered a method of painting the heavily-armoured warriors that little bit quicker than before...

"Colours" Loot 2019

"Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" WIP - The resin Giant Robot has been pinned and assembled

This past Saturday I was once again able to make the trip to Newbury Racecourse and attend the annual Newbury & Reading Wargames Society's show “Colours”. Last year's 'happening' was arguably the best I've attended since it was disappointingly reduced in length to just a single day, and despite not finding any bargains in the event's 'Bring & Buy' sale this time round, I felt the attending traders still put on a worthy gathering. It was certainly nice to once again briefly meet up with fellow blogger Tamsin Piper of the website “Wargaming Girl” fame.

"Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" have always held a special place in my hobby heart ever since I encountered their wares on the eve of them first distributing their "7TV" rule-set, and I have been patiently collecting their substantial range of miniatures ever since. Recently, amongst an Occult Statue, Mushrooms, Dead Forest and trio of Protoplasmic Terrors, they announced the imminent release of a 90mm tall Giant Robot and fortunately I was able to find a pair of these resin models available at their stall.

"Magister Militum" WIPs - A pair of feathered Velociraptors and an egg nest

Sculpted by Andrew May, each kit actually comes with two hands, a fearsome pincer and a death ray, so I've decided to build one as a right-handed maniacal clawed monstrosity, and the other as a laser-gun firing fiend. As the robots are cast in resin, I found them really easy to assemble using a little grey-stuff, some super-glue and pins, and even went so far as to pin my test automaton to its "Citadel" 60mm circular base.

My other purchases were actually motivated by a pang of nostalgia, and a sudden desire to return to one of my favourite vendors and scales. Approximately eleven years ago, back when this blog was hosted on "CoffeeCup", I began work on a 'War That Time Forgot' project using both the 10mm Prehistoric monsters and World War One figures of "Magister Militum". I actually managed to finish a fair few dinosaurs, British, German and French soldiers, and even played a few games using them, but soon found myself put off by some of the Salisbury-based company's military sculpts.

"Pendraken Miniatures" WIPs - Two British Airborne armed with rifles, and one with a Sten gun

Having more recently spent some considerable time painting both 6mm and 10mm models I figured a re-boot of a 'War That Time Forgot' might be in order, especially as I believe I still know where my antediluvian backlog may well be buried gathering dust. As memory serves I actually already own a fair few of the range's larger flesh-eaters, so with this in mind I bought several blisters of the smaller dinosaurs, such as Protoceratops, Gallimimus, and Velociraptors, as well as three egg nests to use as objective markers.

In addition, I thought I'd inject some extra enthusiasm in the project by turning to "Pendraken Miniatures" for my soldiers, and relocating my 'war' to 1939-1945 instead. As a result, I decided to pick up a British Airborne Army Pack, plus some Bren Carriers and Churchill Tanks, and establish whether from these I could possibly build some semblance of a force with which to triumph over a horde of angry dinosaurs using some homemade rules...

“The Life-size Recumbent Effigy Was First Found In The Tombs Of Royalty…”

"...And then spread to the nobility."

This 34mm long resin model of a Mouse-oleum – The Tomb Of The Mouse Lord is produced by “Oathsworn Miniatures” and can be purchased as part of their “Burrows & Badgers” range. The small(ish) scenic piece was part of a handful of miniatures I picked up from the company’s stall whilst at “Salute” 2019, and has been super-glued onto one of the 50mm circular bases I predominantly use for my objectives markers.

The effigy was initially undercoated using two coats of the old “Citadel” Layer paint Charadon Granite and subsequently heavily washed with Nuln Oil. It was then simply dry-brushed using more Charadon Granite. As a final touch I later mixed some “Vallejo” White in with the “Citadel” Charadon Granite and very lightly dry-brushed this combination over the entire model so to help highlight its excellent detail. 

My Daemonic host prepares to advance supposedly safe in the knowledge that the Nurglings will protect them

Sticking with science fiction-based wargaming, I have also managed to play my first 'proper' game of "Warhammer 40K" by "Games Workshop", fielding a 736-point strong Khorne/Nurgle Chaos force against a similarly costed unit of Ultramarines, who were additionally aided by a pair of formidably tough robotic combat walkers. The ensuing battle for an ancient relic upon a planet increasingly lost to the plague-ridden sores of the Plague God and bleeding iconography of the Blood God was understandably bloody, but despite being unable to finish the game to its conclusion due to time constraints, it reaffirmed in my mind just how very much I am currently enjoying this "newest edition of everybody's favourite wargame" as the fight is never seemingly over whilst playing it until the 'fat lady sings'.

This ability to suffer serious set-backs yet still entertain the hope of ultimate victory proved itself time and again during this game, especially in its early stages when I unwisely utilised my Nurglings' "Mischief Makers" ability to place them just 9" away from my enemy's deployment zone. Seemingly shielding a rock-solid core of twenty Bloodletters and twenty Plaguebearers behind their tiny chittering bodies, I felt confident the "Gleeful Castoffs" would keep my opponent busy up for a couple of turns at least and give my larger daemons ample time to advance within reach of their foes.

The Armiger Helverin and Knight Errant start firing upon the Bloodletters and Plaguebearers

Enter an Armiger Helverin, supposedly the "lightest class of Imperial Knight combat walker", and its raking firepower, and my 'delaying tactic' was spread like so much mulch all over the ground with the roll of a fistful of dice. Such a disheartening loss at the very start of the fight left my entire centre wide open to the guns of a towering Knight Errant and my initially terrifying Bloodletter formation began to slowly get whittled away before my very eyes.

Fortunately, despite my opening set-back I was still able to push my main units up the table towards Khorne's Bleeding Icon (which was being used merely as an immobile terrain feature), whilst a pair of Beasts of Nurgle bounded along my left flank to take control of a small stargate which had been identified as the battlefield's one and only valuable relic. However, ominously spread out in front of my warhost ready for the second turn's Shooting phase, was an incredible amount of the Emperor's firepower, including a Primaris Lieutenant who almost glued himself alongside the reassuringly solid form of his force's smaller "fast-moving weapons platform, as well as the rest of the Ultramarines, which assembled before my Beasts of Nurgle.

The Bloodletters, Beasts of Nurgle and Plaguebearers fail their charges 

I can only give thanks to the Dice Gods that my Chaos daemons weren't completely eradicated in the subsequent hail of bullets that followed, especially after both my Bloodletters and Plaguebearers failed their charges. My Plaguesword-carrying warriors at least had their "Disgustingly Resilient" ability to help them soak up all the wounds which were riddling their ranks, but my liver-coloured "Slaughter-Kin" were increasingly finding their 5+ Invulnerability Save for being "Daemonic" wasn't enough protection when caught out in the open before the tender mercies of an Imperial Knight's weaponry.

Eight of the Bloodletters fell before the combined firepower of the Intercessor's Lieutenant and the "Questor Imperialis in High Gothic", utterly breaking the backbone of my once mighty close quarter combatants, and making it clear that the Blood God had probably been less than impressed with their decision to charge the solitary Ultramarine Officer stood atop a pile of ruins, rather than the nearby 'ancient battlesuit'. Certainly I wasn't looking forward to an impossible Morale phase as it even the bravest of Khorne's foot soldiers would surely flee from such a beating..?

Bloodletters swarm the Lieutenant, whilst the Beasts of Nurgle get stomped upon by the Imperial Knight

A single roll of the dice later and 'reality had blinked'. Not only had my Bloodletter's "Daemonic Icon" ensured that "no models flee", but it had bolstered my horde with five freshly-resurrected "Slaughter-Kin". Suddenly, the Lieutenant's position looked far less survivable, whilst my Plaguebearers and Beasts of Nurgle both finally made it into contact with their respective foes. Sadly, time was against us to finish the conflict, so the game's final act was to see the hulking Imperial Knight, quite possibly incensed by suffering a wound courtesy of "Smite", squashing one of my 'enthusiastic monsters who love to play' with its feet...

"Salute" Loot 2019

"Dead Man's Hand" WIPs - John Bridges, the Scarred Man and Ned Kelly

This year's traditional trip to the ExCeL convention centre in Custom House, East London has once again added a few more baubles to my horde of metal, plastic and resin miniatures, as well as greatly widened my interest in yet another genre or two. In fact, one of the main reasons I enjoy attending this show is that some manufacturer somewhere will throw me a real ‘curve ball’ and before I know it, I’ll have bought heavily into a new game system I hadn’t previously even heard of.

Fortunately, financially-wise at least, that didn’t quite happen during “Salute” 2019, but I did still walk away with a few Wild West miniatures by “Great Escape Games” for their “Dead Man’s Hand” rule-set. Even though I don’t currently have any particular intention in purchasing and playing the 28mm skirmish game itself, I did find it impossibly hard to resist purchasing a box of models disconcertingly based upon an Undead Magnificent Seven.

"Time Robbers" WIPs - The Minotaur and two models from the Ultimate Evil set

Obviously I needed some opposition for the skull-headed Malevolent Seven, and spotted amongst the stall’s single figure blister packs an excellent proxy for “DC Comics” Jonah Hex in the guise of the Scarred Man and Rooster Cogburn with John Bridges (albeit I would have much preferred one resembling John Wayne’s original incarnation). In addition, whilst searching this excellent range I also spotted a boxed set featuring Ned Kelly’s formidably armoured lawbreakers. The bucket-wearing Australian bushranger has always been a favourite Wild West villain of mine, even if he did his shooting on the other side of the world, so there was no way I could resist picking his gang up as well…

A couple of years ago at “Salute” 2016 “Northumbrian Tin Soldier” caught me completely off-guard with half a dozen 28mm white metal "Time Robbers” based upon the band of dwarves from the 1981 motion picture "Time Bandits". Rather embarrassingly, apart from basing and priming the figures I have never touched them again, however that may now all change, as at this show the Tyne & Wear-based manufacturer’s captured my imagination once again by serving up both an Ultimate Evil set of four miniatures, alongside a blister comprising of Agamemnon and a giant Minotaur.

"Dust Tactics" WIPs - Three members of the Cultist Fire Squad

Quite possibly one of my most unexpected buys of “Salute” 2019 however, came from a chance encounter with “Dust Studio”, who I had totally forgotten about following a rather painful “Kickstarter” experience way back in 2014. I’d always been a big fan of “Dust Tactics” up until this point, and at the time pledged very enthusiastically for all things “Operation Babylon”. Sadly, ‘behind-the-scene’ bust-ups over backer rewards seemed to stall the distribution of my goodies for an eternity, and ultimately left a bad taste in my mouth for the genre.

To my utter astonishment though, a quick look at the “Dust Studio” display cabinet was all that was needed to immediately reignite my enthusiasm back up as I saw the Hong Kong-headquartered company have recently introduced a Cthulhu Mythos faction into their 1947 A.D. universe, and crammed it with just the sort of baddies one would expect to see in an Indiana Jones or Ray Harryhausen motion picture. Resultantly, I couldn’t stop myself from picking up a box of unassembled Cultist Fire Squad figures, Mi-Go Raiders and (more) Nazi killer Gorilla Squad members, as well as later digging out my dusty old collection of miniatures in anticipation for a painting frenzy…

"Beachhead" Loot 2019

"Wargames Terrain Workshop" WIPs - A Zodiac Warrior Rooster and Zodiac Warrior Goat

This past Saturday I decided to make my first trip to the Bournemouth International Centre, Dorset, in order to attend the "exciting tabletop games event" known as “Beachhead”. To be honest my expectations weren't particularly high for this show, as despite being in its fourth year, there was no Bring & Buy sale and its single hall only boasted approximately thirty industry trade stands; which is less than half the number present at "Warfare" 2018.

Fortunately however, one of the first vendors I stumbled upon was Dave Stone of "Wargames Terrain Workshop" fame and he was soon showing off his stunning "selection of warrior animals based on the Chinese Zodiac" to me. The range currently consists of ten different sculpts, with the largest model, the Zodiac Ox, quickly catching both my attention and imagination due to its formidable size and pugilistic pose.

"Batman Miniature Game" WIPs - Black Adam, Black Mask and Black Manta

Indeed, I quickly ensured Dave had one put by behind his till for me to collect later, and then spent a brief while picking up a few of his smaller pieces to tackle the giant bovine boxer in hand-to-hand combat. Ultimately, I went with a Rooster, Goat, Monkey and rabbit, and have subsequently set to work priming the plucky bird and billy goat gruff. These miniatures really are quite incredible to behold in the flesh and seem especially sturdy due to them miraculously containing a wire skeleton deep inside the resin...

"Great Escape Games" also soon caught my eye with their increasingly tempting "Dead Man's Hand" range of Wild West figures, and I have little doubt that the next time I see this characterful range I will be picking up a few of its "Down Under" and "The Curse Of Dead Man's Hand" miniatures. On this occasion though I was able to resist due to succumbing to a quite reasonable sale of old "Knight Models" at a nearby stall.

Pre-painted "Heroclix" - This second-hand box contains Spiders Man, Dark Deadpool and Montana

I actually own a fair few sculpts for The "Batman Miniature Game", yet quite quickly fell 'out of love' with the range due the difficulty I experienced trying to assemble its fiddly metal miniatures. In addition, as I already own a vast array of "Wizkids" plastic models, it has always seemed a bit silly to invest heavily in a second set of super-hero related figures. Having said that, it was arguably impossible to resist the likes for Black Manta, Doctor Fate, Black Mask and his Crew, Hawkman, and Black Adam for just a fiver each.

Interestingly, by far my favourite 'pick' from Bournemouth actually came in the form of a birthday gift from my eldest rather than anything I bought from "Beachhead". A whopping box of "Heroclix" miniatures, including a few members of the Enforcers, usually means an evening being spent chopping figures off from their clicky-bases and readying them for a re-paint. But this time round I'm tempted to keep some of these models intact, and try to get my head around the collectible miniatures game's rule-set once again...

"Warfare" Loot 2018

Able Company WIPs - These "Sally 4th" 28mm miniatures have been based and primed

This past Saturday I made the annual trip to the Rivermead Leisure Centre in Reading and attended the opening day of the Wargames Association of Reading's weekend long show "Warfare". I've actually been regularly attending this event for well over a decade, but having bought just a few 'bits & bobs' this time round, disappointingly felt that it has probably seen far better days than it does in its current format. Indeed, a handful of the usual faces, such as "Hysterical Games", were noticeably not there, whilst the likes of "Warlord Games" and "Mantic Games" arguably presented some disconcertingly underwhelming stalls...

Fortunately, I did still manage to rummage around and purchase a few pieces of interest, with "Sally 4th" in particular providing a fine display of their wares, including some of the miniatures which form part of the Albedo Combat Patrol ACP164 Anthropomorphic "Kickstarter". Based upon "the unique comic book art of Steve Gallacci" I was sorely tempted to buy a few automatic-rifle carrying rabbits, foxes, dogs and cats, yet in the end actually decided to 'pick up' four of the manufacturer's 28mm metal figures from their Classic Movie Miniatures range.

US Lunar Force Rover WIP - The huge 15mm vehicle has been superglued together and partially primed

I'm not currently convinced as to what rule-set I plan to use these somewhat chunky Able Company characters with, albeit "Sally 4th" would seem to be targeting them towards those who play the Game of Extraordinary Action and Adventure entitled "Pulp Alley". So for now I have based them all on the lipped circular stands I use for my "Bolt Action" models, just in case I decide to utilise them as characters for "Konflikt '47" at some point in the future. In addition, I have had to do some restoration work to the barrel of the not-Jim Morita miniature's firearm, after the soft metal muzzle came away whilst basing him. Hopefully, once painted, the piece of metal wire I have employed as a replacement will look good enough...

Equally as enjoyable to visit was "Ground Zero Games" which was located in exactly the "same location as the last few years - first aisle on the left of the main trade hall." I've been tremedously impressed by their 15mm "Moongrunt" range in recent weeks, so treated myself to a second of their US Lunar Marine Starter Force boxes. These 'reinforcements' should enable me to hopefully build both variants of their US Lunar Force Rover, which is a truly formidable-looking and heavy combination of resin and metal, as well as give me a surplus of astronauts to potentiall paint up in the orange and yellow of Moonbase Alpha from "Space 1999".

Cave Troll WIPs - The two metal "The Lord Of The Rings" monsters have been reassembled and primed

Perhaps the show's highight for me however, was it's Bring & Buy sale, which whilst seemingly dominated by discarded "Flames Of War" forces and unwanted partially-painted "Warhammer 40K" warriors, did contain a tidy little collection of old "Lord Of The Rings" miniatures by "Games Workshop". Admittedly, some of the Nottingham-based company's early plastic sculpts for their Strategy Battle Game are still reasonably accessible in today's second-hand market, despite being released to co-incide with the 2001 film "The Fellowship Of The Ring". But I can't remember seeing two of its early metal Troll models sold together as a pair before.

Incredibly, the box was handled by at least a couple of (dis)interested parties before I could 'nab it', and I was particularly pleased to see that both the monsters' arms were already pinned in place and that they came with a small horde of Moria Goblins too. Of course, I have subsequently cleaned up the enormous cave dwellers' joints up and re-attached the limbs before gritting their bases with gravel. I'm hoping to get these finished reasonably quickly, as I've already assembled a sizeable collection of 'half-done' Middle Earth-based models ready for the start of next month's Second Partially-Painted Pledge challenge.

"Colours" Loot 2018

"Wizkids" Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. alongside the likes of the Fantastic Four and Spider-Man

This past Saturday I was lucky enough to make the trip to Newbury Racecourse and attend the annual Newbury & Reading Wargames Club’s show “Colours”. To be honest I haven’t been that impressed with this event since it was reduced in length to a single day a few years ago, but having come away with a motley collection of models and scenery pieces, including the obligatory ‘I never would have expected to buy that’ goody bag, I feel this was probably the best one I’ve experienced for some considerable time.

In addition, there seemed to be far more games being played on the two upper stories that I was interested in perusing than I can recall too, with an “Infinity” tournament proving to be particularly eye-catching, if not off-putting, with all the numerous colourful tokens being required in order to record each (predominantly unpainted) figure’s status. Sadly, for those anticipating a review of these wonderfully-adorned tabletops I won’t be providing any coverage here. However, one of the highlights of the day was briefly meeting up with fellow blogger Tamsin Piper, and she has done a first-rate job of detailing seemingly every battlefield present at the show on her excellent website “Wargaming Girl”.

"Doctor Who" WIPs - Romana, the Fourth Doctor & K-9, and Harry Sullivan 

It probably won’t come as much of a surprise to anyone who pays even a passing attention to my wargaming habits to know that I’m a big fan of ‘Wizkids” and their pre-painted “Heroclix” range. These plastic ‘clicky’ super-heroes and dastardly villains have been about for many years and I’ve re-painted more than my fair share of them to use with such notable systems as “7TV” and “Mutants And Death Ray Guns”. Resultantly, when I stumbled upon a stall containing a shoe box of some of the New Jersey-based manufacturer’s earliest figures for ‘50p a pop’ I had a darn good rummage and picked up both the entire Fantastic Four, as well as my favourite “DC Comics” Silver Age comic book character, the Blue Beetle.

Now admittedly I already own these miniatures and have actually re-painted the vast majority too. But recently I’ve found myself yearning to play a few games of “Heroclix” using the system’s somewhat simple 2002 “Clobberin’ Time” rules, and Reed Richard’s quartet would allow me to do that rather nicely. In addition, I was later lucky enough to ‘pick up’ the ‘out of production’ “Hellboy And The B.P.R.D.” Action Pack from the show’s Bring & Buy area; a boxed set I’ve previously only partly-collected and re-painted as individual models.

"Epic" Khorne Army - Just the smallest of smatterings, as the plastic container was crammed full of tiny figures 

Equally as popular a genre with me as super-heroes is currently “Doctor Who”, so there was no way I was going to resist grabbing a set of the Fourth Doctor And Companions from “Warlord Games”. Featuring “medical officer” Harry Sullivan, “the noble savage” Leela, both incarnations of Romanadvoratrelundar and K-9, as well as Tom Baker’s instantly recognisable scarf-wearing time traveller, I’ve already popped all the models onto bases and given them a quick undercoat.

Perhaps somewhat bizarrely, I also succumbed to temptation at “Lesley’s Bits Box” by purchasing a plastic container full of “Epic” scale Khorne miniatures by “Games Workshop” for a tenner. It’s recently occurred to me that I’ve been firmly focusing upon 28mm sized figures for a considerably long time, much to the detriment of all the other scales I’ve collected, so thought a momentary future flurry with 6mm science fiction might make a pleasant change of pace.

"Blotz" Sci-Fi Style Wall Sections WIPs - The MDF pieces come in numerous pieces to add to their detail

Lastly, and by far my most enthusiastic ‘grab’, was from the excellent people at “Blotz”. I’ve been considering going all in for some “Necromunda” scenery ever since I latched on to the idea of blending it with Frank Herbert’s “Dune” universe and painting some Goliaths up as if they were from House Harkonnen. Many of the gangs arguably lend themselves to such an idea with the Escher (Bene Geserets), Delaque (Guild) and Van Saar (Fremen), as well as the Cadian Astra Militarum (Atreides), all appearing reasonably similar in looks to their ‘silver screen’ counterparts.

Impressively, the marvellous “selection of 28mm scale sci-fi style wall sections” “Blotz” produce in MDF was the final piece to my jigsaw, and should quite quickly help me progress a campaign set upon a nice three-dimensional Arrakis spice refinery using the “Necromunda” floor plans as a base. Somewhat foolishly, I only picked up a few of their pillars and walls at “Colours”, but have since ordered more along with some of their “terrain suitable for use with 6mm games such as Epic…”

"Warhammer World" Loot 2018

"Warhammer World" - The main building complete with giant statue and "Warhammer 40K" game display

This past weekend saw the start of what will hopefully be a semi-regular pilgrimage to Lenton Lane, Nottingham, and the supposed "Mecca for collectors and gamers across the globe" known as Warhammer World. I haven't actually visited the global headquarters of the "Games Workshop" hobby since its early days, and was surprised by just how many different games, genres and miniatures the company currently produce. Certainly, I found my willpower simply to pick-up the odd little trinket wilting the moment I arrived and came face-to-face with the place's gigantic statue of a Space Marine and Rhino armoured troop carrier.

Having therefore found myself already considerably enthused with "Warhammer 40K" I set foot inside the Visitor Centre and promptly came face-to-face with a marvellous display of Ultramarines storming an incredibly detailed mining facility which had been unfortunate enough to fall prey to an infestation of Nurgle's chaotic disciples. Somewhat overshadowed by a formidably-sized statue of Lurtz from "The Lord Of The Rings", not to mention a second Space Marine (perhaps the original sculpt which stood outside?), this enclosed miniature display in some ways actually made me want to drive back home and start painting up the contents of my "Dark Imperium" boxed set straight away...

Warhammer 40,000 Rogue Trader - "Produced to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Warhammer 40,000" 

Naturally there was still plenty more to see, and resultantly I spent some time moving around the various downstairs display cabinets before venturing up into the building's main store. Perhaps somewhat surprisingly for a manufacturer who is literally just about to release the second edition of their "Age Of Sigmar" rule-set though, it was not until I ventured up these steps that I started to notice its publicity; the vast majority of which came in the form of large cloth advertisement banners displaying some of the games more popular factions, such as the Stormcast and Daughters of Khaine.

However, as you can probably imagine, this momentarily banished all thoughts of their "dystopian science fantasy universe" from my mind and had me making a bee-line past the welcoming member of staff, and straight to their substantial "Age Of Sigmar" miniature exhibits. It was at this point though that I realised I really had ill-prepared myself for the sheer volume of plastic, metal and resin "Games Workshop" produce, and the presence of "Forge World" and their entire resin range didn't help matters either.

Errant-Questor WIP - The Stormcast Eternal has been assembled, based and primed

Luckily I was able to take a moments breather and libation at the wonderfully atmospheric Bugman's Bar, before returning to the store area and pressing on with my plan to view every single model on display. This refreshing respite momentarily allowed me to regain my wits and logically decide to only purchase from the centre's 'exclusive' range, rather than rampage through the fully-packed aisles of wares which I could doubtless purchase online (and at a significantly reduced cost).

To that end I was rather pleased to simply walk away with just a "special edition facsimile" of the original "Warhammer 40,000" rule-book, in order to replace my badly battered copy of "Rogue Trader", and the rather enigmatic-looking Errant-Questor multi-part plastic model for the Stormcast Eternals. Of course, paying £20 for a single average-sized miniature, even when it comes in a myriad of small fiddly pieces, is definitely not something I plan on doing everyday, especially when at one point I had been torn between purchasing either "the lone survivor of a retinue" or an entire "Blood Bowl" team for exactly the same price. But it was hopefully a one-off, and perhaps the start of another army for "Age Of Sigmar"...

"Salute" Loot 2018 - Part Two Of Two

"The Dominators" WIPs - All the models have been based and primed

Undoubtedly my main reason for attending this year's "Salute" 2018 was to visit the "Warlord Games" stall and buy the Nottingham-based company's latest two releases for "Doctor Who: Exterminate!". This range is really starting to 'take-off' and I was particularly pleased to see this blog featuring once again in the latest "Into The Time Vortex" digital newsletter, which specifically focused upon Dalek conversions, 'tip-top' paint-jobs and their "ever-growing loyal customers."

Patrick Troughton's incarnation of the travelling Time Lord has always held a high place in my memories of the BBC science fiction television programme, even if my first encounter with the Second Doctor only occurred during "The Five Faces Of Doctor Who" season of repeats in November 1981. The recent announcement that "Warlord Games" will be releasing his miniature, along with "Zoe, Jamie, Victoria and the Brig" later this year, has only helped fuel my enthusiasm for this 'black & white' period, so I was absolutely delighted to get my hands on a set of models taken from the Gallifreyan's August 1968 five-parter "The Dominators".

"Warlord Games" Newsletter Wednesday 11th April 2018

Featuring formidable sculpts of both Navigator Rago and Probationer Toba, I have already set to work basing the two male "humanoids from Drahb", as well as applied a double undercoat of "Vallejo" Iraqi Sand over the pair. Initially I did think these 'conquerors of the Ten Galaxies' would be fairly straightforward to paint, due to the majority of their clothing being black. However, colourised pictures of the duo, as well as the studio's official paint-jobs, actually shows them to be wearing dark green costumes...  

"The Ninth Doctor & Companions" WIPs - Rose, The Ninth Doctor and Captain Jack

Far easier to paint, at least upon first impression, are the three "robot work-soldiers" which accompany their taller masters in the box. Despite providing enough models to both deploy a complete Quark Recruitment Card and have one spare to 'defend' a Dominator ("must always stay within 4") I can still see me buying a second set of the servitors once I've finished work on this initial batch. This should then give me enough Quarks to field a second Recruitment Card and provide Toba with a 'cuboid-shaped guard' too. Of course that'll give me duplicates of the two Dominators, but I can always utilise them as scenic statues or as an extra ethereal ghost for my Fisher King.

In addition to picking up some figures from the show's Sixth Season, I was also able to buy the Ninth Doctor And Companions set. Featuring sculpts of Christopher Eccleston's character, Rose Tyler, Captain Jack Harkness, Mickey Smith and Jackie Tyler, I have immediately set to work priming the "sole survivor" of the Last Great Time War, as well as two of Nu Who's most popular assistants Rose and the "con man Javic Piotr Thane."

Copyright "Warlord Games" - The 'Nu Who' Sontarans

Lastly, I was thrilled to see one of next month's releases in the fully-pigmented flesh, the Sontarans. The stunning detail on these "militaristic clones from the planet Sontar" was absolutely breath-taking, despite the somewhat poor lighting of the ExCeL convention centre, and I'm really looking forward to picking up a couple of boxes of them in the near future... 

"Salute" Loot 2018 - Part One Of Two

"Star Trek Adventures" WIPs - Two Romulan Uhlans and Khan Noonien Singh

This year's annual pilgrimage to the ExCeL convention centre in Custom House, East London has undoubtedly added somewhat to my collection of metal, plastic and resin miniatures, as well as greatly widened my interest in a couple more of our hobby's vast pantheon of genres. Indeed, having only travelled up to "Salute" 2018 with just one 'definite' purchase on my shopping list (some OOP "Nexus Miniatures" Caprican Legion Troopers kindly sold to me by "Wargames Terrain Workshop"), I was rather surprised by the sheer range of loot I found within my various carrier bags upon leaving the disagreeably stuffy, dimly-lit venue...

My first impulse purchase however, courtesy of a flyer found within a disconcertingly sparse goodie bag, was arguably a no-brainer for a science fiction fan such as myself, and actually caused me to make a bee-line straight for the "Modiphius Entertainment" stall just as soon as the show started. Apparently an exclusive miniature, this resin model of Khan Noonien Singh from the 1982 motion picture "Star Trek: The Wrath Of Khan" was being given away for free by the British games and entertainment publisher "with every Star Trek Adventures purchase whilst stocks last!"

"Burrows And Badgers" WIPs - A Sparrow Warrior, Adder Warrior and Mouse

Disappointingly however, I wasn't that impressed with what I had to pay in order to make a "Star Trek Adventures purchase", and in the end slightly begrudgingly handed over a whopping forty quid for a measly ten 32mm Romulan Strike Team miniatures; a somewhat expensive outgoing considering that I have subsequently found the company's resin to easily 'tear' when being cleaned with a modelling knife or file, and the figures' stands awkwardly bent - to the point where I've decided not to use them at all and replaced them with plastic 28mm lipped bases instead...

Offering a free miniature was clearly the right way for a manufacturer to go though, in order to grab both my attention and hard-earned funds. I have never really considered gaming with cute furry animals before, but simply couldn't help myself from buying a warband or three at the "Oathsworn Miniatures" stall when I spotted the free mouse adventurer which came with their "Burrows And Badgers" rule-book.

"Wild West Exodus" WIP - This Viridian Alpha has simply been assembled, based and primed 

It's clear I'm going to have to dedicate a month or so to this "tabletop skirmish game that takes place in the Kingdom of Northymbra", as I went a bit silly and picked up quite an array of warriors, mages and cut-throats from their "range of [metal] anthropomorphic animal miniatures." In particular I was rather taken by a heavily-armoured Adder Warrior and heroically-posed Sparrow Warrior...

I also happened upon another irresistible temptation whilst passing the "Warcradle Studios" "Wild West Exodus" display. Their extra-terrestrial Watchers simply smack of 'Cowboys verses Aliens' to me, and thus I now own a copy of their remarkably well-priced Viridian Clade Starter Set. Not only does this hefty box contain enough resin/plastic models to form a posse, but it also includes a softback rule-book, tokens, templates, dice and cards.