"We Have Ruled Your Lives Since Your Lives Began."

"You should kill us all on sight."

These "finely-sculpted" and 40mm tall "pewter" models of three Silents are produced by “Warlord Games” and are designed for use with the Nottingham-based company's "Doctor Who: Exterminate!" miniatures game. Genetically engineered to be the confessional priests of the Church of the Silence, these mouthless creatures first appeared in the 2011 BBC television story “The Impossible Astronaut”, and were "capable of obliterating enemies by absorbing electrical energy from the air and discharging it from their hands at a vastly more potent level."

Initially primed with a double coat of "Citadel" Chaos Black, these miniatures were all heavily dry-brushed with "Vallejo" Heavy Charcoal and then washed with "Citadel" Nuln Oil. Two of the bony-faced humanoids had their discoloured shirts 'picked out' with a combination of "Vallejo" Iraqi Sand and "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade. Whilst the third figure had his arms slightly repositioned (through careful bending) and his collar painted in "Vallejo" Verdigris and "Citadel" Drakenhof Nightshade in order to mark him out as the faction's Leader.

"But you will never remember. We weren't even here. Your will is ours!"

All of these members of the "religious order created by Tasha Lem" had their ties re-painted with "Citadel" Abaddon Black and their pinkish skin pigmented with "Vallejo" Heavy Warmgrey and some watered-down "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade. These areas of flesh were then highlighted with some additional "Vallejo" Heavy Warmgrey, before receiving a final wash of "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade in order to 'blend' the pigments together and create some extra shadowing.

In the "Doctor Who: Exterminate!" game the faction certainly have some interesting special Traits, such as "Hard To Hit", which means that "all shots against a character... count as inaccurate", "Sneaky", which means that a Silent Veteran "may always claim cover even if in the open", and "Forgettable", which can allow one of Madame Kovarian's allies to "double its range if its not in the line of sight of an enemy character." In addition, the Silence's Adventure cards, such "Hypnosis", which gives you control of an enemy miniature "within 6" of one of your Silent characters" can really throw off an opponent's assault, whilst allowing the aliens to release the fearsome might of their "Electrical Discharges."

"Space Vixens From Mars" WIPs - Uhura, Mathews, Rand and Rayburn

Rather embarrassingly, I began work on these four “Space Vixens From Mars” miniatures some eighteen months ago, and never got past undercoating them. The 28mm metal figures are actually the first of several 'Federation' sculpts from the manufacturer's 'Personalities of SVfM' range that I began painting up as proxies for a “Star Trek” campaign, but were then sidelined on account of their uniform's elaborate and fussy chest insignia.

At the time I did try cutting the medals and war ribbons off with a sharp modelling knife and priming over the top of them with "Vallejo" Heavy Red. However, this then left each figure with a distinctly flat and noticeable area on their chest, which I have only now managed to 'grind' away to my satisfaction (having bought a set of small metal files).

"Our Memorial Masons Are Skilled In Crafting Headstones..."

"Our expert team of stonemasons can create sentimental, everlasting tributes..."

These three 40mm circular bases of plastic Gravestones are made by “Renedra Limited” and can be found within their Terrain range. Comprising of 44 various gravestones, as well as two perched ravens, the pieces are sculpted by Steve May of “Immortal Miniatures”.

Devilishly simple to paint, each headstone was given a couple of coats of "Citadel" Adeptus Grey and then heavily washed with "Citadel" Nuln Oil. I then brusquely dry-brushed each model with more "Citadel" Adeptus Grey before adding some "Vallejo" White to my palette and lightly brushing the face of each stone in order to highlight their inscriptions, carvings or signs of deterioration.

Star Trek WIPs - Ensign Fodder, Captain Kirk, Lieutenant Commander Scott and Yeoman Rand

I actually hope to eventually use these Gravestones as scenery for the “ZombieTV” episode The Dead Will Rise, which takes place within the middle of a cemetery, as well as alternative spawn points for “Zombicide”. But for now they’ll provide me with some much needed infestation markers for my Weird War Two-inspired games of “Lost Patrol” by “Games Workshop”.

Sticking with the “two-player boxed game, set on a hostile jungle world on which nowhere is safe”, my rather straightforward dalliance with the dead’s gravesites has also given me a little time to make some progress on the “Space Vixens From Mars” personality figures I plan to paint up as proxies for a “Star Trek” inspired game of “Lost Patrol”. I’ve only managed to brush on a rough layer of “Citadel” Abaddon Black onto Captain Kirk, Lieutenant Commander Montgomery "Scotty" Scott and undoubtedly some hapless red-shirted security ensign. But the miniatures are slowly starting to take shape. In addition I’ve also based and primed one of the range’s female models in order to represent the Captain’s yeoman, Janice Rand.

Evil Tree WIPs - This "Horrorclix" model has been repeated dry-brushed lighter shades of brown and grey

Finally I have all but completed painting the “Wizkids” Evil Tree figure found within their “Horrorclix” Starter Set. Interestingly this figure never actually came on one of the tabletop games’ famous clicky-bases and therefore initially seemed destined to become just another piece of scenery. However the quality of its sculpted gnarled trunks and horribly human face made the plastic piece seem far more suitable to actually being a living entity than a humble terrain feature.

As a result the miniature has endured a series of dry-brushes, each tip having been loaded with an increasingly lighter coloured brown, until I was happy that all of its detail had been properly highlighted. I’ve also subsequently given it a light dry-brush of Grey, just to weather the wood somewhat and now simply need to re-apply some washes to its darker areas before tidying the tree up and flocking its base.

"The Crime Isss Lifffe! All Mussst Be Purggged!"

"You mock the lawww, Dreddd! Ffflamesss of jusssticce conssssume you!"

This 28mm pre-painted plastic model of Judge Fire is by “Wizkids” and can be bought as number 112 from their Indy “Heroclix” range. Immersed from head-to-toe in ethereal flame, this Dark Judge earnt his name when he was still alive by burning down a school for violating noise regulations. Wielding a “flame-spewing trident”, the skull-headed lawkeeper was co-created by John Wagner, Alan Grant and Brian Bolland, and first appeared in August 1981 within the pages of Issue 224 of “2000 A.D.”

As I wanted to paint this version of Judge Fire entirely aflame the figure was primarily undercoated with “Vallejo” Heavy Orange and then heavily washed with the “Citadel” glaze Bloodletter. In order to try and bring out the sculpt’s excellent detail the Dark Judge was then dry-brushed with more “Vallejo” Heavy Orange before I highlighted his flames with Heavy Ochre. Lastly I applied some additional Heavy Ochre to the miniature’s raised edges, such as his shoulder-pads, skull and ornate belt-buckle with a “Winsor & Newton” University Series 000 brush.

Star Trek WIPs - Scotty and some 'Red Shirts', plus James Tiberius Kirk

These “Space Vixens From Mars” personality figures are the first of several 28mm metal miniatures from the manufacturer that I hope to paint up as proxies for a “Star Trek” inspired game of “Lost Patrol”. For now I plan to limit myself to Captain Kirk (using the company’s Colonel Steve Purbrick model) and an Away Team of four ‘Red Shirts’ including a (Grey-stuff) moustached Montgomery Scott.

I’m hoping that these characterful yet plainly sculpted miniatures will be the start of a much larger project which will eventually allow me to field some skirmish-scale battles involving the Federation battling the Klingon Empire, the Romulans, and the Gorn, as well as some other extra-terrestrial races too…

Evil Tree WIPs - This large "Horrorclix" model has been undercoated and washed 

 Finally I have started work on the largest of the models found within the “Horrorclix” Starter Set by “Wizkids”. This Evil Tree was originally destined to be simply placed upon one of the 40mm thin-lipped circular bases I reserve for objective markers. But having found it to be such an animated figure, and far larger than I anticipated, I have instead super-glued it to a 60mm round base so as to use it as a living, moving figure.

As a result I have under-coated the miniature with “Vallejo” Heavy Sienna, and subsequently washed it with “The Army Painter” Strong Tone Quickshade. Over the next few days I hope to build-up the monster’s twisted and terrifyingly warped details with a series of increasingly lighter brown dry-brushes. 

28mm Battle Report: Hellbaby And Jesus Of Nazareth Verses Nazi Zombies

JESUS OF NAZARETH AND HELLBABY TEAM UP TO FACE EXPLODING NAZI ZOMBIES

This game was played using some homemade rules and takes place upon my usual 2x2 gaming board. The battlefield was populated with a variety of pre-painted scenery made by “Tablescape”, most notably a number of earthworks and some barbed wire. In addition three objective markers were dotted about the landscape representing a canister of radioactive slush, a couple of oil barrels and a radio transmitter. The goal was simple, as the winner would be the side which had control of the most objectives by the end of Turn Six.

“The story so far… Having detected a supernatural threat fast approaching the Allied lines near the Rhine, Professor Trevor Bruttenholm has sent Hellbaby to support the American soldiers encamped at the Leine River. The young demon arrives just as the groans of the German Undead can be heard ‘fast’ approaching the men of the Third Army… and early reports suggest some of the zombies have high explosives strapped to their chests. But at this Easter Time will the Americans and an infant Anung Un Rama really face such a grisly foe alone, or is the central figure of Christianity about to step into the fray..?”

THE TABLETOP - AN ALLIED DEFENSIVE POSITION NEAR TO THE LEINE RIVER

Turn One started with Jesus of Nazareth, accompanied by two soldiers moving north in order to better protect the oil barrels, and make best use of the prophet’s ability to influence dice rolls (i.e. any friendly model within 15” can reroll one die per turn). To the south west Hellbaby and two more Americans headed north so as to take the radio transmitter. Finally Bravo Team, consisting of four soldiers who had been tasked to capture the canister near the northern table edge, also leapt over the sandbags in front of them and pushed forwards. As a shambling horde the zombies started to emerge from the north, with the majority appearing directly ahead of Bravo Team [Point 2] including one with something tied to its torso. Soon any sight of the canister by the Allies was blocked by the bodies of the Walking Dead and to make matters worse another four appeared in the north east corner [Point 1].

THE CANISTER FALLS - AS HELLBABY REACHES THE RADIO, THE ZOMBIES PUSH SOUTH

Turn Two Bravo Team immediately tried to ‘thin down’ the zombies swarming around the canister, and brought one down. Whilst Hellbaby, letting his childish exuberance get the better of him, leapt over an earthwork to challenge the Undead starting to approach from the north-west [Point 3]. One of the soldiers with him followed behind. Whilst the other took a shot at the nearest living corpse… and missed. Spotting the tiny red demon the zombies eagerly clambered their way over the sandbags in front of them. In the north east [Point 1] the Undead there similarly shambled south. Those zombies in the centre [Point 2] also sauntered forwards but one fell to a shot by one of the soldiers accompanying Jesus of Nazareth. A second shot rang out from the prophet’s group and one of the ghouls in the north east also crumpled to the earth.

FIRST BLOOD TO THE ALLIES - A COUPLE OF ZOMBIES HIT THE DIRT NEAR THE CANISTER

Worryingly Turn Three began with another eleven zombies emerging onto the battlefield. The northern edge was now a sea of hungry corpses, including a handful of explosive zombies. To make matters worse one of the zombies lying ‘dead’ by the canister, got back up and started to stalk the living once again. Another, once a German Officer, foolishly charged towards Hellbaby and came up short. Bravo team, realising they currently had no hope of pushing forwards, simply stood their ground and opened fire with their carbines. The zombie next to the small demon was felled, as was one of the undead carrying explosives from the central horde. With a “Boom” the cadaver was blown apart, and one of the living dead behind him also fell having been caught in the blast. Calming the soldier beside him, Jesus directed the private’s attention to another zombie adorned with T.N.T. which was stood amongst a group by the canister. The bullet ignited the explosive, not only destroying the carrier but two adjacent walking dead as well. Inspired by the diminishing numbers in front of him, Bruttenholm’s adopted son charged into a zombie moving in from the north west and introduced his maggoty head to ‘The Right Hand of Doom’.

BRAINSSS - MORE WALKING DEAD EMERGE INCLUDING CORPSES CARRYING EXPLOSIVES

The situation was starting to look decidedly encouraging for the Allies, as the vast majority of zombies which had emerged from the north-west [Point 3] and the north [Point 2] had been eliminated and only a large horde of undead in the north east really posed any significant threat. As a result Turn Four saw Bravo Team slowly edge northwards towards the canister. One of the soldiers even managed to ‘down’ one of the zombies in the north east. Hellbaby meanwhile gave a “Yipee” and skipped further north-west. His accompanying soldiers fired at the zombies by the canister and ‘killed’ another cadaver, leaving just one of the undead remaining by the objective. Unfortunately the gathering of corpses stumbling south from the north east started to swell in number as a couple more zombies joined its ranks. As one vast decaying body of maggot-filled flesh they started to stumbled over the intervening earthworks between them and the oil barrels. With one of his group’s soldiers providing (ineffective) covering fire, Jesus of Nazareth retreated back behind a second earthwork. Suddenly the dead started to rise up right across the battlefield, with one emerging directly beneath the hooves of Hellbaby. Another dragged the soldier beside the demonling back down underground to his death. Whilst a third pulled themselves up out of the earth and charged into one of the privates belonging to Bravo Team, tearing him apart. 

THE RIGHT HAND OF DOOM - HELLBABY DEFEATS A ZOMBIE BUT MANY MORE SOON ARRIVE

The penultimate Turn suddenly saw the Allied forces suddenly in danger of routing, as the undead infiltrated their defensive line. The surviving soldier protecting Hellbaby suddenly felt the clawing hands of a zombie upon him, as did a second member of Bravo Team. Nether of the men lived very long as they were eaten by the hungry cadavers. Mad with rage at the sudden horrible deaths of their compatriots, Bravo team charged into the still feasting ghouls and bashed them back to the ground. Unfortunately more of the zombies from the north-west, once felled, were now returning to their feet and attacking. Having successfully revenged his fallen comrade, another of Bravo team was attacked and killed and even Hellbaby was wounded fending off the rising undead. Despite the soothing words of Jesus of Nazareth, the two soldiers beside him failed to hit any of the heaving mass of zombies slowly approaching their position on the southern edge. The living dead had by now reached the oil barrels and Military Intelligence had awarded them the warning sign of ‘Horde Certain Death’.

TRUE AMERICAN GRIT - THE YANKS TAKE THE BATTLE TO THE UNDEAD

Despite such a considerable shift in their fortunes, the Allies could still win the day if Hellbaby could return to the radio transmitter, and Bravo Team skirt the enormous body of zombies in the east and reach the canister in the north. But as the gigantic horde shambled past the oil barrels heading south, two zombies broke off west and brought the final member of Bravo team down to a grisly demise.

ALLIED LAST STAND - THE AMERICANS FIGHT HAND-TO-CLAW WITH THE WALKING DEAD

The demonling faired equally as poorly, as three corpses rose to their feet around him and dragged him down to… hell? Only the prophet and the two soldiers beside him remained, and they faced the full fury of ‘Horde Certain Death’. With a wry smile Jesus of Nazareth leapt amongst the zombies but failed to take any down despite a flurry of blows. Worse, the two soldiers shaking behind their sandbags failed to hit any of the walking dead either.

THE DEAD AND THE DYING - THE ALLIED LINES FINALLY START TO FALL BEFORE THE UNDEAD

With things looking decidedly dire for the Allies we brought the game to a close, and with the oil barrels in the hands of the zombies it seemed clear that the Axis powers may well have held the Americans off from crossing the Rhine for at least another day. 

Top Ten Miniatures Of 2014 - A "Rantings From Under The Wargames Table" Viewpoint

Now for those of you expecting a posting by Blax The Kleric I apologise for high-jacking your usual dose of “Fantorical”, but rest assured normal service will soon be restored. But for today only Simon and I have agreed to submit a post to one another's blogs, detailing each others ten favourite painted figures of 2014. So what you will find below are my personal favourites from Simon’s output for the year...

No. 10 - German Zombie Captain by "West Wind Productions" - February

Zombies have been very much in 'vogue' for the last few years, in films, television and of course in Wargames though I am reliably informed by one of my work colleagues (who know’s about this sort of thing) that Nazi zombies are the most evil as they were already evil before they were zombies! All I know is that the ones Simon has painted up are rather nice (if that’s the right word to use for zombies), and I particularly like the Captain figure in his shirt and braces still wearing his officers peaked cap.

http://fantorical.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/german-zombie-horde-in-helmets-part.html

No. 9 - Albino Skink Champion - "Games Workshop" - December

“Oldhammer” is a thing that could only be unique to "Games Workshop". No other company has such a fast turnover of figures that models from the Eighties and Nineties could be looked upon with nostalgia (most would still have them in their current ranges!). It is however where a lot of us started in the hobby, so it’s nice to see some of these 'classic' fantasy armies getting dusted off and given a coat of paint (even if I would not dare take on a challenge like this!). Now the figure I’ve chosen is one that I know Simon wasn’t that pleased with, but it’s my choice so he’ll have to put up with it. Though it may not be as white as he’d hoped it would be, I love the fact that 'Gluckle The Greedy' looks like he’s seen many a battle and the contrast to the blue skin colour of the rest of the skinks in his unit really makes him stand out as a special character. Sorry Simon I like him!

http://fantorical.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/oldhammer-albino-skink-champion.html

No. 8 - Judge Death - "Mongoose Publishing" - November

Now Simon has done quite a bit of complaining about the quality of the casting on some of these “Judge Dredd” miniatures, but I’ve not seen anything wrong with any of his finished models. Perhaps he’s just clever with how he photographs them!?!. I have liked quite a few of the ones he’s presented over the year but in the end it came down to the two versions of Judge Death. Both are smashing figures and the way the 'ectoplasmic' vapour was painted emerging from the bottom of the giant helmet only version was most impressive (and something I’ve always struggled with!). But in the end the full bodied version just edged it.

http://fantorical.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/the-crime-isss-life-sssentenssse-isss.html

No. 7 - Aliens - "Ground Zero Games" - April

Aliens... Now who doesn’t want an army of these little blighters? After Daleks these have got to be my evil army of choice. They are one of those figures that appear so easy to paint and yet are so difficult to get just right. But that is exactly what Simon has done here with these 15mm xenomorphs. His style of painting and use of gloss varnish finish compliments them perfectly, not to mention that his use of the 10mm “facehuggers” from “Pendraken” is also rather inspired.

http://fantorical.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/ground-zero-games-xenomorphs-final-part.html

No. 6 - Iceman "Wizkids" - December

I love superheroes, I could have nearly filled this entire list with the “Heroclix” figures that Simon has repainted (The Rhino and the Thing spring immediately to mind), but I’ve decided to limit myself to just two for my top ten. So for my first superhero entry I have taken a figure that has only recently been completed and that is Bobby Drake, better known as Iceman, from the X-Men. Now this is a figure I own myself, however needless to say mine doesn’t look anything like this. Still in his original clear blue plastic I actually thought the model looked quite good, until I saw this repaint of him. I know that Simon has put a lot of work into getting a sense of coldness into the figure and it really shows. This is a figure that I know quite few people have commented approvingly about and one Simon himself is pretty pleased with and for good reason. A great example of what these figures can look like.

http://fantorical.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/stop-fighting-and-make-nice-or-iceman.html

No. 5 - Modern Middle Eastern Alliance Revered Leader "GHQ" - May

6mm figures can be great. They are cheap, are quick and easy to paint and you don’t need acres of space to play in. Having said all that when I first read this blog entry I thought these figures were 10 or 15mm scale that just shows the levels of detail that there is painted onto on these little lumps of lead. He has also taken the chance to build up tiny little diorama. So what could have been just another pretty boring stand of infantry has been given an injection of personality with the simple addition of the camel (is this a subliminal metaphor for the reasons behind the conflict “the straw that broke the camels back" I wonder?); plus it also makes him easier to pick out on the battlefield. All of this goes into making the stand a rather clever little figure base.

http://fantorical.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/modern-middle-eastern-alliance-revered.html

No. 4 - Jesus Of Nazareth - "Space Vixens From Mars" - November

A good blog entry should get a reaction from the reader and this miniature certainly did that. I thought I was holding my own in our “Mo’vember” painting challenge when up popped this little fellow (is it blasphemous to call the son of god a little fellow? I don’t know). Anyway as I said at the time “How do you top Jesus!?!” Though it was never a competition, if it had been I think Simon would have won it then and there. Another excellent paintjob and a figure I would never in a million years of even thought existed. Quite brilliantly well played that man.

http://fantorical.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/truly-this-man-was-son-of-god.html

No. 3 - Roj Blake - "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" - October

I am a big fan of Seventies British science-fiction, and so it would seem is our host here, as not only does he post some very entertaining cartoon strips of his take on classic “Dr who” over on his “Mooretoons” blog, but he has also brought us his continuing painting saga of the original members of the Liberator's crew from “Blake's Seven”. Now if he had finished painting 'Jenna Stannis' I would probably have picked her, but as he hasn’t… (I’m still waiting Simon!), I have picked the main man himself. It’s quite scary how much the finished figure does look like Gareth Thomas, I think he might actually have got his hands on the Master's 'Cellular Compression Device'... I mean you never see the actor and the figure together now do you?

http://fantorical.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/no-im-coming-back.html

No. 2 - Frankenstein’s Monster - "Graven Images" - October

Simon is actually painting up a second ("Heroclix") version of this legendary concoction of body parts even as we speak and from what we’ve seen so far I am sure this will also be an excellent example of the breed. However for the moment I have chosen this lovely (is that the right word) 40mm “Universal Movies” version. I love old horror films and would much rather watch an old “Universal” or “Hammer” atmospheric classic than one of today’s 'gore fests'. Plus this fellow really captures the essence of Boris Karlov’s iconic performance.
http://fantorical.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/look-its-moving-its-alive-its-alive.html

No.1 - Lockjaw - "Wizkids" - November

Now it maybe the fact that I am a big “Silver age” comic fan, or that "The Inhumans” doggie chum has turned up in a few of the classic comics I have been reading of late. But I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for this teleporting canine. If I’m brutally honest when Simon first put him forward as one of his entries into our “Mo’vember” painting challenge, creative as the choice was, I actually found the miniature in question somewhat uninspiring. Therefore it was all the more surprising when he presented the finished figure a couple of weeks later... What a transformation. Here was a figure that I really wish I’d painted. One thing that constantly surprises me on Simon’s blog is his ability to take these “Heroclix” miniatures and, by giving them a top notch re-paint, show what really good sculpts are lurking under the often pretty dodgy paint-jobs they come with. If there’s one thing I’ve come away from “Fantorical” with this year it is “Don’t judge a miniature by the paint-job it comes with!”.
http://fantorical.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/whos-good-bizarro-doggie.html

And that’s why he’s made it to the top of my “Fantorical Favourites” of 2014.So that’s it, my top ten of Blax the Kleric's figures for 2014. All that remains for me to do is thank Simon for coming up with the idea behind this bit of nonsense, and giving me the opportunity to share with you my favourite bits of his output for the year. If you’re interested to see what he thought of my attempts at sloshing the paint and such about please follow the link below:
http://rantingsfromunderthewargamestable.wordpress.com/2014/12/26/blax-the-klerics-top-ten-of-2014

Finally I’d just like to wish you all the very best of new years, and may your paint only flow where you wish it to.Cheers Roger.

28mm Battle Report: Batman And Jesus Of Nazareth Verses the Black Manta

THE BATMAN AND JESUS OF NAZARETH FACE THE BLACK MANTA & HIS U-MEN

This adventure takes place upon my usual 2x2 gaming board which has been populated with four rocky outcrops and a large swamp in the south-west corner. Four trees will be acting as objective markers, ranging from value 1 – 4, and have been dotted around the board. The winner is the side who holds the most points at the end of the sixth turn. However no-one will know how many points each objective is worth until the end of the game.

This scenario was designed to provide some Yuletide fun and allow us to try out some of the ‘Fury From The Deep’ rules found within the “On Location” “7TV” rule supplement. In particular it was an opportunity to see how special effects such as Saboteur and H20-Oh work as well as equipment such as Scuba Gear and the First Aid Pack. In addition it also meant having a go with the Mysterious Stranger Archetype, and establishing just how effective a Pacifist character, using special effects such as Sixth Sense, Telepathy and Disarm could be.

THE TABLETOP - THOMAS WAYNE PARK

“The story so far… Gotham City is preparing a festive celebration in Thomas Wayne Park by decorating four Christmas trees. Realising that by destroying these symbols of ‘goodwill to all mankind’ he would deal Gotham City’s Yuletide spirit a harsh blow, the Black Manta and some of his henchmen have swum up a little known canal intent on destroying the trees. However, The Batman has already heard about the ‘fishy’ villain’s diabolical plan and has raced to the Park in order to stop him. But would the Son of Man really standby and let another save his birthday celebration..?"

At the start of each turn both sides would have to roll to see whether any of their models would arrive on the tabletop and a number of House Rules were agreed; in order for the villains to capture an objective they must use a special action to plant some explosives at the foot of a tree, providing an opposing model wasn’t within 2 inches of it, and then have the bomb detonate at the start of the next turn. The criminal’s deployment zone was the swamp in the south-east corner and the heroes would appear on the opposite side of the table.

Having arrived at the park, Batman and Jesus of Nazareth were immediately disorientated by watching a couple of groups of scenery hands pulling down two of the Styrofoam rocky outcrops. Apparently the show’s director had wanted a ‘Sparse Location’ for them to battle within and so had ordered two items of terrain to be removed. As a result the cluster of rocks on the western and northern table edges were gone, leaving the heroes far more ‘out in the open’.

THE ANTI-CLAUS - THE BLACK MANTA EMERGES TO WRECK GOTHAM CITY'S CHRISTMAS

Utilising his ‘You Can’t Have Faith Until You Believe’ [Strike From The Shadows] Star Quality the ‘cloaked crusaders’ won the initiative and raced towards the central tall tree [Objective Four], keeping in mind to remain within 6 inches of one another in order to maintain a double-activation per turn. In front of them the Black Manta and three of his U-Men emerged from the swamp, with the henchmen utilising their H20-Oh special effect and setting up anywhere within the water. One of the scuba-divers then moved west past one of the remaining rocky outcrops before opening up with his sub-machinegun on Batman. Two of the bullets hit home but the Batsuit kept Bruce Wayne out of harm’s way. Another of the scuba-divers then rushed towards the central tall tree [Objective Four], gripping his explosives as he ran.

THE SON OF MAN - JESUS OF NAZARETH ATTEMPTS TO THWART THE U-MEN'S PLANS

The second turn saw another U-Man emerge from the swamp, who quickly moved west towards the south-western tree [Objective One]. Another henchman scuttled north up to the western rocky outcrop and then blazed away at Jesus of Nazareth with his weapon. Amazingly none of the bullets struck home. However the good shepherd was far away enough from the central tall tree [Objective Four] to allow the U-Man with the explosives to both plant his device and move towards the north-eastern tree [Objective Three].

The scuba-diver who had previously shot at Batman now moved closer and fired again… one of bullets tearing into the Dark Knight. In return the hero struck home with a bat-a-rang but was perplexed as the snorkel-wearing swine proved ‘Invulnerable’ to ranged weapons for this turn as a result of an Event Card. As a result Batman charged into the villain and thanks to his ‘Fists of Fury’ flattened the fellow. Realising he had moved too far away from Jesus, the Caped Crusader activated his Heroic Surge to strike one of the other U-Men between the eyes with a bat-a-rang and then head back to the Messiah’s side. However Jesus was not about to stand by and watch a second of the Christmas trees be destroyed, as he rugby-tackled the Scuba-diving scum heading towards it. But then threw a couple of punches wide of their mark.

POW - BATMAN CHARGES IN TO THE U-MEN, SCATTERING THE SCUBA-DIVING SWINE 

With a loud boom, the tall tree [Objective Four] was blown into splinters, heralding the start of the third turn. Incensed Jesus declared an ‘all or nothing’ punch and flattened the U-Man responsible for destroying the tree. Reaching his side, Batman attempted to throw a long-range bat-a-rang at the Black Manta but was out of range. Unfortunately for him however, the trident of Aquaman’s arch-nemesis was not, and Black manta sent a shock-ray searing into Dark Knight’s frame.

KA-BOOM - THE U-MEN DESTROY ONE OF GOTHAM CITY'S CHRISTMAS TREES

With still no new U-Men appearing, Black Manta urged his remaining U-Men onwards and saw the scuba-diver knocked down by Jesus, return to his feet and try and riddle the Caped Crusader with bullets. The Batsuit saved two of the shots, whilst the third failed to wound. With a snorkelled shout the henchman rushed into Batman and tried to stick him with a diving knife. The blade penetrated the Dark Knight and he could have fallen there and then but for his Luck; and the re-roll was snake eyes. Eager to bring the Rabbi down as well, the Black Manta fired his trident at Jesus but rolled a one. Trusting to his own dark Luck, the villain rolled again… and achieved another one. Realising he could soon be on the wrong end of Batman’s fist, the bug-eyed baddie moved west along the southern edge, out of the swamp.

THE WRATH OF GOD - JESUS OF NAZARETH LAYS LOW ONE OF THE U-MEN 

Dazed by his wounds Batman clobbered the U-Man trying to stab him and moved towards Jesus in the hope of being healed by the prophet. The Son of Man quickly dispensed his First Aid Pack and successfully passed his Intelligence Test to give the Caped Crusader one of his hit points back.

Re-energised Batman moved towards the Black Manta and hurled two bat-a-rangs at him. One of them penetrating the villain’s wet-suit. Sensing that victory could be within their grasp Jesus threw himself at the diabolical deep-sea despot but failed to connect with one of his punches, despite trying his Luck.

CHRISTMAS FACE OFF - JESUS OF NAZARETH VERSES THE BLACK MANTA

Suddenly besides the Black Manta another U-Man emerged from the swamp and immediately poured sub-machinegun bullets into the Caped Crusader. Fortunately all three shots were saved by the Batsuit’s armour. Meanwhile the Black Manta, furious at his plans being so badly stalled, made a series of frenzied attacks upon the Messiah with his trident. However the three-pronged jabs kept failing to penetrate Jesus’ Invulnerable aura

The final turn saw one of the unconscious U-Men groggily rise to their feet, move to the north-eastern tree [Objective Three] and use a special action to plant his explosives. The Black Manta once again attacked Jesus of Nazareth, but again was thwarted by his unwieldy weapon’s inability to wound the prophet. Realising there was still an opportunity to bring Batman to his knees one of the scuba-divers launched themselves upon the Dark knight, desperately trying to stab him with their diving knife. The result was the U-Man tasting knuckle-sandwich as he was flattened by the Caped Crusader. However the Dark Knight was not finished yet and hurling himself at the Black Manta he also chinned the oceanic criminal as well... 

KA-POW - AS A U-MEN PLANTS SOME MORE EXPLOSIVES, BATMAN BEATS UP THE BLACK MANTA

Suddenly the area was filled with the sound of Gotham City Police vehicle sirens and the Black Manta realised it was time for him and his henchmen to disappear back into the swamp. But had he caused enough damage to the Christmas trees to ruin the Yuletide celebrations?

A look at the objectives saw that the Secret Society of Super Villains member had only destroyed one objective worth three points. Whilst the two ‘untouched’ trees also totalled three points between them. The fourth objective, which would have been blown up if there had been a seventh turn, was revealed to have been worth four points. But as it was still intact it meant the heroes had saved the (Christmas) day.

“Truly This Man Was The Son Of God.”

This somewhat odd choice for the subject of a 28mm wargaming miniature comes from a small batch of metal models I’ve recently purchased from the “Space Vixens From Mars” webstore [http://spacevixensfrommars.com/shop]. I’ve actually seen this company's figures for sale at several shows but somewhat surprisingly never really paid them much attention. This is despite the fact that usually there’s some sort of ‘Space Vixens’ participation game taking place besides the stall, which ordinarily seems to be extremely popular and well-attended.

This particular figure, Jesus of Nazareth, simply caught my eye whilst I was simply ‘passing the time’ on the internet and is product number DW05 (from Episode 25J ‘Temptation In The Wilderness’). It comes from the manufacturer’s Divine Wind Range, which seems to be a selection of the historical, alternate and fantasy characters the Space Vixens have met during their adventures through time and space. It was an absolute pleasure to paint as a result of its clean sculpting and is my fourth submission for the Mo’vember 2014 challenge Dick Garrison is running over on his blog “Rantings From Under The Wargames Table”.

As a fair proportion of the model was going to be white I simply undercoated the model using “Vallejo” ‘Blanco’ before washing the figure’s linen under robe with watered down Quickshade Strong Tone by “The Army Painter”. Jesus’ heavier outer robe was painted using a combination of “Vallejo” Heavy Sienna and “Citadel” Agrax Earthshade. Finally his hair and beard, in an effort to make it seem somewhat darker than his brown clothing, was first given a coat of “Vallejo” Charred Brown and then a wash of the “Citadel” Shade Nuln Oil. The miniature’s flesh was painted with my usual three stage system of “Vallejo” Heavy Skintone, “Citadel” Ogryn Flesh and then some highlights with more “Vallejo” Heavy Skintone.

I’ve been so inspired by the quality of my models by “Space Vixens From Mars” that I have already based three more up, ready for a ‘quiet’ moment when a ‘Star Trek’ mood takes me. These figures are from their Rim Alien Range, and consist of a Male Pointy-Eared Rim Alien With Pistol, a Male Ridged Rim Alien With Pistol and a Reptilian Rim Alien With Pistol.