Christmas Madness 2012: The Revenge of Bad Santa

It is that time of year again...dare you embrace...Christmas Madness?!?

As always thanks to Rob for the pictures, and for the markers; each year Rob adds some more pieces to the mix for these special games, and this year it was more of the tokens as well as the tree. What will it be next year (look to the Battle Report for possible clues)...?

Thanks to Melvin for the Santa and Bad Santa cards - very cool indeed!

Click on the pic to enlarge them.

Merry Christmas!

Welcome

Another 'welcome' to the the blog post, this one going out to Luis Alberto Cayo who has signed up here (and notably for my gaming buddy Rob's Four Colour Super Minis - here).

It does help motivate me to see people sign up so as I ever I do really appreciate it, so thanks Luis Alberto Cayo, and thanks to any and every one else who has done so.

On the Pulp City front? Well, I am working re-basing three miniatures. Two of the three bases have been painted, and the third is being painted. They are for big guy types. I wonder why that would be...?

Paint The City Pink Reminder

Just a reminder that the auctions from Tales Of A Tabletop Skirmisher's Paint The City Pink fundraising initiative are soon drawing to a close; have a look in please, maybe make some bids - it is all in aid of very good causes.

Hendybadger has put in tons of great work for this, and many, many manufacturers and retailers have supported the drive, so please take a look.

Follow this link to get there if you missed the links above.

Welcome

This latest 'welcome to the Pulp Citizen' missive is a shout out (there I am down with 'the kids' once again...) to Grigork.

Thanks for signing up Grigork.Grigork has his (presumably!) own blog: The Megalomaniac (Mwhaha) (click for link). Now looking down the labels list it looks to cover a lot genres which means one thing: eclticism, that barometr of strong interest from me! So I will be watching The Megalomaniac (Mwhaha)  to see nwhat future posting holds.

So thank you again Grigork - hopefully you will find visiting the Pulp Citizen to be a worthwhile endeavour.

On Pulp City news, we should be on course for Open Beta of the SE rules version in January which is the target we set some time ago. And it also looks like new releases are getting ever closer  with that long-wanted regular release schedule as part of the plan.

Coming Soon - Christmas Madness 2012

Keep your eyes peeled here or on Four Colour Super Minis on Christmas Eve for the annual Christmas Madness Battle Report.

Santa and Bad Santa are back, and more powerful than ever, with SE revamps - but which side will be victorious? Will good cheer last throughout the year to follow, or will things take a turn for the worse...?

Leibster Blog Awards

Crikey, missed that! Black Smoke, of The Colour Of War blog (click for link) has kindly awarded me a Leibster award, handed on to blogs that other bloggers, also recipients, find entertaining and useful. So thanks again to Black Smoke, and sorry it took me 8 days to see this!

 The rules:
- Copy and paste the award on your blog, linking it to the blogger who has given it to you.
- Pass the award to your top five favourite blogs with fewer than 200 followers by leaving a comment on one of their blog posts to notify them that they have won the award and list them on your own blog.
- Sit back and bask in that warm fuzzy feeling that comes with knowing that you have just made someone's day.
- There is no obligation to pass this onto anyone else but it is nice if you do. 

With having the fewer than 200 limit, there are a few blogs excluded that I would have included, but then again my list could easily have amounted to 10, 15, 20 or more. My nominations are:-

Four Colour Super Minis - without this blog, by best buddy and main gaming foe Rob, I would not be blogging myself. An eclectic blog covering many, many genres, there is always something worth reading as Rob navigates the copious genres that take his fancy.

Gog Online - an eclectic collective blog; Gog Online tends to post in fits and starts, but I always enjoy seeing what latest shiny has attracted the attention of the Gog guys.

Pulp Planet - another wide-ranging blog, by friend Doctor Warlock; DW offers his thoughts on a manner of minis ranges and related media and worth checking it.

Cut Into The Earth - I am a Pulp City fan of course, so Cut Into The Earth's amazing Pulp City terrain is a natural pull - check it out, please.

The Boneyard - Undead Jon's sporadically updated blog, I always check it out when there is something new. As with most of my nominees this blog covers a variety of games and genres  and added to that is Jon's excellent painting - a winning combo to be sure; now if only we could get Jon painting more!

Shameless Plug Time

Anima Tactician

I have plugged them before, and I am going to do so again!

Yes I have a couple of other blogs I would like to draw readers attention to. So please click on the links and see if there is something of interest.

Anima Tactician (click for link)
My blog dedicated to Anima Tactics and related games; I have very recently finished painting my first mini for the line so please take some time to check in. next year should see more minis and hopefully at least one or two Battle Reports.

Eclectic Gentleman Tabletop Gamer (click for link)
My other skirmish/wargaming hobby blog. If it is not Pulp City, and it is not Anima Tactics, and it is not not closely related to one or the other, it is probably on this blog if I am posting about it.

Eclectic Gentleman Tabletop Gamer 

The EGTG covers zombies; non-Pulp City supers minis; Victoriana; pulp; sci-fi; old west; and more to come.

It has posts on terrain, the odd hobby tip and lost of part-done projects. Eclectic is its name and I hope it lives up to that appellation.

Dr. Red And His Explosives

These were kindly made by my main gaming buddy Rob (he of the Four Colour Super Minis blog here), I think especially as he loves employing Dr. Red (click for link) and the ARC in games.

Dr. Red is a pretty bonkers character, laying explosives in his wake and chucking grenades with reckless abandon. We have had a few games with Dr. Red recently and the improvised counters we were using just did not cut it on the gaming table.

With that in mind, and while fabricating some IED's for Force On Force, Rob crafted these handsome Explosive Tokens, representing the revolutionary orangutan's fiendish improvised munitions.

Welcome

In the pleasant aftermath of the Doc Cosmos contests, the Pulp Citizen has a new Follower  and as ever they are most welcome indeed. So without anymore 'ado', a big and hearty 'welcome aboard' to Carl, thanks for signing up!

Carl has a blog of his own: Musings of a frustrated wargamer, which likes eclectic fayre - always a good thing - which will be added to my blog list. Thanks again Carl, and thanks to everyone who takes some time to stop by.

In Pulp City news:

1. Christmas Madness III was played out a couple of days ago, so look for that around December 24th once the report is formulated in Comic Life style.

2. The Open Beta phase of the Pulp City SE play-testing grows ever nearer. This has meant taking an almost complete blank page approach; almost nothing was sacred when we started dismantling and reconstructing the rules, although some things worked so well they formed the foundation of the new rules. This has meant over 80 profiles revised, revised, and revised again as we home in on our aim for the new game. This has meant the peculiarity of parallel design for the current edition and the upcoming Open Beta. this has meant a lot of hard work from designers and especially play-testers. More as we get nearer to release.

And The Winner Is...(3)

Contest 3 was to write a brief story for a character fitting this mini who is not Doc Cosmos. I had 3 entries and a clear winner among them.

And the winner is...

...styx!

His story was about a hero called Parity.
The entity known as Parity is still a mystery among the superhuman community as he claims his origins are from beyond the realm of the physical and that he is the essence of all things in the universe or to be more specific Earth itself as his focal point. Some could call him a reluctant hero or villain captured by the hap stance of fate itself.

Some time ago, that very balance was threatened with the surge of superhuman beings and their various agendas upon the simple life of everyday citizens of the world. Parity claims to be the most recent host of many and was chosen by some means that even he does not understand and is perhaps the most public of any incarnation known with powers shaped by the personality of those that was given the power to wield. John Patterson was once his name, a lawyer with a small law firm known as Johnson and Powers until the one day on his way home from work a strange green glow appeared behind him and called his name, it told him he had been chosen. He felt no fear, just peace as the light enveloped him and he disappeared. It was several days later that he first appeared again in full costume and adapted to his new powers helping to thwart an attempt to steal top secret nuclear material that could have been turned into weapons of mass destruction. Nobody really missed the man known as John Patterson, a man that grew up in a foster home, never knew his birth parents and was consumed with his work so much that he had little time to consider for friends and family. Yet now, people have taken notice of the being known as Parity.

He only appears where he is needed and aids those that need his assistance to maintain the balance in all things. A paradox in some respects as he is neither good nor evil and only really seeks to maintain the stability of our reality from falling too far into the realm or Order or Chaos.

Thanks to styx, skywatcher and Doctor Warlock, and everyone who entered. Minis will be en route soon.

Pulp City SE Card Preview

The Editorial Eye on the Pulp City/Pulp Monsters web-site (link here) has just shown the first unveiled preview of the new Pulp City SE cards.

We have been working very hard on the SE edition for the past year, to make the game as good as it can be, and to get all of the characters performing as we feel they should in the game, while hopefully still retaining that special Pulp City flavour.

This side of the card is the recruitment side and lays out who the character is (this is Tritonious); what Role he has (Brawler - excellent in close combat); hos Origin (Nature in this case); his Level (1); how much AP he adds to the Pool each new Round (+1 AP); how many Minion Levels he brings (0); what Faction he is (Hero/Villain); any Sub-factions or restrictions (in this case Tritonious cannot be in a Team with any Ulthar models - Ulthar have the snazzy symbol beneath that red struck through circle).

And The Winner Is...(2)

Okay, contest 2 was to design Pulp City stats for Doc Cosmos. I had two entries and a multiple point rating system...and inevitably both came out about even. The tie-breaker for me was the Exclusive Actions that captured the theme of Doc Cosmos, so the winner is...

 ...Skywatcher! Not quite as I would have statted him, but the winner nonetheless. Thanks for entering guys. And the winning entry:

Faction: Hero/Villain
Origin: Mystery
Level: 3
STR 2
DEF 2
ENG 5
AGL 3
MND 6
SPT 3
Blink, Future Sight, Telepathy

Cosmic Beam (BL6 / ENG / RNG 8 / AP2) Channels interstellar energy into a blast from above against target and anyone within 2 inches.

Interstellar Interference (MND / AP1) Any model wanting to attack with ranged combat must win an opposed SPT vs Doc Cosmos’ MND.

Solar Winds (AGL / AP1) Move Doc Cosmos up to 4 additional inches to normal movement

Star Flash (SBL5 / MND VS SPT / AP2) A burst of light and energy disorients all enemies. All enemy models caught in blast must make an opposed roll.

Team Power Celestial Bond: Friendly models within 4 inches of Doc Cosmos benefit from a +1 on opposed rolls

And The Winner Is...(1)

The first Doc Cosmos winner has been drawn at random, from 17 entrants.

Each entrant was assigned a number in order of posting first to last.

For fairness I used a randomiser program called RANDOM.ORG. Setting a range of 1 to 17 the winning number was generated (see image, right) and the number was...

...1!

So the first winner is: Doctor Warlock!

Doc Cosmos Competition Re-reminder

Win me; 3 chances to win

Just a reminder that the deadline for each contest is tonight, Sunday 2nd December, 23:59 UK time.

The contest links are here.

You can enter each contest for up to 3 chances to win.

There are 2 entries for contest 2 so far.

There are 3 entries for contest 3 so far.

So if YOU want to win one of these, shipped at no cost to you, then the best way to enter is to sign up to all 3 contests.

Digger Grimm (2)

Click to embiggenate

There is a hive mind structure to Grimm activities and behavior; some claim that it is actually a human that pulls the strings.

My second Digger Grimm (I qualified for two sets by ordering a ton of stuff when the offer was up way back when...). This was supposed to be finished by last Wednesday, or Friday (28th or 30th), to meet my deadline for Super-November, but therein lies a tale.

My original plan for the 4th and final Super-November mini was Foxxy Blade,  but I dropped her on the floor, breaking off her pinned arm (which never had a strong enough pin in the first place). I glued said arm back, but had to green-stuff it and the job on THAT was bodged as it was rushed. In addition, as her main colour is yellow, that meant multiple layers on the join to get back up to speed, but by then it was clear she needs that arm re-pinning and I had no time. So this Digger Grimm became the back-up plan, but there was not enough time to finish it alas. It was finally finished today.

I will get back to Foxxy Blade soon, but will take time to get things right. In the mean-time I have just one Grimm left to paint at this time (another Elder), and I am creeping ever closer to painting my 100th Pulp City mini, and closer to my 90th unique Pulp City sculpt.

I really must cajole Maciej  into getting other Grimm into production as they are fun sculpts and nice to paint; I want hordes of these guys one day.

Doc Cosmos Competition Reminder

Just a reminder that the deadline for each contest is Sunday 2nd December, 23:59 UK time.

Contest links here.

You can enter each contest for up to 3 chances to win.

I have only had 1 entry for contest 2 so far.

I have only had 2 entries for contest 3 so far.

You have to be in it to win it, so what are you waiting for!

Tanuki

Outside of the closed ranks of the Jade Cult, Tanuki’s origin is veiled in secrecy, and even within that terrible society few know the truth. One of the Jade Cult's mysterious spirit-oni’s, Tanuki is probably the least loyal of that kind, even if ultimately he is the only one that recognizes that fact.

My third of a planned four Super-November minis, Tanuki has been a long time in coming, although not so long in painting!

I started this just after the launch of this shared challenge with Rob, and the bulk has been painted in the past few days. I found it quite an enjoyable mini to paint, with nice areas and textures to work on. That said, with my new job (I say new; been in post two months), I do not get much day-time to paint in, so Tanuki has mostly been painted at night, which has played havoc with the dark greens, so if anything looks a bit ropy, I blame the lighting! Ahem...

This is the first Pulp City mini for my own collection for quite some time. In game-play Tanuki is very much a Support Supreme, there to help his Team-mates through his unique Actions; he certainly has his own little niche, and is quite unlike any of the other Jade Cult.

With the Terror Cotta Warriors and Green Emperor on the horizon Jade Cult is near to be able to field a sizable Team.

I do think this is a really fun mini, and one I probably enjoyed painting and that I am happier with than any other this year.

I have veered away from my usual Villain colour motif (good old purple!), but hey, the Team is called the Jade Cult after all!

Next up for Super-November? Well that would be telling...

Welcome

Back to back 'welcome' posts; something I have not had for a while!

This time the hearty 'welcome to the Pulp Citizen' is extended to gaarew, author of a couple of blogs (Just Add Brown Ink... and 15mil of Fame) and proprietor of Studio gaarew. I have signed up to both blogs and particularly hope Just Add Brown Ink... becomes active again. Thanks again gaarew.

On other news, my next minis for Super-November are underway. Also don't forget the Doc Cosmos competitions I have running: link here.

And finally, once again, please hop on over to Tales of a Tabletop Skirmisher to check out Paint the City Pink; a brilliant endeavour for a great cause.

Welcome

Welcome aboard to rousell68, the latest follower of the blog. Glad to have you! rousell68 has the Don't Throw a 1 blog, which has dipped its toe into the proverbial supers waters, with takes on Power Girl, Dr. Strange and the Spectre, so I will be watching with interest.

Thanks again for signing up.

On Pulp City news; I am working on my next mini which is going to be very yellow as the main colour theme. I have also started blocking out base colours on the one after that - dark grey and dark green. Any ideas what they will be?

Further out, working with Maciej and Devon we continue to develop the next iteration of the Pulp City rules ahead of the open beta  phase - more details when we get closer to that.

Super November Week 2

See the Eclectic Gentleman Tabletop Gamer for this week's entry in more detail.

But don't worry, next week's entry should be a Pulp City mini!

Harrier (Paint The City Pink)

Okay, Super-November (title subject to change based on better suggestions) is underway for Rob and me; one mini per week as a minimum deadline for the month.

So what to paint first? Well for me it was a case of finishing my contribution to Hendybadger's Paint The City Pink initiative. Harrier is now done and will be headed to Hendybadger pretty soon I hope, with just some varnish needed.

This is the second Harrier (first is here) I have painted and I think it is a nicely sculpted mini, and even though one of the earlier Pulp City sculpts, still a strong concept in my opinion. Finishing the mini was eventually quite nice as I enjoy painting flesh tone like this more and more these days, finding it more straightforwards than I used to.

Sorry that the pictures are a bit grainy - I think I placed the mini much further back than usual when setting up, but sine i needed to post to hit the deadline, I am stuck with the pictures as taken.

I implore readers to look at Hendybadger's Paint The City Pink initiative, and to try and support it if they can - it is in a very good cause.

As for Super-November? Well I have three more minis in various stages of painting and one other in the 'would like to get done' queue. Stay tuned...

Doc Cosmos Contest 3

The third chance to win a Doc Cosmos mini.

What if he is not really Doc Cosmos? 

Choose a name and write a background (400 words or less) for a super that you think fits the mini; the one deemed to be the most original and most fitting (a tough combo) wins. And by original I mean without infringing someone else's copyright!

If no-one enters, another Contest 1 prize will be drawn.


Mark the email subject for your emailed entries as: Super Story.
Email your entries to pulpcitizen at hotmail.co.uk


This contest will run until Sunday 2nd December, 23:59 UK time.

Good luck!

Doc Cosmos Contest 2

The second chance to win a Doc Cosmos mini.

Doc Cosmos is not a Pulp City mini, but if he were in some parallel universe, what stats would he have? I know how I would build him, but how would you?

Create a profile for Doc Cosmos (no cards need to be made - this contest will not be THAT hard!), and the one I feel is the closest match to my vision wins. If no-one enters, a second Contest 1 prize will be drawn.

The profile that needs to be made should be something like:

Faction (Hero, Villain, or Hero/Villain)
Origin (Mystery, Nature or Science)
Level (1, 2 or 3)
STR (choose a value between 1 and 10)
DEF (choose a value between 1 and 10)
ENG (choose a value between 1 and 10)
AGL (choose a value between 1 and 10)
MND (choose a value between 1 and 10)
SPT (choose a value between 1 and 10)
Skills (at least 1, nor more than 4)
Actions (4; names and rules - try and keep them simple guys!)
Team Power (1; name and rules)

Mark email subject as: Doc Comsos stats.
Email your entries to pulpcitizen at hotmail.co.uk


This contest will run until Sunday 2nd December, 23:59 UK time.

Good luck!

Doc Cosmos Contest 1

The first chance to win a Doc Cosmos mini; comment on this post saying that you would like to win one of these minis, and a winner will be drawn at random from the list.

This contest will run until Sunday 2nd December, 23:59 UK time.

Good luck!

Competition Time!

Okay, I promised this waaaaay back when, and now the time is nigh!

This morning I gratefully received a box of a couple of dozen or so castings of my own creation - Doc Cosmos as sculpted by James Van Schaik (see here; and here for a interview I did with James). A few are set aside for friends in the minis/gaming community.

However, it is time for contests to win one. Actually, not one, not two, but three chances to win!

So if you would a very limited availability mini, then read on.

Each contest will run until Sunday 2nd December, 23:59 UK time.

Doc Cosmos Contest 1 (click for link)
There will be a Contest 1 post soon; comment on that post saying that you would like to win one of these minis, and a winner will be drawn at random from the list.

Doc Cosmos Contest 2 (click for link)
Doc Cosmos is not a Pulp City mini, but if he were in some parallel universe, what stats would he have? I know how I would build him, but how would you?
Create a profile for Doc Cosmos (no cards need to be made - this contest will not be THAT hard!), and the one I feel is the closest match to my vision wins. If no-one enters, a second Contest 1 prize will be drawn.
Wait until a Contest 2 post is started for further instructions.

Doc Cosmos Contest 3 (click for link)
What if he is not really Doc Cosmos? Choose a name and write a background (400 words or less) for a super that you think fits the mini; the one deemed to be the most original and most fitting (a tough combo) wins. If no-one enters, another Contest 1 prize will be drawn.
Wait until a Contest 3 post is started for further instructions.

There you go, and get those thinking caps on if you are interested guys.

Supers-November....Um...Supervember...Or Something

Okay, after the relative success of Zomtober (on the Eclectic Gentleman Tabletop Gamer here), and with Rob mentioning he felt that he was behind in painting 'supers' minis, and with me knowing I have been remiss in painting through the year, we have settled on SupersNovember. Or Supervember, Or whatever we will call it (I favour Supervemeber right now, or maybe Newsupersvemeber, who knows...).

Anyhoo, the plan is to paint one 'supers' themed mini per week through the month. To that end I have picked out three Pulp City minis (one of which will be for Hendybadger's Paint the City Pink initiative), and one Chronoscope super. So most will be posted here and one will be posted on the Eclectic Gentleman Tabletop Gamer, if I hit my targets. The minis I plan to do are in the picture, but plans often change don't they?

So each week, ending the 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th we aim to each finish at least one 'supers' themed mini. yes some have a little work on them done already, but we  agreed that as part of the Zomtober ground rules so it apples here too.

Wish me luck and stop by for progress updates!

Hallowe'en Madness 2012

The second Hallowe'en Madness Battle Report.

Pictures by Rob, Battle Report by me. Minis by me, except for the Ghostly Gunslingers and the Hired Guns all by Rob. Terrain by both of us.

Enjoy!

Click on the pages to embiggen them.

Welcome

No posts for a while alas, but a 'welcome aboard' to the latest Follower of the blog - Black Smoke, who is responsible for the Colour of War blog, well worth checking out.

As always it is a privilege and a pleasure to see someone else signed up, so very much appreciated, thank you.

There should be some painting action next month. After the apparent success of Zomtober (see my other blog on this thread here), my main gaming buddy and I have decided to do something similar with supers minis in November.

We aim to get four minis (minimum) painted in the month of November  I think I know the four I will tackle but more details soon; suffice it to say that most if not all will be Pulp City minis.