Pulp Citizen

Welcome

2012-01-27T11:10:00.000-08:00

Another 'welcome' post abounds, this one after Chris has signed up as a Follower. I have taken a look at Chris' own blog (link here to Chris's Gaming Journal) and it is immediately apparent that he is a tabletop gamer of eclectic tastes - in other words I will be watching to see what he posts next.

So thank you Chris for signing up - very much appreciated.

On the Pulp City painting front I have finished Ra'Leigh, Aquarius Warlord today, so hopefully new pictures sooner than later. It has been a long time coming, but it is finally done - whew!

Dark Solar - Villain Equinox

2012-01-24T01:52:00.000-08:00

The dark side of Nature's fury is revealed with Dark Solar's Villainous equinox.

Like the Heroic version, this is not a strict Sub-faction per se, but does behave like one if you stick to the stipulations of Dark Solar's additional Team Power.

With some mutual restrictions (Ulthar versus Tritonious and Virgo), a Level 22 Team can still be put into the field.

Supremes pictured above:
(back row, left to right):

Harrier: her Greed can be used to turn her to towards the Villainous side.
Seabolt: mysterious watery force of Nature.
Gorgoroth, Taurus Captain: raging ground assault leader.
Father Oak: parks warden reborn as a mighty agent of Gaia.
Guerilla: ferocious co-leader of the ARC revolution.
Riposte: playing the long strategic game, does working with the Dark Equinox serve a broader purpose?

(middle row, left to right):

Stalker: Solar's loyal companion, in any incarnation.
Stormblades, Libra Sensei: warrior monk master of close-quarters fighting.
Dark Solar: avatar of an ancient god.
Tritonious: alien-human hybrid and enemy of the Ulthar.
Virgo: extra-terrestrial rebel; will not work with other Ulthar.

(front row, left to right):

Gemini X: psychic defender and healer.
Gemini Y: mind manipulator.
Xenobi: peculiar little mutate.
Acorn: destructive force of Nature able to tear down mankind's edifices with a whim.
Le Murtiple: self-replicating saboteur turned revolutionary.

Welcome

2012-01-23T12:41:00.000-08:00

Another 'welcome' post, this one going out to Denmark I believe - "thanks" for signing up as a Follower to Lord Siwoc. I note that Lord Siwoc has two of his own blogs, and they have been added to my watch list - one is called Brains and Guts - you can't go far wrong with a title like that! I look forwards to seeing what Lord Siwoc has in store for his blog going into the future.

So as ever, thanks to my new Follower and thanks to all who choose to stop by.

Wanted! Gunwitch (Nocturnals Mini)

2012-01-22T03:11:00.000-08:00

This Gunwitch mini was released by Green Ronin in 2003 and since getting into the Nocturnals comics last year, I am really eager to pick one of these up.

If anyone has one to trade or spots a listing for one, feel free to comment - I would be willing to pay a fair price in paypal or trade-bait.

And as for the Gunwitch? A zombie gun-slinger fighting for the forces of good in a modern horror-pulp comic? How cool is that!

Sentinels Of The Multiverse

2012-01-19T07:15:00.000-08:00

Not Pulp City related, but Sentinels Of The Multiverse is a fun supers-themed card game. As my Thursday night gaming group will be playing tonight, I thought I would post briefly about it.

The game is a co-operative card game (not a CCG, but a game with pre-built decks for the various heroic characters that are available), and in it players choose a villain to fight and a location to battle them in.

We lost one and won one in our first try (4 players) and tonight we will play with 5 players so it will be interesting to see if that skews the odds in the heroes favour, having more heroes to bring to bear.

We found the game fast and fun with decision-making offset by by the luck of the draw. While I am not a fan of co-operative games such as Arkham Horror and Castle Ravenloft for example (great visual design, but some unnecessary complexities - AH, and some seriously flawed and uncontrollable random results - CR), SotM pleasantly surprised me, but then I am an unabashed fan of super-heroes, so that is to be expected I guess.

SotM has a supplement coming up called Rook City and I will certainly pick that up, enamoured as I am by SotM's game-play. It may not be quite as magical as Race for the Galaxy (a challenging yet brilliant game in my view), or have the elegance of a great 'German-style' board game (Power Grid being a favourite of mine), but it has been load of fun so far and I look fowards to playing more SotM games in the future. Highly recommended.

Welcome

2012-01-17T11:19:00.000-08:00

A new 'welcome aboard' post - this time to Gigawatts, blogger of Teacher by Day, Wargamer by Night. Very kind to sign up to Pulp Citizen and Gigawatts can be assured I have reciprocated. In turn by following his blog I will get to see more stuff of interest that will pop up on the 'blogs I enjoy' list, which I find is one of the the cool things about blogging - that idea that someone showing interest in your blog leads you to theirs which in turn can offer interesting, useful or informative ideas and posts. So big thanks again to Gigawatts.

On painting news, I finished a new version of Stalker a few days ago, but work has meant insufficient time to photograph it yet. I have also done more work on the Aquarius Warlord so hope that will be done soon.

Father Oak & Acorn (Mini Team)

2012-01-07T06:36:00.000-08:00

A definite duo from the outset, the winners of Supreme Genesis 1 were always intended to be at their best when used together.

As suggested by their creator: "Use Green Curtain to lock down enemies so Acorn can use her Hurray for the Trees power. This gives Father Oak even more damage potential when he charges in."

Following the Errata in the Guide that made Father Oak Immune/Hurray for the Trees, then it becomes even more of a destructive tactic.

Don't forget also that both are Immune to the restraining effects of Father Oak's Green Curtain Action.

Keep Acorn in Base to Base with dear old dad (a.k.a. Father Oak), and assuming she survuves an attack Father Oak can Strike back out of sequence. Of course this is not limited to Father Oak, but given his protection from Hurray for the Trees, then it is ideal to keep this pair close together.

Mysterious Man Crime Cartel Team

2012-01-03T10:00:00.000-08:00

Click on the picture to embiggen.

Sometimes known as the Hooded Man, is he really the infamous Doctor Van Der Beek coming back from beyond the grave? Or just a guy that wants us to think so? Just to name several things that he might be involved in: Nuke, military facility raids, Quantum Holes to 1940’s, Kodo Island. That makes him a major player.

And of course crime is his game. Mysterious Man is, like Dark Solar and Dead-Eye, an unaligned Supreme. Like them he is a Level 3 who creates Sub-Faction type of Team when all of the Team lack a Sub-faction. Thta leaves him a good number of Villains to draw upon..

Supremes pictured above:
(back row, left to right):

Tangent: Pulp City's deadliest shot?
Seabolt: living water elemental?
Tritonious: alien-human hybrid.
Father Oak: parks warden reborn as a mighty agent of Gaia.
Stalker: feline companion to all aspects of Solar, empowered by ancient mystical forces.
Sister Bedlam: disgraced former doctor; underworld medic.

(middle row, left to right):

Gentleman: gun for hire.
Virgo: renegade Ulthar.
Nuke: radioactive menace.
Mysterious Man: the ultimate criminal scientist.
Kitty Cheshire: returned to earth, her body and sanity twisted apart from her time in an other-dimensional plane.
Sanguine: vampire corporate raider.
Arquero: vengeful vigilante given direction by Riposte.

(front row, left to right):

Harrier: vengeful mutant; her Greed makes her an option for Mysterious Man to exploit.
Vector: former thief transformed into digital form as a consequence of his own crimes.
Xenobi: sadistic little mutant; one of the Mysterious Man's experiments?
Acorn: an agent of Gaia on earth, believed to be the offspring of mighty Father Oak.
Avatar of the Jaguar: the darks aspect of the power of Ahau-Kin.
Riposte: tactical expert and master swords-woman seeking to topple her father's corrupt empire.

Re: Evil Jack-In-The-Box (Evil Toys)

2012-01-03T08:16:00.000-08:00

In answer to Shelldrake's question (and sorry for the delay!) they are by Reaper in a pack called 'Evil Toys'

From my mate Rob's blog: link. The picture is from Rob's blog (which is always worth checking out!).

Link to the Reaper pack listing.

2011 In Review

2011-12-31T10:29:00.000-08:00

Click to embiggenerate.

Nowhere near as much painted as I would have liked, but I have had a number of other painting diversions (including more Zombies finished than I would have anticipated at the start of the year). That said, I still have only 5 minis remaining to complete my Pulp City collection so it isn't all bad.

So here is my retrospective collage of minis I completed in 2011. I am already looking forwards to the new releases of 2012!

Happy New Year to everyone reading.

Sgt. Bale & Stoner Hawk (Mini Team)

2011-12-31T00:41:00.000-08:00

These guys are a 'Mini Team' for pretty much only one reason - Elemental Mastery: Fire and Earth. While they have some nice potential synergies (use Stoner Hawk to try and Knock Down a target (probably one with low to mid Strength) and follow-up at the earliest opportunity with a Sgt. Bale Combat Action, this can be achieved with any Supremes really.

What Elemental Mastery: Fire and Earth does is unlock some extra available Actions for each eligible Supreme. The wording of Collapse allows that it is a cheap way of Damaging buildings for Stoner Hawk (think Destroy in the Destroy or Defend Plot). Smoke allows Sgt. Bale to protect his Team-mates - especially those with low Agility - from long range attacks (more than 8 inches), since it moves with him; definitely worth considering if likely facing Gentleman with Sniper Rifle, Virgo, Vector or Xyllian, Master Sagittarius for example.

However it is Lava Flow where Elemental Mastery: Fire and Earth comes into its own. It can be expensive and is best used either early-game, or if your enemies are clustered up and fairly close by. Potentially very destructive to terrain, Citizens and sundry others (Destroy or Defend again, Invasion), it can also offer a creeping area denial. Do not consider it as a targeted attack (its movement is too random after all), but rather use it to imply a threat, which is where can wok as area denial (useful in Take and Hold) - especially against Water Supremes and Minions.

Welcome

2011-12-30T06:03:00.001-08:00

It is funny how these 'welcome' posts seem to go in twos and threes. A nice peculiarity I should say.

This 'welcome aboard' goes out to Zabadak, who among other blogs I notice follows my alternative minis blog - The Eclectic Tabletop Gamer. Even though I have said so before, it is always rewarding and encouraging (for me, to keep blogging, that is) to see not only hits on the blog and individual posts, but especially when a new Follower signs up. So a big 'cheers' to Zabadak and to everyone else.

Gemini X & Gemini Y (Mini Team)

2011-12-30T05:08:00.000-08:00

Besides the previously posted Super Duos, there are a few recognisable 'Teams within Teams'; pairs or trios of Supremes who naturally work better when played together.

The rules of these 'Mini Teams' (for want of a better tag) may offer mutual immunities or buffs, or both. And while they may not have the Super Duo Trait benefit, they still have advantages if used in the same larger Team.

Taking Gemini X and Gemini Y as the first pairing to look at, one glance at their Team Powers strongly shows that they are intended to be fielded together. One tricksy thing to consider is that the 'shared' Damage is that a total of 10 Damage can be taken while still leaving both in play; what about using one withdrawn from the other to limit incoming damage (Blasts, Rays) while making best use of this benefit? With blocking and healing opportunity-creating Actions (Gemini X), and area and Close Combat denial Actions (Gemini Y), they can be used to help shield you other Ulthar, or even potentially to hold objectives.

I cannot claim to have mastered these guys - in fact I struggle with Ulthar for some reason (I think it takes a while to get a good 'handle' on the Ulthar Sub-Faction), but if viewed as a small countermeasures type of unit rather than two (fairly weak) Level 1 Supremes, that may go some way to explain how to hopefully best utilise them.

Welcome

2011-12-29T05:54:00.000-08:00

This 'welcome to the blog' post goes to myincubliss, author of the excellent dead lead project blog. I always take heart to see that I am not alone in my minis purchasing exceeding my minis painting, so blogs like the splendidly eclectic dead lead project are a reassuring read. Check it out.

On my own minis front, night shifts are still playing havoc with my painting focus/motivation, so little has been done. Add in a festive virus of some form (Oh joy! Shivering and sweating profusely all within the same night! That is the stuff of the festive period!), some writing distractions (some gaming-related, another Pulp City-related, and a non-fictional essay about a comic book interest of mine), and well painting fell down the list. I expect that as soon as I can purchase some new Pulp City minis I will regain some impetus.

Thanks again to myincubliss for joining up - much appreciated.

Merry Christmas 2011!

2011-12-24T09:54:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post to wish a merry Christmas, or your festive observance of choice to anyone reading the blog.

Have a great time guys.

Dark Solar - Hero Equinox

2011-12-21T10:00:00.000-08:00

The power of primal Nature unleashed in a Team of Heroes led by Dark Solar - the ultimate iteration of Solar/Avatar of the Jaguar.

Although I have listed this as a Sub-Faction (as with the Dead Eye team), it isn't strictly a Sub-Faction, but with Dark Solar in charge shares enough commonalities with a Sub-Faction themed Team that it is simply more convenient to list it as such.

As things stand, this can currently be an EL 21 Team - no mean feat.

Supremes pictured above:
(back row, left to right):

Stoner Hawk: native American Earth-controlling Hero seeking redemption.
Tritonious: Ulthar-hating alien-human hybrid.
Father Oak: parks warden reborn as a mighty agent of Gaia.
Guerilla: ferocious co-leader of the ARC revolution; a great fighter at range and close quarters.
Perun: Slavic Thunder god embodied on Earth.

(middle row, left to right):

Virgo: renegade Ulthar.
Stalker: feline companion to all aspects of Solar, empowered by ancient mystical forces.
Dark Solar: ultimate incarnation of Solar/Avatar of the Jaguar.
Harrier: vengeful mutant.
Jade Hawk: failed by justice in the past, she metes out her own version today.

(front row, left to right):

Riposte: master tactician and expert swords-woman seeking to topple her father's corrupt empire.
Acorn: an agent of Gaia on earth, believed to be the offspring of mighty Father Oak.
Le Murtiple: arrived in Pulp City from the jungles and cities he terrorised in South America; stealthy self-replicating saboteur.

Christmas Madness 2011 - The Return Of Bad Santa

2011-12-15T04:50:00.000-08:00

The second annual Christmas Madness game.

Thanks as always to my main gaming buddy Rob (assume the better pictures are his).

Special thanks also to Rob for the markers made specially for this game - great stuff.

Click on the pages to make them bigger.

Christmas Madness (2010 - Redux)

2011-12-08T09:20:00.000-08:00

Reformatted in Comic Life (the Pulp Citizen's version of hi-def I guess! LOL):

Click to embiggen.

Christmas Time...

2011-12-07T02:41:00.000-08:00

I am working on this year's Christmas Madness Battle Report and plan to 'rerun' last year's at some point in the Comic Life format I have adopted, so stay tuned!

Working nights (again) this month, which plays havoc with when I feel up to painting (tiredness as one factor, daylight as a preference being the other main issue here), but hopefully at least one or two minis will be finished this month. I have also been working on a terrain piece that is definitely more suited to summer weather, so that may see an appearance at some point.

I also plan to produce a few more Team photographs and listings soon, all built around a Level 3 Supreme:

Dark Solar Heroes
Dark Solar Villains
Mysterious Man

Super Duo: Avatar Of The Jaguar & Stalker

2011-12-03T02:17:00.000-08:00

The flip-side of the Solar/Stalker Super Duo, Avatar of the Jaguar is much more close combat-focused than Solar, so suits a more aggressive approach. In addition, to maximise the effectiveness of the Avatar of the Jaguar with Stalker, it is important to plan your moves wisely.

Since Avatar of the Jaguar has overall better defensive Traits and greater Damage total, it makes sense to move him first, moving Stalker into position at the next opportunity.

With high value and Trumped Agility Traits, with the Super Duo bonus they are ideal for weathering the storm against ranged attackers targeting against Agility. Use them in tandem to take out high Damage-output ranged attackers, freeing up the rest of your Team to go about their business.

Alternatively, they can be very useful against high Defense models like Iron Train. Build up by stacking a Prowl Token onto Iron Train. This can and should be done in an earlier Round to what follows. The plan is that Avatar of the Jaguar and Stalker weaken Iron Train enough for him to be heavily Damaged in a single round (plus subsequent Effects Phase).

Follow up with a Charge* and Rip from Avatar of the Jaguar to maximise chances of success - there is no guarantee and this is a risky option, but with Quadruped Skill and Charge* Avatar of the Jaguar has a net +1 over Iron Train in Trait differential before any Power-Ups are applied. If successful follow up as soon as possible within the same Round with Stalker also using Rip and Charge* - if Avatar of the Jaguar succeeded and equal Trump Rolls were expended, then Stalker should be attacking with effective Strength 7 against a Defense of 5. Assuming that Avatar of the Jaguar and Stalker have optimum remaining AP Allowance, this allows for anything up to 2 Strikes from Avatar of the Jaguar and another from Stalker - combine Prowl* with Stalker's Strike to maximise effect. These Strikes will be against Iron Train's modified Defense of 4 and any AP he expends to defend with Power-Ups limits return attacks. While this will likely only shave a few Damage from Iron Train, it then leaves the model open for a well placed attack within the same Round against either Defense or Agility from another model on your Team.

Super Duo: Riposte & Arquero

2011-12-01T06:18:00.000-08:00

The new kids on the Pulp City block, Riposte and Arquero are very much about team-work and complementing each other. One focuses on close combat, the other on ranged combat - each maximising those specialised types of attacks. Both offer counter-attacking options, and with close working encouraged by Super Duo, they can maximise their nuanced Actions.

Unlike the previous example of Solar and Stalker, Riposte and Arquero have slightly varying ranges for their Super Duo bonus. This means that Riposte can be utilised slightly further forward to achieve Arquero's bonus as he hangs back, but would not benefit herself.

However with these two it is not just about the simple Trait bonus. There are other synergies available also.

Consider using Fatal Flaw* and Strike against a target that Riposte is in Base to base with. the typical order of play would be Fatal Flaw* then Strike. However, if say using a Resource such as Heroic Surge: Battlefield Control, you could use the Strike first for possibly some Damage, follow up with combined Fatal Flaw* then Activate Arquero to make use of either Arcing Fire or Rain of Arrows targeting the same model Riposte is engaged with. The advantage here being that Arquero can Power-Up his combat Action, so benefiting from +3 from Fatal Flaw* (if successful) and the Power-Up die to maximise Damage output, to a potential result of 16 in contrast to Riposte's potential result of 13; assuming some Damage is inflicted, that is +1-3 extra Damage. Even if using Rain of Arrows and risking catching Riposte, she should be at an increased Agility so lessening the chance of Damage. This can work with many other models besides Arquero, it is just that in tandem even the riskier Rain of Arrows option improves the odds for Riposte.

Dead Eye Vigilante Team

2011-11-30T02:07:00.000-08:00

Click on the picture to make bigger-er.

Unlike the public fanfare associated with the much-lauded Heavy Metal, at times of great peril the shadowy Vigilantes of pulp City will also emerge to do battel against evil threats.

Dead Eye is the greatest of their number, and a team led by him can count on an array of Supremes at its disposal. Any non-Sub-faction and non-E.T. Hero (including Hero/Villain) can be including, and thanks to all Supremes in the Team gaining Hatred it makes an ideal Team to battle against all-Necroplane or all-Ulthar Teams, and against Pulp Monsters.

At present all bar-one of the Level 1 Supremes could be used, creating a Team capable of being fielded in anything from Encounter Level 12 to 18.

Supremes pictured above:

(back row, left to right):

Stoner Hawk: native American Earth-controlling Hero seeking redemption.
Riposte: master tactician and expert swords-woman seeking to topple her father's corrupt empire.
Jade Hawk: failed by justice in the past, Jade Hawk metes out her own version today.
Perun: Slavic Thunder god embodied on Earth.
Skyline: simply the right guy, in the right place at the right time - who wouldn't be a hero in those circumstances?
Arquero: vengeful vigilante given purpose and focus by Riposte.
Father Oak: parks warden reborn as a mighty agent of Gaia.

(middle row, left to right)

Vector: thief transformed into digital form as a consequence of his own crimes.
Kitty Cheshire: returned to earth, her body and sanity twisted apart from her time in an other-dimensional plane.
Stalker: feline companion to all aspects of Solar, empowered by ancient mystical forces.
Tritonious: alien-human hybrid.
Solar: sun-powered hero with a dark side.
Trail: master of mental powers, haunted by strange visions.

(front row, left to right)

Ace of Wraiths: cursed gun-slinger.
Acorn: an agent of Gaia on earth, believed to be the offspring of mighty Father Oak.
Dead Eye: disgraced athlete seeking to atone for past mistakes.
Harrier: vengeful mutant.

Super Duo: Solar & Stalker

2011-11-30T01:19:00.000-08:00

The Pulp City setting is home to a number of recognisable duos of Heroes and Villains alike. Some examples include Father Oak and Acorn; the alien-human hybrid Tritonious and Virgo; and Moonchild/Moon Coyote who each allow the other model to be used as an ally ignoring the usual Faction restriction.

Like Batman & Robin in the comics, a Super Duo is a pair of characters that may be perceived to be more than the some of their parts. These pairs of Supremes often have rules that directly reference the other member of the pair, but Super Duos are different - play them together in close proximity and they simply get better at what they do.

First up for consideration is fittingly the originally referenced Super Duo: Solar and Stalker. For a long time after Solar's release in the original Hero Starter Set we did not know anything about Stalker except that he formed a Super Duo with his feline companion, and what the benefit would be for doing so.

Super Duo works on close proximity as I have stated - it is determined by Spirit Trait in inches. For Solar and Stalker they each have spirit Trait 3, so within 3 inches of each other each adds +1 to their Agility as this is listed on their cards.

The upshot is that they become that much harder to hit with many ranged attacks when close together. For Stalker it is a free defensive boost that can also be paralleled by using his Elusive* Action to render him much more durable when needed - say when holding an objective for example. Boost that up further with buffs such as Solar's Touch of the Sun and then you have a pair of models ideal for holding out on an objective or offering area denial with added capability from their offensive Actions when needed. With the 3 inch range of the buff, they could be placed either side of an objective Token to limit access by enemy models while retaining their defensive boost.

Recent Painting Summary

2011-11-30T01:03:00.000-08:00

I was looking back over some posts, and realised that it had been a while since I posted any month-end painting summaries. Of course that could be accounted for by the fact that I have painted so little for Pulp City in recent months...

So without further ado:

August
Nothing.

September

Loup Garou II
Mooonchild & Moon Coyote (2 minis)

October
Nothing.

November

Arquero
Riposte

So 5 minis in 4 months. Last year I was aiming for around 4-5 minis per months and managed just over 4 per month on average. In this period of 4 months I managed only 5 minis in total. Yes I was painting other stuff like Zombies, but nonetheless a real loss of momentum.

That said, of the remaining minis for the range I have yet to paint there is only the following:

Ra'Leigh, Aquarius Warlord (base colours applied)
Captain/Mini/Giant Hadron (3 minis; base colours and some shading and highlighting done)
Pulp Monster (gaps now being filled)

So suffice it to say I am looking forwards to the next releases.

Riposte

2011-11-28T04:15:00.000-08:00

Click to embiggenify.

I am glad this one is done. It has been a pain in the behind for me to be sure. Firstly my planned colour scheme just did not look right, and secondly I dropped it (maybe a couple of times), which necessitated repairs to re-fixing the sword arm and the mini to the base.

I like the model, and my end result is okay, maybe, but this particular painting experience has been frustrating at times - mainly due to my own clumsiness. I really like this sculpt by James Van Schaik, but it has nonetheless been an awkward process.

Oh well, done now. The original colour scheme had been intended to be a deep purple (which I kept) contrasting with a paler lilac or similar. the colour choice was influenced by Marvel Comics' the Swordsman, a former Avenger (so a complement to the Hawkeye them for Arquero). I just could not get a satisfactory colour for the lighter tone, so ended up with the blue-grey type colour here which works better I feel.

In game terms Riposte is no combat monster. Instead she is very much a finesse Supreme with Actions that benefit from considered use and planning - maximising benefits can require a little forethought and calculation by the player using her.

Welcome

2011-11-24T09:31:00.001-08:00

This latest 'welcome' post is to Yslaire, who I note has a interest in skirmish gaming and is thinking of trying out Pulp City - I hope you won't be disappointed in either the game or my humble little blog.

Not much more painting in recent days (although a little done with Ra'Leigh, Aquarius Warlord and Riposte), mainly due to my work schedule this week. Hopefully more at the weekend.

Returning to the initial welcome, once again thanks to Yslaire, and thanks to everyone who stops by.

Arquero

2011-11-20T03:15:00.000-08:00

So after a painting slump lasting maybe six or seven weeks (maybe a little more?), I have finally finished something. A pleasing turn of events for me.

Click to embiggen.

I loved this one from seeing the initial concept (as seen in the Pulp City Guide, p. 141), and when I got to see the green I was blown away.

It was awhile before it was then released and when I got hold of mine I was filled with enthusiasm, having a fairly clear plan for the paint schemes for Arquero and Riposte (the latter changing pretty quickly BTW), which was influenced by Marvel's Avengers (past and present) Hawkeye (Arquero, naturally) and Swordsman (Riposte, but subsequently changed).

However, my original enthusiasm waned with my most recent painting slump, which in turn was precipitated by painting so many Zombies in September I think, as well as other distractions. My painting tends to go in peaks and troughs.

So after posting about my slump, that seemed enough of a kick-start to return to Arquero yesterday who had a lot of work already done, and so finishing was fairly straight-forwards.

In game terms Arquero is useful in unaligned Teams and so is a good Supreme to consider for those Level 3's that build those kind of Teams, such as Dead Eye and Mysterious Man. Being part of a Super-Duo, Arquero is certainly more effective alongside Riposte. Finally, with his Melee Shot and Defensive Fire Actions his is an adept model when it comes to covering/protecting allied models, as well as having decent Ranged Combat Actions of course.

I am glad this is done - comments and criticism welcome.

I am still working at my photography, so I am fairly pleased with how sharp this one looks; still, more practice, practice and practice needed I think!

Painting Slump Broken?

2011-11-19T12:40:00.000-08:00

Hopefully something new to photograph in the next few days (maybe tomorrow?). Finally...

... and hopefully I will be able to press on again.

Painting Slump (Again)

2011-11-17T11:37:00.001-08:00

It is 'that time' again. I get these phases when I hit a painting slump. Numerous factors have been at play: work; back-pain; lack of that feeling of inspiration; stuff in general. I think also that painting so many Zombies in September actually took away some of my enthusiasm.

I hope that something kicks me into gear again soon. I have a number of Pulp City minis (all except the Monster) in stages of base colours or even some highlighting and shading; I just need to get something finished.

Still to do:

Ra'Leigh, Aquarius Warlord
Hadrons (Captain/Mini/Giant)
Riposte
Arquero
Pulp Monster

So hopefully more soon. Or at least soon-ish...

Love This - Bruce Wayne's Medical Summary

2011-11-15T11:11:00.000-08:00

An account of Bruce Wayne's fictional medical history, with notes on his explanations for the same, and the inevitable allusions to possible concerns regarding his relationship with Dick Grayson. A fun read.

New Upcoming Starter Sets

2011-11-07T12:39:00.000-08:00

Following on form Hendybadger's blog post.

Early next year should see the introduction of new replacement Starter Sets for Pulp City.

There have been a few posts about these on the Pulp City Facebook page, so I thought I would collate the information that has been forthcoming so far here.

...new starter sets coming out early 2012. Each starter will be 3 minis strong, one for each origin, and they all will be either vanilla Heroes or vanilla Villains. Each will include a new version of one of the original Supremes. They will be a perfect Lvl 5 intro to the game.

New concepts shown on the Pulp City Facebook page.

Tekkna

Nuke

Ace of Wraiths

Aurelius

Avengers Trailers!

2011-11-05T03:35:00.001-07:00

As a big Avengers fan from my earliest exposure to the team in the early 80's (which in turn imprinted some of my favourite Avengers personnel), I am very excited about the movie next year (with some reservations such as on-set stills of Cap's costume - the First Avengers one worked better, but then the non-movie stills of that were a little ropey, but I digress...).

Ahead of the movie I have watched the trailer, but on one of the fora I frequent I found this brilliantly funny lo-fi/no-budget recreation of the trailer! I wholeheartedly recommend clicking the side-by-side option (find it after clicking play, top left corner). Enjoy:

Welcome

2011-10-31T14:41:00.001-07:00

This welcome is for Shelldrake who has just signed up - thanks for doing so. I am guessing that Shelldrake is a minis fan of broad tastes, which is always a good thing in my view! Thanks very much for signing up Shelldrake - highly appreciated that you have done so!

Breadth is one of the strengths of Pulp City in my view; the game combines elements from so many influences (and every games has its influences, of that there is no doubt), so ultimately there is potentially something for everyone.

Which brings me on to ask this wish-listing question to any fans of the game and/or minis line out there:

Other than the stuff known to be coming up, what would you like to see for Pulp City? In minis? Rules? Whatever?

Feel free to comment your answers!

Hallowe'en Madness 2011

2011-10-31T02:16:00.000-07:00

The first inaugural Hallowe'en Madness Battle Report. Pictures taken by Rob and me. Yes, the Resource totals are a little off, but that had a negligible impact on the outcome.

Click on the pages to embiggen them.

And the result? A draw! Tune in next year for Hallowe'en Madness 2012!

ARC (Sub-faction)

2011-10-29T02:38:00.000-07:00

Click on the picture to make embiggenified.

Despite finally finishing Guerilla in July, I have yet to post my ARC minis collectively, so being long-overdue, here you are.

The ARC are freedom fighters to some, militant paramilitaries to others. Opertaing out of the abandoned Pulp City Zoo they have been known to work alongside both Heroes and Villains around the city, all the while pursuing their own agendas. Their leadership is currently formed by the sometimes-conflicting ideologies of Guerilla and Dr. Red - will a third prominent ARC member rise to destabilise that unsteady status quo?

The ARC (rear row, left to right):

Apebot: inspired creation of ARC, Apebot has forged a close bond with Virus beyond the limits of its basic programming; a real engine of destruction.
Dr. Red: tactical and strategic mastermind; rival to Guerilla; wild bomb-throwing enhanced primate.
Guerilla: ferocious leader of the revolution; an able fighter at range and close quarters.
Silverager: ARC's truest dichotomy - brilliant engineer on the one hand, while within the venerable ape rages a veritable furious beast.

(front row, left to right):

Virus: master of electronics, and Apebot's most able handler.
Chimp Chi: master of secret Eastern martial Arts; Chimp Chi has rumoured affiliations with the fabled Way of the Fist & Blade.
Howler: the most human-culture assimilated member of ARC, Howler spends time away from his team enjoying the opportunities available; gun-wielding action hero.
Le Murtiple: arrived in Pulp City from the jungles and cities he terrorised in South America; stealthy self-replicating saboteur.

Mini Update

2011-10-26T02:24:00.001-07:00

Painting has stalled this month. I had a good month in September, finishing/painting 13 Zombies as well as Moonchild/Moon Coyote and Loup Garou II, for a total of 16 minis for the month all told.

This month however sees me yet to complete anything, and having had very little time for painting. Worse still, when I did do some minis-painting I dropped a mini (Riposte) meaning repairs were and still are required.

Therefore the Painting Challenge currently stands with the following minis left to paint or complete:

Hadrons - base colours and some shading done and a little highlighting here and there; very much stalled.
Riposte - base colours applied and some washes; mini dropped and repairs still needed.
Arquero - base colours, some washes, some highlighting.
Ra'Leigh, Aquarius Warlord - base colours applied.
Pulp Monster - assembled (as seen), but next stage if gap filling etc.

Pulp Monster Project Log (1)

2011-10-25T10:35:00.000-07:00

Just like the stalled(!) Hadron Project Log, I thought I would start a Project Log to show any progress I may make with my Pulp Monster models.

The first picture shows a size comparison shot with Giant Hadron and Sgt. Bale!

The usual instruction to click on the pictures to embiggenicate them.

Obviously I have assembled the model, and created a base to mount it on (a recessed blank from Fenris Games, plastic-card for the main texture, sand to fill the remaining gap soon). So the first stages are complete. Cost me buying a brand new compass/circle cutter as I lost my original one somewhere in my recent house-move.

I selected parts that I hope will both fulfil by desire for a vaguely Ulthar-styled Monster, that can hopefully pass as an aquatic Beast (no doubt from ocean depths, whether from Earth or an Ulthar colony), or if not an Earthly or Ulthar creature, that could be considered otherworldly, an example of an arcane Elder menace.

The next stage will be gap-filling with Green Stuff; I had hoped to pick up some GW Liquid Green Stuff for that purpose, but my local store was out of stock when I went today. Missed sales? Therefore poor stock control? A post on a whole other tangent there.

Blood Watch (Sub-faction - updated)

2011-10-25T08:24:00.000-07:00

Click on the picture to embiggen.

With the recent painting of Moonchild/Moon Coyote and Loup Garou II, and guessing it may be a few months before further Blood Watch are released, I thought an update could be in order as with the The Coven update yesterday.

The Blood Watch are guardians against the threat of the Necroplane and other arcane evils. They are dark defenders, creatures of the night, and men and women empowered by occult forces.

The models above are sufficient to field a Level 9 Blood Watch Team.

The Blood Watch (rear row left to right):

Loup Garou II: fast and brutally powerful; requires Moonchild to be present to be be fielded as Blood Watch.
Sgt. Bale: ex-special forces soldier turned arcane-empowered supernatural hunter.
Six Feet Under: enslaved in Hellrock, the Necroplane's terrible prison, Six Feet Under is a man from another world determined to spare this Earth the same fate as his home world.
Zombie Wolf: (Minion) Hoodoo's guardian; is this Loup Garou - a former enemy - turned to serve Red Riding Hoodoo?

(front row, left to right):

Moon Coyote/Moonchild: support Supreme, fast and mobile.
Blood Rose: the last of her kind, the Blood Watch's healer and source of mobility - she can teleport them across the field of battle.
Red Riding Hoodoo: New Orleans voodoo practitioner, and mistress of ancient rituals.

The Coven (Sub-faction - updated)

2011-10-24T09:27:00.000-07:00

Click on the picture to make bigger-er.

Since I do not expect any more Coven releases for a while (but they will come, I am sure!), I thought I could afford to take time to do a Sub-faction update.

The Coven are the antithesis of the Heroes of Heavy Metal, yet can be compared with their own corporate headquarters across Golden Plaza from Heavy Metal's base. They utilise scientific and arcane resources in the pursuit of their aims.

I have enough here to field a Level 7 The Coven Team.

The Coven so far (left to right):

Twilight: shadow thief, shadow shooter.
Rook: bruiser and bodyguard. Offers decent area denial capability.
Francis Gator: bloodthirsty swamp-dweller offspring of an occult dabbler and a swamp devil. Tenacious low-Level brawler.
Loup Garou II: true 'combat monster' in every sense. Fast and brutally powerful.
Moon Coyote/Moonchild: support Supreme requiring Loup Garou II to be present to be fielded in a The Coven Team.

Welcome

2011-10-22T13:54:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Follower #84 of the blog. This welcome goes to Alex Hood, and as ever I have to say a big thank you for taking time to sign up. I only hope that I repay the interest with things of interest. So again, thanks Alex Hood.

Starting the Pulp Citizen was a useful diversion for me, following a difficult life event. Since then it has grown into creating acquaintances with folks I would not be able to be in touch with without the medium of the Internet. More than that, it has allowed me a small measure of involvement in helping in a little way to help develop my favourite tabletop minis game. So in all, spurred on by people visiting, Following and commenting, the Pulp Citizen has rewarded me a lot. cheers guys.

Coming Soon!

2011-10-20T10:18:00.000-07:00

Just like when TV and movies have trailers - ha-ha!

Welcome

2011-10-20T09:39:00.000-07:00

This latest 'welcome aboard' is a hearty shout-out to AoM. I can only surmise from a quick glance at AoM's profile that he or she is a minis fan with eclectic tastes - nothing wrong in that then!. As always it is a privilege and a pleasure for me to see new names signing up as Followers, and it is also a helpful spur to continued blogging; so cheers to AoM, cheers to all the other Followers who signed up, and cheers to anyone who happens by.

On other business, I have started to acquire more bits and bobs for the swamp Tokens, so hopefully more on those in due course. I had hoped to get some painting done today(Riposte), however I got side-tracked so that did not happen. On the plus side, I finished the upcoming Battle Report (look for a post in eleven days!), and I finished a bit of non-gaming but gaming related writing that I had been working on for a few days. More on that when I can or cannot say more.

Over The Wire

2011-10-20T05:37:00.000-07:00

Over the Wire is Darkson Designs' periodic newsletter featuring updates, frequently asked questions, and new rules and previews for their core games including AE: WWII and AE: Bounty. In addition it has been known to feature material for Pulp City.

I have just submitted an article I hope may make it into a future issue (watch this space if it does), but in the mean-time thought I would draw attention to some of those those OTW issues with Pulp City content.

Issue 7, Sept/Oct 2008
Including all the rules you will need to have Pulp City Supremes battle in the AE-WWII universe.

Issue 15, May/June 2010
Includes trial rules for superheroes in games of AE-WWII.

Issue # 20 April/May 2011
Pulp Monsters’ very own Beermonkey talks about Minions in your Pulp City games, and a Pulp City campaign.

Pixels/Megapixel (Vector)

2011-10-15T11:19:00.000-07:00

First off, sorry for the dearth of new minis lately. Stuff is in progress, have no fear, but still apologies!

I painted these things up very quickly recently, after receiving them through the post from fellow gamer and Pulp City fan Hendybadger (thanks Ian!). His generosity reminds me of just how decent the gaming community is on the whole, so cheers to him for sending these my way.

As usual, click to embiggenify the pictures.

Ian had them custom-made by Fenris Games and I believe had a similarly positive experience to my own when getting custom stuff made.

Pixels/Megapixel is a weird little Resource exclusively available for Vector. Unlike other Resources it has no Resource cost; it kind of behaves like a renewable Minion, yet is not treated as a Minion card. It can be a struggle struggle to get the absolute best out of Pixels, since they are mainly about resource (note the lower case 'r' resource here) management, as well as game-management of Vector. Please find my own Vector Tactica here.

I have not used them too much myself of late, simply as I was using paper glued to round bases as representations. Now with these finished, expect to see more of Vector, his Pixels and Megapixel.

Zombies...At The Eclectic Gentleman Tabletop Gamer

2011-10-15T10:21:00.001-07:00

On my more 'general minis hobbying' blog (the Eclectic Gentleman Tabletop Gamer), I will be posting various examples of zombies I have recently painted (to be featured in the upcoming Battle Report). I mention it here because I can see a lot of these walking dead seeing use in future Pulp City games, either as Zombies Resources (which can be fielded in heavy numbers with Necroplane Supremes) and/or as self-created Minions.

No Longer Mighty - The New Crusaders

2011-10-11T07:08:00.000-07:00

Not much on the minis front right now as the (lower) Pulp Citizen Cave has been recently co-opted as a store-room for bedroom furniture as the main bedroom has been decorated. So the only stuff I have managed was brief and modelling base (preparing some bases for Monsters; 80 mm Fenris recessed round-shoulders as the basis) and basing up some Pixels kindly given to me by Hendybadger (more on those in due course!).

So in lieu of minis and modelling (I have been able to pitch in some writing and development bits and bobs in that time...), back to one of the reasons why Pulp City was such a big draw for me: comic book superheroes. Now in tone Pulp City probably reflects much of the tone from the big two over the last decade or so, but as I grow older, I find my comic-book reading sensibilities are actually changing so that I yearn for simpler, less gory, less sexually-suggestive fayre on the whole. And DC in particular are not aiming in the same direction. Marvel I find strangely more recognisable.

So it was with a warm smile that I saw news that one of my favourite comic book properties (see posts here and here) is making a come-back, and seemingly with a tone to my liking. The Mighty Crusaders are giving way to the New Crusaders, and it looks good to me.

It appears that the new stuff will be in digital format first, with the possibility of print collections later (if understand a source of mine correctly). So pleasing all around. Yes, purist may baulk, but I have to say this is the kind of thing I could really like, so happy times even as my other comics reading diminishes (DC for example).

Welcome

2011-10-11T07:00:00.000-07:00

Another hearty 'welcome' going out, this time to wardy-la, who to look at his own blog links is a pretty prolific minis and gaming blogger. I know I will be Following his Level 2, A Project Too Far and The Dead Hate The Living blogs for a start.

Thanks for signing up wardy-la and hopefully you interest will be repaid. Cheers!

Welcome

2011-10-11T01:36:00.001-07:00

Another 'welcome' goes out, this time to Joe B. Joe is known elsewhere as Dr. Mono, and is a games designer. Most intriguingly for me as a minis fan and a comic book superheroes fan, Joe. B. has been working on a project called Superhuman, which will be a miniatures battles game. All good. I am watching the progress of that with interest, and in the meantime I appreciate the time Joe B. has taken to sign up as a Follower here. Thanks again for doing so, Joe B.

On the subject of 'other' superhero miniatures games, there looks to be potential growth in the area. Of course current offerings include Pulp City, Supersystem (3 editions so far) and Heroclix. A related offering which may be of use to gamers looking for a system to suit their tastes is Atomic Super Humans, a game intended for use with action figures, but surely useful for smaller scaled minis with a moderate amount of tweaking.

And further out on the horizon is the aforementioned Superhuman and also Power Legions from Ganesha Games (the guys behind the various Song of... games amongst others).

So while Pulp City remains my preferred choice, for other gamers with interest in the area it looks like choices will hopefully continue to grow.

Making Some "Albino Gator's Curse" 'Tokens'

2011-10-10T11:16:00.000-07:00

Albino Gator's Curse is one of Francis Gator's Exclusive Actions. It creates an area of his home swamp on the Playing Field that lasts for the rest of the game.

Of course I could mark the area with bits of paper or what-not, but I really fancy making a few elaborate Tokens to represent the areas of terrain (which are 3 inch radius areas!).

I have cut myself some discs to size, and as an alternative have ordered some 150mm blank round-lip bases from Fenris (not quite perfect size but close enough!).

Now I have to fill up the blighters (whether I choose the discs or bases) with swampy looking stuff. I plan on making undulations and sanding the bits of ground, while filling the area with wet effect stuff. The thing is with such big areas (I plan to do several of these!) I would love to add suitably swampy decoration (without going too overboard) simply to help bolster the visual appearance.

I have some bits in my box, but was wondering if you guys have suggestions for stuff I can add. Cheers.

Welcome

2011-10-05T01:34:00.000-07:00

A double 'welcome' this time. Thanks for signing up to skywatcher and Ambassador.

Skywatcher is a mention of the Op-For blog collective (blog here); always worth a look and glad to have some of you guys aboard.

I guess Ambassador is a fellow minis fan and so is more than welcome.

On the update front, I haven't been painting much (and I don't count decorating a room in the house as "real painting" contrary to what Mrs. Pulp Citizen may think...), but I can say I have seen the current working draft of the upcoming first Pulp City Annual which will feature the long-awaited Pulp Monsters rules, and it is shaping up very well I reckon. Add in that I can cite at least 16 Supremes and 3 Minion Cards (but maybe only 2 models/kits for those 3 cards...) in current active development, and there is a raft of stuff on the Pulp City horizon, which pleases this fan. All good.

Once again welcome aboard guys and thanks for signing up.

Battle Report Preview

2011-09-28T07:44:00.000-07:00

Rob and I played out an Invasion game today, intended for a special upcoming 'seasonal' posting (expect it in around a month or so...). No hints as to the outcome at this time.

Until the Battle Report is finished and posted up, here are some preview pictures, hopefully to whet appetites.

Click to embiggen pictures.

The game featured some custom markers made by Rob, such as this one...

The were a crucial feature of the Encounter and we knew immediately when discussing options for Tokens what they should be represented by. Expect these to get annual usage! Great work Rob!

An in-game shot.

20000 Visits

2011-09-26T14:16:00.000-07:00

Just saw the 'Visitor' counter on 20,000 - pretty pleased with that, even if it is not 20,000 unique visitors but instead 20,000 visits. Thanks to everyone who has taken time to stop by. :)

Supergods - Grant Morrsion

2011-09-25T03:53:00.000-07:00

I recently finished this and thought I would draw a little attention to it. Part skim-history and contextualisation of trends of US comic book superheroes (with an emphasis on DC and Marvel), and part memoir of Morrison's life reflected through his involvement with comic books as reader and later creator, Supergods was something I found very entertaining.

There is inherent bias in the book; this is no purely subjective work. Morrison as a figure becomes strongly placed within the text as the historical aspect catches up with his own life-time, and so his viewpoint is conveyed within his writing and has to be taken for what it is: one commentator's viewpoint. But that is to miss the point of course.

I am not a slavish fan of Grant Morrison's work, and do not enjoy everything he does, but what I do enjoy is that he is a writer of 'big ideas' and is always looking to incorporate them into his work, whether science, philosophy, religion, culture, media, life, death, love or whatever, it finds its way into his work over the decades.

I would recommend Supergods to anyone who likes at least some of Grant Morrison's work and is looking for a read about comics that is no dry history of the subject.

Mini Update

2011-09-25T03:40:00.000-07:00

Some occasional Pulp City painting of late, base colours on: Arquero, Riposte and Ra'Leigh, Aquarius Warlord.

In the meantime I have been painting lots of other minis (well lots by my standards, a piffling amount in the yes of some other painters I am sure!), which will be pressed into service for an upcoming special Battle Report. I have one word: braaaaiiins...

Welcome

2011-09-19T01:50:00.000-07:00

Another 'welcome aboard' post, this time for Skywatcher, a contributor to the Op-For (Opposition Force) collective-Blog (link here). As alwasy I really appreciate anyone taking the time to sign up as a Follower of the Pulp Citizen, so big thanks.

Op-For is self-described thus:

Opposition Force is the blog of Op-For, an elite crime fighting unit who's members span from Santa Rosa to the East Bay, dedicated to wiping out poor sportsmanship, unpainted or poorly painted figures, boring games and crappy terrain.

So no pressure there! (mental note to self - must not show crappy paint-jobs or terrain!). In all seriousness, a nice philosophy with tongue in cheek explanation methinks. Once again thanks for signing up Skywatcher.

On another note, I just wanted to plug (once more) my 'other' minis blog - the Eclectic Gentleman Tabletop Gamer (link here); I will be hopefulkly showing off more and more zombies there in the next few weeks ahead of a game planned for later in the month. With luck and motivation that is...

Dockyard Showdown

2011-09-17T07:48:00.000-07:00

This was our most recent game. We played a mix of 2 Plots: Smackdown! and Take & Hold to see how mixing two sets of scoring would work out. The game was pretty decisive as it turned out...

The best pics are mostly Rob's supplemented by some of mine; so big thanks to Rob as always. The backdrop is new, painted by me in order to reduce the need to restrict angles/crop pictures/use Photoshop or GiMP magic to remove non-game background elements.

Click on the individual pages to embiggen them.

A win for me then, and decisively so. After 2 Rounds I thought it was all over for me as I had lost Blood Rose and taken a battering, but then things turned in my favour and with the trio of Sgt. Bale and especially Six Feet Under and Loup Garou II, I was able to tear into the ARC Supremes with abandon.

Papercraft Terrain By Tommygun

2011-09-10T06:07:00.000-07:00

Tommygun is a name I came across via Warseer. His paper-craft terrain output is prodigious and it is great to see how he has honed and continues to hone his skills, both with textures, but the construction side of his free paper-craft offerings. His site features something for everyone from the recent past, modern/contemporary and near-future eras. well worth a look and donation if you find a number of useful items.

His stuff can be found: here.

Moonchild/Moon Coyote

2011-09-10T05:09:00.000-07:00

This teenage Native American is a werecoyote, choosing between here human support form and coyote speeder form. She belongs to Blood Watch but thanks to the half of the Moon Amulet, under certain conditions, she may be fielded in The Coven.

The human-coyote hybrid form (Moonchild) was sculpted by James van Schaik, and the animal form (Moon Coyote) by Jarek Smolka. A quick paint-job this on as I painted both minis together and there is little variation of colours on offer on either.

I like to think the paint-jobs are pretty understated, but fitting I feel, and I have pretty much used the official versions as a broad template, even including a magenta half moon motif to help break-up the look of ther tunic as with the studio version.

Just as Moonchild/Moon Coyote allows Loup Garou II to be fielded as a Blood Watch Hero, so the reverse is true: Loup Garou II allows Moonchild/Moon Coyote to be used as a The Coven Villain. Lots of Team-buildings combinations available there then.

In game-play Moonchild/Moon Coyote is a Shapeshifter, with each form having some specialisation, but overall offering a Supreme specialised in Support and mobility.

Further out it hopefully won't be too long before Blood watch can field their own Level 12 Team with at least a couple more Supremes lined up.

Welcome

2011-09-09T06:22:00.000-07:00

Another 'welcome' post going to a new Follower of the blog; thanks to Lorenzo Calvi for taking the time to sign up take a look at whatever it is I a m posting. As I have said before, seeing new names and seeing the audience and views stats helps keep me going in blogging away, so I am thankful to everyone who has taken time out to sign up and keep a watch what is happening in this blog. And once again thanks to Lorenzo Calvi for taking some time out for this little blog. Much appreciated.

On Pulp City matters, we had another game today, with me using the recently reinforced Blood Watch against ARC in the hands of Rob; look for a new Battle Report soon, but in the meantime check out this picture as a taster.

Loup Garou II

2011-09-08T10:47:00.000-07:00

Loup Garou II is the second of his name to work for the Coven. Though Hoodoo has slain the orginal Loup Garou this new incarnation is entirely different. His fragment of the Moon Talisman transforms him into half man half beast. A creature of uncontrolled savagery he seeks out his enemies and rips them limb from limb.

Sculpted by Erick Redling - his first foray into Pulp City I believe, this Loup Garou is the second known bearer of the name.

A big brute of a dread-locked werewolf, I was very eager to get painting on this one. Alas a bit of paitence would have helped since I noticed that as I was painting there were parts I did not prep adequately enough.

Loup Garou II is a real combat monster in every sense of the description. Normally a Villain, if Teamed with Moonchild/Moon Coyote, he then becomes Blood Watch and a Hero! Very useful!

Forgive the funny angle on the pictures - I was trying out a new mini tripod and so will need to elevate the minis if using it again in the future.

Mini Update

2011-09-06T03:03:00.000-07:00

I have been working on Moonchild & Moon Coyote, and Loup Garou II in the past few days (and a tiny bit on Arquero).

As I am painting I can see that my green stuff-filling and smoothing of pitting on Loup Garou II leaves a lot to be desired, but it is so far in now I think I won't go back and try and recover it, but instead press on.

My first Pulp Monster is cleaned up, ready for soap washing before assembly and priming/under-coating BUT alas I have lost my circle cutter which I used to cut the circular insert for Hadron's base and was going to repeat the technique here. So no further Monster progress until I get a replacement cutter.

Breast Cancer Brawl 2011

2011-09-04T02:07:00.000-07:00

Something worth promoting:

What is the Breast Cancer Brawl?

The Breast Cancer Brawl is an effort to raise money for breast cancer research, advocacy, education, and support organizations. The event is a fantasy table-top miniatures tournament and… painting competition using the popular WARMACHINE and HORDES game systems.

The above text is from the 'About' section of the Breaster Cancer Brawl 2011 site (here).

My understanding is that the organisers want to spread it beyond the identified games to include games such as Pulp City. It is self-evidently a good cause and so I decided to draw attention through my blogs. Gaming in a good cause - 'nuff said as Stan Lee (maybe once or twice) wrote.

Now maybe I need to paint something pink in honour of this initiative...

Here Be Monsters...

2011-08-31T01:54:00.000-07:00

Or "guess what the postie delivered today!"

2 Monster bodies, 4 heads, and lots of bits and bobs - good job I have a couple of weeks free methinks.

The parcel was a welcome sight as I want to get on with painting some new Pulp City stuff and it also contained the latest releases: Loup Garou II & Moonchild/Moon Coyote; Arquero & Riposte. Reinforcements for the Blood Watch and the Coven, as well as some new Hero/Villains - a good all-round mix then.

I just need to decide how I want to build these Pulp Monsters then, and which heads to use...

Comic Life

2011-08-30T04:16:00.000-07:00

Anyone perusing my recent style Battle Reports has seen the fruits of the Comic Life software, and following a post on the Pulp City Forum I thought I would offer a few of my thoughts on Comic Life (from Plasq) as a product.

There are other products out there that do a similar job, including some freeware such as Comic Book Creator.

Having tried Comic Book Creator, I found it a little restricted and slow for my liking. Comic Life hit the spot in many ways with simple manipulations such as zooming images so that only the part of a picture you want is in the frame, as well as a wide array of manipulable page layouts. Add in font effects, speech/thought bubbles, and so forth and a nice basic package is available. I sometimes do some 'post-production' in GiMP or Photoshop, which is easy enough once you have exported your image to an appropriate format such as JPEG. Overall it is a pretty accessible package that has a number of helpful features for making this style of report.

I rather quite enjoy using Comic Life to present my Battle Reports; there are times I have had stop and scrap a page here or there simply because I started on the wrong flow of selected pictures, but even human errors like that have rarely slowed me up much. As I become more and more familiar with Comic Life I find it usually takes less than 2 hours to finish up a 4-8 page Battle Report. I would recommend spending a little extra for the deluxe version since it adds a lot more options.

Welcome

2011-08-27T02:31:00.000-07:00

A new 'welcome post', on this occasion to hendybadger whose nickname I recognise from posts on the Pulp City Forum. I am more than glad to have you aboard Mr. badger! I really appreciate your signing up to this fan's blog about his favourite game and minis range.

While on the subject of the Forum, just to say (and I guess I am biased as I post a lot there) that I find it a helpful and friendly place and that it has been very cool to see new converts to the game joining up and posting.

On other stuff I have been prepping some more zeds along with loads of absolutely-not Pulp City stuff. Unfortunately my limited renewed progress on the Hadrons has (temporarily) halted, but as I have two weeks leave starting Monday I hope to rectify that situation. And hopefully I will be receiving some new minis in the post in hat time.

Sewers Terraclips (Sewers Of Malifaux - Terraclips 3D Terrain System)

2011-08-23T04:31:00.000-07:00

A new buy for me; a new release from Worldworks Games and linked to the Malifaux tabletop minis game.

As usual, click on pics to embiggen them.

I have been planning to run some sewer set Encounters for Pulp City for a while now; I can envisage vigilantes chasing down Villains to secret lairs or stuff being 'lost' down below. I toyed with making my own or buying appropriate components.

Time prevented me building my own, and time, cost and finding exactly what I wanted stopped me looking any further with the pre-cast resin options (some nice stuff out there, just nothing ‘quite right’).

So when I learned of this set (and its companions) from Worldworks Games, I knew it would probably be my best option.

I haven’t bought it as a Malifaux player, but hope it may see some use eventually for generic pulp games, VSF, steampunk etc.

First Impressions
The box felt heavier than I expected after pre-ordering it. On opening the box each sheet looks tightly packed with pieces, so no worries about significant ‘wasted’ space on sheets really – I think they have crammed as much as practically possible in which is good news.

The finish of the card components is nicely matt – I had been worried about seeing a gloss finish to the pieces since that would create possible glare for photographs for Battle Reports.

The parts include floors (in two sizes: 3 inches x 3 inches; 6 inches by 6 inches), walls, archways and doors at 2 inches high and lengths to match the floors; all are double-sided. There are a number of counters also, balcony pieces and stairs for multi-level layouts.

Assembly
I tried a dry fit assembly using the separately available connectors. Popping out the parts was smooth enough for the most part, only some of the very small linking pieces were a minor problem.

Putting a layout together was pretty straightforward, although after doing so I would suggest maybe laying out the whole flat board and planning where you want any walls etc. to save messing around with any need to change connector types. I didn’t try out the stairs at this time or balcony – that will keep.

I found that you need to be careful with arches with narrow wall surrounds – the card would start to bend going into the snug connectors.

All told though, maybe 10 minutes or so needed for a first time layout of 12 x 18 inches, which I imagine will get quicker with familiarity.

The Good
A single pack offers me the minimum I need and a little more to create a useful Pulp City board for sewer-set games. The art is uniform, no parts stand out too much for any of the wrong reasons and I was surprised that as the layout grew, then the connectors appeared less intrusive than I first feared.

It is nice that all parts are double sided offering a lot of variety. It was certainly a great time saver over what I would have needed to commit to create my own sewer layout. For the time-strapped gamer this kind of product is a real boon.

There are a lot of options for multi-level playing areas which for a sewers with the risk of a flat area creates nice tactical options.

The Bad
The price – it isn’t cheap, especially factoring in the cost of connectors which are compulsory to be able to change the layout at all with some solidity of build. It is cheaper than say some of the resin options out there, but probably more expensive than foam and MDF materials to create my own layout. That cost is mitigated by the fact that the only work needed is assembly. However the cost is compounded by the need to buy the connectors.

While for Pulp City this cost is contained since the required playing area can be thankfully small, it looks like one set will only make a 24 inch x 36 inch square (or permutations thereof) at most. Some creativity with negative spaces blocked by walls may increase that a little further, but the point is that larger areas are going to need more sets, such as the standard Malifaux 36 x 36 inches – it seems curious that the packs have been devised in such a way that two are required to play the game they are linked to. For games using 48 inches x 48 inches as a standard playing area (such as Anima Tactics), then with three or four sets needed I think cost looks to be prohibitive.

Also be aware that care needed with linking some of the finer components, both in handling and what to fit where as there are two widths of sewer channels to work with.

Finally, there is a grid-like approach to things on the board pieces; add in knowledge of wall lengths and application of a little mathematics (thank you Pythagoras!) and games that preclude pre-measurement of distances will be hamstrung by using this product. Just an unavoidable fact I guess.

Overall
I feel it is a product suitable for my needs, and I look forwards to getting in some gaming using the set, but I advise caution for anyone needing more than one set as the cost will be a big investment. I am satisfied with this purchase and will be buying a second sewer set, but won’t for instance trade up my current urban board terrain if ever a city-scape type of set was released.

Invasion: UK

2011-08-22T02:02:00.000-07:00

We played quick game after we did the Merlin's Reach Encounter, and this time I was absolutely hammered!

To see which side I lost with, read on...

Nocturnals Volume 1: Black Planet & Other Tales

2011-08-18T01:39:00.000-07:00

I had been aware of the Nocturnals comics for a long time without ever trying them out. I recently took the plunge with the second hard-cover (it was a cheaper 'tester') and I am so very glad I did. I was even aware of Dan Brereton through the excellent DC Elseworlds story Thrillkiller (sadly out of print as far as I know), I simply missed out on Nocturnals for whatever reasons for around 17-18 years.

The Nocturnals centres on exploits of a supernatural cast of characters led by Doc Horror and his daughter Eve in Pacific City, a fictional California town which seems to have more than its fair share of paranormal activity. The series features an eclectic mix of pulp-crime influenced storytelling, monsters and the phantasmagorical, an array of colorful characters, mostly rendered in Dan Brereton's readily recognisable painted art style.

Nocturnals Volume 1: Black Planet & Other Tales is a handsome volume with its black leatherette cover and nice production values. It presents the stories that are reprinted therein in a great way and so over the last couple of nights (I think this kind of stuff needs to be read at night!) I have dived in and devoured them all.

A fan of comics for over 30 years, my sensibilities have been very directly superhero orientated. I was never interested in other genres such as crime or monsters/horror, yet the Nocturnals takes all of those blending them with verve into a brew that is most heady. Having begun to engage with Dan Brereton's fantastically realised world I only wish I had started sooner - but then again if I had, maybe I wouldn't have been prepared to embrace the stories and art the way I do now, so maybe all good things come to those who wait?

I think Nocturnals is one of those overlooked gems. It has not had the same high-profile associated with Mike Mignola's Hellboy, yet has an equal depth in my view. And yes - I do wish this were made into a movie, by someone like Tim Burton or Alfonso Cuaron.

If you like comic books, horror, pulp sci-fi, and pulp crime, and more besides, then you could do worse than try and pick up one of the collected editions; even if alas they can be hard to find.

New Releases And Free Shipping From Pulp Monsters

2011-08-18T00:47:00.000-07:00

I don't normally post about new Pulp City releases except when I have had them in hand, but since Pulp Monsters (Pulp City) are offering free worldwide shipping until the end of the week on minis (but not rule book), I thought it was highly appropriate to do so at this time.

The latest wave has been released yesterday: Loup Garou II & Moonchild/Moon Coyote; Arquero & Riposte; Perun; Pulp Monster Deluxe Kit.

From the announcement on the Pulp City Forum:

"The news are in the store! Two new boxes, Perun (w/cards)... and very limited Ultimate Edition of the Monster (incl. all variants!). Good? No, it gets better! Until the end of this week, all orders over 30 Euro ship FREE worldwide (excluding ones with the Rulebook)!

Getting into Pulp City was never easier!"

Mini Update

2011-08-16T03:14:00.001-07:00

I actually dragged the Hadrons out of the cabinet 'awaiting painting storage queue' last night and slapped them around briefly with the hairy sticks. I had a problem in painting I needed to work out and I *think* I may have resolved it - hopefully! so there may be more progress on these this week back pain (and therefore sitting) permitting.

On other minis I have been looking for some stuff missing since the house move. Particularly some modern zombies.

Zeds. Walkers. The dead. Deaders.

Call them what you will, I need ta lot for an upcoming game. I have finally found 24 under-coated minis, mostly Studio Miniatures with some smattering of Hasslefree, Crocodile Games and Tengu, so work should resume on them soon. especially as I have been catching on watching The Walking dead (which has been ace, by the way) and I have the volume 1 hard-cover of the Walking dead awaiting reading!

Battle Reports

2011-08-15T05:47:00.000-07:00

Before I get round to posting the latest (preview in the image, right) I just thought I would post a couple of words about these. Please note that the good pics are pretty much almost always Rob's, so credit where it is due on that score.

I have tried a couple of the comic creator software options, and Comic Life suits me very nicely I have to say. It would be better with some added simple transparent SFX options, but hey, as is it is nice to work with and images after being exported can be manipulated or added to with say Photoshop or GiMP. It isn't free but it is nice. there are freeware products with similar but possibly lesser capability out there.

I have done 4 'comic style' Battle Reports so far, (with a fifth on the way soon, and another redux of an old text and pics type report ready for later in the year), so I hope enough of you enjoy reading them. The spirit and cultural origins of the game suit the style very well in my view.

Anyway for anyone who may have missed the label (Battle Reports), here are links to the four so-far posted Comic Life-created reports:

Rooftop Rumble - an Encounter set on high above the city streets.

Seize the Isotopes (redux) - a Quest ensues as ARC Supremes and mixed bag of Heroes race for experimental isotopes lost on the city streets.

When Rampages the Beast! - Heroes face down a Monster threat!

The Souls of Merlin's Reach - Heroes led by Sovereign seek to protect the lost souls of this pocket dimension within England from the predations of Villains intent on consuming the power therein.

Welcome

2011-08-15T05:25:00.000-07:00

It looks as though another of the GOG contributors has signed up as a Follower, so without further ado, welcome aboard Eddy Artillery (a super hero or villain name if ever there should be one!). From Tea Urn's messages you guys are picking up on Pulp City which is great - the more the merrier. Thanks again to Eddie Artillery, as well as the other GOG guys, and to everyone else of course. 75 Followers for this little blog - who would have thunk it?

Thinking of the GOG guys and us UK based players/fans as a whole, I understand there could be news in September about UK distribution, so fingers crossed.

And speaking of the UK (subtle segue here! Okay nothing is that subtle about the Pulp Citizen...), I have the second of the two 'UK-themed Battle Reports finished this morning. Much shorter and I should post soon.

After these non-urban games I now have in mind a hell-themed/lava-themed board in mind which could pull double duty for a number of games (like Anima Tactics, WH40K, maybe Hell Dorado if I take that up) as well as Pulp City. Doing these two games was a nice change for us I reckon.

Welcome

2011-08-14T07:56:00.000-07:00

The Pulp Citizen is fortunate to welcome another new Follower. This time Silverback, a contributor to GOG Online (link here) an eclectic minis blog. Another contributor is Tea Urn so I am glad to have you fellows aboard.

I enjoy blogs that take a broad brush view of minis offerings, and that don't take themselves seriously, so GOG Online is certainly recommended.

On the Pulp City front I have another Battle Report to work up, and further out have a stash of non-Pulp City minis to get ready for September or early October by the latest, for a very special future Battle Report...

The Souls of Merlin's Reach

2011-08-13T06:48:00.001-07:00

A little different this one. We envisaged a game set outside of Pulp City to allow a visually different experience and a contrast to previous reports.

The game was played using the Quest Plot, but using three objectives to go away from the usual middle table pile-in.

Click on images to embiggen.

Battles Today

2011-08-11T08:13:00.000-07:00

Rob and I managed two games today, one a modified version of the Quest Plot and the other a straight Smackdown! Honours were even, and we put some newer Supremes into play, some lesser used Supremes, and some old favourites.

Hopefully I will cobble together a suitable Battle Report for each, but the image accompanying this post is a taster of the clashes.

More soon...

Welcome

2011-08-06T12:19:00.000-07:00

This welcome is a two-for-one deal.

First up we have Gothridge Manor (link to blog of the same name here); I stumbled upon the GM blog via the the current Show Me Your Dice Marathon post which had been linked into from another blog I Follow, which reminds me of one of things I enjoy most about the blogosphere - stumbling across a hidden gem you may otherwise never encounter.

Next new Follower is Risus Monkey who I guess happened along here for the same reason; the web of connections spawned by that post on Gothridge Manor. It then shows me some blogs to keep an eye on and so that is pretty cool in my book.

Thanks to both for Following - I really appreciate it.

Show Him Your Dice

2011-08-05T14:46:00.000-07:00

Tim at Gothridge Manor came up with an idea entitled: Show Me Your Dice Marathon. I know I have shown these before, but any excuse...

I have owned many dice over the years (and still do), but these are my favourite. Custom made for me to match my favourite game.

Forget the dice I have colour matched to armies, these are the tops for me. Still my luck remains as poor as ever...

Welcome

2011-08-05T14:30:00.000-07:00

Welcome aboard to anew Follower with both a great nickname and superb avatar choice: hello and welcome to Tea Urn with a rather marvellous Rorschach (comics) head-shot avatar. Great name, great av - needed saying again I felt. If anyone knows me well enough, they may know my weakness for tea, so the name has extra gravitas to me. :)

Tea Urn is both minis fan and (lapsed?) comics fan I guess from his comments, so hopefully the Pulp Citizen can offer something worthwhile. Cheers for joining.

On the minis front nothing new painted fro a few days, although I have been doing some prep for a game witn Rob planned for next week; working title - Merlin's Reach. This will be a variant of the Quest Plot and will be set away from the usual urban battles e run, so should look nicely distinct.

On other news, word filters through from Gencon (US) attendees that some of the new Pulp City minis have been sighted, including denizens of Little Asia; all I can say on them is that some belong to a new Sub-faction (boo! hiss! bad guys), while some are more Heroic but maybe not quite tied into a Sub-faction, and other minis will have excellent utility in a number of Teams....

The Forthcoming 'New' DC Universe

2011-08-04T03:07:00.000-07:00

DC are at again. First in 1956 they introduced a new generation of their existing concepts (starting with a new Flash - Barry Allen), meshing them with the continuously published Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman. It was a time of renewal as a science fiction slant was added to creations such as Green Lantern, the Atom and Hawkman amongst others.

More golden age heroes would be revived and new characters added in to this era. It was a rebooting of the DC Universe, even if there was no word such as reboot to adequately describe the process in the fans' lexicon.

In 1985-86 DC published Crisis on Infinite Earths; a series intended to simplify the weighty continuity of 50 years (well 47 years from Action Comics #1....) of DC continuity/in-comic history. And of course Barry Allen died in that series, maybe as a signpost that the era begun in 1956 had passed. But DC is as DC does in my view, and so in trying to simplify they in fact created mess after mess of contorted retelling and repositioning of new continuity. Of course DC felt they needed to fix things...

So we had Zero Hour in 1994 which was intended to rectify the post Crisis problems as well as other ones that were around (time-lines, wibbly-wobbly timey-whimey stuff and time travel shenanigans in the DCU).

Of course, DC being DC (spot the theme here...), it meant that come 2005-2006 we got Infinite Crisis; a follow-up to Crisis on Infinite Earths (see what they did with the title there! oh so clever those involved in Infinite Crisis...), and once again some focus on fixing continuity.

Third time is a charm, isn't it?

I hated Infinite Crisis when I first read it. I thought the violence was way over the top in a medium that I first came to as a 6 year old; it was not something I would show to a 6 year old. It also brought us the most creatively and morally bankrupt creation I have come across in mainstream comics for some time - Superboy Prime (as villain). Superboy Prime was intended to be "a simplistic character who becomes complex" apparently, possibly as allegory to the fan-boy reactions of a cross-section of DC readers. Yet in the hands of an admitted fan-boy what I read was a morally reprehensible story where the excuse is "I didn't mean to do it" after Superboy Prime has butchered and maimed many, many heroes and villains. No complexity there, just sledgehammer storytelling lacking grace, wit or subtlety as Superboy Prime's punches to reality reshape reality (read continuity) in a way more in line with then current DC vision.

So cut to 2008 and we had Final Crisis (surely DC have cornered themselves with THAT title!); the third in the trilogy' as it were, and something from the pen of Grant Morrison. He who wrote the brilliant Zenith, and one of my favourite JLA runs (which I posted about here), and the stunning All-Star Superman. What could go wrong?

Everything as it turns out.

A mess of a story, Morrison decided to tell it via series of set-pieces, so it jumps around so much that we have in incoherent mess. The main impetus of the story was killing off Batman (he came back of course) and shunting the New Gods and related Jack Kirby concepts outside of the regular DC Universe.

So now we come to 2011 and we have Flashpoint, after which DC continuity will be reset once more. For the fifth time as a whole by my count, and for the third time in 5-6 years.

The same person is still in charge of DC amid this latest shift in shared back-story (Dan Didio) and one cannot help but wonder why his bosses have not taken a closer look at the direction in which their employee is guiding their ship, especially in taking 3 attempts to fix what is essentially the same core problem: accessibility.

DC are aiming this new DC Universe post-Flashpoint to be more accessible; in other words a jumping on point for new readers. However, after enduring 3 changes too many, I am now after 32 years of reading DC comics contemplating the once-unthinkable: using this new era as a jumping off point. I don't think Flashpoint will be the final problem solving event of DC's, and in that I think it a third trip to the well too many. The backwards-looking focus is evident as well: the return of Barry Allen/The Flashh in Final Crisis and the fulcrum of Flashpoint; are DC rolling things back in a way to try and ensure accessibility? That is an arguable fallacy, because a roll-back only creates accessibility for those who read the old stuff, it is a pointless exercise for 'new readers'. The architects of the DCU are its custodians, but I think that the powers that be may have lost sight of that, allowing the re-defining of the properties and characters to become the be-all end-all for 6 years, rather than focusing on, y'know, telling good, engaging stories.

But the real problem for me? I feel like DC have taken their readers for a ride for 6 years, intentionally or not, yet some of us are still here and my connection is such that letting go at last seems near-unthinkable. We are just under 4 weeks from the relaunch and I still have not decided whether I buy in or not.

Images copyright © DC Comics

Pulp City Painting Challenge - Update/July Summary

2011-07-28T03:13:00.000-07:00

For anyone not following this 'thread' of my posting, I embarked on a quest (my self-imposed Pulp City Painting Challenge) to paint at least one of every (then) available Pulp City miniature before the end of 2010. I didn't succeed, but I gave it a shot. Setting the deadline probably helped me get far more painted than I would have otherwise done - I can be a slow/lazy/easily distracted painter as my main gaming buddy Rob will happily confirm, I am sure!

In all I painted 16 Pulp City miniatures before the end of 2009; another 51 minis in 2010; and so far in 2011 I have painted/finished 11 more minis for a grand total of 78.

I had set out with an aim to paint around 55-60 minis in 2010, hoping that would achieve my goal, but I think there were probably slightly more minis released than I accounted for, and a couple of months yielded particularly poor output from me.

So carrying on the Painting Challenge to this year and the first few months were especially unproductive until a better April when things picked up a little. Then the house move loomed and my output dwindled to nothing once more. July has felt rewarding after all this simply as I painted or finally completed 4 minis (although they may get a little touch-up before varnishing - I still consider them 'finished'). Looking back on older posts shows that Guerilla had base colours on at least as far back as December 2010, so at least 7 months from start to finish just for that mini alone, and maybe even longer than that.

With some waves of new releases looming, I hope to kick into gear as I seemed to at the tail end of 2010 (I think I painted 13 minis in November and December), and I have a raft of non-Pulp City minis I want to get painted for a special Pulp City Encounter later in the year to be played with Rob. So onwards with the Challenge; currently 4 minis remaining, but of course there will always be more on the horizon...

July Painting Summary
- Sovereign
- Stinger, Scorpio Fencer
- Guerilla
- Red Baron

Red Baron

2011-07-27T07:28:00.000-07:00

The ace of the skies.

The Red Baron was very much my ‘grail miniature’ for a long time. Once I set out to paint every single miniature for the Pulp City line, I quickly came across the simple issue that even if I painted every currently available mini, including limited splash availability releases such as June Summers which I was lucky to have, that I would not have a ‘complete collection’ if I did not have a painted Red Baron.

And so began the search.

The search was not so dramatic as I try and make it sound. Basically posting on various fora periodically, saying I was looking to get hold of a copy of this mini. Eventually I got lucky and someone was willing to part with their own undercoated copy. A deal was struck. It arrived shortly thereafter, and I needed to create a minor repair to a foot (the mini is resin) and then of course I decided I needed to finish as many other Pulp City minis as possible before starting it. Well when I realized that I only had 5 minis remaining, including one I could not start yet due to a missing part, and including the 3 Hadrons who I am still trying to work out what to do next with, then I felt it was time to get cracking, and get cracking I did. The mini was painted in a couple of days and I am fairly satisfied with the outcome as it allowed me to work on a couple of techniques (the leather shine/sharp highlight effect on boots and coat), and I like the final colour scheme.

I have not gamed with the Red Baron yet, and he will probably be relegated to specially devised Encounters simply as he is a powerful proposition. When I do game with him, have no doubt a suitable Battle Report will follow!

Welcome

2011-07-27T07:25:00.000-07:00

The Pulp Citizen is pleased to welcome its 70th follower - thank you to Kombine for signing up! Hopefully a sign that awareness of my favourite game continues to grow.

Kn owing Kombine is Brit-based, I just wanted to highlight that I wish there was UK-based distribution for the game, since I think t would help it grow. I know there are moves afoot to try and address this, so hopefully that will come to pass.

Once again to Kombine and anyone else signing up - cheers for doing so!

Welcome

2011-07-26T10:31:00.001-07:00

There appears to be a happy (for me!) flurry of these 'welcome' posts lately, so thanks again for everyone who has taken time to sign up as a Follower.

The latest welcome goes out to kieronmulholland who looks to be another minis fan and as ever I hope I can repay the decision to Follow the Pulp Citizen with at least the occasional post of some entertainment. Thanks again.

On the Painting Challenge front, I currently have just 4 minis left to finish the range. One is missing a part, so I only have 3 I can work on. these all are in base colours, but will require some inspiration + motivation = painting time type of formula.

Guerilla

2011-07-26T00:29:00.000-07:00

Guerilla works for both Villains and Heroes, the apes side with anybody who is either eager to promise them enough money or enough recognition in the Pulp City media.

Guerilla has taken a long, long time in finishing. I would start doing bits of the mini and then it would be shoved back into the back of the working shelf or area until the next time, each abandonment simply due to lack of clear idea of how I was tackling it. It has been a source of frustration that I was not able to finish this in both a timely and fully satisfactory manner, but such is the peril of a creative hobby I guess.

Now, while it looks like a very basic model in some ways, the large 'metallic' surfaces with varying textures really threw me off, as did simple things like trying to work out how I wanted to highlight bits like his boots etc. The upshot is that it has taken me months from originally applying the first base colours to recently finishing it. While I am not 100% happy, it has turned out better than it was looking just a couple of weeks ago, so it is done.

I find it ironic that Guerilla is one of the earliest minis for Pulp City, and one that really grabbed me when I saw the first previews (2007?), yet it took so long in the completion. In fact it was completed alongside some of the newest minis, and it represents the last of the Starter Set minis I had to do. What that means is that I no longer feel burdened by a back-log that included stuff that had been waiting for a long time to be painted or finished. Hopefully that will help mitigate future painter’s block – time will tell!

In game terms Guerilla is one of ARC’s revolutionary leaders; he able to work well in close combat and at range, and so can be pretty devastating. When the options to upgrade a Level 2 ARC mini to Level 3, expect Guerilla to become an even bigger threat!

Stinger, Scorpio Fencer

2011-07-25T04:04:00.000-07:00

Schooled in the mastery of Scorpio armour: a masterpiece of Ulthar craft providing the warrior with deadly blades and good protection.

I finished this one quite quickly which probably shows in some places, although some aspects of the paint-work I am pretty happy with (some of the use of sharp highlights for example). The mini sat with a base coat of dark green for a number of weeks (months?) before my recent move. As I gathered some motivation for painting again I set to work just as I was finishing Sovereign and Stinger ended up being done much more quickly than most of my minis.

I wanted the palette to remain quite tight across the Ulthar minis I have. Therefore the colourchoicess for Stinger, Scorpio Fencer would be limited, although the armour utilized a slightly different approach than that which I employed for Xyllian. I have tended to go for purple robes and cloth and green armour for the Ulthar (classic Marvel villain colours!), although Stinger lacks the same cloth options of many of the rest of the range.

In game terms Stinger is a melee specialist and interceptor – perfect for foiling close combat attacks on your more vulnerable Team-members.

Sovereign

2011-07-24T08:43:00.000-07:00

Sovereign is more of an idea passed down the generations than a real man of flesh and blood.

My first new mini post in almost 2 and half months; moving house had a considerable effect on my output. On the plus side, painting/finishing off this latest batch was 'easier' than painting has felt for a while, probably due to the break I have had.

I picked Sovereign up at Salute 2011; Maciej was determined to get him ready for then and didn't fail. I even used the 'studio' version to run Pulp City demo games with on the day, and so trust me when I say he is one tough hombre.

I knew straight away I wanted a red-white-and-blue primary theme, even if I did not trust myself to accurately render a coloured version of the union flag mounted as part of his body armour - hence that painted as I continue to persevere with hopefully improving my NMM technique. Still a long way to go, however.

Sovereign is one of the first 'Direct Only' minis from pulp City, intended to be available from the Pulp City/Pulp Monsters web store and at some conventions and shows. I love the design even if it isn't to everyone's tastes; to me it strongly echoes typical 2000 AD style characters and so is a nice reflection of the difference between British and American comics characters.

Bases/Basing (2)

2011-07-24T00:38:00.000-07:00

After my previous post on the subject of bases and basing (read it here), I wanted to mention a new manufacturer I have recently purchased from.

Model Display Products (link here)are a fairly new company I believe. At this stage they have a limited selection of offerings in round, square and round-lip styles, but based on my first buys I will pick up more from them. The bases I bought were from the rocky terrain range; at £4 GBP for 10 x 30 mm bases; £4 for 5 x 40 mm; and £4 for 2 x 50 mm they are crisply detailed, well-cast and excellent value in my view. There are only 4 ranges in the round-lip style at this time, but hopefully we will see this range expand and if the same quality and value is continued I think Model Display Products will join Fenris and Dragon Forge as my go-to base suppliers.

Ultimate Comics Captain America (Marvel)

2011-07-23T23:47:00.000-07:00

I love the Captain America character, I really do. Being British of some Finnish and Swedish ancestry, I have no nationalistic allegiance to Cap, but if ever I wanted one super-hero to be real, to be the man to save the world, Cap would probably be that man. Of course in that I am referring to the Captain America established in mainstream Marvel continuity whom I first read about in the early 1980's in issues of both his own comic and later the Avengers.

This is not that Captain America. And the character is probably more entertaining for that fact.

Marvel's Ultimate universe was established over 10 years ago and after success with first Ultimate Spider-Man and then Ultimate X-Men, Ultimates followed - basically the Ultimate version of Marvel's Avengers. Amongst the line-up was the Ultimate version of Captain America and from my first exposure I loved this different take. The Ultimate version of Cap emphasizes the soldier aspect over the super-hero of Marvel's original super-soldier; he epitomizes certain conceits of the Ultimate universe where super-humans are potential Weapons of Mass Destruction and the world has been involved in an arms race to create such viable assets.

This storyline plays out strongly in Ultimates 2 and may be something I post about at some other time. In addition Ultimate Cap is able to play the man-out-of time character aspect that doesn't really work anymore in the regular Marvel universe since that Cap has been so-long established. What we have is an old-fashioned and very un-PC super-human who does things his own way - kind of like the public persona of Clint Eastwood in Brad Pitt's body with super-powers.

So after that preamble we come to Ultimate Comics Captain America, a four-issue mini series recently collected into hard-cover (I presume the paperback will be available now or soon). As with UC Thor previously, this no doubt was designed to pick up on buzz for the associated movie. Regardless of that decision, I think it is a worthwhile book. Jason Aaron writes Ultimate Cap as mostly recognisable from the Mark Millar blueprint (although maybe a little more potty-mouthed than I recall), while Ron Garney offers some very dynamic and action-filled art. The plot centres on Cap's hunt for a rogue US super-soldier who fell off the radar during the Vietnam War. The story is shot through with concepts and imagery recognisable from Vietnam war films (an antagonist that can be seen to have parallels with Kurtz from Apocalypse Now/Heart of Darkness) and recognisable soldiery/war imagery (one issue cover recalls the classic image of helmet resting on upturned rifle).

The emphasis is strongly on the soldier element of the super-soldiers involved. The plot is fairly recognisable as being about two men with similar backgrounds both coming to represent polar opposites in the roles they cast for themselves and the objectives they have. Along the way Aaron as writer shows a Cap that is not ignorant of the fact that the world he awoke in after decades in suspended animation is not the one he left. He presents Captain America as a man who is principled and determined and ultimately heroic, while communicating that the guy can kick ass. A fun read and mostly in-keeping with the Ultimates canon that I have enjoyed (Ultimates 1 & 2; Ultimate Comics New Ultimates; Ultimate Comics Ultimate Avengers 1, 2 & 3; Ultimate Avengers vs. New Ultimates; Ultimate Comics Thor). For anyone who has enjoyed those stories but not picked this up, then I thoroughly recommend Ultimate Comics Captain America.

Image copyright © Marvel Comics

Welcome

2011-07-22T07:37:00.000-07:00

Another surprising (to me) 'welcome'; this time going out to embitteredsoul. Despite lack of substantive new content from me, it is a pleasure to see yet another follower sign-up to the blog so a big thank you for doing so.

On the painting front I have finally finished Guerilla - it has seemed arduous at times to get this one done; I am waiting until I have finished Red Baron also before photographing these along with the already finished Stinger, Scorpio Fencer and Sovereign.

With finishing these minis (when Red Baron is finished, that is), it looks as though I only have 4 outstanding minis to complete the full range. of course the next wave will rectify that situation (Loup Garou II - muscular dread-locked werewolf; Moonchild/Moon Coyote - native American were-coyote; Arquero - archer Supreme; Riposte - Supreme tactician), and when the first 'official' Pulp Monster arrives that will be a big time investment as well. Further out I am aware of around a dozen or so Supremes in various stages of development which means plenty of minis for me to look forwards to.

Welcome

2011-07-17T11:07:00.001-07:00

I was happily surprised to note another Follower had signed up to the blog; so a hearty 'welcome aboard' goes to Pacorko who describes himself as a war gaming fan of some 30 years - he beats me by around 5 years! I hope I can offer some worthwhile posting and reading.

On other stuff; progress continues on Guerilla who I am tackling in a slightly different manner than usual - breaking the mini down into small areas and finishing each one in turn which seems to b helping me make headway on a mini I had stalled with. I have also blocked out colours for the Red Baron today which was quick and easy so a pleasant change.

Terror Cotta Warriors (Concept)

2011-07-15T04:52:00.000-07:00

This is the design concept for the planned Terror Cotta Warriors, from the Pulp City Facebook page.

Although a few ideas are under consideration (whether they should have a techno look or not; ancient or high tech weapon; whether they should be modular with a number of building options like heads and weapons), this should give an idea of the final mini.

What I like is that the TCW's signal part of a subtle shift in Team-building in the game; previously it was X and Y number of Level 1 and Level 2 Supremes (with occasionally a Level 3), all of which were distinct and unique, and may have been tied to a specific Sub-faction.

However, with the upcoming Loup Garou II and Moonchild/Moon Coyote, each allows the other to be used in the same Team, despite one being Villain and the other Hero. Other specific shifts are coming as well. The ARC will have what looks to be a unique take on how to field a Level 3 Supreme with several options. And as for the TCW's? well they may prove to be a special non-unique Supreme, allowing more than one to be fielded in the right circumstances. All good stuff that should allow for some interesting but specific changes to Team building.

Aaaannnd...We're Back!

2011-07-14T05:45:00.000-07:00

Okay, Pulp Citizen and Mrs Pulp Citizen are settled into their new domcile, which has meant the start of decorating of rooms, repairing stuff that was needed etc.

The upshot of some of this work is that I now have a dedicated room for painting and 'stuff'. What is more, in time I hope to set up a gaming table in the 'upper cave'...

So without further ado, some images from my hobby sanctuary, including some comic art from one of my favourite creator's works - Jack Staff (currently published by Image Comics and from the mind and pencils and pens of the superb Paul Grist).

In the meantime I have managed to paint/finish a couple of previously started minis in the past few days: Stinger, Scorpio Fencer (Ulthar); and Sovereign (a Direct Only mini I picked up at Salute 2011).

The sharp-eyed may just make out the two new minis on the top shelf of the right-hand cabinet where they sit awaiting varnishing. Pics for these two will follow sooner or later, and hopefully some momentum will continue.

My painting/modelling station is a bit crowded at present - it will get sorted in time I guess; maybe. I have never enjoyed the tidiest approach of painting areas - I guess my haphazard approach to painting in general is reflected in my painting area.

Hawk-eyed minis fans may note an Anima Tactics box on the desk; I have picked up quite a few AT minis of late and once I am up to speed with my Pulp City collection I would like to crack into some of them (along with all my other 'projects' of course...).

Finally, we have the 'secret' entrance to the upper cave; well not so secret, but Mrs Pulp Citizen has not actually said "no" to a gaming table being stationed up there, so wish me luck....!

New Pulp Citizen Cave

2011-06-30T02:56:00.000-07:00

My new hobby room is getting closer; walls are painted, dodgy air vent replaced and awaiting carpet (a week or so in a paint-spill forgiving mid-dark blue gray) and maybe some shelves.

It will have some original comic art on the walls, painting desk/station, my cabinets and access to the 'upper cave'...

I am going to try to make it a nice little s[pace for painting and modeling, so wish me luck!

Still (Mostly) Down

2011-06-23T04:39:00.000-07:00

The Pulp Citizen Cave was relocated and is in disarray, but the Pulp Citizen will be posting regularly within a couple of weeks. he hopes. That is if Mrs Pulp Citizen does not have him doing too much decorating...

Pulp Citizen Down

2011-06-16T05:09:00.000-07:00

The protracted move of the Pulp Citizen Cave looks to be nearing completion; as a consequence internet access may well be interrupted for a period of time. Basically please don't be alarmed if I don't post for a week or two - normal service will be resumed, including some new minis in good order I hope.

Sarissa Precision City Block Buildings (II)

2011-06-16T02:48:00.000-07:00

I received my first order a few days ago and even though I have no new pictures (no need until I start painting them up I reckon), I though I would offer my thoughts after dry-fitting my first building.

Packing/shipping: very sturdy and secure - no damage in transit; the items were delivered pretty promptly and Sarissa offered excellent notification about delivery.

Components: nicely cut and on the whole fit well together, although interior pieces have very tightly snug tabs. The floors look viable to be able to be assembled in a way to allow for separate units since they have guide tabs to help locate them. Better yet the floors act as a shell meaning as you lift it up you can get a model eye view without intervening walls.

Size: after my dry fit I was happy with size/scale and think they will do well for my modern gaming. I think they should suffice for any gaming from the 20th century onwards in westernised urban areas.

Conclusion: if these had been available before the Ziterdes stuff, I think they would have been the primary source of my modern terrain. As it is I can well see myself buying more Sarissa terrain, and I hope they do follow up on producing some roof-top accessories. Highly recommended.

Welcome

2011-06-12T00:45:00.000-07:00

Another 'welcome aboard' goes out, to The Convenient Skill this time. As always I hope that in signing up to Follow the Pulp Citizenn The Convenient Skill is rewarded with something either informative or entertaining.

Not much happening on the hobby minis front recently as a lot of stuff is packed up prior to moving (in delayed fashion) to the new Pulp Citizen Cave. I find it weird not seeing any minis in the figure cabinets, which may be impeding what little enthusiasm I have for the few minis not packed away.

On another front the Sarissa stuff I ordered arrived yesterday - I have yet to unpack it, but I will give my thoughts when I have done so.

Game Overview

2011-06-06T04:41:00.001-07:00

My own take on an overview of the game:

Welcome

2011-06-04T13:25:00.000-07:00

The latest welcome goes to Captain Richard's Miniature Civil War (Follower and owner of the blog of the same name); thank you for stepping aboard and you can be sure I will be checking out you blog more fully - the scale of some of tabletop game shots was pretty breathtaking so I look forwards to a closer inspection in good time. Thanks for Following!

Welcome

2011-06-03T13:38:00.000-07:00

A new welcome post; this time to Fabio who joined in the last day or so - thank you very much for signing up as a Follower, it is always appreciated to see new names signed up.

Just a reminder that I always appreciate feedback on anything in particular any Followers or causal visitors may want to see from the blog: feel free to post comments.