HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Happy New Year!

7TV - Pandora King & The Man From 3000.

Pandora King - a mix of Emma Peel and Cathy Gale in one awesome package!

Pandora King.

Emma Peel (Diana Rigg).

Cathy Gale (Honor Blackman).

Man from 3000.

The Prisoner / No.6 (Patrick McGoohan).

Figures are from Crooked Dice.

Doctor Who - Vehicles.

The Doctor & Sarah Jane with Bessie.

Liz & The Doctor show off Bessie.

Rose Tyler / Daisy Taylor and her new Mini.

The Brigadier test drives his new UNIT transport.

Figures are Black Tree and Crooked Dice. Vehicles are Corgi.

The Man Cave...

Having recently moved and been offline for awhile (how I missed it!) I am finally getting my 'man-cave' sorted - it may not be the biggest room but I am pretty lucky to have one at all for my 'toys'. Plenty of storage space for little lead men, rulebooks, RPG's, painting stuff and all kinds of paraphernalia for 'The Hobby'...

How much stuff can you get in one box room?

Rulebooks etc.

Note the fetching pink 'Monkey Cushions'.

The Painting Station - not much happens here at the moment.

Still need to do some work, especially the painting area which isn't very usable at the moment, a good clear out of some unwanted books is on the cards too.

Doctor Who - Fifth Doctor & Companions.

The Fifth Doctor and his host of companions...

The Fifth Doctor was far more vulnerable, sensitive, and reserved than his previous incarnations and often reacted to situations rather than initiating them. Frequently, he made decisions by flipping a coin. Unlike his more authoritative predecessors, he treated his young companions as parts of a team, and often willingly participated in situations under the leadership of someone else who had the strong command presence that he apparently lacked. However, the Fifth Doctor's boyish appearance, nervous energy, and charm all hid the fact that he was a Time Lord of great age, compassion, and experience. He could decipher the ingredients of a drink by smell alone and rosemary made him sneeze.

This Doctor greatly abhorred violence and often hesitated about taking matters into his own hands. For the first time, indecision weighed seriously on the character, and it had its consequences – yet this Doctor was also one of the most courageous of his incarnations. He was willing to take chances with companions like Turlough and Kamelion, who were originally threats, even as he pretended to be unaware of it at first in order to grant his companion the opportunity to do the right thing. He was also willing to make enormous personal sacrifices simply to keep his word and liberate others from suffering. It was perhaps the awful realisation that his very existence begat violence and the weight of companion Adric's death on his conscience, and perhaps Tegan's near emotional breakdown as well, that led him to sacrifice his own existence to save his last companion, Peri.

Nyssa, Adric, the Doctor & Tegan.

The Fifth Doctor travelled with several companions, these were -

Adric
Nyssa
Tegan Jovanka
Vislor Turlough
Kamelion
Peri Brown

Adric was a mathematical genius, but could be somewhat pompous and arrogant. He was very proud of his Elite status. He wished to be accepted by his brother Varsh's gang, the Outlers, and tried to steal fruit to prove himself, but failed. When his brother died, he kept his belt, a symbol of Outler membership. Otherwise, the belonging to that rebel party, as well as later attempts to provoke revolutionary riots denoted him as a young turk.

He pretended to go along with the plans of the vampires in a ploy to rescue Romana, with whom he got on well. Aukon sensed Adric had the strength of spirit to survive becoming a vampire.

Adric & Nyssa.

Adric was fiercely loyal to the Doctor and had a generally amicable relationship with the Time Lord, who acted as his mentor. His relationship with the other companions in the crowded TARDIS was often strained. Adric wanted desperately to be brave and accepted; he defied the Master and died trying to solve a math/computer problem, in order to prevent a freighter from crashing into the Earth. As he crashed to his death, unable to access the computer system to input his last mathematical calculation, he held his brother's belt and said almost wistfully, "Now I'll never know if I was right."

Nyssa seemed at once more mature and more naive than her fellow travellers. She did not boast of her scientific knowledge nor believe it made her superior. She faced her challenges with the determination and serenity of her Trakenite heritage. She turned her sorrow as the last of her people into a desire to help others. Rarely did she mention any grief she suffered because of her great misfortunes. Perhaps most extraordinarily, she never sought to avenge herself on the Master despite her many good reasons to do so.

Tegan noted that Nyssa preferred to "care and share". Her trusting nature sometimes made her less alert to deception than Tegan, but it also made her more adept at negotiating an effective balance between strong personalities. She had probably the closest relationship with the Fifth Doctor of any of his companions. Nyssa's near-royal upbringing and natural curiosity sometimes made it hard for her to relax and enjoy herself. Though her outlook usually tended to be serious, she displayed a dry wit on occasion, particularly when dealing with the Fifth Doctor's boyish idiosyncrasies.

She tended towards pacifism, though on one occasion she destroyed a Terileptil android and used the threat of violence to save the Doctor's life, shooting a pair of guards.

She considered Tegan to be her best friend, however she also "never quite understood" why so many of the Doctor's friends were human.

The Doctor & Tegan.

Tegan was stubborn, loud and direct, once describing herself as "just a mouth on legs." While she often bickered with her fellow travellers, her intrinsic honesty and morality proved useful. The Doctor once noted that these qualities made her a good coordinator. She was also more likely to detect a threat to the Doctor's safety than her fellow companions.

Of her fellow travellers, she was likely closest to Nyssa, whose controlled nature was in many ways the precise opposite of her own. She was indignant at the Doctor's apparent unwillingness to save Adric's life and genuinely saddened when Nyssa left.

On Deva Loka, Tegan argued with Adric after he suggested she was too weak-minded to defy the Mara and that the ensuing chaos was her fault. However, she also showed concern for Adric's well being when he was captured and tortured by the Master.

Although she despised violence, she would resort to it under extreme circumstances. When the Master threatened the Doctor, Tegan immediately threw a knife at him.

The Doctor often encouraged her to find her inner strength with the words, "Brave heart, Tegan", which he saw her saying as he regenerated.

The Doctor & Turlough

Turlough was selfish, always shielding himself from blame. He could lie convincingly to most; some, such as Tegan Jovanka and Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, were not taken in by him.

Although usually quick to retreat, Turlough was not so much a coward as a survivalist, preferring to avoid danger and situations he felt he couldn't change.

Tegan did not like Turlough at first, finding him untrustworthy. She did not approve of the Doctor letting Turlough consider the Black Guardian's offer, believing Turlough would choose the crystal. However, the Doctor was confident in Turlough's morals. Nevertheless, Tegan often tried to persuade him to banish Turlough from the TARDIS.

He saved a Phiadoran female from a large drop, whom he was attracted to. Lytalia was a female with whom he seemed to fall in love.

Despite the Black Guardian's attempts to vilify the Doctor, he recognised the Doctor's good intentions. On numerous occasions, he tried to make the Black Guardian reconsider his order to kill the Time Lord. Turlough used the tranquility felt at the Eye of Orion to draw. He understood the TARDIS systems well enough to run a diagnostic and programmed the TARDIS to rescue the Doctor and Peri.

The Doctor once compared Turlough and Tegan to bickering siblings.

The Doctor & Kamelion. Lazy.

Kamelion was a shape-changing android. Used by the Master to impersonate King John, he later travelled as a companion to Fifth Doctor. This continued until his destruction after he had again fallen under the influence of the Master.

However, this was not the end for him. He gained and lost a new host body, had a child with the Doctor's TARDIS and used his mental link with the Doctor to allow the Master to trap the Doctor within a dreamscape. Apparently...

Figures are all Black Tree Design. TARDIS by Ainsty.

7TV - Hot Cops.

PC Amy is backed up by Sgt. Nick and PC's Danny and Andrew.

Figures are Crooked Dice and Hasslefree.

Werewolves & Ogre.

A couple of miniatures I have had for an eternity but finally got around to painting...

First up, a couple of mighty Werewolves from Reaper miniatures. These are both lovely models, full of character and animation. I am sure I can squeeze them into many settings!

"Grrrowl..."

Above is the "Male Werewolf" by James van Schaik. A really lovely figure and, in my opinion, one of the best Werewolf sculpts on the market. A pleasure to paint, basically several layers of drybrushed greys.

"Howl..."

This is "Jean Paul Duchamps, Werewolf" by Ben Siens. Another great figure but as I have mentioned before, the right arm was a bit of a devil to fit and it took plenty of green stuff and superglue until I was happy with it.

Next, the excellent 'Ogre Bodyguard' for Mordheim.

Well, it only took me a year to finish the base on this chap and it was hardly the most complicated thing but hey, I got there eventually.

Ogre Bodyguards 80 gold crowns to hire +30 gold crowns upkeep

Ogres are large, brutish creatures, standing some ten feet tall, and all of it bone and muscle. For this reason they are much in demand as bodyguards and mercenaries, despite their lack of brains. A warband backed up by an Ogre makes a fearsome enemy, since Ogres are extremely dangerous fighters and a terrifying sight to behold when enraged. They happily accept any employer, as they are notoriously unbothered about who they fight for.May be Hired: Any warband except Skaven may hire an Ogre Bodyguard.
Rating: An Ogre Bodyguard increases the warband’s rating by +25 points, plus 1 point for each Experience point he has.

Profile	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
Ogre	6	3	2	4	4	3	3	2	7

Weapons/Armor: Either two swords, axes or clubs (or any mix of them), or a double-handed weapon (you may choose which). Ogres wear light armor.
Skills: An Ogre may choose from Combat and Strength skills when he gains new skills.
Special Rules:

• Fear: Ogres are large, threatening creatures that cause fear. See the Psychology section for details.
• Large Target: Ogres are Large Targets as defined in the shooting rules.

Figures are from Reaper and the 'Evil Empire'.

Doctor Who - Second Doctor, Ben & Polly.

The Second Doctor is joined by Ben and Polly.

Ben Jackson first appears in the First Doctor serial The War Machines, when he meets Polly and Dodo in a London nightclub called the Inferno. As an Able Seaman serving in the Royal Navy, aboard HMS Teazer, Ben is feeling depressed and angry because he has a six month shore posting while his ship is deployed to the West Indies, but Polly and Dodo try to cheer him up. When Polly is accosted by another patron in the Inferno, Ben comes to her rescue. Eventually, Ben and Polly aid the Doctor in his fight against the rogue artificial intelligence known as WOTAN. Afterward, Ben and Polly are the bearers of the news of Dodo's decision to stay in 1966 to the Doctor, and accidentally get carried away in the TARDIS when they try to return Dodo's key to the time machine.

Ben is a salt of the Earth kind of fellow, dependable, faithful, but prone to be suspicious when kept in the dark or not understanding what was going on. He is very attached to Polly, considering her posh, giving her the nickname of "Duchess" and appointing himself as both her protector and that of the Doctor's. He is present with Polly when the First Doctor regenerates into the Second, and continues to travel with the Second Doctor. Along his travels with Polly and the new Doctor, he encountered Daleks, Cybermen, Macra, mad scientists and as well as meeting new companion, Jamie McCrimmon.

Eventually, the TARDIS finds its way back to 1966 London (in The Faceless Ones) on the very day Ben and Polly had left (although about a year had passed for them). They decide to remain behind to resume their lives without disruption as the Doctor and Jamie travel on.

What happens to Ben after his return to Earth is not certain. The Doctor seems to think that Ben will become an Admiral and that Polly will look after Ben, but it is unclear if this is a prediction or simply wishing them well.

Ben is mentioned by Sarah Jane Smith in Death of the Doctor as working with Polly in India "running an orphanage there."

7TV - Vehicles.

A few vehicles recently picked up from eBay. I basically got these for use with 7TV / DWMG but a couple may come in useful for the Judge Dredd Miniatures game.

Diamonds Are Forever Moon Buggy.

"If you see a mad professor in a minibus, just smile!

Spectrum Pursuit Vehicle.

Commander Edward Straker - "that's not my vehicle!"

SHADO Mobile. Used here by General Gordon / Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and Department X Agents / UNIT troops.

Dinky SHADO 2.
K2004 Rocket Striker.
Dinky Spectrum Pursuit Vehicle.
Corgi Diamonds Are Forever Moon Buggy.

K2002 Flight Hunter.
K2003 Crusader.
K2001 Raider Command.

Vehicles from the 'Adventure 2000' series.

The plan with these is to undercoat and re-paint, as I have started with the K2004 Rocket Striker above - they are a little 'shiny' at the moment but should make a great addition to Robs Judge Dredd game, once they have a new paint-job.

The Matchbox Adventure 2000 Series also had the excellent Killdozer / Land Raider set - I still have one of these mint and intend to keep it that way!

Doctor Who - Sontaran Saturday!

A small Sontaran attack force arrives to wreak havoc...

"SONTAR-HA!"

In "The Invasion of Time" the Doctor returns to Gallifrey, claims his rights and is inaugurated President. It soon turns out that he has led a group of aliens called Vardans to the planet to eradicate them completely. After they are destroyed, the Sontarans take their opportunity and follow them in their invasion until they are destroyed by the Doctor.

Stor.

The size of their army numbers in hundreds of millions and they can clone a million new soldiers every four minutes. In this story we finally see more than one Sontaran on screen at the same time, and they have three fingers on each hand as they did in their debut story. The leader of this group, called Stor, has a helmet which bears a bold version of the insignia first seen on Linx's helmet where it was made up of dots. Stor's helmet has the largest eye-holes so far seen, and bears a very thick rim which differs to his troops.

Figures are from Black Tree.

Warbases Timber Stable Block.

I am a little bit obsessed with the host of mdf buildings available these days but I picked up one of the 'Timber Stable Blocks' from Warbases a couple of Salute shows back and never got around to making it. Not having a lot of free time at the moment and wanting something simple and distracting to do, I dug it out and spent a couple of evenings building it.

Above is the first shot after basic construction. Lots of glue and a couple of elastic bands recommended! Initially I was going to try to make the roof removable but to be honest it seemed like more work than it was worth so I just glued the roof in place.

I then took some good card and created the slate roof - it took me ages as I wanted it to look as ramshackle as possible which basically involved hundreds of little scissor cuts! In the end I was fairly pleased with the look and it definitely adds to the building.

I used two coats, one a dry-brush, of Foundry 'Charcoal / Charcoal light' for the roof and I think it was the ideal colour for slate.

I used Foundry 'Musket Stock Brown' for the woodwork and in retrospect this was probably way too dark and 'red'. The etching of the 'woodwork' still shows but the dark colour does nothing to emphasise it.

I used a mix of sand, filler and pva glue for the ground surface and then painted / dry-brushed it using Foundry 'Base Sand' colours and a light dry-brush of white to finish.

The finished building with a mix of flock and a few extra bits of 'wood' (coffee stirrers) attached around the place to give it that 'rickety' look.

I am pleased with the overall result for a couple of evenings work but that reddish brown will probably annoy me. I decided to gift this to Rob for his western town over at Streets of Inconsequence as he needs a few more secondary buildings!

Not a bad bit of kit for £6 - I am sure a better modeller than I could do much more with this...