2020-2023 Round-Up and Plans for the future...

So I thought I would look at the old blog again. Doubt I will update it as often as I used to as I am just not playing table top games as much as I did... but I am feeling a little more enthusiasm after a few years absence, mainly inspired by What a Cowboy! and a huge amount of pirates that I bought (and have since added to!) 

Very little happened table top gaming wise for the first part of 2020, then of course, Covid19 hit. Any plans went out the window and in all honesty I lost the buzz for miniature gaming completely. Online roleplaying took off and that became my main outlet gaming wise. The unpainted figures went away and the painting desk was closed. Other than a few pirates (that new project came out of the blue!) it was literally not until SELWG 2022 that I was invited to help play/run a demo game with the League of Gentlemen Wargamers that my interest started to creep back. We then had the pleasure of putting on a What a Cowboy participation game at SELWG 2023 which was great fun and went down a storm! The hard work seemed worth it in the end and it looks like we may put on another game for next year...maybe Judge Dredd???

So, plans from now on? If I feel the urge these are the projects floating around in my head...

1) Pirates - the only thing I found of interest and did manage over the last few years was to get into pirates...quiet a bit done already. Here's a little teaser of some of my new rogues and ruffians...

2) Palaeo Diet - very high on the potential list. I have the figures but nothing really painted.

3) Gangsters - a classic 1920's to 1930's, Prohibition era game. Mad Dogs With Guns are still my rules of choice. I mainly need to work on buildings for this, of which I have a lot...

4) The 70's - I am keeping this on the list as it still appeals to me and I have a fair bit done already. I detailed this in my last 2017-18 summary so won't go over old ground but basically, Living on the Frontline, Geezers! "Shut It!" , Aggro and maybe Combat Patrol. I am well on the way to this, at least figure wise.

5) Pulp - still a favourite genre but still never played Pulp Alley. Still not played the 2nd Edition either. 

6) Selling Stuff - a major aim over the next couple of years is to start clearing out my large amount of 'stock' I have amassed over the years. A lot was bought specifically for when I was in the early stages of setting up a games business (that never materialised, obviously) and I need to motivate myself to finally start shifting it!

7) Judge Dredd - for SELWG 2024?

And that's it for now...and most of this is a pipe dream at the moment.

The age old mantra returns - the main aim will be to try to PLAY more games and finish some projects for once.


M

Geezers! "Shut it!"- The Cast.

Pulp Patrons - Supporting Cast.

A Pulp Hero is always in need of support, advice and indeed, an employer. Next up is a small selection of patrons, professors, allies and associates...

Doctor Milos Hartman, Professor Angus Irwin, Rick Malone, Tomasini Gasparetti, Doctor Wilfred Faulkner and Inspector Jasper Rhodes.

Professor Ackroyd of Arkham University.

The Nanny, Mayor Phelps and his young daughter Lucy.

Miss Sharp, canny reporter.

Miss Penny, canny investigator.

The Nunnery. Despite appearances, not all can be trusted...

The Good Reverend John Henton-Smullett and Mother Superior Mary.

Jenkins the Gamekeeper, Father Doyle and Sir Archibald Cathcart-Marchbanks.

A Cheap Magic Act...

The local gendarmerie, ready for action...or to look the other way...

Figures are a mix of manufacturers including Artizan, Footstore, RAFM, Redoubt, Victory Force, Warlord Games, Woodbine Design and of course Pulp Figures. Painted by me, Matt Slade and Dags.

Pulp Wheels!

One of the major parts of a good pulp story is a good old fashioned car chase! Here are a little selection of 'Pulp' style cars, roadsters and trucks...

First up, a simple 'Roadster' by Blue Moon.

A couple of old school motor cars.

A battered old truck, just out of Hicksville, USA.

Tin Tin, Captain Haddock and Snowy in a 'Saloon Car' by 1st Corps.

Thomson and Thompson in a '4-wheel Speedster', also by 1st Corps.

An old Innsmouth Police wagon. Long since abandoned...(Great Escape Games)

Another '4-wheel Speedster' by 1st Corps.

A selection of slightly more traditional 1920's and 1930's, gangster style cars with drivers and passengers.

Pure Pulp but no idea who produces this one...

A couple of 3-wheel Speedsters by 1st Corps.

Something slightly different but still within the Pulp genre was the classic Mark VII tank in Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade. Special effects artist George Gibbs visited a museum to negotiate renting a small French World War I tank for the film but ultimately decided on building one. The Mark VII Tank was a replica vehicle built on an old excavator chassis. It was based on the real-world Tank Mark VIII which possessed no main top turret. The replica measured 36 feet!

This is the HLBS/Copplestone version of the one from the film. It's a beast of a model, as shown by Lottie, who proudly stands next to it in the picture below.

Last up is a classic Sd.Kfz. 221/2 or 'Leichter Panzerspähwagen'. This is probably at the later end of the pulp period I am looking at but they did apparently go into production in 1935 so it still fits.

Models are produced by a variety of companies including 1st Corps, HLBS/Copplestone, Blue Moon, Great Escape Games and Sloppy Jalopy.