Saturday, December 29, 2012

Yes, Another Year-End Post You Must Read!

With three days remaining, I'm going to call it. The year is done. This means it's time for yet another year end post. I actually enjoy reading these kinds of posts, so I'm doing one of my own. It's good to summarize what I did and how things played out.

At the start of the year I posted my focus and predictions for 2012. Let's see how I did.

My Focus for 2012

Focus: Don't buy more models before the last batch is painted.

Actual Result: Total bust. I went nuts this year, buying into every game in sight. I have even more unpainted miniatures than I did in 2011. With two Kickstarters shipping in early 2013, a top secret project also coming in 2013, as well as all my existing unpainted lead I'm bringing into the new year, I'd say I'm screwed. Hello, my name is Jerry and I have an addiction.

Things I Wanted to Get Done in 2012

Dust Tactics: Nope. Never played that game again. But Dust Warfare released and I played three games of it and bought a few new figures to go with what I already have. Which are unpainted. See above.

Terrain: So I did make an attempt at more terrain this year. I picked up a bunch of 15mm WW2 terrain.... just in time to stop playing Flames of War and start up on 28mm Bolt Action. I'm so embarrassed. My towering genius is showing again.  I guess I can give myself a point for effort.

Warmahordes: Can I just drop this? Why do I keep talking about Warmachine and Hordes like I'll ever play it again?  Is there a pill I can take to fix this? I made a token effort then lost focus. But those Privateer Press models are soooo sweet..... maybe next year!

15mm and Skirmish Gaming: At last something I carried through on!  Hooray for me! I built up three 15mm fantasy armies, two15mm WW2 armies, and bolstered my 15mm Sci Fi forces. I even did a micro armor force. So it was a good year for going small. As for gaming, almost everything I played all year was skirmish sized.

As for other predictions I made at the start of the year, I took a few pot shots at GW because it was easy to do. In fact, I don't think I was too far off the mark, at least for my teeny tiny world of gamers. Most of my local group has sworn off 40K, and we all consider The Hobbit Game (hey they stole my title! I'm getting my IP lawyers on their asses!) to be priced out of our reach and not the game we want to play.  In the wider world, things are of course much different.

But the only world that counts is mine.  Just wanted to clue you in on that.

Things I Said Good-Bye to in 2012

In the spirit of every year-end retrospective, I'm going to look back on all games that have "died" last year. It's like when USA Today recaps all the out of shape in shape guys from the 50s who croaked during the year, only with games.

This won't take long.

Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game: This game left me breathless, especially if I tried to speak the entire proper name. I played in the Fifth Gathering in the Desert tournament in February, which was supposedly to be the last one. During this time, GW released new army books and removed the Legions of Middle Earth book from the game. Crap move.

The new books demonstrated that whoever put them together did not know the game or its players.  We got to meet new armies like the "Walkers of Rohan" for players who wanted to muster the Equinophobia-him. I am now a proud owner of an expensive Far Hard army whose main troops are the "Ball-less Warriors of Harad." There are doubtless other fancy new armies, but I couldn't bear to read more. Even worse, I bought all the books.

I could go on, but with the insane prices of buying into a new force and a new army construction that requires those expensive models to use what I have I'm confident in saying LotR SBG is dead to me.

Flames of War: It got a new edition this year. I built a new tank company for it this year. I realized I just don't like this game this year. I don't know what it is about it. It's not the scale, not even multi figures per base. I can't put my finger on it, but I don't like the game. I'm done trying to figure out why. I'm just not going to put another dime into it. I'll keep it around and maybe play an occasional game. But good-bye FoW!

Summing Up

This was an unfocused year for me. I painted a ton of stuff, played a bunch of new games. But I didn't have the "big project focus" of other years. I think, like a lot of others, the figurative death of GW games left a hole in my gaming. LotR SBG had been my go-to game for years before, and with it's demise so early in the year I drifted around searching for my next "go-to" game.

If anything,  feel like 2012 was a transitional year in gaming for me. 

As for the blog itself, I'm pretty okay with it. I kept up a good posting pace, just falling short of my goal of one post per week. I did try a few new things, like book reviews, which were a dud. I got the coveted and extremely rare Liebster Award (thanks again, Tim and Mike!) That seems to have increased traffic if not followers.

I'm excited for 2013, as I am for every new year. I wish all my blog readers the very best in the new year and every year after. I appreciate every comment and am really happy when I make contact with other gamers in the big wide world.

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Merry Christmas and Thank You, Santa!

Santa was good to me this Christmas. And here I thought I had been naughty all year.

Monday, December 24, 2012

Blood Bowl Wood Elves

Blood Bowl has been a side project I've been putting off for a while. I played a game of Blood Bowl about six months ago and liked it. While I found it confusing, I did think the game is exciting and fun. So I decided to buy into the game and pick up my own team. I found a lot of different teams for sale, with some really cool character to them. I was struggling to pick one, originally leaning toward a human team of all nuns.

I was at my local game store when I found someone playing Blood Bowl with beautiful models from Greebo Miniatures. I immediately knew this was going to be my team. They are the Silvania Team, ostensibly for the Elf Ball game. I suppose they can represent a number of different teams, from Amazons to any of the Elves. Since they are supposed to be Wood Elves, that's how I'll probably play them.

While I loved the models, I hated the assembly. They were needlessly difficult to put together, with lots of microscopic bits. These are true 25mm scale, so they're not big. Now imagine having to glue a tiny hand onto an equally tiny wrist. Now imagine doing so with stubby, cigar shaped fingers.  It was hell. Then the arms kept popping off. Eventually I had to use green stuff and super glue to make things stick.  What a pain, so much so that I doubt I'll add on to this team like I originally planned.

Enough words. Here are the pictures, beginning with the full team.  Meet "The Green Glades"

So there are 13 lucky players here. I stole the name from the Blood Bowl video game, in case any one wants to point that out. I thought it worked nicely, at least until I can think of something else. I kept the colors simple. I haven't numbered any of the players, since I'm not sure how numbering sports teams "works".  I'll do it later. Here some more shots.

These are the linemen.. er linewomen. The three models in the front row were an absolute bitch to assemble.  The others required no assembly, my favorite type.


Next are two Wardancers, which are going to be blitzers for my team. As wood elves, I don't think they're going to be hurting many things on the pitch. Their crazy poses and blue ribbons make them stand out easily.


Since I understand wood elves to be about long passes and running, I have two catchers. They are both in running poses. These models have some of the worst faces of the team and I was disappointed with that. Fortunately, the faces are out of focus in these pictures!


  Lastly, here is the thrower for the team. This model is pretty cool, but top heavy from the hawk. I should probably weight the base. This model was not too bad to assemble, but the hole for the head was too shallow. So the head kept popping off. I'm sure it will happen again next time the model falls.




There you have it. Who knows when this team will ever be played. It's not like there are games of Blood Bowl breaking out all over the place around here. But I really wanted an excuse to have this team, and so all is well!

Monday, December 17, 2012

Massive Victory for GW's IP Lawyers.... Evil Copycat Empire Destroyed!

Check out this article:

Games Workshop gets someone’s book yanked from Amazon for using the term “Space Marine”

I sort of get why GW goes after these things, especially where there's huge money involved. I also get that they have to go after everything, because they can't know what might become big. But can "Spots the Space Marine" honestly be confused with the dark future of the WH40K universe? Spots the Dreadnought. Spots the Deathwing Chapter Master.  Not really.

This is lame. GW's complaint is lame. Amazon's total lack of balls is lame. The whole thing creates a perpetual lameness engine.

Well, at least everyone at GW's headquarters is breathing a little easier now. Once again the day is saved.....

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Dark Age: Skarrd Warband

I've been super busy recently, and haven't had much painting time. But I've been chipping away at the Dark Age Skarrd starter box models. These are really nice models and were fun to paint. I will say that while they were simple to put together, I needed to pin everything. Without pinning, nothing would stay together as all the joins were flush. Pinning solved the problem, but I hate to do that.

Anyway, here's what I did. I came up with a suitably evil color scheme and went to work.


I've never played a game of Dark Age, so I'm not sure what all these models represent. There are two units of three models, a big bad ass, and the obvious leader. That's about all I know at this stage. I got this war band based solely on its appeal. The poses are dynamic and exciting. The models are wonderfully strange.  Here are some close ups.

These are called Harpies, as you might imagine. I'm not sure how they function in the game, but I will say they don't wear a lot of clothing.

These guys are Buzzblades, which is a funny name since they're all carrying clubs. Whatever. These models just scream "Brom" to me! If you don't know Gerald Brom, he's an artist and the game's look and feel is totally from his artwork.

Some big mook, don't remember what this one is called. He came with an option to hold his sword upright. It would make the model a storage nightmare, so I opted for this bizarre pose for practical reasons.

This is a Grafter or something like that. She sews on mechanical bits to living things. I'm assuming she's the leader. I've tried reading her rules and I'm not getting it. Maybe when I play it will make sense.

So that's it for now. I'm hoping I will like Dark Age as I love the models. If not, these are all going to become Chaos Cultists for my 40K games.

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Liebster Award

 Amazingly, I have been selected for a Liebster Award.  Since receiving this award, I've signed with a talent agency and have been referring to myself in the third person. Jerry is ready for his debut.

So Jerry must give a big thanks to Mike over at Da Greenskins for nominating him. This award comes with a short to-do list. Jerry must nominate five other blogs with under 200 followers. The idea is to share the love and raise awareness for lesser-known blogs.

Time for Jerry to make his nominations. Some of these blogs have already been nominated, but there was nothing in the rules for multiple nominations.  So Jerry is going for it!

Also, Jerry will no longer refer to himself in the third person, as his 15 minutes of fame ran out while selecting his five nominations. It was fun while it lasted.


Cursed Treasures is a blog I've been reading for years. It helps that Tim is a good friend of mine. I was shocked to find the blog had under 200 followers (but is close to it). Anyway, Tim runs some great events, has interesting ideas and commentary, and of course his miniatures and terrain look great. Well worth checking out.

Delta Vector is an awesome site. The real attraction for this blog is the in-depth game reviews. He covers a ton of different games in all scales. I generally look to this blog for opinions on a new game. Good stuff here.

10-4 Miniatures is a place I've just discovered, but I've been working through the posts. Lots of nicely done battle reports on a variety of games. He really puts time into the battle reports and it shows. He is also into a lot of different games, which I enjoy reading about. I highly recommend this blog.

Scott's War-gaming is another blog I've followed for a while. Scott posts regularly, writes great battle reports, and his figures and terrain pieces are outstanding. He's usually working on an interesting project or three, and checking out his site is worth your time.

Solo Nexus is an inspiration to me. JF has solo adaptations for a lot of miniature games, RPGs, and board games. The site is also a portal to other solo gaming sites. I've read every post on this blog, and a few of them multiple times. If you think solo games are just making two player games an anti-social experience, read this blog and open your mind.

So there you have it, five quality blogs with under 200 followers. Get clicking on those links!


Sunday, November 25, 2012

40K Ork Boyz

With GW cranking up prices, it's an odd time to be posting my 40K stuff.  I'm not really playing traditional 40K with these models anyway. But I still enjoy the 40K universe and I think their models (when not in "failcast" or "finecrap", anyway) are excellent.  So I've found other ways to enjoy the game.

Last Christmas I got the Black Reach boxed set and a box of Ork Boyz. It has been long in getting to these models, but I finally tackled the Orks. Despite being "push together" models, they are well-done and highly detailed. It took two weeks of my painting time to complete 20 Boyz and one Nob that I assembled from extra box of Orks.  I concentrated primarily on their flesh tones, which took the most time.  I think they came out looking good, and hopefully the pictures show it.

Here's the group shot, 18 Boyz with slugga and choppas, 2 big shootas and a Nob to lead them.


I wanted a more natural looking green, or at least something more subdued then the regular Ork paint jobs. I used Reaper Master paints Olive Drab triad and some washes to get the look I wanted. So there's several layers to build up to the highlights. Here are some close ups on a few of the boyz.


The picture of the Nob was out of focus, so I didn't post it. He's not too much different from the others anyway. I wanted to do something new with my basing colors too. So I have them on an "alien planet" on what is either red stone or clay. The colors went well with the models.

If I were painting a massive army of Orks (are they ever not massive?) I doubt I'd spend the time on the flesh tones like I did for these.  At 21 models, this is still not even a full squad. I have neither the inclination nor the money to do a full Ork army with 30 boyz per squad!

Outside of these, I have the warboss and five nobs to complete my Ork force. I'll hold off on the helicopter things until later. This is good enough for what I want to do.

So what do I want to do? Basically, I've created a solid adaptation of the Flying Lead rules by Ganesha Games. I bring in some special rules from their other games (I have all of them) and I've got myself a skirmish level game that plays fast. All Ganesha Games are easily solo friendly, and only require a few models per side. I think my "40K" adaptations only ever get to 8-10 models per side.

I've played this adaptation solo and with others, and it plays nicely. It's NOT 40K, but Flying Lead with a 40K inspired background and model abilities. So Orks act like Orks, Tau like Tau, etc. I've run the game with Tau, Necrons, Sisters of Battle, Tyranids, and Space Marines. The Nids need some work and I've yet to test the Orks. But otherwise, it's solid.

But beyond adapting other games, 40K is still playable and affordable at the lower points levels. I don't know why people who say they love the game but hate the price of it struggle with this. You don't have to play at 2000 points. You don't have to stick to the force organization chart. All of that is for competitive play or pick up games. If you're playing with friends, just play what you want. If morale gets tricky at small sizes, cook up a simple house rule or adapt from another game. It's not that hard. I think back to the Battle for MaCragge set and the scenarios they provided in the intro rules. That's what hooked me on the game, but I've hardly played that kind of game since.

Well, I bet no one read that rant. I don't blame you, actually. I'll shut up now and get on with painting the next project on my table:


Sunday, November 11, 2012

Alkemy: Khaliman Republic

Several months ago I saw Miniature Market was having a clearance sale on all its Alkemy models. To be honest, I'd never heard of the game and didn't have too much interest in it. However, they had two factions that looked really cool and I wanted to get right away. One of the factions is presented here, the "cat people" of the Khaliman Republic.  I'm not into the fluff, but these look like Arab derived fantasy models.  The other faction, which I've yet to complete, is the Jade Triad (or something like that).  They're the standard fantasy Asians.

I did actually get to play the game, and I'll offer my opinions on that in a moment. First, here are the models I have for the "cat people."  I just wanted these because they were based on cats, and thought I could use them in other games.  Here's the group and some close ups.






These ten models came in three packs, each about $7 on clearance. So even if I didn't want the game, the models were cheap enough.  These models are all from Kraken Games, which I guess is out of business. They are nice sculpts, light on details but still nice.  I also picked up a pack of the new models from Studio 38, which took over the Alkemy line.

I hate the resin models from Studio 38.  Hate. Hate. Hate. I've made a voodoo circle in my backyard and sacrificed those models to the dark gods.

The new resin models break into bits at a glance. In each Studio 38 pack they should include a sound track of shattering glass, because that's what you will be hearing as you work with their models. Really working with these models is a bit like walking on eggshells with lead boots.  I got a three model pack which now looks like a 100 model battle box, with all the broken bits and stuff.  Stay away from these.  One drop on a hard surface, like a carpeted floor or pillow, and they're going to shatter.

As for the game itself, I did play once. I discovered these cats are a finesse army, which is not my style at all. Also, I was not at my best that night, being very tired and out of sorts. I couldn't even read my model cards correctly.  I know, excuses, excuses.  Let's hear about the game.

Well, it has some interesting mechanics. I'm told it plays a lot like the old Confrontation, being designed by some of those people. Combat is fun.  You and your opponent pick different cards in secret, and depending how they match up you could get bonuses on your rolls. The combat is done on special dice, which include the type of damage you do. The dice are also color coded, so as your model takes wounds they move to different colored dice which basically degrade combat effectiveness.

The magic system is so screwed up I can't make sense of it. You have to gather shit for your alchemical recipes and then you can cast. It's all a bit too much like "Cooking Mama" for me. I'm here to play a miniature wargame, not simulate Home Economics class from sixth grade. I think I'll pass on casters.

All in all it was an okay game. I might try it again.  I've got to paint up my Asian faction and see how they play.

Friday, November 2, 2012

Bolt Action: US Army Part Two

I finished up my vehicles for Bolt Action last week, but haven't got around to taking pictures until today. I picked up a few vehicles and an extra MG team.  This will complete my US Army force, as now I have more than enough troops and extra choices to round out a good sized army.

These are all West Wind models from the Berlin or Bust range. The size is fairly comparable to the Warlord sizes, but much cheaper when purchased through Old Glory's army deal. 

Up first is the obligatory M4A3 Sherman tank. You can't play US without one.


I threw in a West Wind model for size comparison. It works close enough for gaming. In fact, anything significantly larger is going to start to look clunky on the table.  I don't know what's up with paint discoloration by the serial number of the first picture. It's not visible under regular lighting.  Hmmm.

Next is the M10 Tank Destroyer. Given I'll be facing Germans, this is probably what I should take to the fight rather than the Sherman.


The crew figures came with the model.  Again, I placed  a figure next to it for scale.  This model is bigger than the Sherman tank. I don't know if that was true in real life, but on the make-believe battlefield it works out.

I'd be remiss if I didn't give the boys a ride, or give them something to tow their howitzer. Here's an M3 Halftrack.


This model came without crew or passengers. I had to buy them as a separate pack. The M3 was rather finicky to put together. The front wheel assembly kept falling off until I bombed it with superglue.  I have some leftover riders for the halftrack. I didn't want to overcrowd the interior, just suggest riders and crew so the M3 doesn't look "haunted" on the battlefield.

Finally, no great shakes, but here's a water cooled MG team. The US can take three MG teams for one force slot. So why not take advantage of that?


 So that's it!  I will probably pick up some jeeps and crews, as well as the M8 motor carriage. That will complete the West Wind line of US vehicles. But I'm in no great rush for them.

I'll need to round out my German forces next, as maybe my friends will want to play other Allied forces rather than Germans.  I think I have enough troops, since German squads were small. I just need a few more vehicles to bring them up to speed.

But for now, I'm going to shift gears into other projects for a little while. I have a list of 14 active projects of various sizes. I've got a lot to work on yet!

Monday, October 22, 2012

Bolt Action: US Army Part One

I've played a few games of Bolt Action and I've really liked it. I think my local gaming group might be okay with it, too.  But we don't have much luck getting 28mm WW2 games to stick, so I'm not holding my breath. However, my experience with the game plus the potential to play it more than once sent me on a shopping spree.

I quickly realized that you still need a lot of guys to fill out squads, unless you want to play with all elites.  Then you need a good range of specialist figures and weapons or you'll just have three squads.  In other words, my collection of 28mm WW2 was lacking.

A few weeks ago I ordered a bunch of reinforcements to beef up my infantry squads.  I have mainly Crusader figures, but they are sadly not available to US customers any more (unless you are willing to mortgage your home to pay for them).  So I had to find a suitable match, and found that West Wind models fit in great with the Crusader models. I purchased two bags of infantry, one of command, one of BAR gunners, and one 105mm howitzer and crew.

Now I can add in two more full squads of twelve. I won't actually need that many but it works out fine. I have a bunch of leftover BAR and leader models that can fit in here and there. I painted up everything whether or not I planned to use it.

 They did give one prone model in the rifleman bag and the BAR gunner bag.  What a complete waste, and I didn't bother with them.  I guess I could be a douche and make a completely low profile squad... just to irk all those guys who love true LOS games.  Of course I couldn't see anything either, so maybe not a hot idea.

The models fit in nicely. But as I started to paint them, I became aware that these models have some serious proportion problems. Some forearms are really stunted while other arms rival those of an orangutang. The poses range from nice to confusing, to totally fucking queer. Check out some of this strangeness.

During WW2 US soldiers asked unfamiliar soldiers pass phrases to which there were predetermined answers. This NCO figure demonstrates the pass phrase "Skip to my lou" for which the answer was "My darling."

I'm not a firearms expert. However, I'm fairly certain holding a BAR to the face while firing might not be the brightest idea.

If the guy on the left is expecting that grenade to go off in his buddy's hand, he should do more than strike a "turn and cough" pose.

These NCOs are ready to boogie on down to Funky Town.

I know you can't see it in this photo, but let me gripe for a moment. The crew of this 105mm howitzer has got to be the ugliest bunch ever assembled. What happened at artillery school? For one, you've got Stephen King on the gun team, glasses and all.  The other two hunchbacks look like cannibals. The model inexplicably striking the "talk to the hand" pose looks somewhat normal. Then you realize he is all jaw and no face.  Wow.  The dude with the field glasses comes from the command pack, and I'll use him as a spotter.  He actually looks normal.

But despite all this, I'm really satisfied.  As I mentioned, they do mix well with Crusader models. I forgot to take a picture of them together. So I quickly set up a two Crusader and two West Wind models for comparison.




Now that these infantry models are done, I've got vehicles.  That's the part two implied in my subject line.  I've got West Wind models for a Sherman tank, M10 Tank Destroyer, and an M3 halftrack with crew and passengers.  I also have another HMG team to add in as well. Then my US forces will be just about completed.







Saturday, September 29, 2012

Four More

I've been more active at my painting table this week, and I've got a lot done.  Here are four more models that I completed.  But in all honesty, one of the models I did weeks ago and haven't gotten around to taking a picture of it. So I painted three more, and photographed four. 

These are all Reaper models, the monsters are from the Bones line and the Viking is from Dark Heavens Legends. These pictures are okay, but not that good. Since they're not for a major project I'm not going to retake them. You can get an idea of what they're like, though the colors are a little off.

Here's a minotaur I plan to add to my Song of Blades and Heroes beastman warband. I really like this model. I wanted to make him dark but not black, which proved harder than I thought. He either looked like a primer-covered model or came out too light. Here's what I ended up with:


Next is a so-called "cave troll." I guess that's what I'll use him for. He has a nice rocky texture to his back. I painted his hair green, like moss, but it's not too obvious in these pictures. Also, his skin tone is a little bluish and not as gray as these pictures make it seem.

The last Bones model is a werewolf. I'll eventually use this one in Empire of the Dead, but he can fit into a lot of different lists.

Finally, I played a game of Saga and really enjoyed it. So I picked up a special model for my Viking leader.  Meet Gunther One-Eye:


I liked this model and the name that I came up with for him (he's missing an eye, which I clumsily left out of the picture). In fact, I gave him a small part in my next Viking novel (which should hopefully be published end of year or early 2013).

So that's it for now. I'll probably "go dark" for a bit while I wait for my WW2 US riflemen to arrive. I'm expanding my 28mm WW2 collection so I can get in larger games of Bolt Action.

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Pulp Adventure Time!

Last Sunday I played a game of pulp adventure with my friends, Tim and Rob. We used LotR SBG rules for the game with a few minor adjustments. By adding in rules from the various "Legends" books we had just about every situation covered.

Tim has a big collection of desert stuff, and mummy stuff in particular. So we played a scenario reminiscent of the Mummy movies. I've played this particular scenario once before and it's fun. We're planning on running it for a larger group of four (four players and Tim as NPC). Tim has all the figures, but only has three "teams" created.

I've been wanting to start a pulp figure collection, and now's the time! So I now present to you my "Stereotypically Evil Oriental Pulp Characters."

Here's the team together. I'll give you the low-down on each after this.

I would call them "Team Primaries" because I noticed I painted them red, yellow, and blue. Too late to fix that. Besides the name is not suitably "pulp." So I now present:

The Very Evil Kang Xiang Long, master mind and pet owner!

Xiang Long is a Chinese Qigong master and mystic. He seeks knowledge of the ancient mummy magics of Egypt. He also quests for colorfast bleach to preserve the brightness of his robes. But that's a different adventure.

Meet the Very Evil Kang Xiang Long's daughter and assistant, Kang Xiu Fang.
Miss Kang serves her father in carrying out his nefarious plots. Educated at Harvard, she's an automatic bitch. And she has a gun! No one knows how old she or her father really are. Ancient Chinese secret.... or worse? (gasp!)

The Very Evil Kang Xiang Long has a disciple in martial artist, Chan Li.
Despite the startling resemblance to Bruce Li, there is no connection. However, Chan Li suffers from a strange madness that causes him to tear away any shirt placed on him. He's just ripped! Chan Li has found a great master in The Very Evil Kang Xiang Long, learning the deeper mysteries of the School of Washboard Abs fighting techniques.

The final member is the silent but deadly Zhou Bao.
He is new to The Very Evil Kang Xiang Long's team. Zhou Bao's motives remain a mystery, but he is unquestioningly loyal. He removes his shirt to try to be as cool as Chan Li. Since he lacks an abdomen, this usually fails.

So that's the pulp group. I went with a Chinese theme. They are all Reaper models except Zhou Bao, which is a West Wind Samurai Wars figure.  At first I was torn between a Chinese or Japanese theme. So I picked up a few more Reaper models with a Japanese flavor.  Here they are:



I figured they could be justified as reinforcements that The Very Evil Kang Xiang Long has brought in from Japanese occupied Manchuria, or that he just has buddies from Japan.  Right now, these models aren't part of the team. The geisha, who is really an old Edo prostitute, could be used as a "Wanton wench" character from the LotHS book.

I'm excited to see what rules Tim will make for these guys. As martial artists, I think that their hands can count as hand weapons in combat.  I also think that every time you refer to my boss, The Very Evil Kang Xiang Long, you must say the whole name or you lose. He's not Kang, not Xiang Long, no TVEKXL. He's The Very Evil Kang Xiang Long. If you don't say that, you lose the game! Such is his sinister power!