The Crutchy Push

As part of their 'Right Bloody Mess' collection, Eureka Miniatures released this set of amputees based on a Melbourne street gang called the Crutchey Push.  Or maybe the Crutchy Push, spelling seems to be inconsistent.  The gang these models is based on was active roughly around 1900-1905, but their clothing style allows them to fit in with my interwar folks.

Most of the Crutchy Push members were missing a leg, but one had an amputated arm.  This member is depicted by the man in the blue shirt.  His weapon of choice was a broken brick that he had hidden in his empty sleeve.  

The two crutchies above could simply be amputees moving through the city as best they can.  The three below however are showing a bit more aggro!

These men will add some more diversity to my 1930s tables.

Toffs, Resistance, Heavies and Assassins.

 Catching up with my painting output, here is a collection of figures I've recently completed.

First up is another of the Bad Squiddo Women of the Resistance.  Meet Danish Resistance explosives expert and music composer Else Marie Pade.  One of the things I love about Bad Squiddo's resistance members is that, since most of them are in civilian clothing and many are unarmed, they fit nicely into my interwar labour action games!

These two toffs represent a change from the working class that I've been working on recently.  The gent on the left is from Pulp Figures, while the flapper on the right is a bonus figure that Nic included in my latest order from Eureka Miniatures. 

Nic informed me that she is based on a photo of early Hollywood film star Louise Brooks.  

Also up is a collection of heavies from Pulp Figures and an assassin from Grey For Now Games' 02h00 'Operation Torchlight' set.  

Here's a closeup of the shotgun-toting heavy.

And to round out the group, this mid 19th-Century RN midshipman from Copplestone Castings.  This particular model had been sitting in the old lead pile for many years (ok, decades), long after I painted and in some cases lost the other figures from the same set!

And to round out today's offerings, I also finished up more docks from the Games Workshop Middle-earth Laketown House set.  The slightly darker painted set are the docks that I painted over the past week and the slightly lighter coloured docks are the ones I painted a few years ago.

Workers, strikers and protesters

 Here are some more people to populate the town, as workers, strikers or protesters, or just ordinary folks going about their lives. These are all (but one) from Eureka Miniatures, with the one exception being from Pulp Figures.

These ladies are sold as 'Plantation Workers', however I've converted them slightly to make them a bit more urban.  

I assume that these were assumed to be carrying cotton, but in my mind they have baskets of laundry.  I attempted to paint the laundry in a mix of colours but it didn't look right, so they each have baskets of whites.

The two ladies holding their tools horizontally originally had hoes (as with the lady on the left).  I converted the one on the right to a broom.  The one in the middle has had her original shovel changed into a mop.

Some younger folks.  The lad on the right is from Pulp Figures, the rest are Eureka.

The chap on the left has had a striker's sign added.  I suppose he has turned out to be a Barcelona FC fan!

Tlingit Warriors

 Brand new from Eureka Miniatures - so new that they haven't even been released yet - are these 28mm Tlingit warriors.  As an aside, Eureka has had 15mm Tlingit for quite a while now.  

Arthur and I have been interested in Tlingit and other First Nations of the Pacific Coast for a while now.  We've been following James Morris' Mogsymakes website articles, as well as related material in Wargames Illustrated and on Youtube, on the conflicts between the Russian American Company and the Tlingit in the late 18th and early 19th Centuries.  We enjoyed our visit to a modern Tlingit community at Carcross, Yukon this summer.  I've also been looking at other materials, such as Graeme Menzies' Trading Fate, which examines the history of how relationships between First Nations and the British, Spanish, Americans and other explorers and traders led to the modern international borders.

So here are the first eight warriors.  I am not confident that I have gotten everything accurate but I'm doing the best that I can!

First up are three archers.  The warrior on the left has a coat of armour made from Chinese coins sewn onto leather.  These would likely have been a bit weathered and not as shiny as I made them, but it's more fun for them to be bright.  

These two warriors have wooden helmets carved to present a ferocious and terrifying image to their enemies.  Again, I've made the colours brighter than you'll find on surviving museum pieces with the theory that when new, the colours would be more vibrant.

The final three (for today) are warriors with iconic elements of Pacific coast FN, including the large daggers, wooden slat body armour, and a war club studded with orca teeth.

I'm going to take some time before I finish up the next group of these warriors.  I want to do some more research, and I'm not satisfied with the quality of my painting.  I really want to do these warriors justice!

Inuit Hunters

Continuing my push to expand on my collection of Arctic-appropriate miniatures, here are four Inuit hunters from Eureka Miniatures.

Added to the Copplestone Castings figures, I now have 8 Inuit hunters, should be plenty for any scenario I'm likely to play.  The thick slotta-bases on the Eureka minis offsets the slightly bigger Copplestone figs.

Bonus figures, and murder

This week I painted up a murder of crows from Eureka Miniatures, as well as a bonus whimsical penguin that Nic added to my latest order.  In addition, there is a wooly rhino from Pulp Figures, also a bonus from Bob when I bought a bunch of figures from him back in the spring!

Jhamjar Insurgents

I've been very much enjoying the Star Wars series Andor, as it traces the journey of Cassian Andor from petty criminal to completely committed rebel against the Galactic Empire.  Naturally, I have been drawn to starting a series of games based on a rebellion against the empire, but rather than dive into the Star Wars universe, I will resume my long-lapsed plans for my Jhamjar campaign. 

I will use the Too Fat Lardies' Dawns and Departures to build the campaign.  I haven't decided which rules for fighting the actual battles that will be set up, but am looking at Fistful of Lead Bigger Battles (and possibly standard FFoL for skirmishes), Bolt Action, and The Men Who Would Be Kings.  Who knows, with the second edition of Chain of Command coming out soon, I might add CoC2 into the mix.  Hanging on in the background there will still be GDW's Soldiers' Companion and the venerable Sword and the Flame.  Most likely I'll plan games with each of these rules.

I already have established armies for both the Djelli of Jhamjar and for the British Raj.  However armies are never complete!  In addition to his uniformed army, the common people of Jhamjar may get involved in the fight.  Inspired by Indian activists like the famous revolutionary M.N.Roy, groups of insurgents may appear to ambush the Imperial forces.

These figures are from Pulp Figures.  I did careful research on their clothing (aka I rewatched RRR) and decided to add a bit more colour, plus use of red highlights with turbans, belts and sashes to represent their revolutionary inspiration.  The lady on the end is from Eureka Miniatures.

Now if I can only find a suitable mini of these two!

Spaceship scatter terrain plus train crew

 I'm still assembling terrain for spaceship boarding actions.  Cory from Trumpeters generously gave me a whole bunch of 3D printed consoles, cargo pallets and more, and I've also painted up some pieces from Terrain Crate, AK Wargame Series and others.

These doors are from AK Series.  They are not free standing like the Terrain Crate doors, so will need to be attached to the walls.

These are bits from the Terrain Crate Quicki-Mart set.  Not quite futuristic but can still fit into my spaceship.

Cory's 3D printed cargo pallets.

These are 1/35 hand trucks from MiniArt - those handles are very delicate and are certain to snap off right away!

3D printed cargo boxes from Cory.

Consoles:  the three on the left from Cory, and the one on the right from AK Series.

More consoles.  Three on the left from Cory and the one on the right is an AK ATM!

These are the last of the Pulp Figures human spacers - I still have a set of Martians to paint once I decide on their theme.

I also found time to paint up these Pulp Figures' railwaymen.  The chap on the left is a Eureka Miniatures VSF crewman who has been sitting in my lead mountain for about two decades!

And finally a raven that Doug gave us.