Friday, November 25, 2011

Salvage Crew - Blood N Gutz Faction

Since I started this project (pre-Zero Sum blog) the concept has changed a bit.  I am going with a more ruined desolation motif, instead of a partially detroyed world.  The background I have formulated (to be posted, soon) still works; the action will be shifting to the more nuke blasted portions of the world, first.

The first faction is Junior's Salvage Crew.  Salvage crews are groups of entrepreneurial individuals who risk the sundry dangers of the rad zones in search of treasure.  They are intrepid individuals, if not eh most savory or stable ones.  Junior's crew is one of the better ones in the region
Junior's Salvage Crew:
                                                                              
Junior, leader of the group:
 Junior is one of the stingiest people this side of the Rockies.  His operation is a shoestring affair, on its best days.  He does manage to get his crew to regularly bring in the best finds, and has a sizable nest egg to show for it.

Sid, No. 2 in charge
Sid is Junior's only real friend, which is good for Sid, because he's not a very likable individual.  Sid is the muscle of the group, not because he is the biggest, rather because he is the meanest of the lot.

Meat; All brawn, few brains
Meat isn't the brightest guy in the world; he makes up for it by being strong as an ox.  Sid is the only person he's truly afraid to stand up to.  When Junior needs a head busted, and Sid isn't around, Meat is who he turns to...he's easily manipulated.

Tiny: Jack of all trades
Tiny, somehow manages to stay the size he is; despite the grueling nature of the world.  He knows a little about almost everything, and is one of the smarter fellas on the crew.  Despite his reputation; due to an unfortunate argument/chainsaw incident, he's not a bad guy.

Frankie: The mechanic
Frankie is a top notch mechanic, but he's a little touched in the head.  He runs around wearing an old pilot's helmet, and talks to himself.  Despite it all, he can fix almost anything.

Trashcan: Finder of all things useful or not
Trashcan has an amazing capacity to see value in everything he lays his hands on; much to Junior's dismay.  He has to constantly "refocus" Trashcan's attention on what's valuable and what's not.  Trashcan is the crew's finder.  He's small enough to fit into places others can't, and crazy enough to do it. 

The Professor and his steam powered suit
The professor is a genius, and dwarf; a real live dwarf.  With Frankie's help, he built a steam powered suit; some say just to compensate for his small stature.  The crew uses it to retrieve their salvage.  Junior sees the value in humoring the professor, who he finds irritating beyond belief, because he is constantly coming up with money making ideas.  Plus, he has willed Junior is suit, which is worth it's weight in salvage, once he passes.


All the figs in the crew, except The Professor and his suit, are Salvage Crew minis (sold by MegaMinis). Junior and Tiny had their weapons removed and replaced with guns from one of the Reaper Chronoscope weapons sprues. Junior, Sid and Meat had Sci-Fi bits and funky hair dos scraped off their heads, as well. The professor is a clicky miniy that I re-based/painted.

Friday, November 18, 2011

Blood n Gutz - My Post Apocalyptic Project

My big project at the moment; the one I am determined to complete to a playable state, before all else, is a Post Apoc setting, n 28mm.  Based in the remnants of California, the world of "Blood N Gutz" will pit various groups of survivors against one another is a world devastated by a limited nuclear war.

I've been working on this for a while and have various bits partially completed.  I've been posting finished bits, fluff and ideas on the Post Apoc Wargames Forum.  I am going to try to bring them all together here and make the the primary site for updates and such.

My To-Do list for the project is as follows:


Survivors - There will be 8-10 factions having between 6 and 30 figs each
Vehicles - Various vehicles for the factions
Terrain - I will have 3 main settings; Blasted City, Desolate Settlement/Wilderness, and  Abandoned Suburbs
Background and Fluff -just a bit to give the world a bit of flavor

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Fantasy Fixture's Gaming Emporium Up And Running

I've posted a static page entitled "Fantasy Fixture's Gaming Emporium.  My hobby activities are solely financed by the sale of stuff I paint, build, or find at various locations.  None of it comes out of my house-hold budget.  Yes, times get lean in my hobby world from time to time; but there is no arguing with "She Who Must Be Obeyed" about my hobby activities.  I manage to stay afloat in the hobby realm, though, so it's all good.


As a result of my mercantile activities, I am occasionally left with items that sit on my shelf, for want of a good home.  Various reasons; too eclectic, I want too much for them, etc.  That's where this page comes in.  I am going to post items up for sale that I have on my shelf.  If someone stumbles across them and wants one, great!  If not, I am no worse off than when I started.  The content of this page will change over time, so check back occasionally to see if anything strikes your fancy.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Where To Start?

Where do I start?  Do I back fill with some golden oldies from my collection; in order to generate posts?  Do I start from scratch; and come up with an original new project for the kick off of this blog?   I think neither.  First thing I'll do is take an accounting of what all I have on the work bench at the moment and share the results.  This "On The Work Bench" is going to be a regular feature here and over at "Welcome To Lazarus"; my a fore mentioned Zombie gaming blog.  It, along with some of the content will get cross posted.  Hey, 2 for the price of one on the amount of work I have to do!  How great is that?

The workbench in the Hobby Cave.  It's actually much better lit than the pic suggests.
If anything, this running dialog will keep me on track and help me prioritize what I need to get done.  Your input is more than welcome, and you never know.  Maybe if there is enough hue and cry, an item will get bumped to the top of the list, just to placate the masses.

On the Workbench for November 2011:
(This is all stuff that is partially finished; in no particular order)
15mm Armor - USMC LAV-25 and a US Army M2 Bradley
30 28mm Zombies - Mantic Zombie Regiment Box
20 28mm Zombies - Wargames Factory Plastic Zombies
6 28mm Survivors - Obelisck Nighthawk gang
2 "Clicky" Zombies - Ongoing conversions
6 28mm Vampires - Pontoonier Wierd West vampires for Two Hour Wargames.  Unfinished commission work that needs to be done ASAP, as I've really let Ed down on this.  I have a feeling that I am just going to finish the project gratis
12 28mm Survivors - Atcheson Designs ATZ figs.  I will be doing an in depth review and size comparison on them
28mm Post Apoc gang - More survivors to battle in the rubble.
28mm Post Apoc Ruins Project - Ruins made from Gamecraft's Foamcore 6 story building.  This one is half done.
10mm Ruins Project - Foamcore ruins for a BTech style game using Mechwarrior figs; another half finished project.
28mm River Barge - Post Apoc watercraft
28mm Vehicles - 6-8 vehicles for my survivors
15mm Suburbia - Paper/foamcore houses for suburban Lazarus.
10 15mm Survivors - Figs from a company called "The Scene".  I have 5 Survivors and 5 Government types in the works.
50 20mm WWII Russians - Minis for a semi defunct NUTS! East Front project I planned
2 T-34/85s - Same As Above
Various Fantasy/Sci Fi minis - I have a box of old minis I use to try out techniques and hone my skills.  I have quite a few half painted figs that I'd like to finish


October's Finished Projects/Minis 
 (I will be posting these up through out November, as I get photos and such)

6 28mm Survivors - Look for them next Friday!
2 28mm Aztec Vampire Maidens - Part of my sidetracked Weird West commission for THW
1 Steam-powered Armored Suit - "Clicky" rebase and paint for Post Apoc gaming
90 15mm Rebel Minis (Zeds and Survivors) - Commission job for Scale Creep; looking forward to seeing what Mark does with them.  It'll be a hoot.
5 28mm Ruins - Part of my Post Apoc Ruins project