Today's petstore aquarium terrain find

Picked up these two at the local Petsmart today. Both were on sale, from the National Geographic line of aquarium decor. The ruined colosseum wall was about seven bucks, and the statue head was about four. The 28mm fig for scale comparison is from the Mage Knight line, and is on a 28mm base. Perfect for Otherworld, Frostgrave, pulp gaming, fantasy gaming, and more.

(I also picked up more cat litter while I was there, but y'all don't care about that.)

Dumpster diving* and catching up

Not the hero we deserved but the hero we needed. 

Be warned: this is a bit rambling. Feel free to scroll down to the pictures of dumpsters, if that's what brought you to the door.

At some point in the past couple months I have started feeling bad about writing up yet another battle report with unpainted figures. Yes, I know it's not a big deal, but I'm just envisioning reading my blog with all these black-and-white pics and how that'd only point out the other flaws in my work, like how I have become real shoddy about taking good notes about how games go.

But! This will past. I am painting up new Pulp City, and am one breakthrough away from getting a good color scheme down for my Wrath of Kings Hadross. Wrath of Kings has been the game of the spring so far (in fact the gents from my group are about to head to Origins to the big dance there.) While I will sing the praises of the assembly side of the Wrath of Kings figs, I confess they're a bit intimidating for a mediocre painter like myself to get done swiftly. But anyways.

(Somewhere on the backburner there's a post brewing about learning Hadross tactics. They're rock hard, but surprisingly tricky to get rolling.)

Enough about my shortcomings. I've also been busy this spring getting lots and lots of Kickstarter pledges arriving. It's beautiful. Many Zombicide figs waiting in the queue, many Wolsung figs getting assembled, and just this week, my pledge for urban terrain from Impudent Mortal arrived on the doorstep.

One of the pieces I picked up to enhance Pulp City and Batman games are the dumpsters. And being a gamer for... a long while now, I have picked up many odds and ends over the years for uses both theoretical and practical. It's only in the past couple years that I took stock of the various terrain bits I had picked up hither and yon, and formulating plans for actual terrain layouts (we typically play at the local store, or someone else's house. I don't have a dedicated gaming room here.)

So I realized I had a bunch of these things from various manufacturers over the years, and decided to toss up a couple comparison shots for scale, so people know what they're looking for.

(The models were chosen because they were [mostly] painted, and representative of their lines. I had other painted Batman figs, but I figured most players would own the Arkham henchmen, due to their usefulness.)

Checkmate Agent (Crossover), Heroclix Dumpster, Arkham escapee (Knight Models)

A blast from the past, the tried and true Heroclix had a lot of useful pieces over the years, and my only regret with the ancient terrain packs was that I did not pick up more. It's the smallest of my lot, but also the only one that came fully painted. Looks to me like something outside a restaurant, more of a trashcan with dreams of grandeur.

Reaper Bones zombie, large Armorcast bin, Supreme Zed (Pulp City)

Mr. Hyde (Heroclix Hulk), smaller Armorcast bin, Reaper Bones zombie

These two are, I believe, out-of-production Armorcast bins. Searching online tells me they might be out-of-production Ainsty, but there's some confusion. Regardless. They are solid chunks of resin, and look great. perfect for near the construction site.

Checkmate Agent, Reaper Bones Dumpster, Supreme Zed

I nabbed one of the Bones dumpsters on a whim, and was not disappointed. Unlike the rubbery material of the other figs, this is hard smooth plastic. Which is BRIGHT WHITE and a pain to photograph. The lid opens up (shown farther down) and while maybe a little big, not really noticeably so, and IMHO would definitely work with the Knight Model figs. 

Checkmate Agent, small Impudent Mortal dumpster, Zombicide zombie

When I signed on for the Impudent Mortal kickstarter, I was looking forward to their stuff, but I have to admit, it's more impressive in person. Please note none of the dumpsters from them are fully assembled. They were put together right out of the bag, no instructions, no trimming. A breeze.

The small dumpster above even has a couple details I didn't put on yet, like the door for the side hatch. 

Arkham escapee, Impudent Mortal bin rear view

A little less in scale for the Knight Models figs, but really, not a big deal.

Supreme Zed, large Impudent Mortal dumpster, Checkmate Agent

And here's the large Impudent Mortal bin. The doors in front can be put open or closed. Hefty! It's the extra bits like the vertical supports that really make them shine. Also notice the slats on the bottom.

And the ridiculous group shot. The Checkmate Agent just barely doesn't fit inside the small Impudent Mortal bin, whereas the larger one fits even 30mm bases comfortably. The Bones product is rather roomy as well.

So, hope that was useful-ish. Any tips for later comparison shot entries?

Drax, not Drax, Drax

And finally, an in-joke for a handful of people.


* Full credit to Maurice for coming up with the 'dumpster diving' title, which I really should have thought of first.

comparing Pangalactic Legion with Jasmine Throne

As mentioned elsewhere, I’ve been looking forward to the Khurasan Jasmine Throne Foreign Battalion for a long while now, so I can do my own 15mm version of the Alien Legion.  My version will be the Nomad Legion, aliens from a thousand suns, taking the jobs no one else wants. And when Rebel Minis surprised us with the Pangalactic Legion last year, I knew they’d be a great complement to the concept. For my army, they will represent the Nomad Legion recon units, sent ahead to secure key positions and gather crucial intel fast.

But how do they size up next to each other? It’s a little more complicated, since the Khurasan figs, while slightly larger on average, have a wide range of heights (and widths and lengths, heh.) But I think you can see from the pics below, they will line up nicely. The Pangalactics may average slightly shorter, but the style is a match for my eye.

[In the interest of space, Rebel Pangalactic Legion will be abbreviated as RPL, and Khurasan Jasmine Throne Foreign Battalion will be abbreviated as KJT.]

Zombiesmith Guuk, RPL, Blue Moon Aquan, KJT, RPL, HOF Octopod, KJT (Quar!)

RPL, Oddzial Osmy Worm, KJT, RPL, KJT, RPL, Superfigs/Old Glory Ookla, Khurasan Kontrol.

Critical Mass Kaamados, RPL, KJT, RPL, KJT, GZG Crusty, GZG Spider Drone.

HOF Draccian, RPL, KJT, RPL, KT, GZG Civilian, KJT (Garn!)

Blue Moon Twanax, RPL, KJT, RPL, KJT, Khurasan Sponk.

RPL, Micropanzer Krystrial Soldier, KJT, RPL, KJT, Hot Wheels Swamp Buggy

RPL, GZG Scifi Egyptian, KJT, RPL, KJT, Matchbox Armored Response Vehicle

If you have any other requests for size comparisons with these, let me know, I will see what I have in my collection I can do up. I am always accepting donations if you really want those pictures, of course! Heh.

 

Still deciding on vehicles to use; will need at least a couple dropships. Thinking military-style khaki for the uniforms, maybe an olive drab, if it doesn't look too dark in 15mm. Hopefully have a few units painted by the time Cold Wars rolls around.