First Pulp Alley Game Preparation

While I am waiting for my figure bases to arrive from Litko, I realized that I could actually play a game with some of the "Old West" figures that I have based up.  These aren't really right for the period I have in mind but they should work okay for a "training game".

First up we have the "Black Hat Gang".  They are led by Bart and his sidekick, Sean. Hoss, Angus and Duffy are allies and Kurt is a follower.

Bart's abilities are Lucky Devil, Dashing and Eagle-Eyed; while Sean has Indomitable and Dare-devil.

As for the Allies, each of these three League has one each with Fierce, Marksman and Sharp.  And each League's lone Follower is a Marksman.

Meanwhile the White Hat Gang is led by Mike and his sidekick Clem.

Luis, Roy and Frank are all allies of the gang; and Pat with his sawed-off shotgun is a follower.

Mike's abilities are Untouchable, Hardened Veteran and Sharp; while Clem is both Deductive and Crafty.

Finally the Brown Hat Gang is led by Tex, who has the Iron Will, Brute and Fierce abilities.  His sidekick Whit is both a Quick-Shot and Marksman.

Nick, Zeke and Ed are allies of the Brown Hat Gang; while Jim is only a follower.

Yes, I know these Leagues and Characters are far from being optimal . . . but they should work well for a "training game" by giving us a look at a fairly wide variety of Abilities.

-- Jeff

A Scottish League

Well I've been painting like a madman.  Here is a photo of my most recent League . . . in Scottish tartan no less:

As usual, if you click on the photo you will get a larger image . . . and if you open it in a separate window, you will get a much larger image.

And once again I've given you both a front and rear view of the figures . . . which do still need to be based up . . . as I'm waiting for some Litko bases.

Of course theses figures are all more of Bob Murch's "Pulp Figures".  And speaking of Mr. Murch, I got an email from him today saying he has posted the latest batch of figures which I ordered over the past weekend.  Once again very fast service.

-- Jeff

More Figures Painted

Well I have troops for two more Leagues painted up now (remember to click on them for a larger image . . . or to open in another window for a much larger image).  Also I've tried to show both the front and rear views of the figures this time:

Alas, I should have used a flash for these figures because the contrast with the background is too much to allow the various greens to show clearly.  In reality they are much lighter and more colorful.

In terms of creating a League, the really nice thing about these figures is that they could be used for "good guys", "bad guys" or simply those out for their own purposes.

Meanwhile this second set of figures will probably be used as a group of scientists . . . and not as a League per se.

Instead I expect that they will be more likely to be used as characters and/or plot objectives of one sort or another.

This now gives me a total of six "League-sized" groups of figures from the ones I ordered from Bob Murch's "Pulp Figures".

This does not count the "Found Figures" that I mentioned in my last post.  Of course I still need to get some bases for them and then get them based up . . . but I'm thinking that I may get to actually play "Pulp Alley" sometime in January . . . at least I hope so.

-- Jeff

Some "Found Figures" & Painting Progress

It turns out that I do already have a couple of good sources for creating my "Pulp Alley" Leagues.  I am speaking of some of my historical figures.  For example, I have quite a few "Colonial" Pathan tribesmen painted up . . . in eight different colors . . . (remember to click to see a larger image . . . or open in another window for a much larger image):

Blue Pathans

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Surely I can make Leagues out of these fellows.  After all the Afghan hill tribes have hardly changed their appearance in several centuries.  They look much today as they did in the nineteenth century and the 1930s.  Besides the Blue Pathans above, I have seven others such as the Yellow Pathans below:

Yellow Pathans

A further "found" source of potential Leagues can be found with my "Old West" figures.  Those pictured below are fewer than half of those I have . . . all painted and named . . . and perfect for use in Western adventures:

Old West Figures . . . Lots of potential Leagues here

But enough of the "found figures" potential Leagues.  Here are some of photos of "Pulp Era" Leagues that I've just finished painting.  Of course they aren't based yet (and some metal still shows where white glue covered in on the painting sticks) . . . but you should be able to see some potential:

Winchester, Smith & Weston

The Dark Fire

as yet unnamed

The CCC . . . (Capo Condottieri's Casa)

Finally of course, I'm still not done.  Here are a couple more Leagues on painting sticks.  They are not finished yet but you can see that I have been working on them:

in the queue

-- Jeff

Initial Painting Progress

I have got major paint on over 30 pulp figures.  As with many I ordered about a dozen packs of Bob Murch's "Pulp Figures" and then sorted them into "groups" that may become Leagues.

I used some inexpensive "craft sticks" (jumbo size) to hold the figures as I painted them.

You can often find (as I did) packages such as the one pictured to the left (albeit with a few removed).  For about a buck and a half at a "dollar store" you get 30 colored sticks (5 each in 6 colors) plus 30 in natural wood.

These are great for keeping potential Leagues straight . . . as you will see in the following photos . . . because once primed (I use black with a white dry brush) it isn't always easy to remember which figures go with which other figures.

Please be aware that I've not finished any of the following figures.  Notably their weapons, hair and some shoes have not yet acquired paint . . . and there are still plenty of details to finish on the figures as well . . . but you can begin to see what they will look like.  And remember to click on photos to see a much larger image.

First up is what I plan for my first League.  It is comprised of three couples.

The ladies are all sisters . . . the Weston girls (daughters of Police Commissioner Weston of "The Shadow" fame.

Two of the girls are married (to fellows with the last names of Winchester and Smith); the third is merely engaged . . . so their adventuring League will be called "Winchester, Smith & Weston".

Another group of adventurers is pictured at left.

While somewhat similar, they do have a slightly different palette of colors to their garments.  They will be available for guest play (or a source of extra characters for my main League.

"The Dark Fire" will be a continuing set of bad guys.

Their Mastermind will be a Moriarty-type . . . so the exact nature of their troop mixture may well vary from encounter to encounter.

However you can rest assured that they will never be nice.

Remember in "The Maltese Falcon" when Sam Spade refers to a character as a "gunsel"?

Well here we've got a double handful of gangland types . . . always willing to make trouble for the sake of a quick profit.

And finally a glimpse of some of the figures which have not yet acquired any clothes (i.e., paint).

More "Archeologist" types, a band of mercenaries with hefty weapons and a band of Scottish highlanders complete with bagpiper.

As you can see, I've got what I think is a pretty good start with my painting . . . and I hope that you can see how handy the colored craft sticks are in keeping things organized while painting.

-- Jeff

P.S.,  Yes, I still do have some figures left over that need to await my next order of pulp figures.

Starting on Pulp Street

Because my English Civil War and War of Spanish Succession projects both need many hundreds of figures painted before they are "table ready" and I'd like to play something soon, I'm going to travel down "Pulp Street".

Or perhaps I should say that I'm headed down "Pulp Alley". 

After reading many glowing things about these rules, I downloaded the .pdf from Wargame Vault for about $10.  And I'm very impressed; they look like a lot of fun.

One nice thing is that there won't be many hundreds of figures to paint.  The typical gang (what they call a "League") is around a half-dozen figures . . . so it won't be too hard to build a few.

Being in British Columbia, Canada, I naturally ordered some 28mm miniatures from Bob Murch's "Pulp Figures" . . . but there are several other wonderful suppliers serving the pulp genre.

Now to get out the paint brush, eh?

-- Jeff