Earth Reborn - Part II

   And now we return to the atomic wastelands of Earth Reborn! This time we will look at the perverted, morally dubious Salemite faction. The Salem city-bunker survived five-hundred years buried under the ruins of America by resorting to horrible, inhuman methods. Now the strongest have emerged, leading legions of mindless zombie slaves. These are, most definitely, the Bad Guys...

The Salemite faction

  
   The Salemites are led by Professor John Kendall Junior. Kendall is the most prominent of the Salemite scientists, and is a descendant of Jason F. Kendall, founder and first leader of Salem Underground.

Professor John Kendall Jr

 
   The professor is determined to push the limits of reanimation technology, at all costs, and regardless of the ethical consequences. He performs horrific experiments on the living as well as the dead, displaying unbound cruelty and a stunning lack of compassion. Kendall is in constant need of test subjects.
 
   Jessica Hollister is in charge of the security of Salem Underground. She is also the Salemites’ chief of police and military leader. She is known for her severity, viciousness, cruelty, and her passion for firearms. Her authority has never been challenged. Soldiers follow her orders unquestioningly, often for fear of reprisal at the mere suggestion of the slightest disagreement with her ideas.
 

Jessica Hollister

  

   Jeff Deeler is a deranged individual. He has spent most of his life surrounded by reanimated cadavers. He has no family. He considers the cadavers his only family, his “brothers.” Some suspect he might have poisoned his parents in order to reanimate them and better control them.

Jeff Deeler

 

   Jack Saw was one of the first of a new breed of enhanced reanimated slaves. His natural aggression and boundless energy have been enhanced with a prototype advanced neuronic helmet, and Jack is now at the forefront of many of the Salemite's missions.

Jack Saw

 

   Zombies are the muscle behind the Salemite operation. These zombies are equipped with a Power Fist and lower body reinforcement. The Salemites often use these zombies as guard dogs or basic infantry soldiers during combat. As soldiers, they cannot use weapons because of their very limited intelligence, but they nonetheless prove useful as defensive walls of “flesh.”

Zombies

   Although Cherokee Bill is a member of the Salemite community, he is consistently mistreated by his superiors, sometimes even regarded as a slave, due to his Test Subject origins. Over time, he has recognized their condescension and resents their contempt. As the years pass, he finds himself hoping for a different life within a different community where he might be better appreciated for who he is.

Cherokee Bill

 

   Finally, we have my favourite, Franck.

   Franck Einstein has been assembled over centuries from various body parts and organs extracted from deceased or, in some cases, live humans. His brain remains that of Franck Einz, a mechanic with an impressive body frame, who had died five-hundred years ago.

Frank Einstein

 

   Franck’s brain is linked directly to a neuronic helmet featuring the best artificial intelligence technology available. Thanks to this electronics marvel, his IQ is almost as high as that of Professor Kendall, although Franck remains under the firm control of Kendall, Deeler, and Hollister. That is the theory, anyway...

   So there they are -- the dramatis personae of this most excellent game. I've only had a chance to play this once since I finished the figures, but I found it to be a very detailed yet smooth flowing game, (once, of course, I figured out the rules!). As I get more games under my belt I'll be sure to post some battle reports.

 

Thanks again for stopping by!

-Andrew

Bored of the Rings?

   There's been lots of painted S.M.H.I.T. happening this week, including some Copplestone Castings figures as well as the old Legions of Steel by Global Games. Just need to apply some finishing touches and get some photos done. In the meantime here is the third part of my The Lord of the Rings collection.

   First up we have Gandalf the Grey(ish) and the hobbits, including Bilbo. I was very pleased with the way the hobbit figures turned out. Gandalf is, obviously, too lightly coloured, but in my defence I painted him before I'd actually seen the first movie, so I was kind of winging it for the colours. I like to think of it as Gandalf in his summer best.

Gandalf and Bilbo

Pippin, Sam, Frodo and Merry

   Next up is the troubled family of the Steward of Gondor. I found the broken, painful relationship between Denethor and his sons Boromir and Faramir to be one of the most moving aspects of The Return of the King. So much so that I chose these three as the basis for my tournament army back in the day. It was a strong force, and the addition of the mad and chaotic Denethor gaveit  lots of theme.

Denethor, Steward of Gondor

Boromir

Faramir, armoured to face the hordes of Mordor

   Here are my Treebeard and old edition Radagast the Brown. A note about Radagast... while it is beyond a doubt that the 'new' Radagast from The Hobbit films is more characterful, he's also a bit... well... silly. And kinda bird-poopy. This version of Radagast may bee less colourful, but he also looks more like the kind of Istari who could stand up to and defeat The Necromancer.

Just sayin'.

Radagast the Less Silly Brown and Treebeard

   Finally Legolas, and one of my favourite miniatures from the range, Legolas and Gimli on horseback. Being a dwarf guy I felt Legolas had far too many flash moves in the films, but the ladies love him. One thing I could never understand was Wood Elves are notorious drinkers, so how was it that Legolas himself was so unaccustomed to alcohol? More elvish sneakiness, I suspect.

Legolas (and Gimli)

   Thanks as always for stopping by. More soon!

-Andrew

My Dad's Model Collection - Part II

   Part II of my tribute to my Dad's collection is a little treat for my American friends, and something of a confession. One of my Dad's most striking dioramas of 54mm Airfix figures was this display of American Revolutionary War soldiers defending a fort. As a little boy it was a particular favourite of mine.

Soldiers manning the parapets!

   I loved the detail, and the feeling of impending action. If you listen closely you could hear the drums of the tyrannical Redcoats and their German allies marching towards the walls. The Continentals stand ready.

Whites of their eyes, and all that!

   In fact, I loved this diorama so  much, (confession time), I actually played with the figures. Here's the catch -- They are in no way meant to be played with! The little packs and pouches are all separate pieces, held on to the model with paper straps. In addition my Dad was very careful about using a minimum of glue, so it didn't take much pressure to pop off a head or a bayonet.

Striking, yet fragile.

   And they certainly weren't meant to be dropped.

Where's Charlie?

   Yup. I said dropped. Each figure is resting on a pin that holds it to the base. As such you can slide them off the base and move them around, like little toys. One day while quietly doing this I, a notoriously clumsy kid, dropped a soldier -- let's call him Charlie. Charlie hit the concrete floor of the basement rec-room with a cracking sound that filled me with blood curdling fear. Terrified at what I'd done I snuck Charlie's battered remains into the garbage and hoped he would not be missed.

   He was.

Charlie will not be forgotten!

   This was sad, as looking back I realize now that Charlie could have been saved, at the price of a tanned hide and a little glue. Worse still, some friends of the family visited with their kids, and I found out years later that my Dad was convinced one of the kids had nicked his model.

   So, there you go! Model soldiers and a confession! Pretty exciting stuff, eh? Thanks as always for stopping by my little corner of the Interwebs.

See you soon!
-Andrew