SAGA the Age of Magic or FGU - Bushido RPG

 Fantasy Games Unlimited published two RPG games that I enjoyed playing in the 1980s, Bushido and Daredevil Adventures. I ran a Daredevil Adventures campaign and my buddy Harris ran a Bushido campaign for our group. A few years ago I was able to purchase on eBay a group of figures for the  Clan Wars - Legends of the 5 Rings game. I never played the game, but the figures were very appealing. I thought that maybe one day I would get the figures painted and use them in a Bushido campaign of my own. When I received my introduction to Garry of the Scarlet Lancer Painting Service, I thought it would be a great project to have him look after for me. I may have mentioned I am triaging the mountain of lead, figures I will paint, those that I will have someone paint for me and finally the dustbin of history. The Clan wars figures were shipped off to be painted. I am extremely happy with the outcome.

The above two photographs show the extent of the collection. There are approximately 50 foot figures which I would divide up into three clans, a mix of Samurai and Ronin for each group. Locally it has been suggested that I can also throw together a Warband to use in the local SAGA Age of Magic night. I have to find a couple of suitable monsters that I know I have that would be a fine addition to a fantasy style game.

PCS - 2 The Palanquin of Dr. Koo

 More Pulp Figures from the China Station line. Dr. Koo is on the road carried by his trusty porters and accompanied by his bodyguard. Some will wonder why he does not wear the orange robes of state. Many will ponder the meaning of the blue dragon on the back of his exposed chair. Those taking part in my Daredevils Campaign will have an inkling.

Ral Partha 01-080 Lizard and Rider?

 This is a small rebasing project that has been sitting on the back burner for a couple of years. I picked these 16 figures up fairly inexpensively at the CanGames Marketplace pre-pandemic. They were based on what seemed to me be odd size bases (25mm x 75mm) and were obviously being used for a gaming system in which I did not indulge. Once debased they were clearly identified as a Ral Partha (c) 1977 product. The best match I could find online for them was Ral Partha 01-080  Lizard and Rider. 

 I have rebased them to the standard DBX game systems with a frontage of 60mm. Due to the depth of the figures I have mounted them on an 80mm deep base. Sixty wasn't going to be enough. The previous bases were mixes of carboard  and plastic. I have replaced all with MDF bases with a magnetic bottom. Other than being cool looking figures I am not quite sure where they fit into my gaming needs. Perhaps in a Daredevils Lost World setting, or somewhere in a Space 1889 context on Venus.  

Arcane Academics - One Damned Thing After Another

In the past and not so distance past I ran a Daredevils Campaign. Pulp stories inspired by the serials of the 30s and 40s, played as reruns on Saturday morning, or after school TV in my youth, or the magazines and paperbacks from the Golden Age of the Pulp Fiction, that were the readily available for purchase with the money earned on my paper route.

Bob Murch's Pulp Figures is an excellent source of 28mm figures for adventure gaming of the interwar period. I'm a big fan and have been hording his figures for a while. I really need to get more of them  painted and onto a tabletop. 

PMH-6 The Alter of Evil

 I backed Bob Murch's Arcane Academics project through Kickstarter and have painted my first offering, PMH-6. The Alter of Evil provides the GM (me), a vehicle to introduce creatures from beyond our plane of existence into the game. The one shown in the photo below has been sitting so long in my pile of lead, I know not, what it is nor from whence it came. If anyone can identify the figure please let me know. Until then I am just going to refer to it as "One Damned Thing", and I guarantee in a gaming situation it will lead to another.

Below is my interpretation of the Alter of Evil, complete with its golden idol and IMO a misguided and most likely lost soul.

Japanese Type 95 Ha-Go light tank

 I have continued with my interest with either pre-war or early WW2 actions. Over the years I built up a substantial collection of 20mm early war Japanese. These are posted under titles of  The Anatomy of a Small War. I had no interest in doing a counter force  and the project stalled. 

I felt that Bolt Action allowed me to turn may attention to the conflict in Outer Mongolia or even China. Americans think of WW2 as starting on December 7th 1941. Those of us in the Commonwealth as September 1st 1939, with the German invasion of Poland followed two days later by the British declaration of war. Although Canada waited until the 10th, to show our independence. However the argument can be made that the war began as early as the Japanese invasion of Manchuria, on September 19th 1931, or at the very least, the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on July 7th 1937. 

I did purchase two Type 95 Ha-Go light tanks from warlord games to provide some firepower to the Imperial Japanese Army for this project. I was also fortunate to pick up 4 packs of WW2 metal Japanese infantry at fire sale price at auction.  There were 20 figures per pack. 

Again they can also be used in a RPG sitting and I had completed them as such for possible use in a Daredevils campaign that I was running. The campaign stalled last tax season due to limitations on my availability and was never relaunched.

According to Wikipedia the Type 95 Ha-Gō (九五式軽戦車 ハ号, kyūgo-shiki kei-sensha Ha-Gō, also known as the Ke-Go was a light tank used by the Empire of Japan during the Second Sino-Japanese War, at Nomonhan against the Soviet Union, and in the Second World War. It proved sufficient against infantry but, like the American M3 Stuart light tank, was not designed to combat other tanks. Approximately 2,300 were produced, making it the most numerous Japanese armoured fighting vehicle of the Second World War.

Oriental Blades (2 Packs)

Earlier this past summer, Le Valet d'Coeur a local game store in Montreal had its annual garage sale. I took the opportunity to pick up two boxes of Oriental Blades by eM-4 Miniatures. 

The figures come pre-painted and include a matching 20-sided die for mini. For five bucks, how could I go wrong. I figured I can always use the figures for Bushito by FGU or some other Japanese skirmish game. The only work I did was to do the bases of the figures. A relatively painless job. I added a metal washer to the bottom of each base for weight and to allow them to be stored on a magnetic sheet.

Daredevil Adventures: The Cast of Second City

When I dug Ginger out last week to be photographed while on safari I looked at the other figures that I used on the tabletop in my Daredevil's Campaign. The campaign was set in Second City, named in honour of that great Canadian TV comedy series, SCTV. Like Springfield in the Simpsons, one never really knew the location of Second City as it would float around according to the dictates of the game. But most players believed it was set on the US west coast near San Francisco

The figures were mounted on pennies and since I had them out I'd spend the time to put them on Gale Force 9 (25mm square) magnetic bases. Most of these figures were from the Call of Cthulhu range by Grenadier Miniatures, or Ral Partha. Also included are a couple of Shadowrun figures. The majority were painted by John Saranic in Halifax in the late 1980s. The Sahdowrun figures were by Peter Dixon and Anne-Marie Lindley.

Thus I introduce you to the Cast of Second City:

A) The Tough Guys:

B) The Coppers:

C) The Adventurers:

D) The Dames:

E) The Swells:

and finally F) The Freaks

Daredevil Adventures: Happy Hunting Ginger!

In the early 1980s Fantasy Games Unlimited (FGU) released two of the finest (IMO) role playing games, both based upon Aftermath system. The first was Bushito, which was heroic role playing set in mythical feudal Japan. My good friend, Harris MacPhail ran a great campaign for a small group of Halifax Gamers. I enjoyed many an evening playing Bushito at Fort Robie.

I purchased Daredevil Adventures, which was role playing in the roaring 20s, I rapidly advanced the milieu to the mid 1930s to create a pre-war scenario atmosphere. I still have my records from the days I ran those games, including the Player Character Sheets as well as all the miniatures I used on the tabletop. Most of these figures were the Ral Partha ranges of the period. Some day I may go back to running these adventures.

Last weekend I decided that I would clear off my work table and work on completing some have completed projects. The first of these offerings was a group of Foundry's Deepest Africa Figures. It consisted of 4 native armed riflemen, 2 bearers and 4 female figures.

Ginger, the Great White Hunter and the Hunting Party

To this group I have added a great white hunter. It is my pleasure to introduce you to Michael "Ginger" Thockmorton-Smythe. When asked by his current (number three) wife to add a new piano conservatory to the family home, he immediately headed to Africa to obtain the ivory necessary for the piano's keys. Thus allowing himself to avoid any of the unpleasant consequences of the renovations.

Villagers await the return of the hunting party.