Carry on my wayward son

I've acquired some specific minis to use as a special NPC posse for Dracula's America.  Still working out rules but I've prepped the minis to join the ever-growing queue!  The minis are from Artizan Designs' Wild West range.

First up, these two chaps are Dean (L) and Sam (R) Winchester:

And a couple of even-more mysterious chaps - 'Just Cass' (L) and Jack Kline (R):

If you know the inspiration behind these you'll see that I've (out of necessity) exercised a bit of artistic license with these four, but I'm still happy with them!

Medic!

I got a medic as part of the HQ pack from Warlord Games - over the years I've added a couple of other minis to allow me to field a small team if I choose to:

The central chap is the Warlord Medic, the pointy chap is an Artizan Fallschirmjager Command mini - I picked him as he has a couple of satchels that look like he is carrying medical supplies.  The chap with the stretcher I got from a random eBay seller but can't find a source for the mini - if it rings any bells with you, please let me know!

Wargaming Idea Stew

Like all good hobbyists I have tonnes of ideas reaching far beyond what I already have - I think of it as a kind of wargaming stew on the stove being slow cooked - some of these bubble up to the surface with more regularity than others and are likely to be dished up sooner rather than later (keep stretching that metaphor Alex!).  

Photo by Shikhar Singh from Pexels

Anyway, I thought I'd ramble a bit about the current ideas that just seem to keep popping up!  These are in no particular order, they are just what most commonly comes to mind when I start thinking about that 'next project'.

Germans vs Black's Division (Černý oddí)
A very small BA project to pay tribute to my Romani heritage in some small tabletop way (I have plenty for my Irish side already after all!).  This idea had floated around a little while (largely inspired by the article on Romea.cz - They weren't just victims: Roma, forgotten heroes of the anti-Nazi resistance) and the freebie Winter German sprue that came with an issue of WGI cemented it a little bit more.  So for the German side, I plan on sorting a very small list on Easy Army to guide the purchases to finish that half.  For Black's Division I'm toying with a couple of options - Artizan's Resistance and Partizans range and/or Crusader Miniatures Partisans. I'm going to keep this very small - couple of small squads of Germans and then a Resistance force of equivalent points - around 500 points I think should give a few options each side but not break the bank.

Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth vs Ottoman Empire
I spotted the 16th century Polish and Ottoman ranges on Pendraken's site whilst ordering my Tyrone's Rebellion stuff and haven't been able to shift it from my head since. Seriously, it just keeps on popping back into my brain! I think I'll see how I feel painting up my Tyrone's Rebellion stuff - if I take to 10mm, this could shape up to be a decent sized project.

Post-Human Republic
I'd toyed with the idea of starting Dropzone Commander a few months ago, but couldn't quite make the value for the Post-Human Republic work out enough to convince me to take the plunge and I didn't want to 'make do' with one of the others that offered a better value starter.  Well, TTCombat must have been reading my mind or something because they are releasing a PHR Starter Army in a couple of days time that looks a great value starting point! This is definitely on my radar now - might not even need much beyond that starter set... who am I kidding, those walkers all look awesome!

Achaemenid Persians
I mentioned about 6mm catching my eye on Twitter and ended up having a conversation with Trials... about it - he mentioned that he had eyed the Greeks for this scale, which as luck would have it would be a perfect foe for the Achaemenid Persians that had piqued my interest! Not sure what ruleset to use for this project, which is a bit of a sticking point to this moving forward at the moment.

Between all the existing stuff and this little lot I think that should keep me going... yeah right! 😉

Okkultekorps Commanders

The Okkultekorps has a hierarchy of commanders that lead the field-efforts of the sinister organisation.  Most were former SS officers, seconded over at the creation of the Okkultekorps - one of the most cunning and, most would say, conniving of these is Untersturmführer Heinz Mayer.

His fortunes are closely tied to those of Professor Lange - the two might dislike and distrust each other greatly, but together they are a dangerous threat to the enemies of the Reich.

Untersturmführer Mayer surveys the scene

Soon after successful mass production of the Totenkorps, Professor Lange turned his mind to the creation of a superior form of these horrific troops.  Whilst he had some success, this was not able to be replicated on a wide basis - and to make matters worse for the Professor, Mayer requisitioned them as bodyguards.  Lange had no choice if he was to maintain the position of privilege he has at the helm of the scientific arm of the Okkultekorps.

Mayer's Bodyguards - Totenkorps Zwei

The head of the Okkultekorps is Obersturmführer Helmut Klingemann - no longer a mere man; he has developed strange and powerful traits as a result of secret tests carried out by Professor Lange.  Not even Klingemann knows about these tests, although it matters little - he is a terrifying prospect to face on the battlefield, and the British will surely feel his wrath!

Obersturmführer Helmut Klingemann - self-proclaimed Vampir

Klingemann is from Warlord Games, the Totenkorps Zwei bodyguards are Warlord plastics with, I think Westwind zombie heads.  Update: Mayer is from Artizan Designs were he goes by the name of Major Kreipe

Dracula's America - (Even more) Hired Guns

I often use Second City Games on eBay as they are the only pack splitter I've found that specialises in some of the smaller and more obscure ranges.  I've recently picked up a few specific single minis to use as hired guns - all Artizan Designs minis.

First up, a Frontiersman armed with rifle and wearing a fur coat:

Next, an Apache Rifleman that I intend to use as the special mercenary Black Cloud:

Finally I got a Morgan Earp mini - I thought he was the coolest Earp in the film Tombstone:

I intend to give him a ghostly paintjob and use him as an Undead Drifter.  Clearly he is seeking revenge on those Chochise County Cowboys that gunned him down!

Dracula's America - (Supernatural) Hired Guns

Here's a couple more Hired Guns for Dracula's America - this time they are of the Supernatural variety!

First up is the Carpathian Guard for the Red Hand Coven from North Star:

Next is an Artizan mini - a Pinkerton Detective (Hunting Grounds):

I figured I may as well use the Crossroads Magister mini for something - he can be a Medium (Hunting Grounds) or even an Emissary of Dagon (Forbidden Power):

Finally for now on the Supernatural front, I intend to use this Artizan Al Swearengen as a Maverick Arcanist - he seems just the type who'd have some arcane playng cards up his sleeve!

Yes, I am addicted to mercenaries/hirelings!

Dracula's America - (Mundane) Hired Guns

From the various box sets and blisters I've picked up to get started with Dracula's America there were a few left over minis that I figured would make sense as Hired Guns for the game.  First up, here are the mundane ones (ie. the not supernatural ones!) - these can even be used if you use the ruleset as a straight-up Wild West game.

First up, is a sculpt packed with character from Artizan that I intend to use as a Prospector:

From North Star there is this fiery Padre - he'll make a good Preacher:

Finally on the mundane front, I had two Ragged Diehards.  I wasn't planning on a Dark Confederacy posse, but thought they might work for Scouts or Frontiersmen (Hunting Grounds):

As you may have guessed from my Mordheim and Necromunda posts I'm a sucker for hirelings so there will no doubt be more for Dracula's America!

The Crossroads Cult

The final* posse for Dracula's America is the Crossroads Cult.  I didn't really like the combination of minis in the starter set for the Cult, so I pieced it together from a few sources.

I really liked the Arcanist mini for the Confederacy, but knew I wouldn't collect that faction - I thought it was sinsiter enough to use as my Magister though!

I did pick up the North Star Cult blister to get a couple of key models for a Cult posse - first up the really cool Harbinger mini:

To go with the Hellhound summon from that blister I also got the Behemoth:

I wanted my gunfighters to be wealthier individuals than those depicted in the starter set so used the Bat Masterson and the Dodge City Marshalls minis from the Twilight Order box (also available in a blister from Artizan) to form the core of the posse:

I also picked up Doc Holliday and Wild Bill Hickock minis to give me a couple more well-dressed options (and something other than a pistol in the case of Doc):

This fits better with my vision for a Crossroads Cult posse - men who have gained from their participation in the Cult, but who cannot escape from their master's grasp.

*I do rather like the idea of a Woodland and Mountain Tribe Skinwalkers posse with Bear Form skinwalkers and a Wendigo!

The Twilight Order

The next Dracula's America posse I've been prepping is my wife's Twilight Order.  I browsed around and decided on a mix of minis from North Star, Artizan and Knuckleduster for this posse.

First up from the Twilight Order box set is the Templar:

I also used the Seraphim mini (obviously!) - this was the mini that made my wife choose the Order:

Now for the gunfighters, first up is (not their names in game!) the Dame With No Name (left, Knuckleduster) and Eliza Stone (right, Artizan).  It should be noted that the Dame is supposed to be quite Amazon-esque so is quite tall:

Next are a pair of Knuckleduster minis, Big Nose Kate (left) and Kitty (right):

FInally (for now, I'm awaiting a back order Calamity Jane mini with rifle) are another couple of Knuckleduster sculpts, this time with shotguns; Elly (left) and Belle Starr (right):

The Knuckleduster Miniatures pieces work well alongside the Artizan and North Star stuff - or those of you in the UK Caliver Books is the place to head for Knuckleduster stuff.  Always good service from them too!

The Red Hand Coven

I've been working on some posses for Dracula's America, getting them ready for priming. First up is the Red Hand Coven - basically the Vampire faction in the game.

I picked up the boxed set from North Star to form the basis of the posse, here's the minis from that set that I've chosen to use for my Red Hand posse.

First up, my leader will be the Fledgling mini as it's just awesome:

Here are the Broodkin from the set:

Finally from the set are the trio of Gunfighters:

I also picked up a blister of Pinkerton Detectives from Artizan - the ones armed with shotguns have found their way into the Red Hand:

That'll add a bit of punch and they both feature glasses (or a monocle) so tie in with a lot of the other minis in this posse.