Pass in Review: Reaper Pulp Action Figures

While my siblings, friends and I grew up after the Age of  Serial Films, many of them ran on the New York City network-affiliated stations.  These shows aired before the prime time hours, or late Saturday mornings after the cartoons. 

I remember watching some episodes of Buck Rogers, and Flash Gordon, and probably a few others I can’t remember; along with listening to a few episodes of  The Shadow which our hometown radio stations brought back on the air for a bit. 

The show that caught our attention the most when we were little kids was Our Gang/The Little Rascals.  One or more of our pet dogs would follow us around on our own misadventures, and we often tried building similar contraptions—go-carts, tree forts and the like—based on what the rascals did in the series. Often with the same calamitous results. 

Then as we got a bit older we got into The Bowery Boys (previously known as The Dead End Kids and East Side Kids).  We use to tussle around in our back yards and re-enact the fight scenes of the most recent episode we watched.  I guess the idea of fighting bad guys (as the “light side” Bowery Boys) in and around New York City appealed to us pre-teen Upstate New Yorkers.

But our lives didn’t just revolve around what was on the “boob tube.”  We read the comic book versions of pulp magazines, primarily Conan the Barbarian, and Solomon Kane.  

Although our moms were a bit leery of the Vampirella comics we read as teenagers, they didn’t outright forbid us from buying any issues. 

Anyway, spicy adventure stories aside, sometime between buying my last issue of Vampirella and the release of Raiders of the Lost Ark, I got into wargaming and role-playing games.

While my main focus is on historical, science fiction and heroic fantasy, I have a few pulp action games in my collection.

I bought Fortune and Glory and the two boxed expansion sets shortly after they were released.

A few years ago, I stumbled across a copy of Justice Inc at Half Price Books.

After last month’s shopping therapy session, I added Rattrap Productions’ .45 Adventure (1st Edition).

Eventually, I’d like to get my Fortune and Glory pieces painted, but in the meantime, my friend Peter finished the handful of pulp action figures for me.

While writing this post I took the time to concoct a title using my Comic Life program:

What follows is my Gallery of Pulp Heroes from Reaper Miniatures (Modern), somewhere on the grimy streets of Midnight City (you may have to scroll down on the linked pages to see the unpainted figure):

1. Agatha Fox, female spy, front view...

...rear view:

2. Sister Maria, front view...

...rear view:

3. Sascha DuBois, time chaser, front view...

...rear view:

4. Nightslip, pulp era heroine, front view...

...confrontation view...

...rear view:

5. The Black Mist, front view...

...rear view:

6. Rex (Dark Future Hero), front view...

...rear view:

7. Meanwhile, Frank Buck, adventurer, is exploring some remote part of the world, front view...

...rear view:

Uh-oh.  Looks like Frank got more adventure than he bargained for...

The "giant" snakes are some cheap kids' gag toys I bought years ago for just such occasions.

Here's a group photo:

Well, it seems like Frank made it back from his Adventure in the Cave of the Giant Snakes, but Agatha Fox must have disappeared on one of her clandestine missions.  (Translation:  I forgot to include her).

When the chips are down, my gang of heroes aren't above to plagiarizing catch-phrases:

WAB Corner Collection Correction

(Image: Bavarian Infantry at Borodino by Alexandr Yezhov, found on Pintrest)

Okay, I know the title is a tongue-twister.

But alliterations aside, I received enough feedback from my previous post, that I needed to redeem myself among my fellow gamers thought a correction was in order.

Among my newfound collection of Napoleonic miniatures, I assumed the handful of miscellaneous troops were Austrian.

Some of them are, like the figures in the middle (maybe)...

...but not all of them.

For instance in the picture above, the figures in the yellow coats are from the Canton of Neuchatel, while the white coated figures on the opposite end are from the Kingdom of Italy.

[Update, 0930 hours, 15 October] Correction II:

The troops on the right end are, in-fact Austrian while the figures in the middle are their Hungarian comrades-in-arms.

As for this picture...

...I'm not sure who the mixed unit on the right belongs to, but several people reminded me the troops on the left are part of the Bavarian Army.

All of these are from Wargames Foundry Miniatures.

WAB Corner Collection #4: Napoleonic War Figures

(Image:  28th Regiment at Quatre Bras by Elizabeth Thompson)

Nothing evokes the image of WAR IS GLORIOUS like the Napoleonic Wars:  Soldiers in splendid uniforms marching to the beat of the drums, dashing cavalry troopers riding noble steeds, and regimental banners fluttering in the breeze.

Of course, such impressions are safely viewed from more than 202 years, after the last blast of canister mowed down the defiant Imperial Guardsmen hunkered down in their square formation during the final moments of the Battle of Waterloo.

"Merde!" indeed.

Heroic fantasies aside, the Napoleonic Wars have been, and still are, my favorite era.

However, despite my love for this period in history and fiction, I've never amassed a collection of Napoleonic miniatures.  Painting such ornate uniforms requires talent and patience--both of which I lack.

Instead, I settled for buying GDW's System 7 Napoleonics.  While I'm happy to have assembled the entire collection, I've always yearned to own some actual painted miniatures.

Thanks to my gaming buddy, Dean, author of the popular WAB Corner blog, my tabletop heart's desire has finally been fulfilled.  Last year, he offered to sell me his collection of Napoleonic figures, all based on the rules Black Powder.

(Image by Warlord Games)

As with all his previous offers, I jumped at the chance to buy them, and I'm happy I did so.

Now without further ado, here's the latest batch of figures from my WAB Corner Collection...

The Forces of France:

The vast bulk of Napoleon's Grande Armee consisted of line infantry, which were organized into regiments consisting of several battalions.

The Black Powder rules simply refer to a group of figures as a "unit," which, for the French I'll call a battalion based on the units' flags and the typical composition of 4 x fusilier companies, 1 x grenadier company and 1 x voltigeur company.

I can now muster three battalions, the first from the 19e Regiment d'Infanterie de Ligne.

In the above picture, the grenadier company is next to the 1st company with the battalion standard, while the voltigeur company is to the right of the grenadiers, and the remaining fusilier companies are formed-up next to the voltigeurs.

My second battalion is--well--the second battalion of the 2e Regiment d'Infanterie d'Ligne.

For this picture, I used the same arrangement as I did with the 19th.

Now this last battalion surprised me. 

Here we have the 4th battalion of the 9e Regiment d'Infanterie d'Ligne--in red uniforms.  Meaning they're actually Swiss troops.

I didn't know Swiss troops wore red uniforms--until now.  I thought they were outfitted similar, if not identical to their French counterparts.

I guess the British didn't have a monopoly on red dye during the wars.

Unlike the masses of infantry, cavalry units were much smaller, and based on the regiment.  For the French I can field two regiments, the first being chasseur a cheval...

...and the second being the famous Dutch Lancers.

Based on scrolling back through our message traffic on Facebook, the French infantry came from Old Glory Miniatures, while the cavalry were made by Front Rank Figurines.

The Forces of Austria:

One of the leading antagonists against France was the Austrian Empire.

As a bonus to the French, and British figures (which follows this short section), Dean gave me his smattering of troops from the Imperial/Royal Army.

Here are a few similarly attired line infantry units with a mix of headgear.  The shako replaced the helmet in 1806, but many units still sported the helmet.  (Personally, I think the helmet look cooler).

Next, from left-to-right, is a stand of line infantry next to what looks like a stand of grenadiers.  The figures in blue could be jaegers (light infantry).

Finally, here are two small cavalry forces.  The one on the left is a small unit of cuirassiers, and the one on the right is a detachment of Hungarian hussars.

The Forces of Britain:

I have to admit when it comes to the Napoleonic Wars, I'm an Anglophile.  Reading all of Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe novels only reinforced my appreciation for the Perfidious Albion's army.

Dean mustered some of the best of what Britain had to offer.

British infantry regiments were organized quite differently from their French counterparts.  I regiment usually consisted of only two battalions, which often didn't serve in the same theater.  Some regiments were only one-battalion strong. 

This battalion-sized regiment was divided into 8 line companies, with a company of grenadiers and a company of light infantry.  While these companies were smaller than their French counterparts, the British battalion/regiment had almost as many soldiers as a French battalion.

So I'll refer to my British infantry units as "regiments," starting with the first:

 The Coldstream Guards, now Britain's oldest regiment.

Then there's the 71st (Highland) Regiment of Foot

To back up these two regiments, is a detachment of about three companies from the Royal Welch Fusiliers.

Here's a closer look at the Welshmen.  I wonder if they're singing Men of Halrech?

And finally, no British collection would be complete without a representative from the noblest cavalry in Europe (and the worst led):  In this case, the Household Cavalry.

Once again trying to piece together our year-old message traffic on Facebook, I believe the following figures came from these manufacturers:

The Household Cavalry, Royal Welch Fusiliers and the Coldstream Guards were made by Perry Miniatures, while the 71st Highlanders were from Old Glory Miniatures.


Conclusion

Well folks this wraps up my WAB Corner Collection--unless Dean sells me any more of his fine figures.

Now that I think of it, I do need some artillery to support all my troops...

WAB Corner Collection #3: French and Indian War Figures

(Image from the National Park Service lesson plan:  Who were the people involved?)

I grew up in Upstate New York, and part of our K-12 education was learning state history.  But it wasn't all boring book learning. One memorable family trip was to Lake George, which of course included tours of Fort Ticonderoga and Fort William Henry.

I must admit though, I've never read the original work The Last of the Mohicans.  Instead, I settled for it in the form of a Classics Illustrated comic.  And I absolutely love the 1992 film.  In fact, the movie's soundtrack got me hooked on collecting soundtracks to other movies I like.

Anyway, despite my lack of literary cred, I've always been interested in the French and Indian War (F&IW).  I wouldn't consider this my favorite era in military history.  However, it's intriguing to me how this conflict took place in the region where I grew up, and that other nations--both European and Indian--were vying for control of what was once the western wilderness.

Five years ago, I was lucky enough to attend Fright Night Gaming at Ft. Steilacoom and play a game of Muskets & Tomahawks.

(Image from:  Boardgame Geek)

I liked the rules so much, I bought them shortly after Fright Night 2012.

Now fast forward to 2016.

My gaming buddy Dean, painter extraordinaire and author of the popular WAB Corner gaming blog, offered to sell me his F&IW miniatures collection.

To say that I jumped at this chance would be an understatement.

So here it is folks, Issue #3 of my WAB Corner Collection.

The French:

Since you can't have a French and Indian War without the French, I'll start off with the soldiers of France.  Most, if not all these figures are from Redoubt Enterprises.


First, here's a squad of irregulars known as Coureur des Bois ("Runners of the Woods"):

Next, are a squad from the Compagnies Franches de la Marine (French Marines):

Now to the more standard units.

Here are some grenadiers along with their pike-wielding sergeant and a drummer from La Sarre Infantrie Regiment...

...followed by a squad of run-of-the-mill musketeers:

Finally, here's another squad of grenadiers, this time from La Reine Infantrie Regiment...

...and their accompanying musketeers:

Indians

I know I said you can't have a French and Indian War game without French, and the same goes double for Indians.  Unfortunately, I don't have any--yet.

So on to...

The British:


This squad of Rogers' Rangers came from Front Rank Figurines.

While these grenadiers from the 78th Highlander Regiment, sometimes referred to as Fraser's Highlanders are from Redoubt Enterprises.

I liked the way I posed these guys so much I did a series of close-ups:

Next are some non-Highland grenadiers from Wargames Foundry Seven Years War Collection.  This squad is ready to lob their grenades:

Grenadiers were often detached from their parent regiments, and formed into ad-hoc assault units.  Dean divided his grenadiers into two groups.  The first is possibly from the 35th Regiment of Foot (Royal Sussex)...

...while this second squad with green facings could be from the 45th Regiment of Foot (the Sherwood Foresters):

In both pictures, I used the same drummer and officer from Foundry's Grenadier Command Set.

Speaking of commanders, I used the rest of the Grenadier Command Set to act as bodyguards for Major General James Wolfe who's figure is the leading personality in Front Rank's Wolfe Army Collection.

I wonder if any of them are "...the johnny who knelt beside Wolfe at Quebec..."?

Well, there you have it, my French and Indian War collection--minus the Indians.

Now I just need to buy lots of some Woodland Indians, and some appropriate buildings, oh, and some more trees...

Note:  Attributing figures to their correct manufacturer was something of a challenge.  I had to scroll through my Facebook message traffic with Dean to figure out what companies made what figures.  So I hope I got it right.

For further reading--including Last of the Mohicans--here's a Top Ten List of F&IW books:

(Image from History of MA:  Best Books About the F&IW)