The Blog of Michael T. Murphy and his lifelong obsession with "little army men" and their imaginary glory, miniature wargaming, and other things...

Saturday, April 1, 2023

End of March Update...

 March has come and gone, and April is right around the corner.
With it comes the "Spring Storm Season".  As I write this right now, my local area is under a severe tornado, storm, and wind watch and advisory. 
But let's not worry about the clouds in the sky shall we? Let's get on with things.

Painting

Well, I continued on with the process of "Four Figures A Day", or at least I attempted to. Many times I was called away for real life, and one day was spent simply shading, flocking, and sealing figures. 
However my end of Month Count goes something like this.

MARCH 2023:

Figures Purchased: 0 (Again with this Zero madness! What will the neighbors think?)
Painted: 38
This breaks down to:
Townsfolk/Fantasy figures: 3
Dancer: 1
Sailors: 2
Pulp: 7
Gangsters and G-Men: 13
Cowboys/Gunfighters: 5
Mule and Burro: 2
Ox: 1
Barrels: 4

If I were to add this to my 58 for the current year, I am standing at 96 figures done. Not at the goal point I wish to be at but not too shabby either. 

So YTD Total is:
Bought: 0
Painted: 96

YTD: +96

Lets take a look at some of them shall we?

Also, none of these figures are as "Shiny" as they look in the pics. This is a combination of the lighting that I have when taking the picture and how my crappy Iphone camera makes them look "shiny".

(An overall look at the completed figures for this month.)



(Foundry Old West Policeman. Just walking his beat...)



(Another Foundry Town Defender. Armed with his trusty shotgun, he's ready to deal with dangerous drunks, ne'er do wells, crazy women, and that barking dog down at the McCreedle House...)



(Another Foundry Town Defender...Dressed for a night on the town. Walking stick and revolver, both highly polished and ready for the evenings events...)


So then I switched over to some Fantasy figures...

(Just you're average everyday guy wandering through the village, looking for a group of adventurers that could use his skills and talents...all for a few coins...)


(And there is always the "Mysterious Pale Skinned Stranger that wanders into the village right after the sun goes down...)



(And well....gosh darn it! Sometimes you just need to see a pretty dancing girl. The way her....her....veils shimmer....yeah....that's it.)



(Pulp Figures, WW2 French Resistance Fighter...Just the gal you need to provide cover fire on "Le Boche", while you detonate the explosives and blow the bridge...)


I then slipped over and started painting up my figures (G-men, (actually Government Prohibition Agents), and Gangsters for "The Chicago Way".
First up, "The Good Guys"....

(Here's the leader, Badge on display and trust .45 in hand, Elliott Mess fights a never-ending wave of hoodlum activity in his city...)



(Buster Sinclair; Overweight, socially inept, and smells of cheap aftershave; but he's dependable, and ready to go after the goons. He always wears his lucky yellow shirt (a present from his wife Doris), whenever he goes on a raid..."It's my protection." He says.)



(Bill Devers. Dependable, loyal, good with a Thompson, and a diehard White Sox fan...)



(Henry "Hank" Roosevelt. It's hard to work in a segregated force, but his boss Elliott Mess doesn't see color; he sees performance. And because of this Henry won't let him down...)



(Rick Morran; His eyesight keeps him from using the long range weaponry, so he keeps it up close and personal with his sawed off double barreled shotgun...)



(Sean O'Boyle: Brought out of retirement to help keep the city from busting loose. He's seen both sides of the law in his career as a beat cop.  He knows what to look for and how to handle it.)


Naturally, you gotta have some gangsters and goombahs....
So here's da lineup...


(Sammy "Shaky" Dennis. Hired flunky gunman, Sammy got his nickname from the way his knees always shake and knock during a gunfight....It doesn't show a lot of confidence in him moving up in his criminal career, but he takes orders and gets the job done.)



(Sporting a bright, lime green necktie, Al Barbieri waits for his orders to go dispense automatic forty five caliber enforcement of his bosses orders.)



(Carlo Rossi: Quiet, loyal, good with a .45 to vent a fink, or to give a rat a .22 short behind the ear. He dresses well and smells of fresh hair oil...)

(Frankie Vero, let's loose with a short rip on his Chicago Typewriter....)



(Jack White was once just a flunky. But his ambition, and ability to double-deal, and dirty deal helped him climb the ladder. Now he's a lower manager of some goons that do some dirty work. He's still got higher ambitions though, and his snappy green and purple wardrobe should help people remember who they are dealing with...)



(With white dinner jacket and freshly cleaned and oiled pump shotgun, Dino Martini, is always ready for a night on the town...)


And of course, you can't have goons and goombahs without a boss....

(Boss Sal Monella makes a point of note to his boys about "What he needs to have done...")


Then it was a wild jump to some Western figures....


(Foundry Old West  OWW: "Town Toughs and Staunch Defenders:"Sneaky Pete" figures. aka: Brothers Seamus and Danny McConnell...)


And then a bit of a blast from the past, as I repainted my old OG Voodoo Master.
This was the guy that ran the voodoo zombies on Skull Island, from my pirate game 20+ years ago.
It was time for him to have a new, (and better paint job)...


(The Voodoo Zombie Master!!!! Making the zombies do his bidding...)


And then it was back to some more Pulp Era figures...

(Well to do, Gentleman Explorer/Adventurer waiting for the train to Edinburgh...)



(Davey McGirts, was a riverman. That is also to say he was a river rat, a river pirate, and river scum. Plying his trade along the steamboats, tugs, and barges along the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, he didn't have any qualms about killing.  After all, the money went into his pocket, and the body went overboard into the river.)



(Captain Oswald Bender, with Broomhandle Mauser, and lucky talisman; ready for whatever he thinks he is ready for...and usually isn't...)



(Captain Lora Lanyard; she runs a good, honest, clean vessel. She keeps it that way and expects her crew, cargo, and passengers to be the same. Unfortunately for her, that is so often, NOT the case...)


And finally I finished up the painting this month, by going back to fantasy and finishing up my first Drow. A nice "evil" Drow Cleric with magic flail in hand, ready to do some serious hurt on those bothersome surface dwelling adventuring types.

("All for her greatness, The Spider Queen...")


Okay that's it for now, let me know what you think, and yes, there is more to come, including " A NEW PROJECT!!!!"....

Stay tuned!