Cthulhu 28's, (Initial Review)....

On Sunday 08.07. 2016 at Gen Con, one of my main purchases was the Arkham Investigators #1 set from the new line of "Cthulhu 28" figures from Bob Murch and Pulp Figures.

I decided to do a complete photo set as I went through them, and to give an initial review.

Here's how they stack up.

Cthulhu 28 from Pulp Figures (Arkham Investigators #1)

A nice display showing the new figures with an old spooky house backdrop; (This is not your NORMAL Home-Owners Association here...)

Manufacturer: Pulp Figures (www.pulpfigures.com)

# of figures: 10 metal figures of the "Arkham Adventurers" and 1 light green resin cast of a "Cthulhu Eidolon". 

Size/Scale: Approx. 28mm.

The Arkham Investigators set is a new release from Pulp Figures. So new that they aren't really up on the site yet, however that didn't keep me from "acquiring a set".

Initial Look:

The figures come in a plastic boxed case (like the old VCR cases). The front has the standard package announcement lable with a picture of a painted Eidolon.

Checking the side we see the announcement again. Just like a good old VCR tape...

A look at the back of the box shows three b&w photos (2 of them of the Investigators and one of the Eidolon), along with the standard safety messages, but nothing on "Do NOT use these to summon Elder Gods". I think they slipped on child-proofing here. Or maybe they didn't need to because children have no real desire to summon an Old One; it always seems to be the adults that do the stupid stuff...

The box was held together with a single small piece of scotch tape.

Being the paranoid...errr....inquisitive and cautious person I am, I used an X-acto knife to carefully slice the tape and open the case.

Now the statue does NOT sit "entirely flat" upon the a surface (as the photos show), but it can be worked with, and does look good in the way it is.  Someone wanting it "flush" with the ground would probably have to do a bit of work.

Upon review of the figures, it was noticed that some of them seem to bear a similarity to some other already released figures. While some may think of this as "Rip-off, Rip-off, Rip-off!" and of Bob Murch pulling a fast one, all in all, there is enough variety in them to make them completely as a set, pretty much new and different figures.

The feel, weight, and casting quality all seem to fit pretty much within the standard range of figures from this company, and the set includes a variety of figures/characters.
Flash is evident but minimal, and mold lines are very difficult to find/practically non-existent or at the least would provide almost no real issues with painting, etc...

The usual suspects...Five males and five females, some armed, some unarmed, and some carrying musical instruments.

Figure #1: A visiting professor on holiday perhaps?  I smell Sean Connery as Professor Jones Sr. in this figure...

Figure #2: A dashing and daring, rugged investigator, still under the belief that The Great Olde Ones can be held off with a M1911A1  .45 Pistol... (The big round end is molding flash).

 

Figure #3 is an inquisitve adventuresome sort armed with his trust, well used, guitar.  Every party at one time or another could use a bard, and well, this guy can sing "The Shoggoth Blues" like you've never heard is sung before.

Figure #4: A reworked arrogant Nazi agent, he has now become a cold, hard, veteran, agent of The Church, and armed with his blessed crucifix, and his bag of Holy goodies, he's ready to go forth and try to do something to stem the tide of evil that seems to be washing over his world.....

Figure #5: Whether you want to admit it or not, some folks just don't like guitar music. I mean, after all that stuff that happened with Robert Johnson, plus the fact that some people just find solace in....a horn.  Here we have a trumpet player. Call him Gabriel....call him Satchmo....call him whatever you like...just don't sing "Ia! Ia! Cthulhu Pfthaghan!!" when he goes into his crescendo solo....

And whatever we do, lets not leave the ladies out shall we?

Figure #6: A well dressed lady with a gun. This figure had the most flash, (as is obvious), of all the figures. A piece coming off her side, a piece on her pistol, some ticks on her shoulder and hair. All of these are easily corrected with a good sharp X-Acto knife, and a little bit of gentle filing. 

Figure #7: One of the reworked figures. IIRC, this is a variation from the Dr. Koo, set. however she fits in very nicely and I can always use another Chinese lady , (she can be any ethnicity also), in my collection. Based on the look on her face, it is obvious that she is not a happy camper...

Figure #8: Ya know...Sometimes a rinky-dink pistol just ain't gonna cut it. And a fellow with a guitar or a horn just ain't gonna get the job done. So leave it to the ladies to bring in the heavy, long range, firepower; as in the case of this lady figure carrying a Lee-Enfield Bolt Action rifle. Nothing but high quality British Arms for her by golly!

Figure #9: In 1958, Elvis Presley recorded the song "Hard-Headed Woman", which rose to #1 on US Billboard charts. The title of that song could be easily used to explain this young, female, dilettante who has decided to forego any arms or weapons, and instead has equipped herself with "An ancient book decorated with a design on it's cover that is sure to bring unspeakable horrors to the mind of the reader."

And finally...

  

Figure #10: No group is complete without a penguin...errr...."a nun"...

Overall Impressions:

The bases of these figures vary in size and have little to no real detail, (which is a good thing as some folks don't like detailed bases or bases with clutter.

They can easily be mounted on the standard bases, (Square, round, washers, etc.), and once primed should paint up nicely. Check for flash before painting. 

I've included some shots below of the painted up display pieces from 2016 Gen Con to give you an idea of how they can look.

Overall I would say they are a nice collection of figures, and can be used in a wide variety of Pulp/Horror/Gangster/Noir style gaming and would help fill some missing gaps, and round out collections nicely.

August and Gen Con!

Well, it's mid August already???

Hmmm...

Okay catching up.

Life (as usual), and that four letter word called "Work" has kept me in a constant flux of travelling and dealing with one nuclear priority after another.
Due to issues with my job, I was unable this year to take PTO to do the full four days of Gen Con, and instead had to deal with just going on Sunday, (which in itself worked out very well.)
So it was with adventure (and buying) in mind that I headed off to Gen Con....

A beautiful Sunday morning as I find parking very easily. A whopping two block walk away. Long term convention attendees take note.... 

Once I wandered into the Convention Center and got my badge, I went ahead and headed for what I had to do, (The dealers room)....

And there was stuff to be had....

The badge lanyard was well done and extremely popular this year.

Oh yeah! The old PCE, and you know what Jack Burton always says.....

So while wandering around, I got a couple of pics of the Dwarven Forge set up.

Front of the DF Castle...

And the back side of it... (the flames are illuminated by LED's)....

Some of the village detail from the DF set....

And then as I was walking through the place, I found the LFG area, and "The game"....

The banner beckoned to me like a harbor light in the fog....

And soon it was in my hands. For some odd and strange reason, this game REALLY appeals to me. And yet, none of my friends seem surprised....

Plus I got a free game, "Dicks and Krakens".  Hmmm....

Legendary Realms is based out of NY, and they sell dungeon style items that are compatible with DF. It's not as high quality but can do for those in an economic pinch. Plus they have some cool things, and I will be getting some items from them soon.

It always seems to happen...whenever I take a selfie, there's always a photobomb....Oh...my...GAWD!!!!

And the latest Chessex catalog, (Which stole my saying...harrumph!)...

And of course I got dice for my wonderful wife (Gawd bless her!):

While making my way around, I ran into the combined Pulp Miniatures/Crocodile Games booth, and of course met up (again) with that suave fellow, Mr. Bob Murch...

Two dashing fellows with their hats....

Bob had brought along his setups for his "Cthulhu 28's" and his "Flint N' Feather" line. The small boxed dioramas looked amazing, and I decided to get some pics.

Set #1 is a 10 piece set of Arkham Investigators. I love how he uses the word "Investigators" instead of what they truly will be...victims....

The second one, "Masters of The Deep" shows off his "Deep Ones"...

A close up of one of the "Deep Ones". A nice sculpt and paint job brings the nastiness out in this thing...

So being the naturally supportive person that I am of all things good, I went ahead and picked up both sets to show my support.

Not bad if I do say so myself.

Then I wandered over to the shared side of the booth with Crocodile Games, and grabbed this...

Maybe I can use this priest for Yul Brynner...hmmmm

And of course I HAD to have "The Evil Emperor"....I'm thinking of a name for him along the lines of something like "Veryus Nastyus" or something like that. 

And Crocodile even threw in a FREE Amazon Archer figure!

My wife had also wanted some of the Cactus minis that Bob and Pulp Figures put out, so I picked her up a pack. (Note for those of you out there: The "correct" plural of cactus IS "Cactuses", and NOT "Cacti", however Cacti can be used and is accepted. - Yes we had a discussion about this.)

And as for myself, I picked up a pack of the "American Cowboys" from the Mexican Revolution Range.

An observation about Gen Con this year.

Each year Gen Con grows in size. The convention keeps getting bigger and bigger and the staff have done an amazing job. It's now spread to beneath the the Lucas Stadium into the Exhibition area there. This year Gen Con made the aisles in the Dealers Room a lot wider and thus there was less traffic stoppage and backpack incidents.
What I also happily noticed was that there were A LOT MORE miniatures dealers and vendors than I remember seeing in a long time. For us mini guys this is a good thing as with minis, also comes all the scenery and terrain, and fun stuff that goes with it. Let's hope that they continue to come to Gen Con and show us all of their goodness!

And finally....

One of the highlights for me of this convention was the Thursday night get together at "The Greek Islands" with Alex Bates, Bob Murch, and Dave McKay. Being the welcoming soul that I am, I decided to give Alex and Bob, a "Welcome to Indy" gift, consisting of a copy of Gutshot and a blister clam shell pack of our "La -Vaquera"-Tequila Girl figure.
It was well appreciated.

And of course the excellent photo of us as the entire restaurant emptied itself out as we wandered in...

Good food, good times, good people.

And a great pic of myself and the legendary Mr. Alex Bates...  We are such devilishly handsome guys, aren't we?

This was my sixth Gencon, and I am glad that I made it. I plan on going next year to the 50th.

And more is on  the way, including some photos of my July-August mini stash that I purchased.