M.O.O.S.(E). Ministry of Occult Studies (England): 12/10 Game shots

[verd]

Excellent work on these minis!

[Legionnaire Bert]

I daresay Mason will make with a more detailed AAR, but we got a couple of games in at his last night. The setting was a ruined church and its grounds (used for both encounters). The protagonists were myself and our man Team Leader Gav, who doesn't lurk within these hallowed pages, alas.

The first game saw my Ministry Team licking their wounds from last time out, where we attempted to capture a ghoul for scientific purposes - without success! To paraphrase the infamous breakfast with Bishop scene aboard the Solaco in Aliens, I will sum up my misadventures:

"Last time out the zombie..."

"I prefer the term 'unliving person' myself"

"Uh..right...yes - last time out the zo...'unliving person' malfunctioned and a few deaths were involved"

"Really? I'm shocked. What kind was it?"

"A blasphemous construct"

"Ah, that explains it! The blasphemous contructs always were a bit twitchy. Corn bread?"

Yes, one of the mad doc's zombies got shot full of his nasty syrum (sounds SOOO wrong... ) and it turned into a blasphemous contruct with terminal results. Alas poor Connie (Lingus) - - R.I.P. 

So, Aubrey Werther-Minte's team, complete with newly recruited Betty Swallocks, were out to settle the nerves after the last failed mission. And this time ghouls were involved once again! These ones were nasty critters, desecrating the graves of the churchyard, and we couldn't have that! This one went far more smoothly and by the numbers (those Aliens overtures again ), and the only deaths involved were the two ghouls and their accompanying cultist overseers - with no casualties for me! Huzzah, and hurrah! I basically had to stop them flitting from grave to grave, defling them (use your imagination as to how that would have been accomplished - younger readers and those eating their tea whilst reading this shouldn't ponder too hard! ). I had to stop 'em, and stop 'em I did - mainly with the expedient of a swift dose of lead poisoning, courtesy of Regina Rash's trusty Tommy gun! I love that gal.  Aubrey's acquired a cavalry sabre since the last re-equip too (Connie's passing was NOT in vain!), and I must say it's made all the difference - he went through those cultists like a ....well, sabre through flesh! Isaac (Hunt)'s newly gained dynamite was not needed (thank gawd! Wrong man to have TNT about him, that boy... ).

In the second game Gav meanwhile had his team being pursued by wrathful cultists trying to trap them and make them pay for duffing up their buddies from the last time he played (this was on teh eve of Nurglegate, gentle and constant reader, and we haven't been well enough to play since! Until last night...). He had to get his team off the cultists' board edege - or die trying (or try Brian, but that don't make-a no sense... ). It was pretty much game over early on when a cracking crack shot from Gav's sharp shootin' sharp shooter known only as 'The Rifleman' took out the cultist with the big old purple mitre early doors, and when you cap the dude with da big hat it's curtains for the cult of the Purple Headed Worm! Despite that a lively and entertaining game ensued, but Gav duly overcame the remaining cultists to clinch victory, with only a minor injury to show for his troubles.

All in all, another entertaining evening at chez Mason. Bring on the next assignment...

Bert

[Doug ex-em4]

Just got back from a very long holiday in Italy and could easily be more than a little depressed to swap the hot sun for rainy, cold, windy Blighty.

But, but, but - what saves the day is that I've got twelve pages of this wonderful topic to catch up on. Marvelous.

Mason, you've saved me from entering a very dark place (should that be re-phrased...?). The four bottles of gin at €5.00 each have helped as well....

Doug

[Mason]

The group shot looks great.  

The weathering effect on the vans is also very spiffy.

Great job!  

Thanks, aggro!
I need to get on to the rest now.....

Excellent work on these minis!

Thanks, verd!
I am glad that you approve.
 

Just got back from a very long holiday in Italy and could easily be more than a little depressed to swap the hot sun for rainy, cold, windy Blighty.

But, but, but - what saves the day is that I've got twelve pages of this wonderful topic to catch up on. Marvelous.

Mason, you've saved me from entering a very dark place (should that be re-phrased...?). The four bottles of gin at €5.00 each have helped as well....

Doug

Really glad that you enjoyed the catch-up, Doug.
I am sure that the gin had more than a little to do with it, though!
 


As Bert mentioned, we got a couple of games in earlier in the week.
I wont bother with any AAR's, as Bert has pretty much covered what happened.
There was a chance to get Bert's team to pose for a picture, though, before they went into action.

Here they are:

The Thames Valley Division, led by Aubrey Werther-Minte




I will let Bert identify them in the line-up, as I keep mixing them up

[Legionnaire Bert]

The Thames Valley Division, led by Aubrey Werther-Minte




I will let Bert identify them in the line-up, as I keep mixing them up

Thank you Mason! good picture, mate .

From left to right:
Ms. Regina Rash (agent); Isaac Hunt (agent); Aubrey Werther-Minte (Team Leader); Henry Enfield (agent); Phil McCaverty (civilian); Ms. Betty Swallocks (agent)

Regina wants to know - does my gun look big in this?

[Yetis Yell]

These are great, you guys.

[styx]

Great stuff! I have to get more female figs for my team.

[DeafNala]

VERY WELL DONE, Bert! Regina & Betty seem to be the heavy weapons team in the Crew.

[Alfrik]

Nice work, continue on good man.

[Mason]

Yep, well done, Bert!

A great-looking team.
I like the choice of colours, goes to prove that not everyone was grey in '20's Britain!

I like the way that the Black Pyramid fella adds a little height to the band of Copplestone's without seeming out of scale.

Nice work!

[Legionnaire Bert]

These are great, you guys.

Thanx Yetis Yell!

Great stuff! I have to get more female figs for my team.

Cheers, Styx! I am no rampant feminist per se (although fair deal and equal rights for sure! ), but aside from anything else the gals I chose just appealed to me visually and made for a decent bit of variety for the team.  The gals certainly do strike a pose! 'Aubrey's Angels'

VERY WELL DONE, Bert! Regina & Betty seem to be the heavy weapons team in the Crew.

Thanks a lot DeafNala! Yeah, I think adding the girls with the big guns really made them stand out - there's just something about the Copplestone Gangster Molls which really clicked big time when I was choosing minis for my agents. A definite 'Having them!' moment. Not in any Benny Hill sense of the word you understand . I recommend a good mix of minis to give the team a bit of definition.

Nice work, continue on good man.

Cheers Alfrik! Always nice to be complemented on one's efforts, so thank you for taking the time to comment. This project was a massive amount of fun as it is so completely different to anything I've ever painted in the past, being a stalwart player of GW products it had always been Warhammer, 40k and its spin offs (Mordheim, Necromunda). SA is great both visually (thanks a lot to Mason once again - take a bow, mate ) and for playability. Thoroughly enjoying a romp through the weird backwaters of 1920's England...

Yep, well done, Bert!

A great-looking team.
I like the choice of colours, goes to prove that not everyone was grey in '20's Britain!

I like the way that the Black Pyramid fella adds a little height to the band of Copplestone's without seeming out of scale.

Nice work!

Fanx maaaaaaate! We have you to thank for the inspiration for this one - the minute you described the game to our group I was hooked! Although you generously offered to provide all the minis I knew that was never gonna happen - one look at Copplestone's range and I was smitten . Great minis conjuring up a very stylish and evocative era. Of course, your secenery plays a huge part once again, and the vintage vehicles you've added just bring that vital touch of class to set things off. Mason, you are the scenery genius, sir!

As for the colour scheme of my guys and gals, I got lucky there - I just broke out the paints and daubed them on and they came out looking good! The blokes were easy, as blue and brown suits are classics. I happened to have a nice German Uniform green I'd been using and thought that would make a nice alternative for the third be-suited gentleman. The girls I really wasn't sure about paint scheme wise - I knew I wanted them to be dressed quite plainly, and wearing stockings (steady! ) and that I wanted one to be blonde (using my 'dirty blonde' technique - if it's good enough for dwarven treasure hunters it's good enough for a 20's babe!) and one a red head (and her titfer HAD to be pink!) but beyond that it was trial and error. The backgrounds for the team helped inform the look, and vice versa. All in all, hugley fun to paint .

Bert

[Mason]

It was good to see Bert's team in all their glory.
He has done a good job on them and in particular making the Black Pyramid miniature blend in so well as it does.

I forgot to take any in-action shots of the games that were played, I only took a couple of the table after we had finished when I took the line-up of the Thames Valley Division.
The lighting was not great and the set-up was pretty simple.
For what it is worth, here they are:

An overhead view




A couple of closer in shots of the ruined church and graveyard
















Nothing particularly interesting really, but gives an idea of the setting for the games.

Next up are the members of the Russian team...

[necrocannibal]

Aw crap, I'm beginning to get jealous again of your buildings...they still look awesome!

[Mason]

Aw crap, I'm beginning to get jealous again of your buildings...they still look awesome!

Thanks, necrocannibal!
I still feel that I need to make some SA-specific scenery pieces, though.
I have the parts to make my first three Scenes of Terror now, so that is a start.
I just need to decide what else I need for this project.
I know that I need more trees etc, for rural adventures, and some more headstones and crypts for an enlarged graveyard.
What else do I really need, though?

[zobo1942]

Wow - did you scratch-build all of that terrain?!