28mm Doctors Who? & Companions

The return of Doctor Who to television in 2005 after a long absence gave an impetus to wargames set in the Doctor Who universe.  Harlequin made one called Doctor Who: Invasion Earth in the 1980s, which may still be available from Black Tree Design.  In the 2000s the Doctor Who Miniatures Game appeared.  Several companies produced miniatures that could be used alongside the old Harlequin/Black Tree range.  Below are some of the new-era Doctors and their companions.

The 2005 season featured the 9th Doctor (Heresy Miniatures, listed as 'Malcolm Ecclescake') and Rose Tyler (Crooked Dice).  The Doctor's arms came as separate pieces.  These are good representations of Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper.  Neither model is currently available.

Rose again (CD), the 10th Doctor (Heresy, listed as 'Dr. Hugh McCrimmon'), and Mickey Smith (from the Copplestone Future Wars range).  This is Mickey when he returns in the episodes 'Army of Ghosts' & 'Doomsday' from an alternate dimension.  The CD and Heresy models are no longer available, which is unfortunate because this is a perfect model of David Tennant as the Doctor.  There was another version of the 10th Doctor without his coat but I don’t have that one.

Three companions from the 10th Doctor's era: Martha Jones, Captain Jack Harkness (also starring in the spin-off 'Torchwood') & Donna Noble.  Originally available singly or as a 3-figure set from Crooked Dice, none of these are available any longer.  I think they capture the look of the characters, although Martha's facial features seem a bit off to me.

  

The 11th Doctor in the center, with companions Amy Pond (l) and Rory (r, as a Roman Centurion from episode 'The Pandorica Opens'); all made by Heresy Miniatures and nice figures.  The Amy model is still available as ‘A Girl In Some Clothes’.  The Doctor and Rory models are no longer available.  Rory was listed under the name ‘Arturus, Sci-fi Roman’ and the Doctor as 'Nerdlord'.  There was another 11th Doctor model by Heresy with his hands behind his back.

If you're wondering where the 8th, 12th and War Doctors are, I do have them but they are as yet unphotographed.  Look for them in a future post, though I think it will be the villains' turn next time.

Thanks for looking!
Jason

Various Purchases

Since I neglected to post anything for the first 7 months of the year, some wargaming things I bought slipped by, so I thought I'd make a quick catchup post covering purchases from Crooked Dice, Black Tree Designs, Brother Vinni & Warlord.

A bunch of stuff from Crooked Dice.  Upper left are 2 minions, one throwing a grenade and one dog handler with dog.  Lower left are a set of 6 Criminals.  Upper right are assorted villains (l-r): Sinister Mystic, Jack-Booted sadist, Double Agent and Inhuman Servitor.  Bottom tight are 3 soldiers: Corporal, explosives expert and marksman.

CD also carries resin vehicles and terrain.  Below are 2 Landrovers and assorted ammo crates and cargo boxes.  In this picture the Landrovers have been primed gray.

I also picked up a CD Giant Ape.  It is an imposing model, shown below with a Landrover and Black Tree 25mm model for scale.  The right arm and face are separate pieces.  This is currently on my painting table waiting for attention.

The facial features are terrific!

Three of Black Tree Design's old Doctor Who range (l-r): 1st Doctor, 7th Doctor with Dalek Jammer & Ace.

After buying the This is Not a Test post-apocalypse rules last year, I noticed several mentions of players using miniatures from a company I had not heard of by the name of Brother Vinni :

http://www.brother-vinni.com/index_eng.htm

They had a sale late in 2016 and I ordered a variety of models, all cast in resin.  I have bought vehicles and large creatures in resin before, but never regular 28mm figures so I was interested in trying them out.  The package arrived quickly from Bratislava, Slovakia.  They all required assembly, mainly attaching the arms, though most of them had well fitting joints and required little to no pinning.  The detail is fantastic, especially the faces.  

A set of 3 Post-Apoc Citizens.  The mutants and raiders need someone to attack, don't they?

 A Tech-Wizard.  I will use him in my TNT Preservers.

Postapoc Ogre armed with a large hammer.  To be used as a large mutant.

5 Vikings for use in SAGA: 4 shieldmaidens and Ragnar (from the Vikings tv show) in the top right.  these are the only ones I have painted to date and I am very pleased with the results.  I haven't been in the mood to paint any of my post-apocalypse stuff for a while but may get back to it later in 2017.

A set of 5 Female Troopers.  More defenders for the local settlement.

A tricycle bot which I have not put together yet. If I can ever get all the parts glued together I am sure it will look great.

Warlord has e-mailed me several $15 off coupons in the last year, though I didn't use any of them.  The most recent one in June coincided with a sale of 50% off individual plastic sprues, so I took advantage of it and ordered a few at $5-6 each.  They are the old Wargames Factory line that Warlord bought and now sell for their Project Z game.  I don't play that game, but they will come in handy to add a few models to my forces and to convert weapons.

A sprue of 10 Male Apocalypse Survivors on the left, a sprue of 10 Female Survivors on the right, and assorted weapons on the top.

Eleven Male Zombies on the left and 11 Female Zombies on the right.  These are actually the only zombies I own.  The large Zombie Beast at the top will be used for a mutant.

The 2 Biker Gang sprues Warlord sells.  I have wanted a biker faction for Across the Dead Earth for some time, so these will fill that role.  The one on the left has a motorcycle and 2 riders; the one on the right has 6 bikers and 2 motorcycles.  I have read that these were designed by Wargames Factory but never released.

Thanks for looking!

Jason

28mm X-Commandos

A set of 10 commandos from Crooked Dice.  These are listed in the CD catalog as X-Commandos, with the intended purpose of using them as as part of a Department  X cast in 7TV.  In that game setting, they are the good guys who are ready to repel an alien invasion or foil an evil mastermind's plan to conquer the world / corner the market in marmite .  I have also used them as special forces or Torchwood troopers (for games set in the Doctor Who universe).  They are available individually or in groups of 2-4.

They are split into 2 groups of four, each in body armor with 3 rank and file armed with rifle or SMG and a leader armed with pistol.  They come with separate heads which allows for a lot of variations as CD has a large selection of heads available separately.  I painted them in 2017.

The first squad.

The advanced weapon team have an experimental laser.  Some might call it a death ray.  The laser and right hand come as a separate piece and need to be attached.  They can also be based as individual figures.  I like having them on the larger base.

The second squad.

All together now!

Thanks for looking!

Jason