.Pinnacle's Figures | Foundry's Old West Minis | Modifying Figures | A Note on Games Workshop |
Here you can find digital pictures of Pinnacle Entertainment Group's (PEG) line of figues, painted by me. Click on the name of the figure and the picture will appear. In the case of the possee packs (column two), individual images of figures may accompany the group shot. Not all are painted. Those which have "(GRW Boxed Set)" after the entry are the figures included in the GRW Game Box.
The figures identified by the DL-HOE# code are a limited run of figures done as part of a package deal for the release of Pinnacle's post-apocalyptic game, Hell on Earth. I freely admit to buing the package deal just to get my hands on the Stone mini. The books that came with him were well worth the price of admission.
Why post these pictures at all? While I would like to give those who have not seen these figures and are considering buying some to use in their role playing game from the Pinnacle web store or for use in the Pinnacle's free miniatures game High Noon a chance to take a look, I have to admit that part of it is motivated my something like vanity. I've had a lot of fun painting these and thought someone else might like a look.
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The Foundry's Old West and The Foundry produces a line of Old West and Victorian figures that are very useful for players of both the Deadlands RPG and the Great Rail Wars/High Noon miniatures game. 
While the figures can be used well for personalities or individual characters/heroes, the figures run a little smaller than PEG's line, as can be seen in the pictures to the right (the white bar marks the top of the PEG USA Trooper). As such, I have found they are best utilized as "extras" for a role-playing setting or as innocent bystandards for gunfights. The one great advantage these figures have over the PEG figures is the wide variety of civilians available.
It is worth noting to the interested that the Foundry has begun releasing limited run figures, such as Victoria and her handmaidens. There is an amazing Victorian figure gallery on the website that is worth visiting.
The simple truth is that neither PEG nor the Foundry nor any other manufacturer can provide all of the figures you will need. PEG has addressed this problem somewhat with their line of Cardstock Cowboys suppliments and by including sheets of these in each of their published adventures (starting with Ghost Busters). I must admit that I was initially skeptical about these. After looking at those included in Ghost Busters, however, I have to admit that I was far more impressed than I thought I was going to be with them. In fact, if anyone wants to quickly get a game of the Great Rail Wars up and running quickly, I would highly recommend these cardboard substitutes.
I, however, enjoy painting the figures and setting them down on the table. There is something very rewarding about setting down a new villain for a possee and watch them look at the figure with a mixture of thrill and terror. It helps bring the game a little more alive to have the enemy (as well as the heroes) in three dimentions.
The best candidates for substitutions are usually the cheapest figures you can find. After all, the process of altering them uusually involves the removal of pieces, if not complete dismemberment, of the miniature. This did not, however, stop me from altering PEG's Texas Ranger figure to create Dr. Mandark Richards, the nemesis of Doctor Dexter Doom (one of the player characters in my campaign). The gun carried by Mandark, the Etheric Disruptor, is taken from a Warhammer 20,000 figure. The scarf is modelling clay (I prefer to use Milliput) around the face and a piece of card stock from a 3x5 card in the back. The only other alteration to the figure involved carefully cutting off the Texas Ranger's pistol and gently bending the arm into position.
This technique is a simple way to create some small variances in your figures, as can be seein in the PEG Automitons, pictured to the right. Twisting the gattling gun into a forward position differentiates the two figures slightly. If you choose to do this type of alteration, be very careful to move slowly and watch the metal for stress. It is possible to twist off limbs if you twist the metal too far. Indeed, in the case of the pictured Automitons, I would not have twisted the gun any further down than I have due to the twisting of the metal.
A slightly more ambitious alteration was alterating a plastic Games Workshop assassin figure, taken from the Games Workshop Adventurers set, into The Butcher, from the adventure Independence Day and The City of Gloom. I like using the plastic figures because they are easily cut using a small exacto knife. In this case, I cut off the crown of the head and removed the front of the cowl, shaved the boot cuffs off on the legs and the dagger at his waist (I later painted this to use as an additional prop for future games.). After that, I painted the figure and built up a top hat using modeling clay. While the figure is not a perfect representation of the character (Civil War doctors did not use white smocks), it is good enough to scare a possee of player characters. Similar techniques produced the Scarecrow figure, made from a discontinued GW figure from a Warhammer Zombie Command pack.
The most extreme alteraltion of a miniature I have attempted produced these two Conglomerates. Like The Butcher, I created them for the "Independence Day" adventure but they could just as easily appear on a battlefield of the Great Rail Wars. They are simply three Games Workshops Warhammer Skeletons that have been dismembered and reassembled in as grotesque an arrangement possible. The advantage to this type of assembly is that the scale of the figures do not have to match the oversized PEG figures exactly. With this type of assembly, anything in the 25-33mm range works well.
Another note on scale and figures: If you need figures to represent children but are unable to find any, a 25mm figure looks like an adolescent next to a PEG figure. This is one option for all those lookig for a figure to represent those player characters or Heroes with the Kid Hinderance.
I know that a significant percentage of those reading this site probably hold a relatively low opinion of Games Workshop. Whatever your opinion of their corporate practices (which have made them a very successful company), many of their figures are quite useful as additions to your collection. Their undead line is an excellent source of horrors for the Wierd West. The snotling figures are good candidates for conversion into Gremlins (I'll post the results when they come in). The swarms (bats, rats, and spiders) are good figures. The Carrion Birds from their smallest figures are approximately the right size for vultures. Some of the figures from the 40,000 line make good candidates for potential Mad Scientists, their inventions, and for would-be meglomaniacal world conquerors desiring to set up a private army. There are even one or two that would work well as British troops for any wishing to set an adventure or Rail War scenario in occupied Detriot. While it takes a long time to look over all the figures on the wall, it's worth looking over them if you have the time and cash to spend.
E-mail me with any comments or feedback.
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