Reaper Bones #38 - Harpy

Another Mythical Monster chalked off the list, this time it's a Harpy

Harpy - Julie Guthrie (SKU 77041)

Harpy by Julie Guthrie

Julie Guthrie does it again with another wicked sculpt.  The last time I painted a Harpy was 30+ years ago when I painted the one from the Citadel C18 Night Horrors line.  Judging from the mini I believe this might have been sculpted by Aly or Trish Morrison.

Citadel C18 Harpy

You can tell that things have moved on both technically and aestetically in the last 30 years.  This is a much more interesting less cartoony sculpt and doesn't have the classic overblown features or the flattop haircut.  In particular I love the inclusion of the half demonic wings which give this mini a sense of the evil rather than just being some half human half chicken monster.

Harpy Mythology

Probably the most famous Harpy story is that of King Phineas of Thrace who was granted the gift of prophecy by Zeus until he gave away the Gods secret plan. Zeus blinded him and then left him alone on an island but tormented him with Harpies who would steal all the banquet food the Gods left him.  This is most famously depicted in the movie Jason and the Argonauts (1963) where Phineas is played by the second Doctor Who Patrick Troughton.  

Needless to say Jason fights off the Harpies and saves Phineas who then tells them how to pass through the clashing rocks (Symplegedes) further angering the Gods.

Bones Progress

Sector 55 Blues - Prog 11 - Just Some Good Ole Boys

Sector 55 Blues is a Judge Dredd Campaign using the Savage Dredd unnofficial Savage Worlds Expansion.  This is an online only game with members from Dragons Keep Roleplay Club.

Judges Cully, Hammer Teal and Uhtred clean up the crime scene at the mutie farmstead.  They agree that they need to send a message to the enemy at Black Gold Mesa as if it were from this raiding party.  Without a long distance radio and the right frequency they are out of options.  They decide to return to the land ships and consult with the pirate captains.  

Pirate land ships come in all shapes, sizes and colours

Back on board they discuss their predicament with Captain Scurvy Jack and El Diablo.  The ships don't have radios but there is one at the refuelling depot at Nowhere. 

Pirate Law dictates that "You keep what you catch" and so Cully orders the prisoners to be hung from the yard arm untill they crack.  After a couple of hours Bob 211 has had enough and starts to spill the beans.  The Judges learn that :

1. The mulgoons are all named Bob followed by a number which signifies the order in which they were recruited.
   
   
2. Lord Muldoon personally cuts their hair into a bob a part of their initiation ceremony.
   
   
3. He has hundreds of Bobs and lots more slaves who work the oil field and help farm the hair beasts.
   

Hammer negotiates with Scurvy Jack to let them run ahead to the provisioning outpost at Nowhere but the pirate captain doesn't trust him to not run with his tail between his legs to Bartertown and raise the alarm with Auntie.

Teal reminds Hammer about the Doobie Brothers incident at Merkel Mansions a few years back when they had to pretend to be Sector Gas Workers inspecting a leak.   

Harmer uses a Birdie Lie detector to convince Scurvy Jack that he is telling the truth.  The Pirate agrees to let the Judges ride out to Nowhere and send their message.

On the Road to Nowhere

They ride through the night for 4 hours with Bobs 365 and 211 riding pillion until they reach the depot at Nowhere.  It's a small run down gas station surrounded by a fortified iron wall and heavy gates.  The Judges are challenged by the guards on the ramparts but they let them in.  Apparently they have been expected.

Uncle Jessie runs Nowhere with about a dozen men.  He is an elderly pirate who wears a battered red baseball cap which reads MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN.  He takes them through to his office where the radio is set up.  He explains that The Pirate King called a few days ago and told him to expect 4 lawmen arriving with the Pinacolado and the Saint Mary.  He was surprised to see them on their own.

Uncle Jessie

Teal explains that they ran into the mulgoons raiding a farmstead and rode ahead to use the radio to stave off a larger war party coming to find the Bobs.  Jessie regularly monitors the mulgoon transmissions and recalls that there was a raiding party operating due East a day or so ago.  

He agrees to contact the Pirate King to ask permission.  Just as Jessie is about to blurt out over the radio that the lawmen have arrived, Hammer stops him.  Realising that these are unencrypted radio transmissions he tells the old man to talk in code.  He tells him to say "code 77" the Justice Department code for "Wally Squad" (undercover Judges) operations.  He assures Jessie that the Pirate King will understand. 

Permission given they contact Black Gold Mesa pretending to be Team Falcon and report in that they are on their way back to base, delayed due to mechanical issues.

Next Prog ->

Back Issues

Prog 1 - Suits You Sir - Mosh 55 rob Zlooty Slute's Suits You and a body is discovered.

Prog 2 - Hair Today Gone Tomorrow - Rock Dwayneson's apartment and carnage at the Yes-A-Bout

Prog 3 - It's Ugly Out There - Fun and Games at the Ugly Pageant 

Prog 4 - Down, Down, Deeper and Down - Entering the sewers under RESYK

Prog 5 - The Big Wig - Confronting the beast below the city

Prog 6 - Last Orders at The Two Ways Pub - A shootout in Sector 163

Prog 7 - Into the Cursed Earth - Judge Ezquerra orders a manhunt 

Prog 8 - Avast Me Hearties It's the Easter Pirate Kangaroo - Black Ice Kanga 

Prog 9 - Scav City and the Pirate King - A Deal is Made

Prog 10 - On a Road to Nowhere - A mutie farmstead is attacked by Mulgoons.

Reaper Bones #37 - Andre Durand, Time Chaser

Let's face it this is as close to a Hellboy mini that you can get without infringing copyright.

Andre Duran, Time Chaser - Bob Ridolfi (SKU 80005)

As soon as I saw this mini there was only one way it was going to get painted.  Thanks Bob you made my day.

Andre Durand (aka Hellboy)

Bones Progress

Reaper Bones #36 - Anirion, Wood Elf Wizard

Now don't get me wrong I love a mini which is striking some highly dramatic heroic pose, but sometimes you need something that is just a big bag of subtlety.

Like Aragorn when he first meets the hobbits, he is travelling incognito as Strider.  When you are starting out on your path to magical mastery you don't want to be standing out in a crowd attracting attention screaming "look at me I'm a wizard!".  That's where Anirion comes in.

Anirion, Wood Elf Wizard - Bobby Jackson - SKU: 77068

I painted Anirion in shades of grey to accentuate the incognito feel.  only her red hair and blue crystal staff give any hint of colour and I think the combo works well.  My only criticism is that the staff is too thick, it's like she's carrying a small tree.  However, the PVC that the early bones were made in was quite bendy even at this thickness.  Life is a compromise I guess.

Anirion, Wood Elf Wizard (SKU 77068)

Bones Progress

Sector 55 Blues - Prog 10 - On A Road To Nowhere

Sector 55 Blues is a Judge Dredd Campaign using the Savage Dredd unnofficial Savage Worlds Expansion.  This is an online only game with members from Dragons Keep Roleplay Club.

Bad News

In the morning Judge Uhtred sets up the Sat Comms gear and relays a situation update to Sector 163 the response they receive is both puzzling and alarming

+++ MC1 SITUATION ALERT BLACK ALPHA +++ NO SUPPORT AVAILABLE +++ YOUR MISSION CRITICAL +++ RETRIEVE PERP NESBITT PRIORITY +++

A Black Alpha Alert means that Mega City One is dealing with a city wide disaster or epidemic and Justice Department resources are strained to breaking point.

Judges Cully, Hammer, Teal and Uhtred head out into the wasteland accompanied by the pirate ships Pinacolada, captained by Scurvy Jack, and the Saint Mary, captained by El Diablo.  The pirates have charted a route on the map which leads them to a refuelling point known as "Nowhere".

 

Day 1 - Dust Storm

At midday a dust storm blows in,  Searing hot winds winds carry abrasive dust which gets everywhere clogging the bikes air filters.  The pirates lower the rear ramps of their ships with Cully and Teal boarding the Saint Mary.  Uhtred struggles to get his bike onto the Pinacolada and Hammer needs to go back out and help recover his bike.  Both bikes are damaged and take some fixing to get running again. 

Visibility outside is very poor down to about 20 feet and the ships are sailing on instruments alone.  They crawl onwards through the blackness.  

Dust storm

Night 1 - Acid Rain Storm

As night falls the storm shifts to acid rain and the ships grind to a halt.  El Diablo explains that the rain turns the dust to mud and the ships will just dig themselves into an early grave if they try to move.  They must wait it out until the storm passes.

Hammer and Uhtred find Jethro amusing himself playing a tin whistle.  They engage him in coversation patched across to all Judges via their helmet radios which are fortunately still working.

Jethro explains that he is glad that the Judges are going to get him to Black Oil Mesa.  He doesn't fancy their chances of beating Muldoon, but as long as they get him there he has a chance of finding the thing that Muldoon stole from him.  He also reveals that Muldoon betrayed him a long time ago.  Muldoon used to be a big thing in Mega City One some 15 years ago until he was stranded in a stratbat crash where he was badly injured.  Jethro rescued him and nursed him back to health.  Together they discovered the secret of the wild hair beasts and tamed a few.  

Over the years this turned into a lucrative business and they traded hair beast meat with the free towns a welcome alternative to square pigs.  Muldoon always yearned to return to Mega City One and he managed to make contact but was refused entry having spent too long in the Cursed Earth.  In the following months Muldoon's mood darkened and he betrayed Jethro forcing him to flee for his life.  Muldoon began to ruthlessley expand his empire soon after.

Day 2 - Homesteaders

After a fitfull night of sleep, the Judges wake to the smells of sizzling square pig bacon.  The pirates are already hard at work swabbing the deck with vinegar water and repairing rigging.  It is not long before they are once again moving.

The Judges decide to once again take out their bikes and ride as escorts greatly increasing their range and firepower.  Around 2pm the pirates spot smoke on the horizon and the team head out to investigate.Cresting a dune reveals a small flat valley floor with a small farmstead at its center.  Two black vehicles, a van and a sedan, are hurtling around the building and their occupants seem to be attacking the homestead. 

A Mutie Homestead

The Judges gun their bikes towards the farm and Teal strikes a lucky hit with his Cyclops Laser Cannon on the sedan which explodes showering the ground with scrap metal and body parts.

Hearing gun shots from inside the building, Cully heads for the front door and through a window spies a woman and a man with a shotgun.  "This is the Law" she cries and orders the man to put down his weapon"

Teal rides round to the rear of the property.  The van is parked with its side door open and 2 perps are trying to gain access to the building.  He lasers the van melting its engine block and shoots one of the perps at the door dead.  Uhtred follows suit melting a hot wide channel through the side of the vehicle.  Hammer's laser malfunctions and he opens up with his bike cannon collapsing the porch on the remaining perp at the door.  Five perps in the van fire back winging both Hammer and Uhtred.

Cully busts open the door and two 10 year old mutie boys flee the building.  She takes up a firing stance on the man who appears to be trying to reload his shotgun but her aim is blocked by the female mutie who pleads with her "Don't Shoot".  Teal fires an incendiary into the van which bursts into flame and two perps bail out from the vehicle and run away on fire.  Uhtred checks the van for survivors as Hammer punches his Lawmaster through the flimsy farmstead wall into the bathroom.

Cully pushes the woman out of the way and pistol whips the man with the shotgun to the floor.  She opens the door and drags the badly injured perp inside.  Teal chases down the fleeing perps and puts out their flames with a well aimed stumm gas grenade rendering the pair unconcious.  Whilst checking out the burning vehicle, Uhtred encounters some of the farm's livestock a six legged horse, a two headed goat and some chickens the size of large dogs.  He briefly considers calling sector control and having the Animal Squad come out to deal with them but remembers he is a long way from home.  Concerned that the crime scene could still be harbouring perps, Hammer checks the remaining rooms discovering two empty bedrooms and confidently shouts "CLEAR!".

Hammer interrogates the injured perp, Bob 365, revealing that this raiding party are mulgoons from Black Oil Mesa and were in regular contact with home base.  When they don't check in Muldoon will send more men in this direction. 

Next Prog ->

Back Issues

Prog 1 - Suits You Sir - Mosh 55 rob Zlooty Slute's Suits You and a body is discovered.

Prog 2 - Hair Today Gone Tomorrow - Rock Dwayneson's apartment and carnage at the Yes-A-Bout

Prog 3 - It's Ugly Out There - Fun and Games at the Ugly Pageant 

Prog 4 - Down, Down, Deeper and Down - Entering the sewers under RESYK

Prog 5 - The Big Wig - Confronting the beast below the city

Prog 6 - Last Orders at The Two Ways Pub - A shootout in Sector 163

Prog 7 - Into the Cursed Earth - Judge Ezquerra orders a manhunt 

Prog 8 - Avast Me Hearties It's the Easter Pirate Kangaroo - Black Ice Kanga 

Prog 9 - Scav City and the Pirate King - A Deal is Made