Thursday 5 February 2015

From Curt - The Limerick Twins - ‘See Ya in the Funny Papers…’ (10 Points)


We played a big game of ‘Strange Aeons’ the other night and I quickly realized that, while I have quite a good collection of nasty beasties, I am woefully short of heroes or, well, at least humans unencumbered by eyestalks, creepy robes and tentacles. True, I have a few figures set aside for my continuing ‘Carro Family’ pulp project, but my collection needs a big injection of two-fisted heroes and savy heroines to do the heavy lifting for the Good Guys in our games. So I put on my winter boots, toque and parka and tromped off to the ‘Lead Shed’ to see what I could excavate as possible candidates. 

As it turns out I have more than a few castings from Copplestone, Pulp Miniatures and Musketeer that fit the bill nicely, and all of them are just crying out to be introduced to a paintbrush. 

As a result, I present to you the first pair of figures of what I hope will be an expanding series of guys and dolls from the interwar period: ‘The Limerick Twins’. 



The Twins are Sean and Sioban Ryan, a pair of talented ‘cleaners’ who have recently emigrated from the Emerald Isle to make their fortune in America. 



The Ryan twins are known (or perhaps notorious) for their preternatural connection with one another and as such are very difficult to surprise, always working in tandem, covering each others' back. We’ll have to see if they have the Luck of the Irish when they make their debut on the tabletop. 



These figures are from Copplestone Casting’s excellent ‘Gangsters’ range. I’ve decided to paint them in an over-saturated, quasi ‘Dick Tracy’ style – something I may try to continue with a few more figures just for the fun of it. 


We’ve been watching the last season of ‘Boardwalk Empire’ and one of lines that has stuck with me was 'Lucky' Luciano saying to Al Capone, ‘See ya in the funny papers.’ So as a tip of the hat to this I thought I’d add a few pages of discarded newsprint at their feel along with some spent .45 shell casings from their Thompsons. 

'Here's looking at you, kid...'
Posted by Curt at 12:27 am
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48 comments:

  1. Clint5 February 2015 at 02:50

    I do like the cartoon style you have adopted for these two. It gives them a real comic book pulp feel.

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    1. Curt5 February 2015 at 11:27

      I was a bit concerned with the colours when I started with their base layers but I warmed to them once they received their highlights. A few more in this theme should be fun to do and, as you say, are fitting for Pulp gaming.

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  2. Millsy5 February 2015 at 03:44

    They're absolutely wonderful, so they are!

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    1. Curt5 February 2015 at 11:27

      Cheers Mr. Mills, very kind of you, so you are!

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  3. TamsinP5 February 2015 at 03:51

    Great looking siblings Curt. I'm imaging they left the old country with the law hot on their heels after some escapade during the rising.

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    1. Curt5 February 2015 at 11:29

      Yes, I'm thinking they bailed out after the Tan War with several factions close on their heels.

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  4. Chasseur5 February 2015 at 04:23

    Very nice!

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  5. Christopher(aka Axebreaker)5 February 2015 at 05:00

    Very nicely done Curt! I think Dick Tracy himself would approve.

    Christopher

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  6. thefrenchjester5 February 2015 at 05:06

    Well done Curt!

    choosing green coats for Irish emigrants is great!
    the tommy guns are "the best in period" jewels, directly out from the movie " Public enemies" with Johnny Depp.

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    1. Curt5 February 2015 at 12:45

      Thanks Gilles. Yes, those tommy guns are great - a bit overscaled but I still like the look of them.

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  7. Samuli5 February 2015 at 05:26

    Very nice work Curt! Lovely choice of colours on them. Hopefully they'll live up to their backstory during games then!

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    1. Curt5 February 2015 at 13:14

      Ha, they'll probably get eaten by some nasty tentacly thing in the first turn...

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  8. Evan Hughes5 February 2015 at 06:12

    "Go soak yer head!" or "So's yer old man!" are also acceptable.

    Really nice work Curt, those textiles and bases are brilliant!

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    1. Curt5 February 2015 at 13:15

      Good bylines, I'll have to remember those before I roll the dice. Cheers Evan!

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  9. AdamC17765 February 2015 at 06:21

    Very nice work, the comic book style is not one I would think to go with but you made it look very good here.

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    1. Curt5 February 2015 at 13:16

      Yeah, it's a bit whacky but it seems to fit a niche aesthetic.

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  10. JamieM5 February 2015 at 06:31

    very nice indeed - I'm a big fan of the bright colours for fun skirmish games, so these fit very well.

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    1. Curt5 February 2015 at 13:17

      Thanks, I thought you'd probably like them Jamie.

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  11. Ian5 February 2015 at 06:35

    That green really should not work but it sits really well, great job

    Ian

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    1. Curt5 February 2015 at 13:18

      Yeah, green and cream usually work well together but I took a risk with the suit. Seems to have come off okay though.

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  12. john de terre neuve5 February 2015 at 07:15

    Terrific looking figures, the green and cream colours are a great combo.

    John

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  13. Iannick5 February 2015 at 08:39

    Great work, I painted that gangster and its an awesome sculpt.

    I especially like that green! Can I have the recipe, please?

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    1. Curt5 February 2015 at 13:20

      No problem: The green is Foundry's Dragoon Green, B and C, with GW's Scorpion green mixed in with the Dragoon C for a final highlight.

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    2. Iannick5 February 2015 at 14:20

      Excellent, thanks!

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  14. DeanM5 February 2015 at 10:47

    Green with envy :)!

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  15. Unknown5 February 2015 at 11:02

    In that period the only way for an Irish immigrant had to make a living was by putting a gun in his hands. In America the signs still read "No Negro's No, Dogs, No Irish" Well at least we weren't still dying building their fecking railroads :0)

    Those are some really fine looking figures Curt and you've done a masterful job of painting them up.



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    1. AdamC17765 February 2015 at 12:13

      or through the ballot box.

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    2. Curt5 February 2015 at 13:21

      All points well taken! Thanks Anne, I'm happy you like the Ryans.

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  16. Phyllion5 February 2015 at 12:07

    Lead she'd? You have a lead shed?! Amazing - is this so the house is free of clutter?

    Very fine in a comic-book style - the green suit is....colourful!

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    1. Curt5 February 2015 at 13:23

      Yup and yes, pathetic I know. I'll have to post a pic of the shed once it warms up. Thanks Phil!

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    2. Phyllion5 February 2015 at 14:19

      Oh no, quite amazing. I have a lead loft. Well, a lead/wool loft - each our our hobbies gets it's allocated space.

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  17. Juan Mancheño5 February 2015 at 12:20

    This is a fantastic painting work, Curt. Great and brilliant colours.

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  18. Moiterei_19845 February 2015 at 12:21

    That green really turned out fantastic! These Irish twins don't seem to be of the gentle sort.

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    1. Curt5 February 2015 at 13:24

      Thanks Nick. No, the Ryans seem to be a very 'protective' over one another.

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  19. Greg B5 February 2015 at 12:27

    Great work dude - and those bases too, well done.

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  20. DaveD5 February 2015 at 16:11

    Ah , mighty fine. Really nice green choice .. Very fitting..

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    1. Curt5 February 2015 at 16:58

      Cheers Dave. Perhaps I'll bring them out to New Serenity next time I'm in your parts.

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  21. The Kiwi5 February 2015 at 17:58

    Looks awesome. The base detail is brilliant. Very nice. cheers

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  22. jmilesr5 February 2015 at 18:43

    The greens came off very nicely

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    1. Curt6 February 2015 at 01:13

      Glad you like the effect Miles - it was a bit of a shot in the dark but I'm happy how they turned out.

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  23. Ray Rousell6 February 2015 at 12:13

    Greenaelicious!

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  24. David Larkins8 February 2015 at 23:20

    Fantastic! Yes, definitely keep the oversaturated comic-strip color palette going. Great results here. The discarded newspapers are a great touch.

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