Reviewing Strontium Dog - Part 2 The Mood and the Models

Uncle Mike is back again with the second part of his Strontium Dog Review, so let us holster our blasters and get right into it!I like gaming at my house to be an immersive experience which involves more than the game itself. Music, videos and even the choice of beverage can be an excellent way to add nuance to any gaming session. Pop culture pairings also help strengthen the projects 'look' in my mind as I work on it. Your gaming set up may vary but you'll get the idea. Once again it is worth pointing out that the colour palette chosen reflects the source material.These outdated video-slugs will be on repeat while I paint up my models and for the first couple games, helping to set the mood.Hopefully, they represent what I want (and will subconsciously emulate...) on my tabletop. A quick glance reveals my plan to be one part black and white suspense western, one part '80's sci-fi action and one part spaghetti western. After reading through the rules a few more times I am confident that gameplay will also reflect these themes.I have really enjoyed the return to my childhood that this project has provided so far. Once again, this game is based on a 2000AD comic series, which has been compiled and reprinted for many years now, well worth a read in any format. I've dug out the few original covers that I have and will use them for reference while working on the models.The models from the boxed set are excellently detailed and really do justice to the original artwork of the masterful Carlos Ezquerra (12 November 1947 – 1 October 2018). Included are Johnny Alpha, his sidekick Wulf and the Gronk vs. Max Bubba and his gang of degenerate mutants. For those needing a translation: Shooty hero, Fighty hero, and Alien medic vs. Big gun baddy and little gun baddy friends.The models are produced in metal in roughly 25 mil scale. The casts are good, with minimal cleanup and I even managed to re-use all the leftover punch-outs from the scenery on the bases as bricks and assorted detritus. Once the basing was complete the models were primed with whatever I had on hand. Half a can of this, half a can of that...all the models are eclectically dressed so anything will work fine.Johnny, Wulf and the Gronk are iconic characters and will be painted as closely as possible to the original material. The bad guys, however, will be a combo of colour schemes I like and ones that seem correct for the individual model. I'm painting for the tabletop here and don't expect accolades but even with just simple block painting, drybrushing and inking the effects are good enough and the time spent is minimal, allowing more time for gaming.By now I'm itchin' for a shootout, lucky for me I'm also ready for one. With very little time or effort, I can now begin my tabletop nostalgia trip of the summer! I'll have a read of some old progs for inspiration, set up the game table and find an opponent for next time...

- Uncle Mike

Uncle Mike is a game designer but more frequently he is a game player. His specific sub-genre of nerd is miniature games and he boasts a large and varied collection dating back into the antiquity of gaming itself. Here he talks and talks about the things he likes.