COUNTERBLAST from Bombshell Miniatures

I'm a lucky chap! Dave Taylor of Dave Taylor Miniatures (thanks, Dave!) suggested to Patrick Keith of Bombshell Miniatures that I might be interested in their Pulp Sci-fi game, COUNTERBLAST. He was right! As a fan of all things Pulp, Bombshell Miniatures' fantastic sculpts had been on my radar for a while. The combination of 1930s Pulp serial vibe and 1970s re-imagining of the genre is my kind of sci-fi. How could it not be? I grew up in the 1970s watching my namesake, Flash Gordon, on Saturday mornings...and then Star Wars came along and changed my 7 year-old life forever!  

Well, yesterday I got (via Wendy Cooper at Westwind Productions, the UK distributor for Bombshell Miniatures) a big box of COUNTERBLAST goodies! Incredibly generous of both Patrick and Wendy. Thank you both! Behold! 

There are enough miniatures in the box for a faction of Lancers (smugglers, traders and mercenaries)...here are some pics from Bombshell Miniatures of them all painted up...

Lancer Captain

Lancer Plugger

Lancer Plugger

Lancer Brute

Lancer Lanceguard

Lancer HOpR Bot

...and a faction from the Neiran Empire (a matriarchal society dominated by a female warrior caste)...here are some pics of them all painted up.

Neiran Jamad

Neiran Clansister

Neiran Scythesister 

Neiran Acolyte

The rule book itself is a pocket-sized paperback with a superbly evocative cover. From the blurb...


"COUNTERBLAST is a setting of classic pulp sci-fi adventure, fast paced action with cinematic thrills, evocative of the serials that captivated the imaginations of the generation before.

So, grab your particle beam cannons, set your puslar rays on disintegrate, and blast off to the ether in your ultonium-powered rocketship. Battle strange creatures with ancient and wicked artifacts bent on destroying all peace-loving species of the galaxy. Explore far flung worlds with undiscovered alien ruins containing hidden secrets of lost civilizations. The COUNTERBLAST Adventure Battle Game takes you there!"

I'm looking forward to giving this a proper read over the next week or so and getting an idea of how the game plays. You can download the Beta version of the rules directly from the Bombshell Miniatures' COUNTERBLAST page here to check it out for yourselves. Patrick also mentioned that there will be a Kickstarter in July for a Deluxe version of the rulebook and some new Faction sets. Can't wait to see the new figs! You can keep up-to-date with all things COUNTERBLAST on the Bombshell Miniatures Facebook page here.

So now I'm all excited about my first foray into Sci-fi wargaming! These will all get sent off to Matt Slade's paint table forthwith so he can give them the paint job they deserve. I'm already planning on picking up some more figures to complement the ones I've been sent...

Skip Westmoreland

Wanda Whitestar

Lancer Clipper

Science Officer Helen Salinger

Betty

Tillie, Fighter Pilot

...and I shall get a game in with the boy soon. I have to say he is even more excited than me at the prospect of some Pulp Sci-fi gaming. He loves the look of the miniatures and, well...ray guns in space! What more can I say!