Wargaming Pop Culture icons: Gilligan's Island

If you grew up in the 60's, 70's and even the 80's, how could you not need to have this group of castaways available for any Pulp gaming action? I felt the same way and then I realized that no figures that I know of exist for them. Thus began a mid Corona Virus quarantine search of 28mm mini producers to find my crew and passengers of the S.S. Minnow.

Gilligan's Island is an American sitcom that ran on TV between 1964-1967. 

The show followed the seven castaways and their adventures on an uncharted, deserted island in the Pacific Ocean. It has run in syndication ever since so new generations of fans can keep enjoying this bunch, or maybe at least so all of us in middle age can.  

Our cast of characters from rear L to R: Thurston Howell III, "Lovey" Wentworth-Howell, Ginger Grant, Captain Jonas "The Skipper" Grumby, Mary Ann Summers, Gilligan, and Professor Roy Hinkley, Ph.D.

I was able to do a pretty good job of finding appropriate figures. I did settle on a Mrs. Howell figure from a few episodes of her playing the part of a Victorian lady.

I also went with a figure that represented Mary Ann wearing a sun dress.

The series ran for a total of 98 episodes and also produced three made-for-television movies.

So, now that you may have been introduced to our characters or had a refresh here are the figures I used to create the cast.

The Skipper, Mr. Howell and Mary Ann are from Pulp Figures. The Skipper was modified to remove the club he was holding and had a bit of green stuff added to fill out his mid section. Mary Ann still needs to have a bit of painting done to add a bit more color, maybe flowers, to her dress. Mrs. Howell is from Reaper Miniatures. Ginger and the Professor are from Hasslefree Miniatures. Believe it or not, Gilligan was the hardest to source. There are sailor figures out there, but they are mostly fairly brawny depictions. I needed a much more slender character. By chance I happened to stumble across an old line of figures (still being produced by the original sculptor) called Reviresco. While a bit rough compared to modern sculpts, it worked for my needs and my main characters for Gilligan's Island were now complete. 

Now all I need to do is go back and rewatch some old episodes to collect some possible game scenarios and additional characters.

Hope this helps anyone who might be interested.

Feel free to check out the first post in the series Wargaming Pop Culture icons: Jonny Quest

Wargaming Pop Culture icons: Jonny Quest

Pulp wargaming has allowed me to return to my youth with a cast of characters right out of some of my favorite after school television shows. I'm a child of the 70's. My dad flew Huey's in Vietnam. We both thought Evel Knievel was badass (although I wasn't allowed to say that word out loud). But I was allowed to have an awesome metal lunchbox and thermos to take to school with his picture on it.

 But even as great as that was, once that schoolboy status symbol of coolness was safely back on the counter at home, it was time to hit the power on the old Zenith for an afternoon of TV viewing bliss. 

I wasn't really a big fan of "fantasy" gaming until this year. I'm still not into games like 40K, but I have discovered Pulp Alley. After a few solo games I was hooked. I realized I could actually relive some of the fond memories of my youth, specifically from those long ago television shows I enjoyed, within this genre of wargaming. Working from home during quarantine since March has allowed me to do a bit of research into the topic. Come to find out, figures for most of these are not actually available. I was bummed at first and then decided a good way to spend time between work editing was to try to source figures that could be used for my new found wargaming obsession. I have since completed the main characters from three of my favorite shows from that era. First up is:

Jonny Quest

Being born at the tale end of the 60's meant that many of the cool comics and shows were still around well into the 70's. Enter Jonny Quest. 

Jonny, his dad Dr. Benton C. Quest, Roger T. "Race" Bannon, Hadji Singh, and their dog Bandit came to life in the first Gold Key Comics issue #1 The Mystery of the Lizard Men. It is also the same year the cartoon TV series Jonny Quest entered homes and ran for a total of 26 episodes until March 1965. Doug Wildey was the artist who created the Jonny Quest franchise. As a fan of his artwork I feel confident that illustrator Doug Wildey was an alien from the future. This is concept artwork by Doug for the very first episode of Jonny Quest (The Mystery of the Lizardmen) which aired on October 2, 1964. Could Doug be the true inventor of Facetime?

It took me some searching to find appropriate figures. There is someone in St. Louis who made a set for Jonny Quest but he charges $50US for the five 28mm figures and I wasn't ready to pay $10 per figure. I also wanted my Dr. Quest to be a bit more scientist than a guy in leather jacket with a machine gun. Also, I didn't think I wanted either of the boys armed. The figures for sale had Hadji holding a sword. So the search continued. These notions are what took me so long in sourcing figures I wanted to use to put the Quest team together. 

Both Dr. Quest's head and Race are from Hasslefree Miniatures. The figure I used for Race had a Katana sword on his back that I had to remove. I also removed the bearded head for Dr. Quest and added it to a body of a scientist figure from Crooked Dice. Jonny's head and Hadji came from Reaper. Hadji is actually the little girl in this set with some sanding to the shirt and the addition of the turban. Jonny's body as well as Bandit are from Rebel Minis.

I think they turned out well and give a good sense of the characters. I am not totally satisfied with my version of Hadji, but he'll have to do. Now I just need to find some appropriate Lizard Men for them.

Check out my second post in the series Wargaming Pop Culture icons: Gilligan's Island

You can also follow along on a new Pulp campaign Quest for the Tiki Mask.

 

Quest of the Tiki Mask, Part One of a Pulp adventure

To recap our previous post our cast of characters are searching for the fabled Enchanted Tiki Mask of Bronze is believed to be the icon of the great Polynesian warrior chief Haruki which has gone missing from the Museé des antiquités de Polynésie. 

Our story begins with Dr. Benton Quest working in a remote makeshift laboratory near the Kaimondake volcano, who has been captured by Dr. Napoleon Zin and Ernst Stavro Blofeld, being forced to work on a diabolical experiment they plan to use to control the world. The experiment is intended to use to mystical powers of the Polynesian Enchanted Tiki Mask of Bronze to create a mind control device that will bring unsuspecting victims under their influence when they view the mask. How do they plan to achieve this you ask? Very good question. The fabled Tiki Mask of Bronze has been lost for generations and is one of the most treasured artifacts in antiquity. The evil duo hopes to use the mask in public museum displays and flood the world with images of the mask once it is announced that it has been “found” to launch their sinister plan upon the people of Earth.

Dr. Quest was kidnapped while searching for the mask with his trusted companion Race Bannon, husband and wife Archaeologists Etta Cornelius and Dr. Milton Cornelius and Benjamin Fanning, a cartographer with the Royal Geographic Society.

The explorers enter the village near the base of the volcano not knowing Dr. Quest is being held there. They stumble upon the village after losing their way. It appears calm while small groups of water buffalo roam the paths.

Race has been separated from the group of explorers. An earlier bad dice roll, during a random event, has sent Race Bannon back to his original starting point for the next several turns.

Dr. Quest must complete his task within six (6) game turns. To give a sense of urgency to the game and also some timeframe, I pre-determined that the villains would only allow Dr. Quest a set amount of time to complete the task they laid before him.

At the end of each turn a dice roll would give me a yes/no answer to see if he made progress during that turn. Four out of six YES and he would have completed the objective.

Meanwhile the foreign spy arrives for his mission to confirm Zin and Blofeld have been working on a plot together and potentially liquidate them.

He doesn’t have long to face off against one of Zin’s men who spots him while on patrol. Our spy is able to make quick work of Kiyoshi.

A patrol of Giant Flies has spotted something just off shore and align themselves to protect the docks.

It is Maj. Andrea Francois and his unit of French Foreign Legion sent from their base in French Indochina to find and recover the mask for French Polynesia.

The flies prepare for an attack

A fierce battle against the flying creatures ensues.

The Major and his trusted NCO Sgt. Eugene Olivier along with the men in their unit Remi, Edouard, Vicor, Frederic are able to defeat the flying menace.

The legionnaires survey the village to check for any additional threat and then make their way across the bridge from the docks.

 

Remi is left on guard duty and watch over the landing boats.

The foreign spy finds the house being used by Zin and Blofeld to hold Dr. Quest. Unfortunately he is quickly dispatched by being knocked out by one of Zin’s men.

Our explorers meanwhile have been chased through the village and are trying to escape on a small boat they find at a dock. They have been unsuccessful at finding the mask, Dr. Quest or Race. Zin’s men are giving chase.

Race has arrived in the village just a little too late to help the rest of the exploration party. He must still find Dr. Quest but has some unexpected company he will need to deal with first.

By this time, Major Francois and his men have arrived in the heart of the village and after successful building searches have located Zin, Blofeld, Dr. Quest and more importantly the Fabled Tiki Mask they were looking for.

Zin and Blofeld try to get away from the Legion as Dr. Quest also makes his escape.

Zin heads after Dr. Quest but Race Bannon sees his old friend in trouble and comes to his aid.

The scuffle allows the Legion to catch up and capture Zin. Blofeld is able to elude capture by hiding in a nearby thicket. Race and Dr. Quest join the Legionnaires and are transported back their base.

Remember our spy who was knocked out? He seems to have vanished. And while searching the main room where the Dr. Quest and the mask were being held, Major Francois has found something he will take control of personally.

Next time…will the explorers escape on the boat and be reunited with Race Bannon and Dr. Quest? What has become of Blofeld? What will the French do with the Fabeled Tiki Mask and Dr. Zin?

 

Stay Tuned for the next exciting episode in this campaign.

A recap of the prelude to the campaign can be found here: Quest of the Tiki Mask, a Pulp adventure.

Quest of the Tiki Mask, a prelude to a Pulp adventure

In the last six months or so I have become a fan of pulp gaming. I guess the inner 12 year-old in me remembers and enjoys the genre from days gone by. Plus, I can include a variety of different decades in the same game and throw in impossibly large animals and bugs. A good way to get a wide variety of figures on the table. The rules were a bit of a mixture I created using a simple spy game "Meet me by the Pots on the Edge of the Souk" from issue 390 of Wargames Illustrated and Pulp Alley. I think it went well.

Now that I have my own wargame room I can leave the 4'x4' table set up and make changes as need, including a different set if I need to. I am planning on turning this into a campaign game that should bring me through the end of the year or at least until I get bored with it. I have included a variety of factions each having the same main objective to find and control the famed Enchanted Tiki Mask of Bronze. To extend the game and in keeping with the flavor of the period, I am using a system of stunned, knocked out or gone missing for my main characters instead of killing them off. Henchmen on the other hand always seem to be killed and then recycled so that is how I plan to start.

PRELUDE
Our story begins in Polynesia where the tiki mask has gone missing from the Museé des antiquités de Polynésie. The fabled Enchanted Tiki Mask of Bronze is believed to be the icon of the great Polynesian warrior chief Haruki.

 Race Bannon, husband and wife archaeologists Etta and Dr. Milton Cornelius and Royal Geographic cartographer Benjamin Fanning have been making their way through the Japanese forest near Mount Kaimon and the Kaimondake volcano several hundred kilometers east across the East China Sea from Shanghai in search of Dr. Benton Quest. 

Dr. Quest has been missing from the explorers for more than a week. The team, including Dr. Quest, had been searching the area on a tip that the fabled Enchanted Tiki Mask of Bronze.  Dr. Quest had mysteriously vanished from their camp at the base of Kaimondake volcano four days earlier. 

Little do they know that evil masterminds Ernst Stavro Blofeld and Dr. Napoleon Zin have captured Dr. Quest and are forcing him to work on a sinister experiment they are hatching together. The project will use the mystical powers from the Enchanted Tiki Mask of Bronze.

 They are hidden in a remote costal village not far from the volcano guarded by Zin’s Samurai bodyguards.

Meanwhile a foreign spy, arriving by boat, who does not know the Tiki Mask or Dr. Quest has been captured, has been sent to confirm Zin and Blofeld have been working on a plot together. Once confirmed, he may be required to liquidate them.

 To make matters worse, a group of French Foreign Legion, led by Maj. Andrea Francois and his crazy Sgt. Eugene Olivier along with four Legionnaires have been dispatched from their base in French Indochina to find the mask rumored to be in the area and claim it back for French Polynesia.

SCENARIO OBJECTIVES

The Explorers must find Dr. Quest as their main objective. Secondary objective is to locate the Enchanted Tiki Mask of Bronze and return with it.

Evil Masterminds must have Dr. Quest utilize the mystical powers of the Enchanted Tiki Mask of Bronze to use for their sinister deeds in creating a mind control device. To track Dr. Quest's progress: Each turn I roll against Dr. Quest’s CV (spy game combat value) to determine how he is proceeding. He must complete the experiment within six (6) full turns for the device to be completed.

The Foreign Spy must confirm that Zin and Blofeld are working together. To confirm I roll against his CV if he sees them together [He must pass his CV against both Zin and Blofeld ie: 2 rolls against CV for a positive confirmation]. If he is able to confirm they are in fact working together, he must successfully roll against his CV to send a secret message back to his base and also must roll against his CV before receiving an order to eliminate them.

FFL must locate the Enchanted Tiki Mask of Bronze and be in possession of it until the end of the game to return it safely.

Stay tuned for the next installment where the action begins in the Japanese forest near Mount Kaimon.

Continue to Part One Quest of the Tiki Mask, a Pulp adventure here.