Monday, November 11, 2013

Cthulhuween 2013: Assault on Innsmouth!

Tarzan, Doc Savage, The Shadow, Tom Swift, The Lone Ranger, Indiana Jones, miniatures

For the last fifteen years or so, I have run a number of Call of Cthulhu-style one-shot adventures for my friends.  I say 'Call of Cthulhu-style,' because I have used a variety of rulesets over the years (original COC, D20 COC, D20 Modern, and various homebrew variants,) at my whim.

In the beginning, I ran them on Halloween (hence 'Cthulhuween,') but after my wife and I were married, since we both had birthdays in May, we began collaborating on another one shot during that month, the Twin Birthdays of Doom!

The settings and stories have varied wildly, and include homage/parodies of films (Jurassic Park, the Thing, Dawn of the Dead,) and dozens of variations on different themes (sci-fi, Westerns, murder mysteries, superheroes, pirates, etc.)  But they are all related to the Cthulhu Mythos.  True, sometimes I am the only one who gets the link to the mythos, but I always tie it in to Lovecraft's works, or the fiction derived therefrom.

Many of these projects have involved some rather fun and extensive miniatures and set pieces.  So I have decided to start chronicling some of them here, since most involve modern (and specialized) miniatures, so I can justify doing so.

I am beginning with this year's entry, which acts as somewhat of a sequel to "The Shadow over Innsmouth."  I will not recap the story here, but if you've never read it, you really should.  Then come back here.

Okay, now that you have read it, I can tell you that the story takes place after the main action of the tale, but before the narrator's (Robert Olmstead) grim denouement, and before the government forces arrive to deal with the problem.  My story involves Professor Henry Armitage, protagonist of "The Dunwich Horror" and librarian of Miskatonic University, coming across a copy of Olmstead's account.

He hears the description of the strange tiara worn by the Deep One high priest, and identifies it as something too dangerous to fall into the government's hands.  So he has to assemble a team of "Men of Action" to go in and recover the item.

Here's where it gets interesting, because the individuals he recruits (the PC's,) are famous literary characters who were alive and active in 1927.  Sort of a "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" concept if you will (I should point out defensively that I and several other people had ideas like this long before Mister Alan Moore wrote his excellent work, and this is in no way meant to be derivative, so there.)

Each of these characters was of course represented by its own, custom designed miniature. So I will introduce you to the roster below.  Let's meet them, shall we?


Here is Kent Allard/Lamont Cranston (it's complicated,) better known as The Shadow!  He brought excellent stealth skills and a barrage of gunfire to the party.

Here is the Shadow from the back.  This mini had no modifications at all, and is from Reaper's Chronoscope Bones line, where he is known as "the Black Mist."  Subtle.


Behold the Man of Bronze, Doc Savage!  That pulpiest of heroes, he excels in both pugilism and gunfighting.  He was originally the Molten Man, from the Web of Spiderman Heroclix set.  I used putty to turn his briefs into pants (still way too tight, but time was pressing,) and also to sculpt the exaggerated widow's peak that the character became known for in cover art.

I then used putty to sculpt a shirt, as well as the tattered remains of a torn sleeve (another trademark of his appearance on book covers in later years.)  The picture doesn't quite pickup his bronze hair, but I assure you it's there.


Here is his mighty back.  Please don't look at his pronounced butt crack.  I gave his pants an inkwash, and it did not turn out well.  I was pressed for time, and I will probably go back and fix it one day, but just... I SAID STOP LOOKING AT IT!  Let's move on, shall we?



This is meant to be Tom Swift, boy inventor.  Of course, by 1927 he was no longer a boy.  I used the time traveller from Chronoscope Bones, since I had him from the Kickstarter, and wasn't sure how else to show Tom Swift (there aren't a lot of visual references for the character.)


Tom from the back.  No highlights, just a wash, but I think it came out okay.  Sadly, his player could not make it, so he was not used in the game.


John Reid, the Lone Ranger.  He would be in his seventies in 1927, but it's okay, because he exercises regularly and eats plenty of fiber.  He was a crack shot, but his physical stats reflected his age.  The mini was 'Deadeye Slim,' also from Reaper's Chronoscope Bones line, and I used putty to give him the mask and bandana.  His hair was painted grey, and a blob of silver paint created his badge (if I'd had more time, I could have done more, but this worked out fine.)


The Lone Ranger from the back.  The mini had a duster, and I figured he probably gets cold easier these days...


John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke, known colloquially as Tarzan, Lord of the Apes.  He has great physical skills, and is deadly with a knife.  The only metal mini, he is a Wargames Foundry mini I had from a decade or so ago (and one of the ones that gave me the "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" idea, even before reading the comic by Alan Moore.)


The back of Tarzan, showing his bow and quiver.


Da-duh DUH DUH, Da duh duh!  (You know the tune.)  Last but not least, here is young Professor Henry Jones Jr.  He has a ton of hit points (since he gets hit so often,) and is handy with gun and whip.  He is made from the Horrorclix Agent 31, with the hat of another Horrorclix mini, Man in Black, added on top.


Another view of Indy.  Much of this mini is the factory prepaint job.  When I'm doing a one shot, there are a lot of things to do, so any time savers I can rely on, I do.

As to the games itself, the characters started out in the middle of town, having snuck onto the back of a delivery truck returning to Innsmouth.  They had to sneak through the town square past a horde of local toughs.

These guys
After the inevitable fight, they barricaded themselves inside the meeting hall of the Esoteric Order of Dagon.  They saw the tiara they had come to retrieve, upon the head of a hooded figure, who quickly disappeared through a trapdoor in the floor, leaving them to fight a horde of hooded cultists.

These guys.

After defeating them, they had to solve a timed puzzle to open the trapdoor's lock.  This consisted of doing a very simple puzzle belonging to my three year old son.  But they had to do it blindfolded, by feel.

This was FAR harder than it would seem, and they really had fun doing it.

Then they found themselves chasing the figure along a network of tunnels, where they were eventually jumped by deep ones!  I had just received my Dwarven Forge Game Tiles from the Kickstarter last year, so I eagerly constructed the scene.  Alas, I did not have time to paint them first, but it still looked really awesome.
Overhead view of the layout.  I learned after taking these that there was a smudge on the left side of my camera lens.  I have children.

I used water tiles from my WotC Dungeon Tiles to create the water channel in the middle of the tunnel.


The Deep Ones are very old Grenadier minis that I have used for many years now (when you run Call of Cthulhu, you use a lot of Deep Ones.)


Tarzan squares off against the biggest Deep One, a 'goggler' from Reaper.

With that done, they faced another puzzle to unlock the trap door in the ceiling, through which their quarry had fled.  This was a coin moving puzzle, which they solved easily (hooray for smart friends!)  They found themselves in an old warehouse mostly over the water on wooden pilings.  The Deep Ones High Priest used the tiara to control a creature beneath the warehouse, causing its tentacles to burst upwards to attack!

The resolution for this photo got screwed up.  You can see the heroes fighting tentacles here, while Tarzan and Doc Savage try to eliminate the problem at its source, and take out the priest with the diadem.

 The tentacles were made from washers with pipe cleaners glued to them.  Then I covered the pipe cleaners with Crayola Model Magic, and sculpted the tentacles themselves.  The suckers were made by first pushing in a plastic tube, to make little mounds, then pushing the butt end of a paint brush into the middle of the mounds to create the suckers.  I coated the surfaces in white glue for stiffness before painting.  Hot glue around the bases (in this picture I had not yet added blue paint,) served as frothing water, since I will no doubt want to use these again someday.

Once they had recovered the diadem, the heroes fled the scene and returned triumphant!  This was a departure from normal Cthuluweens, where usually everyone dies.  But this time, they were playing beloved characters, and only one character perished.  Thankfully, it was the Lone Ranger (it was his time, anyway,) so no continuities were ignored in making this adventure.

As ever, people had a great time, and that's what gaming is about, isn't it?
Just look at those grinning faces...

Saturday, October 19, 2013

Bones Are Back!

Okay, I know it's been...more than a week, let's say since my last post.  And I'm not sure if this will reach anyone out there in time to do any good, but if I can save at least one person, blah blah blah.

I previously discussed reaper's Bones line.  I can't recommend these minis enough, and in all likelihood, the only minis I will be purchasing from this point forward (other than my Heroclix for conversion fodder,) will be Bones.

In my previous post, I went on at length about the quality of these minis, so I won't belabor the point (seriously, go read the post if you want the point belabored.)  But as I mentioned then, the single biggest selling point has to be the price.

And the best deal in the history of minis was the Kickstarter that Reaper did to raise funds to produce new molds to manufacture the Bones.  I, and thousands like me got an insane amount of awesome minis for about a hundred bucks.  If you missed out, I feel genuinely sorry for you.

But guess what?  Reaper is doing a second Kickstarter with scores of new minis.  they have a week left as of this posting, so you still have a chance to get in on the action!  And good news, modern players, they have plenty of Chronoscope minis this time, from a variety of milieus and eras.

So if you have not already, go pledge!  And if you have, I will see you in the comments section!

Sunday, August 4, 2013

Fallout Miniatures Part Three: Super Mutants!

Okay, so we've discussed vault dwellers and raiders, both fairly generic concepts in post apocalyptic settings.  But today we are talking about one of the most iconic concepts of the Fallout universe; super mutants.

'Sup?
Super mutants are one of the most recognizable and emblematic enemies in the Fallout universe, and let's face it, if you want to play Fallout on the tabletop, you want super mutant minis.

Before we begin, I want to discuss color schemes.  I never played the original two PC games of Fallout, so my vision of super mutants comes from Fallout 3 and New Vegas.  I do know that in the original games, the super mutants were a deep olive green shade, while the ones in Fallout 3 were that sickly yellow hue because they were made using a separate strain of FEV from Vault 87.  So only those mutants found in the Capital Wasteland should have the jaundiced pallor, and others elsewhere should have the green tone of the Master's army (as well as the Enclave's batch.)

I am running my game in Texas, with plenty of super mutant remnants from the Master's army, and I am painting them yellow.  I went back and forth on this a bit, and went with artistic license.  I just think the Fallout 3 coloration looks better and more...mutanty.  You of course are welcome to paint them as you please.

As usual, I will start with a bunch of 'other ideas' that others have suggested, and then proceed to ignore them and give you my own (usually Heroclix-based) solution.  Ready?  Here we go.

One of the most popular solutions I have seen on the interwebz is to use Orks from Warhammer 40K.  Personally, I don't recommend this for a few reasons.  First off, there is the matter of scale.  Looking at the difference in size between orks (or orcs, if you play fantasy,) they are larger and beefier than a normal human (using figures from their own line,) but I just don't feel they are massive enough to represent the size of super mutants to normal humans.
From left to right: a 40K Nob (one of the biggest ones they make,) a standard fantasy orc, a Necromunda ganger, and two of my Heroclix raiders (two of the smaller, older ones.)
As you can see from the picture, even the larger black orc simply isn't big enough to accurately represent a super mutant.  If one looks at the super mutants in game, they look size Large to me.  That means a 2" (50mm) space.  And the orc(k)s are not that big.

In addition, take a look at how the heads attach:

The heads jut out from their breastbones, which not only makes them look unlike the super mutants in the game, but it also makes swapping heads difficult, and you will almost certainly want to do so, since their facial features look nothing like the super mutants.

So I don't really recommend orcs of either spelling for this purpose.  Now GW does make a better alternative in the form of the ogryns, sci fi ogres from Warhammer 40K.

For scale, those are round 40mm bases they are mounted upon (photo courtesy of Gardenninja.com, I did not paint these, sad to say.)

As you can see, visually they work well, with piecemeal armor and big guns.  And they are designed for 40mm or 50mm bases, so the size ratio works too.  However, they are pewter, which makes extensive modification slightly more challenging, and then there is the matter of price.  Games Workshop is not exactly known as the 'bargain basement' brand of metal minis.  Each of these fine fellows will set you back over $20 American, assuming you buy them from the manufacturer.  Of course you could find them cheaper on Ebay (sometimes,) but I doubt they will ever be a 'steal' of a price there.  So because I am a very cheap individual, I can't really recommend this one either.

Now GW's fantasy line has some more affordable ogres that can be converted as well.  They come as a multi part plastic boxed set, and have the same basic dimensions as the sci fi ogryns.
Here are two made from the regular sprues in the set.
Now you get six ogres in the box, and the set currently runs for $40.  That makes each one almost seven bucks apiece, which is better than twenty, but still not super cheap.

I myself had a box from a while ago for use in fantasy games, so I have begun to convert one to use as a super mutant.  The pros of these figs are price (not too bad, at least,) and that fact that they are multipart polystyrene kits.  These two facts make modifications a snap.

But there are a few downsides.  Most of the heads have copious facial hair, in a very 'mongol' style, which clashes with the bald super mutants.  There is only one bald head, and one with only a goatee that could be easily trimmed (the two shown above.)  The rest will require varying levels of modification if you want to go for that 'real' super mutant look.

Another problem is that ogres in Warhammer Fantasy have a culture and biology that revolves around consumption, and the minis reflect that.  They have huge guts, strapped under armored 'gut plates,' and some less than imposing pectorals, that seem to be in need of some support undergarments.  Now, speaking as someone who looks like a devotee of the Great Maw myself, I don't want to cast aspersions on my wide-girthed brethren, but the plastic ogres are a lot more 'jovial' than the super mutants we know and love.

Further causing difficulties in that regard, is the proportions of the minis.  For all their height, the ogres look like big dwarfs.  Look at their width to height ratio, and how long their legs are compared to their torso length.  So if one wants to use these as is. they will make fine mutants of the correct size (maybe they were formerly residents of Vault 10 before being exposed to FEV?) but if you want to make them even more accurate, some modification is in order.  There are ways to accomplish that, but we will discuss them in a separate post.

Of course, there are plenty of other sources of ogres to use as super mutants.  If you can find some suitable minis from other toy or game lines, try to imagine how they could be converted or simply repainted.
This is a selection of dudes I already had lying around.  From left to right: a D&D Miniatures hill giant, the Ogre Champion from an ancient wargame called Battlemasters, an ogre from another old game called Dark World, and finally a clay golem from Reaper's Bones line.

And don't forget using scale tricks.  If you can find an action figure or PVC collectible figurine that works in scale, consider that as well.

But you must be wondering, 'why hasn't he mentioned his beloved Heroclix?  Is this finally a task that is beyond the realm of clixification?"

Well fear not true believers, for the clix world has one thing that is perfect for your super mutant needs:

HULKS!

There are at least a dozen different versions of the Incredible Hulk in the Heroclix line, and nearly every new Marvel set has another version.  Plus there are 'Hulk-like' figures that can likewise be converted into excellent super mutants.

Plus many more! (photo courtesy of Marvel.com)

Most of them are wearing only torn shorts and lots of muscles (Dr. Banner's usual ensemble,) which fits nicely with the fashion sensibilities of Fallout super mutants.  Nearly all of them are unarmed, with their fists clenched tight, but a savvy modder could easily equip them with a melee weapon (having them hold a ranged weapon will usually take some more extensive modification, due to their posing, but is still managable with some practice.)  There is some variation in sizes, and this can also create some nice variety (more on different-sized mutants later.)  Consider this guy:

(Factory standard paint job)

Simply scrape off the hair, repaint to your favorite mutant color scheme, and voila!  Super mutant.  For extra fanciness, you can even equip your new mutant (not those New Mutants) with a Fallout-inspired weapon and add some appropriate armor bits to make it blend in even more.

Fallout super mutant miniature (converted from Heroclix Hulk figure)
Behold!  A super mutant!
Yes, that IS a super sledge he's holding, and no, he's NOT happy to see you...


If you go on Ebay, you can find plenty of Hulks to use, and they are fairly easy to convert.  In no time, you can have an army of super mutants to threaten your players.  There are also a few 'special' figures in the range than can be used to make some unique super mutant variants, but that is a post for another time...

However, I have recently found another source for Hulks to convert.  A few years ago, they started putting out a line of little plastic figures of the Marvel super heroes.  They are called "Handful of Heroes" and they come in a package of eight for between seven and nine bucks.  The package is clear, so you can pick a selection that has what you want, except for the eighth figure, who is secret and random (you can usually peek through the corner of the package and tell who it is anyway.)

As you can see, the sculpting is not bad at all for kid's toys.

These are more or less in scale with heroclix, with the 'regular sized' guys (Spidey, Cap, Iron Man, etc.) being a little on the big side.  Unfortunately, the larger guys like the Hulks, who should be larger, are on par with the other guys in the line, which actually makes them a little small for gaming purposes.  But there are like half a dozen different Hulks, and even if they look a little bit shrimpy for super mutants, they still give off enough sense of massiveness to work when mounted on an appropriate base.

Just as will other Hulk figures, you will need to trim away the hair (unless you are planning on sculpting a helm or some such.)  Along with trimming the mold lines (a must for this line,) this is made more difficult by the soft PVC they are made of.



Here are some of the 'big' figures, which are about the same size as the others.  In front we have "Mindless Hulk" to the left, and "World War Hulk" to the right.  These seemed perfect for my needs, so I removed their hair, and used dressmaker's pins to make that hunk of wood into a nailboard.

Here are the final results:


Fallout super mutant miniatures (converted from "Handful of Heroes" Hulks)



Now, I could have added all kinds of details such as armor and trophies and such, to make them look more "Fallout," but I wanted to keep it simple.  They fit fine onto a 40mm base, and while they don't entirely tower over their opponents, they give a good impression of size.

One of the best things about using the Handful of Heroes Hulks?  I can give the leftover figs to my son and daughter to play with.  They love 'em.

So these are some ways to amass your army of super mutants.  But in Fallout, these foes come in a variety of sizes.  What if you want some models of super mutant brutes, masters, overlords or (dare I even suggest,) BEHEMOTHS?

Stay tuned true believers, I've got you covered,  I will show you how to add height and mass to the models we discussed, and make them even more impressive.  But that will have to wait...
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Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Frost Giant Miniature (A Little Side Project Of Mine)

Okay, this one was completely random.  I did not intend to do this one, and indeed, I have no immediate use for a frost giant (but one day...)  It all started when I was walking through my local Big Lots, a markdown discount store that buys up 'big lots' of stuff other stores don't want taking up shelf space and slaps orange stickers on them to move them quickly.  I love this place.

Anyhoo, I saw a line of rather nice PVC figurines of Marvel's Avengers (along with Spidey and Wolverine, because that's in the contract somewhere.)  They were about the size of classic action figures, but done as prepainted, single pose statues.  I really didn't think much of them (I don't need superhero statues in my life right now.)  But then I saw this guy:

I noticed he was mounted on a perfect 3" black plastic base.  That was like a sign to me.  That makes him the right size for a size huge creature on grid for D&D.  I looked at him again, and I saw the tights, which could be bare legs.  I saw a winged helmet, and imagined a viking style face guard added to it.  I saw Mjolnir and thought that it could easily be replaced.  And I knew right then and there that this model must become a frost giant.

So I brought the guy home and deboxed him.

I ripped off the cape so I could effectively paint him, and cut off Mjolnir's head, replacing it with an axe from a dollar store figure. Then I got out my putty and began sculpting details.

Those high-waisted briefs of his might fly in the superhero set, but frost giants don't look menacing in Y fronts.  So I sculpted a suitably butch fur loincloth.  At first it only came to the bottom of his belt, but then I decided to have it come up to his abdomen, and obscure the lower of the disc-things on his torso. I added a second belt, sculpted from putty, and using a metal ring and tongue made from paper clip.  I intentionally had the two belts not match, which I feel fits the giantish theme.

To disguise the other two metal disks (nipple protectors?  I dunno, go ask Jack Kirby what he was thinking,) I made three more, to look like a wide necklace, similar to medieval chains of office (clearly he is an important figure in Jotunheim.)  I painted his arm bands gold (a rich giant as well,) and picked out the bindings on his boots.

For the helm, I sculpted the face guard, and added a dragon head on top, which came from a GW Imperial knight.  I then sculpted his manly beard (beards being a requisite for frost giants, and indeed for manliness in general, if I do say so my facially hirsute self.)  I kept the hair as it was, but it was not very detailed, and looked awkward next to the beard.  So I broke out the putty again and gave the hair the same treatment as the beard.

Then I painted him.  This is actually pretty big for me, because in all my years of painting, I have never bothered to learn shading, layering or blending (I know, right?)  I've gotten by with just washes and dry brushing, so I decided this was the mini I was going to learn on.  So his blue skin and the brown of his chest armor have been layered (to the best of my newfound ability.)

And the final result?  Take a look:


Converted frost giant miniature



I am very pleased over all.  Unfortunately, my memory was faulty: frost giants are size large, not huge.  So this guy is an exceptional giant.  So there.

I went back to Big Lots yesterday.  Now what could I make out of this guy?



Sunday, July 14, 2013

Breaking News! Bones Are Here!

Sing the praises to the Overmind!  I just received a Vampire pledge box from Reaper's Bones Kickstarter.

Most of you are probably aware of the kickstarter that ran last year to expand Reaper's Bones line, and of the insane values that were to be had during it.  So it will not come as a surprise when I tell you I was thrilled to have them arrive.
Seriously, a LOT of minis.

The vast bulk of the minis in the set are fantasy, but there are a bunch that fit the mandate of this blog, namely modern and post apocalyptic minis.

Reaper has the Chronoscope line, which features minis from a wide array of settings and time periods, outside of fantasy (which is their bread and butter.)  They have historical figures, mostly Western and steampunk settings, modern civilians, and futuristic minis as well in this line.

The kickstarted came with a number of examples of the line, which I will describe below.

Let's begin with the obvious.  Reaper made sure to throw in some of their Chronoscope minis to whet the appetites of gamers.  These run the gamut of eras, but nearly all are useful for modern gamers.

These four were described as "zombie hunters."  I believe they were meant to be a reference to characters from the Walking Dead (I don't watch the show, so I couldn't tell you.)  But you have a Sheriff's deputy (great for small town adventures, and a magnificently afro'd disco warrior (he'll be a vampire pimp in my campaign.)  There are also two females, one with a pair of SMG's and another with a chainsaw, both in modern clothes.  Not too bad, and certainly something I can put to use.


Here are a couple of cowboys (cowpersons?) for a Western setting.  They could also easily fit into a Fallout campaign as well.

Speaking of Fallout, here is Mad Max, right down to the pose and the missing sleeve on the jacket.  I threw in two of the scorpions that are part of the set as well.  I think you can guess how I'll be painting mine...
These two are described as time travellers, but pretty much look cool and futuristic with a splash of steampunk.  Could be smugglers in a Star Wars or other sci fi game, or scavengers in Fallout (that guy is wearing what looks like a power fist, and his pistol could be cobbled together from a paint gun.)

More steam-powered weirdness.  The techno witch on the left is admittedly a bit of a niche figure, but "Kaylee" on the right fits in well in a multitude of settings (shame thy chose the gun rather than the wrench option from the original metal mold.)

Now some of the weirder ones from the Chronos scope line, which as you can see, includes superhero minis.  Here we have the Shadow on the right, which can be modified into many colorful characters (imagine swapping the .45's for rapiers.)  And on the left is a huge cybernetic gorilla with a minigun for a hand.  Man, if you can't create a scenario around that, I just can't help you.

These fellows are part of their IMEF troops line.  I'm really not sure what they are supposed to be, other than trying to capture the feel of Gears of War (they even have cogs on their chests.)  But they are beefy guys in armor, so most will be able to find a home for them.  It's a shame that their guns are so goofy big.

Two more IMEF guys, these ones with heavy weapons.  I am going to swap their heads and use them as Enclave troops myself, but they should work admirably any time you need a guy with a minigun or a flame thrower.  I forgot to take a picture of the chick with the massive "anti tank sniper rifle" that is as tall as she is, but the pics are out there if you want a peek.

Now we're talking!  These are the Nova Security guys, and they can be painted as corporate security guards (Shadowrun anyone?) or fully kitted out as heavy troops.  I will be changing their helmets and shoulder pads and using them as Brotherhood of Steel power armor.  They are a little slight compared to other minis, but it keeps me from having to just use space marines like everyone else.

Those are the modern minis, and the rest are fantasy themed.  But even some of those could be adapted to a modern game with a little creativity (and/or a little putty.)

Here are some of the generic townsfolk you get.  The innkeeper especially is universal; he could be tending bar at the Prancing Pony in Bree, watching for trouble at the local biker bar, or kicking droid's out of the Cantina at Mos Eisley Spaceport.  The others could also find a place in other times, simply as people doing their jobs.
The bard on the left is armed with a sword and equipped with scrolls and vial potions on her belt, but if you trimmed them off, her guitar looks suitably modern to mark her as a rock star, which would make the skin tight leather outfit perfectly acceptable.  The alchemist on the right could be a wandering merchant in a post apocalyptic game, or a snake oil salesman in the old West (he reminds me of Vash the Stampede, myself.)
These are half demon characters, but could be creepy gang members or raiders in a more creative campaign.  You'd have to trim off their tails and horns though, unless you are running a supernatural campaign.
I add these two because I have been woking with Fallout minis a lot lately.  The ghoul to the left is a bit beefier than Fallout ghouls tend to be, but he's got the face and body language for it.  The clay golem on the right just screams super mutant however, and could easily be modified to carry a suitable weapon
These are just a few ideas.  If you are running a modern campaign with supernatural elements, there are also figures for ghosts, spell effects, giants, monstrous vermin and critters, and undead.

So if you picked up the Vampire box for fantasy gaming, consider some other uses for the minis.

But even if you never got in on the kickstarter at all, the good news is that all of these minis will soon be available for general purchase at your FLGS, so you can go pick up any that you want (and at good prices too, since they are bones.)

I know I myself will be buying at least a few blisters of the scorpions, not only for use in the irradiated wastelands, but because anyone who has played a conjuration based character knows you can never have enough scorpions...