Wasteman: a gnarly collection

Not too long ago, I set about the task of organizing my miniatures collection. I moved house at the end of 2023, and have yet to really unpack myself or my minis, which has made it harder to engage with the hobby ever since.

However, in an effort to build structure and feel better about the whole thing, I invested in some carrying/storage solutions, and began the task of sorting through the roughly-packed cardboard boxes. During the process of unearthing all these little friends, I was struck with admiration for my Wasteman collection, which had mostly survived the panic-packing. Long-time readers will know that this game was my world for quite some time, and so with that in mind I wanted to commemorate my re-finding with a quick tour down memory lane.

Wasteman is a funky post-apocalyptic skirmish game that is equal parts Fallout and He-Man, filled with all sorts of bizarre characters and cultures that exist amid the nuked out ruins of planet earth. One goofy gang I love is the shroomanoids, who are sentient mushrooms that are like if you crossbred a chihuahua with a piranha and gave it a gun. I like these dudes a lot, and they’re probably one of my favorite factions in the canon universe.

An expansion called “Badyear” came out, featuring vehicle rules, which meant I had to make some. These are “Mecha-Harambe-the-third’s Jungle Kart,” and “The Snariot,” respectively, who could race across the wastes at top speeds. Not long after, Ken Duquet and I wrote a scenario for racing with the karts. It was not widely adapted, but it was very fun to do, and now I have these as miniaturized memories that I can throw down with.

These are the Knights of Gnar, a warrior cult from the Beneathiverse, and under-earth realm that still does feudalism and sworcery like it’s 1199. The three in the front are Deathcargot Knights, who ride into battle on enormous snails who’s ferocity knows no bounds. They’ve also got foot soldiers, and maybe down the road a squire or two. I’ll try not to talk about expansions on the collection too much, but since the original resin line is no longer in production, I have a secret stash of minis that I can dip into when I need a hit of the feel goods.

The Glory Hogs rip across the wastes on their badass motorcycles, swarming whatever bars are left for their open mics. I like to think of them in relation to the pig-faced orcs of olden rpgs, but I forget if they’re spawned from that or one of the TMNT enemies. Either way they’re rad as heck and if memory serves, they pack a punch on the battlefield.

The pugs! I was so excited for these guys when they were first announced that I sculpted my own model line because I couldn’t wait for the Kickstarter to fulfill. They were small and chunky and perfectly characterful, and had really interesting rules (they did squad stuff real good and had specialty pup guns.) I am a little bummed that I’m missing their leader (there’s a guy with a hammer and a fur hat who is absolutely boss) but it means I can get the kit again and not have any super obvious dupes (the three little troopers are generic enough that their doubles wont stick out too much IMHO.)

 

A bunch of wyrdos! Clockwise from top left; an ancient oni from Ral Partha (I think,) a Slug Wizard from Slug Wizard Spring, and two medium-sized chimeras. The top two guys feel like they walked out of the Beneathiverse expansion (medieval hollow earth that survived the nukes but at a cost,) The mini chimeras are probably closer to MODZ, but I always had the dream that I’d be able to use them like Behemoths (huge kaiju monsters with special rules.) 

Mutie Brutes are the super soldiers the earth governments made to withstand the nuclear fallout, but while their bodies were durable, their minds broke and thus these green meanies menace the wastes as maniacal marauders. Fun Fact, none of these models are Mutie Brutes as far as I remember; the one with pants is “Big Boy” from the bandit set, and the other two are figures from Mutant Chronicles who had the right vibes. 

On the left is the Cherub, which is my fan sculpt, and on the left is the Plight Rider, who is from the Mega Mutie Mercs campaign. Say what you will, but Jaycee knows how to make a compelling kickstarter, and I remember spending hours pouring over these pages and posts trying to decipher the meanings and mechanics behind the art, minis, and names. Was it an age of wonder? No, but it was cool as hell.

A pair of scale-agnostic Robots from OSM, who I use as Robotopians, or giant mechas, depending on the needs of the day.

Johnny Colossus from the official comic Jaycee let me do. The sculpting feels a little goofy compared to what I can do now, but that’s how time works. I’m sure the comics would also feel silly in the rear view mirror, but I haven’t done a reread in quite some time, so I am blissfully unaware at time of writing of any missteps I might have made in those salad days. 

Lastly, some fuckers. Top left and clockwise; a mystical Wyrdo from the Beneathiverse , Pink Eye the giant psychic rat, The Gimp (another bandit goodie,) and this fucker and his dog from the Dungeon Degenerates miniature line. Magic is important and cool in most games, and so is wearing fetishwear under the radioactive sun

 So that's where the collection stands in the year 2025, over ten years since the game launched and some other number since I found it. There's a bunch of figures that are missing or were damaged in the move, and so they won't be appearing here, but it's nice just to take stock of where things are, in case I suddenly need to throw down at the FLGS. Wasteman still has a pretty strong community over on Facebook, where Jaycee posts new digital sculpts to remake and expand on the wasteman range. It's nice to see that while things are quiet there, the game I loved so much is far from dead.