United States - Airforce - The Rocketeer

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INTELLIGENCE FILE

Code name: Rocketeer

Birth name: Cliff Secord

Nationality: American

Affiliation: United States

Known special skills: Skilled Pilot, Marksman

Current whereabouts: Western Front

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After finding and learning to fly a stolen experimental prototype rocket pack in 1938 Los Angeles, stunt pilot Cliff Secord had a run in with nazi spy Neville Sinclair (the famous movie star) and his SA backup. Although the original rocket pack was destroyed in the final confrontation with the nazis, the escalation of the war lead its creator Howard Hughes to build a new and improved version, with some help from Cliff's mechanic Peevy. After some failed tests with military pilots, the US Army discretely enlisted Cliff to reprise his role as the Rocketeer in service of his country.

The figure is based on PulpWar35's resin Rocket Ace, which was a kickstarter add-on to the Captain Shadow body. While not an exact match, the general vibe is close enough and differences can be explained away by this being an updated version of the Rocketeer in military service.

I'm not quite as satisfied with this paintjob as I was with the Lobster Johnson and Crimson Nun characters, but it should look good on the table (when I ever get around to building it).

Some war propaganda to inspire the people

You're a long way from home, American. How do we know you're not a German spy?

This might be a good time to take to the sky

"They keep on coming. I fear this is it, Comrade Rocketeer." - "Call me Cliff and keep shooting, I have a plan... of sorts." 

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MODEL INFORMATION
Scale: 1/35
Brand: PulpWar35
Figure reference: Rocket Ace
Material: Resin
Conversions: /
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Inspiration: Rocketeer universe

Occult Germany - Wiederbelebung Truppen - Zombies Part 2

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INTELLIGENCE FILE
Code name: Wiederbelebung Truppen
Troop type: Reanimated corpses, Zombies
Nationality: Occult Germany
Affiliation: Thule Society
Characteristics: Indifferent to pain, relentless, merciless, mindless
Vulnerabilities: Decapitation, severe head trauma, fire (not immediately), bodies of water (sinking)
Deployment zone: Western Front, Eastern Front, North Afrika
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While the Thule Society's Wiederbelebung program initially used enemy corpses as the source for their reanimation process, the warmachine is ever hungry and pretty soon fallen German soldiers and even civilians were used. While the initial impact on German morale was not good, most veteran soldiers had been numbed by too many horrors to dwell on it overly long. 

This one was converted from a 1/35 plastic Trumpeter Wehrmacht kit, repositioning the arms and hands, with a zombie head from the old GW plastic zombie kit (those heads were always oversized for the supposed 28mm scale). Some bulletwounds were drilled into the body and greenstuff used to add wear and tear to the uniform.

Wiederbelebung Truppen and Übersoldat

The Crimson Nun trying to stop the Nazi zombie tide...

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MODEL INFORMATION
Scale: 1/35
Brand: Trumpeter (bodies and helmet); Games Workshop (head)

Figure reference: Panzer Division [Poland 1939] Part 1 - TRU00402 
Material: Plastic
Conversions: Headswap, repositioning of arms and hands, battledamage (bulletholes, wear and tear)
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United States - Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense - Lobster Johnson

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INTELLIGENCE FILE

Code name: Lobster Johnson (Alias: The Claw)

Birth name: Walter Johnson (unverified)

Nationality: American

Affiliation: United States

Known special skills: Marksmanship, Unarmed Combat, Crimefighting, Brawler

Current whereabouts: Unknown

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Lobster Johnson started his career as a vigilante fighting mobsters and spies in the 1930's, working with a small but trusted group of allies out of a secret base in the sewers of New York City. His vanquished foes were branded with the lobster mark, which became his calling card. After his allies met various gruesome and mysterious ends, he accepted an offer of employment from the United States Government. Thus, he spent the late 1930s combating the Nazi threat to the United States. The Lobster's final recorded mission was an unsuccessful attempt to prevent the Nazis from launching a space capsule at Hunte Castle, Austria, on 20 March 1939. Arriving seconds too late to stop the launch itself, he managed to force the roof of Hunte Castle closed, causing a massive explosion that completely gutted the castle. Presumably, the Lobster himself died in the attempt, though their have been rumours of recent sightings...

The model is another excellent resin cast from PulpWar35 and while it is not an exact match for Lobster Johnson in every way, it is close enough to need no additional work to look the part. The minor differences are none your brain will pick up anyway.

I'm still struggling with faces since I came back to painting, but thankfully, the mask helps. Freehanding the lobster logo onto the chest was daunting but fun, and I like how it came out. For those who look closely, there is also a tiny version in the palm of his hand in the form of the glowing hot lobster brand.

Since he spent most of his government service fighting Nazi abominations, it seemed suitable to pair him off against my converted Übersoldat.

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MODEL INFORMATION
Scale: 1/35
Brand: PulpWar35
Figure reference: Captain Shadow
Material: Resin
Conversions: /
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Inspiration: Hellboy universe

Pax Dei (Vatican Operatives) - Crimson Nun

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INTELLIGENCE FILE

Code name: Crimson Nun

Birth name: Alicia (last name unknown)

Nationality: American

Affiliation: Vatican (Pax Dei)

Known special skills: Marksmanship, Unarmed Combat, Weapon Master

Current whereabouts: Unknown

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With the war dragging on, pope Pius could no longer ignore the unholy creatures that walked the earth and while maintaining a cover of neutrality, created Pax Dei, a covert military order recruiting from the Swiss guard and extraordinary devout individuals. Everything had to be off record in case things didn't work out. Feeling that someone special was needed to take the Lord's fight to a new level, it was with his blessing that Alicia was trained as a warrior nun and became the Crimson Nun.

Working alongside other Pax Dei operatives, partisans or on her own, the Crimson Nun has been the arch-nemesis of Axis supervillains and abominiations wherever they appear.

The model is an excellent resin cast from PulpWar35 and needed no additional work to look the part. Due to a protracted house move and becoming a parent, it's been about 2,5 years since I painted any figures and it was a bit of a struggle to get back into it. I haven't located the background scenery I've used for previous entries, so had to make due with a more neutral one.

Fighting off some nazi-created abominations:

Teaming up with local operative Don Camillo:

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MODEL INFORMATION
Scale: 1/35
Brand: PulpWar35
Figure reference: Nun Avenger
Material: Resin
Conversions: /
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Inspiration: Crimson Nun, Warrior Nun Areala comics

Partisans / Pax Dei (Vatican Operatives) - Don Camillo, résistance fighter

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INTELLIGENCE FILE

Code name: Don Camillo

Birth name: Camillo Tarocci

Nationality: Italian

Affiliation: Resistance, Vatican (Pax Dei)

Known special skills: marksman, brawler, talks with Christ a lot

Current whereabouts: Northern Italy

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Don Camillo is the hotheaded priest of Brescello, a small town in the Po valley in northern Italy. A big man, tall and strong with hard fists, he enjoys a reputation as somewhat of a brawler. Seemingly at odds with communist partisan fighter Giuseppe Bottazzi, better known as Peppone, the two men share a mutual respect and friendship, despite their public feud. As such, Camillo braved German patrols in order to reach Peppone and his fellow Communists in the mountains and administer Mass to them under field conditions. Through the crucifix in the town church he hears the voice of Christ, which often has to gently reprimand the priest for his impatience. Being an excellent marksman himself, Don Camillo doesn't shy back from picking up his rifle and assist the partisan movement against the fascists.

With the emergence of unholy creatures on AXIS side, especially Germany, he has fully joined the fight as a hardy resistance fighter and sometimes operative of the Vatican. As such, he has been called upon to assist the Crimson Nun on more than one occasion.

The model is based on the 1/35 MiniArt French priest, with the addition of a pair of arms from a Tamiya wehrmacht set for a more militant look. The MiniArt model seems deliberately modelled after Don Camillo as played by Fernandel and I did my best to bring out the likeness in the sculpt. The head is resin, with the body being plastic. Paintingwise, this one seems to have reverted the most to my "old" painting style, which I was trying to avoid with these. I'll have to be more vigilant when continuing with the next models. Still, the face is decent.

Halting the advance of some zombies. None shall pass! 

Switched to greyscale to compare to the classic movie representation (played by Fernandel):

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MODEL INFORMATION
Scale: 1/35
Brand: MiniArt (head and body) - Tamiya (arms and rifle)
Figure reference: French civilians 30s-40s - 38037
Material: Plastic + Resin
Conversions: arms
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Inspiration: Don Camillo movies

Occult Germany - Intelligence Report - The Ahnenerbe

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INTELLIGENCE REPORT

Identification: Forschungsgemeinschaft Deutsches Ahnenerbe e.V.
Nationality: Occult Germany
Location: Berlin (HQ)
Nature of the organisation: occult archaeological institute
Number of personnel: unknown
Known affiliations: Thule Society
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July 1, 1935

Under influence of the Thule Society, the Forschungsgemeinschaft Deutsches Ahnenerbe e.V., commonly referred to as the Ahnenerbe, is created to support the idea that the modern Germans descended from an ancient Aryan race. The group comprises scholars and scientists from a broad range of academic disciplines, who would spread across the globe on many expeditions in search of artefacts and texts supporting their Aryan beliefs.

Ahnenerbe scholars interpret evidence to fit Hitler's beliefs, and some consciously fabricate evidence to do so. The organisation sends out various expeditions to other parts of the world, intent on finding evidence of ancient Aryan expansion.

The German government used the Ahnenerbe's research to justify many of their policies. For instance, their claim that archaeological evidence indicated that the ancient Aryans lived across eastern Europe was cited in justification of German military expansion into that region. In 1937 the Ahnenerbe undertaking was renamed the Research and Teaching Community of the Ancestral Heritage (Forschungs- und Lehrgemeinschaft des Ahnenerbe). 

A.E. expedition to an undisclosed site

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NOTABLE EXPEDITIONS
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EGYPT
Year: 1936
Mission: recovery of the Ark of the Covenant, which Adolf Hitler believes will make his army invincible
Travels: Nepal, Cairo, Tanis
Operatives: Colonel Herman Dietrich (A.E.), Major Arnold Toht (Gestapo), Major Gobler (A.E.), René Belloq (French archeaologist for hire)
Rival operatives: Henry "Indiana" Jones Jr. (US archeaologist), Marion Ravenwood (US relic hunter)
Mission Summary: after the Ahnenerbe is sent to Tanis for excavation, in search of the Ark, the US Army Intelligence recruits archaeologist Indiana Jones to recover the Ark first. Gestapo officer Arnold Toht is sent to Nepal to recover a medallion which is part of the staff of Ra, in order to locate the Well of Souls, the Ark's resting place. Despite Jones and Ravenwood's attempts, the A.E. are successful in retrieving the Ark. However, all contact with the expedition is lost shortly after the scheduled opening of the Ark.
Current status: the Ark is presumed to be in American hands

Colonel Dietrich and Major Toht, in a picture sent to HQ shortly before contact was lost.

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IRAN
Year: 1938
Mission: study of the Behistun Inscription
Travels: Iran
Operatives: Walther Wüst (A.E. president), Mrs. Wüst.
Rival operatives: /
Mission Summary: an expedition comprising Wüst and his wife, an amanuensis, an Iranian student, a photographer, and an experienced mountaineer travels to Iran to study the Behistun Inscription, which had been created by order of the Achaemenid Shah Darius I, who had declared himself to have been of Aryan origin in his inscriptions. The inscriptions were recorded atop steep cliffs using scaffolding that was removed after the inscriptions were made. Unable to afford the cost of erecting new scaffolds, the expedition employed a balloon-mounted camera to take detailed pictures of the inscriptions.

Current status: the photographs are being studied in the A.E. headquarters.

One of the many pictures taken during the expedition.

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TURKEY
Year: 1938
Mission: recovery of the holy Grail, which Adolf Hitler believes will be the key to his immortality
Travels: Venice (Italy), Castle Brunwald (Austria), Berlin (Germany), Hatay (Turkey)
Operatives: Colonel Ernst Vogel (A.E.), Dr. Elsa Schneider (A.E.)
Rival operatives: Henry "Indiana" Jones Jr. (US archaeologist), Henry Jones Sr. (US archaeologist)
Mission Summary: the American archaeology professor Henry Jones Sr. is kidnapped by Colonel Vogel and his Austrian colleague Dr. Elsa Schneider, while searching for the Holy Grail. After rescuing his father from his imprisonment by Colonel Ernst Vogel in the Austrian Castle Brunwald, Indiana Jones travels to Berlin to retrieve his father's diary which contains valuable clues to survive the booby traps guarding the Grail's location. Disguised as a German Army colonel, Jones recovers the diary from Elsa. They catch up with the A.E expedition in Hatay, where it found the temple in the Canyon of the Crescent Moon where the Holy Grail is kept. Indiana Jones is coerced to help them, allowing them to reach the Grail's chamber, where the true Grail is hidden among dozens of false grails. Vogel dies after drinking from a false grail. When Elsa Schneider tries to take the real Grail with her, this causes the temple to collapse around them when she crosses the Great Seal set in the floor at the entrance. 
Current status: the Grail is presumed to be lost. Hitler is looking at other avenues to gain immortality, including experiments on lower vampires.

Vogel with the Grail. Background: Schneider and Jones; unidentified knightly figure.

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TIBET
Year: 1943
Mission: recovery of a mysterious scroll that will grant great powers to the reader
Travels: Tibet
Operatives: Baron Wolfgang von Strucker, Blitzkrieg Squad
Rival operatives: /
Mission Summary: the Ahnenerbe tasks Baron Wolfgang von Strucker and his Blitzkrieg Squad to travel to Tibet in search of a scroll that contains knowledge that will make its reader powerful, young, and immune to injury. They arrive shortly after a young Tibetan monk is entrusted with guarding the scroll and becomes the new bearer of its powers, forgoing his name. Granted its powers, the monk learns he will need to find his own successor to pass on the scroll in his future, but the German soldiers attack the temple shortly after, and the nameless monk escapes with the scroll after his master is killed.

Current status: current whereabouts of the "Bulletproof Monk" are unknown, though he has appeared in various places and assisted in the fight against AXIS troops.

Only known picture of the Bulletproof Monk, taken by an A.E. photographer in Tibet.

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Inspiration source: Historical references / Raiders of the Lost Ark (movie) / Indian Jones and the Last Crusade (movie) / Bulletproof Monk (movie)

Occult Germany - Übersoldat - Doomtrooper

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INTELLIGENCE FILE
Code name: Übersoldat
Troop type: jacked up supersoldier
Nationality: Occult Germany
Affiliation: Thule Society
Characteristics: Indifferent to pain, relentless, merciless, superstrength
Vulnerabilities: heavy artillery
Deployment zone: Western Front, Eastern Front, North Afrika
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The result of one of Germany's many superhero programs, the juiced up, jacked up Übersoldat, or Doomtrooper as he is sometimes referred to, is a powerhouse indeed. This hulk of a man can charge through a brick well, bring down enemy light walkers and tear enemy soldiers limb from limb if need be. Standing several heads taller than any ordinary man, the sickly colour of their skintone, combined with the total lack of speech and proneness to berserk type rage, make one wonder how much humanity remains behind the blue lenses of their gasmaks, that seem like a parody of the blue-eyed ideal propagated by some circles within the German high command.

The German superhero program encountered some successes and a whole lot more failures. This may partly be due enlisting the help of not only mad geniuses but, in some case, plain madmen and monsters. The Übersoldat is the work of one such madman, the scientist Karl Ruprecht Kroenen, member of the infamous Thule Society. 

The Red Widow is trying to hold off an Übersoldat. The bullets from her pistol hardly seem to penetrate its skin.

The base of the model is a conversion of a cheap plastic Hulk figure made by Monogram International, shown below, with the head replaced with a 28mm gasmask head (molemask from Ramshackle Games) that I've had for years, a Tamiya 1/35 helmet and some greenstuff to bulk up the head and blend it into the body. All in all, pretty effective for a cheap toy.

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MODEL INFORMATION
Scale: 1/35
Brand: Marvel / Monogram International
Figure reference: Hulk 

Material: Plastic
Conversions: headswap (Tamiya helmet + Ramshackle Games molemask head + greenstuff)
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Inspiration source: SS Doomtrooper movie

Occult Germany - Intelligence Report- Wiederbelebung Truppen

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INTELLIGENCE REPORT
Code name: Wiederbelebung Truppen
Troop type: Zombies
Nationality: Occult Germany
Affiliation: Thule Society, Doctor Mengele
Characteristics: Indifferent to pain, relentless, merciless, mindless
Vulnerabilities: Decapitation, severe head trauma, fire (not immediately), bodies of water (sinking)
Deployment zone: Western Front, Eastern Front, North Afrika
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It all started in 1943. The Thule Society and Ahnenerbe's repeated failures in attaining the quest for Immortality lead to Hitler sanctioning ever more dangerous experiments by scientists, occultists,  madmen and monsters. One such monster was Brigadeführer Josef Götz. He experimented on fallen soldiers, in an attempt to bring them back to life. 

Doctor Josef Götz, early photograph

Underground facility where the initial experiments took place.

His experiments were a success, of sorts, though not the kind the Führer had been hoping for. The reanimated soldiers were violent mindless creatures, seemingly suffering from an all consuming hunger. While walking around in a shambling way, they were, as individuals, still pretty much dead for all intent and purposes. The decay of their flesh seemed slowed down by the reanimation proces, but not halted, only adding to their gruesome appearances. Their resilience and immunity to pain nonetheless caught the high command's attention. It seemed only severe head trauma, destroying what is left of their brain activity, or total annihilation through fire seemed to stop them. Götz managed to convince the Thule Society to support putting the Wiederbelebung Truppen, as he called them, in the field.

Brigadeführer Götz and his Wiederbelebung Truppen

Initially, only enemy soldiers were reanimated in such a fashion. All memory of their past life was erased anyway and it was believed the German soldiers would consider it a desecration of their fallen friends bodies if they were treated in such a way. The added horror for the enemy soldiers seeing their fallen comrades march back onto them was considered a boon. The initial deployments took place in the Eastern Front and were met with some reasonable success, enough to greenlight the expansion of the program.

Some formerly Russian Wiederbelbung Truppen advancing on a Russian operative

As the war went on though, civilians and, in the end Wehrmacht and Waffen SS troops were reanimated in the same fashion. The Allied Forces would refer to them as Nazi Zombies, regardless of whatever uniform remains are on their back.

Image references: Dead Snow (movie), The Outpost (movie), Call of Duty: WWII Nazi Zombie game mode (game)

 

Occult Germany - Wiederbelebung Truppen - Zombies

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INTELLIGENCE FILE
Code name: Wiederbelebung Truppen
Troop type: Reanimated corpses, Zombies
Nationality: Occult Germany
Affiliation: Thule Society
Characteristics: Indifferent to pain, relentless, merciless, mindless
Vulnerabilities: Decapitation, severe head trauma, fire (not immediately), bodies of water (sinking)
Deployment zone: Western Front, Eastern Front, North Afrika
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Hitler had always been obsessed with the quest for immortality and the Thule Society fed that obsession, exploring different avenues towards attaining that goal. One such experiment resulted in the reanimation of fallen soldiers. As a quest for immortality, it was an abject failure. The subjects were mindless, shambling corpses and the process of decay was slowed, but not halted. While not working out as intended, the Thule Society saw an opportunity here and oversaw the creation of more of these Wiederbelebung Truppen, or Nazi zombies as they were dubbed by the Allies. 

Initially, the program only used enemy soldier's corpses, mostly Russians. The zombies are a disquieting enough sight without further shocking the German troops with the desecration of their fallen friends. However, as the war raged on and the Wehrmacht got accustomed to the sight of zombies over time, such delicate considerations were abandoned... 

A former Red Army nurse, now another gruesome tool in the German warmachine.

A couple (former) Russian zombies to kick off the zombie horde. The models are a couple of resin 1/35 figures produced by WAR (Weird Armies Reign). There was no need to convert them as they were already perfect as is. I used 32mm clear acrylic bases on them again, to match the others.

The Red Widow trying to fend off some former comrades, now mindless enemies

A couple of zombies advancing through the twilight hour, passing by an abandoned civilian vehicle.

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MODEL INFORMATION
Scale: 1/35
Brand: Weird Armies Reign (WAR)

Figure reference: Soviet "Recycled" Troops '46 - WM003/WM004
Material: Resin
Conversions: /
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Still early days, but I took the opportunity to take this groupshot of the project's advancement to keep me motivated: