Thursday 18 December 2014

From MikeP - Going Commando (55 Points)

Hello all.  I'm Michael Peterson, aka The Mad Padre, and for is my first entry in this year's challenge, I offer ten 28mm Artizan WW2 British Commandos.  This was my first time painting Artizan figures and I quite enjoyed working with them - they reward careful brushwork and they have a lot of character.  By comparison, I was also working on a dozen Warlord plastic commandos (not eligible since I started them before the Challenge) and there is no comparison.  The Artizan figures win hands down in my opinion.


I won't bore you extensively with the backstory, though you can find some of it here and elsewhere using the Weird War Two tags in my blog, but in brief these fellows are going to be part of an Allied force for an ongoing Weird War Two project.    Instead of concentrating on gear and SF in 1945+ as a lot of Weird War stuff tends to do, I am focusing on the very early war and on occult aspects.  Against a sinister cabal of SS, vampires, werewolves, and mad scientists, the British have assembled a top secret team called Project Alice, which includes scientists, scholars, clergymen, detectives, and adventurers from the Colonies. To give force protection for the staff of Project Alice, a small team of Special Forces, known as S Commando (S for Supernatural, of course) has been stood up.  It is an elite and secret force, totally off the books of the War Ministry, reporting to Churchill himself.  

NCOs and Bren gunner:


Advancing to the attack:


Some chaps with heavy combat loads.  I didn't research this extensively, but the replica bergens I've seen online are a darker green than this.  Oh well, in my world it's early war and the issued kit is irregular.


Practicing all-round defence in case of attack by zombies or werewolves:


Finally, since I had a sniper figure from the Great War Miniatures British Character set left over, I thought I would add him to S Commando.  That ghillie suit will come in useful. Hopefully he can find some silver bullets?



Eleven 28mm figures should count for 55 points.  Many thanks for looking!

From Curt:
First, welcome to this year's Challenge Mike! It's great to have you aboard with us. These fellows look marvellous and I really enjoyed reading their back story. I seem to remember that you entered several other characters from your Weird War Two setting in a previous Challenge, notably the lovely Agent Katana who was staking out a raucous Oktoberfest - great stuff. I completely agree with you regarding the Artizan range as I've found them to be a real pleasure to work with (and quite easy to paint). I look forward to some more Pulp entries from you over the coming months.


15 comments:

  1. Fabulous stuff, Padre! These commandos look like they know their business. No Z or werewolf will ever be safe again.

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  2. Forgive me father for I have sinned Call it envy, avarice or even lust but I do want those figures in my collection. Nice work and back story. I can only hope team "S" from project Alice can save the British Empire from the nefarious Nazi menace!

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  3. Welcome across the start line. Good start!

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  4. These do look rather nice, good start to your challenge

    Ian

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  5. Nice work! Looking forward to see what else appears as part of the S Commando.

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  6. Really nice, Mike! I love the background too! Can't help wonder if S Commando won't turn into Special U.N.I.T. after the war, protecting a certain eccentric Doctor and his Companions, and their big, blue box...? ;-)

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  7. Very cool backstory and the figures to match! I've painted up some Artizan Commandos in the past and I agree--they're fantastic pieces.

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  8. Thanks all.
    @ Curt - thanks sir. Agent KATANA was my favourite entry of the 2012 Challenge. She may be getting some female colleagues in this year's Challenge.
    @ Clint - you are forgiven, my son. The mortal sins of painting talent envy, painting sloth, and lead avarice come to us all in this Challenge. :)
    @Kevin H, the comparison to UNIT had crossed my mind. And those 7TV "Not Dr. Who" figures are so tempting!

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  9. A great first entry Padre! The sniper is clearly meaning business in his camo suit.

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  10. Nice commandos, Padre! The sniper looks very good! I am trying to entice my kids into historical with WW2. Going with weird war of the Sgt Rock, Haunted Tank, Unknown Soldier, and a splash of Hellboy. I do plan to fit the Devil's Brigade and a few other historical units in there.

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  11. Nice work and an interesting setting. I too like Artizan figures.

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