My Warlord Miniatures figure is done and he is the second of the four key members of S Commando to be introduced here.
A quick word about the basing. I figured that the good padre would likely confront his vampiric nemesis in some crypt or castle dungeon, which called for flagstones. Not wanting to shell out for some expensive resin bases, I opted for cut squares of cardboard painted gray. Hopefully it doesn't look too cheesy.
Warlord calls him "Major Terntadust" but on reflection I decided to give him a less corny name. In the backstory for is project, he is Captain (Honourary) the Rev'd. Dr. Tristram Mercer.
Before the War, Father Mercer was ordained in the Church of England, and did a doctorate in Reformation Studies at Tubingen University in Germany before taking the chair in Theology and Church History at St. Anselm's College.
It was while he was at St. Anselm's, on the eve of the abdication crisis of 1936, that Mercer stumbled on the existence of powerful vampires and their minions in Germany and England. Through a series of bloody murders at the College and in London, Mercer came to the attention of Chief Inspector Flayle of Scotland Yard and then of then Lt. Col. McAllister of the Secret Intelligence Service. Both men recognized Mercer's value as a fluent speaker of German, as a researcher, and as an ordained priest. In a series of bloody adventures, they succeeded in thwarting vampiric plans to retain Edward as a puppet king and routed the dark powers in England, but could not halt their rise in Nazi Germany.
Since 1936 Mercer continued as a priest and scholar at St. Anselm's while working under deep cover with SIS in a series of missions overseas. Now, under the cover that he has been called up as a chaplain to the Royal Army Service Corps, he will play an integral role in S Commando, the crack outfit being built by his friend, now Brigadier, McAllister.
Mercer is single, a shy and quiet man whose lectures are always packed. He is a competitive amateur distance runner, a passable cricketer and fast bowler, loves fly fishing, renaissance music and American films.
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Location:Gower St,St John's,Canada
Hmmmm.... I suspect there are some autobiographic features is this description. Great CV background for the incoming games
ReplyDeleteThanks Benito. There are a few differences between us. I don't have the coordination or patience for fly fishing, and when I was a university instructor my lecturers were never packed. :)
DeleteLord love ye, Padre, fer keepin' the likes of us safe from pewter vampires!
ReplyDeleteFor my part, I have two Orthodox priests in penitential vestments for my Russian armies in 15mm... and a Lutheran pastor for my Prussians. No 15mm vampires though.
Enjoy your holiday!
Just because they are pewter doesn't mean they aren't dangerous. And you never know, there may be worse than that lurking in the shadows of this project.
DeleteGiven the fallout from Pussy Riot, those penitential Orthodox priests may be useful if you decide to do modern Russians in 15mm!
Mike, what a great background to a super figure. I think the slate bases look perfect! I smiled broadly when I read of a Doctor of Reformation Studies "whose lectures are always packed" - now that's a pleasant change! (One of the tutors when I was at Uni always used to offer a special subject on the Council of Trent in which students were obliged to read each of the Papal encyclicals from the Council in latin. Unsurprisingly, year after year no-one took the course, enabling the tutor to have a great summer researching without the inconvenience of pesky undergraduates. Quite unlike Captain (Honourary) the Rev'd. Dr. Tristram Mercer, of course!!)
ReplyDeleteThanks Sidney. That was a wicked dodge your tutor had going. Mercer would never do something so devious, he is much too earnest, My next chap up, however, would be all over over that trick.:)
DeleteThat's a great anecdote! Reminds me of an old girlfriend of mine who was the only one to ever take the Dead Sea Scrolls course and used to read them (in Hebrew of course) on the train. That was in the days when you could only get them in dodgy photocopies of photographic plates.
DeleteI was more the type to skip Christology lectures...
Mike - fantastic background! Realistic and detailed, and the modelling is fantastic. Ditto on the flagstone bases, I usually use some Secret Weapon Miniatures stuff. Might I ask, as a history fan for interest, what did British and Commonwealth padres wear in the field in that period? Would it have been dog collar underneath battledress? I was watching the famous scene in The Longest Day, with the padre who drops into Normandy and looses his communion set in the river, and it just set my mind wandering.
ReplyDeleteHello Col:
DeleteMany thanks mate. I had a quick desk at the Secret Weapon Miniatures website and there looks like a lot of tempting stuff there for sure. Thanks for the tip.
In answer to your question, I have seen pictures of chaplains in action in places like Normandy wearing dogcollar and clerical shirt beneath the standard battle dress tunic. I have also seen one chaplain, from a photo taken in England in 1942, weearing the usual officer's shirt and tie. I suspect it may have depended on the individual chaplain's churchmanship (low church guys shunned collars, high church guys favored them) ands maybe too what the unit CO would allow. For my part, I would not want to wear a collar in the field. I tried wearing a dogcollar as a stunt for a 10k fun run once and it lasted for only 2 k before I ditched it. :)
Thanks for that! I guessed the CO's whim might have had a lot to do with it as well. For our part nowadays the only identifying marks of UK padres is the little cross patch on the collar and a beaming, perpetual smile, even in the heaviest of firefights. I can see how a collar wouldn't help on a run... thanks for your take on that! Great work on these chaps.
DeleteLovely MP just lovely.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Helen
Ah! Great stuff!
ReplyDelete