Monday, August 27, 2012

Weird War Two: The Fearless Vampire Hunters 1 - It's Hugh Jarce!

The first thing I want to say in this post, dear readers, is that it is being written on my iPad using the BlogPress app, high above Lake Superior as Mrs. Padre and I jet east across 4 time zones towards two weeks holiday in Newfoundland and Ontario.

Isn't technology amazing? I should be napping, since we were up at 03:00 for the drive to the Calgary airport, but it was between closing my eyes as we took off that I saw, miraculously, a vintage B-17 Flying Fortress (possibly this one) coming in to land on the next runway, so I am loathe to close my eyes again in case I miss more wondrous sights.




Here are the first of four characters in my Weird War Two project. One of them has already appeared here on my blog.




The chap in shirtsleeves with Thompson SMG is a special cast designed by Richard Ansell to celebrate the 2011 launch of Too Fat Lardies' IABSM 3 WW2 rules. He is in the likeness of Hugh Jarce, the two fisted, lantern-jawed here that appears in some TFL rules sets.

Actually I blame Hugh for getting this whole thing started. As I've said herebefore, I had no intention of doing WW2 in 28mm -- I already do it in 20mm and 15mm, for heavens sake! But there was something about Hugh's cocky swagger, his combative readiness to take on every hound of war and hell that the Nazis could let slip against him, that whispered encouragement into my dreams. And odd dreams there were.
James Manto, author of the thoughtful and whimsical Rabbits In My Basement blogreplied to a previous postof mine and asked if I had plans to use Hugh as a Big Man in this project. Well spotted, that man. Hugh's job is to provide the military and operational command for the inner circle of "Commando S" (S for Supernatural, of course), a secretive group being assembled early in the war to fight rogue Nazi elements, their undead and diabolical allies, and their perverted schemes to enslave humanity.
Hugh's job is to liaise with Allied assets and personnel that may be tasked with supporting Commando S and it's CO, Brigadier Kenneth McAllister (code name "Alice"). Alice has made it clear to Hugh that his most important task is to provide close protection for key personnel, including Padre Mercer, occult specialist and D S Ops (Director Supernatural Operations) and Captain Birdwell (Intelligence Officer). Since it is crucial that the enemy not realize how much the Allies know about its sinister schemes, Alice has strictly ordered Hugh that if things go wobbly, he must not allow either Mercer or Birdwell to be captured alive. Whatever Hugh thinks about these orders he keeps to himself.
Hugh is courageous, untiring, tactically daring, and a keen sportsman, the perfect commando. His mind is a simple, tidy place, and while the idea of undead Nazi chaps is all rather like something cooked up by some American film director wallah, well, never mind, it promises a damned good scrap and that's all that counts.
We're coming into Toronto now so I must stow this. Not sure how large these pictures will be but they give you the idea. Over the holidays I'll introduce you to the rest of the team, and for those who like background fluff, as if this wasn't enough, I'll post some of that too.
Cheers, and stay vigilant, chaps.
Mike
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

3 comments:

  1. Y'know, I don't have the guts to do Weird War stuff. I do have a blast doing Pulp gaming with "Where Heroes Dare." It's great to see your stuff and your imagination.

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a great idea uso mg Hugh for this task!

    ReplyDelete
  3. A lovely outfit ready to go forth and slay the evil forces.

    Cheers,

    Helen

    ReplyDelete

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