Well since Halloween is just around the corner, I've got a bunch of monsters and scary stuff done and ready to get posted. Most of it is from the
AE-WWII Occult Sourcebook. First up is a look at my finished SS Krieghexen and
Hellhounds. You've probably seen my
Krieghexen in an earlier post. The Hellhounds are straight up Darkson Designs models. I did the skinless effect similar to the Resident Evil inspired
zombie dogs I painted. Basically drybrushing pale flesh over black primer and then applying several coats of thinned red ink.
Also I finally
finished up my Schutzkommando SS. I had rushed him to get him ready for Gen Con last year and he's been sitting around waiting for the finishing touches until recently.
In the AE-WWII background, the Russian Liberation Army (ROA) is run by a cult lead by the resurrected Rasputin. They have all sorts of creepy demons they have access to as well as some creepy looking magicians with lots of mind controlling abilities. These are the
Voice of the Prophet and the
Child of the Prophet. The
Beast of the Apocalypse and the
Spawn of the Apocalypse are some of the creatures they use. These demons explode upon death, making them very dangerous in close combat (whether you win or lose).
Not all of the units available in the ROA list have been represented by models. The conventional stuff can be easily made up with using German models, with perhaps a few Soviet weapons. But the weirder stuff needs a little creativity. For the Russian Cleric, I used a monk from
West Wind's Vampire Wars Mad Monks blister pack. He looked creepy enough. The model came with a saber molded in his arm. According to the AE-WWII Occult Source book, the Russian Cleric has an SVT Rifle. Snipping off the saber and then cutting up an SVT Rifle from The Assault Group, I armed him accordingly.
The Black Horror of the Apocalypse was another creature featured in the Basra: 1946 Source book. It was described as a creature with lots of tentacles that could reach out and grab nearby models. It also fit on a 40mm base. I found
Reaper's Shoggoth perfect for it. Mounting it on a 40mm base, and yet the tentacles still overhang from it making it perfect. Starting with a black primer, then I dry brushed Reaper Nightmare Purple highlights over it (keeping it dark but not totally black). Then giving it several coats of Badab Black Glaze and some black ink wash. The Eyes were done by painting them white. Then I added some fine red lines for veins. Next I'd mix some white with acrylic floor wax and give it several coats until the red lines have faded. Then I painted the iris in with Nightmare Purple and Bruise Purple. and completing it with some Testors Gloss Black for the pupil. To give it the slimy look I gave it a coat of gloss lacquer.
Given that it's Halloween coming up, I should bring up some vampires and werewolves. This vampire I did some time back. He was a special edition model for
West Wind's Secrets of the Third Reich line. I really love this sculpt. I painted him using Reaper Pale Flesh and Pale Flesh Highlight. The pants were Vallejo Fieldgrau and the jacket was Reaper Pure Black. For the base, which is a Micro Arts Studios Cobblestone base, I added lots of Tamiya Clear Acrylic to simulate water. Generous amounts were in the culvert. Before the Clear Acrylic dried I applied some red ink for blood into it to make it look like blood dripping off of his dagger and running down the drain.
These other vampires are from
Brigade Games Pulp line called German Sturmtruppen. I painted them black with highlights from Reaper's German Grey. Going with the SS black uniform I added some piping using Reaper Mist Grey. However since these were vampire troops I figured I 'd add some more red trim to their uniform, which was Reaper Magma Red.
I have another vampire in the works, he's still on my workbench so I haven't posted him. He's from Warlord Miniatures called
The SS Vampyr.
As for werewolves, the
AE-WWII Werewolf looked clearly inspired from the movie
Dog Soldiers, which is an excellent werewolf movie. I painted this model with flesh colored undercoat then applied the grey for the hair over that in layers going from dark to light. The pants are painted using colors of an SS Summer camouflage pattern. Using lots of blood and some extra bitz I included a gore pile under the werewolf. The bitz I used included an American helmet from a 1/48 scale Tamiya American GIs set and a spare arm from from one of the AE-WWII American Support Weapons sets. The intestines sitting on the top of the rock is from a Games Workshop Warhammer Fantasy Zombie Regiment boxed set.
The
Blitzhund is an agile fast moving werewolf troop used in the game Incursion.
Other German scariness, I have here is Live Wire from Secrets of the Third Reich. She's a German Heroine who has been enhanced by alien technology. She's done in black with Reaper Rainy Grey highlights and a Citadel Badab Black Glaze. Areas around the eyes and face are done with Carnage Red. The spikes and details are done with Reaper True Silver.
In AE-WWII, the
SS Hellhost is an SS Officer that has been possessed by a demon summoned by SS Sorcerers and kept contained within the body by a collar made of vril.
The
Rholingsoldat, also known as The German Ogre, is a genetically modified super soldier. Not too bright, but very strong and capable of carrying heavy support weapons like they were merely rifles.
The
Strumaffe is a cyborg ape the Germans have used as shock troops. Strong enough to rip open a Sherman Tank.
I had some other Weird War II stuff done for the
Pacific Theater this past summer. These are a few pieces I finished after posting that article. The first is an Oni Demon. He's actually an old Grenadier model I've had laying around. I painted him using Reaper Golden Skin Shadow and Golden Skin, followed by a was of P3 Flesh Wash but with a little red ink mixed in. The hair is Reaper Walnut Brown and the armor is Reaper Antique Gold.
This unit is a Gunnezu, another sneak preview unit of the AE-WWII Black Reign source book. They are giant mutant warf rats that the IJN experimented on and unleash on allied troops in the Pacific Theater. These models I'm proxying are actually Giant Rats from
Wyrd Miniatures Malifaux. I painted them with using Reaper Pale Flesh and giving them a thinned glaze made of Vallejo Fluorescent Green and acrylic floor wax.
In the Basra: 1946 Source book there is a unit available to German, British and American units called the Captive Djinni. Described as a fiery beautiful woman who can project flames. The official model is not available yet, but I found a great model from Reaper's Pathfinder line called Shazathared
.
I painted her using Reaper Olive Skin and Olive Highlight. Then I mixed some Fluorescent Yellow, Orange and Red and blended them into the skin color and more in the clothing. Then finished off with some bright gold jewelry.
In the AE-WWII background, the Americans have even resorted to digging up some horror to fight the war. The Office of Occult Research and Development has enlisted Native American Shamans to use their magical powers in the war effort. One of which is the
Wendigo, a gruesome creature summoned up to do the Shaman's bidding. I painted up this critter like a deer, but the open gory chest was done using my
zombie painting techniques over some exposed bone.
Another unit made use is the
Navajo Skinwalker, pretty much the Americans answer to the werewolf. I painted the skin using Reaper Dark Elf Flesh Shadow and Dark Elf Flesh. The pants were Vallejo Earth Brown, to match up with the rest of my US Army. The eyes were done normally but I added a thin coat of Gunze Sangyo Fluorescent Yellow over them.
The Bear headed Skinwalker was one of the special edition models that Darkson Designs sold during conventions.
The OORD also made use of a secretive society called The Arkham Society, a Cthulhu inspired group. One of the creations from this group is the Homunculus. From the description, he's sort of a Frankenstein's Monster. The official Homunculus wasn't available at the time, so I made this one from
West Wind's Vampire Wars Frankenstein's Monster.
One of the pieces I'm just finishing up is the
Soviet Werebear from Secrets of the Third Reich. Painting up as a brown bear. Then I built up the base using some 1/48 Tamiya German Soldiers. Using the figures in the lying prone position but laying them on their backs, then gluing arms in some other positions to make them look like they're dead. Then adding some more intestines from the GW Zombie Regiments set.
And of course there's got to be zombies. Lots and lots of zombies. Most of my zombies here are from Incursion.
The Imperials are inspired from the 30s era Flash Gordon series. They are similar in game performance as the Galacteers, but slower, less maneuverable but are some of the best armored ships in the game.
I find the Imperial Class II War Rocket one of their best rockets, especially with the extra forward gun upgrade. The Class IV War Rocket packs a wallop, but is incredibly slow. Best if one buys the Atomic Engine upgrades.
The Valkeeri appear to be inspired by 40s era pulp magazine spaceships and have a unique movement type called Pulse Movement. I describe it best as movement similar to your rocket in the old video game Asteroids. Where Valkeeri rockets can change their facing along a straight line movement. Valkeeri ships are almost as tough as Imperial and their larger rockets often pack more of a punch than the Imperials. Their speed is roughly just behind the Galacteers.
Inspired by the War Rocket collection, I picked up this really cool old re-issue of a space station model kit from Lindbergh models. 
It makes a nice centerpiece and objective for playing War Rocket. Also the two shuttles on the landing pad snap on and off easily and could be mounted on a standard flight stand. They are about the size of a Class I rocket.
The newest faction is the Space Pirates. These sleek and fast rockets have wide weapon arcs and a unique movement style. Sticking with the pirate theme, I kept in mind the Jolly Roger flag and went with white and black, or the metallic alternative. I used Reaper Adamantium Black as the base and gave them several coats of P3 Armor Wash, thinned with acrylic floor wax. Then used Reaper True Silver and Polished Silver for highlights. They look quite dark and stealthy, yet pulpy, under normal lighting and very shiny under a flash.
Another project I had been working on is a Mother Ship for the Pirates. I found this re-issue of an old AMT model kit. It makes a nice 'static' target for the relatively faster and more maneuverable War Rockets. However, my idea for this was to use the mother ship rules in the War Rocket rulebook, but to allow this ship to move forward one hex at the beginning of every turn (essentially all models on the table move back one hex) to simulate it's slow speed. The other nice thing is the shuttle included can be mounted on a flight stand and used as a Class I or II rocket.
The newer releases come with some cool battle damaged and pirate decals. It's molded in glow-in-the-dark plastic, but I primed mine grey, thinking I'm going to paint mine to match my Space Pirates.
