Western Front.
A French patrol crosses No-Man's Land on a moonlit night to investigate a suddenly silent section of German trench
Cautiously, they navigate the twists and turns of the trench, ever watchful for ambush.
A private expresses his disdain for this mission to the officer, who himself would rather not be there.
Meanwhile the others, unaware that they were just two, continued to advance.
Out of the darkness, a terrifying roar bellows from a hideous visage. Intent on satisfying its blood lust, it leaps upon the poor soldiers.
The other's race to catch up to their comrades and join the fight against the terror from the shadows.
The fight was over before it began.
*****
As those photos were taken this morning, the atmosphere is somewhat lost - here are some photos of the infantry that I took last night by kitchen light
I am pleased with the results - actually I can't believe I painted them. They have the look for this kind of game that I wanted them to have.
The "trench" is a proof of concept, literally slapped together while I waited for the figure bases to dry. Materials used: a cardboard box, a thick card mailer, a bamboo skewer, paint. I didn't measure anything and it shows, but I like the look none the less.
May be a while before I go poking into the dark corners of back of the ex-garage woodshed/storageshed/workshop.
ReplyDeleteThe figures may have had a short 1st life but they did look good while they lasted!
I try to avoid such dark places myself - my fear of spiders getting on me is enough to do it, never mind the monsters!
DeleteI was making up rules for combat on the spot last night. I'm not sure if the complete massacre of the infantry by the creature is "realism" or a design flaw.
Beautifully done trench bit of scrap modelling.
ReplyDeleteYour Wyrd War One themes are not so absurd, when you consider 'sightings' of the (Arthur Machen literary sourced) ghostly archers of the Angels of Mons, the corpse rendering factories (propaganda) the 'United Nations' of the deserter scavenger colonies of No Mans Land etc ... https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/legends-what-actually-lived-no-mans-land-between-world-war-i-trenches-180952513/
Throw in the Transylvanian front and you're well away.
Thank you, Mark! And for the ideas your comment gave me about possible "foes".
DeleteAnd thank you for that link! I could swear that I stumbled on a game that was based around the scavenger colonies but for the life of me, I haven't been able to find it again. I love the idea - and using 1/35 (or 28mm even) it'd be easy to assemble a ragtag bunch using a mixture of equipment. The cover of the Never Going Home RPG looks a bit like how I picture it, but I can't recall the premise behind the game (I own a copy, i should read it!).
The trench is awesome John! I would have never known that it was cardboard until i saw the last picture! And your painting of the french figs is beautiful too! Very well done!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Brad! I was inspired to try to build the trench after watching a YouTube video on making super cheap terrain for RPGs and wargames.
DeleteJohn, those French figures look very good!
ReplyDeleteMichael
Thank you, Michael! I don't use shades/washes very often and there was a great deal of hesitancy on my part, despite knowing my usual toy soldier approach would not have the right look for the games I intend. Once the shade had been I applied, I was certain had ruined the figures, but a highlight coat of dry brushing saved the day!
DeleteExcellent! I like the French in the gas masks - are they the ICM figures?
ReplyDeleteThank you, Tim! They are indeed ICM. Easy to assemble and with lots of extra bits (or at least, they were extra for me) for customizing - my fave being the coffee grinder which i put on the monster's base. The only downside of the figures is the needle-like bayonets which break easily (mine are the sole remnants of the several included in the box - there's a glue bump in the middle of each but I can live with it)
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