Vikings: Ulfhednar

A wonderfully painted miniature of an Ulfhednar, or Wolfshirt, warrior.  These are semi-legendary fighters similar to Berserkers who wore wolfskin rather than bear.

Men of Action : Action Figures

UBL's last Tweet: "BRB. Someones @ the door."

Not too long ago, the Hong Kong based action figure manufacturer, Soldier Story, produced an amazing 1/6 scale (12") action figure they labeled: DEVGRU Gold Team. This was a reference to the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, one of the current publicly known designations for the now famous SEAL Team 6.

What set the figure apart was the brand new AOR1 camouflage uniform, which was recently approved for SEAL Team use.

As an early release of this pattern, which is not available to the general public in full-size (or 1/1 scale) items, the figure was already highly collectible. Plus it included a number of unique pieces of gear and equipment.

Soldier Story had no way of knowing that SEAL Team 6 would become heroes by being the unit that finally brought justice to Usama Bin Laden's door.

I was sorely tempted to buy one of these. I don't buy many action figures these days, and most of them are characters, not military. The MSRP on this figure was about $130.00 and that was a little much for my wallet.

I immediately thought of this when I first heard about UBL overdue passing. It wasn't my first thought, but it was a thought. But I was already asleep when the news broke in my house. It wasn't until 4am when I woke up to use the bathroom that my wife rolled over and said, "Oh, they killed Bin Laden last night." So I was instantly wired, and I thought about a lot of things as I lay there in the dark.

I should've jumped on line and purchased on of these. The last eBay price I saw for one of these was nearly $200.oo and I expect it to climb. At least until someone makes a special UBL Raid edition DEVGRU figure. And they will.

But the folks who do have one of these in their collections certainly have something special. Because it is very likely a close approximation of one of the assault team that made a house call last Sunday. Except for one significant detail; I'll let you hunt for it.

This figure represents state of the art in Special Operations equipment, starting with the aforementioned AOR1 uniform by Crye Industries, to the Mechanix gloves, London Bridge load bearing gear...

This photo shows off the forearm wallet with window. You put your maps or the photos of your high value targets in there for quick recognition. It can unfold for quick reference to other vital reminder information.

Non-standard climbing boots -- most-likely Asolos.

ZAP tapes with alpha-numeric callsigns so names don't need to be used over the comms. These are reversible so they won't be visible if you need more stealth.

A personal lanyard. Some styles are designed to latch onto your downed comrade's webgear so you can pull him to safety. Others are intended to attach you to your super-secret-squirrel stealth helicopter so you don't fall out in the unlikely event the passenger compartment doors are left open.

Goggles so dust doesn't get in your eye when you're staring down a monster.

Minimal reloads because you make every shot count, and you don't need more than five magazines to bring the pain. Oh, and a blow-out kit just in case today is the day your Superman powers fail you and the bullets don't bounce off.

Your primary -- an HK416 with Eotech site -- for slaying bodies. And your secondary -- a SIG P226 or 228 -- in the unlikely event your primary jams. (And why would it? You treat it better than your wife or girlfriend, or both.)

A hydration system, maybe London Bridge, but looks a lot like the Eagle Industries Yote.

Cool, mock turtleneck with zipper, so you can look all fly when you get back to A-Stan and shed your second and first line gear so you're comfortable when you take digital pictures of your targets body and swab DNA for positive identification.

Even more pictures of this amzing figure and an in-depth review can be found at https://www.monkeydepot.com/Articles.asp?ID=197

But then again... It was night time. Maybe the SEAL raiders looked more like these Soldier Story CIA SAD Black Ops action figures. At least they have the missing piece of vital equipment: the Night Vision goggles.

The Dornian Heresy

Well, I missed yesterday, so I'm going to have to make up some lost ground...

Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised on my last visit to the Bolter & Chainsword forum that the website creative team had written a background book of their very own:

The Dornian Heresy

This downloadable supplement turns the central events of the Warhammer 40K universe upside down. In simplest terms, it recasts the good guys as bad guys, and vice versa.

This makes for some interesting alternative fictional history, and opens up some very interesting modeling opportunities.

I know not everyone is interested in this, but... so what? I'll try to post some items of more general interest real soon. Like I said, I have some lost time to make up.

The Golden Horde of Jaghatai: White Scars Space Marines

White Scars Space Marines are a relatively rare Warhammer 40K army. There are two good reasons for this. First, painting white armor is extremely difficult. Getting a smooth, even coat is a chore. But then you have to trim them with red paint, and one small slip will mar that white finish. Patience is key.

The second reason is that each model tends to be expensive. To truly get the feel of the White Scars, the bulk of the army should be mounted on motorcycles. Games Workshop based the White Scars on the Mongol horde of Genghis Khan, they strike hard and fast. So right out of the gate, a would-be White Scars player is buying expensive models.

But if you really want to have good looking White Scars... you need to customize them. You have to add odd, little bits here and there to give them an Asian, tribal feel. That means more planning, and more expense as you purchase the extra parts.

 This is my still small detachment of White Scars. Two bike squadrons (one painted to be veterans), a mounted Khan, a mounted Chaplain, a five man Assault Squad with jump packs, a Chaplain with jump pack, a Land Speeder Tornado, and a Predator tank.

I have parts to do another two bike squadrons in this style, another five assault marines, and two more Land Speeders.

 The first picture is my dismounted Khan. I also have a dismounted Stormseer, or Librarian. I've been considering doing an infantry adjunct to this force too. I'm ambitious when it comes to these armies, and I always think big. I do plan on finishing what I have in my parts box.

I admit I got tired of painting all that white. So I took a break to start the next project. Now, instead of white, I'm painting the only slightly easier color yellow.

That's right, my next project is the entire Fifth Company of the Imperial Fists, equipped for a siege, and backed up by elements of the deadly First Company and the stealthy Tenth Company scouts. That's well over one hundred yellow and black Space Marines.

EDIT: The previous links to the photos were broken. These are still my White Scars Marines, but the text may not match the pictures as closely.