Hasslefree Cobra

Another movie themed character finished off and out of the leadpile. This time from Hasslefree miniatures called Cobra who is obviously based on Snake Plisskin from the movie Escape From New York. 

Now I have two intentions with this fellow so I did his combat trousers a different colour intentionally. Obviously firstly it is going to be used as Snake Plisskin secondly I am a huge fan of the Deathlands series of books and aside from the main weapon this would make an excellent proxy for Ryan Cawdor the leader of the Post Apocalyptic band.

Fab mini now he is finished but man was he a pain in the ass to paint. Some areas of the face were hard to get to due to the pose and I struggled to get his arms aligned when assembling him. Got there in the end I just had to take extra care painting his left eye. I couldn't of done it in pieces I don't think with how fiddly he was to glue and hold it.

A bit of information Deathlands. It is a book series written by a variety of authors under the pen name of James Axler. It takes place roughly one hundred years after a nuclear apocalypse decimated the world on January 20th, 2001. The books revolve around the travels of Ryan Cawdor and his companions as they discover the secrets of century old government experiments and experience the joys and more frequent horrors that roam the wastes of the former United States of America. Welcome to Deathlands, where death lurks behind every corner.

On the morning of January 20, 2001 the climax of the Cold War set the post-apocalyptic stage for the series. The end game began with a pre-emptive strike on Washington. Underground nuclear bombs were detonated from within the basement of the Soviet embassy, by an elite group of Spetsnaz operatives, destroying the central command structure and political system of the United States. For an indefinite period of time a nuclear exchange between the United States and the Soviet Union devastated both countries and subsequently the entire planet (but little details are known outside both countries). All manner of genetic contagions were released infecting the survivors of the firestorm with horrible illnesses. The remaining survivors lived harshly during a time of prolonged nuclear winter known as Sky Dark. The geography, climate, and ecosystems of the world had changed dramatically. What was left of the United States came to be known as the Deathlands.

100 years later civilisation begins again: brutal, short lived, morally confused and crazed from mutation. Between the many hot spots are small plague pits ruled by power hungry individuals who have no limits in order to establish their rule and expand their influence. These individuals are known as the Barons. Their rabble pits are known as Villes and Baronies. Civilisation unknowingly resembles the Dark Ages. Trading resumes between the Villes: Jack (a regional currency), Jolt (a hallucinogenic mixture of Mescaline and Heroin) and slaves are the primary forms of currency. Life is a strange mixture of ancient history and limited technology that is scrapped from the 20th century. Military technology is the most prized possession of all; success is often measured by the number of bullets he or she possesses. A man named Ryan Cawdor leads a group of companions across the Deathlands. Ryan has extremely secret knowledge of the 20th century. The understanding of hidden underground complexes, known as redoubts, that contains Teleportation technology. He and this companions guard this knowledge with their lives. The technology is called MAT-TRANS.

Each novel usually begins with the companions arriving at a frequently unknown redoubt by MAT-TRANS. If the situation is impossible or hostile the companions can use the last destination feature of the transporter to return to the sending location. If the redoubt is unknown then the companions usually explore, looking for weapons and supplies which they rarely find. Sometimes they are lucky and find a working shower or stored food which they always utilise or take. The story picks up speed once the characters leave the redoubt and explore the surrounding countryside. Frequently the companions are captured or forced into a confrontation with the local barons. Each novel reveals a little of the characters' history, motivations and the regional location where they arrived.

 One of many book covers.

The one movie that was done which I would love to get hold of. Its a bit cheesy looking and has very much a B movie look and feel but I don't care.

I have ideas for other companions. I have bits coming to make the infamous Armour J.B Dixx and I have the bits to assemble Mildred the doctor who was a in cryo sleep and woken in the apocalypse. I am unsure when to place in the time line as time goes on companions come and go in the early ones there is a high mortality rate and many get killed off or leave.