Thursday 6 December 2018

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.

40 comments:

  1. https://www.amazon.co.uk/deathlands-ritorno-verso-casa-italian/dp/B0056XHOI2/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1544141602&sr=8-3&keywords=deathlands+dvd

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    1. Language: Italian, English, Spanish
      Subtitles: Italian, English, Spanish, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Portuguese, Swedish

      Might be better in Italian ;-)

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    2. Ha thats a valid point Phil! :0D

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  2. Great painting as always and thanks for the into to the books, they sound interesting.
    I finally got round to listening to the podcast on 7TV, my first wargame Podcast and enjoyed it a lot. I'm still not clear on how 7TV differs from other games of a similar nature except in the way they name things differently but then seem to operate the same. I have the first edition and got lost in it ended up never trying to play. However you were very enthusiastic so I should probably have another look.
    Cheers

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    1. Thanks man. Give it a go it is free to download second edition. I couldn't get my head around first but I love second.

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    2. I thought I was being particularly dense with 1st so if you found it difficult as well I don't feel so bad.
      I think I did download 2nd but never looked at it, I'll check it out now.
      Cheers

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    3. I think the trouble with first is you had to much choice in creation and I could never get my head around it. Or often made characters to tough.

      Second is much better pick your models pick suitable cards to represent them and away you go. The tweaking rules are much easier and there is an online card generator to make your own cards

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  3. Tip top work, Simon. Absolutely spot on. One of my faves for this year without a doubt!!

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    1. Thanks dude. A bit of a spur of the moment selection for the years end.

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  4. Great looking model of a iconic anti-hero Simon & just call me snake :)

    Books seem like a good read.

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    1. Thanks Frank. They are a bit trashy but a fun read or listen if you can get the audiobooks.

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  5. I have the other version, but this pose is so much better! Goob job as always!

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  6. Great looking figures - yes, definitely Snake!

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    1. Thanks Dean! Pretty good representation I agree!

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  7. I love the dynamis pse of this figure and you've done a tremendous job on him.

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    1. Cheers Joe. Yeah out of those available it is my one of my favourites.

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  8. O he's great for both characters! Nicely done mate. Never read the novels or even heard of them, but you have piqued my interest for sure.

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    1. Thanks I will be working on the others in the new year I think now. I have cast to get ready for the next 7TV day at the end of January and the deadline is looming closer.

      They are really diverse stories. Sort of Post Apocalyptic mixed with Science fiction and horror.

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  9. I remember this figure, a bugger to put together!

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  10. Very nice work on Snake there Simon. :)

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  11. That's really good work Simon :) Love it.

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    1. Cheers very much. For a quick paintjob I am pleased with how it turned out.

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  12. Fantastic looking figure Simon, not heard of the Deathlands books or film, although for me the model is very Snake Pliscan

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    1. Thanks Dave. It's why I left him unconverted to get the double use out of him.

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  13. Nice!, need to check out those books.

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  14. Really very nice work on Not-Snake up there! I'll have to check and see if I have that Hasslefree figure. I know I have the Studio Miniatures version..

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    1. Thanks man. I have had some of these figures quite a while now.

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