Sick of always being inferior to the larger, more powerful Marauders, an aspiring goblin engineer began modifying captured Peacekeeper armour to create Gruntbots.
Nothing makes a goblin feel happier than sitting behind several inches of (mostly) bulletproof armour.
The only difference between a Grubntbot Gaffer and a standard Gruntbot, is that the Gaffer has the ability to command the detachment.
The Italian military, badly supplied and equipped, ended up losing lots of men, terrain and equipment to the Greeks.
‘These included about forty L3/35 light tanks/tankettes, and a couple of heavier M13/40 medium tanks from the “Centauro” armored division.
The L3’s and perhaps the M13/40 (although I can find no evidence of these) were put back to use within Greece’s only motorized division, and used notably during the German invasion where they were all captured or destroyed.
It has been a while since I have finished reading any books.
The story of this incredible long-forgotten, rescue is the subject of Bas Kreuger’s 2020 book KAIS (translated from Dutch to English). Kreuger, a Dutch aviation historian, conducted extensive archival research and spent years tracking down and interviewing the families of the B-25 crew and the rescue team. In 2019, he travelled to West Papua with a small group of Dutch researchers to locate the remains of the wrecked plane. Kreuger’s account of the many unforeseen obstacles the group faced in their attempt to find the crash site is told in the last section of the book.
For me the book provided an interesting insight into the processes in place to rescue downed Allied airmen in the later part of the war in the Pacific.
“On Thursday 27 July 1944 a B-25 bomber of the 418th Night Fighter Squadron is on a routine mission over the waters surrounding New Guinea near the Birds Head Peninsula. The crew sights a Japanese schooner and start their attack run, flying low and fast over the water. The attack succeeds but the bomber is hit and it’s pilot, 2Lt Ira M. Barnett, cannot fly it back to base. He decides on a crash landing in a remote swamp area, some 300 miles behind enemy lines. Barnett puts the plane down safely, air gunner Harold “Chief” Tantaquidgeon takes over command in the swamp.
Navigator Tom Wright wrote: “At the second attempt he slid over the water and grass and we heard tsching, tsching, bushes hitting the wings. Suddenly the plane swung to the left, breaking in two just behind the bomb bay. Chief and Pete were thrown out. The wing had hit a tree, too thick to break”
A rescue team, led by Dutch 2nd Lieutenant Louis Rapmund and Australian Army Captain ‘Mac’ Gillespie sets out from the island of Biak to save the crew. Flown in by Catalina flying boat, river Kais is their only way in and out of this green hell of jungle and swamp. For three weeks their small group of Allied soldiers use the Kais to fight both their human enemy and nature to find the crew and bring them back to safety. This is an extraordinary story of survival and heroism of Allied soldiers and air men; American, Australian, Dutch and Indonesian, supported by the local Papua’s“
From the Publisher
In 2019 the author followed in the footsteps of the rescue team, trying to find the wreck of the bomber. With a group of five he travelled up the Kais river and into the swamp. It resulted in an unexpected meeting with the sole survivor of the rescue mission, a Papuan named “Paulus”, who was one of the locals with the expedition. They did not find the plane and a planned second expedition was cancelled due to the worsening relations between the Dutch and Indonesian government.
The book was a good read and informative about downed airmen rescues but suffers somewhat with the translation from the Dutch,
Like all armies in World War Two, the Greeks trained snipers to harass the enemy. In fact a current Greek Sniper Team won a European Championship in August last year.
Greece participated with two teams from the newly-created Special Warfare Command of the Greek Army and won both first and fourth places.
The figures are again from Great Escape Games and are one of the best modelled sniper teams I have seen – a great vignette.
Although they look a bit like something out of “The Shire” I still like them!
I wanted to record for my benefit what I hope to finish by the end of the month.
Here are the green things on the painting table.
Giant toads – I have met a few in my time!
Ghouls from Maenoferren
Toxic Zombies/Ghouls from Maenoferren
3 Deadzone marauder big thingies.
25 Lizardmen not progressed any further, but a priority to finish the army off.
2 Frogs/fish from Maenoferren and 9 Reaper Hobgoblins for Silver Bayonet
10 Eureka Miniatures “Napoleonic” Goblins for Silver Bayonet.
The rest of the Deadzone Marauders are more of a wish list than anything else. I am just pleased to have them assembled, based and undercoated. At least most of the figures in this post are at various stages of completion.
Now when I get tempted to do something else I can look at this post and probably ignore it anyway!
The next lot of the ghouls I have painted are from Black Tree Design
The figures are well animated and sculpted and just great to paint.
I have another eight more Ghouls that “Maenoferren” sent me, what must be at least two years ago. They are now built, based and undercoated ready for my next “green thingy” assault!
There are also a large fishy thing, a large frog with crossbow, and some toads to do!
October Green thing count:
1 Terraton + 4 Ghouls + 5 Mini Terratons + Gun and 2 crew + 5 Mini Terratons + 1 Ripper Mauler + 6 Ghouls = 25 Total!
I have finally worked out what I am going to keep and what I am not of the Deadzone Marauders.
A Stuntbot (Support)
A Goblin Guntrack (Support)
A Hulk (Support)
Two Commando Flamers (Troops)
Two Commando HMG’s (Specialists)
Two Commando Rocket Launchers (Specialists)
Two leaders Commando Captain and Sergeant (Leader)
Gaffer Gruntbot (Leader) or Gruntbot (Specialist)
Two Goblin Snipers (Specialists)
A Ripper Mauler and Ripper Rainmaker (Specialist)
Six Commando Brawlers (Troops
Six Commandos with rifle (Troops)
I also have 2 Mawbeasts (Troops) or Mawbeast bombers (Specialists) and two more Rippers one painted and one half completed.
There is also a Deadzone Marauder starter set that I will paint to sell, or keep. The two Mawbeasts are from the previous photo.
Heaps to dispose of including 2 Rippers, Two Goblin Snipers and Heaps of assorted Commando troops and specialists.
Here is the limited selection I wish to try and complete for Orktober:
While the rest I want to keep will be painted down the track!
Except for a few options that I don’t have the figures for like two Skyscraper Commandos with jet-packs, and a living legend, either “Boomer” or “Mawlukah” this last lot will give me all the options I need.
In mountainous districts where no roads exist it is impossible to use ordinary field artillery, simply because transport on wheels is out of the question. To meet this difficulty a light mountain-gun is used, this weapon being so designed that it can be rapidly taken to pieces and the individual parts loaded on the backs of a number of mules, varying from three, in the case of the smallest gun, to five in the larger types.
The vignette is made from a “spare” Greek Infantryman from Great Escape Games and the mules from the Warlord Games Chindit mule team.
Having found the rest of the Deadzone Marauders all i need to do is put them together and paint them! That’s all!
It took some time but I finally put them together and undercoated them.
A Marauder Stuntbot
With a Thermal Cannon and Flamer
And an oversize Buzzsaw!
Stuntbots provide both the necessary firepower and close combat crunch needed! The stuntbots can be put together with an open hatch , but seeing I want to use these figures across a number of game system I have closed the hatch to avoid showing the Goblin driver.
A Goblin Guntrack with Stabilised HEW Cannon
I have made the Guntrack so the weapons are detachable here is the Heavy Mortar option
I have also closed the hatch on the Goblin driver for this Gruntbot. Smaller than the Stuntbot these are classed as infantry but can also be used as a “Gruntbot Gaffer” for another HQ option.
The Gruntbot is armed with a Buzzsaw and a Ripper Talon.
Another Goblin sniper I found amongst a pile of “Rebels”.
A “Hulk”, another support option with a HEW Cannon
A Commando Sergeant, a Leader option, cheap, and with dual knives and a pistol.
You may have noticed that I haven’t painted any green thingies lately, but they are coming!
I painted my first Deadzone Marauder figure today – a marauder Ripper Mauler – a close combat monster! Afraid there is not much “green” on him!
He was painted by:
Undercoat in TS3 spray;
Painting in battleship grey;
Black wash followed by Agrax Earthshade wash;
Picking out the detail;
Using a green wash to give a slight verdigris look;
Varnish with TS80.
He is armed with (literally), a “Ram” and
A buzz saw!
You can see some of the verdigris effect in this photo.
See he is green!
I indicated in Orktober Update 5 that I was still looking for some “Marauder stuff” hidden away in the cave. Unfortunately I had been looking for them in their boxes, but instead I had taken them out to fit in a box of “other stuff”
I wish I could say that I found it without help but i didn’t. Lulu, not as innocent as she looks, snuck into the cave and hid herself. After must frustration I found her snug in a box! You guessed it – that box!
So the heavy support is on its way!
October Green thing count:
1 Terraton + 4 Ghouls + 5 Mini Terratons + Gun and 2 crew +r 5 Mini Terratons + 1 Ripper Mauler = 19 Total!
