Not much completed today but I did put together the last four “bad guys” from the Core CP box set CP01.

The other four “naughty guys”, but is “naughty” good?

Doctor Octopus

Ultron

Baron Zemo

Crossbones

Hopefully some painting tomorrow

The Red Skull (Johann Shmidt) is a supervillain appearing in Marvel Comics, and of course, is a character in the Atomic Mass Game’s, “Crisis Protocol”

“Not A Scratch, Doctor. Not A Scratch.”

“And The Führer Digs For Trinkets In The Desert.”

Shmidt longed for a master to show him how to achieve power. Years later, after the Nazis had come to power in Germany, Shmidt was working in a hotel where the dictator of Germany’s Third Reich, Adolf Hitler, came one day to stay.

“Great Power Has Always Baffled Primitive Men.”

That night, Shmidt brought refreshments to Hitler’s suite and found Hitler berating the chief of the Gestapo for letting a spy escape.

“Quite Simply, Gentlemen, I Have Harnessed The Power Of The Gods.”

On hearing Hitler’s voice, Shmidt decided that Hitler was the master he had sought. When Hitler ranted to the Gestapo chief “I could teach that bellboy to do a better job than you!” the dictator then looked closely at Shmidt and saw the bellboy’s hatred of all humankind, an emotion that Hitler asserted he himself shared.

“You Pretend To Be A Simple Soldier, But In Reality, You Are Just Afraid To Admit That We Have Left Humanity Behind.”

Shmidt saw in Hitler’s eyes all of his own fears and frustrations, the embodiment of evil and a model after which he could pattern himself.

“We All Think That At First. We Are All Wrong.”

Having become a confidant of Adolf Hitler during World War II, Schmidt gained ambitions to become the superior man, leading him to use the prototype of Abraham Erskine’s Super Soldier Serum on himself, resulting in him becoming disfigured with a red face, gaining the name Red Skull.

“I Have Seen The Future, Captain! There Are No Flags!”

“Hail Hydra!”

Information from Marvel Fandom.

With my son and two grandsons playing Crisis protocol I have been slow in deciding what faction I would choose. I definitely didn’t want one of the really good guy factions but I did like the Wakanda faction. Eventually I decided on building the Hydra Faction.

Why? HYDRA was an authoritarian-subversive paramilitary global terrorist organization. So what’s not to like!

It was founded in ancient times as a cult dedicated to the fanatical worship of Hive, a powerful Inhuman that was exiled to the planet Maveth by ancient In-humans. Ever since his banishment, the true believers were determined to bring him back to Earth.

Originally a Nazi organization led by the Red Skull during World War II, Hydra is taken over and turned into a neo-fascist international crime syndicate by Baron Wolfgang von Strucker. Fits in nicely with my German Weird War Army!

I have collected the following Hydra members to give me variety in my gaming choices:

Baron Wolfgang von Strucker (Leader)

Arnim Zola

Baron Zemo

Bob, Agent of Hydra

Crossbones

Red Skull

Sin

Taskmaster

Viper

Hydra Troopers

Three of these, Red skull, Baron Zemo and Crossbones come with the original boxed set whereas the others I have begged, borrowed and purchased!

Tomorrow I should have my first one painted.

I have also re-based a number of figures that will be suitable for Dragon Rampant games.

Many have been in the collection for decades but hardly used, so this will be a chance to get them on the table.

Werewolves

These are listed in the notes of the Men of the North list in Dragon Rampant.

A unit of Ogres to be used as Greater War Beasts

A second unit of Ogres.

I also have a collection of Yetis that could be used as well.

An Ogre Shaman if I want to use a stronger unit for a magic user.

A frost Giant

Warrior priests

Wolf Handler – I have plenty of Fenris wolves to add in.

Three Viking Heroes

Thor who has already graced the battlefield

The Footsore Odin the All Farther with wolves Geri and Freki and ravens Huginn and Munnin

I also have the North Star Miniatures Odin figure that I will paint up as well.

Footsore Shaman

North Star Valkyrie

One of the Norn Sisters

The Norns were the Norse goddesses of fate, represented as three sisters named Urd, Verdandi, and Skuld. They lived underneath the world tree, where they wove the tapestry of fate.

A Dvergr Weaponsmith

Dvergar or Norse dwarves (Old Norse dvergar, singular dvergr) are creatures in Norse mythology. They are associated with rocks, the earth, craft and metal work, wisdom, and greed. The dwarves came from maggots that formed on Ymir’s skin as he was killed by Odin, Vé and Vili. Odin transformed the maggots into dwarves. Gripping beast has an excellent range

Well this is it for the Vikings. I will probably sell of the remaining Viking figure as there is more than enough left over and they are unlikely to ever be used.

More Vikings for Dragon or Lion Rampant.

Viking Chietan and his Housecarls.

The General and three Housecarl units could be heavy or Elite foot.

Viking warband

Viking warband

Mounted Housecarls

Just your basic Heavy Riders.

Viking Baresarks

The crazy guys that I will use as Bellicose foot.

Viking Bondi (4)

Bog standard Shield Wall heavy infantry

Viking Bondi (5)

Viking Bondi (6)

Viking Skirmishers

These are light infantry with short range missiles (javelins).

Viking Archers

Standard Light Missile troops.

Scouts

Light Infantry skirmishers with bow

This makes up a second double sized army of 48 points which is ideal for a multi-player game.

Next there is the “funnies” to add flavour when being used for Dragon Rampant.

I picked this book up the other day from a Salvation Army Thrift shop for a dollar. Not having a great deal of knowledge about the naval war in the Pacific, for me it was a good pick up.

This vividly detailed WWII history chronicles the bitter conflict at sea between Allied and Japanese naval forces. The Pacific War was primarily fought at sea. Naval power allowed the Japanese to mount their attack on Pearl Harbor and then advance westwards and southwards. It also enabled the Allies to strike back and even take the war to Japan itself. The tide turned very quickly, with the US victory at Midway in June of 1942 ending any Japanese hope of domination. The book begins with the decisions that led Japan into war, and the difficult situation faced by the Royal Navy elsewhere. It then describes how, within a couple of years, the Royal Navy was able to send the strongest and most balanced fleet in its history to severely disrupt Japanese operations. Historian David Wragg also covers how the Royal Australian Navy developed into a viable naval force ready to become a major fleet in the immediate postwar years. The progress of the war is supported by eyewitness accounts from those involved in the fighting at sea.

Given the book was first published in 2011 it provides an almost up to date version of the Japanese naval strategy. There is little in the narrative about the conflict, and significant strategical outlooks between the Japanese naval and army, an how this effected not only communications but also cooperation. Despite this the book gives a good overview of the Pacific naval war.

I was disappointedv in that the detail for each of the major actions was not there and I will need to satisfy this by finding publications on each of these naval actions.

Well worth the dollar but as the current price is anywhere between AU$25 and AU$45.00 I would not purchase it new.

A large 75mm(?) 3D print of a Japanese Warrior with a demonic head was given to me a few weeks ago by fellow wargamer Rob. The print itself is average with most of the layer marks open.

What could I use it for? The obvious was to paint it up as as an Ono or Yōkai.

Oni or Yōkai are supernatural creatures that are very much present in Japanese culture. The term yōkai can be translated as “spirit, demon or ghost.” Ever since the dawn of time, these malevolent or simply prankish spirits have been an inspiration to many artists in the Land of the Rising Sun. Since the Middle Ages, they can be found in paintings, sculptures, prints, and, more recently, in video games and mangas.

The model is a bit strange in that it is a typical Samurai warrior but with a demonic head, and no Yōkai I could find fitted that description. I decided not to get too hung up on the model and just paint it.

The detail was lacking to paint it up as a realistic red or blue demon and the Samurai dress did not match. In the end I decided to paint it up as a statue to adorn my Japanese temple.

I have a massive Viking army that I haven’t used in ages so I have decided to rebase and reorganise for Dragon or Lion Rampant.

The God Thor

Thor could be armed with an enchanted weapon and or armour. I would use him as an Elite Rider unit.

The Saga Harold Hadrada figure with horn and standard.

Although a renown warrior, and I could gibe him lots of upgrades, he is a basic Elite Foot warrior.

Viking Shaman or Seer

The Shaman is not very powerful as I have only designed him as a light infantry wizardling.

Viking Housecarl (1)

Good solid elite infantry.

Viking Housecarl (2)

Mounted Housecarls

Just your basic Heavy Riders.

Viking Baresarks

The crazy guys that I will use as Bellicose foot.

Viking Bondi (1)

Bog standard Shield Wall heavy infantry

Viking Bondi (2)

Viking Bondi (3)

Viking Skirmishers

These are light infantry with short range missiles (javelins).

Viking Archers

Standard Light Missile troops.

This makes up a double sized army of 48 points which is ideal for a multi-player game.

There is another lot this size and also a lot of “funnies” to add flavour when being used for Dragon Rampant.

On this day in Australia the following events occurred:

• 1918 – World War I: The Battle of Hamel, a successful attack by the Australian Corps against German positions near the town of Le Hamel on the Western Front.
• 1969 – Three thousand protesters against the Vietnam War rally outside the US Consulate in Melbourne.
• 1975 – Juanita Nielsen disappears, allegedly kidnapped and murdered.
• 1986 – After 10 years in power, Neville Wran resigns as Premier of New South Wales and is replaced by Barrie Unsworth.
• 1991 – Chinese-Australian heart surgeon Victor Chang was murdered in Sydney.
• 2002 – American Steve Fossett completes his solo balloon navigation of the world landing in Durham Downs, Queensland.

Even more important event throughout history also occurred on today’s date:

• 362 BC – Battle of Mantinea: The Thebans, led by Epaminondas, defeated the Spartans.
• 414 – Emperor Theodosius II, age 13, yields power to his older sister Aelia Pulcheria, who reigned as regent and proclaimed herself empress (Augusta) of the Eastern Roman Empire.
• 836 – Pactum Sicardi, a peace treaty between the Principality of Benevento and the Duchy of Naples, is signed.
• 993 – Ulrich of Augsburg is canonized as a saint.
• 1054 – A supernova, called SN 1054, is seen by Chinese Song dynasty, Arab, and possibly Amerindian observers near the star Zeta Tauri. For several months it remains bright enough to be seen during the day. Its remnants form the Crab Nebula.
• 1120 – Jordan II of Capua is anointed as prince after his infant nephew’s death.
• 1187 – The Crusades: Battle of Hattin: Saladin defeats Guy of Lusignan, King of Jerusalem.
• 1253 – Battle of West-Capelle: John I of Avesnes defeats Guy of Dampierre.
• 1359 – Francesco II Ordelaffi of Forlì surrenders to the Papal commander Gil de Albornoz.
• 1456 – Ottoman–Hungarian wars: The Siege of Nándorfehérvár (Belgrade) begins.
• 1534 – Christian III is elected King of Denmark and Norway in the town of Rye.
• 1584 – Philip Amadas and Arthur Barlowe arrive at Roanoke Island
• 1610 – The Battle of Klushino is fought between forces of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and Russia during the Polish–Muscovite War.
• 1634 – The city of Trois-Rivières is founded in New France (now Quebec, Canada).
• 1744 – The Treaty of Lancaster, in which the Iroquois cede lands between the Allegheny Mountains and the Ohio River to the British colonies, was signed in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
• 1774 – Orangetown Resolutions are adopted in the Province of New York, one of many protests against the British Parliament’s Coercive Acts.
• 1778 – American Revolutionary War: U.S. forces under George Clark capture Kaskaskia during the Illinois campaign.
• 1802 – At West Point, New York, the United States Military Academy opens.
• 1803 – The Louisiana Purchase is announced to the American people.
• 1817 – In Rome, New York, construction on the Erie Canal begins.
• 1826 – John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, respectively the second and third presidents of the United States, die on the same day, on the fiftieth anniversary of the adoption of the United States Declaration of Independence. Adams’ last words were, “Thomas Jefferson survives,” not knowing that Jefferson had died hours earlier.
• 1827 – Slavery is abolished in the State of New York.
• 1831 – Samuel Francis Smith writes “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee” for the Boston, Massachusetts July 4 festivities.
• 1832 – John Neal delivers the first public lecture in the US to advocate the rights of women.
• 1837 – Grand Junction Railway, the world’s first long-distance railway, opens between Birmingham and Liverpool.
• 1838 – The Iowa Territory is organized.
• 1845 – Henry David Thoreau moves into a small cabin on Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts. Thoreau’s account of his two years there, Walden, will become a touchstone of the environmental movement.
• 1855 – The first edition of Walt Whitman’s book of poems, Leaves of Grass, is published in Brooklyn.
• 1862 – Lewis Carroll tells Alice Liddell a story that would grow into Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and its sequels.
• 1863 – American Civil War: Siege of Vicksburg: Vicksburg, Mississippi surrenders to U.S. forces under Ulysses S. Grant after 47 days of siege.
• 1863 – American Civil War: Union forces repulse a Confederate army at the Battle of Helena in Arkansas. The Confederate loss fails to relieve pressure on the besieged city of Vicksburg, and paves the way for the Union to capture Little Rock.
• 1863 – American Civil War: The Army of Northern Virginia withdraws from the battlefield after losing the Battle of Gettysburg, signalling an end to the Confederate invasion of U.S. territory.
• 1879 – Anglo-Zulu War: The Zululand capital of Ulundi is captured by British troops and burned to the ground, ending the war and forcing King Cetswayo to flee.
• 1881 – In Alabama, the Tuskegee Institute opens.
• 1886 – The Canadian Pacific Railway’s first scheduled train from Montreal arrives in Port Moody on the Pacific coast, after six days of travel.
• 1887 – The founder of Pakistan, Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, joins Sindh-Madrasa-tul-Islam, Karachi.
• 1892 – Western Samoa changes the International Date Line, causing Monday (July 4) to occur twice, resulting in a year with 367 days.
• 1894 – The short-lived Republic of Hawaii is proclaimed by Sanford B. Dole.
• 1898 – En route from New York to Le Havre, the SS La Bourgogne collides with another ship and sinks off the coast of Sable Island, with the loss of 549 lives.
• 1901 – William Howard Taft becomes American governor of the Philippines.
• 1903 – The Philippine–American War is officially concluded.
• 1910 – The Johnson–Jeffries riots occur after African-American boxer Jack Johnson knocks out white boxer Jim Jeffries in the 15th round. Between 11 and 26 people are killed and hundreds more injured.
• 1911 – A massive heat wave strikes the northeastern United States, killing 380 people in eleven days and breaking temperature records in several cities.
• 1913 – President Woodrow Wilson addresses American Civil War veterans at the Great Reunion of 1913.
• 1914 – The funeral of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie takes place in Vienna, six days after their assassinations in Sarajevo.
• 1918 – Mehmed V died at the age of 73 and Ottoman sultan Mehmed VI ascends to the throne.
• 1918 – Bolsheviks kill Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and his family (Julian calendar date).
• 1927 – First flight of the Lockheed Vega.
• 1939 – Lou Gehrig, recently diagnosed with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, informs a crowd at Yankee Stadium that he considers himself “The luckiest man on the face of the earth”, then announces his retirement from major league baseball.
• 1941 – Nazi crimes against the Polish nation: Nazi troops massacre Polish scientists and writers in the captured Ukrainian city of Lviv.
• 1941 – World War II: The Burning of the Riga synagogues: The Great Choral Synagogue in German-occupied Riga is burnt with 300 Jews locked in the basement.
• 1942 – World War II: The 250-day Siege of Sevastopol in the Crimea ends when the city falls to Axis forces.
• 1943 – World War II: The Battle of Kursk, the largest full-scale battle in history and the world’s largest tank battle, begins in the village of Prokhorovka.
• 1943 – World War II: In Gibraltar, a Royal Air Force B-24 Liberator bomber crashes into the sea in an apparent accident moments after takeoff, killing sixteen passengers on board, including general Władysław Sikorski, the commander-in-chief of the Polish Army and the Prime Minister of the Polish government-in-exile; only the pilot survives.
• 1946 – The Kielce pogrom against Jewish Holocaust survivors in Poland.
• 1946 – After 381 years of near-continuous colonial rule by various powers, the Philippines attains full independence from the United States.
• 1947 – The “Indian Independence Bill” is presented before the British House of Commons, proposing the independence of the Provinces of British India into two sovereign countries: India and Pakistan.
• 1950 – Cold War: Radio Free Europe first broadcasts.
• 1951 – Cold War: A court in Czechoslovakia sentences American journalist William N. Oatis to ten years in prison on charges of espionage.
• 1951 – William Shockley announces the invention of the junction transistor.
• 1954 – Rationing ends in the United Kingdom.
• 1960 – Due to the post-Independence Day admission of Hawaii as the 50th U.S. state on August 21, 1959, the 50-star flag of the United States debuts in Philadelphia, almost ten and a half months later (see Flag Acts (United States)).
• 1961 – On its maiden voyage, the Soviet nuclear-powered submarine K-19 suffers a complete loss of coolant to its reactor. The crew are able to effect repairs, but 22 of them die of radiation poisoning over the following two years.
• 1966 – U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Freedom of Information Act into United States law. The act went into effect the next year.
• 1976 – Israeli commandos raid Entebbe airport in Uganda, rescuing all but four of the passengers and crew of an Air France jetliner seized by Palestinian terrorists.
• 1976 – The U.S. celebrates its Bicentennial.
• 1977 – The George Jackson Brigade plants a bomb at the main power substation for the Washington state capitol in Olympia, in solidarity with a prison strike at the Walla Walla State Penitentiary Intensive Security Unit.
• 1982 – Three Iranian diplomats and a journalist are kidnapped in Lebanon by Phalange forces, and their fate remains unknown.
• 1987 – In France, former Gestapo chief Klaus Barbie (a.k.a. the “Butcher of Lyon”) is convicted of crimes against humanity and sentenced to life imprisonment.
• 1994 – Rwandan genocide: Kigali, the Rwandan capital, is captured by the Rwandan Patriotic Front, ending the genocide in the city.
• 1997 – NASA’s Pathfinder space probe lands on the surface of Mars.
• 1998 – Japan launches the Nozomi probe to Mars, joining the United States and Russia as a space exploring nation.
• 2001 – Vladivostock Air Flight 352 crashes on approach to Irkutsk Airport killing all 145 people on board.
• 2002 – A Boeing 707 crashes near Bangui M’Poko International Airport in Bangui, Central African Republic, killing 28.
• 2004 – The cornerstone of the Freedom Tower is laid on the World Trade Center site in New York City.
• 2004 – Greece beats Portugal in the UEFA Euro 2004 Final and becomes European Champion for first time in its history.
• 2005 – The Deep Impact collider hits the comet Tempel 1.
• 2006 – Space Shuttle program: Discovery launches STS-121 to the International Space Station. The event gained wide media attention as it was the only shuttle launch in the program’s history to occur on the United States’ Independence Day.
• 2009 – The Statue of Liberty’s crown reopens to the public after eight years of closure due to security concerns following the September 11 attacks.
• 2009 – The first of four days of bombings begins on the southern Philippine island group of Mindanao.
• 2012 – The discovery of particles consistent with the Higgs boson at the Large Hadron Collider is announced at CERN.
• 2015 – Chile claims its first title in international football by defeating Argentina in the 2015 Copa América Final.

Thanks to Mr Google for the above information.

Oh and of course in 1776 the final draft of the United States Declaration of Independence is adopted by the Second Continental Congress.

The members of the Second Continental Congress voted 12-0 with one abstention (New York) on a motion to officially separate the American colonies from British rule on July 2, 1776. By July 3, two Philadelphia newspapers, the Pennsylvania Evening Post and the Pennsylvania Gazette, were already reporting that “the Continental Congress declared the United States Colonies free and independent States.” That same day, John Adams wrote home to his wife, Abigail: “The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America.” Adams believed the Second of July, not the Fourth, would become a national holiday.

What the USA now celebrates as Independence Day marks the day in 1776 when the final edited version of the Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Continental Congress, though the final signatures on it wouldn’t be collected until over a month later.

Sorry guys for “YANKING” your chain!!!!

But I do hope you have a great Independence Day

Great to have the Grandchildren for a few days. Here they are getting ready for their first football game in a few weeks time!

They have seen the light and joined the “family cult”!

Going to the park for a kick of the footy.