And its a small set that compliment each other quite appropriately, the devilish fiend; Jack the Ripper, or known more simply as 'The Ripper', and the Peelers, who pursue him through the streets of old London town.
The Ripper is an interesting figure for this milieu as he actually constitutes a 'historical' entity, though for the game, appears a slightly supernatural being, as befits his actual apparent abilities to evade the law...
I do recall a fascinating documentary which narrowed down the likely true identity to a 'pseudo-doctor'... visiting from the US, and who was believed to have fled London and returned to his native US, where a series of macabre murders, that matched those in London, in manner, appeared to seal the link...
But I digress, back to the game!
Here is the Ripper, cornered by 'London's finest', outside an old cemetery...
The Ripper figure and the Peelers, are from Westwinds older range of Vampire Wars figures rather than their recent Empire of the Dead range, but the two ranges merge perfectly. The only difference being the solid cast bases of the older range.
These I cut away, and drilled and pinned the legs into the newer style 30mm round plastic bases as come with the EotD range of figures. Then the greenstuff paving layer was added to conceal the join.
I realise its perhaps hard to get excited over the paint job of these figures, which is for the most part black! But they are a required part of the back drop of Victorian London, and I do rather like them and their poses.
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| The Ripper |
I love the period 'mutton chops' moustaches on these peelers, just excellent!
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| Constable |
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| Constable |
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| Sargent |
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| Constable |
After that some police inspectors and London gents...
Till then dear reader I will leave you with something that believe it not scared me as a youngster and had me diving and peeking out from behind the sofa and asking my dad, if he was gone yet! ;-)
A brilliant mini series from the Two Ronnies - classic!
Bloody lovely Ripper and Peelers!
ReplyDeleteEverything is looking great Scott! From everything I've seen on the blogosphere, EotD seems like another great game that I will unfortunately have to avoid for now in a vain effort to get back on track with my current projects. :-) Looking forward to living vicariously through you then...
ReplyDeleteThanks for the clip!
Jason
They look great Scott. nice work on them all.
ReplyDeleteA two ronnies classic...
ReplyDeleteNice job on the peelers..and the ripper
Looking good. Can't wait to see your first game report with all this EoTD goodness.
ReplyDeleteNice job. I don't play EotD, but those minis and the fantastic job you did on the graveyard/cemetary makes it somewhat tempting!
ReplyDeleteExcellent stuff there. I like this range a lot.
ReplyDeleteLovely work Scott. I agree, those muttonchops certainly look the business.
ReplyDeleteBrilliant comedy! Great figures here Scott and I like those muttonchops as well. Nicely done sir!
ReplyDeleteBeen fun watching this project grow.
ReplyDelete-J
Very fun minis, well painted too. guys sure were inventive with their facial hair in those days!
ReplyDeleteThese look great Scott, really like the bobbies and might have to put some on my wish list. I have to confess that I enjoyed From Hell, but remember grumbling at Johnny Depp's 'Mockney' accent; I should really dig it out and watch it again.
ReplyDeleteThanks Michael :-)
DeleteYeah I know what you mean. I've watched it a couple of times, and I dont think he does too bad a job of it... I think part of the problem is that we know Depp and his other characters so well, so putting him in a British role automatically has you looking for fault...
The only thing I wasnt 100% happy with was when the Ripper is revealed... I had always pictured the Ripper as a tall intimidating chap... but the actor in this place is of rather short stature!
I like your coppers, Scott. And you've done a nice job with those tricky striped "on duty" armbands. The young nervous recruit looks like he should be peering out from behind the back of one of his experienced colleagues.
ReplyDeleteThere've been many interesting theories about the identify of Jack the Ripper over the years, going so far as to even suggest a member of the Royal Family as a suspect.
Thanks Roly, I had hoped they would appeal to you!
DeleteInterestingly those striped arm bands - when I watched the The Ronnies sketch again, they only had one arm done with the striped arm band, not sure whether they ran out props or what?
I presume both arm bands is correct?
Yes I have seen the finger pointed at many potential suspects but that American doctor seems to have been the most likely lead...
Actually, you've got me thinking, and I do believe it was just one arm. I'll do some research and get back to you ...
ReplyDeleteYep, it was juts one arm, sorry.
ReplyDeleteHere's what our old friend Wikipedia has to say about 'duty armbands':
The Duty armband was worn on the uniforms of the British Police from 1830 to 1968.
All uniformed Constables and Sergeants were required to wear the armband on the left forearm sleeve of the tunic, signifying that the officers were on duty as the practice was introduced when police officers wore their uniforms at all times. The armband consisted of blue and white vertically striped cloth and between 1835 and 1864, Sergeants were required to wear a narrower version on the right forearm as a badge of rank. Constables and Sergeants attached to Road Policing Unit's were exempt from wearing the armlet due to the risk of catching it on an indicator arm.
During the First World War, Special Constables were widely used by police forces to relieve the regular service. From 1910 to the end of the war, Specials were not usually issued with uniforms, but were instead expected to wear an armband just above the elbow of the left arm displaying their identification number and rank. For a short time, Special Sergeants and Inspectors were required to wear a second armband on their right arm to indicate rank.
Fascinating! So of all things, the Two Ronnies bothered to get it right!
DeleteAh well the Westwind sculpts clearly had them on both arms, which I then painted. Oh well, I supopose this is a pseudo-fantasy/historical settings so they'll work and look well enough I hope!
Some good pics and lots more discussion about the duty armbands here:
ReplyDeletehttp://gmic.co.uk/index.php/topic/38301-police-duty-armbands/
Awesome stuff Scott!!
ReplyDeleteNice work Scott. Superb whiskers.
ReplyDeletePersonally the Captain refrains from excessive facial hair about the nasal region as it tends to obscure ones stiff upper lip.
Hopefully these stalwart chaps will be more than a match for the fiendish Ripper.
LOL! I'm looking forward to trying out the 'intro scenario' with Holmes and Watson facing off against the Ripper, though it may have to be in a rural setting, until I create my Victorian city scape... There again I could set in the 'Botanical Gardens' setting, just to be different...
DeleteThats the only thing with this game that may be detering people getting involved - creating/acquiring all the brick city buildings...
You've really got some momentum going on this project! Really great!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure that two armbands would be correct for the special division dealing with supernatural crime; as they have to be doubly vigilant!
Thank you, excellent point Sir! ;-)
DeleteThe moustaches on these peelers, are really done great. Jack the ripper characters always rock.
ReplyDeleteThis game will definitely provide a chance to answer the question " who was jack the ripper"? Seriously, nice casting and characters. Full marks!!
ReplyDelete