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| GröFaZ and ET? No thanks! |
Now as it is a fantasy subject there is no reason that Minotaurs couldn't be enlisted in the Heer fighting against a race of Soviet Gnomes. However, I wanted to keep the whole thing a little more believable (if it can be plausible in the slightest!)
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| Interesting but over-done. |
It is well known that various German societies and some senior figures were searching for "Vril" or Hyperborean technologies. Indeed the quest for perpetual motion and free energy was still considered attainable at this time.
Some fringe types had decided the Earth was hollow (there are still believers) and that an advanced race lived in a subterranean realm illuminated by a hidden Sun!
Then of course there is the whole "Haunebu" area where the Germans were supposedly cooperating with Aliens to build flying saucers - a crackpot's wet dream!
Anyway the options are pretty simple:
- Alien Tech - Flying discs, rayguns and Antarctic bases.
- Anti-grav research based upon "Die Glocke" style experiments.
- Vril animated machines and creatures.
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| The concept - Vpz II circa 1943/4. |
The Anti-Grav will allow me to field small scout vehicles that hover above the ground. The weaponry will be strictly in-period and I am planning to base this on the Sdkfz 234 series.
The number of vehicles will be very small as they are produced contrary to Hitler's wishes* and manned by the secretive and paranoid "Projekt Ostara" personnel.
Currently I am awaiting the delivery of the basic chassis from Jez at Old Crow. The model I have chosen does not really look too futuristic and with a turret transplant should have a real alternative WWII feel - I just hope the turrets I have in my spares box fit as I have not been able to measure or handle the chassis!
The choice of Vril will also allow me field zombies - Hoorah! - as corpses could easily be reanimated by such an amazing substance!
More to follow - albeit slowly - as vacation season approaches...
*A fact often overlooked by "Weird" enthusiasts is that GröFaZ detested the Occult and the bizarre theories of Himmler and Rosenberg. He was far more interested in weapons specs, troop numbers and production than in the search for an Hyperborean civilisation and magical substances.
A great book is Invisible Eagle by Alan Baker, the Thule Society, Antarctic UFO's, the fifth race etc......
ReplyDeleteExciting -then of course the Hollow Earth and its inhabitants were already there by the 18th C. (hint, hint)...:) :)
ReplyDelete'Raisers of the Lost Ark' maybe based on the (historical) search for the Graal and the Templar's heritage, re Otto Rahn's works on Rennes-le-Chateau and the SS expedition Himmler sent there.
Another favorite 'Artifact of Power' of mine (that could be thrown in) is the Witchblade only women can bear.
In addition to the Vril (or as an alternative to it for a 18th C. exploration of Hollow Earth), what about using the Orgone -"a primordial cosmic energy, which others called God"? 'Discovered' by one whose name was 'Reich', for good measure :)
ReplyDeleteAbdul - thank you for all your excellent suggestions. By no means is the tech fixed as Vril - I may well tweak it as V-tech is over played.
ReplyDeleteOrgone? I am not so sure - Dr Reich's theories may not have sat well with the Ahnenerbe...
I am off on holiday next Tuesday and may well have to think this over remotely! Hopefully I will not be side-tracked into my other great love: Hellas!
'Dispersion' between several projects is often the bane of wargamers: to have several irons in the fire may lead to dissatisfaction, disappointment, disaffection and discouragement since none of the projects seems to progress fast enough, and / or one treads water while the other advances. Thus when having two projects it is generally gratifying to *link* them somehow: any progress in one benefits to both, both implicitly keep making progress.
ReplyDeleteFor instance, if tempted by wargaming in another era after having developed an Imagi-Nation in a given period, it's more cheering to carry your 'brainchild' to the new setting: history, geography... are common, the overall background and 'personality' of your country get more 'rich'. Better imho than building the same army at two scales, one for adventures / skirmishes the other for large battles: when it comes to 'characters' one will never find *exactly* the same mini in two scales.
In the same way, if playing 'tricornes' (OK, I'm biased...) and tempted by (Victorian) Colonial wargaming, paint the 'Natives' first, and you'll can try your hand at the Colonial genre by sending a small 18th C. expedition to the 'exotic' oversea theatre of operations. 'Natives' minis are generally 'period-generic' enough, and wargaming figurines are not intended to be scrutinized individually, but to be seen 'en masse' from a distance: any 'too modern' firearm for instance will pass unnoticed. Your 'Victoria's Boys in Red' will be painted at leisure in the meantime.
Similarly if already the happy and proud owner of 18th C. figurines and tempted by some 'weirdness' -undead such as zombies, Chaos in Carpathia, Strange Aeons, Call of Cthulhu or even Malifaux...- rather than waiting to have the 'canonical period' human characters painted, start with the 'monsters' and play your first games with figurines in tricornes. Lovecraft's Elder Gods and their minions, for instance, were here long before the 1920, people believed in vampires and werewolves long before the 'Victorian Gothic' or 'Pulp' times....
Even a first try with VSF / Steampunk can be done with 18th C. minis, if you already have some.
Totally unsolicited ruminations, I reckon, but -perhaps a scar from the "70 and the rarity of potential wargamers in France then- I'm convinced that division / dispersion disheartens & weakens, while union / unity gives strength and enthusiasm.
Best,
Jean-Louis
Recently a geologist and engineer published a book on which he demonstrates, based upon recent research and internal inconsistencies, that the orthodox scientific paradigm of a solid Earth is wrong. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Earth-Really-Solid-Evidence-Reexamined-ebook/dp/B07W89TJG4/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=is%20earth%20really%20a%20solid%3F&qid=1565641455&s=books&sr=1-1&fbclid=IwAR2-YRFrz2T5kmwDJo1otT_t9Nxw6riwgyAJRcnlqRokSGIRq93BO6WVNi8
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