Hollywood Germans HQ

Inspired by the Trials of a Casual Wargamer blog podcast on Bolt Action and Konflikt 47 (available on the podcast app thingy of your choice, so please do check it out!) I looked back over my related posts and it seems I missed posting my little three-man Bolt Action HQ back when I covered all my (non-vehicle) stuff!  About time I put that right I think!

It's headed up by one of the metal Officer minis from the German Army HQ (1943-45) pack from Warlord - the two bodyguard chaps were made from left-over SS sprue bits IIRC:

Yeah, I cheesed out a little by giving the bodyguards assault rifles - but as they aren't a massive squad it's not too bad I think!

Of course, these can be used in games of Konflikt 47 too where they are co-opted into the Okkultekorps!

Flammenwerfer

One of the least-used units in the Bolt Action (/Konflikt 47) collection is the Flamethrower team:

I'm pretty pleased with how the flame turned out, but I just don't seem to find much of a place for it in my lists!  I'm still pleased to have it in the collection, maybe I'll have to try it out more to get to grips with how to better use it in games!

The brains behind the Okkultekorps

The infamous chief scientist of the Okkultekorps is Professor Doktor Egon Lange - a brilliant man who takes advantage of the freedom granted to him by his position to carry out ever more reprehensible acts of experimentation in the name of the Reich.

He has often taken to the field to lead special missions of the Okkultekorps where he cannot trust Untersturmführer Mayer - although his tactical acumen pales compared to his scientific mind he has not been without success in a series of bitter clashes with the hated Britische Schwein. 

Professor Doktor Egon Lange

Lange's long-suffering assistant (and nominally second-in-command of the research division of the Okkultekorps) is Doktor Karl Fischer.  Karl is an experienced and able scientist - but years of berating from Lange have torn his nerves to shreds.

Doktor Karl Fischer

Recently dispatched by Obersturmführer Klingemann to act as bodyguard for Lange, Sturmscharführer Helga Stocker was actually a childhood friend of the Professor - although he doesn't like to admit it, he is actually quite fond of the statuesque soldier even if she does sometimes annoy him with her optimistic attitude.

Sturmscharführer Helga Stocker

The Okkultekorps are often used by the Propagandkompanie to show the overwhelming power and certain victory of the Reich - it is common to find taskforces of the Korps accompanied by a cameraman to capture footage to show the Volk their successes.

Propagandakompanie Kameramann, probably called Karl

I got Lange from eBay but do not know the manufacturer.  Same goes for Karl and Helga!  The Kameramann was a gift from Trials... 😀

Headshot!

 

One of the options that is easily made from a standard sprue is the Sniper Team - so given I've had some spare chaps left over from the squads I've assembled it's no surprise I've got a couple of teams made up.  First this one is from the Grenadier sprue using a couple of kneeling legs:

I went for a map on the spotter guy (aka the first casualty to remove).

The other team used bits from the Waffen-SS sprue if I recall correctly:

The first casualty in this team is carrying a loaded rifle ready to hand off to the actual sniper.

I tend to take a Sniper team in almost every BA or K47 list, which one depends on which is nearest when I'm picking the list from the Easy Army PDF 😂

Medic!

I got a medic as part of the HQ pack from Warlord Games - over the years I've added a couple of other minis to allow me to field a small team if I choose to:

The central chap is the Warlord Medic, the pointy chap is an Artizan Fallschirmjager Command mini - I picked him as he has a couple of satchels that look like he is carrying medical supplies.  The chap with the stretcher I got from a random eBay seller but can't find a source for the mini - if it rings any bells with you, please let me know!

Forward Observers

 

Early on in my Bolt Action journey my good friend Trials of a Casual Wargamer gifted me with the German Heer FOO team - the chap with the map became a spotter for my Mortar, but the pack included a couple of other Observers - first the rather cool radio operator:

This mini is almost like a self-contained little diorama with the SMG resting against the radio. Really nice mini - probably one of my favourites in my Bolt Action collection.

The pack also included a scissor scope-using mini (the scope was less than co-operative to get to stick to the base!):

Finally on the Observer front, when I got an HQ pack (primarily for officers), it included another Observer, this time firing his flare gun to call in a barrage:

I based them all on the pill-style bases from Warlord to give them a little more room to breathe! Of course, these can also see use in games of Konflikt 47 too.

Medium Mortar Team

Another weapon team included in the Army Box was the Medium Mortar:

It's quite easy to fit into force lists for Bolt Action or Konflikt 47, but I found I wasn't making great use of it, so I added a spare observer mini I had to use as a Spotter:

I cannot lie, I'm quite pleased with his little map!  I still don't make great use of the Mortar due to tactical ineptitude, but the Spotter does help a bit!

MMG Team

What's a German army without an MMG team eh?

This team came as part of the Army Box I bought - of course, machine guns are a staple in German armies due to one of their national rules in Bolt Action and this does see a fair bit of use.  It's often fielded as part of Okkultekorps forces for Konflikt 47 too - even if it didn't do much to help protect the Okkultefabrik!

Okkultekorps Commanders

The Okkultekorps has a hierarchy of commanders that lead the field-efforts of the sinister organisation.  Most were former SS officers, seconded over at the creation of the Okkultekorps - one of the most cunning and, most would say, conniving of these is Untersturmführer Heinz Mayer.

His fortunes are closely tied to those of Professor Lange - the two might dislike and distrust each other greatly, but together they are a dangerous threat to the enemies of the Reich.

Untersturmführer Mayer surveys the scene

Soon after successful mass production of the Totenkorps, Professor Lange turned his mind to the creation of a superior form of these horrific troops.  Whilst he had some success, this was not able to be replicated on a wide basis - and to make matters worse for the Professor, Mayer requisitioned them as bodyguards.  Lange had no choice if he was to maintain the position of privilege he has at the helm of the scientific arm of the Okkultekorps.

Mayer's Bodyguards - Totenkorps Zwei

The head of the Okkultekorps is Obersturmführer Helmut Klingemann - no longer a mere man; he has developed strange and powerful traits as a result of secret tests carried out by Professor Lange.  Not even Klingemann knows about these tests, although it matters little - he is a terrifying prospect to face on the battlefield, and the British will surely feel his wrath!

Obersturmführer Helmut Klingemann - self-proclaimed Vampir

Klingemann is from Warlord Games, the Totenkorps Zwei bodyguards are Warlord plastics with, I think Westwind zombie heads.  Update: Mayer is from Artizan Designs were he goes by the name of Major Kreipe

PaK 40 - anti-tank gun

In the German Grenadier army set from Warlord there is a PaK 40 anti-tank gun.  Well, as it came in the box it would have been mean to not paint it up alongside the rest of the project - so I did just that (ordered a big MDF base especially to accommodate it!):

This was an absolute nightmare to assemble - found some tips on a forum from days past if I recall correctly that helped me get it right.  I'm actually pretty happy with how it turned out but it just doesn't see much use in games - partially that might be because I was quite late in adding some towing capability to my collection now that I think back on it....

Panzerfausts!

In that German Army Box I picked up when I started Bolt Action there felt like a ton of infantry sprues - I'd made up the squads and assorted other bits but had some bodies left over... what to do, what to do....

Panzerfausts of course!

I generally use these so that I can play 'properly' and sub them out once I've fired the 'fausts.  They most often get used in the 10-man Heer squads, but in smaller games of Konflikt 47 I have used them to offer an additional threat in one of my smaller SS squads too.

The 36 Chambers - Sandbag Wall

Ages ago back when Dystopian Legions was a thing I needed (well, wanted) a sandbag emplacement for my Prussian PAK 69 field gun.  I found (what seems to be an eBay only) seller The 36 Chambers - they offer a nice range of resin bases and scenery bits and bobs.  I picked up their 28mm Resin Sandbag Wall (curved) and while I was impressed with it, I prepped and primed it then it sat in a drawer for years with the Dystopian Legions stuff. Ahem.

Cut to near present day, and after my better half bought me a load of cases for the mini collection I started getting organised - and found once more the sandbags from The 36 Chambers.  Well, I didn't fancy starting painting the Prussians just yet, but decided on a whim to paint up the sandbags!

There was a nice amount of texture to the bags, so it painted up nice and quick with simple wash and drybrush techniques.  I think it'll also come in useful for games like Bolt Action or Konflikt 47 too.

I'd happily consider picking up more stuff from The 36 Chambers - check them out!

Heavy Sniper Team - Panzerbüchse 43W

Early on in the development of Rift technologies it became apparent to Professor Lange that he needed to supplement his Okkultekorps with some good, old-fashioned munitions to help take out the armoured walkers of the hated British forces.

So, Lange contacted an old colleague of his - the gifted engineer Erwin Huber.  Huber developed an anti-tank rifle able to fire specially-treated full tungsten rounds - upon successful testing it received authorisation to enter full production and was granted the designation Panzerbüchse 43W - "Tank Hunting Rifle Model 43 Wolfram".

This is the German Heavy Sniper Team from Warlord Games.  Rather than the winter look of the catalogue minis I gave mine the camo scheme I used for my Heer.  They aren't the most useful troops, truth be told, but they are cheap, so they find themselves in many of my lists as a deterrent if nothing else!

SS Squad 2

To be able to make a full-SS army I needed a second infantry squad - well luckily I had enough bodies, and ordered some extra SMGs from a bits seller, to make a small squad of SMG-armed fanatics.

While not as useful as their Assault Rifle armed comrades, they cost a few less points so sometimes I'll switch down to these if I'm tight on points and don't need both squads (mixed Heer/SS force for example - or in Konflikt 47).

Here's the squad:

The pointy chap is the leader (obviously!) - so he gets a name: Oberscharführer Anselm Steube. 

These tend to get loaded into a Blitz and put on suicide missions - I'm not a subtle guy!

Type 4 - Codename Nachtalben

The newest development at the Lange Okkultefabrik is the fourth stable Rift creation - codenamed Nachtalben.

Taking the lessons learnt from the creation of the Nachtjäger and combining it with his own findings from attempts at Totenkorps Typ Eins A, Professor Lange has perfected the creation of intelligent super soldiers.  These elite Nachtalben are armed with SMGs and grenades and provide the Okkultekorps with yet another terrifying weapon against the hated British.

Fresh off the production line at a Lange Okkultefabrik

Nachtalben come in a box of 8 - two carry Panzerfausts in addition to their SMGs.  Most are single piece castings, but a couple have arms/slung SMG to attach - nothing too onerous though!

 

Heer Squad 2

Here's my second squad of Heer - having two squads means I can fulfill the requirements for an all-Heer force, plus at 10 men it's more bodies on the table.

Like the first squad, the core is 7 rifle-armed men:

Providing a bit of firepower is an LMG team - I posed these as footsloggers:

Of course, every squad needs a leader - so here's Fahnenjunker-Feldwebel Andre Schiffer; if you look closely he wears his Iron Cross First Class with pride. I armed him with an assault rifle for a little extra punch:

Like their Heer comrades posted previously, these are called upon to support Lange's Okkultekorps from time to time in games of Konflikt 47 too.