More Syldavian Secret police

Following on from my previous post, here are three more members of the Syldavian Security and Intelligence Service, the Vohunska.

You will note that the left-hand figure is the same pose as in the previous post. It isn't really an issue and, in any case I have painted him differently.

The middle figure is a second character, an assistant to Inspektor Eugen Jaegermann. He is Detektiv Samuel Tylenburger. Unlike his blunt and plain-speaking boss, Detektiv Tylenburger likes to think of himself as a man of the future and, as a graduate of the Institut der Wissenschaft in Klow takes a scientific approach to his work. A younger man, the Detektiv comes from the coastal city of Douma, where his family has roots going back to the early 18th century. His father, a leading merchant is currently the Bürgermeister of Douma and has been a member of the city council, the Stadtverwaltung for around 20 years.

Like the first three, these are also from the North Star Steampunk range and will serve as other things than just Syldavian agents. I will use them as Scotland Yard detectives and anywhere else where I need some chaps in plainclothes. I will use them for games of  In Her Majesty's Name and pulp and Cthulhu Mythos games.

The first of the Syldavian Secret Police

In a previous post, I talked about the Syldavian Security and Intelligence Service, officially the Varnosti Policija but popularly called the Vohunska i.e. "the Spies". Here is the start of my company of Vohunska agents and their uniformed assistants in the Königliche Gendarmerie.

Represented here is a senior agent of the Vohunska, Inspektor Eugen Jaegermann flanked by two of his agents. The Inspektor is a feared figure amongst the Syldavian Underworld, both with normal criminals who remember him from his days as a detective in the Königliche Gendarmerie and also with subversives in anarchist and other political groups. He is hated by the Bordurian Informat, who have put a price on his head because of his work exposing and eliminating clandestine operatives and saboteurs in Bordurian emigré communities. Jaegermann comes from the city of Travunje, south of the capital, Klow and joined the Gendarmerie after his mandatory period of conscription in the Syldavian Army. He is known for his blunt manner and his ability to get results where others have failed.

Vohunska agents work in plainclothes and officially they are part of the Syldavian Ministry of Justice, unlike the Gendarmerie who are part of the Army. They have a wide-ranging brief, which encompasses internal security and intelligence-gathering, as well as operating as intelligence agents in other countries. They may also, under certain circumstances work with the Gendarmerie's Bureau of Investigations, the Untersuchungsbüro. 

In many operations, the Vohunska will call upon support from the uniformed Gendarmerie when extra manpower is required.

These figures are from the North Star Steampunk range and will serve as other things than just Syldavian agents. I will use them as Scotland Yard detectives and anywhere else where I need some chaps in plainclothes. I will use them for games of  In Her Majesty's Name and pulp and Cthulhu Mythos games.

n.b. Eugen Jaegermann is a sort of Germanised version of Gene Hunt from the TV series "Life On Mars"

And now, I really have run out of Bordurians ..............

.......... well, for the moment, at least. These are my final four Bordurian clandestine agents, dressed as ordinary dock or factory workers.

Nothing new to add. Like the rest, they are Copplestone "Back of Beyond" Bolsheviks and I'll be using them for  In Her Majesty's Name and pulp games.

I've really enjoyed doing these. They are terrific sculpts and casts, lots of crisp detail and they take paint really well.

Now, on with the Syldavians!

Almost the last of my Bordurian agents

So, I am coming to the end of my late-19th century Bordurian active service unit. As well as the assorted intelligence agents and military and security operative, any unit operating undercover in a foreign country will have agents and operatives working as agitators, agents provocateurs and saboteurs. These will often be drawn from the ranks of the Politzya Militar, as well as from the Sekuritat and will usually be living in working class areas and working in factories, ports or on the railways. Here are four typical clandestine operatives;

Living and working in the industrial areas of Syldavia, their main role is to spread revolutionary ideas amongst the workers of the Syldavian proletariat, create dissent and organise strikes. Their secondary role is to fight as required to further the political ends of the Informat. They can also be found operating secretly in the forests and mountains along the Bordurian/Syldavian borders as smugglers and saboteurs.

They will be used for Pulp games as well as for  In Her Majesty's Name.

These are also figures from the  Copplestone "Back of Beyond" Bolshevik range. I have four more of these guys to finish and then I shall be starting on their Syldavian opponents. 

Four members of the Bordurian Military Police

The Bordurian Army also has a security unit, one that is dedicated to rooting out counter-revolutionary activities among the troops, in both the officer corps and the rank and file. That unit is the Politzya Militar, the Military Police. Here are four members of this unit. First an officer and an NCO;

Next, two rankers (known as "specialists") from a military police company.

These figures are once again  Copplestone "Back of Beyond" Bolsheviks.

The uniform of the Politzya Militar is the same as that of the rest of the army and you will note that the army conscripts both male and female soldiers.

Each infantry, artillery and cavalry battalion has a company of the Politzya Militar attached to it. In addition each company, squadron or battery has a junior officer, an NCO and a section of 10 specialists imbedded.

At higher levels. i.e. Brigade or Division, there are additional units of the Politzya Militar, led by experienced senior officers. These higher level units also contain officers from both the Sekuritat and Informat.

In addition to the anti-subversion role of the Politzya Militar, they are also tasked with ensuring that correct revolutionary discipline is maintained by the regular officers and NCOs and  that infractions of military regulations are identified and punished. In combat, the PM has a political role, ensuring that orders are obeyed and that deserters are executed. 

Unlike the rest of the Army, whose ranks are filled with conscripts who serve a five year active term, followed by a further 20 years as reservists, the PM is made up of volunteers. Anyone who has served at least six months as a conscript may volunteer for the selection process, which consists of a rigorous political screening as well as physical and aptitude testing. Anyone who passes this process joins the PM for a minimum of 10 years, starting at the rank of Junior Specialist. In practice, PM officers identify possible recruits early on and after the appropriate period suggest that putting themselves forward might be a good idea. The officer cadre of the PM is around 50% seconded from the Sekuritat and Informat for a period of two years and 50% promoted from the ranks. All NCOs are promoted from within.

As an aside, all Bordurian army officer cadets, since the end of the revolutionary wars have been selected from the most able conscripts within their first year and sent off for assessment. Therefore, it is generally considered to be more prestigious to be identified for the PM than it is to be chosen as an officer cadet.

Trusted PM officers, NCOs and specialists are often seconded to serve alongside Informat and Sekuritat agents in active service units. This is considered a great honour for those involved and is often a stepping stone to joining the ranks of the Second and Third Directorates. Veterans of the PM who have completed their  mandatory minimum 10 years service may opt to leave the PM and apply to become Political Commissars of the Watch, the local militia-based police whose patrol units are found all over the country.

As with the rest of my figures, these are intended for In Her Majesty's Name and Pulp games.

The Bordurian menace grows ...........

Here are some more figures for my late-19th century Bordurians.

Once again, these are Copplestone "Back of Beyond" Bolsheviks, this time representing two rank and file members of the Second Directorate's Security Police, the Sekuritat.

Members of the Sekuritat such as these can often be seen on the streets of Bordurian cities, particularly guarding important state buildings but also patrolling the main streets. They have far greater authority than those local militiamen and women who comprise the Watch patrols in towns and cities across the country, and they operate the Customs posts and entry points around the borders of the country. They have a large barracks and prison complex, housed in the former Orthodox monastery on the island of Zodastrum in Lake Poliszchov, where political prisoners are held, many never emerging again once incarcerated behind the grim walls of the prison.

These two will join my Bordurian active service unit for In Her Majesty's Name but will also be useful as Bolsheviks for Pulp games.

Bad Squiddo Amazon standard bearer

I've had the Bad Squiddo Amazons since last September when the Kickstarter shipped, but until now I hadn't got round to painting any of them. This standard bearer is the first one;

I think she is a lovely figure and her Squid standard is great. I decided that it needed to be painted with a bronze body, turquoise eyes and purple or turquoise tentacles, because they are very Bad Squiddo colours. I decided to carry those colours over onto the standard bearer herself, with her purple belt and turquoise helmet plume and tunic edging. Her armour is a mixture of bronze plate and brassier scales. I couldn't decide whether her blade should be iron or bronze, but I decided on the former for colour variation.

Here she is from the rear, the view her troops would see advancing into battle;

Here from the front, the view her enemies would see coming towards them.

The tufts are Gamer's Grass, also available from Bad Squiddo.