Friday 1 November 2019

Capt. John C. "Jack" Lee, Jr.

... a character profile.
In May 1945, Capt. John C. "Jack" Lee, Jr., a charismatic, stocky man of twenty seven, must have thought that his war was over.  Hitler was dead and any German resistance was crumbling before the Allies.  Capt. Lee had led Company B of the 23rd tank Battalion into the Austrian Tyrol and in the waning hours of the war could have had no idea of the part he was going to play in one of the strangest battles of World War II.

As it stands our rules allow for characters to be attached to units in the game.  A player, on the day, will be allowed to add Capt. John C. "Jack" Lee to their G.I. squad, which will have the effect of increasing their dice pool by one.  Currently his stats are similar in shooting and cover to those of the G.I.s, but the additional bravery score and number of wounds could help to keep that unit of troops in the game for longer; an important factor given the overwhelming odds against them.

Quick Reference for Unit Groups
Defenders (Allies)
2 x 5 man Squads American G.I.s (6 crewman & 4 GIs)
2 x 5 man Squads German Wehrmacht
1 x 5 man Squad French P.O.W.
1 x ‘Besotten Jenny’ Medium Sherman Tank (M4A3E8 or Easy Eight) Special Item
1 x M2 . 50 cal. HMG (Heavy Machine Gun) Team Special Item

Shooting
Cover Dice
Bravery
Range
Wounds
American G.I.
D8
D8
D8
Standard
3
Capt. "Jack" Lee
D8
D8
D10
Standard
5
German Wehrmacht
D8
D8
D8
Standard
3
French P.O.W.
D6
D8
D10
Standard
5
Besotten Jenny
D8
D10
n/a
Unlimited
8
M2 .50-Cal. HMG
5 x D6
D8
n/a
Unlimited
3
Standard range = 50cm?

Given the importance of the character I was keen to find a suitable miniature to represent the good Captain and several possibilities presented themselves, but in the end the choice came down to just one.  I stumbled across US Officer - Donny Drumpf, a Stoessi's Heroes miniature available in the United Kingdom through 'Great Escape Games'.  Donny is described on the company's website as being, "a colorful and polarizing gentleman who is well known throughout the world."  A wonderful character piece, that accusatory, jabbing finger and distinctive hairstyle being so reminiscent of...
...I digress, but as chance would have it, here was a miniature that matched Capt. Lee's description as written by Stephen Harding in his book, The Last Battle, 
"Waiting there was a squat, powerfully built man wearing a wrinkled khaki uniform and a .45-caliber automatic pistol in a shoulder holster, his teeth clenching a well chewed but unlit cigar."
A description that was mirrored in the photograph below, apparently taken two months before the battle at Schloss Itter.  Jack Lee, on the far right of this photograph, is with (from left) 2nd Lt. John Powell, one of his platoon leaders, and 1st Lt. Harry Basse, Co. B’s Motor Officer and Lee’s closest friend in the unit.
As thrilled as I was to have discovered Jack, a miniature to make my collection great again, I struggled with the right arm.  It was a hilarious addition, but didn't look quite right to me.  Fortunately a suitable replacement was unearthed, rather appropriately from the 'Warlord Games', American G.I. sprue.  The angle of the arm just seemed to fit perfectly and the addition of the cigar and stroke of good fortune.
Painting was all rather predicable, lashings of Olive Green, Field Drab and Khaki, although I couldn't resist keeping that shock of blond hair!  At the rear of the miniature I have added some red, white and blue stripes to hint at this being a character piece, but this may yet be changed for no other reason than it screams French character rather than American.
Clearly a few liberties have been taken with this representation of Capt. Lee, but I just felt that the miniature worked, especially when seen in conjunction with the 'Artizan Designs' Tankers.  The scale is a good match for the other miniatures and yet he still manages to convey an assured confidence, the sort of confidence that can carry the day against overwhelming odds! 

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58 comments:

  1. Excellent addition Michael, you've really given life to this character model

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  2. Lovely work on adapting the figure :)

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Tamsin, really pleased with how it came together.

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  3. Great conversion work and lovely painting on this characterful piece!
    Best Iain

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much Iain, I am working my way through the rest of the characters.

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  4. He looks like the type of commander who needs fawning wannabe to follow him around.Wonderfully painted as always Mr A.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Phil, I agree he does need a second, I shall have to see what I can come up with.

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  5. First class addition...and group!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Phil, they are starting to come together.

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  6. A most excellent figure to fit the role of this fellow. Well done once again Michael!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Terry, pleased to have found this one.

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  7. Nicely done, sir! He looks full of character.

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  8. Lovely (small ) conversion.......always impressed by your attention to detail !

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Matt, it just needed something to make him less obviously about Donald and more about Jack.

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  9. Very interesting! What rules are you going to use?

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Slorm, we are home brewing the rules based on Studio Tomahawk’s Congo, The League of Augsburg’s Donnybrook & a sprinkling of Guillotine Games’ Zombicide.

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    2. Wow!, you have all my interest.. Donnybrook and Zombicide are great rules. Loving to read and watch more of your project

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    3. Thank you. Hoping to start play testing one we have the terrain worked out.

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  10. Another fine addition to the gang! The re-worked arm looks great

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  11. Really like it! And you’re absolutely right, the arm you used fits so much better.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Nick, I became obsessed with changing it, so pleased that it worked.

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  12. "a miniature to make my collection great again" I almost wet myself reading this! Great figure and an amazing job on the rules as well mate!

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    Replies
    1. I am so glad someone picked up on that. :D Thank you Sander, that's very kind.

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  13. Fantastic work Michael the little conversion on Jack worked very well.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much Frank, really pleased with how it turned out.

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  14. A great sculp and excellent 'conversion'; your paintjob is first class giving him real character and a distinctive look.

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    Replies
    1. That is very kind Joe, I wanted to give this character a little move 'love', as it were.

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  15. I hate to say this seeing how great the paint job is but the mini kind of looks like a Trump-Blow-Up-Sex-Doll O_O Sorry for putting that image into your head but I just couldn't get that thought out of my mind. Seriously though, nice paint job.

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    Replies
    1. Now there is an image, I am going to struggle to get rid of! Thank you all the same. :)

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  16. Superb, I've just bought the Stephen Harding book to find out the full story. really enjoying watching this project develop.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Martin, it's a good read and I am sure it won't be long before it is a Hollywood Blockbuster.

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  17. A simple yet fantastic conversion and your style of painting is perfect for the mini.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much, really pleased with how the swap worked.

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  18. Cracking representation of an interesting sounding feller. Love the simple arm switch, works very well!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much Dai, he was definitely the right man in the right place.

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  19. An excellent choice of figure, conversion and paint job to finish him off. That mop of blonde hair and round face does give him that Boris look though.
    The project is going to be fantastic with all the detail you keep adding.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Pat, there is definitely a look of 'Boris' to the man! :)

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  20. What a cracking character and commander!

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