Jurassic Reich was wonderful, and here are a few  photos courtesy of Paul at the  Man Cave . Check out the rest of his great Jurassic Reich photos – thanks Paul!

And you can find more photos at Spodding  !

1800

 1940    Germany occupies France.  In the vaults of the Louvre Museum the artifact is found and taken to Berlin.    Himmler learns of the artifact and commissions a team from the Ahnenerbe, the Nazi Occult Bureau, to investigate.

 1941    German scientists discover that the artifact is a gateway back to Earth’s prehistoric past. Teams are sent back and return with living dinosaurs.

 1942    Hitler orders the creation of a new weapon of terror – the Kreigsclaw – units of mounted dinosaurs and pterodactyls.

The famous film director, “Dino de Laurentis is commissioned to make a propaganda film demonstrating Germany’s conquest of the primeval forces of nature.

Die Eroberung von Zeit

Or Die Eroberung von Zeit  – the title for “Dino” de Laurentis’ film –  follows in the footsteps of “Triumph of the Will” and “Victory of Faith”, as a celebration of German might. The discovery and use of the Anubis Gate to relocate dinosaurs from the past  is just the first step. 

Interestingly, the film does not mention the Gates, but claims that  German science and genetics  is responsible for recreating and breeding dinosaurs.

A disturbing photo captured by Allied intelligence

So to recap on what the game is all about:  The Allies are attempting to:    1. Prevent Germany making their propaganda film  2. Destroy the dinosaur hatchery/ laboratory  and 3. Rescue Ginger Snaps from the castle!  The Germans, once under attack, will be trying to get the precious film “in the can” and off the table by any means necessary – even if it has to be strapped to one of the Pterowaffen (oops! is that a playing hint to the Germans?)

We’ll be using Flying Lead from Ganesha Games for the rules  – they will provide a suitable pulp game while still providing enough  stucture and detail  to cover most eventualities.  I’m curently working out the stats for both sides : The germans will have mostly regular troops – apart from the dinosaurs!  For those that have played the Songs system,  Kreigsclaw have these stats: 

Kreigsclaw & rider       96 points   Quality 4  Combat 2

Submachine Gun, Fear, Long Move, Mounted, Body Armor, Big, Savage

So they have a burst of speed, good in close combat, and a bit tough – I’m thinking I may may need to increase the toughness, but we’ll see.

The Allies will have veteran GIs led by Eureka’s “pulp” Dogface GIs – these guys will be heroes and tough – Quality 3 Combat 3, with Hero, Body Armour, then a number of other special abilities depending on the individual.

"Dinosaurs, cameras, ACTION!"

 ”Dino” de Laurentis filming the  propaganda epic that will demonstrate the might of the new Jurassic Reich

"CUT! - Lets try that again, with feeling!"

"Take that !"

Germany's weapon of terror - das Kreigsclaw

A genuine fender bender!

Is it a bird? is it a plane?

Here’s the first example of Germany’s mounted dinosaur units – the Kriegsclaw!  Made by Eureka, sculpted by Kosta Heristanidis and painted by Alan Harrison, the dinosaur it is based on Deinonychus (“terrible claw”).  It  is bigger than its original ancestor, but this is due to tinkering by Nazi geneticists.

The German expedition to Thule was not their first  attempt to uncover the secrets of the planet and its creatures.  In 1938 Himmler sent an expedition to Tibet, ostensibly to find the origins of the Aryan race.  This is documented in Himmler’s Crusade: The Nazi Expedition to Find the Origins of the Aryan Race  : 

 “Why would the leader of the Nazi’s dreaded SS, the second-most-powerful man in the Third Reich, send a zoologist, an anthropologist, and several other scientists to Tibet on the eve of war? Himmler’s Crusade tells the bizarre and chilling story one of history’s most perverse, eccentric, and frightening scientific expeditions. ….. “

What the author of this book doesn’t disclose is that the expedition was actually investigating the fabled Yeti – Himmler was obsessed with the idea that ancient, powerful creatures were part of the Nazi ideal, and would eventually be vindicated with the Thule expedition.

The expedition failed to find a Yeti, but some of the German soldiers  posed for this prank photo:

Failure to find a real Yeti didn't stop German soldiers staging this photo

Here is the latest sketch Alan has done of the table.  It now has a lot more terrain on it, which will be great for skirmishing.