"Red Dawn's Wolverines?" Topic

imdb.com/title/tt0087985

You may (or may not) have liked the movie . . . but the concept is interesting.

However, if anyone has ever played this Cold War fiction in 28mm, what figures did (would) you use for the "Wolverines"?

CC

Honest John's "White Trash" line. It is perfect for that.

In 15mm some of the AK47 Republic stuff from PP would work with a few head swaps

Great movie! I remember it well…….I was in the Army as a Tanker at Ft Bliss, (which was anything but!) and I was on a date with a female MP that had given me a ticket the night before for a broken headlight on my POV as I was coming back to base for the night. I sorta blew up at her for the rediculous ticket cost, ($30.00), shouted and jumped about, signed the ticket and left…..the next day, I went to the MP headquarters, saught her out and apologized. She asked, "Wanna go out?" Of course I replied, "Why yes. Yes I would." (inside I was freaking out! This pretty MP was going on a date with me! Yippie!)

We went and saw the movie. Everytime the Wolverines blew something up the entire theater cheered! Amasing how something like that can stir ones emotions……..

Which has nothing to do with the topic! Sorry.
Always wanted to do T2K with that scenario…..hey! I still can!

Copplestone's Neo-Soviets and Partisans?

You may (or may not) have liked the movie…

Loved it at the time, and thought Lea Thompson was so hot…

Watched on it DVD a while ago. Not as exciting as I remembered. Still fun, though.

…but the concept is interesting.

You betcha!

Would Copplestone Castings or EM-4 scavengers work for this look?

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picture

CC

From IMDB (link given above):

"This film was entered into the Guinness Book of Records as having the most acts of violence of any film up to that time. It was calculated that on average an act of violence occurs at a rate of 134 per hour or 2.23 per minute."

Really? I never thought of this one as particularly violent. Gangs of New York, on the other hand…

"All that hate's gonna burn you up, boy."

"Wait, I thought there were a billion Chinese?"

"There were."

Wasn't it the first movie to get the PG-13 rating?

Mdlmker- I always wanted to do this with T2K also.
I first saw it at one of the post theatres on Ft. Lewis, my friends and I were the only non-GIs there, and you can bet there was a lot of cheering going on with that crowd.

I've watched it twice since I got the DVD recently. It's still not a bad movie. The premise of the Soviet invasion is pretty weak, but the underlying theme of a small group of people fighting against the odds, because it's the right thing to do, is what's most interesting to me.

I've been toying with the idea of doing this in 20mm. Anybody know any suitable armed civvies in that scale.

Bruno

I loved the poor history teacher in that film. He was going to give the Russian paratroopers detention hall slips! Keep the faith baby!

One of the funniest movies of all time and there are some who would sneeringly suggest the humour was unintentional. Golly gosh that John Milius is a geenuwine no nonsense patriotic fella. I think that the pronounced homoerotic subtext of the film means that it will lose much of its mainstream appeal, but boy that Patrick Swayze is clean cut and has such a nice hairdo.

Oh sorry that really missed the original question. I think you would need to find old Elastolin or Zinnfiguren two dimesnional flats to do justice to the plot or acting.

Now that was funny!

Spooky CC this was on UK TV last night!!! I know you get around but bleeding Heck ;0)

OFM

Honest John's White Trash??

Civies in 20mm with AKs and RPGs etc from Liberation Miniatures Urban range. Also maybe some usables in Combat/Hotspur's old line.

cheers, VLG

Honest john also makes superb Triune Monarchy of Scythia Pannonia Trans Balkania figures in its Ruritanian Wars range, as well as the only War of Jenkins Ear Bavarian Horse Grenadiers that I am aware of. Keep on eye on them, they are the best fictitious company out there.

If you can find them, the Twilight 2000 20mm figs would work great.

For the later scanrios, the kids used the same equipment and uniforms as the Sovs.

I seocnd the Neo-Sovs and Partizans from Copplestone for a near-future invasion of the US of A.

I appreciate everybody's fond memories of Red Dawn (especially Mdlmker— now THAT'S the way to remember a movie. Yowza!), but I saw it again recently and it didn't hold up at all. What a stinker! But it WOULD be fun to play as a game.

I actually just watched it again last night. Great movie. They should do another one about this alternate history in another city or area. Like Denver as I believe they said it was under seige.

Thought it would be funny to rent this movie and watch it with my Russian girlfriend whom I just started dating….it was not funny to her!

I dunno, I just saw it again recently, and it appeared that for such a low-budget film, they took a *lot* of pains to make it (visually) as accurate as they could. I mean, a vis-mod ZSU-23-4? It wasn't great, but at least they tried. Granted, some of it was heavyhanded as anything, but the initial fear reactions were far better than I remember it (or how most people portray it).

And wasn't it mostly Latin American troops, with Russian advisors and 'stiffening'?

Maybe some of TAG's East Europe Criminals could work?

I know the aesthetic isn't exactly right, but I'll second the Copplestone suggestion.

We watched in my Army Russian language class.

Yeah, the occupation troops started out commanded by Cubans, but as the zone became "active" KGB / Spetznaz types showed up.

"How long are we going to stay here?"
[sound of Soviet Jet flying over]
"Until we don't hear that sound no more."

Always a soft spot in my heart (or maybe my head!) for that movie! They filmed it in New Mexico which is my favorite vacation spot. Everytime I watch it I get the urge to drive cross country again.

Geneva convention…never heard of it…

I hope they don't start calling me "Spooky CC"! I couldn't stand that in High School. :)

CC

Carlos gets my prize for the best putdown of a movie I am just so happy to putdown! Darned insurgents…

I hope they don't start calling me "Spooky CC"! I couldn't stand that in High School. :)

CC

LOL

keep an eye on TAG for regular Russian troops out hoped soon

Talking of WW3 movies can anyone remeber a made for TV movie (I think) back in the 80's with David Soul as the hero and Rock Hudson as the US president. Scenario was unrest in USSR due to crop failure. US refusing to supply grain without progress on human rights issues. A team of Spetznaz are sent into Alaska to threaten the oil pipeline and David Soul and his national guardsman are the only ones between the Russians and their goal.

World War III came out in 1982. I asked about this recently myself. Unfortunately it's not available on video.

imdb.com/title/tt0084919

While we're on the topic of WW3 movies, I'm trying to compile a list of all the ones made. Don't care how good they are, more interested in the reasons given for the war taking place. I am especially interested in if there are any non-US movies.

Would also like suggestions on books or comics on the subject too. I know all the major ones by Bond, Coyle, Hackett, Clancy. For comics I know about: Scout and it's spin offs- War Shaman, Swords of Texas, New America; Tiger-X; Twilight X;and the awful adaptation of Team Yankee.

Thanks in advance for any help, Bruno

Man, I remeber that movie. I wish it was available.

RD is one of the all time best Modern War films ever made in my book.
It would be great to RPG/Game the story.

You know…add more guys as the odd few get killed, by arming refugees and training them, go scavenge weapons and food, and keep moving your base camp, planning out your raids on the bad guys, ect…it would be great fun.

Also the miniatures would be very cool, if done like the guys from the film.

:D
BME

What did people think of the TV series Amerika with Kris Kristoffersen?

I have the soundtrack to Red Dawn on would you believe, vinyl – I always remember when it was first on sale over here it was like £60.00 GBP and there was no way I could afford it, then one week I saw it for £8.00 GBP and bought it straight away – great score btw.

I did like the hind gunships in it. They looked nice.

Amerika had an interesting premise with lousy execution. I watched the whole thing and read the novelization, I really had high hopes for it at the time, but it was just crap. Maybe if I watched it now it wouldn't be so bad, probably not though.

Bruno

"Now I show you how Soviet dies!"
"I've seen it before, pal."

Andy wrote: ""All that hate's gonna burn you up, boy."
"Keeps me warm." :D

WOLVERINES!!!!

Yes. It was crap. But it was fun crap. :)

For this topic's latest incarnation:

TMP link

CC

Remake!!!

link
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link

CC
PS. I guess I'm getting my 15mm guys ready:
TMP link
TMP link

Red dawn.
People liked it?
I suppose it's a sort of actioner.

I'd rate it at least a 6 pinter.
More the second time round.
The beer goggles would definitely need to be doing a lot of filtering.

Such s great film, and a remark coming too, also a computer game on the xbox called homefront as well…

And westend did a rpg.mini game as well, called – damm i cannot remember..

Even that i don`t use the system 2 hour wargames would work with the campaign system..

Me.. i like to play around with my own rules when i can keeps me sane..!!!!

Mdlmker,

Dating an MP, huh? I you sure you weren't dreaming about a scene from from STRIPES?

CC, do you want Wolverines in Soviet kit or high school jackets and parkas with hunting rifles and bows. This could get really creative.

I, for one, am really excited about the remake. The fact that it is being filmed in Michigan (Wolverines) is SO appropriate. I suppose if they want a lot of ready-made desolate urban areas to fight over, Detroit is ideal.

Look forward to the first-person shooter video game, too.

Mark (native Wolverine)

Yeah, the Hind helicopters were done surprisingly well. Must be tough to do aircraft visual mods, when the resulting mish-mash still has to be airworthy.

The irony of RD is that in Iraq for the past six years, the U.S. Army has been playing out that movie. Except we're not the insurgents.

[this is meant to be factual and ironic, not political commentary]

Yup,

They are going to do a all new Red Dawn but the bad guys change from Russian & Hispanics to Russians and Chinese.

Probably not going to make the Chinese happy but it should keep Hugo happy.

Also probably will not be as good as the first.

Hmm. Whatever success the 1984 film got had mainly to do with believability – how plausible for the time.

This is an interesting way of looking at that:

"All along, since the inception of this project (the remake), I haven't felt as though anyone in the world has been nearly as frightening as the Soviet Union was in the 1980's. I realize how badly I'm dating myself at this moment, but I remember that period of time pretty well and it was not inconceivable that a war could erupt as a result of Cold War relations. Red Dawn was improbable, yes, but for a kid in the 80's it spoke volumes. There isn't a Cold War any more and there isn't a state on Earth that poses a real threat to anyone."
link

"The middle Reagan years—the fingernail-gnawing, doomsday-clock-watching, pre-perestroika finale of the Cold War—were a dreadful time for movies in general, but they were the heyday of the Armageddon film. The mid-'80s gave us War Games, The Day After, Invasion USA, Testament, Amerika, and The Terminator, and they gave me nightmares."
link

In the early and mid 80's all of us kids were constantly reminded of how dangerous the Soviet Union was. And the feeling was that it was escalating. All of us felt it and thought about it.

However, I don't think most kids nowadays are even aware of what's going on in the world. And if some of them do, they don't see it as dreadful as we saw the early and mid 80s.

So, even if the remake ends up being a fantastic film, it will not seem believable to modern kids. And, for us who lived during the final years of the Cold War, it will seem amusing, given today's situation.

Now, if they did a movie where N. Korea incapacitates US response to nukes, so that they can fire long range nukes at key US cities from land and sea, then it might get the attention of most people. Might not seem probable, but at least seems believable – given the times.

CC

In 28mm, these could work nicely as "bearded" Wolverines:
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I just watched the movie about a week ago, and I will have to say the threats at the time had a lot to do with the success of the movie. I remember the Russians being a real fear at the time. I remember them bringing service men to my school explaining how Russian children were really no different then us…

I really enjoyed the movie so it will be very intresting to see how they attempt to get the connection with movie gowers this time.