It's impossible to consider living without ideals.
However, when ideas lead to ideology, that's a very dangerous thing.
Ideology then leads to creating the image of an enemy, and it leads to the murder and massacre that we've seen since the beginning of time.
- Michael Haneke
To hunt a devil, you need a pack of devils.
- promo write up.
To hunt a devil, you need a pack of devils.
- promo write up.
Fear no more the heat o' the death, nor the furious winter's rages.
- write up from the box.
If found, return to Hell.
- The Dirty Deed.
Major John Reisman: (Kinder has just finished a psychiatric evaluation of Reisman's troops) So what does that give you?
Capt. Stuart Kinder: Doesn't give me anything. But along with these other results, it gives *you* just about the most twisted, anti-social bunch of psychopathic deformities I have ever run into!
Major John Reisman: Well, I can't think of a better way to fight a war.
- The Dirty Dozen (1967).
A (mis) interpretation:
Category type: Warbot.
Unit type: Mass production tactical assault warbot.
Model type: Bertie MK2.
Designation: Dirty Deeds Nummer eins Franko.
Manufacturer: The Rothchild Corporation.
Affiliation: Terra Coalition Forces - various divisions (former); Die Grau Tatengruppen - The N.O.M. Legion (former); Der Schwarztaten Einsatzgruppen - Das dreckige Dutzend warband (current).
Powerplant: Twin turbo BRINK supercharger diesel engine.
Armour type: Super hardened ceramic steel composite alloy.
Armour thickness: 150mm.
Height: 7 feet.
Weight: 2000 kg.
Std. armaments: "The Devil's Laughter" - GUSTAV ONE assault cannon x 1; "Trejo D" - GOREMASTER machete x 1; "Dirty Harry" - NUTCRACKER revolver x 1; Auspex - Multi-sensor; Psychic hood - psychic null system; Signum - communication device; Maschinen Segne Task Intelligence System v.2; teleporter homer beacon x 1.
The Einsatzgruppen is formed by the Supreme Mother of the N.O.M. (Nitor Obduro Macto) Legion during the early phase of the Great War between Terra and Mars. It is an elite group with separate hierarchical structure from the standard Chapters of N.O.M. It is a commando division which primary function is to undermine both the Terran and Martian armed forces. They gain notoriety for being brutal and uncompromising in both the tactics and strategies use to achieve their objectives. The Supreme Mother sees it as a means to greater goods, a price worth paying, a decision of which, though possessing a near omnipotent all-seeing psychic abilities to foresee the various paths of the future, to Her later much regret and guilt.
The Einsatzgruppen initially comprises the elite Dark Deeds group or Die Grau Tatengruppen, lead by Noir de Plume. Like their namesake, they carry out various acts of sabotages and subterfuge destruction of both Terran and Martian armies.
Later as the Great War grinds on, the Einsatzgruppen becomes more and more independent in carrying out their objectives as Noir de Plume and his first disciple, the then Nom di Sciple, Barguest, begins a series of iconoclastic acts and population massacres of unprecedented level across the battle fronts in the name of the Legion. Shortly before his death, Noir de Plume, whom by then had been corrupted by the Ruinous Powers of Chaos through the influence of Kuan ti Plume, the First of the Fallen, re-named the group, the Dirty Deeds. By then the group has grown so large in numbers, comprising the most fanatical members of the Legion and machine spirit blessed warbots. Barguest is nominated to replace Noir, becoming the new Nom de Plume of the group. The Harbinger of Doom as he is also known, leads the Dirty Deeds to unprecedented successes but increasingly independent of the instructions or commands from the Supreme Mother, much to the dismay of majority of the N.O.M. commanders and other Nom de Plumes. Garmr, High Marshal of the Host himself personally petitioned to the Supreme Mother the potential risks which he has foreseen, even the Death's Head himself leads an equally independent elite sub-group, the Deathwatchers, but the Supreme Mother gives only a vague reply.
After the Assault on Rothchild City at Luna in 1944, the War of Unbelief occurs, which effectively splintered the Legion apart and the death of Barguest de Plume, whom by then has laid down the seed of The Path of the Damned to his fanatical followers, particular his Nom di Sciple, The Fourth, whom forms The Bleeding Eyes Legion comprising former traitorous legionnaires of the N.O.M. Legion, and continuously unite various traitor warbands together to form a united front as the Harrowmaster of Chaos to assault the Legion asteroid fortress monastery. The Dirty Deeds is effectively destroyed as a cohesive group during the civil war amongst the Legion, roaming throughout the Sol System as members of various warbands.
As of 1950, the remaining members of the Dirty Deeds have been hunted down and eliminated by The Unforgiven. However, twelve traitor legionnaires survives and are captured. Instead of being put down, the Supreme Mother decrees that these twelve individual Bertie Mk2 renegades would be unleashed against the Legion enemies as a form of suicide squad to atone for their betrayal. Known as The Dirty Dozen, the twelve Bertie Mk2 warbots are sent to Mars sector on a mission to take out an Adeptus Mechanicus manufactorum on Phobos. A device is customised and implanted into each of them, which could acts as a form of control which could immobilise them with a remote psychic signal.
Unfortunately the mission fails from the start, as the drop pod's void shield is penetrated by the surface to orbit lascannon from Mars twin defense ring. The Dirty Dozen survives however, and the flaming drop pod lands violently on Mars itself. They continue their supposed mission but with a twist. Their Task Intelligence Systems have been corrupted to the extent of making them being schizophrenic and if the term is applicable to a warbot, an all out sociopathic warbots with cold and all destroying hunger. They still think they are carrying out the war on behalf of the Legion. The control device is taken off and they become an uncontrollable independent warband once more. The Unforgiven elites continue to hunt for them and so are the Frateris Militia but each of the twelve has been retro-fitted with Psychic Hood, a form of psychic null system, making their machine spirit totally invisible to any tracing. Each members of The Dirty Deeds also has a built in teleporter homer beacon, enabling them to teleport at a certain distance.
The Dirty Dozen answers to no one, only carrying out wanton acts of massacres and destructions across Mars with reasons, if any, known only to themselves. They later taken control of a Warp tainted destroyer class ship known as The Despoiler which serves as their primary transport. The Despoiler appearance is usual precedent by the formation of ionised clouds of the Warp portal. It is a living ship, with its own sentiency believe to be of daemonic nature and incredibly resilient with self healing ability. Each of the surviving Dirty Dozens possess their own post modified built in teleporter homer beacon, enabling them to travel certain distance and use them tactically during battle. They primarily carry out an assault in twelve, never individually, and with tactical and strategic cohesiveness worthy of a veteran N.O.M. commander and his or her Chapter. Each Dirty Dozen has a built in communication device known as Signum. It allows them to access a myriad of useful battlefield targeting data and pass that information on to their companions, allowing for more accurate and coordinated fire without the requirement of a Square bot. While useful on its own, pairing a Signum with the interconnected autosenses of the Dirty Dozen allows them to strike their foe with deadly and inescapable coordinated precision.
The Dirty Dozen doesn't have ranks but are numbered one to twelve amongst themselves. Whomever that branded them with death mask war paints on their armour ensure each decals are subtly different. They curiously still retain the N.O.M. Legion's Trinity purity seals on them. Each are equal to another, with programmed warped sense of objective. When a Dirty Dozen member is fallen during an assault, another Bertie MK2 would be captured to replace it. There have been suggestions that a yet unknown force is in control of The Dirty Dozen. Suspects include The Fourth of the renegade Bleeding Eye Legion, the MOD faction and even Darwin Rothchild himself. The most probable reason as proposed by Thrice Naut, the Blanc Chapter N.O.M. Commander is that this is the will of the Supreme Mother. Their existence must have borne some reasons. He is not far from wrong.
Each Dirty Dozen renegade Bertie MK2 carries with them both close and long range weapons. A favoured melee weapon is a GOREMASTER warbot class machete known as "Trejo D", of which The Dirty Dozens use to cut and slash their targets with berserk fury. Unfortunate decapitated human heads are collected and kept as trophies. The sight of decapitated human heads also serves as a form of psychological terror upon their enemies.
The "Dirty Harry" NUTCRACKER class revolver is a hand-held ballistic anti-personnel weaponry. It is a powerful assault weapon that fires explosive kinetic rounds colloquially referred to as bolts. The weapon is fearsome, with explosive rounds capable of ripping through or blowing apart a foe. Powerful and utilitarian side arms, NUTCRACKER has seen service within many of the Terra Coalition's military forces since its inception early into The Great War. The NUTCRACKER is commonly used in conjunction with the machete by The Dirty Dozen to make them into melee combat specialists. However it's ammo chamber carries only 6 to 10 rounds of standard Bolt rounds.
For close to medium range assault, they used the GUSTAV ONE assault cannon, a ballistic three-barrelled, self-loading rotary gun, effective against infantry targets and light vehicles. It is a standard designed assault cannon, retaining the distinctively long, cylindrical, rotating barrels. It is introduced in the early phase of the Great War, to be used and compliment the Harold warbots autocannon. Although it lacks the range of the autocannon and many other Rothchild Corporation designed heavy weapons, the GUSTAV ONE is a fearsome weapon when used at the close to medium range role from which it was intended to be fired. Its enormous rate of fire enables it to literally shred its way through most targets, punishing them with up to 2000 rounds per minute of 30mm ammunition with a maximum range of 1000 meters. GUSTAV ONE are extremely potent at medium-to-close range, against armoured infantry and moderately armoured vehicles. The assault cannon's massive rate of fire can allow it to chew through armour that would normally be impenetrable to a weapon of its calibre. The assault cannon is well suited to the battlefield role, providing a massive rate of fire which often compensates for the enemies' vast superiority in numbers. In confined environments providing long corridors of fire, the assault cannon is invaluable. The roar of the assault cannon while firing gives it the name "The Devil's Laughter". However, the weapon is prone to overheating and jams due to its high rate of fire. The barrels and other firing components are made of a heat-dispersing ceramic/metallic alloy, helping the weapon to withstand the intense heat generated by its high rate of fire. Despite this, the barrels still reach temperatures of over 300°F. Due to the high rate of wear on the barrels, the barrels are usually replaced after every mission. Motor and barrel failure are common problems with the GUSTAV ONE, making the weapon prone to jamming during sustained bursts. Its weight and recoil also makes it difficult to control at times. But this is recompense by the powerful servos, recoil compensators and stabilizers built into a Bertie MK2 to carry the weapon into battle. The high rate of fire makes the assault cannon unsuitable for extended engagements when used, as the ammunition carried is quickly exhausted. Regardless, "The Devil's Laughter" epitomises the deadliness of the Dirty Dozen which teleport behind the enemy's front line and open up with fully-automatic fire, spreading carnage and terror. The logistic shortcomings of the assault cannon are far outweighed by its destructiveness in combat and its effect on enemy morale. The standard ammunition fired is a cased round, comprising a dense metallic core covered in a non-metallic composite sheath with a diamantine tip. This provides excellent penetration capabilities against light and personal armour.
As of 1955, they have carved out a path of death and destruction across Mars. The Dirty Dozen is last seen on Mars by the only surviving member of the Frateris Militia ambushed by them along the Aeolian Coast. Shortly thereafter, when the N.O.M. Legion succeed in locating Darwin Rothchild's latest location, the Dirty Dozen disappeared from Mars altogether. Later, the Anti-Mars Coalition (AMC), Mars Advocates (MARSA) and the Independent Countries Group (ICG) forces begin to report the sightings of a group of twelve unknown allegiance Bertie MK2 wreaking havoc across the jungles of southern United Americana. The AMC would responds by raising an elite unit from the CIvic Defence Force known as The S9 selected from the 13th Calvary Regiment.
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Finally. My first Bertie MK2. In 1/6th scale. And in Dirty Deeds colourway. I have been desiring a Bertie MK2 ever since I seen it in ThreeA's WWRp and 3AGO scale. Alas non was coming. Until now. And have been a fan of the Dirty Deeds since I saw the first ever Bertie released by ThreeA. Bertie is an icon for me personally. Its by now classic design by Ashley Wood (which co-incidentally reminds me of R2D2), is timeless. I missed out the Bertie MK3. I have since sold off the 1/6th Sand Devil Bertie MK3 Mode B of which I bought from secondary market as I felt it could not fit into my personal WWR universe, either from colourway perspective or my own self made up background fictional story. Would love a JEA but secondary prices are just too high. This is the first of twelve but I wouldn't hold my breath for ThreeA to actually complete the dozen. Oh, they are also known as The Dirty Dozen for there are twelve of them, looking alike but subtle differences in face war paints, and more or less same weaponries. As well as the severed heads. As of date, three have been released and pre-ordered, but when it was first announced, ThreeA said a monthly release schedule which true to their business style nowadays, the fourth one still hasn't been announced. Just like the Seven Bones, which is just one member away from completion. The unpredictability of ThreeA is sometimes hard to cope. Another example would be the 2000AD's ABC Warriors. When Mongrol in 1/6th was first announced for pre-order, I was excited and the description clearly stated one of seven. Currently, not only has it been relegated to a 1/12th scale, there are no further news on the remaining members. Now back to this figure. It would be awesome, though wallet draining, with the ringgit freefalling right now, to see all twelve together. Finger cross it would be fulfilled. But no expectation. Number two is on its way but not in post yet. And there is Number three still in production I guess. The figure is sturdy, tight joints box fresh though there are some paint locks which I need to pivot carefully. But the irony is over time, based on my experience, most robots with rotating ball joints would become loose if played with too much. And the paint would also get wet if not well kept in good condition. The box which my figure comes with is not mint at all if there is any nit picking. It looks like a used box. It is not an imposing robot but still exudes the menacing feel. Maybe due to its colourway and official background story by Ashley Wood. Comes with an awesome gatling gun, a machete, revolver and three severed heads of which Ashley first announced in his Instagram that would be made available if the response is good. I guess it did. This is one those classic WWR robots from ThreeA which hopefully I would be able to keep for good. Just like Caesar MK1.5. Some recent WWR scaled robots are just not my cup of tea. But this grimy, oil stained, chipped paint robot harks back to what I love about WWR robot. The WWR line has been side tracked recently, with focus on smaller scaled WWRp and 3AGO. Here's hoping ThreeA would release more WWR scale robots in near future. Oh, by the way, this is "Phase Three" of the WWR storyline, called SOTF or Survival Of The Fittest after the short lived EVOL. All personal background story based on WH40K and what bits of information I could gather from the forum or website on the official story, which I didn't read nor have.
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