West Wind Productions recently expanded their Secrets of the Third Reich range with three new Jagerhund miniatures. The 28 mm sized figures are part man and part dog with a focus on German dog breeds. Think of them as Weredogs instead of Werewolves. West Wind was kind enough to send along one of each of the three miniatures; the Jagerhund Rottweiler, Jagerhund Alsatian and the Jagerhund Doberman.

Each of these miniatures is available from the West Wind Productions online store for £4.00 each and there will be rules for using them in West Wind’s upcoming Secrets of the Third Reich ruleset.

All three of the miniatures are single piece castings with an integrated tabs to be used with a slotta base. They are approximately 40mm from the base of their feet to the tops of their heads. Each of the miniatures that we received had no flash and almost no mould lines. The prep work needed to get these ready for priming was negligible.

While the figures are part of West Wind’s Weird WWII range there is nothing about them specific to the WWII period and so you could use these figures for almost any Pulp or Horror gaming you may be interested in. The Doberman would work especially well in an Egyptian themed Pulp game. All three are similarly attired in ripped pants with bare chests and feet. Each is also posed similarly with clenched fists.

Jagerhund Doberman

Of the three miniatures, the Jagerhund Doberman most closely resembles the dog from which it is modeled on. It is a tough task to be sure since we get so many visual clues to a dog’s breed from physical characteristics that aren’t present in these miniatures due to the hybrid nature of the beats. The Jagerhund Doberman’s ears and snout are a good representation on the real dog though. The Jagerhund Rottweiler resembles a slightly older and fatter dog, at least the head does, but it is still noticeably a Rottweiler. The ears are slightly flat against its head so from the front it is difficult to make out that it is meant to be a dog but from other angles the resemblance is quite strong. The Jagerhund Alsatian though looks far more like a Werewolf than a German Shepherd. The fur on the muzzle isn’t correct and the head is the wrong shape.

Jagerhund Rottweiler

The Jagerhund Rottweiler has the most interesting pose of the three. The dog’s head is back and its mouth open wide in a challenging howl, its arms are tensed at its side. The anger demonstrated by the sculpt is emphasized by the enlarged veins that work across the Jagerhund’s chest and arms. Its fitting that the Rottweiler gets this pose given its reputation and the miniature does a good job at portraying raw aggression and anger.

The Jagerhund Doberman is posed looking off to its right with its right arm extend in the direction of its gaze. The clenched fist of its right hand doesn’t look quite right. The Jagerhunds all have human looking hands with fingers and it is curious that West Wind didn’t pick this miniature to show those fingers by having the Jagerhund Doberman pointing or gesturing with something other than a clenched fist.

Both the Doberman and the Rottweiler have curved dog-like legs, the Doberman moreso than the Rottweiler. The Alsatian has more human looking legs with more extensive fur on them. Both the Rottweiler and the Doberman have very prominent and well defined musculature. The Alsatian has more fur modeled on the figure and so some of that definition is “lost” under the fur meaning the Alsatian looks less defined when compared to the other two Jagerhunds.

Jagerhund Alsatian

When taken together it almost looks as if the Alsatian was sculpted prior to the other two models and was the inspiration for them. The Doberman and Rottweiler are more dog-like and look closer to their sources than the Alsatian figure. The Alsatian also has some sculpting issues with its pants, an exaggerated lip that makes the pants seem quite thick.

All three suffer from a lack of detail on the pants. Which sounds like an odd thing to comment on but the given that there are no other clothing or items on the figures one would have though that there would be buttons, belt loops or some detail. As it is the pants look a little flat. This might not be much of an issue once the miniatures are painted.

Conclusion

Out of the three I liked the Rottweiler and the Doberman. The Alsatian struck me as being a small Werewolf and not only doesn’t look like a German Shepherd but doesn’t really look like a dog or like the other two figures. The Rottweiler is the best of the three , it certainly has the most interesting pose. The Doberman is also good, especially if you want some sort of Anubis inspired figure for a Pulp game. The only complaint I have with the Doberman is the odd clenched hand on the figure. The muscles on the Rottweiler and Doberman are a bit severe at times but this can be toned down with paint and to be honest its better to have the detail than have to paint it on.

My major issue with the figures is the price. At £4.00 each these are the same price as the larger Werewolf miniatures that West Wind sell and slightly less expensive than the four packs of zombies from the same range. The price is a bit much for an individual single piece figure and at that price I couldn’t recommend the Alsatian especially since you can get one of the much nicer Werewolves instead.

If you are looking for an interesting addition to your Pulp or Horror games, and don’t mind the price, then check out the Jagerhund Rottweiler or Doberman.