The Greater Republic of Zambriot
The Greater Republic of Zambriot
The Greater Republic of Zambriot
The Greater Republic of Zambriot
The Greater Republic of Zambriot
The Greater Republic of Zambriot
History:
The Democratic Republic of Zambriot (ZRK) won its independence in 1921 when European colonial powers left after the Great War. The following year, civil war broke out between two factions vying for power - Zambriot Loyalists and Kundutu Revolutionaries. The war lasted 15 years until Zambriot General Oscar Kabila crushed his opponents, seized power and became dictator.

After his death in 1961, his son, General Nganla Kabila, took over power. This marked the beginning of two decades of economic stagnation, deep social change and food riots.

In 1981, with the government paralysed and on the verge of falling, President Kabila's top military official, General Mamba, negociated a secret agreement with a fledgling terrorist organisation - Cobra. He then assassinated his president and seized power. Thanks to a rapid influx of Cobra equipment, military supplies and mercenary troops, General Mamba ordered his elite Shock Troopers to put down all riots and demonstrations and to pacify the population. During 1981-1982, it is estimated that over 150 000 were killed during this pacification period. Mamba declared himself Supreme Leader and renamed his country The Greater Republic of Zambriot.

In 1983, Zambriot took the offensive against neighbouring countries. Bolstered by Cobra forces and modern equipment, Zambriot Shock Troops quickly invaded and defeated the neighbouring Federation of Bulwaro. The small Kingdom of Kamapala surrendered a few months later without firing a shot and was annexed. A year later, General Mamba's gaze turned toward its western neighbour - The Republic of Equatorial Bamon. The REB proved to be a more stubborn foe, but they were finally defeated in 1986. Through these conquests, Zambriot more than tripled its territory and population.

Since then, with the continued aid of Cobra, General Mamba has ruled with an iron fist. The Zambriot fund Cobra with profits from their diamond sales, buy military materiel and allow the organisation to set up training camps and military bases on their territory. In exchange, Cobra trains Zambriot troops and supplies extra forces for military campaigns.

Geography and Economy:
The Greater Republic of Zambriot is situated in East Africa. It borders Kenya in the South, Sudan in the North and West and the Indian Ocean on the East.

From 1983 to 1986, Zambriot has grown in size and strength. It conquered three sovereign nations - the Federation of Bulwaro, the Kingdom of Kamapala and the Republic of Equatorial Bamon. Since absorbing its three neighbouring countries, it has become an African power with a wide range of topographies, weather patterns, ethnic groups and economic activities.

Kundutu Province borders the Indian Ocean, is marked by desert conditions and has most of the country's large cities. Kundutu pirates, warlords and drug traffickers operate from the Province's ports.

Bamon Province is split in half by a mountain range. On the Northern side, it is marked by a lush jungle that grows one of the country's biggest exports the Tamalawa plant. Once refined, it is used in to make the drug utopia, which is popular in the United States.

The Bamon Mountain range is also rich in mineral and precious stones. This region produces the country's largest and most lucrative export: diamonds. Sales of these minerals fund the Zambriot military forces and support Cobra's operations in the region.
 
General Mamba

General Mamba is the Grandson of one of the leaders of the original Zambriot Loyalists that fought a bloody civil war against the Kundutu Revolutionaries.

He grew up in extreme poverty and was "recruited" into the military at age 6 when his village was burned to the ground by a local warlord. As Mamba grew up, he quickly rose through the ranks of the warlord's forces to become his right hand man. He learned to deceive, manipulate and lie to get what he wanted. When the opportunity arose to seize control of the warlord's army, Mamba took it. Shortly after, he hired out the services of his private army to the State and accepted an official position in the Zambriot military as a General. He bided his time, gained his leaders' trust and placed his people in key positions throughout the government. After a few years, he gained access to the president's inner circle.

In 1981, the government was facing assaults from all sides. Civil unrest was at an all-time high. Food riots broke out in the capital. General Mamba was ordered to put them down. Instead, he negotiated a secret agreement with Cobra and he initiated a coup d'état. Thanks to Cobra backing and to his elite Shock Troopers, General Mamba managed to assassinate President Nabila and his loyalists and seize power. The fighting lasted only a few days. Entire army units surrendered or joined Mamba's side as he promised to pay them for the first time in months. After declaring himself Supreme Leader and renaming the country, he has ruled The Greater Republic of Zambriot with an iron fist

He is ruthless, paranoid, has an astute political mind and is an excellent military strategist. He has built the Zambriot military into a formidable war machine that is the second largest on the African Continent. Among the military forces he can count on his elite Riot Shock Troopers to follow his orders without question.
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I debated whether or not to submit customs for this project at the beginning. I wrote a pretty interesting, albeit, generic, back-story for my Rogue east-African Nation. However, none of the characters that I created really resonated with me or fit into my Joe-verse, so I did not see the point of spending time and fodder making these if I was not completely committed to them. I had forgotten about the Mego Eagle Force line until Past Nastification posted some of his excellent customs. So I decided to adapt a few of these characters to my Joe-verse. General Mamba was the first one I decided to do and the others fell in place after that.

In doing some research of Eagle Force, I stumbled on an interview with its creator - Paul Kirchner. He states that general Mamba (who was based on Ugandan President Idi Amin) turned Caucasian just before hitting the market. In making this figure, I decided to go back to the original design intention. Also, it fit better with the nation and back-story. I then adapted my nation's back-story to incorporate references to R.I.O.T and Zambriot and that was that.

 
 
Nemesis

Nemesis was born John Baker Smith in Hartford, CT. Raised in a middle class family, he followed his father's footsteps and became an insurance agent. He had a wife, a child, a house in suburbs, a dog and a white picket fence. He followed all the rules and lived the life that was expected of him. Until the day he was laid off from the insurance company he worked for. Shortly thereafter, his wife left with their child and the bank foreclosed his home.

That is when John snapped. He had always followed all the rules and done what was expected of him. How could this happen to him? He quickly became angry and disillusioned with American society. Through an ex-work colleague, he joined the American Brotherhood, a radical group bent on over throwing the US Government. Along with giving financial and insurance advice, he spent two years learning combat techniques and training with a wide variety of weapons and explosives. Through his financial activities with the group, he found out that Cobra was funding the American Brotherhood's activities. He seized his chance to create a completely new identity and join Cobra as a consultant.

In 1981, General Mamba, backed by Cobra, had just taken control of the Greater Republic of Zambriot and needed some of Cobra's consultants to help him rebuild his military and consolidate his power base. Nemesis - John's new persona - joined him as a military and financial expert. He has since helped to destabilize neighbouring countries as a prelude to Zambriot invasions.
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Nemesis seemed like one of the most interesting R.I.O.T characters to me. Unfortunately, online information about him - including good pictures - was hard to find. Since I could not find a scan of the comic on the back of his card, I completely made up his bio to fit my Joe-Verse.

 
 
Savitar

Savitar's grandfather fought for the Kundutu Revolutionaries in the country's first civil war. After their defeat, he packed up his family and left their home to avoid the Great Purge that followed. Since then, three generations of his family have been born in exile, in Qatar, including Savitar.

Leaving his adopted country at the age of 13, Savitar trained with the Black Dragons. He then spent 3 years as an assassin-for-hire. When General Mamba came to power, Savitar saw his opportunity to return to his ancestral home. As fate would have it, Mamba could use the services of a trained assassin/bodyguard, so he brought the commando on board as part of his inner circle.
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This custom is nothing very complex. It is a straight repaint. I had forgotten about the Mego Eagle Force line until Past Nastification posted some of his excellent customs. So I decided to adapt a few of these characters to my Joe-verse. Savitar gave me the opportunity to make the blue ninja I have wanted to do for a while now.

 
 
Shock Troopers

Shock Troopers are the most fanatical of fanatics. These zealots embrace every aspect of the Riot Party's extreme agenda and are completely loyal to their leader, General Mamba. Numbering in the tens of thousands, they must endure a rigorous and extremely cruel training program to qualify as the elite. They occupy multiple roles in the Zambriot military forces. They can serve as frontline units during combat, as storm troopers to disrupt enemy formations or as ''morale'' boosters behind the lines.
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I was not sure I wanted to adapt the R.I.O.T. Shock Troopers to my Joe-verse at first. I liked their uniform design, but the idea of having them clad in silver did not appeal to me. I decided to adapt their color scheme to a desert palette while keeping the general look of the original Eagle Force figure. I think it turned out really well.

 
 
Rampage Tank
Rampage Tank

Produced by MARS Industries as a tank for ''dictators on a budget'' and sold to Zambriot via Cobra intermediaries, the Rampage tank is a small, fast and lightly-armoured fighting machine. It can traverse multiple types of terrains. It is useful to Shock Troops when they need to pacify different regions of Zambriot. From the flat sandy coast to the mountainous areas and the jungle covered north, the Rampage tank has seen action in every military campaign since General Mamba became Supreme Leader.

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The tank was a relatively late addition to the project. I found the base tank at a discount store and immediately flashed on the Rampage. It makes a cool backdrop on the Eagle Force shelf.

 
 
Cobra Trainee

Every Cobra Viper, Trooper or Officer starts as a trainee. During their instruction, Cobra trainees learn basic combat tactics, endure physical tests, practice with several types of weapons and get indoctrinated into the Cobra philosophy. If they survive their training, they are given blue fatigues, a helmet and a weapon and are transferred to a Cobra base to gain battlefield experience.
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This is a simple custom, but ever since I made ''Training Fatigues'' Grunt and Heavy Duty for Battle Corps Month, I have been thinking about doing other figures of this kind. This project gave me the opportunity. The color scheme and pattern is loosely based on the Retaliation Viper concept art.

 
 
Crimson Guard

All Crimson Guards, or Siegies, are experts in international law and finance. They help the Zambriot government finance its large military spending, knowing that most of that money gets back to Cobra. They also act as a liaison between Cobra Command and General Mamba. They insure that the African nation's activities correspond with Cobra's agenda. The ''Frank'' series of Crimson Guards, or Siegies, is assigned to the East Africa sector. Currently Frank XXII is on station, but ``The Franks`` rotate in and out of Zambriot on 3-month tours.
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This project was a good opportunity to make Cobra agents that we don't see with the main force - Consultants, advisors, trainees, etc. It makes sense that Cobra would have training camps on several continents. In return for bases, Cobra could offer all kinds of consultants and trainers to the host nation.

 

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