This project has taken a long time, but it is finally complete. From dream, to story, to entire vehicle equipped with a full lightbar and grill guard. I might have overdone it, but it makes me chuckle, so it can’t be all bad.
The shield on the side of the vehicle took the most work tweaking it until it looked right. So let’s start there. The red-eyed raven caps the top because I like the Raven character from DC comics and ravens have long represented anything menacing. The star is inverted to keep the look of a police badge while mimicking an inverted pentagram, which some associate with evil; I don’t believe that, but I’m playing off of that common association. Inside the star is the international biohazard symbol often used in many a zombie references to indicate a viral culprit. Of course this symbol is red to give the hint of blood. Around the star are some of the traditional weapons used in many zombie movies: the boomstick, aka shotgun; baseball bat; machete; hatchet; and katana. No zombie-ish reference is complete without one of these making an appearance.
As for the large red UNDEAD, that acronym is created from the comically and excessively worded Ultraprimitive Necrovestige Detection, Eradication And Defense organization. No group like this would be complete without a silly acronym. Below the acronym is this agency’s creed, of sorts: Respect • Integrity • Professionalism. These have dual meanings. Respect means respect for the dead in that they should be terminated respectfully, not in a grandiose or bombastic manner. Integrity means preserving the integrity of the human species, free from infection, and integrity that only the infected are killed regardless of who they once were. Professionalism means just that: Members are knowledgeable, trained professionals who treat everyone with respect and do not allow their emotions to interfere with duty. Together they also form the initialism RIP, an often used reference to Rest In Peace sometimes used on tombstones and grave markers.
On the front fender are the Latin words Immortuni Interficer. Now I don’t know Latin; I had to rely on several language translators, so I hope I got it right. If I did get it right, this slogan should say “kill the immortals” or “kill the (un)dead”. If it does, I got lucky. At least, that is what I want it to say.
Toward the rear is “HAK Unit 514#”. HAK is an acronym for Hunt And Kill. The 514# is an obscure reference to 1337 (leet, or elite) speak, a super-geek language within the computer community, mainly hackers and posers within early message boards. This language, of sorts, combines three main concepts: slang, inconsistent capitalization and character replacement. Hard-core 1337 speak is impossible for the uninitiated to even read, and many who used it prided themselves on that fact. Today, only the most basic form of 1337 has migrated into general knowledge such replacing E with 3. Therefore, the first part “514” represents “SLA”. Now the pound or number mark, what people nowadays call the hash mark, is a slightly deeper cut from 1337 speak. The hash mark was a way to represent the “sh” sound just like the word “hash”. Some used it to represent just “sh” and others used it to represent “ash”. This mailability of 1337 speak made it even harder to understand unless you kept a very open mind, as there were no hard and fast rules. With all this being said “HAK Unit 514#” is a vague reference to “hack and slash” for those who know enough to decode it, and now you do.
It’s not visible from this angle, but on the back it reads “Rocky Mountain Region Colorado”. There’s also decals for “First Aid Kit On Board” and “Fire Extinguisher On Board” along with a warning diamond for “Explosive 1.4 S”, which is a warning for small arms ammunition.
All in all, it’s just a silly little joke that tickles me. What sucks is that I can’t take it through a car wash without risking the vinyl peeling off, so hand washing it is, and I’m lazy.