So far behind...

   I haven't talked about so many gaming things happening in my life the last few weeks.

  First, I went to DesotoCon, in Kansas, back at the end of July. I started a blog post about it and will finish it, I promise. It's even going to be back dated so it will appear before this one. Not many (any?) photos from it though. Well, a few, I think.

  The next week I went to Indianapolis for GenCon. Met a lot of great people, hung out with some friends from Thread Raiders, Saving Throw Show, and Dragons and Things (best Pathfinder liveplay stream, Fridays at 6:00 Pacific on Twitch). Bought a bunch of stuff. Again, it deserves it's own post and I will work on that. A few more photos there.

   I've also released the first product from Goblyn Head Press on DriveThruRPG. It's a supplement designed for D&D 5e called Sacred Sites. It was written by Eli Arndt, who you ugys have seen me mention before around here. Nine different places you can encounter the sacred or profane. It has sold a few copies already and it's only been up about a week. Very excited about that. Probably deserves it's own post, too.

  And we've gotten a few more sessions of Starfinder in. Kicked one guy out of our group, got another new player. Still sitting at three players so if anyone wants to join us in Santa Fe, TX (in Galveston County, on the mainland)...

   And I painted a few minis. Not much. I really need to get to work on the Pledge or I am screwed.

   Oh, two new display cases came in and I got one put together. Detolf from IKEA.

   And I have been drawing more maps on my Wacom tablet. So that's getting me closer to done with another Goblyn Head project.

   All in all, I guess I have been busy. Just not very good at reporting. I'll try to get caught up on all of that the next few days.

Project Check, Fall 2016: "Odd", Fleet and 6mm

   With the start of fall coming on, I decided I need to survey my madness. To wit, I am looking at each wargaming project I have ongoing, and what the status of said project currently is. 

   To define, a 'project' is a faction or force for a particular genre in a particular scale. Therefore, 15mm British WW2 and 28mm British WW2 are two different projects, as would be a 15mm DAK force, as would a British Paras vs. a British 8th Army force. Since there are so many and in so many scales, I think this shall be a short series of posts rather than one mega-post.

   For status, I shall use 'planning' (want to buy minis), 'active' (not playable but I am currently working on it), 'inactive' (unplayable but on to-do list), 'dead' (can't play, not doing anything, don't plan on it), 'playable' (enough to play, still adding to it), and maybe rarest of all, 'finished' (can play, no plans to add to it).

Fleet Scale (smaller than 6mm)

1. Dystopian Wars (DW) Federated States: playable
2. DW Prussian: playable
3. DW Indian Raj: planning
4. Sky Galleons of Mars (SGOM) British: inactive
5. SGOM Martians: inactive
6. Aeronef Italians: dead
7. Terrain: inactive

6mm

1. VSF French: inactive
2. VSF German: inactive
3. VSF British: inactive
4. VSF Venusian Lizardmen: planning
5. VSF Martians: inactive
6. OGRE - Combine: playable
7. OGRE - Paneuropean: playable
8. Quar: inactive
9. BattleTech (multiple unspecified houses): playable
10. Modern/Cold War US: planning
11. Modern/Cold War Soviet: planning
12. WW2 Allied North Africa: planning
13. Kaiju: planning
14. Terrain: inactive

"Odd" Scales

1. Matchbox Scale Car Wars: playable
2. Silent Death: dead
3. X-Wing: playable
4. Dark Future: inactive

   That pretty much does it for the smaller stuff. Unfortunately, these are the shorter lists - 15mm and 25mm will be longer, and will each get their own post in the next few days. Each has more than thirty entries...

Flee! I mean, Flea!

   Here's the finished Battletech FLE-15 "Flea" 'Mech. Painted in red and white scheme to go with my other light 'Mechs. I painted them about six years ago, thinking I would do different lances in different Warhammer Fantasy Battle Empire Elector State colors. I posted about that a long time ago here. These are Talabheim, I think.

Back to the Table

   I have returned to the painting table in a limited fashion over the past week or so, after months of being away from it. As you can see in the sidebar, I have a goodly number of things in the works. I haven't any photos as the only operable camera I have is my phone and the light wasn't good enough to get a decent snap. I'll try to add piccies later this week, alright?

   The nine tanks are for Flames of War, my British 8th Army forces. Almost finished with them, actually - just a bit of weathering to do on the decals and they are done. With these finished, I will have an additional three platoons of tanks to go with my existing Grant and Honey platoons. About seventeen tanks in all, essentially all support for my infantry company.

   The two India Pattern Carriers are nearly done as well, and are also for my Indian Infantry Company. I've misplaced their pintle-mounted Brens, but I was planning on using them as command vehicles or observer vehicles anyway. I think they need a whip antenna instead. Just need to add the antenna, paint up a couple of crew for each, and paint the attached bases, flock them a bit, that sort of thing.

   The force-field pylons come from the Macragge box set for W40k. I will buy them if you have more. Zach found these at a game store we rarely frequent, in their random bits for sale box. He snapped them up for me. I use them for sci fi and VSF both: anti-dinosaur energy fences are a must have for the well-heeled safari on Venus.

   The Flea is an old mini I have had banging around for years. Nothing new there! It's the FLE-15 Ral Partha sculpt 20-805. So far, it's primed black. I have to go back and check which color scheme I was using on the light mech lance some years ago.

   The 15mm sci-fi trader and the vending bots are mostly just scatter designed for my Gruntz table. The trader may become a faction commander if I ever get there with him. The bots are headed towards opposite ends - one Coke red and one Pepsi blue. I may repaint the yellow one I did a year or so back to be a taco vendor or something. Maybe go with a red, white, and green scheme? Or just paint TACOS on the signage. That would be easier. These minis are from The Ion Age.

   Anyway, a quick update on what I have been doing. It feels good to be getting something done again. Also, I have a game weekend this week, playing the North African FOW campaign again this Saturday. Last time I went 1-1. This week I want two Allied victories. Now if I can just keep the DAK from rolling up a Tiger as a Firestorm unit...

M is for Mecha...

MECHA

   Mecha, the giant, often-bipedal high tech armored robots that many futures include as the ultimate war machine. Ever since I saw Robotech on TV as a kid, I have loved mecha. Battletech games added to the affliction. Gundam? Check! And so on, and so on...

   Now then, you may say that a 30+ foot tall bipedal robot is a ridiculous war machine. And in the real world, it probably is. Sure, it's all terrain capacity would be pretty high, but that silhouette! Since modern battlefields rely on evasion to protect from airstrikes, etc., how on Earth (or Mars, or Terra Nova, or where ever) do you expect this thing to survive?

   In response, I say: "Who cares? It's cool, it's fun, and we're playing a game. Just have fun with it!"

Shogun Warriors Toys: I had this one.

   Battletech is probably the biggest of the mecha games out there, so let me delve very briefly into non-15mm scale sci-fi. Personally, I like the old Robotech models best, what are called "Unseen" now. Here's a few from my own collection.

COM-2D Commando (x3) and an ASN-21 Assassin

PNT-9R Panther

   Another game that used giant mecha was Games Workshop's Epic system, including Adeptus Titanicus. Besides the various Titans (Imperator, Warlord, Reaver and Warhound) they also had a smaller mecha series, the Knights. Recently - in March 2014, I believe - Games Workshop released a Knight in 28mm scale for their Warhammer 40K game. It's big, it's expensive, and it is truly cool.

(From dakkadakka.com)

   As far as 15mm games go, 'mecha' usually translates into 'walker,' essentially a bigger, heavier power armour suit. Ion Age has a neat one, the Dux series. Rebel Minis has several varieties: HAMR, VPR, CAT, and URSA.

Rebel Minis VPRs (Vipers)

Genius Stuff!

  I just caught on to this manufacturer from a posting on TMP. I was interested in the airship models for use in my 6mm When the Navy Walked project. When I scrolled down further, I saw the terrain pieces.   I am not entirely certain about scale, but some of the comments I have seen lead me to believe they are in about 1/300 scale. In other words, perfect for BatteTech or any other 6mm projects.

  A closer look and I noticed the bases are cut to be compatible with Heroscape hexes. Since I use Heroscape hexes when we play BattleTech, I am very excited. The pieces are resin, and not too expensive ($2.75 - $5.50). I assume they are not painted, but that's okay. They have other pieces as well, just check out the Sky Kings line at Hangar 18 FASA. They also sell clustered sets. Anyway, check them out. I will be...

   Man, I need a raise in my allowance.

BattleTech AAR: Defense of Fintroll Dam

Scenario

Fig. 1: The Battlefield. The small tower is the powerplant, the large building a factory.

   On Bogenhafen IV, the small city of Fintroll is burning, nearly entirely destroyed by fires started by a fierce orbital bombardment. However, two key points have been left unscathed: the hydroelectric power station and a factory complex just south of the city. With assets stretched thin, two medium Mechs of the 2nd Talabheim Guard are sent to secure the structures. Opposing them, two stray Mechs, remnants of the 1st Imperial Engineers, deployed from the ruins of the town.

Forces

• 
  
  2nd Talabheim Guard (red and white): 1x PNT-9R "Panther" [35t], 1x PXH-1 "Phoenix Hawk" [45t]
• 
  
  1st Imperial Engineers (blue and red): 1x WSP-1A "Wasp" [20t], 1x RFL-3N "Rifleman" [60t]

Victory Conditions

• 
  
  Destruction of all Talabheim Mechs: Total Imperial Victory
• 
  
  Holding the Hydroelectric Plant: Partial Imperial Victory
• 
  
  Destruction of all Imperial Mechs: Total Talabheim Victory

The Battle

Turn One:

   Talabheim PXH-1 advanced directly up the road, into relatively ineffective fire from the Rifleman at extreme range. The Wasp and Panther maneuvered out of line of sight.

Turn Two:

   Already in heat trouble, the Engineer Rifleman moves carefully into the Fintroll River shallows. Again, his fire is ineffective. To take pressure off of the Rifleman, the Wasp pilot bravely dashes across open ground to draw opposing fire. It works - the Phoenix Hawk moves into close range and pounds the smaller Wasp. Large laser and a barrage of SRMs slam into the Wasp's arm and torso, reaching the Wasp's own ammunition supply, detonating the entire supply and vaporizing the hapless Mech. [Note: Used a Stinger model for the Wasp, as I don't have a Wasp.]

Fig 2: Phoenix Hawk burns down a Wasp

Turn Three:

   Now protected and cooled by the shallow water, the Rifleman's long range guns go back into full fire. The Panther approaches, bringing its PPC into play, and striking the Rifleman in the torso. Finished with the Wasp, the Phoenix Hawk returns to the roadway and advances toward the dam.

Turn Four:

   Both attacking Mechs advance down the road, directly into the Rifleman's fire, determined to eliminate this pesky remaining defender and seal their victory. However, the Panther masks the Phoenix hawk's fire, and takes the full fury of the RFL-3N's Magna Mk. II and III lasers and the pair of Imperator-A medium autocannons. Critical hits in the central torso destroy the Panther's gyro, causing it to crumple to the ground.

Turn Five:

   Daunted by the intense fire coming from the Rifleman, the Phoenix Hawk pilot moves onto a nearby hill. He plans a devastating "death from above" attack. In response, the Rifleman shifts his fire onto the Phoenix Hawk, blowing the left arm off, damaging the gyro, and causing the 45-ton Mech to topple off the hill, out of LOS.

Turn Six:

   The Phoenix Hawk tries (and fails) to right itself. With no other target, the Rifleman continues to fire on the downed (but not out!) Panther, causing serious damge to the useless legs of the unstable Mech. The Panther manages to prop itself up and fire its PPC at its tormentor, narrowly missing.

Turn Seven:

   The Phoenix Hawk continues to try to stand, again without success. The stricken Panther finally succumbs to the heavy and continuous stream of fire coming from the Rifleman. With its central torso totally shot away, the Panther simply falls apart. With the sun setting, the Phoenix Hawk pilot decides to sneak away, abandoning his damaged Mech. For now, the ruins of Fintroll remain in Imperial hands...

Fig. 3: Death of a Panther. Note the Rifleman is standing in shallow water.

RESULT:

PARTIAL IMPERIAL VICTORY

Wrapup:

   Honestly, once the Wasp blew, I thought I was in serious trouble. Dane had aggressively eliminated my manuever unit that I foolishly left vulnerable to a Mech twice its size. However, by advancing straight into the Rifleman's strength (long range gunnery), especially bulwarked by the cooling assistance of the river - which offset the massive heat buildup that is the RFL-3N's main weakness.

   I used some of our old Heroscape hexes to create the battlefield. It worked okay, but I think that a hex-pattern stencil may be getting ordered from Litko sometime in the near future if we start playing a lot of BattleTech. Either that, or I make a turning template and we go 'hexless' for it. Which, all things considered, might be easiest.

April Wrapup from the Painting Table

A few shots of the work completed this month...

25mm Masked Minion (1 of 10) [Parroom]

25mm Half-Jacks (9 of the 10) [Privateer]

Masked Minion Gun Crew (1 out of 4)

[Parroom Station]

6mm (1/285) Trucks [GHQ Modern Microarmor]

25mm Masked Minion Officer (needs base work)

I got a good bit of work done this month. I was kind of surprised, considering how many other projects I worked on and how crazy work was. But, to be honest, I am pretty happy. I was disappointed in finishing the Minions because I have lost the wheel for my smoke launcher! I need to order a replacement or find the silly blasted thing... guess which one is more likely to happen?

One other mini-related disappointment is the Star Frontiers Player Character box set I bought from eBay. Still sealed from 1983. Lead rot, big time:

25mm Vrusk, lower body [TSR, 1983]

April Projects Update

I actually made some progress on my painting projects this weekend. Which is good, because I am almost out of time this month!

VSF:
The Masked Minions are just about done. Ten infantry are completed, and most of the gun crew is as well. I just need to add the shell to the loader figure and do the cuff trim on the gun captain. Other than that, they are finished. There is a major snag on the smoke projector, though... I can't find one of the wheels!

The nine remaining 'dug-in' half-jacks for Maton are done. Still need to assemble, prime, paint and base nine of the 'in the open' half-jacks. Luckily, the paint jobs are extremely simple and fast. Also need to decide for sure if I am going to provide them with visible external weapons or not. I am leaning towards saying "Yes", but I don't have a sufficient quantity of similar bits to arm them identically. Any suggestions, ladies and gents?

BattleTech:
Finished off bases for five already painted BattleMechs. Three other BattleMechs are just about done (final detailing and clear coating all that's left). Finished two SRM Carriers and two Manticore tanks. Coolant trucks are primed, and should not take long to paint. No infantry done yet.

WFB:
The Grandmaster of the Blazing Suns is almost finished, too. Final touchup, static grass and clearcoating all that's left. The Kislevites and flagellants haven't been touched.

Photos soon. I promise.

BattleTech Storage

The following pictures show the system I finished up about a month ago for holding BattleMechs. It will hold 21 'Mechs, with a two inch tall foam. The bottom of the box is a magnetic sheet. I am putting a piece of magnetic flexsteel (from Litko Aerosystem) to the bottom of each hex base.

View of the entire tray. The tray is 3" deep, and sized to fit my rolling aluminum case that my wife and sons got me for my birthday back in February.

Closeup shot of the 'Mechs in their snug little compartments.

Extreme closeup of a Phoenix Hawk (unseen). The red and white paint scheme is typical of the planet Talabheim IV.

6mm Terrain: The Clinic

Kalian Memorial Medical Clinic

Okay, so here it is: the first piece of custom 6mm terrain I have ever made. Finally, with photos and everything. The clinic started life as the blister packaging for an OmniPod, which is a type of insulin pump that my son uses. [Note: He loves it. Highly recommended for Type I diabetics.] Started by cutting a piece of thin plywood to attach as a base. Glued the blister to the plywood base, then sprayed it with a gray primer. Drybrush lighter gray over it. Green paint for the grounds around it (still considering flocking that). Paint in windows, road markings, etc.

Details include an emergency room drive, multiple entrances, and lots of skylights. The yellow triangle is a VTOL pad for bringing in serious injuries.

With a Locust of the Recon Lance of Wulf's Hussars for scale.

[EDITED 4/5/2010: I am making changes to the clinic. I will replace the Red Cross symbol with a dove symbol. This is the symbol of the Goddess Shallya in the Old World (Warhammer Fantasy). She is the goddess of mercy and healing. Plus, it is a little different from a contemporary Red Cross symbol. Makes it seem more futuristic to me. Finally, I have gone ahead and flocked it around the edges, which looks much better. I'll repost photos when I get done.]

Painting Report, March

Not much finished.

Well, I actually did really well for my VSF projects. Got all of those finished in the nick of time for the month. But Warhammer suffered to a lot of terrain projects and stuff. All I finished was 9 Empire halberdiers and the Stegadon. I also painted two BattleMechs (a Phoenix Hawk and a Panther).

I did manage to get a lot of work done on the new blog (this one!). And the new European fields mat is nearly done. A good bit of terrain work accomplished. Photos tomorrow, I promise. Just too tired to go get the camera and download pictures right now.

As far as the poll goes, I guess there will be a few more labels. I'll try not to go too crazy with subtopics.

Next month's goals are:

• Paint two more BattleMechs
• Paint BattleTech coolant trucks, SRM carriers, and Manticore tanks (2 each)
• Finish BattleTech factory complex and defense turrets
• Finish 5 Kislev horse archers (about 80% done now).
• Finish Grandmaster of Blazing Sun Knights (about 95% done now)
• Finish halberdier banner carrier (need to print banner and clear coat).
• Finish Euro-field mat
• Paint ten Masked Minions for VSF (25mm)
• Paint four Masked Minion gun crewmen
• Paint one smoke launcher (VSF artillery - poison gas!)
• Paint ten halfjack automatons (more VSF)
• Paint ten halfjack 'mines'.

Wow. That is a lot. We'll see if I can manage it! The list helps keep me focussed, though, and if I can get the VSF things done... well, that pretty well ends my Automaton army (excepting one conversion vehicle that I need pieces for still).

WarTech BattleHammer

I have mentioned before that my sons and I are getting into two new genres these days: Warhammer Fantasy Battle and BattleTech. Now, I like the settings for both, but I got to thinking how cool would it be to combine them?

I'm starting off the setting with the Empire. Essentially, the Empire is a large volume of space roughly in the center of the galactic arm. It has been divided up into a number of smaller (though still quite large) regions. these include Reikspace, Middenspace, Nordspace, Wissenspace, Stirspace, Talabecspace, Ostspace, the Ostmark, MootSpace, etc. One region for each of the provinces in the Warhammer Empire, you see, usually substituting the word 'space' for 'land.' Each of these regions has many planets within them. These planets take the place of the various cities and towns of the Empire in Warhammer. So, Bogenhafen is a planet within Reikspace. Altdorf is the Imperial capital planet. Nuln is a major industrial planet, and so on.

Each region or planet's Mechs will be painted up in the WFB state color schemes.

I figure the Knightly Orders can be semi-autonomous units, with fortress planets as bases.

Orks will be wandering raiders, mostly, based off planets out on the fringes of the Empire. Dwarfs will also have heavily fortified industrial planets in systems loaded down with asteroid belts and such. Wood Elves will be based on naturalistic planets, hidden within nebulae and such instead of a forest. Brettonia will be added, similarly to the Empire. Tilea and Estalia too.

For the other evil races, I have thought of the following: Dark Elves and Chaos are easy, just locate them in the appropriate stellar geography. Skaven are troubling. Maybe a lot of beat up vehicles and only a few Mechs? But where to locate them? Dark planets? Subterranean in human planets just seems a little... maybe in asteroid belts or gas giant moons in the systems. Undead are a problem too. Zombie Mechs? Not very sensible.

So it isn't perfectly worked out yet. But its the germ of an idea that may be fun.

Working in 6mm...

   My sons have discovered BattleTech. So now, amongst all the other projects, I also need to build some 6mm scale sci-fi buildings.

   Luckily, I have a ton of little plastic bits. I have already made a hospital/clinic building using the molded blister packaging from one of my younger son's insulin pump pods. Two more pod packages with some sheet styrene and a large number of bits attached are being turned into an industrial complex. Comes with a mini-nuke power plant and even some defensive turrets. even considering some kind of security fencing. I bet a bit of screen fabric and some small plastic rod uprights would do the trick. I have thin gauge wire I could do in loops for the top razor wire... Speaking of, I guess I need to do some concertina wire and minefields as well, since I will be using infantry, artillery, VTOLs and vehicles as well as the Mechs. Combined arms, baby!

   Another interesting plastic container will likely become the control tower for an airstrip setup. I already have a piece of PVC cut in half to make a pair of Quonset hut style hangars. I was originally going to paint them aluminum, and even masked one up and sprayed it, but now I think a nice camo pattern would be better for the hangars themselves. Or at least plain concrete. Or whatever they use in 3050.

   I am tempted by some lovely resin terrain out there. I think the 28mm scale Armorcast mini-nuke plant would be brilliant for a city-sized power station. For now, I have to settle for scratch built stuff, though.

   Final thought for tonight is this: thank God for Dremel. I got one at Christmas time, finally, and I absolutely love it. Now I really want a small table top bandsaw for cutting hardboard to shape faster and easier than the jigsaw does.

OwlCon 2010 Report

Okay, so this is only peripherally related to Warhammer. I did buy some things there for the Empire army that is budding in my game room. More on that in a second.

OwlCon is an annual gaming convention held in downtown Houston, Texas, on the Rice University campus. Rice's mascot is the owl, so... OwlCon. Anyway, it is a nice little con, with a wide variety of gaming going on. Boardgames, RPGs and minis. There is a movie area (I noticed GalaxyQuest when we registered). The dealer room is not real big, and is actually the periphery of a large gaming area.

My sons and I played a game of Gutshot!, one of their favorites. If you are unfamiliar with Gutshot!, it is a Western skirmish game. One of the authors, Mike Mitchell, hails from Houston these days and he runs many a game in the area. He's also a heck of a guy, and one I am proud to call a friend. Him and the boys get on like a house on fire. Anyway, we played in his game Saturday night. As usual, the Dice were Not Friendly to Me. I had managed to get right behind this fellow, with a double barrel sawed-off at absolutely point blank range. Need to roll a 4 or better on 2 dice. Snake eyes. "Click!" went the hammers. "CRAP!" says I. Gunfight erupts, I get half killed, so does the other fellow (did better with my sixgun). Then my youngest son comes around the corner, smiles, and lets me have it. So I am dead first.

Another highlight of the convention for us is the MechForce area. These are four large booths, self-contained Mech cockpits, which are linked together to play MechWarrior. It is really very cool and fun, though the fellows in the uniforms are a bit odd. My favorite was when a gaming buddy's nine year old son whupped the tar out of two grown men who were there in 'uniforms' of their Battlemech company.

Purchasing wise, I bought another copy of the Empire Army book, but this is the original one from back in the 90s. Only $5. I needed it for the War Wagon and Kislevite rules. But the real prize was the bag of 9 Kislevite Horse Archers I got for $15. What a steal! And yes, that included the horses. Miscellaneous other stuff was bought, including the Second Edition box set of Battletech, a Sigmarite Warrior Priest ($8, NIB) so we can field that unit of flagellants, and other minor bits and bobs. Saw a few things that I am gonna want to get my grubbies on, including the GW Fortified Manor Terrain kit. Very cool. eBay, here I come (after payday...)

In today...

I got four packages today. And I bought something locally, as well. I hope my wife doesn't find this blog!

One of the four packages had Battlemechs in it, a Phoenix Hawk (unseen) and a Warhammer (unseen). I much prefer the older, unseen styles to the new ones. The seller gave me two left arms for one of the minis, not one of each. I think he is recasting, to be honest. Won't be buying from him again.

Another package was a set of forty painted Zulus that I sent off. They look pretty good.

I bought the current Empire army book at a local store. Got it for 45% off, as he had overstocked and offered it to me at cost. Now I can figure out what I need to actually build a legal army...

Otherwise, I got the next-to-newest Empire army book in one package. Very handy. Lots of good fluff material and plenty of artwork and painting tips.

I also got some minis in that I had ordered off eBay. Except for one or two things, they were pretty good. They include (already accounted for in the listing):

• 
  
  18 Swordsmen
• 
  
  17 Halberdiers
• 
  
  3 Reiksguard command (foot)
• 
  
  1 Light Acolyte