Traveller Scientists for Bug Hunt

 

Traveller miniatures by RAFM

For TravellerCON/USA last October, I ran a Bug Hunt scenario where the human forces had to escort a timid Hiver into the infested station and assist the recover of some critical data. I don't remember the result, except that the bugs arrived in deluge. I'll be running the scenario again at next month's RETCON Game Day, and I'll be certain to take some pictures for the gentle reader's delectation. 

Traveller miniature by RAFM

The 25/28mm Hivers were had some two decades ago, as part of the Traveller New Era clearance that swept the miniatures and RPG industry.  Produced by RAFM, they were, and are very nifty figures. They are easy to paint (once one decides on a colour-scheme), and look good on the table top.

My usual rating system is slightly skewed for these, since they were part of a packet that included a human scientist. In consideration, one may add a point for "Variety", resulting in a final mark of "4".

Animation: 3

Detail: 4

Proportions: 5

Variety: 3

 
Overall: 3.75 (4) out of 5

Miniatures by Ral Partha

The second set are part of the 25mm Ral Partha Shadowrun line, and are listed as Elven Deckers, or somesuch. To my eye, they shouted "Darrians" and since I need some hi-tech civilians for my games, these fit the bill nicely.

Miniatures by Ral Partha

These minis are also very nicely sculpted, with excellent detail (observe the data-pad), goggles and froopy 90's style clothes. The camera doesn't show it well, but the lady sports an iridescent body suit. Actually, I think I gave the bloke's shirt a bit of a shimmer as well.

Animation: 4

Detail: 4

Proportions: 5

Variety: 4

 
Overall: 4.25 out of 5....Ω

Bugs for Five Parsecs from Home: Bughunt

Editor's Note: I found some older draft posts that were incomplete, so I've updated them as best I could and will be releasing over the next few weeks. Saved from the Time Vault: Enjoy!

Some readers were confused, previously, in that there were no xenomorphs included in the last batch of Bug Hunt piccies. That's partially due to the way the game portrays the "bugs" Here are some pics of various models to use for Bug Hunt.

Slimey Blobs

These are Rutans from the ex-Harlequin Doctor Who Miniatures line, now offered by Black Tree Design. Some folks have had trouble with delays from Black Tree - while I've never had any serious delays from them, currently, I make it my practise to buy Black Tree from eBay when possible, since I know that at least the stock is ready and at hand.

"It isn't Life as WE Know It..."
Miniatures by Black Tree and Crooked Dice.

Skittering Spiders
These are some Stalker Spiders from the RAFM Fantasy Miniatures Line. Fun to paint, and a welcome break from my D&D Abominations. These were quick to arrive and easy to paint.

Miniatures by RAFM Minis and Crooked Dice.

I'm looking to probably pick up some Fury Bugs from Crucible Crush Miniatures. 

They have a suitable, scuttle-y vibe about them, don't you think?...Ω

"Tide's up. Time to stay alive..."

Yes, admittedly..."Ghosts of Mars" was a fairly disappointing film - especially at the time of release. However, compared to what's being turned out nowadays, that movie is now classic cinema gold.  Recently, having viewed a dvd version, I decided to paint up one Desolation Williams.

I used the RAFM miniature Karl Unger, from the USX Modern Day Heroes line, which had been loitering around my painting table for nearly a year, as the basis for my Williams - the weapon was easily  swapped from the stock, and there was no other modification necessary.

Aside from the Martian Red Desert Camo pattern, the colour palette for the character is very narrow - black undershirt, black webbing, black gloves, black boots. Yes, John Carpenter was quite burnt-out in anno 2001...

There's actually no scenario from "Ghosts of Mars" that I'm eager to play - it's just 'Zombies meet Wild West on Mars' which doesn't really interest me, tactically. That said, if I can find miniatures suitable for "Uno, Dos, and Tres", I'd paint them up to complete the posse...Ω

 

Old School 28mm Sci-Fi Terrain Round Up

 "Shh! Wait!...Can you feel that?..."   It's 28mm Sci-Fi, and it's coming back to life...

I've noticed a trend over the past few years: 15mm Sci-Fi is waning (not dying, just waning - Don't Panic©) and 28mm Sci-Fi is again gaining ground. To mix metaphors: The pendulum has swung full circle.

Disclaimer/Claimer (Sorry/Not Sorry): When I do an overview/review, I invariably ruffle some feathers - that's the nature of reviews, because they reflect individual tastes, preferences and opinions. I do not review items outside my area of interest i.e. WH40K.  I just don't like it, I don't play it, I don't review it or anything directly associated with it, and that's that. That said, Hail the Emperor, He Suffers for Us.

Neither am I beholden to any of these companies under review: I don't get review samples, I don't want review samples, and I decline review samples. The only exception is, if something is included in a regular order, as a freebie - then I review it if it takes my fancy. I remain a Free Agent.

I need to include this disclaimer because there are people who feel that some manufacturer-suppliers are entitled to special consideration, simply because these vendors make stuff these people especially like. That's alright for some, but not here. Whether I like something or not, the reader is free to agree or disagree, but that doesn't change my position - unless I've made a factual mistake, whereupon I will occasionally change positions. 

Finally, defining "Old School": Old School hearkens back to a time when:

• We played face-to-face
• Figures were rules-agnostic, made of metal, (or resin, in the case of terrain) and painted.
• The Content was neither video-game nor anime derived, nor so aesthetically inspired.

Acheson Creations
A neat line of Sci-Fi scatter terrain. Including pipelines, furnishings and small buildings. They are reasonably quick in dispatching your purchase, and I've always had good service from them.

Amara Plastic Mouldings
Amara has their Future Zone line of moulded styrene for 28mm. One of my favourite pieces is the Fortress Wall Section, which has appeared in my 15mm Stargrunt Games as well as my 28mm VSF games.

Armourcast Terraform Terrain
Produces an excellent variety of Modern/Near Future terrain, alien plants, ruins. One of my very first  Sci-Fi terrain purchases was from Armourcast. The old Lance and Laser and Mega Miniatures Salvage Crew line have found their home there.

From 2000 to 2005, after they lost the WH40K license, and associated business, they branched into "Steampunk", where they flirted with some arguably off-beat designs, like the Steam Buddha and Steam Mushroom (and the wargame application for these are...what again?), while abandoning the higher-demand items like the Grizzley Steam Walker - probably because the moulds had worn out, and they didn't want to deal with the expense of making new ones.

Ex-Armourcast Steam Walker - Sic Transit Gloria 

Armourcast also make Cinematic effects and Bases.  Now, these are undeniably cool, and I have a couple of the latter- that said, Cinematic Effects is a niche line and is somewhat over-represented on their website. As an inheritance from the previous owners, I suspect it's intended to service diorama enthusiasts, and not gamers. That said, if you need an "Attack Hamster Muzzle Effect" Armorcast is your go-to guy.

In 2007, the company changed hands, though it's sometimes difficult to judge whether Armourcast is a company moving forward, or one whose best days are behind it. Despite any perceived erosion to their previous reputation*, the new owner/operator has spun off a new concept,  to breathe life into the "same-old, discontinued" line, and so created "Ginfritter's Gnomish Workshop". There are new items being added, of a quirky, humourous nature, that you won't find elsewhere.

*In case of any doubt, I can pull up the relevant TMP threads. Again, nota bene.

Black Cat Miniatures - An assortment of furnishings, set dressing, et al. Very handy for the odd bit no one else make. Reasonably quick dispatch.

Crooked Dice Design Studio
A plethora of crates, set dressings for The Village, 1960's-style control panels, even a Secret Base where you can Hideout and destroy your favourite Star Trek franchise. 

Knights of Dice
Based in Australia, Knights of Dice offer several lines of SciFi buildings, some of which can certainly be classified as Old School style. Their Easy District has a certain Blade Runner feel, with acrylic "neon" signs for good measure. Their Invictus line is a bit more "gothic", but would fit with a game set in the Riddick universe, and their Sandport Hydra line would make a good Arrakis or Tatooine.

My caveat with Knights of Dice is, their buildings span 28mm-35mm, which can be a trifle biggish for 28mm. That said, the workmanship is excellent - with multiple layers that give the buildings depth.

Mantic Games
Despite my aversion to plastic minis, I'm less fussy regarding terrain. Mantic do a series of Sci-Fi Terrain Crate sets, and their Industrial Accessories set has proved especially useful for my purposes

.
Miniature Building Authority
MBA also has a small, newish 28mm SciFi line, of just under a dozen. It's mostly greebles and bits & bobs, but there is a nice Flux Capacitor that's fairly unique. MBA's Shanty Town line is useful for you post-spoc fans. I've had good service from MBA.

Sarissa Precision
While MDF usually falls outside my definition of "Old School SciFi", Sarissa Precision deserves an honourable mention, due to the clean, futuristic lines and Old School design. I have an entire farm from Sarissa. Some of their stuff looks like Blade Runner, some of it looks like Saturn 3. With their System 28 SciFi line, you can re-create Hadley's Hope from Aliens, and that's good enough for me.

Scotia Grendel
Has some 60+ entries in their Sci-Fi Terrain line, including those awesome pillboxes that I use for 15mm SciFi games. Also futuristic doors, cryo chambers, control panels (one of which has a three-ring binder on it - how Old School can you get?) and xeno-eggs.

TTCombat
These are another 28mm-35mm scale product. I have only one item in TT Combat's SciFi Utopia range, and that's their Geodesic Domes set. It looks very neat - as I have yet to assemble it, I'll need to wait before I can give it an honest review.

Geodesic Dome from TTCombat

Honourable Mentions

The following may very well be the best thing since sliced bread - only, aside from searching their websites fairly often, I haven't had the opportunity to purchase much, if any, of their relevant stock. 

Black Site Studio - Post Apoc, Arcology, and a Blade-Runner-esque Zaibatsu line. A lot of Out-of-Stock items...when will suppliers learn that this is almost always seen as a bad sign by browsing shoppers?

Rebel Minis - 28mm Fenceposts and UAV. Hopefully, they will expand their 28mm Sci-Fi line.

Warlord Games - I've included Warlord as the Elephant in the Room, because I haven't quite forgiven them for Doctor Who. That said, I've been very, very close to purchasing their Freedom Colony Outpost, because it's unique and very future-y. I do have some Frostgrave miniatures, via Northstar Figures, and they are very good.

Closing Thoughts

This list cannot be compleatly exhaustive, and there are some smaller startups offering "one-shot" terrain items which may, or may not, fall under the Old School Sci-Fi umbrella as I'm using here - that said, feel free to offer additional suggestions, in the comments, if there's something you think I've missed....Ω

Ultra-Teens by Lucid Eye

Figures by Lucid Eye Publications

"Ho, ho, ho! Well, if it isn't fat, stinking, billy goat Billy Boy in poison! How art thou, thou globby bottle of cheap, stinking chip oil? Come and get one in the yarbles, if ya have any yarbles, you eunuch jelly thou!"

Presented for your Distraction, and intended as opponents to Little Alex and his Droogs,  are the Ultra-Teens, from the Plot Device range by Lucid Eye Publications.

Not much going on back here....

The miniatures are well sculpted, cleanly cast - presenting few if any mould lines, and have some great character. The figure with the handgun was converted - the original carried the same cane/cudgel as his cohorts. Clearly, some inspiration was drawn from Alex and his Droogs in A Clockwork Orange, but these figures transcend that opus and make their home in a 'Psychedelic themed Future of Dystopian Proportion!'

The Plot Device

Set in some presumably not-too-distant future, where bell-bottoms and other 70's fashions rule, The Plot Device revolves around the actions of Super Spies, their multi-dimensional opponents, and the threat these opponents present to the "Psychedelic Golden Age" of a future "Britain".

Lucid Eye has backed away slightly from their first introductory description of the Plot Device, but I was able to locate an early vendor (Sally 4th) which preserved the original fluff text as I remember it:

  "Welcome to the Pan-Dimensional Neo Golden Age! The Plot Device is a supreme artifact which eternally becomes throughout all of time and space, a writhing hub of actuality in an eternal sea of probability.

 Welcome to Lucidea, City Of The Empire Of All Realities, and look upon The Immortal Dowager Empress, Victoriana V, and her half mad brother, Albrecht, Commander Of The Guard, High Admiral Of The Fleets.

 Join the Queen's Favourite, Titus Verne, Psychedelic Superspy, and his sister, Julia, on their missions to protect the Empire from Synthetics, Seditionaries, Insergents and Infiltrators who all plot to bring down The Empire throughout several realities!

 Groovy!"

Groovy, indeed! This, IMO, sounds like a really interesting and gameable idea. Similar to Michael Moorcock's eternal city of Tanelorn, Lucidea in The Plot Device exists across multiple dimensions, and (I expect) much like Tanelorn, would come under attack from various, trans-dimensional factions. In my febrile imagination, the world of the Plot Device looks a bit like A Clockwork Orange, mixed with Jerry Cornelius and The Final Programme,  and a bit of Jon Pertwee's Doctor Who. As the bloke at the back of the crowd shouted best: "I"ll have one!".

The only hitch, however, is that the Plot Device has not been fully supported, and seriously wants for published material; several years ago, rules and support material for the multi-dimensional, 'Psychedelic Golden Age' were announced, but never released. There is some good news, however, in that there has been a release of miniatures.

Thus far, we have the Hypnocrats, lead by the Wild Lord Saarbrück Thus of the Balefire Club; The gun-toting Suburbanauts, lead by Clinton Shroud of Deathnell Green, and the Ultrateens, led by Zal Krete of Queensway. Perhaps opposing them are the individual agents; the aforementioned Titus and Julia Verne, Candy Peoples, Pryce Compere, Archie Bort (an ennobled monkey), Olga Blok, and as Men Who recently Fell to Earth; Zen Epsilon and Ixym Izveet - alien rockstars and infiltrators.

How will The Plot Device play? We don't yet know, though I'll hazard a guess the rules will be based on the Lucid Eye house system by Rick Priestly. One of the staff commented that the game will have both skirmish and RPG features. If it has a clean combat system with an intriguing campaign background, I expect it to be a hit...Ω 

28mm Droogs for Gang War

 

28mm Miniatures by Crooked Dice

"There was me, that is Alex, and my three droogs, that is Pete, Georgie, and Dim, and we sat in the Korova Milkbar trying to make up our rassoodocks what to do with the evening..."

With that out of the way, allow me to present the Friendses by Crooked Dice. The miniatures are well cast, with good animation, and the heads are interchangeable. Just what's needed to deal out a few tolchoks and lashings of the old Ultra Violence. 

During my 1970s Gang War campaign, I found that I needed some hopped up 'Roid Gangers as random opponents, and I naturally thought of Little Alex and Co, a particularly nasty bit of business, yes? Only they needed some fire support, by way of a shotgun-toting little devotchka, modified from the Modern Heroes line, currently available from Lone Gunman Games.

Caveat Emptor: I haven't actually ordered anything from Lone Gunman Games - my set were had from eBay, and the seller (napthyme) shorted me a mini, so...there you have it. You have been advised.

28mm Miniatures by Crooked Dice and Lone Gunman Games

Admittedly, she does look pretty good in the mix. After she was finished, I was surprised to find a female padroog in the very first scene of "A Clockwork Orange", in the Korova Milk Bar, along the left-side screen, sitting with other white-clad droogs. She was also blonde, and had a black head wrap. 

The subconscious mind is an interesting thing. 

The new gang, who I'm thinking of calling the Drexel Hill Droogs, has already scrapped with the Africanus Agency on the West Boulevard, the subject for an upcoming post.

Viddy well, my brothers. Viddy well...Ω

More 28mm SciFi for Five Parsecs from Home

More brushwork over the (enforced) weekend, for use with Five Parsecs from Home:

Inspired by the character of Eve Logan from The Chronicles of Riddick. This is a Copplestone Casting that I've had from the late '90s. Still available from Northstar Figures/Copplestone in the Babes with Guns set.

Nifty miniature with smooth lines, nice curves and tall to boot. Matches well with the Riddick lore, it that Eve Logan might also be a Furyan.

Next; Santana from the 2013 Riddick film.  A Moonraker Miniature (Wasteland Adventurer) that I think is intended to be a Road Warrior.  The scarf pretty much makes the mini. The machete has been added.  The 5:00 O'Clock Shadow at Noon is darker in real life, as is the hair.

Machete really needs another going over, with shiny metallic silver, to capture the well-kept and honed image, suggested in the film.

Leeloo Dallas Multipass and the Major. These excellent wee beauties are from Heresy Miniatures.

They show what a fine talent Andy F. is, and why he should turn out some new Sci-Fi minis...like Mangalores.

 Final offering of the day - two more Copplestone figures via Moonraker Miniatures.

I'm unable to provide a hotlink, since Moonraker has temporarily paused trading until the Virus situation stabilises.

Edit 11/2020: Moonraker Miniatures is now a part of Forlorn Hope Games...Ω

Not Quite Another Bughunt - 5P/FMA

With the lock-down firmly in place, it was time to have a go at a Five Parsecs from Home/Full Metal Anorak/Bughunt game.  A fireteam of four was rapidly generated: Logan, Kupperberg, Farlander, and Correia. From various backgrounds: Prison Planet, Hi-Tech World, and Trade World - each location providing some small benefit for that particular trooper.

Quick word on mechanics: I use the 5PfH/BH campaign shell to generate the troopers backgrounds, the scenario and objectives, and the campaign turn in between encounters. The actual scenario resolution is driven by Full Metal Anorak. So there are twice as many rulebooks to search through than normal. But, hey!  It's Lockdown!

For this scenario, I used part of my paper-terrain space station as the encounter board. Three green  poker chips were placed as 'Objective' markers, each of these gets a 'Contact' marker (potential hostiles). Also, six 'Tactical' markers are placed, as evenly spaced as possible, about the board.

Rolling 1d6 for mission Priority, I had a 1, which was a relief, as this was essentially a training mission for me and my squaddies. Priority 1 also means 1 additional 'contact' marker is placed on each objective...you see where this is going? Had I rolled a 6, it would be six times the "fun".

Mission Priority also provides points where you can shop for support - in this scenario, I picked a tough-as-nails Gunnery Sgt., named Sigler, armed with a boarding cutlass and auto-shotgun.

Contact markers are randomly moved several d6 in various directions. Your squad enters a random board edge. And the Hunt begins.

Turn 1 and 2: The squad headed for the first objective, and immediately encountered the opposition: crazed robots.  I decided to roll randomly, and that's what was selected.

"I thought it was supposed to be bugs..." said Logan.
"Maybe it's bugs in their programs!" joked Kuppenberg.
"Secure that pun!" growled the Gunny.

D6 with the '2' will move in the Slow Phase

Initiative in 5P is slightly different, since it's designed as a solo game. Adapted for FMA, each player figure has a Motivation Rating, from 1 - 3, 1 being best. To move in the first phase, AKA the 'Fast' Phase, a number of d6 are thrown, those that roll over their Motivation may now move, shoot and take special actions.

The aliens/bugs/robots move and take action in the second phase.

Finally, in the last or 'Slow' phase, any player models that haven't yet moved are free to do so.

It's a neat system, and it reminds me of Two Hour Wargames

"I just Burked myself..."

reaction system, but IMO it works more smoothly and is less cumbersome.

Turn 3 - 4: The robots at the first objective were quickly dispatched, due to some hot die rolls. The objective turned out to be the Evac point.  Each objective is rolled for details, usually before actual play begins. One objective was lifted, and the other, in the Med Bay, had a 'hack' result, meaning someone was going to be using their Tech skillz.

"You are BURKED, my lad!'

While the main squad was clearing the first objective, Trooper Kuppenberg went off to investigate on his own. He found a Tactical marker, made his Tech roll, and was able to remove a Contact marker that was getting close to his fellow squaddies...and then he bumped into two more robots.

Kuppenburg ran for the exit, and decided to make a Tech roll (5-6 on a D6) to lock the door. Rolled a 4. "NOOOOOooooo!"

"C'mon you Rednecks!"

As Burke, I mean Kuppenberg, dodged mechanical claws, he dropped his ACR and pulled out his standard issue Heavy Service Pistol. Shots rang out and slugs ricocheted off the robotic steel plating.

The rest of the squad, hearing the shots, ran toward the sound of the gunfire.

"And that's what we mean when we say
'Fight Like Robot'"

Running in FMA/Stargrunt II, to me, has always seemed awkward, with many players conflicted on what works best.  For my games, I've implemented "Run" as an additional action. First action, you get your regular move distance. With Run, you get to add your movement Die type. So, if your model has an 8" move, it gets that distance, then rolls a D8 when it Runs.

Results seem to be, you will occasionally fail to make the distance, but you won't be standing 2" from where you started 3 minutes ago.

Pvt. Logan has stabilised Kuppenberg,
and he's walking.

By turns 5 - 6, The rest of the squad had reached the room, from where they'd heard the shots. Kuppenberg lay crumpled on the floor, with an obviously chuffed robot standing over him.

Extending it's claws, the robot advance on the squad...

...however, walking into a three-way crossfire of aimed shots doesn't do anyone a bit of good...and the saucy 'bot was gunned down with dispatch

Main Objective in Sight

Turn 7 - 8: Pvt. Logan was able to stabilise Kuppenberg on the second attempt (luckily she didn't kill him on a '1') and since the damage taken wasn't heavy, he was able to walk and fight at a reduced level (he dropped a Quality die).  I was glad I had traded some of Logan's pre-gen points for Medic-1. She is fast becoming my favourite model.

The rest of the squad headed for the Med Bay, where the objective was to hack the computer and bring the data back to HQ for analysis.

"Who's our tech?" asked Sgt. Sigler

"That'd be Kuppenberg, Sarge" replied Pvt. Correia.

"Well sheet!" swore the Sergeant, "I guess you're our new Tech, Correia!"

"I lay awake at night and think of you, Sergeant..." muttered Correia.

"What's that, Marine?" growled Sgt. Sigler.

"I said, 'Sergeant! Yes, Sergeant!'" Correia exclaimed.

"Damn straight, you did." said Sigler. "And now that we're all in agreement, let's get into Med Bay, grab the data, and GTF off this rattle-trap.  On the DOUBLE!"


There was a single robot in Med Bay, but a Contact marker was slowly moving closer. The Sgt and Pvt Farlander charged the Bot, guns blazing, while Correia swung clear of the brawl and ran to the Med Computer.

"Jesús en una muleta!" she cursed under her breath. ¿Dónde está el maldito fabricante de capuchino en esta puta?

"Marines! EXFILTRATION!

Just behind Correia's back, Pvt. Farlander took a swipe from a claw and went down hard. Sgt. Sigler emptied his service pistol into the metal attacker and was pleasantly surprised when it began to gout smoke from it's seams and crashed over satisfactorily.

"No time for triage" Sigler said to himself, as he picked up Farlander and slung him over the shoulder.
Sigler yelled to Corriea, "Don't be gentle, Cariño! Kick the drive loose if you have to!"


Correia drew back her armoured combat boot. Wham! she kicked. Wham! Wham! WHAM! The impacts kept time to shouts in Spanish:
"Abre! Abre! ABRE! TU PERRA!"
There was a snapping sound, accompanied by the skittering of some plastic something across the floor. The drive, with a data crystal,  slid open.

Correia picked up the crystal and grinned as she showed it to Sgt. Sigler. "Just like Prom Night, Gunny!"

"A natural Romantic..." said Sigler. "Marines, EXFILTRATION TIME!"


Outside the Med Bay, Logan and Kupperberg headed cautiously into the comms room.  Logan held up Kupp's ACR, "Can you handle this?"

"Yeah" he said. "Just don't ask me to dance..."

Logan grinnned "I'm not asking you to dance. I'm asking you to fight..."

FMA allows for fighting while wounded, unlike SGII. For a light wound, the model has it's combat quality degrade by one level, so Kupperberg drops from a D8 Quality to a D6. He also cannot run.

The two marines made slowly for the EVAC point.

"Dropship Kalgon; take us away!"

Turn 9 - 10.  Just behind Logan and Kupperberg, Sgt. Sigler crossed the main corridor. Several close contacts were being held off by a Tactical marker (more on these in the notes).

They entered Comms just as two more Robots moved in.

Putting the unconscious Farlander down, Sgt Sigler swore, "Jesús en una muleta!" as he raised his shotgun. Correia raised an eyebrow.

The shotgun blast caught both bots, destroying the lead one. The other advanced on Corriea,metal claws grasping.

Actually, Gunny Sigler took the brunt of the melee, because he is one tough hombre (AC d12!) and I was playing the odds. Correia and Logan provided fire support, again, playing the odds that any stray shots wouldn't damage Sigler.  The strategy worked, even had it failed, Sigler is not a regular member of the squad, and can be replaced by an exact copy - but I would have missed him.

By turn 11(pursued by yet again two more robots) the Squad had reached the EVAC objective - not sure how they were extracted, possibly a hole in the ceiling. There was one walking wounded, one incapacitated, and two objectives achieved.  Mission: Success.

Post-Game Thoughts:

Tactical Markers - these add a neat twist. When contacted, a successful Tech roll (5-6) creates a tactical effect - it can be removing a Contact marker or creating a Blocking Zone vs. Aliens. This latter was how the Sarge got across the main corridor whilst carrying the wounded Farlander.

This scenario was pretty hard, for a priority 1 game. I was getting close to despairing, until I realised I had short-changed the main squad a second Fire Team. That's an automatic back up, and then you can requisition heavier weapons, etc. by paying some Priotity points.  Of course, the first Smart LMG the squad acquires goes to Pvt. Correia.

Creature Movement Does Eventually Get Boring - rolling movement dice for a dozen Contact markers does get a little tiresome, especially on the far side of the board, where one just knows they will never come into contact. I'm thinking about a hack.

On the other hand, there's always an off-chance that a new Contact marker will appear in your squad's way. This happened on the penultimate turn, where the EVAC point was attacked by a single robot. Logan and Kupperberg were able to bring it down with concentrated, aimed fire.  Still, made for a tense turn.

Campaign Turn: After the encounter, models use are assigned experience points, roll for reputation increase, apply for cross training, go on R&R, if up for some and recover in sick bay. In the case of Kuppenberg, since he had been stabilised with a light wound, he would require a turn in sickbay, so if the team goes out, it will be without him, and Farlander as well.

Farlander had been recovered while incapacitated, so  he had to roll on the chart  and take his chances - fortunately, he also came up "Lightly Wounded" so he'll have Kuppenberg to keep company.

Correria had enough experience points to buy a trait upgrade - she was a half-point down on her Move trait (3.5") so that was increased to 4". They're still slow, but at least they're all slow together.

Logan was able to improve her Motivation to a "2", meaning she will be taking a more active role in future encounters.

Sgt. Sigler went on to his next assignment, nannying another set of wet-arsed boots on a thankless job of keeping Mankind's Final Frontier safely expanding.

"Damn Straight!"...Ω

28mm Colonel Virginia Lake

If she was quick, there'd be just enough time to hit the hand wash at Tesco's.

Karl Perroton over at Crooked Dice has released a teaser for tan upcoming 7TV2 expansion: Albion Rocket Group aka A.R.C.  This is one of my favourites in the 1st Edition line, and I'm looking forward to see what shiny new bits those Crooked Minds come up with for 2E.

Everything's better with Wanda

If you ask me, A.R.C. needs someone to hold the fort while Melody Lake is off gallivanting across space - why not her kinswoman, Major Caroline? Inspired by the heart-stopping Col. Virginia Lake from Gerry Anderson's U.F.O. (and played by the equally heart-stopping Wanda Ventham) she's the no-nonsense (and reasonably-priced) supporting actress that defends the gates against the Argonauts, The Mist, and SHIVA.  And she's let a fancy car from Department X.

Miniature was converted from Crooked Dice Daredevils set, with a head-swap from Hasslefree's HFA004 Kat.  Now I need a George Sewell miniature for Colonel Alec Freeman...Ω

28mm Adventure-scale Buildings from Sarissa

In preparation for RetCon-USA Gameday, I finished some MDF structures from Sarissa Precision. These were their Storage Pod, Small Water Tower, and two grain Silos. These will dress up my Zhodani Colony farm on Zdovesil (Foreven 1212) A65588A-9.  

Sarissa do a good job of cutting the parts to fit - I had no trouble assembling the bits. The detail is very good.

MDF does like to drink paint, though. All surfaces had to be primed and painted, at least twice in the base colour, then several layers of highlighting. Still, the result was well worth it.

Unfortunately, there was no time to play the game, due to competing events at the Gameday, but I'll be running this again, with great enthusiasm, at Cold Wars and GZG-ECC next month...Ω

The Crew of the Betty - 28mm Sci-Fi

Models by Hasslefree, Heresy, and Moonraker. Vehicle Bay by Sarissa.

Work on assembling the bitz for a Five Parsecs from Home game continues; presented here is my crew representing the members of "The Betty" from Alien: Resurrection. Whatever one's thoughts on what the fourth film in the Alien franchise did, or failed to do, the crew of The Betty were an interesting and eclectic bunch.

The Crew of "The Betty" - Alien: Resurrection

Models by Hasslefree, Heresy, and Moonraker. Vehicle Bay by Sarissa.

When painting Sci-Fi miniatures, I find myself greatly slowed down by a lack of vision as to what I'm painting - especially civilians. What colour are the so-called uniforms? Weapons? Gear, etc.?  Re-creating a movie crew helps solve this issue - even if the miniature isn't exactly "spot-on", the paint scheme can be.

Models by Hasslefree, Heresy, and Moonraker. Vehicle Bay by Sarissa.

Frank Elgyn: On film, it looks to me that Elgyn is wearing a dark purple under-shirt/vest, with dark grey trousers. Miniature: Heresy 28mm sci fi Ships Crew - Discontinued.  Sorry lads, I bought this figgie about ten years syne. No longer in production. Take it up with Big Boris.

Johner: This Moonraker Miniature/Rebel is actually painted as Diaz from Santana's Crew in "Riddick" (more anon).  It's acting as a fill-in, as I had ordered two different "Grant" miniatures from Hasslefree, with the notion of a head-swap, and got two of the same with different labeling.  I'll need to order again and ask them to correct the error.








Christie: Watching the film, Christie wears a coat that's a blend of gray-green/brown. Also, he's a two-handed shooter. Most important to me, however, was getting his hair right. Moonraker Miniatures has a "Rasta" in their Future Skirmish/Rebels line. His coat has epaulets, which I debated removing, then decided against. The point isn't to model these chaps exactly, just use them as a guideline/theme. I painted the eps in the colours of the Légion Etrangère - if anyone is wearing epaulets in the far future, it will be Le Boudin.






Annalee Call: Another Hasslefree miniature: Kendra. It was surprisingly difficult to find a jumpsuit/coverall-clad female in 28mm scale, especially without heavy ordnance. Thissun was close enough.  In the film, Call is mostly a non-combatant, so the pistol isn't much of a stretch.








Hillard: Another Moonraker Miniature - this time, from the Troopers category. I suspect it's meant as a proxy for Ripley in Aliens.  This is the second Hillard-theme mini painted in as many months.










Vriess: Where's Engineer Vriess?  At the moment, back at the ship. I'm looking for a motorised chair for him, as well as a figure. I intend to paint him both seated and standing, since it's possible to go back in time to before he had his debilitating accident.

Also in the works, seeing that I've tipped it, are the merc crews from Riddick. And possibly some space-cowboys/rebels etc....Ω