Sci Fi Bystanding Guys

Quick shot of some bystanders for 15mm sci-fi games.  First up, four dudes in space suits of one sort or another.  I think they are all from 15mm.co.uk.



From left to right:  ?, HOF57A, HOF86C, and HOF86C

Can't find that guy on the left anywhere on 15mm.co.uk's website, so now I'm thinking he might be a Khurasan figure held over from a previous pack?  That doesn't sound right.

This is some sort of wandering alien holy man.  This sculpt looked alien enough that a simple flesh color would suffice - no need for exotic colors like green or orange or lavender. 

 

After finishing up the painting, priming, dullcoating, and finally photographing this figure, my son pointed out that when you see it on the tabletop...it looks like a giant erect phallus.  Good call, Warren.  Good call.

Hump Day Dump Day, Issue #1

Lancelot Link to the rescue!
(Eureka Miniature)

A few of my favorite blogs are my favorite blogs in part because from time to time they issue a post consisting entirely of pointers to other blog posts that find interesting. Those always tickle my fancy because they expose me to cool ideas and bloggers that I might not have found on my own.

It is high time I returned the favor for anyone out there with the excellent taste to share my tastes.  So, welcome to the Wednesday link dump.  That's enough ado, let's get to it.

First up, from the "Books About Elves Are Serious Business" files:

That Woefully Incomplete Sampling of Appendix N (Jeffro's Space Gaming Blog), "When John C. Wright wrote an essay about some points I raised in my Appendix N series, the folks at File 770 had a field day. The overall effect was not unlike raw meet being dropped into a piranha pool. 

Who knows how long this would have gone on?! It could have been pages upon pages of righteous indignation, but Brian Z. spoiled the fun shortly after this by pointing out that I had actually covered the book…. The entire discussion gets tabled, with only Jim Henley even acknowledging the link."

Next up, a great point about taking things just seriously enough:

Sincere silliness (Dungeon Fantastic), "It's not ironic enjoyment, but sincere enjoyment of something twisted ironically. It's a hard difference to explain in words, but I can feel the difference between "make it a joke" and "enjoy the jokes." We and the game are in on the same jokes - laughing with the game elements, not at them.
That's why I think it keeps going. No ironic enjoyment here. Nostalgia flavored but looking back for inspiration not elusive fun that was never really had."

Big battles always make me want more time, space, and money.  Or at least a decent local convention scene:

The Big Game XV - Clearing the Viper's Nest (Dropship Horizon), "I must be doing something right. I was invited to host a second participation wargame this year, at my local gaming club TableTopNorth in Belfast...The scenario was a continuation of an ongoing campaign between the rebelling human forces of the RPK republic (near future Arabs) and their evil galactic overlords the Naga (snake like aliens). The RPK regular army forces had support from their air cavalry wing the muster troops and Ikwen militia who had been brought to earth by the Naga as agricultural slaves. The Naga had support from Malig space goblins, a conquered race and various droids."

Deep thoughts on scenario design:

Game Design #57: Asymmetry (Delta Vector), "Whilst I'm not saying to abandon attempt to balance games nor points systems are evil (in fact I am in favour of points systems to "help" balance - without accepting them as a perfect solution) - I think asymmetrical battles should play a bigger part in the already overlooked areas of scenario/mission design. After all, how many historical battles were precisely balanced? It's not an either/or situation. Asymmetry (whether we acknowledge it or not) is a key factor of warfare both before (whether it is through meta gaming the points system) and during (as you attempt to quickly neutralize your opponent and gain battlefield superiority) the battle; so why not consider it in scenario and mission design in conjunction with "balanced" points systems?"

Speaking of inspirational, this thread has some outstanding simple and evocative terrain:

Old Ben is Going To Play More Games (Lead Adventure Forum Thread), "After contributing to another thread on this forum called 'I'm a Lead Hoarder' I've realized I have become a hoarder. I am recently new to the war game world (8 years or so), and I have amassed a huge range of miniatures. Most of the miniatures I have are painted, so that's not the problem. The issue that I have is the same issue that a lot of collectors have-I own too much stuff that sits unplayed in copy boxes. This will be the thread where I'll sort it all out and actually play some games!"

And for you terrain-o-philes out there, another highly inspiration thread featuring some outstanding pulp sci-fi terrain.  This is the sort of thing I tried to do with my sci-fi city:

Planetoid 51 (Lead Adventure Forum),  Hi, here is my project that I've been working on nearly three years. I was able to glean ideas and resources from others here, so thank you. Anyways my theme involes an earth colony that was invaded by a previously unknown alien race. Earth forces are trying to reclaim the colony.

There's also a great thread on the Lead Adventure Forum talking all about how great Osprey's Black Ops is, but I wouldn't know because my copy still hasn't arrived from Amazon yet.  Not that I'm bitter about it, it's just that I'm bitter about it.  Razzin'-frazzin' shipping time to Hawaii...

My New Box Set (of Terrain)

The first stage of any terrain project is planning, and for the rooftop fights and infiltrations, there won't be any drop cloth - only the tippy-top levels of large buildings.  They may be anywhere from three to fifty stories tall.  The precise height doesn't really matter since we're only modelling the top floor or so, and how far a figure falls from the terrain doesn't affect the battle, any fall takes them out of the game.  If we can nestle four large buildings into the box, there should be plenty of room left over for the copious amounts of scatter terrain needed to keep things interesting.

And so it does.

The first consideration must me the box.  For the rooftop fights and infiltrations, the cheap clear plastic box measures roughly twelve inches across, ten inches wide, and six inches high.  That dictates the maximum size of my terrain pieces.  Four pieces should cover a two-by-two foot section of tabletop.  A little on the small side, but we're looking at scenarios with only a few figures and plenty of blocking terrain, so it should work. 

In the above photo, the buildings are separated by alleys which can be bridged with ductwork, pipes, or wires, which would cover more ground.  The nice thing about this set is that you can arrange the buildings in a lot of different ways.  You could leave a nice courtyard in the center, or line them up for a longer more narrow terrain set, like so:

No more pure rectangular battlefields.

The buildings themselves are basic terrain pieces, just foamcore held together with craft glue and scotch tape.  For variety, the buildings are built to three different heights, and the cornice* of each building has a different height.  This breaks up the terrain and serves as additional cover at the cost of no additional space.  As you can see, all four buildings still need a lot of detail.

The tallest building is the only one with an overhang. That way there
is never a covered alley between buildings.

The four smaller rooftop access buildings are built separate and can be swapped around each building to taste.  In addition to providing cover, they make great sniper posts, objectives, and "spawn points".  Naturally, the nestle inside the tallest building for storage.

Next up.  Detailing the base structures.  We're going to need a lot of empty cereal boxes.

*Crennel?  What do you call the raised edge of the rooftop?

Happy Halloween!

Have some eye-candy in the form of a couple of seasonal shots from the archive. 

 



Painted these guys a good decade ago.  These are just a couple of the very few figures that managed to survive the Second Great Sell-Off.  These are so old I can't even remember who made these fun little guys.

The Lead Pile Groweth

Just when you think you've got it all under control...one of your dealers stops by to, you know, just to say, "Hey man, got some good stuff here.  Whattaya into man?"

In this case my dealer would be old Gavin Syme over at 15mm.co.uk, which is fast becoming by go-to supplier for 15mm sci-fi goodness.  A full squad of totally-not-Ood, and enough to round out an even ten man unit of the Prang.  As if that ain't enough, the in-box has a few cars and jetbikes, too.

Oh 15mm.co.uk,  I wish I could quit you!

All I have to do before I start these is paint the other 10 primed figures, and detail and paint up the rest of the rooftop terrain, and maybe make that magic stone circle for the 6mm fantasy that doesn't really do anything, but looks great and adds flavor to the battlefield.

Meanwhile, my copy of Black Ops finally arrived, so that adds learning a new ruleset to the pile, and as if that isn't enough, my name has been added to the stable of bloggers for another wargaming blog.  If the devil needs a playground he'll have to use some other guy's hands.

No way, man, I don't have a problem, I can quit any time (that I run out of money).

Rooftop Inspiration

Been daydreaming about a new Big Box of terrain specifically for the infiltration missions that are an expected part of Osprey's Black Ops rules.  The top of one building - maybe two connected by multiple walkways or leapable gaps - should be plenty big enough for a stealth mission.  Heck, the Fiat plant in Turin had a whole race track on top!

A large factory or data center gives you plenty of wide open space,
rough ground, and heavy cover.

Large A/C units provide heavy cover and come in all
shapes and sizes, from single units...

...to large multi-unit monstrosities.

...and to the unpracticed eye, the ventwork looks
pretty random.

A billboard mounted on the roof can serve triple duty as
cover, sniper nest, and gratuitous cheesecake. 

It doesn't have to be all black and gray - you can easily
block out smaller areas for rooftop gardens...

...and add multiple levels, skylights, "pits" leading down into
courtyards below to block movement. 

Every high-tech building worth infiltrating should have its own helicopter pad.

Rooftop access doors come in a variety of shapes
and styles as well.  Brick for the maintenance guys
and glass and steel for accessing the landing pad.

Mix and match to your heart's content.

Anybody ever seen a full table done this way before?  I looked, but didn't see anything in the usual forums.

Grand Wargaming Strategy, Part the Second

Is it too early for a New Year's Resolution?

While deep in the throes of last post's naval gazing, my subconscious maundering was given a second kick in the short pants by Oldben1.  Over on a thread he started on the Lead Adventure Forums he asked for ideas on how to get more use out of his existing stash of  painted figures.  My last post focused on how actual play isn't all that important to me right now, but a plan beyond "buy whatever tickles my fancy at the moment" will help keep my paint brush focused and my mind on what I could be playing if there weren't other things on my To Do list.  You know, minor items like stay employed, raise the kids, keep the house from falling apart.

With the book closed on building the Big Medieval Box, I've been revisiting my generic sci-fi skirmish collection and looking at ways to expand the inventory while narrowing down the focus of the game.  This has always been about a more modern version of Necromunda that is a more personalized, more narrative, and more kitchen-sink style game of small teams and big stories.

The plan for 2016 is to find a game where you've got one small team running up against a changing roster of opposing forces in a series of linked missions.  Sort of a "Captain Mal and His Sci-Fi Friends Power Hour".  That way I can get a narrative campaign going, but still have an excuse to use a lot of different miniatures.  For example, I have a number of different teams of security forces (Sharkmen from Khurasan, Space Mercs from GZG, NBC suits from Rebel, and Octopods from 15mm.co.uk), not to mention a growing pile of random characters, civilians, and general ne'er-do-wells.

Last year the boy and I tried Five Parsecs From Home, but it just didn't grab us.  It's a fun game, but the forces are limited, and the in-game choices felt constrained.  So this next year's plan is to give Osprey's Black Ops a shot.  While I do have a delivery of vehicles on the way, there isn't much more that can be done with the small city-scape terrain set.  Sure, more scatter terrain is always welcome, but a stealth style game like Black Ops calls for a special set of terrain just for those secret missions and cloak and dagger infiltrations.

So that's where this blog is heading. At least as far as wargaming is concerned, it's going to be small unit sci-fi, and a fun and cool terrain set unlike anything that I could find on the internet.