Scenario - Night Storm!

The release of the Khurasan Polecat Utility Vehicle left me thinking about how to use small vehicles in 15mm games.  For small operations, it's likely that small vehicles would be preferred to large mecha or MBTs.  I usually play on 2'x2' tables, so small operations are very appealing to me.  So, to celebrate the Polecat's release (and to encourage manufacturers to keep thinking about the smaller toys), here's a small skirmish game featuring light utility vehicles.

This can be player vs. player, two player cooperative, or as a solo game.  Since 15mm doesn't have "one ruleset to rule them all," I'm keeping things as generic as possible.  It's up to individual players to choose appropriate forces and stat them up.

BACKGROUND

A high-ranking politician has been captured by enemy forces.  He was being taken to the enemy's capital, but a devastating storm forced them to stop at a small outpost.  A small team of special operators will infiltrate enemy lines and attempt a rescue.  The storm will make things difficult, but it should provide adequate concealment.

TABLE SETUP

A 2' x 2' table is all you need for this game.  Set up three buildings toward one corner of the table.  Since it is representing a small military outpost, some scatter terrain (crates, boxes, ammo cans, fuel barrels, small sheds) can also be placed around these buildings.  It's likely that a road runs near this outpost.  The rest of the table can be setup however you want - a few hills, tree stands, gigantic crystal shards, or whatever works with your particular terrain set.

FORCES

The Attackers have a commando squad (6-10 strong) divided among two light utility vehicles.  It would be helpful to have a civilian model to represent the hostage, but a counter or token would work fine.  Choose your weapons carefully - the element of surprise is your only advantage in this game.

The Defenders have two Brutes (lower quality troopers) for every Commando.  There is also one Boss, who should at least be the equal of the Commandos.  

DEPLOYMENT

The Defenders' Boss and a Brute or two are kept off the table, along with the hostage.  Set these aside.  Also, set aside another Brute or two, but keep them separate from the Boss' group.  The remaining brutes are deployed around the buildings to simulate the nocturnal sentries - use common sense to determine their specific locations on the table.  

The Attackers will enter the table from the corner opposite the buildings.  They are inside their Light Utility Vehicles at the beginning of the game.  

SCENARIO SPECIAL RULE - STORM!

The area is experiencing a severe storm (a thunderstorm, blizzard, sandstorm, meteor shower, nitro-methane fog, or being constantly swarmed by shrieking locust-moths).  Visibility is restricted to your figures' normal movement distance, and any sounds softer than the Brutes' weapons can't be heard.  The Light Utility Vehicles are rigged for completely silent running and are invisible to radar, thermal, and all other types of sensors.  The Commandos' small arms (but not heavy weapons) are also considered to be silenced for the duration of this scenario.  

The Brutes are assumed to have poorer vision/night optics than the Commandos.  The Commandos will always see the Brutes first.  However, if a Brute has a chance to return fire, all other Brutes on the table will move (normal walking speed - the storm makes running impossible) toward his position.  The Commandos must act quickly or risk being overwhelmed.

SCENARIO SPECIAL RULE - BUILDING SEARCH

One building is empty, one has the Hostage and Boss, the third has a small number of off-shift Brutes.  Roll a D6 when the Commandos search the first building:

• 1-2:  Off-shift Brutes.  They will fire as soon as their door is opened.
• 3-4:  Empty building.
• 5-6:  Objective building.  The Boss and Brutes will open fire when the door is opened.

If the first building searched isn't the Objective Building, roll again when searching the second.

• 1-3: Off-shift Brutes or empty building (whichever result wasn't rolled on the previous building)
• 4-6: Objective building.

Obviously, the third building is the objective building if you don't find it the first two times!

VICTORY CONDITIONS

The Attackers' mission, obviously, is to retrieve the hostage and get him into one of the Light Utility Vehicles.   The Defenders can achieve victory by destroying both vehicles or killing 50% of the Commandos, forcing the mission to abort.

FORCE SUGGESTIONS

This scenario is generic enough that it should work for any setting.  Near future, far future, space opera, post apocalyptic - whatever you like to play.

ATTACKERS: Any elite troopers in your collection.  If you're playing humans, these could be Khurasan Exterminators, Rebel Minis Earthforce Infilitrators, Critical Mass Games ARC Fleet Drop Troopers or Zas Mercs, ArtCrime Port Reliant Mercs, GZG New Israelis or UNSCs (or even Power Armor, depending on your setting)... you get the idea.  If you want to play aliens, you could always use Khurasan Felid Prideguard, GZG Armored Crusties, Critical Mass Praesentia Phase Shifters...

LIGHT UTILITY VEHICLES: Wheeled or Grav vehicles seem like idea candidates for silent running - I just can't imagine tracked or fan-driven hover vehicles being quiet.  Khurasan Polecat (duh!) or Locust, Old Crow Outrider or Goanna, GZG Bulldogs or High-Tech Light Grav APC, Critical Mass Gekotaa (featured in the Dropship Horizon banner), Rebel Minis Apache...

BRUTES AND BOSS:  Any sinister-looking troopers with a suitable command figure.  I imagined the Khurasan Sepulvedan Control Battalions when I was outlining the scenario.  Other figures could be GZG Crusties or Kra'Vak, Critical Mass Naga, Rebel Titan Marines or Kurgen, Kremlin Cyberian Death Commandos, 15mm.Co.Uk Cultists or Post Apocalyptic Warriors...

Hopefully this will give you a fun little game.  Post your results if you run the scenario yourself!

Cheers,

Chris

Khurasan releases Polecat Wheeled Utility Vehicle

Khurasan Miniatures has released another fantastic vehicle - the Polecat.  

This was designed to be a Humvee-like variant of the upcoming Federal Exterminators Caiman APC.  It is priced at $9.99 each or $35.99 for a four-pack.  The Polecat includes two different turrets - an antipersonnel gatling gun, and a multi-tube rocket launcher for anti-material fire. 

No, the Desiree Kim figure is NOT included!

While 15mm provides a good variety of mecha, huge battle tanks, and massive personnel carriers, it's actually the small utility vehicles like this which inspire me the most.  The obvious roles are command or scout vehicles, but I see the Polecat engaging in "behind enemy lines" operations.  Each one could carry 3-5 special operators - a pair of these working in tandem would transport an elite team of commandos.  It's easy to imagine them painted in "blackball" radar-reflective paint and using an all-electric powertrain to reduce sound and thermal signature.  That makes it an ideal vehicle for surgical strikes, assassination missions, or hostage rescues.  I'm going to write a generic scenario featuring the Polecat... watch for it later this weekend!

Cheers,

Chris

New releases from GZG & final days of Christmas vouchers

Remember - if you bought from Ground Zero Games during the Christmas sale and haven't used your discount vouchers (like me) - they expire on 31 March.  Get your orders in first thing this weekend!  Jon does have a special treat for those of us who waited... a whole bunch of new goodies were just released.

For the NAC (possibly the most popular human army in all of 15mm Sci Fi), we have this great pack of medics with wounded:

Along with some NAC casualties.  

Jon received many customer requests for casualty figures.  If these prove to be popular, it's something we could hope to see in his other factions.

The Crusties also received some love.  The extremely popular Crusty Mech received a second pose variant. This one is a bit more dynamic than the first version, and will let us field larger units of these great walkers.

On the Civilians & Characters side, we now have a Survey Team in Vac Suits.  These would be a great companion for the Surveyor Tracked Explorer Vehicle. 

The versatile Rommel Hover Tank received two new variants.  One is armed with a quad pulse cannon:

And the other a dual multi-missile launcher:

The quad pulse cannon seems designed to take down fast-moving aircraft.  The missile system is far more versatile.  It could be a long-range artillery piece, or a dedicated hunter of mecha or tanks.  

The new weapons systems for these tanks would also look great as standalone defensive positions.  And Jon must have been thinking the same thing, because both are available as groundmount systems.

Kudos to Jon for loads of great new minis!

Cheers,

Chris


Edit: I missed two new items!  The first is a pack of tripod-mount energy cannons with gunners for the extremely popular UNSC range:

And the second is a variant of the Gauntlet Hover APC - armed with a multi-missile system.

And check out Jon's comment below - there may be some additional new items available at Salute.

Review - Armies Army Neo-Sov Figures

Keith at Armies Army was kind enough to send me a review pack of his new Neo-Sov Figures back in early February.  But due to an unannounced shutdown of the UK-US 15mm Wormhole (Patent Pending), they didn't arrive until late last week.  So even though these figures have already been covered by a few fellow bloggers, I still wanted to give them a proper review.

The Sculpts

Let me get this out of the way first - I personally hate near-future gaming.  Being in the US military for the last 12 years has left me with no desire to play anything recognizable.  To me, science fiction battles should have towering mecha in bright colors, daring adventurers with silly fantasy-inspired weapons, and faceless minions with high-tech and horribly inaccurate blasters.  So, with that being said...

I really do like these figures.

What Armies Army offers is a squad of soldiers wearing familiar-looking gear.  Basic fatigues and combat boots, load-bearing equipment with canteens and pouches, and familiar knee, shoulder, and groin protection.  Seven of them are armed with basic AK rifles, one has an RPG, one a machinegun (though not an RPK), and the NCO a machine pistol/SMG.  These are the same weapons you'd find in actual Russian (or other former Soviet) military forces, or any third-world military or paramilitary force buying Russian surplus or knockoffs.  

All ten poses in this first offering are unique.  They range from a couple of stationary firing poses (feet anywhere from together to shoulder-width), some advancing poses, and one half-kneeling figure.  All of them are dynamic - they are clearly in the middle of a firefight, rather than standing around straight or waving guns over their heads.  

What sets these figures apart from most modern ranges are the helmets.  These troops are wearing fully enclosed headgear rather than something you'd find today.  It looks like it has very advanced optics, built-in communications, and even a light hostile-environment breathing apparatus.  It reminded me more of helmets found on old Cobra forces from G.I.Joe than any real-world military concept headgear.  These helmets really open some doors for the figure range as a whole... I'll discuss that a bit later.

The Castings

The ten figures I received were very clean and well-detailed.  They have the typical mold line running from toe-to-head-to-toe, but didn't suffer from any misalignment or bent weapons.  A few seconds per figure with a small file and they were ready to paint.  The only thing I can really complain about are the cast bases.  These are just a bit too thick to blend into a penny or washer without a ton of extra work.  But this problem is far from unique to Armies Army - in fact, these are far from the worst bases seen on 15mm figures.  I just filed them smooth on this first squad - on future squads I'll use a Dremel to make them a bit thinner.

So... Who Are They?

The initial G.I.Joe impression gave me a few ideas on how to use these figures.  I pictured them as assault troops for a hostile third-world dictator, and tried to come up with an appropriate paint scheme.  I figured the uniforms and weapons were all old surplus items, so I painted my test figure with Vallejo Heavy Khaki, the load-bearing equipment P3 Cryx Bane Highlight, and the rifle Reaper Master Aged Pewter.  And, thinking that the helmets were unique to that particular dictatorship - I tried to paint them Vallejo Blood for a Red Skull appearance...

Okay... didn't work.  That is one UGLY paint job.

You know what?  Military paint schemes just aren't my thing.  So let's try something else.  I saw a gallery sometime in the last few months - it was a Pig Iron 28mm figure beautifully painted in granite and orange.  Couldn't find it again, but just knowing the basic colors gave me a good place to start.  So this time, I went with Cryx Bane Highlight as the fatigue color, Cryx Bane Base on the boots, gloves, and helmet, Vallejo Fire Orange on the web gear and facemask, and a bit of work with Secret Weapon Stone wash and Wonder Wash original black.

Much better!  It's amazing how much a differenet paint scheme changes a figure at this scale.  So I threw that first one into a Simple Green bath and painted the other eight figures.

The new paint scheme inspired a few more possible backgrounds for these figures.  Instead of a near future dictatorship - what about a ruthless post-apocalyptic enclave?  I could easily work these into my not-Invid Invasion setting.  The Dominion invaded Earth because of the sudden appearance of their Blue Crystals.  Maybe most of those Crystals appeared in what we call the First World today, and that's where the invasion was concentrated.  If so, a current third world state might emerge as a major power.  Maybe somewhere in central Africa?  This country wasn't hurt by the Dominion, but also didn't have the high-tech weapons and mecha of the Global Expeditionary Forces.  Instead, they are forced to defend their borders with century-old weapons and tanks.  I'm going to try painting a Proxie Models Trencher Tank to match this squad... a vehicle like that could easily be produced by a future nation unable to access the most current technologies.

Armies Army has produced a great little range of figures.  They are perfect for near-future Tomorrow's War games, and have plenty of potential in more distant settings. And be sure to keep an eye on Keith's blog - he has posted some weapon conversions, and is openly discussing future releases for the Neo-Sovs.

Cheers,
Chris

15mm Paper Buildings from Red Knight Entertainment

Red Knight Entertainment writes:

We are proud to announce the 1st preview of the Materion science fiction city terrain for 15 and 20mm scales. A huge paper terrain set with 13 different buildings, plenty of 4 and 6 lane street tiles and a large variety of city props.

Materion is paper terrain designed to flood your table with  simple, easy to build, incredibly detailed terrain. The buildings have large  glue tabs and are very easy to put together. The rooftops are also simple in  their construction and have tabs that come down to keep them from shifting or  blowing off the buildings. You can build a 4x8' table chock full of detailed Line of Sight interrupting goodness in the span of a single day.

The RKE Materion Future Tech Paper Terrain Set includes:

•  12 completely different buildings with 3, 4, and 5  story versions of all 12 buildings. A double wide scenario building is included for a total of 13 different buildings. All buildings and rooftops collapse perfectly flat for easy travel and storage. 
• Large amount of city props. (Small and large crates, Short and long pipes, media billboards, security pillars, short  walls, tall walls, power obelisk) 
• 15 street and city tiles. (4 lane and six lane streets, right turns, left turns,  parking lots, cull-de-sacs etc) - Alternate Sidewalk/Ground Tile without grid included. 
• Photo tutorials included showing where to bend paper. 
• Instructions for various scales. 
• Construction tips. 

Cost

The Materion Future Tech Terrain with all 13 buildings, city props and street  tiles will be introduced at $12 in downloadable PDF for the first 400 sales worldwide.  After that the terrain will be permanently  restocked at $16. 

Go to www.rkegames.com for previews.

These Red Knight Entertainment buildings look like a great way to quickly build an urban battlefield.  And the Materion series is very different than the paper buildings we've seen before.  I look forward to trying some out for my 1/100 Mecha battles.  

Cheers,

Chris

For a Few Dollars - More Junk Building

Junk building again!

This time I will not be diagramming the build like I did last time, but giving a brief commentary on each build so you can see what I used. When it all comes down to it, it's about collecting the right stuff as you go through your day to day and applying a little basic modelling skill. In all of these projects, pre-made parts have been combined with junk and craft materials for some very basic, but effective designs.

The image above show a couple of angles on an industrial piece that I put together. The central component of this piece was a piece of plastic electrical housing (the orange parts). I built two levels of flat playable surface on to this using stiff card. The railing is plastic cross stitch canvas. the posts holding it up are plastic tubing from an architectural modelling supply. 

Various model parts, wooden blocks, dice cubes, pill bottles, candy and juice mix containers complete the build. The base is a section of old board game board that I painted with textured paint before putting it all together. Only pre-made bits are two doors from GZG that I used on the dice cubes to simulate an enclosed staircase.

Small pieces, like the communications hub (above), can be made from simple card stock for a base and discarded packaging. In this case it was the packaging for some sort of Iphone accessory or something along those lines. Add GZG doors and roof fitting and a few plastic model parts (hatches, etc.) and a quick and dirty objective marker is born. 

Which brings me to another simple point - functionality. If you are building something, it's best if you have a concept in mined. In this case, this makes for a fine objective to be defended or taken.

Plumbing parts, pill bottles, drinking straws, an electrical junction
 box and a few other bits of plastic. Plastic architectural model stairs.

Continuing on the theme of functionality, another thing to consider is playable space or surfaces. Both the industrial piece to the right and the one at the top of this post are left with plenty of usable space. Open ground and flat surfaces allow for the movement of miniatures through the terrain feature as well as leaving you the option of customising your terrain a bit by adding pieces of spot clutter or other components (shown below). 

A little thought on composition and the right bits of trash will go a long way. Soon you'll have everything you need for an industrial sprawl, alien mining operation, remote colony, or anything you can imagine.

Mechwarrior Clix miniatures cut and posed.
Model parts, balsa, cut sprue for junk.

Rattle can lid, plastic ladder and GZG satellite parts.