Building a 15mm Army Part 2 - Infantry and Vehicles

In my previous post, we discussed different approaches to use when it comes to building 15mm forces (thanks for the great comments, everyone!). And to continue with my oversimplified force structure (infantry, vehicles, power armor, and mecha), I'm going to start putting the pieces together and build three complete armies - starting with some figures that are already in my unpainted lead pile.

Choosing Infantry

Infantry figures are at the very heart of a 15mm army's identity. They are also the easiest to paint - it's cheaper and quicker to test a color scheme on an infantry figure than on a tank or a mech. So regardless of their manufacturer, finish, or basing style, I think infantry should be the first step in organizing any 15mm force.

Fumbling through the lead pile, there are three ranges of infantry that I'd like to bring up to my "Black and Red" Army standards (see previous post) in the coming months: Ground Zero Games DPRG, Ground Zero Games New Israeli, and Rebel Minis Pangalactic Legion. 

Painted by Chief Lackey Rich, Mark H., and Jeff Racel

There's at least a dozen other factions in my bins right now awaiting expansion, but these three are a good place to start. And it brings just a little bit of variety - we have humans with futuristic enclosed helmets, humans with more conventional bare faces, and an alien faction.

And now, back to the main reason I started this whole reorganization in the first place... vehicles.

Selecting Vehicles

From Jeff Racel's Galleries

When choosing vehicles for my infantry figures, I'm more interested in a matching aesthetic than in using what a designer or manufacturer suggests. Unless you're gaming in a "fixed" setting, there's no reason to restrict yourself when assembling a 15mm army. I'm going to first look at Ground Zero Games' website - mainly because of my Christmas voucher, not for a lack of options from other manufacturers.

I'll start with the DPRG. Their basic troopers are well armed, but don't seem to be encumbered by heavy armor or gear. So their vehicles should follow the same trend - well armed, lightly armored, conventional design. I think the GZG 6-Wheel MICVs are a great place to start, especially now that we've just seen Harold's detailed review of their 8-wheeled cousins.

Each one of those will carry a 4-man fireteam and provide direct fire support. I might branch out into larger transports, command vehicles, or weapon platforms later, but this will give me a light and mobile force for the tabletop (especially for urban battlefields). Combined with the DPRG infantry, this is the start of an army that will work from the years 2113 to 21,113.

On the other side of the coin, the New Israeli are the definitive army of the future. Their fully-enclosed battle armor should be equally at home in frozen tundra, scorching deserts, gas-filled swamps, or toxic industrial megacities. So I want their vehicles to have that same level of versatility, along with a technology level that screams network-centric warfare systems.

Sounds an awful lot like the Hammer's Slammers vehicles, doesn't it? I think high-tech hover vehicles might be the just the ticket for this New Israeli-based army. The newer hover vehicles from GZG were my early favorite. But I think Combat Wombat's Scorpion, Centurion and Saracen offer exactly what I'm looking for:

From The Redoubt

Combat Wombat's "Box Full Of Badass" set is a great deal, but it's probably more than I will ever need for this army. So I'll order a "half-ass" from Scotty in the coming weeks (along with some goodies for an unrelated project).

And now for the Rebel Minis Pangalactic Legion. PF sculpted very high-tech looking energy weapons onto these figures - so I'm going to use that as my guide for choosing vehicles. The sweeping curves of the GZG's High-Tech Grav range are very tempting, but I already have an assortment of grav vehicles from Combat Wombat and Critical Mass Games.So I'm going with another set of wheeled vehicles (because wheels are cool!)- this time the high-mobility Phalanx and Paladin.

From Robin Fitton's Photostream

I've long believed these vehicles would look great alongside an alien infantry force. The Pangalactic Legion is a good candidate for them - humanoid without being rubber-suit human, and armed with futuristic energy blasters instead of rifles and autocannon. They should be a good combination when painted together.

Ow, My Wallet...

I feel a lot more confident about these forces than when I began. I can work on cleaning and prepping the infantry now, and slam poor Jon with yet another last-minute order for most of the vehicles. :) In the meantime, I can start thinking about what will round out these forces - by finding the right power armor and mecha.

So - given the choice of any vehicles in the world of 15mm Science Fiction gaming - what would you match (or have you matched) to these three infantry factions?

Cheers,
Chris