Double Duty: Making 28mm Work In 15mm, Part 1

The market for 15mm miniatures and models has exploded in the last few years.  That's a good thing.

But, we as gamers are hard to satisfy, and sometimes we look for alternate sources, alternate uses for things.  We tend to repurpose and appropriate from other scales, and make them fit into other roles.

Maybe it's an old fig you have laying around, maybe it's a good deal you couldn't pass up, and other times it's a cool fig you just want to make work in another scale.

I call this making a model perform "Double Duty." 

As long as a model isn't locked into a certain scale by size cues (doors, hatches, etc) or long-standing brand emblems, it is a good candidate for Double Duty.  With some small modifications and repainting, a wide number of models can be pressed into service on the 15mm tabletop.

Often, a 28mm monster enjoys a bump up in horror and intimidation when it is matched against 15mm figures.  The predicaments faced in dungeon crawl adventures (and their sci-fi equivalents) can be made much more terrifying.

Alien monsters that are no big deal facing off against 28mm heroes are now towering monstrosities when pitted against 15mm figs.  There's an amplification of the threat in size and proportion. Take a look at Reaper's famed dragon figures.  You think they're big in 28mm?  Put them up against 15mm figs, and the largest of them can pass for Kaiju!  ;)

As a quick "for instance," I'll focus today on using 28mm sculpted figs in 15mm settings.

 Reaper's Cyber-Reavers, from their Chronoscope Range

 Copplestone Castings' Terminator Robots (Code FW15) from their Future Wars Range.

GW's Necron Immortals, from WH40K.  Found on Amazon.

Deathbots.  Nothing says your lumbering, unstoppable, metal-clad-skeleton enemies have to be the same size as the human troops they are fighting. A 28mm scale deathbot, or Terminator, or Necron, is usually well over an inch and a quarter tall (32mm for you metric types).  Translate that to 15mm scale (at the 1/100th fractional equivalent), and that deathbot is now over 10 feet tall.

Robots in 28mm scale can also do Double Duty in 15mm.  Some folks want mechanical drone armies, and these offerings (The XAIRobots) from Reaper can be bought as a pack, or multiples of a single type.  Link here.

If you are looking for more of a clockwork flavor for your bots, Warmachine's Eradicators do very nicely, in my opinion, as do many other units from their new Convergence faction.
 
For aliens, again, nothing says they have to be the same proportions as your human troops.  Different ecologies on different planets are going to result in different sizes of life forms.

 These Kulathian Invaders from Reaper are 28mm figs that would easily be giant aliens when put up against 15mm troops.  They're big, ugly, and mean-looking.  Perfect for augmenting a pirate band or organic army, or as a stand-alone force.

 Reaper lists this guy as a Bathalian Drone.  A lot of the Bathalian miniatures make for fearsome, giant-sized organic aliens when doing Double Duty, and a number of them are being done in the Bones material, which should bring costs down if you don't want to pay for metal.

Last, but not least, a Hormagaunt swarm in WH40K is a pretty average troop unit, but when pitted against 15mm troops, they become horrific organic killing machines, able to cleave heavy power armor suits with a single swipe.  You can pick some up here on Amazon.

Well, that's part one.  As you can see, the focus was on 28mm troop figures.  We will concentrate on larger figs that can pass as mechs (and their equivalents) when we visit this Double Duty topic again.

On behalf of Dropship Horizon,
JBR

All photos and IP are property of their respective owners.

Ravenstar Studios 20% Off Winter Sale

Ravenstar Studios is throwing a 20% off Winter Sale.

If you've been wanting to get ahold of those great Land Core 15mm mechs, VTOLs, grav tanks, or walkers, now is your chance.

 

Also, if your conventional forces need an unconventional opposition force, this is a great opportunity to grab some of those beautifully done Horrids, Chris Lynch's biomechanical units.

The code is WS20.

If you have any additional questions, email Chris at ravenstarstudios@charter.net
 
On Behalf Of Dropship Horizon,
JBR

New Rides For The Ion Age

Hello all you dropship passengers out there,

This week, the folks at The Ion Age roll out (pun intended) three new wheeled vehicles to accompany their Planetary Militia releases from last week. The for wheeled Hazelwurm provides an excellent, light patrol vehicle or even a colony transport for your non-military minis use.

The six-wheeled chassis for the Colabreta comes in both a patrol and command variant, allowing it to the form the wheeled core of your Planetary militia forces or perhaps as rugged transport and survey vehicles for those of you with a bent toward galactic adventure.

I feel that all three of these vehicles combine a nice balance between space opera and believable future vehicles. It also occurs to me that painted in law enforcement colors they would not be out of place patrols the streets of a block supporting judges and other hands of justice.

As usual, you can get the full story straight from the source by heading over to the Ion Age Blog - HERE

Enhanced Drop Pod now available from ClearHorizon Miniatures!

Enhanced Drop Pod now available from ClearHorizon Miniatures!

Available from ClearHorizon Miniatures here: Link

The Enhanced Drop Pod with a detailed interior is a new version of our extremely popular 15mm Drop Pod. The drop pod has a removable interior, top hatch, drop ramps and other incredible details modeled by the ever talented CoolHandCustoms!

Available now for $14.99!

Brigade Models expands the popular 15mm PacFed range!

From Brigade Models:

Today’s new releases are additions to the popular 15mm PacFed range. The Angelshark VTOL was previewed late last year but has been waiting for a suitable release window. The arrival of the Komodo heavy grav tank is a perfect opportunity to pair up the two models and release them together.

The Komodo is also available in a Platoon Pack of three complete with crew figures and stowage.

SF15-702 – Komodo Heavy Grav Tank – £10.50
SF15-704 – Angelshark VTOL – £8.00
PP15-702 – Komodo Platoon Pack – £30.50

On Guard in The Ion Age

Planetary Militia Released by 15mm.co.uk

This week Gavin Syme and the folks from The Ion Age release three new packs of Planetary Militia along with a cool platoon pack that include a special miniature.

IAF067 Planetary Militia 1st Squad

These miniature represent local ground forces and very much look the part of space opera infantry. While less flamboyant than other Ion Age troops, these miniatures still manage to look like part of that universe. 

IAF068 Planetary Militia 2nd Squad

The three individual packs include two standard squads. The first (IAF067) is armed with rifles, multi-launcher, and a cannon. The second (IAF068) is an anti-armor squad armed with a combination of rifles and anti-armor weaponry. The last is the platoon command (IAF069) which represents the officers and associated troopers to lead your platoon.

IAF069 Planetary Militia 1st Platoon Command

These figures are perfectly suited to just about any science fiction infantry role whether it is in the Ion Age or otherwise. If you would like to read more, including the special platoon offer, head on over - HERE

ACP Games: Vanir Dropship Kickstarter Launched!

JBR, here, with an exciting announcement about big new from Jimbo Burrell, of ACP Games.

I used to work with Jimbo when we were both doing CAV for Reaper.

Since then, Jimbo has been working long and hard to launch his 15mm scale product line at his company, ACP Games.

His newest venture is a Kickstarter project for the Vanir Dropship.

It's a beast, dwarfing most other offerings in the realm of 15mm.

Click here for the link.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/218951469/vanir-drop-ship-by-acpgames

Here's the movie...




I also did a digital sculpt for the Kickstarter:  A small combat utility vehicle called the Homesteader, meant to fit in the cargo bay of the Vanir.  More on that later.

 Here's the Vanir with one of the stretch goals, the 3-inch-tall mecha dubbed The Angel Of Death.

Here's a size reference shot of the Angel Of Death, with a 15mm infantryman and a Valkyrie.

 Here are another stretch goal, a new set of Valkyries, Jimbo's excellent powered armors.

 Here are a few shots of the Vanir with one of Jimbo's a-grav tanks.

 

 As an added bonus, Jimbo also got the mighty David Woods, AKA Dwartist, to paint up a pre-production Vanir.  As you can see, the Vanir also does Double Duty nicely as a 28mm scale vehicle.

For more of his astounding work in support of this project, click here.

That link, again, is...

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/218951469/vanir-drop-ship-by-acpgames

And if you're on Facebook, swing by ACP Games' FB page, and give them a like.

https://www.facebook.com/acpgames


Enjoy!

On Behalf of Dropship Horizon,
JBR

Defending Planets Across The Ion Age

Preview of Planetary Militia

February is set to be a nice release month for The Ion Age. Not only will the 15mm versions of the Planetary Militia be released but also a brand new set of vehicles for use with them. These citizen soldiers are tasked with holding the ground and maintaining defense behind the armored lines of the Muster and armored elites. 

Several packs of infantry and vehicle variants are planned for February releases...

IAF067 Planetary Militia 1st Squad (10) (Rifle Squad) 5.00GBP
IAF068 Planetary Militia 2nd Squad (10) (Support Squad) 5.00GBP
IAF069 Planetary Militia Platoon Command (5) (Special Poses) 2.50GBP
IAFP02 Planetary Militia Platoon (25+1) 12.00GBP
(Contains IAF067, IAF068, IAF069 as well as a free unique miniature only in this platoon pack)

IAF054 Hazelwurm MkII Patrol Car (1) (Light Vehicle) 4.00GBP
IAF061A Colabreta Patrol Carrier MkI (1) (APC Light Vehicle) 6.00GBP
IAF061B Colabreta Patrol Command MkIII (1) (Control Light Vehicle) 6.00GBP

 

 See vehicle images below and read more - HERE 

SpecOps: A Gruntz Module now available on WargameVault.com!

Written by myself and published on WargameVault, SpecOps: a Gruntz Module is now available!

SpecOps is a Gruntz Module that brings the exciting second-to-second action of Special Operations missions and campaigns to the tabletop.

Available here for $3.99

NEW RULES: New rules for stealth operations, contact blips, hacking enemy soldiers and more!

NEW WEAPONS and EQUIPMENT: Specialist grenades, expanded weapon lists and more armor types to outfit your operatives. Hack enemy cybernetics with SLAM modules!

NEW MISSIONS: Eight new missions along with a branching campaign make running your games easy and interesting.

NEW TEAM TYPES: Choose from eight different types of teams with their own unique perkz each and further customize your troops with Species Traits to represent Aliens and Humans.

NEW OFF-BOARD RESOURCES: Light up your enemy with a UAV drone, or maybe an orbital strike with your new off-board resources.

NEW CAMPAIGN MODE: Advance your skills, build up your equipment stores and nurse your wounds with the new campaign mode that keeps your operatives from game to game.

The Gruntz Ver 1.1 rulebook is required for this module.

---

Here is a review of SpecOps.  Rocco was sent a Pre-release pdf for free in exchange for an honest review and feedback:

Tech Report of “Spec Ops” a Gruntz Module by Clear Horizon Miniatures

By: Rocco P. Yoculan

Nerd Rage Painting Service

I was given a chance to give my opinion of the new Gruntz Module Spec Ops by Clear Horizon Minis, after speaking to Harold I was given a prerelease copy of the new module. What follows is my report of the new rule system for 15mm special operators in the Sci-Fi genre.

Book Cover and Layout 

                Right off the bat, the cover shows a night vision scene of two “Hell Divers” bounding with their tactical displays showing on their HUD (Head up Display), boldly displays the title and is eye catching and not over the top. The PDF is very well done with the rules being listed and written out with a natural flow that was very easy to follow. The PDF is also filled with the right amount pictures and original artwork so that it does not feel like filler.

The Rule System

Activation: This worked very well for our test games, we also for the hell of it tried random card placement for all the units on the table. Both worked out well and as I explained to my group. look at Activation as not just who goes first but who reacts first.

The Blip Mechanic: My first read through left me a little confused but after I played it I saw what you were trying to do. This worked well on a 2 by 2 table with ample terrain placed. This also put in a layer of tactical complexity that felt absolutely right. Moving the blips around and trying to stay out of sight until it was necessary to start the fight on my terms vs do I just open up on this blip exposing myself and driving forward came up a lot and was very interesting. The spotting rules felt just as natural as well.

Grenades: The new grenades were cool, and a great addition to the game. It did come up weather or not the grenade thrower becomes spotted if he throws a grenade. I claimed he did not and we played it that way. I found the grenades to be very useful if not overlooked. The Decoy grenade was a bit hard to follow at first but once we understood it creates a decoy blip that your opponent knows is a fake marker but can spot his markers at skill 3 became one of my favorite tools not forgetting the Hacker of course!

Reactive Fire: Very well thought out. This also left player with a lot of tactical decisions to make including whom to assign to overwatch (sniper and or SAW gunner) vs making a solid assault or a layered defense. Depending on the mission played an Operator on overwatch was vital because of the one spot rule. Being able to move the model being shot at 1 inch to avoid the shot but stopping the advance is a brilliant mechanic that adds realistic flavor to the game.

Shooting and the Weapons: Again very well thought out and I liked the range band modifiers for the weapons.  Most of the weapons felt right, I did how ever think the ranges on the Shotguns were too high and should be shortened slightly and the AE effect removed. I work with tactical firearms daily and shotguns are abysmal field combat weapons but Kings of CQB. In CQB with standard 00 buck 0-7 yards there is very little spread and at 15-20 yards is all you have for combat effectiveness anything after that range requires a slug with 50-75 yards being optimal effective range. Yes both calibers are deadly past these ranges but the probability of hitting a target and taking him out of action is low. Just my 2 cents and I know how difficult it is to make a game shotgun feel right. 

Nat Net: Having a battlefield hacker proved to be a lot of fun and is useful as a Denial/Buff unit on your team and is one of my favorite team members. The rules are straight forward and easy to use and do not pull the players out of the action.

Team Building 

                I vote this be renamed “How to kill an entire afternoon making the perfect Black Ops Team” I’m a tinkerer and one of the things I love about Gruntz is making up my own Units. This was gamer cocaine to me and I loved every minute of it! The Point cap is spot on allowing me to make hardcore teams but not gods and of course the age old gamer question do I want Quality or Quantity? The off board assets and squad equipment are great and add flavor to the games we played.

Missions & Campaigns 

       The missions we played were Assassinate, Hostage Rescue, and Infiltration. All played smooth (as smooth as gamers can play before utter chaos erupts) and were easy to set up and run. I really like the campaign rules and am looking forward to getting one off the ground in the near future. The Injury mechanic is cool and reminds me of Mordhiem from days past. Unit advancement looked right and was not even remotely over complicated. 

Conclusion 

                This was a fantastic module to play and we had a lot of fun play testing it. This game plays like a First Person Shooter on the table top and is fast and deadly! It also had a great amount of tactical gameplay to it that does not slow it down. Harold you and your team achieved what you set out to do.  I’m looking forward to seeing the final version once everyone’s input is shared. Thanks for allowing me the opportunity to give my opinion on this module.

 Roc 

  

End of Report…