Color Scheme Test for Old Crow Vehicles

Okay, folks, I'm back from my little hiatus.  Sorry for the absence.. I was overseas for some military training and I don't like announcing what I'm doing or where I'm going until after I'm back. :)

I returned home to find a large order of Old Crow grav vehicles waiting for me, and some fantastic weather to get them assembled and spray them with some primer.  And then I found that I had a major choice to make, so I will now share it with you!

This was the test tank I painted a few months ago.  It matched my Conquest Development Center Stormtroopers (Rebel Minis Titan Marines) color scheme, and I was pretty pleased with it.  So I continued the paint scheme onto my new vehicles.  Here is an Outrider scout vehicle, which I'm going to use as a four-man transport for sniper and command teams.

The former Space Marine player in me has no problem fielding an army like this.  But something still feels missing, especially after ogling Jeff Racel's galleries and the Hammer's Slammers Crucible website the past few weeks.  While I was away I came up with a possible camo scheme for this army.  I don't want to use camo on the infantry, but I thought it might work on the tanks and APCs...

So after finishing the solid-colored Outrider, I decided to give the second one a full camo treatment.  Here's the result:

And a comparison of the two:

I think I'm going to keep going with the camo scheme.  What do you guys think?

Chris

New link for the FUBAR One-Page Sci-Fi Rule System

A quick weekend update: Craig Cartmel has updated the FUBAR section of his website, posting most of the force supplements we generated at the Yahoo group.  

Link: http://thegamesshed.wordpress.com/2010/06/17/fubar-one-page-sfmodern-rules/

For those of you who aren't familiar with FUBAR - they are a one-page set of rules from the genius who gave us the Forge Of War game system.  They are an extremely clever system that encourages you to get to the battlefield right away, rather than spending hours and hours perfecting your army list or bickering over interpretations of vague special rules.  They are absolutely perfect for a pickup game... just toss down two roughly-similar forces, come up with some basic victory conditions, and play the game!

Here's a link to my original review: http://basementgamingbunker.blogspot.com/2010/09/more-fun-rules-part-1-fubar.html    And a 15mm battle report: http://basementgamingbunker.blogspot.com/2010/09/fubar-battle-report-clear-desert.html

This game is endlessly modifiable using the core mechanics.  On this page you will find a variant that I knocked together to play Space Hulk/Doom: The Boardgame style battles: http://basementgamingbunker.blogspot.com/p/fubar-resources.html

If you haven't given these a chance yet - just try them!  You might be amazed how enjoyable it is to play a game like this.

Chris

Ground Zero Games - Light Track Conversions

This week's Snowpocalypse left me unable to leave my home today.  While most of my day was spent removing 30" of snow from my driveway, I did manage to assemble a few of my new Ground Zero Games light tracked vehicles (all found on this page).  I assembled four tanks, a command APC, and two tank destroyers.  They went together pretty quickly, though the tanks and destroyers need just a bit of filing on the sides to fit the tracks to the bodies.

Once I had them together, I decided it was time to finally decide what infantry I would match them to.  I had narrowed it down to two options: Rebel Minis Earthforce (which represent the United Star Alliance military in my Conquest System universe), or Micropanzer SAS (the corporate security forces of the Aurora Group).  I went with the Aurora Group (Micropanzer), but realized something.  The barrels on the light tank (see here) and the destroyer (see here) are very conventional round tubes.  The Micropanzer infantry have fantastically sculpted weapons, but they all have a rectangular cross-section.  I wanted to do convert the vehicle weapons somehow to tie them together.  After a few odd thoughts of sculpting my own from plastic rectangle stock I had an interesting idea... and soon I was digging through my Warhammer 40k cabinet looking for some sprues of Tau Fire Warriors that I acquired years ago in an eBay lot.  I clipped off a Tau Pulse Carbine, filed it down a bit, and here is the result:

This was exactly the look I wanted!  After quickly converting the other three light tanks, I decided I should make one stand out as a command vehicle.  Looking through my other bits, I grabbed one of the GZG turret bodies and fashioned a cupola weapon from a spare Khurasan power armor gun.  It's just a bit on the large side, but again, it's a pretty darn good match:

I added another one of the Khurasan guns to the Chariot (which is otherwise unarmed).

Then I moved on to the tank destroyers.  This time I used two of the longer Pulse Rifles instead of the carbines, which I think worked extremely well.

However, I wasn't 100% sold on the gun shield.  When I converted the second destroyer I removed the gunshield and added another bit off the Tau frame.  Still haven't decided which I prefer, so readers, I'll leave this one up to you!

What did I learn from all of this?  One of the only things I've missed about Warhammer 40k since my switch to 15mm Sci-Fi is the ease of customizing the minis.  Now that I've done infantry headswaps and vehicle conversions there is no part of me that believes 15mm is limited to off-the-shelf designs.

Please give me your thoughts on the tank destroyer - gunshield or no gunshield?  I have two more to build!


Chris

Gut Check! Complete Battle Report

SCENARIO

This action took place at an old Conquest Development Corporation forward operating base on Copper Moon.  In the decade since it had been abandoned, Gorker scum led by Boss Grimskab had squatted into it, and built up their own shanties around it.  Intelligence reports indicated that Grimskab has been suppyling weapons to numerous smaller Gorker bands, other lowlife alien tribes, and even some radical human gangs.  
CDC dispatched an enhanced Stormtrooper armored platoon to capture or destroy the weapons.  Unwilling to risk sending the heavy tanks into the booby traps and IEDS surrounding the Gorker settlement, Lieutenant Blackwood sent Corporal King’s fireteam into the FOB ahead of the main assault.  King’s mission was to kill Grimskab and his warband, neutralize any traps, and clear the way for the heavy vehicles.  King’s fireteam was dropped a safe distance away and entered the FOB by foot.


THE GAME
The game is a slightly modified version of Mission 1 from the Gut Check rules pack.  I also used this as a chance to try out Spacejacker's new Tablet Friendly quick reference sheet. As with my playtest game, I simply replaced “hex” references with 2” of actual measurement.  I kept getting mixed up on when I was supposed to move enemy models instead of blips last game, so this time I decided to give the blips their own phase after all on-table models had been resolved.  I placed six blips for this game.  

The fireteam consisted of five models from my CDC Stormtroopers (Rebel Minis Titan Marines):

• Stormtrooper Corporal King (2+ Guts, 3 Grit, 3+ Shoot, 4+ Fight, Armor 2, Advanced Assault Rifle)
• Stormtroopers Lee, Wolf, Jones (3+ Guts, 2 Grit, 3+ Shoot, 4+ Fight, Armor 2, Advanced Assault Rifle)
• Stormtrooper Curt (3+ Guts, 2 Grit, 3+ Shoot, 4+ Fight, Armor 2, Missile Launcher)

Turn One - Corporal King and Stormtrooper Wolf successfully activated and Evaded toward the closest blip.  Stormtroopers Lee, Jones, and Curt failed their activations.  The nearest Gorker blip was revealed - it was Boss Grimskab himself, along his four ugliest and smelliest Boyz.

Turn Two - CDC won initiative.  King and Wolf were joined by Jones and Lee, and all engaged Grimskab and his Boyz.  Curt failed another activation, deciding to adjust his bootlaces rather than provide fire support to his team.  The Stormtroopers opened fire on the Gorkers.  Grimskab was Shocked, one Boy taken out of action.  Grimskab retaliated by charging Corporal King, scoring a Messy Kill against him.  

Troopers Jones, Wolf, and Lee failed their Gut Checks and fled off into cover.  However, the charging Boss counted as movement in front of the Trooper Curt, who finally did something.  The barrage from his snap-fire chased Grimskab into cover, separating him from his Boyz.

A second blip was revealed to be nothing more than a false alarm.


Turn Three - CDC Initiative.  Troopers Jones, Wolf, and Lee rushed around the bunker and opened fire on the Gorkers from behind, killing 1 and wounding a second.  Trooper Curt fired another missile at Boss Grimskab, causing what appeared to be serious wounds.  However, Grimskab is a remarkably tough old Gorker, and he recovered both of his shock counters in that recovery phase.

Turn Four - Gorker Initiative.  One of the Boyz charged at the Stormtroopers, wounding Lee.  That Gorker Boy died from the return snap-fire.  A second Gorker charged in, wounding Wolf..  Grimskab shot at Wolf, missing him.  Wolf’s return snap-fire wounded the Boss yet again.  Stormtrooper Curt again fired on the Boss, finally killing him.  A third blip was revealed, and three more Boyz approached from the shanties.

Turn Five - Gorker Initiative, but the first Boy failed his activation.  The Stormtroopers continued firing on the Boyz behind the first bunker.  One was killed, another fled into cover.  The missile trooper Curt finally caught up with his fireteam (using an Evade move).  Several Boyz opened fire, taking Lee completely out of action.  A fourth blip revealed three more Gorkers.


Turn Six - CDC initiative.  His other boot coming untied, Curt failed to activate.  His teammates focused their fire behind the bunker, killing the final Gorker from the very first blip.  Most of the other Gorkers failed their activation rolls.  One managed to evade into a cover position near the CDC fireteam.  The rest that did activate and fire failed to hit their targets.  The fifth blip was revealed to be a false alarm.

Turn Seven - Gorker initiative, but again, the first boy failed to activate.  Stormtrooper Wolf focused his fire on the Gorker Boy in cover, shocking him.  Two Boyz charged into close combat.  Stormtrooper Jones choked in the face of the assault, but Wolf and Curt both snap-fired, killing the charging Gorkers.  Curt then passed his own activation (I know, I was surprised as well!), focused his fire on two Gorkers near the shanties, scoring messy kills on both.  The final blip revealed three more Gorker Boyz.

Turn Eight - Gorker initiative.  The wounded Boy in cover focused his fire on Stormtrooper Wolf, but missed him completely.  Wolf snap-fired in response, taking the Gorker out of action.  Stormtrooper Jones exchanged fire with two Boyz, shocking one.  Stormtrooper Curt’s missile launcher finished the shocked Boy and causing one shocked result on another.



Turn Nine - CDC initiative.  Stormtrooper Curt fired again, killing 1 Gorker and wounding the last one.  That last Boy evaded into cover on his own activation.  The snap-fire from Stormtrooper Jones (responding to that movement) rolled nothing but 6s to hit and wound, ending the game.  

Aftermath
Thirteen Boyz and a Boss Grimskar killed, while the Corporal King was slaughtered and Stormtrooper Lee was left in critical condition.  Stormtrooper Wolf signalled Lieutenant Blackwood back at the platoon HQ, informing him that the FOB was cleared.  Wolf continued to provide emergency treatment to Lee while Jones and Curt began to systematically clear the FOB of anti-tank IEDs and search for the weapon stores.

Playtest Report - Gut Check! 15mm Solo Rules

For some time now, I've been following the development of the Gut Check! 15mm Solo Rules.  Spacejacker from Tiny Solitary Soldiers (one of the best 15mm painting blogs around, by the way) came up with these rules as a way to fight 15mm skirmishes using Heroscape hex tiles as terrain.

I adapted the rules to one of my standard 2' x 2' desert boards (1 hex simply became 2"), came up with stats for an Alliance Ground Forces fire team (Rebel Minis Earthforce) as the player force, and Gorker desert scum (out of production MJ Space Orks) as the enemy.  I printed off my force rosters, grabbed a deck of cards and some counters, loaded the rules on my Android tablet, and sat down for a trial game.



The fire team used 24 build points.  The sergeant received an additional point to Guts, Grit, Shoot, Armor, and was equipped with an assault rifle.  Three members of the fireteam were equipped with light armor and assault rifles, the last with light armor and a SAW.

From Basement Gaming Bunker

This gave me six "blips" to use for my enemy force.  The first turn went pretty quickly.  On the Alliance side, only the Sergeant and SAW gunner passed their Guts test to activate... both took "evade" actions along the ridgeline. Four of the Gorker blips stayed still, and two moved into line of sight.  The first blip was revealed as a three-Gorker fireteam including one heavy weapon.

From Basement Gaming Bunker

The second was a "6" on the blip chart - a leader and D6 (4 in this case) additional Gorkers (including another heavy weapon).  A few more turns of the deck gave the Gorker boss a chance to open fire.  He did, inflicting a Shock counter on the Alliance SAW gunner.  The SAW gunner shot back and scored a Messy Kill on the Gorker boss.  I then removed all counters and rolled for the second turn.

From Basement Gaming Bunker

The Gorkers claimed initiative.  Now that I had both blips and enemy models on the table, I used the card deck to determine all enemy movement.  For "out of LOS" cards, I activated blips.  For "in LOS," I used the Gorkers already on the table.  I can only assume I was playing this correctly... these are still a draft ruleset after all!  This second turn saw a major exchange in fire, but the end results killed one Gorker (one of the heavy weapon gunners at that), and Shocked two more.  Two more blips moved very close to LOS, but never did get revealed.

The first two turns took me about an hour to play, but it does look like it will speed up as I get more familiar with the rules.  Spacejacker has promised a set of enemy activation counters to replace the playing cards - that should speed things up even more.  In any case, this was a good demo game for me.  I'm going to spend an evening digesting them, and hopefully I'll have time to post a detailed review tomorrow.  But if you're looking for a good skirmish set for solo play - check these out!

Chris