Battletech City Battlefield - 6mm Old Crow Buildings

If I could play only game for the rest of my life it would be Battletech.  This game captures my imagination like no other.  The background makes 40K look like a short story.  It is, IMO, the ultimate sci fi setting (at least for me).

This week I finished the last few bits of my urban battlefield.  At it's core, Battletech is a boardgame.  I very much enjoy playing on the original paper map sheets.  However, I have upgraded Battletech to the 21st century, allowing for traditional wargame style play. 

The battlefield consists of a 6x4 felt hex map by Hozmat.  The hexes are 45mm in width.  This is important since I am using Heroscape terrain for hills and those hex hills are 45mm wide as well. z-scale trees form my forests (tree density determines whether it is light or heavy).  Buildings are from the 6mm Old Crow line.  Jez makes some fantastic stuff that paints up quite easily.

The water and road tiles are from Gamecraft Miniatures.  Depth 1 water is blue, Depth 2 has a darker blue center and Depth 3 is an all dark blue hex.  The buildings are also on hex tiles, painted in a lighter grey, to differentiate them from roads.  I wanted to delineate which hexes the buildings actually occupy since some of them are either too large or too small for the hex boundaries.  Everything was airbrushed with both Vallejo and Tamyia paints.  I used a base of Tamyia Medium Grey and then highlighted with Vallejo US Airforce Light Grey and then Vallejo White Grey.  This gives a color modulation effect, with the brighter colors on the tops of the buildings.  Accents were done in Reaper Master Series paint Dirty Grey.

Now that this is completely done I am relieved.  Many of these models were in storage for some time.  It is nice that they finally can see a table.

Overall battlefield



6mm Old Crow Power Plant



6mm Old Crow Residential Blocks and Tower

Old Crow Residential Block and Silo



Old Crow Residential Block and Garage

6mm Old Crow Round Tower, 3 levels high)

Lake

Downtown

6mm Old Crow Buildings

GZG 15mm DPRG Force - Tomorrows War / Gruntz / Alien Squad Leader

I have not painted anything this week.  Too much going on, especially at work.  I have had these boys on my table for over a month, waiting for games which did not happen.  So, before putting them away here they are on parade, the DPRG.

The DPRG (Democratic People's Republic of Glory) are a faction from Ambush Alley's Tomorrows War game (think sci-fi North Korea, except not as nice).  The models are made by Ground Zero Games.  Flash was almost non existent and they all cleaned up rather well.  I flushed out the force with some Khurasan Red Faction infantry, GZG ESU Powered Armor and GZG robotic drones (machine guns and missiles).

The force below is based on 50x50mm bases for Alien Squad Leader.  I use blue tac to attach the individual models, allowing me to use them in a variety of games.  The force contains 12 squads of infantry, two HQ groups, two heavy weapons groups, 2 teams of power armor, four mobile weapons platforms and two groups of robotic infantry.

Not really much else to say other than here they are.

DPRG on Parade

Add caption

ESU Power Armor

Onwards, for our Dear Leader!

Heavy Weapons Teams

DPRG Infantry

Forward!

Khurasan Red Faction Infantry

Robotic Infantry (6mm GZG Dirtside Mechs)

GZG Drone Tanks

DPRG Infantry

15mm Khurasan Lhurgg Tribesmen Part 2

Well, I finally got around to finishing the rest of my Khurasan Lhurgg Tribesmen.  I think that I am suffering from burnout.  I took almost four weeks to finish these guys.  It was a lot of effort for me to finish them, working a little bit each night, sometimes stopping for nights on end.  It probably stems from the fact that I have not played a game in years and this stuff just ends up in foam cases, sometimes never to be seen again.  I just wanted them done and off my table.  Anyway, on to the models.

There are five poses in this set.  They are tall and the quality is high, to be expected from Khurasan.  I did them in the same scheme as the first set - Reaper Blond Triad with a wash of Sepia ink.  After the ink dried some highlighting was done over the ink wash to bring out some additional details.  On 15mm, due to the size vs 28mm, if the highlighting looks extreme (compared to 28mm) then it is probably just right. 

Next up on my table is a set of GZG Kra'Vak vehicles.  I have no clue how I am going to paint them.  None.  Once they are complete however my Alien Imperial/Warrior Caste army for Alien Squad Leader will be complete. 

Lhurgg Tribesmen Horde

The five distinct poses.

15mm Khurasan Lhurgg Tribesmen

This week we are looking at the 15mm Lhurgg Tribesmen, from Khurasan miniatures.  Now, normally, in most sci fi games you do not see naked sword wielding aliens.  However, in Alien Squad Leader, such warriors are not out of place.  I picked these guys up for my Alien Imperial Faction for ASL games (and for Gruntz as well).  This faction is required to have a certain number of primitive aliens, mainly for cannon fodder.

There are two types of kits of Lhurgg, ones with swords and ones with small arms.  I have both sets but these guys are the first to see paint.  The models are substantially larger than most 15mm ranges.  You can see, compared to the GZG DRPG trooper, that the aliens stand quite taller than an average human.  The castings were clean, with little clean up.  Most of the clean up was around the groin area, funny enough.

Since most of my models are earth tones, greens or greys I wanted to do something different with these guys.  When looking at them I imagined an evil, carnivorous reptilian race, with little creative thought or emotion, but which behaved only according to basic instinct: feeding and reproducing.  I went with bright colors to bring out the details, especially the sexual organs.  When I showed by wife my prototype her disgusted reaction assured me that I was on the right track color wise.



I used the Reaper Master series Blond Hair Triad for the skin.  I then washed the model in diluted GW Sepia wash, then did another highlight with the triads.  They have an orange-yellow skin tone, sufficiently alien looking.  I was originally going to avoid any washes on these models and do all the highlighting by hand.  However, after a trial run with a prototype I realized that my skill level is not good enough for such work on 15mm.  While looking ok the wash brought out details that I never could by hand.







The models are certainly not for everyone, but they capture the feel that I was looking for.  Hopefully I can get their fellows painted up later this week.

Khurasan Lhurgg Tribemen

Three Headed Mutan Lhurgg

Nice ass!

15mm Sci Fi Aircraft - Matchbox Skybusters Stealth Launch

Sometimes the best models are not models at all.  Although I have some flying units in various 15mm Sci Fi armies, until recently I had no fixed wing aircraft.  However that changed when I found these: Matchbox Skybusters Stealth Launch jets.  They reminded me of the Gi-Joe Conquest Jets and the Russian Su-35.  These come in many color schemes but I liked this one the best.  The only modification I did was to remove the wheels.  I then mounted them on flight bases.  That is basically it.  They make good additions IMO to any Sci Fi Force.  They are cheap too, $5.00 USD. 

Matchbox Skybusters Stealth Launch Jets

Remove the wheels.  Missiles can be painted as well.

Mount on a flight stand.

Bomb your foes!

15mm Alien Squad Leader / Gruntz Mechanoid Army

This week's featured army is actually one of my newer ones, "The Mechanoids", a faction from Alien Squad Leader.  It was painted in five days last week, one of my fastest jobs to date.

One of the main attractions about ASL is two fold: the army lists and the freedom to choose models and the interpretation of the lists.  The Mechanoids were based off the "Terminator" movies: soulless mechanical killing machines, bent on destroying organic life.  The Mechanoid list contains one of the fewest amount of unit types to choose from in ASL: Terminators (basic robotic infantry), Liquid Metal Terminators (close combat monsters), Robotic Attack Craft, Robotic Dropships, Heavy Weapon Droids and Battle Mecha (which I call Warbots and Death Machines, as a nod to the Gamma World RPG from TSR).  Many armies have at least double the number of unit type choices.  Luckily however, the Mechanoid units are powerful and resolute, making up for a small number of choices. The army can accommodate games of up to 300 points.  Quite large for ASL.

Terminators
I could have gone with the classic "Skelebot" style robot, as there are many variations to choose from different manufactures.  However, I was really drawn to the robots from the Critical Mass line.  They reminded me of a type of Invid from the Robotech cartoon from the 1980s.  Perfect for my alien robotic horde.  These guys would become my base infantry.  I chose a lighter paint scheme, an off white sort of color.  I wanted these guys to look new, right off the assembly line and to pop out on the tabletop.  I gave them glowing red lenses for eyes (Reaper Fire/Phoenix Red and Fire Orange).

Mechanoid Terminators

Heavy Weapon Droids
The Warbots were a little tricky.  There are many choices available on the market for larger robots.  I decided to go with GW Tau Gun Drones.  I cobbled together four of them from my bit stores.  This makes two units, more than enough for a 200 pt army.  There were other options I could have gone with, but I felt the Gun Drones went well with the Critical Mass robots, both being rather sleek looking.

Mechanoid Heavy Droids

Battle Mecha
Death Machines are the premier units of the Mechanoid force.  ASL ranged weapons are few: Antiquated Small Arms, Modern Small Arms, Heavy Weapons and Primary Weapons.  Each unit can be equipped with only one type.  The Battle Mecha are equipped with "Primary Weapons", the strongest in the game.  Only one other faction: Human Imperial, has access to this weapon type.  This allows the Mechs to easily outrange almost anything they face, a huge advantage, and this weapon type also generates a (-1) to all armor saves.  Being a Battletech fan, and with several unpainted mechs lying around, Clan Mechs seemed a perfect fit: three Mad Cats and two Vultures.  The Mechs are also equipped with close combat Impact Weapons and Homing Missiles, both extra options for the units.  I did consider using Tau Crisis Suits instead, but I didn't want to spend more money they I needed to on this army.  I used the same Reaper reds and oranges to jewel the cockpit windows.  There are no decals at the moment since I cannot see the reason why a robotic army would use such markings.

Mechanoid Battle Mecha

Robotic Attack Craft
The final unit in the force are the twin Robotic Attack Craft.  Air units in ASL operate differently from other games.  An attempt is made each turn to call in an airstrike.  The difficulty depends on what table edge you want the unit to enter on, with the players home edge being the easiest (7+ on a 2d6) and the opponents the most difficult (9+ on a 2d6).  The units come in at low level, stop near their target, launch an attack (they are equipped with Heavy Weapons) and then leave the battlefield.  Only units on overwatch can target them so they are protected against attack for the most part.  However, their arrival is iffy and they cost the same as Battle Mecha.  My model choice was no model at all, but a Matchbox toy.  The toy itself was quite garish.  I primed and repainted it in the same scheme as the mechs.  They were only $5.00 each, quite a bargain.  The model is airbrushed with the same colors as the Mechs, in a color modulation style, similar to how I do 15mm armor.  It is hard to see the change of colors in the photos, but it is there.

This became......

 

Mechanoid Robotic Attack Craft

 

Overall I am pleased on how this force came out.  Mechanoid lists are quite small in the game.  The army is powerful and the units resilient.  Their units hit more often and almost all have energy shields.  However this comes at a cost.  A 200 point game will only see 13 units on the field, whereas a Human Colonial Army can easily field 30+.  Mechanoids cannot win a war of attrition so the player needs to be careful and play to their strengths: long range shooting and avoiding close combat.

The principal paints used on these models is listed below.  All basecoats were airbrushed on. 

Robotic Attack Craft, Warbots and Death Machines
Tamiya Medium Grey basecoat; shaded with Reaper Dirty Grey and  highlighted with Reaper Weathered Stone. 

Terminators
Vallejo Model Air US Airforce Grey, washed with Minwax Polyshades Tudor, then highlighted with the game grey again and finally Reaper Master Fallout Grey.  This will be the last time I use Minwax.  I much prefer the effects I can achieve via traditional shading, especially when I use Reaper Master triads.