Gruntz Battle Report - The Battle of Ifs

Lt Al-Tharki's orders were simple, right up his alley.  He was to take his reinforced platoon and clear the village of Ifs.  United Nebular Space Command (UNSC) peace keepers had been spotted moving towards the village and Division didn't want them sticking their noses into this area.  The Meddlers were reported to have a couple of their Paladin tanks, "Peacekeepers my ass", Al-Tharki thought.  Due to the heavy enemy armor, 1st Plt was being reinforced by a single Babylon tank.  Al-Tharki hoped it was enough.

Ariel recon of the approaching UNSC forces.

Mech Factory - The Contents

A recent purchase, 30 years in the making, recently arrived.  I couldn't be happier.  John Bear Ross made this find, and shared it on the 15mm Sci/Fi Facebook page.  As soon as I saw it I was taken back to my childhood.  This was something that I had wanted desperately but could not afford.  I'd looked at it in the store for two years before giving up.

A big box of awesome.

Gruntz AAR

Last Sunday we played a big game of Gruntz, two players to a side, 500 points each.  Nick, of Little Nicky's Gameroom was on one side with a new player, Kurt.  I was partnered up with the Traveller for his second game.  I brought an extra army in the hopes of sucking someone new in so Kurt was able to try out the rules.

The invaders, an alliance of Principate Rangers Nick's other dudes.

Painting Challenge XV

This entry is a 15mm Mech from Critical Mass Games.  It was part of their Kickstarter to expand the ZAS mercenaries.  It’s a big chunky resin walker with a nice few options.  They make two versions of this mech.  

Mech from CMG.

Battle damage. It's a dangerous world

I was sitting at my desk the other night, cruising through my blog roll.  I dropped my eyes below the monitor and saw what looked like a mech leg under there.  I dug around, moved several pictures and found the scene of a miniature massacre.

Dead Mech.  Good for salvage.

In addition to the Mech, above, there were two 15mm infantry that had been broken off at the ankles.  Clearly Rhys had been playing with things he was not supposed to.  The infantry were un-salvageable and went in the trash.  The mech can be made whole.  I'll have to find a base for it as the leg will need another point of contact to be strong enough to stand up to gaming.  The left arm weapon will get pinned for the same reason.

Rhys and I had a talk.  While I reinforced the idea that this is why he doesn't get to have models yet, my real concern was that he tried to hide what he had done, rather than coming clean and telling me he'd messed up.  I have the same problem with a couple of my grown up employees, so it's hard to hold it against an eight year old.  At least it's just stuff.

APC's

I backed the CMG Kickstarter for the expansion of their ZAS Mercs line.  The only problem was that I was already using the Bastion APC's for my Federation Marine Corps.  The ZAS are going to be Royal Rangers from the Principate, the third faction for my Gruntz armies.  This being the case, I needed some armored boxes to move troops around.  Happily, Brigade came out with some new models, and a sale, right around the same time.

Four Wombat APC's for my Royal Rangers.

Gruntz Battle Report - FMC vs Khanate strike force

We played half of another game of Gruntz last weekend.  The action was broken up by other considerations, brewing beer and making dinner, so we didn't get to finish the game.  This was my second game and The Traveller's first.

The table.

Federation Marine AIFVs

I recently placed an order with CMG for three of their mercenary Bastion AFV's.  The Traveller also ordered a platoon of Protolene scouts, his first miniatures purchase.  As soon as we can get those based we'll be in a position to throw down some Gruntz.

The three Bastions will support my Federation Marine Corps infantry, serving as one platoon of a Light Armored Recon company.  More details on that later.

Bastion Grav AIFV with canon and heavy machine gun.

Completed 15mm Sci/Fi

I have completed my first batch of 15mm figures.  These were a nice change of pace from 28mm.  Much faster to get done but still with nice detail.

Bike, Grav Scout and two of the infantry.

I have, deliberately, gone with a darker color scheme on these models.  We'll see how it looks on the table, but most of my armies are pretty light.  This is a departure for me.

15mm Sci/Fi III

I was so taken with the CMG models that I just had to get some paint on them and see how they looked.  I am going to be basing the infantry on washers.  That will allow me to transport them with magnets.  I don't have any washers of the appropriate size so I was not able to get them based and, therefore, basecoated.  The grav scout and the bike, on the other hand, were ready to go.

The CMG Grav Scout.

I'm very pleased with how this came out.

15mm Sci/Fi II

My order from Critical Mass Games arrived yesterday.  Only ten days from shipping in the UK to arriving here.  Not bad.  This was a trial balloon to see how I feel about 15mm.  I've been staring at my FoW US Army models and trying to project from there, but I wanted to see these in the flesh.

So... how do I feel about them?  I'm happy.  There's good detail on these.  The vehicles are very nice.  The troops are small but look great.  The price is definitely a sweet spot, and it makes SWMBO happy.

 A little blurry but it does the job.  This is the first order I placed.

15mm Sci/Fi

I finally took the plunge, sort of, in a "one toe in the water" sort of way.  I placed an order with Critical Mass Games for some of their ARC Fleet models.  This is strictly a trial balloon, so it's a small order.  I am awaiting receipt of one pack of eight ARC Fleet Recon Troopers, one Recon Grav Bike and one Grav Scout.  The total, with shipping to the US, was about $23 dollars.  I've spent more on a few beers at the local pub, so if I hate them then I'm not out too much.

Picture from Critical Mass Games.

Picture from Critical Mass Games.

Picture from Critical Mass Games.