Rebel Minis release the Widowmaker

Rebel Minis, a company that I talk about quite a bit, has a new release this week that looks perfect for 15mm mechs.  The Earth Force Widowmaker.  These are being released as 28mm battle suits, but look to be well sized as light/medium mechs for 15mm.

Picture from Rebel minis.  Used without permission.

Entry 8 - Vth Analogue Painting Challenge - 1 15mm Sci/Fi Vehicle

This next entry is for my son Rhys.  He's been getting 15mm Sci/Fi models as rewards for doing well at school.  He and I play Gruntz together.  Part of the deal is that I'll paint them for him, though he likes painting his models as well.

Light tank for Gruntz.

Gruntz Batrep - Rear guard action

This report is from a game Nick and I played a week ago.  Both of us were a little rusty, but the rules came back pretty quickly.

The Lt didn't like how this briefing was going.  By the look on his face, neither did Capt Al Tharki.  Things had been going great.  They'd fought the United Nebula Space Command (UNSC) peace keepers and pushed them back.  The Federation's own recon units were in other areas so they had been fighting mercenaries of one unit or another and more than holding their own.

The abandoned base.  Only the scouts and snipers are in residence.

Gruntz Batrep - Patrol action on Malvee

Rhys played his first game of Gruntz the other day.  He has been collecting his army slowly over the last couple of months and I've been painting them for him.  He gets units or vehicles as rewards for being good at school.  As I've mentioned before, Rhys is special needs and having that goal helps.  I print out a picture of the model he's aiming for that week and put it in his folder so the teacher can remind him of his goal when necessary.

The buildings are from the Ion Age line.  I need to take a moment to gush here.  I've seen them online, and they look good, but I was not prepared for the quality of what I got.  These are on a par with the best in the business.  Sharp, clean and clever.  Buy some.  You will not regret it.  the turrets that come with these fit on their vehicles as well, giving you a huge number of options for both vics and buildings.

The following battle report is a squad level game between Rhys' Raiders and the 47th Infiltration Company.  We played on a single 2ft x 2ft table tile.

Captain Raouf Al-Tharki - 47th Infiltration Company

Captain Raouf Al-Tharki, recently promoted from command of the 47th Infiltration Company's infantry platoon, now commands the 47th Company, 12th Al-Thani Infiltration Battalion.

Rebel Minis Sahadeen officer.

15mm Sci/Fi - Rhys' Raiders Bug APC

The Raiders are well known on the battlefields of the Fury March.  They are masters at combined arms, using tanks, infantry and mechs in close cooperation.  They use a common hull for both tanks and APCs, simplifying their logistics and maintenance.

The Bug APC is the standard model APC for the Raiders.  Able to carry ten fully equipped infantry/scouts it is fast and nimble.  

Bug APC of Rhys' Raiders.

Gruntz 15mm - Earth Force APC

I buy a lot of stuff from Rebel Minis.  They are located in the US, so no extortion from the Royal Mail.  They have great service and good sculpts, including my favorites, the Viper mechs.  I've built quite a bit of my 15mm collection out of their models.  They boys both want their own models and due to all of the above factors I ordered theirs from Rebel.

Rhys got his first, which is what drove Owyn's "need" for models of his own.  They both earned infantry right off the bat.  They had to be good at school to get their rewards, and one bad day cancelled the whole week.  Rhys' infantry can be found in this post.  He wanted them to look like clones.

To sweeten the deal I also bought them each a couple of vics.  Just like the infantry I queued up all of the various vehicles on the web site and let them choose what they wanted.  Rhys chose the Earth Force APC.

Turtle Mk 1 tank.

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 Crusader

I couldn't resist assembling the other mech from the kit.  Have to start with desert, you may not live through dinner.  This is the Crusader, or whatever it's Macross name was.

The 1/100th Macross - Crusader.  (Yes, I understand the irony).

Rhys' 15mm army

Rhys has desperately been wanting his own models.  The problem is that the few he's had he has played with like they were lego or army men, and they've ended up broken and lost.  He has also been known to play with mine, almost always with catastrophic results.

Rhys has been having some behavior issues at school.  They were talking about putting him on a behavior plan, the first step in their kicking him out of school altogether.  We are fairly certain his issues are all to do with his SPET teacher, since he has been fine in the past and is fine when he is not under her care.  Pondering ways to keep him motivated to behave until the old bat retires I decided that it was time for Rhys to start his first army.

Rhys' clone troopers.

Mech Factory - The Warhammer

I've made some progress on assembling the Mech Factory.  I couldn't resist getting the Warhammer put together.  This is one of my all time favorite mechs, so I just had to see it in person.

The Warhammer next to a Medium mech from Rebel minis.

Gruntz AAR - Resource Raid

Last week we got in another game of Gruntz.  This was a 1v1 game between the Traveller and I.  Yet again, we really enjoyed the rules, although we are still making some mods.  We both agree that smoke is a must; something I haven't been able to find in the rules.

Drone shot used in pre-mission briefing.

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.

Gruntz BAR (Before Action Report)

Lieutenant Al-Tharki was roused from a restless sleep by the beeping of the com unit in his APC.  Pulling himself off of an uncomfortable bed of web gear and robes he rotated towards the radio.  "Red Snake 6, this is Black Snake.  Come in, over".  Red Snake 6 lifted the com unit and spoke, "Black Snake 6, this is Red 6. Go.  Over".  "Unidentified units are landing at 345AB12794358, 20 klicks north of you".  "Investigate, report and engage.  Out". 

Lieutenant Al-Tharki switched channels and ordered, "All Red Snake units, mount up.  We're OM (On the Move), in fifteen minutes.

The 47th Company, 12th Caliphate Infiltration Bn was going to find out who had come to join the party. 

I'm off to play a game of Gruntz.  Stay tuned to find out who the 47th discovers at the LZ.

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.

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.

Gruntz Battle Report - Federation vs Caliphate

Sitrep:  Contact reported.  Infiltration Bn elements at location 49R27438574.  1st Plt, B Co, 2nd LAR with Mech attachements.  Movement to contact.  Destroy the enemy.  Hold the town.  The APC's will advance towards the last known location of the enemy.  Mechs are scouting ahead, will rendezvous at the objective.  No Air support available.  2nd and 3rd platoons at 60 minutes for relief.  Comms plan B7.

Light Armored Recon pushing the Infiltration Bn out of the village.

2012 In Review and 2013 Plans

How's that for an inspiring title.  I love seeing what everyone else plans for the year, and how last year's plans panned out (or more often did not).  Since a large part of my keeping this blog is to keep track of my hobby, I also look forward to seeing what the last year held for me.

This was the biggest accomplishment of the year.

Sci/Fi Monday - Gruntz card building

Gruntz is my current ruleset for 15mm sci/fi.  Having said that, I haven't played a real game of it yet, but that's beside the point.

Gruntz uses cards to depict the units.  The cards have all of the stats and can have a picture as well.  You can play without the cards, of course, it is a mini game not a card game, but the cards make it a lot easier.  There has not been a good way to make unit cards.  Some people create them in PhotoShop.  Some use Xcel, some use PDF forms, word templates, etc.  All fiddly and not very user friendly.

Looking sharp, but very fiddly to build.