Sunday 11 November 2012

Busy at work

Well, it has been a very hectic week at work. So much to do and so little time. I barely found any time to paint.

What I finished were just 5 mini's for the irregular tier of my army.




Not the best paintjob or photography, but I guess I did ok.
These are the first 5 of 10, but I guess you get the idea. I used Wasteland warriors from 'The Scene'. The miniatures are brilliant and I was not sure how to pait them at first, so much detail.
What I really like is also how versatile these are. They could easily be a 15mm Goliath gang for Necromunda or feature as a road warrior gang for Savage Worlds Hell on Earth.
By the way, I did the chessboard design on the one above as a sort of homage to the original WH40K spaceorks.

Next up are some more of these guys and some zombie-survivors that I'm going to paint up as Indians.

Greetings from the edge of sleep.

Over and out

Sunday 4 November 2012

Crisis Antwerp

Yesterday I went to Crisis in Antwerp (http://www.tsoa.be/crisis_2012_general.html).
And as always with conventions I go with certain hopes and expectations. This time I was hoping to do some demo's for both Dreadball and Sedition Wars and get some stuff for my 15mm Insurgent army.
But as usual you end up with some highs and lows. Here are mine:

The Highs:
-This year Crisis moved to a new location. It was a very pleasant experience. Where the corridors were crowded last year, and you had to use your elbows to make room if you wanted to see something. There was plenty of room this year, you could see the tables clearly and talk to the ones participating without problem.
-The stands of both Wolsung, Eden and Bushido were really cool. Wolsung had this guy answering questions, dressed up in a steampunk uniform, including the high hat. There was also a very nice display table. Bushido had some very nice demo tables and I was able to do a demo here. The guy who did the demo was very kind, despite my many mistakes :), it was clear he was used doing this. Well I lost with the monks, but did get a good idea of the game and tactics involved. They also showed me a picture of the latest Ito green, a snake-warrior who looked really cool.
Taban (Eden) had a nice display board as well and did show of almost every mini. I remember that I still have to paint a lot of Bamaka's.
-At the Critical Mass site I pre-ordered some buildings to pick up at the convention. They where at half price this time. So I got the 3 sets of Arc Fleet buildings at £80 instead of £160, a very nice deal. I also received a free rulebook.
-Freebooters Fate had a new maw-dropping demo table. Well I had seen it online, but is always better in real life. I also picked up the LE Gunpowder Mary here.
-The super Dungeon Explorer table was very beautiful as well. I got this game lying around for almost a year now. Perhaps I got to blow of the dust and start assembling everything. Here's the link to see it: http://forums.sodapopminiatures.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=355

The Lows:
-When I searched for Studio McVey, I finally found a map. It said: Studio McVey/Car broke down/Not here :(. Disappointment number one!
-Mantic did not give any demos. In fact, their stand was little more than a show for their products, with Dreadball almost not present (with a basicbox, just the box and not the contents and the package of the Delvers team). They were giving out flyers and answering questions, but that was about it. Very small for such a large company. Disappointment number two!.
-The scene and Ground Zero Games who were present last year did not come this year. So I had to order some more vehicles from the GZG site when I got home. Me and my friend were also hoping for Clockwork Goblin to come. But they were not there either. Some more disappointments.

Well, we had fun and did see a lot of cool tables.

That's about it for this time, I forgot to take my camera, so no photo's I'm afraid.

Greetings

Thursday 1 November 2012

Building the Insurgence

It took me a few days to post again since I was busy painting.
The core of my Insurgence force is slowly taking form. In TW rules these would be my Tier1 army.
In not campaign related games, these are just a regular army with TL1 weapons and armor.

Here are the results of my hard labour :).

 My APC, type Brick
And a scout car, type Hot Wheels

Here's some fluff for them:
c) Eradicta United
Rebel Faction
The first colonists were a group of drafted volunteers from both India and Siberia. These were mostly people that no one would miss; even criminals convicted to menial labor were put on board. Some among them were families, but individuals and entire villages had to go as well. Needless to say that after the launch, things went away on board as there was a struggle for food and space early on. The corporation guards did nothing to stop this and even fueled the fire on occasions to prevent a full sale riot in the cramped ship.
After the arrival on Eradicta the small war continued, many spread out fast to claim land and resources for their own. A few months later a Siberian warlord called Ivanovitch Straboskovsky managed to unite almost all the remaining Siberians, who were smaller in number from the start on. As they already came from a harsh climate they adapted well on this new planet. But the Indians who are amongst the most successful entrepreneurs on earth already build a lot of factories around the spaceship that brought them here, and were ready for a strong offense. Their crystal mines and the minerals in the soil gave them access to energy weapons that the Siberians could not match. They salvaged the ship for other resources as well, such as synthetic goods and food. 
But just as the Siberians were preparing for a siege they found the starting Indian city devoid of life, smashed consoles and structures as well as signs of battle. As the investigation went it soon became clear that they were not alone on this forsaken planet. First contact with a new alien life form was made, as far as one could speak of contact. A temporary alliance was formed with other Indian villages to investigate this new threat. Deep within the mine they found a nest of what they called: The Demons. This seemed to be a primitive alien race that took the Indian citizens with surprise to feed their young.
The alliance lasted, united against the common threat and the colonists prospered under a newly elected government. This gave a voice to all the parties including the former corporation guards.
When the Soviets arrived they found the colonists united against them as well. The rebels as they were soon called were not going to give up their planet to any newcomer. Long years of hard life had made the though Siberians even tougher and the Indians even more resourceful as well. They were going to teach this oppressor a lesson.

*Tactical Information
Technology:
Amongst the machines that came with the ship is an old construction walker. The Indians called it Indra and after the first factories arose they refitted it with an energy weapon. At first Indra was meant as a defense against the Siberians. These days the old walker is piloted by Vladimir Matchedev, a half blood who is meant to represent both the Indians and the Siberians. Vladimir has started to call the walker Olga after his mother though, a name that the Siberians happily picked up.
Indra has seen better days, but its presence alone gives a huge boost to the rebel's morale.

With almost no supply of synthetic materials to work with, it is little wonder that the colonists have very few vehicles. Almost all serve a dual purpose as haulers, transport, offense and defense. Most synthetic goods come from the salvaged ship, where they landed with, or tradeoffs with small independent merchants and are a very valuable good on Eradicta, better than their currency even.
The coming of the soviets gives the rebels a chance to gather more of this resource or perhaps make trade routes available with other nations, as they are now aware of Eradicta's existence.
Amongst the vehicles are also a large number of bikes and trikes as these are better suited to traverse the rough terrain of Eradicta. In typical biker fashion these are often customized by its owner and, like the vehicles, are often equipped for offense as well.

While most of the technology on Eradicta stayed on the same level, there was one major invention that reflected their resourcefulness. The creation of the Caretaker or смотритель/केयर टेकर was not without a huge sacrifice though. Six of the highly valuable and almost sacred power armored suits had to be sacrificed to gain the necessary components for this new walker. No wonder that the onboard control system is closer to these suits than to these aboard Indra. These days, many people at the SCS (Sector Control Security) staff are still not sure whether the investment was worth it.
The Caretaker is a slow walker, but capable of traversing any terrain. It is also build to fit into the larger mining shafts to stop the larger alien creatures from emerging. Despite all its virtues, it is rarely fielded though.
But war can change that.

After many years of isolation, the level of technology the rebels possess is far behind to that of the rest of the human forces. But the equipment they have is adapted to the life on Eradicta and possibly more reliable in the harsh climate as well

Standing Troops:
The rebels are a ragtag bunch of hardened but unorganized fighters, led by the self-proclaimed warlords Alexander Sidorov and Ajeet Balakrishnan, who were appointed by their government to deal with the problem.
One of the most frowned upon customs among many civilian workers and rebels alike, is the use of cybernetics, which is viewed as archaic by earth nations. This can take the form of self-mutilation such as buzz-saw hands and the like.

The SCS, short for Sector Control Security are the best trained troops available on Eradicta and can be compared to earth side police forces.
These were at first trained by the former ship guards, but soon a real academy was erected to enhance this training even further.
SCS members are all used to operate in confined areas to stop any alien incursion from happening, but are also fielded to stop small scale uprisings and other conflicts. They even have some investigators and a crime fighting section.
This security force is equipped with better weapons than the rebels and wears some kind of armor when on duty. They lack the logistics and expertise for full scale war though. But they are the best that Eradicta can field against the invaders. Luckily they have the home base advantage and can count on the support of any native Eradictian. On top of that they have their training and are able to work in coordination with each other as well as non-security units.
Among them are also a small number of highly trained pilots for both walkers and the power armored suits.

After the initial landing, the security force was quick to secure the few power armored suits that were on board. During the chaos and war that followed, these were safeguarded and kept secret. Nowadays these receive constant maintenance from the Eradicta Security Force engineers. In times of need these suits can be an unpleasant surprise for the enemy.
While limited in number, they are still in top condition and can give the security force much needed armored support. Unlike other powered suits, these security suits were designed to operate in zero G, where their size and weight didn't matter. Twice as tall as a human, these are closer to a walker than a more advanced powered armor. Unfortunately, they draw a lot of firepower with their size, which also makes it hard to find cover. With their reversed legs, they handle very shaky when not piloted by one of the especially trained security pilots. Luckily they are quite versatile when it comes to weaponry as they have open hands to handle a multitude of tasks.
Eradictian engineers upgraded the suits with extra hardware such as an enhanced lifesaving kit and stronger sensors to make them more combat ready. To save the elite pilots after a breakdown, they were also kind enough to install an ejection seat, similar to those used in fighter jets.
They are however unable to reproduce them due to a lack of materials and specialized facilities.


Right now I've started to paint my irregular insurgents and another tracked APC. I also still have to convert my power armored suits, as I found out that one of the weapons blocks the suits visor slits. So I'm going to raise their heads and add some sensor eyes. If only I was better with the putty, I clearly did not play enough with clay when I was younger.
Anyway, lot's more to come.

See you all along

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