Space Adventure

Another space adventure for the kids (who were eager to get out my scenery and put it together).  A space freighter has stopped off to trade at a small colony.  It's strangely quiet, the only moving things visible are robots.  No humans can be seen.

The crew prepare to disembark. 2 droids and 2 humans.  What will they discover...?

The crew set off.  Time to investigate the nearby ruined module, they trek across the field towards it.

 

Checking inside the wreckage, there is nothing to indicate what has happened here.  Where are the people?

What is this strange structure?  2 of the crew approach the robots standing next to it...

Another robot has been supervising the computers nearby.  Why are all the consoles outside in the middle of the road?

The robot can offer no information, only that it is "Monitoring the situation."

Some of the robots are questioned.  "What have you built?"  "A barricade."  "Why?" "To stop any vehicles entering the area."  Curious...

That wasn't very illuminating.  Time to go and investigate elsewhere.

One of the military robots appears to be doing something to the main communications array.

An apparently abandoned vehicle still has the keys in the ignition.  This will make it quicker to travel around the settlement, wading through that long grass is exhausting.

 They can drive past the complex towards the supply depot in the distance.

One of the military robots has reached the main lock of the module complex.

Airlock doors swish open, and the robot moves inside.

2 of the crew members are approaching the other side of the complex.  They alight from their vehicle and move towards the nearest entrance.

 Inside, all seems quiet.  Maybe too quiet?

They decide to explore further.  The astromech droid goes first.

Curious... there seems to be a bar counter in an open area in the fields next to the supply depot.  Perhaps this robot has some useful information? 

 

 

Inside the module complex, the military robot is located and questioned.

 Unfortunately, it has no useful information to offer, but begins to advance menacingly on the crew members.

 

 

 As our heroes question the robot bartender, it suddenly cries angrily "KILL ALL HUMANS!" and clambers up onto the bar, preparing to attack!

 

Fortunately, it slips on the polished surface!  As it crashes to the ground, the protocol droid presses the reset button, returning it to its usual human-friendly mode.

As the other crew members dash from the module, another of the robots confronts them.  A shotgun shell knocks it flat, then the astromech droid resets it and it joins them.

As one, the robots turn and start walking towards the ship.  What unpleasant plans do they have for our heroes?

The grav sled also approaches, skimming over the ruins.

After a headlong drive across the fields, the crew are back on board, and preparing to take off.

The robots close in, but the side hatch is closed just in time.

The rear hatch is also shut, the robot can't get in.  The crew can escape.

Scenery is mainly 3D printed Dragon's Rest for the MOP corridor module complex, plus a wide range of manufacturers for all the scatter scenery, eg. EC3D for the bar.  Robots are by Dutchmogul and the starship crew are metal figures from Ground Zero Games.

Space Hulk revisited - Terminator Marines and price-creep

I got the original Space Hulk (£20, currently £150+ second hand) when it first came out, along with the expansions Deathwing (currently £100+ second hand) and Genestealer (£140+ second hand) which followed over the next couple of years. I also picked up a copy of the second edition as remaindered stock from The Works for £5 (currently £130+ second hand).  It's probably the game I played most in the late '80s and early '90s, and it's always been a good one to pull out for our Scout games days.  I also have all the various extra rules that were published in White Dwarf, and in the picture below, you can see at least a couple of additional room tiles from White Dwarf that I glued to thick card and cut out.  Back in those days, WD would regularly have extra rules (Pitfall special rules and psychic abilities for Space Hulk both appeared in WD before getting incorporated into the later expansion boxed sets) and often counters/map pieces (often drawn by the original game artist) that you could glue to sturdy card stock and cut out to add to your game.

Space Hulk

There are a couple of Cyclone Terminators and a couple of Grey Knights there, but I couldn't find most of my Terminator marines when I got the game out for the kids to try.  A rummage in the loft while they were getting ready for bed allowed me to find the little box containing them.  They were packed up ready for stripping and repainting.

Terminators

The plastic Terminators from the 2nd edition game were far better than those from the original game.  Proper multi-part poseable models with distinct weapons (though the clip-on flamers for the 1st edition were a neat idea).  These just need gluing and painting, maybe a bit of cleanup on the mould lines.

Plastic Terminators from 2nd edition

My first metal Terminator (bottom, centre) was packaged as a free gift with my copy of Space Hulk in 1989.  He came equipped with a Thunder Hammer and Storm Shield, but it was several months before the rules for these new weapons appeared in either Space Hulk or normal 40K.  Flanking him are 2 Terminators with Lightning Claws to round out my close combat specialists, these are from when they were £2.99 for a blister pack of 2.  The one on the left is the only Terminator I ever completely finished painting. The top row includes a couple of Terminators with Chainfists, bought from the fantastic but long-vanished games shop Games Inc. in Plymouth, which used to split blister packs and boxed sets and sell the individual models. They were lined up in a glass-fronted cabinet under the counter, blu-tacked together so you could choose the individual figures you wanted.  These two were something like £1.35 each, being split from the Terminator Squad boxed set (8 Terminators for £9.99: Captain, Librarian, 2 with Storm Bolter & Power Fist, 2 with Storm Bolter & Chainfist, Assault canon & Powerfist, Heavy flamer & Powerfist).  As you can tell, I'm fairly astounded how much these games/models are going for now!  I see that the new Terminator squad is advertised at £35 for 5, inflation calculator reckons that the original metal Terminators would work out £3.50-4 each at today's prices but current plastic ones are about £7 each!  I have my old "beaky" marines from the original RTB01 boxed set that were £9.99 for 30 marines (inflation calculator says £26 today), but the current offering from GW is £37 for 10 marines.  Yes, today's are more detailed and higher quality, but are they really worth 7 times as much as the earlier ones?  I recall GW stating that they were trying to switch to plastic to reduce costs and make the models "more affordable".  It may have reduced their costs for bulk production, but they still charged the same or more for the models, so it was very rare that and of that saving made it to the end user.  Anyway, enough of my grumbles about GW's current pricing policy and back to the models...

Metal terminators

The bottom row has the most recent additions to my force.  I'd forgotten I even had these, I can't remember when/where I got them.  There's the original Librarian with Force Axe, an original Terminator body with a newer set of arms (Assault Cannon and Chainfist) and an original Assault Cannon and Powerfist.  Somewhere I have a Terminator Captain, but he remains elusive at present.

Metal terminators

Several of these marines were partly painted by me some 20-30 years ago.  I've disassembled all of them, a few will need a soak in paint stripper, some will need a bit of cleaning/sanding, then I can re-assemble and paint.

I also have 50 Genestealers ready for painting, for those I am planning a black undercoat, white highlight, then painting with blue and purple Army Painter Speedpaints and/or Vallejo Xpress to get them finished quickly.

Kore LARC2 Future Flyer Kickstarter

I got the files for Kore's Low Altitude Rotor Craft a few years back and they're great little models, reminiscent of the Samson aircraft in Avatar.  Kore are currently running their LARC2 Future Flyer campaign which includes a whole load of new bodies, rotor types, cockpits and side panels/doors.  Models are available in 15mm and 28mm.  AT the time of writing, there is just over a week left in the Kickstarter:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/retrocars/larc2-future-flyer?ref=discovery&term=kore&total_hits=686&category_id=34

 Here are a few pictures of my 15mm LARCs in various stages of completion...

Robots vs Tanks

The last couple of months have been incredibly busy, trying to get things completed at work, the kids moving to the end of their respective school years (teachers' presents to be arranged), Scout camps to organise.  With the arrival of the summer holidays, it's time to break out the Mecha for another battle with the kids, hopefully heralding a return to more regular posting on the blog.

This time, the baddy Mecha (Number 2 son) are battling the tanks (me).  Mecha are supported by Free Cal Tex infantry, the tanks by Japanese Corporate Troops, both from GZG.

Mecha have the normal rules: walk 5" and shoot or run 12" with no shooting, D10 damage from missiles, D8 from big guns, D6 from small guns, infantry suffer -2 penalty shooting at mecha/vehicles. Mecha weapons are either missile pods (4D10 shooting), guns/missiles (1D10+2D8), guns (2D6). Mecha can take 4 damage before being destroyed. Tanks fire 1D8 for the main gun, move 5"/12" same as the mecha, but can take only 2 hits before being destroyed.

 Captions in the photographs below... 

Tanks advance, watched by Japanese troops.

More tanks move down the main street.

Free Cal Tex infantry.

Overview of the tank advance.

 

Tank traps visible at the head of the column.

Mecha move down the flank.

Transport for the infantry.

Tanks peel off to counter the mecha.

Infantry move up with the tanks.

Mecha take light damage from tank fire.

Lead tank destroyed!

Massed tank fire starts to tell against the mecha.

Will swarm tactics work in the tanks' favour?

First mecha down.  Tanks & mecha exchange fire.

More damage to both sides on the other flank.

Another tank destroyed...

... and yet another tank brews up!

Free Cal Tex infantry filter forward through the jungle.

Transport (up-armoured GI Joe Stinger transport)

Free Cal Tex spotters in the ruins.

Overview of the fighting.

Baddie command mecha falls.

Another mecha is destroyed on the rocks.

Tanks squeeze past the wreckage.

Lots of tanks!

As so often happens, so much time was spent setting up the scenery that we were unable to finish the game, but it was good fun all the same. 

I retrieved my old games mats which were packed away at my parents-in-law's house while we had building work going on.  These have lasted very well over the years.  Scenery is my 3D printed Flatline City along with lots of items from my 2020 Summer of Scenery. I also excavated a box of tanks from under the bed.  These were purchased several years ago, bought in bulk from one of several sellers on eBay for less than £1 each.  I have about 30 of them.  They have a vague resemblance to the French Leclerc MBT and have the added bonus of a pull-back motor inside!  I need to add stowage (lots of Jerry cans, ammo boxes etc have been 3D printed in readiness) and give them a repaint, but their native camouflage scheme works pretty well.