More crate stacks

 A couple more stacks of freight, this time larger, so only for use as static scenery rather than any sort of vehicle load.

 Both were drybrushed white, then painted with Army Painter Blood Red speedpaint, Vallejo Imperial Yellow and Martian Orange Xpress paints.  The crate catches were painted with GW Leadbelcher.  The tarpaulin was painted with Army Painted Camo Cloak.  The crates look pretty good, but the layer lines are very prominent on the tarp.  Organic shapes definitely don't look as good as more technical shapes!  A quick rub over with some putty or filler and a gentle sand will probably help, but it's ready for use in games as it is for the moment.

15mm ruined sci-fi building

 I printed Dutchmogul's 15mm sci-fi hab block, but made a stupid mistake.  I rescaled it to about 60%, thinking that it was 28mm!  The resulting building is slightly too small for 15mm figures, and has some areas where the walls were too thin and have failed.  Despite that, I didn't want to just dispose of it, so I turned it into a ruined building instead.

  I used this as an opportunity to try a few new things.  The base is 3mm Foamex PVC board, with expansion joins scored into the "concrete" yard area.  The edges of the base were bevelled and sanded.  Around the edges, I painted with burnt umber, then PVA glued tilegrout/sieved sharp sand, then some static grass and a few small foam bushes.  The fencing is 3D printed posts which come in 2 halves.  You clip them together around whatever mesh you've using.  They're really neat, and come with a cranked top that you can drill and put extra wire strands through if desired.  I think if printed larger they’d have a couple of holes, but by reducing to 15mm the holes are too small to print cleanly.

I added a small wall from a partial print (half-height to use up last bit of filament on the spool).

The doorway is too small for a normal human-sized 15mm figure, though a small alien would fit, such as Kaamados Dominion Squamata from Ral Partha Europe (former Critical Mass Games) or Neeks from Loud Ninja Games/Alternative Armies.

The stairs go no-where.  You can see where the print failed slightly around the windows because the walls ended up too thin.

A few supports from other prints were repurposed to make a nice entrance arch.  Waste not, want not!

A partial fence surrounds the building, much damaged and missing. Grass grows along the bases of the walls, this place has obviously been empty for some time.

Overall, a fun little project. At some point, I will try printing the hab unit again - but at the correct scale!

15mm Watchtower

I 3D printed this tower some time in 2024, but circumstances have prevented me from getting many photographs of much of the bits I've been printing since 2023.  Unfortunately I can't find where I got the file from for this one.  I think it might have been designed for Star Wars Legion, and I rescaled it to about 50-60% original size.

The tower printed in 2 sections, plus the roof piece.  I also printed a set of antennae to add some interest to the top of the roof.

The tower has lots of panel detail plus a few pipes, hatches etc.  There is a floor in the top where your sentry can stand to keep watch.

Base colour was white masonry paint.  The doors are Wilko Bumblebee yellow emulsion wall paint.  I sponged on lots of burnt umber and burnt sienna for the rust effects, plus a few rust streaks and a couple of little clumps of grass to add to the battered, weathered appearance.

The communications antennae are just glued straight on the top of the roof.

Rescaled as it is, the internal floor makes it just the right height for a 15mm figure to peer out.

 There is no internal detail other than the lookout at the top, so it's mainly just a piece of LOS and movement blocking terrain, or maybe a potential objective marker, but it was a quick and easy print and looks good on the table.  What else can you ask?

Five Parsecs From Home: - Introduction to Coldwater

 Coldwater

 

Planetary diameter: 6606 miles (smaller than Earth)

Gravity: 0.83G

Atmosphere: Normal (tainted)

Hydrosphere: 95%

Population: 6,767,647 at last census.

Government: Feudal Technocracy 

Tech Level: Analogous to 1980s Earth

 Coldwater is the 4th of 21 planets orbiting the blue supergiant sun Acom.  There are several gas giants.

With a hydrosphere of 95%, it's no surprise that Coldwater's main industry is fishing.  The main landmass is concentrated in a long, fragmented continent, with a few outlying islands.  Scoured by huge tides, storms, and limited by the tainted atmosphere, there is minimal vegetation (barren).  The starport is a very basic, C class facility, with a scout base, minimal repair facilities, but no naval presence.  Terraforming is ongoing, and it will be decades before the atmosphere will be breathable without filter masks.

Despite the tainted atmosphere, the planet supports a population of over 6.5 million, spread across both underwater habitats and on what little land there is.  Surface based habitats (whether on land or sea) tend to be semi-sealed, air filter pumps operating an overpressure system to keep the tainted atmosphere out.  Underwater habitats need to be completely sealed, for obvious reasons.

Smaller than Terra, Coldwater has lighter gravity (0.86G).  In theory, this results in tides 10-20% higher than Terra - but there are six moons, and this complicates the situation considerably.  The "ice moon" has a retrograde orbit and appears to be a captured comet. “Copper 5” is a copper rich captured asteroid in an eccentric orbit on an inclined orbital plane.  The 6th moon, Furnace, is stretched and kneaded by tidal forces and has several small but active volcanoes.   As Copper 5 reaches perigee, the volcanoes on Furnace turn green as the copper rich dust trail it leaves filters onto the surface.  This is an unusual tourist attracting event.  When the 6 moons align during a syzygy, there are enormous tidal surges.  During a perigean king tide, the resulting rise in sea level can be near catastrophic, over 70 metres.  The corresponding drop in sea level on the other side of the planet can be equally dangerous to aquatic life, where the water pressure drops by the equivalent of 6 atmospheres.  Storms on Coldwater tend to be larger and more powerful than many other worlds.  With uninterrupted ocean for thousands of miles, winds can build to enormous speeds and last for days or even weeks.

The governance of Coldwater is a feudal technocracy.  Power lies with those who control the technology - air filtration, water purification, energy generation, underwater habitats, food production systems.  Everything that allows people to survive on the plant.  Benefits from these technologies are provided by the rulers in return for goods or services from their vassals.

The rule of law is well-enforced, with strict controls on weapons - open possession of firearms of any kind is prohibited and even long blades are controlled.  This is understandable, given the necessity of atmospherically sealed habitats, where a single stray shot could spell disaster.  Surprisingly, no Freelancer's licence is required.  It's an extremely safe place to live or visit - the barren surface means that there are no large herbivores or carnivores to deal with, and weapons are generally unnecessary.  The oceans are a different matter altogether, but it's still rare to find anyone armed with more than diving knives and harpoon guns.

There is a sizeable population of Nagricans on Coldwater, and they are well-integrated with the human inhabitants.  Bands of Nagrican outlaws occasionally cause trouble, but the same can be said about groups of human bandits.  The majority of the inhabitants know their place in society and realise that given the restricted land area and poor atmosphere, everyone has to work for the common good.

4 main factions currently vie for power on Coldwater:

1) Despite having the most powerful, militant followers, the charismatic leader Khorekk Tao is the least influential faction. (influence 2, power 4).  The rule of the feudal lords is actually fairly benevolent, and despite the harsh conditions on Coldwater, the majority of people are reasonably content with their place in the world.  Khorekk Tao's militant Sectators are plentiful and vocal, but have little support among the general population.  What support there is comes from the fringes of society, where Tao's promises of a better life represents the only hope that some people see.

2) The feudal technocracy's rulers are the Technates, a political movement that provides much of the planetary policies, which alongside their considerable power puts them at the top of the ladder. (Influence 4, Power 3)  The Lord High Technate is the de facto ruler of Coldwater.  The Technates are fair in their dealings with the rest of the population.  They understand that a healthy and happy workforce is more effective than a fearful and oppressed workforce, and requires less policing.  Nevertheless, a paramilitary police force is maintained to deal with any trouble caused by Khorekk Tao's followers.  The Technates write the laws, control the floating and submarine cities and the main planetary starports.

3) Wielding similar influence to the Technates is the religious movement, the Church of the Aqualons, though they are not quite as powerful.  Given the huge influence that the sea has upon the inhabitants of Coldwater, their worship is predictably based around fish and the spirit of the sea.  The sea is a fickle thing, and superstition flourishes in such an environment.  The Church of the Aqualons draws its knowledge from interpretation of the tides, storms and weather patterns, the movement and migration of fish shoals.  They bless the fishing fleets.  (Influence 4, Power 2) 

4) The merchant cartel Thalassa Diversified is the weakest faction on Coldwater.  They know the right people to talk to, and have more influence than Khorekk Tao, but are definitely lower in the pecking order than the Technates or the Church of the Aqualons.  Although they are the least powerful group on Coldwater, their control over certain commodities and food supplies means they cannot be dismissed outright.  They control fishing quotas, food distribution and pricing, and certain exports.  (Influence 3, Power 2) 

 

 

Five Parsecs from Home: The Millennium Chicken - Introduction

 I persuaded Number 1 son to give Five Parsecs from Home a try.  He's seen me and Number 2 son playing and I wanted him to have a go.  He's extremely story literate, and his teacher once mentioned that when discussing the class book they'd been reading, he was the only one who correctly predicted what would happen.  I'm interested to see how he links everything together and creates a story.  Once the crew had been rolled up, we had a look through my figures to see who fitted the descriptions.  A few extras had to be hastily assembled and/or painted ready for the first battle!

 Our adventure starts on the planet Coldwater, but more on that another day.  For now, let's meet the crew of the Millennium Chicken:

 

The Millennium Chicken's crew

Nagrican male James Bond

Nagrican male James Bond

Captain of the Millennium Chicken and a former bureaucrat who is also something of a scoundrel.  His thirst for power has led to him making enemies - the most troublesome and persistent of whom are a salvage crew (Rival).  It's not surprising really, given that he used his contacts to arrange the repossession of their starship, after which he promptly bought it himself at a knock-down price.  He had some money put aside, but after purchasing the ship and an assault bot, he can only contribute a single extra credit for the crew.  He has adopted the somewhat unlikely-sounding name James Bond, perhaps in an attempt to conceal his true identity?

XP 2; Reactions 1; Speed 5"; Combat +0; Toughness 4; Savvy +0;

 

Combat Droid Destructionator

Assault Bot Destructionator

 A hexapod combat robot, though with its original built-in weapons removed.  Suffers no penalties for carrying clumsy or heavy weapons.  Destructionator was purchased as military surplus by James Bond to provide some extra muscle when needed.  Although outdated now, and replaced by newer models, Destructionator is still a force to be reckoned with - or will be, once it has a new weapon installed. (Painted in a rushed 10-minute rusty colour scheme for the first game!)

Reactions 2; Speed 4"; Combat +1; Toughness 4; Savvy +0; Armour 5+ save

 

 Human male Blaze Westerley

Human male Blaze Westerley.

 A lower class megacitizen.  He seeks The Truth, and through his activities as a hacker, has obtained a datafile containing important information (rumour).  This has come at a cost - his hacking activities mean that a squad of Commonwealth troops is after him (Rival). Fortunately he has, through somewhat dubious means, obtained a colony rifle to protect himself.  ("Here, this one looks like a colony rifle, this can be him!")

XP 0; Reactions 1; Speed 4"; Combat +0; Toughness 3; Savvy +1;

  

Bot Lifter

Bot Lifter

  A former cargo handling robot, originally used to organise freight in the Millennium Chicken but now co-opted into the crew to fight with them when required.

Reactions 2; Speed 4"; Combat +1; Toughness 4; Savvy +2;

  

Nagrican male Frost

Nagrican male Frost

Military brat whose rejection of authority and refusal to conform has earned him the enmity of some local vigilantes (Rival).  In a somewhat contradictory way, Frost's personal faith is very strong, and someone from his local worship group has provided him with a notebook (rumour).

XP 2; Reactions 1; Speed 4"; Combat +1; Toughness 4; Savvy +0;

  

Human female Flame (rolls die... "Another male.  No, I think we need to have a least ONE female!" he muttered.)

Human female Flame.

 Flame desires revenge on Nagrican outlaws (Rival) who killed the other members of her ship-borne isolationist enclave.  She was knocked unconscious during the attack and left for dead.  She has a notebook and a tip given to her by a couple of members of the enclave before they died (2 rumours).  Trying to scavenge what she can on her quest for revenge, she has obtained an additional data file (rumour).  Because the Nagrican outlaws are still after her, she has armed herself with a beam pistol in the assumption that things could end in a shoot-out.

XP 2; Reactions 1; Speed 4"; Combat +0; Toughness 3; Savvy +0;

 

The crew have come together to support Flame's mission of revenge against the Nagrican Outlaws.  They are defenders of the downtrodden. 

 

 The crew have 7 credits between them.  The armoury includes 2 colony rifles, 1 military rifle, 1 autorifle, 1 shotgun, 1 blast pistol, 1 beam pistol, 1 scrap pistol, 1 concealed blade.  They also have a nerve adjuster available.

 

Their ship is the former Diplomatic Vessel Millennium Chicken

16 Credits Debt

25 Hull points

James Bond obtained the ship through a very expensive corporate loan (+2 interest/turn up to 30 credits debt, +1D6 credits per turn 31+ credits debt), with aggressive enforcement (if debt reaches 55 credits, roll on enforcement table).  This was presumably why the ship ended up getting repossessed from the salvage crew, though James Bond's "encouragement" through his contacts will have sealed the enforcement action.

 

 

Weekend playing with toys...

 Number 2 son was keen to get out my "sand houses" and "big robots", not for a game, just to play with.  Next day he wanted Mega Force out to play with too.  So, no actual games, just some pretty pictures of scenery and models!

First off, my ExoSquad RoboTech Destroids, plus lots of pullback toy tanks and some 1:72 toy soldiers.  They're on my desert terrain mat with 15mm adobe style buildings constructed from foamcore, with filler & masonry paint texturing. 

Next, we have Kenner Mega Force on my Lidl wargaming mat with Epic scale Space Marine buildings, plus a few 3D printed and some Heki model railway trees.

Combat Droids repaint

 It's a few years since I posted my painted Combat Droids printed from files by Dutchmogul.

 I repainted them because I wasn't happy - they were quite dark, and the difference between the green armour and the silver workings didn't look quite right.

The new colour scheme is a sandy yellow with sepia wash, then green speedpaint camo patches.  Most of the silver mechanical parts are left from the previous paint job.  The detail shows up much better now.