Commonwealth special forces in action

The Guavan Defence Force has been developing its own armoured fighting suit technology by retro-engineering some of the wreckage from their earlier battle with Neo Colonial Commonwealth forces on Libellula.  The work is taking place in a isolated research facility...

The battlefield

GDF technicians have almost completed their work.

GDF techs at work.

The Commonwealth forces include two teams of specialist infiltrators armed with a mixture of assault rifles, SMGs and pistols, all equipped with suppressors.  They all wear active camouflage sneak suits.  The squad leader will accompany Team 1, he is also armed with an SMG.  Supporting them is the remaining Cyclops armoured fighting suit, this time with its stealth systems fully operational!  The troopers are all Troop Quality D10, Morale D10.  Due to their mixed weaponry they will roll a strange assortment of dice.
Team 1 shooting: 1D10 (assault rifle), 1D8 (pistol), 6D6 (3 SMGs).
Team 1 close assault: 9D10.
Team 2 shooting: 1D10 (assault rifle), 1D8 (pistol), 4D6 (2 SMGs).
Team 2 close assault: 7D10
These all assume firing at optimum range (+1D) with the bonus cancelled out by the suppressed weapons (-1D).
[Note - I realised afterwards that I got this wrong, should have been a single D6 per person for SMGs over optimum range, SMGs within optimum range should have rolled 2D10!)

Commonwealth raiding party ready for action.

The teams move in from the East, filtering through the woods and carefully avoiding the GDF wheeled gun drones that are on a perimeter patrol circuit.

Commonwealth special forces sneak through the woods.

Once in position, Team 2 pass their morale test and sprint down the hill towards the GDF fireteam on guard, engaging them in close combat.

They take the guards by surprise!

Unable to return fire because of the surprise generated by the sneak suits and completely outmatched, the guards are quickly overcome.

The sentries have been silenced.

Team 2 move swiftly round the side of the building and attempt to open the hatch.

Team 2 prepare to make their entry.

Passing their TQ test they get the hatch open and move inside.

Team 2 move inside.

Team 1 move up and as Team 2 crack the second hatch, they dash inside to attack the GDF techs.

Attack!  Team 1 move through into the garage.

The GDF techs decide that their reaction to this charge will be to run for it - they're not paid to take on special forces!  The sprint as fast as their little legs will carry them, out of the building and down the track.  Seeing the commotion, the GDF infantry fighting vehicles start to move towards the building.  Squads of troops follow suit.

The techs run for it but the IFV moves in.

Alone in the workshop, Team 1 set charges on the crate of components, the captures fighting suit and the handily parked GDF scout car.

Team 1 set the demolition charges.

Team 2 provide covering fire to keep the escape route clear.  They take down one of the GDF troopers whilst avoiding taking any casualties themselves.  The GDF squad miss the next turn while they administer first aid to their severely wounded comrade.

GDF troops take casualties from Team 2's covering fire.

The GDF wheeled drones cease their patrolling and move towards the disturbance.  Having evaded detection thanks to its stealth equipment and adaptive camouflage, the Cyclops catches a drone by surprise.

Cyclops Fighting Suit prepares to fire on a GDF gun drone.

It successfully destroys the drone, but an IFV and a squad of troops round the corner of the building.  The Cyclops succumbs to a lucky shot from the IFV's light autocannon, the shells finding a weak spot in the armour and rupturing the fuel cells.  The pilot is killed instantly as the Cyclops erupts in flames.

GDF troops spot the Cyclops.

Team 1 emerge from the building and leap straight into combat with a squad of GDF troops. 

Team 1 locked in combat with GDF troops.

They wipe out the opposition and Team 2 do likewise with a second GDF gun drone.  There is nothing they can do for the Cyclops pilot but he has covered their escape.

Having defeated the immediate threats the Commonwealth forces prepare to escape.

Having dispatched the nearest opposition, both assault teams make a rapid getaway over the hill and into the woods there their sneak suits will hide them from pursuit.  Behind them the charges detonate, destroying the captured Cyclops and crate of recovered technology.  Despite the loss of another Cyclops (too badly damaged for the GDF to recover anything this time), the mission is a success for the Commonwealth!  The GDF meanwhile have 4 dead, 4 seriously wounded and a few other light injuries.

Team 1 make their escape.

A quick, fun game to play, a chance to try out some special forces with a range of different weapons in Tomorrow's War.

The cast:
Commonwealth special forces: Rebel Minis SAS
Guavan Defence Force: GZG OUDF troopers
Guavan techs: GZG gun crew in berets
Cyclops suits: GZG
GDF vehicles: DLD Productions "Kamodo" AFVs and Matchbox "Stoat" scout car

Games Mat - update

 I've finished the first few stages on my games mat.  I've also produced a small test square (20x20cm or 8x8 inches) to experiment with a few techniques.  One of the first things I've done is try setting objects into the sealant so see what sort of texture they leave when I remove them after the sealant has dried.

Back of a tie pin / pin badge - should look like a man-hole cover!

I textured the rest of the surface with a sponge and dragged my large aluminium ruler across one side to produce a roadway.

Plastic cross-stitch mesh.

 After 24 hours I carefully removed the items.  The mesh left a nice texture behind.  The pin back pulled the sealant off with it, so I'll class that one as a failure!  I tried again but it pulled the sealant off again, I think it has too much texture in comparison to the base fabric.  The mesh is good because it's quite a chunky, very smooth polythene plastic so the sealant doesn't stick to it.

The dried test piece (the crinkling flattens out without any real difficulty).

I painted using Wilkinson's tester pots.  Java Bean is a good dark brown base colour, Nutmeg Spice a lighter colour that gives a mottled appearance when sponged on while the  base is still wet.  Flintstone for the concrete hard standing.  The road is black acrylic which dried to an odd, slightly shiny texture which attracts dust, fluff and stray hairs exceedingly well!

Base coat.

One dried I gave a drybrush of coffee brown and urban jungle green.  The river was painted using inscribe acrylics.  It didn't come out quite right, but this was a test anyway so I'm not too worried.

Almost finished...

 I'm quite pleased how some of the experiment have turned out.  The road works well, though the ruler is only wide enough for a single vehicle width.  I'll need a thicker plasticard template to use if I make a large games mat featuring roads.  I already knew the tyre tracks worked.  The mesh surface gives a slightly off texture but I quite like it, rather like widely spaced concrete sets.  It will certainly do to add interest if I make an urban games mat.

The entrance to an IMEC mining site.

 Ensuring an even thickness of sealant is clearly important when using the mesh!  Only a very thin layer is required - too thick and it comes up through the holes.

Hard standing

Tyre tracks through the mud.

Tarmac road and man-hole.

The standard sponged texture.

 I've completed the texturing on the entire 6 x 4 foot mat and have also given it a coat of Java Bean so my next task it to start highlighting and mottling the surface with other colours.

SG15-HS3 - Hammer's Slammers infantry on skimmers

 My mounted Slammers have been painted in the same colour scheme as the dismounted infantry, as described in my earlier posts.

You get 4 identical skimmers in this pack.  If you wanted to add a buzzbomb launcher it wouldn't be too hard to fabricate one from a bit of brass rod/tube or even a plastic sprue offcut.

I've painted their skimmers Humbrol 86 Olive Drab the same as their body armour, with a Valejo sepia ink wash.  Details are picked out in Vallejo stonewall grey with a black wash.  The GEV skirt is Vallejo matt black with a Humbrol 32 dark grey drybrush.

I've already got some which act as fast scouts for my NAC troops, though I've treated them as grav vehicles rather than GEVs.

They're also ripe for conversion by adding bits of brass rod, plasticard fins and head-swaps.

SG15-HS2 Hammer's Slammers with visors closed

 I thought I'd posted these pictures a while ago but if I did I couldn't find them!

These Slammers are identical to set SG15-HS1 except that their visors are closed.  Colour scheme is exactly as the first set I painted.

As before, weapons are (L-R, top - bottom) pistol, buzzbomb launcher, powergun, grenade launcher (thanks to Comstar for pointing that out last time) and 4 more powerguns.

 I think they'd make good security personnel too, they look quite intimidating.

One thing I haven't painted on is the red and blue pull tabs on the front of the armour for the painkiller/stimulant injectors, though they are moulded on.

SG15-J03 - Japanese Power Armour

The conclusion of my Ground Zero Games Japanese Corporate Troops painting project - power armour.

As you can see, we have a squad leader with a couple of very chunky swords.  They have small cables running into them so presumably they are power swords/vibroswords or something similar.  He also has 2 banner-styles fins containing sensors and communications gear.  Next in line are a pair of identical troopers armed with tribarrel support weapons, making good use of the power armour's extra load-carrying capacity.

The bottom row comprises a trooper with some sort of square-barrelled heavy weapon.  Maybe it's some sort of heavy flechette gun or launcher.  Finally there are a couple of troopers armed with paired shoulder-mounted missile pods which are obviously the same as the single hexagonal-fronted one carried by the heavy weapon trooper in the normal infantry set.

 I've followed a pretty similar colour scheme to the regular troopers, using Vallejo beastly brown and charred brown with GW red gore on the shoulder pads, backpack grilles and lower leg details.

The commander has the little sensor windows on his back fins detailed in green for a bit of contrast.

 Finally a comparison photo so that you can see how a normal trooper measures up against one in power armour.

I've seen several other reviews where people have commented on the "teddy-bear" shape of the helmet!  They are quite cute.

Remembrance Day

No games today - just Remembrance Parade to show our respect for those who have given their lives in the service of our country.

Our Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Explorers paraded through the village to the mediaeval round-towered church where we stood round the war memorial and had a short service.

The little metal and plastic people we play with in our games have no families and friends to miss them when they're gone.  They don't have hopes and dreams that will never be fulfilled because they die on some far-of battlefield.

I thank our brave service men and women both past and present for my safety and for my freedom.

Games mat

Following the success of my initial experiments, plans are proceeding apace with my games mat.

Fabric Warehouse on Swan Lane in Norwich can do me 1.4m wide brown leatherette at £6 per metre length.  I reckon that if I get 2m I'll end up with a 6½ x 4½ foot playing surface.  If I trim it to a 6x4 sheet which will be big enough for all my games, I'll have enough in the off-cuts to make over 30 2x12 inch tracks or a mixture of tracks and ploughed fields or whatever I fancy.

Based on the coverage I achieved on my trial muddy track sections, I think another 3 tubes of brown frame sealant will be enough to cover the main gaming mat so a quick trip to "QD" at the same time will give me all I need.  I've got plenty of plasticard scraps which I can turn into scupting tools to create tracks, wheel-ruts and other low relief featuures.

A 6x4 Zuzzy mat would certainly be far superior in detail and quality of finish, but at £32.96 (according to currency converter) plus an additional 22% postage it would be more expensive than my budget substitute which should come in at less than £18 (circa $28).  Neither of these prices includes paint, but that would work out the same in each case.  With my home-made gaming surface I won't mind so much if the painting goes wrong because it should be easy to fix without the worry of damaging an expensive mail order item that I'd have to re-order from the US!

I'll also have the satisfaction of having made it myself, and that chance for creativity is one of the main reasons that I enjoy making scenery and painting models.

If everything goes according to plan, I have ideas for another games matt fro urban games with a low-relief road and pavement layout into which I can drop my existing urban scenery (which has been built using a 10x10cm grid).