Horizon Wars - 2nd Game

I'm surprised Google hasn't deleted this blog yet.

Anyway,  I have been kicking around a lot of different rulesets lately, trying to find something I like.  I have to say that Osprey's releases into wargaming have really scratched a lot of itches, especially in 6mm.  Horizon Wars is a light, highly abstracted, game intended for 10mm figures or smaller.  This is great for me because I just don't have a lot of time for gaming anymore so, as much as I'd like to get bogged down into the minutiae of firing different guns from each vehicle it just isn't really feasible at the moment.  That and my youngest has picked up on it right away.  Most importantly, it's giving me a reason to finally paint my 6mm figure stuff (after I clear a few other things out of my way).

This game was a mirrored force engagement just to remind us how the game works.  As I mentioned I've been reading a lot of other rules so they're starting to get jumbled in my head.  Both sides had a Lt Infantry CHQ, 3x Lt Infantry, 2x Mobile Infantry, 1x Recon, and 1x Lt Artillery.  I was using Dark Realm Miniatures Pax Arcadia figures for my Valiant Humans and Alexander used a mix of my DRM Andrayada, Khurasan Mechanoids, and a CAV Specter for the Robot Menace.  I realized I didn't have any appropriate models for either side's light artillery so subbed the Pax Arcadia Thunderstrike artillery piece and the CAV Specter for the Robot Menace.  Same for the robot's mobile infantry, so I tossed a couple of my 15mm Mechanoids on the table to represent those.  I see some purchases in my future...

Alexander used his command resources to give anti-grav movement to his mobile infantry and recon.  I used mine to increase the Armor of my mobile infantry and Defense of my Recon.

Click the picture for larger images

Alexander set up the terrain, and he deployed first


The first turn was mostly just me double checking movement rules, the usual rush forward, some shots at long odds, and my use of the CHQ's ability to pass an action to another unit.
 

The second turn saw Alexander's Recon element removed after my Mb Inf charged them.  My Lt Inf took up positions in buildings.  Alexander ran his Mb Inf in between the two towers in the center of the table.  Some light damage passed around, but nothing major beyond the removal of the Recon element.


Casualties began to mount in the third turn.  I lost two stands of Lt. Infantry after some critical hits on Alexander's part.  He lost both of his Mb Infantry, one to a critical hit, and the other after a prolonged bout of withering fire.  By the end of this turn he had his CHQ, a stand of Lt Inf, and his Lt. Arty.  I wasn't fairing much better, having lost a stand of Mb Inf to an assault that I initiated and another to continued fire from the arty.  I had my CHQ, one stand of Lt Inf, Recon, and Lt. Arty.


The fourth turn ended with Alexander having lost his CHQ and remaining stand of Lt. Inf, leaving him only his Lt. Arty.  I lost my recon, and advanced my infantry to engage, the Lt Arty having suffered some major damage.
 

At the beginning of the third round we instituted a rule that at the beginning of the turn if a D12 rolled higher than the total number of models left on the table then the game ends (it was getting late).  There was a fifth turn, but nothing really changed. The roll ended the game before a sixth turn could be played and we tallied the Priority of the remaining units, he had two, I had four, giving me a rather Pyrrhic victory. 

That's Some Good Grass Man

No, not that kind of grass. :)

Today I mounted some Woodland Scenics grass mats to 2'x4'x1/8" hardboard panels so that I can swap that out with the hex mat without getting spring mix flock all over the star mat. Also, if I need to change the wood on the table, I don't have to flock it again. Took some pics with various scales of models. (click on the pictures for larger versions)

Here we have CAV (N-scale):


Some 6mm sci-fi (mostly DRM, the aircraft are repurposed Silent Death craft):


28mm Sci-Fi (an Imperial Guard group about to be on the receiving end of an ambush from some Pig Iron troopers)


And 28mm fantasy (a Bull Orc faces off against a Minotaur)

3 More Done!

Finished off a kitbash/scratchbuild spacestation and two more of the JR minis pieces (two comms dishes). They're painted to the three foot and squint standard, but they're done. Took a picture of them as well as the rest of the stuff I've finished this year, but will post them later. I don't feel like putzing around with editing the images at the moment.

Not a lot done

Just finished up four of the JR Miniatures 6mm buildings this past weekend. The pieces themselves aren't much to look at so I don't give them real high speed paint jobs. I'll get some pics later, just wanted to add them to the completed list.

They're only 5 months late

Finally finished the first group of my Pax Arcadians. There are still a lot more to be done though. Though now I can focus on some mass painting techniques more than I would've been able to before when I had them on what was supposed to be a regimented schedule.

Anyway, the pics

The obligatory group shot

From DRM

The Supreme Commander and subcommander stands (I haven't worked out a TO&E for these guys yet so nomenclature isn't quite there yet)

From DRM

And the infantry

From DRM

Weapons teams

From DRM

Chupa-thingies

From DRM

and four Jackhammer IFVs

From DRM

Here are some Silent Death ships finished a couple weeks ago

Spirit Riders

From Silent Death

Darts

From Silent Death

And finally, blatant theft from another gamer. These are storage/shipping containers made from bottle caps. Here we see the Imperial Guard showing what is probably not the best decision making in regards to choice of cover.

From Terrain

Making Some Progress

Got the remaining 38 stands of Marines base coated with the Field Gray today thanks to my handy dandy airbrush. Also got the body of the missile launcher painted on the stands that have them and the boltguns on three or four stands. I like how the new ProPaints work with the airbrush. They cover quite nice as long as you don't over-thin the paint. Doubt I'll get much painting done tomorrow. Have to finish my homework.

1 Down, 38 to Go

Here's the test stand for my marines. The colors aren't 100% correct because I didn't want to set up my light tent for one stand of 6mm infantry but they're close enough. The highlights on the helmet aren't quite so strongly yellow.

I was going to use RPP Stained Olive for the shadows, but it ended up being lighter than the Field Gray and gave them too much of a "Nurgle-y" appearance. So they got a black wash. These are to be from 2nd Company, but instead of straight gold on the shoulder pads I went with a subdued Desert Tan as I thought the gold would be to jarring visually against the drab greens, than and it was the same color used to highlight the sand so it ties the minis to the base. Turns out it's a good color for highlighting the green too. :) Weapons are black though I painted the magazine on the missile launcher a MSP Shadowed Steel (similar to Boltgun Metal but a little more blue/purple tint to it I think, need to ask Reaper's painter about that) to give them a little "bling" without going over board like my 28mm Marines (see the Photobucket gallery).

I'm Getting Better

My eyesight is slowly improving. Nowhere near ready to paint minis yet, but getting better.

Anyway, the real reason I'm posting is that I've found the inspiration for my Pax Arcadians.

They will be painted in a camo pattern to match that, arctic tundra in spring time. Will also give me an excuse to buy all sorts of new basing materials as well.

Also on the 6mm front, I've made a trade with Legion4 over on Tactical Command and am receiving 39 stands (just shy of two companies worth) of Space Marine infantry and four Land Raiders. Obviously I'll need to get some stuff to round them out, but I'm thinking that they'll get a nice green paintjob. Specifically, something that'll airbrush real easy. Vehicles may get masking tape two-color camo jobs. I'm also working out how I want to round out my Andrayadan forces and have been eyeball the Skyth from DRM as well as some of the infantry from Exodus Wars.

A Couple Buildings and What's on the Bench

OK, so the whole prioritized list thing went all topsy turvy. I ordered Sara the Seeress with a few CAVs earlier this month because, well, because I had a few extra bucks in my monthly allotment. Sad isn't it. Anyway, I got that for Aprile on the condition that I actually paint it. The impending arrival of a bunch of DRM minis for use with FWC will most likely also affect things, nay, already have affected things.

In the last week I've finished up a couple of my JR Miniatures 6mm buildings. The paint jobs aren't fantastic, but they match the casting of the pieces. I've also managed use colors other than gray as well on them. :gasp: I'm trying to figure out why all sci-fi buildings are painted gray. So my goal is to have a colorful down in sandstones and blue and steel and other colors.

I've got a start on the Gladiator II and the Centurion. The legs to the Centurion need a touch up though as the gray is nearly indistinguishable from the green. I used the airbrush on them and I have to say that I have to be careful to not obscure detail with the ProPaints when using it or thin them even more than I have. I've managed to add three projects to the CAV list. Mainly a Black Lightning Dictator with the arms having been donated graciously by Lanse (Froggy the Great on Reaper's boards) and two Moguls (Kahns with Gkw-12y Gauss Cannons). Unfortunately the Dictator I ordered has some bad mold lines and soft detail. I'm very tempted to request a new one but don't really want another pair of Dictator arms. Maybe if one of the Kahns aren't up to par I'll ask for new pieces.

And then there's Sara. When asking Aprile about the base she said she doesn't like my flock. And that she just wanted a sand base. Well, I didn't feel quite like cutting off the integral base because it's a horrid pain in the butt. So I got out the greenstuff and filled around the edges out to the edge of the washer that she's glued to. Then it had the standing on the pitcher's mound look. So using my immense sculpting skills added a rock outcropping. Aprile's out of town till tonight so I have to get design approval before moving on, but the plan is to have Sara done tomorrow. The upside is that if I count the two buildings (which I probably shouldn't) I've averaged a mini a week so far this year.

Wednesday I get laser eye surgery so next weekend probably won't be very productive. Hopefully it doesn't screw with my ability to paint minis. I doubt it will, but I'm concerned about a reduction in clarity when looking at small details...like on miniatures.

Depending on how things go I may take some pictures tomorrow. But I've also got to start getting ahead on my college homework so I'm not trying to do it during my various holiday vacations that are planned.

The Pax Arcadians Are Coming! The Pax Arcadians Are Coming!

So I submitted a wishlist of miniatures to my wife yesterday for Christmas, and apparently she ordered every one. They're all Pax Arcadians. I'll be using them with FWC. This initial force will be mostly infantry with a dropship, 1 blister of each of the buggies, and a small handful of tanks (1 blister of Chasseurs and 1 blister of Tigers).

So, obviously I won't be able to start working on them right away as I won't be receiving them until Christmas and I'll be out of state then, but I can start planning. A few things I'm debating though:

1. Base size: in FWC base size doesn't matter. I'm struggling between 20mm squares or 10mm x 40mm rectangles. The handful of Andy's I have are on poker chips which have roughly the same area, but I'm thinking that won't look as good for the humans for some reason.

2. Figures per base: I know the usual standard is 5 per base. But I'm thinking I can stretch things out a bit if I go 4 per. Though then I run into problems with the number of sergeants. However, the Reg Command blister has more command groups than I'll probably need, so I could conceivably raid that for more sergeants. I'm going to have to run the numbers and see what I can come up with. May have to order another command blister though that would seem to defeat the purpose of putting fewer figures per base.

3. Basing vehicles: to base or not to base? I prefer to not base vehicles, however, 6mm vehicles are much smaller than the N-scale ones I'm used to and I'll be the first to admit that I'm clumsy. If I do decide to base the vehicles, what size would work best?

4. Color: Ahh, the bane of miniature painters, color selection. I want to something suitably tactical, but not desert, urban, or woodland. I have too many other forces in those schemes. Hmmm, tundra maybe? Suggestions welcome!

Oh, my ordering and receipt of FWC has effectively killed my "Beer & Pretzels 6mm Sci-Fi" project. This will most likely have an effect on the sequence of my To Do List.

Impatiently Waiting

My wife (who has to endure many trials and tribulations living with me) ordered Future War Commander for me last week. :) Unfortunately I'm still waiting for it to get to Neal at the Warstore so he can send it to me. :(

I'm pretty amped about it. I've been trying to find something to use my 6mm minis with. Dirtside had most everything I wanted, but I found that it just didn't work for me. I even went so far as to write my own rules, but the build and point systems stymied me. The rules worked well, just couldn't make up my mind on how to design and cost the units. From what I can tell this will be up my alley, fairly abstract, good game mechanics, and a unit design system. Unfortunately though the cost has be bit anxious. That's $48 I'm out if I don't like it and can't shift it on eBay.

Haven't gotten crap done for painting since finishing Sophie. Been so busy that I'm just plain exhausted when I come home. The Force Unleashed has not been helping matters.

SHE'S DONE!

Yes, it required yelling.

It took forever, but she's finally done. I think she turned out great. A couple spots didn't come out quite the way I'd like, but I'm happy with her. I almost wish I had bought a third RCon 08 Sophie so I could do another one of these without the wings. Enough talk, here's the pics.





Here's some other stuff I finished along the way: some GZG Kivruzh medium grav tanks (finally looked up what they were called), rebased Dana Murphy (before on crappy round Sculpey base, after on square Litko base), and an LE Minotaur based for use in Warlord and given a Brown Liner wash.

Kivruzh medium tanks

Dana on original crappy base


Dana Rebased

LE Minotaur based for Warlord

If you want to see Dana with her original crappy paint job go here.

Now back to cranking out gaming pieces.

Side Project

Couldn't sleep last night so I grabbed three of my GZG 6mm tanks and painted them up. Mostly because they'd be quick and I wanted to try out my new ProPaints. First off, let me say this: I love the ProPaints. Excellent coverage without obscuring detail, even when I over thinned the paint. I slapped down some Yellow Olive, drybrushed some Desert Yellow, then a wash of Slime Black. They turned out decent. I painted them kinda quick and dirty so the drybrushing isn't the best, but it gets the job done. Just need to detail some items with black then seal them. Pictures posted hopefully this weekend.