Counter attack in the badlands

After the initial success in striking at the SADU experimental field trials, the NTC combat team falls back to meet up with their escorts.

It's a long trip through the badlands to get back to their own outpost in these parts, and somehow the commander doesn't think the SADU will give up so easily..

                                            About an hour later, still in the badlands:

The NTC commander's suspicions are confirmed when his scanners pick up mech signatures across from his unit.

The commander and his team, along with the two extra escorts.

The SADU interception team of Turtle-class mechs, led by another experimental unit, EX-02. The anti-mech infantry rides along in the Antlion walker. 

Racing up to the pipeline, a Turtle fires a rocket, and misses..

..But so does the return fire from two of the NTC Warriors.

As the other members of the unit joins the first by the pipes, SADU unit EX-02 strikes a crippling blow to a warrior as the targeting computers are damaged!

Striding into range, the Demon command mech fires of a salvo of missiles at EX-02. The explosions rips off chunks of the mech's armor and cripples it's legs. A lucky hit!

The Demons luck is short-lived however, as missiles from a Turtle hits him and cripples his legs!

Seeing the chance to destroy another of the SADU's experimental units, the warrior unit equipped with a missile pod moves into position to strike. Auto-rifle fire and missiles impact the already damaged unit, taking it out of action. 

Another set of rockets hit the Demon, damaging targeting systems and bringing it even closer to defeat.

Having found a rocky outcrop safe from the infantry's anti-mech weaponry, one of the NTC escorts open fire on the Antlion. After a lenghty firefight between the two, the Antlion goes up in flames. 

The infantry finally realizes that they wont lure the mech into a fight in the open, so they reposition and attack the escort in cover. A missile hits the mech, but the damage is only superficial..

The state of the battle by the start of the 4th turn.

Syncronizing their attack, the missile pod Warrior and the escort armed with a bazooka manages to first cripple, then kill, another enemy mech. 

Limping forward on damaged legs, the Demon fires a missile at the only mech in sight. Lady luck smiles on the NTC commander again, as the explosion damages the legs of his target.

With a busted targeting comp, the Warrior closes on the last undamaged mech, intending to use the powered fist to beat him down. The first blow connects with a screech of tortured metal, but luckily no critical systems damage. Giving as good as he gets, the Turtle punches back, bending a couple of armour plates!

Taking a calculated risk, a missile is fired at the infantry in the corner of the pipeline. Striking true, both CO and missile launcher of the anti-mech infantry are lost in the huge fireball. The Turtle is hit too, blowing off a few critical armour plates, leaving in vulnerable to future attack! 

Another one-two punch from the Warriors finish off the crippled Turtle in the open.

Planting the final powered punch, the cockpit of the Turtle bends inward at an unhealthy angle, and the mech topples over. 

Having realized that the fight was about to be lost, the infantry fell back to one of the domes for cover, and to report back to their superiors.

The battle was won, but at a cost. With both command mech and one Warrior critically damaged and another lightly injured, the striketeam won't be able to keep up the pace. With some of the enemy getting away, there's a good chance that the outpost is in danger of attack from enemy forces.
In their current state, they wouldn't be much help anyway. The commander just hopes that they will be back in time to effect repairs before that happens..


A tense battle to be sure, with only luck saving the NTC from any real losses! I've decided to give gruntz another shot before I decide which ruleset to keep using, but next time I'll have a few house rules in play, to try and fix some problems that came up during this game.

I hope you've enjoyed this AAR, next up will probably be the stars of my proposed CoTF mini-campaign and hopefully the last pieces of the military outpost.

Til next time! 

Even more micro armour terrain

Work on more parts for the base continues, so today I have a few more things to show you, including some pieces of a more natural sort.


First is some additional Quonsets:

With a few extra huts I think I have what I need for the small base envisioned.

This piece with a medic hut and the bases comms and/or command post have a few details to distinguish it from the regular barracks.
 

The mechanics hut could function both as maintenance bay and storage shed for tools and the like. The tarps should keep the worst of the elements out of the repairmans hair.. 



Inspired by the really cool domes in some of Sayiner micro toys recent photo ops, I decided to make some of my own:

The dome with the big door (on the left) I imagine would be industrial in nature, the entrance to a mine or similar underground complex. The other could be a number of things, habitation in the hostile climates of some worlds for example.  

Last but certainly not least, I realized some time ago that I have quite a few buildings and such for my desert/badlands board, but not so much in the ways of rocks and other natural features. The few scrubs and ruined walls I have is by far too little to stage good-looking fights in the less inhabited parts of the planets.

So I made these bigger rock formations. While they doesn't solve all my desert-featured woes, they are a step in the right direction, and easy to make to boot!

 A thin layer of oven-bake clay stretched over crushed-up tin foil, these pieces came out better than I hoped when they had some paint applied to them!

That's all for the moment, as I'm currently considering a mini-campaign in my version of the Fringe setting. To that purpose I have started painting up a couple of mini's for the main unit of the envisioned campaign. I also have a few ideas for a all-out, combined arms military campaign featuring some of the big players far from Unity's prying eyes.
Next time I also hope to share a recent AAR, with the NIJAs SADU and the NTC once again clashing!

Til next time!

More micro armour terrain

Having spent most of my time the last week or so watching everything VOTOMS once again, I started to feel in the mood to make some more battlefield set dressing for my mechs to fight over.

Starting out small, I made what i intend to be the first pieces of a military installation, not unlike the Assemble EX-10 on Kummen..

These first pieces were more or less just proof of concept models for me, making sure that the chosen pieces of layabout trash I had gathered could be fashioned into a few believeable pieces. 

Judge for yourself if that's the case ;)

A couple of fuel tanks. The design was inspired by both VOTOMS and a game called Just Cause 3 that I've been playing recently. I'm currently trying to figure out if there is a good and fairly uncomplicated way to make a set of stairs and a walkway over the tanks.  

Some simple guard towers/TAC towers cobbled together from some plastic shot glasses, soda bottle caps and a clear plastic dome of some sort. The door and frame was made with some air-drying clay.

The Quonset huts can easily serve any number of roles, from barracks and med huts to offices, storage and even command posts.These are the only piece I'm not that sure about, but that might be due to my inability to cut straight when fashioning the end pieces of each one more than anything else.

Made out of a paper roll core cut in half lenghtwise with card end pieces to make the back and front walls, they were at least easy to make. The concrete slabs are made from the same card as the back/front. I know they are kind of hard to see, but the small units on the back and side of the huts are supposed to be power/ventilation units, mostly there as I wanted to try and make some sort of detail.

I've seen many people make Quonset huts out of soda bottle caps cut in half, so I'm still not sure which design will win out in the end, maybe I'll even mix!

I have this idea heavily inspired by the great works of Michael from Angel Barracks, using keyboard keys to make wall-sections for this base project. It's still firmly in the ideas stage, but hopefully something will come of it. Only the future will tell ;)

That is all I have to share for today, hopefully I'll have something fun for you again soon, as I plan for the NTC and the NIJA to butt heads again!

Til next time!

6mm mecha reinforcements

The last game got me in the mood to increase the number of mechs I could field for my 6mm forces.

First we have some NIJA SADU units:

The full reinforcement. 4 Turtle-class units, 3 Beetle-class units and an new experimental SHI unit. 

The 4 line units are similarly equipped with a E/W backback, hull-mounted machineguns and carrying a small rocket gun. 

The Beetle is another mass production unit, used for frontline commanders due to it's superior mobility and armour. Primarily used for C&C, the Beetle nevertheless has a heavy rifle and is able to lay down heavy fire when needed.

The second unit approved for field tests, the EX-02 hasn't even got an official designation yet. Covered in nano-laminate armour and sporting both missiles and a heavy cannon, the EX-02 will be tested against the best the NTC can muster.


Secondly we have the NTC's new recruits:

Needing to strengthen their own capabilities, the NTC approved several new units: 7 Warrior-class mechs, 3 of them armed with solid shooter bazookas and two experimental units of their own; the Warrior Custom and the Jotun assault mech.

The first 4 Warriors are identical to the units previously fielded, with auto-rifles and 1 unit carrying an additional should-mounted missile pod.

The remaining 3 warriors come equipped with the latest of NTC's anti-armour weapons, the solid shooter bazooka. Designed to fire a hyper-velocity sabot, the bazooka causes extreme penetration and damage to armoured targets, even without an explosive warhead.

Standing taller than the average mech, and at more than tripple the mass, the Jotun is a real heavyweight by any standard. Armed with missiles, a plasma rifle and powered fists, it can easily smash smaller mechs to scraps. The heavy armour plating makes sure that a Jotun unit reaches it's target, without fail. 

The last NTC unit may not look that different than the standard warrior, but it's difference is more than a paintjob. Rather than sinking even more funds into experimental unit programs, the NTC opted to improve on the basic unit in it's mecha arsenal, the Warrior.

 The Warrior Custom have upgraded laminated armour, a stronger powerplant and rewired and improved electronics, allowing an elite pilot to get the most possible out of the versatile Warrior frame. If it'll be enough to take on the experimental units of the SADU is still to be determined.



I've started thinking about making a few conversions, to cover some of my favorite ATs that's currently missing a sculpt. These would most likely be one-off's unless I find a really good way to make the required mods.
We'll see about that in the future however, for now I'm thinking over a few new terrain pieces to go with these and other mechs.

Til next time!

Back again; first post of the year!

The end of last year, as well as the first few weeks of the new year have been great but hectic. A trip to Japan over the holidays made sure that I had little time for anything hobby-related until I returned, but it also inspired me a lot!

Being the holy-land of mechas, I have a bunch of new ideas for mecha-related gaming and hobbying, almost too many..

Having stumbled upon a interesting set of rules to pit mechs of all kinds and sizes against each other, I had a quick test game eariler today, to evaluate the rules before I go crazy painting up a ton of little killer robots!

First we have the stage: A badlands town said to be one of the many testing sites for experimental bipedal weapons being put through their paces by the NIJA's SADU.
While the NTC doesn't hold any formal claims in the area, a 3-unit team led by an experimental unit of their own was sent in to confirm that testing was taking place and capture or destroy any enemy mechs.

Recce-drone footage of the town the day before the NTC operation.

Last image transmitted as the SADU spotted and neutalized the drone. 

 The Drone managed to confirm the NTC's suspicion: one experimental unit designated as an O-Yoroi and two Turtle-class mecha was on site for field trials.

The NTC team deployed to deal with the foes was the standard squad: one Demon command mecha leading two Warriors. One carries an rocket pack while the other only have a rifle.

 Forewarned of the attack, if only by minutes, the SADU commander springs into action, advancing all units. Feeling relativly safe behind a set of buildings, they stop to survey the situation. The commander had underestimated the speed of the NTC's mechs and barely escapes damage as one appear behind a nearby building. His escort reacts too slowly and it hit by a burst of rounds.
He is damaged, but still in the fight!

  On the other side of the small town the second turtle-class mech dashes across the open to fire of one of the warriors. His hull-mounted machineguns rips into his prey, causing a short and starts an electrical fire!
 The wounds aren't critical now, but the fire will rage through the warriors systems until it breaks down unless they can make field repairs! 

 The demon command mech moves up as fast as he can, but is still without targets in sight!
At the same time his subordinate keeps closing with the enemy, firing as he goes. The already damaged turtle can't get out of the line of fire quickly enough and another burst punches through his armour. His reactor core is hit, detonating the mech like a bomb! Superheated shrapnel and burning fuel slam into the O-Yoroi, damaging its legs and boosters, rendering it immobile! A harsh blow to the NIJA, no doubt!

The second warrior turns to face his attacker, firing both rockets and slugs at him. The rocket goes wide, but a few of the slugs punch through the turtle, even managing to damage the fire-control of the enemy mech! The warrior then legs it for new cover, attempting to flank the immobilized enemy unit.

 Spotting an opportunity to finish off the damaged turtle, the demon moves straight at him, firing off a rocket from each of the five tubes on his back. Only three of them connect, but it's enough to blow the mech into charred chunks of twisted metal.

 By speeding right at the turtle, the demon unintentionally put himself into the sights of the O-yoroi!
The experimental unit's high velocity cannon sent shells screaming into the side of the demon, knocking the mech over and nearly servering one leg. The pilot is dazed and disoriented by the hit.

With the enemy's attention elsewhere, the first warrior sweeps around the corner, firing point-blank. The heavy slugs knock off armour plating and tear through wiring and as the warrior closes, it slams the pneumatic fist into its enemy's face!

 Having come around the back of the SADU's experimental unit, the second warrior sped towards it, firing at the immobile enemy. There's a big explosion as the unit breaks apart.

The mission is completed, but in the aftermath it was discovered that both the experimental units pilot and data core was missing. Could the pilot have escaped during the final moments of his unit?

The test game was a success, the basic mechanics works well, even if it was originally for gundam-style mecha combat. Some things will have to be house-ruled, for example certain critical hit effects was way too harsh in my opinion. But all in all, very good!

I hope to share more in the weeks to come, along with some Gundam Gashapon gaming etc.

Til next time!