More additions to 15mm Sci-Fi Platoon

I dropped by Hobby town in Greensboro last weekend and found some of the 15mm Sci-Fi crowd gearing up for some games. I had my first real look at 5150: Star Army rulebook. The first thing I noticed was the squads were organized into eight man squads not the ten I was planning on. So I was going to need more figures. I also needed some commander figures and I decided to add a rapid fire laser to each squad. So adding two commanders and six rapid fire lasers. They will give me enough troops to field six eight man squads.

Here is the first commander. I used the same beads as the riflemen and just added them to his sub machine gun.

The commander of the second platoon.

At Chris from Sippin' on Paint Water suggestion when I started converting up the rapid fire laser rifles with two aerials. I used some white glue stretched between the aerials to form the electrical arc between the aerials.

I trimmed down the back of the model and them drilled a hole above the belt. I used a piece of 28 gauge wire I bent and twisted to form the aerials. I glued the wire into the hole and then sculpted the backpack power pack. Last I sculpted the bedroll back around the backpack.

Now I just need to get them painted.

ColKG

15mm Sci-Fi platoon Ready for the Table,

But not Finished. I have completed the base painting of the 15mm Soviet Sci-Fi Platoon. I block painted them and then gave them a chestnut ink/Future wash to blend all the colors together. I could put them on the table now and not break the tenet from Kadlec's Rules for the Gentleman Wargamer that frowns upon playing table top games with unpainted figures.

I need to go back and do a few touch ups and dry brush some highlights over the base colors. I am thinking about trying a lightning effect on the tips of the rifles. If it doesn't work out I will fade the color from the blue they are now through to a white point on the tip. Once they dry I will drybrush the bases and add some static grass and/or some green flock. I have also primered up some 15mm half tracks and started painting them, in case I need some transports for the troops. I have base coated the Micro Gundam so I can field it but I am still thinking about the final paint scheme details.

Now I just need come up with some background for my Forces and to set up a game.

ColKG

Hydra Turrets finished

I finally finished up the Hydra Turret. I am working through my project backlog trying to clear off the painting table. I built these for the Warhammer 40k escalation league back in May of 2011. I am planning on including them in any Imperial or Chaos army when I play in another Apocalypse game. Now for some pictures.

Profile of the first turret.

Close view of the first gunner.

A close view of the second gunner. I tried getting a close up of the cigar. It started scorched brown, then white grey on the tip, then carmine red and a final light orange for the ember.

The full view of the second gun.

ColKG

15mm Sci-Fi Platoon nears completion

I have finished converting up twenty more 15mm Sci-Fi "Tesla" particle beam rifle armed troops.

This gives me 40 "Tesla" rifle armed troops, divided into eight 5 man fire teams. Each fire team also has two antitank rockets for a total of 16. This would give me four ten man squads and a support walker, or an over strength platoon. I am still deciding on making up a commander but I haven't decided what kind of weapon to give him. For now I will use one of the troopers as a stand in. I still may base up some light machine gunners to be able to switch in for a firepower boost if I am not facing a bunch of power armored troops.

I also looked through my Soviet Flames of War models. I can pull out some heavy machine guns and some anti tank artillery to add a boost to the force if we decide to fight some larger games. I have a few other ideas but I need to get them in order before I post them up.

ColKG

15mm Sci-Fi Progress

It looks like I have jumped on another bandwagon, 15mm Sci-Fi. Chris over at Sippin' on Paint Water and Impcommander at Skies of Flies, Ground of Rust have started building armies to use with 5150:Star Army. The original plan was to use my Flames of War 15mm Soviet army as low tech troops and just see how many they could shoot before I swamped them with bodies, just like a regular Flames of War game. After a few questions, it came out the Chris' Power armored troops were virtually impervious to bullets, so I needed a new plan. So I started shopping for new 15mm Sci-Fi figures. They have some real nice figures out there but the hobby fund is about tapped out. Then it hit me, I would just use the left over 15mm Soviets I had and convert them over to Sci-Fi figures. A bonus would be, being able to double duty them for Weird World War Two gaming.


The first thing I considered is the troops need energy weapons and Anti-tank rockets. After several brainstorming sessions and debating the work involved in sculpting "Tesla" style rifle muzzles on a pile of 15mm figures, I headed to Hobby lobby looking for beads I might be able to use. My original idea was to use a small sequin and a round bead to make the rifle muzzle. Alas, Hobby lobby didn't have any sequins small enough to use. I started searching the beads for something useful for the rifle muzzle and a rocket warhead when I found the daisy spacer bead and it all clicked into place.


Voila! the 15mm Soviet rifleman armed with his new Tesla Particle Beam rifle. Construction was pretty straight forward, I filed down the rifle sight and the bayonet. I slid the 4.5mm Daisy spacer on till it touched the filed down rifle sight, added a drop of super glue and slid the 2.4mm round bead on to the filed down bayonet. On some of the models I had to trim the bayonet off at the bead and then either add a bit to fill the hole or file the bead down even.

The next step was adding some rocket launchers for that extra anti armor punch. The closest thing to a diamond shaped bead small enough for my use was a 3mm corrugated bicone head bead. To make the rocket, I filed down to a point a piece of .20 Gauge brass wire. I added a drop of super glue to the wire and slid the bead onto the end until just the filed point was exposed past the bead. I then measured six millimeters behind the bead and cut the wire with some side cutters. I glued the rocket to the models back and then used a piece of green stuff to make a rocket carried on the models back.

A front view of the rocket armed model. I think the corrugated texture of the rocket head will look good once I get them painted. I have also based all these figures on a half inch washers. I was planning on mounting them on pennies but according to Kadlec's Rules for Gentleman Wargamers, mounting models on small coins is very bad form. The coin is legal tender and represents the realm and any defacing of legal tender is a slight against the realm.

My 15mm Sci-Fi/WWWII forces as they stand now. It consists of twenty men armed with Tesla particle beam rifles and their walking tank a micro scale gundam capsule toy I found in a grocery store parking lot. Each five man squad has two anti tank rockets. I have about twenty or so more riflemen I can convert up and probably need to convert some command models too.

Thanks to the 50% off metal bead sale at Hobby lobby I picked up enough beads to make 90+ Tesla rifles and 60 rockets. For about five dollars I have more than enough parts to field a good size force instead of the fifty dollars I was wanting to spend for new models. The soviet riflemen have been sitting in my bits box for more than five years but will finally get their time on the table. I still might end up having to buy another bag of Old Glory WWII Soviet riflemen if I need to build the force larger.


ColKG

Marauder Plaguebearers

Another quick post, I did some wheeling and dealing with a buddy of mine and managed to get another nine Marauder Plague Bearers to add to my Nurgle horde. I striped the paint off of a few of them and then finished their basing.

I have a mix of the the old Marauder Plague bearers and the newer sculpts but I have an affection for the older ones. I have been wanting to add to my collection and these will bring my horde of Plague bearers to over fifty models.

More Pics when I get some paint on them

ColKG

Parts for New Project

I made a run to Hobbylobby ,the mecca of hobbying, and came back with vital components for a new project.





Any Guesses on what these will become?





ColKG

Sky Galleons of Mars new arrivals

I finally won an auction on Ebay for a Gametech LZ-5 and LZ-41 zeppelins. They are for the Sky Galleons of Mars aerial ship combat game. I wasn't able to get any of the ships from Gametech when they were in production. That has now changed. I scratch built several martian sky galleons but wasn't sure exactly what size the Zeppelins were, so I bit the bullet and paid the price to get one of each.

I now have them in my hands and they have produced plans for a squadron of Zeppelins to rule the Martian skies. I am debating building maybe a half dozen or so from 1/48 scale model airplane drop tanks. I have been building up my fleet of air ships and sky galleons so I can start playing some big fleet battles someday. Maybe sooner rather than later.

ColKG

RAFM Soldiers of the Queen

I have been running a Gurps Steampunk role-playing game based on Frank Chadwick's Space 1889 background. Chadwick's Space 1889 game is one of my all time favorite games and I have almost everything published for it and a bunch more player generated background I found around the Internet. The French Foreign Legion on Mars games originated from an earlier Soldier's Companion campaign we played before I started this blog. The role playing game is currently on hiatus but the group is itching to get back playing. I have prepared a complicated story arc for the game but no "spoilers" here. Planing the continuing adventure of the players has inspired me to break out some of my old Space 1889 figures.

These are my one box of RAFM Soldiers Of The Queen, a couple of characters from the Space 1889 adventurer box and some Napoleonic naval crew from, I think, Grenadier. I originally had then based on 1/2 inch washers but broke them off and mounted them on 1 inch washers to match the rest of my models. I have since puttied the based and flocked them with sand. The players have also acquired a martian cloud ship and that is why I need some naval crew members when we use miniatures during the game. The Naval crew are Napoleonic figs but will work for the game. I also found have a hand full of British and French 25mm Napoleonic but I had to strip the paint off of them. Once I get them out of the simple green I plan to paint them up and use them in the game. I am still hyped about the Gurps 1889 game and look forward to the next session.

ColKG

Vampire Count Wraith Conversion

A couple army books back I chopped up a wraith to make a mounted Wraith to lead a unit of my Black knights. I used some extra mounted legs and the torso of the wraith to make the mounted model, while the lower half went into the bits box. Then the last army book came out and Wraiths became a unit and I needed another one to be able to field a unit. I remembered the lower half and set to work to make a new Wraith from bits. Now another army book has come out and I still haven't finished the conversion. Talk about a slow burn project.

I started with the lower half of a Wraith. I them rounded up one of the hanging torsos from the zombie sprue and a couple zombie arms. I carver the noose from around the torso head and trimmed off the bottom. Then I pinned the torso to the Wraith lower half. After it set up I glued on the zombie arms and let them cure. Then I used greenstuff to cover the torso and blend into the robe on the bottom. I added a belt around the waist and last I added the hood.

I still need to do a bit more greenstuff work to even out the shoulders. Maybe I will get it done before another Vampire Count army book comes out in four or five years.

ColKG

Battle at Burma's Bagan Temple part 2

We return to Bagan Temple as the battle rages. The East Transnestrian Border police still hang on to the temple even though besieged on two sides.





Officer Degreas'e of the East Transnestrian Border Police frantically tries to patch up fellow Officer Kowalski and get his tommy gun back into the fight.

Officer Friday's handiwork one bandit down, wounded in both arms and the other wounded in both legs, crawling away, firing back at the drummers.

John Marco G-man stands over Tran-do preparing to make sure he never gets up again.

Fashoud heads around the the temple enclosure with the last two bandits. They see John Marco about to give Tran-Do a coup de gras and fire. All three shots hit and Fashoud's killer instinct knocks Marco unconscious, who falls onto Tran-Do.

The bandit wounded in both arms flees the temple and into the jungle.

With John Marco down, the two surviving bandits charge toward Ansleigh to try and capture her.

Ansleigh runs like the wind, leaving the bandits behind. Gustav runs up behind the bandits swing his handy baseball bat.

With a CRUNCH, Gustav caves in the skull of one bandit, killing him instantly. The other bandit makes a run for it.

The East Transnestrian officer regroup around their half tracks.

The Turkish anarchists break cover and bring their rifles to bear on the Border Police.

Gustav chases down the bandit who keeps sprinting away.

Ansleigh claims another kill and drops another bandit with her .32 cal pistol.

Fashoud returns fire and wounds Ansleigh but doesn't put her out of action.

The government team gets back in their half track and head for Fashoud aiming to run him down.

Te'ador breaks cover daring the Border Police to shoot him.

Teador mounts the wall stunning the Border Police so they are unable to fire.

Fashoud calmly shoots out a tire on the half track before it hits him.

Fashoud survives with both legs broken and the half track swerves out of control. Fashoud slings his rifle and starts to crawl back into the jungle cover, Tran-Do was own his own.

Stunned by Te'ador's presence the border police back away as Te'ador shoots at them.

As two wounded officers fall back, the two Turkish anarchists cross the wall and fire on the Border Police. Kowalski gets his revenge and guns down the anarchists with his tommygun. His minions down Te'ador makes good his escape.

The government half track careens out of control and crashes into a temple wall. Gustav is injured while Ansleigh is knocked unconscious.


The East Transnestrian Border Police once again succeed and defend the cultural artifact. They use parts from both half tracks to get one working and decide to pack the artifact and all the wounded and head toward civilization. They drive into the jungle, uncertain to what dangers lie there while the sun starts to set.

Some game notes. We played this game Super Bowl Sunday using the 45 adventure rules for two fisted pulp action. El tonio played the G-men, Big Roy played Te'ador, Chuckaroo ran the ETBP and I played Fashoud and the Chinese bandits. The game was a blast and was a very close run thing but the mvp of the game has to go to Chuckaroo's Officer Degrea'se. His medical skill kept several of Chuckaroo's ETBP to keep coming back into the fight. Next time Degrea"se takes a dirt nap first.

ColKG

Battle at Burma's Bagan Temple part 1

Once again my gaming buddies gathered at Casa De Killgore for some 45 Adventure two fisted pulp action. The situation is, On the outskirts of the Bagan temple complex in Burma a priceless cultural relic has been discovered. The archaeologist who discovered it contacted a friend in the East Transnestrian Border police to send a detachment to guard the discovery until a government official could come and take possession of the artifact. While the government organized a relief force for the East Transnestrian Border police one of the suppliers of the original expedition passed along information about the discovery to more nefarious parties.



One recipient of the information was Yunnan Chinese Bandit Chief. He promptly dispatched his sub-chief Fashoud, his executioner Tran-do and a half dozen expendables to take the artifact and bring it back to Yunnan.

The Mysterious shadow guardians of the Temple.

The East Transnestrian Border police guard the site while some native drummers wait to signal any intruders to the nearby villagers.

John Marco G-man, his servant Wai-long, the driver Gustav and cub reporter Ansleigh prophet mount up on their half track and head into the jungle toward the temple complex.

Industrialist Te'ador, his enforcer Montu and two Turkish anarchists trek through the jungle toward the temple.

The government half track speeds through the jungle.

Tran-Do orders two bandits toward the temple wall.

Montu fires his scoped rifle at the Border police taking cover in the temple.

Fashoud stays in cover and orders two more bandits into the temple gate.

Tran-Do spots the government half track and order the bandits to head toward it.

Hearing gunfire, G-man John Marco orders his people out of the half track. Cub reporter Ansleigh Prophet pulls out her Browning .32cal auto pistol and makes sure there is a bullet in the chamber.

Tran-Do and the bandits see the white woman and dollar signs flash in their minds. The bandits move to capture Ansleigh and sell her on the black market.

As the bandits run forward, Officers Booker and Friday fire their shotguns from inside the Temple. Both bandits are hit in the head, killing them instantly. Tran-Do ducks down behind the wall and wishes he had brought more bandits to catch bullets.

As the drummer pound on the drum to signal reinforcement from the locals, a prone Montu fires into the temple and hits Officer Kowalski in the head knocking him unconscious.

Tran-Do takes a bullet but dodges into the wood line.

Te'ador spots for Montu's fire while the anarchists hide in the woods.

Fashoud orders the bandits forward.

Fashoud takes cover while the bandits rush the East Transnestrian Border Police guarding the artifact.

Tran-Do takes several bullets from John Marco and Ansleigh Prophet and is knocked unconscious.

The two bandits fire on Officer Booker and wound him.

Fashoud wants to silence the alarm, so he fires his rifle, hits a drummer and knocks him unconscious.

Officer Booker runs away from the bandits but Officer Friday comes over the top of the ruin.

The Bandits are in the perimeter but who will get the next shot?

Come back for the conclusion in Part two of Battle At Burma's Bagan Temple.

Some notes about the game

We played this game Superbowl Sunday At Casa De Killgore. El Tonio ran John Marco G-Man and his team, Big Roy ran Te'ador and his team, Chuckaroobob commanded the East Tranestrian Border Police and I ran Fashoud and the Chinese bandits.


ColKG