FuturKom vs. GünSchwarm

Last night, the irrestible force of GünSchwarm met the immovable object of FuturKom.

And there was carnage!!

Greg B. and I had the chance to roll out the new toys last night in our first sci-fi skirmish game using our house rules. And it was a blast!

We set up a simple scenario pitting the neo-fascists of GünSchwarm (aka future-retro WW2 Germans) against the neo-Red Army of FuturKom (aka future-retro WW2 Russians). Followers of the blog have seen the insane arms race building with both Greg and I assembling scores of infantry and a veritable motor pool of converted sci-fi vehicles. 1/43 and 1/48 diecast and plastic models (even an aircraft) have been hacked up and stuck back together in a frenzy of coversion activity, and last night we put it all out on the table. Great turnout from the lads, also - Cam and Frederick joined Greg B. with the Güns, and Bill and Mike F. rolled with me and the Kom. Brian, Dave V. and Kevin came along later to take parts while Mike B. played future-Sweden and stayed neutral...

The game was simple - three objective markers were placed in the ruins of New New Berlin. Since the Güns were slightly "out-pointed" by the Kom (owing mostly to my zealotry in producing converted vehicles) the Güns were allowed to place a squad and a heavy weapon on the table, in a bunker with an objective marker. The Kom forces entered on one short edge, and the Gün reserve on the opposite one. Fortunately for the Güns, Cam hot-rolled the reserve rolls and the entire Gün force was on in turn two. This was just as well because the Kom SU-300 showed up from reserve on the next turn. So the battle was well and truly joined!

Without boring you with details, suffice to say the action was furious and the results too close to call. Highlights... SU-300 blowing up a Gün-squad with its howitzer only to have Frederick roll no less than FOUR sixes to save... T-340 brewing up the Space Panther... GünFlak driving off the FuturKom flyer on repeated sorties, until its Flak guns were blown off by a FuturKom Lebedev projector... sniper duel... victorious charge of the FuturKom command group into the objective bunker... good times!

The game ended after ten turns. The GünSchwarm held one objective with three men, FuturKom held another with two men, and one objective was held by no-one at all! Check out the pics.

Battle Report - Binary Outing for Binary Petroleum

Newly painted figures get ready for action earlier this week

A couple of weeks ago, in one of my many hobby distractions, I started in on some excellent 28mm near-future sci-fi models courtesy of Frank Hammond. I had finished the models this week (there are 24 of them in my initial batch) and Dallas was kind enough to get them involved as part of our regular game this week.  For fun we used the new Bolt Action rules - intended for WW2, they adapted quite easily to the science fiction setting.

These old 40k Storm Troopers bolstered the Frank Hammond troops

For a scenario we decided to pull the good, hard working folks of Binary Petroleum - last seen in our 6mm FUBAR games - into the 28mm setting.  A group of character models would represent a well-meaning Binary Petroleum survey team, set upon by some FuturKom Motor Fuzileers.

The FuturKom Legions - an awesome collection from Dallas

FuturKom motor pool - note the dreaded T-620 in the foreground...

My Frank Hammond troops were blended in with some vehicles and additional bits from my 40k collection - one of the main reasons I had applied my blue paint scheme to the infantry was so I could merge them into my large collection of Imperial Guard stuff.  In all we had three infantry squads with APCs, one marksman, one MBT and an officer.  One of the squads, represented by Imperial Guard storm troopers, was an elite veteran team. The Kommulists had a near-identical lineup - three squads in APCs, a T-340 and the dreaded T-620! The Kommulists had extra armoured power in contrast to our better infantry.  Dallas took command of FuturKom and I rolled with the PDF forces.

These 40k characters represented a Binary Petroleum survey team...I find they match up well with that role

A BP representative gives an on-site interview...

The members of the BP survey team were spread across the table as objectives, and the goal was to try and capture as many as possible.  Once the game ended, Dallas and I would roll a D6 for each survey team member recovered - whoever rolled highest would recover the valuable survey data as to which areas of the verdant colony world were ripe for transformation into tar-fuel pits.  Oh - and some of the survey team members would maybe be saved too, which was BP's "official" goal...

This BTR-700 was no match for the main gun on my tank - too bad this was the only thing my tank managed to hit...

The T-620 commands all before it - the power of Kommulist industry...

The game moved at a good clip - Dallas and I each moved to grab some team members, but Dallas was more efficient with his movement.  I had some early success punching holes in his APCs, but he was able to knock out my tank before I could get to his (I blew key rolls to help that along...) and this would put the balance of firepower toward FuturKom for the rest of the game.

PDF fire-teams open up on the Kommulists

I didn't help my cause by getting my APCs all bottled up near the middle of the table.  Sure, my infantry had cover, but they couldn't get anywhere useful.

This APC was knocked out and made for a bit of a traffic jam for me - and a good back drop for a live hit from the reporter

Motor Fuzileers under fire - note the "rescued" BP survey team member being spirited away in the background

Still, we got our licks in.  Two of the FuturKom squads were lit up, and we took out all of their APCs.  On the other hand I lost an entire squad, two APCs and a tank.  By the end of the game Dallas had recovered three survey team members, and I had "saved" only one.  It was a win for FuturKom.  I'm sure the Galactic Central Policy Committee has already reviewed the information as to which areas would make the best spots as they plot "Grozny 4"...

Burning BTR in the centre of the table - see how Dallas squeezed that APC along the table edge? Darn it!

Bolt Action showed once again to be the current "it" rules.  They adapted very well to our setting and allowed for a quick and efficient game.  They are miles beyond the current edition of 40k in terms of quality, enjoyment and representation - I recommend you give them a try!

Belated battle report - a FuturKom Kristmas

Oh tannen-bot, oh tannen-bot!

The holiday season is upon us, and to mark it we gathered at Dallas' place last week for a game of SpaceKrieg, the wierd and wonderful 25/28mm sci-fi setting where in the unpleasant shade of the distant future, there is only armed conflict...and tanks with huge guns.

Dallas set up the table in a suitable Christmas theme. About 40 Kommulist troops - including some new armoured infantry, backed by a scout vehicle, an odious new Kombot (christened "O Tannen-Bot" for this game) and the devestating SU-3000 took on a platoon of 30 Gün grenadiers, who were backed by a mortar, a recon tank, an APC and the dreaded Space Hetzer.



Check out this great holiday candle guys - I'm sure it will inspire the public once they are properly "secured"

The objective of the game was to recover the majority of the objectives before the other side - three bomb-zombies on the table. Because otherwise the bomb-zombies would ruin Christmas, right? Mike F and Dallas rolled with the Kom, while Dave V and Cam joined me on the side that advocated peace through war.



Patience lads - need to be sure we get priority...

As the game progressed, it became clear the Futurkom side would have an even more devestating secret weapon than any robot or tank - the violin!



Deluded young kommulist interns display the new FuturKom weapon during a youth re-education session

Several turns of whinging about the abilities of Gün Schwarm ("They hit on a three?" "The mortar hit how many people?" "Their training is WHAT?"), together with other big-lip tactics managed to obscure the fact that FuturKom actually WON the game. The Gün Schwarm certainly piled up Kommulists like cords of firewood, but it was not enough, as FuturKom managed to secure a majority of the bomb zombies by the end of the game.



The SU-3000 lost out on the duel with the Space Hetzer



Dave V was Vegas with the Gün mortar team - it basically held one flank for most of the game

Hopefully Dallas can add a few more photos to show the Futurkom side of the battle. But a good time was had by all - even Mike and Dallas after they realized they had won!

Thanks again to Dallas for hosting, and to all who came to play!

New Wheels for Gün Schwarm

Gün Schwarm fire team tries out the new IFV from Old Crow.

In my post last month about the project pile for the fall of 2011, I mentioned that I was working on some reinforcements for Gün Schwarm, the future-retro sci-fi fascists that do battle with Dallas's FuturKom and Mike F's Future Brits.  The Güns have been able to count on important fire support from all sorts of silly, over-gunned vehicles, but they have been behind their opponents in one key areas - APC/IFVs for the troops.

Dallas' FuturKom lads ride to battle in modified BTRs, and Mike's Brits roll out in modified Rhinos.  The Güns? They walked to the fight.  They have two Space Panthers and a Space Hetzer for backup. Even a VTOL! So no complaining!

But in the game, mobile protection for the infantry is still useful, and with the streets of New New Old Berlin looking pretty rough in the wake of FuturKom's "Occupy Everywhere" operations, it was time to give the Gün Grenadiers a battle-worthy ride.

Front view of the Claymore APC, showing the standard "support" turret.

The challenge was finding the right model for the job. At first, I wanted something that fit the WW2 theme, that I could cover with searchlights, hatches and missles (standard SpaceKrieg conversion process) and just fit in.  German WW2 halftracks seemed to be one way to go, but in the end even the 1/48 die-cast models are too small, in my view, to fit the mood/look of the force.  I tried a GW Chimera, but it looked like...well, a GW Chimera - not horrible, but not...different enough.

Rear view of the model, showing the access ramp for the Gün troopers.

I finally just ordered some APCs from Old Crow.  I was already using Old Crow products in the 15mm lineup, and I thought the 28mm scale ones would be nice too. So the Gün Schwarm War Ministry ordered some Claymore APCs.

The Claymore model resembles many of the IFVs currently serving in armies around the world, but still keeps a futuristic, sci-fi look to it.

I love the model - brings to mind many of the modern 8-wheeled APC/IFV vehicles in service currently with armies around the world today, like the BTR-80 and the LAV, while still managing a bit of sleeker, sci-fi look to it.  It also looks like it would really carry a squad of 28mm infantry models.

I changed my painting approach slightly for these vehicles - no wash of Devlan Mud, so they aren't quite as dark as the other Gün vehicles.

Top view showing additional access hatches for the troopers.

One of the great things about the Old Crow models is that there are multiple turret options.  The standard turrret is the "support" version - and even there you can choose between types of barrels to go with a "cannon" look, or a "gatling gun" look. 

The Claymore APC will provide good support, and cover, for the Gün fire teams.

And if you are anticipating real trouble, you can mount the "tank hunter" turret.  I love that turret - kind of brings to mind the idea of the Stryker Mobile Gun System.  When you see the size of the gun barrell in relation to the figures in the picture, I'm pretty sure that thing will be able to hunt more than just tanks...although with the FuturKom arsenal, we'll take all the help we can get.

Another variant of the "support" turret, with gatling-style cannon barrels - good for dealing with FuturKom infantry, and university protestors.

The "tank hunter" version of the turret - what kind of tanks are they thinking about? Can probably take out apartment blocks as well...

There is a third version of the turret - "multi-missile" - but I haven't got one of those yet.

The worst thing you can say about Old Crow is that actually getting the product can take a while, but that is it for problems, and I assure you it's worth the wait.  Old Crow's stuff is really sharp, and really, really easy to work with.  The quality of the casting is absolutely top notch.

I have three of these models for the Güns - I'll do up a mix of turret options for the vehicles. One vehicles is finished, another is painted and just waiting for decals, and the third is primed and waiting to get going.  I hope the vehicles will see some service on the table sometime soon!

The "tru" believers...

We have been having several games of 40k lately, but that doesn't mean we are forgetting about our own, bizarre, parallel world of Spacekrieg, where in the unpleasant dimness of the distant future, there is only armed conflict...and Future Gordon Brown.

Dallas really set the bar for this "period" with his awesome FuturKom guys featuring infantry from Pig Iron Productions. Pig Iron basically has a huge hit (in my subjective opinion) with their "Kolony Militia" and related figure lines. The Militia models are outstanding, and Pig Iron has released some companion lines to go with them, including "Kolony Rebels". I thought these would make an excellent faction for SpaceKrieg...and so I would like to introduce "TruKom".



I figure on some world somewhere in the Interstellar Union of Kommulist Worker Planets, you might have a situation where things don't always go the way Future Kremlin wants them to. Some Motor Fuzileer regiments maybe get a little close to the population, and shared their concerns. Or maybe said regiments went into the desert, and got too close a Top Secret Unknown Arcane Thing (TSUAT), and maybe this thing influenced them to somehow hang all of the FuturKom leaders in the capital of Groovzny before the orbiting Kom fleet blasted them for treachery...

In the meantime, FuturKom has dispatched troops to quell the rebellion. And nobody needs to worry about anything in the desert. At all. Reports that something like a TSUAT might even exist, much less affect you psychologically and physically, are just GünScwharm propaganda....



I picked up a few packs of the various rebels - infantry and troops with special weapons. So far I have finished 14 models, and overall hope to have a force of between 20-30 figures. The Kolony Rebels are great figures. They are, of course, similar to the Militia, but the clothing is a bit ratty, there are some holes here and there, some of the armour bits are missing, surplus bits of rags etc. are starting to appear. They look just like guys who have been out of the sci-fi supply chain for a while.

Weapon-wise, they have a lot of weapons that the Militia have - missile launchers, SAWs and sniper rifles. At this point, no flame-throwers. They also have a little panzerfaust-looking AT weapon (which can be seen a little bit in the front row of the very top above).

One of the best features of this whole line is the interchangeable heads. The Kolony Rebel heads look...a little off. I think it's very cool. You get several to choose from as well. I am sticking with the "I still have my gas mask, but lost my helmet" head for nearly all of the guys for now, but will sprinkle a few other ones in later on. I may put a few standard Militia heads in as well to represent new "volunteers" who have seen the light and joined the armed pursuit of true Kommulism.



I don't see TruKom having a ton of vehicles - being seperated from the FuturKom supply chain, and being blasted from orbit have limited their options somewhat, driving them into mountains. But I will hopefully bodge a tank or two together for them so they can have some support when they ambush deluded FuturKommers who don't see "What's Really Happening".



Pig Iron has a still-developing line of models called the "Kolony Ferals" too. While the Kolony Rebel figures appear to be low on supplies and need some uniform repairs, the Kolony Ferals look like guys who have definitely been out somewhere way too long and are way messed-up looking, which is awesome. I intend to integrate some of these into the TruKom lineup, and use the "Feral Elders" as commanders. Of course, they will only look weird to people who don't see "What's Really Happening"...

"Future Potsdam" Conference Postponed

Last Thursday we had another go at the FuturKom vs. GünSchwarm rivalry, with the added bonus of participation from Future Gordon Brown's lads in the form of Mike's FutureBritz.

The scenario was rather simple: the setting was 1945, in the ruins of New New Berlin, the remnants of GünSchwarm struggle on. In the finest future-Teutonic tradition, the Schwarm had some new war-winning wonder weapons - the Gepanzert Grenadiere (armoured battlesuits), the manic SchwarmBot, and the focus of the scenario, the super-schwere (or über-heavy, if you like) selbstfahren waffentrager, a giant self-propelled gun hurling projectiles the size of Volkswagens several miles downrange. The FuturKom and FutureBritz had 12 turns to reach the gun and silence it. GünSchwarm's objective was to prevent those victory conditions. Greg and Frederick ran the Schwarm, Mike and Cam took the Britz, and Brian and I controlled the Kom forces.

War-winning wunder-waffen...?

Future Panther lays in wait. But soon... kaBOOM!

Schwarm digs into the ruins.

The Schwarm dug in several infantry squads, a mortar, the Future Panther, an SP flak gun, the urban annihilator tank, and a recce halftrack, along with four battlesuits. Against this FuturKom threw two recce cars, two T-340 tanks, and a full infantry platoon. The FutureBritz deployed the Future Churchill, Sherman Mk XXV, some infantry, and the fearsome Tesla coil cannon.

Gepanzerte Grenadiere

See? KaBOOM!!

The game started well for the Britz as they took out the Panther on the first turn. However this was a somewhat misleading start to their game as they were whittled down almost to a man, only the Tesla surviving.

Future Gordon Brown expects every man to do his duty...

The inexorable advance of socialism (future style)

The better 'ole

GünSchwarm command

Across the street to certain... victory!

Future desantniki

FuturKom fared a bit better, but after a promising start, Frederick ranged in with the mortar and took out the bulk of a squad, with the plasma guns of the battlesuits also doing fearsome damage. One tank and some intrepid riders reached the objective by turn 13 or so, and although by that time the Schwarm was spent, it was too late, as the superheavy's crew had time to finish their bombardment and/or scuttle their vehicle (we hadn't thought that far ahead).

Thanks to Frederick for bringing many of the cool buildings and junkyard piles, they looked awesome. Another fun (and great-looking) game in the twisted future of SpaceKrieg!