Flying Tanks!

Finished another 15mm army. This one is individually based for action against Greg's Neo-Sov or Control armies. It also serves to drive Dallas up the wall!

Vehicles are all Critical Mass Games. Infantry are Ground Zero Games and the massive battlesuits are from Khurasan's Earthdoom range.

Extremely Belated Battle Report - "Siler Road" - 15mm Sci-Fi

Federal armour in a village - what could go wrong?

Following on Dallas and Mike's cool game from last week, I wanted to belatedly post some pictures of a game Mike F and I played four weeks ago, pitting the Nova Respublik and their new DOE gunships against the sinister Control Battalion.  There are a bunch of pictures in this post, validating Dallas' recent assessment of my blog "style".

Control Battalion, pre-game

Federal column advances, led by Siler tanks

Nova Respublik Motor Fuzileers enter the table to launch their counter-attack

For rules we used Bolt Action (Brian - at least we are not using Lord of the Rings :).  The scenario involved a Nova Respublik counter-attack against a Federal Army spearhead led by a pair of Siler tanks.  I wasn't that specific other than the Nova Respublik wanted to stop/slow/knockout the Silers.  Really the game was an excuse to roll out the DOE gunships and Silers!

Control Battalion infantry advance behind their Claymore APC

Control Battalion mortar teams set up for the firefight

The DOE makes the first visit - ouch for the Federals...

Mike F took the Nova Respublik side, and I played the Control Battalion.  Here are a bunch of pictures of the game. Short game summary - lots of stuff blew up, and while Mike generally failed his rolls to even have his air support arrive (unlike Dallas, who failed his air support rolls in our game the following week to decimate his own attack), when the DOEs did show up, it was pretty devastating.

A DOE lines up Control Battalion targets

DOE propaganda 

The Siler suffers DOE pains - the hits immobilized the tank!

The Control Battalion doesn't feel pain - lucky for them...

Another aerial photo - note the ultra-aggressive advance of the Nova Respublik APC at the bottom

The Silers were tough - meeting out a lot of punishment - also missing a lot.  But they put out some serious abuse on the Nova Respublik armoured vehicles.  However, they were stopped, so the game ranks as a win for Mike - although one with a pretty steep cost in toasted NR vehicles and troops.

This squad was feeling pretty good (in as much as the Control Battalion "feels" anything) until the DOE came 

Another view of the carnage in the village

Control troops huddle in the ruins

Siler dishing out the pain! 

Immobilized Siler still exacts a toll...

Close up of a Nova Respublik Red Eagle - Siler bait

It was fun to get the DOEs out on the table for a first game! Thanks for Mike F for coming out for the game.

DOE Yeah!

Nova Respublik troops prepare to deploy with their latest reinforcements

My first attempts to assemble Khurasan's exciting new 15mm near-future DOE Gunship were less than satisfying.  With the help of Dallas, who pointed out how to mount the tail fins properly (tip - not straight), I was able to finish two of the models and I got them painted during the NFL games this week. As I watch the Lions are struggle to keep up with the Bears tonight (while I write this, Jay Cutler just took a strength 10, AP 1 hit from Ndamukong Suh), I finished them off!  Here are some pictures.

No more f*cking around - serious drill bit time 

Magnetized lapel logo serves as ideal flying base mount

Serious hole for the serious magnet

My original try at magnetizing the model so it would stay on a flight base was insufficient.  The DOE is a healthy size, and a small magnet is not up to the task.  I was done screwing around, so I took out the large drill bit and bored a large hole in the base of the main body, and then mounted the other piece of the magnet on the top of a GW flying base.  These magnet bits are actually courtesy of a local not-for-profit's logo lapel pins, so in a way these models will be gaming for a good cause. I think I probably overdid it a bit, but these things are NOT falling off...

Strong magnets keep the model safe and sound on the flying base

With the basing riddle solved, I had to figure out how to assemble the damn model properly.  As I said, Dallas gave me the right tip.  For my first model I had mounted the tail fins flush to the hull.  This fit the tabs properly into the hull, but was actually incorrect, as the vertical fins at the back should not be straight up, but should tilt inward, so the joining tail piece will fit.  In order to do this properly I had to shave off the tabs a bit so the would fit properly with the main hull. Not enjoyable.

A further bit of stupidity on my part - I put the adjoining tail fin piece on differently on each model - and I didn't notice until I had primed them! Once again, I will never win an award at IPMS shows...so in a way, each one is unique...

Half-way point on the painting - waiting for the Agrax Earthshade to dry - check out the mix up on the tail joints...

The fun continued when trying to figure out the wing-mounted rocket launchers.  There are four on each model (two of them are hardly visible - or paintable - once the model is assembled, as they are tucked right in).  As I said in my original post, this model is a blizzard of parts, and it is not very forgiving.  I highly recommend assembling and mounting the rocket pods BEFORE mounting the wings to the hull.  For the record, Khurasan does recommend this too :)

Even when you do this, it will be tricky to make sure the rocket pods are all pointing in the right direction.  Prepare a list of useful swears before assembling this model.

Close-up on the "tarmac" - you can see the casting challenges with the missiles on the wing tip

Khurasan also provides options for the landing gear - up or down.  I went with down - it doesn't look as slick when "up in the air", but gives a little flexibility in terms of having the model land or using it as an objective on the table.  If I ever do another one of these - or if I manage the save the first one I tried to build - I will build it with the gear up.

On the flight bases

There is a very cool sensor mount on the top of the main body

I painted the models with something along the lines of a "sand & spinach" camouflage scheme.  I used some decals (from a British tank division, I think - it's 15mm scale, so I didn't get too worried about that as they are hard to recognize) to give the Gunships unit and tail markings.

Providing air cover for a Nova Respublik armoured column

The DOE gunships buzz an armoured column advancing through a village

I am very jazzed to have these finished.  These models were not simple - there was lots of flash, tricky parts and a great deal of refining needed with a sharp hobby knife.  The surface of the resin bits was a little pock-marked in some places, and had a bit of a rough finish in others that was a bit tricky to paint.
But all the swearing and crayon-snapping was worth it in the end!  Now to get them on to the gaming table, where they can get shot down on the first turn...

15mm SEAL Team from Khurasan

Navy SEALs from Khurasan

Among Khurasan's many fine 15mm products there is a SEAL Team kitted out in cool vision enhancement equipment, armour and the latest weapons.  The models are meant to represent a SEAL team of the current time, but look so "out there" they are perfect for near-future/sci fi uses.

A pair of SEAL troopers

The back packs are separate pieces

There are eight models in the pack.  Six of them are carrying assault SMGs (two with grenade launchers attached), one has some kind of assault shotgun (I think) and the last has a SAW.  All have spooky looking optics and light body armour.  Many gamers have used these for sci-fi models.  So many, in fact, that Khurasan lists these figures with their other sci-fi infantry (scroll down aways at this link).

Spooky advanced optics on each model

I painted these guys in relative muted green colours - at first I thought they would be fine special forces trooper for the Nova Respublik faction, or just generic special forces troops. But Khurasan is apparently working on Spetznaz-type troops for the Nova Respublik, so until then these will do the job.  They could also represent elite mercenaries, or any other generally sinister, well equipped force that shows up in the dark to get the job done. 

Special weapons - MK14 EBR on the left, M249 on the right

Another view of the special weapons

These guys were a lot of fun to paint. I'm not sure what sculpting plans Khurasan has in mind, but some more guys for this range - perhaps with some AT-weapons, or sci-fi-looking blasters - yes, things real SEALS do not use - would be pretty cool!  

In the meantime, rolling these guys out as D10 quality troops in a game of Tommorow's War - or Force on Force - would be fun!

Pile Of Treads - Khurasan 15mm Sci-Fi Tanks

Nova Respublik tanks - ready to roll

I continue to channel my frustration over the ridiculous NHL lockout (hockey fans see here for some rage-inducing content) into cleaning up the pending pile for 15mm sci-fi.  Up next, following some Federal Troops and Control Battalion, as well as some massive frustration with Khurasan's new DOE gunship model, was a pile of Nova Respublik armoured vehicles - six tanks and four APCs.  Here are a few pictures.

From left - the Red Banner, the Red Banner U, the Red Eagle, the Red Lightning

The Red tank series represent, to me, the very best of the Khurasan design approach.  The tanks are a perfect fit for the near-future, pseudo-Soviet Nova Respublik faction.  The basic tank design - the "Red Banner" is very, very evocative of a T-55 or T-72 of the distant-near-future.  It mimics a great deal of the Soviet design philosophy - low to the ground, massive main gun, eggshell turret that is surely a horrifically cramped nightmare for expendable crews - while looking a little sleeker, a little cooler, so you "know" it is sci-fi.

The Red Banner - tried to make this more weathered than the others, as it would be the oldest mark in service

The Red Banner U - featuring a tank commander in the cupola - this has better protection than the basic tank

The Red Eagle - very evocative of the rumoured Russian T-80 "Black Eagle"

The tanks then literally build from there - you can add reactive armour plates and storage bins to make the "Red Banner U", even thicker armour and a big turret bustle to create the "Red Eagle", and thicker armour, a scary-looking main gun and likely very unsafe bustle mounted battery contraption to create the "Red Lightning".  You get all of the bits you need with each tank to make any tank you want from the range.

The Red Lightning - having all that stuff on the back exposed to artillery is probably not safe...

The "Red Lightning" looks particularly cool - likely as dangerous to the crew as to its enemies.  Exactly the sort of thing a Soviet-style government would put into the field.

A Federal Siler tank in between two Nova Respublik tanks - the Siler is bigger, a little beefier 

Not only do these tanks look very cool, these model designs manage to mimic the design progression of late model Soviet armour, while still standing on their own as awesome sci-fi models. Brilliant.  Also, they are easy to assemble and paint (rather the opposite of the DOE).  I loved the tanks and was all over the place when building the models, so I ended up doing two Red Banners, two Red Banner Us, one Red Eagle and one Red Lightning.  Considering that Soviet style tank platoons contain three vehicles, this was kind of dumb in hindsight.  The platoons will have to contain mixed vehicles.

NR troops pose with the tanks - you can see the tanks are very low to the ground

Ominously, these models are currently listed on Khurasan's website as "Temporarily Out Of Production".  They have been for some time.  Let's hope that doesn't last too much longer...

NR tank commander in the cupola of a Red Banner U; the tank behind in this shot has a different green hue thanks to a defective can of Testors Dullcote.  Frigging spray cans...

I also did some of the "Hedgehog" heavy APCs.  Again, excellent design, blending sci-fi look with basic elements not out of place in the current era. The APC looks not too far from something like a German Marder IFV, but covered in bricks of special/reactive armour.  The gun mount looks spooky too.

Ready to carry the commies of the future to battle

When I first started painting individual Nova Respublik models, I had flirted with using BMP-3s (a favourite IFV of mine) for the APCs, but the models, available from QRF miniatures, just look too small for my taste. Cue the circular and pointless TMP discussion of scale vs. size.  I'm pleased with the Khurasan models, so that will do for me.

NR fireteam poses near their IFV

The paint jobs on all of these vehicles - tanks and APCs - were very basic green, with weathering and powder applied here and there.  I painted some red stars and "Guards" type liveries on the front fenders of a few of the tanks, but these are otherwise pretty plain vehicles. They painted pretty fast.

These models look cool, and look like they would be cramped and uncomfortable, meeting two key requirements for all IFVs in the universe

With like 40 infantry and 10 armoured vehicles, my Nova Respublik forces are more than ready for action.  Just one or two tanks is a lot in a game of Tomorrow's War, so I don't think I will be hitting the table all at once with this stuff.  This would be a ton of armour for even a Bolt Action game too, or Future War Commander.  Whatever rules we play I am looking forward to getting these suckers out on to the table some time.