Rocket Pod for Imperial Knight

After getting to grips with some rocket pods for my tiny Questoris Knights, I thought I'd better finally finish up the rocket pod I'd bought for my 40K scale Knights!

The item in question is, of course, the pod that comes with the latest version of the Imperial Knight kit - the Knight Gallant/Warden. The Knight shown above is a third-party model from Resinlabs that came with its own (very weedy) rocket pod, but I wanted to have a pod on hand to upgrade this Knight as well as the GW Knight (below) that never had one to begin with.

So to facilitate general back-and-forth swappery, I magnetized the pod and painted it in neutral colours intended to minimize clash of colour schemes.

Looks pretty deadly perched up on the Knight carapace! I painted the pod body with Mechanicus Standard Grey and the trim with Hashut Copper, washed with Nuln Oil, and re-highlighted. The rockets are Mephiston Red highlighted with Evil Sunz Scarlet.

Metal bits on the pod are Leadbelcher. The pod was also sponged up with Rhinox/black chips.

Here's a better view of the pod top.

A small magnet was sunk into the carapace hole that was apparently put there for this very purpose!

Corresponding magnet in the pod (watch your polarity!) and Bob's your uncle...

Now to rocket some enemies of the Emperor, while maintaining appropriate distancing of course!

A Game For Quarantine Times - "The Burning Of Prospero"

"The Burning of Prospero" - Miniature board game released by GW in 2016. Perfect for Quarantine!

With nearly one third of the world's population living under some manner of public health restriction or "lockdown", chances are you are not getting much gaming done! We certainly have not here in Winnipeg. Many folks have tried to use assorted video platforms for everything from completing courses and business meetings to keeping in touch with friends during this quarantine/lockdown period. So, we thought, why not gaming? We used "Zoom" for such a gaming attempt last week - playing GW's "The Burning of Prospero" - and I think it went quite well...it is, in fact, a perfect game for Quarantine Times - and in general, a really excellent game.

The forces laid out for the game's first scenario - "Shatter The Perimeter".

"The Burning of Prospero" was released by GW in 2016. The game is set amid the assault on the Thousand Sons' homeworld of Prospero by the combined might of the Space Wolves and The Emperor's Custodian Guard and Silent Sisters. The box comes with a variety of map tiles, 2D card scatter terrain and effect markers, rules, stats and cards. It also comes with some fantastic multi-part plastic miniatures! You got 30 Mark III Space Marines, five Tartaros-pattern Terminators, five Custodes, five Silent Sisters, and two characters - Azhek Ahriman of the Thousand Sons and Geigor Fell-Hand of the Space Wolves. The figures are all multi-part plastic, and are generally amazing sculpts and kits, all really, really, really nice.

GW has form here - their non-core offerings are often fantastic! The rules for 30k/40k are a calcified collection of endlessly competing circular special rules wrapped tightly in near-ancient IGOUGO rusty chains. GW, however, has shown time and again its ability to publish fantastic rules and games outside of its mainstream products. Their boxed games have a great tradition - I think of games like "Space Hulk" - that combined nice miniatures with card terrains and clever rules mechanisms to create fantastic wargaming experiences. There have been many others.

The Space Wolves ready to move out...

A deadly fire team from the Thousand Sons prepares to defend Prospero...

And yet, for my part, I was originally keen to get this box because it offered a relatively cheap means to acquire to acquire the plastic Mark III Space Marines. In the 30k setting there is a wide assortment of armour variants to choose from, and for my part I generally find the Mark III set looks the coolest...so I was glad to get the plastic marines. I was indifferent to the game itself, and I did not really look at the rules or the game in general. The Marines were allotted to the various existing parts of my collection, and I did not consider ever painting the Thousand Sons or the Space Wolves for the Horus Heresy.

The heavy bolter and the melta gun cover one flank of the advance...

Reading the novel "Prospero Burns" by Dan Abnett caused a total 180 on my thinking (it is a great novel - you should read it!). I painted up a few of the models, and then looked again at this boxed game, found that it might be fun, and suddenly was painting up all of the models for the game. I tried rules out a few times over the years, and found them to be quite fun. We did not play it with the group though - and I never really pushed to. I tend to prefer full, 3D terrain tables etc. and I am very fortunate to game with a group that offers so many choices in that regard.

Given the limitations of trying to game via Zoom, however, I thought "The Burning of Prospero" might just be ideal. Measuring "range" is easy, the board is not huge and would fit (mostly) in camera range for my iPad. The dice used are common among most participants in our group. I dug out the box and the rules, and we set things up to see if this would be workable...

The forces of the VI Legion fan out, preparing for heavy fighting...

And it was! My miniature gaming seldom involved the "board game" approach, and I had never really given this game its due. This is a fantastic game - this is why I think so...

First of all, the quality of the "terrain" panels is really, really top shelf. It is easy to set up on a kitchen table and, while we would all probably recognize/prefer 3D terrain as a superior wargaming experience (YMMV), the bits you get with "The Burning of Prospero" are top shelf - especially if using miniatures is something that is new or different for a gamer. After all, board games are huge, massive! They are just getting better and better all the time, so for board game players, this would be an interesting way to move toward miniature wargaming...

Confrontation in the corner...little did the Imperial side suspect how hard it would be to truly finish off this group of Thousand Sons...

Second - the rules are simple, but fun! There is more abstraction than in a regular game of 30k in the 7th or 8th edition, but subtle differences exist to provide an engaging tactical challenge for players. In particular, I love the use of different dice (note - NOT special, game specific dice). One of the (many) things that so impairs and limits 30k/40k is the fixation on using only the D6. Not so with this game!

In "The Burning of Prospero" players use D6s, D8s, D10s and D12s depending on the armour and weapons involved in a given situation. This is something I wish GW would explore more for 30k/40k rules generally. A further benefit - the combat phase is NOT IGOUGO, but it is still straightforward. I don't see why these concepts cannot jump to the full 30k/40k game.

Psychic powers for the Thousand Sons player...that regeneration power would sure come in handy...

Third - the way psychic powers are handled is fantastic. The use of these powers is key for the Thousand Sons side - psychic abilities are central to the nature and character of the Thousand Sons legion (it's their "thing"), and without them they would have little chance of prevailing against the onslaught of the coalition of The Emperor's executioners featured in the game. The powers are managed via card decks that become a "game within a game" - and are a lot of fun, as some powers drive the Imperial player crazy, and others fizzle, causing heartbreak to the Thousand Sons player. These "magic" type situations are difficult to manage for rules - it is easy to make the spells/power too strong or too weak, but the designers here have it just right, in my opinion.

The "enumeration phase" where the Thousand Sons attempt their psychic powers...the card decks are used to see if the powers are cast, and there is a lot of subtlety (and great fun) to be found - this is well done.

Last week a group got together via Zoom and we played the first scenario in the game, "Shatter The Perimeter". Geigor Fell-Hand and a Silent Sister Superior lead a veteran squad of Space Wovles against a squad of Thousand Sons, supported by a veteran Terminator sergeant. The goal of the Imperial side is to exit at least one model off of the board at either of two designated exit points. Success would represent the Imperial forces pushing further into the city of Tizca, the fantastical capital of Prospero.   

A "lone Wolf" makes his escape...

Over six rounds of play there was a furious battle that saw the Imperial side lose 90% of their troops - ouch! They gave as good as they got, however, and more so - their task made more difficult by the Thousand Sons' success with a particular psychic power that brought models back from the dead. There was one Thousand Sons legionnaire who was resurrected twice. Both sergeants also reappeared on the table after being cut down...and it is hard enough to knock out a Terminator once, never mind twice!

Geigor Fell-Hand and the Sister Superior make their escape at the right of the photo. Maybe we will be able to try the second scenario sometime soon...

In the end, it was a victory for the Imperial side - Fell-Hand was able to lead the Sister Superior and a single surviving Space Wolf off of the board and to victory. Further mayhem awaits in Tizca...

Gaming via Zoom will never replace the real thing. I miss my friends and the chance to get together, push miniatures around and roll dice very much. But this was great fun - many thanks to Dave V, Dallas, Mike F, John and Curt for joining the game. Also, it was great to discover how fun this GW game is - more than fit to follow in the tradition of classic games like "Space Hulk" - something we should play when we get the chance to gather again.

New Reaver Titan - WITH Magnets!

Reaver titan model, together with weapon assortment - plastic model (with some resin weapons) from GW/Forge World.

Reinforcements for Adeptus Titanicus continue to march forth from the pandemic painting forges. This is a Reaver class battle titan painted in the colours of Legio Mortis, along with a full assortment of weapons. The titan model itself and nearly all of the weapons are multi-part plastic kits from GW - a couple of the weapon choices for the carapace points are resin bits from Forge World.

A "classic" loadout - lasers on the left, gatling cannon on the right, and a big "Apocalypse" missile launcher up top.

The Reaver is a "medium" class (!) battle titan - "medium" insofar as it is bigger and slower than the "scout" class Warhound titans, but still smaller and faster than the massive Warlord class titans. The Reaver is a frontline battle titan, with scary heavy weapons that can level entire city blocks in one blast, and commonly found among all of the Titan Legions in the Adeptus Titanicus game. Good times!

Laser blaster option for the carapace.

Another carapace option - Vulcan Mega Bolter.

Perhaps the whackiest carapace option - the "Warp Missile Rack".

GW's plastic models for the revamped "Adeptus Titanicus" game are just wonderful, beautiful kits. But not all of them were designed with small magnets in mind - some were - but the Reavers were not, or at least not completely. I don't think there was any sinister motive there...the Reaver's design has a rounded joint in the "shoulder" and in the mounts for the arm weapons themselves. The folks who created the plastic model kits for the Reavers were true to this design - the carapace weapon mount has a feature that easily fits a small magnet, but the arm weapons do not. So you cannot magnetize the weapons mounts for the arms and swap out the weapons - not without a bit of hobby engineering.

A particularly "angry" configuration? Two close combat weapons? Not sure this would work out in the game, but I know there are members of the group who would want to try :)

I chickened out at the prospect of magnetizing the first Reaver titans that I built for my collection. My Legio Mortis Reavers had all of the weapons, even the carapace mounts, glued down. The Reavers for my Legio Gryphonicus collection have the arm weapons glued down, although I did magnetize the weapon mounts on the carapace. That gave players some choice, but not much.

The "Volcano Cannon" on the right arm - good times!

The "Melta Cannon".

But my friends have inspired me to try to build a Reaver with all weapon points magnetized. To build up my courage, I practised first on some Warhounds. That worked for me - yay! I then opened up a new Reaver model, got out the magnets and...it worked! Here we are, a new God-engine for the rebel forces hoping to topple the unjust tyranny of the so-called "Emperor".

"Let's go for a walk!"

Growing collection of spare weapons for the different titans...

I am pretty pumped to have a Reaver model that can mount a whole variety of weapons. And it can share arm weapons with the Nemesis Warbringer Titan I painted earlier this spring, so the variety works all around.

Updated "family photo" for my Legio Mortis detachment....

You can see from the photos throughout this post there is a fine assortment of terrifying weapons for any Princeps to choose from, including the bonkers "close combat" weapons, which are hilarious and great fun. You might be ten stories tall...but there are STILL some things that MUST be punched...or sawed! That is one aspect of the crazy 30k/40k setting that I never get tired of...I know some players in our group like to play particularly aggressive in these games, so I'm glad we'll have more options for them to enjoy.

A big "thank you" to Dallas for helping with photos/planning for how to get the magnets to work properly on the Reaver chassis! Now I need to get a similar one prepared for the loyalist faction...hope all are safe and well out there!

Foundry 2000AD Pack - Dredd, Mean Machine, and Johnny Alpha

Further to the recent Dredd-mania afflicting the residents of Conscript Towers, I've just finished three models from the late, lamented Foundry 2000AD range. These three - Judge Dredd, Mean Machine Angel, and Johnny Alpha (the Strontium Dog) - (as well as Slaine) were packaged in a "2000AD Preview Pack" that I was fortunate to pick up on an eBay forum. I'm not a big fan of Slaine (or more accurately, I can't think of a game to use him in) so I've left him unpainted for now.

First up, Judge Dredd. By Grud, this is a nice model! Chunky but finely detailed, it's a perfect Dredd I reckon. As nice as the new Warlord sculpts can be, this one just blows them away. Metal > resin/plastic, plus the detail and heft are just awesome.

"Old Stoney Face" indeed!

One of the main reasons I wanted to pick up the Foundry pack was to get a Mean Machine model. Yes, Warlord makes him too, but you have to buy a box of half-dozen characters to get him, and Mean was really the only one I wanted from that box.

An excellent sculpt here as well, down to the detailed "dial" on his forehead. He really just seems like the kind of dude that would pair a denim vest with jeans, doesn't he?

Here's weird-eyes Johnny Alpha himself. I've always been more of a Dredd fan than Strontium Dog, but I thought it'd be good to have a model of Johnny handy nevertheless as the two did meet once or twice in time-travelling crossovers.

Johnny, of course, is a mutant Search/Destroy agent ("Strontium Dog") - basically a bounty hunter who tracks down criminals for pay. Johnny's weird eyes are the source of his mutant ability to see through walls and read and influence the minds of others. It's not all X-Men in the S/D world though - most mutants aren't super-powered, just weird looking! Strontium Dogs are pretty much all mutants too, as the S/D lifestyle is too dangerous for normal humans. There are exceptions though, such as Wulf Sternhammer (Johnny's sidekick and apparently a Viking transported forward in time)...

Time travel is kind of a thing with the Strontium Dogs, as Johnny wields a multiplicity of time-based gadgets, and has even travelled back in time to apprehend a criminal from Mega-City One and (of course) to capture and bring Hitler to trial in the future.

I have to say that it was super-fun to paint these three. Nothing beats Foundry models when they were on their game and as noted metal always ALWAYS > resin. Looking forward to getting these guys out in a Judge Dredd game for sure.  BOK!!!

More Adeptus Titanicus Questoris Knights

 More pandemic production... three Questoris Knights of House Caesarean, for Adeptus Titanicus.

The difference with these models is that I've used the extra parts sprue available from Games Workshop to build these Knights with Thunderstrike Gauntlets, roclet pods, and meltaguns - not to mention some new head sculpts.

I've painted these Knights similarly to the previous three - Leadbelcher, Hashut Copper this time for the bronze, and XV-88 and Averland Sunset. The grey bits are Mechanicus Standard Grey. The whole lot bar the yellow bits were washed with Nuln Oil, with the MSG re-highlighted after the wash. The yellow was done with Agrax Earthshade.

The decal sheets for AT18 are absolutely superb; I've been using the House Caesarean decals on the Legio Krytos sheet, there's a great variety on there. The one disappointment is the Caesarean decal I used on the engine with the Thermal Cannon (at bottom in the pic above) - it's a lot less opaque than it appears. Oh well.

Here's another pic of that model. Note the head with crown - I've painted this engine as the leader of the banner.

Here's the other two newly painted engines. I prevaricated for awhile over how to paint the rocket pods but ended up just doing them in MSG with copper and Leadbelcher trim, with rockets picked out in Mephiston Red and Evil Sunz Scarlet. There are six rocket pods in the upgrade pack and I've only used half of them here.

Here's all six of my Knights with a Legio Krytos Reaver in the background. It's good to have these Knights done for now, although I've run out of Dullcote so I'll have to pick up some more (somehow!) and spray these before getting 'em on the table.

Painting the rocket pods for these guys got me motivated to paint the full-size version for my 40K Knight so stay tuned for that soon. Stay safe everybody!

Star Wars: Legion - Intercept the Transmissions play-test

Recently played game two of my ongoing play testing of a narrative campaign for Star Wars Legion, designed for the Conscripts.

I used version 1.1 of Crabbok's AI rules [ http://www.crabbok.com/custom-content/legion-ai-system/ ] to run the Imperial side.

Imperials (500/500 points skirmish level)
Darth Vader leads the defense of a HoloNet relay station, which is helping to coordinate Imperial anti-partisan operations in this sector of the Outer Rim. He had with him some Stormtroopers and a couple of units of Biker Scouts.

• Darth Vader (190 + 20 = 210) - Force Choke (5), Force Reflexes (10), Saber Throw (5)
• Stormtroopers (44 + 26 = 70) - DLT-19 Stormtrooper (24), Recon Intel (2)
• Stormtroopers (44 + 26 = 70) - DLT-19 Stormtrooper (24), Recon Intel (2)
• 74-Z Speeder Bikes (75 + 0 = 75)
• 74-Z Speeder Bikes (75 + 0 = 75)

Rebels (497/500 points skirmish level)
A mixed force of Rebels, led by Luke Skywalker, were trying to disrupt these transmissions.

• Luke Skywalker (160 + 32 = 192) - Force Push (10), Force Reflexes (10), Emergency Stims (12)
• Rebel Troopers (40 + 22 = 62) - Z-6 Trooper (22)
• Rebel Troopers (40 + 22 = 62) - Z-6 Trooper (22)
• Rebel Pathfinders (68 + 38 = 106) - Pao (22), Duck and Cover (4), HQ Uplink (10), Recon Intel (2), A-300 Short Range Config (0)
• AT-RT (55 + 20 = 75) - AT-RT Laser Cannon (20)
• Commands: Sabotaged Communications (1), Son of Skywalker (1), My Ally Is the Force (2), Push (2), Return of the Jedi (3), Assault (3), Standing Orders (4)

Scenario

This is basically like the SWL “intercept the transmissions" scenario, with two on-table commo arrays as the objectives. Victory Points are scored if a side has the most unit leaders in proximity to an objective in turns 2 and 4, and at the end of the 5-turn game.

The Imperial forces started the game with several advantages. The commo arrays were shielded (like a Republic-era Droideka), so only Imperial forces in proximity could score until the shields were brought down. The Empire had an armoured gun turret defending the arrays. The command bunker near the arrays could be used for setup (thus protecting the occupants from Rebel fire), if the Imperials chose the appropriate setup area. These advantages were NOT figured into the Imperial forces’ points cost.

The events of the last game affected this one. The destruction of one generator brought down the arrays’ shielding. The damage on the second generator caused damage on the turret, and its weapon would fire at half effect (dice).

The setup areas would be basically a 12” semi circle centered on the middle of each table edge. In SWL Skirmishes, ANY of the 4 sides are choosable for initial setup. Accordingly, the Imperials chose the side nearest the bunker, with Vader and some Stormtroopers within the bunker (the Imperial droid and the holo emitter also in the bunker were just for local colour, and added no on-table effects). The Rebels setup opposite, with elite Rebel Pathfinders infiltrating into a building just outside their setup zone, to provide long range suppressing fire.







The terrain on this table is a mix of GF9 and Urbanmatz pieces. The desert themed 3'x3' mat was specifically ordered for SWL skirmishes from Mats by Mars.


Game

The game started strongly for the Rebels. Some Stormtroopers advanced towards one array, and went into over-watch (“Standby” in SWL parlance). As Luke moved forward they fired at him; he deflected their blaster fire back with his saber, defeating one model for their trouble. Luke then Force jumped forward and cut through the laser turret’s armour with one stroke of his lightsaber, destroying it! Vader then came out and tossed his own lightsaber at Luke, slightly wounding the former farm boy.



















The remainder of the first couple of turns both sides jockeyed around, inflicting a couple of casualties here and there and each side scoring a single victory point in the second turn.






Things got more serious after that, as the Rebels tried to eliminate Imperial units. Luke even set up a neat move where he used his Jedi powers to force one Imperial bike squad to shoot at the remaining single biker of another squad. Biker defense dice suck, except when they don’t; the lone biker was completely unscathed by that close range barrage. Luke had to waste an activation cutting the biker down with his lightsaber.






Again, the AI deck diluted sometimes the Imperial tactics. A couple of Rebel units were reduced to only one or two models. The next Imperial to activate could have tried to eliminate one of the reduced squads, but the AI card deck directed their focus onto units with a higher point cost, or within closer range. Luke, being stuck into the middle of the fight, suffered the most from such treatment, and was reduced to only two wounds. He had combat drugs to keep him going for a turn if he suffered potentially fatal damage.







By the end of turn 4, the Imperials were down to only three units on the table. Luke and the AT-RT ran towards the second commo array, spoiling the Imperial chance to score. This gave the Rebels another couple of VPs, but left Luke dangerously exposed in the middle of the table, with no cover.





The AI forces responded as you might expect. Luke went down finally in a flurry of lightsaber blows from his own father. However, the rest of the Rebels either hunkered down in place, or concentrated fire on the remaining Imperials, avoiding Vader like the plague. Loaded up with Dodge and Aim counters and Force powers, and having 7 wounds left, he would just Deflect fire back at them or absorb the damage anyway.






This strategy worked. By the end of the game, only Vader and a single Biker with one wound left remained on the Imperial side. They were unable to score, and the final game tally was Rebels 5 VPs, Imperials 1 VP, for an overwhelming Rebel victory.
















###

The Imperial incursion into this sector has been severely set back.

Darth Vader, shaken by these reverses and by the knowledge that BOTH his children have allied against him, has started to re-think his role within the Empire.

The Wonder Twins, after months of bacta tank immersion, prosthetic enhancement, physical therapy, and martial arts practice, will be raring to team up together against their dear old dad.

Stay tuned for game three...