In the pipeline

Since I don't have any star bombers painted up, I decided a half-dozen of these Mars-class vessels (along with a quartet of Dauntless-class armored pursuit ships) will be next on my painting list for my Terran fleet:

  

My typical Terran paint scheme.

Note that this time I used gray primer instead of my usual black.  I decided instead of going with red or white (one of my two traditional Terran paint jobs), I will get a little more creative with the color schemes.  Since I'm not sure exactly what hues I will put on the ships, I went with the lighter primer in case I choose brighter colors for some of the vessels.  I have some ideas for how I will paint these--something different than my usual three-color drybrush method), and I'll post photos once I have a couple of these spaceships finished.

I also have some capital ships I need to get painted.  Below you can see the Victory-class super galactic dreadnought already primered, next to the Valiant-class galactic dreadnought, which I just based.  Note the Victory uses a Monday Knight Productions "Super-Nova" base, while the Valiant sits atop a homemade stand consisting of a couple of fender washers, a wooden disk, and a #16 nail.  A Samurai-class destroyer leader is placed alongside for scale reference (and also because I need to paint it).

I need to get these table-ready.

Battle damage

Well OK, more of a dockyard accident:

Oops!

When I was preparing for my Millennium Con game, one of the spaceships I had planned on using came off its base (a Carnivoran Lion-class battlecruiser, for those playing at home, but I was using it to proxy the human rebels' forces).  I tried to fix the battlecruiser and, long story short, I was tapping a nail into the underside of the ship with a hammer when I felt a *snap*.  I looked down, and the front of the vessel had totally broken off from the main body:

You can see where the original nail head was glued to the underside.

Which kind of makes me think: Isn't it a poor design for a warship to have such a narrow neck connecting the bridge/CiC/fire control/etc. to the engines, life support and most of the weapons?  An enemy gets in a lucky shot and your battlecruiser is now a battle and a cruiser ....

The battlecruiser in happier times.

So now I need to figure out how to fix my toy.  I know I can't just glue the pieces back together and expect it to hold; the cross-section where the miniature broke is very tiny.  I'm thinking about drilling holes in each part and sticking a pin in there to add strength, but I don't know if that will be enough.  I may have to add some pins/rods to the outside as bracing.  If I just add them to the underside, it won't be noticable, and I can get this ship back in action.  Anyone have any other suggestions?

Blast from the past

I was feeling nostalgic this evening, and I broke out my old Battletech minis.  I used to play the game all the time decades ago, but until two years ago at ChimaeraCon, I hadn't played BT in over a decade.

My paint jobs on these miniatures aren't nearly as good as I remembered them to be.  I kept some of them in the box.  Still, in the interest of sharing, I will post a few of them for your enjoyment:

WOLVERINE: I like the camo scheme on this 'mech--very otherworldly.

 

Scenario: Assault on Regulus IV (rules)

With the eight players divided into two teams (see the order of battle here), I gave everyone the following scenario handout:

Assault on Regulus IV

SETUP

Prior to play, the attackers write down which side or sides of the board they will enter from and type of formation (line, column, wedge, etc.) and designate one of the four planetary installations (red, yellow, green or white) as their primary objective.

Also, prior to play, the defenders write down which side or sides of the board and which turn any forces not deployed at the start (if any) will enter from and type of formation (line, column, wedge, etc.) and designate one of the four planetary installations (red, yellow, green or white) as their command center.

The defenders may then set up their remaining forces anywhere on the board. Defenders have initiative the first turn, after that determine normally.

SPECIAL RULES

• The attacker is escorting transports carrying cargo units representing troops, vehicles, and equipment. How many cargo units reach the planet’s surface are relevant to who wins this battle. Because the transports are commandeered civilian vessels, they have no armor or weapons.
• The planet blocks movement and line of sight. Additionally, the planet's gravitational field will affect a ship's drift. The referee will indicate when this happens.
• Each installation on the planet (indicated by the red, yellow, green and white markers) contains one Railgun and four Light Particle Beam Batteries (LPBs).
• Planetside weapons have a Profile of 8 and may be targeted from orbit individually (no need to roll to see which weapon you hit), with a hit destroying the targeted weapon. Planetside weapons always attack first during any combat phase. LPBs may only attack fighters in orbit and in line of sight. Railguns may attack any ship (not fighters) in line of sight within six hexes.
• Any ship or fighter group may enter planetary orbit. To do so, a ship must finish its movement phase with a drift of 4 hexes at a tangent to the planet's circumference (the referee will demonstrate). A transport may land in its current hex or any of the next three hexes after spending at least one turn in orbit.
• A ship in orbit may attempt a planetary bombardment. Due to atmospheric interference, only ships with Heavy Particle Beam Batteries (HBPs) (see rules summary) may attack the planet's surface. Ships may attack any part of the planet's surface which they drifted over in that turn.
• Fighters may enter the atmosphere for a strafing run after spending at least one turn in orbit. Fighters that enter the atmosphere may attempt a strafing run in their current hex or any of the next three hexes. Because of their lack of maneuverability in atmosphere, fighters have an effective Profile of 5.

OBJECTIVES

The attackers must land at least 50 percent of their cargo on their primary objective and at least 25 percent of cargo on its secondary objectives. Destruction of the defending fleet is a tertiary goal.

The defenders must prevent the attackers from taking their installations for at least 5 turns and prevent them from taking the command center. The defenders must ensure the survival of at least half their fleet. Destruction of the attacking fleet is a tertiary goal.

Have fun!

Scenario: Assault on Regulus IV (order of battle)

Here's the order of battle for each side in my Galactic Knights game at Millennium Con 12+1.  I designed this scenario for eight players, and made the forces granular enough to accommodate less players and/or fewer units if necessary (the scenario itself is available in this post).  Fortunately, the game filled up so I didn't need to do this, and each player commanded one task force/squadron.

TERRAN TRANS-SOLAR FEDERATION

Task Force Mercury

• Formidable-class battlecruiser (carrying 2 light fighter groups and 2 heavy fighter groups) 
• Samurai-class destroyer leader

Task Force Mars

• Ranger-class cruiser
• Swiftsure-class destroyer 
• Swiftsure-class destroyer 
• Swiftsure-class destroyer 

Task Force Jupiter

• Ranger-class cruiser
• Swiftsure-class destroyer 
• Swiftsure-class destroyer 
• Swiftsure-class destroyer 

Task Force Saturn

• Invincible-class dreadnought

Transport Fleet

• ISV Scalzi (about the size of a destroyer)
• ISV Steele (about the size of a destroyer)
• ISV Vinge (about the size of a destroyer leader)
• ISV Stross (about the size of a destroyer leader)
• ISV Bradbury (about the size of a cruiser)
• ISV Asimov (about the size of a cruiser)
• ISV Clarke (about the size of a battlecruiser)
• ISV Heinlein (about the size of a battlecruiser)

NOVA LIBERIA (and Kmet allies)

Able Flight (NL)

• Mongoose-class destroyer
• Hornet-class star bomber
• Hornet-class star bomber
• Hornet-class star bomber
• Hornet-class star bomber

Baker Flight (NL)

• Centaur-class destroyer leader
• Aardvark-class armored pursuit ship
• Aardvark-class armored pursuit ship
• Aardvark-class armored pursuit ship
• Aardvark-class armored pursuit ship
• Aardvark-class armored pursuit ship

Naval Reserve (NL)

• Kraken-class battlecruiser (carrying 3 light fighter groups and 3 heavy fighter groups) 

Esquadrille Thebes (Kmet)

• Anubis-class attack cruiser
• Ibis-class frigate
• Asp-class attack frigate
• Asp-class attack frigate

I also provided a handout for the players with the special rules for this scenario.

Convention Report: Assault on Regulus IV

NOTE: I should have posted this game recap weeks ago, but real life and procrastination got in the way.  My apologies for my tardiness--but I can't promise it won't happen again :)

Last Friday,On November 12, I presented my Galactic Knights game at Millennium Con 12+1.  It was my first time to run a convention game, so I was a little nervous.  I was worried I might forget a crucial piece of gaming gear or an essential rule, and (after getting only two playtesters when I first ran this scenario) I was especially concerned that no one would even show up to play.  When I got to the con, however, I was pleasantly surprised to find my game had filled up--all eight spots were taken.

The players gathered around the table and split themselves into two teams.  None of them had played GK before, and I had to walk players through the turn sequence and game mechanics.   But the players quickly picked up the rules, and by the end of the session they were moving and shooting on their own; the game was pretty much running itself.  We only played for two turns, but with eight players new to the game, we got a lot accomplished.

Lots more pictures and a complete report below:

Off to Millennium Con

I'm headed up to Round Rock for MillCon 12+1 to run my first ever convention game, my Galactic Knights planetary assault scenario, this evening.  Tomorrow morning, I'll be playing in the Texas Hordes of the Things championship.  The resto of Saturday I will participate in some other games as well. 

I'm taking my camera, so I will have pictures and writeups of my various activities (but probably not until next week sometime, as I'm going to be very busy Friday, Saturday, and Sunday).  I'm looking forward to gaming this weekend, and I hope I'll see some of you there.