I will use these for a variety of games and a couple different armies. My Frigians (Norse-type warriors) will ally with them for sure, but I can also use them in a beastmen army or they can just serve as monsters in other armies.
Showing posts with label 15mm. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 15mm. Show all posts
Monday, January 14, 2019
I picked up some Frigian Ice Trolls from Battle Valor Games a while ago. I finally got around to painting these up. These are great looking models that were easy to paint. I went with a blue paint scheme to fit the ice troll theme.
I will use these for a variety of games and a couple different armies. My Frigians (Norse-type warriors) will ally with them for sure, but I can also use them in a beastmen army or they can just serve as monsters in other armies.
I will use these for a variety of games and a couple different armies. My Frigians (Norse-type warriors) will ally with them for sure, but I can also use them in a beastmen army or they can just serve as monsters in other armies.
Tuesday, May 22, 2018
Cavern Terrain
A friend has encouraged our gaming group to start playing Relicblade. This is a fun game that plays on a 2' x 2' board and each player only has a handful of models. So far, it has been a lot of fun.
The game has rules for different terrain types, so I thought I would try my hand at doing a cave board. I thought about doing stalagmites and stalactites, but I was under a deadline and I wasn't sure my skills were up to it. Instead I went with a more basic look. I'm pleased with the results and only have a few more minor details I plan to add.
What do you think? What did I miss?
The game has rules for different terrain types, so I thought I would try my hand at doing a cave board. I thought about doing stalagmites and stalactites, but I was under a deadline and I wasn't sure my skills were up to it. Instead I went with a more basic look. I'm pleased with the results and only have a few more minor details I plan to add.
What do you think? What did I miss?
Wednesday, September 27, 2017
15mm Fantasy - Battle Valor Games
I acquired some 15mm models from Battle Valor Games some time ago and they have sat quietly on a shelf waiting for me to give them some attention.
I decided to pull a few out and see what I could do with them. Battle Valor Games has a pretty large selection of factions and there is currently a Kickstarter project to expand some existing lines and create a few new ones.
I have a fair number of their Frigian line. These are kind of Viking-esk. They look pretty decent and each pack has a good variety of poses. I'm not entirely sure which rules I will be using these with, but I'm sure they will find their way to a battlefield for a game or two at some point.
As is my usual practice, I've gone with a very simple paint job on these models.
I primed these with a flat tan and then picked out a few pieces of cloth with red, blue, and green. Next, I painted weapons and shields. Finally, I applied a brown wash over the entire model.
With the models painted, I based the infantry on 40mm x 20mm bases and the cavalry on 40mm x 30mm bases. I mixed up some drywall spackle with some glue and a bit of brown paint and applied that to the bases. Next, I painted the bases with dark brown. I still need to add some flock to the bases, but thought I would share the progress so far.
I'm pleased with the models and how they turned out. I'm thinking I might use these models to build a halfling army for Kings of War.
I decided to pull a few out and see what I could do with them. Battle Valor Games has a pretty large selection of factions and there is currently a Kickstarter project to expand some existing lines and create a few new ones.
I have a fair number of their Frigian line. These are kind of Viking-esk. They look pretty decent and each pack has a good variety of poses. I'm not entirely sure which rules I will be using these with, but I'm sure they will find their way to a battlefield for a game or two at some point.
As is my usual practice, I've gone with a very simple paint job on these models.
I primed these with a flat tan and then picked out a few pieces of cloth with red, blue, and green. Next, I painted weapons and shields. Finally, I applied a brown wash over the entire model.
With the models painted, I based the infantry on 40mm x 20mm bases and the cavalry on 40mm x 30mm bases. I mixed up some drywall spackle with some glue and a bit of brown paint and applied that to the bases. Next, I painted the bases with dark brown. I still need to add some flock to the bases, but thought I would share the progress so far.
I'm pleased with the models and how they turned out. I'm thinking I might use these models to build a halfling army for Kings of War.
Tuesday, April 18, 2017
Round of Fire - Play Through 1
Round of Fire is a game that is currently in development. I have been given the opportunity to help a little with play testing the game.
The game does not have a specific period or genre attached to it, so you can play the game with lots of different models: Old West, Pulp, WW2, Sci-Fi, etc. I'm not sure how well it would work with a fantasy setting, but you never know.
After a read through of the rules, I generally like what I see. There are some interesting mechanics and I was very interested in the activation mechanic.
Each unit has a token on the turn wheel. When a unit activates, it progresses on the turn wheel a number of "steps" based upon the action it has taken. A walk (moving 2 grid spaces) costs 3 steps for most units, while a run (moving 3 grid spaces) costs 5 steps for most units. Shooting costs 3 steps for an Elite fireteam, but costs 5 steps for a Regular fireteam.
I like how this sounded and found it to work well in the game as well. I liked the idea that if you are taking quick actions, or are well trained, you can act more often than a team that is doing a more complicated/lengthy action.
The game also allows for use of suppressing fire to push units along the activation wheel. With this action you can delay an enemy unit's activation. This adds some interesting tactical choices and means that sometimes you will be shooting at another unit without the chance of killing anyone, but it still has a useful purpose.
After playing the game, I am not impressed with the combat mechanic. It seems to be more complicated than it needs to be, but this is just my first game. Your fire is based on the weapon you are equipped with the range to the target and if there is any cover. That is straight forward enough, but then target gets a save and that is where the process starts to break down. The target gets to roll 1 die for each hit made on them, but then can add dice for their toughness value as well as dice for their armor, but then the Armor Penetration of the weapon reduced the dice added from the armor. A 5+ on each dice is needed to shrug off the hit. In my game, almost every model had the same weapon (aside from a few machine guns, that didn't get to fired much) so it wasn't that difficult to keep track of this, but if you have a wide variety of equipment (and the game has a pretty wide variety of equipment available) this could become much more cumbersome. If the models doesn't save from the hits, then they are wounded. However, you have to calculate of how wounded they are so you can see their status from the fire. When a model is knocked out, he can be killed, bleeding, or unconcious. So know you take 3 die and add dice based on the models toughness, but you reduce that pool based on any excess wounds received by the model. So if he failed to save 2 wounds and only had 1 wound to start with, he has taken 1 excess wound so reduced his dice pool by one. You roll those dice and based on how many successes you get, you determine the level of injury.
These different levels affect the victory points for different factions (which is interesting and adds some character and variation to the different factions) but adds another level of rolling to each round of combat.
I'm not sure how to simplify the process and I will try to think of something to offer to the designers, but at this point, it just feels cumbersome and I would like to see a more streamlined process.
Overall, I did enjoy the game and think there are some very cool things going on in these rules. I look forward to trying out the different factions to see how they work and using a bigger variety of troops and specialists.
The Reticulans took command of this battle field. They eliminated all but one model of the Earth Alliance forces and managed to take control of most of the objectives. They did all this with only the loss of a few soldiers. The Earth Alliance will need to rethink their troop selection and equipment before the next engagement.
The game does not have a specific period or genre attached to it, so you can play the game with lots of different models: Old West, Pulp, WW2, Sci-Fi, etc. I'm not sure how well it would work with a fantasy setting, but you never know.
After a read through of the rules, I generally like what I see. There are some interesting mechanics and I was very interested in the activation mechanic.
Each unit has a token on the turn wheel. When a unit activates, it progresses on the turn wheel a number of "steps" based upon the action it has taken. A walk (moving 2 grid spaces) costs 3 steps for most units, while a run (moving 3 grid spaces) costs 5 steps for most units. Shooting costs 3 steps for an Elite fireteam, but costs 5 steps for a Regular fireteam.
I like how this sounded and found it to work well in the game as well. I liked the idea that if you are taking quick actions, or are well trained, you can act more often than a team that is doing a more complicated/lengthy action.
The game also allows for use of suppressing fire to push units along the activation wheel. With this action you can delay an enemy unit's activation. This adds some interesting tactical choices and means that sometimes you will be shooting at another unit without the chance of killing anyone, but it still has a useful purpose.
After playing the game, I am not impressed with the combat mechanic. It seems to be more complicated than it needs to be, but this is just my first game. Your fire is based on the weapon you are equipped with the range to the target and if there is any cover. That is straight forward enough, but then target gets a save and that is where the process starts to break down. The target gets to roll 1 die for each hit made on them, but then can add dice for their toughness value as well as dice for their armor, but then the Armor Penetration of the weapon reduced the dice added from the armor. A 5+ on each dice is needed to shrug off the hit. In my game, almost every model had the same weapon (aside from a few machine guns, that didn't get to fired much) so it wasn't that difficult to keep track of this, but if you have a wide variety of equipment (and the game has a pretty wide variety of equipment available) this could become much more cumbersome. If the models doesn't save from the hits, then they are wounded. However, you have to calculate of how wounded they are so you can see their status from the fire. When a model is knocked out, he can be killed, bleeding, or unconcious. So know you take 3 die and add dice based on the models toughness, but you reduce that pool based on any excess wounds received by the model. So if he failed to save 2 wounds and only had 1 wound to start with, he has taken 1 excess wound so reduced his dice pool by one. You roll those dice and based on how many successes you get, you determine the level of injury.
These different levels affect the victory points for different factions (which is interesting and adds some character and variation to the different factions) but adds another level of rolling to each round of combat.
I'm not sure how to simplify the process and I will try to think of something to offer to the designers, but at this point, it just feels cumbersome and I would like to see a more streamlined process.
Overall, I did enjoy the game and think there are some very cool things going on in these rules. I look forward to trying out the different factions to see how they work and using a bigger variety of troops and specialists.
The Reticulans took command of this battle field. They eliminated all but one model of the Earth Alliance forces and managed to take control of most of the objectives. They did all this with only the loss of a few soldiers. The Earth Alliance will need to rethink their troop selection and equipment before the next engagement.
Friday, March 24, 2017
Rebel Minis - Animechs Unboxing
Rebel Minis ran a kickstarter for some Animech models recently. The available models were robotic versions of a spider, a scorpion, and a wolf. I backed the project and have received 2 scorpions and a spider.
I thought I would do a quick unboxing to show these off.
The models have nice detail and are well pretty detailed. Assembly might be a little challenging, but John Bear Ross put together an assembly guide for these multi-legged monsters that should help with the process. Click for Assembly Guide.
Scorpion Animech
Spider Animech
Turret Mount Stretch Goals
Overall, while there is a fair amount of flash to clean up, it isn't that bad and should be pretty straight forward to take care of. I really like the look of these two models (I wasn't impressed with the wolf) and look forward to painting them.
Stay tuned to see a painting video at some point in the future.
I thought I would do a quick unboxing to show these off.
The models have nice detail and are well pretty detailed. Assembly might be a little challenging, but John Bear Ross put together an assembly guide for these multi-legged monsters that should help with the process. Click for Assembly Guide.
Scorpion Animech
Spider Animech
Turret Mount Stretch Goals
Overall, while there is a fair amount of flash to clean up, it isn't that bad and should be pretty straight forward to take care of. I really like the look of these two models (I wasn't impressed with the wolf) and look forward to painting them.
Stay tuned to see a painting video at some point in the future.
Tuesday, March 14, 2017
Airfix Battles: An Introductory Game - Solo Battle Report 1
I had the chance to play a few games of a recent addition to my game collection recently, Airfix Battles: An Introductory Game.
As the name says, this is an introductory game and has fairly simple mechanics. However, the game still offers some challenging decisions for the players.
The box comes with rules and scenarios, two double sided grid-based maps, dice, a deck of command cards, a deck of unit cards, and card board tokens to represent your troops. They suggest you replace the tokens with Airfix models, but you can use any models you have, or just use the tokens provided.
I've made use of some Battlefront models that I already have painted for my Americans, and am using some 15mm robotic forces to stand in for the German forces.
This game uses a deck of command cards that offer special actions the players can make use of, interrupts so you can react to the enemies actions, or the cards can be used as a basic move, shoot or reinforce if you don't want to use the special action. These add a degree of "fog of war" in that you don't know what you are going to be able to pull off from turn to turn.
The rule book includes solo rules with an AI that uses the cards drawn to dictate its actions. I have found it enjoyable to play against and look forward to playing more games.
As the name says, this is an introductory game and has fairly simple mechanics. However, the game still offers some challenging decisions for the players.
The box comes with rules and scenarios, two double sided grid-based maps, dice, a deck of command cards, a deck of unit cards, and card board tokens to represent your troops. They suggest you replace the tokens with Airfix models, but you can use any models you have, or just use the tokens provided.
I've made use of some Battlefront models that I already have painted for my Americans, and am using some 15mm robotic forces to stand in for the German forces.
This game uses a deck of command cards that offer special actions the players can make use of, interrupts so you can react to the enemies actions, or the cards can be used as a basic move, shoot or reinforce if you don't want to use the special action. These add a degree of "fog of war" in that you don't know what you are going to be able to pull off from turn to turn.
The rule book includes solo rules with an AI that uses the cards drawn to dictate its actions. I have found it enjoyable to play against and look forward to playing more games.
Saturday, March 4, 2017
Rebel Minis - The Scourge Unboxing
I've had a fair collection of 15mm soldiers for quite a while. I really like 15mm games because they allow you to play a nice sized game in a smaller table-top area. There are a lot of really nice models available in this scale and they are fairly easy to paint to a decent table-top standard.
Rebel Minis has supplied models for several of my 15mm armies. Today we are going to look at some new additions to The Scourge. I already have a few of these, but need to add some more troops to the force.
A pack of The Scourge comes with 21 models and has 5 different poses included. Some of the poses are pretty similar, but it is still a nice variety. The models don't have a lot of flash to clean up and are nearly ready to go out of the bag.
I normally base my models on washers and this works great for these models as well.
These models look like they came straight out of Terminator, but they can also work very well for any kind of alien AI type force. They can stand by themselves or they serve as a mechanical troop selection in another force.
Rebel Minis has supplied models for several of my 15mm armies. Today we are going to look at some new additions to The Scourge. I already have a few of these, but need to add some more troops to the force.
A pack of The Scourge comes with 21 models and has 5 different poses included. Some of the poses are pretty similar, but it is still a nice variety. The models don't have a lot of flash to clean up and are nearly ready to go out of the bag.
I normally base my models on washers and this works great for these models as well.
These models look like they came straight out of Terminator, but they can also work very well for any kind of alien AI type force. They can stand by themselves or they serve as a mechanical troop selection in another force.
Saturday, August 27, 2016
Street level bill boards? Terrain idea
We got a box in the mail with some interesting packing material.
My wife gave me some and asked if I could use these for some kind of terrain piece.
Hmm? What could these be?
15mm and 28mm models for scale.
My first thought (and only one so far) is to use them as billboards. I plan to print out some signs and attach then to these.
I think they would look good in an urban environment.
What do you think?
Any other ideas?
Friday, May 13, 2016
Shipping Containers
What sci-fi setting could be complete without the proverbial shipping containers. Okay, probably quite a few, but they will work well in a lot of settings.
A buddy picked up a pile of 28mm mdf containers from Crossover Miniatures. These are meant for 28mm, but I think they will work well as large containers for my 15mm games. A set of 4 containers is $15 with $3 for shipping. Not a bad price. The model's dimensions are 125mm x 50 mm x 50 mm.
Looking at the models before assembly, I noticed that 3 of the 4 containers each had one nub broken off. Not a big deal as I stuck that point on the bottom so it won't really be seen when the models are finished. And since there are still 3 other nubs to hold that end together, the model still seems to be pretty solid.
I used wood glue to assemble these. A few drops in the joins and they are good to go. The models square themselves as you assemble them. I was happy with how easily and quickly these go together.
Next up, is a coat of primer. I use auto primer from my local auto parts store; it is cheaper than the stuff at my local hobby store and works just as well. I went with grey for these models. As always, don't go overboard with any primer; several light coats is much better than one heavy coal. You can't take primer away once it has been applied.
I painted these green with the a white center panel. They look pretty good. If I get more, I will probably paint some different colors. But since I only have four I'm fine with them matching. I will be adding some sort of logo to the white panel, but I haven't decided what would look good there. If you have any ideas, leave me a note.
Hind-sight is 20/20 and I think I should have gone with a white primer and carefully painted around the white panel. It would have given a better look, but these still turned out alright.
A buddy picked up a pile of 28mm mdf containers from Crossover Miniatures. These are meant for 28mm, but I think they will work well as large containers for my 15mm games. A set of 4 containers is $15 with $3 for shipping. Not a bad price. The model's dimensions are 125mm x 50 mm x 50 mm.
Looking at the models before assembly, I noticed that 3 of the 4 containers each had one nub broken off. Not a big deal as I stuck that point on the bottom so it won't really be seen when the models are finished. And since there are still 3 other nubs to hold that end together, the model still seems to be pretty solid.
I used wood glue to assemble these. A few drops in the joins and they are good to go. The models square themselves as you assemble them. I was happy with how easily and quickly these go together.
Next up, is a coat of primer. I use auto primer from my local auto parts store; it is cheaper than the stuff at my local hobby store and works just as well. I went with grey for these models. As always, don't go overboard with any primer; several light coats is much better than one heavy coal. You can't take primer away once it has been applied.
I painted these green with the a white center panel. They look pretty good. If I get more, I will probably paint some different colors. But since I only have four I'm fine with them matching. I will be adding some sort of logo to the white panel, but I haven't decided what would look good there. If you have any ideas, leave me a note.
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| Rebel Minis (15mm) model for scale |
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| Rebel Minis (15mm) model for scale |
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| GW Space Marine (28mm) for scale |
Hind-sight is 20/20 and I think I should have gone with a white primer and carefully painted around the white panel. It would have given a better look, but these still turned out alright.
Tuesday, February 23, 2016
Frigians from Battle Valor Games
I recently purchased some models from a new company called Battle Valor Games. They are producing 15 mm metal fantasy figures.
There are only a few races currently available, but the list of upcoming races is pretty staggering. The traditional races (such as human, dwarf, elf, and orc) are all present, but the company also has a variety of other races including a snake race, beastmen, ratmen, and others.
Each race has a name that ends with -ians: Orcians, Dwarvians, Elvians, etc. The setting of the universe they are making these models for is called Legian so the names all fit with that. A bit silly in my opinion, but if the models hold up, I don't really care what they call them.
I am very excited about the upcoming Decians (skeletons), but since they are not yet available, I thought I would get a few Frigians (Viking-esk humans) for the Decians to fight against when they become available.
I have to say I am pretty impressed. My 15 mm experience has primarily been with sci-fi, but I do have a few DBA armies.
The variety of poses and armament options are pretty impressive. I believe the pack of axe armed Frigians has 20 poses and the bow armed Frigians have 10 poses. There are packs available with swords, axes, bows, double handed axes, spearmen, mounted with spear, and mounted with hand weapons. In addition to this each force has a smallish beast unit (war hounds for the Frigians), a large infantry unit (ice trolls and giants for the Frigians), a large monster unit (war mammoth for the Frigians) and a flying unit (hippogriff riders for the Frigians).
With this variety of troops and about 20 factions on the list, this looks to be an enormous line of figures and I hope them the best as they work on bringing all these out to the market.
I ordered a pack of Frigian axemen and Frigian bowmen. Each pack contains 35 models. Some of the poses are not hugely different, but they are enough to give a good look of variety to any unit. Included in each pack is also a selection of command models; a champion, a musician, and a standard bearer.
Below are some pictures of the miniatures so you can see how these look.
Overall, I am happy with these guys. They look nice and are cast well. Not too much flash. One of the bows was a little short (I'm guessing that was a casting issue) but everything else looks good. Eventually, I will try my hand at painting these up for a game.
Note: Each of the axemen has a hole in their arm. This is where the shield goes. If you don't want shields, I think a little putty would fix that easy enough.
I plan to get some Decians when they become available and depending on the other models, might get a few others as well.
There are only a few races currently available, but the list of upcoming races is pretty staggering. The traditional races (such as human, dwarf, elf, and orc) are all present, but the company also has a variety of other races including a snake race, beastmen, ratmen, and others.
Each race has a name that ends with -ians: Orcians, Dwarvians, Elvians, etc. The setting of the universe they are making these models for is called Legian so the names all fit with that. A bit silly in my opinion, but if the models hold up, I don't really care what they call them.
I am very excited about the upcoming Decians (skeletons), but since they are not yet available, I thought I would get a few Frigians (Viking-esk humans) for the Decians to fight against when they become available.
I have to say I am pretty impressed. My 15 mm experience has primarily been with sci-fi, but I do have a few DBA armies.
The variety of poses and armament options are pretty impressive. I believe the pack of axe armed Frigians has 20 poses and the bow armed Frigians have 10 poses. There are packs available with swords, axes, bows, double handed axes, spearmen, mounted with spear, and mounted with hand weapons. In addition to this each force has a smallish beast unit (war hounds for the Frigians), a large infantry unit (ice trolls and giants for the Frigians), a large monster unit (war mammoth for the Frigians) and a flying unit (hippogriff riders for the Frigians).
With this variety of troops and about 20 factions on the list, this looks to be an enormous line of figures and I hope them the best as they work on bringing all these out to the market.
I ordered a pack of Frigian axemen and Frigian bowmen. Each pack contains 35 models. Some of the poses are not hugely different, but they are enough to give a good look of variety to any unit. Included in each pack is also a selection of command models; a champion, a musician, and a standard bearer.
Below are some pictures of the miniatures so you can see how these look.
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| Frigian axemen next to a roman soldier (Essex) |
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| Frigian axeman (right) next to a Viking (I don't know the manufacturer) |
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| Champion (I love the looks of this model) |
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| Bowman (the bow seems a little short, and I'm not sure why he is standing there with both arms sticking out?) |
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| Bowman |
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| Bowman |
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| Bowman |
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| Bowman |
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| Bowman |
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| Axeman |
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| Axeman |
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| Axeman |
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| Axeman |
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| Sheilds (front and back) |
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| Standard Bearer |
Note: Each of the axemen has a hole in their arm. This is where the shield goes. If you don't want shields, I think a little putty would fix that easy enough.
I plan to get some Decians when they become available and depending on the other models, might get a few others as well.
Sunday, February 7, 2016
Scatter Terrain - Boxes and crates
Scatter terrain is always a good thing.
There is always stuff sitting around to offer cover or to hide behind in our real world. It is also a good thing to add into your terrain selection for any miniature games you might play.
I have put together a number of boxes and crates to add to my collection. These will work for both 15mm and 28 mm games.
I went to my local craft store and bought a couple of packages of square blocks. I think the 4 bags I got cost about $10 total.
I used some wood glue to make little clusters of these crates. After the glue dried, I painted the blocks a variety of colors. Some were pretty bright but wasn't worried as I would be dulling the colors with a wash.
Finally, I used some MinWax as a wash to dirty these ups and to tame the bright colors.
You can see the group of my new terrain. This will offer lots of cover for my troops to hide behind.
Wednesday, January 27, 2016
Vehicles for 15mm
I was at my local home store picking up some tile for my home renovation project and I saw some generic brand hot wheels on the shelf. I thought these would work alright for my 15mm games so I dug through and found a few that would work delivery trucks and fuel trucks.
These work well as scatter terrain, mission objectives, troop transports, etc. They only need a little paint and they will be ready for the tabletop.
I am going to spend some effort in the coming months on fleshing out my terrain for my 15mm games. I hope to get a good number of vehicles for this purpose as these are easy to add and fit well into any terrain with buildings included and even some terrain that doesn't include buildings if they are the mission objective.
These work well as scatter terrain, mission objectives, troop transports, etc. They only need a little paint and they will be ready for the tabletop.
I am going to spend some effort in the coming months on fleshing out my terrain for my 15mm games. I hope to get a good number of vehicles for this purpose as these are easy to add and fit well into any terrain with buildings included and even some terrain that doesn't include buildings if they are the mission objective.
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