Chrysaor. Not-a-Marauder.

<< The Mech >>

“Chrysaor 335”, a mech size 9 unit for the O.A.S.F.
Nightshade (24512), by Reaper Miniatures.
Height: 50mm.

<< Prep & Painting >>

Parts were washed, flash removed/mold lines filed down, then joints were drilled and pinned for final assembly after the majority of painting was completed. Mounted the legs on a 29mm hex base cut from 1/8” MDF. The top of the base was then spackled with light-weight, dry joint compound, and filed smooth after drying. 

After masking the joint areas with tape or poster tac, the various bits were primed grey, then painted neutral grey for primary structures, sky grey for secondaries, German grey for weapons, and black for nose camera/sensor screen – the traditional O.A.S.F. color scheme. And giving the mecha an ‘80’s, old school anime look. Base was painted earth, with red for the front hex edge, and black for the back. The ID number on the back of the base was done with white. At this point, the tape and poster tac masking the joints were removed,
the mech was assembled, and touch-up paint applied as needed.

Decided the decals (white stars and vehicle numbers from I-94 Enterprises) were going to be placed on the lower legs, and painted a little clear enamel on those spots. This gave a good base for the decals to set against. Think of it as a surface being primed before painting. After the enamel dried, the water-slide decals were carefully cut, soaked in water, and then applied. Another layer of clear enamel was painted over the decals once they were dry to lock them in. 

After everything was dry, dipped the entire miniature in 1:12 minwax ebony to clear polyurethane mix. Once that was dry, clumps of green and olive foliage were glued with PVA (white glue) directly to the base, then a mix of fine flock to cover the rest of it – and made sure to that the edges of the base clear. A couple light sprays of clear matt sealer took the edge off the dip’s gloss and sealed in the flocking.

<< De-blistering >>

 Nightshade (24512), part of Reaper Miniatures' CAV: Strike Operations range.

Because you can never have too many freakin’ Marauder variants!

What you get: five fairly straightforward pieces. The waist is pegged and the weapon arms have ball-joints so some articulation can be had for those who want a more dynamic pose. I drilled and pegged all the parts to strengthen joints for tabletop use. The twin machinegun piece on the top of the mech was a bit fiddly, but otherwise an easy build. 

Originally cast in lead by Talon Games, now partnered with Reaper Miniatures, and currently being released as part of Reaper’s 3^rd edition CAV game: Strike Operations. One of the big rules changes was that mechs no longer had 360° firing arcs for all their weapons, but torso mounted weapons now had front-centered 180° arc, while weapons in the arms had 180° left or right arcs. Sound familiar, Meka Tac – GSRE fans? The miniatures are scaled for 10mm, not the more common 6mm/1:300/1:285, but it’s not an issue for me. (I like big bots and I cannot lie.) It's a nicely executed sculpt of a fairly common mecha design. Yet another option for a Zentraedi Officer's Pod (a.k.a. Glaug) from Super Dimensional Fortress: Macross to go marauding across your table. (See what I did there?)  

<< Meka Tac – GSRE >>

Stat sheet for play on an open table with terrain.
The weapon ranges are in inches.
 Designed to print on a 4” x 6” or 3" x 5" index card.

The “Chrysaor” was a large flanker/pursuit mecha capable of keeping up with its medium-sized subordinates, yet strong enough to survive on its own. The double helping of enhanced engines partially compensated for the traditional limitation of size class large mecha not being able to mount jump jets or flight systems in their frames. The mid-range weapons packed sufficient punch to inflict critical hits roughly 25% of the time, yet ammunition was not a real concern. The rail gun could be loaded with other ammo types as missions dictated, but the O.A.S.F. (a.k.a. “White Star” forces) preferred the artificial intelligence loads which granted a +1 on to-hit rolls.

<< Links >>

Reaper Miniatures Robot Supply Depot – Mecha figures.

I-94 Enterprises – Decals.

The current version of Meka Tac – Giant Stompy Robots Edition game is available IN THE DOWNLOADS SECTION, of the GIANT STOMPY ROBOTS portion of rivetsandsteam.com as well as PDFs of all the cards and counters, quick reference sheets (QRS) and other resources. And, yes, it’s FREE!

A portion of Giant Stompy Robots Forum (a parallel development) has been set aside for discussing Meka Tac! Please stop by and post your questions, after action reports, and photos of your games! 

<< END 106 >>

Meka Tac – Giant Stompy Robots Edition at Fall In!

<< Convention Game >>

There will be a Meka Tac – GSRE game at HMGS-E Fall In!

F: 307 Giant Stompy Robots - Rumble In The Rubble

Scheduled for Friday, November 6^th, at 1pm. It’ll be an 8-player game, two mechs per player (up to 16 mechs on the table), and with all the bells and whistles: action cards, strategic support cards, pilot skills, and the soon to be released mission cards. It will be open table with terrain – both town and country - but could just as easily been played on hex maps. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be posting articles about the game, examples of mechs, and new rules.  

<< CONVENTION GAME UPDATE! >>

A quick shot of both the table and the mecha for the upcoming game. A couple tweaks were all that was needed. And a few more lengths of road.

 The final dress rehearsal held at the club

before next week's game at FALL IN!

By next week there will be over 30 mechs to choose from.

<< Mecha >>

Mecha are the primary fighting machines on the battlefields of Meka Tac - GSRE. They vary in size and shape, though most are anthropomorphic, and range from 3 to 6 stories in height. A mech’s size – from 2 to 12 – determines the mech’s speed, armament, reaction time, toughness, and capacity. Think of the mech size number as 10s of tons, and you have a traditional anime giant, stompy robot. The Meka Tac lets players purchase weapons and other systems, enabling them to use mech figures they already have in their collection.

The figure is a long out-of-production “KMM-22 Warlord” (1018) for the Mekton II rpg. Cast in 3 pieces: main body and 2 saws. Height: 48mm. Mounted on an MDF hex base. I wish this range would come back into production.

And here is mech sheet for use in Meka Tac – GSRE with stats for use on an open table with terrain. All the information about each mecha is printed on a mech sheet. It can fit on a 4” x 6” index card, or “fit to page” on a 3'” x 5” card. 

In the left column you find:

Mech Size – The number that determines (among other things) how mechs are built. A mech size of 8 give the mecha 8 spaces to place weapons and other systems. Mech construction does not deal with weight or cost, just how many spaces the components take up in the mech’s frame. Except for a few critical hit effects and some special systems, the game isn’t concerned with specific parts of the mech like the head, arms, legs, or torso.
 

Move Points – Determined by mech size. A size 8 mech has a base move of 10, and +8 move points for having jump jets. 

Initiative Mod – Based on mech size. A d10 is rolled for each mech plus its initiative mod and any other modifiers. Mechs then activate in order of highest to lowest initiative roll. Smaller mechs tend to activate before larger mechs.  

Size Class – Mechs come in three size classes: small (mech size 2 – 4), medium (5 – 8), and large (9 -12). This mech is a medium. Certain systems like jump jets and flight systems take up more space or are not available the larger mechs.  

Punch/Kick – Size class also dictates how much damage the mecha inflicts in melee. Even if all its weapons are depleted or destroyed, a mech can still punch or kick an opponent. 

The center of the mech sheet lists all the weapons and other systems.

Melee Weapon – Sword, axe, club, etc. In this case, it’s a saw mounted on each of the mech’s forearms. Each has a weapon arc of 180° centered on the left [L] and right [R] side. Left and right arcs overlap the width of the base, as do front [F] and back [B] arcs. On a successful to hit roll of 7 or higher (7+) on a d10, they do 2d6 points of damage to the target. All attacks are rolled separately. The range is hand-to-hand (HTH) so the attacker must be in base-to-base contact with the intended target to strike. Ammo is unlimited, so each saw can be used once per activation.  

Rail Gun – A decent-sized slug thrower loaded with artificial intelligence (AI) ammunition, granting a +1 on to hit rolls (+1 TH). Some weapons have the option of high explosive (HE) ammunition with a 3” blast radius area effect (3” AE) damaging all mechs in a 6” diameter circle centered on one target mecha, or armor piercing (AP) ammo that does an additional point of damage (+1 DAM). One rail gun is mounted on each arm, under the saws. Like the melee weapons, each has a weapon arc of 180° centered on the left [L] and right [R] side. A successful hit does 2d6 damage to the intended target, and they have a range of 16”. Ammunition is limited to 10 rounds each.

A note on weapon arcs: all the weapons could have just as easily been set to the front 180° arc, but as they were arm mounted, so left and right fit the look of the mech. Torso mounted weapons tend to have front arcs. Weapon arcs can also represent that force’s training doctrine. The above mech could have all its weapons forward facing. It’s up to the players. Just once arcs are set, they cannot be changed during a game.

Jump Jets – This gives the mech 8 additional move points, and the ability to leap through the air or skim over the ground. Vertical and horizontal movement may be mixed in the same activation, and regular move points can be used for jumping. The only restriction is that the mech must land by the end of its activation. If not, then the mecha could take falling damage depending how far up they were. Mechs using move points from jump jets or flight systems are +1 to be hit by all attacks until their next activation.  

The right column is where the rest of the recordkeeping happens.

Pilot Hits – A pilot can take six points of damage. Or, more accurately, the cockpit can absorb 5 points of damage, and the pilot only 1. The pilot is always the last point of damage taken on a pilot hit. If a piloting check is needed, it’s the current number of remaining pilot hits or less on a d6 roll.

Mech Hits – How much abuse the mech can take before being destroyed and becoming a cover-granting piece of terrain. This mech can take 80 points of damage. Yes, it’s mech size x 10. 

Next article about the Meka Tac - GSRE rules may be found here!

<< FREE STUFF!!! >>

The current version of Meka Tac – Giant Stompy Robots Edition is available IN THE DOWNLOADS SECTION, in the GIANT STOMPY ROBOTS portion of rivetsandsteam.com as well as PDFs of all the cards and counters, quick reference sheets (QRS) and other resources. The second edition is in the works.  

A portion of Giant Stompy Robots Forum (a parallel development) has been set aside for discussing Meka Tac! Please stop by and post your questions, after action reports, and photos of your games!

<< END 105 >>

The Experiment - Ebony Dip!

I'm going with samurai-bot as opposed to guy in powered armor.
The sword isn't quite right, though. 

The experiment was concerning "the Dip". Yes, I dip. Deal with it. At least they're getting painted. Anywho, I like using ebony dip for mechanicals. Sometimes the only way to get a contrast is to use black instead of brown. I'm lookin' at you, monks. Yes, there are "dips" available for painting figures already mixed, and they also are far too expensive when compared to Minwax Polyshades at the local DIY shop. The old jar dried out a few months ago, so it was high time to mix another batch. The problem was, the usual ebony was out of stock, so just the "regular" ebony stain was available. Remember that black oil that was inside Krycek on the X-Files? Darker and nastier than that. After trying various ratios and sacrificing some disposable clickies for the cause, a 1 ebony to 12 clear concoction seemed to do the trick.

<< Figure >> 

The base was inscribed with "TALON GAMES © 1999". Talon Games produced some rather cool miniatures, then - as far as I know - went out of business. Shame. Some of their dragon robots are in the collection. It's probably a human in armor, but a robot seems more appealing to me. 

<< Painting >> 

Wash the figure, file off the flash, and mount on 1" diameter, 1/8" thick MDF disk. Putty, then apply sand/ballast/water/PVA glue slurry. Prime white.

Figure: red with neutral gray for the armor. Neutral gray for the sword blade, then black ink for the spine, red for the rest. Yellow ocher, then gold for the medallion on the helmet. 

Base: medium gray. Red, then trim with black ink for the facing lozenge.  

Finally dip with mixture described above, flock with clumps of dead grass, then spray with clear matte sealer. 

<< End 104 >> 

RavenFeast: Weregeld (Optional Rules – W.I.P.)

Tried something new this week - each player was given 7 “coins”, which were plastic bingo chips spray painted silver.

Hoard
Players should start off with the same number of coins. Agree to the amount before the game starts. The coins are considered to be in the possession of the figure representing the leader of each player’s force.

If the leader is killed in such a way (like missile fire) that his figure is not in the clutches of the enemy, the figure with the next highest morale - preferably a hero or the highest point value - gets the coins. Yes, they just magically appear in his purse. If it happens in melee, the player must maintain possession of the corpse to retain the coins.

Any unspent coins may be looted from a figure by an opponent if it is killed or captured. Place the coins next to the figure. At this point the coins are in limbo and may not be spent by anyone. It takes an entire turn of another figure standing next to it doing nothing else – no movement, missile, melee, etc. – to search the body for the coins. Once this is done, they become the property of the other leader, and may be used normally in the current battle.

Dragon’s Curse (Even More Optional)
The figure that successfully searched the opposing figure for coins must pass a morale roll or flee completely off the table with the coins. The figure counts as killed and the coins are removed from play. The warband’s current leader is immune to the curse and does not need to make a morale roll.

Modify Rolls
The coins could be used to modify player’s rolls of their own dice, effectively improving one stat for that roll. More than one coin could be used at a time, but the coins had to be paid before the roll was made. It could have been used for any die roll; even the initiative roll (in this case lowering the final result by one for each coin spent). Using a coin this way removed it from play. As a roll of “6” was an automatic failure, most of the coins were spent on troops with stats of 4 and below.

Ransoms and Bribes
The coins could also be used to bribe the opposing side. Say your jarl has just taken his third hit. You could offer coins to his attacker to spare his life. These coins could then be used by the attacker in the current battle to modify rolls or, later, bribe the opponent to spare one of his warband. There isn’t a set value for each figure’s ransom, so it’s up the players to haggle. The attacker can always decline the offer, and things carry on as normal.

If accepted, coins change hands and the figure that was spared is treated as if it has just failed a morale roll: it immediately makes a full move towards its starting side of the table and it must pass the next turn’s rally roll. It is not the target of free attacks. If it flees off the table or fails its rally roll, it counts as a kill. Any coins it still had in its possession are removed from the game. If figure stays on the table, the player who accepted the ransom is under no obligation to treat it differently from any other opposing figure. Yes, you can shoot it full of arrows or hack it to bits.

Mercenaries
Another function of the coins could be to buy “mercenaries”. If there are an odd number of players in the game, both sides bid for the loyalty of the last warband. The overall leader of each side secretly places a number of coins in his hand. Other players on each side may add to their leader’s bid. The leaders reveal the amounts simultaneously. The mercenary warband must fight for the highest bidder. The coins of the winning bidder are removed from the game. The losing bidder keeps his coins. The mercenary has no coins of his own at the start of the game. The overall leader may use his coins for the benefit of the mercenary’s rolls during the game – at the leader’s discretion.

Tie Breaker

If a game ends in a tie, the side with the most coins left wins. Spend wisely.

Physical Representation

It doesn't have to be coins. Hack silver (chopped up silver jewelry) or other bits of treasure could work just as well.

Yes, it does change the game a bit, but not dramatically. At least, not that we've seen. Yet. These rules are optional, and may be used in their entirety, in part, or not at all. Or use everything, but have only a few coins per player. The less of it there is, the more its worth.

If you give it a try, please post a comment or link below!

<< Links >>

 

RavenFeast - Free Viking Skirmish Rules PDF!

<< END 103 >>

Got a Few Things Done!

It’s amazing what can get accomplished when the humidity finally gets below 50%!  

Yes, there will be posts with more details in the near future, but here’s what was completed today: two 28mm robots and ten space stations. Most of this stuff has been collecting dust for several years – the red samurai robot is out of production! Or is it a guy in powered armor? It was by Talon Games for their Cry H.A.V.I.C. game.

The space stations are for SUNDER THE STARS! Yes, the space station rules will finally go into playtesting. Woot! Woot, I say! 

Also managed to prep and prime 8 flight bases for TACSHIP, along with a few more Post Apocalyptic 28mm figures.

<< END 102 >>