April 2012

April has been a great month for gaming and getting some side projects moved along.

PAINTING:
160 x sci-fi: 160 points
---started in Mach but finished and based in April.
50 points for buildings


TOTAL: 210


I also started basing the couple hundred individual figures on hand. Bringing the whole collection up to a basic standard. Also continued getting the ferrous paint in my storage boxes to keep the figures sliding around.
Gaming focus has been on Force on Force/Tomorrows War and I Ain't Been Shot Mum. Getting the hang of FoF and there are some game mechnics I really like such as the opposed dice rolling and wound mechanics.

Painting up the ARC Troops really sparked our gaming this month. Played a bunch of battles with my son.

I also made and ordered a set of generic cards for the Too Fat Lardies series of rules.

Fort Wilderness

This is the fort from Blue Moon...not sure what I will use it for but it is very nice. Maybe with the Song of the Splintered Lands animals.

Tomorrow's War--- shut out

Had my hat handed to me in a game of Tomorrow's War. Made a modified scenario from the rule book and used vehicles (stand in German half-tracks) for the first time. I was out maneuvered and out rolled during the whole game.

NOAH Force is tasked with searching the village for civilians and intelligence products. The Felid mechanized force will try to stop them and sanitize the village.

Looking down the road from the Felid side...half-tracks standing in for APCs.

NOAH Force prepares to move out.

Augments get the drop on a Felid team.

APC exchanging fire with a Recon Team.

BOOM!

First vehicle kill goes to this rocket launcher.

It gets bloody after that. Felid losses mount quickly.

Only three Felids survive to tell the tale of this massive defeat.

Downed Pilot

Another Force on Force / Tomorrow's War outing. This time we played the introcudtory "Downed Pilot" scenario on our new desert board.

My son used the Drop Troops again facing off against the Sahadeen defenders.

Rescue teams move in from the West to link up with the pilot in the center.

The defenders open fire as the first team emerges from the woods but they are quickly suppressed.

The two teams on the left get ready to cover the open ground.

Bounding overwatch takes its toll on the defenders.

A quick assualt forces the survivors to retreat.

Enemy troops move in to capture the shuttle pilot but are cut down.

The left flank move is working.

The package is secured.

Last chance for the defenders to cause some casualties.

Effective overwatch as neutralized the left flank threat.

Almost home...

Fanatic defenders ruch the withdrawing Drop Troops but are cut down.

Final score: 10 to 0; another victory for the Junior General.

Buildings- part 2

Second batch of new buildings. These are larger than the 1st batch and a much better fit for 15/18mm skirmish figures.

They are layed out on the new sand terrain board...simply brown paint covered with fine sand.

Apex- Tomorrow's War

We played our first scenario from the Tomorrows War book. This involves a mercenary group (ARC Fleet rifle troops in green) attcking a mining colony to destroy a power generator defended by the mining company's hired guns (Rebel Mini Shahadeen).

Made a few minor modifications by removing the merc vehilces but giving them a weapon team and medics but removing the body armor from the defenders.

This would be our first game with a score/victory conditions and a set turn limit (6).

The mercs enter from the South split into two squads.

The objective is the generator in the domed building.

The weapon team is taken down early after moving into a position to suppress the defenders but the squad's volume of fire drops the enemy.

2nd squad moves up on the right to seize the first row of buildings.

Back on the left, a team assualts the building just as the defenders retreat.

Mixed success on the right, one team is forced to retreat and regroup but the other takes a building.

Causualties mount for both sides as close range fire flys.

POWs on the right, the battle hangs in the balance,

Closing in on the objective from three sides.

 Most of the defenders are down.

Ready for the final attack.

Prisoner escort.

Actions on the objective- last turn.

End game- Victory to the mercs.

Casualty round up: 4 KIA, 3 heavy wounded, 6 light wounded, 9 unscathed

Power Generator

Final Score: 15 to 8

Plan B

Another battle in the mini-campaign with the new ARC troops from Critical Mass Games. The Drop Troop platoon (purple) has been sent in to rescue a team of captured Recon Troops (blue). The defenders are SAS from MicroPanzer.

Forgot to start taking pictures until almost the end.

After some initial success, the Drop Troops called in the extraction shuttle but could not get a good com link for several turns. This ratcheted up the enemy reinforcements and anti-aircraft fire.

The Drop Troops finaly got the bird on the ground but took off with one team still on the ground.

Deciding to tempt fate, they attempted to hover and drop extraction cables...only to be taken down by the heavy fire. Miraculously, only one of the twelve on board became a casualty (co-pilot) in the controlled crash.

Regrouping, the DTs launched a hasty attack to buy time for a second extraction attempt.


Used Force on Force/Tomorrows War for the battle. Getting a better handle on the rules.

A medal for the pilot that brought the damaged shuttle in with almost no casualties.

Start of the counter-attack.

Braving fire from an overwatch team.

LZ secure, time for another extraction attempt.

Buildings

The first batch of new buildings. These are JR Miniatures Middle East buildings. Painted them with a textured spray paint and then some details. Pretty basic but look good as a village.

These are mostly small buildings...and look VERY small with the newer 15/18mm figures.

The next batch of buildings will be the newer JR buildings that all look bigger and a bunch of buildings (18mm) from Blue Moon.

First Outing

Got in two more games of Force on Force (Tomorrow's War) with my son. He has been setting up a mini-campaign of four battles. Each battle features one of the platoons in his sci-fi company. All the battles revolve around the same board set up.

Still coming to grips with Force on Force. I like the opposed roles with multiple dice types and the wound system. I even like the reaction concept but have a hard time remembering the rules and terms. A series of example and flow charts would help along with a list of if/then statements. Will keep at them for now.

The first game involved the Recon Platoon holding the base the Augment Platoon captured in the last battle.

Recon Platoon fends off a force of Ziva Force Police.

Good overwatch position.

The sniper takes a heavy toll.

Well defended positions.

The second battle (finished up on Easter)...Drop Troop Platoon makes a quick strike to rescue some POWs. The shuutle gets taken down with one squad still on the ground but the troopers rally to win the day.

Events turn ugly for the Drop Troop Platoon.

Plan B...take the base.

Lucky passangers...13 of 14 escape unharmed when the shuttle goes down to heavy AA fire.

VICTORY!