Neo-Tokyo

Neo-Tokyo...

"Who's that? That's the Major."

The Major from Ghost in the Shell...

This is a miniature from the Rebel Minis Civilian Hunters pack (http://rebelminis.com/hunterspack.html)

I've been a big GITS kick recently and I noticed this miniature sitting on my painting table loose and I realized she made a perfect major!

I've attached her to one of my laser etched bases.

And from the show:

Any feedback is appreciated!

New Weathering techniques using enamels and worn effects from AK interactive

I've been working on one of my Hell Diver Power Armor figures and I wanted to try some of the AK interactive weathering enamels that I got.

I painted the trooper black, then base coat of light grey on the armor plates. This represented the primer coat.

I then brushed on a thin layer of the AK interactive worn effects.

Once that dried I painted on the base green color I was after.

I then put a little bit of water all over the model and using a stiff brush and toothpick knocked off some of the paint.

Once all of that was dry I put on decals (using the micro-sol and micro-set) and using the Nato Armor Wash (AK interactive) and Earth Enamel Wash (AK interactive).

This is what i've come up with so far:

I'll take more pictures soon, and i'm going to try and put together a cool "Scene" shot too.

What do you folks think?

New city tiles from GameCraft Miniatures

New city tiles from GameCraft Miniatures! http://gcmini.mybigcommerce.com/

These tiles are awesome, 1' x 1' and with a really cool styling, perfect for city games.

Taskforce 414 exits a hovering Raven VTOL in New Berlin...

Expanding ECM/Fog of War in Gruntz...

So, there is already a great neural net system in gruntz, but I was thinking about ways to expand it and provide a bit of fog of war.

I'm thinking instead of units on a table each unit would be represented by a numbered token, and each army would get two dummy tokens.

Until a neural net roll is made you have to have LOS to a token to uncover it. Each unit can make a roll as an action, specialized units get bonuses. The rolls would be opposed, with a target number of 10.  The attacking (sensing) unit would have to beat 10 AND also beat the opponent.

The skill stat would govern these checks and there would be perks for improved or less ECM capabilities or stealth.

Some perk ideas:

Stealth
Noisy
Advanced Sensors
Jumpy
Etc...

The BOGINT perk would give an extra token.

Thoughts?

Taskforce 414 making entry in a search for a HVT

Location: Vexron City, New Altran Colony
Time: 0840 Local Time

Taskforce 414 Operatives conduct building search for HVT.

New Gruntz Scenerio

Going to try this one out tonight:

[WIP] Taskforce 414 Operatives...

Still have the heads and matte varnish to do... And then putting them on bases.

I'm going to put them on my laser cut acrylic bases, but haven't decided whether to have them on clear bases or painted bases.

What do you folks think of clear bases?

This is a painted version of the base i'll be using:

Infiltration...

The Aurora class shuttle transitioned through the field barrier of landing bay Baker-9 of the Deep Space Orbital Research Facility. Through skillful navigation and the advanced technical specifications of the Aurora the craft was able to land without setting off any alarms.

The nacelles angled downwards and the craft settled on the landing bay floor, the interior pressure equalized with the bay’s ambient pressure.  As the pressure equalized the ramp’s locking clamps disengaged and the ramp slowly folded down exposing a dark interior lit only by multi-colored status lights.

Without a sound a white pistol exposed itself from the interior, scanning the landing bay for any hostiles, it held its aim for a few moments before deciding that there was going to be no welcoming party.

The Operative slowly moved from the interior down the ramp with a super-natural grace. The red body suit offset by the back shoulder pads and accents. The mechanical spinal implant glistened with chrome as it flexed during the movement.

There was no mistaking the deadliness of this Operative and she had a job to do.

--

The Aurora Stealth VTOL is available for pre-order now and comes with an unreleased covert ops team.  Available at http://www.clearhorizonminiatures.com

WIP - Corporate Operative and Aurora Stealth Shuttle

I'm working on the corporate version of the new, upcoming VTOL, the Aurora:

I'm painting the agent in the same colors. I'd imagine this belongs to an executive, or possibly a corporate "cleaner"...

Feedback is welcome!

It is still available for pre-order here:  http://www.clearhorizonminiatures.com and it comes with an unreleased, free, covert operates pack. (normally $2.99)

WIP Hell Diver Covert Ops Team

WIP Hell Diver Covert Ops Team… a figure from the Omega pack and two from the Alpha Squad with Omega head swaps.  The CLIFFORD drone pictured in the middle with the optional twin-linked squad support weapon option.

I'll probably put one more figure with a SAW (from the Alpha Pack), and these will be my team for deploying from the upcoming Aurora.

I'm very happy how the head swaps are going so far.  My plan is for these to be painted mostly in blacks (with dark greys) which is one of the reason I wanted the exposed heads so I could add a bit of color.

The bases are temporary and will eventually have my laser etched hex bases attached.

Hell Diver - HEL/DIV Drop Pod Deployment...

Zeta Squad (Hell Diver Power Armor) - Conversion Finished

Ok... here is for the "black challenge." These pics will also be for the release of the Zeta Squad on Tuesday  I'd love to hear any feedback you folks have!

Airbrush used to build up grey highlights, then I used a regular brush to paint on the hard highlights. Head snipped from my Omega Squad (it fits without issue) and then a couple of decals.

WIP: Hell Divers Power Armor Conversion - Omega Squad head and rifle

Working on my Taskforce 414 Power Armor conversion using a head from the Omega Squad and one of the extra rifles.

I used the airbrush to build up the highlights and then painted them on.

Sorry for the blurry photos!

What do you folks think?

I need to repaint the head and add some decals and more highlighting.

Hell Diver Power Armor - The Zeta Squad - Taskforce 414

Coming Soon, the Hell Diver's Power Armor - Zeta Squad!

This suit is painted in the colors of Taskforce 414 - reknown for their skill and shock tactics even among the elite Hell Divers.

The Power Armor Zeta Squad comes with six unique leg poses, six separate heads and torsos, multiple arm options and three heavy back-mounted weapons.

I think i've finally settled on a theme for my personal force.  I need to paint up the rest of the squad and then i'll be painting up the other miniatures in the range in this scheme, with the "414" motif... thoughts?

ClearHorizon Miniatures goes to Strategicon!

Only 10 days to go! ClearHorizon Miniatures will be at Gateway 2014 at the Hilton LAX!  This Labor Day Weekend, Aug 29 - Sep 1!  We'll have two tables set up in the main hallway.  We'll be carrying our entire line plus several brand new releases!

We'll also have the printed Gruntz Rulebook for sale at a discounted price and our entire range will be 10% off.

Our second table will have multiple gaming boards setup just for 15mm Gruntz Gaming!  It's free to check out the dealer area and our tables, so come on by!

For more information:
http://www.clearhorizonminiatures.com
http://strategicon.net/

Gruntz - Rules for Car Chases

Hi everyone,

To build upon the last AAR here is a new set of rules for Car Chases in Gruntz... any feedback is appreciated!

This is what i've come up with so far:

Rules for Car chases

16” x 24” board

The board should have a clear roadway from the front to the back.

Each player rolls 2d6 and adds the highest skill (or commander’s skill). The highest roll can choose to deploy first or second.  Whoever deploys first also has the first activation.

The attacker is placed in the back 12” and the defender (one being chased) is placed in the front 12”.

At start of each turn:
1) Each vehicle writes down its move (for example 3” left, 1” back”)
2) The tile from rear is removed and new tiles placed up front.  All terrain moves 6” towards the back.
3) A card is dealt to each player for each unit.  The player then assigns the cards to their units.  The players reveal their highest cards and then activate their units in that order continuing until no units are left to activate.   (Aces are high, suit order (highest to lowest) is: Spades, Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts)

Each activation vehicle can moves 6” left or right and up to 2” front or back.

All shooting is at a -3 plus additional modifiers

If a vehicle is on a tile that is removed it is removed from play.

If a vehicle moves into a terrain piece the driver rolls a skill check vs 11.  If they fail the check they take a 7 damage hit.  If they succeed the vehicle moves 1” to either side of the terrain and stops.  If they can’t move 1” to either side it stops 1” behind the terrain.

Any engine critical and the vehicle is out of the game.

At the end of each turn:

1) Each player alternates rolling a 1d6 for each 4” section on the front tile.  On a 2-3 place an approx. 1” piece of terrain. On a 4-5 place an approx. 2” piece of terrain. On a 6 place a building or other large terrain piece approx. 4”. Place the terrain on the leading edge of the tile.

Battle on New-Tokyo - a small scale Gruntz Skirmish game between the Hell Divers and Pale Riders (Ex-RUSK)

This game is a little different than what you'll normally see.

Each force had four figures and each figure operated independently.  We built each figure using the Gruntz Specialist rules with a couple of guidelines for damage, sizes and armor etc.

We had a lot of fun.  It turned into a very tactical game where neither of us were willing to push and flank as much as we should have.  With only four figures it seems like any damage was very dangerous to the goal of accomplishing the mission.

It came down to putting the figures in the right places and hoping for luck.  Much like real life.

Both forces were pretty equally matched.  I want to do a game in the future that has asymmetrical forces to really push the boundaries of this ruleset.

It was about 100 points a side and took about an hour or so.

For activation we dealt a card from a normal card deck to each player for however many figures they had left.

Each player would then assign the cards so that the figures would activate from highest to lowest. We decided before hand which suits were in which order.

We would then announce the highest card we have and compare to the other player.  Whoever had highest would activate their figure and so forth.  This had a fun random and planned aspect to it that really added to the game.

We also ruled that grenades could be thrown at spots instead of just figures with normal to roll and scatter.

-

Ghost turned around to watch the Sparrowhawk VTOL dust off and leave, skimming the top of the city roofs as it disappeared into the horizon. The team had managed to infiltrate the city block where the intel had indicated that the mercenary group “Pale Riders” had arranged to pick up the three remaining containers with the reactive and precursor agents for the Simplex 7 bio-weapon.  

It had been determined that only one of these containers would actually be required secure.  The correct container would allow the intel unit to discover not only the origin of this strain but to stop the Pale Riders from creating the dangerous pathogen.  The wrong containers would not only waste time, but be worthless from an intel standpoint as well.

While Ghost and his Hell Divers (Big John, Athena, and Hack) would normally not be on edge if this was simply another shoddy Merc unit, the Pale Riders were actually a group of former RUSK operatives (and former was debatable) and were as well trained and equipped as their unit was.  They had to go in light and hope that the element of surprise would work in their favor. 

Ghost’s HUD lit up, they had arrived at the target location…

Turn 1

Ghost surveys the area and carefully walks up to the parked police car at the curb police car.  He sees a shadow break cover and opens fire on Jailbreak.  The plasma bolts hit home and cause a severe burns on Jailbreak’s right arm. (Hits causing two points of damage (two left)

Grim jumps to action as soon as the sounds of gunfire become apparent and moves forward to the tree for cover and to get into a position to cover the box containing the mission objectives.

Blackjack nods to Grim and silently fans out to cover more area and provide an overlapping field of fire. To get a commanding view of the battlefield he moves to the second level and goes prone

Jailbreak moves to the buildings in front of him and takes cover behind the elevator with a clear view of the box.

Big John runs forward to cover closer to the box on the right side of the table.

Bang-o moves towards the taxi for cover and opens fire at Big John.  Big john is hit but his armor takes the impact and Big John takes no damage.

Hack runs up to the planter and opens fire at Bang-o but misses.

Athena runs up to the second level.

Turn 2

Ghost throws a grenade near Jailbreak which catches Jailbreak in the blast but causes no damage.

Blackjack moves forward firing at Athena but misses.

Jailbreak aims and fires at Ghost causing a critical hit and two points of damage.

Big John shoots at Bang-o taking careful aim and shoots through the taxi causing one point of damage.

Athena aims and opens fire on Blackjack but misses.

Hack aims and opens fire at Bang-O causing one point of damage.

Bang-o shoots back at Big John and causes a staggering three points of damage

Turn 3

Ghost aims and fires at Jailbreak causing a critical hit taking him down.

Blackjack, laying prone, aims and fires at Athena causing three points of damage

Big John aims and shoots at Bang-O but misses.

Jailbreak’s armor activates the auto-heal sequence pumping him full of fast acting drugs starting his heart and 

breathing again.  It’s most likely he won’t survive much longer than the battle but he manages to get to his feet again.

Athena aims and opens fire at Blackjack but misses

Hack aims and fires at Bang-o but misses

Bang-o aims and shoots at Hack but really misses

Grim moves up to steal Blackjack’s kill and shoots at Athena.  Athena is hit square in the chest and goes down as her suit’s auto-med starts the process to try and save her.

Turn 4

Jailbreak aims down the sights and fires on Ghost, taking him down.

Ghost’s suit patches him up and he stands back up behind cover.

Blackjack steps out of cover and shoots at Hack, causing a massive wound and four points of damage, 

which causes Hack to go down.

Big John sprints to the rightmost box and starts trying to open it.  He successfully opens it but it has the precursor agent not the deadly reactive agent. 

Bang-O moves into the open and fires on Big John causing a point of damage and Big John goes down.

Jailbreak opens fire on the recently recovered Ghost but Ghost’s armor takes the impact causing no damage.

Hack and Athena’s suits can only do so much and they succumb to the massive amount of trauma.

Ghost and Big John, now outnumbered and with little hope of successfully capturing the reactive agent exfil the area to the waiting Raven at the LZ.

Before Ghost boards the Raven he radios to the Orbiting Stealth Cruiser a coded message and moments later an orbital kinetic weapon launches and takes out a two-block radius, including the boxes and Pale Riders Merc team.  

Not exactly the most covert of options and now they'll be unable to determine the origin of the bio-weapon but it was a last resort since the Simplex 7 could easily kill millions. 

The Pale Rider’s bodies were never found. 

To be continued...