Sci-Fi Shenanigans

Just play-tested a simple set of sci-fi skirmish rules my buddy Joe Dragovich came up with. I liked them a lot and hope to play them again. I used my sci-fi salvage crew and I realized I have not shared them on here yet, so here goes:



The above fellow is the Salvage Boss/Captain of the crew. You may recognize him from my avatar. He's a Rebel from Bob Naismith's Cobalt line.



The above mini is a dynamite war droid from the Star Mogul line of miniatures.



The "Walrus" is also a Star Mogul mini. As my friend Rico always says, there needs to be more portly miniatures! Walrus is a great one!


Star Mogul salvager.



Dirty Chin is the crew's close combat expert. He's from the discontinued China Town line of miniatures.





This guy's a Kallistra ganger. He fits nicely with the salvage crew theme.

Scott

Zou Delivers Emperor's Mercy

My love of the Inquisitor mythos of GW's Warhammer 40,000 universe is well known. Much of this stems from Dan Abnett's Inquisitor novels. Some new Inquisitor related fiction was recently released from the Black Library, and it has proven to be a ripping good yarn.

Emperor's Mercy by newcomer Henry Zou doesn't flow as easily as Abnett's stuff, but the story and characters provide plenty for the reader to grab onto, and there is no shortage of gritty, gory, sci-fi action. Despite a few minor character development and continuity issues, Emperor's Mercy engages the reader with a staccato rhythm of violence and sacrifice. Inquisitor Obadiah Roth must find the truth about a group of artifacts know as the Old Kings before a ravening Chaos horde can do the same.

Fairly young in his career as an Inquisitor, Roth does not have the retinue of an Eisenhorn or Ravenor, but he is nonetheless surrounded by interesting support characters, often finding himself on the front lines of what author Zou has called the Bastion Wars. In fact, this volume is the first in a series of books on the conflict against Chaos occurring in Zou's personal corner of the 40K universe, the Bastion Stars.

Mr. Zou ties the story up nicely while artfully setting up the action for the ensuing novels. Much better than Sandy Mitchell's Purge the Unclean novel that came out along with the Dark Heresy RPG more than a year ago, Emperor's Mercy delivers the Inquisitorial goods.

Scott

New SuperFigs Delayed

It pains me to report that we'll have to delay the release of the new SuperFig codes until sometime next year. The harsh realities of the bad economy are limiting our ability to get the final master and production molds made in a timely fashion. If anything changes on this front, I'll let folks know via the blog.

At the risk of sounding desperate, I will say that one of the best ways to insure that we make the new figures a reality is to buy from the existing line. So if you've got some money budgeted for miniature purchases, do consider investing in some SuperFigs. In the meantime, I am working on SuperSystem 3rd ed., and that will hopefully see the light of day by the end of this year.

On a cheerier note, I picked up some of the new AE-Bounty miniatures from Darkson Designs, and they are great! I hope to get them painted soon and show them off here. The game looks to be pretty solid as well, as a friend of mine demoed it at Gen Con.

As always, thanks for reading and following along!

Scott

SuperSystem Again

I am back working on SuperSystem 3rd ed. again. For a while I was thinking I was going to just release a 2.5 version of the rules, but after some serious thought over the last week or so I realized I had plenty of new, cool stuff to do a full-fledged 3rd ed. So no hard dates on when we will see it, but I am thinking perhaps the end of this year.

It may just be PDF initially, unless I decide to work something out with Lulu or another POD house. We'll see.


Scott

John Ostrander

Ever since the days of DC Comics' Suicide Squad I have been a big fan of the work of writer John Ostrander. John's been one of the most prolific writers in the industry the last twenty years or so. Now he is experiencing serious health problems, and he needs our help. If you've ever been a fan of any of Mr. Ostrander's amazing works, please consider helping the cause. I've already donated what I could, and I am going to help further by slowly buying the complete run of John's Star Wars Legacy trade paperbacks.

Little things, I know, but if a lot of us do a little, it will result in a tremendous help to John.

Scott

Mono-Bots Roll In!

Based off of our very popular Killbots pack, today we preview the Mono-Bots (ZD 1 Mono-Bots [5 multi-part figures] $12.00)!

Talented painter Enrico Nardini has done a great job bringing out the pulpy goodness of this one, and like the code says, you'll get five in a pack for $12. Designed and sculpted by the awesome Glenn Harris, the Mono-Bots are sure to please mad scientists everywhere!









Scott

Mongo's SuperSystem Battle Report

Miniature maven Bryan from Mongo's Wafflehouse--one of my favorite hobby blogs--posted an amazing SuperSystem battle report. Set in a jungle on some pretty stupendous terrain, I think you'll find it a nice distraction. I know I did!

Thanks, Bryan!

Scott

Crossbow! New SuperFig Takes Aim

I'm getting toward the end of our previews of the new the SuperFigs, and one of the last to be revealed is ZD 10 Crossbow ($3.95). He'll be released in late August with the other new figures on the docket.

Crossbow utilizes his amazing agility and his wondrous, hi-tech weapons to battle crime from the streets of Steel City to edge of the next galaxy. His secret ID is prosecutor Miguel Alvarez, a man fed up with allowing the super-powered scum of his town to walk free from the courtroom on baseless technicalities. As Crossbow he hunts these vile criminals and catches them in the act of some crime. As a sometime partner of intergalactic bounty hunter Grannok-5, he's pursued his quarry to the very edges of inhabited space.

The weapon that is his namesake fires normal quarrels, trick shots containing knockout gas or tripwires, or even plasma energy bolts.







Scott

Plugging R.E.B.E.L.S.!

I just finished catching up on my run of DC Comics' R.E.B.E.L.S.! Anybody who reads this blog will remember that I really dig space-based superhero action, and R.E.B.E.L.S. has it in spades. Now up to issue #6, Tony Bedard is really putting together a slick cast of characters around leader Vril Dox, the mastermind everyone loves to hate.

This title doesn't get enough pub, so hopefully my humble recommendation will
cause a few readers to check this title out. It's worth a look!

Scott

Nobz Ride in Style

I finally put together my official GW Ork Battlewagon. A while back I made a kustom one. I've owned the official kit for some time without building it, but when I read in the codex that Nobz could take one as a dedicated transport, I was inspired to build and paint it.

For my money, this is one of GW's best of the new generation of plastic kits. Ingeniously designed with a number of optional add-ons, Ork players can't go wrong with this one.

Here's a shot of the whole wagon. The paint scheme is in keeping with my standard Ork beat-up, weathered. I generally do not spring for the "Red Ones Go Fasta" rule, however.



The full wagon from another angle. I did not glue the top section and turrets so I'd have an easier time transporting them, and I could point them at who I was firing at.




Here's a shot taken from a hovering Def Kopta (thus the poor focus and photography):



Here's a closer shot of the passenger side door. There's no interior details for the kit, so if you wanted to leave this open, or make it hinged, you'd have to import the driver from the Trukk kit. Not a bad idea for my next BW--if there is a next one!



Just another example of the many fine details on the kit--I love the hanging armor plates that you can attach to the rear body section.




Here's a shot of the "big gun", a pretty standard ork kannon that would be suitable for punching vehicles or high Toughness value creatures--I'm looking at you, Wraithlord! There was a great periscope/shield bit you were supposed to put next to the machine gun cupola, but I felt like the MG could not traverse properly with it there, so I missed it out and instead capped the aperture with a bit from a Burna Boy backpack.




A view into the rear crew/passenger area:




This last one provides a close-up of my stippling work:




Basically, I sprayed the assembled BW black, then sprayed it roughly with GW Boltgun Metal spray. Once dry I stippled on GW Foundation Mechrite Red. This is done haphazardly. Tires and treads were re-blacked, then roughly dry-brushed with various craft store muddy and creamy browns. The whole BW was then liberally painted with a mixture of Devlan Mud, Badab Black, and white glue (for added control and flow enhancement). Then I painted the cupola ork in my standard method. That's it.

Job's a good 'un!

Scott

More Ork Action!

I finished a passel of Ork stuff over the last two weeks. Thought I'd show it off in some posts this week. Here's the first, my new Nobz!













I'll show off the new Battle Wagon later this week!

Scott

Plugging Starblazer Adventures

I've spent the last couple weeks reading through Cubicle-7's Starblazer Adventures RPG. This amazing, 600+ page tome contains everything you would ever need for sci-fi role-playing. This game has nothing to do with the Anime of the same name, but rather is based off of an old, long-running comic book from the UK.

Here's an independent review of the game from RPG.net.

So what would I use this thing for? Not sure yet. It's based off of the FATE system that powers Spirit of the Century. The system supports a very cinematic style of role-play where players can have some control over the story. It includes mook rules, flexible character generation that supports almost any kind of trait, and loads of information about sci-fi trappings (aliens, space ships, psionics, etc.).

I am inclined to try a Star Wars game with it. I think it will support this very well. I also have a desire to try running a Warhammer 40K Inquisitor game with it. What about my beloved Dark Heresy, you ask? DH is good at what it does--gritty, dark delving into the vile underbelly of the Imperium of Man. But it doesn't do the sort of action you would find in Eisenhorn or Ravenor. I'd like to run at least one game where the players take the role of the Inquisitor and his immediate cadre of elite operatives.

Either way, I want to run this darn game! I'll figure out some kind of excuse to make it happen.

Scott

15mm Supers

We do 15mm SuperFigs too! I was just taking some updated catalog pics for our two 15mm packs (codes S15A and S15B) and thought I'd share them since some 15mm enthusiasts who follow this blog may not know of our two packs in this scale. With the growing popularity of 15mm for roleplay as well as skirmish gaming, these packs will fit nicely with some of the other great 15mm modern and sci-fi stuff out there.

Imagine some of our supers taking on a horde of zombies in 15mm scale! Very cool! Also, some of the great giant ape minis out there are truly giant next to a 15mm hero. Now I just need to marshal my forces and get some 15mm super-apes sculpted!

Here's the pics:



That's S15A above. And no, I will not do the "Future Trio" in 28mm. Sorry, I get that a lot.



And this is S15B--it contains the small scale versions of our "shrinking" packs, plus Microbot. At this scale he's about 7' tall versus the other 15mm heroes.

Ahhh, 15mm super-apes. It could happen...

Scott

Ravenor Returns in Abnett Omnibus!

Fans of Dan Abnett's Inquisitor fiction for the Black Library can exalt in the arrival of Ravenor: The Omnibus. This thick trade paperback collects all three of Abnett's previously published Ravenor novels. Ravenor is the physically crippled but psychically powerful Inquisitor whose adventures follow those of his mentor, Gregor Eisenhorn.

Told in the eponymous Eisenhorn Omnibus, the tale of Ravenor's one-time master is one of tragedy and difficult choices. It is during one of those moments of tragedy that Ravenor himself is forever changed, horribly burned and crippled during the massacre of the Spatian Gate. These physical injuries unlock Ravenor's true psychic potential, and he survives to continue the work of the Inquisition through his capable field operatives.

Both of these books offer the kind of Warhammer 40,000 fiction I am most fond of: small unit actions mostly not involving Space Marines. I just don't find the trials and travails of a group of 7' super-men all that compelling, but give me an Inquisitor and his eclectic band of loyal servants, some Chaos cultists as the opposition, and I am happy as a clam!

You don't have to read them in order, but if you're a stickler for such things, read Eisenhorn first, and Ravenor second. Both books also offer previously unreleased short stories by Abnett that fill in some of the gaps in continuity between the individual books. In the annals of gamer fiction, I hold these two groups of stories among the finest.

Scott

Podcast Update

Just a quick note to let folks know that there is a somewhat new episode of our podcast, WAYWO, up. We talk about RPG's, miniatures, and various other hobby-related topics.

It's a nice way to kill 50 minutes at work. This reminds that I listened to Dice Like Thunder, a Warhammer 40,000 focused podcast, for the first time yesterday. I enjoyed it very much, and wanted to plug it here.

I hope to have some more painted space orks to show off this weekend, and perhaps a few other odds and ends. We'll see.

Scott

More Agis Magic!

Agis Neugebauer is one of my favorite miniature painters; one of the best around, really. Whenever he paints a SuperFig, it's a bid deal to me. Anyway, he was kind enough to share two recent additions, The Head and the Killbots.

Anyway, here they are!





Yes, that's a certain German ex-leader's head in there. The Head also comes with a second choice, a bald head. It's also quite easy to snip either head off of the "plate" they come on and put a different head from your collection in there.

Great work, Agis! We're lucky to have you as a fan and a supporter!

Scott

Kroot Master Shaper

A few weeks back I did a conversion for a Master Shaper for my some-day Kroot Mercenary army. As an aside, I will at some point dedicate a post to the concept of "some-day" armies, a term introduced to me by grizzled gamer friend Tom Palamara years ago.

Anyway, the Master Shaper leads the Kroot Mercenary forces, and I wanted him to be impressive in body, so I used a plastic Khorne Berzerker to show that he has the Mark of the Favored Child. I gave this guy a Melta-gun and a power sword. He's also festooned with all sorts of other great gear from the Kroot plastic frame. The large shoulder pad is from the Tyranid warrior sprue.











Scott

Ducks? Really?

Well, yes. Anthropomorphic Ducks have been a staple of the Runequest fantasy world of Glorantha since its inception more than two decades ago. Seemingly the victims of a curse from some angry Gloranthan god, the Ducks are generally shunned and often unwelcome. Within the context of Runequest and Glorantha, I love them as a player character race. Others do not, and massive flame wars on places like RPG.net have sprung up over the years debating their rightful place as a player character race.

It was a few weeks ago on RPG.net that I found myself in a thread on Runequest miniatures that someone asked about Mongoose's Duck miniatures. They were released a few years back when Mongoose was going great guns with their figure lines. They were so cool I had to buy them, and I managed to paint two of them up. One of the posters in this thread, Ahrinades, asked me to post the pics of the painted Ducks, so here they are!










































These guys stand about 20-22mm tall. The details on them are exquisite. I think they might be the best miniatures Mongoose ever did. Though I do have some love for a lot of the Judge Dredd metal releases as well.

Someday I'll get around to painting the rest!

Scott

Reaper Ogre Mage

Not sure why I am showing this guy off, but he caught my eye the other day when I was re-organizing some painted miniatures in their cases.

I painted him a while back, and used him in a few mythic Japanese skirmishes where I adapted the GW Lord of the Rings rules. Worked pretty well as I recall. I really love the composition of the miniature, and I am happy with my paint job on him. Of course, it's been more than three years since I painted him, so I cannot remember most of the colors I used!

Scott

Agents of the Crown Released!

A while back I may have mentioned working on a Victorian Superhero RPG for Chaosium's BRP system. Well, Agents of the Crown is now out! Thank goodness! Two years of on-again, off-again work finally realized! Thanks to Karl Perrotton, Charlie Krank, and Dustin Wright for all of the support.

The book features low-powered supers action in the Victorian era, focusing on London, the Great Game, and anything related to them. I also wrote it to be miniatures friendly, so you can use whatever Victorian era figures you have to help show the action.

Scott

Early Halloween

Screaming Alpha blogger John Price has reviewed one of our favorite SuperFigs, Devil's Knight. Check his awesome blog out here.

Thanks, Mr. Price!

--Scott

Circling Back to the Orks

It's been a while, but I have finally started back in on my 40K Ork army. I've long wanted to do some kustom Killa Kans, but haven't had the proper inspiration until GW released the plastic Stompa kit. The water tower gun on the kit is the perfect size for a Killa Kan body--one could imagine a grot comfortably nestled (or unceremoniously stuffed) inside this wonderfully textured cylinder.

Anyway, the rest is cobbled together from various bits. I am getting the water tower bit from various eBay auctions, and I need one more to have the parts to complete a squad of three Kans.

Check my results so far:



Nice size comparison here.




The power claw arm is the only non-GW bit on the kit. It's from an awesome Imex kit. The buzzsaw on the end is from an old Epic titan weapon.








The treads are built from the old Imperial tank sprue. Man, I miss the old GW Gubbinz Bag.





Scott

Blue Monk Preview

Today I've got a preview of ZD 11 Blue Monk ($3.95), another of the new SuperFigs debuting in late August.

This lovely lady is a super-martial artist, channeling her powerful chi energies into her whirling spear-staff. She was painted by the talented Enrico Nardini.





Scott

More HOTT Stuff

Over the past weekend I finished two units of Kroxigors for HOTT. These are 10mm figures from GW's Warmaster line of miniatures. I am using them as Knights in HOTT. Fast, hard-hitting, but weaker against Behemoths, Shooters, and Magicians. I only put three each on a 40mm x 30mm stand. I have three left over I can use for character stands, or other units for the army.









Now I may start working on a completely new HOTT army: Chaos Dwarves! If I can score some Eureka 10mm stuff, I will be sure to eventually show them off here.

Scott

Scott