Little Christmas gift for everyone in Ambush Alley Land.

I made some changes to my Terminator and Kafer rules to bring them into line for TW. Please feel free to either download them at the AA Yahoo Group, or HERE and HERE. Feel free to download...and Merry Christmas all!

Not too much to report, but progress is being made.

Started the third squad of Slammers. I'm about halfway through on basecoats, so I should be done tonight. I figure with some effort, I may FINALLY get the Slammers done next weekend. Hey, I did have things to do this Memorial Day! ;-)

In other news, I got a bunch of vehicles put together, including all my Caffertas and another of my PP Pickup Trucks. I made this one with some Plasticard armor over the windows and an an armored "box" for the truck bed. I think it's going to look great when I paint it! So. I guess I did get some work done.

I took a bunch of stuff down off of the Spring Cleaning thread, and traded them off to Noble Knight, along with a bunch of old XTR ziplock games I am never going to play again. In any event, I am rather happy with the store credit offer I am getting and I do plan to put it to the best use I can, including getting the D8s I really do need. I might finally have enough of them, dagnabit!

I am rather happy with the pace of my 15mm Sci-fi, sure it's slow, but when your eyesight is like mine, I'd rather take my time and save my sight then either rush it or push too hard. I am sure many gamers are in the same boat, and yes, I use A TON of light. I just got a foldup workspace light I really do enjoy. Gets the job done, and it's small and powerful..very recommended and got it for a good price at Utrecht.

I am glad to see AAG's making a lot of progress with Osprey. I am rather ecstatic to see this happen for the crew, good people are hard to find and Shawn and company qualify. Their progress puts many larger companies to shame. And they really do subscribe to the "no game before it's time". Quality shows.

I procured some Rebel Minis Riot Police and the Post-Apoc Survivalists. Both were the usual high quality one can expect from Rebel. The Post Apoc guys were an answer to my prayers especially, as one of them looks a lot like a certain female cyborg for my terminator army....And there's another figure that will do well for John. Yep, the more I can procure, the better. And the Scene's new cyborg line will do well for the older model cyborgs one sees in Terminator Salvation (The rest of the movie, ehh. But, I liked the Machines, with the singular exception of the Mototerminators).

That's it for now, patience all, the rest of the Slammers are coming!

More Work in Progress photos of the Combat Cars and a 15mm Pickup for my Human Resistance forces for Terminator.

I thought I'd take another photo session of my Hammers Slammers Combat Cars, as well as a photo of a project I'm working on with some Peter Pig trucks. All I am awaiting now is the Selpduvian Resistance fellas from Khurasan Miniatures. I am going to mix them with the militia types from GZG and I think we'll have something, that with the right paint work, looks darn close to what we saw on the big and small screens to the human resistance fighters.

Anyhow, here's the pics:

A lot's happening these days

Seems the 15mm TFL post had quite the effect of drumming up folks to play with..I guess "if you paint it, they will come" really does work! I am currently working on my USCMC force courtesy of QRF as well as my Hammers Slammers. I have to find suitable vehicles for the Marines. I think these ought to do nicely:



I am also working up what my Zhodani are going to look like, probably going with the New Israelis with the Advanced Gravs for that, and then the Aslan are going to be a mix of the RAFM figures, and the Felids from Khurasan.Probably go the same route with the Vargr.

As for John Connor's resistance army, I am going to get some Toyota pick up trucks from Peter Pig and mock them up with some plasticard armor. Then it's wait for Khurasan to release the Sepulvedan Resistance guys they're promising. I really can't wait for those or when AAG releases Tomorrow's War.

If we thought 2009 rocked for 15mm Sci Fi...Wait till 2010 is through.

..and a late addition to my Terminator army

Some infiltrators to give the humans some more headaches! Now to put together that Mantis I bought from GZG for a Aerial HK!

A slight rant- It's bad enough they're killing machines that won't stop!

They have to eat you now too?

Story from Fox here

Great, now we're gonna have to worry about Zombies that take a AT-4 to stop. Fun. I can imagine the scene now...

On scene battalion commander to techie: Ok, son, so the warbots got a computer virus? How does this translate to it killing and eating my men?

Techie: Well sir, it seems the computer virus told the bots one word...brains.

Yeah I know, groan worthy..but would the Terminator have been the same if we knew Arnie wasn't just trying to kill Sarah, but devour her too?

I love cross-genres...but sometimes they give me headaches.

Images from our Terminator Playtest

Images taken by CLDecker and US figures are his...as is the terrain and vehicles. The Terminator figures are mine. We found out a few things, namely, terminators like cover, and that early-model terminators and HKs can die under massed weapons fire. This has since been addressed, and I am hoping the 1.2 release will fix this so that while terminators and HKs will still go down if enough people mass fire, it's not going to be too easy.

Also, my infiltrators and air units weren't ready yet, so that might have been a game changer for the Terminators. Rules used were Force on Force. Figures for the US were Flashpoint minis and Dragon prebuilds for the vehicles.

SITREP..24 JUNE 2009

The good news is that the CBT stuff is mostly selling, or at least getting nibbles. Now all we have to do is get the Full Thrust stuff put up. For those inclined, the for sale post on here. I am very happy the exterminator's coming soon as I dearly want to get back to painting in earnest. I have a lot to do...and little time to do it.

I am also working on a side project of mine...sort of a unexpected fusion of the RDF Sourcebook from Twilight 2000 and Ambush Alley/Force on Force. It's called "Blood Upon the Risers" and it is going to be a free scenario pack by yours truly for said games set during the fighting between the 82nd Airborne Division and 1/75th and 2/75th Ranger Battalions against the Soviet 104th Guards Airborne Division in the area of Bandar-e-Khomeini between April and May of 1997. I think the name is apt, and I am using Google Maps to help me come up with the maps for the scenarios. I think it's a new and fun use for all those guys who have Americans wearing DCUs and Soviets for Afghanistan. Now, if somebody knows where a good source of Iranians in 20mm are (think Iran-Iraq war, I know about Lib Mins multi purpose line, and that's a good start, but the only guys he has with G3s are his incomplete West German line). It'll get done when I can, the main stumbling block being using CC3 to create the maps...it's a steep learning curve, but doable.

In other news, CLDecker and I are really embracing the Terminator theme, and I think the latest release of the rules may finally have terminators of the requisite toughness to sustain human fire. We'll see in the next playtest.

GZG is at it again, and they're so tempting me...especially the Ravager fellows as pictured on Dropship Horizon. I think I am going to get those and the Mantises I need for my Terminator flyers..now I just gotta work on John Connor's army. After I get the Tanstaffl Free Legion done I suppose.

Another weekend done

It was all in all a productive weekend. I am working hard on my Twilight 2000 items and they're really coming together. I anticipate that I will be done with the US vehicles soon, and then it's on to working on my Soviets, getting them cleaned up and to a standard I like. I really am proud of the work I am putting in thus far, and so far, all seems to be going overly well. Also updated the AA terminator rules..upped the defense dice and played with the movement rates. I think this will work better and hopefully, there will be more playtests.

Also, played CBT this Saturday with my old group. I think as much as I wanted to support the GM of this event...and I really did, I made a mistake going to the event. The company was well, juvenile. It wasn't everyone, and some of the members of my old group, I genuinely enjoy their company...others..let's say they need a Dale Carnegie book or three (and I can't stand the guy, but some of his advice is sound). Also, CBT is losing interest for me..the game is falling into the "Ok, folks are losing interest, let's introduce a new army with all new wiz-bang toys orders of magnitude more powerful than than what's in the game already!" trap that 40K wrote the book on. Not good. Worse, folks are fretting about the battle value system as it was supposed to give "balanced games"..there's a myth if I ever heard one...no damn such thing. If you make things totally equal, you get nightmares like Iran-Iraq or World War I. Battletech, last I looked, was supposed to be about armored warfare, of concentrating all available assets at the point of decision and smashing the other guy! Now, it's nothing more than a fanboy arms race with the "faction-de-jour". And now, they're throwing around tons of nukes to do it. I point out the last time someone did that in another game I love...Megatraveller. Dave Nielsen said it best, "have the cataclysm, then game the aftermath". People don't like their sacred cows becoming hamburger, and worse yet..having the ending resolved with an inferior product (Down in front Mechwarrior! At least it keeps me in cheap 15mm VTOLs and 'Mechs).

I know this might not make me popular with some. Know what? Don't care. I am pretty convinced play balance is achieved by giving out realistic victory conditions that both sides have a decent chance of achieving, and an even handed ref who isn't looking to screw one side or the other. Like I said..if you're doing the Seelow Heights in 1945, and you're bitching that you've got a scratch force of rear-area types, cadets and HJ for your Germans, with a pair of Stug IIIs and a couple of PaK 40s, and you're expected to hold off a company(+) of Russian tanks...well, that's the way it was, and perhaps you're playing the wrong game. One victory condition is for the Russians to exit X amount of troops off the table in a VERY short amount of time..or to kill or capture ALL the Germans? Not so easy no matter HOW many troops you have. See, balance? The Germans, they have it easier...knock off X amount of Russians or have X amount of their force still alive. Balance is possible, and points/values IMO, aren't a magic solution!

15mm Terminators finished that I FORGOT to post!

Wow, I made the TMP news headlines!

I didn't think this would happen, who knows, perhaps this will get more people reading the blog...and playing Ambush Alley!

Check it all out here

15mm Terminator WIP

What a difference a week makes!

Well,
I am very enthused about recent developments all around! I have found someone in N. Va who wants to get in a game or three..and we're in the process of planning something for this weekend. I know, better get a bloody move on on it! I have been working on some 15mm items for Sci-fi...I'll have the first pics up soon! Let's just say John Connor's going to need more firepower!

In other news, I am planning how to use Ambush Alley to reflect terminators and Xenomorphs ala Aliens. I know, I could wait for the Sci-fi expansion, and I think it's going to be Stargrunt good, but honest, I have never been all that good at waiting. Frankly..it's a shame 20mm Sci-fi never had quite the audience 15s did. But that's alright, with the 15mm sci-fi renaissance being what it is now, I am kept quite happy...methinks I will work on my Imperial Marines next. After that, who else, but Hammer's Slammers!

My main problem? Coming up with inspirations for all of the armies I have in 15mm. Frankly, I don't want to paint variations of the same, but to have some really creative ideas. So, fellows out in Blogland, send me ideas! Links especially.