More Gitungi Sluog Riders

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Finally managed to finish some painting: more Gitungi for Q13.

I already have a squad of eight Sluog riders with power lances. These are another eight and a Big Man, but this time with guns, charmingly known by Micropanzer as a Kill Team.

Time to write a scenario with an area of terrain impassable to all except Sluogs!

You can see the whole Gitungi gallery by clicking here.

Q13 AAR: Marauders Squashed!

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My first game of the year was an epic 15mm sci-fi clash between my newly painted Gitungi army, using figures mostly from Micropanzer’s Gitungi range, and an ‘evil vegetable’ army comprising figures from a number of different manufacturers but principally Khurasan’s Vornid plant-men and Ravenstar’s Horrids.

Click here or on the picture to see how the action unfolded...

Even More Gitungi Goodness!

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I have now finally finished the last of the Gitungi that I bought as part of the Micropanzer sale. This makes the army totally viable: with Big Men command figures (sadly lacking from most of my sci-fi armies), a solid mass of core troops, and plenty of support units backed up by some rather nifty specialists.

Units finished in this batch were:

  • the drone operators (very cool: loving the boom-arm aerial thing)
  • the anti-armour guns (nice AT weapons)
  • the HMG drones (I prefer the Assault Cannon drones, but got these for completeness)
  • some scouts with jump packs (I like these, and think they will prove very useful on the battlefield)
  • four huge battlesuits to bulk out my powered armour platoon.

That's it now until the sluog-riding kill team arrives...or Micropanzer release more models!

Drone Operators

The bulked-out Powered Armour Platoon

Scouts with Jump Packs

Anti-Armour Cannon

More Gitungi Goodness

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Slowly working my way through the huge pile of Gitungi I bought using Micropanzer's coupon offer. I've also just ordered a few more bits and pieces through their 24-hour, 50%-off sale!

Today's additions are the Big Men (something that's been severely lacking); a platoon of Veteran Infantry (note the drone operator figures with the overhead booms!); a pair of Assault Cannon drones; and, my personal favourite, three Gene Recovery drones tending to some casualties.

All can be seen, along with the other Gitungi, in their gallery, which can be reached by clicking here. 

The Veteran platoon:

Big Men (left) and Assault Cannon drones (right):

The Gene Recovery drones:

More Gitungi: Infantry in Powered Armour

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An enforced night at the painting table (teenage party elsewhere in the house - don't ask!) meant that I managed to both start and finish several units from the Gitungi reinforcements I bought way back when.

First up are a squad of Gitungi infantry in powered armour: foot troops with heavier armour than usual and a blaster of some kind fitted into each arm. I'm thinking the squads need to be eight-strong rather than my originally planned six-strong, so I'm either going to buy a few more, or perhaps give each squad two of Hasslefree's Grymn (space dwarves) in powered armour as a sort of heavy weapons team.

Click here to see the full Gitungi gallery, but here are the basic powered armour squads: 

Q13 and CDS Army Galleries Reloaded

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I have taken a rest from uploading all the IABSM After Action Reports in order to load up the galleries of my figure collections for both Charlie Don't Surf and Quadrant 13. You can navigate to them using the Navigation Bar, above, or by clicking here for the CDS galleries or here for the Q13 galleries.

Doing this has thrown up a couple of things to action:

1. I need to go back and properly 'fill in' my Q13 sci-fi armies. I have too many that have a few core units completed but lack either command figures, especially overall Company commanders; Specialists; and support units, especially aircraft and AA assets. 

This is, I think, mostly due to figure availability - how many 15mm sci-fi ranges include more than one command figure and any AA assets - but is also down to my tendency to get distracted by the opportunity to start new, shiny sci-fi armies rather than complete the ones I have. Not something that happens with my WW2 armies...so maybe it's a sci-fi thing!

2. I need to take better pictures. This new, Squarespace website is really good at displaying pictures, it's one of the reasons I chose it: the only problem being that the pictures therefore need to be of a better quality in order to do the site justice.

What this also means is that I need to find a way of taking pictures that are consistent with each other (i.e. all have the same background etc.) even if they are consistent only at army level rather than for my collection as a whole. This leads on to (3)...

3. I need to set up a permanent photography station somewhere in the man-cave. The galleries where I have photographed a whole army in one go, and added nothing to it since then, look good...but what most consist of is a core of units photographed in one go, then a whole series of individually photographed units against a variety of backgrounds added as they are painted.

This means a place with good, natural lighting; a permanent background screen; markings for where the figures need to go for the right focus etc. As always, I know the theory, and can get the detail from several useful bogs and web articles about photographing figures, but don't have the time to actually do what I need to do!

So that's a few things thrown up by re-loading just the CDS and Q13 galleries, but some of you might be asking why I have with the galleries anyway: lots of war gamers don't bother.

Well, there are several reasons for the galleries.

One is that I like looking at pictures of my figures: and I make no apologies for that. Obviously if the house was on fire I'd save my children before my figures...but don't ask me where the wife fits in to the list!

That was a joke, my dear, just in case you're reading this.

The second is that the galleries are a good way of seeing what I've got. I have about 15,000 15mm figures, all catalogued, but the galleries are a quick short cut to see what units I have and what's missing. If I can't remember if I have SdKfz 221s or 222s; or whether the ones I have are painted for early war, late war or for the desert, then the galleries are a quick way of looking. 

Finally, it's good to look at my figures and compare them to those painted by the experts (Piers Brand, War Painter etc). Mine aren't up to that standard, but seeing what they produce (both photography and the painting itself) inspires me to improve what I do...and if you aren't improving, you're dying!

R

 

Gitungi Mole Mine Specialists and Sloag Rider Knights

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I have often complained that a lot of sci-fi figure manufacturers limit their ranges to a handful of trooper poses and the odd heavy weapon team.

Where are the technical specialists? The engineers? The recon teams etc? Generally you have to mix and match across different ranges to construct a force that even resembles what I would call an 'army' or a company-sized force for Q13.

One manufacturer who has recently bucked that trend and really expanded out from his basic range is Micropanzer with the Gitungi. Now available is a full set of figures from basic troopers through to veterans in heavier armour, troops wearing powered armour, scouts, add-on jet-packs, and a whole set of specialists and support weapons.

Funding for this expansion was via a voucher system: you paid up front for what you wanted and got lead to the value of your investment plus a multiplier. I can't remember what the multiplier was, but it certainly gave me good value for money as the large box in the lead mountain testified.

Here are the first two support units for my basic Gitungi force: mole mine specialists and sloag-rider knights.

The first, the mole mine specialists, are a brilliant idea. You get a drone operator, complete with remote control and finger-poised-to-press-a-button, and a selection of mines that, in the fluff, travel underground until they are next to their target...then "boom"! The Gitungi army list already notes how they will work in Q13, and I can't wait to try them out:

Next up is a really wacky unit that I just love: the Sloag rider Knights. They are Gitungi with long power-lances riding giant armoured slugs or sloags in the fluff. I can see these as being very useful for worlds with a very boggy surface, and although I don't think they would last long on a Q13 battlefield (being the equivalent of modern cavalry) I do think they would work well in a more skirmish-game environment. Again, I can't wait to try them out...charge!

There's also a unit of sloag-riders with guns, but I haven't got them yet.

More new Gitungi to follow soon...

Quar: Ailthean Light Tractors

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It's been over a month since I've had a chance to do any painting (something to do with spending all my time re-loading content onto this website!) so it was a real pleasure to sit down at the painting table yesterday and  make the tiniest of dents in the lead mountain.

Earlier this year, Zombiesmith added a whole set of new troops to their 15mm Quar line (think WW1 anteaters), and here are the first completed: a half-wedge of Ailthean Light Tractors for my Crusader forces.

Assault Crabs from Khurasan Miniatures

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Originally posted 9th August 2014

I've been wanting to get these Assault Crabs from Khurasan for my Hive army some time. 

Although the picture doesn't show it very well, these models have a lovely layered, shell-like back that dry brushes up really nicely. I used several ever-lightening shades of red, then orange and finally a very, very light brush of yellow. Turned out really well.

Q13 Army Lists: The Quar

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Originally posted 20th June 2014

I have been so busy with Bashnya or Bust! that I missed the next wave of Zombiesmith's 15mm Quar releases.

This introduces some very welcome additions to the range, including the much-needed basic company support weapons for both the Crusader and Coftyran forces. It also includes Coftyran officers, new tractors and a great looking Weedl scout kite. Finally, there is a new nationality of Quar released, the Kryster: desert raiders equipped with fast-moving three-wheelers and their own tractor. I have immediately ordered about a metric ton of these, and can't wait to get them on the painting table.

 New figures means a revised army list, so the Quar list now contains all the new releases plus details of the Fidwog forces as well. My thanks to Josh of Zombiesmith for the free pdf.

Q13 Army Lists: The Gitungi Revised

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Originally posted 9th May 2014

One of the most annoying things about sci-fi gaming in 15mm is the way some manufacturers never properly complete their ranges. The standard release is an infantry squad of 4-6 different troopers, with maybe the odd officer or support weapon: not nearly enough to make up a proper company-sized force. 

Sometimes this is down to economics (the original release didn't sell, so no throwing good money after bad), sometimes down to real life interfering. Whatever the reason, it's jolly annoying all the same.

Well one alien race has just been saved from a similar fate: Micropanzer are just about to release a second wave of Gitungi figures featuring a whole series of new troop types and support weapons. This almost makes up for the change in OB and the fact that some of their original support drones have mysteriously migrated to another manufacturer's range!

The new troop types are just what you'd expect from Micropanzer: beautifully sculpted, imaginatively realised alien troopers. And there are some cracking concepts in here too. In addition to some powered armour types, some jet packs that can be added to exisiting figures, and some more tripodal support drones, are a nice little anti-tank tracked support gun; some really nicely whacky tech guys (these are brilliant: why can't more manufacturers release the same sort of tech crew); some powerlance-armed snail-slug riders; and a specialist mole mine operator complete with mole mines. I could feel the chrome!

Here, then, is the revised Gitungi army list, taking into account all the new releases. Should mean the birdmen get stuffed next battle!     

Q13 Army Lists: The Chuhuac II

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Originally posted 4th May 2014

One of the most exciting things about sci-fi gaming in 15mm is the speed at which new ranges of figures are becoming available. Along with prolific incumbents such as Khurasan, Critical Mass and GZG, new manufacturers are appearing almost on a monthly basis...and one such is Loud Ninja Games with their first range, the Chuhuac, available exclusively through 15mm.co.uk.

These are fantastic models, full of life and animation, that paint up really nicely as well. I have painted one 'platoon' in a jungle-type camouflage, I'm half way through another in desert camouflage, and my special ops teams will be in an urban camouflage.

Here, then, is my first stab at a Chuhuac list for Q13. Their prime attribute is the ability to move quickly (well, they do look like velociraptors!) and each platoon comes with its own spotter as well, so good EWSO technology. As they are light on vehicles, I've statted  the battlesuits as armoured car-like individual vehicles rather than superheavy infantry. I see them as a fast-moving light infantry force that overwhelms quickly through speed rather than firepower.

And if you disagree, then fine, that's the beauty of Q13: you can design as you wish to design them. Just send me a pdf of your list, and I'll add it to this site.

Q13 Army Lists: The Chuhuac

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Originally posted 20th April 2014

My latest alien race for Q13 are the Chuhuac: velociraptor-like beings from Loud Ninja Games (available in the UK from 15mm.co.uk). Full Q13 army lists and a gallery soon, but here are some pictures of the first infantry squad:

Q13: Vornid Army List

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Originally posted 6th January 2014

I've mentioned before that one of the frustrations of 15mm sci-fi gaming is the fact that some brilliant ranges are incomplete, in that they might have a good selection of infantry, but they have no support weapons or vehicles.

One range that is a case in point is Khurasan's Vornid range of plantmen. Great infantry, nothing else. People weren't buying them, so the range wasn't expanded. Fair enough, but it means it's difficult to use them on the tabletop, as more rounded opponents take them apart too easily.

I've already expanded the Vornid army list with the addition of GZG support weapons crewed by Fungoid mushroom men (also from Khurasan), and Slishian Big Men and gunners from Hydra, and can now report I've found a source of vehicles as well in the form of Ravenstar Studio's Horrid range.

These are, well, horrid, as you'll see from the first additions, below. Ordering them involves e-mailing Ravenstar, but if you want a source of most unpleasant sci-fi creatures, with guns, then the Horrid are worth the trouble. Just to give you an idea of scale, the tanks below are over six inches long: this is Starship Troopers territory!

To the left are links to the updated Vornid Army List, the updated Vornid Gallery, and the updated 15mm Sci-Fi Manufacturers list (where you'll find a link to Ravenstar Studio's blog). Below are the Chitin Two-Gun tanks!