Month: August 2021

Culverin Science Fiction Vehicles for Star Patrol(R)

For many years I have been using Combat Patrol(R) for “serious” science fiction games and GASLIGHT for pulpy science fiction games.  I have begun adapting Combat Patrol(R) and Albedo Combat Patrol(TM) as a new release of a set of rules for science fiction skirmish games.  I have been collecting vehicles and figures from a variety of manufacturers for years.  Recently, I discovered vehicle kits from Culverin.  They are a mix of resin and 3D printed parts.

This weekend I finished several of them.

The Typhos tank comes with several different weapons.  The kit is meant for you to choose one.  Instead, I inset some small rare-earth magnets to make the weapons interchangeable based on the scenario.  In this series of pictures, you can see the various weapons.  (The gray portions are 3D printed, and the white portion is resin.)

Typhos with mini-gun.
Typhos with short-range cannon.
Typhos with long-range cannon.
Typhos with dual energy beam weapons.
Typhos with demolition gun.

They also offer a tank destroyer.

Culverin tank destroyer.
I have painted my science fiction vehicles in a number of different paint schemes over the years. I decided to paint these in US WWII olive drab.
The Typhos tank with no main weapon. The secondary weapon can be a cannon, flame thrower, heavy machine-gun, or beam weapon.

Here are the finished Typos tanks with the various weapons.

Typos with long-range, heavy cannon.
Typhos with mini-gun.
Typhos with demolition gun.
Typhos with short-range cannon.
Typhos with dual energy beam weapons.

Culverin makes a bunch of different vehicles.  Another one I like is the Hyena armored personnel carrier.  It comes with three different weapons as well.

Hyena APC with mini-gun.
Hyena with anti-tank gun.
Hyena with flamer.  The figures are from Pig Iron.

Finally, I also bought three of the Boar weapon carriers.  These look like over-sized Bren / Universal carriers.  I have two with heavy machine-guns and one with a flame thrower.

Boar weapon carriers.

Service from Culverin was fast, and everything arrived in good condition.  They assembled easily.  I recommend that you drill holes in the weapons and turret front of the Typhos to allow you to exchange weapons.

Great WOOD Game Yesterday

I had two guys over for what turned out to be an excellent game of Wars of Orcs and Dwarves yesterday.

     Kevin and I played the Orcs, and David played the hobbits. The orcs (good guys) were attacking to seize a hilltop and grab Princess McGuffin. The hobbits (bad guys) were defending a waddle wall and the hill. The orces had two “brigades,” each consisting of two “regiments” with hand weapons and one with bows. The hobbits had two units of archers, two units with spears and halberds, an elite unit with swords, a small unit of chariots, and a light artillery piece. The orcs also had one unit of giant blood orcs (with a stealthy commander!) that began in the hobbit’s rear.
Initial disposition of forces showing the hobbit defenses. In the top right you can see our flanking force of giant blood orcs. I normally like to put the hills under the cloth, but they photograph better this way.
Initial dispositions of Kevin’s “brigade” of Minifigs pig-face orcs.
Initial disposition of my brigade of Dragonbait Miniatures pig-faced orcs.
Initial dispositions of hobbit defenders. Most of the figures are Mirliton and Assuat Group. The hydra is a 3D print. They waddle walls and the stone hut are Reynedra.
A close view of the hobbit defenses.
Initial dispositions from a hobbit perspective.
     The good guys’ (orcs’) plan was for me to be aggressive on the orc right to keep the bad guys (hobbits) pinned down, while Kevin maneuvered around the right flank. I thought the plan was going to work well, when after a melee, the hobbit bowmen decided to pursue my orcs. They leapt over the wall and advanced toward me. By the time the smoke cleared, my two hand-weapon units had been crushed by the combined efforts of three units of hobbits.
     A unit of hobbits with halberds and the goose hydra routed the blood orcs in a dynamic melee. Kevin’s fought poorly all day (dismal dice), while David had pretty good luck.
     The key moment came in turn three. Often the brigade commanders’ abilities do not frequently have a major impact, but in this game they were decisive. Kevin used his “Follow Me, Boys!” ability to launch all of his units in a combined assault. His bowmen charged up the hill, defeated one unit and then fell on the rear of the hobbit artillery while his sword unit routed another hobbit unit. At this point, all but one hobbit unit was routed or destroyed. Unfortunately for the good guys (orcs), David’s brigade commander had Rally. This allows the commander, once per game, to automatically rally all units within 36 inches. In the past, this has allowed a commander to rally one or two key units. In this case, David rallied every routing unit, so the hobbits went from completely routed to back in the game. Ouch!
The goos hydra facing off with the giant blood orcs. The orcs had charged the hydra previously, which is why they are disordered. The blood orcs (and most of Kevin’s troops) fought poorly all day (dismal dice rolling). The hobbit unit had eliminated one base of orcs previously. In the next round of melee, the orcs lost two bases to the hydra while inflicting only one hit in return!
Kevin’s brigade of orcs turning the hobbit flank. The Minifigs pig-face orcs in the foreground slipped behind the elite hobbit swordsmen in the woods and routed the hobbit bowmen along the wall and the hobbit artillery from behind. It was Kevin’s finest hour, but it only lasted one activation before David rallied all his troops.
My heavily attritted orcs eventually routed the unit of hobbits they were fighting.
In the lower left, you can see the hobbit bowmen who inexplicably (Reaction Test Result) decided to charge out of their defenses. At this point, the lightly armored bowmen and completely wiped out one of my orc units through a combination of melee and archery.
     In the end the hobbits had five units left, and the orcs were down to two chewed up ones. While the orc commander briefly captured Princess McGuffin, the game was a clear hobbit (bad guy) victory.
The rallied hobbits returning to the fight, supported by the goose hydra.
The orc bowmen had routed the hobbit gunners (seen trying to reoccupy the cannons). This shot is just after David rallied all his troops. You can see the hobbit bowmen returning to the fight in the upper left. This is also right before the orc commander seized (briefly) Princess McGuffin.
     What made this game so fun was the dramatic changes of fortune. At the beginning the orcs thought we were doing well. At the end of turn two, we thought we had lost. In turn three, the hobbits were all mostly routed, and the orcs were celebratory. At the end, it was a clear hobbit victory. The game was bloody, dramatic, and fun!

The Captain America Orcs Get Reinforcements

Way back in 1983 Mark Morin painted 12 Minifigs orcs.  As Mark and I are old groganrds, he and I remember the story differently.  As I remember the story, Mark found these figures somewhere and gifted a set to me and Patty’s New Wave Bar and Grill Militia to Dave Wood.  As Mark remembers the story, he was looking for something to paint as he was just entering the hobby.  I handed him these figures, and he painted them.  In any event, they were a gift that I have maintained for many years.  Due to the garish painting scheme, these became known as the “Captain America Orcs.”

The Captain America Orcs. In this picture the flocked base is one of Mark’s originals. The unlocked bases are the new ones.

A year ago (or so) when I started working on Wars of Orcs and Dwarves, I found the few fantasy figures I had and remounted them on two-inch square bases.  In the intervening years, I had forgotten who produced these figures.

I had enough figures to make three bases.  I wanted two more bases worth of these figures.  After all these years, I couldn’t remember who produced the figures, so I posted a picture to the Vintage Lead Facebook page.  Not only did someone (several actually) identify the figures, but it turns out they were still in production.  I found the Minifigs Web site.  (Searching for Minifigs is tricky, because the search results are mostly Lego mini figures.)  I ordered the missing figures (and some others in different poses, and the order shipped quickly.

Last weekend I finished painting them and one evening I based them and flocked the bases.  The tricky bit was trying to match the colors.  They were originally painted with Poly-S.  I think they turned out pretty close to the originals.  I block painted them like Mark’s.

The original figures participated in a recent fight (and got spanked).  Buck’s Law says that the first time a new unit participates in a game, it usually gets smacked around.  Since I am adding two more bases to the unit, I don’t know if Buck’s Law will be invoked in the next game.