Rusty Mech Salvage

Infantry manufacturors

2012-02-17T06:00:00.000-08:00

Hello, just a little post to discuss different infantry manufacturors for scifi in 10 mm scale.
This covers quite a grey area from 10-14 mm in height.
1) Mechwarrior clickies; this is my immediate first choice simply because I currently have a vast collection, and fits in nicely with my 2012 theme " I will buy no more forever".
pros--> cheap, abundant, adequately pre painted, lots of variety, especially for power armor, lots of specialist choices
cons--> Pain in the arse to work with, difficult to separate from integral base. if you can stand keeping them on their brown base and not repainting, then this con is meaningless
2) Heavy Gear infantry from Dream Pod 9 , nice ,limited poses
pros-->metal, less fragile, beautiful sculpts,much easier to work with....desert infantry types
cons---> price,price,price...not as much variety as mechwarrior, might be viable for a desert themed army
or for INFINITY in 10 mm
3)WAVE 1/144 support crew. nice plastic multipose gundam crew members and flight support crew
pros--> interesting body armor, multi pose, plastic ,nice for conversions, cheap, available from Hobbylink japan
cons--> no weapons included, would have to cannabalize some guns from MW clicks, lots of cutting and reposing....but would be good for a different higher tech faction ,possibly with Gashopon support
4) New upcoming scifi/near future from Pendraken. should be available soon, looks stunning...wonderful heavy weapons teams.
pro-->beatiful, metal, probably much cheaper than heavy gear
cons--> would have to actually spend money
5) still no actual aliens or monster types foes in 10 mm... although Khurasan is rumored to be developing starship trooper type bugs in 10 mm. other swarm type armies could come from GW tyranid ripper swarms old...and new ... and Pendraken also have some old alien type monsters.
if anyone reads this or has any other suggestions please let me know\
oops almost forgot, i think there are some 10 mm star wars stuff I noticed on space man spiffs blog, but havent a clue as to how to find them

commonwealth naval vehicles

2012-02-02T19:34:00.000-08:00

hello, these are the finished vehicles for my Commonwealth Naval faction for Gruntz.
each of the first three pictures contains a medium GSV APC with two transport slots, a towed antitank heavy laser specialist, and a light tank whose duty it is to escort the APC. When paying for/creating the towed weapon specialist, I made sure to pay for it to have wheeled mobility, so I would not have to use a transport slot for the APC. So it will travel with the APC and appear to be towed, but primarily for aesthetic purposes.
The fourth pic shows a large command APC with 3 transport slots(may not be legal){and which did not make it into the points cutoff for this army}, a heavy tracked tank, and a medium tracked tank.
As part of the battle plan, there will be three sections each containing a light tank, an APC with 2 squads of marines, and a specialist hvy laser anti tank weapon.
the last two sections of this army will consist of a heavy tank with specialist mecha support, and a medium tank with specialist mecha support.
The final part of the army will be an uber commander tricked out with power fist, power armor, grenade launcher, and jump pack.
I just need to finish the commander, 2 small mecha, and 24 naval marines....and then I can playtest...

500 point army gruntz: Commonwealth Navy

2012-02-02T11:07:00.000-08:00

Hello, the next army for Gruntz that I am working on is a Commonwealth Naval force. It weighs in at 499 points. I will not bore you by listing all the damage and soak etc. It is designed to be a mid tech level groundpounding army, ideally suited to intervening in anti piracy campaigns, and mining outpost defense situations. As such it is fitting that it should first battle the Rim Defectionist, house Portacollis raiding party.
The army is 80% finished at this point, I only need to finish 24 infantry grunts, a commander figure, and 2 specialist mecha figures( fenrir battle armor suits from mechwarrior). Once done I will finish a little alien Flora and have my first battle of Gruntz.
Details of the Commonwealth Naval 571st expeditionary brigade.
1) commander/56pts/ light power armor,power fist,medium grenade launcher. perkz- higher modz and jump pack
2) 2 specialist mecha each armed with medium mortar/2x15=30pts/
3) 6 identical squads of marines../6x15=90pts/projectile rifles,medium armor,HE and AP grenades,cutlasses
    and geardo perk
4) 3 identical GSV medium APC's, wheeled 2 transport slots. light projectile dam 16/3x28=84pts/
5) 3 identical anti tank specialist heavy laser dam 6 Perk melt away. /3x11=33pts/
    these models are towed gun carriages to be towed behind each APC. I paid for wheeled mobility when creating , so as not to use up a transport slot on the APC.
6) 3 wheeled light tanks(total 106 points) all speed 8, dam 18 soak 16, one is armed with 2 light plasma, one is armed with a light missile pod, and the last one is armed with 2 light missile pods
7) a tracked medium tank dam 22 soak17 speed 7 with 2 medium lasers and skill 5/ 43 points/
8) a tracked heavy tank dam26 soak 18 speed 6 with 2 medium plasma and 1 medium missile pod skill5
    57points.
primary battle plan is to have 3 APCs advance on objectives each carrying 2 squads of marines and towing an AT heavy laser. Each APC will have a light tank attached as an escort.
the medium tank will work independently(paired up with a specialist mecha fire support)
the heavy tank will work independently(paired up with the other specialist mecha)
the commander will flit about with his jump pack trying to help without getting KIA
    will post some pics soon, as all the vehicles are done

finished Rim Defectionist army for gruntz

2012-01-23T15:55:00.000-08:00

hello,
just finished my first force for gruntz. A Rim Defectionist army weighing in at 500 points.
first pic shows the entire small force.
6 specialist bikers, a small VTOL craft, a medium hover tank, a super large APC and a medium APC.
the super large APC has 4 transport slots and carries a power armor squad and two specialist dreadnought mecha.
The medium APC has two transport slots and carries a veteran gruntz squad with fusion rifles, and a squad attachment with a heavy fusion cannon, and the leader of the force.
Now i cant wait to finish an appropriate opfor.
I believe I will try for a commonwealth Naval force, as in the fluff they would be a likely opponent for the Rim Defectionist pirate/merchant force.
This is a very compact force relying on speed, technology and firepower.....will see how it works out. If interested, the exact composition and points for this force are listed about 2 posts back.
I am also relieved to not have to paint any more orange for a while

Rim Defectionists Jet VTOL ASV

2012-01-19T14:09:00.000-08:00

Hello, just finished my first rough and ready unit for my new Rim defectionist army for Gruntz. It is a salvaged Yasha VTOL
from Mechwarrior clickie fame. this is a light ASV with anti infantry light laser, very fast but fragile, not sure what its use will be as I have not had a game yet. The ASV's do not appear to be mighty tank hunters in Gruntz, maybe more of a recon or anti infantry role....or possibly used as a rocket magnet. painting is hurried, model is small, but hey what do you want for 49 cents?

500 point army for Gruntz

2012-01-19T08:55:00.000-08:00

This is a 500 point army I will be building for Gruntz. I have decided to build a small force based on the Gruntz fluff using the Rim Defectionists (RD). The RD are described as a loose association of mostly pirate and rebel factions with some minority trade stations and mining operations. They make use of whatever military kit they can and are sometimes lucky enough to have advanced technology. As far as a unifying pallette, I will be using orange ,white, and shades of grey. I want to emphasize the non uniform drab military nature of this flamboyant fighting force of pirates, merchant houses, and rebels.

RD expeditionary force
1)commander in power armor with a SA missile launcher, and power fist, equipped with a jump pack and combat drugs (50 pts.) S6 A6 G13 So14 M8 Sk4 Dam18
2)veteran squad in heavy armor with plasma rifles, laser sword, and force shields, and a squad attached medium plasma, and laser sword (48 pts.) S7 A7 G13 So13{15} M9 Sk5
3)Medium APC(35pts.) (carries commander and veteran squad) wheeled speed 8, light laser anti inf weapon
Dam16 So16{17} Ram11 Guard11 with Uber Armor mod and crew skill 6
4) 6 identical specialist 3 wheeled attack cycles classed as light,speed 7{8), mounting specialist heavy lasers, and with the perk ultimate agility(150 pts.) S5 A5 M6 Sk4 So13 G13 Dam5
5)Medium Grav Tank, expert crew6, armed with a medium plasma cannon, and a light projectile anti infantry gun, using the Micro CIWS mod granting +2 soak vs. missiles/rockets (46pts.) speed 8 Dam22 So17 Ram11 Guard11
6) Light ASV VTOL craft.(26pts.) crew skill5, speed 14,mounting an anti infantry vehicle lt. plasma chin mount. Dam12 So14 Ram10 Guard13
7)Assault class GSV APC "the bus"(38 pts.) 4 transport slots; carries 1 power armor squad, and 2 specialist mecha (dreadnoughts)..wheeled speed 7, armed with vehicle lt. projectile anti infantry gun. crew skill 5.
Dam22 So18{19} ram13 Guard9, with Uber Armor Mod
8) 2 identical specialist Mecha,(60 pts.) heavy, armed with medium sp. mortar, and power claw, speed 5
S5 A6 M7 Sk4 Dam7 So15 Guard 11
9) Canned Heat Power Armor Squad (33 pts.) 6 gruntz with jump packs,hvy sniper rifles and CC energy weapons.S5 A5 Guard12 So14 M7 Sk4, double move12 inches.
so far comes to 486 points.
1 medium grav tank, 1 light vtol, 6 fast cycles, 2 APC's delivering the commander, veteran squad, power armor squad, and 2 dreadnoughts, overall a fast mobile strike force.

2 vehicles for blue army

2012-01-12T18:20:00.000-08:00

Now the first of the vehicles for blue army for gruntz. have not statted these out yet, but one is a light tank
and the other is a medium support missile truck. So far I think Blue army will be pretty basic tech, with no hover or grav.

power armor infantry

2012-01-12T18:13:00.000-08:00

Hello again, this time I have my first squad of power armored infantry for my blue army for gruntz.
another mechwarrior salvage, I believe they are Raiden battle armor, next to some basic infantry for size comparison.
next up my first two vehicles.

First Squad for Gruntz

2012-01-12T16:24:00.000-08:00

hello, and so begins my great adventure....This is my first finished squad of infantry for my first army for Gruntz.
The figures are rescued Elite Infantry from the mechwarrior CMG from Wizkidz(and measure in at a whopping 10mm height). I opted to play Gruntz with my infantry squads mounted on squad bases instead of based singly, purely as a personal preference. I am not a big fan of individual casualty removal games and look forward to simply marking 6 boxes off the unit card during play.
My squaddies are mounted on a 30 mm diameter round plastic medical vial top, which has been filled with adhesive tile grout, spray painted and later drybrushed. I plan on using the original long oval mechwarrior bases for vehicles and mechs, and 22 mm diameter round bases for specialist choices, and 15mm round bases for squad attachment choices( both sizes readily available from medical vial plastic tops). This project is all about frugality.
My first force will be using a limited pallette of blue, grey, white, and lavender. I plan on making my forces heavily infantry and vehicles with a smattering of mecha and aircraft. I believe I am done with this squad, but will not entirely rule out the addition of some silflor tufts
in the near future.
I am intending on a universe setting near to far future ,in which all factions have access to all equipment , much like mercenary forces in the battletech universe.
Welcome to my mad project, open to any suggestions, advice, criticism.
Steve

infantry types for Gruntz

2012-01-09T08:55:00.000-08:00

Hello, another boring post without pictures...
Since I am planning at least 2 large scifi opfors using old mechwarrior clickie infantry, I thought I would list
the types available in my plastic pile.
Infantry( basic, no power armor, no squad attachments, or specialists...Gruntz)
-standard foot...basic body armor and small arms
-peasant company... unarmored small arms
-free legion... unarmored, small arms
-shock troops.. body armor/possible jump packs, small arms
-elite infantry...
-pathfinders...
-special forces...body armor? face mask..dual weapons
- ghillie suit... no armor , small arms, ghillie suit
infantry suitable for Squad Attachments, and leaders
- combat technicians
-combat engineers
-mortar squad
-sniper
-flamer team
-laser team
-srm team
power armor= wow there are countless varieties of battle armor to use as power armored troops
as well as a few that are so large like dreadnoughts in 40 k
**specialist for Gruntz**
most of the battle armor that is based 1 unit per clickie
-salamander BA
-Ravager BA
-Kamizacki BA
-Fenrir BA
-gun nest
-LRM battery
-SRM battery
-towed gauss rifle
-towed field artillery
-towed autocannon
-machine gun nest
-trike squad
-strike sled
-trackbike
-scout ATV
-minigun cycle
-hoverbike squad(looks like a lawnmower)
well thats it for today.....so much variety , so cheap, and thats not even vehicles, mechs, vtols

What's this all about then?

2012-01-07T18:26:00.000-08:00

Hello fellow scifi miniature wargamers. Yet another blog, this one will focus on my attempts to salvage old unwanted Mechwarrior Wizkidz CMG miniatures. About a year ago I picked up a rather large lot from a fellow on TMP, and have been wondering what I would ever do with these.
What I have is an insane amount of infantry, battle armor, vehicles, and a small amount of Mechs and VTOL craft.
My current plan is to create two opposing forces with which to play sci fi games in the all but ignored scale of 12mm. The main reason to jump into this scale is the amazing quantity of cheap stuff available from the abandoned mechwarrior game. My plan is to focus on the infantry and vehicles, rebasing, and repainting. I am also excited by the availability of terrain from Kato model railroad buildings and from dream pod 9. While the main focus of my foray into 12mm gaming is frugality, I may eventually be tempted to buy some infantry from dream pod 9.
I have seen many Mechwarrior mechs used for 15mm and some vehicles used for 6mm gaming, but I really wanted to show that something could be done withe the infantry as well.
The games I plan on building for are Gruntz and Tactical Assault Combat Cards.
For Gruntz, I will use infantry squads of 6 troopers based on a 40 by 40 mm Games Workshop base(leftover from old projects). Other special attachments: squad heavy weapons, bikes, speeders, small mechs , leaders, heavy weapons teams, will be mounted on round 25mm radius bases. Most vehicles and large mechs will be based on leftover mechwarrior oval bases.
Hopefully I can keep my own interest going in this project by blogging and possibly inspire others to try the same.
I already have 4 squads of infantry and 2 small vehicles completed, will post pics when basing is completed.