ScrapYard Armory

One of the vital and entertaining parts of a Chaos Campaign as well as either of the Starterbook campaigns is managing your Mechwarriors.  There are a variety of events that would require you to shift around your pilots between ‘Mechs.  Pilots get injured.  ‘Mechs get destroyed.  New and better ‘Mechs are either bought or salvaged.  Sometimes, a different mix of pilots and ‘Mechs just makes sense for one mission over another.

I got tired of constantly erasing the pilot data off all of my record sheets when I shifted around my pilots.  I was also afraid as the campaign missions become more heated, I’d forget what pilot had what damage.  I came up with a way to keep a record of each pilot separate from the ‘Mech record sheet.

Make a small cut with an exacto knife just above the Mechwarrior data section on your ‘Mech record sheets.  With a small cut and a #1 paper clip, you can swap out pilots at will between missions.

Blank Pilot Sheet (PDF, 60KB)

I modified a Classic Battletech record sheet with multiple Mechwarrior Data sections.  Cut them out for your force and use a blank to hold them all between missions.  When a pilot gets injured and he needs a few missions to rest you can put him aside for a track or two to heal up.

I am looking forward to using this tool in my campaign and I hope some of you out there find it useful as well.

Here again is that Warhammer I painted up a few posts ago.  I’ve tried out a new technique for this series of miniatures and now I’ll be sharing it with you.

I apologize for the poor lighting and framing at times.  I’m getting the hang of this video thing as I go.  With each one I learn a little more.  Sorta like painting.  To get better you have to give new ideas a try.

Materials List

• Woodland Scenics Fine Buff Ballast
• Woodland Scenics Medium Buff Ballast
• Woodland Scenics Talas Rock Debris
• Woodland Scenics Fine Yellow Turf
• Woodland Scenics Static Grass

Paint List (Vallejo Game Colors)

• Black (Base Coat)
• Stormy Blue (Base Coat)
• Cold Grey (Base Coat)
• Stonewall Grey (First Drybrush)
• White (Final Drybrush)

It’s never too early to start thinking about conventions!

Conventions are a great way to meet new people, play new games, and otherwise have some fun blowing up ‘Mechs with your buddies!

Here is the shortlist of conventions you may see me at this year.

• HMGS Cold Wars, March 12-15 (www.coldwars.org)
• HMGS Historicon, July 16-19 (www.historicon.org)

Both of these HMGS conventions are great conventions.  Catalyst Demo Agent “Speck” always has a full weekend of games running and they are all well attended.

As an added bonus, Iron Wind Metals makes the trip and has all of their Battletech miniatures on display at their booth.  IWM brings way too many goodies to the show.  Where else besides GenCon are you going to be able to buy battlearmor by the singles?

• NJCon, June 5-6 June 12-13 (www.njcon.org)

I’ll be attending and running games in this second running of NJCon.  I’m already plotting new maps and miniatures for this convention.  If you are in the area come on over and roll some dice!

• GenCon, Aug 13-16 (www.gencon.com)

If you were waiting for a year to attend GenCon, this is it.  It is Battletech’s 25th anniversary and there are sure to be some special offerings from the good folks at Catalyst.

• UberCon, Oct 23-25 (www.ubercon.com)

UberCon is new to my target list of conventions.  There doesn’t seem to be a large miniature wargaming support or any Classic Battletech.  It is a perfect opportunity to stick my flag in the sand like I did at NJCon.  I’m willing to give it a go this year to see anyways.

I hope to see some of my readers here and there this year.  Obviously, if you live on the east coast near the state of New Jersey, you have a much better chance.  There is always GenCon, though.

Hoping for a great 2009 to you and yours!

I knew I wanted to do something exciting with this miniature.  The Reseen Warhammer’s left leg is sculpted with a slight bend at the knee.  Perfect for a walking pose or stepping up onto something.  I had some extra pieces of miniatures I did not have all the parts for.  It all just came together.   Here is how it went.

Starting Out

Like most Reseen scuplts, this miniature came in an impressive number of pieces.  Just great for those wanting a little flexibility but an added trouble to put together.  I ended up pinning each and every part and let me tell you those arms were a bitch.

But not nearly as bad as those hips.  In the picture you can see the early stages of assembly.  I spent a good few minutes figuring out just how I was going to go about putting the legs together and keep the hips level.  Nobody likes a miniature that looks like it is in a limbo contest.

See the leg on the right of the picture? I put one pin in that and then drilled a hole straight through the hips to the other leg which had a matching hole.  I wish I had a secret technique to share, but honestly, I just slapped superglue on the thing and held it together knowing I would have at least one adjustment before the glue set fast.

The base was a simple matter of slapping green stuff together with the MadCat torso.  I drilled in some bullet holes for good measure as well as some laser burns cut with a file.

Adding Some Color

I slapped on the first coat of green both on the Warhammer and his little friend.  The Warhammer is based in a mix of Dark Green and Camo Green (These are Vallejo Game Colors acrylics).

The MadCat started out with a coat of Jade Green.  Simple so far.

Note I am working on the Warhammer using a cork.  That way, while I paint, I won’t have to touch the mini itself.  I have already at this point dry fit the Warhammer on the base and drilled a mounting hole in the MadCat for a pin coming out of the Warhammer’s foot.

A Quick Wash

Just about every miniature I do gets a healthy dose of magic wash.  You can see in the picture how the dark ink leeches into the crevasses of the miniature.  If applied properly, you get a great base onto which you can highlight and bring the color of the miniature back up to a final shade.

It is slowly starting to look like something.

Beside the Warhammer you can see the quick job I did on the MadCat torso.  I added in progressively greater amounts of Scorpy Green to my Jade Green and dry brushed in the highlights.  A final panel line of Scorpy Green in all the right places finishes it off.

Final Touches

Both green and tan sections of the miniature get at least two dry brushed highlights and sharp panel lines.  A quick cockpit jeweling and some final yellow dots put on the final touches.

And now… I have to get the damn thing off the cork!  The super glue stuck a bit too well.  I ended up scraping off the paint from the toes on both feet.  A did a quick repair job with  several dark green mixes.  Bet you didn’t pay that much attention to the feet anyways!

I was sweating bullets when it came time to glue him to the MadCat.  I used epoxy because I wanted a super strong bond that wouldn’t crack under heavy use.

In the final image you can see the Avatar from an earlier post from which I practiced the paint scheme.  I think they look good together and I can’t wait to paint up the rest of the lance.  I’m thinking a T-Hawk and maybe a Sunder.

One thing I do know for sure, this is not the last time you’ll see this Warhammer.  That’s a promise.

Mark of the Jaguar is a scenario I’ve envisioned for some time now.  Ever since I read through the Unique Mech Record Sheets PDF (available as a FREE download at Battlecorps) I knew I wanted to spread the story of Cernunnos.

Do yourself a favor and add this PDF to your own collection.  There are many great stories inside.

I hope you enjoy this scenario.  I had a lot of fun making it!

MARK OF THE JAGUAR

“I wish I could have seen the look on that poor fool Drac pilot when he got visual.  I bet he dumped a load when he saw those damn spots we painted our ‘Mechs in.”

“Yea, I know.” Jacobs chuckled.  “The way he turned tail, he damn near tripped up getting out of his own way.”

The four men around the campfire laughed as the fading sunlight cast a fiery sheet of light on the horizon.  The wind was picking up.  No doubt a storm was heading their way.  Shame they wouldn’t get to enjoy the fire much longer.  The provisions and extra water from their last raid into the Draconis Combine would hold them off for some time no matter how bad the weather got.

“So what’s our next target Jacobs?” One of the other men asked after the laughter had died down.

Jacobs shot to his feet, his face twisting into a scowl.  “That’s Captain Jacobs you twit!”

The rest of the startled pirate lance glanced around uncomfortably, obviously waiting for the other to step in and attempt to calm the fuming lance leader.

“I run this lance and the lot of you should show some respect!”  Jacobs scanned the three seated men back and forth still irate over the apparent insult.

“Hey hey, calm down… Captain Jacobs,” Ryan said after a short silence trying to sound as sincere as possible. “Everybody knows you’re the boss.”

“You’re damn right I am!  It was my idea to paint up our ‘Mechs wasn’t it?!  You know how many times those chicken shit militia have gone walkabout when we showed up!”

A low and almost imperceptible rumble began underneath the four pirates.

“That may have been the best damn idea I’ve ever had!”  Jacobs stopped, suddenly aware of the rhythmic vibrations under his feet. “Hey, what the hell is that noise?”

SITUATION

Pirate forces in the Periphery have taken to painting their ‘Mechs in Clan Smoke Jaguar colors in order to intimidate those who would resist them during raids.  The tactic has proven very successful in striking fear in the hearts of their victims especially as reports of rogue Smoke Jaguar remnants begin to swirl around the Periphery.

Rezak’s Hole, a well known Pirate staging planet was recently the scene of a battle involving what is believed to be rogue elements from Clan Smoke Jaguar that managed to evade destruction on Huntress.  The alleged Smoke Jaguar force ambushed an isolated pirate raiding lance near a badlands oasis.

Hard facts from the encounter are hard to come by.  Operatives have been sent to access the situation and determine if any risk exists to our blessed order.

GAME SETUP

Arrange two Classic Battletech maps as shown below.  The east map is Open Terrain #2.  The west map is the standard Classic Battletech.

DEFENDER

The defenders consist of elements of a pirate raiding force known for painting their Battlemechs in Smoke Jaguar colors in order to intimidate their victims.

Mechwarriors

Battlemechs

DEPLOYMENT

The defender’s ‘Mechs begin the game on the West mapsheet in the locations shown below.  The Pirate player may choose which pilot goes in which ‘Mech and where each ‘Mech will be placed including facing.

ATTACKER

The attackers consists of elements from a renegade Smoke Jaguar Trinary led by a Clan Mechwarrior known only as Cernunnos.

DEPLOYMENT

The attacker enters the game on turn 1 from the east map edge.

SPECIAL CASE RULES

Caught With Their Pants Down

The Pirates are caught unprepared and need time to get all of their Battlemechs started up.

The Pirate player must nominate two of his ‘Mechs to start the game shutdown and immobile.  Before the game begins, the Pirate player writes down in secret one ‘Mech to start up on turn 3.  The remaining ‘Mech will start up on turn 6.

Dusk

Cernunnos often attacks at night in order to catch his prey off guard and out of their Battlemechs.

Apply a +1 to-hit modifier to all weapon attacks (not physical attacks).  For every 25 points of heat apply a -1 modifier  to all weapon attacks on that unit.

Moderate Gale

A brewing storm is the perfect opportunity to further disorient Cerunnos’ opponents.

Apply a +1 to-hit modifier to all missile weapon attacks.

VICTORY CONDITIONS

None Shall Live

These Dezgra will pay for their insult.  The Jaguar will show them no honor, no mercy!

The Smoke Jaguar player achieves a complete victory if all of the pirate ‘Mechs are crippled or destroyed.  A partial victory can be achieved by destroying three of the pirates and exiting Cernunnos off any map edge.

Escape!

Save who we can and get the hell out of here!

The Pirate player must exit at least half of his force through the Attacker’s home edge on turn seven or later to achieve a complete victory.  A partial victory can be achieved by destroying Cernunnos and escaping at least one ‘Mech off the Attacker’s home edge.

AFTERMATH

Another lance of Pirates were ambushed in the Periphery last week.  Investigators from the Explorer Corps once again are late to the show and found only a cold trail.  The local population remains uncooperative with media attempts to identify the source of the attack.  Rumors have been flying across the Periphery concerning the continued presence of these mysterious Clan forces and their ability to attack and evade capture seemingly at will.

No civilian casualties or collateral damage were reported.

The real question remains, what’s so bad about a few jittery Pirates anyhow?

I love the Chaos Campaign Warchest system.  The simplified campaign accounting rules help you to spend more time playing games and less time crunching numbers.  Who wants to work out the cost of every repair and ammo reload when what you really want to do is blast a PPC crater into an opposing ‘Mechs chest?

At the end of the Chaos Campaign rules PDF (available online for free), there is a Campaign Record Sheet that can be used, if you like, to help keep track of your unit’s progress.

I hate to be blunt, but I can’t help it.  This record sheet was designed by someone who has obviously never played through a Chaos Campaign before.

For every track, there are six lines for Options Used, seven lines for Objectives Gained/WP Earned, and a measly four lines for Downtime costs.  On the example record sheet, we can see how the developers imagined this record sheet be used.  It is all very self explanatory.

I have read through both Starter Books, Jihad Hotspots 3070 and 3072, and very few use more than three options or three objectives.  The most I found was the odd track that used four.

Why would they devote so many lines for something that will never actually be used?  Wasted space.  Meanwhile, with only four lines of downtime costs, you can’t possibly fit all the information you’d like.  There are missions that have you running two or more lances of ‘Mechs into combat.

I’ve been abbreviating up to now.  One line for ALL repairs, and one line for ALL salvage, and one line for ALL post track purchases.  It sucks because if there were more lines I could tell the story of my campaign much easier.

I went ahead and warmed up my PDF editor and made some changes.

Chaos Campaign Record Sheet Upgrade (PDF, 72KB)

I left only four lines each for Options and Objectives and put the balance under the Downtime Costs.  I’m already using these for my Wolf and Blake campaign.  With the added detail, I hope to be able to look back on these later on and remember the campaign.

Wow, I remember that Strike mission I ran!  What a disaster.  I almost lost my Griffin and Uziel in that mess.  I was lucky to get my pilots out alive!

We are crafting stories here when we play linked battles with characters and Battlemechs with names and unique quirks.  Make them memorable.  Hope you find the new record sheet useful.

UPDATE: January 27, 2009

From information gathered from the Classic Battletech forums it seems that I was a bit lucky when I made my first order.  An order from Hotz may take anywhere from two weeks to three months based on the experiences of other forum goers.  I’ll be sure to post when I do receive my new mat.

I’m glad he didn’t go walkabout with our money, but it is a bit distressing that Eric is not making every effort to keep in touch with his customers.

Bottom line, if you can afford the wait, Hotz Mats are a great gaming investment.  I love my current mat.  I wish it were possible to buy them without the hassle.

UPDATE: January 26th, 2009

I made contact with Eric and he is simply running behind due to the high volume of snow and extreme cold in his part of Canada.  Here are a few ways to get in touch with Eric if you are having difficulty reaching him.

Email:

whitewash.city@gmail.com

erichotz@shaw.ca

erichotz@direct.ca

Phone:

(604) 619 – 6925

ORIGINAL POST:

I ordered a new mat from Hotz Artworks around December.  It has been over a month now and I haven’t been able to make contact with Eric over email.

I have called his listed number (left a voice mail) and sent additional emails to two known email addresses.

I am not about to jump to the conclusion that he is ripping anyone off just yet.  There is the chance that something could have happened to him and he is unable to make good on his current game mat orders.  I know of at least one other person from the Classic Battletech forums who has an order in limbo.

Until I can confirm just what is happening with Hotz Artworks, DO NOT PLACE AN ORDER ON HIS WEBSITE.

I will keep this post updated with the latest and greatest as information becomes available.  I love my current mat from Hotz.  I hope that everything is well and this is all just a misunderstanding.

What a week!  There is lots going on in the Classic Battletech world.  In the event that you missed one, two, or possibly more bits of news, here is a rundown of what’s been going on.

Changes at Iron Wind Metals

• The deadline for Figure Archiving has been extended to Friday, February 15th.

Now is your chance to get those soon to be expensive archive figures from IWM.  The list is huge and includes a lot of figures you may not expect to have been at the bottom of the sales list, including protomechs, battle armor, VTOLs, and more than a few good looking ‘Mechs.

• All IWM orders are now shipping with delivery confirmation.

Honestly, I don’t know why they ever didn’t use confirmation on all orders.  I’ve done a bit of eBay selling in my day, and it is just common sense to list in your auction “Delivery Confirmation Included” just to keep away the riff raff.  Good move for IWM.

New Products from Catalyst

• Jihad Turning Points New Avalon was released.

You can read my review of Jihad Turning Points: New Avalon.

• Record Sheets: Project Phoenix Upgrade is released in multiple formats.

As an added surprise from the developers at Catalyst, we now have updated Project Phoenix record sheets using the new Total War format.  Did you know that all Total War style record sheets produced to date have been done by hand?  Can you imagine the Catalyst team hunched over using their PDF editor and putting each and every individual armor bubble in it’s place?  Well, no longer.  In the credits and introduction Randall mentions a new application for record sheet construction.

Also, RS:PPU is being released in a brand new way.  You can buy the entire work for around $10, or buy a faction specific set of record sheets for under $2 (price depends on the faction).

You can get a free preview of the Project Phoenix Upgrade.

Classic Battletech Forums in Danger

You’ve probably noticed the symptoms if you’ve been lurking around.  The double and sometimes triple posts.  The connection errors.  The long lag.  It is official now.  Death Shadow has announced that there is something rotten in Denmark and the forums may have to be wiped if a backup cannot be found and installed.

The latest and greatest is that the forums have been saved for now, but a purge of old posts is coming soon regardless.  Time to back up any old posts you are fond of.

A New Editor Joins the Scrapyard

I am pleased to announce that ScrapYard commenter and friend SaxyWolf has joined the scrapyard as a contributing editor.  It will be SaxyWolf’s job to tidy up the jibberish I sometimes manage to write as well as make contributions in the form of playtesting and post writing.

I’m looking forward to working with SaxyWolf with the site producing more great content and more importantly, playing great games.

JTP: New Avalon is the second in a new series of PDF only releases by Catalyst Game Labs.  This product is affordable and jam packed.  For those who already know and love the Chaos Campaign system, this is an invaluable tool to add to your collection.  Not a fan of the Jihad?  There is still some value to it when it comes to the planetary assault maps and terrain descriptions.  You can use this PDF to fight campaigns from any era including the prominent Federated Commonwealth Civil War.  If you are still not convinced skip it for now and wait for a Succession War era release if there is one in the future.  I’m hoping for one myself.

If you are on the fence here is my rundown on this newest release.  I also have a review of JTP: Luthien.

Opening Fiction

A great piece of work that demonstrates the desperate plight of the Inner Sphere forces trying to repel the Word of Blake.  Even when you have the home field advantage the battle doesn’t get any easier.  Sometimes you have to pull out all the stops and get down and dirty to get the job done. Here we are introduced to Sparky 2.0 who we will see more of later.

Great short fiction to open up this PDF, worthy of what I have read in the Battlecorps Anthologies.

Atlas

The atlas section follows the formula laid out by JTP: Luthien.  A brief history writeup is included alongside a large mapsheet table.  The FedCom civil war is touched upon as a major contributor of damage to the city prior to the Blakist invasion.  Perhaps the robes aren’t completely to blame for the sorry state of the FedSuns capital?  Regardless, I’m sure they will be blamed for it all anyways.

Great section for those of us who are either avid roleplayers or perfectionists.  You have all the details you need terrain wise to make an authentic New Avalon campaign during the Jihad or ANY other era.

Combatants

All coherent forces involved in the New Avalon campaign are detailed briefly including unit logo, commanding officer, average experience, appropriate RATs, force abilities (some of them we have seen before like Overrun and Off-Map movement, some are brand new), and Notes.

The Notes section for each unit consists of a few sentences describing a snippet of a larger story.  This is important because when you read them through from start to finish (the units are described in chronological order of arrival), you get a bigger picture of the whole battle.  There are nuggets buried in these unit descriptions.

Notable Notables

• The name of the game for the FedSuns is merger.  Lots of consolidation going on.
• Finally, somebody had the kahones to throw some nukes at the Word of Blake.

Tracks

While Luthien contained six Warchest tracks, New Avalon contains only five.  After reading through, I wasn’t inspired by the choice of objectives or optional bonuses.  While they did not feature as many of the irregularities I found in Luthien, they tended to be a bit bland and lacking in character.  I’ve definitely read and played better tracks in the Jihad Hot Spots source books.

Regardless, the Aftermath sections continue the process of piecing together the overall story of New Avalon.

Annex

We are treated to custom variants of the Atlas, Griffin, and Grim Reaper.  The Griffin is the highlight of the Annex section.  Combined with the opening fiction and the throwback flavor to the knights errant Succession Wars era, Sparky 2.0 is a fearsome upgrade to the venerable Griffin platform that has character to spare.

The ‘Mechs are followed up by three warship record sheets, using the new Strategic Operations record sheet design.  Included are the Eagle frigate, Essex destroyer, and Riga frigate.

Last But Not Least

A large multi-page planetary assault map of New Avalon rounds out this PDF offering.  Now if only we had rules to use them.  There is always Interstellar Operations.  Keep your fingers crossed.

As a player and a collector I love seeing large uniformly painted forces in my battles.  I kicked off this quest with my first demi-company of Free Worlds League Militia.  For the most part, the militia were easy.  The colors just worked and I found little trouble duplicating the color scheme later on when I added a Perseus and a Cerberus for the Twilight of the Clans collection I painted for a friend.

So I moved on, and started an even bigger force, this time a reinforced company of Regulan Hussars.  For whatever reason, orange is just difficult for me.  The worst part of it is, the full company is sitting on my work bench on corks waiting to be finished because I am not happy with how they are coming out.  Since I decided to do the whole kit and kaboodle at once, I have all those miniatures waiting for me to break out of a color confused malaise.

Test Pieces

Make a test piece before you embark on anything larger than a lance.  Get a representative miniature, not something too difficult to prepare or anything with a complicated pose and slap some paint on.  Work out the details and don’t be afraid to toss the results and try again.  Pine Sol cures all woes.

Since I’m a little embarrassed to show my Hussars, I’ll let you in on a few other examples that I am working on for a friend and ScrapYard commenter Quigs.

In the first picture are two different tries at an admittedly difficult 2nd Donegal Guards.  I’m not happy with either attempt.  The first (the one on the right) came out far too flat and the second (the one on the left), far too dark.  I am going to Pine Sol both and adjust my technique for a third and hopefully successful paint job.

Moving on, I attempted another Lyran scheme in a color I think I am usually pretty comfortable with.  The 15th Lyran Regulars use a familiar drab green with khaki highlights.

Suffice to say, I am much happier with the results.  I think the only thing I would change is making the highlight color a little bit lighter.  It looks more light brown than it does khaki.  For the most part, this mini seemed to paint itself.  I painted him up start to finish in a single day.  Dry times between coats were absorbed with other tasks, like coding for Solaris Skunk Werks and writing this blog.

I’m looking forward to replicating this paint scheme to give this lonely Avatar a lancemate or three.

Take Some Chances with Your Brush

You never know what is going to work and what isn’t until you try.  You’ve got to pick up the brush and give it a go.

Life’s too short to play with badly painted minis.