Bob’s Hammering Stargrave

Well this was supposed to be a Stargrave Battle report, but  myself and Kevin ended up running a game of 6 players , including ourselves, so lost track of time.

The game was hosted by the redoubtable Vincent at Asgard Games.

The Players were Myself,

Kevin

Vincent

Danny,  Kevin’s Nephew

Keith

Matt

We just about managed 3 turns with Danny/Mattwinning on points though his crew were shot to pieces, including a one shot Kill of his Captain by one of my Holy Orders Initatiate ( my only decent die roll of night) points being achieved by dead crew and actually getting a loot token, Matt by virtue of killing a swamp Dragon and having dead crew.

Anyway didn’t get much to get game shots though game but here are some shots of final positions.

Kevin did learn a valuable lesson don’t shoot Robot Dogs, laa you tend to become a Bullet, Flamethrower and Grenade Magnet.

A bit more Infinity finished 1st he Resurrected William Wallace minus the wode as I’d forgotten and as I’d done a good job of it wasn’t going to mess it up.
3ndly some Caledonian’s with the token English man and then the 1st of my Nomads

So with the Military orders done I has to expand so:

There will be far more to come with more Pan O, Aridne(lots) Nomads etc, plus hopefully an idea for cheap practical sci fo terrain.

For those curious we have played our 1st Stargrave game, the 1sfof the Daleks game from W.I. I was going to do a battle report  but got lost in the action   which had some very cinematic action which included Hadakid crushing a Dalek with his Idej mind powers and a boss ork ripping off the head of a Dalek.

So I then began with a test of the Pan Oceania scheme that I needed to do for my Military Orders. This Time I tried a thinner Tallaser Blue over a base white 2nd undercoat, building up the Blue shade with Subsequent coats to get the desired effect.

Also rather than just coat the faces with Contrast Gulliman Flesh, I thinned it slightly and carefully flowed into the highly detailed faces.

With the above success I found I had entered the Rabbit hole that is Corvus Belli’s Infinty, and ordered the Military Orders Action Pack. I then began watching a lot of the Infinty Content put out by OTT  ( Thanks guys I think I have got my head around the base mechanics from them) and a from a guy on YouTube  ‘Infinity Gamer’ from New Zealand.

Of course I haven’t as is my want stopped there , now having both Operation Kaldstom and Crimson Stone , plus a host of blister packs.

Here are the Completed Military orders , decals provided by Fire Forge and the odd GW decal    for purists I didnt have all the different orders for the different figures so made do with what I had.

Well I couldn’t leave it at that and and!

This started as I’ll get a few Infinity figures for some more unique options for my crews. I had liked the Military orders action box and thought is slightly outside my comfort box and thought that post the war the Holy C  in whatever form it was still in may still trying to reach the remnants of civilisation and is still carrying out the Holy War against the vile bug.

I was also a little curious about Infinity and wanted to see how easy the figures were to paint before attempting the Orders.

Luckily I was able to find a copy of the 2st Code one Infinty starter Wildfire and began painting these   in addition I had picked up to cut price Blisters for Pan Oceania at Games Expo  spotted in a tub by the Eagle eyed Kevin.

I had originally planned to put them on clear bases  but after various failed attempts to get  them to stand on temp bases  gave up and used Star Wars Legion Premier bases with Pennies such underneath to balance them.

The Wildfire starter box was picked because it gave me another type of Alien the Shevasti and with O12 some space cops

I started with the Aliens and found the suggested Colour scheme fairly easy to do with GW contrast Basilcanium Grey and Gryph Hound Orange for most of figure

Then I did a bit of extra shading with a very thin wash of GW Agrax Earthshade (it stiil brings out definition in the crease’s but doesn’t stain Ben)

The faces just got a thinned out coat of GW Aethermatic Blue.

Their followed a little bit of dry brushing of a lighter grey over the black bits and a very orange orange to add a little bit more contrast.

I then did the 012  mainly with thinned  GW Tallasar Blue  perhaps not enough as although they don’t look bad  havent quite got the shading I get with later figures .

Having done these, I had been given and idea for Pirates by the Stargrave Facebook group for using GW.S Gene Stealer Cultists, as pirates, , I still had a a pile to piant up for my Ork Hulk, so I dived into painting these.

Now originally the painting of these pre-contrast had been a pain, but with contrast they were quickly completed.

The figure once sprayed in Greeyseer, where give a coat of GW Apothocary White, Trousers and robes in Basilicum Grey, faces were a thined out variation of Skeleton bone or  very thin Gulliman flesh tinted with a bit of green .A bit of gun metal and black wash an they were pretty much done in batchs of about 5 figures.

Thrse figures with the various mutations give me a whole host of figures for some of the future Stargrave releases.

Well for anyone that thought I’d finishd with this project… well I havent!

Life got in the way but in a good way , The fully re-opening of Asgard, to me painting up more crewman and a 2nd more Mel and Firefly orientated crew, mainly as Vince had got me a box of Plastic Gunfighters from Dead Mands Hand. so a lot of customizing prior to his alt Games Expo event went on , this couple with preparing ship sheets for the Naval Game at his Historicon last month bit into any spare time I had for updating this project even though I have been hobbying like mad. There will be updates , particulalry with regards to terrain, and the use of plastic storage boxes.

I initially started with a Sniper  something missing from Military orientated crew.

Then there was a lot of mixing and matching bits from the Cowboys box and various Stargrave, Frostrave and other plastic kits, to convert a series of figures for my Stargrave crews.

Starting with the Redoubtable Malc and his 1st Mate Pyche Hadakid Drinkwater fallen Idej Knight. His head is from the Frostgrave Barbarians.

There had to be some animal morphed figures  so we had Cheech the Gunfighting Chimp and his Tech Wizard mate Ben the Badger

Then it was just a case of mixing and matching bits from the set for the rest of the moseley crew.

So for those that are interested, here is my bumpf on

‘The Adventures of Captain Sharde in the 25th and a half Century (for those lovers of Certain Cartoons) Kabooom!’

To say that the Galaxy had gone to the shit house was a bit of an understatement, even shit up to the neck would be better than this. The Fragile Economies of both Human And Alien worlds , had just had held together under the cost of the various border/Trade and which way up you should eat your egg wars that had fractured the galaxy both Human and Alien, what few worlds that hadn’t plunged themselves into years of debt, from the ruinous cost of Mercenaries in wars to stay alive , were unable to survive the extra pressure  sudden and massive Bug Incursions of the early 25th centuries ( as measured by Earth). Whole worlds, civilisations and species pretty much were wiped out by the bugs, not helped by many of the major players in the galaxy using the threat to try and settle old scores ,

The upshot of all this left very little centralise power, what few worlds that were left were down to scattered settlements with enough tech all small enough to evade notice of the remaining bug swarms , pirates etc.

What little was left was only salvaged when various mercenary units banded together to beat of the bugs, but the cost was great, resources that used no one could afford  or now build . and by the end all the great mercenary units were but shadows of themselves , most had slowly been merged and cobbled together ramshackle units of Droptroops, Infantry , Genetic bred warriors and Warrior houses, with various wpns from all over the galaxy with barely a platoon or armour between them.

So Mallet broke up his command, now made up of a Hodge pot of  units, Raumjager, Manglers, East Riding , etc ,  most dropped into obscurity but a few were able to gang together and buy beg or steal a ship to carry on , one such being Captain Richart Sharde , originally  members of Manglers East Riding Constabulary’s Raumsjager , , only he and Corporal Hangman surviving out of his whole original company, other survivors of various commands joined his battered platoon which had been merged with the remains of Manglers Mallots 1st Armoured Battalion, for the final campaigns,, the redoubtable and hulking Sgt Harker the only remaining Genetic Trooper from New Ireland, and Sister Teresa lone survivor of the holy order of the Red Rose, an female warrior order from out of the sector.

Various members of the old Manglers ‘Forlorn Hope’ had attached themselves, and add in a few civilian ‘useful strays’ and the odd Alien .

Stay flying was the plan , and if you could still find tech and kit all the better. Mangler had warned all his survivors the bugs were beat but not down and could return , so if they could, keep hitting the bugs were ever you could.

Above as an idea for a supplement to Hammers Slammers that myself and Kevin had thought about doing (mainly in the pub after a few beers) of a sector in David Drakes Universe, were my own take on Mallets Manglers operated. As with many pub projects it didn’t take off, but I had in my mind mapped out a lot of the sector with various planets and the powers that controlled them.

As it was a fairly volatile sector with numerous bug incursions, wars , frontier planets always on the edge of collapse, the fact that the whole thing has collapsed into total anarchy is not large step.

To say I have a fair few vehicles , figures , buts etc for Sci fi , without 40k kits, is putting it mildly, open a drawer in the upper portion of my flat and you find painted vehicles not to mention the plastic tub of shame in the games room (more about that may appear later). I had jumped into the Dungeon and Lasers Kickstarter so had a load of Terrain to build for various games .

Now I did buy the Northstar Troopers box , and the Stargrave Rules with the freebie metals, but sort of initially had a bit of a mind block for the theme of my crew. To some extent my current mass painting of Epic Battles ACW had delayed any real time I could put into the idea :

On to Richmond/Washington select your favourite option

But on days when I finished a regiment above, and wanted the odd figure to do,a couple of the Troopers got painted, to see how they painted up, I did them as my Manglers camo security detachment trooper or ‘Forlorn Hope’ as they are know by in the Manglers Regiment.

Despite painting above hadnt really got a theme for it, and to be honest as I added figures I though would be cool still hadnt,

I had done a medic and a figure for a robotic hacker ,both from the the metal Stargrave release figures, but hadnt figured on a Captain or a 1st mate,

Firefly had flown through and out the other side as reckoned everyone would be doing that, lots of aliens, but looking at the Stargrave site ,everyone was  doing that .

Some where in the back of mind a little voice kept calling out, prompted a bit by the number of videos appearing in my of interest on You Tube……

Sharpe………….

So my Captain was going to be a Veteren

this started the vague idea of a ships crew based on the small group of men that he led through the various books on the T.V shows, but moved forward for a Sci fi setting ( I could have course wait for the Wargames atlantic release and do a bit of converting….hmn an idea!) and didn’t want to spend any more pennies at the moment as the ACW is soaking up most of my ready spare cash.

Speaking of Wargames Atlantic , I brought their Raumjager Infantry, so with a little bit of building had Sharpe and Hagman…..

All though Raumjager Figures I gave them a patchy blob Denison Smock Camo, as I wanted them to have British Paratrooper feel. It was partly to keep them in line with my Pig Iron Heavy Troopers who I had painted very much with World War 2 British Infantry look.

Where is Sgt Harper you ask………?

Well he was to supposed to be a bit of a giant so , I thought Biomorph

Genectically engineered trooper I thought Spartan from Halo, but although I have got some Wizzkis Spartans , they looked a bit spindly compared to above, so what Have I got a lot of , unpainted ….. Space Marines.

I have kept up the Raven guard Theme so he can be crossed  over with my Kill team.

Now  I hadnt got any females in my merry little band and didnt overly like what I had got, then rembered that sitting behind me in my pile of Shame was a squad of Sisters of battle and voila …Sharpes 1st wife, was added but as

Sister Teresia of the order of the Red Rose……… (incidently I now have the paints scheme for my own order of religious nuts )and voila.

The Final Figure will probably be an Alien with possibly a Badger Head. Or whatever happened to Rupert the Bears mate.

Anyone wondering the back ground and flooring in the pictures is Dungeons and Lasers Sci Fi tiles, here just with a basic Gun Metal spray. Even with out any washing etc   don’t look bad.