Russian Combat Group

Just a quick post of the Russian quad mechs I've been working on. You can see the old scheme here. I call these walkers Pokhodnaya Boyevaya Platforma, but I'm still noodling the nomenclature I'm going to assign them.

All for now, catch you later.

Bad Dog Marine Command Mech

And the final macro shots of my RAFM conversions. This is Tachikoma's CASE-2XC Mod 2 command Dog variant, loaded for Bear from Ghost Dog.

The Mod 1 variant only has one hard-point on the backpack. So, if I need to field that version I just swap the body from one of the standard CASE-2XC Dog's. 

Run Tachikoma, run, side view. 

 

 

And from the otherside, still running for her life.

 

And, the respective magnetized sub-assemblies, laid out to show how the model comes apart.

And as always, catch you on the bounce. 

Bad Dog Army Communications Mech

And continuing my promise to my friends here are another set of macro shots, showing off my RAFM conversions. 

Here's an Army CAS-3-Mod-2 Ape 4CISR mech: Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance.

Front view.  

Three-quarter rear view.

 

And, again here's how all the parts are magnetized, allowing me to have different poses to use as a reference for a book cover artist.

Catch you all on the bounce. 

Bad Dog Air Force Security Mech

And keeping my promise to my friends about posting macro shots of my RAFM conversions, here's the rebuilt Air Force CAS-4CP, meant to control a whole bunch of security androids as used by Ferretti in my story Ghost Dog.

Total bad ass side view. 

 

 

 And rear view.

 

And, here it is showing all the magnetized parts, which allow different poses for a book cover.

Catch you all on the bounce. 

Bad Dog Army Combat Engineering Mech

 

I promised some friends I'd post some macro shots of my RAFM conversions. Here's an Army CAS-1-Mod-1EV Ape, engineering mecha.

Rear view. Towing cables to go.

Below side view.

And, here shows all the magnetized parts, which allow me to take pictures of different poses for reference for a book cover.

 Catch you all on the bounce.

Combat Armor Groups

I had a mega photo shoot, which despite my best intentions, I still managed to forget to take some different angles on some of the models. Anyway, after so much time has passed, here they are.

Below, starting from left to right. 

My original CASE-2X conversion, running light with just a basic load-out. Main weapon is a 20x170 mm M41-AC230 autocannon, with under-barrel 40x53 mm Mk 30 grenade launcher. The left arm mounts a NATO 7.62 mm M240LC sustained fire machine gun.

Next is the CASE-2XC command variant, loaded for Bear from Ghost Dog. This adds a shoulder mounted 20 mm M21-A8 gauss rifle, and carrying a three pack of 70 mm MGR-170 Direct Fire Missile's to the basic load-out.

And the last CASE-2X has a shoulder mounted heavy-indirect-fire pack with a 15 pack of 140 mm MGM-240 Precision Guided Missile's, as mentioned in Bad Dog, which mounts a 12.7 mm GECAL Rotary Autocannon.

Model sans an arm, because I forgot to paint it, Oops. And below, again from left to right.

The rebuilt CAS-3-Mod-1 Ape weapons specialist with a M75 80mm lightweight high-velocity recoilless autocannon, a M134 GAU-2B/A 7.62 mm minigun on the left arm, with a shoulder mounted 15 pack of 70 mm MGR-170 Direct Fire Missile's. Espera's load-out from Strike Dog.

Next is a CAS-3-Mod-1 Ape with a basic load-out with a 20x102 mm M26-AC autocannon, and a shoulder mounted pack of four 70 mm MGR-170 Direct Fire Missile's

The kneeling CAS-3-Mod-1 Ape is communications variant with a M47-Mod-1: 40 x 53 mm Automatic Grenade Launcher (belt/drum fed). I might add a shoulder mounted NATO 7.62 mm M240LC sustained fire machine gun at some point. As and when I get round to it.

And finally, a CAS-1-Mod-1 engineering variant. It has a M121A: 120 mm Heavy Mortar for demolition work. I'll put up some close-up shots soon.

Catch you all on the bounce. 

A Robot That Walks, Flies, Skateboards, Slacklines

Okay, caught this, as one does, and I'm now retconning this as the reason d'être for the Chinese FATC mecha that appeared in my first novel, Bad Dog. I mean, we all know that the Chinese like to copy stuff, and this seems like something nifty...

Anyway, that's my good reason.

If you listen to the video they also suggest this application for space robots!

MARPACE Exoskeleton Suits

Three two man teams form a squad. The squad leader mounted as two figures on one base for ease of identification.

These are Clear Horizon Epsilon Squad infantry. Inspired by the exoskeleton suits from The Edge of Tomorrow aka Live. Die. Repeat. I've had them in my too be painted pile for too long. Since 2017 in fact.

Part of me thinks this is shockingly slow. The other part of me thinks that it's just down to my inability to just focus on one thing at a time.

For me this meant I had to understand how a squad in the Gate Walker universe was built.

No, I couldn't just take a current Marine squad, because nothing is ever totally static. A position recently reinforced by the Marine Corps changing from a 13 man squad into a new 15 squad. About the only thing that seems consistent is three teams make a squad.

A three figure base for the senior leader in command of the platoon with a Big Dog mule.

Big Little Wars: Post 5 - Chapter Headings

 

A progress report that is more than just there has been progress. I've set a goal of completing the first daft by Christmas. So I sat down and made a priority list of what I needed to do to finish to be able to send the first draft out the door to my play test team.

The picture shows the progress made and the word counts.

My document tells me that the current word total is: 19,677 words; though the project counter only says 19,401 words. No doubt there are good reasons for this, but I haven't a clue why they differ?

This project has completely sidetracked my work on my next novel, but doing this has involved me thinking about a lot of stuff that counts as world building stuff I will need to know for later stories. I'll take that as a win.

The list of sections to finish are:

Chapter 2. Big Little Wars Assumptions: 

Terrain; Choose Your Faction; and Overview of play.

Chapter 3. Playing Big Little Wars:

Deployment Points Example; Command Dice Example; Action & Movement Examples; Resolving Attacks; and Combat Resolution Examples.
Chapter 5. Troop & Vehicle Creation: 

Armored Fighting Vehicles; Robotic Attack Vehicles; and Weapon Options (cost to do).
Chapter 6. Force Organization: 

Adding vehicles to a force.
Chapter 7. Scenario Set-up:

Force building for scenarios (this is the first of the two big parts of what's left to finish).
Chapter 8. Optional Rules:

Non Player Controlled Forces; Company Level Games; and Calculating Line-of-Sight (is the other big part of what's left to write).

That's it. Catch you all later.

RAFM Conversion Portraits

CASE-2X Mod-1 Dog. Tachikoma's original ride from Bad Dog.

After months, what seems like forever to me, I've finally gotten around to finishing two conversions, and I took the time to run all my models through the studio (get the camera and terrain out), and take some portrait shots of my completed mecha suits.

CASE-2XC Mod-2. Tachikoma's new ride from Ghost Dog.

I haven't made Tachikoma's suit from Strike Dog, yet. I'm going to start working on it next, along with some other RAFM models that I want to convert for use with the rules I'm working on.

CAS-4CP Buster. Ferretti's suit from Ghost Dog.

And the rebuild of Espera's Army Ape suit that I finished before deciding that magnetized arms, head, and torso were the way to go.

CAS-3-Mod-1. Espera's ride as it appeared in Strike Dog.

This mech suit was featured in Strike Dog, where Espera made an appearance. This configuration of the Army Ape suit will appear in future stories as more people are recruited into MAPCOM.

Espera's CAS-3-Mod-1.

I'm not sure if Army Ape suits will make an appearance in Two Moons Prometheus yet as I'm currently still writing the book. Long delayed due to health issues that stymied my ability to imagine anything.

And finally, the running repose. 

CAS-3-Mod-1.

The above CAS-3-Mod-1 is running as if its existence depended on it, or for some other reason, yet to be decided. But there will be running, shooting, and no doubt screams too.

Just because really.

CAS-3-Mod-1.

It is the way of things.

Go to a new world they said.

Explore and have fun they said.

Really pleased how the placement of the danger decal, on the rear backpack, adds to the feel of the mech suit as a real machine. 

CAS-3-Mod-1.

Okay, these are nowhere near the Golden Demon award level, but I've surpassed myself and really upped my painting over the last year. It has been good to learn how, and as importantly, been good for me.

Catch you all on the bounce.

Big Little Wars: Post 4 - Down in the Weeds

Another progress report. There has been progress. I've reached 14,843 words and I'm now down in the weeds.

By that I mean I've now have movement and combat resolution mechanisms that float my boat. I'm just at that stage where I'm working through the chapters making sure I'm not contradicting myself, and that everything is where it is supposed to be.

Keep finding things missing though.

I'm checking the construction rules, where there are still some gaps from equipment not yet covered, and checking the section that describes model attributes, and cross referencing to the movement and combat rules, and came across an oopsie.

As in, I thought I'd described what the game allows players to play with on the table, you know robots, tanks, power armour, and mecha etc but, oops not stated clearly in the introduction that these units are what the rules cover.

It's not a big oops. But it is an oops. One where one finds one has described a bunch of rules, but not which models have access to said rules.

And then I remembered last night, while semi-awake, between dreams, that autonomous vehicles and robots will have a variant of the activation rules to make them feel different. This also ties in with the solo play and group play rules that Big Little Wars aspires to deliver.

Extrapolating how future science and technology affects war. You know, to make the rules not just another SF recreation of WW2 or Vietnam.

Important stuff. Not just fluff, but the flavour of meaty goodness that comes from giving players significant choices to make with different benefits versus costs, which creates the feeling on involvement in the game.

Alpha Echo Romeo Tango Two

Three 15mm robots off the workbench ready to be varnished.

The android and Big Dog is the robot explorer team Alpha Echo Romeo Tango Two. The second team sent by the Magnetic Anomaly Project that got lost in the Pillar network, as mentioned in my novel Strike Dog.

And below is a commercial robot loader.

That's as much as I've managed to finish, though my two Ape combat armor suits are nearing completion. Just in the process of paneling with a pin wash and weathering.

Who Let the Dawgs Out? A review of Bad Dog

 

I caught this on Zepp Jamieson's 's blog. Found through David Brin's blog that hosts very lively discussions on everything SF. Both are worth checking out if you're into science fiction. Anyways, here's a snip of the review. Click on the link for the full review.

I’ve mentioned Groundhog Day, Russian Doll and Haldeman in this review, but in the end, Bad Dog wound up reminding me of something far grander and more ambitious: The Expanse. The blurb on the cover promises that Bad Dog is only the first novel in a Gate Walkers series, and if Pollard’s first novel is the metric to go by, she’ll give The Expanse a run for its money.

I look forward to the next installment.

I was stunned.

Needless to say, but I'll say it anyway, it made my day.

North American Confederation Weapon Options

L to R: M41 AC230 with Mk39 GL; M240-M Griffin; M261 GAU-5L RAC; PGM; M2501 MVLS.

On Sunday I found myself working on my Bad Dog rules. Revising and expanding the equipment lists, and adding some background to the Gate Walker setting.

So here is a preview of the current list of weapons for combat armor.

Standard Weapon Options

GECAL 50    Three barrel rotary autocannon that fires the 12.7 x 99 mm fifty cal BMG round.

M2A1     This is the official nomenclature for the upgraded Browning Machine Gun. The M2A1 heavy machine gun fires a 12.7 x 99 mm BMG round. The M2A1  is known by many sobriquets including Browning machine gun, Ma Deuce, M2HB, and just by its initials BMG.

M21-A8    A 40 mm recoilless Gauss rifle with an eight-round cassette magazine/powerpack firing 10 mm discarding sabot rounds.

M26-AC    The M26-AC is Global Dynamics lightweight autocannon that fires a 20 x 102 mm High-Explosive Dual-Purpose anti-armor (HEDP) warhead. The M26 comes with an inbuilt Mk 30 40 x 53 mm underbarrel single shot grenade launcher that fires High-Velocity Canister Cartridge (HVCC).

M41-AC230    The GEC M41-AC230 20 x 170 mm long-recoil autocannon and six magazines: four holding ten armor piercing tungsten-steel penetrators, and two with ten High-Explosive Air Burst (HEAB) warheads. The M41 comes with an inbuilt Mk 30 40 x 53 mm underbarrel grenade launcher with five rounds of High-Velocity Canister Cartridge (HVCC).

M47-Mod 4    A 40×53 mm automatic grenade launcher designed to be carried by combat armor with a large capacity removable rotary magazine allowing the weapon to be  reloaded. Various types of ammunition are available.

M75    A 80 mm lightweight high-velocity recoilless autocannon.

M121 CAMS    The combat armor mortar system is automated 120 mm variant of the M121 mortar system that has been upgrade with an autoloader mechanism.

M134    The General Electric Company M134 GAU-2B/A Minigun is a rotary multibarrelled machine gun firing the 7.62 x 51 mm NATO round, and can be set to fire between 2000 and 6000 rounds per minute. The effective range is 1000 meters. 

M170-M    A tube mounted 70 mm light direct fire missile, the Mod 9 mount designed to be carried by combat armor (available in a variety of different number combinations).

M240-M    Griffin C 140 mm precision guided missile capable of being mounted on combat armor (available in a variety of different number combinations).

M261    The M261 GAU-5L is Global Dynamics special lightweight rotary autocannon variant of the old M197 Vulcan, redesigned to be carried by combat armor suits that fires a 20 x 102mm High-Explosive Dual-Purpose anti-armor (HEDP) warhead with the rate of fire limited to 500 rounds per minute. Due to the size of the round, the range of the weapon is three kilometers. Standard load-out is one thousand rounds.

Modular Launch Pack

M2501    A non-line-of-sight, micro vertical cold launch system can launch a wide range of different ordnance including Precision Attack Munitions, Loitering Attack Munitions, and Rocket Launched Reconnaissance UAVs.

Hope this small taster arouses some interest. Catch you all on the bounce.

A Retrospective

Magnetized the backpack because previous idea interfered with the head.

Last year, when I posted A Light Ahead, I remarked on how unproductive 2019 had been. Little did I know then what I know now. I only played one game this year due to all the craziness going on in the world.

But every cloud has a silver lining, because, in retrospect I was far more productive this year. I've managed to make more models. I've learnt a bunch of cool painting techniques.

Overall I did more, which has meant I've posted more pieces on the blog.

I'll call that a win.

Most of the blog has been about covering my path to acquiring all the old RAFM Heavy Gear sculpts I could lay my hands on. No doubt, some old Heavy Gear grognards watched in horror as I butchered converted them into proxy mecha for my Gate Walker universe. 

Cue manic laughter.

And I've also acquired a bunch of 1/48th Scopedogs too.I plan to photograph all the models for pictures for the set of mecha rules I'm writing. That's the plan. Whether the plan survives contact with the demands of the year ahead is another matter.

For one thing, it is taking me a lot longer to write the infantry TO&Es to pass onto a collaborator than I thought. Such is life.

Catch y'all later.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to one and all.

Despite having written the Gate Walker trilogy, researched everything like crazy, I found myself doing more research.

Why?

Because I skimmed over details when writing the novels because they slowed down the story. Though it has to be said my Beta reader, Brian, did ask about how the Army combat armor differed from the Marines version?

Now Brian, and everyone else who wanted to know will have this information.

Here's a brief snippet to entertain over the Christmas holiday period.

NAC Army Combat Armor

CAS-3-Mod 1    Combat Armor System Dash (Mark) 3 Dash Model 1 is the Army's latest upgrade to their drive suit, which is supplied to Special Forces troops. It's slightly heavier than a CASE-2X because All Apes come fitted with mission packs that allow them to be outfitted with a large array of heavy weapon systems according the mission profile. See FM50-CAS-Mod and TO-2050-14-01-1U for further details.

CAS-3-Mod 2    Is the command variant of the Ape featuring an enhanced C4ISR pack: Communications; Computers; Intelligence; Surveillance; and Reconnaissance array of comms gear.

CAS-2-Mod 1    Is a scout combat armor suit for reconnaissance.

CAS-1-Mod 2    The first generation of Army combat armor suits fielded by the NAC. Still assigned to second line National Guard units. An engineer support variant will appear in future novels.

Notes

All the Army CAS-Mod variants have modular electronic packs that allows the combat armor to be optimized for specific mission tasks and carry one extra weapon from the following list: [snip]

NAC Marine Corps Combat Armor

CASE-2X    The Marine Corps Combat Armor System Environment Dash (Mark) 2 Extreme is driven by its operator, unlike its lighter counterpart MARPACE suit that is worn. It can operate up to three days before needing to be refueled. See FM51-CASES and TO-2051-16-02-1U for further details. Command variant  has enhanced C4 suite.

CASE-2XC    Command variant that again comes with an enhanced C4ISR: Communications; Computers; Intelligence; Surveillance; and Reconnaissance array of comms gear.

Notes

The Marine Mod-1 backpack integrates with combat armors Dispersed Operation and Guidance System, creating a parallel processing network of operating nodes that allows the operator to assign the AI/expert system interface the task priority of the systems. The Mod-1 pack allows a Dog to carry one extra weapon, the Mod-2 backpack carries two extra weapons from the following list: [snip]

Calling Them Done

 

Yep, at last, I've finished them. Painted, glossed, decals, and matt varnish all done. Phew!

The original two darker green mechs were my first attempt to up my game, but hopefully you can see that these two look even better than the first two I finished back in July. 

I think I've managed to produce a wider contrast range with better highlights.

I'll do some glamour portraits after I've flocked the bases, but they're done for now.

I may do another post soon, but given the time of year, let me wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Big Little Wars: Post 1 - Gate Walker Battles

After a year that feels like living in the Bad Place, I've started to get some interest back in making models and playing games. I'm still sad to say that I have no mates to play Heavy Gear with, and therefore have little chance of teaching the casual person to play a game I don't fully know how to play.

Also, I'm still struggling still with a lot of self-doubt about my fiction writing. I've gone through a period of stagnation, and at the moment it would be stressful trying to jump back into writing full-time.

So getting back into the saddle too soon might trigger a relapse of my depressive episode.

But writing something would be good for me. So, I have decided that I might try writing a set of rules for the Gate Walker universe setting. If only because it will be easier to teach people to play a new game if I wrote rules.

I may be biased, or deluded, in holding that opinion, but I do have the previous experience of designing game rules from writing OHMU War Machine.

Given the amount of time between the last time I considering writing a set of rules for my setting, it's time to reassess my options. My previous thoughts on the rules centered around updating the command control rules, and revising the available units to reflect my Gate Walker universe.

However, I'm unconvinced that I still want a set of rules that can handle battalion and larger sized combat groups. Also I might need to consider the option of being able to play solo as well. But I do know I want to capture the feel of #RealRobo combat.

I know, I know, what does that even mean?

1. Capture the feeling of future warfare with power armor etc.

2. Detailed enough for squads with support elements to make combined arms platoons.

3. Command and control rules, so the player acts at the level of each squad commander.

The first goal is a bit like being General Haig at the start of WW1. It's like me having to face the challenge of learning how to fight a war where technology has moved the goal posts on what works and what doesn't.

Fortunately, I won't have to put real people through the grinder.

Second, what do I mean by squads?

I'm thinking two to five people or vehicles per unit. A platoon would be three to five squads, so a combined arms platoon would be between ten to 25 infantry or to six to ten vehicles.

Optional off table support will be available to represent assets available to the combined arms platoon like: satellites; artillery, air-support etc.

Finally, I want the command and control rules to be a bit like Chain-of-Command.

Players get dice to roll that generate the number of commands they can give a turn (thinking this could represent limitations from bandwidth, ECM and ECCM that battles generate). But also allow them to focus on what heroes can bring to the action.

That sounds like a reasonable set of goals, but whether I can write a set of rules that other people want to play remains unknown. And now I have to think of a name for them. Please feel free to make comments now, before I start writing.

I'm sure this blog that will make my friend Roger laugh, as he predicted I end up trying to write my own set of wargame rules.

CAS-3-Mod-1 Portraits

Army Combat Armor Suit Mark 3 Model 1 [click to embiggen].

Okay, here are the first two RAFM conversions painted. 

First up is Espera's CAS-3-Mod-1 Ape carrying on the right arm an M75 80mm lightweight high-velocity recoilless autocannon. The left arm has a M134 GAU-2B/A 7.62mm minigun. Finally, the suit has a shoulder mounted missile launcher carrying 15 rockets.

Though Espera only appears in Strike Dog my assumption is that this is a pretty standard Army Ape suit loadout for a weapons specialist.

Army Combat Armor Suit Mark 1 Model 1EV Engineering Variant [click to embiggen].

Pearson's Ape is a CAS-1-Mod-1EV: engineering variant with a shoulder mounted 100mm mortar for demolition work.

Defense against armor suits is provided by a M26 short-recoil light 20mm autocannon that fires a 20 x 102mm high explosive dual purpose anti-armor (HEDP) warhead with a range of 3 kilometers. The M26 comes with an inbuilt Mk 30 40 x 53mm underbarrel grenade launcher effective out to one kilometer.

In addition, the CAS-1-Mod-1EV carries an M240LC general purpose 7.62mm machine gun.

Tell me what you all think about the paint job on these as I tried out a whole bunch of new techniques. Any suggestions for making them better will be gratefully received.

Strike Dog: Russian Quad Mech

   

Not every model I make ends up on the cover of my novels, or at least not yet. Pokhodnaya Boyevaya Platforma or Object 295 appears in Strike Dog, Chapter 9, Assault: as the "big bad" that ruins the day for CASDA 5136.

In the past I've played WW2 wargames with Soviet forces. Despite reading a bunch of books about the history of the Eastern Front, my Russian language skills leave a lot to be desired. I know a handful of words and the odd phrase.

The usual yes, no, thank you, good-bye platitudes etc., but it's all Greek to me (pun intended).

Also, when I was doing the research I found that there's no one way of transliterating Cyrillic into Roman letters.

Worse still, the number of letters in each alphabet don't even match. So, if you take the phrase, "I can't read Russian," it looks like this when written in Cyrillic script:

Я не могу читать по-русски.

Transliterated from the Cyrillic alphabet into our Roman one, it comes out like this:

Ya ne mogu chitat' po-russki.

To my Western eyes this looks a lot like squiggly maths.

 

This model was nearly finished two years ago, when I planned on using Dream Pod 9 Heavy Gears for my Bad Dog games. But, now I've gone up from 12mm to 15mm, this model is not that big when compared to the RAFM Gears.

So I may have to make another, larger model. We shall see.