Litko Bases Ordered

I need bases for the infantry and the walkers.  Put in an order for clear acrylic bases, both 25mm and 40mm.  Lots of extras so I can use them as tokens later as well. 

Models Acquired:

I have more models than I can use now, I need to start painting.  Still unsure what colors each faction should be.  I'd like the Rus to have a warmish dark brown steel colors while I think the SoH units should be a little more modern with a coolish gray such as the ACU-pat camoflauge.

SED 7

Reporting in to say that the minis from Stratos came in two days ago.  I haven't even had time to open the box, but I'm pretty excited to see if they quality can live up to my expectations.

SED 6

Just checking in to say I got a box from Brigade Miniatures 2 days ago.

Assembly: Iliada Game Studios VTOL

Main page for the Iliada Game Studios (IGS) VTOL.


I recently acquired from Ali 3 copies of the IGS VTOL, since there was no instructions for assembling them I though I'd document it here (I am in no way affiliated with Ali or IGS).

Upon first glance I see that the three panels to the left are thicker, probably the main body and VTOL wings.  Additionally I notice that the numbers on the side of the VTOL are different (1-2-3).  I suppose some individual request to make these spaces into different numbers or even a logo could be accommodated.  Clipping out each piece happened with my hands and a fingernail clipper.  I will note that the most sensitive areas are the VTOL rotors and the rear slot of the VTOL body component.  Very thin, easy to bend.

I begin by putting the three body components together, one by one, with superglue.  Since it sets fast, I use the table to steady the placement and slide each piece together.

I then attach the side body panels.  Note the slot for the lower wings is bigger than the wing itself.  The placement for the VTOL upper wing pylons is only marked on the side (the rectangle just right of the "01").

I place the lower wings as far forward in the slot as they allow to make them symmetrical.  The VTOL wings I just have to eyeball.  It was somewhat confusing as in the picture it is not clear...do the wings, which are at an angle, mount "up" or "down".  I settle on up and I believe this is the correct orientation as later the wing levels off and mounts the rotor nicely.

Before gluing, I test place the top piece and find that since it is not flat on top anymore the model component will need to be bent.  I pre-bend the front wings on each side in order for the main body to settle down on it.

Placing glue on the main body, struts and forward cockpit area, I have to bend the front cockpit visor down to wrap forward on the body.  When placing this piece I found the best way is to align the center of the rotors to the end of each strut.

I then place the cosmetic components for the front and back of the VTOL struts.

Again using the rotor centers as guides, I place the second top piece and place inside the slot the top fin.

At this point I flip over the craft and attach the missiles underneath as well as the front guns piece.

And there we have it, with some Bogatyr MBT for scale, this model is actually little larger than expected (72mm from wingtip to wingtip says my Calipers).  Some more shots.

Have a good one and don't forget to put the caps back on the glue!

SED 5

While it certainly hasn't been something every day I've been reporting, many thing have certainly happened!

On one hand I've stopped 3d modeling.  The output for the effort is taking me from what I really want to do: Start getting games in.  When I originally started the project in, what...January...I though I could crank out about 1 per week.  The reality of the situation is I get one done in about 3 months.  I could actually crank out one per day, but the demands of my life, wife, child and job have been taking (justifiable) precedent.  Furthermore, there are a lot of really great miniatures already out there I can re-purpose to my designs.

There are still some factions I want to do some units for, such as "Space Angels" and various robots, as well as the often alluded-to Robot Bear Cavalry, but my time has been taken up on working up what I have now.  With that I present to you my current ambition: Assembling the items from Ali at Iliada Game Studio.

Taking just shy of 20 days to arrive, in the wee hours of the evening I've been putting it all together.  One bottle of superglue down and so far so good.  I'd like to do some reviews on each piece, for no other reason than to hone my videography skills.  More on that later potentially.

Additionally, the Bogatyr MBT for the Rus faction has arrived and they look great!  A word of warning, though.  At this small always....ALWAYS order the fine detail plastic, not the Versatile white stuff.  They feel like sandstone and can actually rub off the details like it's  block of chalk!

I didn't order this building but it says Iliada Game Studios on the roof, so I'm assuming it's a promotion piece.  I certainly like the products so far, so I'm sure I'll have to use it in my features when I make them.

Kai Raiders, (Bogatyr for scale).

Bucket of buildings I've created so far.  My wife is a bit dismayed on "how much room this clutter is taking" which so far amounts to a mostly-empty shoebox, but she does like the buildings since they remind her of home.

That's all for now!

SED 4

Something Every Day certainly hasn't been "every day" as I intended.  Still important to keep going on though.  I bought some fluffy flock stuff to use for the infantry stands.  I hoped the Bogatyr tanks would come in on Saturday as UPS suggested, but they didn't.  I see where they are when I get home tonight. 

Later today I'm going to purchase some models from Brigade and Khurasan and see if any of the Microworld tickles my fancy.

SED 3

Yesterday I made the backpack, and started on the helmet.  It's hard not to try to invent the wheel with these kinds of things.

SED 2

Yesterday I got started modeling the Shield of Humanity "Strategic Combat Unit" infantry.  Since I model from the bottom up, I made it a point to at least get the shoe done, but also finished blocking out the body and got started on the backpack/power unit.

As noted before, the Rus Consript-Militia came in today!

Don't worry, the rest of them fell off the sprew but were safely contained in the bag they came in.

As I may or may not have noted before, I got this handy macro-lens from Walmart that can be clipped onto my cellphone and managed to snap these shots before work:

A quarter is placed underneath for size reference.

If I get a chance, I'll try to give them a quick spray of primer before I go to bed tonight.

Something Every Day (SED) 1

In the interest of completing more projects, my wife and I have loosely dedicated ourselves to doing something every day towards them.  Yesterday I unpacked the studio lighting we received last week.  Consisting of three diffuser soft boxes, I was rather delighted to see them "in action" but my wife was not impressed and said that, in the corner I set them up, they took up too much space in our bonus room.  I told her she could think about where she wanted them and the green screen set up in the next few days.

Here is what we purchased.

Early Referee'd Campaign Thoughts

As I mentioned in an earlier post, my eventual end-game with Polyversal Passion is to post battle reports in the form of a video production.  To that end I would like to eventually referee games with two or more players taking part via social media with a turn-by-turn gaming structure involved.  This would allow for a number of factors to influence the game and make it "more realistic" and allowing for a progressive narrative that may or may not affect the story in the Mareldon-verse.

Right now this would take the form of me e-mailing and receiving responses from two players, each one with a different view of the same board.  Areas of the board they have an influence on will be able to be seen, while the rest would be somewhat obstructed (the blur tool in photoshop?).  The players in their response to me would have to lay their orders for their units that turn and provide me with general (or specific) directions for each unit to follow.  Additional features aside from the fog of war would include:

*** Allow the players to select pre-game advantages before the game start, eg Satellite reconnaissance (a sweep of the photoshop brush removes the fog of war in a single "orbital" arc every turn), space superiority (calling in orbital bombardment), air superiority (being able to hot-drop troops with some delay), stealth deployment (units placed before battle within territory) etc depending on the scenario.

*** Different objectives for each player, possibly without knowledge of what the other players objectives are at all.

*** Not being able to micromanage each unit's movement, commanders can't do that anyways on the battlefield.

Not feeling in control might be a problem, because going into a scenario that probably isn't balanced in the first place (though I'll probably try to run through it at least once myself) without direct control of each unit's placement and much less than normal information might be a problem.  With both players having this impediment I can hopefully make it interesting enough for both sides and, after completing the scenario, make a production of the event that will reveal the tension and the sway and flow of the battle in a more narrative environment that will, hopefully, further engage further participation.

Alternatively, rather than having two individuals conducting the scenario at odds with each other I could have two separate peoples (like facebook groups) running each side as a collective (the most "liked" plan is enacted).  Privacy settings to prevent "peeking" at what the other side is doing would be necessary, as would manual adding of members and doing some legwork to make sure people don't just have multiple accounts to get the info from both sides.  A third, neutral, group could be made for people who only have interest in participating to allow both side's story to be posted, but this is more work on top of orchestrating a game and producing a (hopefully) high quality video.  Most likely I would just end-cap each of the sessions by dissolving the group and redirecting everyone back to a central point for redistribution.

Thoughts?

Video Format Ideas

The three ideas I brainstormed today for video formats:

6mm Under $60 --- Where I purchase/review a companies product and build an army for $60 or less.

Game/Battle Reports --- Which I'll probably just title Polyversal Passion vol 1.1 etc as I build a campaign.

Modeling with Mareldon --- Similar videos to what I have done already, showing a timelapse of my 3d modeling and talking about how the unit fits into the Mareldon-verse.

Additional reviews of product, such as the Iliada Game Studio buildings I'll have to decide if I just want to do something like a separate playlist or lump them into 6mm Under $60.

A Mother's Day Update

It's mothers day.  If I do post this, it's probably late too, so give your mother a call if you haven't.  Mine goes to church in the mornings so I've got to remember to call her later myself.

It's been a busy week, mostly considering and purchasing videography peripherals.  Aside from my wife's passion (writing fables, they're great!) I've had a hankering for some time to get into video presentations.  Some of this itch has been scratched in my recent modeling videos but these haven't gotten an overwhelming response.  Not that I expected any because a) My modeling is ametuer (sp?) and b) My personal lore is mine and I really don't expect it to be interesting to anyone else.  Eventually, however, I need to transition to actually playing the game!

It goes against my nature to state what I want to do before I do it, but perhaps doing so will motivate me to get to completion:  I want to produce a semi-professional quality presentations of Polyversal games that I referee between two (or more) individuals on the internet.  Have each turn take a day or two and include some rendition of the Fog of War (photoshopped battlefield pictures sent to each player) with scenario conditions that may not be known to the other side. 

I'm really not sure how I'd do all of this but I have some ideas on how to start and if I get to that point I'll ask for volunteers in this grand experiment.  It would be a lot of work on my part both before and after the game, but considering there are hardly any videos presenting 6mm games, it would be interesting to set the standard and break ground in that direction.

The first order of business is to finish modeling and acquire the miniatures to play with.  I still haven't started the SoH infantry or tank, although I have a huge file of reference material and a somewhat locked-down idea of their aesthetics.  At this point it would probably take me a few days to do both of them, but one thing leads to another and, as the Gaffer said, it's the job that's never started that takes longest to finish.

In the finished department, however, I should be receiving the Rus infantry sprue on Tuesday and perhaps do a demonstration and analysis video on that by the end of next week, all things permitting.  The Bogatyr are also in-route after much delay as well.  There were...problems...with shapeways that require me to redo the whole lineup at sometime, but I threw enough money at it that I'm getting probably way more than I'll ever need.  Finally, Iliada Game Studios has their stuff I ordered on the way so I'm sure that will turn up later this month.  Reviews on that will follow.

Time to go to work, so have a good one!

6mm Terrain: Bottles to Buildings Part 1

Being a chemist, I have access to a surplus of bottles.  I literally have a trashcan at home filled with the things after I cleaned up my car.  I've always thought they'd make great buildings and I'm finally getting around to doing something with them.  Looking into cylinder sci-fi buildings, I can't really see any good examples that look close to a pill bottle, but I'm giving it a stab because the worst that can happen is I find out I don't like it.

In my head-cannon, before the colonizing of a planet (or afterwards even) buildings are pre-made in space and sent traveling however many light-years away at sub-light speed before impacting the planet in some pre-arranged formation.  These rocket-buildings must be tough enough to withstand the rigors of space travel, planetary landing and then be desirable to live in afterwards.  Needless to say, they should be tough looking and high-tech.  With that said, the first step is to peel off the labels.

They're attached with some kind of industrial strength glue so I have to scrub off the paper first with a copper scrubber, make them wet, scrub some more then finally add Goo-Gone to the adhesive and scrub again after letting it set.

Scrubbing off the labels.

Sprayed with Goo Gone.

Clean bottle with some stuff I'm going to use to break up the profile.

One of the biggest problems I see having this is meeting the table with the bottle might require I cut it.  Right now my plan is to kinda make a shroud with that lego tape and then color it to see what happens.  I also got some fuses to put on top to act as an antenna grommet and hide some of the text up there.  

I'd like to spray it down with some modpodge and water mix, then dump some RIT dye on it, another spray or two of Modgepodge.  I have some hairbands that may cause the dye to aggregate nicely, then I might paint on some windows.  Not sure if any of this will work or how it will turn out, but that's part of the adventure!

Rus Богатырь (BOGATYR) Main Battle Tank

  RUS Богатырь (Bogatyr) Main Battle Tank

Of the Ascended, none has made as much military impact as Yuriy Voronov.  One of the earliest of those selected for Ascendancy, Yuriy was purposed with the same task that He excelled at in His life before, the creation and unification of the Rus's military forces.  To that end, Yuriy devoted His new existence with teams of engineers and scientists in large testing and manufacturing facilities for almost two centuries before presenting to the other Ascended Minds the resulting machines of war.

One of the many long-standing results of this labor is the Bogatyr Main Battle Tank.

Designed for maximum effectiveness on the battlefield during long deployments with little modification or repair, the Bogatyr (Rus for Hero-Soldier) features double weapons systems and heavier-than-normal armor.  When produced, the entire chassis is made as one single component, cast from toughened nanomized metaloid compounds.  This results in durability that allows the unit to sustain functionality decades or even centuries after noticeable structural trauma.  Indeed, the process of making the Bogatyr makes repair in most cases impossible.  Service records, however, hold that compared to an unstressed version, serviceability often remains unchanged.

Designed into the Bogatyr is a sealed and self-sustained life-support system which also includes a cramped, but adequate, habitation unit.  This allows for crew to function in some of the harshest conditions, even if away from supply lines, for days at a time.  Living in the tank, although not usually required, is often preferred by many who are assigned to them.  Often enough the Bogatyr will outlive its crew, who learn the peculiarities of their mechanical charge.  Making modifications is strictly prohibited, but most tankers living and serving in the Rus army end up developing names and special vocabulary particular to the operation of their Bogatyr.

It is common to find Veteran Bogatyr crew as well as those with a streak of independence being Elite or even Commanders if the situation needs.  Sometimes there are Bogatyr left behind due to lack of space or to leave a more fortified garrison for the defense of an outlying system, where the local militia will have a limited amount of fuel to use in the event of emergencies.  In these cases, an inexperienced crew may be used with the Mercenary rules.


DESIGNER NOTES:

As my first tank, I didn't want to get too fancy with it.  I took inspiration from the DI Morgan miniature I used to play with in my youth (though rather elongated in the MW:AoD line) and to be less heavy in tonnage.  A good all-arounder and a tough take-all comers to bulk up the ranks of the Rus before I get to any wild specialist units (still thinking bear-cavalry).  Thinking in contrast to the MBT I want to build for the SoH faction, I wanted this to be tougher, more rugged, and slower, but set in it's ways vs the SoH faction's Swiss Army Knife kit-for-the-mission alternative.

I'm rather satisfied how it turned out.  Barrels are harder to do than they look, and while they do rather look cartoonishly large for real life, I think it's appropriate for the Rus, the faction that goes with what works and goes bigger on it when it stops working.

As usual, you can find the file for this on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/596787544102795/

Rus Shapeways and Iliada Game Studios Purchases

Today I purchased a 12 pack of Bogatyr with two sets of Rus Militia-Conscript Infantry.  The two MC-I were purchased one in super-fine and one in regular versatile plastic (with the +$1 selection) and I'll review how they turned out later when they come in.

From Iliada Game Studios I practically purchased one of everything from the 6mm range.  Will definitely do unboxing videos when they come in, and one of the primary reasons for this post is to track how long they will take to arrive.  Most of the Western Human Conglomerate buildings will be made from large pill bottles (their buildings made in space and dropped into orbit) but for the Rus I want a more traditional approach.

I also purchased a set of Iliada's 6mm vehicles, which I'll be interested in doing up as a generic op-for.  At $20 for 20-some vehicles, the price is definitely right!

Too Long!

It's been too long between posts, but between working more than usual, trying to coordinate two house sales (I'm not a realtor) and the opening of "Life is Feuadal" 0.2.0 I'm finding my time very short.

The Bogatyr MBT is all but finished, all that is remaining is to polish the lore and narrate the modeling video.  The next main battle tank, from the SoH (Shield of Humanity) faction, has one through several renditions in my head, but as I was searching for inspiration I came across this image and fell in love with the design.

It's part of a larger image from a multiple tank concept drawing, and unfortunately the artstation account it seems to originate from seems to be not working, or I would give the artist credit.  If you know more than me, please correct me in the comments below.

I originally concepted this tank with the name "Sabre" but apparently that's already a thing.  I'm going with Longsword instead.

Next Tank Coming Along

Just a quick post. It seems like I've been stuck on this one for a week.  Completely modeled, just struggling to determine the best way to sprue it.

I'm probably going to settle on making a "1 tank" pack to combine to a central sprue of both turrets (featuring the conventional and railgun armaments).  Later I'll probably add the 15* raised guns and blast templates for cosmetic and diorama purposes.

The modeling video is also done, just need the final uploads to Shapeways for links and pictures.  Stoked to get started modeling the next tank.

The Rus: Militia-Conscript

In my not nearly fleshed out enough fictional future, humanity has taken to the stars with two (so far) factions arising.  Rather than focusing on civilizations that somehow end up in dystopias, I like to imagine that civilizations have figured out how to make a functioning human civilization based on their model of governance which reflects the values and temperaments of the peoples who reside there.  From there conflict arises when these civilizations interact.  And when C'thulu rises.

One of these factions I have affectionately taken to calling "The Rus" (pronounced, ROOS).  This is in large part to my wife being from Ukraine (or as I refer to it, the Texas of Russia) and having a handy background resource on all things Russian (her degree is in languages) has it's uses.

With that said, though chomping at the bit to do robot-bear cavalry, I've made the executive decision (as I do all the modeling) to create more baseline units for our future Polyversal games.  Going on what little I know about the earth-conflicts and what I'm told by first-hand accounts (inlaws are great) the Slavic states have, at times, and to this day, require conscription.

As such, I assert that in my polyverse The Rus have a mandatory service requirement for their people, not only as a defensive measure but as a cost saving device for the collective defense of the worlds they occupy.  Especially on outlying worlds bordering or in contention with other factions, able-bodied individuals may be called upon to perform service to the Mother-Worlds.

Equipping them with reliable, if outdated, armor and armament, a typical Militia-Conscript will hardly be a match for a properly trained force.  Working in tandem with other military elements, however, they provide a plentiful and easily tapped quantity of manpower that doesn't need to be moved from world to world and can, in times of defense, hold the enemy at bay until more trained forces arrive.

Any particular population of Rus will have the appointed position of Commissar-Quartermaster, which is a respected, though easy job that may not inspire the best of work ethics by those who hold the position.  During times of peace they are involved in overseeing the training and performance of the mandatory military service and advancing those who show the capacity and/or willingness.  During times of danger, however, those in the population who will need to be selected and armed for conscription are selected and supplied by the Commissar-Quartermaster of their jurisdiction.

Commissar-Quartermasters who the oligarchy of The Rus find have been too lax or unqualified in their positions may find themselves publicly executed.  Those who develop their area may end up being a political force and an inspiring leader on the battlefield, or even find themselves promoted to higher station.  As such, a unit may end up being a Commanding unit as the story presents itself, though holing up in bunker would be much advised.

Though the conscripts are relatively uniform in their equipment and training, their motivation to serve may be varied.  If they feel motivated enough, they will be roused into Fanatics, ready to give everything to defend the glory of their jurisdiction, their homes and their families.  Just as likely, however, they may decide that being a pawn in a war they would rather not take part in doesn't suit their goals for survival.  These Mercenary tendencies may make them balk in the face of an opposing force.  This is often remedied at a local level by a promise from the Commissar-Quartermaster to execute any surviving cowards.