Vehicles for the Vargr

The Vargr have had this sort of 'ramshackle' vibe to me for years. Call it the physicality of their chaotic social structures, but they've always struck me as being a little 'off' in their design philosophy. I've tried to capture this with the vehicles to flesh out my TL 10-13 Vargr forces.


I found the Laserburn line to be a good source of vehicles. Here are some shots of their grav APC. These things are true battle taxi and not IFV. They seemed a little undergunned, so I bored out the 'firing ports' on the sides and added barrels made from brass rod.

 

This particular model has been knocking around my parts box since the mid-1980's. You can get additional models from http://www.15mm.co.uk/Laserburn_15mm_Sci-fi.htm but the new castings look a bit worn. Fortunately, this adds to the ramshackle look I was going for, so its actually a win for me! 

A nice side view, with one of the Rafm 'not-Vargr' (but they really are!) placed adjacent for size comparison.
   

      
This is the Laserburn 'air/raft' or grav sled, air jeep....or whatever. A general purpose utility truck that looks like the misbegotten offspring of a Grav truck and a Bren carrier. Mounts a PGMP-12/13 on the passengers side for self-defense. Its brand new and I already scuffed the paint job! 
    

   


   
Okay, here's the oddball entry. Back in the 80's I picked up three resin cast 15mm grav tanks with metal barrels. I don't know the manufacturer, but I think I bought them from Chris Von Fahnestock (sorry if I butchered the name Chris!) at a game convention in Cincinnati. I've never seen more of them and have no idea who made them. But these orphans have found a home as the TL12-13 tank platoon for my Vargr (serving as either elements of the 105th Armored Cavalry Corps or the 101st Mechanized Army.)
   

  



     Here is another shot alongside a GZG heavy grav tank for scale comparison.
   

     The green paint job is boring, but I wanted a classic military color pattern that ties the various vehicles together into a cohesive force.

Now I just need to work out the uniform for the infantry figures!

Shout out to the Bits Box!

Want to give a shout out to the Bits Box.

http://thebitsbox.blogspot.com/

Lots of great info on the Zhodani and Swords World in 15mm!

Traveller tech level conversion

Traveller tech level conversion

While classic Traveller had roughly 16 common tech levels, Tomorrow’s War© has only 3. For the Fifth Frontier War, these Tech Levels roughly equate as follows;

Tomorrow’s War tech level	Traveller tech level
Tech Level 3	TL 14-16
Tech Level 2	TL 9-13
Tech Level 1	TL < 9

This is a rough guide. Feel free to modify this to meet your specific scenario setting.

Example # 1:

A platoon of TL 14 Zhodani jump troops are engaging a TL 6 infantry company. For Tomorrow’s War, we model this as a TL 3 force versus a TL 1 force.

A platoon of TL 9 Zhodani colonial infantry is engaging a platoon of TL 9 Imperial defense forces. We model this as a TL 2 versus TL 2 force.

New rides for the planetary defense force

Finished up a set of  15mm vehicles suitable for a mid-tech planetary defense force.

The APC models are Rafm "Imp". A nice 6x6 wheeled APC with three turret options (no weapon, generic twin barrel weapon or twin box missile launcher (AT or MRL).

   

For a platoon command/support element, I've got a Rebel Miniatures  Comanche MATV. It fits the general concept of the mid-tech PDF - a robust 4x4 vehicle with a substantial support weapon mounted up top.

  

And lastly, the vehicles for the platoon are ranked up here...

   

  

I'm happy with how the vehicles turned out. Assembling the Imp is a post for another day!

CincyCon...just over a month away

I've been busy basing infantry for the classic Zhodani infantry - Imperial Marine game. Two platoons of Zhodani battledress infantry is mounted and mostly painted. The vehicles all have their base coats of paint laid down. (Still thinking of using Matt's modified Gepard as its such a cool model.

I did find time to knock out the Rafm "Imp" models when assembled and painted, these are really nice models. I'd like to see additional turret options, but for now the 'twin mount' cannon will work. 

Need to work on the Imperial forces (which are smaller) and prep the charts and scenario materials for the game.

If I get time this week, I'll post some pictures.

CincyCon is coming

So I've been busy basing and painting figures for an upcoming game. Lots of Rafm figures along with some GZG vehicle models.

Its so...alien

Low gravity, high atmospheric density planets make for some interesting battlefields. The low gravity really increases movement rates and the dense atmosphere renders energy weapons less deadly and penetration drops off at longer ranges.

On a related note, Critical Mass Games does a nice line of bipedal canines in power armor. Yup! Proxies for Vargr in Battledress and combat armor. Arrooooooo!

Grab your brushes and start painting...

....cause there is a lot to do!

Almost have the three Rafm "Imp" 6x6 APC painted. Next step is to stat them up for The Stars Afire. At the same time, I've just about finished the three Laserburn APC, 3 'mystery' medium tanks and 1 air raft for the Vargr TL 13 Infantry. I means I still have to paint 30+ Vargr, but I think we can make that happen.

I've got the GZG models assembled and have started painting. The Imperials are in a nice hi-tech shade of grey, whislt the Zhodani are sporting a stunning Tamiya Desert Yellow.

We'll be submitting games for CincyCon in the next week or two. This will be the first public games using all "The Stars Afire" rules modifications to Tomorrow's War. Should be fun!

Hungry Like the Wolf...

Started drafting the first of hopefully many 'campaign guides' to actions during the Fifth Frontier War. This one focuses on the Vargr incursion into Regina subsector in the early months of the war. It took some work, but I think I have a believable background that sets the stage for a nice managable campaign. Its really an 'all or nothing' approach for the Vargr, but it looks doable.

Planting the banner!

Greetings! These pages support our additional to tabletop gaming with miniature figures. Specifically, Skill Level 0 supports gaming the battles of the Fifth Frontier War using the Tomorrow's War tabletop gaming rules.
We've formalized our rantings in a document titled "The Stars Afire". Its a collection of rules modifications, troop organizations and scenarios that support our gaming.

Factions;
The Third Imperium - The Empire of Man. 11,000 worlds under the Emperor. State of the art technolgy
 The Zhodani Consulate - Just as big and ruled by a humanoid telepaths. Almost as hi-tech as the Imperium.

The Swords Worlds - a minor ally of the Zhodani Consulate. Average interstellar technology.
The Vargr - "Freebooting wolves of space". More minor allies of the Zhodani. Any alien race evolved from canines.

Derived from the background setting for the Traveller role-playing game, the supporting board game Fifth Frontier War, and the old GDW miniatures rules Striker.

All aspects are welcome. The current focus is on 15mm gaming, but that is open to interpretation.