15mm Superhero Gaming - Major Blasto Character Sheet

"One Man Army"...  "Death Incarnate"... "The Walking Armory"...  "Your Worst Nightmare"....  Major Blasto has been called many things, but this above all - "The Best Damn Soldier in the World".  This is the man who once killed four agents of Hydra with one grenade -- before the damn thing exploded.  His weapon of choice is his custom BREN gun - along with its Infinity Clip - which allows him to slow march, all while raining down an unending hail of bullets on anybody unfortunate enough to be considered his enemy.  Although he prefers to work alone, he has been persuaded by Nick Fury to accompany the Repulsers superhero team from time to time.  He feels the need to share some of the glory once in a while - just to be fair....

15mm Superhero Gaming - When Aliens Attack Session Report

I finally ran a large 15mm Superhero gaming session for my daughters, nieces, and nephews.  It has been a year or two since our last two sessions - Rise of the Dead and Desert Rescue, and I was excited to use all my Team Yankee modern 15mm scenery for the scenario.  Below are the details for this new adventure....

When Aliens Attack

In a small rural town, aliens have landed. Glowing purple crystals have appeared near the landing site of their flying saucer. With the Avengers in disarray after the events of their civil war, Nick Fury sent Taffy Man to investigate, but the superhero has not been heard from since entering the craft. Recently, a group of aliens assembled around one of the glowing crystals. Nick Fury has now assembled the Repulsers superhero team to rescue Taffy Man and stop any threat the aliens may pose.

Superheroes:
*America Girl
*Plasma Man (and Minions)
*Ice Princess (and Snowflake the ice golem)
*Star Flare
*Blue Raven
*Major Blasto

NPCs:
*Taffy Man
*United States Navy SEALs
*Local Policemen
*Townspeople

Villains:
*Aliens (Greys)
*Alien Guard-Creatures
*Alien Monster

Aboard the Quinjet, the team (led by America Girl) discussed the mission and split into task forces:

• America Girl / Plasma Man - enter the flying saucer to rescue Taffy Man and research the aliens
• Ice Princess / Star Flare - evacuate the town and protect its citizens
• Blue Raven / Major Blasto - engage the aliens and eliminate any threat they may pose

Due to their military training, America Girl, Major Blasto, and Blue Raven were able to parachute down while the rest of the team aboard the Quinjet landed in a airfield outside of town.

America Girl defeated the two aggressive alien creatures guarding the flying saucer and entered the alien craft. She found the captured Taffy Man and defeated the aliens guarding him. Taffy Man then informs her about the aliens - they are evil and seek the town's destruction! The glowing crystals will spawn huge monsters that will destroy the town, unless the aliens are stopped. Taffy Man also found out a secret hidden deep within the ship's computer - the alien monsters will melt when exposed to water!

While American Girl is aboard the alien craft:

• Major Blasto goes to a fast food restaurant and finds a group of US Navy SEALs, who he recruits to defeat the aliens,
• Blue Raven assumes command of the local police force,
• Ice Princess and Star Flare persuade the townsfolk to take shelter in a nearby building, and
• Plasma Man races to the scene of the landed craft and summons his Plasma Minions.

Just then - one of glowing purple crystals explodes, and from the rubble emerges an alien monster!  The aliens head to the next crystal, ready to summon another alien monster.

Once America Girl emerges from the flying saucer, she shares the information she obtained while aboard the ship. The team focuses on new tasks:

• America Girl and Taffy Man race to the scene,
• Major Blasto and the US Navy SEALs take up a good firing positions and light up the alien monster from atop buildings,
• Blue Raven and the police force engage the alien monster while on the bridge,
• Ice Princess summons her ice golem Snowflake to fight the alien monster,
• Star Flare destroys the remaining glowing purple crystals, preventing any additional alien monsters from being spawned, and
• Plasma Man and his Minions defeat the remaining aliens, (other than the alien monster).

Snowflake fights the alien monster, but the alien monster lumbers past him and crosses the bridge.  Although missing the chance to destroy the two bridges over the river, the team inflicts heavy damage on the alien monster.

Then a plan emerges - Major Blasto and his Navy SEALS take positions atop the water tower and draw the alien monster toward them.  They set explosive charges, and after a slight delay setting the blasting cap, cinematically jump from the water tower (and into a nearby corn field) seconds before the explosive blast releases a rush of water which finally defeats the alien monster.

Best Moments:

*The superheroes direct townspeople to take refuge in the nearby building -- which turned out to be a chemical factory and the intended target of the large alien monster.

*The superheros firmly, but politely commandeer civilian's cars in order to drive to the action sooner.
*Major Blasto explains his plan to throw a grenade into the crowded melee of aliens and superheroes, (and only at the last minute is persuaded against taking that action)
*The team considers having Star Flare make a flame attack on Snowflake the ice golem (familiar of Ice Princess) to melt him into water and damage the alien monster.

The initial setup of the table....

The town and its people, going about their normal day...

The townspeople, unaware of the danger that awaits them.

The flying saucer, guarded by two alien creatures.

Behind the police barricade some citizens get a closer look at the aliens.

Major Blasto interrupts a group of dining US Navy SEALs and recruits them into his squad.

Ice Princess summons Snowflake - her ice golem - to engage the alien monster.

America Girl finds the captured Taffy Man aboard the flying saucer, guarded by some angry aliens.

The team and the police retreat while attempting to defeat the alien monster as it heads toward town.

Major Blasto and the US Navy SEALs fire at the alien monster, drawing him toward the water tower.

Explosives destroy the tower, releasing a deluge of water near the alien monster. 

The water - deadly to the alien monster - destroys the alien monster and saves the town.

15mm Superhero Gaming - Nick Fury (MCU) Character Sheet

Recently I painted up a suitable (Marvel Cinematic Universe) Nick Fury for 15mm Superhero gaming.  The model is from Rebel Miniature's 15mm Civilian Hunter's Pack.

15mm Superhero Gaming - Doctor Who and the TARDIS

I recently painted up a suitable Doctor Who model for future superhero gaming. He is from Rebel Miniatures's 15mm Civilian Hunter's Pack 2.  I also painted up a TARDIS model that I took from the Risk: The Dalek Invasion of Earth boardgame, along with a number of Dalek miniatures from the same boardgame.

15mm Superhero Gaming - Aliens and Civilians

For future superhero gaming sessions, I bought some 15mm aliens ("15mm Science Caste (Greys) in Evaluation Mode" from Khurasan Miniatures) and painted them up recently.  I added a flying saucer (from the Mars Attacks: The Miniatures Game from Mantic), which seems to fit in nicely.  I also painted up some civilian miniatures from Rebel Miniatures to add to future scenarios using aliens, zombies... or other threats to humanity.

Team Yankee - Yugoslavian Army T-55s and BTR-60s

My quest to make a JNA (Yugoslavian) force for Team Yankee (using the rules for the East Germans) is getting closer as I complete the T-55s and BTR-60s.  I need to add tank commanders to a few command models and the armor component will be complete.

The T-55 tanks are from Plastic Soldier Company and the BTR-60 transports are from Battlefront Miniatures.  I primed them with Goblin Green from Army Painter, but primed the wheels black before gluing them on.  The tracks for the T-55s were first primed with the green, then hit on the top and bottom with black primer.  I hit each model with Army Painter Dark Tone that greatly muted the bright green.  I painted on the details before lightly drybrushing on dust and dirt using a light brown color.

When complete, the force will include 31 T-55s and 15 BTR-60s, and I plan on adding a number of infantry units to the force as well.

15mm Superhero Gaming - Blue Raven Character Sheet

Blue Raven is the newest member of the The Repulsers superhero team.  Trained by Black Widow herself, Blue Raven is a master gymnast, acrobat, spy, and tactician.  Her Raven's Claw - which can deliver electric shocks up to 30,000 volts - is capable of incapacitating almost any foe, while her Needle Pistol can expel a flurry of poisonous darts.  Despite her advanced technological weapons, she prefers engaging enemies up close, relying on her martial arts skills for attack and her remarkable agility and dexterity for defense.

Leaked Pictures of Upcoming Free Nations Releases for Team Yankee

A post at the Team Yankee forum over at No Dice, No Glory contains some leaked pictures showing the next releases for Team Yankee.  Free Nations will contain army lists for Canadian, French, Dutch, and Australian forces.

The French Starter Force Box "Durand's Devils" appears to contain three AMX-30 tanks and two Aerospatiale SA342 Gazelle helicopters.

The NATO Starter Force Box "NATO's First Line" appears to contain three Leopard 1 tanks and two PAH-1 BO-105P helicopters.

The best guess is that we will see these all released sometime in June or July.

Team Yankee - Russians vs. British (64 Points)

I played Team Yankee against Strom a few weekends ago.  He used his Russians and I played my British FV432 Mechanized Company, along with some Chieftans.  Strom's airpower went unchallenged and it was a war of attrition with both sides taking heavy losses.  A few hours in we were considering calling it a stalemate, but we decided to give it a few more turns.

In the end, Strom captured an objective with his Hind Air Assault Battalion for the win.  The previous few turns he had slowly winnowed down my forces with his airpower and artillery.  He pinned the infantry unit guarding the objective.  When I failed my unpin roll there was no way I could contest his capture of it.

Showtime, A-Holes: Guardians of the Galaxy with the Milano

A few years back I picked up the Galactic A-Holes from Highlander Studios.   With the recent release of Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2, I thought I might go back and add their plucky starship - the Milano.  I think it scales pretty well with the 15mm miniatures.  The sci-fi landing pad mat is from Soda Pop Miniatures (for their Relic Knights game).  I'm looking forward to playing 15mm scenarios with it -- I'm planning to base one on the already classic opening scene from the movie.

Flames of War - 7th Armored Division

A year or two ago I painted some US Army miniatures for Flames of War.  I painted the infantry up as the 7th Armored Division, with the primary color patch on the left shoulder.  I painted them fairly quickly, just basecoating the main colors and then using the dipping method for highlighting.  The tanks are pre-painted Sherman tanks from Point of Contact.

US Army Loach OH-6 Helicopters

Over the Christmas holiday I completed two Battlefront Loach OH-6 Helicopters for my Vietnam US Army forces.  The Kilgore miniature is from the Peter Pig Vietnam line, and the other figure is holding a surfboard that I cut out from plasticard.

This completes my US Army forces and allows me to start working on my VC Local Forces.  I hope to complete them by the end of 2017.

15mm Superhero Gaming - The Legacy Character Sheet

The Legacy is a superhero aligned with S.H.I.E.L.D.  He often joins The Repulsers for missions where addition tactical support and firepower is required.  He excels at military tactics and strategy, and is often consulted before a mission to determine the best plan of attack.  He wears an early Iron Man prototype armor from Stark Industries.  His Mark 1.5 armor features only rudimentary weapons systems and can only sustain low-altitude flight for short periods of time.  Despite these limitations, his armor combined with his tactical expertise makes The Legacy a powerful ally.

Flames of War Vietnam - Fair Fight

Over the weekend Strom and I played a game of Flames of War Vietnam.  The last Navy SEAL scenario we played took longer to setup than the actual gameplay, so we wanted to try a regular, normal Fair Fight this time.  I took the Americans, running this Infantry Company at 1000 points:

• 35 Rifle Company HQ 
• 150 Rifle Platoon 
• 150 Rifle Platoon 
• 145 Aeroscout Platoon (25th) 
• 260 Field Artillery Battery 
• 260 Field Artillery Battery 

Strom took his NVA and Local Forces.  I placed one platoon on each of the two objectives... and waited. Except on the first turn, where I ventured out to interrogate some villagers.  I succeeded on both rolls, removing them from the play.  The first of many fortunate rolls on my behalf.  Then I waited.  My White Team was used to harass and pick off stray teams as he moved carefully under the heavy jungle canopy toward the Americans.  Eventually, through my heavy artillery strikes and precision targeting by the Loaches, I forced his Local Forces team to run and regroup (off table reserves).  

He took out one Loach and I kept the other back to save for later, better opportunities.  My platoons were still hanging tough, concealed and dug-in in the tall grass and jungle.  As he approached, he threw three units at one of my platoons. The MGs and M-16s lit the units up, despite being pinned.  The next turn I unpinned and let the NVA have it.  One more NVA team removed off the table (and later brought back on from reserves).

Strom regrouped and prepared for a second wave.  This time softening up the Americans with some artillery strikes of his own.  Between assault waves, the medic saved a few teams, which helped in the upcoming firefight. After having to pull back for a moment to address a fake-out by my other platoon (they double-timed it in a race toward his unsecured objective), Strom's units were in position.  His second wave included three units, but again was repulsed due to the MGs.  Pushing near twenty turns, Strom resigned and the game was over.  

Victory to the Americans!  I do have to admit that my rolling was a major factor in my win - it was good when I needed it to be. I made critical rolls to unpin.  I also rolled well on my infantry saves consistently over a number of turns, (where just one bad turn of failed saves could have made for a disaster).

We are looking forward to playing some more Vietnam games before we assemble our Team Yankee forces.