More H:FB Campaign Background

My wife got me Halo 5 for Christmas, and hot damn what a ride! Great fun to play, but from an over-arching meta perspective it showed us the civil war the Elites have been fighting for almost as long as the Covenant has been gone- the Blooding Years, as they call it. With a surplus of Covenant vessels from Halo: Fleet Battles that are begging for that cool blood red color the Swords of Sangheilios use, and seemingly recent confirmation that the "new" Sangheili ships from Halo 5 will be realized in miniature form in the (hopefully near) future, I wanted to get a head start on a little background for the timeframe these ships appear in. Additionally, my earlier post describing the UNSC's rump Fourth Sector for campaign background purposes has consistently been the most popular post on this blog, so it seems there is an appetite for such content among readers here. It's my earnest hope that means I'm inspiring some of my fellow gamers out there.

Ero'deolos
    The primary Sangheili colony in the Csolek system, Ero'deolos was one of the outermost worlds of the original Sangheili domain until the War of Beginnings. A San'Shyuum attack in the war's early years decimated the planet's defenses and forced the population to evacuate back to Sanghelios. For a time, the Forerunner Dreadnought used the Csolek system and it's many moons and planetoids as a hiding place, baiting two seperate Sangheili warfleets to overextend themselves and be defeated while searching the vessel out.
    After the Writ of Union was confirmed, Sangheili colonists returned to Ero'deolos to find a small San'Shyuum enclave had been placed in the main keep on the planet. Though allowing the Sangheili to return to their original settlements, the San'Shyuum maintained their enclave in the heart of the Sangheili colony, a rarity in the Covenant. This arrangement lasted throughout the Covenant, having an impact on both races.
    Elites from Ero'deolos are noted for their increased tolerance for other species, an attitude forced by the close proximity of the San'Shyuum. Many Elites from elsewhere in the Sangheili sphere deride this tolerance as a predisposition for grovelling- a belief that was not helped by the San'Shyuum preference to elevate the more easily-influenced Ero'deolos Elites over their peers. Many Sangheili conscripted from here found their way into the Ministry of Preservation, dedicated to preserving the Covenant against internal strife. 
    For their part, San'Shyuum from the planet were notable for their more belligerent attitudes and stubborness, and were known to advocate for the Elites in interspecies disputes with inappropriate vigor. As a result, they rarely rose to positions of higher authority throughout their history. Indeed, at the dawn of the Great Schism, most Prophets from Ero'deolos were imprisoned or worse for their suspected pro-Elite attitudes.
    Ero'deolos itself was in time developed into a regional powerbase for the Covenant, being at the edge of Sangheili and Covenant space at the time, and helping expand the empire's influence deep into the Shining Marches. To facilitate this, the Prophets directed a modest shipyard be built in orbit to service exploratory and colonization fleets in addition to contributing warships to the military. Though few Forerunner sites or artifacts of any importance were found in the region, the Shining Marches were home to several lesser species that at least paid homage to the Covenant, if they were not a part of it's Fringe.
    During the Great Schism, the Ministry of Preservation forces based on Ero'deolos experienced their own internal implosion when the fleets stationed over the world began fighting each other. The Jiralhanae-led and heavily reinforced Fleet of Truculent Compassion initially made great headway against the Sangheili-led Fleet of Relentless Zeal before the Fleet of Considered Reprisal arrived to reinforce the Sangheili and drive off the Brutes. Though victorious, the Sangheili forces were badly damaged, prompting Thel 'Vadam's nascent Swords of Sangheilios to send reinforcements to the world, though these were not warmly received. The Swords themselves were guilty of making insinuations that Ero'deolos was collaborating with the Prophets, a popular belief at the time. The resulting animosity saw Ero'deolos largely on it's own against nearby Brute forces, and soured several native keeps against the Arbiter, later driving them into Jul 'Mdama's camp.
    'Mdama's Covenant has largely kept Ero'deolos' forces in place, both to protect the still-operational shipyard over planet and to prosecute war against the few keeps on-world that have professed loyalty to the Arbiter. Spies loyal to the Arbiter have suggested that not all of the Covenant's supporters here are truly invested in the movement, and may in fact be hiring their forces out to parties able to pay for them. It is unknown if Jul 'Mdama is aware of these mercenary operations, or if he would even be overly concerned.
    For his part, the Arbiter has dispatched a taskforce from his Swords to support the loyalist keeps and tie up Covenant forces in the region. This taskforce, Bladesworn, contains many of the Swords of Sangheilios' remaining Covenant-produced warships, being the more capable multi-role vessels to prosecute the campaign, and best able to engage the warships of the Ero'deolos Covenant fleet.

Welcome to Death Watch!

My new poison (I warned you this blog would be all over the place) is Fantasy Flight Games Imperial Assault, and to a lesser extent, Armada. I'm a child of the 80's, so while I missed out on the initial phenomena of Star Wars when it first came out, I was pretty well positioned to enjoy the series right after. It thrills me to have little Star Wars figures to paint and play with after so long (Micro Machines being the last I had my hand on).

I've got mixed feelings on the Prequels, but I did enjoy quite a bit of the Clone Wars. Of the original characters introduced by that series, the two that really stand out to me are the badass bounty hunter Cad Bane, and Pre Vizsla of the clan Vizsla of the Mandalorian Death Watch. When he began his alliance with Darth Maul in the series, you knew it couldn't end well for him, but damn me if the fights against the Hutt Council's bounty hunters and the Maul/Vizsla duel weren't some of the best in the series. At present, there are no figures in Imperial Assault that would represent a good Cad Bane, but Boba Fett in all his Mandalorian glory was recently(-ish) released. With a little trimming and work, I present to you not Boba Fett, but Pre Vizsla!

 I used one of my wife's hairdryers to warm the plastic and make it slice like warm butter. I trimmed down the sides of the helmet, the half-cape, and the braided Wookie scalps. I have to confess, I legitimately felt bad for carving up Boba. :-D The two antenna "earmuffs" are actually the head lasers from a Robotech Tactics VF-1S trimmed to size. Greenstuff was used to add caps to the jetpack and armor to the thighs and shins in accordance with source images from the show.

I sliced the jetpack and the arms off at the shoulders so I could swap weapons on the figure. Instead of Boba's characteristic EE-3 carbine, I scratched the Unidentified Death Watch Carbine as shown on Wookiepedia with some styrene plastic strips. I used a few small styrene bits to present the sheathed Darksaber on the jetpack. I'm both very proud and slightly ashamed of how this turned out (cause I chopped up Boba.)

The inspirational source

I've also been working on some of the starter set's figures. Most have a good number of mold lines to trim down, including the ones you never see till you put paint onto them, but are otherwise very good figures.

 This is my Jyn Odan figure. Instead of a vaguely Oriental-featured Human female I went with one of the myriad near-Human species in Star Wars, the Pantorans. You definitely want to make sure you use a blue-grey to avoid immediate comparisons to the Chiss. Since I wanted the skin and hair to be the bright colors on the figure, I went with a much more subdued outfit compared to the Jyn presented on the card and box. I freely confess that miniature figures' eyes give me fits, and while the eyes look somewhat less derpy in person, it isn't by much.

 This was the first figure I completed. An Imperial Officer done up as an officer of the Imperal Security Bureau (Imperial secret police.)

 Couple of Royal Guards done in the style of the great Sorestro, as seen by his videos on Youtube. Still debating if additional glazes are needed to darken and unify the reds used, but over I'm happy with how they turned out.

Instead of a grey base, I used a black for my probe droids, drybrushed a dark silver, and added minute details before sealing. 'Ardcoat for brightening the main lenses on the droids.

Start of the UNSC

Back again. Losing a pet is tough, much tougher after having him around for more than half my life, but life goes on.

As post one of two today, an update to my UNSC fleet for Halo: Fleet Battles. The bulk of my fleet is actually going to be in this shade of grey but with green accents; it looks very militaristic in a utilitarian way, perfect for the UNSC. These ships are both proof-of-concept and are intended to represent remnants of another UNSC fleet in my main fleet, as the budding campaign concept has the UNSC forces not on the front-lines, but on a secondary front and thus more patchwork...

UNSC Collossus

UNSC Valiant Heart, UNSC Tiger by the Tail, UNSC Makassar

These are just primed with Army Painter Uniform Grey, washed with GW Nuln Oil, the colors were brought back up with P3 Ironhull Grey, with Cryx Bane Highlight for added definition. The blue is Cygnar Blue Highlight with GW Lothern Blue. Viewport lights with Morrow White.

My Dog Went to Sleep Today...

After a full and excellent life, my loyal dog Shadow was put to sleep today, after having been there for me for 17 of his 18 years. He was getting pronounced polyp-type growths on his body, and he was eating very little while keeping even less down. Walking had become a challenge, and he could no longer rise without assistance. He was a better dog than anyone could ever hope or ask for. I miss him very much already.

Godspeed old friend. I look forward to the day I can see you again. I find myself much less enthused for life without you around in it.

I just want the world to know that Shadow existed, and he was a very good boy.

Cyclops/Marathon Heavy Cruiser

One of the more interesting Specialist Battlegroups you can get for the UNSC in Halo: Fleet Battles is the Cyclops Battlegroup, three frigate Tridents and one Supported Marathon. That Marathon is modified to function as a light carrier, losing it's Missile Barrage ability to gain Hangar 5- a big increase from it's normal Hangar 2. The Hangar rating represents how many Flights of fighters and/or bombers an element carries, and these Flights are grouped up into Wings of at least 2 Flights but can contain as many as 5. Each side has limitations on size for each Wing; for example, the UNSC can place 5 Bomber Flights into a Wing while the Covenant can only place 4, but the UNSC can only have up to 4 Fighters in a Wing vs. the Covenant's 5. Halo Fleet Battles lets anything with a Carrier ability effectively regenerate their fighter complements so long as the enemy keeps killing your fighters and bombers, making the Carrier Action the Cyclops also gets very useful indeed. Most opponents you play know to expect a steady stream of Fighters and Bombers coming from an Epoch Fleet Carrier, but a Marathon? Not so much.

Yes, that's all well and interesting, but how about some content? I liked the idea of the Cyclops Light Carrier so much I modified one of my Marathons to represent a converted carrier on the tabletop.

I plasti-welded the dark grey armor panels with the slits in them (that came on a sprue from Kotobukiya- courtesy of HLJ) on the sides of the ship to represent hangar doors for recovering her complement, while I used some strip styrene to bulk up her dorsal hull and add a communications mast to better-coordinate her increased fighter group.

I also used styrene rod, U-channel, and assorted other bits to create a launch tube on the underside of the vessel to really help it stand out from it's standard Marathon sisters. The only modification to the OoB Marathon mini that I made was to snip off the two "prongs" from the piece glued on the underside, everything else was simply added on. The rectangular styrene rod was able to fit into the cavity already present in the design with no issues.

To shift gears for a minute, I confess I've fallen off the H:FB wagon a bit to work on one of my newest poisons: Robotech RPG Tactics. Yes, the company responsible for the game has bungled things at several steps along the way, but I don't feel they're out to screw us all over like many other voices on the Internet would have you believe. The models are, well, a pain in the ass to be charitable. I build Gundam models from time to time for fun, so I have some experience with clipping small parts from sprues, cleaning said parts of mold-lines and pressure points, and using plastic cement and files to make two pieces appear to be one. If you can say the same, you shouldn't be daunted by trying the game out, but believe me, you'll need those acquired skills to put the minis together. Using greenstuff or liquid greenstuff to fill gaps is also useful, but not as critical.

I went into the Kickstarter back when it was on, and while I feel I fretted less than most over getting the final product in-hand as late as we did, I was dismayed by the sheer number of parts that make up each figure. I put off building anything from the Kickstarter until very recently. This, I think, is the greatest failing of the game: the sheer complexity of the models and the amount of work you need to put in to just build a few figures from what is meant to be an introductory starter boxset. I shudder to think of how much potential sales have been missed by people being turned off by the above. It's too bad, as the rules and the game itself seem easy-enough to pick up and learn, but the minis are a weak point, at least until you put them together.

Stepping off the soap box, I wanted to show some progress on my Zentraedi forces. I almost have all the Zent minis from the Intro box done, missing just 3 Regults which are on queue. Not pictured but completed is the Quel-Gulnau recovery pod, an important component in letting Officer Pods recycle their fallen minions after every turn by way of the Zentraedi Armada rule. I used model railroad ballast and bits of cork boarding with some cut-up sprue pieces to represent a wasteland type base, as I'm thinking more of a Robotech: Battlecry theme of remnant Zentraedi and the Malcontent Uprisings, but also allows me leeway to paint blasted urban rubble if I choose to go with a Macross City theme. Haven't quite decided.

Hope you enjoy!

Progress on Space Station

How about some actual content?

I built this using a simple styrofoam block from Michael's crafts store with thin balsa wood sheets to cover, pretty much just as the BFG Dock I referenced a couple posts ago. I used some L-angled styrene strips to cover the joins between the planes of the station (and cover up some of my shoddier measurements). The whole thing is still a work-in-progress, but I am very pleased with how it's turning out. The whole thing is mounted on a spare H:FB base with eight small pegs for stability.

If you're familiar with Spartan Games scenery, you'll likely recognize pieces from their Military Buildings set, like the landing pads, the bio-domes, the hangar bay doors, and the hexagonal fortress piece you can make from the blister. The other buildings are part left-over 40K bits and styrene tubing and sheet to resemble miniature structures on the surface of the greater station. The comms array is an Infinity small base with tubing and 40K IG bits, and the sensor dish is an old MicroMachines piece. I used balsa sheets to add some extra height and varied structural details to the otherwise flat surface. Much still needs to be added to give it the look I'm hoping for.

The docks for my UNSC Fourth Fleet are simple wooden dowels placed at similar heights up the side to correspond with my minis, regardless if I used a small, medium, or large peg to mount the ship. The docks are particularly WiP, with plans to add docking tubes and styrene brackets to all docks and some miniature cranes/robotic arms to the two rectangular dock pieces.

Enjoy!

Campaign UNSC Background

Commanded by Rear Admiral Augustine Terrell, the Fourth Sector Fleet is responsible for the defense of the remaining worlds of their region. Largely composed of smaller vessels such as Frigates and Destroyers, the forces of the region have been steadily de-prioritized for years now as more and more losses are sustained by UNSC fleets facing the main axis of Covenant advance. Instead of dividing forces into parcels for each populated world, SECCOM has chosen to concentrate it's forces in a few strategic locations. When the fleet does patrol, tactical preference is to remain in full battlegroup-sized deployments for safety. Port Zanzibar, the fleet's base in the sector, has a large number of vessels at almost all times, as does heavily-populated New Constantinople. The remaining colonies closest to what is considered "Covenant space" also host small naval squadrons for defense, as do planets with important industry. Most planets are left to rely on defense stations and planet-based fighter and bomber wings for immediate defense until reinforcements arrive.
    SinoViet's Paris-class frigate is by far the most common ship in the sector, with ships launching from SinoViet's shipyard in New Constantinople at a brisk pace together with a trickle of hulls from Reach. The Charon and Stalwart classes are occasionally present, but typically these ships are passing through the sector, usually as escorts for convoys to-and-from the Inner Colonies.
    Destroyers of all classes are uncommon in the sector, where the intensity of enemy action isn't the same as in the Inner Colonies, not to mention the added expense in their manufacture and upkeep, making frigates more appropriate to operations in Fourth Sector. The Halberd-class is seen in some number around important planets, installations, and ships, but the depletion of destroyers is another result of losses elsewhere in human space.
    Admiral Terrel had to lobby heavily to retain the four Marathon Heavy Cruisers still under his command, and there are rumors on a near-daily basis that these ships are to be reassigned elsewhere. The older Halcyon-class is more commonly seen, often serving as flagships and heavy muscle for the large patrol task forces SECCOM prefers.
    Carriers are one class of ships the fleet is currently very deficient in. The Marathon UNSC Winter Road is a Cyclops subvariant of that class, capable of carrying five wings of Broadsword fighters and Longsword bombers in her expanded flight bays, and is at present the only dedicated carrier in the sector. She frequently hosts Admiral Terrell's flag when he's off of Port Zanzibar station. FLEETCOM at Reach have been dithering on assigning a new fleet carrier to the sector based on increasing Covenant raider activity, but have not decided as yet. If they do, it is likely a new Epoch-class would be committed.

Halo: Fleet Battles Campaign Background

Halo: Fleet Battles from Spartan Games is currently holding my entire hobby attention, as I'm a fan of both miniature starship games and the Halo universe. The campaign that comes with the starter box focuses on the titanic (and ruinous) Battle of Reach near the end of the Human-Covenant War, when humanity was digging in for it's last stand. I want to set a campaign at a different time and a different place in the Halo timeline, 5 years before Reach, when UNSC fleets and territory would be larger and allow for a little leeway in what forces are where and when. I've tried to adhere to the Halo lore when creating this background as much as possible, however Wing Commander fans may notice a few nods to that series.

     FLEETCOM Sector Four is one of the sectors making up the Outer Colonies territories. It is known as a former hotbed of Insurrectionist activity among the Outer Colonies, being well-associated with the Eridanus uprising and subsequent Operation: TREBUCHET. However, by 2547, the Covenant's inexorable march had devoured more than half of the sector. While technically on the frontlines of the war, the entire sector has become something of a backwater since Jericho VII was glassed. The Covenant began to shift it's forces away from the area, having found more and more of the densely populated and defended worlds of the Inner Colonies, making Sector Four a peripheral zone of engagement.
    Containing some of the furthest human territories even before the Covenant began it's genocide, the peoples of the region have long been a rugged and independent sort, well-inclined to support the Insurrection. The coming of the Covenant and the subsequent loss of more than half the sector has markedly improved the attitude of the local populaces to the UNSC, if only grudgingly so.
    The sector itself, despite it's reduced size, still holds a wide variation of different planets contributing to the UNSC.    
    Many mining concerns, both legitimate and not, work the vast asteroid fields to be found in the area. Equally large numbers of refineries handle the ore and purify them into the raw materials being devoured by the war effort.
    The Burgundy colony is home to a thriving agricultural industry, and is considered the breadbasket of the sector. A garden world, it also attracts a substantial number of tourists with the means to travel there, in turn creating a substantial tourist industry that makes the planet a favored R&R locale for UNSC personnel of all branches.
    The Sherwood and Pyrenees colonies boast some of the last heavy industry to be found in the Outer Colonies. Sherwood boasts a modest aerospace industry in it's capital city of Loxley, including but not limited to the Broadsword and Longsword fighters, and also possesses several smaller factories dedicated to the assembly of capital-class missiles. While Pyrenees has several large foundries across it's mountainous surface used in the fabrication of heavy construction equipment in addition to a number of large UNSC depot facilities. In orbit, the Hephaestus complex is capable of refining warship-grade Titanium-A plating.
    New Constantinople is a crossroads system lying along several of the established Slipspace routes through the region, and boasts the highest population of any remaining Fourth Sector colony with representatives from every major industry in the sector. A substantial civilian shipyard is present in the system, and SinoViet Heavy Industries has a modest yard turning out Paris-class frigate hulls; coincidentally the only military shipbuilding left in the sector. It is one of the few systems to have a major UNSC presence on permanent station.
    The Delta Prime colony has some of the largest Forerunner ruins in the sector. Consequently, an ONI operation of unknown size is known to be present in the system. SECCOM at Port Zanzibar has no authority over this operation, and it is currently unknown what it's purpose is. ONI is believed to be monitoring all ships present in the system, and civilian vessels deviating from set spacelanes around the colony are always immediately challenged.
    Port Zanzibar is a large space station located in the New Caledonia system. Originally created as a waystation for colony ships traveling towards distant stars, it was largely repurposed by the UNSC into a military dock during Operation:TREBUCHET. A large command complex, additional Titanium-A plating, and numerous Onager MACs, missile bays, and point defense cannons were added to the station to fortify it against expected Insurrectionist aggression. Now, the large cargo bays once used to resupply colony ships hold all manner of consumables used by the UNSC's sector fleet. The command and communications facilities have been expanded to make Port Zanzibar the SECCOM HQ for the region. The docks can accommodate an entire battlegroup simultaneously for resupply, complete with a dedicated AI to coordinate the work, while modest repair facilities can service most classes of UNSC vessels. A habitat block allows the workers and crew to live on-station comfortably 365-days a year.

Tiny little star-bases make me feel warm and fuzzy inside

I recently came across this scratch-built and kit-bashed space dock on The Shell Case:

Battlefleet Gothic Scratch Build – Space Dock

A simple piece of foam with some cardstock over it and a whole box's-worth of bitz. I can't get enough of this project! I am inspired to try something similar to this for my soon-to-arrive Fall of Reach box for Halo: Fleet Battles. I could easily see something similar functioning as a fleet base for the UNSC (humans), a fortress, terrain-piece, and objective rolled into one. My only concern is that UNSC stations tend to be of a more vertical nature, like Anchor 9 from Halo: Reach...

Still, the concept is there, and the company that makes H:FB also produces a blister package of space-oriented buildings specifically to add character to a project just like this. The true challenge will be to produce something similar for the distinctly more alien and ovoid design philosophy of the Covenant. Stay tuned for more on this one.

It starts somewhere...

First post for newly-created blog. I intend to dedicate this blog towards my miniatures hobby, covering a variety of scales and topics. I'm incredibly new to this whole blogging thing, so please bear with me as I learn the ropes.

Areas of future coverage will include (but aren't limited to) game systems like BattleTech, Flames of War, Dystopian Wars, FSA, MERCS, Warmahordes, Infinity, Dropzone Commander, and Halo: Fleet Battles.I hope to show works-in-progress, completed pieces and groups, and tips and tricks I've learned and borrowed along the way.