Sunday 29 September 2013

Supersonic Subs, Airships and more Terrain Building

Here's two tables where I am using my 30-minute scratchbuilt terrain.

Here's a more "traditional" aeronef dock. 

The aeronef aerial dock was my latest 30 minute project - to go with the "submarine pen" style aeronef base made of packaging.

I made it of balsa wood - I got a pack of pre-cut balsa for $7 from my local hardware store.\

With all this terrain spouting from my 30-minute projects, I needed some more tables. I'm a fan of pre-cut 3ft x 4ft MDF.  It's very light and easy to move around.

I glue a strip of pine down the sides to stop the MDF bending out of shape.  As you can see from the top picture, the strip also allows it to be turned into a sand table with the addition of a single bucket of sand.
This has the advantage of making a single skirmish table, or if you flip them over and shove two together, a single "standard" large 6ft x 4ft table.

I used some 1:300 Brigade Models sci fi buildings as a stopgap VSF desert town.

I'm experimenting with using the General Quarters 3 rules mixed with my own homebrew add-ons as I dislike the million hitboxes and dice-chugging random blandness of the "official" Aeronef rules.

The other table is my own homebrew rules - "SuperCav" - near future sub warfare beneath alien oceans.  The normal cat-and-mouse of the current modern era of sub warfare can be varied by dogfights between "supercavitating" sub-fighters  which use rocket engines to travel at 500kph+ "flying" inside their own gas bubble.




Some rocket fighters patrol past an undersea refinery


A transport sub undocks from a undersea habitat, escorted by two fighters

Yes, it's just spraycan caps and plastic aqarium plants, but the table, simple as it is, is "unified" by a common theme - and it took only a hour to make....

I also know my next 30-minute terrain challenge - building undersea volcanoes and thermal vents, as well as "contoured" undersea mountains...

6 comments:

  1. Some time ago on the old THW mailing list, someone suggested adapting the 5150: Star Navy rules for use with aeronef minis.

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    1. Interesting idea. Star Navy is pleasantly free of hitboxes but it's so abstract you might as well remove the miniatures all together. 2HW produces rules with the industry Mills & Boon churning out romance novels (with as much originality) so I'm surprised they don't have purpose-built "nef" rules out already!

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  2. Looking great. Be interested to see how your sub rules have evolved.

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    1. As usual, I tend to keep fiddling with the "combat" mechanics (such as to hit, and how to damage). There seldom seems to be a solution that is simple AND gives interesting results. I've been using systems based on Hind Commander, CY6, and Bulldogs Away.

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  3. Those small round caps with the circular ridge you're using on top of the structures - I want them.

    What did you get them off of?

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    1. The top off an old film canister - no wait - I think the lids off some containers from the wife's sewing/craft shop. They're pretty much the same as the film cannisters and I got a bunch for a few $$.

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