Monday, July 31, 2017

Aeronautica Imperialis: Battle Report- Bombing Raid on the Hovels


This battle took place as part of a stand-alone mini-camapign in 2015.  It uses custom aircraft and rules that can be found in my Aeronautica Imperialis review here.

**********************************************************************

Battle of the Hovels - Part 2 - Bombing Raid

The initial attacks on Ork positions were only marginally successful. Despite these set-backs, Mistress Merciveaux's forces were all ready in motion and phase II of the operation had begun. Part of the initial attack had Forward Operations Bases established in the planet's vast, barren wastelands while Ork eyes were focused on the Air Defense attacks.

From these Forward Bases, Hell Talon Bombers were quickly deployed to follow-up the initial raids. The intent was for the Ork Ground Defenses to be in ruins so as not to stop the oncoming bombers. However, the relative failure of these initial raids let the Orks know where the key targets of the Chaos attack were located. With surprised no longer an asset, the Chaos forces would face stiff resistance.

In a stand-up fight, Mistress Merciveaux's forces were heavily outnumbered on the ground. The bombing raids were intended to help clear the area around the warptech sites and allow her ground troops to deal with minimal resistance. Ork aircraft began to swarm in and defend the dropzones, so the bombers had to fight their way through. 


Bombing Raid

Cabal of the World Walkers

1 Hell Talon
+Weapon Load
28 points

1 Hell Talon
+Weapon Load
28 points

1 Hell Hammer
+ Weapon Load
14 points

1 Hell Hammer
+ Weapon Load
14 points

1 Hell Blade
14 Points

98 points

Da' Skrapperz

2 Flakwagons 
16 Points

2 Grot Bomb Launchaz
10 Points

1 Fighta
14 points

1 Fighta
14 points

1 Fighta
14 points

1 Grot Buzza
8 points

1 Grot Buzza
8 points

1 Grot Buzza
8 Points

1 Dakka Jet
+Ace- Going Ballistic 
19 Points

Total= 103 Points 

Set-up:
This was a continuation of the Battle of the Hovels. Therefore, we kept the Hovels and Ground Defenses set-up as the last game. The Temples are invulnerable for this mission. The goal is to eliminate as many of the smaller Ork buildings as possible, while the Orks will try to stop the destruction. Bomb hits to the area of the Hovels is all that matters. 

The Chaos forces will enter on the North end of the board. The Hell Talons were to the West side of the deployment zone at medium speed and medium altitude. Next came the Hell Hammers and then the lone escort. 

On the South side were the Orks. They were also mid-altitude and speed but closer to the center of the board. The Dakkajet was in the center, and they were generally staggered Fighta, Buzza, Fighta, Buzza. 

Turn 1:
Initiative: Orks

Movement: 
The Chaos forces all took High-G turns towards the Eastern board edge and paralleled their deployment zone. This confounded the Ork interceptors who just moved forward cautiously. They began to cluster near the Hovels. 

Shooting:
None- No one was even close to being in range. 

Turn 2:
Initiative: Orks

Movement:

Chaos forces began to turn and move to attack along the Eastern board edge. The Ork forces carefully turned to meet them, wary of the Chaos planes sudden speed and ability to turn. They did not want to let the Cabal of the World Walkers get behind them. 

Shooting: 
None. No one was in range yet.

Turn 3:
Initiative: Chaos

Movement:
The Chaos Bombers began setting up for their run at the targets moving from Northeast to Southwest. Again, the Orks were cautious about over committing to the engagement. 

Meanwhile, the Ork Ace flew ahead as tempting bait to the lone Chaos Hell Blade. The brash pilot was eager to take the bait and swooped in, gunning I engine. However, it was a trap as Fighta 3 swung in to go head-to-head with the Hell Blade at close range! 

Shooting:
The Hall Blade pilot realized his mistake and prayed to Tzeentch. He desperately opened fire at the oncoming Fighta knowing that if he missed, he would be dead. His prayers were answered as his Auto-cannons dissected Fighta 3 along with its pilot. First blood to Chaos!


Tzeentch be praised!

Turn 4:
Initiative: Chaos

Movement: 
The Hell Talons begin their bombing runs by Power Diving. They successfully dive behind and beyond the Ork lines. The Ork Ace sweeps in from the side, and just misses the angle of attack. He had been in the right position and anticipated correctly, but he was off by seconds. 

Begin your attack run now.

Meanwhile, the Grot Buzzaz and Fighta 2 try to gang up on Hell Hammer 1 while Hell Hammer 2 drops and kicks in his engines to blast by them. 

One of the Grot Bomb Launchaz sends up their Grot Bomb. Brave little grot. Good luck! 

Shooting: 
Seeing the end coming, Hell Hammer 2 opens fire on Grot Buzza 1. His shots just sail over and through the little plane, but it continues undeterred. 

Grot Buzza 2 returns the favor, and his little shootas tear through the Hell Hammer at extremely close range. The chaos plane explodes in a puff of sweet smelling incense and blue flame dragging the pilots soul to the Warp. Scratch one bomber. 


Turn 5:
Initiative: Chaos

Movement:
The Hell Talons race over the Hovels. Again, the Dakkajet can't seem to get behind them and into shooting range. 

Fighta and Buzza 2 try to chase after the Hell Hammer. The rest try to circle back towards the Hovels. 

Shooting:
The Hell Talons unload their bombs on the Hovels and with Extra Damage do 8 hits. Pretty good for Hell Talons!

Special Delivery!

The Flakwagon to the West can barely reach Hell Talon 2 and opens fire. The shots scratch up the paint and stop the crews victory celebrations, but fail to cause any real damage. 

The second Grot Bomb Launcha fires. 

Turn 6:
Initiative: Orks

Movement: 
The Hell Hammer tries to set-up for its dive bombing run, but Fighta 2 and the DakkaJet are bracketing him and ready to fire. The Hell Blade tries to get a shot in on Fighta 2, but can't get the right angle. 

The Hell Talons wing over/Half Loop to get ready to retrace their steps out of here and maybe do a bit of dog-fighting. 

Shooting: 
The Dakkajet opens fire, but misses the Hell Hammer. Fighta 2 follows up and sinks a few shots into the Chaos plane, but fails to hit anything vital. 

Turn 7: 
Initiative: Chaos

Movement: 
The Hell Talons make a break to escape, and look like they are home free. However, Buzza 2 swoops in to take a few shots at Hell Talon 2. The last Hell Hammer Power Dives over the target area, ready to saturate the Hovels with more bombs. 

Meanwhile, the Ork defenders move about trying to catch any of the elusive Chaos aircraft. Buzza 1 just misses getting into position on the Hell Hammer. The Hell Blade manages to tuck into a tailing position on Fighta 2.

Shooting:
The Hell Hammer's bomb load manages to fall into the Hovels and cause two more points of damage! Huzzah for precision dive bombing! 

Bombs Away!

Grot Buzza 2 opens fire on the fleeing Hell Talons, but fails to hit home. However, the grot was very satisfied with his spray of bullets.

The Hell Blade opens fire on a jinking Ork Fighta 2. However, the Ork plane is out of luck, as the auto-cannon shells chew through the junk fighter, and hit its fuel tank. The plane explodes into a sheet of flame and dives into the ground. The Ork pilot failed to eject and rode the flaming bird in.

Another kill. Glory to Chaos!

The Western Flak Wagon on the ridge opens fire on the fleeing Hell Hammer, but fails to strike home.

Grot Bomb 1 runs out of fuel and falls from the sky.

Turn 8:
Initiative: Orks

Movement:
The Hell Talons manage to disengage off the board to the South, their bomb bays empty. Hell Hammer 2 also decides to kick in the after burners and disengage, but off the Western edge. The Buzzaz and Fighta 1 try to move and cut off the Hell Hammers escape, but they are too slow.

Hell Blade 1 power dives and tries to jet off the board tot eh West at maximum speed, but can't make it.
The Dakkajet tries to pursue but can not get the angle.

Shooting:
The Western Flakwagon takes a ranged parting shot at the Hell Blade. The Grot Gunnerz make it interesting, but fail to find the soft spot in the chaos fighters hull.

Grot Bomb 2 falls from the sky as it runs out of fuel.

Since the last Chaos craft will easily Disengage next turn, we decide to call it a game.

Conclusion

Chaos wins! We manages to hit the target area for 10 points of damage and took down 2 fightas! In return we only lost a Hell Hammer that tried to get all cocky and tried to take on a Buzza.

With the successful bombing run against the Hovels, it cleared the way for a Ground Assault. Clearing the air defenses on the Eastern side of the Hovels in the last game gave me a good attack route. In addition, I spent some time letting my attack form early on instead of simply lining up on target and kicking in the afterburners. This allowed my attack to be less predictable and harder to stop. My bizarre opening moves seemed to throw off my opponents flying for the rest of the game.

The Hell Talons are not great bombers, but they managed to do the job today with Extra Damage. The Hell Hammers also worked as advertised. No complaints about either of them today.

The Grot Bomb Launchaz on the ground are only a threat if the enemy has to come to the target. Otherwise, the Grot Bombs inability to gain height takes away their effectiveness.

Thursday, July 27, 2017

Wargaming on a Budget- Making Models

Several years ago, I found myself in a terrible place as a wargamer.  I was flat broke.  I was putting my money into other endeavors, so my budget for wargames was non-existant.  However, as I look back on this period of my hobby life being flat broke was a blessing!

What?  Yes, you read that right.  Being broke forced me to think about my hobby and what I really was trying to get out of it.  To participate in it, I could no longer just mindlessly buy games, supplements, and models.  There was no way for me to keep up with newer editions or rules changes.  Instead, I had to get my gaming fix through other channels and only buy what was absolutely necessary.

This is what led me into my first forays into Wargame Design.  I figured instead of trying to keep up with what was new, I would just try to make and play games that I wanted to play.  As I thought about the core things I needed to play a wargame, I broke it down into three main aspects:

1. Wargame Rules
2. Terrain and game Boards
3. Models and figures

For Wargame rules, you can find out how I got my start on a different post.  I have talked about it elsewhere, so will not get to far into it today.  I will also save Terrain and Game Boards for a different discussion as well.  Afterall, this post is about making models!

My initial forays into model making were scatchbuilds.  These typically were free form, stand-alone models.  Usually, I tried to make vehicles first.  The most common construction material was common cardboard with masking tape used to block out the edges.  For smaller details I would use cardstock paper.  However, other found items were also used, typically straws, toothpicks, sprue cuttings, and any other tidbits I could find around for free.



From there I naturally moved to working with paper. This is still a standard practice for me, especially when playtesting or trying out new games.  There is no need to go "all in" on a game that I don't even like.  Plus, it allows me to get to the playtesting quickly and try all sorts of different units out cheaply and with minimal fuss.  There were two main ways I used paper, the first was for simple cut-out 2-D templates.  I talk about that extensively in a different post.

However, I had a lot more fun creating, designing and building paper templates for existing and new 3D vehicle varients.  Typically, I would make the template design in MSPaint, trial it, and then make tweaks.  I made a variety of armored cars, tanks, tankettes, APCs, and even a super-heavy using this method.  I constructed two full tank companies.  I think you can still find most of my templates here.



This solutions worked well, but soon I wanted to do even more.  I wanted to make my own models and that meant taking the time to learn to sculpt.  Thanks to the internet, this is easier to learn now than ever with plenty of tutorials, video demos, and pointers.  You can find all sorts of advise on tools, materials, and anatomy.  However, I still wish I had a in-person meentor to help as that would have increased my skill exponentially and faster.

I invested in a set of dental tools, a set of clay erasers, some large corks, and a good exacto knife.  All of these ran me less than a cost of a boxed set of minis.  Then, I began using simple, everyday Sculpey and Super Sculpey.  I didn;t spend a ton of money on Greenstuff, Pro-create, or other materials.  I used Sculpey that you baked in layers in a toaster oven (or kitchen oven).






I have not really looked back.  From there I have made Blood Bowl players, squadrons of Aeronautica Imperialis planes, warships for Aquanautica Imperialis, individual models for various skirmish games, Battlefleet Gothic spaceships, and more.  Making models has become an enjoyable hobby in its own right and gave me the skills and confidence I needed to do what ever I wanted with my wargaming hobby.

Now, I find myself with a different problem.  I have some money, but no time.  I will let you know when I figure out how to solve that problem.

From here, I will just fill in the rest of the blog post with some random pictures of stuff I have sculpted/built.  If there is anything else you would like to see or learn more about just let me know.  














Monday, July 24, 2017

Aeronautica Imperials: Battle Report- Air Defense Suppression at the Hovels


This battle took place as part of a stand-alone mini-camapign in 2015.  It uses custom aircraft and rules that can be found in my Aeronautica Imperialis review here.

******************************************************************

After initial reconnaissance flights of the planet were complete, Mistress Merciveaux knew where to pinpoint her attacks. However, the Orks were now alerted to her presence and were digging in. Any attempt to land on the planet's surface would be heavily contested.

Therefore, early on the third day after her arrival, she launched a wave of fighters into the upper atmosphere. As they raced towards planet, the Ork defenders were alerted and took to the skies. However, they could not converge on a single point of defense, as their was no clear target. At the last moment, the Chaos forces skimmed the lower atmosphere and springboarded back to their Mistresses' command ship.

Not all of the Chaos forces peeled off. Tactical strike forces of chaos planes moved to the sites with identified warpcraft signatures. The Orks who had mobilized for a large scale offensive were mostly caught out of position as small spearheads raced to their targets below. The first wave of the surprise attack was to swoop in and destroy any established Ork air defenses that could hinder the oncoming ground assault on identified sources of warp energy.

One such site, designated as The Hovels; was situated amidst an Ork village. A strike package from the Cabal of the World Walkers was assigned with clearing out the Greenskin vermin from the site. 


Air Defense Suppression


Cabal of the World Walkers

1 Hell Fury
+Weapon Load
16 points

1 Hell Fury
+Weapon Load
16 points

1 Herald Strike Fighter
+ Weapon Load
21 points

1 Hell Hammer
+ Weapon Load
14 points

1 Hell Hammer
+ Weapon Load
14 points

105 points

Da' Skrapperz

3 Flakwagons 
24 points

1 Eavy Flak Kannon 
10 points

1 Traktor Kannon
25 points

2 Grot Bomb Launchaz
10 points

Reserves:
1 Fighta
14 points

1 Fighta
14 points

1 Grot Buzza
8 points

1 Grot Buzza
8 points

Total= 113 Points 

Set-up:
We set-up the Ork village in their half of the board about 2/3rds of the way down. Their were several shacks and buildings that were set-up clustered around two temples and an Arch of ancient origins. There was also a line of altitude 1 rocky cliffs crossing the board diagonally.




The Hovels looking to the East

Ork Ground Defenses were set-up around the village. A Grot Launcher flanked each side of the village and was covered by a Flakwagon. The Heavy Flak Kannon was behind the village was also covered by a nearby Flakwagon. The dreaded Traktor Kannon sat in a position to cover eastern side of The Hovels. 

To represent the surprise nature of the attack, all Ork aircraft were placed in reserves. Any Ork Reserves would enter the board on the short board edge closest to The Hovels at any speed or altitude. 

The Chaos forces would enter on the opposite board edge at max speed and altitude 9 to represent them coming in hot from orbit. They came in a line centered by the Herald, with a Hellfury and Hell Hammer on each wing respectively. 

Turn 1:
Initiative: Chaos

Movement: 
The Chaos forces power dive in from the upper atmosphere. The Herald heads towards the west, while Hell Hammer 1 goes East. The rest go straight. Not great power dives, and most craft only drop 1 or two altitude and keep going at full speed. 

Shooting:
Everyone is out of range.

Turn 2:
Initiative: Chaos

Movement: 
The Chaos attack continues to power dive into range. They cover the distance to the Hovels very quickly, and better power dives put them into the range of the ground defenses. However, the Cabal are still mostly too high and fast to attack properly. 

Shooting:
The Flakwagons on the rocky ridges to the East open fire on Hell Hammer 1. They manage to bracket the craft and send it crashing down trailing smoke. However, the Pilot manages to eject safely.



Hell Hammer 1 is downed by the Grot Gunnerz

A Flakwagon on the West makes Hell Fury 1's approach a bit rough, but fails to damage the craft. Distracted by the Flakwagon, Hell Fury 1 fails to see the Eavy Flak Shell smash through his canopy and kill him instantly. Another Chaos planes goes down! 



Grot Gunnerz strike again. Hell Fury 1 is obliterated in a puff of smoke! 

A Grot Bomb launches from the Eastern Launcher and buzzes over the Hovels. 

Turn 3:
Ork Reserves fail to arrive, but so far it doesn't look like they need them! 

Initiative: Chaos

Movement: 
The remaining Chaos craft race over the Hovels, but poor flying puts them in bad positions. The Grot Bomb tries its best to chase after them. 



The Cabal of the World Walkers buzzes over the Hovels at low altitude

Shooting: 
Chaos has no shots! Oh no! That's what I get for sending Dregs instead of Vend'igo to do the flying. 

The Eavy Flak Kannon fires on the Herald. It looks like a clean hit, but the craft Viffs away at the last moment. However, the Western Flak Wagon manages to snag the Herald and pepper it with shells. The Chaos craft begins to blow smoke and incense. 

Grot Bomb 2 launches and easily catches the low flying Herald, but misses the plane. Perhaps the little Grot was blinded by all the smoke? 

Turn 4:
An Ork Fighta and Grot Buzza race in from the South!

Initiative: Chaos

Movement:
The Chaos craft rush forward. Hell Fury 2 realizes he won't get an attack angle on the Western Flakwagon and pulls up hard, racing above the wagonz firing range. 

The Herald also overshoots his target, and in return is swarmed by the Grot Bombz! Grotz everywhere! 

The Hell Hammer manages to try to Dive Bomb the Traktor Kannon, while the Fighta and Buzza try to move to prevent it. 

Shooting: 
The Hell Hammer's bombs drop free from the specially designed bays. As the plane rockets away, they saturate the area and the extra damage finishes off the Traktor Kannon and Grot Krew. 



The dreaded Traktor Kannon goes up without firing a shot.

Grot Bomb 2 misses the Herald again! Grot Bomb 1 manages to detonate close to the smoking plane, but fails to cause damage with a roll of 1! 

Turn 5:
The remaining Ork reserves do not show up. 

Initiative: Chaos

Movement:
Hell Fury 1 cuts back and tries to line up a pass on the western Flakwagon. Meanwhile, Fighta 1 lazily flies over and waves at the Krew on the Flakwagon below. 

The Hell Hammer and the Herald both seem to be interested in taking out the Eavy Flak Kannon and are in line on the tower mounted gun. 

Shooting: 
The Herald goes Weapon's Hot with its Deathshead missiles. A few seconds later, the Eavy Flak Kannon is nothing but a smoking ruin! Take that Grotz! 


Vengeance!

The Western Flakwagon sees what the Hell Fury is up to and opens fire. However, the shots go wide. 

Turn 6:
No new ork reserves.

Initiative: Orks! 

Movement: 
The Hell Fury overshoots the Flakwagon. Worse, Fighta 1 does a perfect wing over to give him a shot at the Hell Fury. However, for some unknown reason Hell Hammer 2 starts going straight down the Ork Fightas throat! 

The Herald peels off and aims for the Eastern Flakwagon. Buzza 1 is in a good position to intercept except for being too high. However, the herald is doggedly pursued by Grot Bomb 2 with its last bit of fuel. 

Shooting: 
Fighta 1 has to deal with the Hell Hammer in his face! The Hell Hammer pilots ejects as the Ork plane slowly dismantles the Chaos fighta with accurate Big Shoota fire. 

The Herald uses its last Deathshead Missiles to take out the Eastern Flakwagon. That's for shooting me up before!



Grotz in a Flakwagon get what is coming to them. 

Meanwhile, the Western Flakwagon methodically cuts down the Hell Fury that overshot it. The pilot manages to eject safely as his plane streaks into the ground and explodes.



The Valley of Death as Cabal of the World Walker planes fall from the sky as wreckage.

Finally, the Grot Bomb uses the last of its fuel and attacks the Herald. The little Grot lines up and..... misses. The Bomb drops from the sky like a brick. 

Turn 7:- Disengagement Turn
The remaining Or Reserves come in from the South.

Initiative: Orks

Movement: 
The Herald slows down to try and strafe the Grot Launcha, but overshoots the target area. In the meantime, Ork Fighta 1 and 2 race to catch the last Chaos craft.

Shooting:
Fighta 1 and 2 spray fire at the Herald but miss. 

Conclusion:
The pilot of the Herald finally realized how lucky he was and gunned it out of there to a nearby ground base. Of the five aircraft in the flight he was the only one making it home, and his plane was smoking like a hot house fire. However, did they complete their mission? 

It was Air Defense Suppression and the game started with 7 Air defense installations. The Chaos attack managed to take out 3. Granted, they were the dreaded Traktor Kannon and a Eavy Flak Kannon, so some heavy hitters; but ultimately their mission would be deemed a failure.

Ork Win! 

How did the aircraft do overall? 

Herald- This guys did a good job at his role. Fly low, fly relatively slow, and blow things up on the ground. The Deathshead Missiles did their job nicely. The added Hit was also very helpful for weathering the storm while coming in. I made the Hell Hammers as extra Ground Sttack as I was out of missiles, I forgot that a Herald can be armed with more than just missiles. Maybe next time I will addd a Herald or two instead. 

Hell Fury- I included these guys in the strike package to strafe and take on enemy aircraft. They did neither and instead just died. Bad flying with them on my part. 

Hell Hammer- Well, the first one didn't get a chance to do much. The Dive Bombing worked as intended and obliterated the ground target when Hell Hammer 2 got a chance to use it. Other than that, I again didn't really get to use them to their full potential. 

This game I was just not with it. Bad piloting and choices on my part left my pilots in bad spots, and I could not get the angle for the ground attacks right at all. Oh well, good thing the next battle at the Hovels will be a Bombing Mission. Too bad they still have plenty of Ground Defenses to contest the Bombers.