Hasslefree News.

Hasslefree Miniatures have just released finished pix of their latest Grymn Walker model. I can't say anything more about it than the picture will tell you:


There are two versions of the walker, the closed version above and the open version below:

To go with the walker, there is a seated pilot and a standing pilot that are shown below:


Here is a better pic of the standing pilot:

As you can see, these are some top Grymn miniatures and they will be an excellent addition to any Grymn army. Add these to the recent Grymn Officers that were released this week and all things Grymn are looking up.

Iron Man and friends.

It has been a while but Iron Man has joined the Super Team:


He has further been joined by Captain Britain:

Both of these new heroes continue the super-soldier ethos with Iron Man gaining all of his powers from his armoured suit and Captain Britain being an acrobatic brawler with super strength and endurance.

I still plan to add a few more but sculpting has slowed for the time being so I can't say when the next member of the team will arrive.

On to different news and Hasslefree Miniatures will be releasing the long awaited Grymn Officers tomorrow. I have been waiting a long time for them and will be placing my order tomorrow. If you also take into account that they have their December Bonus time starting tomorrow then it is, indeed, a great day!

She Hulk joins the team

This week, the super-soldier program gains another member and that is She-Hulk:

This is a slight departure for the Grymn scientists as they have been experimenting with a mix of super-serum and radiation to try and enhance their volunteer. Fortunately, the experiment worked and there have been few side effects...apart from a change in skin colouring! She-Hulk is super strong, super resilient and very agile as well.

Another Superhero and some HF news

To add to the superhero group, I have been busy sculpting Puck (from Alpha Flight):

He is a smaller character with a very slow ageing process and depending on where you get your info from, has a body resembling hardened rubber. He is the 'cannonball' of the team. He's a bit of a light weight hitter but he can knock down a human sized opponent easily by barrelling into them. I chose him because he is just so full of character that he really adds something to the team.

On a completely different note, Hasslefree Miniatures are making some interesting noises with regard to Grymn Walkers. If you follow this LINK you will see some rather cool WIP pix of a completely re-vamped machine. I don't need to say how much I like it.

Building a Super-team with Grymn.

As I have already mentioned, my Grymn superhero team is being built up but what I have been thinking is 'what makes a good super-team?'

Well, one of the main things about the team is that there is a good mix of powers. Strong characters, flying ones, super-fast ones...each and every type needs to be included to a certain degree so that the team can cope with a range of tasks and also have a visual impact that keeps the viewer's enthusiasm/attention.

As well as powers, it is always nice to have a mix of male and female characters so that there can be plot twists and also to keep EVERYONE interested, rather than just the boys. How cool is it when a strong, male super villain is stopped by the power of a female like She-Hulk?

Equipment is another consideration. A bunch of lycra clad superheroes in similar kit would get tedious...so there is a need to have a mix of extra equipment, armour, weapons, decorations to add a bit more variety to the group.

Personalities must also be considered for when the models get factored into a rule set. How do they react under pressure? How well do they take orders? How well do they respond to other members of the team? How well do they keep their emotions under control (a classic example of this would be the Hulk)?

Finally, I would say that colour and decoration is a huge part of a team's public image. Are they all wearing the same colours or do they have different colours throughout? Are they existing heroes that have joined together (hence all different colours) or has the team been formed of new superheroes and tied together with a team uniform?

All these questions need to be considered before you end up with a superhero team but if you can't decide on what to include, there is always the option of gathering more heroes than you need and picking from the bunch! As a result, my list of super-Grymn has expanded a little. It currently stands at eleven but I can still see it growing:

Nick Fury

Iron Man

Black Widow

Puck

Hurricane

Juggernaut

Captain Britain (the original one dressed in red, carrying a staff)

Beast

Demolition Man (because he looks like Wolverine but doesn't have claws)

She-Hulk

Rescue (Pepper Potts in Iron Man armour)

The only restrictions on my team is that they must get their powers via a super serum or by scientific methods. There are no gods, magical or mutant characters here.

Just things to think about.

Team Leaders

Every team needs a leader and the Grymn super-team is no exception. Enter Nick Fury, special agent of SHIELD:

Nick Fury will be acting as a mediator between the heroes and the military. His main job is to decide the best time to send the heroes in, whilst liaising with the military to gain the best results.

When there is squabbling going on amongst the superheroes, it is his job to calm things down and restore team harmony.

Nick's super-serum has slowed his ageing process down and given him superhuman endurance. His skill with weapons and fighting ability has been gained over many decades of training as a soldier.

More Superheroes.

The next member of the super-team has been completed...Juggernaut joins the team:

So far we have an agile martial artist, a super-fast speedster and now the brute for the team.

I think one of the most important things about putting together a super-team is to get a good range of attributes spread across the team members. I am working on that idea and am looking to have fliers, brawlers, brains and techs in amongst the mix...with a few little extra surprises as well.

As for how to use them, I have been sent a copy of 'Super System' version 3 and am slowly reading through them to try to allocate the correct powers to the team. When I have a decent grip of things, I will add further posts and information with regards to the rules.

The next member will be posted soon.

As fast as lightning!

This time around we have Hurricane. She has been given implants and a super-serum to enhance her athletic prowess to the point where she can run at a super-fast pace:

That makes two down with four more to go. Once the team is complete I will be looking into how to integrate them in a rules system and how my standard infantry can be used.

More to come soon.

Blowing the dust off.

It has been a while but it seems that there are a few more bits and bobs coming from Hasslefree soon. The two greens in my last post are going to be available at the end of November so I can finally start thinking about a higher command level for my armies.

An idea struck me a few weeks ago...why couldn't the Grymn have a secret, scientific branch of their armed forces? A branch that was dedicated to the enhancement of a Grymn's fighting prowess? A super-soldier program?

This got me looking through various sites on the WWW to see which super-soldiers would be good as a super-team for my Grymn armies. I decided that mechanical means (bionics/powered armour) and super -serums/genetic manipulation were fine but any sort of mythical/magical/mutant ways of explaining powers were not.

The first character to surface (after a few niggles with the putty) was Black Widow. Here she is with a GW Dark-Eldar, A Grymn Tunnel Fighter and a Void VASA marine:


She is a pretty normal soldier whose martial arts prowess has been heightened with a super-serum which make her far stronger and more agile than a normal Grymn. She is able to use all manner of weapons, dodge bullets and has extreme acrobatic prowess.

The super-soldier team will consist of five main members, with a liaison officer to act as a go between for the normal Grymn armies. They will have a special transport and will act as a special unit that is not part of the army but may be called upon to help in times of crisis.

Watch the skies for the next hero to arrive!

Some new stuff...'out there'

I am very pleased to see that there are a few new sculpts from Kev over at Hasslefree Miniatures. Here are a couple of new Grymn naval officers:

I am looking forward to these being released as they are very characterful :) .

Grymn for Necromunda

I recently downloaded the rules for Necromunda free from the Games Workshop site and have decided that it would be fun to build a gang for the rule-set.

I have gone for an Enforcer gang and it will consist of:

Patrol Team One:
1xSgt - Power Maul, Bolt Pistol
1xHandler - Power Maul, Bolt Pistol
1xCyber Mastiff - Teeth, Grrrrr
1xEnforcer - Grenade Launcher, Bolt Pistol
2xEnforcer - Power Maul, Suppression Shield

Patrol Team Two:
4xEnforcer - Bolt Gun, Bolt Pistol
1xEnforcer - Heavy Stubber, Bolt Pistol

The idea is that Patrol Team One acts as the lighter part of the gang, patrolling the streets and travelling in the Ronin APC (Only fluff wise...the vehicle won't be used in game) and Patrol Team Two is the emergency response side of things; flying into the street in an anti-grav vehicle and deploying to support the other team when things get rough.

I have all of the miniatures and vehicles I need and have done the basic conversion work on everything. I just need to crack out the Green-Stuff and sculpt all the details on now.

They will end up looking similar to my old Judges:

The new Enforcers will be painted slightly differently and the second patrol will have full face helmets to represent their heavier assault role. I will be putting them all on the standard type of slotta bases and not on the round edged bases that are in the pic above.

Stay tuned for updates.

Learning the game.

There are times that I think to myself..."Why?"

"Why do I let these little tiny ideas build up momentum so quickly?"

...

Salute opened my eyes to a small idea and that idea was 'Grymn in Necromunda'.

I have looked over at the Games Workshop site and have discovered that you can get the rules for free, as a PDF so I downloaded the rules and have started reading them.

I have got as far as printing off a gang roster sheet and am in the process of deciding which of the gangs most suit the Grymn. I think that the best two options are House Van-Saar and the Security Patrol (Enforcers...Judge Grymn???).

I am unable to decide which way to go at the moment but will be pawing over the rules until I can come up with a suitable gang...in both roster and miniature form.

Watch this space because it is likely to be a bit of a departure for me.

Just to add a bit of a footnote here, if you have any ideas or links to share, feel free to leave comments :) because I am a 'green-horn' when it comes to Necromunda.

Post Salute musings.

Each year, I try my hardest to get to London so that I can attend the Salute Games convention. Salute is usually at the Excel Centre in the heart of the Docklands and is large enough for a host of traders to sell their wares, enough gaming-tables to fill a football pitch and a large group of people dressed in various costumes to wander around entertaining the thousands of visitors.

This year, I was helping out at the Hasslefree Miniatures stand and witnessed, first hand, just how busy these sort of shows can be. To say that I was kept very active all day was an understatement!

During the day, my main focus was selling the wares...but I kept a keen ear out for anyone showing interest in the Grymn range and I was surprised at how many people were buying them to start up a gang in Necromunda. There were many other people buying them to build armies and small skirmish forces too but the one thing that really got me thinking was how easy it would be to build up a gang for Necromunda.

A Necromunda gang normally has a range of members from hardened leaders through standard gangers and heavies (with special or heavy weapons) to juves (new recruits and younger members). The Grymn range of miniatures can cater for all of these options and still provide a wide enough range of weapons to make things interesting.

I haven't ever played the game or built a gang but it is all filling for the sandwich!

Maybe have:

Kjaran as the leader (Boltgun?)
Horgan as a heavy (Auto-cannon?)
Some light infantry as standard gangers (Auto-guns?)
Some close combat troops as juves (maybe swap one of the pistols for a knife/sword/axe?)
For a bit of flavour, you could add a few snipers or other specialists and if you were feeling particularly adventurous...maybe even an Ogryn?

To add further variety, there is a range of alternative weaponry and equipment that can be used to further customise your gang.

Well...that is Necromunda dealt with...and you can always use the rules for humans to field them. Maybe have them as House Van-Saar (due to their tech level).

On to other things...

...I heard tell that Kev White has got a bunch of Powered Armour clad Grymn sat on his sculpting bench as we speak. When I got a few minutes to chat with him, he mentioned that he was working on them and that they were progressing...so that could mean that there will be a bit of Powered Armour action turning up soon...lets hope! Add to that the jet-bikes (single and two seater) that are nearing completion and we could have a few really hard hitting units to field on the Grymn battlefields of the future.

So...the Tunnel Fighters are nearing completion. I have finished all the basic troops and am in the process of completing the small medical unit that has sat on my table for ages (just the bases to paint). I have one complete mech, five that are base-coated, one that is built and ready for paint and four that are still on the sprues. Once the mechs are done, I will be taking a step back from the project and will turn my focus onto my urban army.

...Speaking of the urban army, I have (in addition to the two platoons of infantry) now gathered together enough heavy infantry to have a small platoon of troops. It will have:

Command Section: 1xCommander, 1xComms and 2xHeavy Infantry
Support Section: 1xLeader, 1xHeavy Infantry and 2xRail-Gun
Section1: 2 Fireteams with: 1xLeader, 2xHeavy Infantry and 1xHeavy Pulse-Gun
Section2: 2 Fireteams with: 1xLeader, 2xHeavy Infantry and 1xHeavy Pulse-Gun

All of the heavy infantry will be armed with Pulse-Guns and as you can see, there is one section less than the standard infantry platoons due to the elite nature of the heavy infantry. That may change once I get further with the project but I have to bear in mind that there will need to be transport for the troops...and so far it is 5 vehicles for each standard platoon...and vehicle numbers soon mount up!!!

The Urban Army takes shape.

I have been sorting out, making a few purchases, thinking about transport and generally knocking the urban army into shape.

I have decided to have each platoon arranged in sections of eight troops that can be split into two, four-man fire-teams. The command section will join the support section so that together they make up eight troops.

With the release of more LMG gunners and specialists with single-shot missile launchers, I have changed the special weapons that were originally in the army for more realistic ones (by that, I mean more in line with the idea of the British Army organisation that I am using).

So...

Each platoon will have:

Command Section: 1xCommander, 1xComms and 2xLight Infantry - Slingshot IFV.
Support Section: 1xLeader, 1xRocket Launcher, 2xLMG - Slingshot IFV.
Section1: 2 Fireteams with: 1xLeader, 1xRocket Launcher, 1xLight Infantry, 1xLMG - Glaive APC.
Section2: 2 Fireteams with: 1xLeader, 1xRocket Launcher, 1xLight Infantry, 1xLMG - Glaive APC.
Section3: 2 Fireteams with: 1xLeader, 1xRocket Launcher, 1xLight Infantry, 1xLMG - Glaive APC.

I thought that the command/support sections would be better equipped with their own smaller transports. The better speed and manoeuvrability of the wheeled vehicles would mean they could take a more active scouting role, with the support section being able to re-position quickly and the command section to be able to move quickly to add their commanding presence where it is needed most.

Each of the platoons consist of 32 troops and 5 armoured vehicles and is effectively, an army in it's own right. With that in mind, I am planning to build the army one platoon at a time; finishing all of the troops and vehicles for each platoon, before moving on to the next one. That gives me a set goal, time to decide on further platoons and also the time to personalise each platoon to make it a bit individual.

The overall plan is to build a mechanised company with some additional support.

The company will be:

1x Command HQ platoon/unit
3x Mechanised infantry platoon
1x Airborne support platoon
1x Heavy Infantry platoon
Various armoured support.
Possibly - 1x Support platoon (mostly having troops with heavy weapons)

I am still in the planning/buying the troops and vehicles stage at the moment while I continue working on the Tunnel Fighters. That means that I can concentrate on finishing of the previous army before diverting my focus onto the new one.

The future is Grymn...

Thoughts of home and new directions...

I know it has been quiet on here for a while but being a serviceman places a few extra demands on a person's time...especially when you are away on detachment in Kenya!

Kenya is obviously hot, dusty and has a rather unreliable powergrid...so power-cuts happen quite frequently. For that reason, I don't tend to bring hobby stuff out here with me...I would only end up ruining what I tried to create.

Add to that the variable shifts and the detachment lifestyle and obligations and you end up with the hobby getting pretty much forgotten.

...HOWEVER...

I have now been out here for over a month and the end is in sight. In a couple of weeks I will be returning home and with that thought in mind, I have begun to plan what is in store for my Grymn horde.

The first thing I must really do is to finish off the two squads of Tunnel Fighters and the medics that have lain dormant for so long.

Next, I must try to finish all of the mechs that accompany them.

I have quite a few of the Clankers in my cupboard, ready to be converted and painted but I think I will hold off for a while with those because I reckon I'll need to do something a little different to 'ignite the muse'...

...so I have been thinking a lot about my boxes of light infantry...my Urban Army.

As I have mentioned in an earlier post, Hasslefree Miniatures have recently shown off a host of new Grymn. They include snipers, LMG gunners, light infantry with single shot rocket launchers and new heavy infantry.

With the new options in mind, I am now able to re-sort my current platoon plans to include the more sensible special weapons available to me. Once I return home and get my hands on the Urban Army boxes, I will be able to better judge what new specialists will be required but I have come to the conclusion that once I have finished reorganising the troops, I should have enough for a company (just over a hundred troops).

Organisation will be (and always has been) based around the British Army, with four man fireteams at the core of platoons...

...but I'll go into all that in another post.

When it is just too dangerous...

...don't send in the troops...send in the robotic clones (Beetle-Bots):


Grymn are too important to waste in actions that require the 'long haul' so they have come up with a cunning solution to the problem. Their technicians and scientists have perfected a way of copying a soldier's thought patterns and imprinting them on to a manufactured neural net. This neural net can then be placed into the skull of a robot and that will give the robot the personality and ability of the donor Grymn.

The good thing about the system is that it can be done in a few minutes, the Grymn is completely unharmed in the process and, unlike a clone, the robot is battlefield ready in as long as it takes for the new programming to get used to the robot body. Add to that the robot taking on board the training and experience of an existing soldier and you have a great way of putting fully battle-ready troops on the battlefield without running the risk of losing lots of lives...

Cpl Jenssen slowly lowered his head into the headrest of the special chair. Once he was comfortable the nurse tightened the restraining strap over his forehead and asked if he was ready.

Cpl Jenssen said that he was and the seat slowly lowered to a roughly horizontal position. Once it was there, a robotic arm raised a laptop sized scanner and adjusted it so that it was about three inches from Jensses's face. There was a click and about ten seconds of a barely audible hum before the arm withdrew the scanner and the seat began to raise to the normal position.

"All done!" said the nurse.
"Was that it?" Jenssen replied.
"Yep. Robot Jenssen will be waiting outside to meet you".

Jenssen left the small room and walked into a small collection area. Standing on a big yellow spot in the corner, was a blue/grey coloured robot who looked at Jenssen as soon as he entered. Jenssen stopped and looked back at the robot.

"Now that is just weird!" they both said together.

..."This will take a little getting used to" they both thought...

There are a few things to think about though...

What happens if the donor Grymn dies?...
Once the battle is over, will the robot-clones be 'de-programmed'?...
Does sending in robot-clones lead to Grymn getting lazy?...
Do the Grymn donors meet the robot-clones or are they kept separate?...
What if the robot-clones decide not to go and fight?...
What if the robot-clones decide to take over?...

Can you imagine going to war with a bunch of robot clones...say ten...all programmed with your brain patterns? Can you imagine the arguments?

So many things to think about...not even treading the paths of the moral implications of it...but that is the beauty of Science Fiction.