It's time for an Easter parade.

Over the last few months, I have been dilligently ticking along with some Grymn projects while getting distracted along the way. Fortunately, I can now show off some of my finished Grymn. Here is a powered armour platoon for the Grmn NMA:

As you can see, there are 28 troops with the command squad at the front and three squads of 8 troops behind them. Each squad has two fireteams of four troops which have black numbers for 'alpha' and white for 'delta' teams. These particular ones are from the 4th Platoon and are part of the 1st mechanised infantry regiment. At the moment, I don't have any transport for them but I am sure that when I see the vehicles, they will turn up here.

Once I had finished these, I decided I needed to update the Grymn NMA regiment information:

While I was in the mood to take pix of lots of troops, I thought I would get a pic of where the army sits at the moment... so here is a group pic of all of the complete elements of the Grymn NMA:

I still have a long way to go but so far, it is going nicely. I think that the next batch will be the second standard infantry platoon (8th platoon) because they are in the trays ready for paint and I also have the vehicles for them. However... a plan never survives contact with the enemy and all that!

Grymn News

This week, I found out some good news about the latest Powered Armour Grymn.

They will be available in metal form, at Salute. That means that they will also be available from the Hasslefree Miniatures website very soon.

There is also news of resin masters being made available on their E-Bay STORE... but I need to confirm that and get links first.

In other news, I have planned my powered armour platoon:

Command:

Commander with pulse carbine and power sword
2 x bodyguard with claws
1 x Trooper with pulse carbine and power fist

6 Fire Teams:

2 x pulse carbine and power sword
1 x pulse carbine and power fist
1 x mini-gun and power fist

The fire-teams will be arranged with two making a single squad; which can separate for the assault. I have decided to keep away from too much exotic weaponry for this platoon but I may end up revisiting the layout once the first platoon is finished.

I will also need to decide upon their transport option.

Let's take it back to the start...

I had a less than productive shopping day yesterday and as a result, was unable to find a can of spray Matt varnish. That means that the vehicles for Number 6 Platoon will have to remain shiny until I can find some. The troops, however, will be getting a brush-on, Matt varnish this week while I am on a week's holiday (YAY!).

I am not a fan of varnishing but it is one of those jobs that have to be done...a bit like preparing miniatures for paint. Fortunately, I had a productive day on the preparation front yesterday and have managed to achieve this:

Yes, the next platoon is ready to start receiving their paint. I haven't started on the vehicles because they will distract me...and I won't be doing so until these are glossed, ready for decals so it is a fair way off. I have chosen the 8th platoon because I have enough decals for the vehicles. I expect that the next one will probably be the 5th platoon for the same reason.

On another note, I have finished adding all the ranks to the 6th platoon and here is an example of what they look like:

Nice and easy to see and nice and easy to paint.

I have a feeling that things will be fairly quiet here for a while as I paint up the sections for the up-coming platoon but fear not...if anything else turns up, I will let you know.

New Model Army... News!

After a couple of evenings of cussing and swearing, I have managed to add decals to all of the troops and vehicles for the first of the platoons. Here is the 6th Platoon of the Third regiment of the Grymn Army:

Each of the sections are placed in front of their transport vehicle and for the infantry squads, Charlie fire-team has a white number and Delta fire-team has a black number.

I have changed the marking of the helmets so that the platoon number is on the same side as the section number. It means that the numbers match the vehicles better and also they don't obscure the Regiment symbol.

I still need to paint on the ranks but I have, at least, come up with a range of markings that I can paint on to represent the rank structure that won't be too difficult:

The markings will be on the front of the helmets over to one side. I have only decided on the field ranks...because they are the only ranks I am going to be putting in the army.

Finally, here are a few pix of the Grymn Walker for scale purposes:

The miniatures are a Void Syntha Marine, a Dark Eldar, a Vulkan Battlesuit (Clanker) and a converted Critical Mass Games Arc Walker.

A small group of Grymn ready for fighting!

All these need now is a good coat of matt varnish after adding rank to the NCOs and Officers.

What about powered armour?

I thought I'd look at some of the more unusual bits and bobs I am planning to add to the army today.

I am a bit of an eclectic collector and have bought all sorts of interesting miniatures that I think may fit in with the Grymn; whether in this army or other ones and that includes some powered armour.

I originally bought a set of five 'Russian heavy combat armour' troops from Micropanzer but had always had it in mind to send one of them to a mate...so I was left with four (obviously). Now five would have been awkward but four makes a perfect little building block for the Urban Army...but where to fit them? I decided that they would make a good army HQ squad so that is where they are likely to go. My reasoning is this:

1. They are twice the height of a Grymn so wouldn't mix well in a Grymn squad.
2. There will only ever be four of them.
3. They look expensive so only the most important Grymn would get one.
4. They are imposing miniatures so would be easy to see for 'command' purposes.
5. I can have them individualised a little.

I am still open to suggestions but feel that they would be good for the top job.

Alternatively, I plan on adding a bunch of these to my army (once they get released):

Maybe I should keep the powered armour to act as a command group for those?

Either way, they will be sat for a while because my focus is on getting my platoon finished and that means finishing the transports, varnishing them, adding decals to everything in the platoon and then matt varnishing everything!

...but it doesn't stop the cogs turning.

The production-line continues

I have been busy working on the first platoon's transport this week and after assembly, filling and a spray under-coat on the four armoured vehicles, I began painting them. Unfortunately, life got in the way of as much progress as I would have liked but I managed to get one finished. It also meant that the colour-scheme had chosen itself:

In addition to painting the command transport, I also managed to put together an updated markings picture and an idea of how it would look on the troops:

Now that I have a set idea of what I want to achieve, I will finish off the vehicles and gloss varnish them. After that I'll have a 'decal day' and mark the whole platoon up at once. I have now got all of the decals I need for this job (with more on the way for additional platoons) so there will be no excuse not to finish them.

The slow conversion job on the four recon-bikes continues...

A bit of re-evaluation.

I have been thinking a lot about how much information needs to be displayed on a trooper's uniform and it has led to a re-evaluation of ideas.

I have been surfing the net to find out about unit markings for British soldiers and there is nothing below the company level (apart from rank/trade). That made me think about why I need to be quite specific about how I mark my troops and to be honest, it is just so that I know which miniatures should be in which section/fire-team.

With that in mind...

I received my order of transfers from Dom's Decals today and have discovered that some of the decals will be too big for my purposes. That is what you get for 'trial and error' ordering and is no way a reflection of the excellent decals that Dom's Decals have supplied. The particular decals in question are the geometric shapes that I was going to use to designate section status (command, support, troops)...but why do I need to do that? The British army don't have that level of insignia on their troops so why should I?

So...until I come up with a new picture to show off what I am planning, here is what will be on the helmets of the troops:
1. Regiment symbol (RH side)
2. Platoon number (on top of regiment symbol on RH side)
3. Section number (on LH side)
The section number will only be on troop sections and will be white for the 'charlie' fire-team and black for the 'delta' fire-team.

Only three decals per helmet now.

Flexibility is the key to success.

First platoon painted.

The first platoon for the new model army is now fully painted and waiting for the next step:

The next stage in the process will be to apply a coat of gloss varnish. That will provide a protective coating and will make applying decals easier, helping them to blend in better. I will varnish these before I start the vehicles so that I get the boring bit out of the way and have a 'prize' when I am finished (vehicles to sort out).

Speaking of decals, I am still waiting for most of them to arrive so I will continue to paint the troops and vehicles until I am in a position to add markings.

I have been looking through my boxes of miniatures and have found a bunch of snipers that would make a cracking recon platoon. I was thinking that I would have 4 sections (a command section and three troop sections) with each one having four troops in it. I haven't decided on vehicles yet but am veering towards the Old Crow GECKO PICK-UP with some seating and covers fitted to the rear. I am also planning on adding a bike to each of the sections and after a good search, I found these bikes and a few riders ready for a bit of conversion:

I think that the addition of a bit of stowage, comms equipment and an SMG would make these perfect out-riders for the recon sections. The bikes are from Eureka Miniatures 'Boilersuit Apes' range and the riders are   from Hasslefree's Grymn range and are GUSTAV without his rail-gun. Obviously, I have a lot of work to do on these but I think the end product will justify the effort.

The recon platoon will form part of a support company along side formations like heavy infantry and air assault units.

It's all about the structure.

Every army needs a structure and a strong chain of command spreads out the leadership to properly control the  discipline of the army. The Grymn urban army is no exception so I needed to take stock of the situation and put together a strong chain of command to lead it.

The Chain of command

The rank structure and chain of command was a pretty easy thing to put together because I just shamelessly stole it from the British army; with the minor exception of calling a Staff Sergeant a Master Sergeant instead (that ties in to some writing I am working on). I could include all of the ranks but the higher echelon officers would rarely visit the battlefield so I am sticking to those who would logically form part of the army. Here is the army rank structure that contains all of the ranks I am going to use in the unit roles that I have chosen for them:

Army Rank Structure

Army HQ

Lieutenant Colonel – I/C

Major – 2^nd I/C

Warrant Officer 1 – Senior Advisor (AKA Regimental Sergeant Major)

2^nd Lieutenant – Adjutant / Communications Officer

Company HQ

Captain – I/C

Lieutenant – 2^nd I/C

Warrant Officer 2 – Senior Advisor (AKA Company Sergeant Major)

Master Sergeant - Adjutant / Communications Officer

Platoon HQ

Lieutenant or 2^nd Lieutenant – I/C

Sergeant – 2^nd I/C

Corporal – Communications Officer

Corporal – Adjutant

Section 1^st Fire Team

Corporal – Section I/C

Gunner

Gunner

Gunner

Section 2^nd Fire Team

Lance Corporal – Section 2^nd I/C

Gunner

Gunner

Gunner

As you can see, it is all pretty basic and all of the blocks of troops are put together into groups of four.

The Platoon HQ leads three Sections of two Fire Teams.

The Company HQ leads three Platoons.

The Army HQ Leads three Companies.

...and three companies are enough for any table-top.

To re-cap...

Just to emphasise the change in platoon structure, I thought I'd post the updated platoon organisation.


This is the old version (with support squads):


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.


As you can see, it consisted of 32 troops and 5 vehicles. With each of the basic fire-teams having a LMG and a rocket launcher (single-shot for anti-tank actions), I thought that having a support squad was taking things a little far, especially with all of the vehicles having a heavy weapon (the Slingshot has a cannon and the Glaive has a mini-gun turret) so I decided to drop it with the added bonus that it lines things up more closely with the British organisation I am basing things on (loosely...but not TOO loosely).


This is the new version:


Command Section: 1xCommander, 1xComms and 2xLight Infantry - 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.


Without a support squad and its associated vehicle, we have 28 troops and 4 vehicles. That makes things easier for the platoon commander to handle and means that the vehicles will be an easier fit for a platoon specific drop-ship. It also ties things in nicely with the British Army because a platoon commander is supposed to be in charge of up to 30 troops.


My basic idea for an infantry company is a block of 3 platoons under the overall command of a Company command section of 4 personnel, with one of them being a fairly senior officer (more about the rank structure later).


As for the painted support section...it has now been divided between an infantry section and lessens the painting load for a complete platoon so nothing has been wasted. I have also decided to have a slight variation in colours for the first platoon in order to tie the test troopers in properly.


My current thinking is all about how the support units will be made up. I already have some heavy infantry, snipers and heavy weapons with the intention of adding some medical, comms and engineering/sapper units at a later date so I am investigating how these fit into the British Army to get an idea of how I will fit them into my army.

Flexibility is the key to success.

I have been doing a bit of reading today and have had a bit of a rethink about the organisation of the basic platoons.

I have decided, after a bit of soul searching, to remove the support sections from the platoons for a number of reasons:

1. The basic British infantry platoon doesn't have a support section as standard.
2. The British platoon commander is responsible for up to 30 troops.
3. The command section is in an IFV so their vehicle has a support role.
4. All of the infantry section APCs have support turrets.
5. 4 vehicles make a nice block...5 don't.

I have also been looking into the rank structures and will be posting that once I have put it down in print.

The good news is that the troops I've already painted don't have unit markings so they can be re-distributed if I need to and it also means that I am a little closer to having enough troops for that elusive third infantry platoon.

I am planning to put together a mechanised infantry company with three platoons with a company command section to act as the bulk of the army and will have more information about the organisation very soon.

What this all shows is that it is possible to make changes at an early stage and that those changes will have a noticeable impact on the army as a whole. The building block approach to the British Army is quite handy at times.

Having an Identity..

One of the important parts of being in the military is a sense of belonging and the best way to belong is to build up a unit identity. The Grymn Urban Army is no exception and must have an identity so in a bid to get the ball rolling, I have started to think about how the platoons of the army will be marked up. Here is what I have come up with so far:

There are a number of reasons that I have chosen the system above but the most important one is availability of decals. The yellow markings are the same as WWII British armour markings and the the regiment markings are the same as those on Royal Air Force aircraft. The beauty of choosing these is that they are available in a range of scales so I can choose the right decals for both marking up they helmets and the various other bits of kit for the army.

As a result, I have just ordered a selection from Dom's Decals so when they arrive, I will be able to review them. I still need to source some numbers but I can do that at a later date (because I may need to make further orders to get exactly the right sizes).

Thinking of platoon markings has kept me busy in between putting together the units. I have been building units in line with an earlier POST that details the break-down of each section in to its component parts.

Here is the Command Section for the first platoon (the first platoon in build, not necessarily the actual platoon number):

It consists of the Platoon Commander, a Communications Officer and a couple of light infantry troops that will have leader ranks (a Staff Sergeant and Sergeant...probably). I am yet to decide upon a set rank structure at the moment so I will be using a few army ranks to represent the ones I haven't thought of a name for at the moment.

To follow, here is the Support Section for the same platoon:

It consists of a Sergeant, a light infantry soldier with a one-shot rocket launcher and a pair of light machine gun (LMG) gunners. This unit is designed to work in unison with the Command Section and act as the second fire-team if required. Although there is a one-shot rocket-launcher in the team, for game purposes the support section's weapon will have unlimited shots because they will have extra loads aboard their transport and would be aided by the Command section when reloads are required.

As you can see, I have not added markings (they haven't arrived yet) but the army is well and truly started. I have two more fire-teams on the table (for the first infantry section) and in the process of paint. I will be using the test models as part of the teams so I only need to paint six troopers to finish the section. Remember that an infantry section has eight members (two fire-teams of four) instead of the four members that the Command and Support sections have.

I will be trying to decide upon rank structure next.

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.

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.

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.

Gratuitous Army Pix

Seeing as I have been working on these all year, I thought it was time to show off a bit of progress...so here is the Tunnel Fighter army so far...

Command Squad

Infantry Squad (Dark Purple)

Infantry Squad (Brown)

Infantry Squad (Orange)

Infantry Squad (Pink)

Infantry Squad (Purple)

Infantry Squad (Yellow)

Close Combat Squad (Red)

Close Combat Squad (Green)

Close Combat Squad (Blue)

Close Combat Squad (Dark Green)

Medic Unit

K9 Unit

Drone Unit

Clanker Unit (Blue)

Clanker Unit (Red)

There is still a lot more to come...I have plans to add a mech to each unit...a bit like this one:


The mech above is the only one completely finished but I have 5 more that have been base-coated, 1 that is built ready to start painting and 4 more that are still on the sprue.

Also each unit will get an APC to transport it. Once that is done, I'll be adding specialist units ...so 2011 should be quite an interesting year.

Just as an aside, I will keep updating this post with completed units as they happen.

Characters.

In all stories and legends, there are great heroes, villains and leaders; those who fight beyond the call of duty and beyond the boundaries of normal endurance. These heroes instil courage and fervour in their followers; leading them to great victories and on to greater glory than they could have possibly achieved through their own endeavours.

These are the characters that add colour and a little bit of bite to any army and the Grymn armies should be no exception.

Where to start

The starting point should always be at the bottom. Why? Because there is always the tendency to have characters and leaders that are super powerful and indestructible. That is completely inappropriate and can also completely unbalance the army that the character has been created to join.

Of course; once you have started building characters, you can build up to the more powerful ones but you will do so after understanding the strengths and weaknesses of those lesser characters and that will help you build a better, higher level character that will not unbalance your army but will enhance it.

When building characters there is a need to set them apart from the normal, run of the mill NCOs and officers of the army. These characters will have unusual characteristics or be able to do unusual things that a normal leader won't be able to. Just think of the British leader, Winston Churchill. He was just a man...but put him in front of a mass of people and he could turn them into an unstoppable army just by talking to them and inspiring them to greater things. Storming Norman Schwartzkopf instilled pride in his men by being in the field and leading from the front. Montgomery, Rommel, Colonel H. Jones and many more, inspired their troops to great deeds...but they were just men. They weren't super heroes and they weren't wearing powered armour or being protected by force fields...

...but the men who followed them would follow them to the sun and fight on its searing surface as a result of the pride they held in their inspirational leaders...

Private Baharry...an inspiration to the country. He was just doing his duty but had such drive that he fought off wounds that would ground a normal man and rescued members of his unit before succumbing to unconsciousness. He was just a man...but in a word, he is a hero and would make an excellent basis for a character in an army.

I have posted this as a forward to some character ideas that will follow on. They will range from the lowly leader to the Grymn who originally escaped from the Sleiti and led his people to freedom in the stars. There will be great generals, powerful orators and strategists beyond compare.

Watch this space...

A different approach (Part 2)

To continue the urban army, I thought I'd talk about a few ideas I had, with regards to the special units.

Special Units

The special units consist of anything that falls outside of the infantry platoons. I have already covered the airborne, jump-pack platoon so there is no need to revisit those but there are a selection of different units that could be considered special. These are:

Command
Support
Veteran
Mundane

Command

Command of an army is essential but what makes up a strong, field command unit? First of all, you need the field commander; a high ranking officer who has honed his skill in battle. No commander would go to battle without his advisers and assistants so there would need to be a selection of support officers and NCOs. There would need to be a communication section to the command unit and maybe some artillery officers and aircraft control personnel as well...so that they can coordinate the ground/air forces. There may be other members of the command section like padres, medics, clerks, stores officers, di-staff and maybe even field police/bodyguards. You could really go to town with the command unit but I think I'll keep it fairly simple and trim the troops down to a manageable amount.

Support

Support is a general term that could be applied to all manner of personnel, equipment and resources. For the sake of this army, I will be thinking of support weapons rather than general support.

For the support weapons, I plan on having two distinct branches: a troop based support element and a vehicle based support element. I will deal with airborne support at a later date (by airborne support I mean fighters/bombers/ground attack aircraft and not the airborne transports of the jump-pack platoon).

The troop support element will be a platoon made up of a command section and a number of support sections. I am likely to keep this unit as a platoon and will likely have a command section and five support sections to equal the amount of troops in the rest of the platoons. Each of the support sections will consist of 4 troops; two with basic weapons and two with support weapons...probably heavy machine guns. I will treat these as a unit that advances with the standard infantry platoons and is used as anti infantry support.

The vehicle support element will be split between walkers and tanks.

The walkers will have a range of weapons capable of taking on troops, armoured vehicles and even aircraft. They will be able to closely support the troops in built up areas due to them being smaller than a tank and more mobile due to them having legs.

The Tanks will be anti armour and will travel along with the APCs of the troops, giving protection while the army advances in vehicles and acting as cover when things slow down and the troops have dismounted.

Veteran

The veterans will be the special forces element of the army. They are likely to be better equipped and more highly skilled than their brother troops. They may also have extra skills and be harder to kill. I can see this unit being smaller than platoon size to highlight their 'special' nature.

Mundane.

The mundane element of support is made up of engineers, medics, suppliers and the general 'hangers on'. If any of these turn up in my Grymn army, it will be much later on and will not necessarily be made for anything other than to add colour to the force.

Special Unit Sizes

It would be very easy to make all of the support elements platoon sized but I don't think that it would be a particularly good idea to do so. However, one thing that is a good idea is to keep the organisation of the platoons going through the rest of the army. What I mean is that each of the platoons have pairs of 4-Grymn fire-teams so that they can support each other. It would be nice to keep this theme going when thinking about building the special elements of the army.

As mentioned earlier, it makes sense for the infantry based support unit to be platoon sized so that there are enough fire-teams to add coordinated support to the advancing infantry. What wouldn't be as sensible would be to expect 24 model walker platoons, or tank platoons. I also wouldn't expect to see platoon sized command units and the veterans would be elite so having a lot of them would be a bit un-flavourful.

Using the above ideas, I'll try to build some acceptable units, using the constraints I have suggested.

Command Section: This will be made up of two command fire-teams and two bodyguard fire-teams. All of the fire teams will have four Grymn in them so the total section size would be 16. The command fire-teams would each have a pair of officers and a pair of leaders; including comms and different types of personnel...like an artillery officer, for example. The bodyguard fire-teams would be armed with a mix of SMGs and pistols for close protection. The command section would get a pair of vehicles to transport them.

Infantry Support Platoon: 24 Grymn in a similar organisation to other platoons but made up of one command section and 5 support sections.

Walker support section: I have 16 of these. I have enough for a command element and 3 support elements. I would try to justify this but this unit speaks for itself and has the same building blocks as the rest of the force...so it makes sense to stick with it.

Tank support section: For tanks, I was thinking about using these as much smaller units. I think that a 4 tank unit would pack quite a punch so that is what I'll go with. Each section would have 4 of the same tank with one of them acting as the lead vehicle. This would enable a certain amount of flexibility but still offer a heavy hitting section with a certain amount of redundancy built in.

Veteran Section: I think 16 Grymn would be perfect for this unit too. I think that one command fireteam and three veteran fire-teams would work just fine. The command element would have an officer a leader and two veterans, with one having comms. The veteran fire-teams would have three troops with basic weapons and one with a support weapon. The veteran section would get a pair of vehicles to transport them.

So there you have it. The basic, army-building units will be in platoon sized units and the more specialist units will be smaller to add to their mystique a little.

Airborne support will be along at a later date...as will a nice organisation chart.