Station 42: Phase 1 Complete!

Well we have the Station 42 project to the first phase of completion. The buildings are all done and we have about 7 ships and a number of vehicles ready for the table as well as a number of miniatures. We still have a lot to do not only on the Station itself but also on a number of the surrounding locations. We have already made good headway on the pirate base and we should have some updated for that soon. Here are some pics of the Station as it is:

M.S.S.R. short range patrol unit

I picked up a few Pig Iron Productions Kolony militia from The Warstore just a few days ago. I've been eyeballing these guys for quite some time for my spaceport project. In my 3031 Sci-Fi setting the M.S.S.R. have a base near Station 42 on Titania. These guys will represent a unit of garrisoned troops at the base.

I really like the comblock look of these figures which was clearly what the folks at Pig Iron were going for. They have really expanded their Kolony range as well so I have several options for expanding this force. The figures were cast really cleanly. Very light mold lines and no serious miscast. They are sculpted in a very nice "English" style. Simple but very nice looking figures that really have a lot of character similar to figures from Wargames Foundry, Copplestone Casting, or older Games Workshop figures.

I based these figures on Renedra 25mm plastic bases. I also got these from The Warstore a few months ago. 50 bases for $4.00 was a deal I couldn't pass up. The bases are perfect for minis with cast bases since they are only half the height of a standard "slotta" base. I simply used some Elmer's Carpenter's Wood Filler to blend them in.

"Maxed Out" Episode 1: Shipjacked

The heavy freighter "Ugly Betty" on route to Ceres was passing dangerously close to the Hilda region of the asteroid belt. The Hilda's were thick with pirates but Captain Matambo consoled himself with the fact they were not actually passing through the cluster and an old freighter like his wouldn't draw much attention. The "Ugly Betty" was a General Space Systems G47 "Durango" class Heavy Freighter. Part of the forward section of the ship had been converted to carry passengers and there were about 30 aboard at the moment. Jennie D. Tam and Roxann "Rocky" Tomson had signed on with the "Ugly Betty" on Titania but they weren't planning on becoming permanent members of the crew. The were working their way to Ceres and back to pick up a very used "Skysweeper" patrol craft they had purchased with their combined savings. The ship was in terrible shape but Jennie was a decent mechanic and was certain they could get it space worthy again. The two had big plans to used the ship for bounty hunting jobs. Rocky was a licensed bounty hunter in the; Confederacy, Empire, and M.S.S.R. Jennie was working aboard the "Ugly Betty" as an assistant to Chief Engineer Wilson and Rocky was part of the two person security team along with another new hire named Joe Smith.

Just as they were passing the Hilda region of the belt Chief Wilson asked Jennie to check out one of the air filtration units located in Cargo Hold 2. He was getting funny readings from it. He also suggested that she take a security officer with her so she called her friend Rocky to meet her to investigate.

When they got there they found Joe Smith looking over the unit. They though it was odd that he was wearing a full face respirator. He waved them over claiming that he as found some evidence of sabotage. They came over to investigate but Joe surprised them with a blast of knock out gas. Rocky hit the deck first as she took the full blast straight into her face. Jennie took a swing at Joe with her wrench but failed to connect. Joe shot Jennie with his tazer and she fell to the deck next to Rocky. Joe then hooked his tank of knock out gas to the air filtration unit. Within a few minutes the crew and passengers of the "Ugly Betty" had all been knocked out by the gas.

When Jennie and Rocky came to they found themselves locked in a large shipping container full of boxes of junk. Some time after that one end of the container opened up. Joe was standing there with three other armed men. The red warpaint and black and red clothing they were wearing indicated that they were member of the "Bloodborn" pirates. The "Bloodborn" were a band of pirates well known to Jennie and Rocky because they were also based on Titania not far from "Station 42" where the two had met. "Sorry Ladies looks like you will be headed back home to sweet Titania". Joe laughed then threw the pair a few packs of MREs just before shutting the door.

When they arrived back on Titania the pirates had landed their ship in a remote part of the Wastelands neither of them recognized. They were loaded onto a truck with 6 other hostages. The rest of the crew were no where to be seen. On board the truck was Karl Mason one of the Geologist who worked at the Venture Star Mining company office on Titania. He knew them both from the bar "Close Encounters" at "Station 42" where they all hung out. The rest of the hostages were unknown to them and kept to themselves.

They were transported several kilometers and unloaded at an abandoned bunker. There were several such bunkers all over Titania from the war between the Empire and the Confederacy. They were popular safe houses for pirates and smugglers. The bunker concealed a small underground facility where the hostages were locked into a small room. Jennie and Rocky began plotting their escape but most of the other hostages other than Karl were not too interested. They were certain they would be ransomed.

On the second day of their captivity Karl was removed from the room for several hours. When he was returned he told them that the pirates had asked him to appraise the value of some gems they had looted on their last couple of jobs. He also told them there were about a dozen pirates at this facility.

On the third day Jennie was taken by the pirates and ordered to repair several small mechanical and electrical parts scavenged for various ships. Rocky was also taken and ordered to clean up the pirates bunk room. Both of them were guarded by a pair of pirates.

While going through the parts Jennie found a small cooling unit that still has a great deal of pressurized coolant she rigged it so that she could spray the coolant out at the pirates if she got a chance.

Ass Rocky was cleaning the bunk room she noticed that the male pirate guarding her was hitting on his female partner. Rocky pretended to ignore them as she cleaned and began searching for something that she could use to help her escape. While cleaning she noticed one of the lockers was open slightly. She saw Jennies tool kit inside the locker. She remembered Jennie used to hide a .44 Derringer inside the kit for protection. She waited until the pirates were distracted with their conversation then she quickly grabbed the kit from inside the locker. Using one of the bunks as cover as she pretended to clean underneath it she searched for the pistol in the kit. Sure enough it was right where she expected it. She took the tiny pistol and carefully moved closer to the pirates. Knowing that the weapon would only be effective at a short range she slowly made her was up next to her guards. As she got up next to the male pirate he turned to her and said "Are you done already?" then she shot him in the face. The female pirate screamed and ducked as she was splattered with blood and brains. She opened fire with her SMG but fired wildly and missed Rocky who quickly dispatched her with the Derringer's final round.

Hearing the shots Jennie decided it was time to act. She unleashed the pressurized coolant and sprayed both pirates guards in the face. The guards went down clutching their frozen faces and screaming. Jennie then picked up one of their guns ad finished them off.

Confused as to what was going on the rest of the pirates in the facility ran out into the hall way. Jennie and Rocky were in rooms at opposite ends of the hall. They both peaked out from their doorways and opened fire on the pirates.

Caught in the crossfire the pirates were gunned down in short order. Jennie took a round to the shoulder during the fire fight but Rocky managed to come out unscathed. The two quickly disarmed the pirate bodies and went to free the other prisoner's.

Only Karl and one of the other prisoners agreed to help them. Jennie and Rocky gave them both a pirate SMG and they quickly moved to the ladder to the bunker upstairs.

The combat in the underground facility had ended so quickly that the pirates up in the bunker were not aware of the escaped prisoners.

Rocky and Jennie burst out of the hatch and engaged the pirates. Rocky got hit twice in the close counter engagement but the managed to gun down the other pirates.

Rocky then used one of the pirates communicators to call the Nova Securities office at Station 42. Nova Securities sent out a squad and a medic to assist them.

Jennie and Rocky received a hefty bounty for the pirates they had killed or captured and the other prisoners also rewarded them for their lives. They were both taken to the Hospital in Titania City to have their wounds tended to. They had managed to escape from the pirates but their ship was still on Ceres. This time however they would be able to afford much safer passage than as crew aboard a tramp freighter.

Note: This was my first episode of my new campaign "Maxed Out" which is set in my home brew science fiction setting "3031". The "Station 42" spaceport project I've been working on for the past couple of years will be featured in the game quite a bit. We used the Savage Worlds role playing game for this adventure but we also use the setting for other Sci-Fi games like AE Bounty. My wife and daughter were the PCs for this adveture. Further episodes of "Maxed Out" will follow their bounty hunting adventures across the solar system.

Stargate Stuff!

I'm running a short Stargate game for my regular gaming group using the Savage Worlds rules system. I put together this "flying saucer" spaceship for that game. The ship is made from two microwavable plates glued together. I put a deck on the top made from matt board and plaster then I covered that with bits from a couple star wars model kits. I would like to have added more detail but time did not allow. I'm fairly happy with this as I was going for a cross between a retro flying saucer look and a more modern concept of a space ship. I think it came out well enough to use in a number of sci-fi settings.

Here you can see a closeup of the detailing on the ship. Most of the bits came from the "Battledroid on STAP" and a large X-wing model but a couple parts came from the "Anakin's Podracer" model.

This is a group of as yet unidentified "Aliens" that the SG teams in my game have encountered. They have found them extremely hard to kill but oddly armed with unusual sub machine guns that fire rounds marked "9 Luger". They seem to be the owners of the space ship. The figures come from East Riding Miniatures . They are nice little minis but not over detailed. I speed painted the whole group up in about an hour.

Here are some SG members made up of swat and militia minis from Wargames Foundry. I have 7 players in my Stargate game divided into two SG teams of four with on of the teams rounded out with an NPC.

Just thought I would show off the furniture I've finished lately. Unfortunately I'm not sure who made any of these pieces as the packaging got away from me. The lockers and containers are from a different company than the beds.

Another closeup shot of these pretty nice pieces. If I can find out who made them I'll make a post about it.

"Resident Evil Hunters" Episode 3 "Unfettered"

July 24th 1998 Raccoon City. Anya Fields and Meredith Hartwick of “Hartwick and Fields Investigations” are at their downtown office. It's mid morning when a woman walks in. She introduces herself as Victoria Sanchez a reporter from the “Raccoon City Times”. Sanchez explains that she had received a package from Eddy Williams about dangerous and illegal experiments being conducted by the Umbrella Corporation. She also says that Eddy told here than the investigators had helped him get the information. Unfortunately her editor wanted more if he were going to risk going up against Umbrella. Miss Sanchez found another lead. An Umbrella employee who claimed to have solid information about seriously illegal activities by Umbrella. His name was Tyler Norton and he was hiding in a family hunting cabin in the Arklay Mountains. Miss Sanchez offers the investigators $3000.00 if they will help her find Norton's cabin and get the information. Hartwick and Fields agree.

After a flat tire and making a few wrong turns Hartwick, Fields, and Sanchez finally find the cabin. Unfortunately it took much longer to find than expected and it's almost nightfall when they arrive. They cautiously approach the small cabin.

Sanchez knocks on the door and a young man with an automatic rifle opens it. The man looks frightened. “Are you Sanchez?” the man ask. Sanchez introduces herself as well as the investigators. The man introduces himself as Tyler Norton an employee of the Umbrella Corporation. Norton explains that he was hired by Umbrella as a dog handler. He took the job thinking he would be doing security work but after signing a non disclosure agreement he found out it was for another reason. Umbrella began experimenting on dogs by administering them something called the T-virus which cause the dogs to mutate into larger killing machines. They called these creatures MA-39 Cerberus. Norton was frightened by this work but more frightened of what would happen to him if he tried to quit his job after seeing what he had see. He had also heard rumors that Umbrella has experimented on humans with the virus which turned them into mindless “zombies”. A few weeks ago the Umbrella Corporation managed to secure a timber wolf from Alaska. They named the wolf Fenrir and it was their intention to infect it with the t-virus and turn it into a super Cerberus. Norton decided he had to do something. He gathered all the information he could about the Cerberus project and broke Fenrir out of the kennels and hid him at the cabin.
Norton continues to explain that last night the cabin was attacked by “zombies”. Fenrir broke his chains and attacked them. Though he killed several it appeared he became infected. Fenrir attacked the cabin but ran off after hearing some howling coming from the surrounding hills. Norton fears the zombies and Fenrir might come back at any time.
Sanchez looks over the evidence that Norton recovered from the Umbrella labs. She's excited that it look like good evidence.

The group prepares to leave the cabin but when they look outside they see several groups of individuals who appear to be stumbling towards the cabin. Norton says "Damn they are back. Kill them!".

The creatures approach the cabin in four group from several different directions. One group seems to be cutting the humans off from their car. Everyone inside the cabin readies their weapons and takes up positions at the windows. After dealing with the creatures at the farm and Kruger's lab Hartwick and Fields have packed a formidable arsenal. Fields readies her AK-47, Hartwick loads her 12 gauge pump action shotgun with slugs, Norton takes up a position with his rifle and even Sanchez is given a Colt 1911.

Hartwick takes up a position at the door. Fields and Norton take up positions at the window. Everyone starts shooting at the creatures.

Several of the creatures fall but other simply shrug off the shots. Fields seems to be having the most luck with her AK.

Despite several creatures being shot down the rest stumble on oblivious of the fates of the others. Sanchez gets into the fight shooting out the back window at a group of zombies but her shots are wild and untrained so she has no luck.

Eventually some of the creatures reach the cabins front door and back window. Hartwick tries to fend them off with her shotgun but finds it harder to hit with the creatures clawing and biting at her. The creatures at the back window attack Sanchez but have a hard time reaching her through the window.

Fields and Norton manage to take out the rest of the creatures converging on the cabin with well placed rifle shots. Hartwick at Sanchez manage to avoid injury fighting off the creatures but do little damage themselves.

A maddening howl is heard even above the gunfire and fighting. It seems Fenrir has found his way back to the cabin. Fenrir charges towards the cabin and unlike the creatures he is very fast.

With the help of Norton and Fields, Hartwick managed to kill several of the creatures attacking her.

Fenrir charges past Sanchez's car and into the open. Norton and Fields pour fire into the infected wolf and score some impressive hits but the beast just keep coming.

Fenrir closes the distance between the car and the cabin with astounding speed but just as it looks like he will make it Fields hits the beast right between his eyes nearly blowing it's head clean off. The massive wolf falls just one leap from the window that Fields and Norton had been shooting from.

With Fenrir destroyed Hartwick, Fields, and Norton manage to clean up the rest of the creatures attacking the cabin in short order. Sanchez runs over and starts taking pictures of the dead wolf.

After finishing off the last zombie Fields is the last to emmerge from the cabin her AK smoking from the barrel and foregrip with a nearly empty magazine.

With all the creatures dead the survivors are able to get to Sanchez's car safely. Sanchez is confident that her editors will finally let here write a story exposing Umbrella's illegal activities.

Note: This was the third episode of my Resident Evil campaign usign the Savage Worlds rules.

Family Zombie Painting

The family that paints zombies together stays together. We decided to get some zombies painted over the holiday break.

My daughter is really getting into the spirit of things.

While we were painting I heard a weird noise outside. I went out and found a sheet of 3/4 inch styrofoam insulation laying in the front yard. Aparantly the gods were pleased with out painting and decided to gift us with terrain making materials. I let it set for about an hour then decided to put it in the garrage.

And here is out little zombie hoard. Just a small group so far to add to what we already have for our Resident Evil campaign. Four of these are from RAFM's modern Cuthulu line and three of them are from Reaper's Chronoscope line.