Hayland Terrain Space Shuttle

I've mentioned Hayland Terrain before on my Vampifan's World of the Undead blog. They are noted for their Kickstarters for producing STL files that allow you to printout their models on a 3D printer. Now I don't have a 3D printer yet, but my brother Mikie does, and he has kindly printed out quite a few 3D scenery and furniture items for me. He has recently been printing a load of sci-fi items for me. The last time I saw him, which was a few months ago, he brought a box full of items he'd printed out and the largest and most impressive of them was this space shuttle that I'm going to showcase here.

Mikie printed this 28mm scale space shuttle in three sections - front and back body halves and the roof. The two halves of the body went together very easily. I glued them with superglue. For extra strength, I added a piece of mounting card to the underside, cut to the correct size and shape.This ensured that the two halves would stay together.

I was not happy with the roof. It just sat on top of the body and the triangular corner pieces that were angled downwards looked like they'd snap off with the least bit pressure and were very flimsy. So I cut them off and threw them in the bin. I glued four pieces of thin card to the body of the shuttle in each of the upper corners instead of the roof. This made more sense to me. Then I glued the roof to two pieces of mounting card, the lower one being slightly smaller than the upper one so that the roof could slot into the body and stay in place rather than just sit on top of it. This was a much more elegant solution and if I hold the shuttle upside down the roof will not fall off as it is such a tight fit. The last thing I painted on the shuttle was the S02 sign on the roof as I felt it looked too bare and I wanted some way to identify it. I carefully drew the sign on with pencil and then painted it black.

The front of the space shuttle does look like a face, doesn't it? The two windows are like a pair of eyes and the grille, its mouth.

The shuttle measures 4" (10cm) long by 2.5" (6.5cm) wide and 1.75" (4.5cm) tall. My 28mm scale figure of Vampifan also helps to give a good indication to its size.

 Entry to the interior of the shuttle is via the pair of doors located at the back.

I opted for a simple light grey and medium blue colour scheme. The four contra-gravity engines located on either side at the front and back provide the shuttle with its flight capability.

As I said earlier, the roof is removable and you can fit figures inside. Ordinarily, I'd say it could fit six figures inside but that depends on the size of their bases. I have not added any detailing to the interior as I doubt if I'll be using the interior very often. I like this model and I can certainly find uses for it in many of my sci-fi based games, like my The Ace of Spades Campaign, or Judge Dredd or Strontium Dog. It's a simple design but effective and it fills a niche that I was missing. My thanks and gratitude to Mikie for printing it out for me!

Hong Kong Killer Fembots

When I first saw this range of 30mm scale figures produced by Statuesque Miniatures I knew I wanted them. These are the Hong Kong Killer Fembots, beautifully sculpted by Andrew Rae. Unfortunately, when I went to buy them from their website, they were all out of stock and remained so for what seemed ages. However, last month I discovered that Andrew had restocked them. I immediately placed an order for 10 of these figures and they got painted very quickly.

At the far left is the gang's leader, Mei-Lin Mayfair. Mayfair is an ambidextrous assassin android who does not have a sense of humour. Her gang are independent assassins for hire and will work for anyone for the right price. She is armed with a pair of MicroCo J040 Stingfury Tachyon Autopistols with the High Damage customisation. Her figure comes in four parts, not including her base - head, body and two arms.

The other four figures shown with Mayfair are unnamed generic assassin androids with identical stats. They are also armed with MicroCo J040 Stingfury Tachyon Autopistols with the High Damage customisation. These figures come with a choice of three bodies, three right arms and two heads (bare-headed or helmeted). This gives you numerous options for how to pose them.

Moving on, in this group at the far left is Xiao Xiuyang, Mayfair's second-in-command. Her figure is one of the three standard bodies with the bare-headed option, which, as you can see, is different to Mayfair's head. Note that for the standard fembots all of the bare heads are identical.

The other four fembots with Xiuyang are more unnamed generic assassin androids identical to the previous four shown above. I painted these with Citadel Skullcrusher Brass then gave them a Citadel Agrax Earthshade wash. Then I dry-brushed them with Skullcrusher Brass. Mayfair and Xiuyang were dry-brushed with Citadel Burnished Gold. Their pistols were painted with Foundry Blackened Barrel 105B. All in all, these were very easy to paint.
Obviously I have plans for using them in my The Ace of Spades Campaign but I can also see them making an appearance in Mega City One, perhaps renaming them as Sino City Killer Fembots. I just think these are fantastic sculpts and I look forward to using them in a game.
You can buy Mei-Lin Mayfair for £4.75, a set of three generic Killer Fembots for £10.00 or best of all, Mei-Lin plus six generic Killer Fembots who are currently on sale for £21.00 instead of £24.75. Here's the link for them - http://www.statuesqueminiatures.co.uk/c/4513083/1/hong-kong-killer-fembots.html

Assorted Human Male Adventurers 01

As a follow up to my previous post where I showcased four human female adventures, this time I'm taking a closer look at four human male adventurers, all of whom have a connection in some way to Kimberley Wells, the captain of The Ace of Spades, and thus, who will most certainly put in an appearance at some point in my ongoing campaign. Indeed, if all goes well, the first two characters shown here will be meeting Kimberley in my next scenario, in which they take part in a high stakes gambling tournament. Yes, I am working on it, and it is written, but I'm waiting for some 3D furniture items that my brother is printing for me before I'm ready to run it.

At the far left is Emerich Rach, a suave human smuggler who loves to gamble. A native of Hyperion, he has crossed paths with Kimberley a few times in the past, usually at a casino, due to them both being keen gamblers. In terms of gambling ability they are well-matched. Emerich views Kimberley as a friendly rival and he loves to flirt with her, even when she was with her now dead fiancé, Buck Hanson. He often joked that Kimberley would be better off with him. He is armed with a high quality Phaser Pistol and his figure was sculpted by me in the late 1990's.
Next in line is Karl Bergman, a freelance mercenary and personal bodyguard of Emerich. Just like Kimberley, Emerich has had a few run-ins with the Organisation, a galaxy-wide criminal empire, and so Karl fills a similar role to that of Celeste with Kimberley. Karl is every inch the professional, with a long and distinguished military career before he moved into the private sector. His hobby is he enjoys playing ice hockey. He is armed with a Trans Sun FC33 Firestorm Antimatter Rifle, a 10mm Slugger Pistol and a high quality Short Sword and he wears Vector AP Resistant Body Armour Mk.1 (SOAK:5) with Helmet. His figure was also sculpted by me in the late 1990's.

If Emerich and Karl can be considered allies of Kimberley and her crew, then these next two characters definitely fall into the category of enemies. At the far right is Kimberley's elder brother, Jonathan Kenneth Wells, and next to him is his ranch foreman, Lenny Dyson. Lenny has spent most of his life on Arcturus 6 in the Terran starsector. He started life as a farmhand on The Wells' ranch, working for the elder James Wells. His loyalty and work ethic were duly noted and he has risen through the ranks to his current position as Jonathan's right hand man. He likes to get his hands dirty and much prefers the outdoors to life in an office or similar. He is armed with a 10mm Slugger Rifle and a Laser Pistol. His figure is in old Grenadier Future Wars sculpt, now available from Moonraker Miniatures as 0077 Male Rebel with Assault Rifle for only £1.75.
Jonathan Kenneth Wells is the eldest of two children of James and Marcia Wells, born on Arcturus 6. James owns a large Moohk cattle ranch, and is one of the top ten wealthiest men on Arcturus. Jonathan is 10 years older than his sister, Kimberley Jane. He never got on well with Kimberley and the two grew even further apart when their mother, Marcia, was killed in a riding accident when Jonathan was 15 years old. Jonathan was always his father's favourite child, whilst Marcia doted on Kimberley, so she felt her death far greater than Jonathan did. That same year, Jonathan enrolled at university to study accounting and business management, as James wanted him to eventually take over his company. Upon graduating (without Honours), he joined a local athletics club, having developed a love for most sports at school and university. James allowed this career move to last for three years before employing his son as a young executive in his company. For two years, he ensured that Jonathan was introduced to the movers and shakers amongst the high society of Arcturus 6. This was long enough for him to build up a list of useful contacts and to appreciate the mind set of the ruling elite. At the age of 24, Jonathan was offered a seat on the board of directors of the Wells Moohk Produce Company. Over the next 13 years, Jonathan helped to expand the company and saw its profits grow as he opened up new trade deals on many planets. James was delighted at how well Jonathan ran his company, and as the years passed, he took less and less of an active role in its management, knowing that it was in safe hands with Jonathan. Soon, James will hand over total control of the company to his son, but for now, he is still in overall charge. Jonathan is patient and unflinchingly loyal to James. He knows his time will come. Life would be perfect if it was not for his annoying little sister, who, in his eyes, has brought disgrace upon the family name with her wild ways.
Jonathan is not generally well liked and he is seen by many as abrasive, greedy and stubborn. He works hard and plays hard but he has yet to find a woman he truly loves. He is armed with a high quality Blaster Pistol. His figure was produced by Citadel Miniatures for their original Rogue Trader range in the 1980's.

Assorted Human Female Adventurers 02

In this post I'm reviewing four assorted human female adventurers and in my next post I'll review four assorted human male adventurers. All of these figures are NPCs to be used in my The Ace of Spades Campaign. So without further ado, let's take a look at them.

At the far left is Luna Covin, a teenager who has run away from home after discovering that her father was a major crimelord and that her mother condoned and supported his criminal activities. Due to her age (she's just 15) she is only rank grade:3, making her very inexperienced and lacking in skills. What's the betting that she runs into the crew of The Ace of Spades at some starport and asks for help? She is armed with a 9mm Slugger Pistol. Her figure was produced by Grenadier Miniatures as part of their Traveller Adventurers range. Although sold as a 28mm scale figure, she is very small, which is why I decided to make her a teenager, although she could just as easily be a short adult.
Next in line is Marietta Vedderling, a suave executive of Goliath Weaponry GmbH in the Terran starsector. She is a rank grade:7 arms trader who never touches alcohol or drugs. She was born on Sol 4 (Mars) and had a good education, leading to university where she obtained a Bachelor (Honours) degree in economics. She spent three years as a space jockey before settling down to work as a marketing consultant for the Mars Armament Incorporated company. Here she learned everything she could about weapons technology. Her reputation as a successful arms dealer was such that she was head-hunted by Goliath Weaponry GmbH, a huge interstellar mega-corporation. Marietta had no hesitation in joining them. She fitted in perfectly and quickly rose up the corporate ladder to the position of Managing Director of the Terran starsector. She is every inch the professional. She never mixes business and politics. She has no biases or prejudices - she'll sell to anyone, from a special "expediter" who needs a dozen laser rifles to a tin-pot dictator who needs to equip his Praetorian Guard from the ground up. She has never married. Most men find her too cold and unfeeling, but she has no regrets. For her, business will always come before pleasure. She is armed with a High Quality Phaser Pistol and she is a unique figure sculpted by me in the 1990's when I was running my GURPS Space campaign. Marietta might be someone who hires the crew of The Ace of Spades for a mission or a rival crew working against them. I've yet to decide how best to use her.

Second from the right is Sascha Dubois, a smuggler who is fascinated with Forerunner technology and artefacts. She has met Kimberley, Gwendoline and Kyran before when they were part of Buck Hanson's crew on the original The Ace of Spades. They parted on good terms and are very likely to meet up again. I do have a number of scenario ideas involving expeditions for long lost Forerunner treasure and Sascha would fit in so well in any of them. She is armed with an Outerwide-Overwatch Syndicate P12 Electron Autopistol. She is the only figure out of this group who is currently available for sale. She is produced by Reaper Miniatures as part of their Chronoscope range, where she is sold as 50001 Sascha Dubois, Time Chaser for £5.22 if you order her from the Miniature Heroes webstore. See here - http://miniature-heroes.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=487_501&products_id=23961
Finally, is Suzanna Van Der Hauwe, a freelance pilot who is strongly religious. Suzanna is another character who knows Kimberley, Gwendoline and Kyran from their early days on the original The Ace of Spades. They came to her aid when she was being chased by space pirates and helped her to evade them. She is armed with a Laser Rifle. Her figure is very old, being produced by Citadel Miniatures for their Rogue Trader game, the first incarnation of Warhammer 40,000. The laser rifle is a dead giveaway to her heritage.

Starship Construction Manual & Starship Recognition Manual

I have two more supplements for the N.E.W. RPG system to review here - Starship Construction Manual and Starship Recognition Manual. The N.E.W. rulebook covers a lot of ground, including the use of starships in a game, starship combat rules and roles for PC crew members. However, what it does not cover are rules for designing a starship. For that you need to purchase the Starship Construction Manual. There are 13 steps to designing a starship as follows -

1. Select a hull class.
2. Choose command and control systems
3. Determine crew, troops and passenger numbers.
4. Choose sub-luminal engine(s).
5. Choose FTL engine(s).
6. Determine initial ship superstructure.
7. Select deflector shield(s).
8. Add point defences if required.
9. Allocate weaponry if required.
10. Select additional ship equipment.
11. Select shuttle/fighter bays (if any).
12. Choose ship facilities.
13. Determine final values.

Once done, you can record your starship statistics from the Ship Construction form to the Ship Recognition Readout form, both of which may be photocopied from the book or downloaded from the WOIN website. I'll be honest with you, designing a starship does involve a lot of work and you are presented with a staggering amount of choices for the various starship components. Plus, there is maths involved. Fortunately, there is an extremely helpful resource on the WOIN website, which does all the calculations for you. All you have to do is select which components you want to add. If you're not happy with your design it is a simple matter to go back and make changes. This is what I did to design The Ace of Spades and a few other starships. Then I just printed out the results and transferred them to my own design of the Starship Recognition Readout form.
The supplement includes examples of 9 pre-designed starships of various sizes, which are helpful in deciding how to design your own starship. The Ace of Spades is a Class IV Scout ship and given its components and price tag, would be classed as top of the range. It is way better than a ship of its size should be.
Is this an essential buy or not? That all depends upon whether you want starships to feature prominently in your campaign and if you do, do you want to design your own or use the pre-generated examples? When I ran my old Space Opera and GURPS Space campaigns I totally avoided starship combat and my starships were either a means to get from A to B or a place to stage a fight on. My attitude changed when I bought the N.E.W. rulebook and tried out starship combat for the first time and thoroughly enjoyed it. So for me, yes, this was an essential purchase. I should point out that this supplement was written for version 1.1 of the N.E.W. rulebook and there are a few changes you need to make to bring starships in line with the latest 1.2 version of the rulebook. Also, sadly, a rewrite is not on the cards. That said, I wouldn't let that put you off buying this supplement as the changes are few and relatively minor.
At the time of writing, Amazon UK have this 56 page supplement on sale for £9.99, which is a very good price.

As a complement to the above supplement is the Starship Recognition Manual and this is a much heftier tome, running to 110 pages, the vast majority of which are stats and pictures of over 70 pre-designed starships belonging to the United Space Force (USF), the Royal Spartan Armada, along with a range of Borian, Ogron, Venetian and civilian starships. Now this is one very impressive supplement. The sheer number and variety of starships presented here is an absolute godsend for any games-master. The USF is similar to the United Federation of Planets (UFP) that I'm using in my The Ace of Spades of Campaign but my campaign is set over 200 years ahead of the timeline given in this supplement. Not that that matters very much. I'll happily include any of the starships from this supplement in my campaign.
I did mention that there are a few minor changes between the version 1.1 and version 1.2 rules. One of those was in regards to the ship's traits. A starship can have up to two traits selected from a list of 19, all of which are listed in this supplement. Ships of different sizes are designated certain specific traits but you may, if you wish, change these to any other trait. Going back to The Ace of Spades, as a Scout ship it originally had the Explorer trait, which increased its operational range by +20%. In addition, I added the Lander trait to it, so it could land on planets. However, under the version 1.2 rules, the Explorer trait has been changed so the ship can perform long range scans in 5 minutes instead of one hour and the ship's sensors increase their range by +50%. I opted to change this to Fast, thus adding +1 to its FTL speed and +2 to its SUB-L speed. I still kept the Lander trait. Kimberley likes a fast ship, so that she can run from trouble if need be and spend less time in travelling from planet to planet.
Special mention must go to Russ Morrissey for designing so many ships in this supplement (I can't imagine the amount of work involved in that!) and to Ian Stead for his stunning starship illustrations, all in full colour. This is definitely a "must buy" supplement if you are at all interested in sci-fi role-playing but especially so if you like starship combat. This superb supplement is available from Amazon UK for £14.45 and it is worth every penny!
By the way, thanks to my new-found interest in starship combat and design, I have amassed quite a collection of starship miniatures in a relatively short time. The four main star-faring organisations of my campaign are very well represented, with the United Federation of Planets having, by far, the most ships, followed by the Azuriach Imperium, the Galactic People's Republic and the Mercantile League. Other races are covered. I do plan on showcasing them all on this blog in the future but at present only a few have been painted. I also plan on conducting more starship combats in my The Ace of Spades Campaign.