Fireteam Andromeda Updated to Ver 2.3

So, here we are then! Just in time for a big playtest - not only tomorrow but also throughout the entire weekend when I'm attending a small, private wargaming-get-together - I present to you, dear internet, a final beta-edition of Fireteam Andromeda!

With a "Final Beta" then I simply mean to say that, from this stage on, there's not going to be anything added to the game as such. Any new ideas that might crop up are instead archived and will be used in supplements or similar. The only thing that might change are some of the point costs, depending on various re-calculations and the inclusion of various examples, pictures and a whole lot more!

If you're interested in giving it a whirl then I strongly suggest that you right-click on this here link and choose "Save As..." in order to get the newest version of Fireteam Andromeda. And if your are so inclined, then click here in the same manner to get a totally revamped version of the Quick Reference Sheet.

And that's all for now - if you have any comments, questions or praise, then don't hesitate to e-mail me.

Paintstation - Imperial Lancers (Retained Knights)

As this is a relatively long post detailing how I went about painting these Retained Knights from 15mm.co.uk, the following is a tutorial with a lot of pictures on how these were painted; hopefully to serve as some inspiration to others out there!

Fireteam Andromeda - Playtest #2

Just some quick snapshots from last night playtest. It was a good game, but unfortunately the newly revised point-system left too much to be desired, and I need to fix it once more. The Imperial Forces took a sound thrashing against an equally costed, all-round Colonial Army - which essentially means that the point system is broken... again! 

So, back to the drawing board, out comes the calculators and it is time to go number-crunching. Apart from that the, rules are still working just great; very little is needed to be adjusted in the core rules, which is a great relief - the issues that cropped up during play was minor things overall, except that the armor save for infantry now gains a boost from 4+ to 3+; which should increase their survivability a lot. 

Electronic Warfare, however, was a resounding success - while expensive, it definately gives you a whole new set of tactical possibilities! Better get some improved electronic shielding for your forces!

Fireteam Andromeda - First Army Finished!

The 417th Imperial Expedition Force assembles

Field Commander, NCO and Support Personnel

Imperial Shocktroopers (Protolene Khanates, Critical Mass Games)

Armor Support (Protolene Khanates, Critical Mass Games)

Reconnaisance Drone - cross attached from the 403rd Expeditionary Force (Yu-jing Remote, Crovus Bellis)

So, just a quick post to show off the first, completed army for Fireteam Andromeda - The Imperial Expeditionary Force. All miniatures are from Critical Mass Games, except for the Recon Drone and the New Israeli Hardsuits (White/Orange) which are from Corvus Bellis and Ground Zero Games respectively. 

This therefore means that for tonights playtest I'll finally be able to field two fullypainted armies! Hopefully I'll find some time after this weekend to post pictures of the Sol Colonial Militia, as well as prep for a battlereport/playtest-report as well. At any rate, have a good weekend!

Fireteam Andromeda - Version 2.1

So, after having slaved away at the desktop for a good number of days, burning the midnight oil and keeping everything going by coffee alone; I've finally... erh... finalized a new, and improved, version of Fireteam Andromeda!

For those interested; head on over to the download page and give it a look. As always, comments, critique and  praise is more than welcome!

So, what has changed?
Well, to put it simply, then there's a whole bunch of changes, but not a lot in the way of overhauls. The following list should state the major changes (not including some editing, spell-checking, word-rearranging and other such trivial, yet important, updates):

• Introducing Super Heavy Weapon Teams for all those with a hankering for big Anti-Tank guns and Howitzers crewed by Infantry. 
• New Force Organization Charts. These now reflect more of an actual platoon structure than before, allowing players to customize their forces even more - includes the option for using two or more platoons as well, in a single game. 
• Changed all Support, Light and Heavy Weapons so that they now have greater detail, more flexibility and are still customizable.
• Added rules for Electronic Warfare; allowing for new tactics to be employed. 
• Changed the point systems a bit, making it a whole lot easier to construct a force than before (no odd points!)
• Tightening up of the various Upgrades and Traits available to all units. 

In short; a rather massive update. Tomorrow it is time for another playtest here at Terminus Central, and hopefully the rules have evolved into a much more stable version so that I can post up a small battle-report for all of the readers out there. 

In other news, I've just received confirmation that the Imperial forces are getting some much needed reinforcements from 15mm.co.uk in the form of some Retained Knight and Muster Troops. Also, the Imperial Expedition Force is almost completely painted, and will probably feature in a blog-post in the near future. 

Till then; cheers, and happy gaming!

Paintstation - Wetpalette

So, there I was, having suffered from a slight paint-block in my vain attempt at painting vehicles. For some reason these models keep being my nemesis - no matter how hard I work on them, they always end up lacking 'oomph', which in the end means that painting vehicles is some of the last things I do.

However, this time around I tried something new altogether; a wetpalette! Now, to those who have yet to discover this 8th wonder of the world, the following is a short introduction on how to assemble your very own. Note that all images show various danish household items and shop inventory may vary around the world.

First step; acquire cd-case.

As can be seen, I cannibalized an average CD-case for my purposes. The main reason for using a cd-case is that I can close up the lid and keep the moisture locked in, for those short and frenzied painting sessions, scattered across an average weekend.

Second step; purchase pads and paper.

Now you need to purchase some make-up pads as well as some sort of baking-paper or similar (in Denmark we have something called "mellemlægspapir" which is basically what we use to shield our open sandwhiches from getting squished together in our lunchboxes). You could also use any wax paper - but this is as cheap as it gets.

Third step; getting it all together.

Put the a couple of pads in the case, add a bit of water (not as much as I used in this photo, because then you'll suffer from overflow and having paint slowly reduced to washes, which isn't our goal!) and put on the paper over the pads. Let the paper soak for a while (roughly two-to-three minutes). Once it is moist, pour up some paint on the palette and start painting!

Painting a Protolene Walker.

And here is then the preliminary result of my attempt at painting the Protolene Walker for the Imperial Expedition Force. The wash used (Devlan Mud / Agrax Earthshade from GW) was put on far too heavy and all over the place. I was trying my standard method when painting model soldiers - but found out that it didn't really work out in the end.

So, armed with the wetpalette I went to town; getting quite a boost in keeping a consistent watered down paint that I could wetbrush the model with; leaving the recess shaded by the wash and hitting all the flat surfaces. Once the major areas were painted, I finished it off by drybrushing some Tyrant Skull (some of GW's new paints, designed for drybrush use) all over the model and finished it off with some minor detailing on the guns.

All in all, I think It went over quite well. Although I found that I had used too much water for my initial try, then the wetpalette definately has merit; I found that I got more brush control and a heck of a smoother coverage than before - definately a good thing when painting vehicles. Next up is another walker, but this time; lesson learned and I'll attempt to figure out a new method for painting this one. Stay tuned!