STRAIGHT OUTTA MICRONIA | UEDF Valkyries Part 2

Robotech RPG Tactics

UEDF Valkyrie Assembly Part 2

Sadly I couldn't find a decent Valkyrie picture. :(

I finished assembling my first squadron of UEDF Valkyries Veritechs bringing me to a total of four  assembled. These will be the start of my bulk UEDF miniatures to protect mankind and fight the onslaught of my mighty Zentreadi Armada miniatures which are massing at the same time. What follows is a explanation of how I went about assembling them to bring them to there current state. I will also discuss what is next up for the Valkyries as I am far from finished with them.

STRAIGHT OUTTA MICRONIA | Zentraedi Regults Part 4

Robotech RPG Tactics

Painting Zentraedi Regults Part 1

Regult Tactical Battlepod

I finished painting  my first batch of  twelve rank and file Zentraedi Regult Battlepods from the Robotech RPG Tactics miniatures game. In this post I'll discuss in detail the painted miniatures, how I painted the miniatures, what I learned, and how I will apply this to painting going forward.

STRAIGHT OUTTA MICRONIA | Paint Test Subject Interrogation

Robotech RPG Tactics

Paint Test Subject Interrogation

I finished painting two basic rank and file miniatures from the Robotech RPG Tactics miniatures game. I painted a UEDF Veritech in Battloid mode and a Zentraedi Regult. In this post I'll discuss in detail for each painted miniature, how I painted the miniature, what I learned, and how I will apply this to painting going forward.

STRAIGHT OUTTA MICRONIA | Zentraedi Regults Part 3

Robotech RPG Tactics

Zentraedi Regult Assembly Part 3

Regult Tactical Battlepod

I finished assembling all of my Regult Tactical Battlepods bring me to a total of 48 Regults. What follows is the meaning of life is cheap being the mass expendable bulk force of the Zentraedi armada. I will also discuss what is next up for the Regults as I am far from finished with them.

STRAIGHT OUTTA MICRONIA | Zentraedi Regults Part 2

Robotech RPG Tactics

Zentraedi Regult Assembly Part 2

Regult Tactical Battlepod

I started working on assembling my next round of 24 Regult Tactical Battlepods. What follows is the first part of a simple yet effective plan for mass assembly of more of these multi-part miniatures.

STRAIGHT OUTTA MICRONIA | Zentraedi Regults

Robotech RPG Tactics

Zentraedi Regult Assembly and Sprue Review

Regult Tactical Battlepod

During the recent holiday weekend I took some time to work on assembling more of my Robotech RPG Tactics models. This post will focus on the assembly of Zentraedi Regult Tactical Battle Pods. Currently I have 36 to assemble plus another twelve if I open the second sealed boxed set.

Deciding on how many Regults to assemble reminds me of when Commander Riker had to decide on how to deal with two Klingon Females.

*****

VEKMA
He's not very attractive, but I will have him.

TACTICS OFFICER
They are inquisitive. They would like to know how you would endure.

RIKER
Endure what?

KLAG
Them.

RIKER
One or both?

*****

The good news is I have assembled 24 Regults so far. I am either two thirds to half way there depending upon how much I want to endure. What follows is complete review of the Regult sprue, assembly process, and some general ideas and tip on how to assemble them.

STRAIGHT OUTTA MICRONIA

Robotech RPG Tactics

Last Saturday I got to play Robotech RPG Tactics with my friend Dan again. I have only played this game twice before with Dan so the chance to play the game again was needed and welcomed. A change of pace or game systems works often, but not to often. We both agreed to keep the game and points simple and to try to re-learn the game as much as possible. A lot of things we remembered, a lot of things we had to re-check, but the whole game went rather smoothly.

Dan had his mind set on using some Destroids so I went along and used the Zentraedi forces. Dan made his selection pretty simple and straight forward with the inclusion of some Veritechs and some Destroids.


Playing the Zentraedi I first went with what I used last time selecting the Regult Attack Squadron and the Regult Attrition Squadron. This would leave Dan shy of 10 points so I swapped the Regult Attrition Squadron for the Regult Recon Squadron. Using the Regult Recon Squadron would give me like Dan a new unit to try in the game being the Quel-Regult. This still left me ten points ahead. We both considered adding some more stuff, but in the end I swapped the Regult Attack Squadron for an additional Regult Recon Squadron. I figure Dan would blow one away to smithereens so having a second would give me a chance to use it and see how it works.

Battle Forces

UEDF - 140 Points generating 10 Command Points

Valkyrie Squadron - 80 Points

VF-1J X 1
VF-1A x 3

Area Denial Destroid Squadron - 60 Points

Defender Destroid x 2
Tomahawk Destroid x 2


Zentraedi - 140 Points generating 16 Command Points

Regult Recon Squadron - 70 Points

Glaug
Regult x 6
Quel-Regult

Regult Recon Squadron - 70 Points

Glaug
Regult x 6
Quel-Regult

Battle Setup

We setup on a normal 6 x 4 table and deployed twelve inches along the short edges. We agreed this setup would give both sides time to react to the first turn moves ensuring no first turn auto-wiping bullshit occurs. This gave the UEDF and especially the Destroids a nice range advantage.

One important detail we added was terrain and treating certain terrain as area terrain. The inclusion of hills and small forests as area terrain provides a small defense bonus, but that bonus can easily mean the difference of damage rolls being successful or not. Hills and trees were invaluable in helping one of my Gluags approach the Valkyrie squadrons. We treated hills and forests as soft cover. We treated some bunkers as area terrain hard cover, but this may have been over generous perhaps. This helped some Regults survive, sort of.

The inclusion of the Quel-Regults was an excellent battle tactic. The surprise that they generated command points on their own was a complete shock to me. I never looked at their abilities on thier cards thinking were just electronic countermeasure units. The Quel-Regult's abilities on top of terrain bonuses I admit are plain brutal, but an effective way to help Zentraedi forces in general. We never allowed the Quel-Regult's abilities to overlap each other and stack.

Battle Highlights

I passed on pictures this time.

The Valkyries early on tried to decimate Regult Recon Squadron 1 on the West side of the battlefield first and in the process lost one or two along the way. Dan conducted an impressive speed boost and combined after burn maneuver to try and recover some losses. This is cool when you get to see rules used in action as they are intended  if watching the show. Using the after burn maneuver to alpha strike something is boring, but using the after burn maneuver to get in and out of fighting is heroic. Dan was able to punch throw a Glaug's meat shield defense and damage it. Oddly enough the Glaug he damaged was the Glaug I was hiding from the Destroids attached to Regult Recon Squadron 2.

Regult Recon Squadron 2's Glaug was the most vulnerable during the game as the Destroids kept stripping away Regult after Regult leaving the Glaug to cower behind some terrain to provide support. I think Regult Recon Squadron 2's Quel-Regult was made of more sterner stuff. Regult Recon Squadron 2's Regult count at one point was maybe one to two left and the rest were moving in from reinforcement range.

One tactic which seems to work when combating Valkyries is to get them to empty their missile reserves leaving them with only gun pods left to use. Regults are good for doing this as life is cheap and with a Glaug you can recycle them and I did this. Very few or none of the reinforcement Regults ever made it back to be of any further use.

When the Zentraedi had a chance to return fire surviving the Destroid's firepower turn after turn I saw the true ability of the Glaug's main cannon. The last Valkyrie was the commander and all shots would be going to his rear so I risked it and destroyed it knowing he had no chance of shielding or dodging the main cannon attack. This cut the UEDF's command points in half.

The entire Valkyrie squadron was wiped out. The Glaug from Regult Recon Squadron 1 destroyed the last Valkyrie. The Destroids in return killed the same Glaug.

The Destroids tried to knock out a Quel-Regult and failed doing so shortly after the last Valkyrie was obliterated. If they did this would have cut the Zentraedi command points effectively in half.

I took out a single Tomahawk Destroid. In a formation they are able to absorb and share a lot of damage. We called the game a good shortly after the Tomahawk fell. It was a good game and a good learning experience.

Carnage Report

UEDF

Valkyrie Squadron

VF-1J X 1 - Destroyed
VF-1A x 3 - Destroyed x 3

Area Denial Destroid Squadron

Defender Destroid x 2 - 1 Damaged, 1 Maybe Damaged
Tomahawk Destroid x 2 - 1 Destroyed, 1 Damaged


Zentraedi

Regult Recon Squadron 1

Glaug - Destroyed
Regult x 6 ~ 50% Destroyed and Reinforced, 1 Permanently Destroyed
Quel-Regult - 1 MDC left

Regult Recon Squadron 2

Glaug - Damaged
Regult x 6 > 50% Destroyed and Reinforced
Quel-Regult - 1 MDC left

Lessons learned and things to remember.

This is a list of some things we simply forgot and need to remember. The d6 roll of 1 and 6 is trivial, but playing so many games it makes a big difference.

• A d6 roll of 1 is an auto fail regardless of modifiers.
• A d6 roll of 6 is an auto success regardless of modifiers.

• Shielding damage by splitting damage evenly does not negate an uneven odd point of damage, it is assigned as desired.

• Taking damage is like math and the order of operations is AM/Dodge, Shield (If applicable), RWI.
• RWI rounds down damage.

Robotech RPG Tactics is a fun game so far, but considering Wave II's whereabouts are still considered out there floating the game is limited somewhat. I have picked up some chatter on PB's forums there may be additions to the FAQ and rules as well. The one thing which slows me down is the assembly process. I still have quite a lot of units to assemble for both sides and each one has a large amount of parts. Still I hope to play this game more often if I can.

Check back soon for updates to my dealings in the worlds of Battletech and 40K.

312 > 174

Why is 312 greater than 174?

174 is the amount of miniatures I received in the last few months of 2014 for three different games.

140 miniatures are from a kickstarter campaign for Robotech RPG Tactics. 25 miniatures are from a Christmas present for Warhammer 40,000. 8 miniatures are from a Christmas present for Battletech. 1 model is from a surprise birthday present for Battletech.
140 miniatures for Robotech RPG Tactics Wave One
25 miniatures for Warhammer 40,000 Deathstorm
4 miniatures for Battletech Assault Lance
4 miniatures for Battletech Pursuit Lance
1 miniatures for Battletech (King Crab) :)
174 miniatures in total.

Breaking down 174

I pledged for the Showdown in the Robotech RPG Tactics kickstarter which gave two times the Battle Cry pledge which basically was the core set and unlocked stretch goals. In other words I have a shit ton of miniatures for Robotech RPG Tactics.
The Deathstorm boxed set was perfect for me as it includes both armies I own and use, plus the handy small updated rule book. This boxed set was such a bargain as it gave my Blood Angels a new captain, new terminators, new dreadnaught (magnetize for all flavors if can), and additional death company. The box will also bolter my Tyranid forces with a new broodlord, genestealers, a carnifex (magnetize those dual devourers), and warriors. :( Warriors, hmm ... they are the new sculpts with swords and lashes and they can make a prime. :) I am very interested in playing the scenarios from the campaign booklet for some easy quick games.
The Battletech lances gave me some new battlemechs to use and especially new battlemechs to throw at my players in my ATOW campaign. :) I love torturing them with challenges just as much as one of my players loves getting head hits. Best of all they don't need to be assembled, they are ready to play. The birthday present was a surprise and I can't wait to play a game with two of these death machines running around terrorizing and destroying everything they can. Only one player I know off hand would say game on. Needless to say this probably will make an appearance in the ATOW campaign.
There is more, eventually and hopefully anyway.
84 miniatures for Reaper Bones II 2013 Core Set
54 miniatures for Robotech RPG Tactics Wave Two
138 additional miniatures in total will eventually be added. I say eventually as the updates from

Reaper concerning the Bones II kickstarter point to a successful delivery soon. Actually today Reaper confirmed they have started Wave I fulfillment and I am in Wave II. I still have no idea what I will do with them to be honest. Hopefully is all I can say for Wave two of Robotech RPG Tactics and that’s all I have to say about that.
If you add all the received miniatures and the additional miniatures up you will get a hefty sum.
312 miniatures in total. This is why 312 is greater than 174.

I could be off by a few.
Actually I could say 313 miniatures as I assembled a Wolverine II model for battletech last Sunday I purchased in late 2014.

Goal for 2015

I have set a goal for 2015 of assembling and painting miniatures once a week. It doesn't have to be much, just assemble and paint something once a week. Any easy goal in all respects. When it comes to the assembly portion of the goal I can use assembled minatures in game as soon as they are assembled. I can assemble small things or large things, this game or that game, or start something this week and finish something next week.

Proof

The first week of January I started my once a week assembly goal and I think it went well. I got two battlemechs assembled. One battlemech was the Wolverine II I mentioned earlier which will go to a Marik unit I am building for the sake of building. The other battlemech was a Thug which was sent as a return fire birthday present to a friend. It has found a happy place in the ATOW campaign.
I started assembling the captain and terminators from the Deathstorm boxed set during the first week of the New Year and continued some more. I used my bag of bricks for basing materials on my previous Devastator squad I finished a while back. I intend to glue the miniatures to their bases before priming them to make it easier and so I can use them. I post about these units later.
During the first week of the year all the way to the end of January I assembled a lot of the Robotech RPG Tactics miniatures from one of the boxed sets. I tried the valkyries first and went WTF over the amount of pieces and which arms are for what. I have a lot of battle pods together. I got two destroids together as well. The amount of parts for some of the miniatures is huge and daunting, they will take time. The amount of time to remove mold lines takes time as well. I need to focus on what is needed to play the scenarios in the back. Whatever some may say I think those are easy step up battles to help learn the rules very easily and fast.
I did cheat one my never buy expensive GW tools, but I ended up buying the mold line removal tool and so far it is very helpful.
Painting I have been sticking to as well. I started with the repainting of my Tyranid Ravener. I changed the overall paint scheme to make it much easier and faster to paint them by eliminating certain complicated steps, paints which dry too easily, and adding a few steps to better the miniatures. I have picture of them, but I would rather post about them later. I have actually moved into painting my Hive Guard now.

TL;DR

I have a large backlog of combined old and new hobby work. This backlog needs to be worked on to get more game time. I’ll have plenty to post about soon. I was going to post pictures of everything stacked high, but does anyone really want to see hobby backlog porn?


I’ll have plenty to post about soon with pictures.

The last twelve hours approaches.

The last twelve hours of Palladiun Game's Robotech Kickstarter approaches.

I admit it, this Kickstarter project has had me watching it ever since it started. It was funded in a few hours and yesterday it crossed the 1 million mark. I have always liked the Robotech saga and the models are really great looking capturing the feel of the original series.

Here is a link to the Robotech Kickstarter

I originally pledged for the Battle Cry level which gives the base game along with some additional models and an art print also all the bonus unlocks. I eventually upgraded my pledge to the Showdown level which gives me two of everything Battle Cry offers. In the long run this allows me to play a new game and to play the game with both forces easily.

Right now my Showdown pledge gives me 180 models, which 128 models are playable as is and 52 models are playable Veritech Valkyrie variants. My math my be a bit off, but this is huge amount of models to get for a $260 pledge. This gives me a generous offering of both UEDF and Zentraedi forces.

The extra faction dice, templates, decals, unit cards, and most recently the command tokens are all gravy and there is a ton of gravy in this boat. :)

Here is what I am getting for my $260 pledge so far. Since the KS is still going and in its last crazy pledge level ending hours there is potential for more add-ons and bonus unlocks.

Image borrowed from KS to help promote the last hours of this great Kickstarter project.





The long wait till December will be tough, but this will give me plenty of time to keep my painting progress focused on my Blood Angels.