Into the Wasteland: A New Fallout Inspired Project and a Tale of Good Customer Relations

So after watching the new Fallout series on Amazon Prime, it got me interested in skirmish gaming that post-apocalypse world.  I am already playing Zona Alfa in a desert setting, so have a lot of terrain (and mutant creatures) that could preform double duty and mostly just needed some appropriate miniatures.

I looked at the official game and miniatures from Modiphius, but they mostly left me cold. I prefer rule sets that don't require managing a lot of cards nor needing lots of proprietary dice and other equipment (I'm mostly a beer and pretzels kind of gamer) . I also have heard mixed reviews of the figures, and for the premium price they want, I'd rather look at other options when possible.

I've seen other Zone Alpha players using the rules for Fallout and will likley start with that, but I'll also see what other options may be out there. For the new figures, I found a few people on Etsy selling prints based on Vermillion Miniatures that looked Fallout enough to meet my needs, but most of them were pricey as well. However, there was one shop, TeenageWastelandUS, offering really good deals.  I have to admit I was a bit nervous at first, as they were a newish shop with not a lot of sales yet, and I was worried the lower price could be reflective of the print quality.  However, as the father of two teenagers, I liked the idea of a young man starting a shop to help pay for school (the story is on his site) and decided to try a smaller test order of 3 warbands: Bearforce, Steel Rising, and Rust Reavers. And I couldn't have been happier with my decision.

The well-packed figures came promptly and the print quality was as good as I've received from other printers (the standard faint layer lines on some spots, but overall crisp details), with a good quality plastic that didn't seem too brittle. Jack, the owner, nicely included a few freebies and a 20% off coupon for my next order, so I went full hog and ordered a ton more figures and scenery items. I also ended up getting into an online discussion with his dad about painting figures, and when I mentioned I'll be posting my finished pics online and would link where I bought my miniatures, he very graciously offered a standing 15% off code (WASTELANDCOMPANION24) for me to share here as well.

Ok, so now the good customer service part of the story. While the vast majority of the figures were top notch, I had one figure with a printing defect that prevented full assembly, and a few others missing parts (two figures had two right hands instead of a right and left, and there were a few missing shoulder pads). Not the end of the world and something I experience fairly regularly when ordering from small 3D printers.  I let them know and asked them just to throw the parts into the next shipment, expecting that to be the end of it. But while I was satisfied, TeenageWasteland US was not. Not only did I get profuse apologies from both Jack and his dad, but they insisted on sending me additional free warbands with the replacement parts, despite my protests that it was too much for such minor issues and that I didn't want to take advantage of a small business. So I will now be drowning in post apocalyptic miniatures, which I guess is not a bad problem to have (though my wife may disagree from a storage aspect). And it was great to see a young man working so hard to establish his reputation and ensure his customers were happy as he pursues his goals. Though I don't generally endorse vendors (and I am in no way affiliated with this shop),  I'd tell others to give Jack's shop a look if you're looking to populate your post-apocalyptic wastelands.

Ok, enough of my rambles. Time for some glamour shots of my Bearforce figures, which I'll be using to proxy the New California Republic. The majority of the figures are multi-piece, so there is the ability to do some part swapping if you are so inclined. They also come with printed bases, which is a nice bonus.

The design of the first figures is a bit of a mashup of the NCR Ranger and Recon trooper styles. I'm going to classify them as Recon for my purposes.

There is also a recon trooper in power armor (T-45ish) for support. I went with the weathered dark green/grey common in a lot of reference images, but I'm not 100% sold that it translates to the small scale. If I did it again I think I'd use a lighter green to help with contrast.

  

A couple of  law and order cowboy types to function as NCR Rangers.  That handgun definitely gives off a Dirty Harry vibe.

Standard NCR troopers.  I'm still trying to get used to the M-16 equivalents having wooden stocks, but that's they way they appear in the video games, so I've stuck with it.

My mutated, two-headed bear standing in for a Yao Guai. They come in a few color schemes, but I couldn't resist giving it some glowing, radioactive pustules. 

 With that, I think I'm off to a good start.  I still have a lot to paint (and that next shipment will be a killer), but I think these figures have a ton of character and will be a lot of fun to work on. I'll be posting more pics as the figures come off the painting table.

Outskirts of Tanga 1914: A WW1 Skirmish Game in German East Africa

My WW1 African armies haven't seen the table in a while for lack of opponents, but last week my friend Steve passed through town and brought his Germans for a quick game at the local shop. We decided to try out the 3rd Ed of the Setting the East Ablaze rules and used a scenario from the Skirmish Elite: Tanga 1914 book. 

For this battle, my forces (British) needed to cross the table in the allotted time on their way into Tanga, while Steve's Germans were tasked with laying in ambush and slowing my advance. Each side got a set of prescribed units and one generated at random. We didn't have any bees to add to the battle, but included a roaming rhino for a bit of potential chaos.

The British began their trek at a ditch (I didn't have one in my terrain collection, so we used some sections of road as a substitute) which ran along their entry point on the table. 

The Indians on the left flank, along with the company commander and his Masai runner, managed to make steady progress from the outset.

However, the right flank bogged down when the rhino wandered into the area.

The machine gun team also ran into trouble trying to get the gun out of the ditch. While they struggled, the platoon headquarters moved up to begin scanning the environment for hidden German askaris.

The left flank managed to dash across the open grassland unharmed and into the relative safety of a tree line.

On the right, troops still had to wait a bit longer for the rhino, but it eventually wandered off the battlefield. 

The machine gun team also managed to extract themselves from the ditch and the British as a whole were finally moving at a reasonable rate. 

The British platoon headquarters managed to spot a squad of askari waiting in ambush on a hilltop. The Indian troops on the right flank took cover behind another hill and began maneuvering into position for an attack.   

On the left flank, the company commander climbed a hill and scanned the freight depot for signs of life, but all seemed quiet.  Perhaps too quiet. 

With the mission clock ticking, the Indians on the left flank took the risk of charging across the open grass in hopes of quickly reaching the depot.  Unfortunately, the company commander had missed the ambushing party of German askari.

The askari were crack shots, killing the majority of the British squad outright, with the few survivors fleeing for their lives.

The platoon headquarters took cover in the tree line and began exchanging fire with the askari on the hill, while the Indians prepared for their assault. 

The machine gun team also finally made it to a useful position and began setting up behind the trading outpost. 

The gunfight between the askari and British continued, with the British platoon headquarters losing one man. 

The Germans sent out askari from the freight depot in hopes of capturing the company commander. Not one to fear a fight, he stood his ground and managed to pick off one of the advancing askari.

On the right, the Indians began their assault on the hill, but another group of askari sprung from ambush and countercharged. 

The resulting melee was bloody for both sides.

The Indian machine gun finally entered the battle and attempted to provide cover to the company commander, but only succeeded in killing one additional askari.  

The Indians fought valiantly, but eventually there was but one brave survivor left.  He sounded his bugle in defiance and then nothing more was heard from him.

With that, there were not enough British to complete the advance and the few survivors were forced to retreat. So a very historically accurate outcome. 

We both had a lot of fun getting back to this theater and are hoping to fight another battle from this scenario book when Steve next passes through town.