UVS: Salvage and Survival - Leaper 14/01/2024

[OSHIROmodels]

Great stuff 

[Ultravanillasmurf]

Great work as usual mate. The Metro stories are really quite grim.

Thanks.
Just reading Metro 2033

Currently waiting on Crooked Dice restocking the SAS gas mask heads (and getting round to ordering some more gas mask heads from Empress).

[Ultravanillasmurf]

So here are a couple of Rookies for Zona Alfa. They have not picked up any gas masks yet, they will learn (if they survive).



Both are from the Empress Universal Soldier pack B, fitted with Modern Russian heads with scarves.

The body of the second rookie was mentioned by Wyrmalia a while back, and I see what he means about that left arm.

Team picture (without the grenadier, he is nursing a hangover).

[Ultravanillasmurf]

Various things to trip over.

[Ultravanillasmurf]

Sarissa Russian Village buildings as dacha.

Inspired by:

[Ultravanillasmurf]

Into The Zone in comfort...

[Ultravanillasmurf]

So, vermin swarms are an ever present danger in The Zone.

Anvil do a Rat Swarm, moulded in white resin.

Each pack has three big groups, one medium and five small groups.
I ordered four packs and built four bases per sprue.


Based using the Super Glue puddle method (puddle of super glue, put figure in place, add scenery items then sprinkle ballast on it)

[Grah]

Wonderful swarms. Think I know what my next purchase might be

I wonder how you would run a rat swarm in a Zona Alfa game? You could have them be like ordinary hostiles with a number of hits and attacks etc but how much damage can you do to a swarm of rats with a pistol?

One idea I had was that they are just placed at random like a normal hostile then they are pointed in a relatively random direction, probably with most chance of going towards either whoever triggered them or the nearest live bodies/crew members and then the swarm moves at a random speed (say D6" per action in that one direction and anything in its path takes 1 (or more) automatic hits. Just this tidal wave of rats.

About the only thing that could harm it would be fire - flamethrower or molotov. Maybe a flashbang grenade might cause it to change direction.

That's just off the top of my head,

[Grumpy Gnome]

One of the better designs of rat swarms out there I think. Nice brush work too!

And yeah, game mechanics for swarms in many games do not adequately represent them in my opinion.

[Ultravanillasmurf]

Thanks.

Vermin swarms are one of the standard critters in Zona Alfa (pages 41 and 44).

They are not treated any different to any other critter (including threat level based actions).

Those of you of a certain age may remember early 40K had rules for swarms, they suffered double damage from template weapons (and flak armour had a better saving throw against template weapons). No idea on the current version of 40K.

[Grah]

I know about the ZA vermin swarms but killing 500 rats with a couple of bursts of assualt rifle fire seems a bit unlikely. Maybe the noise and death scatters/disperses the swarm and that is represented by their wounds. I can buy that. I also have some giant rat models somewhere that are going to come in handy.

I might try both the vanilla swarm and the single-direction tidal wave swarm, maybe depending on threat level and/or a random roll. You just have to move to avoid the tidal wave if you can. It is a different type of hostile and I am all for those. The zone should never be too predictable!

[Ultravanillasmurf]

A Bandit out in the Zone.

A Crooked Dice Militia 2 figure as a Bandit.



Size comparison with an Empress Universal Soldier figure.

[Ultravanillasmurf]

The Artefacts found in the Zone are much sought after by various interests. Though Scientists may be in the employ of Corporations, they have to deal with the local teams. Though this provides a degree of deniability, there are questions about their reliability (notable occurrences of shrinkage).

What force field generator, we never found a force field generator.
Please do not point that pistol at me."
BANG!
"Ouch!
No, you must have missed...
What are you doing with that RPG?
What do you mean field testing...

Some Corporations have started training forces and sending them into the zone. Though most lack the experience of locally recruited teams, they are loyal to their Corporate Masters and any Artefacts found should be returned for analysis.

To ensure their dependence, they are recruited and trained far away, and supplied with plentiful, but not available locally equipment.

The second in command of a Corporation Exploration team.

Armed with M16A4 with M203 UGL.

Empress US Marine from USMC2 fitted with a USMC16 gas mask head.

Checking out an abandoned Dacha for salvage.

[Spinal Tap]

Ooh, I like him.

Great job.

[Dentatus]

Agreed. That's a great miniature.