Mecha....in....SPACE!

[Easy E]

Greetings all,

I have been playing around with playing Space Mecha games.  The desire is to have a dogfight game, in space, with robot suits!  I want to capture the feel of shows like Gundam, Robotech, and others in the genre.  Typically, you see robotic suits being piloted by youngsters, with blazing guns, missile swarms, and the like. 

Initially, I was planning on buying some Dream Pod 9 Mecha from Jovian Chronicles and using those in my game.  However, while reviewing Amazon, I ran across a set of knock-off "Not-Gundam", plastic toys.  I got 144 or so for $15 USD.  That is like ten cents a mini. 

The contents of the set look like this....


You can see they are easy to cut up with a plastic cutter, trim with an exacto, or use a standard knife to cut them at the joints.  You can also see that the standard designs are very static.  However, they are about the size of a standard 28mm model. 

Next, I started chopping them up to get more dynamic poses.  I then used Green Stuff to fill in gaps to create more dynamic poses.  I dug through my bitz box and found some old GW Eldar Guardian las guns and melta guns which I chopped up and added to the models as built in weaponry.  At the end of the day, I had about 8 Mecha in various poses with a few variant weapon options.....



There is still a bit more work to do.  For example, I want a few missile boxes added using Green stuff and to mount them after painting to flying stands.  However, I think they look much more dynamic than the initial models.  Plus, at 10 cents a piece, that is a pretty good starting point. 

I have a second faction to make next, with about 8-10 mechs with a few different weapon load outs as well.   

[palaeomerus]

You may like these if you can find them. They don't have the floating.leaping post but they have moveable arms and multiple "types" of robot. They are about 35mm tall.



They can be found on Ebay and come from a Russian plastic toy company called Tehnolog which makes a lot of 1/35-ish plastic soldiers, fantasy creatures, and a line of plastic sci-fi tanks in both 1/80 and 1/56 about, and some robots and flers for about 28mm minis, castle constucter sets, scafold and ramp sci-fi terrain sets, etc. They do a lot of stuff. All of it cheap and cheerdul. .

The line of little mecha robots is called Astroid robot mini. There are larger 43mm versions of these robots called Astroid.

[palaeomerus]

Those mechs that you have there are from the Anime Mobile Suit Gundam which goes back to 1979.

You have a Gundam, Gelgoogs, Zaku II, Gouf or Gufu, a Gyan, and a Dom.

[palaeomerus]

Also Zeon in its final hour deployed the massive and over gunned ZEONG which I think of as a mobile armor but it is listed as a suit despite its enormous size, psychommu weapons, and the way its head becomes an armed escape craft after the body is blown up.

It was sent out "unfinished" but supposedly it didn't need legs for space combat anyway. It is much bigger than the Gundam it fights even without legs. With legs it is called a PREFECT ZEONG though it is hypothetical as Zeon's armed forces got shut down(officially anyway) after they lost the war.

[Easy E]

You may like these if you can find them. They don't have the floating.leaping post but they have moveable arms and multiple "types" of robot. They are about 35mm tall.



They can be found on Ebay and come from a Russian plastic toy company called Tehnolog which makes a lot of 1/35-ish plastic soldiers, fantasy creatures, and a line of plastic sci-fi tanks in both 1/80 and 1/56 about, and some robots and flers for about 28mm minis, castle constucter sets, scafold and ramp sci-fi terrain sets, etc. They do a lot of stuff. All of it cheap and cheerdul. .

The line of little mecha robots is called Astroid robot mini. There are larger 43mm versions of these robots called Astroid.

Thanks!  That is a good find! 

Also, thanks for the details on which ones were which.  I never did follow Gundam that closely, so that helps.

I am working on the next "faction" and customizing some of these guys a bit further.   

         

[Easy E]

Here is the first faction painted up, the New Olympians.  I used dry brush and highlights but the wash kinda buried all that work. 

Next I want to put them on clear flying sands. 

[robh]

They have come out nicely.  You need some beam swords though 

[Easy E]

I started working on my Opposition Force for my space mecha.....



They come from a more, utilitarian, former power, that has descended into a stagnant, totalitarian state where one of the most common resources is human life.  They have a much less glamourous set of Combat suits, with a couple more advanced styles reserved for those who have proven themselves and officers.

[Easy E]

Well, here are the Earth Alliance painted up...



Not much to see really.  Pretty "No Frills" from the utilitarian, Totalitarian state.

Next step is to figure out how to put them on flying bases/stands. 

[Macrossmartin]

I'm getting a number of blanks where your images should be, Easy. Anyone else experience this?

I like your cheap mobile suit legions. What rules are you contemplating?

I have to plug the mecha rules I helped write and edit, if you don't object. Helps that they're free!

You might find some inspiration within, if you're writing your own rules. Hope you can get some use out of them.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tx8cjUlGzZ_QqxcK2MySTvlQFNWi-btJ/view?usp=sharing



Another source of Gundam mecha of a similar size (alas, not 10c each nowadays...) are the 'Gundam Collection' 1/400 series of gashapon collectable PVC figurines. Here's some of my Zeon space force from that range, all reposed and repainted with a few 3D printed additions:



Will look forward to seeing what you come up with!

[Easy E]

Great stuff Martin!  Way better than the crap I put up!

As for X in the pictures.... I am not sure why. 

Edit: As for rules, I have been playing around with my own set of rules.  They are "Not Gundam" and "Not Jovian Chronicles" and "Not Other Space Mecha Anime/Systems" so you get the drill. 

Great work on those Gundam rules though!

[Easy E]

One of the great things about being a game designer, is that you are always playing around with new rules, games, and ideas.  You are tweaking, drafting, and testing out different genres and themes.  Today is an example of a game in development called: Glittering Void.  I had spent way too much time watching space based Mecha anime and decided to try my hand at making my own tabletop version of the game.  I had long been thinking about how (and if) you should incorporate "Height Bands" into a space game.  After watching a lot of anime space-Mecha battles I decided that you should, since Mechs were always getting wasted by Mechs coming from strange directions.  height bands could help simulate this process. 

Those of you who play a lot of games will see heavy influences from Aeronautica Imperialis, X-wing, Battlestar Galactica, Jovian Chronicles, With the Lightnings, and more.   

The trading contract for the Freehold of New Arcadia will expire and come up for re-negotiation in the next rotations.  Traditionally, these contracts have been held by corporate interests aligned with the New Olympians, and New Arcadia was considered within the New Olympians sphere of interests.  However, the free hold is located in the Asteroid Belt, which the Earth Alliance views at its territory.   

With the contract set to expire, elements of the Earth Alliance have begun aggressively courting New Arcadia.  They have offered lucrative incentives, and coupled them with veiled threats.  In fact, some smaller trading and prospecting vessels from New Arcadia have gone missing in the region.  The Earth Alliance has cited this as a prime reason to change contracts, as the New Olympians have failed to properly protect and enforce the expiring contract.

The powers that be on NeOlympus have deemed it necessary to reinforce their alliance on New Arcadia.  To this end, they have deployed a patrol ship and a compliment of suits to New Arcadia space.  A Carrier arrived and dropped off just such a ship before continuing on its route.  The New Olympian commander on the scene has pledged to find the cause of the missing prospecting vessels.   

 Investigating the last know location of one of these New Arcadian Prospecting ships, the New Olympians had unusual activity on their scopes.  Interference was being thrown out by a large Radiation Band in the area.  Therefore, a patrol of Suits was deployed to investigate further.

Forces

New Olympians

3 Ares Space Combat Suits

1 Ares Space Combat Suit

- Upgrade #2: Dual Heavy Beams

Unkowns

1 Polemarch Suit

- Upgrade- Combat Shield

4 Hoplite Suits

- 1 Upgrade- Rocket Tube



Of course, today's play test will be featuring my (in)famous Paper Templates!  I have been preparing some "Not Gundam" knock-off models to use in a more "polished" version of the game.  This is still early days in the process.   

I use dice to raise or lower their altitude.  On the table is Alpha, 1 dice is Beta, and 2 dice is Gamma level. 

I also made some small paper circles for future games that will be used to show the direction travelled.  A key part of this game is that you can travel one direction, but face another.  Facing is based on the Front (marked with an F on my templates) and the direction of travel will be based on the triangle on the marker below the template.  Make sense?

Mission:

Today's mission is found in the main rulebook.  In this scenario, unknown blips have been detected and combat units have been deployed to identify the unknowns and determine who they are.  You can score additional Victory Points by using your sensors to "ID" a target as well as normal combat processes.

Set-up

Today's game will be on a 48 MU x 48 MU board with 1 MU being one inch.  There is a Radiation band that goes across the board at Alpha and Beta level.  This radiation band has been making long range Identification of the unknowns difficult.  It is 12 MU wide and arcs across near the center line of the board.  I am using pipe cleaners to differentiate the edges. 

 

The Unknowns are on one side of the Radiation band, while the New Olympians are on the other.  All suits are deployed up to 6 MU from the board edge.  The New Olympians are at various altitude bands and speeds.  The Earth Alliance are all at Alpha level and coming on at full speed.   

If you want to give the battle a read through, you can find all the info here:
https://bloodandspectacles.blogspot.com/2021/05/battle-report-glittering-void-id-and.html   

[Easy E]

When I originally designed this game, I intended to use Dream Pod 9's "With the Lightnings" Range of figures for my space mecha combat fix!  I still do, and the rules even trying to call out some of the sculpts that go with some of the mecha profile.  However, the game is pretty much scale and model agnostic so you could use anything you wanted!  You could even use Gunpla kits if you wanted to!
 
I initially used some of my infamous paper templates to do some playing and testing with the rules. 



However, one day I ran across a bulk set of ugly toy Gundam knock-offs with 144 for about $14 US.  I swooped in and picked them up for use in this game.  Make no mistake, these are some seriously ugly, plastic toys, but at about 10 cents a pop, it did not seem like I could go wrong.  Plus, they are cheap enough to cut up and re-assemble with no fear.  I may also give some of them a lick of paint to see what happens, but not this day.  I could try to pick up some of those Lego weapons to go with them for Beam Cannons and Mas Rifles and the like too.  Perhaps I will see how converting these ugly little dudes goes before I try any of that. 



Armed with my new, plastic Kicko robots I decided I had to get them out on the table for another battle using the Glittering Void rules.  If you go to the desktop version of the blog, you can see a Work-In-Progress section of the blog.  This section has links to games that are playable, but still in the development process.  You can find Glittering Void there.   

he trading contract for the Freehold of New Arcadia will expire and come up for re-negotiation in the next rotations.  Traditionally, these contracts have been held by corporate interests aligned with the New Olympians, and New Arcadia was considered within the New Olympians sphere of interests.  However, the free hold is located in the Asteroid Belt, which the Earth Alliance views at its territory.   

With the contract set to expire, elements of the Earth Alliance have begun aggressively courting New Arcadia.  They have offered lucrative incentives, and coupled them with veiled threats.  In fact, some smaller trading and prospecting vessels from New Arcadia have gone missing in the region.  The Earth Alliance has cited this as a prime reason to change contracts, as the New Olympians have failed to properly protect and enforce the expiring contract.

The powers that be on NeOlympus have deemed it necessary to reinforce their alliance on New Arcadia.  To this end, they have deployed a patrol ship and a compliment of suits to New Arcadia space.  A Carrier arrived and dropped off just such a ship before continuing on its route.  The New Olympian commander on the scene has pledged to find the cause of the missing prospecting vessels.   

 Investigating the last know location of one of these New Arcadian Prospecting ships, the New Olympians had unusual activity on their scopes.  Interference was being thrown out by a large Radiation Band in the area.  Therefore, a patrol of Suits was deployed to investigate further.  This led to an engagement in the Radiation Band between unknown Suits and the New Olympian pilots.

Post-battle analysis allowed the New Olympians to identify that the suits engaged were of Earth Alliance design.  However, the Earth Alliance is well known for selling their tech to anyone with the currency to buy it.  Identifying their suits would not be enough to link them to the loss of the Prospecting Ships from New Arcadia. 

Therefore, the Patrol Craft tracked their potential telemetry to a nearby Asteroid that could house a forward operating base.  En route, unknown suits were identified attempting to transit from the area.  The New Olympian pilots were scrambled to engage the fleeing Suits and attempt to disable and capture the Polemarch suit.  Hopefully, the "Officers" suit would allow the New Olympians to gather needed intel on these freebooters and discover their connection to the missing Prospecting Ships. 

Forces:

New Olympians

3 Ares Space Combat Suits

1 Ares Space Combat Suit

- Upgrade #2: Dual Heavy Beams

Freebooters

1 Polemarch Suit

- Upgrade- Combat Shield

4 Hoplite Suits

- 1 Upgrade- Rocket Tube   



On the left is the Freebooters.  The Yellow is the Polemach suit, Orange are Hoplon suits, and I will use the #4 suit with the Bazooka.  The right is the New Olympians.  The Yellow is the Dual Beam suit, while the red are standard Ares suits.
I use dice to raise or lower their altitude.  On the table is Alpha, 1 dice is Beta, and 2 dice is Gamma level. 

I also made some small paper circles for future games that will be used to show the direction travelled.  A key part of this game is that you can travel one direction, but face another.  Facing is based on the Front (marked with an F on my templates but normally the actual faces of the model) and the direction of travel will be based on the triangle on the marker below the template.  Eventually, I will have bases with direction arrows on them, while the miniature will be able to swivel.  Make sense?

Mission:

Today's mission is found in the main rulebook.  This scenario is a targeted attack.  The New Olympians are trying to disable/knock-out the Polemarch suit, while the Freebooters are attempting to take out the Ares with the dual Beam cannons.  These suits offer an additional +15 VP for taking them out.   

Set-up:

Today's game will be on a 48 MU x 48 MU board with 1 MU being one inch.  This area of space has two large radiation fields that the Freebooters are trying to use to cover their escape.  They are marked by Pipe Cleaners.  These fields cover Alpha, Beta, and Gamma heights.  They are obscuring and dangerous. 

The Freebooters are set-up in the corner around their edge of the board.  The Polemach is in the back at Beta level.  The other Hoplon suits are forward of his at various altitudes.  One looks like they are planning on going around the Rad Zones for a flank attack.  Meanwhile, the New Olympians are on the center of the opposite board edge.  The squadron is anchored on the right by the Dual Beam Cannon suit.  The others string across at various heights.  The New Olympians appear to be going between the Rad Zones to start.



Of course, you can read the rest of the report and get the overview of the game on the blog....

https://bloodandspectacles.blogspot.com/2021/05/battle-report-glittering-void-targeted.html

[Macrossmartin]

Goodness, those are some malformed mecha you have there!  Enjoying the thread, always great to see the creative processes behind game design at work.

[Easy E]

I finished the Gundam 1-3 Compilation movies so now I am familiar with the Gundam 1-Year War. 

In other news, I tried to drill into some of these guys to mount them on bases and I ran into two issues:

1. The base peg I have for my flying bases is pretty fat, which led to some issues.

2. Drilling attempts proved challenging and ended up causing broken limbs and destroyed paint jobs. 

Therefore, I am going back to the flight stand washers from Litko I was going to use, but the poses will probably be less dynamic then I originally hoped.