Post Apocalypse Koyote

[Koyote]

I'm about to take the plunge into my first post-apocalypse tabletop wargame.  Sherbert mentioned that he and another guy up here, Joey, have begun to play This Is Not A Test (TNT), and I thought, what the hell, count me in.  

Sherbert is playing Mutants, of course (conversions galore), Joey is playing the Preservers (the high tech warband), and I'm playing the Tribals (low tech warband).  

Tribals are the descendants of survivor groups that, by chance or choice, developed a pre-industrial culture that shuns most Pre-Fall technology. Their shamans teach that it is better to live in simplicity than to again unleash the horrors of the End War.   Nevertheless, they do permit the use Pre-Fall weaponry to protect their people and resources from their many enemies.

TNT Tribals aren't necessarily the decedents of Native American tribes, but I'm going to go that route. This gives me an opportunity to use some of Conquest Miniatures' Woodland Indian models that I have long admired, but have never had a practical use for.

Crucible Crush's Flint & Feather Hurons and Iroquois are some of the best Woodland Indian minis available, but they only sell the minis that I want in packs of 14 and they charge way too much for shipping because some dumb ass decided to package their minis in oversized boxes.  I sent them an email asking if they'd be willing to sell their minis individually or in smaller sets, but they have yet to respond.   

I also need some models armed with modern weaponry to represent my elite fighters, so I've ordered West Wind Productions' Crow Dog Soldiers.

I need to convert one of these bad boy's shotguns into a grenade launcher.  A band of screaming, half naked "savages" supported by a grenade launcher firing relic plasma grenades  is a wonderful thing.

 

[Koyote]

Looky what I found. When I have enough barter script, Furiosa will make a splendid Bounty Hunter Freelancer.

 

[Torg]

hmmm I kickstarted this ... picked up some random minis as well.  Good luck!

[Koyote]

A warband receives income during campaign play by drawing cards from the Wasteland Deck, which is really nothing more than a standard deck of cards.  After a campaign game, a player can send up to four models (which cannot be leaders, freelancers, or animals), out to scavenge.  You flip one card for each model. If it's a number card, that model finds an amount of Barter Script (BS) in goods equal to three times the value of the number.  If the card is a face card or a joker, you cross-reference the Wasteland Exploration Table to determine what the model encountered.

Each face card triggers a different encounter and each encounter presents the player with two choices.  The player can "ignore" the encounter or try to resolve it. If the player ignores the encounter, the card provides the warband with a modest number of BS or a little bonus in the next scenario.  If the player elects to try to resolve the encounter, then the encountering model must resolve a task, which typically involves passing one or two stat tests.  If the player succeeds, the warband receives a reward.  If the player fails, the player earns nothing, and, depending upon the encounter, the encountering model may be injured or killed.  It's a simple high risk high reward mechanic.

Rather than use one of my old decks of standard playing cards, I spent $5 and bought a deck of post-apocalypse themed cards. The calamity that befell the TNT world was not a zombie apocalypse, but one of the creatures one can encounter is a Rad Zombie.   

 

[Koyote]

If you have never visited Hero Forge Custom Miniatures' website, you should do so.  The models are a bit spendy, but playing with the 3D modeling tool is free. Most of the initial poses are pretty dumb, but once you equip a model with weapons or items, you unlock additional poses that look much better.

A hard plastic model will run you about $30.  If you select the soft plastic material, the cost is about half.  You can also get your model made from steel or bronze.

LINKY

They have a Western theme, but no Native American gear, so this is what I put together for my This is Not a Test Tribal War Leader.  The scale is purported to be 30mm.  The West Wind models that I'm using for the rest of my warband are 28mm, but a little on the small side, so I suspect that this model will be much larger.  To offset this some, I reduced the model's height by 15% or so.  Fingers crossed.

 

 

[generalripphook]

Ive been looking at that site, let me know how the model comes out in person. 

[Koyote]

5 hours ago, generalripphook said:

Ive been looking at that site, let me know how the model comes out in person. 

I will do that.

I added a cat to the base.  Since I'm going to put the model on a Micro Arts sculpted base and the model costs the same with the kitty or without, by adding a feline friend to my order I get a "free" mini for my bitz box.

 

[Koyote]

My 400 BS TNT Tribal warband is (mostly) assembled.  

Front row, left to right: Tribal (rifle), Tribal Scout (assault Rifle), Great Shaman (rifle), Warbeast, & Warbeast,

Rear row, left to right: Tribal Champion (shotgun) Warbringer (grenade launcher -plasma grenades), Tribal Warrior (light weapon & small blade), & Tribal Warrior (light weapon & small blade),

The four models, furthest left, are from West Wind's Crow Dog Soldiers kit.  I replaced one of the "Private's" shotgun barrel with a rifle barrel and the "Shaman" model's shotgun with a grenade launcher and added a belt of grenades.  Both grenade launcher and belt were made by Victoria Miniatures.  It's hard to make it out from the photo, but the grenade launcher is an unlatched, break-action (hinge-action) weapon.  

The Warbeast's are Wyrd Games' Guild Hounds.  I used a hobby knife to removed the stupid looking armored goggles (pictured below) from the leaping hound model.  I still need to add a tiny eyeball to each eye socket indent.

The two Tribal Warriors are Conquest Miniatures' Iroquois Warriors.  I replaced the muskets with knife blades and replaced their Iroquois hair with GS hair that better matches the rest of the warband. Armed with two melee weapons, these models start with a Melee 7 & Strength 6.  Not bad for Rank & File models. Combined with the two hounds (Melee 6 & Strength 7), my warband has a tough melee element.

My Great Shaman is the Magua model from Conquest Miniatures' Last of the Mohicans set.  I did some trimming with a hobby knife and some GS work to transform is musket into a more modern looking rifle.  I still need to do some GS work to increase the size of the model's undersized, baby feet.   

The model's face bears a striking resemblance to Wes Studi's Magua character from the 1992 film, The Last of the Mohicans.  I doubt this is a coincidence.  If you haven't looked into Wes Studi's background and bio, you should.  He's a remarkable person.

 

[Koyote]

I did a little more GS work.

 

[Yarbicus]

Looks bada$$!

[Jay]

Curse you Koyote. I just spent three hours making figures on Hero Forge. 

[Koyote]

I've purchased a couple of minis from Brigade Games' Post-Apocalypse line.

Hawk's clothing and gear looks like that of a typical wastelander, so he will be a Tribal Representative whose frequent contact with outsiders has lead him to dress (and sometimes think), like them.  

The Heckaowie model would make a terrific Tribal Scout, and it may supplant the model I have currently assigned to this role.

I did a bit of research into the Native American tribes who lived in the Southern Pennsylvania/Cumberland area and it turns out that before their expulsion in the 1800s, this was the territory of the Shawnee.  Perfect! 

I've decided that in the decades before the End War, several thousand Shawnee migrated back to this area and following the Great Fall, their descendants have sworn to never be forced off of their ancestral land again.

 

[Koyote]

I haven't played a single game of TNT, yet I'm already planning a second warband.  

I chose to play Tribals before choosing the minis for the warband.  In this instance, I started with the minis and then decided upon the warband.  

I love, love, love the Frostgrave/North Star cultist kit. I've already used the kit to make a Frostgrave warband, but I still have plenty of models left on the sprue. It would be a pity to see the unused models go to waste, so I think what the TNT wastelands need is a band of hooded mutant cultists.   The gimmick is that they use the hoods to conceal their mutations, so I will be playing a mutant warband with models that have few outward signs of mutation.  Physical mutations must be shown on the models, and I intend to comply with these rules, but same doesn't hold true for hidden mutations, so the bulk of my warband can be straight off the sprue.

Fortunately for me, a forward thinking designer at North Star expanded the uses for the cultist kit by creating a sci-fi cultist accessory kit that includes firearms, hi-tech weapons, and even a chainsword.  Perfect!

Finding a mini for my mutant cultists' leader was easy.  A while back I bought the King of Ghouls model from Imbrian Arts.  I had no immediate use for the mini, but it was just too damn cool to pass up.  Since the mini is closer in scale to 32mm 'heroic' than it is to 28mm 'pulp,' my Omega Mutant will have the Big physical mutation.  Armed with a heavy melee weapon, he'll be hacking into foes with strength 9 attacks.  

Another fun idea is to use the Frostgrave Gnoll kit to make an Island of Dr Moreau themed mutant warband.

 

[Koyote]

Pest Control is the name of the first standard TNT scenario.  In a two player game, 5 rad zombie nests are placed on the board along with two rad zombies per nest.  Starting on the second turn, each nest generates d3 zombies per turn.  The objective is to destroy more rad zombies and rad zombie nests than your opponent.  Since TNT is not a cooperative game, you also get VPs for taking out your opponent's models.  

For the zombie nests I'm going to use the corpse pile counters that Jim Graham made for one of the Malifaux Walpurgis events.  I added some grasping hands and bones to jazz-em-up some. I have only three of corpse counters, so I made two more 'zombie nests' from Toad King Castings' bone debris piles and more Mantic Games' zombie bits.  

I 'kickstarted' Mantic's The Walking Dead game, but I've yet to play it.  Rather than let all of the purty models go to waste, I'll use the 30 TWD walker models for my TNT games.  Two of theses models are pictured above.

Come to think of it, The Walking Dead survivor models would make a kick ass TNT warband.  There's quite a few of them (20+) and the quality of the minis is quite good.  'CAAARL!'

I also have two of TWD scenery boosters, which will make great scatter terrain for my TNT board.

 

[Koyote]

I've put together a few of my mutants.  First, is Cardinal Corvus, an Omega Mutant with the Big mutation and a heavy melee weapon.  Next is Sister Ovis, a Mutant Emissary.  She counts-as being armed with a shotgun and bayonet.  Lastly, Brother Ick and Brother Ack, are Feral Mutants with the Spikes mutation. They are armed with natural weapons.

 

[Koyote]

My order from Hero Forge arrived today.  The plastic is slightly pliable and seems quite durable.  The detail is quite good and the surfaces smooth. I judge the detail and finish to be slightly better than the best pieces being produced for Zombicide Black Plague, which for non-hard plastic models, is pretty damn good.

There are a few small remnants of tabs, here and there, but these can be trimmed away quite easily.

From a purely practical perspective, I can't say it's worth the money I paid for it, but I knew that before I placed my order. For me,the novelty of getting to create what I want has a value that is hard to put a dollar amount on.  Overall, I'm pretty happy about this purchase.  

I'm also relieved that my guestimation on model height was just about perfect.  I set the model height at about 75% of maximum, which puts comforably it in the pulp 28mm range.  Pulp scale being smaller than 28mm heroic scale (GW 40K) but larger than 28mm fine scale (GW LoTR).

[Koyote]

The Cultist Sci-Fi Accessory packs that I ordered have arrived.  Unfortunately, they are made out of a material similar to GW's "Finecast" models, so they are total crap.  By and large the heads are okay, but many of the weapons and arms are malformed and pock-marked with with holes made by air bubbles.  Fireforge Games also uses this material and with equally bad results.  I guess neither company is that interested in repeat customers.

I've assembled the rest of the mutant cultists that I'll need for my 400 bs warband.

The shotgun and assault rifle come from old Necromunda weapons sprue. The flamer's tank and hose come from a sprue of special weapons made by Reaper.  The flamer itself is a trimmed down flamer from the Cultist Sci-Fi Accessory pack.

The Children of the Wasteland are ready to start proselytizing with bullets, shrapnel, and flame.

[Koyote]

Over the weekend I prepped and painted six junk piles made by Crooked Dice Games Design Studio.

The RPG Launcher sprue that I ordered from Anvil Industry arrived last Thursday.  The arms are a bit big for the Frostgrave plastics, which are 28mm Pulp scale, but the guy is a mutant, so what do you expect? 

[Koyote]

It's time to add a second Warbringer to my Tribal warband.  This model is an Apache from Black Scorpion Miniatures' Tombstone line.  I've replaced the model's original weapon and arms with the Anvil Industry's RPG launcher bits.  Like Fireforge and North Star, Black Scorpion uses the a material similar to GW's "Finecast" resin.  I don't know if Black Scorpion has higher quality control standards or a more skillful manufacturer, but based upon experience with all three manufacturers, Black Scorpion does the best job of working with this awful material.  There's still bubbles and malformed detail, but not to the point where I feel that I've been cheated.

Black Scorpions' minis are 32mm.  Most of the minis in my Tribal warband are 28mm 'fine' scale.  Since my new Warbringer is on one knee, the difference in scale isn't quite as obvious.  If you do a side-by-side comparison, he still looks pretty big, so I've named Big Feet.

 

 

 

 

[Koyote]

I've always hated painting vehicles and these old wrecks are no exception. Bleh!   Nonetheless, I was eager to get them done, along with the Walking Dead barriers, so that I no longer need to use unpainted terrain.  There are still a few pieces I want to add to my 4' x 4' apocalypse table, but for the most part it's done.

[scotthartman]

this is fantastic. the game is fun and your gangs and scenarios are perfect. cheers

[Brick Bungalow]

Oh, for what its worth I ordered a heroforge model shortly after the app was launched. It's comparable to the nicer resin figures you can buy. There wasn't anything to file or sand off of my model. I do recommend paying close attention to the scaling. The default human size is 25 and they aren't scaled heroically so unless you make them big they will look small next to GW figures. 

[Koyote]

Now that my TNT terrain is mostly done, it's time to get to work on my warbands.  My Tribals are my primary warband, but my mutants look like they will be much more fun to paint, so I may start with them.  I still haven't decided.

Below is what my Tribals look like after 3 games.  I started the campaign with 9 models and have since lost and replaced 3 KIA models.  I've also added an additional War Bringer and a Tribal.  During the campaign phase of game 3, I drew the 'Can We Keep It' card and added 3 Wild Mutants to my warband.  These mutants are represented as feral children with hidden mutations (2 have electric aura and 1 caustic blood).  I used Wyrd Miniatures' 'The Stolen' minis and armed them with weapons from a Reaper Miniatures' weapon sprue. 

Left to right, back to front.

Max (Bounty Hunter), Crazy Jack (Tribal Scout), Brother Coyote (Great Shaman), War Bringer (War Bringer), Black Cloud (War Bringer)
Broken Toes (Tribal Warrior), Breaks Bows (Tribal Warrior), Hawk (Tribal), Yazzie (Tribal)
Short Tooth (Warbeast), Blue Dog (Warbeast), Lynx (Wild Mutant), Ocelot (Wild Mutant), Bobcat (Wild Mutant)

I'm still not 100% satisfied with my first attempt at a War Bringer armed with a missile launcher, so I went back the the drawing board. This fella is one of Westwind's Crow Dog minis.  The mini is between 28mm "pulp" and 28mm "fine" scale, so it is too small for an Anvil RPG launcher.  Instead, I replaced its shotgun with a Reaper Miniature's bazooka and added a cut down Anvil rocket propelled grenade to the muzzle.  

This model's face was a bit malformed (bad cast), so I performed reconstructive surgery with GS.

 

[Koyote]

Okay, so I'm not quite done with my post-apocalypse terrain.

Below are some WIP barriers and 'dormant ordnance' markers.  

I saw Warsenal's Dark Age Scrounger Outpost and couldn't resist.  It will make a fantastic centerpiece and an excellent fortification for the Little Slice of Heaven scenario.

It's an interesting kit.  Most of the components are MDF, but it also includes parts punched-out of a 1.5mm acrylic sheet, and even a small piece of cloth (not pictured), that serves as an awning. The acrylic parts are used for the flexible components (e.g. the roofs), customized plating, and to add depth to flat surfaces, like the floors and roofing.  I wish they hadn't elected to use transparent acrylic sheeting.  Once you punch-out the small acrylic plates, they are easy to lose on your workbench.

 

[Koyote]

I've added rings of cratered earth to my dormant ordnance markers. 

I converted a Necromunda Redemptionist Deacon into a Mondo (i.e. a big, dumb mutant), for my mutant cultist warband.  The arms come from the Frostgrave barbarian sprue. Models with the Large rule are supposed to be 8' tall, so to add some height to the model, I snipped off its little feet and added some boots from a plastic GW Guardsman.