GHQ Models Forums

Just starting a sci-fi tank company so I can start work on adapting my small unit action rules to bigger battles.

Anyone else here play sci fi in 1/285?

Yes I play BattleTech, which is a 6mm sci-fi game.

Me!

Sci-Fi was my first introduction to 6mm thanks to GZG and Dirtside II. I've spent a number of years playing Epic Armageddon and more recently Adeptus Titanicus, but I've dabbled in a few different Sci-Fi rulesets. Most recently I've been using Fistful of TOWS 3 with some notes cribbed from the 'Railgun 2100' .PDF that I found online.

On the workbench currently is a battalion of EuroFed armour from Brigade

I've played some sci-fi games over the years: Epic 40k, Renegade Legion / Centurion / Prefect, Battletech / Battleforce 2, and I playtested a ruleset called Strike Legion that uses 6mm scale. I recently bought the Robotech Tactics game, which is also in 6mm, but I haven't played it yet. I'm still trying to put some tiny Veritech fighters together!

Just a little bit of actual play but it has consumed much of my thoughts. I am a big Striker (GDW) fan and have been obsessed with playing it in 6mm, but there are serious issues with the original Striker plus it is really a skirmish level set of rules. More on this if people are interested as I found a set of rules with great potential for my thinking of play.

In any case I only bout sci fi specific minis for very large vehicles like OGREs (suitable variants from various manufacturers) or very large battle tanks or infantry carries sized for moving a platoon per vehicle. For all the companies who made normal tank or APC size minis, well I just used modern equivalents like M1s, Leopard IIs etc. and Marders for infantry combat vehicles.

I have Dirtside II but something about it never clicked. I also played Battledroids but with 15mm plastic models. I do have some of the metal 1:300 minis for somewhere down the road. The entire W40K doesn't appeal, I don't care for the imagery although the rules may be OK. Do tell about veritech fighters. I found some 1:285 Macross fighters from some Japanese source, not the Palladium minis. Which are you referring to? I have heard the Palladium minis are fiddly but the others one look like you may need taking away in a straightjacket after assembling only a few.

Yea the Veritechs (and all the minis from this game) are more like small plastic models than typical wargaming miniatures. I still haven't actually played the game. It's taking me forever to get a Veritech put together and painted!

This is the game. Giant box because it's mostly full of the miniatures on sprues.


This sprue is a single Veritech in fighter mode.

That is what I thought, tiny fiddly miniatures. Makes some of the fiddly GHQ minis look good. Certainly more parts than anything other than a micronaut. I wonder what the Kidslogic ones are like to assemble. Based on the pictures of the finished models they are a lot more scale which means slightly smaller, thinner components like wings and smaller more accurately sized weapons. If cast in fewer parts maybe not so bad, but somehow I get the impression they are as many individual parts or more than the Palladium products. Still I am a long term Macross fan from way back so...Maybe one day.

Ironically GHQ was approached by Palladium Books to produce the minis for RRT. they had been made for gencon, but was never put into regular production as they dropped GHQ out.

Well, that is an interesting bit of info. Too bad as I would prefer the models in metal anyways.

I think what I was trying to say in my last post is if I am going to buy sci fi specific minis I want them to look different. Not another variation on existing vehicles. Just use my existing collection in that case and buy wildly different items for a quite different appearance on the battlefield.

I bought a few Terran miniatures from Spartan Games, when they released their 10 mm Planetfall lineup for their Firestorm universe. Their plans sounded intriguing, connecting their Firestorm Armada fleet battles with following ground battles, and even introducing dropships and invasion scenarios, where you have to get your troop ships through a blockade. The miniatures were really nice as well.

Unfortunately, they went belly-up, before that planetfall really was able to take off.

Its kinda unfortunate where im from that theirs just only 3 games to pick from W40k, AoS or MTG. However BattleTech is starting to become popular in Canada in recent years but finding official materials is hard as hell.

Hey! I'm in Canada and I don't limit myself to GW crap. Seriously I guess you may be talking the attitudes of your opponents or the store owner who hists the games. I have seen a couple venues where all they (are allowed to?) play is what the store sells. BS. Just support alternative scales/topics and grow the business.

Battletech is making, or never left, a comeback in this area. Every con or big game club that had a minis presence has a guy running at least a game per event. Maybe he does a full day or event every day but he always seems busy and always has a full table. Never looked closely so it may be the same guys always but that is better than nothing.

Myself I am too ** CENSORED ** about the "right" rules for this or that scale and period but am quickly narrowing that down. I find many players will at least try anything once in order to also find opponents. That and there are some damn good solo rules out there now. I am also seeing attempts at introducing solo into existing games.

If anyone here is anywhere near Chicago, I'm up for a game!

A couple of the primary guys from SitRep podcast are from the Chicago area. They are on Discord, FB (I think) podbean podcast and youtube. They were going to run an event in February (St Valentines Day Massacre) but covid killed that. They play many things and you might get on their Discord forum or YT 'cast to boot. They started as Ultra Modern but have gone further afield. You might get them started into sci fi.

I know they are willing to try other things as I was planning on running a micro armour game of Soviet Afghan war, Hind & Seek, at their con.

Thanks for the tip!