A UNIVERSE OF PLASTIC SPACE FIGHTERS AND ALIENS. IMAGINE D&D CROSSED WITH SQUAD LEADER.
MAKING THE FIGURES AND TERRAIN. RULES DEVELOPMENT, SCENARIOS AND BACKGROUND.

Saturday 7 July 2018

Rock and Roll on the Rose

CONTAMINATION REPORT

Long-range shuttle DF/LRS 'ROSE' abandoned 13/56/345 Entebbe Sector, Vega Junction.

Crew abandoned ship after casualties from Steel Scorpions. No other pest observed.

Small size of ship allowed only for team of 4 plus YOU.


New set-up with better furniture.

First contact- Steel Scorpions!


Monday 18 June 2018

DEVELOPMENTS

BTR-80 soon to be converted.



Working on the conversion of an 'Aliens' cargo loader to a safer version for -DUCK!





I made the new control to be joysticks hidden behind the panel. The film version with arms extending out of the cage was just too dangerous to pass Health and Safety inspection on Deep Freight vessels. Also an armoured-perspex head protection shield will be added.The grips and arms are now articulated too. A true 54mm figure will now fit into the loader. Original is made by SUPER 7 MUSCLE - odd charicature figures.

Duuh duuh duddud dud duh duuuh dud dud dud duuuuh...

BAD FIGURES ARE THEY NOT


I suppose it had to happen that my game lent itself to a Gender Wars variant. I got hold of some of the various sets of 54mm SW figures available. I got them from Amazon, looking carefully for cheap offers. Otherwise these sets can be a bit pricey. I got some second hand sets. I think there are something like 15 different sets available, of varying size. The variety and conten tof these packs is a little bewildering and it takes some research to be sure of what you are getting...! I got these ones....
The sets include figures, models of vehicles and spaceships and stands for the models as well as little pull-back-and-go bases for the stands. I got 33 figures out of these 3 sets.

The figures are perfect 54mm scale. The modelling is very fine and proportions really nice.

I think this character is a kid so he is smaller...LUKE? OR  I have no idea who he is!

Light sabres do not feature yet in my rules... Maybe something to add. I recognise Darth Vader but not the others. Since the one with the teddy bears in it I have not kept up with SW.

What the thing on the left is, I do not know but it is relatively useless. The Skywalker figure will make a great 'pawn' figure to be rescued or escorted. One man with binoculars is acceptable but 3 in the same pack seems like carelessness! He is a nice figure, maybe using a Biosonsor but difficult to convert. Maybe cut him off at the chest and put him into a vehicle hatch ? The last man is excellent. easily converted to a flame-thrower or used as he is for SW. I'll just have to research what his weapon is.

Pilots. Very nice ones. Baddies in black, I presume, and goodies in orange. Both lovely figures. Bending the arms will give actively shooting figures.

The droid is a bit static but what else could one do ? Nice sculpt anyway. I have visions of putting a light inside it !! The running pilot is a tour-de-force. Great action pose. Slightly spastic but perfect for chaos in a -Duck! game. Nice blaster.

Extra baddie pilots but also showing these light-armed troopers. Nice for Verminators or as part of SW -Duck!

Again, I am at a loss as to who these are supposed to be, but they are nice sculpts. The woman is a great pose for hectic combat. The purple monster is useable as something but I do not know what. Droid mark 2 is also nice. Maybe a mobile dustbin?

And then there must be the cannon-fodder / Imperial Stormtroopers. Very nice figures. Shooting or ready-to-shoot. Elegant figures. 

Here is the hardware. A nice selection of fighters to make my own version of X-Wing, suitable for grandchildren and the hard-of-learning to play.

The ships come with static stands and pull-back and go bases .

There you have it. A lot of very nice figures and stuff to conjure with.

I think a SW version of -Duck! will be fun to do and if I use these figures in the Deep Freight Galaxy there are plenty of possibilities. A team armed just with hand-blasters would be fun to throw into an infested space-hulk!  Or the individual figures make for some nice customised YOU figures.

The quality of these figures is top-notch. They can be expensive but look on ebay and for bargains on Amazon. You could make an entire -DUCK! universe with these figures.

Monday 11 June 2018

PEST CONTROL DIVISION MAKE A PLANETARY EXCURSION

My Russian toy armoured car has evolved. It is now Pest Control Division's first VTV - Vari-Thrust Vehicle.




The VTV has six light but very powerful fan units which can swivel to allow the vehicle to hover or progress forward or back.



The turret has a large calibre gun which fires steel nets and a heavy machine gun.

The body is equipped with various batteries of anti-clamber mines that explode when Threat species try to climb up onto the vehicle.

This recconaissance car can carry 5 men - pilot, comms. gunner, commander and loader.

First excursion sees the VTV called out to save the farmers of Zabril 3 from ruin. The fruit of the Koffey Tree are threatened by a plague of Barstuckian Koffey lizards.
The star Zabril emits light at different wavelengths from our sun and the 'grass' type plants there use an equivalent of chlorophyll which is blue and therefore  colours the vegetation in these shades.

So the lads have driven out to reduce the numbers and bring back a few specimens to help determine why the numbers of these reptilian pests have increased.



Any suggestions as to how to make the fanjet dust clouds better are welcomed. I need to make them more fluffy somehow I think.

Thursday 7 June 2018

The Elite Corps of Dwarves

 I got a load of potential Verminators/Teamers today. They are 'The Corps Elite' sold by Walmart in the U.S.. I got them, eventually after paying a ludicrous amount in postage. They are cheap in U.S. but not in Europe, where they are otherwise unavailable.
 
The figures are billed as 'Army Men' but do not quite live up to that billing.....

The set is in a plastic box with a bunker on the lid.
 
The contents include 80 figures and various extras.
The extras are a jet, a tank (M1), a nice helicopter, wire, fence, sandbags, a checkpoint, heavy machine guns and mounts, and th ebunker/emplacement from the box lid.
The basic men are well sculpted and without flash or gas holes or shrinkage.
 They are not available elsewhere, being new sculpts. They are VERY well produced. The plastic is stiff but not brittle.
 The only drawback is the size. I hoped they would be closer to 54mm but they are really 45mm.
54mm - 45mm - 52mm excluding base
40mm - 45mm - 60mm  excluding base

 The figures come in three colours, Tan, Green and a leather/brick red.

The poses are excellent. Non are wasted guys doing sentry duty or shooting vertically etc. They can all be used.

They ar esomehwre between 'Aliens' Colonial Marines and modern US infantry. Armoured/protected and armed with futuristic assault rifles etc.

Running man can become a YOU figure with hand blaster. Bayonet guy is really nice, he has night goggles too.
 Machine gun is a bit awkward but the man can be hacked around to use it better. The 'gunner' with mask on is really great.
 Th eminigun man is really nice - pefect for HEMG. The rocket weapon can be modified to a Shotgun or a DOPE gun.
 The sniper has a bush hat - ugh - but this can be carved and given a visor. The crouching man is another very believable and attractive pose.

Finally the other stuff that can be used. The heavy machine guns are good extras to mount on vehicles or other places. Th ebase can be used on a planet surface or cut into smaller installations for inside a ship. The robot walker is hollow in the back but is useable also.

So, 'The Corps Elite' by Lanard toys and sold by Walmart are a good buy in the US for all your Verminator/Teamer needs. They do not mix well with true 1/32 or 54mm figures, though.
From a European perspective they are a little pricey at about 1 dollar each including postage etc.

VIDEO review at LOTS of TOYS here....

Saturday 26 May 2018

MODULAR SPACESHIPS

My spaceship - the arena for my games - is modular. It is made up of elements similar in size but varying in their function. Reorganizing the type and number of element gives a new spaceship.
MODULAR MAT ELEMENTS GIVE FLEXIBILITY
From the rules..

DU©K! Action takes place on abandoned spaceships. The crews of these ships have been killed, have fled or remain holed-up somewhere in the hull. Verminators are sent by DF Pest Control Division to clean-out the ships so they can be put back into commission.

In the DF galaxy there are no Death Stars or Hyperdrives or Behemoth size vessels. The ships are built economically. One corporation, Deep Freight, has a totopoly on space travel and this means the designs are standardised. Wealthy people do not emigrate or choose to spend a chunk of their life in uncertain cryo-sleep. Speeding round the interstellar vastness in a red Mazerati is dull when the nearest audience is a few parsecs away. The poor and the dispossesed do not give a fig about the steel coffin they are sent off-world in. It should just get them to the promised land. Thus, dull spaceships.

Also, to date, no technologically capable life forms have been encountered. Alien spaceships do not exist in-DU©K!


SHIP CONSTRUCTION AND SHIP TYPES

All ships are constructed from modules which have a specific function. Not all ships have all modules. All ships must have a Bridge Module , Propulsion Module and Engineering Module.
Table 1 list the modules available.

It is possible for large ships to have more than 1 module of each type. For example, to accommodate a large crew, give extra cargo space etc. The basic ships have 1 module of each type other than CARGO and PROPULSION.

Ships for different roles in the DF Galaxy are grouped into classes. Table 2 lists the characteristics of each class.

FAQ for -DU©K! SHIPS

Why are all the modules the same size ?
The game concept is to be cheap and easy and fun as well as a reasonablerepresentation of a Sci Fi universe. The use of identical square tiles allows for a flexible game terrain system.

Why only 1 module of most types ?
A big ship takes time to explore. It is possible to construct large ships if you have the space and time but the basic concept does not need that. Enough challenge exists with a dozen or so modules.
Exploring RAMA would take more then an evening and be mostly boring.

Where are the corridors ?
Corridors take space and cost money. Space exploration in the DF Galaxy is done economically. Unused space is a waste of money. Additionally, the D&D default tactic of lurking in corridors between episodes of action in isolated rooms is one not to be emulated. Practically speaking, corridors have an economic impact on the gamer’s pocket (more walls, more doors), the length of time to play a game, and work counter to the basic modular terrain concept. Ergo, no corridors on basic spaceship designs.

Are the ships really so square on the outside ?
You can take the modular system to be partially conceptual and allow for smoother external forms for your ships. But, this does not matter in relation to travel in a vacuum or the aesthetics of ship appearance. DF is a money-making concern and bolting cubes together with a basic paint job is entirely consistent with their operational strategy.

MODULE FUNCTION ICONS FOR CONSTRUCTING SHIPS