Victorian Gruntz

I've been pondering what system I would like to try to use with my Steamworks setting. I looked over a couple of options and I think I'm going to try the Gruntz system first. I had three criteria for choosing a system and it met all three.

First it had to let me build my own units. I'm using models from all over the place in creating my world and I need a system that would let me stat them up as I needed. Also it needed to cover two key types of units: mecha and giant monsters. After all this is what Steamworks is really all about. Gruntz hit all of these points.

Second, I wanted a system that is straight forward and also fairly cinematic. I haven't had a chance to play yet but from my skimming over the rules it looks like Gruntz will fit the bill here too.

Finally, I like games that have unit cards. Especially if they actually make the game better. Just a personal preference but I like being able to look down at a card and having all of the rules I need about it printed right there. Flipping through rulebooks has always been a pet peeve for me.

I also whipped up a card for the Ghug that I recently painted up. Nothing too fancy, and I'm not entirely sure I built it right with the rules but its a first try anyways. I think I'm going to get the Barracks unit builder to help simplify the process in the future and hopefully I'll be able to post up the cards for each one as I get them done.

The Beast Of the Black Forest

Prussian Infantry encounter the Beast at the edge of the Schwarzwald.

I finished painting up the Ghug (last seen way back here). I tried to make him look kinda like an elephant sticking mostly to grey mixed with fleshtones. Looking at the pictures below though I might need to go back in and give him another lighter highlight. He seems a little dark to me. I tried out the GW textured paints on the base and was more than a little disappointed. It was basically just thick paint with very little texture to it. Not sure if I just got a bad pot or didn't mix up well enough but I wasn't much impressed with my first experience. I'll probably rebase it at some point but for now he's done.

 

Probably not what you want peeking in your window at night!

  
I also came across some fine foliage in the basement that I had bought for another project years ago. Although somewhat fragile it looks great especially in this scale as trees and scrub. I based some on pieces of plastic card with washers glued to them. Some quick wood putty work and then finished it off much like the rest of my bases. I'm not sure how they will stand up overtime with gaming but for pictures they work great.


The trees were ready to go out of the box, just needed to do the basing.



Smethwick Mechanical Elephant and Castle

While cleaning out the basement I came across a copy of AT-43 that I purchased long ago. I always liked the two walkers that came with the game and I've been pondering what I can do with them. The Firetoad I think is going to be a Prussian Walking Destroyer to join the LandKriegsFlotte that I will hopefully be making in the future.
 

Destined to carry a big main gun in the service of the Kaiser.

I was less sure of what to do with the Therian walker. At first I thought it might work as something in one of my evil factions, but once I pulled the weapons and the face off the front it kinda reminded me of a walking submarine. Of course I had no use for that but it did give me the idea of using it as transport walker. Perhaps something along the lines of an elephant with howdah used by hunters and explorers in India. I'm thinking it will be a walker designed for the rich and famous to travel about on expedition but commonly pressed into military service.


Well it looks like the front of a submarine on legs to me anyways.

With a concept squared away I set to work. I broke the model down and proceeded to trim away bits that didn't fit in, like the pointy feet and other pointy crab like parts on the legs. At this point I know I need to make new feet, possibly rework the legs, reshape the body, add a deck to the top, and a new powerplant.


Torn down into components. Surprisingly there is a nicely modelled  pod-thingy for a pilot hidden away in the carapace (the orange thing up front). Makes me wonder if there is a pilot in the other walker too.

I cut the top half of the carapace off flat and started gluing things back together. I'm going to keep the legs separate to make working on them easier. They attach to the body by a nice thick hex pin mount built into them and it's pretty solid so temporarily putting them together again is no problem. A piece of plasticard became the new deck and I used some epoxy putty to rebuild the hull. This will get sanded out smooth and details like portholes and such added.


AirCaptain Goswell inspects the new Mark III Quad-Ambulator at the Smethwick plant.

Next step all of the fiddly detail work!