Lockdown Day 94: Lego Reinforcements

Hi!

It's been confirmed that I'm going to be back to work on Saturday so we're reaching the end of my Lockdown project log!

I've still got tomorrow to try and finish a few odds and ends but in the meantime, here's some Lego Mech reinforcements:

 Rebel Mech Lance

For the princely sum of just under £12.00 I have a complete lance of stompy Lego robots. I can see how folks get obsessed with the stuff as it's really good fun to play around with and I fondly remember spending many hours as a child creating all sorts of vehicles and worlds!

First up, I now have two Tortoise class walkers which are the core of my force. I've hept the design simple but with the possibilities of tweaking the design to give me some support or assault weapon mods.

 Tortoise class rebel walkers

Speaking of support options, here's the Fire Tortoise!

Fire Tortoise 

Rebel forces have found themselves outmatched by the more technically advanced Imperial designs and in an attempt to redress the balance have retrofitted several of their Tortoise class walkers with missile pods. These new additions to the rebel arsenal have been dubbed the Fire Tortoise, both for their additional firepower and their unfortunate tendency to explode spectacularly if their ammo cooks off.

Next up, a heavier design!

 War Spider class walker

Like the Tortoise, the War Spider is a revamped industrial mech design that the Rebels have drafted into service in a military function. Unlike the Tortoise, it has a respectable turn of speed and impressive firepower. Like other 'technical' class vehicles, it doesn't have the best armour and is prone to exploding at inopportune times but there is no shortage of volunteers to pilot the mech.

Armed with a forward mounted gatling gun, multiple rocket pods and a light pulse laser, it is more than a match for colonial light mechs but struggles with heavier machines.

The War Spider has a very low profile when it's main armament array is lowered which allows it to maneuver into position before unloading it's rocket pods and laser fire before bolting for fresh cover.

At present I only have the gubbins to make quad or non humanoid style biped mechs but I will keep my eye open for more cheap kits that will allow me to put together an Imperial lance to duke it out with the rebs!

Here's the kit I used. It costs £3.97 from Asda but I've since spotted them in Tesco for 3 for £10!

Finally, here's another quad mech, this time a heavier machine called the Guncrab:

Guncrab

Armed with a heavy laser and twin mortars, the Guncrab is a support class walker which us used to suppress opposing force with mortar fire or snipe with it's heavy gun. 

It's been great fun to work on some Lego mechs and I suspect it may involve me picking up the odd small kit from time to time to bulk out my forces!

Tomorrow will be the final post in my Lockdown project log but hopefully I'll be able to keep up the hobbying once I'm back at work, if at a somewhat slower rate of posts.

In the meantime, All the best!

Lockdown Day 92: Lego Fleet

Hi!

I've had a bit of a rummage through my Lego gubbins today and have put together some small vessels for space gaming and a couple of other odds and ends too!

The Assorted Gubbins!

I had more orange and grey lego than anything else in small pieces so went with seeing what I could put together using what I had.

First up, there's a small combat walker:

 Tortoise Class Walker

Armed with a gatling gun on a limited traverse turret, the Tortoise is a retrofitted industrial mech that has been rushed into service with rebel units. Slow and relatively lightly equipped, it's not much of a match for heavier Imperial designs but does in a pinch.

Next up, there's an Aerotech fighter:

MkIV Warhawk Fighter

A heavily armed fighter better suited at a ground attack role, the Warhawk is one of the many fighter classes that rebels produce. Using heavy blasters and unguided rocket pods, this aerotech fighter is a valuable asset to rebel forces.

Last, there's my fleet assets:

Shiva class cruisers and a Hammer class dropship

The Shiva class cruiser can be found in many rebel fleets and combines good mobility and firepower but lacks the staying power of heavier Imperial ships. The Shiva class hull is also modular so is also the basis of several other rebel cruiser classes.

The Hammer dropship is essentially a flying brick that can transport a squad of mechs to the planets surface in relative safety. Incapable of ftl travel, this sturdy dropship is nonetheless a great little vessel, much beloved by smugglers and freedom fighters alike and many similar vessels can be found plying the aether.

I must admit that I had rather a lot of fun putting together the ships and vehicles and wouldn't mind fleshing them out a bit with some microfighters and more ship classes, not to mention some more walkers and the odd vehicle or two...

Setting wise, I think I'll be using them in my alternative Imperium setting as I've been wanting to try out some new stuff for a bit.

I'll need to see if I can find some more orange and grey Lego to do so but we shall see how I get on.

It's looking increasingly like I'll be back at work soon so the daily posts will be drawing to a close but I hope to keep up the hobbying, despite my utter lack of focus!

In the meantime, I'll post what comes into my head and All the best!

Lockdown Day 91: Star Wars and Lego!

Hi!

I've just watched the Mandalorian on Disney Plus and really enjoyed all the Star Wars shenanigans and it got me to thinking about some of the options for Star Wars gaming out there.

I've also been devouring Star Wars Rebels, the animated tv series that came out a while back and I've found it to be a really rather good series too and I'm really enjoying finding out more of the Star Wars universe than the original movies.

It's got me to thinking about some Star Wars themed gaming as it's got lots of great elements, evil empires, brave rebels, small skirmishes and massive space battles.

I remember the bendy pre painted figures of years gone by and regret not picking up a few to repaint before they became scarce. Moving onto a more modern range, there's the assorted Fantasy Flight games, Imperial Assault, X-Wing and Star Wars Legion.

 
Now, each are supposed to be really good but there's the issue of Fantasy Flight producing Imperial Assault and Legion in two slightly different scales and the amount of tokens, cards and whatnot that they require. Coupled with the cost of figures, I'm not sure that I would be up for the investment required and the fact that Fantasy Flight seems to have been on somewhat shaky ground of late having laid off a load of staff, even before the Lockdown.

I then got to thinking about some of the cheap Lego sets that I've seen from time to time. What would the technicalities of putting on a game using my own rules and using teeny tiny Lego kits and custom creations?

I know there's Brick Wars and Mobile Frame Zero which both are based on using Lego so it's not beyond the realm of possibility to get a good game from using them. It's just a question of playing around with a different type of toy soldier than I usually do!

Looking online, there's some really amazing custom creations to be found for pretty much every kind of mech, vehicle or starship imaginable!

I'd be interested in hearing if anyone has tried the Fantasy Flight games and if they are any good or indeed if folks are using Lego in their gaming!

I've actually got some lego lying around so I think I'll have a play around with it to see what I can come up with so watch this space.

In the meantime, All the best and apologies for once again wandering off on a tangent!