XCOM is back!

After playing XCOM2 a bunch recently I decided to revisit this as a wargame set.  Last time I tried it in 15mm, now I have a 3d printer I went for my favourite skirmish scale, 20mm.

Here's a taste of some of the figs I'm working on, ideally I'll cover terrain later.

XCOM team.  Reference figs: grey is 1/72 Revell US ground crew, green jumpsuit is 20mm Elheim Planner/Survivor

XCOM team is from Panthera Warforge.  They are originally scaled at 8mm.  My printer is an Elegoo Saturn 2, using water washable Elegoo resin.  My scaling for these to 20mm is x:325, y:325, z:350.  They are a bit chunky, but deliberately so that the small/thin bits don't become too fragile.

Skyranger inbound, XCOM team ready for pick up

Advent, from the blue site, these are pulled from the game.  They are lower on details.  Scaled to match the XCOM troops.  same ref figs

Advent on patrol.  This droid isn't in the game but it was too cool to pass up.

Advent reinforcements called

XCOM secure Advent resources

XCOM with heavy body armour

XCOM heavies with ref figs.  These are from the purple site, they are called Talon troops, I think they are from some video game.  The drone in previous pic is from the blue site, a random find

VOTOMS, I made this from the original file I used to make the VOTOMs game.  Its native scale is about 25mm.  Its been sat on my desk, I thought I'd paint it to use as a XCOM mech.

 Cool scuttlers found on the blue site.  The STL is terrible, the legs fall off when printed.  All bases are grey, urban themed fitting the predominantly urban nature of the XCOM games.

A year... ...in a post

 Wow, we have been busy.  Just not busy posting. so here's a minimal text update (its looong...)

Starting with gaming

Mini-Me and homies have taken up DnD

GZG ECC was Star Wars, these are all 18mm 3d prints (Wakesemporium)

Sith, Ventress is a mild convert

Jedi

Clones

more clones, a convert Jedi on ATRT

Command Droids, including a command head so we can play the Lego Star wars mission capture the head mission (the boys asked for this one immediately when they saw the command droids)

STAPs

B1s

B2s

mini-spiders

Droideka

Vehicles a mix of Revell kits, Micromachines and opportunistic shopping at Target

We did a LOT of scouting stuff

Camping, mini-me discovered the axe

and really likes it.

More Scouting, we took another crew up to Maine High Adventure Base

There is no road, you enter/exit via a boat

The crew decided to paddle the upper Allagash wilderness waterway (from Churchill dam to the top)

Some of this (Allagash falls)

And much of this, pristine weather and awesome days of adventure.  It was a great trip (both mini-Mes went)

One of my favourite pics, Mini-Me Minor poling on our final stretch up the Allagash.

And a bonus, Mini-Me Major and I paddled the lower Allagash a couple of years ago.  This trip meant that we have now completed the whole length of the Allagash.  We were quite pleased with ourselves...

Other trips/stuff we did

Mardi Gras was great as usual (Mrs OA is from Nola, so it a combo Mardi Gras and family trip)

Skiing the frigid NE area

New MTB toy

New Commuter toy (I do about 100mi per week commuting)

Trip back to England, visit Grandma and some cool spots

A bit of a country garden

Mini-Me Major is thinking of college, this is Manchester

and of course it rains.

And back to gaming, this was a banner year

Mini-Me Minor got his grades up and came with me to play soldiers at the GZG ECC !  

Woot!, stick a fork in me I'm done.

Back Down the Rabbit Hole?

Not quite...  ...Mini-Me-Minor's friend likes the toy soldiers, the two of them use them to play wargames and RPGs.  He does, however, keep asking me if I have rules for 40K. 

We have a new independent games store open in the next town over, I went in to buy paint to support them and while I was there I thought I'd check out the new version of 40K.  I was completely floored by the current GW prices, so, no new version of 40K for me.   However, there is a new store I'd like to support plus they also have gaming tables open to all games, which solves the challenge of me and a bunch of kids playing games in my house/basement, something I'd prefer not to do. 

So now for my cunning plan, Mini-Me-Minor and friend(s) want to play 40k, I would like to support the new independent store, lets do both.

While I don't have the modern version I do have a rules for 1st ed 40K with the old Rogue Trader book, a crappy scanned copy the Astronomican (my original fell apart many years ago) and my old copy of the Compendium.

__

Like every RT newbies I'll get them playing the rules using the intro scenario "Battle at the Farm".  For that I need Marines and Orks, as I don't want to pay GW prices it's time to do something different, enter the 3d printer.  Or at least that was the plan.

Off I went to the C-site and the T-site to look for cheap/free STLs, and was somewhat surprised to see them literally vanishing in front of my eyes.  I'd search one day and go back a few days later to see them removed in some sort of weird purge.  I did manage to get some files, and later guessed at what may be happening.  Apparently GW has some new battle-focused game with smaller figs, while folks had previously 3dprinted Epic figs, these were what was disappearing in the purge.  My guess was GW were issuing take-downs so folks had to buy their new figs instead of just scaling up the Epic 3d print figs.  

Anyhoo, I got some files and I've been printing, all have been scaled to 20mm.  Why 20mm?  Its small enough for small battles but big enough to skirmish properly and for characters to really stand out.  And Its my favourite scale, and I'm making them, so 20mm it is.

Orks, in the cartoony style of the earlies.  There's 30 plus leaders, plenty of Orks.

Then there's the Marines.  These are not all for me (honest), most are for Mini-Me-Minor and Friend.

Mk6, beaky Tac Marines.  In groups of 5, the squads of 10 came later.  Support weapons and other alternatives near the rear.

Tac Marines with Jump Packs

Comms, Techs and Dreadnoughts, one with laser cannon and two with heavy bolters.

Jet Bikes (plus dismounts) and Land Speeders

I found this funky stretched transport speeder, as yet I've no seated crew.

Chaplains

Officers

Medics and Psykers

Commanders and banners

The file for this one is called a FireRaptor, no idea if this is cannon or not, but I liked it.  I did this one in FDM, however, it is too small, its more 15mm than 20mm.  This one will be the in-flight version, I'll print an up-scaled version for a landed one (or two).

I've also printed a ruined farm, some walls and crops.  Painting is progressing, I'm doing the Orks and scenery, Mini-Me-Minor is going to paint the Marines.  We've been chatting about playing and painting, he's already bagged his pick of the Marines, its been really fun doing this project with him.  

Hopefully we will get to do the actual playing soon.