Review: Alternative Armies 15mm Sci-fi

REVIEW

An Alternative to... high prices and bad service? Yes!

In my time looking around for odds'n ends, bits and bobs, I stumbled across AA's website [CLICK], and seriously considered getting some items.  So when they had a "Battle of Pavia 20% off sale" that was advertised at the [quite good] "15mm Sci-Fi Gaming" Fb page, I bopped over to check it out once again - glad I did!

I should mention that I have no affiliation with AA and this was my first order / interaction with any of the people involved as well. Don't get to bonnie Scotland very much anymore...!

BLUF:

- HUGE range of figures, vics, walkers, 'bots and buildings in mostly 15mm, but also other scales like "Fleet", 6mm, and 28mm.  

- Prices on many of the lines is low, remind me of the 1990s.

- Sales occur periodically and stack with discounts!

- Service is excellent and  cheerful.

- Website is well organized - essential since it has LOTS of offerings. Lots of pics.

- Ordering is relatively painless - the website was above average easy.  

Summary: 

A visit to AA is Strongly Recommended!  

You may find some perfect additions to your ongoing project, 

or you may find a brand new project.

At first, I was a bit overwhelmed as I looked through *just* the 15mm sci-fi offerings. There are several major categories, and in some of them dozens of products. But it was also kinda fun, as nearly all the miniatures have good pictures of very solid paint jobs, so there was an "eye candy" aspect to it all.

Eventually, I decided that paying $6-8 for full-sized [40mm x 80mm or so] resin vehicles was too good a price to pass up. I got a squadron / company of those with infantry. Also grabbed a bunch of other items that flesh out some needs, like crew-served weapons, useful "jeep" type vehicles [but anti-grav], and a pack of 20 Laserburn low-tech mercenary infantry. 

Overall, the order was nearly $400 total, and I saved over $80 from various sales and discounts. It went pretty fast and arrived safely:

Placed Order Feb 27 --> Shipped March 3 --> Delivered March 12

Only hiccup was my credit card security measures jumped on the transaction.

This was promptly handled by...

Gavin Syme, Creative Manager at Alternative Armies.

Gavin was helpful and polite, and even interested in how I came to order from them.  I was impressed that he was interested in how I found out about them and their sale. Catch him on Fb [LINK] or the AA Blog [LINK].

So, that was all a positive experience.  Now, on to the products!  

Note: all prices are with the 20% off sale and sometimes other discounts that stack.

LB12 Laserburn Mercenaries - Value Pack 

These are modern size, 15mm foot-to-eye. From left, Laserburn Officer, RAFM Traveller TL15 Imperial Infantry, Martian Metal Imperial Marine [old 15mm, foot-to-head], Brigade Models / GZG Hammer's Slammers Gunner [18mm] and AA resin sprue Security Force Alpha [20mm - more below]

Laserburn Officer w'Pistol [500], Merc w'Assault Rifle [501], Merc w'Rifle [502],  

Laserburn Merc w'Jump Pack and Laser [504], Merc w'SMG [503], [504 again]

Mercenary Dreadnought [506] Could also be a big guy with armor, carrying a disassembled mortar [which is what I thought it was at first...!]

Don't know if intentional or not... the pack comes to four identical teams, so two squads, each with a squad leader and a mortar team [back]. This Section of two squads has one Section Leader.  Your organization may vary!

Posing in a slammer APC. If I used them for this, I'd cut the bases down and make them shorter.

V006 Infantry Support Weapons

V006a Support Bolt Cannon, and V006b Light Mortar

6a looks a lot like a recoiless rifle, and can easily be futuristic weapon type or a traditional CPR weapon or rocket firing bazooka. The stand can be shaped easily, which I've done on the left.

With RAFM and Martial Metal "crew" for xomparison

Shaped the platform to make it more of a tripod - looks a bit better.

HOF153 Grey Alien Portable Weapon Platform with 5 Weapon Options [barrels] is top left and center.  The hole takes any of the barrels. Variety is nice, from funky zap rays and hair dryers to a traditional CPR gun looking thing.

To top Right is HOF45 Robot Scout Drone which I couldn't resist. Looks like it has lenses, I might mount it on smaller piano wire so it "floats" better.

V006b Light Mortar [bottom].  Nice model - different but still obviously a "mortar".

Some bonus bits. Lion with huge pole axe thing on a grav cycle, and a space plant monster in resin, both very nice. The left would make nice Aslanni for Traveller.

V005 Heavy Laser Cannon Artillery Laserburn Artillery Piece [CPR]

Cannon in its pieces. You can see that the barrel has a peg, goes into the hole on the platform, and the shield is mounted with two pegs - makes for easy assembly, so "nicely done!" far as I'm concerned. Gunner goes on seat at lower side of platform.

And assembled, below.

Gunner, below - not much to him.

The gun assembled. I like that the main gun is set back and more portable. This differentiates it from modern pieces. I see it folding up quite compactly.

But, if you wanted a more traditional look, no reason you can't mount it forward.

Below, some anti-grav utility vics, aka "sci-fi jeeps", a ground worm monster, and body bags [I am likely to use them as casualty markers]. These are all nicely done, inexpensive and will be useful either as "scatter terrain" or as actual vics with rules [I like to have rules and victory conditions about evacuating wounded].

V104 Hover Support Wagon, V101 Flit Car, VNT35 Greater Sandworm

HOF128 Body Bags - Value Pack

HOFA01 Security Force Alpha (Core Army Set) This included two of Maginot Turret, 75 resin sprue infantry, and 6 Mark II Hover Charger APCs. All for about $82, so a nice deal.  The full-sized vics work out to around $6.40 each. You can't beat that with a stick!  So a no-brainer, long as you like the style.

To flesh out a full squadron, I got 6 more Charger Mk II's and 3 Scrofer Hover AFV. Each vic somes with the sprue for a closed hatch, commander, large closed hatch or turret.  I think the AFV looks a bit "undergunned" and will likely buy larger turrets for them.

The Scrofa [left] is one main piece, super easy to deal with. The Charger is two pieces and will require a bit of cleaning and shaping to assemble, not a lot. View from the back [below] shows the higher AFV on right with large rear ramp.

Infantry sprues. There are 5 of the guys with a support rocket, and 10 of the bottom infantry. Lovely figs, just way too big for my collection. A bit disappointing and I wish that the description included sizing as they are nowhere near 15mm, more like 18mm and quite bulky as well.  They will look great on someone else's table.

Maginot Turret is a nice model, very clean.

Door is more of a hatch, a bit small, and suits the armored pedestal of the model.

V105 Sabre Class Jet Flyer

I couldn't resist getting a light flyer to act as an artillery spotter / command flyer.  Below, what comes in the pack, a lot of heavy metal - will need a substantial base to hold it in the air. Obviously, this would make a great resin kit, reduce weight and cost.

And below what it looks like painted [from the AA website].  Had to show it off, nice job!

Hope you not only got something out of these looks at some of the models, but also that you can see the relative price points.  

- A bunch of these resin vehicles are around half the market price [they are older], and using the various sales and deals infantry can go to 50 cents apiece.  

- Full price, the resin Security Force Alpha 20mm figs are around 80 cents each. 

My only caution / critique is that you should carefully check descriptions and ask any questions of Gavin regarding figure size / scale.  They have three in the 15mm sci-fi offerings [old 15mm, new 15mm, and super-sized contemporary size-creep 18mm] and the vic seating sometime looks a tad small. Your concern with this may vary.  I am fine with the overall "look" of a model and crew unto itself, and rarely have the figures alongside one another anyway [disperse = survival in modern combat, and in the future as well, I say!].

But taking into account the entire experience, including great communication, service, and stacking discounts / sales, I think Alternative Armies is worth checking out!

Ogre & Modern Combat: Thoughts RE: Turn Sequence, p1

The perfect illustration of worst-case "overrun" scenario... a Mark V! 

A Classic Cover - and awesome re-release of the game...

This is part of my tinkering with the "Alpha-Strike" issue in Ogre.  While it is a great game and a classic, the move-shoot mechanic results in some situations that make no sense [withdrawing units never get to take a shot at pursuing enemy] and are unrealistic [the defense pretty much always gets a shot in before a maneuvering attacker].  But what to do about it?

First, I wanted to see if I could make it work as it is, and dig into the issues a bit.

Training setup below. The well-defended PanEuro CP is lodged behind a crater with 14 Armor Units plus Infantry.  The attacking forces have 14 Armor Units and are in an attack formation that I figure may well become 'standard' for me. The key is the range/move combo, combining for total Threat Distance.  So if Mv=2 and Range=4, then TD=6.  The most vulnerable units in a an Alpha-Strike mechanic game are the ones out front.  The question is always the counter-strike.  So, if the enemy moves forward and hits us, are we at the correct TD to crush them back.  Basically, it is a situation of a Forlorn Hope for the defense every time - you pretty much have to have some sacrificial units out front, sort of a combo "LP" [Listening Post] and Forward Guard.  They will likely die.

Below, all Combine units have moved onto the map a full move.  The GEVs haven't gone farther as they want to stay under the protective umbrella of the - slow but lethal - Mobile Howitzers.  The PanEuro player has one Infantry Squad in cover to screen the front.  Uncertain if that is a good idea with these mechanics except that GEVs can't just drive thru them.

Below, the forward lines. Attacker has to take a counter-Alpha Strike from the PanEuro player.

This is the forward Lt. Tanks moving up.  At 4-6 [2-3] they need to at least whack a couple of GEVs...

OK, that didn't work out so well, so I'm re-orienting the defense a bit.

The Howitzers are taking out a few GEVs now that the defense is farther back.

The remaining four are trying to keep up some pressure.

The GEVs begin to by-pass but snipe at the screening infantry...

And are very successful - infantry are wiped out!

Counter-strike from PanEuro takes out half the GEVs...

...but the slogging PBI advance and engage, supported by the Mobile Howitzers and Missile Tanks....

...resulting in the PanEuro left crumbling completely.

Phase 3: the attackers draw out the last desperate defenders with strong Infantry supported by Mobile Howitzers.

...which quickly envelope the porous Paneuro defenses...

...soon, nothing is left except the PanEuro howitzer and two Infantry Companies.

The Howitzer must decide between immediate threats - infantry and GEVs - or the Mobile Howitzers, which will likely shell it to pieces.

Marauding GEVs envelope and take out the Howitzer.

The infantry and Mobile Howitzers finish off the infantry.

While this attack worked, It is always hard for me to get my head around the Alpha-Strike mechanic.  It is so counter-intuitive to modern warfare, that it almost makes no sense and negates a great game.

Generally speaking, modern warfare is so fast, and weapons so lethal, that:

- the shooting needs to be either simultaneous or 

- something has to give advantage to the defender, old-school.  

Hard to decide which - this needs more investigation!

The Ogre system is just a blast from the past!  I'm heavily invested in it, but in my elder years I'm wondering about the Alpha-Strike.  It's not realistic in modern war, and I don't see that changing in the future.  The new 6th Ed. Over-run rules add some possibilities, so I'm going to investigate a balance between maneuver and fire by changing the turn sequence a bit.

Ogre 6th Edition: unboxing & playthru

Ogre 6th Edition: hard game board and 3D Ogres - what's not to like!?

Well, getting your CP squashed by a massive cybernetic monster, I guess...

I'll have to exert myself not to fawn and gush over this lovely game.  In terms of play, it is an updated set of 6th Ed. rules from 2019 with options to use the traditional Ramming or updated Overrun rules, as well as options for some of the newer units: Mobile CP, for example.  There's a lot on the internet about this boxed 6th edition of the original pocket game, and it is still in print.

Below, the counters punch out easily, are high quality, thick, sturdy, and nicely done, as you can see.  The board is the wasteland with molten craters and is a hard board old school style, not just folded glossy paper.

Speaking of folded glossy paper, you can see the large hex GEV board that came with the miniatures box set under this game getting flattened out.  Both board and the relative size of the pieces and ogres is about 6mm / 1:285 or 1:300 or so.  One could easily use microarmor on these boards, and even more easily 3mm miniatures which are growing in popularity.

Close up of the Mobile CP, CP and Mk III Ogre.  Paneuro is blue, Combine red.

You can add craters or ridgelines, OR hide craters and ridgelines, to give the board more variety - both impede movement of various vehicles so you can also use it as a handicap for either side. The small counters for ridgelines blend in well!

Above, now you see them....

Below, now you don't, and the landscape is quite different!

Below, the assembled Mobile CP and immobile CP - stand up and stand out!

Ogres in all their glory.  Large Mk V and two small MkIIIs [small...relative to Mk V]. There is a grey cardboard edge to the assembled cardboard "miniatures" but that can be hidden with a sharpie.

Closeup of Mk IIIs - nice details. Winchell Chung would approve, I believe.

Mark V - looks like it's generously weaponized.

So, how smooth does the updated 6th ed. rules play out?  Must see!  So grabbed Mr. Winkie and put him at the end of the table with me, playing against the Ogre.  The Mk III Ogre was sort of computerized, in that when it had a choice of options I just diced for them, 50-50 or 1/3-1/3-1/3 with a d6.  Our setup is below:

Ogre is salivating [dripping oily fluids] on a fairly direct route to the CP.

Below, Paneuros are looking at the approaching tower sticking out of the dust cloud. Some GEVs at the front with a missile tank and infantry, and behind a mix of heavy tanks, infantry, one howitzer and the CP.

Closeup, the counters look good. There are equal numbers of infantry figs as there are squads, so if you see three Infantry there's three squads.

above, the second line of defense - heavy tanks and infantry to get close, and a missile tank and a howitzer to strike from afar.

Below, three GEVs and a missile tank, and some infantry in the forward line.

The Ogre enters the board after dicing for which column it should enter. The GEVs dash out to harass it, hoping not to get smeared on the counter-punch.

A few turns in, the second line is engaging, and most of the first line is destroyed [at top right]. The Ogre hasn't taken much damage yet...

Finally, the moment to pounce!  Paneuros close in and hit hard on Turn 5. The Ogre rolls poorly to ram a missile tank and shoot a heavy, both are only disabled...

Turn 6, despite a bunch of firepower, the Ogre is still running full steam - the howitzer has missed every shot at the treads.  While the Ogre has lots its main gun, it still has some secondaries and all the anti-personnel guns.

Turn 7, the Ogre is starting to outrun the pursuit!  Paneuro defenders failed to slow it to two hexes of movement. You REALLY need to roll average numbers of 5s and 6s to fight an Ogre!

Turn 8, the Ogre is slowed, but it is too late...

Mr. Winkie and his unhappy face.  Our CP is destroyed by Fire.  Just to have a little more fun, we played out the Ogre's retreat back to home base.  Of course NOW our shooting starts to get hot!

"The only GOOD ogre is a DEAD ogre!"   The last of Ogre's treads are destroyed, and it will be nuked to oblivion by the missile tanks from outside of its range, but the sector's CP is down and the wetbar was nuked.  Sadness everywhere...

Sad to say, there's not a lot of good ogres around in 2080...

Well, we had a great time on a lovely board with great looking physical components.  The game is just as much fun as ever and if you make a couple of errors or roll badly the Ogre will win.  

I like that it takes a bit of finesse to make the Paneuro combined arms company work well.  I think the easiest weapon is the missile tank, especially once the Ogre has only 2MP.  The Ogre should have spent its missiles towards the beginning, and lost its main gun, so should be easily outranged.  Then it is all about slowing it down.  In this game, we failed critical rolls with heavy tanks, the howitzer, and most of the missile tanks, and then got 1:1 Hits with the infantry and GEVs, which didn't damage the treads fast enough due to their weak attack strength.

The game is a classic, and I can highly recommend the value of the latest rules, the optional rules, the lovely components and the lovely terrain as giving the game lots of replay.  I've seen it for $40 or so, and think it is well worth it.

This has me stoked to continue developing some modern rules that are fast and easy to play.  I think the basic decisions are easy to see in Ogre, a solid design, and kudos to Steve Jackson for designing and developing a classic that has people playing lots of games and thinking tactically over and over and over!