Saturday, December 29, 2012

CROM!

A couple years back, I vowed to stop getting into new games, and focusing on painting figs for the games I already own. 2012 was the year that vow was truly blown up, the remains chopped into little pieces, those pieces burned, and the ashes scattered in separate locations.




No more fitting way to put the year of new games to rest than trying out a new one. Matakishi's Tea House is the home to the CROM skirmish fantasy ruleset. The rules themselves are highly attractive. Each character has a dice pool which they assign every turn to movement, attacking, or other actions. As characters are damaged, they lose dice from their pool. Minions are easy to chew through, but be careful, because even small amounts of damage become costly in short order. Initiative is by cards, with some extra treats thrown in. I definitely recommend checking out the rules when you're looking for an evening of high adventure and don't want to spend hours writing your army list, building your characters, and looking up how this special rule interacts with that special rule. If I may quote The Middleman (one of my favorite cult TV shows) "it's elegant in its simplicity."

(Also, you have to always say CROM! like it's in all caps. That's not in the rules, but I think it should be.)




Simple scenario:  Freya, one of the heroes of the Aesgaard tribe, had been kidnapped by the Dark Warrior and his foul hyena-men minions. Each of us took one of the three Aesgaard warriors (Wotan, Lokhi, and Freyr.) To win, we had to free Freya from the sacrificial circle in the middle. Each of the towers was topped by a otherworldly statue. The one to the west gave all the evil characters an extra dice on the attack, and the one to the east gave them an extra dice for defense.


 
The Dark Warrior and the Hyena-Men are from Splintered Light.

Being warriors both clever and mighty, we split up early. Freyr and Lokhi each dispatch to one of the towers to rob the wicked enemy of their magical support. Wotan distracted the Dark Warrior by getting himself injured and then running around. OK, it was a little more noble than that, but we definitely uncovered why it's better to use terrain for your advantage when sneaking up on one gifted with mystical power.



 
Aesgaard barbarians are the Northlanders from Copplestone.




Lokhi craftily lures his foe around the east tower.

After the towers were sieged and the statues toppled, our heroes set their sights on freeing their fellow hero. This is where things... went poorly.


 

Both Freyr and Wotan were felled while storming the ritual circle. Lokhi, himself gravely wounded, used Freyr's sacrifice not to strike down the Dark Warrior... but free Freya from her bonds! Surely with her sword fresh and ready for battle, the tide would turn!






Or not. Lokhi was felled by the remaining hyena-men, and the Dark Warrior, enraged that his ritual was interrupted, srtuck Freya down in short order. No tales of glory would be sung by the Aesgaard that day.

The game is a treat, fast-paced and fun. We each ran one hero, and essentially ran the dark forces by consensus, but a gamemaster could have readily taken that role instead. Definitely a pleasant way to round out the gaming year.

Saturday, December 22, 2012

sefadu vs. USCR, times two

OK, couple posts left to catch up on to close the year out.  

Couple weeks back, Maurice and I sat down for a couple games of Mercs. Less detail written out, but more pics, so here we are.




First up was my first three-on-three battle. The dynamic of the smaller teams was interesting, even if the pick for sefadu was pretty easy (both the Leader and the Medic are that good, and then the Grenadier is a natural #3.) My esteemed opponent went USCR, and selected his Commissar, the Sniper, and the Medic. We played on the 'Docks' map, no secondary objectives or anything fancy like that.


Most of the action centered on the small building on the east of the map. He put his Sniper on top of the crates nearby so he could cover the battlefield, while I unwisely spread out my troops for a three-pronged assault (and denying my troops the Leader's bonuses, naturally.) A quick back-and-forth ensued, but in the end the spear of sefadu did the job.

For our second game we returned to the five-man teams. My objective was Secure the Target, so I had to have troops near the objective in the middle of the board at the end. Luckily there was some terrain I could hug until then. 

The deciding factor for, like, everyone, was when Maurice rolled... Deliver the Package. Meaning he had to have the carrier in my deployment zone at the end of the game. Naturally he rolled for the carrier and got the Leader, and that's a long walk for their low, low movement values.

The fab five.

The above picture is not a glamor shot, it was the actual USCR deployment. Going for the icy human wave ('the glacier'?) The plan was to just move forward and neutralize threats. And an early shot from the USCR Sniper ruined the next few turns for my Grenadier, which was a great way to kick things off.


I pushed forward rapidly, like sefadu does, and claimed the 'cornered' ruins in the pic above. The centerpoint objective is maybe a card length away from the left wall there. On the upper right, you can see the glacier making its way south.

Not pictured, in the back right of my deployment, is the sefadu Gunner. Much like my Grenadier, the Gunner got hit by a shot from across the field, and spends the next few turns fixing his armor, tying him up and forcing me to rely on the crew in the middle.




 I have disparaged the Berserker in the past, but he really proved his value today. Making my stand on the cornered terrain was my best decision of the day, really. I normally try to rely on more of a moving game, but I had to stop the carrier and I had to take the objective, so it was a natural fit.


The Booster was following up on the Commissar... until the Booster needed to Matryr himself to stop an errant grenade from the backfield. Unexpected!


 The Berserker  takes advantage of the situation!




The glacier eventually breaks past, though, but who should show up to save the day? The flippin' Gunner. Boom boom pow. My Leader and Medic are still camped out in the center, and the days is ours.

I have to admit, playing against USCR was a very different adventure. Just leaving the Sniper at home was a change of pace.

And since Mercs is so fast-paced, after that we still had time to play through a game of Netrunner. Which I hadn't played in many, many years. To the point that I really didn't remember how it worked anymore.

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

catching up with zombies and leprechauns

A couple diverse catch-ups today.

After trying out Tomorrow's War in November, I sat down with the gents to play Zombicide. Mostly letting the other guys explain how things work, and suggest what my dude should do, as it's one of those cooperative games. For instance, Maurice suggested I tack along with his guy, and try to strike out on our own to collect a couple of the far objectives.


And then Maurice got me killed. I was the orange guy.

The game is pretty fun. The survivors have a lot of character, and as they gain experience they play quite differently. That combined with different scenarios means a lot of replay value in my book, although I fear there's a bit too much fiddly-ness to have the game catch on with non-minis gamers. Time will tell. Formally, I regret that I didn't cough in for the kickstarter deal, because those are some pretty models. 

(I did see that it definitely won't supplant my desire to play a nice sturdy zombie miniatures game, however. Currently looking into rules I'd like to try out. Logically, either 7ombieTV or No Room Left In Hell, since I, you know, own both.)
 
Last week, we started playing around with the Mercs campaign rules (PDF free to download here,) just rolling through a few turns to see how it works. Definitely a good start, but some kinks that will need to be worked out. I'm OK with building up forces to viable strength, but it's missing a sense of... competitiveness? Something.

While the other guys played their campaign game, Aaron taught me how to play Smash Up. As you may have ascertained by now, I am a man who enjoys board games, and I have a sordid CCG past. So the current trend in deckbuilding games is OK by me. Smash Up is straightforward and fun. The cards are very clear, and the trick of combining two forces (Faerie-Dinosaurs vs. Pirate-Robots!) is a great hook, and allows some interesting strategies. Definitely looking forward to trying out some more games in the future.

We were also going to try out Matakishi's fantasy rules CROM, but didn't get around to it. Soon! I even painted up figs and all. 15mm fantasy has arrived.

And finally, for the five of you still reading, if you haven't coughed in for the AE-WWII Kickstarter, now is the time. The game is a personal fave, and I would love to see it get a new roll-out. Yes, December is a rough month for everyone financially, but good games is good games.

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Tomorrow's War run-through

USMC entered from west. Pilot located in fenced-in area in center.

Running a little behind here. As previously noted, October through December is very hectic these days. But we're catching up! A couple weeks ago, Maurice and I sat down to try out Tomorrow's War. I've heard good things about the game, even if it isn't exactly my oeuvre. But always open to new and interesting gaming experiences. (A couple guys at the local store note that my crew is always trying out new and different games, that's a good reputation to have I think.)

The pic above is our attempt to recreate "Lost and Found," the 'rescue the downed pilot' scenario from the book. And by recreate, I mean Maurice made an effort to get the map as close as he could. Which of course lead to me mocking him, but I guess that reflects more on me than him, but hey.  (I also asked if I could just shoot the pilot, naturally. Stupid Interstellar Geneva Convention!)



My Kontrol Battalion played the role of the slightly more numerous but less technologically equipped 'bad guys.' There was a downed pilot, holed up in the open next to a rough building. (We don't like to use the term 'human shield.') His USMC forces had to enter the area, where Kontrol troops were set up in ambush, collect the pilot (Sgt. MacGuffin!), and leave the board off the same edge.

This sounded like an easy day for my side... and I was dramatically mistaken. The good guys had a higher training/quality level, meaning they were rolling d8s, while I was rolling d6s. Most rolls are oppossed, and compared directly. Meaning it was easy for him to negate even my best rolls, repeatedly.



So yeah. I started in position, and didn't even have to maneuver much (I did send the command squad into the building, but it didn't help them.) I could have repositioned my far west squad to try and 'cut off' the good guys... but I don't see how they wouldn't have just maneuvered around. or focused their fire on the blocking squad, and kept moving anyways.

Some other players have tried out the same scenario, to a similar end, as noted in this thread. The rules aren't bad, but man, unequal training levels really hurt. I'm not against giving the game another go, but I really want to read up on how to make it more of a fair fight for both sides while keeping things interesting.

Saturday, November 24, 2012

11+1: "Bob"

A boon companion at 28mm scale...

Uh oh. The year is winding down, and as predicted I still have a lot left on my self-imposed challenge. This charmer is known as "Bob," since his actual name from his home planet is only pronounceable to sentient being equipped with both types of olfactory differentiation glands and hyperscrolbic vision. So, "Bob" works for everyone else.

...and a completely different silhouette when among the 15mms.

I was trying to stay away from more Muppet-like color schemes, but damned if at least a couple times I was ready to give up and go right back for a full repaint. As noted previously, the fig (called 'Terla') is from Zombiesmith's Starport collection, a lovely line with a lot of creative characters.

Hoping to find time for more painting this week, plus posting a batrep or two. We'll see. Fall is just so busy around here.

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Department case file 217-011


Maurice and I sat down a couple weeks ago to try out The Department, a nifty Goalsystem game of police procedure investigating fabricant crimes (think Blade Runner.) I'm a fan of the Goalsystem ruleset, and like how it simulates the RPG-style 'downtime' for in between adventures, and thusly could be a good replacement for gamers like me who dig minis but don't have the committed weekly roleplaying games in our lives anymore.

Case file: 217-011
Target: "Nick," Anti-Human Terrorist Cell Leader
Starting budget: 100
Primary officers:
Detective Inspector Huang Lo (Fabricant Crimes division) (46 pts.)
Deputy Sgt. Zogby (Enforcement division) (46 pts.)


1. Incident report: "Grass the Neighborhood" (Budget: 5.)

Our officers hit the streets to start collecting rumors from the usual suspects, hoping for a good lead to start things rolling. Spotting Madji, a local rumormonger, with an unnamed accomplish near the market, Lo and Zogby approach and begin to question them. Lo's questions go nowhere, but Zogby hints at some intimidating outcomes if they don't cooperate, and Madji gives up the goods [successful Intimidate roll secures one People evidence.] Neither suspect has anything else to hide, and the DFM officers return to the station to file reports.

[Snoozer. Spent more time setting up the terrain than actually playing the scenario. Good for getting the investigation going, though, which I think is the intent. And we just re-used the terrain setup for the next mission.]


2. Incident report: "Meet the Snitch" (Budget: 5.)

Following up on other information, officers head to the wrong part of town. Reaching the scene, they find a riot in progress, and are set upon by at least four rioters. After attempting to get the situation under control, they reconsider, contact the Urban Control authorities, get back in their car and drive the flip away.

[EGADS. We went in without any backup or requesting additional equipment, and wow. We just called this one a wash, chalked it up to experience, and pretended it never happened.]




3. Incident report: "Bust the Dealer" (Budget: 5, -1 People evidence.)
Requisitioned: 2 light armors, shotgun, blaster pistol (Budget: 6.)

Following up on Madji's tip from earlier, officers head to the site of the riot to corner a local dealer, Omar. Sticking close to the buildings, Lo and Zogby try to stay out of the dealer's line of sight. This proves to be a wise move. On confronting Omar about his connections to Nick's cell, Omar's bodyguard "the Gorilla" opens fire on the DFM officers. A skirmish ensues, with Lo attempting to stun Omar while Zogby charges the bodyguard. After subduing the Gorilla, Zogby also takes down Omar, and both are brought downtown.

At the station, both suspects are found to be fabricants, and fold under questioning. Omar gives up details on money drops for the cell, while the Gorilla spills about where other cell members were hiding out. [Successful interrogation rolls lead to one Financial evidence and one People evidence.]

[OK, now I think we got this down. Initially I thought the budget for the investigation would be too high, but requisitioning and backup look to be crucial in the right circumstances. Like keeping yourself alive.]


Remaining budget for the investigation: 79.
Zogby has accumulated four experience, Lo a mere two.

[Looking ahead, we'll need to bankroll a lot more evidence to confront Nick at his compound. And keep some budget banked for that, because that will be a war zone. The game is pretty cool, once we got used to the ebb and flow of the operation. Missions can be quick or involved, and you have to think ahead as to what you're doing.]

Friday, October 26, 2012

11+1: Sgt. Nick Stone


Positively the iconic hard-boiled hero with a pulse rifle, his futuristic armor worn down from a dozen enemy engagements. Most of the figs I pick up for use in one game (or more!) but at best he could be a Pulp City minion, with the games I currently play. I have an oblique idea to use the IMEF Marines as CCC proxies for Mercs, but that's what we call a long-range plan. Couldn't resist this sculpt, though.



The mini is from Reaper's Chronoscope line (which I love.) Also pictured is an initial paint test for one of the barriers I picked up at Historicon from Acheson Creations. The stone lantern terrain piece is from the pet store aquarium aisle, because that is how I roll. Keeping detail on the wall and the lantern scale-neutral, as I think they will work for both 15mm and 28mm.

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Necroplane attack!


Last week, snuck out to Virginia to play a rousing game of Pulp City. We may have been investigating some new rules proposals, so no real batrep. Suffice it to say the Necroplane incursion was repelled with authority. True to form, Super Zed push too far ahead too quickly, and was eliminated from the battle in short order. And despite Night Fright mounting a fearsome assault, Sovereign and Stoner Hawk saved the day.

Been too long since we duked it out with the supremes. Came up with a bunch of good questions for future revisions, and looking forward to playing more again soonly.


On a related note, the inimitable Hendybadger is running an excellent contest to Paint the City Pink. Check it out! Especially you people who are, like, good at painting. And like the color pink.

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Mr. Murch, Mr. Peterson, and more

On my non-gaming blog, I post news articles that I run across and thoughts on TV shows and movies (and trailers) that I run across. And I've been doing it... a while. The temptation has always been to do the same here, but there's more than a couple sites that aggregate links already. But I think from time to time I am going to toss up ones that are definitely relevant to my interests, in case someone else gets the same enjoyment from reading them.



To wit: Bring Your A-Game recently posted a great interview with Bob Murch, the sculptor behind Pulp Figures. Easily one of my favorite lines out there, I've used his figs for 7tv, AE-WWII, Pulp City, Strange Aeons, and probably a couple more I am forgetting. Check it out. 

On an unrelated note, one thing I like about the gaming community is that they're pretty generous, which makes sense given that, really, we all play around with our disposable income. Next time you have a couple bucks to buy something online, do me a favor and consider donating it instead to help out a fellow gamer who has been having a rough time of it this year. I had the privilege of hanging out with Mr. Peterson at Gencon a couple years back while we were working a booth together, and he's a stand-up guy.

Sunday, September 30, 2012

alien centipede size comparisons

Yet another size comparison for a discussion thread elsewhere. Alien centipede-ish critters!


GW millisaur, GZG civilian, GZG Crustie, Khruasan Kontrol trooper

Monsterpocalypse Chompapillar (Planet Eaters,) Monsterpocalypse Corruptor

I should really come up with a tag for these posts...

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

sefadu vs. FCC, then vs. Texico



 Maurice's FCC glamour shot

Couple weeks back, finally got in some more Mercs. We used the scenarios available here on the forum, and I admit it improves the game. Looking forward to seeing it I took a few notes, but realize now they're pretty boring, so I will let the pictures do a lot of the work here.



 Table layout. Second game, we just switched deployment zones.

 First game my sefadu rolled Elimination, and FCC rolled Deliver the Package. my corporate agenda was the Lions Run, and really, the other two are... situational at best. sefadu is always about the run and gun game, so why not pick that one?

 Enemy sighted down 'Firing Lane Alley.'


The blue die above represents how long the Ice Grenade kept these two frozen in the middle of the board. So painful. The both survived the game, but were essentially useless after they got stuck in place.

Sabotage!

My first time using the Gunner was a learning experience. The FCC-ified USCR Sniper delivered his package to my deployment zone with time to spare.



This is approximately my Sniper's line of sight, where I delightfully spot the FCC Boomer through the door jamb. 


Meanwhile, the gunner finds out he has company. And they didn't RSVP first.

But the Grenadier shows up to even the score.

Oh, right, that USCR dude, still creeping around.

Both Maurice and I complete our objectives, and points were even. Meaning it's decided by blood, and I just barely eke out the win on that regard. Love the close games.

And despite me not having a lot of experience with Mercs, we still have time to sneak in a second one.

Game two: Texico shows up. We both roll Recon, and decide we're both after the big empty building in the middle. Bounty is named on my Berserker (who replaces the Gunner from last game. It's kind of a coin toss between the two.)


sefadu, roll out!

Six turns fly right by. Seriously. Spears are flying left and right. My Sniper isn't getting anything done. I get the Medic to recon the building in turn three, but there's really an uphill struggle to get him safely back towards the deployment zone.



Oh, and the Recon building. a.k.a. the hallway of death. I do manage to get the room recon'ned, and surprisigly enough prevent Texico from dong the same due to some delicately-applied violence. We do actually end up with the Berserker in close combat with the Jaguar, but the latter proves too much for our sefadu hero (he does survive until the last turn, though.)

We achieve an embarrassingly low number of points. I get one, yes, one Recon point, since the Medic is alive, if only barely on my side of the board. That plus a second take of Lions Run gives me the W again.

So yes. Totes ready to pick up my ISS at some point in the near future, and maybe after that, KemVar? Heh.

Saturday, September 1, 2012

In which I don't play Mercs, but name-drop Team Rocket

The plan was to meet up with the guys, learn a new game, and then sneak in a game of Mercs. One of the joys of using public transportation is that, well, sometimes plans just don't happen. A non-showing bus made me late to the store and put me in a bit of a mood. Tried to make the best of it, though. (Maurice covers the Mercs gaming here.)

Apparently this book is pretty rare...

I did get to see Relic Knights in action, though. As noted elsewhere, the guys ran some demos of this at Gencon, and had already been discussing the hot hot Kickstarter campaign. I was initially resistant. I mean, I have a lot of other games I don't have time for, and the models are, well, a little cheesecakey. Thematic for anime, sure. But still.

The game itself is fun and fast-paced. I was pleased with the diceless measure (and the cards aren't just for replacing the dice.) You can download the beta rules here if you'd like to learn more.The setting is heavily into the anime, and they aren't subtle about hiding their influences. (Like, it makes Anima Tactics look subtle.) And even on a cursory read there's some interesting ideas in the backstory, so, that's enough to get my attention. Not taking itself seriously makes the pinup models a little easier to accept, too. Add in a giant four-armed space pirate chef cat, and you got yourself a deal.

I'm leaning towards Doctrine (frikkin' Sailor Moon!) and Speed Circuit (seriously entertaining. And I am considering Team Rocket uniforms.) And probably Pirates, because again, giant four-armed space pirate chef cat.

So if you like the look, the Kickstarter is a great deal, and looks to be really moving into high gear. But brother, let me tell you. It's going to be hard waiting on all these great Kickstarter deals is going to be painful. Delves will be soon-ish, but next spring for the Reaper mega-deal and Relic Knights. Patience is a virtue. Luckily I have, you know, all my other games to keep me distracted.


One bad mother.

So Mercs isn't forgotten. Hopefully will get the details done on the rest of my figs over the weekend so we can get that game in soon.


Unrelated, but speaking of Delves - check out this tutorial on cavern terrain. So pretty.

Saturday, August 11, 2012

11+1: Natasha Otravya

Natasha Otravya defending the Mysterious Man

"Even in a world of aliens, monsters, and superhumans, sometimes nothing is more dangerous than a woman with the will to thrive."

A well-known figure in the criminal underworld, Natasha Otravya has worked for most of the criminal organizations in the city. Rumors and insinuations point to a past in the Russian espionage networks, but she never discusses such matters. Specializing in undercover works and stealth operations, she is fiercely loyal to whoever is paying her (at that time) and puts her all into her work with a wicked drive and a cruel sense of humor.


The fig is the 'Astrid Berger' figure, from the Reaper Chronoscope line. I admit the color palate isn't exactly complex, but I think it works with the character. She's not the star, she's the right-hand woman at the side of the big bad. The next fig for the Challenge won't be olive-drab, I swear.

The guys are talking Mercs again (and they'll be playing at Gencon shortly) so that will be a topic again before too long. Was also checking out Snap to Cover. So I should polish off my sefadu soon. I've also been assembling my Crossover minis for 7tv, so, something of a 28mm revival over here? Heh.

Friday, August 3, 2012

Historicon 2012 - day three

The last day at the con was Saturday. After seeing the glory of the Wally's Basement sales at Cold Wars, we knew a table was to be ours at Historicon. Saturday morning, up bright and early with boxes of minis we no longer needed to unload.



Reaper was a big hit, as was anything Games Workshop. Our 'everything must go' prices combined with a well-organized table kept up majorly busy for a large portion of our session. I'm proud to say I made a pretty penny selling off many an unopened blister, and less proud to admit that pretty much all the profits went right back to the dealers hall to buy myself some new toys. Heh.

Lunch was Wegman's, and man, I wish we had thought of that earlier in the con.



After dumping a fair amount of money at Rebel and Old Glory, we sat down for a demo of Pride of Lions. As my conversion to 15mm continues, we'd been looking into a fantasy ruleset. Mr. McBride was hosting demos of the game, and we sat down to parse it out. At a glance, the game isn't my usual thing: many chits, strange dice, simultaneous movement, and rank-and-file bases (yes, normally my bane, I'm trying to expand my horizons here.) But it has some very compelling features as well. The wacky dice actually have a use. The chits and movement leads to a sort of guessing game about what your opponent will be doing, and what you can do to counter that and press the advantage. Maintaining morale is a key feature of holding your lines. There are also some neat features involving how charismatic your general is, and how they can encourage/compel/cajole their units to fight better. So yes. The demo definitely piqued our interest (and Mr. McBride did a great job explaining things) so this is the second New Big Project picked up at the con. I bought many Dark Elves with some of that money earned earlier in the day, and we were already discussing basing on our way out of the hall.

The other New Big Project from the con was Flames of War. I enjoyed BattleTech, but I'm not sold on going all-in outside of the occasional game at a con. Frankly, I think it's too much bookkeeping to hold my attention. The big Old Glory order was a lot of 15mm scifi and pulp, because I do dream big, really.


Zombies! Cubicles! FIRE!
 
No matter how many things you make time for, you always end up passing some table saying, man, I wish I had more time to check that out.


One more simple but elegant Flames of War table.

Car packed and everything ready to go. Our final event was the WWPD podcast taping. Now mind you, I've played all of two or three games of Flames of War, and lurked through the forums, gathering ideas. So much of this was going to go over my head. But immersion has always been a good teacher, and hey, I heard there was a prize giveaway too. The guys behind WWPD were a lot of fun to listen to, and I totally see why their show is a hit. I'm not a pod-casting fan, in general, but it was hearing all the ins and outs from the insiders. I also lucked out and won a prize drawing! Panzers, yay! Oh, and a calendar for World of Tanks, a video game I don't play. The calendar is, I am not joking, Maxim girls posing in skimpy WW2 uniform-inspired swimsuits on actual tanks. It's both terrible and wonderful. Other guys who won them were joking about having to hide them from their girlfriends and wives. I can say proudly that once I got home, I gave the calendar to my wife as a souvenir. (Yes, I am a lucky man.)

So that's about all I have to say on Historicon. It was fun! I think we can do it in two days instead of three next time. And I hope they improve the bathroom situation as well (not enough of them, and not well-maintained either.) But we all had fun, and I'm looking forward to the next one. And I have plenty of new toys to keep me busy until then...

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Halo Micro Ops size comparison

Hit the Target today, and lo and behold, the toy aisle contained the new Halo Micro Ops toys. I was looking forward to using some of the pieces for terrain or what have you, so I picked up the Wolf Spider vs. Ghost pack, and took a couple pics. (I also picked up that plastic ruler for the sole purpose of taking these comparison pics.)

Wolf Spider turret, Khurasan Kontrol soldier, HALO dude. (I never played the games.)

Ghost vehicle, Kontrol soldier, alien dude who won't stand up.

HALO dude, GZG civilian, poor lighting, Ghost with alien carjacker, Kontrol soldier, Wolf Spider turret, extra plastic bit?

So, yeah. Some of the vehicles and terrain might work, but the figs themselves are clearly closer to 20-25mm than 15.