Sunday 19 March 2017

Drop City.

This is the fluff and forces for my first 15mm post apoc setting on Mattblackgod's World. It is inspired by the Toxic World novels by Sean Mclaughlin (I highly recommend them) mixed with MBW history and a few ideas of my own. Most of this has been put together from my existing minature collection.

Drop City has existed in the wastes for 40 years now and is seen by many as the last civilisation. Ruled by the Dok it has power and clean water. Drop City is based around an off world aid mission base and fortified space port. The base was evacuated when the plagues where released in the world's last days. It was the mission's Commander's report to the evacuation fleet that seeled the planet's doom.

The base was discovered by nomadic refugees in the years after the orbital bombardment. They moved in and set up home. The original perimeter walls where further fortified by shipping containers, sand bags, lumps of old salvaged concrete and scraps of metal. There is an second outer wall built from shipping containers, dirt, sand bags, lumps of concrete and scraps of metal.


The Dok, Drop City's leader

The city is built around the warehouses, workshop, hangar and offices for such a base. The landing pads and shipping container areas now feature the streets of houses, prefabs and shipping containers converted into buildings. Some of the city areas also fall between the outer and inner walls. These are mainly factories, greenhouses and other businesses.

The town population is largely made up from the refugees who founded the city, some traders & scavengers who arrived soon after, a number of ex Vaulties who's vault had a systems failure, some members of a ex militiary unit and their decendants. Drop Town's population is around 2500 people.

Shanties
200 meters beyond the outer wall there lies another city. A city of adobe buildings, huts and tents known as the Shanties. The most prominent building being the 111,000creds bar noticeable because of its size and because it is one of the few places in the Shanties with electricity.

The Shanties are populated mainly by scavengers, drifters and Drop City associates (half citizens). It is difficult to put a number on how many people live in the shanties as folks just drift in and out. During the winter months when work is limited on the farms and the wastelands are too harsh to live in sees the population of the Shanties rise to an estimated 3000.


Shanties residents.


Bands of Scavengers 

Trade
Drop City supplies clean water for free to the Shanties. It also supplies limited electricity supplies mainly to citizen premises in the Shanties. The Dok provides free medical services to anyone who needs it. He sees this as part of the oath he took when training before the nuclear rain.

Drop City trades supplies from it's stores and manufactured items such as arrows with the scavengers and farmers. Dok gets first pick for anything essential to the town such as medical supplies, weapons, munitions, parts and materials.

Scavengers can then set up a table to trade with other citizens and the merchants. Usually anything else is traded with the other residents of the Shanties in the marketplace there.
Drop City Merchants
Energy:
Drop City is powered by a field of solar panels fitted to the tops of the warehouse and hangar. In addition there is a wind farm and tidal generators. Some old fuel generators are kept as back ups.

Deep beneath the old base is a shut down plasma reactor which can supply more than enough power for the city and the shanties. It has an estimated 50 years of life left and the Dok is reluctant to use it in case the other supplies fail.


Vehicles:
Running vehicles are rare in the wastelands around drop city and beyond.

In the city's old hangar there is a machine shop and vehicle repair centre. Drop City keeps an old military truck ( left by the base's previous owners), several 4x4s and a couple of motorcycles. As they are precious they only get used when it is essential. The only other vehicles belong privately to wealthier citizens within the city. There are no vehicles to be found in the Shanties which is just as well it wouldn't be long before they are stolen.

Drop City vehicles are fuelled by microbe brewed bio fuels or alcohol. There are also microbes to produce oil and rubber. These microbes came as part of the base's disaster recovery stores.


Defense.
There is sturdy walls protecting the city. There is a 200 meter gap between the walls and the Shanties beyond. No one is allowed to build in the dead space.

Drop City has a small number of full time Watch members who act as guards and man the gates etc. In addition to this the Watch are renforced by part time members. All watch members are Citizens.


Watch member

During attacks all Citizens and Associates fit for combat will be required to defend Drop City.

In addition to these forces there is the Drop Rangers who are based in the Shanties. This force originally came from a ex militiary platoon without someone to serve. Rather than go rogue they joined the city. Today the Rangers is made up of citizens, associates (some of whom are children of the original force) and scavengers who join to gain eventual citizenship. The Rangers help defend the city, patrols the lands and hunts down Bandits,  criminals and dangerous creatures. Members of the Rangers often spend more time out in the Wastelands than in the town. The Drop Rangers will sometimes keep law and order in the Shanties. The new Sheriff is working closely with the Rangers as they often form the backbone of any possies raised.


Drop Rangers

There was a small arsenal of weapons and munitions left by the base's previous owners. The city has a machine gun and heavy machine gun which are used during sieges. The machine gun is old and jams regularly. The heavy machine gun has ammunition that is difficult to find which limits it's use.

The city has one secret weapon, an ancient tank found in a mountain pass by the Rangers. It had been abandoned during the wars. The Tank is a old Earth remake and carries a plasma cannon. The other energy weapons where removed and replaced with machine guns by the last army to use it. The Tank is old and prone to breaking down. The plan is to roll it forward to hold the gate during a siege.


The base's stores had decontamination microbes similar to those used for industrial clean ups or terraforming. The stocks of these where very limited and unlike the other microbes could not be bred.

The lands around the shanty city for about 10 miles are used by farmers after the microbe decontamination process. There are other farms further out in clean areas. These are isolated and the most distant farms are independent of the Drop City although they do trade. Very little is fished from the sea and nearby estuary as contamination levels are still high.
Farmers

In Drop City there is the Merchants Union which is a group of the most powerful (read richest) Merchants looking after their own interests. These interests usually conflict with the interests of Drop City. The Merchants Union gives the farmers and scavengers another body to trade with. The Union has it's own guards and weapons. These elitiest merchants live in their own compounds within Drop City and they are set up so it is a City within the City.

Everything within a 30 mile radius has pretty much been stripped by the scavengers (or salvage crews made up of Drop City citizens) and traded with the city. Now they move further into the boneyards and mountains looking for salvage. These places bring new hazards and dangers.


Salvage Crew from Drop City

Salvage Crew from the Shanties.


Thanks for looking. Stay safe out there.



Saturday 11 March 2017

15mm Wasteland Characters

15mm scale is really talking to me at the moment. As a result I am starting a 15mm Post Apoc project. The plan is to restart Mattblackgod's world in 15mm with some new towns and some reused factions in 15mm.

There will be some reusing of my 15mm Wild Galaxy figures, as soon as I have sorted my first setting fluff  for "Drop Town". I will be gaming mainly small skirmish games.

Firstly let me introduce you to THE WARLORD!!!!


This is the big bad scary guy who will be commanding hordes of fierce wastelanders. The stories say that the wolf pelt he wears came from a wolf the Warlord killed with his teeth! This figure is by Khurasan minatures and is large for a 15mm.  Which suits as it makes him intimidating looking leader.


Alice came into the Shanties outside Drop Town a couple of seasons back. She is a hardcase and skilled fighter. Alice has a sense of justice which she cannot ignore. Her kick ass attitude has come to the attention of the leader of Drop Town, a old guy called Dok. He has made her an associate (half citizen of Drop Town) if she takes the job of Sheriff of the Shanties. Someone needs to keep law and order in the shanty town. Alice is considering his proposal. The figure is by Khurasan Miniatures.


This is the Wanderer. A strange loner who is more than a little crazy. He wanders into the Shanties and Drop Town Market from time to time to trade salvage for fuel, ammunition and parts. No one has ever seen the vehicle he runs. No one dares follow him out into the wastes as he is crazy. The figure is by Khurasan Miniatures. 

This guy is called "Marked One". No one knows his real name, not even him. He currently works at the largest bar in the shanties, the 111,000 creds bar. He works as the bouncer cracking the heads of drunks who get out of hand. Marked One carries a sniper rifle of excellent quality and is a crack shot. This scavenger speaks of his travels and a place out beyond the mountains filled with salvage, strange mutant animals, toxins, radioactivity and stranger phenomenon. He calls this place the Zone and often says he will return because it keeps calling him. Many Scavengers think he is a little unhinged.

I have no idea what this mini is but I liked it a lot (*edit - The figure is from Ion Age).


Group shot. 

Thats all for now. Thanks for looking. 

Civilization Interceptor Drivers.

Hello and Welcome back to my blog,

Hobby! Hobby! I am actually getting some hobby related stuff done! I have to distract the cat hordes and wear them out for a hour or so. This leaves me a couple of hours of time to spend doing hobby stuff whilst they sleep. It stops all the noses and paws in everything.

I have managed to get some 20mm figures finished for my Blood and Fire setting.


These are Interceptor Drivers from Civilisation. They patrol out into the Wastelands to keep Civilisation safe from the vermin on machines.


Zac Kelly loves to play old world rock and metal when he rides into battle. He is a cool cat and very little rattles him. The figure is a old GW Dark Future mini.


Karla Kickass is one of the few lady Interceptor drivers. She is a fierce opponent and doesn't like to lose. The figure is by Elhiem miniatures. The sculpt isn't too great.


Kip Charles is a ex military hardcase. Kip is a veteran of a thousand battles. He is gung ho and shows no mercy. The figure is a old GW Dark Future figure. 

The car in the background is a old GW Dark Future Interceptor. 

Thanks for looking and stay safe out there! 


Sunday 5 March 2017

Wasteland Wondering. 15mm fun.


Hello and welcome back. 

I am glad to report that I have finally got some hobby work on this week. The going has been slow as I have numerous interruptions from my two furry hooligans who felt the need to investigate every thing that I was doing. They are not yet 1 year old and are still very inquisitive. Thankfully they have decided that my toys are not interesting enough to play with or eat. 

First up was this 15mm scale MDF ruin I picked up from evilbay. It is designed for WW2 games. I figured that it will look great on my 15mm post apoc setting. 





The kit is well detailed. My only issues are that there is no internal walls and only one set of floor boards for the upper floors. I added some internal walls to break up lines of sight inside the ruin. 



15mm mdf ruins seem to be plentiful out there and amera plastic mouldings make some too. It won't be long until I have a full table for my scavengers to fight over. 

I got some minis painted this week too. Last year I started some 20mm figures to be Interceptor Drivers as part of my Blood and Fire setting. I set too finishing them off. Two of them are old GW Dark Future figures and the other is from Elheim. In addition to this there is four 15mm figures, mainly from Rebel (I think). These are the first additions to my 15mm post apocalyptic setting. 



The figures just need basing now. I plan a 15mm version of Mattblackgod's world but with largely new factions. I need to get my first background finished ("Droptown") and get recruiting from my Wild Galaxy collection. 

This week a new hot tool polystyrene cutter arrived on my door mat. Eager to try it out I quickly attacked a cliff top I made a while back. I have been itching to add a cave entrance to it. 

The cutter works well. Quickly I had a cave mouth. It will need some practice for more complex cuts I think. The lump of polystyrene I removed will become a rocky outcrop on the table. The cutter happily carves high density blue foam too. 

That's all for now. I am happy to be hobbying again. 

Thanks for reading. Take care out there.