New additions to the Wastelands.

Hello and Welcome Back to my blog.

Finally I have got some miniatures finished. Hopefully my groove is coming back.

Out on the Western edge of the ruins of Matt Black City Vault 22 has opened. The dwellers have chosen to remain in the vault but now send scouting parties out in the ruins of the mega city looking for anything the vault can use.

Meanwhile on the other side of the ruins a Technomancer goes to work in his workshop in Wastetopia. Found any old tech you need to trade or fix then this is the guy for you. He is a bit stingy on trades though.

Wanderers are common in the in post apocalyptic wastelands of Matt Black God's world. Many are insane or running from their past. This Wanderer, Max suffers from both. Still he is a handy gun to hire and is a skilled driver. This means he is popular with those who need a dirty job doing.

x

Here is Immortan Trump, the leader of New Sodom City (NSC). Since arriving in the ruins of MBC the Immortan has restarted his war against Liberty City. NSC has started raiding Liberty City supply & trade convoys. He is also raising suspicions about Utiopa's presence in the ruins.

Out in the wastelands don't trust anyone, not even little girls.

This little girl is probably a cannibal. The figure is a OOP Hetzerdog Babylons Burning Ghoul miniature. I was digging through a old box of zombies and found her. She had her base tidied up. 

Thanks for looking. Stay Safe Out There.

Matt Black Data Report #14 Utopia Magistrates Heavy Assault team.

Utopia Magistrates Heavy Assault team.

In Utopia city a special team of power armored Magistrates are being assembled. Their task is to head to the Matt Black City Ruins and support the team of Magistrates based there.

The figures are old 40K RT era metal Space Marines, just as they started adding older power armor to the range. The color scheme is based on the Utopia Magistrate uniform. 

Matt Black City Report day 9 - Supplies

Journal of Senior Mag Stevo.
Date 30060117

Day 9: Supplies

It has been eight days since we set off from Utopia and things were starting to look grim. Black kept talking about eating his boots and socks. Again I stopped him on health grounds, especially his socks. Monk claims they are a evolved life form of their own and highly toxic.

Things changed for the better today when Utopia contacted us and advised us to switch on the Shuttle's transponder.

Half an hour later two supply pods crashed onto the roof top. There was a third pod but the navigation system failed and it was lost near the mountains.

The supply pods are modified long range guided missiles with the warhead removed and a extended fuselage to take the cargo and extra fuel cells to extend the range.

We now have a extra solar still, solar panels, emergency lights, a small medi bot, survival kits, water canteens, anti radiation and toxins kits, extra munitions for our pistols, survival shelters, a solar heater, cooking kit, a data chip and about 2 weeks worth of food.

Sadly the missing pod contained perimeter sensors, spybot drones, a sentry gun with 2000 rounds, four assault rifles, 1000 rounds of ammo, more pistol ammo and frag grenades. Looks like we will have to rely on our side arms and basic Magistrate street kit. I hope the lost pod isn't found, that kit could set a gang up. Unlike our pistols the assault rifles do not have a DNA switch in them to prevent illegal use.

We got busy setting up and stowing the kit (after turning the transponder off!). Then we stripped the pods for parts. The engines maybe tradeable. The remaining fuel cells have been stored. Batteries and air vein charging systems have been jury rigged so we now have emergancy lighting on the top three floors.

Looking at this from another angle, I guess we may be alone here for at least another two weeks.

Examining the data chip on the Shuttle's reader it is filled with all manner of survival data, information on most of the world's factions known to us, Trog & Grot biology and as much information on the layout of this city and surrounding lands as Utopia could find in it's data banks. Both Monk and Warren are itching to study the data.

There is a new radio broadcast from the ruins. This is on the old public transmission bands and is unencrypted. Kraptoidiots have now set up a station advertising their awful products broken up by a babbling idiot playing the same three awful ear worm tunes. Much of the old personal tech found in the ruins (usually on human remains) will be able to pick up the broadcasts once recharged. I think K2I hope to have quite a audience.

Black and Warren think we should storm the site and take out the station just for the musical content alone. I suspect after a short while the gangs here may be doing that for us!

Wasteland Wondering - ideas, rules and minis.

Welcome back to another Wasteland Wondering.

Hobby wise I am still at the mercy of my demanding cats. That said I wouldn't swap them and they are slowing down.

Work has progressed on the Matt Black City fluff. I must admit I am hugely enjoying writing the reports. Soon I hope to be working though my miniature collection introducing (or in some cases re introducing) various factions. The ruins have been made large enough so factions can set up and not be too close to each other. Just as a idea of the size of the ruins the city is larger than the country of Wales. Maps of the city and area are being drawn up so expect a future post about that.

Rules wise I am looking about to see what other rules will fit the back ground other than the Gangs Of Nu Ork or my house rules for Neutronyork3000.

This week I have been reading various rulesets. I took a look at Wasteman by Thunderchild Miniatures.

It is a 87 page, full colour rule book with 8 factions to choose from including high tech, robots, critters, mutants and more. There is also specs for giant mutant monsters. The rules look fun, easy to play with a various ways to introduce Fallout style wackiness to your games. The book has some great inspirational pictures. My only regret is there is no vehicle rules. Hint hint!

The other rules I have been reading is Scrappers by Osprey. It is a 151 page rule book with 7 factions to choose from. The usual sci fi post apoc factions are present.

The rules look interesting but there is a few markers used during the game. I have a feeling that the rules will become more intuitive after a couple of plays. After each set of rules there is a summary table which is a nice touch. One thing I like is the Event system with plenty of things to make the game more perilous and dangerous. The Scrappers book is filled with gorgeous pictures of overgrown wastelands and ruins.

Image from Scrappers rulebook by Osprey.

When I got the Across The Dead Earth rules (which I still have not played) I loved the overgrown look of the world. Makes the ruins look old and long abandoned. Reading Scrappers has fuelled this idea further. So I plan on reworking a lot of my old terrain to look older and more worn. Then I will add plenty of small plants and what not to them. As the wastelands of Mattblackgod's world already has mutated plants some cheap aquarium plants will be added so it all matches.

I am a huge fan of books on the hobby especially terrain making and I picked up this:

Battlefields In Miniature by Paul Davies. It is a 287 page hardback by Pen and Sword books. The book is filled with ideas and step by step guides to building terrain. If you are a terrainaic then this book is worth a read.

Miniatures wise I have found some old metal Warhammer chaos warriors I painted up in various schemes back in the late 80's. I have dropped them into a dettol bath ready for stripping. Paint wise I am thinking of repainting them in rusty armour as additions to King Arty's Skrap Knights. Or maybe some sort of sinister cultists?

In addition to this I have gotten some Ramshackle Mutants primed. These will be additions to my Greasy Poon settlement.

Then I picked up these Warpath Enforcer jet bikes from Mantic.

The plan for these is to flesh out the Utopia forces in the Matt Black City ruins. Only a small expedition of Magistrates are in the ruins at present but there will be Enforcers, Magistrates and more arriving. Just as soon as the Megacity boffins figure out a way to get supplies to the faction. I am looking for some sort of high tech looking transport for the Utopia Mags.

Assembled jet bike.

I managed to get a Trog gang finished. Well, modified from pre made/painted Orks my friend Xander gave me. I am just working on a ride for them. Pictures will follow.

Other ideas have been pouring into my planetary Capitol city ruins idea. I am planning on a rival Trog settlement in the ruins. Xander's Ork horde will help provide the muscle. Just got to get a boss figure made up.

That's all for now. Keep a eye open for the next Matt Black City instalment. Take care out there!

Matt Black City report 1

Hello and welcome back to my blog. 

I now begin what is a way to display my 28mm factions and get them into action with each other as hinted at in my last Wasteland Wondering post. I have been thinking about this project for a long time. Expect a few more posts over the coming weeks as I have a managed to write up a bunch of journal entries for the Utopia Mags, especially as I have actually got a few figures finished to kick this project off. As this will be a regular series of posts I will try to get a tab page sorted, when I remember how to. 


Journal of Senior Mag Stevo.
Date 22060117

Day 1:
Rioting has broken out across Utopia city and the Magistrates are stretched to the limits trying to contain it.

The PSI divison claim that there is a strong PSI signal originating beyond the city triggering the riots. I am to lead a team of Mags to locate and disable the signal source.

It pains me to leave my Mag brothers and sisters at such a time of great need but the Chief Magistrate insists the rioting will not stop until this mysterious signal is neutralized. I would normally think this PSI stuff is nonsense but we all feel it. Like a itch you cannot scratch calling to you, making you feel tense. It is all very weird.

The first heros of our tale. The Utopia City Magistrates. Figures from Mongoose 2000AD range. 

Magistrates Warren, Black and myself are to accompany PSI Mag Monk in a shuttle. We leave in a hour to head out into the cursed wastelands of this world. Mag Warren is from the Science divison. Hopefully his knowledge will guide us and help keep us alive. Magistrate Black like myself is a old street Mag. Our combined skills and experience should I hope prove successful.

May the Matt Black God watch over us and make our quest successful. 

Thanks for reading. Stay safe out there. 

Welcome back to my blog. In this Wasteland Wondering I will be discussing real life, hobby slump and new post apoc ideas. 

It has been nearly a month since my last post and over a month since my last hobby post. 

I have found my hobby progress to be slow. As soon as I get started I get distracted. It is partly due to life being busy. Since my return from Spain nearly 4 weeks ago I have been celebrating 20 years of marriage,  had my 16yr old cat Spooky pass away, celebrating my wife's birthday, working on my motorbike, got a mutated rad cold, going away visiting some stately homes and away kitten hunting. Yup it's been busy but it isn't the only thing stopping my hobby drive. I think working just on 20mm cars is boring me a little and I realised that it has been over a year since I played a game! I should get my finger out. 

I have managed a couple of hours playing post apoc games on my console in the last month. Wasteland 2 and Fallout 4. I have barely scratched the surface of both games. 

In Wasteland 2 you play a team of Rangers out to save the wastelands. It is a RPG type game. The Rangers is a nice idea to copy for a Tabletop game. A small skirmish squad of 4 or 5 characters would suit many games. 

Fallout 4 has the main character in cryogenic suspension coming out the vault 200 years later to explore the world. Good fun so far. There is a band called the Minute Men who offer help to folks in the Wastelands in a similar manner to the Rangers in Wasteland 2. Minute men use clothing similar to the historic unit. It is tempting to get a historic figure or two for conversion. 

Cyrogenic suspension often turns up in Post Apocalyptic fiction. The character in the Rage game comes from such a vault (although he has cyber kinetic enhancements too). There is a major character in the Deathlands novels that was also frozen in such a fashion.

Hobby wise I just picked up the Gorkamorka rule books on evil bay. You can't have too many rule books in my book! I have always loved Orks. I am thinking of trying this in 15mm though. I also read the Gaslands beta. Looks a good game. However it doesn't cover infantry so I plan on sticking with Warlands. 

Gaslands is gladiatorial in nature and it gto me thinking of gladiatorial combat in the post apoc world. It could be a great way to get some warfare going. In Mars Arena (Deathlands novels) a bunch of warlords capture Wastelanders to have them fight in an arena which is the walled up Las Vegas ruins. Traps and mutant beasts are added to add to the mix. There is a twist. The winning team must then fight each other to the death. The survivor may get hired by the winning warlord but often snipers on the walls finish the job.

Another idea would be for  a contest run by Utopia City with prizes of supplies and other items folks in the Wastelands would happily kill for. It could be run by a TV show with arenas set up across the wastelands. Thick walls around these places could be built easily using the same technology Utopia uses to build the mega city blocks. In the wastelands bands  of wannabe winners would join to compete. The TV show runs the carnage live on TV in a similar style to the movie Running Man.

Auto dual will also be popular sport enterainment so the contests could run vehicle battles. A friend reminded me of this old battle report which is along the same lines that I posted on the Post Apoc Wargames forum a few years back. 

Auto dual combat

For the gangs/games on foot I was thinking of various traps including mutant beasties to make it interesting. Maybe a league with various gangs fighting each other for the prizes could be created. Wasteland townships and cities would get involved for certain vital supplies.

Thinking about this it may make a great club or show game using various rules. 

This is what I have been thinking about and planning. Let's see what happens next. 

Thanks for looking and take care out there!

Into the Undercity Pt2 - Terrain

I have been working on some Undercity terrain for beneath the mean streets and Mega Blocks of Utopia City. 

The undercity consists of many domes, caverns and lost cities that was buried when the City was built and as it expanded to become a megacity. Huge towers loom up into the darkness holding the dome and cavern ceilings up. 

 

The tower is an ex pringles tube. The base is a cork pan coaster with the edges nibbled to make it look like a rocky outcrop. The graffiti is inspired by the Metro 2033 Novel. 

The platforms are made card and bits from the depths of the bits box. The ladder is scratch built from coffee stirrers and match sticks. 

Beware the strange green mold growing every where. It can cause strange illness'. Some strange wastelander has tagged this tower. 

I have some of Mantic's Deadzone terrain sets knocking about. It is ideal for an undercity on a world that used starships to colonize it. 

Here is a security outpost.

 

No security outpost would be complete without a barricade. 

Okay not quite Undercity but it is Post Apoc. A bed from Thunderchild Miniatures.

The Warboys want a kip but are not too sure if the occupant will mind. 

Thanks for looking. 

Into the Undercity....Terrain

Deep under the streets and the foundations of the mega blocks of Utopia City lies an unseen world. A world as brutal as the wastelands beyond the mega city walls. A world of perpetual darkness. Lets creep through the cracks and explore a world of darkness, hazards, mutants, cutthroats and monsters.....

Down in the depths there is many strange things. Old hab domes, city streets and forgotten machines. You know...um....thingies?! 

This thingy is made from an old pringles tube and a load of old junk from other projects. The pringles tube got hacked to bits to give a crazy angle. Tape and paper hold it together. 

This terrain is intended to be used as a dice tower. I always wanted to make one. In true post apoc style I made it from junk I had laying about. 

The tower in action. 

Surprisingly there are many outcasts from Utopia living in the darkness of the Undercity. They form communities and gangs. There are many townships and trading posts. 

Some like the trading post below are made from parts of the grounded star ships which originally founded mattblackgod's world. 

This is the water trader. Water....everyone needs it, right? 

There is also a weapon and ammo trader on this block. 

This is a Mantic Deadzone terrain set which I painted to look like lots of salvaged panels. The water tank is an old coffee can and the pipes are drinking straws. 

The Mantic sets are easy to use but sometimes the connectors need a bit of brute force to clip them together.I have also had a plastic connector snap on me. Maybe I am too ham fisted?! I glued my sets together as I intend these pieces to be permanent. I only used superglue just in case. There is still some parts left so expect some more of these in the future. 

The great thing about the Undercity project is that this terrain can also be happily used in the wastelands. There is also a place on mattblackgod's world where a starship fleeing (the Typhon) the orbital bombardment crashed back to the surface. This makes up an area known as the Skrap Lands. Lots of the buildings and defenses in these wastelands are made from starship parts. 

Thanks for looking. 

Happy Giant Mutant Bunny Day!! Oh and some minis too!

This day in ancient times was celebrated by the exchange of chocolate eggs and for some unknown reason the need to dress up as a giant mutant bunny rabbit. So from all of us on mattblackgod's world....

HAPPY GIANT MUTANT BUNNY DAY!!

Right who wants to see some figures? *cocks the kneecapper* I said WHO wants to see some figures?? 

First up is a random lone Stalker equipped with a home built SMG - often nicknamed "The Ba***rd" due to misfires, poor accuracy and jamming when you don't want it too. 

The figure is a Warlord Bolt Action plastic WW2 British Tommy. I added a hood to the figure and that is pretty much it. One thing to note is that the Bolt Action figures are noticeably smaller than other 28mm figs including the Combat Zone ones.I originally intended to use the bolt action arms and weapons with the Combat Zone figures to make Stalker conversions but the arms are too short and weapons a bit on the small side. 

There has been other conversions on going on. My old Combat Zone plastic Gangers sat there unloved. So this is what happened....

L- R The left two have CZ trooper command arms while the guy on the far left has a Anvil head and a putty scarf. The third figure from left has been re-armed with GW 40K Dark Eldar arms. The guy on the right had the goofy looking assault rifle shaven from his arms. A resin shot gun replaces the original weapon. 

L-R The lady on the far left has GW 40K Dark Eldar arms while the other two figures have EM4 CZ command arms added to give them the gunfighter look.

The CZ gangers look a little too high tech for post apoc so my plan is to use them as either Block Gang members for Utopia City or as Ships Crew/Pirates for Wild Galaxy.

I have a few more of the CZ gangers and troopers in the unpainted pile. A few more figure conversions will follow in future. I recently acquired the Wargames Factory Survivors (male and female) so any spare parts will find there way into this project. 

Utopia Magistrates Support Tank

Life in Utopia City can be tough. Some times even the toughest need a helping hand. That is when the Mags roll out the support tank. 

Armed with 6 heavy machine guns, 4 plasma cannons and a heavy battle laser this tank turn the tables on the biggest uprising. Even the thick walls of the blocks cannot provide protection from the battle laser. The grav drives makes the tank handy for excursions beyond the city walls. Some times a Wasteland Mutant Horde needs a good kicking to keep them in order.

This is a snap together Star Wars Droid model kit I got from Home & Bargain for the princely sum of £6. It didn't even need painting. I may at a future date remove the markings and add some Utopia City markings. I must mooch back to the store at some point and pick up another. 

Finally a thank you to The Mighty Flip who tipped me off about these kits sitting on the shelves! 

Trouble in Utopia City

Darkness falls upon Utopia City. Some where in the darkness manhole covers grind open. From the dark depths of the undercity a army of Mutants raid looking for citizens for dinner. Surveillance picks them moving through the streets. Quickly the Justice Dept dispatches the Magistrates and Enforcers to deal with the threat to the city's citizens. 

This was a quick on the spare of the moment game. As such I had no real time to draw up stat sheets for the forces in this game. There is only one rule set to accommodate this...Skank. 

Rules: Skank

Figure Ratings: 
Chief Mag: Hero
Mags: Elite
Enforcer Leader: Elite
Enforcers: Human
Citizens: Human
Mutants: Rabble
Big Mutie: Monster with Three Wounds & Attacks

The Mags & Enforcers deploy. 

The Mutants arrive out of  the darkness looking for citizens  to drag off for dinner. 

The Mags advance with the Enforcers take the flanks.

The mutants charge forwards trying to find easy pickings for dinner. 

The main force charges up the street with a Big Mutie for support. Mutants grab some citizens. The citizens of Utopia are tougher than that and fight back. 

The Mutants are not interested in the wares of the Rad Pizza fast food joint....but the young lady in the short skirt is another matter. 

A couple of mutants with guns take up sniper positions in the apartment block to cover the mutant's escape. 

The Enforcer leader opens fire with his LMG killing a couple of mutants. Ginny Greenhair fires back hitting the Enforcer leader. 

The Mutant's fire on the Mags mostly missing. One Mag takes a hit. The Mags return fire dropping a couple of Mutant Raiders.One of the citizens managers to finish the Mutant trying to capture her with a sword. The Mags will probably have something to say about that illegal weapon later......

Marcus, the owner of Marcus Weapons moves to roof to offer supporting fire. 

A couple of unfortunate citizens get dragged away. Will the Mags get to them in time?

Meanwhile old Mrs Kim holds her own against the Mutant attacking her. Mrs Kim's handbag proves an indomitable weapon.

Some mutants push along the other flank. Some Enforcers wait for them. 

The Mutants attack the Mags. The Mags quickly deal with the majority of mutants but the Big Mutie proves difficult. 

Some Enforcers move forward trying to get to the stricken citizens.

 The young lady with the sword runs to assist Mrs Kim. 

Ginny Greenhair takes cover behind the apartments and fires at the approaching Enforcers. 

Faced with the two attackers the Mutant gets angry. The Chief Mag and the Riot Foam Mag move up to support. 

Around the back of Marcus Guns & Ammo the Enforcers and Mutants clash. 

The Enforcers work together to try to bring the Big Mutie down.

The Big Mutie proves too strong and deals easily with the Mags leaving only one Mag standing. 

The mutant sniper kills an Enforcer. The Enforcer leader suppresses the mutant with the LMG while the other Enforcers enter the building.

 The sniper at the front of the apartment shoots an Enforcer. The Chief Mag gives covering fire as the Enforcers storm the front of the building. 

"Heat Seeker" the Chief Mag commands his Lawbringer Pistol. The bullet finds its way to the mutant hiding in the window killing him. Their high tech advanced weapons are one of the many reasons the  Mags are feared. 

The Enforcers find the snipers - both dead and alive. Meanwhile outside the Enforcer Leader kills Ginny Greenhair with a full auto burst from his LMG. 

The Enforcers finish off the remaining sniper. 

The Medi Mag is ordered to pull back from the Big Mutie. Mag skill and brute strength wont drop this monster. 

A group of Enforcers surround the  Big Mutie and spray it with bullets. Roaring in anger and pain the Big Mutie drops to the ground.

With the remaining mutant holding its own against a old lady with a handbag and a swords woman the Chief Mag steps in. The Lawbringer smacks down hard on the mutant's skull causing it to be stunned. The little old lady and woman see their chance and before the Chief Mag can stop them they finish the mutant off. 

Sadly the Mutants got away with two citizens but the bulk of the mutant threat had been stopped. Will the Mags go after the mutants into the dark undercity??