Markers for Dropzone Commander

Hey folks.  Been a while, but been really busy.  I have had a chance to play another game of DZC, and we are really digging this game.  So much so, that I made another set of markers, like I did for the Warhammer 40k game.  These are all pretty self explanatory, and I think they will help us out in the game as well.  I am not making objective markers, as the ones that came with the game are fine.  They are made the same way as in this post...

Markers for 40k games.

  Here is what they look like.  Links at the bottom of the post so you can download the PDFs...

Sheet 1
Sheet 2
Sheet 3
Sheet 4

Enjoy, hope you like them...

Markers for 40k games - Easy as cake

  Hey guys!  Just wanted to share a quick piece of work I did the last couple of weeks, markers for my 40k game.  Now, the reason for these is simple, I forget everything, good and bad.  I forget if I moved with jump packs in the movement phase, I forget ever-living etc. I would forget my dice if I didn't have a huge game tote to bring everything in.

 So, enter the fine folk at Objective Secured who made fantastic markers for Infinity.  So, I stole the idea and used it for 40k (and soon for Dropzone Commander as well.)

  Turns out, these are dead easy to make!  All you need is your favorite art program, some bottle cap inserts from amazon and patience.

I made three sheets so far, but I will be making more as time goes on.  I just played a game of dropzone commander and I saw a huge need for these in that game as well.   Here are the sheets made in the YouTube video...  Download links are after the jump break.

Instructions and more photos after the jump break... 

Finished the new wave of DropZone Commander stuff...

  Wow, give me a whole Sunday and I'll get a tiny bit of work done.  I took my next wave of DropZone Commander UCM (United Colonies of Mankind) forces painted up and table ready. 

  I still need to hit some of the tiny details, maybe.  The headlights and sensor domes, but these are so small, who would notice?  Do I really want to be "That guy" who paints the 1mm headlights?  meh...  

  Anyhow, here is a look at the boys.  Many pics, so I tossed in a jump break.  The scheme I used is an alpine panzer grey, but very heavily grimed up and weathered.  I don't know why I like weathering these, but not my 40k stuff??  Odd.  Also, I have not touched the infantry bases yet at all.  I may not ever, or I may just dab some colour on them just for variety's sake...

  Here ya go, hope you like.  A few hours with an airbrush and some home-made washes...

The whole lot of them.  Ready to kill, kill, kill...

Dropships, the heart of the matter, so to speak

A bomber and her escorts, or as I like to call it, death from above!

 More after the jump...

Dropzone Commander - Game 1 - awesomesauce!

Team UCM - Fu#k YEAH!

  Ok, so I played my first game of Dropzone commander(DZC) using the starter box, and all I can say is... Fu#k Yeah!.  Great game.

  Is it 40k, with all the myriad choice and such, nope.  Is it pure, balls to the wall, good fun, oh heck yeah!

  My friend Mark and I played with the starter rules, and we were immediately struck by the tactical choices offered up on turn 1.  I know, I know, amateurs talk about tactics, professionals talk about logistics, but get this... this scale of game HAS logistics!!!!!  You can "play real war" here and not feel like you are just futzing around with tailored battle lists.  You actually have to try to win this game!
 
  DZC has a great blend of the old, but totally relevant game style, of teeth and tail.  True strategists know that every army, regardless of era is judged by it's ratio of teeth (fighting men/armor/equipment) to tail (support/AA/logistics/transport).  If you can effectively support the fighting formation in the field, you will win the engagement.  We kicked ass in the desert campaign (Iraq '90-'91) not just because our equipment was better (it was markedly so), but because we could pick the exact time and place of the battles to be fought.  DZC gives you that feeling.  You can choose the strategy, and then the tactics to win the engagement, and ultimately the war.

  DZC has all the trimmings to make it an incredibly fun miniatures game, both for the new gamer and for the students of war.  You have choices to make every single turn, and your choices make  difference on the field, and in the outcome of the game.  Yes, the dice dictate the outcome, but you can, for your part, determine when the dice matter and how much so.  There is not a lot of games like that, and I think major props should be given to the design team at Hawk for their design methodology.  You have a winner here, guys!  (or, in my case... where do I send my money... Just take my money!!)

  And yes, that's another great part of the game.  After this first play of the game, I can see how the units interact, and I know that buying a certain unit is NOT going to guarantee me a win.  There are no death stars here.   You may buy a cool unit, but if you can't figure out how to use it correctly, you just wasted $20...  I love it!

  Oh, and if this glowing review sounds too good to be true... get this... I LOST!  I lost the game 2VP to 1VP.  We had to call it a turn early, but we could see that it would not be a tie, and therefore KP would not be a factor.  Imagine the crap I would be saying if I had won????

  So yes, folks, if you are looking for a GREAT, easy and fun alternative game to play, you need to RUN, not walk to get a copy of Dropzone Commander.  You'll love it.  Provided of course, that you can think and actually understand war and battle.  If you're one of the asshole WAAC 40k players,  then you won't be able to figure out why spending $700 on models didn't win you the game.  (But you're just an asshat anyhow, so it's no big deal.  Crawl back into your deathstar, asshat cave and die, the gaming community does not need you.)

Photos follow.  I must admit, I was too drawn into the game to take enough pics for a proper BATREP.  Sorry.

  Deployment.  I kept my AA and Infantry on their dropships, praying that his AA would not make me pay for my boldness.  I got lucky and feinted with my armor onto the left flank.  

Damn!  He got the initiative and deployed into the building before I could even disembark.  It was going to be ugly if he  found the objective quickly.  (By the way, objectives have to be found, not stumbled upon.  In our game, there were three coconuts to find (I just came back from Hawaii, give us a break!!!))

  His infantry is in the building, mine is barely deployed.  I am a full turn behind in reaction.  Only my tanks are doing well, and that is pure luck of the rolling so far!

  Ahhh, the AA is now in the fray, and exacting a terrible price in scourge forces!  We shall overcome the inhuman invaders!!

 

   Damnit, how did he get that far.  Fracking Scourge!!!  After a terribly deadly, yet successful CQB, I held the center building.  Giving up on the farthest objective cost me dearly though, as he got it off the board, and I could not take control of the objectives before turn 6 to contest the VPs and force the game to KP totals.  So, the UCM lost by the slimmest of margins, but we shall return, and one day reclaim HOLY TERRA (help me, Space Marines!!! - LOL)

  Seriously, if you are looking for a very challenging, fun and easy to play epic level game, play DZC.  You'll love it!!!!  

DropZone Commander - Starter Set Build

And now... for something completely different.

  Well, it happened.  I have been holding on to this 2 player starter set of Dropzone Commander since Feast of Blades (2103).  An opportunity finally came up to play it, but one big problem.  I found out Saturday night that I would be playing Monday night.  I have to wrok Monday too.  So, a lot of hurried building and frenzied painting later, I present to you, this.  My starter box set all painted (minus the infantry, I have to paint them still, and base them, but I need to learn a bit more about how they will work, squad-wise before I commit to a paint scheme and base scheme.)

Here goes...

 All the models, built and waiting to prime. 

 Thank god for Army Painter colored primers!  The UCM forces got a coating of uniform grey.  I'm going after an alpine theme for them.  The Scourge got Gun Metal primer.  They're going to be... well, scourge color. 

   For the UCM, I used the Sotar 20/20 to spray on some Valejo game color Wolf Grey in a camo pattern.  The metal bits (treads and weapons) got leadbelcher from GW.  After that I hit them with my Payne's Grey wash.  They came out very nice, in person.  The photo kinda sucks a bit.

   The Scourge force got randomly airbrushed with Minitaire Ghost Tint Blue and Valejo Game Color Transparent green.  The eyes got VGC Bloody red and the vents got brown shade.  Makes a convincing rusty color.

   That's it.  A little gloss medium on the eyes and glass areas and they are done.  Took all day, but actual work time was about 4-5 hours.  The rhino is there for size reference.  28mm vs 10mm...

Feast of Blades, Grex and Dropzone Commander

  How cool is that badge number?  I was "the Devil's Con-Goer"  or the Devils's geek...

  So, Feast of Blades was on a three day weekend, and I managed to sneak up there for the day to watch the happenings.  I also wanted to see the vendors, especially Spikey Bits, since they would have the Grex Airbrush stuff there, and I wanted a new airbrush!!  Lets face it, I went for the vendors.  I also wanted to go to Ikea and the GW store up in Denver, and Caboose Hobbies too.  So, it may have been a whirlwind trip, but it was fun.

I didn't play anything that mattered, and I only was able to watch for a while, but it seemed to be running very smoothly and I didn't see any hiccups while I was there.  The open and the invitational seemed to go very well.  Never saw any rage, and people seemed to be enjoying their games.  I'm not the kind that goes up and butts in, so who knows, maybe everyone hated everyone?  LOL.  Saw a large number of Eldar and Taudar lists, as you might imagine.