Atalanta, Agema's NCO & Spotbot

In my last post I hinted that this one would have one of my favorite snipers from Infinity.  So here's Atalanta and her handy little Spotbot.  Almost every game list I have made for Aleph, she has been included.  She's just too good to pass up!

She's not the most durable of all snipers in the game, especially since she doesn't have any type of active camouflage, making her an easier target.  Since she's so effective, she often becomes a priority target of my opponents.  Even if she dies early in the game though, it's not a total loss because my opponent wasted orders on killing her instead of mission objectives!

On the defensive side, she may not have a lot of protection, but on offensive she's quite the killer. She is equipped with a Multispectral Visor (Level 2), which makes all types of active camouflage less effective and best of all she can shoot targets under the cover of smoke.

One common tactic of Aleph players is to drop smoke on her and then let her start picking off targets, because she can see through the smoke and most of her targets can't shoot back!

The Spotbot is a handy little guy that improves her ballistic skill by +3.

Next figure is in progress, but it's a multiple figured base so might take a little longer. 

See you then!

Rod

Aleph High Functionary

I almost let February slip by without a post!  But actually, I'll wrap up with two.  Life has been a little busy lately, but I have squeezed in some paint time.  The hard part was just setting aside some time to take the pictures.  Luckily my wife was taking some shots of her bonsai trees, and took these pictures for me (the rest will be posted later this week.)

This is the Aleph High Functionary, an important representative and liaison for the Aleph artificial intelligence.  In game terms, he's an HVT (High Value Target).  In most game scenarios, you have to deploy a HVT for the other player to use as an objective.  So, not really part of your army, just an objective you have to protect from your opponent, while you go after his HVT and any of the other scenario objectives.

Hope you all are having a good week.  Next post later this week and I'll give ya a hint... it's my favorite sniper in the game!

Rod

My Trip to OKC (Oklahoma City)

On January the 19th I made a 3 hour drive up to Oklahoma City with some of my fellow Infinity players from the Dallas/Fort Worth area to play in an Infinity tournament called WarPanda's Wiley Wompus.  I didn't have any aspirations of winning since I'd only gotten to play one practice game with my new Aleph army before going to the tournament.  BUT, I had hoped to at least give a decent showing.  More on that later...

So, there were 16 total players and we each got to play 3 games.  As usual for Infinity, all 3 guys I played were really friendly folks and we had some fun competitive games.  I lost my first battle 6-2, faired a bit better in my second game losing it only by 2-1.  The last got off to an ugly start and I ended up losing 6-3, but I pretty much killed all his troops in revenge.  Sadly, if I'd had more opportunity to practice with my new army I think I could have done better.  By the last game I was really getting a feel for how to use my troops.

With the games tallied up at the end of the tournament, I found myself in LAST PLACE.  Yes... I'm not doing so well on the tournament scene this season.  3 tournaments, 3 last place finishes!!  Not good for my ego, but I think things will turn around with the new Aleph army.  The Oklahoma group has a tradition that the last place player gets to put their name on a wooden spoon and keep a baby seal hat until the next tournament were hopefully someone else will take the honor.  Why a baby seal hat you ask?  Think "clubbed like a baby seal" as a description of how the last place finisher feels.  Here's a picture of me, the clubbed baby seal.

Next up, our local group has a tournament on Feb 17th.  I haven't decided whether I'll participate yet.  I'm still feeling a bit beat-up on the tournament scene.  Will see though... that's a few weeks to recover.

Anyway, here's some pictures of some of the tables from the Oklahoma tournament.  I didn't take any of these pictures, but grabbed them from the Facebook posts after the tournament.

Penthesilea, Amazon With Attitude

Penthesilea, in Greek legend was an Amazon queen and a fierce warrior on the battlefield. A match for most men in combat, she was the daughter of Ares and the Amazonian queen Otrera.  Suffering from guilt, she sought to find an honorable death which lead her to participate in the Trojan War.  During the Trojan War she joined the side of Troy and finally met her death when facing Achilles.

175 years into the future, the AI Aleph is designing host bodies and giving them the personalities of the Greek heroes.  The most notable of these is Achilles.  His aggressive nature and lack of fear has caused him to be killed on the battle at an alarming rate.  Making a new body and transferring his memory to a new host gets to be time consuming and expensive. So, in an effort to give him better support [and surviveability] Aleph initiates Project "Amazon".  Penthesilea is the result.

Equipped with a Motorcycle, Penthesilea can quickly cover ground on the battlefield so she can easily come to the aide of team members like Achilles.  Or if she gets into the enemies backfield she can start taking down soft-targets very quickly.

I have to say I really like this model and looking forward to putting her in some games.  We'll see how she does pretty soon as I'll be headed up to Oklahoma City to participate in a tournament next Saturday.  Yes, I said a tournament.  I really dig this game!!

Cheers!
Rod

2018 to Infinity

HAPPY NEW YEAR FRIENDS!

I wish you all a healthy and happy 2018.  May your miniatures get painted to your satisfaction, your dice roll true, and all your games be full of fun.

This year I'm keeping it pretty simple on my goals for 2018.  I've really enjoyed my almost weekly games of Infinity with the local players so I plan to keep focusing on that.  I'm already signed up to go to a tournament the later part of this month.  I've never really been one to participate in tournaments, but the people who play Infinity are such friendly folks that I find these tournaments to be pretty enjoyable.

So, my goals for 2018 is pretty simple:

1. I accumulated quite a few Infinity figures last year and more during Christmas.  So, I want to have every figure I own plus any I purchase this year to be painted by the end of the year.
2. Work on some new techniques to paint all these Infinity figures to a higher standard than I currently paint.

And, that's it.

Now, while I plan to get all my Infinity figures painted, I do plan to sneak stuff in from some of my older neglected projects.  So, if you're not into Sci-Fi figures, hopefully I'll be throwing in some historical stuff to peak your interest.

Now, back to toys.  Here are the last figures from 2017 I have to show you.  These are remotes from the Aleph faction.

The Dakini Tactbot is a tactical remote that can be used in a variety of missions.  In games terms though, they are just your basic line troops.  Hence I kind of speed-painted him.  I don't plan to use these very much.

The Garuda Tactbot, however is designed for more immediate insertion/deployment.  They can be launched from aircraft and spaceships.  In game terms, on any of my active terms, I can bring him on to the board by airdrop.  Pick a location on the table, roll for a successful drop, or roll for drifting if I fail the roll.  Very handy for trying to slip a figure in behind the enemy or for trying to drop a troop on an objective.

My first figure of 2018 is almost finished thanks to having a 3 day weekend.  Think Amazon on a motorcycle.  :)

Thank you all for continuing to visit my blog and leaving comments.  It really is appreciated.

Rod

NAGAS Hacker

Continuing with the ALEPH starter box for Infinity, my next troop is a NAGA.  The NAGAS are specialist troops that are skilled in camouflage and infiltration.  They can be equipped for several tasks on your mission, either as Assault Hackers, Killer Hackers, Minelayers, or even Forward Observers.  This particular model is the hacker version.

Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!

Speaking of Christmas, Fred over at the Lead Reckoning blog wished folks to link his blog to theirs for Christmas.  He's already on my blog roll, so I just give a shout-out instead.  Go check him out.  He blogs almost daily and often has some pretty nifty ideas!

Rod

DEVA Functionary

Today we're returning to the armies of the Artificial Intelligence, ALEPH.  ALEPH has military grade bio-synthetic bodies that it can host part of the AI conscious.  These are known as DEVA functionaries.  These veteran troops can serve as the Lieutenant of your force for the mission.

Not the best armed units in your force, but they have sturdy bodies that can take a lot of damage.  DEVA functionaries also have an ability called, No Wound Incapacitation, meaning once they have taken enough damage to drop down to zero wounds, instead of going unconscious, they keep fighting.

Aleph - Asuras

A while back I started my second faction for Infinity.  I do enjoy playing Nomads, but I thought it would be nice to have a second faction for two reasons, 1) variety, so I can play something different from time to time, and 2) so I can give demo games at the store for someone who might be interested in trying out the game.  So who did I pick?  I decided to go with the Nomads bitter enemy, the Artificial Intelligence ALEPH.

From Corvus Belli's site:
ALEPH is the name of the single Artificial Intelligence that oversees the data network of the Human Sphere and most major international technological systems. The scope of its responsibilities is so broad that, in service of Humanity and under O-12 supervision, a whole organizational structure has been created around it to assist in its functions. To fulfill its mission, ALEPH oversees a sizable fraction of all human activity as a sort of friendly, inconspicuous Big Brother whose only goal seems to be aiding us. And yet ALEPH does have enemies. The Nomad Nation has a bitter hatred for the only legitimate AI, convinced that Humanity is but a hapless puppet furthering its secret agenda. And there is also the Evolved Intelligence, whose confrontations with ALEPH are clashes of titans on an epic scale.

I really do like the look of a lot of their figures, so that was a deciding factor as well.  One cool thing about Aleph is they have a whole portion of their army based on a Greek theme.  They have Achilles, Hector, Ajax, etc... for now I'll be working on some of the regular Aleph troops.

First off is the Asuras.  These elite heavy infantry and bio-engineered with highly absorbent sub-dermal armor plates.  They make good storm troops and can really take a lot of damage.  No matter how hot the fire, you don't have to worry about them retreating either.

Ha, it never fails that I find cat hairs in my pictures!

Rod

Miranda Ashcroft, Authorized Bounty Hunter

Hey Friends!

I know it's been a while since my last post.  So hopefully my return will bring you some enjoyable pictures of my latest work.  I do enjoy my job, but the commute is a real killer for my painting motivation.  It generally takes me 1 hour and 15 minutes to get to work and the same amount of time to come home, so most nights I just don't feel like painting much after a long day.  But, I have been painting and finally got around to taking some pictures.  So at least I have several blog posts coming up soon.

Today's post is a mercenary figure that can be used by a lot of factions in Infinity (the game).  Miranda is the typical rich girl gone bad, except her version of "bad" is becoming a bounty hunter and gun for hire.  Although cut-off from most of the family fortune, she still has enough tucked away to be able to afford some of the best equipment on the market.

Miranda Ashcroft, Authorized Bounty Hunter

She's a really cool figure and and a lot of fun to paint.  Unfortunately, she hasn't been that great for me in the game yet.  So far I manage to get her killed before she has had a chance to get into the action.  I'll keep trying though!

Rod

Daktari

Today we venture a hundred and seventy-five years into the future for some more Infinity related content.  Today's subject is the Nomads field doctor called a Daktari.  The word Daktari actually means "doctor" in Swahili.

Doctors and medics play a very handy role in Infinity.  Since they are labeled as Specialist they can capture mission objectives, whether its a console, terminal, signal antennae, etc.  Also, some of the cards you can draw from your classified objective deck specifically relate to Doctors doing some kind of medical skill.  So it's always to your advantage to have one or more in your army list.

Their other key role is they use a medical kit to get unconscious figures back into the action.  When a figure takes a number of hits equal to their wound stat then they go unconscious.  From this state they can be revived.  Only if they take more hits than their wound stat are they killed and completely removed from the table.  So a good doctor running around the battlefield can get some of your troops back in action quick.

This Daktari obviously comes from the Nomad starship Bakunin, where body modifications and just about anything else can be accomplish if you got the money to spend.  If you want to be a Cat Girl... you can get that done on Bakunin!

You can certainly see the Japanese anime influence on Infinity when you see figures like this.  I have to admit that's one of the things I like about the game too.

Have a good weekend friends!

Rod

Midnight Sun Analyst (HVT)

Midnight Sun is an intelligence agency based in the Nomad nation.  Midnight Sun encourages competition between their own analysts, so these intelligence gathers will often be found in the thick of the action.  For the opponents of the Nomad nation, these Midnight Sun analyst are highly valuable targets to capture.

Infinity is a scenario based game, so you'll always have main objectives you are trying to achieve in each game.  There are also secondary objectives that you can go for to gain more points.  Usually you will draw 1-2 cards for "Classified" objectives.  Only you will know what these objectives are and they are only revealed to your opponent when successfully completed.  Also, each player will put a HVT (High Value Target) in the middle of the table.  You want to try to capture the opponents HVT while protecting your own.  HVT's serve another purpose in that some of the classified objectives involve interaction with your opponents HVT.

So, if the previous paragraph didn't make sense, then here's the gist.  Each game you have to place a non-combatant on the table and try to protect them from capture.  This dude is mine!

Cheers!

Rod

Crazy...er...Caring Koalas?

Hey friends!  Time for yet another Infinity post.  This time I will introduce you to Crazy Koalas.  One of the weapons available in the Nomad's arsenal is a little robot called the Crazy Koala.  The Crazy Koala is a proximity weapon.  It follows along with it's controller and can be anywhere within the controller's Zone of Control (ZOC).  The ZOC in Infinity is 8" and does not require line-of-sight.  After all, this is the future and they have electronics and all kinds of detection gear at their disposal.  What a proximity weapon does is during the other player's turn it will sit in a idle state until an enemy enters their ZOC and it will charge them until it reaches base to base contact... and EXPLODE.  Now that's just good fun folks!

Now as I was pondering the paint job for my Crazy Koalas I just kept thinking about the Care Bears. If you're not familiar with these cartoon characters well they are oriented towards younger children.  In my sinister twisted mind I decided I'd paint my little suicide koalas as these friendly childhood characters.  Why not??  I'm playing it off as it provides a few seconds of confusion for the friend/foe recognition software of my enemies.  It could work...

Anyway, here they are!  The Crazy... I mean... Caring Koalas!

Since the models come in pairs, I didn't want them to be duplicates so for the one below I was going to sculpt him on a different base.  But the pose just screamed SURF BOARD or HOVER BOARD, you choose.  Either way that's what the green stuff turned into when I was done.  :)

And for this one I got the idea that it would be cool if he was running through a smoke grenade in the processing of just beginning to spread out it's smoke.

Hope you all are having a good weekend.

Rod

TOMCATS, Engineer and a ZondCat

TOMCATS are specialist Nomad troops that hail from the starship Corregidor.  The more highly skilled TOMCATS are doctors and engineers.  The TOMCATS enter the battle field by parachute drop in planetary environments, but also have training in Zero-G.  They can also be accompanied by a ZondCat.  ZondCat are robot remotes that can perform all the skills as the doctor or engineer they accompany.

TOMCATS - Engineer

ZondCat

Well, they sound pretty neat.  BUT, how do they work in the game you ask?  At the beginning of the game you can either start them on the board in your deployment area... OR you split the board up into sectors and determine which sector they will enter the board (as long as it's not your opponents deployment area).  The opponent doesn't get to know where they will come in... or even that you have one.  Seriously, they don't even get included on the courtesy list if you provide one.  One of the great things about Infinity is how the players have to trust each other and work together to make the game work.  As a courtesy you could take a picture of the location the unit will enter... or just write it down.  Most players will just trust you though.

So, on your turn you spend an order to bring the TOMCATS specialist (and their ZondCat, if you added one to your list) onto the table in your pre-planned drop sector.  If you pass the skill roll then they are placed on the edge of the table anywhere in that sector.  If you fail the roll, then they have to be placed in your deployment area.  What is nice is if you wait until the second turn you might be able to drop in behind some enemies in cover and catch them clustered together behind cover.  The engineers and doctors come equipped with Lt. Flamethrowers which can really be nasty in the right situation!!

(Pictures taken by my wife Alla)

Doctors are important for reviving unconscious figures on your team.  Engineers are for useful for fixing damaged equipment and repairing damaged robots.  So both are valuable skills, but also as specialist they have the ability to capture specific objectives on the game board depending on the scenario.

Hope you are having a good week friends!
Rod