Showcase: Junkers Vehicles

Introduction

2 weeks ago, I talked about my 28mm Junkers Sandrunners.  These 2-legged lizards and their riders are pretty weird, even for a science fiction army.  However the original VOID 1.1 range had some elements in the same force which are (in some senses) much more conventional.  It's time to talk about the Junkers vehicles!

Quad Bikes

In the picture above are both variants of the basic Junkers quad bike.  On the left is the standard model, armed with "twin combat shotguns", while on the right is a decurion (NCO) with a chain gun/rotary cannon.  Note that I've replaced the cast metal aerials with a piece of steel wire (for strength) topped with a tiny bead (so that you don't impale your hand when picking up the model).

As quad bikes, these models are quite large.  That's OK - I can imagine them carrying a passenger as well as the driver, or perhaps a small amount of cargo.  They have well-spring suspension and look capable of travelling cross-country at high speed.  So far, so good.

Where my suspension of disbelief breaks down on these is with the weaponry.  Mounted weapons of any kind on a quad bike would be extremely difficult to aim, especially if the driver is being bounced around whilst moving over rough terrain.  OK, I could easily enough imagine that the "combat shotguns" (which in real life would be for fighting room-to-room in built-up areas?) are actually assault rifles or light machine guns, but that still doesn't get around the aiming problem.  Also, I don't see where is the ammunition supply for such high rate-of-fire weapons.  Hmm.

Dune Buggies

I have 2 of the Junkers dune buggies painted up (and several more unstarted ones in boxes).  This first one is the standard chain-gun model.  It has room for 2 crew in the "cockpit" and in the back it has an open "turret" mounting a very large rotary cannon and another crewman.

Again, the basic vehicle looks very capable, fast and rugged.  The weapon makes it look a bit top-heavy, though.  I wonder if the dune buggy would tip over if the gun is fired in any direction other than straight ahead?

There's also something about this one which makes me particularly annoyed - the driver is firing a weapon!  My own personal experience suggests that it requires a lot of concentration to be in control of a civilian vehicle in peacetime.  By rights, driving cross-country whilst under fire should require one's full attention.  But this guy has 1 hand on the wheel and is using the other to shoot at something off to the side.  I predict that the dune buggy will smash in 5..4..3..2..1..SPLAT!

Here's the second form of Junkers dune buggy: a "transport".  Again there is space for 2 in the cockpit.  Thankfully the driver has both hands on his controls, but he has a buddy beside him who is shooting away.  At the back of the vehicle is an open platform with handrails and a further 3 passengers.  The buggy clearly has room for rather more people than this - perhaps 6 or so on the platform - but perhaps such a load would slow it down too much?

There is a third variant of the Junkers dune buggy (with twin flamethrowers?), but I haven't got any of those.

Bonus APC

I have one more vehicle for my Junkers force, but this one isn't a bike or buggy.  Rather, it's a full-blown armoured personnel carrier.  It was built from a Games Workshop model that I had lying around after some old project.  It's been painted in the same camouflage as the other vehicles, so it clearly belongs to the same army!

This model came with several weapon options.  Rather than choose one and glue it in, I built all of them.  Each hatch or fitting has been glued to an insert; the 2 openings in the roof of the APC have been lined so that (almost) any combination is possible.  The "plugs" are made from the bodies of 10ml disposable (plastic) syringes, whilst the "sockets" in the APC are made from the slightly larger 20ml syringes.

Here's one possible combination, with a twin machine gun and a simple closed hatch.

Another variant; this has a missile launcher and an opened commander's hatch.

Conclusion

The dune buggies and quad bikes seem a little out of place as purely military vehicles.  The basic chassis are good models, though and I have several more to build (some time!).  I'm very tempted to convert the crews into post-apocalyptic savages (see this post for the style I'm thinking about) and re-arm the vehicles with quad spearguns and the like.  Road Warrior - here we come!

Showcase: Junkers Sandrunners

Introduction

I've been falling behind my intended posting schedule a bit, recently and I can't quite put my finger on why this is so.  Sure, I've been busy with work and family - but that's always the case and so it isn't any real excuse.  Perhaps I'm spending too much time reading other people's blogs, instead of updating my own?  Possibly, but surely there's time enough for both?

Anyway, here's a description of some models I've had for some time.  This is part of my ongoing plan to document my collection (though I doubt very much that it's realistic to photograph and describe everything I've collected over the years).  Still, I've got to try!

Without any further ado...

Junkers Sandrunners

The Junkers were one of the 4 human factions in the VOID 1.1 Science Fiction game.  Originally these models were produced by I-Kore, though the range was obtained by Scotia Grendel when I-Kore folded (actually, that's simplifying the history a bit, but I can't remember all the ins and outs of it).

I bought a lot of the Junkers, Viridian and Syntha figures cheap when the game fell out of favour.  The VOID 1.1 rules are nothing very special, I think (just a d10 "Warhammer 40,000" knock-off), but I like a lot of the models and they can easily be used with other rules such as 5150 or FUBAR.  Although I've painted a fair number of my VOID models, I have many more just waiting...

As written, the background for the Junkers was a harsh, militaristic dictatorship.  Some elite forces were pampered and equipped with the best that money could buy, but many brutal penal legions also exist.  Think of a cross between House Harkonnen from Dune, the Soviets under Stalin and the Roman Empire.  Within their army, the sandrunners are scouting forces that consist of melee-armed troopers mounted on bad-tempered, 2-legged giant lizards.  How could I resist!

Within my sandrunner collection, I have 2 different commissars or enforcers.  These are there to enforce discipline and ensure that no-one has any unpatriotic thoughts (by blowing their brains out should anyone start thinking for themselves)!  I doubt that I'd ever use both of these enforcers at the same time, but either could be used alone as a lone spy, scout or post-apocalyptic nutcase, I think.

 Of the 5 troopers, the sergeant and 1 of his men have short swords.  The other 3 guys have thermite lances - basically an explosive charge on the end of a long stick.  In theory these can eliminate anything up to (and including) a main battle tank, but first you'd need to get close enough to charge the enemy and secondly you'd have to hope that the back blast didn't kill you.  Life is cheap in a sandrunner patrol!

Here's a view from the other side.  You can see that the lead swordsman is left-handed; this is quite unusual amongst wargaming miniatures.  I approve thoroughly of this, since I'm corrie-fisted myself.

I see these guys as tasked with patrolling remote areas or backwater planets to keep down native resistance, rather than being thrown into a main battle line.  They have simple equipment that doesn't need much maintenance or fuel, so they can be fairly self-reliant.  There are examples of this role in many places, such as the initial Star Wars film on the desert planet and indeed in the later colonial empires of Britain, France &c.

Mind you, I still don't know how the troopers manage to ride the lizards without being eaten.  They're some of the most bad-tempered critters I've ever seen used as cavalry mounts!

FUBAR: successor to Battle! ?

Introduction

Normally in a mid-week post, I report on the game that I hosted at the Helensburgh Games Club's weekly meeting (Tuesday evenings during school term times, Victoria Halls, 6pm-8pm).  Unfortunately, this week I ended up with 8 players and this contributed to making everything so hectic that I forgot to take many pictures.  Those photos that I did take were rushed and have turned out to be very blurry and poor quality.  I won't be able therefore to provide a full narrative of the battle in any way that I'd be happy to publish.  Bah!  More on this later...

Battle.  Practical Wargaming.

Did any of you start wargaming with this book, I wonder?  When I was a boy, my father gave me a copy that he had bought one day while at work in Glasgow.  He used to go for a walk at lunchtime and Glassford's model shop in Cambridge Street (long gone and sorely missed!) was just a minute or so from his laboratory.  It was one of the best things he ever did for me, though I don't know that dad ever appreciated this.

My copy of Battle is still intact, though the dust jacket is tatty and there are various pencil marks inside the book.  The rules themselves are very simple, based around alternate turns and straightforward "move, shoot" mechanics.  However, the book also described platoon and company organisations, the use of support weapons, effects of cover and so on.  For a young boy, this was gold dust!  All the rules proper could be written on a single side of paper and memorised easily.

FUBAR

Tuesday's game board, with Junkers Convict Legionnaires defending an important crossroads and a cannon emplaced in the middle of the road

On club night, I had taken along some of my old 28mm VOID models, from the Junkers and Syntha forces.  However, I didn't intend to use the VOID rules, but rather we played the game using FUBAR.  This is a free set of modern or sci-fi skirmish rules that are explicitly designed to fit on a single side of paper (wow, deja vu!)
FUBAR is easily adapted to any setting and there are many fan variants, including Star Wars, Warhammer 40K, Stargate, Starship Troopers and so on.  And, of course, my own adaptations for VOID.
So, how does this relate to Battle!  Well, in some ways FUBAR is a descendant of the older rules.  All it needs is a bit of imagination; the core mechanics are learned within a few minutes and play is then fast and furious.  I suppose that I'm suggesting FUBAR as an easy way in for the younger children at the club, for whom Warhammer 40K is (in my opinion) far too complex and far too restrictive in the forces you can field.

Game Night

Syntha forces (mostly robots, with one squad of bionic marines and a couple of biomechs/cyborgs) advance along the road.  Their jetbikes had charged ahead earlier, on their own, and had not lasted long against even weak long-range Junkers fire.

A Syntha grav tank exchanges fire with the Junkers cannon and comes off worse, while the Syntha infantry continues to advance steadily (relying on their armour for protection rather than on cover!)

One of the Syntha cyborgs peers through the wreckage of the grav bikes to destroy a Junkers buggy.  The other cyborg had just destroyed the quad-bike in the top right of this picture.  In fact, there are a lot of dead vehicles here, from both forces.  Who'd have thought that soft-skins were so vulnerable to infantry weapons :-) ?

Sadly, time ran out just as the Junkers started to counterattack.  Sandrunners (troopers with explosive lances, riding 2-legged lizards) charged some of the larger robots, while human bombs and legionnaires with thermite poles attacked the other Syntha grav tank.  I think (at least, I hope!) that all the players had a really good evening.

So, this post is a bit rambling, but I hope my point is clear.  Start simple and make it fun!