Making the most of cheap toy soldiers - Different schemes make different men!

The following 3 guys are from a bag of toy soldiers currently on sale in poundland, the reason I bought a large number of them is because, unlike most cheap toy soldiers they are pretty near heroic 28mm scale! The particular figure I'm using here is by far the best of the lot, and I wanted to test to see how different paint schemes could hide the fact that all 3 are the same model.

So from left to right we have: a member of a local militia, an officer of the NAPD which I think stands for National Police Department, and last of all a zombie solider.

 The paint jobs were very quickly done, although not 100% finished in the pictures. The zombie was the fastest as you could probably guess and the militia member took the longest.

I've found that because the figures in bags of cheap toy soldiers are so generically military, that they can be painted with almost any scheme and it looks as the figure was intended to be. A good example is the NAPD officer's ballistic vest, and his balaclava which are details that were simply painted on.

All three models are for use in a skirmish game/rpg I'm working on set in a post-societal collapse of America which was possibly caused by aliens. Each figure represents one of the main factions in the game, the militias, the police, a private army of reanimated corpses. There'll also be a mutant force, a sewer scum force and the plain old army force so look out for this same figure kitted out for each of those, with the mutant having a small amout of work done with milliput. Oh and the aliens which are currently under construction and do not use the cheap toy soldiers, but use something equally as cheap!

As always I hope you had a good Christmas, and thanks for stopping by!

WGP

Super Toy Soldier Squad Alpha Rules

Each player has 5-10 miniatures, each miniature is given a command rating and a training level (conscript, regular and elite). One miniature on each side must have a greater command rating than all the rest on their own side, this is the leader.

At the beginning of the game both players roll off to determine who deploys first.
Each player deploys 1 miniature in turn anywhere on the table provided the miniature placed is not within LOS of any enemy miniature already deployed on the table.

Both players roll off again, this time adding the command rating of their leader, the winner gains the initiative for the turn.

Players pick up 1 die per miniature under their command (including the leader). Both players roll their dice. Dice are then attributed to miniatures with the player without the initiative placing their dice first.

Once all dice are attributed play begins.

Starting with all miniatures with a 1 attributed to them, the player with the initiative moves or shoots with their miniatures before the player without the initiative does so. Play then passes onto miniatures with a 2 attributed to them and so on up to 6.

When a miniature is activated it can either move or shoot.

Pick up 1 die for a conscript, 2 for a regular and 3 for an elite.

In order to perform the action roll the number of dice for your miniatures training level and you perform the action if you roll equal to or under the number on the die attributed to the miniature.

Any miniature activating at step 6 still fails on rolls of 6.

For example: An elite is activated at step 2 and chooses a shoot action, they pick up three dice and roll them, they succeed and hit the target if they manage to roll a 2 or less on any of their dice.

MOVING - If you succeed the miniature can move up to 4".

SHOOTING - Declare which miniature your miniature is firing on. If you succeed the miniature is hit. The miniature hit gets a saving roll if they are in cover from the perspective of the firing miniature - 3+ for cover from fire and 5+ for cover from view.

MELEE COMBAT - If your miniature moves into base contact with an enemy miniature they are allowed a free melee attack against the enemy miniature. If they are already in base contact with an enemy miniature they must perform a melee attack and can perform no other action until the other miniature is killed. Miniatures in melee combat can be fired at, but when the shot misses the attack is scored on the miniature in the melee not declared as the target. When a success is scored in melee combat the miniature hit is automatically killed.

Once step 6 is completed players roll for initiative again, roll and attribute dice again, and a new game turn begins at step 1.

MORALE - When a miniature is killed in combat it is replaced with a casualty figure. Casualty figures cannot be activated and the die for them is not rolled when rolling and attributing dice. For each casualty figure your side has the command rating of their leader is reduced by 1. When their command rating is reduced to a negative number the number counts as a modifier to the value needed to roll when activating your miniatures.

For example a side has taken 5 casualties and their leader has a command rating of 4. When rolling for initiative the leader gets a -1 modifier to their die roll. When a miniature on their side is activated at step 2 you need to roll a 1 or less instead of a 2 or less.

Miniatures will always activate on a roll of 1 regardless of the morale modifier.

The Korban Grenadiers (making the most of cheap toy soldiers)

Sometimes among the Korban ranks a soldier is both physically larger and stronger but also intellectually and tactically. These Korban are quickly drafted into elite units known as Grenadiers.

 The Sergeant of the unit carries a large variety of tactical grenades from smoke, to flash, to stun, and in extreme circumstances the much feared 'Molsh Grenade'.

 While it might not be obvious here, these Korban are superior in height when compared to their brethren. The Grenadier is also distinguished by a black helmet.

 Grenadiers are also experts in hand to hand combat and assault tactics.

 But also marksmanship, in fact Crucible are often hard pressed to find a better marksman (that they will acknowledge exists) than the Korban Grenadier.

 The Korban Grenadiers are also equipped with the best in infantry heavy weapons. The M1 Laser Cannon or Lazooka to the men, is highly effective at taking down almost anything that can be thrown at it. The downside is that it has no explosive radius, so while it may easily cut through a tank, infantry are much more difficult to deal with.

 Finally the Erosion Gun, based on the idea of  weaponising a water cutter, one canister is filled with water, the other a highly top secret ebrasive. The Erosion gun often takes it's time, but is always effective where laser weaponry may be deflected or absorbed. While it is officially illegal under crucible law to turn an erosion gun on an infantry unit, tests have shown it to be highly effective and it has been used that way in dire and therefore justifiable circumstances.

Thanks for stopping by!
WGP

The Steel Skulls (making the most of cheap toy soldiers)

The Steel Skulls are an elite and highly experimental unit. They specialise in black ops missions and no win scenarios. The Steel Skulls are an entirely human unit and are officially denied as active by Crucible. Rumours abound surrounding their existence and motives, most believe they are a real unit but are only known to truly exist by the highest members of the human race within Crucible. They do all the dirty work, and ask no questions.

 The sergeant above is armed with a light laser weapon, perfect for taking out human sized targets. He is carrying the traditional ballistic pistol and wearing the iconic Steel Skull helmet.

 The entire unit is wearing an experimental type of body armour known as a DAV, deflection absorption vest. The DAV using successive layers of reflective and absorbative material wears down a laser weapon shot, deflecting some and absorbing some in stages. It is believed a DAV is 100% effective against a light or medium laser weapon, but if shot more than once in the same location, the second time round will be totally ineffective.

 The standard Steel Skull support weapon is the Molsh. Steel Skull units however rarely carry a standard Molsh, most are experimental models, offering higher rates of fire, greater accuracy or range, but suffering from a higher probability of malfunction.

The Steel Skull helmet provides the wearer with almost any tactical data a soldier could desire. It is completely environment proof and has advanced filtration units turning any harmful gasses or environments into fully breathable air. If not filtering existing air it has a small air supply of its own allowing the user to survive up to 24 Earth hours in a vacuum. The Steel Skulls operate in smaller units due to their helmets which are an entirely deflective form of armour. The front armour of the helmet is vastly superior to the rear encouraging any Steel Skull from ever facing away from an enemy.
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WGP

The Khef (making the most of cheap toy soldiers)

The Khef are an ancient race with an unknown origin. Most of their troops are not infact Khef but are reanimated corpses from previous wars. The Khef are only currently a small threat to Crucible but are growing rapidly.

The Khef below are a support laser squad. 

 A large part of Khef equipment is either stolen or salvaged from battlefields. The Khef above is a reanimated corpse. The camouflage pattern as you may notice is not particularly well suited to the environment, this is pretty normal among Khef armies again due to the fact that they steal of salvage a lot of their equipment.

The Khef above is also a reanimated corpse, he has mismatched trousers, possibly from a Korban unit, and his helmet is a much older style of camouflage. The weapon he is carrying is known as a Molecular Shredder or Molsh for short. The Molsh literally does what its name suggests and is not hindered by any current shield technology. The disadvantage of the Molsh is its unreliability and shortened range. If hit by this horrific weapon, the target, if it is a biological one, is often reduced to a red or pinkish slime. This slime is also referred to as Molsh. Military reports instead of recording a person as deceased when killed by a Molsh will say 'Molshed', this is primarily so the family can prepare themselves for what may be shipped home.

 The Khef above is in a similar style uniform to the previous one. He is armed with a standard laser weapon for a support squad.

 The Khef above is dressed in a complete uniform. The camouflage is similar to that worn by humans when they first invaded Krel prior to the Formation Wars.

 The Khef above is also wearing the same pre-Formation Wars camouflage. He is also protected by an AV.

 This Khef is the only true Khef in the squad. It makes sense then that he should be the commanding officer. Judging by the camouflage and ballistic pistol it would be a safe bet to say this squad's equipment, possibly including the reanimated members, were salvaged pre-Formation Wars. The Khef within it therfore would most likely be former humans or Korban.

Notice the strange eyeless shape of the true Khef's head. Most of the orders it will give will be done telepathically. The true Khef is completely blind but is able to see telepathically through the eyes of those it has reanimated. This actually gives the Khef a much better understanding of its surroundings, the distances to and locations of enemies, making them not only tactically gifted but also deadly with any ranged weapon.
Coming soon with be a small squad of humans, one of the most primitive and violent races to ever join Crucible.
Thanks for stopping by!
WGP

The Korban (making the most of cheap toy soldiers)

The Korban are a Reptoid alien race from the planet Krel. They were one of the original founding races of Crucible, an intergalactic alliance of sytems. Crucible's goals are simple, to promote unity, keep the peace and establish a universal Mentocratic government. Mentocracy is a long standing form of government on developed worlds, whereby a master computer system collects data from all sentient beings, recording their memories, experiences and feelings, those are then used by the master computer to control every aspect life.  

The Korban below are a support laser squad in their home world orange/red uniform. 

 The Sergeant of the SLS is armed with both a laser weapon and a simple ballistic pistol for back up. Ballistic pistols were widely carried during the Formation Wars due to the large scale use of advanced EMP devices. While not as important now, due to advanced EMP shielding, they are largely carried due to tradition.

 The centre of the SLS is a soldier armed with a medium laser repeater. The main goal of the MLR is to take out the field dispersion shield, which currently will protect any enemy soldiers from any incoming fire. But due to the power needed and the weakness of FDS power units the shield flickers on and off at an unpredictable rate. The soldier armed with the MLR will focus a huge amount of fire on the FDS and eventually enough fire will get through to shut the shield down permanently.

 The soldier above is wearing an Absorption Vest. While largely ineffective against medium to heavy laser weaponry, the AV can increase the survival rate of being hit by a light laser weapon by up to 50%. Absorption Vests were more widely adopted after field tests showed Deflection Vests not only often gave positions away but also caused more casualties, especially within a tightly packed squad.

 This soldier is armed with a much more compact laser weapon, primarily used for clearing bunkers and assaulting fortified positions.

 The soldier above is armed with a pretty standard laser weapon for a support squad.

 Due to the minimal recoil of laser weaponry it is very possible to fire them one handed, provided the soldier is strong enough to lift the weapon. This has lead to a number of developments in laser pistols, they have not yet been widely adopted due to their lack of punch but are the perfect weapon for a radio operator.

The two pictures above just show the packs carried by two of the soldiers in the squad. It is possible for two men to carry everything the six man squad needs to survive in the field for up to one year. This includes enough food and hydration pills to enable the squad to survive in areas that contain no other food source.
More on these guys, Crucible and their enemies, the Formation Wars, advances in laser weaponry and Mentocracy in the future.
Thanks for stopping by!
WGP