3mm Scale Mutant Chronicles

[Mr. Average]

So this is more of an appeal than a project in action because I’m so busy this one has not yet left the confines of the ol’ brain box. But the current O8 “retro” offerings have spoken to me of the classic 90s milieu Mutant Chronicles, in particular a battle between the Imperial and Bauhaus corporations on Venus in the chaotic days of the Dark Symmetry and the First Corporate War. The retro sci fi tanks will be ideal for the Imperial forces, but I fear they may overpower more “true” scale O8 WW2 offerings.

So here’s my question: does anyone have any GHQ World War II French ranks from which I could gauge a size against 3mm and 6mm scale? I have a feeling the Char B1 bis and Somua S-35 would make great Bauhaus line tanks with very little modding, and I remember GHQ models skewing a tad small, but how small I can’t remember. I want them to be big against 3mm scale but I want them not to overpower some of the truly giant contraptions like Vanguard superheavies.

Does anyone have any on hand they could show? My searches in google haven’t turned up what I need.

[Mike]

I do not. But I used to collect all the mutant chronicles rpg books back in the day. I even saw the terrible film. Good luck you magnificent loony!!

However having possessed some of both albeit not at the same time or any longer… I think you will get away with it.

[Mr. Average]

Right? GHQ may feel like very heavy 3mm/4mm scale, if my memory serves. “True” 6mm scale like Vanguard will feel more substantial and definitively outsized, which makes it a good choice for Dieselpunk/Techno-Gothic superweapons.

And yes, there’s a kind of irresistibly over-the-top feel to it that I can’t get over. Like a melange of ever conceivable sci fi game genre that was popular at the time, that doesn’t exactly hold together, but is still just such an indulgence I can’t help myself.

[Mr. Average]

Oddly enough, I have my answer not from scaling GHQ but from looking at some of the original Warzone minis from the 90s – the tanks were routinely of ludicrous sizes. So that’s just fine.

I also finally found a niche for the Vanguard Churchillian tank as an Imperial Corporation heavy battle vehicle. It’ll fit the role perfectly.

[Alexander Wasberg]

I can’t really help with pics, but I applaud the idea.

Mutant Chronicles has a really cool and way too underappreciated setting!

http://lasersandbroadswords.blogspot.com My project blog

[Mr. Average]

Alas it’s gotten less over-the-top in its second incarnation, which is kind of a disappointment – a step in the direction of StarCraft and away from the chaotic and internally-inconsistent bizarreness of the original, which was one of the reasons I liked it. It had a very “underground comix” vibe that it has lost over the years, unfortunately.

[Darkest Star Games]

Back in the day we ran a little bit of the RPG when a friend became disenchanted with GW.  It always seemed like a schizophrenic rid off of 40k, and although there some things I really liked about the setting it just wasn’t cohesive enough.  We played it as a sort of horror-thriller, though I know others played it as a combat RPG due to the quasi-WW1 vibe and background.  I think the change in feel happened due to the various succession of companies and jumpstart attempts the franchise has had, and now they have settled on a mass-combat game (rather than the almost large skirmish style of the original) which on it’s own changes up the feel of the setting.

"I saw this in a cartoon once, but I'm pretty sure I can do it..."

[Mr. Average]

I kind of loved it for that – the fact that it was this bizarre artifact of that particular time that didn’t actually make any real sense. The pulpy retro stylings also appealed to me, the breathing on the Moon stuff that didn’t ever really get explained properly. I don’t know, it’s just a very weird system and the more “rational” it’s gotten, the less I like it. It sparked my imagination, but now everything has been overexplained and so it’s not as much fun anymore, in a backwards way.

Either way, I picked up a pile of retro O8 minis, but probably won’t paint them for a long time the way my life is at the moment. I chose WWI French troops as my stand-in for the Imperial Trenchers. Selected Venator powersuits will be my Blood Berets, with a suitable paint job. One always likes to have rainy day options though.

[Mr. Average]

For anyone curious about relative scale, behold:

Imperial Corporation Mk. XVI “Montgomery” Tank on the left, a Bauhaus Corporation Panzer XIX “Walkure” Line Tank on the right.  Very convincing combatants at the scale.

At present, my rule set of choice may well be Laserstorm.  It seems to have the proper “flavor” down for a game of pulpy close-quarters mass-combat blastery.  Converting all relevant distances to centimeters will allow comfortably embiggened games on a very nicely compact space.

[Mr. Average]

So I did an Imperial armored platoon with a howitzer for fire support.  These are way more military than I usually do, and the camo works slightly too well, but I still dig them.

[Alexander Wasberg]

Good work on the camo, they really blend into the base well!

http://lasersandbroadswords.blogspot.com My project blog

[Mr. Average]

Yeah, alas TOO well – I prefer my vehicles to pop a little more. I’m thinking some contrasting flock, maybe a bright yellow.

Failing that I may give the camo the ol’ heave-ho in favor of a flat green or high-contrast scheme. This is always the way with 3mm scale – the good thing is that for the price you can do a lot of experimenting for cheap!

[Alexander Wasberg]

I think you should keep them, you could always make another set as well and keep these guys as a reserve unit 🙂

http://lasersandbroadswords.blogspot.com My project blog

[Darkest Star Games]

I really like the scheme, and the fact that the camo does complement the terrain, as it should if it’s doing its job!  Keep them I say (and not just because I recently have begun to paint my 15mm Federation guys with big white turrets too!)

"I saw this in a cartoon once, but I'm pretty sure I can do it..."

[Mr. Average]

Slight change of venue – Mars seems to have a nice look to bring out the camo on these guys.  They could be fighting for Mars, right?  Why not?

[Alexander Wasberg]

Those bases look nice, fighting on mars will be fierce!

http://lasersandbroadswords.blogspot.com My project blog

[Darkest Star Games]

That’s pretty wild!  How did you get the crackle?  It looks great.

"I saw this in a cartoon once, but I'm pretty sure I can do it..."

[Thaddeus Blanchette]

I like these bases better, Mat.

We get slapped around, but we have a good time!

[Mike]

I too think those bases are the bomb.

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