No, not any particular anniversary here. But last month saw the 60th anniversary of the first broadcast of Doctor Who. I finally got to watch the three specials last weekend, and thought that since I hadn't played HOTT in a while I should drag out my Dalek and UNIT armies for a quick game.
UNIT defended, and fielded 6 x Shooters, 1 x Hero general (The Brigadier), 1 x Artillery and 1 x Sneaker (The Doctor). Their stronghold was a castle because the usual country-house I use is down in the garage and it was pouring with rain.
The Daleks have a few options. They attacked with 1 x Airboat general, 2 x Flyers, 2 x Shooters (Mercenaries), 1 x Artillery (Special Weapons Dalek) and 5 x Blades.
And here they are, all ready to fight. The Dalek advance was out of some woodland, towards a village that UNIT would obviously occupy with their soldiers.
The Dalek flyers provided a nice distraction, zipping into UNIT's rear.
UNIT advanced to make best use of the village. The Daleks advanced slowly so that they could reorganise and expand their line.
The artillery for both sides was soon in range. UNIT's mortars destroyed an element of Dalek mercenaries.
Meanwhile teh Brigadiers moved out of reserve and took on the Dalek fliers, pushing them back.
The Dalek command saucer destroyed UNIT's artillery.
On UNIT's left they kept up a steady, but ineffective, fire on the advancing Daleks, whilst troops in a Land Rover turned the Dalek flank.
The Daleks got a good run of PIPs. The fliers were able to overfly the Brigadier and move into the rear of UNIT's line as their main force moved into contact.
Attacked from land and sky UNIT's right collapsed in an orgy of extermination. Not good at all.
The Daleks pressed their attack, but couldn't break into the village.
The Brigadier rushed over from where he'd been fighting the fliers that had evaded him but was pinned and then driven back by the surviving mercenaries preventing him from attacking the Dalek command saucer.
And that gave the Daleks more time to press forward, attacking The Doctor himself.
The Doctor was destroyed (he'll be back), and that was enough to break UNIT.
UNIT lost three shooters, their artillery and The Doctor for a total of 12AP. The Daleks only lost an element of easily replaced mercenaries.
I think when I played this setup for the 50th anniversary the Daleks won as well.
As an aside, I loved the specials. Much more straightforward and fun than the over-complicated and poorly written offerings we've had for the past few years.
Nice tribute to such a long running show. I like your Doctor figure (the best Dr in my opinion!)
ReplyDeleteThanks. He was the easiest Doctor to do in 15mm - started life as a Peter Pig cowboy (and meant that the entire UNIT force could be bought from Peter Pig as well)
DeleteWhat beautiful Dr Who armies, I don't recall seeing you use them before (although you obviously have). The Dalek flying saucer is magnificent, and from the hat, I assume it is a proper Tom Baker Dr Who.
ReplyDeleteYes, I made these armies a long time ago. I did UNIT first, and then was a friend cast and made the 15mm Daleks for me. They are one-off designs of 1988 pattern Daleks (he himself made some 1960s and 70s style Daleks).
DeleteThere is, of course, no 'proper' Doctor - all Doctors are valid, but Tom Baker was most recognisable and (more importantly) easiest to do in 15mm :)
Nice report, gripping battle. I like the depiction of the mothership soaring up above the houses - are they Irregular 2mm castings?
ReplyDeleteYes. The base is an Irregular Miniatures 2mm village (chopped up to fit the 40mm x 60mm rectangle). Being metal it gives the base some necessary weight and stability. I can't remember what the saucer is made from.
DeleteNice armies. I have some of the figures you use as mercenaries in your Dalek army. They are the old Laserburn 15mm “Law Officers” (still available from Alternative Armies). I bought some of these miniatures many years ago, with the intention of building a 2000AD army of Judges. Shades of Judge Dredd but, sadly, they are still buried deep in my mountain of unpainted lead.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Geoff
I got given a complete set of those sci-fi figures many years ago - one of each code. Not enough to do an army, but over the years they've proved useful as filler for projects like this. Some of them are 'Law Officers' and others are more generic sci-fi troopers.
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