Terrain Workshop: Trees 5

I "discovered" a few parts while sorting pieces and looking for parts to complete my other Tree Terrain Workshop posts.  Going back to the core 1x1x6 Solid Pillar Support of the original post, let's build some new tree designs.

For the first tree, topping off the Support is a 1x1 Round Plate and a Travis Brick with four Trunks w/Bar End (Long Straight Tip) plugged into it and four Small Palm Leaves attached to the Trunks.  There's a 1x1Round Plate w/Twist on top of the Travis Brick.  This tree is 24 feet tall in 6P scale and can take 2 Hits before being destroyed.

The second design has a lot of flat edges but it looks "right" to me.  A 2x2 Brick w/Pins & Axle Hole sits on top of the Support.  Two Curved Slopes 2x1x1.33 w/Recessed Stud are mounted on the pins from the 2x2 Brick with 3x4 Plant Leaves attached to them.  A 2x2 Round Plate goes on top of the 2x2 Brick then four more 3x4 Plant Leaves topped off by a 2x2 Round Tile.  This tree is 24 feet tall in 6P scale and can take 2 Hits before being destroyed.

This next one changes things up a bit by using a Technic Pin Connector 3L w/2 Pins & Center Hole as part of the trunk on top of the Support.  Two 1x1 Round Bricks are placed on the pins from Connector, then eight -- four and four -- 3x4 Plant Leaves are placed onto the Round Bricks to make the canopy.  This tree is 27 feet tall in 6P scale and can take 2 Hits before being destroyed.

Another thing I figured out while building these is that the 3x3 Plate makes a good base for this size tree.  Once again I hope I've given people ideas or techniques to use in their terrain builds.

Terrain Workshop: Trees 4

Riffing once again on Cylinder parts for the trunks of trees, let's make a variation on the alternate second level from the last tree Terrain Workshop.  

Starting with four Round Corner Brick 2x2 Macaroni w/Stud Notch & Reinforced Underside, add two Half Cylinder 2x4x4, then top it off with a 4x4 Round Plate, four Plant Leaves 6x5, and a 2x2 Round Tile.  In 6P scale this tree is 10' thick and 18' tall.  It will take 2 Hits to destroy. Any Frame standing on top of the Round Tile count as Elevated.  (Good luck with that though.)

For the second level we swap out the Round Tile for another 4x4 Round Plate and push the connection points for the Plant Leaves 6x5 to the edges, then we just add a copy of the original tree to the top.  This would give us a 4 Hit, 36' tall tree.  Any Frame standing on top of it counts as Elevated.

Just for fun, let's take one section of each tree design and combine them into one.  This would give us a 6 Hit, 54' tall tree (in scale).  Any Frame standing on top of it counts as Elevated.

Finally, here's what all three of these new tree designs look like individually.

I'll be using all three of these in a table-setting at some point.  I hope I've given people ideas or techniques to use in their terrain builds.

Player Count 5

The last time I talked about this I didn't say it would be the last but I thought it might be.  There was a recent discussion about ties and the points algorithm that got me thinking about my favorite bugbear again.

One more time, here's the original version for reference.

Original

                                Frames

Players  Stations Skirmish Battle

    2           3         4 to 6 5 to 8

    3           2         3 to 5 4 to 7

    4           2         3 to 4 4 to 6

    5           1         3 to 4 3 to 5

Base Premise: A core concept of Mobile Frame Zero is that there's a Defender, Attacker, and Primary Attacker.

Needed: A way to allow people to pick a different quantity of Frames when they come to the table that allows at least three different levels of choice -- for example 4, 5, or 6.

Revision 2.4

                Frames

Players Stations Skirmish Battle

      2       3  6 to 8 7 to 9

      3       2  5 to 7 6 to 8

      4       2  4 to 6 5 to 7

      5       1  3 to 5   4 to 6

      6       1  3 to 4   3 to 5

As before I'm going with the new level of conflict to add some granularity to the choices available.

New 1.3

        Frames

Players Stations Clash Skirmish Battle

      2       3 5 to 7  6 to 8 7 to 9

      3       2 4 to 6  5 to 7 6 to 8

      4       2 3 to 5  4 to 6 5 to 7

      5       1 3 to 4  3 to 5  4 to 6

      6       1  N/A          3 to 4 3 to 5

N/A = Not Applicable.

I increased the maximum amount of Frames in a Battle to nine and that seems to have given me the room in the progression that I've been looking for all along.  There are only a few places that it gets tight and that's up at the very top.

There's also another way to lay it out that creates some nice separation between Skirmish and Battle.

Even Newer 1.0

        Frames

Players Stations Skirmish Battle

      2       3 5 to 7 7 to 9

      3       2 4 to 6 6 to 8

      4       2 3 to 5 5 to 7

      5       1 3 to 4  4 to 6

      6       1  N/A         3 to 5

N/A = Not Applicable.

Thoughts?

Review: 71760 Ninjago Jay's Thunder Dragon EVO

I've been interested in this set since early this year, I recently found it on Clearance and bought a copy.

Box.  MSRP is $19.99 for a $0.14 Price per Piece.  I paid $13.00 which is $0.09 per Piece.

Instructions.

Minifigs.

Parts 1.  Dragon Head, Dragon Jaw, Round Bricks, Ball Joint

Plates, Curved Wedge Bricks, Round Plates, Plates, Bracket,

Slopes, Corner Slopes, Brick w/2 Pinholes, Bent Plates 2x6x2/3,

Hinge Brick, Brick w/2 Pins, Plates w/2 Clips, and Tooth Tiles.

 

Parts 2.  Tiles w/Studs on Edge, Pentagonal Tiles, Curved Slopes,

Plates, Ball Joint Plates, Slopes w/Cutout, Technic Axle w/Pinholder, 

Technic Pin w/Pinholder, Barrel Hinge, and Technic Axle/Pin.

Parts 3.  Wings, Double Curved Slopes w/Studs, Round Tile, Printed Tile,

Plates, Ball Joint Plates, Bar Plate, Technic Knob, Clip Plate, Brick w/2 Pins,

Exo-Force Arm, Tiles, Triple Slope, Bar w/Stop, Lightning Bolts, Technic

Axle/Pins, Axle/Ball Joint, Brick w/2 Pinholes, and Bricks w/Studs on Side.

Build.  Two (tall-ish) Frames (2Rh/1B/1Gd8/1Y) and a Station.

The Questions:
Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio?  Above.  (-10)  (The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts?  Yes.  (+5)
Score: +5 (B+). It's a good set hampered by the price.  If you can find it marked down it's definitely worth it.

Terrain Workshop: Trees 3

At the same time I was writing my last Terrain Workshop post about trees, I was formulating another idea based on a part that is a little younger than the Cylinder part that was the core of my last idea.

So this is composed of four Quarter Cylinder 3x3x5 w/2 Arch Tops, two Half Round Plate 3x6 w/1x2 Cutout for the trunk, with four Plant Leaves 6x5, and two Double Curved Slope 4x1x2/3 for the top (I originally went with two Curved Slope 2x2x2/3 but I switched due to color issues and also the Double Curved Slopes will help connect the two sides of this build.).  In 6P scale this tree is 15' thick and 18' tall.  It will take 2 Hits to destroy.  Unlike the tree in the previous post, this one requires a plate for a base.  In terms of colors, I went with Dark Tan for the Half Round Plates because that part doesn't exist in Reddish Brown yet.  Six trees in these colors would be $24.24, or $4.04 per tree, from Bricklink.

If we want to make them taller we should remove the Double Curved Slopes.  We also have to remove the Plant Leaves and place them on the arch sections otherwise the connection between the upper and lower sections is really weak.  We should also add in a 2x2 Plate on the other arch sections to -- once again -- secure the two halves of this build.  This will also keep the parts count the same.  Then we duplicate the first level.  This gives us a 4 Hit, 34' tall tree.  Any Frame on top of this version would count as Elevated.  Six sections in these colors would be $23.04, or $3.84 per tree, from Bricklink.

Orrrrr, you could swap out that section for four Round Corner Brick 2x2 Macaroni w/Stud Notch & Reinforced Underside, two Half Cylinder 2x4x4, then top it off with a 4x4 Round Plate, four Plant Leaves 6x5, and a 2x2 Round Tile.  This would give us a 4 Hit, 34' tall tree.  Any Frame on top of this version would also count as Elevated.

Mixing together this design with the previous two versions should make for a decent looking forest on a battlefield.

Terrain Workshop: Trees 2

Back in March of last year I posted a Terrain Workshop that dealt with trees.  I've had another idea along those lines but this is something a little more "old growth" than the previous versions.

So this is composed of a 4x4 Round Brick, four Quarter Cylinder 2x2x5 w/1x1 Cutout, and a 4x4 Round Plate for the trunk, with four Plant Leaves 6x5, and two Curved Slope 2x2x2/3 for the top (I originally went with two Double Curved Slope 4x1x2/3 but it turns out I don't have as many of those as I thought.).  In 6P scale this tree is 10' thick and 21' tall.  It will take 2 Hits to destroy and anything that stands on top of it counts as being Elevated.  In terms of colors, I went with Black for the base 4x4 Round Brick because I don't have any in Reddish Brown.  I went with Dark Brown for the 4x4 Round Plate because that part doesn't exist in Reddish Brown yet.  I went with basic Green for the Leaves and Curved Slopes.  To build a minimum of six of this design -- in the colors mentioned -- would cost $12.24 or $2.04 per tree through Bricklink.

If we want to make them taller we should remove the Double Curved Slopes and replace them with 1x2 Rounded Plates, this will allow us to keep building upwards and keep the parts count the same.  For the start of the second section, instead of a 4x4 Round Brick, I'm going with another 4x4 Round Plate, the rest is the same as the previous section.  This gives us a 4 Hit, 40' tall tree.  To add a minimum of six of this section  -- in the colors mentioned --would cost $11.64 or $1.94 per tree through Bricklink.

A handful of these and some of the older style trees should make for good looking section of woods on a battlefield.

So the older style tree on the left is 25 feet tall and 2.5 feet thick in 6P scale.  The older style tree on the right is 22 feet tall and 2.5 feet thick in 6P scale.  Neither one counts the base for height.

If you want to beef it up a little without adding any height, you can add four Round Plant Plate 1x1 w/3 Leaves in Green and two 1x2 Plates in Reddish Brown and this will add 1 Hit.  This would cost $1.56 for six trees, or $0.26 per tree through Bricklink.

Hopefully this helps people with building better trees for their gaming tables.

Mecha Design & Tactical Doctrine 7

It's been over ten years since I've done one of these.  A discussion last week on the Discord convinced me to give it another try.  There's been plenty of experimentation in the community since my last post like this and, also, I finally came up with names for some of the loadouts our group has been using in the games we've played.

Fast Stalker -- This design has two Artillery systems and two Movement systems.  (2Ra+d8/2G/2W)  Similar to the Stalker it adds a second Movement system to ensure you can move the way you want to.  (They comprised 40% of Occam's Spork's squad in this game.)

Armored Swarmer -- This design has one Melee system, two Defensive systems, and one Spotting system along with the Sprint die for having no Ranged weapons. (2Rh/2B/1Gd8/1Y/2W)  Stack a group of them up on the Defender's Perimeter, give some of them Single Shot Rockets so they can fire at range, and maybe add in a Recon by Fire to add a little long range support, then let them loose on your opponents.  (That describes Tom's Squad in this game.)

Fast Brawler -- This design has two Melee systems, one Defensive system, and one Movement system along with the Sprint die for having no Ranged weapons.   (2Rh+d8/1B/1G+d8/2W)  This Brawler variant sacrifices defense for a more consistent movement rate.  (There are a handful in this game and others.)

Warrior -- This design has one Melee system, one Defensive system, one Movement system and one Spotting system along with the Sprint die for having no Ranged weapons.  (2Rh/1B/1G+d8/1Y/2W)  It's the melee version of the Soldier and was named by JoeMoose on the Discord.  This is a tried and tested build.  (This game featured the largest use of them.)

All of the previous loadouts have seen use in at least one game that I know of, the following one has not.

Ambusher --  This design has one Artillery system, one Melee system, and two Defensive systems.   (2Ra/2Rh/2B/2W)  I based this loadout on a build I did for the January 2021 MMMIG.  I'm not sure it's going to work or why exactly I chose that name.