Author Topic: Aesthetically pleasing proxying of Lance Pack minis  (Read 1685 times)

Jones

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Aesthetically pleasing proxying of Lance Pack minis
« on: 24 September 2017, 22:29:16 »
(Mods, I'm posting this here because most of the Lance Pack discussion is in the Alpha Strike forum. If it needs to be moved, I get it, and I apologize for the extra work in advance.)

My gaming group loves the ease of use and purchase of the Lance packs. However, we're starting to want to try some different units in Alpha Strike, and for the broke/non-metal mini inclined of the group that means proxying.

Now this is a lot of the people I play Pathfinder with, and they hate proxies. If you say "these 5 beads are kobolds" there's a revolt. But if you say "this 5 goblin minis are kobolds" then it's all good. Similar looking minis are fine, stretching that is a no-go (this giant is a goblin would get my dice melted).

Seeing that this is a picky group (but otherwise good people), what are some asthetically pleasing proxies to do with the Lance Packs? We have 2 sets of each pack and 1 intro box.

My ideas so far would be using a Hatchetman for an Axman and Nightsky - a Berzerker would be a serious stretch. A Cataphract could be used for a Marauder or Caesar. A Cicada could stand for a Locust or Hussar. A Panther is a decent stand-in for a Wasp or Stinger.

Anyone else have some good visual proxies they can think of?

Tai Dai Cultist

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Re: Aesthetically pleasing proxying of Lance Pack minis
« Reply #1 on: 24 September 2017, 22:40:33 »
If the existing standard is that kobold mins can be goblins but giant minis or beads/coins cannot...

Then perhaps a way to extend that aesthetic to Alpha Strike is to say any light mech mini can represent any light mech. Any medium mini any medium, and so on.

worktroll

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Re: Aesthetically pleasing proxying of Lance Pack minis
« Reply #2 on: 24 September 2017, 23:30:37 »
I think TDC's on the right approach. In AS, it matters less what minis look like - if a Cicada proxies for a 2/2/1 medium fast mover, there's less cognitive dissonance than there might be with an entire Record Sheet of details.

How much chopping up do you feel like doing? A Jagermech could be modded with arms from a MW:DA Locust to look more like a Rifleman. A Cicada could be cut up to be more Strider-like.
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Jones

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Re: Aesthetically pleasing proxying of Lance Pack minis
« Reply #3 on: 25 September 2017, 00:42:53 »
Oh, I'm aware this is a problem that exists solely in the minds of my group. It comes from having a Pathfinder GM with closing on a thousand miniatures for PCs and monsters.

Proxying by weight class should do the trick; proxying by weight and overall stats is a pretty good trick. I was focusing on making sure the mini looked enough like the picture on the card from the MUL that there wouldn't be a lot of confusion. Worktroll, didn't you have a tutorial on making Unit Cards with photos of the actual minis edited in? I can't seem to remember what thread that's in.

As far as chopping things up, I'm adequate at kit-bashing. Would you say that MW: Dark Age minis are useful enough as bits and parts to bother bidding on some eBay lots? I know there a little too big scale-wise to match the Lance Packs or IWM minis. Then again, scale's all over the place for some of those models anyway.

worktroll

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Re: Aesthetically pleasing proxying of Lance Pack minis
« Reply #4 on: 25 September 2017, 00:51:55 »
Oh, there's lots of wonders one can do with DA minis. Want proxy Riflemen, Crusaders, Archers, Tbolts, Fleas? Let me put something together for you - I did post tutorials, but the hosting site went down hard. Still have the originals.

W.
* No, FASA wasn't big on errata - ColBosch
* The Housebook series is from the 80's and is the foundation of Btech, the 80's heart wrapped in heavy metal that beats to this day - Sigma
* To sum it up: FASAnomics: By Cthulhu, for Cthulhu - Moonsword
* Because Battletech is a conspiracy by Habsburg & Bourbon pretenders - MadCapellan
* The Hellbringer is cool, either way. It's not cool because it's bad, it's cool because it's bad with balls - Nightsky
* It was a glorious time for people who felt that we didn't have enough Marauder variants - HABeas2, re "Empires Aflame"

Major Headcase

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Re: Aesthetically pleasing proxying of Lance Pack minis
« Reply #5 on: 25 September 2017, 02:38:05 »
The only proxy rule me and my group agreed not to break was that two identical minis could NOT be proxies for two DIFFERENT designs. If 2 Trebuchet minis are on the table, one cannot proxy a Phoenix Hawk while the other proxies a Warhammer. It saves nasty surprises that happen when your opponent forgets which is which... 🤤
   In my Davion unit, I use custom minis for Enforcers and Blitzkriegs,  but I had to make sure the 3 identicle minis were all Enforcers (but they can be different variants of Enforcer). Same with the custom Blitzkriegs. 

cavingjan

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Re: Aesthetically pleasing proxying of Lance Pack minis
« Reply #6 on: 25 September 2017, 08:04:53 »
Weight class and then general stats. Use the MUL to your advantage here. You can create a custom unit in the MUL that has the same stats, name, etc with a different picture. That it is clear what mini is the <fill in the blank>. I'm not even sure you need to create the custom unit to accomplish that to be honest.

 

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