"Tracked/Wheeled/Hover/Grav - which is most popular?" Topic

I am curious as to what type of vehicle most people use for 15mm sci fi games. There are basically three types of models available: tracked, wheeled, hover and grav. What is the most popular and why? I have yet to decide myself. I like the look of hover vehicles, but they are realistically highly unlikely to survive on a battlefield. Tracked and Wheeled seem to make the most sense for survivability, but they lack a certain sci-fi element. Anyway, sound off…..what do you prefer?

Vehicles:
I have hi-tech grav company (for aggressor).
And mid-tech tracked company (for defender).
And irregular/milita uparmored low-tech wheeled company.

Wheels or hover, if only to prevent painting those %$#@! tracks and small wheels! ;)

I split that into 5 classes, personally. Wheeled, tracked, legged, hover, and grav.

Grav is the highest tech around, usually, though stupidly-big-tin-samurai are also up there in required techbase.

I have one force that's still in the wheeled/tracked stage, using Khurasan's Exterminators (no points for guessing what their wheeled APC looks like).

Another force is predominantly wheeled with early walkers. They're arguably 2020s tech at the highest (the ONE break from reality is the artifical musculature in the mechs), so they get to meet any moderns on the battlefield.

I happen to really like the DP9 hovertanks (except for the price, yeeeeeowch!), so my farther-future troops have directed-thrust vehicles. Yes, this makes me a horrible, expansionist GREL-abusing CEF bastard.

I've been working on finding models to make something like Tagon's Toughs in 15mm. I'm not brave enough to make Petey's original ship in 1/100, though. Nothing like a billion tons of O'Benn superfortress to call "Close Air Support"

And there's the occasional Macross/Robotech fight.

Somewhere, I still have the Renegade Legion games, with their gravtanks. You *should* be very afraid of those. Dropping in from orbit and engaging targets at obscene range and speeds, slowing down to ~120kph just to not run into the granite mountains as they terrain-mask. I want some 15mm versions of those beasts, because I prefer 15mm to gaming on a hexmap.

I have hover, tracked, wheeled, half-tracked and soon, grav.

Each works for the forces involved.

As to the survivability of hover vehicles, in Drake's novels, they are very durable and useful due to the tech involved and in truth, the major limitation to doing the same thing now if the fusion plant. Obviously it is a big limitation but one that has been promised to me since the late 1970s.

Military hovercraft in science fiction literature aren't cross channel ferries or the Bell 'Monster' from the Vietnam era.

I like wheels, tracks or walkers best. I keep anti-grav for aliens and real high tech forces. Its about the background for me. My colonies are not advanced enough to produce ant-grav military vehicles

Im a big fan of grav and hover vee's it is sci-fi after all…

Agreed stealth.

Lion I think those orbital tanks dropping in to say hi would be chilling as u describe. I think khurasan is planning the meso nai to have a tank to do that….darkest star make 2 ifv's that are low orbit insertion vehicles.

While I like all forms of movement in 15mm. ..im a treadhead.

yeah i agree, i think there is room for all the different types in sf. legs too!!!

All of these above, just depends on what tech level you want to use.

"Death before Dismount" :-)

In my own setting, tracked or high-mobility wheeled is most common, hover for some factions depending on their environment and tech level, anti-grav has recently reached operational status for the highest tech powers, and some walkers are sprinkled around.

-Will

""Death before Dismount" :-)"

and the anti-tank gunner says, live to serve ya!!! :-)

For distinction on the tabletop, and because I plan on eventually having seven different factions, I will be using all five: wheeled, tracked, hover, legged & grav.

My lowest tech forces will be using mostly stolen vehicles.

My mid-tech factions will be distinguished by the type of locomotion used. While they will all use walkers (because, let's face it, mechs are both cool and scifi), one force will use chiefly tracked vehicles, one will use mostly wheeled vehicles, and one mostly hover vehicles.

For my high-tech forces, one faction will be using mostly grav vehicles (and of course mechs), while my alien faction will be also using floaters/fliers/flivvers utilizing anti-grav tech (and of course some alien walkers).

I like the idea of having not only the tech type but the locomotion method help to create visual separation between the factions. This in addition to camo types and color schemes will (I hope) give a clear indication of exactly which forces are being fielded in any particular engagement.

Hope this helps. Cheers.

I have all except hover. It just never clicked with me. The durability of the skirts has always challenged my belief in it. I have an easier time thinking that we overcome gravity than making those skirts durable enough for the front lines.

Never been a big Hammer's Slammers fan so that probably contributes to my thinking.

Right now for my 15mm Sci-Fi I have Grav and Walker vehicles for my 2 main factions, the other merc faction consisting of 12mm Heavy Gear Power armor suits.

I'll probably have some of everything except for maybe Hover. I was never a big fan of hover tech vehicles.

Lion.. you really need to contact Owen Barents. I do believe he has some 15mm versions of "inspired by Renegade Legion" Grav vehicles.
If I hadn't already bought a section of tanks and IFV's from Khurasan, I would have picked those up.

I still might, they do look great.
Link TMP link

I like a mix, but if you had to pick one, purely on looks alone I like tracked.

What do I use in SF games? All of them Baby it's a big universe.

Mostly I really like Grav Skimmers (think Landspeeder of the Star Wars variety, followed closely by Hover vehicles….

I tend to save the anti grav for gunships. A-grav propulsion never looks like it makes a very stable platform for accurate fire. I quite like a-grav APC's too.

I tend to field forces that are based around some sort of mercenary or freedom fighter theme that like to stick to the tech that's tried and tested, easy to field repair and is cheap as chips. For most settings this tends to mean tracks and wheels with the odd 'elite' a-grav unit.

The new Khurasan 'Blower' tank is the only hover tank I've ever liked the look of.

As for walkers depending on my mood i veer between preferring the smaller more 'practical' looking sorts and wanting to rock up to a battlefield with a 1/100 Gundam or three.

Like and own them all, but since I collect for multiple settings its a non issue.

Much prefer painting tracks and wheels to a display standard, leverages my decade of painting WW2 stuff.

Agree that the to be released Khurasan blower is the best hover I've seem to date.

I have all except hover. It just never clicked with me. The durability of the skirts has always challenged my belief in it. I have an easier time thinking that we overcome gravity than making those skirts durable enough for the front lines.

Never been a big Hammer's Slammers fan so that probably contributes to my thinking.

Could be.

I prefer 'directed thrust vehicles' to the classic skirted hovercraft (look at what those DP9 vehicles are), but I do like that new Khurasan 4 Nations skirted-hover.

The one 'hover' vehicle type I haven't seen anyone try to make is a small Ekranoplan. Best I can figure, though, a 15mm model along the line of what I'm thinking would be bigger than 10cm square!

@Ski2060: Yeah, saw those. There's a slightly different design that I want, you can see it in that thread you linked to.

I'm really waiting for Khurasan's XM6-chassis Armored Drone Carrier, for my big honking gravtank fix, though the Meso-Nai monsters are tempting.

Frankly, I don't think skirts would be anymore vulnerable necessarily, than treads. In the Slammers books, they are very thick steel.

@ Lion in the Stars: So you're looking for more of the Renegade Legion aesthetic, instead of the TOG style. more rounded sides and such?
I prefer that look myself, always played RenLegs over Toggies.

I prefer the tog asthetic myself.

I prefer to keep my armor/vehicles in line with the nearish future ascetic. Also since I mostly do modern/world war two stuff it's not too much of a stretch to do tracks and wheels for the millionth time.

@Ski: Yes, I do like the more rounded gravtanks, but my favorite is a rather angular block with notches in both sides.

I like and use them all … Of course it depends on tech levels too … Save for the most part for robots, I'm not a big fan of walkers … especially big walkers …

I'm working on what I call plausible sci-fi, so I prefer wheels, tracks, walkers, and air-cushion hover.

I'm not fundamentally opposed to grav, but it doesn't fit with my current projects.

Yes I have to agree, I like both armor styles in Renegade Legion would love to see someone come out with those in 15mm