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Thomas Pope's Orcs! At 12 O'clock


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SeattleGamer Supporting Member of TMP writes:

What a fun concept! Loved the article on how you made them, and the rules and other gaming materials look first rate too. Well done to you and your little playtesters : )


Revision Log
5 December 2006page first published

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Here is Entry #4 in the Scavengers Design Contest, sponsored by Scale Creep Miniatures - Thomas Pope's game of death in the skies:

T2T Logo

T2T Games Presents: Orcs! At 12 O'clock

Death has come to the skies of Thuringia, and a fragile alliance between the Sky Elves in their floating cities and the Dwarves in their mountain fortresses is all that stands before the darkness. The fate of the free world rests on your shoulders; do you have what it takes?

Brought to you by the creative minds behind BattleLust!, BloodDeath! and That Game with the Romans!, Orcs! At 12 O'clock is a thrilling, fast-paced game of never-before-seen fantasy biplane combat in 7mm (1:256) scale! Play as one of three unique races, with more coming in each new release!

Orc Reich

Forker Dr.I

Using dark magics known only to a select few, the living skin of a dragon is stretched over the framework of these fearsome dragonplanes. Do you have what it takes to master one of these abominations, wings writhing and rippling as the dragonskin tries to tear free from its unnatural bonds?

Sky Elves

Sopwith Eagle

Play on the side of light as the lofty Sky Elves, in their feathered monoplanes. Don't let their fragile appearance deceive you; these planes are as deadly as they are beautiful! Their rapid fire dart cannons spit out slivers of wood at over 3,000 rounds per minute!

Dwarven Nation

Unsaldo U.1 Steamplane

Or join the mysterious forces of the enigmatic Dwarves, in their steam powered armored triplanes, or their experimental four-winged quadraplane! Forced into an alliance with the elves out of necessity, the dwarves have their own agendas and may turn on their allies at any moment!

Box contents

The box contains everything you need to play!

  • Twenty-Four (24) page full-color Rulebook!
  • Two (2) 3-dimensional Metal Miniatures!
  • Two (2) Tri-Flight Bases
  • Two (2) AltitudeDice
  • Two (2) HitDice
  • One (1) OutOfControlDie
  • One (1) Five Hundred and Seventy-Six (576!) Square-Inch Game Mat!

Orcs! At 12 O'clock! is a fast-paced miniatures game that can be played in less than two hours! Using our revolutionary Tri-Flight Base, the plane can make any combination of 45 and 90-degree turns! That's 33% more facings than the leading hex-based wargame!

Tired of more boring I-go/U-go turns? Using our patented Blitzkrieg movement system, every player moves at the same time! Do you move first and land the first shot, or do you wait for that perfect opening? Only you can decide!

Our patented AltitudeDice give you full freedom in all three dimensions! You can hug the ground in pulse-pounding hairpin turns, or come screaming out of the clouds raining death upon your enemies!

VersaDice

Unlike those other games, Orcs! At 12 O'clock! has no math! Never again will you be caught up in the thrill of combat, only to find yourself breaking character to look through the rulebook to find out what a "3" result means. Using our dynamic HitDie system, combat results are shown right on the die! Find yourself spinning out of control? No problem! Our exciting OutOfControlDie can determine a completely random direction with a single roll! What's more, these fantastic dice store completely flat, allowing you to keep them in your wallet for those gaming emergencies!

Release Schedule (current and upcoming):

12001  Orcs! At 12 O'Clock!                  $39.95 USD
12002 Bombs Away! $19.95 USD
12003 Balloons over the Reich! TBA
12004 Secret Weapons of the OrcWaffa! TBA
13101 Orc Forker Dr.I $6.95 USD
13102 Orc Gotcha G.IV Bomber TBA
13201 Sky Elf Sopwith Eagle $6.95 USD
13202 Tree Elf M.S. 4 "Maple Seed" Glider TBA
13301 Dwarf Unsaldo U.1 Steamplane $8.95 USD
13302 Dwarf Steam Cannon TBA
13303 Dwarvinci D.4 Quadraplane TBA
13901 Pack of Six (6) Tri-Flight Bases $4.95 USD
13902 Assorted Ordnance $5.95 USD
13903 Pack of Ten (10!) Assorted VersaDice $6.95 USD

Look for more exciting new products throughout 2007!


CONSTRUCTION DETAILS

Forker Dr.1

Forker Dr.1 details

The fuselage was made from a section of the handle of a plastic fork, cut down and tapered towards the tail, with a strip of glue-soaked tissue wrapped around the back half. The end of a ballpoint pen barrel was used for the engine cowling.

Wings and stabilizers were all cut from a dried orange peel (you find all sorts of interesting things in a house with 2 children) used mainly for the texture (which sadly doesn't show up well in the photographs). Since I did not want to soak and flatten the orange peel, I came up with the fluff text about the dragon skin "rippling and undulating as it tries to tear free from its bonds."

The wing struts were both cut from the same plastic fork as the fuselage. Guns and the landing struts were both cut from paperclip wire, as was the stand. The base of the stand is cardboard from the back of a notepad.

Sopwith Eagle

Sopwith Eagle details

As with the Forker, the fuselage is cut from a plastic fork, as are the wings and tail pieces (useful things, those forks). The feathers are strips cut from a plastic drinking straw and glued on one at a time (I think I'm still purging the superglue fumes from my lungs). The engine cowling is cut from the bendy part of a bendy straw, with a little slice of ballpoint pen ink-tube (the bit with the stopper) in the center. Gun barrels were cut from paperclip wire.

Details were cut from a soda can, and cut and embossed into shape. Another thin slice of straw forms the ring around the cockpit, and the pilot was "sculpted" out of a mix of biodegradable packing peanuts and thinned white glue. The underside was glue-soaked tissue stretched over the frame much like the Forker, though I supported it with the remainder of the packing peanut glop.

Unsaldo U.1 Steamplane

Unsaldo U.1 Steamplane details

This was the most complex of all three aircraft by far. Once again the fuselage was made from a plastic fork, as was the core of the vertical stabilizer. The bottom wing was supported by a strip of plastic cut from a coffee cup lid, and pretty much the rest of the plane was made from individual strips of soda can, cut to shape, riveted (pressing the backside with a dull needle), and folded in half. The wings were made one at a time, attached to the fuselage, and then the outer struts were added. The stabilizer was made in much the same fashion.

The aft turret was made from a cut strip of metal for the ring, and a piece of folded paperclip wire for the gun barrels. The forward gatling gun was made from a single-tube coffee-stirrer. My original idea to use a bundle of paperclip wire for the barrels failed, so I went with my fallback, which was to press the holes completely through a disk of soda can metal.

The exhaust pipe was another piece of coffee stirrer, with a couple of paperclip wires on the underside as smaller pipes. The engine cowling consisted of one piece of ballpoint pen barrel (near the tip where it tapers) set inside another slice from further down the barrel, with a bit of coffee-stirrer in the middle. The pilot was sculpted from the same glop as the Elf pilot.