Star Crush Miniatures Kickstarter Shipped

Yes it is with great pride we announce that we have finished up our Kickstarter and shipped the miniatures to all our supporters. Thanks to everyone who supported us and made these starships possible!

We will now be releasing four new miniatures. We have talked about most of these starships already on this blog. We will be focusing more content on the Xothic Arc Fighter and Xothic Skiff Fighter as well as the Commorium Long Range Scout. We also have a small pirate ship as an addition to the range. Stay tuned for pictures of painted miniatures.

Here are some photos of the work being completed for the Kickstarter.

The Xothic Arc Fighter

Over a decade earlier, the Xothic Defense League asked the military industry to develop a medium size multirole frontline starcraft. Three years later, the requirements were upgraded to a multirole frontline starcraft system, which later became the fifth-generation starfighter to join the Xothic space fleet. It was regarded as an answer to the shortcomings of the basic but dependable Xothic Fighter. The Arc Starfighter performed its maiden flight within the year, and was heralded as a great development in the military might of the Xothic fleet. The Xothic Military Defense Brief hailed it as a major coup for the Xothic interstellar space industry, saying that:

"we stand militarily prepared to meet our foes. The Xothic people are still in control of our destiny in terms of defense technology, outranking all others in known space and punching well above our economic weight."

The Xothic prime minister Vlad the Platriac has announced that government will increase financing of  the Xothic Military defence industry complex.

In game terms the Xothic Arc fighter has the following stats: Attack 2, Thrust 5, Hull 3, Shields 2.

Xothic Arc Starfighter
Production information
Manufacturer	Xothic Military Productions Installations on Ceti 3, 5 and Arcomom 2
Model	M22 Xothic Arc Fighter
Class	Assault Starfighter
Cost	unknown
Technical specifications
Length	16 meters
Width	12 meters
Height/depth	2 meters
Maximum acceleration	3000 G
Maximum atmospheric speed	1000 km/h
Engine unit(s)	Irkut Propulsion Force Corp Twin Ion Propulsion Engines of unknown origin (2)(rated .3 MTU)
Hyperdrive rating	Class 1.0
Hyperdrive system	Xothic Military Works Hyperdrive Instrument
Power plant	Nova Myriad Nova Myriad Novosibirsk Starcraft Manufacturing Association Power Convertor; Threnody 03-R cryogenic power cells and ionization reactor
Shielding	Komsomolsk-on-Amur Energy Production Association Flux Shields,(50 DPU)
Hull	Allagoranium-reinforced Hypersteel alloy (30 IP)
Sensor systems	Armazallo ZZs-50x full-spectrum transceiver with XXs long range phased radar detection array and XXs-1Bd short range targeting system
Targeting systems	Xothic Avionics Design Bureau FF-1 tracking computer and Triangulation Scan system
Avionics	Aviastar-SP "Eliminator Battery" flight control avionics system
Armament	Hondax RR4 Laser cannons (4) Small payload that may contain Proton Torpedo Launcher 2 torpedoes each Photon bombs possible
Crew	Pilot (1) Robot Unit (1)
Passengers	2; only certain models
Cargo capacity	75 kilograms
Consumables	1 week
Other systems	Xothic Military Works ballistic ejection seat Detachable cockpit

Why did those miscreants destroy our Colony?

by Allaa D'toxis for the Xothic Times
Dateline Mazotic - Dear citizens of the Xothic community, it has been two years since we have been fighting against the Commorium, two long years of bitter strife, during which our successes have been almost as many as our loses. Ever since one of our mining colonies, Xartax, was destroyed by those pitiful, spineless cowards, we have declared vengeance upon the ones who brought death in our midst. But, now comes a time, to look back and wonder what exactly drove those pests to such an action. What could those miscreants have possibly thought they would stand to accomplish by making the Xothic their foes? 

A stylized rendering of the Destruction of Xartax

 

1. They are afraid of the unknown

It is a well-known fact to us Xothic, especially after two years of war, that the people of the Commorium are neither the bravest nor the smartest individuals. How many times have we managed to attack them unawares by using a superior strategy that made them lose the ground they had won? How many times have our ships leveled their colonies to the ground because they had failed to properly defend them? With pilots as obtuse as those fools from the Commorium, a mere glimpse of our colony should have made them aware of the technological superiority of our people. It might just have been that our people were killed due to extreme fear and a desire to neutralize a threat that was not there. At least, not in the beginning.

2. They destroyed it by accident

More than once, rumors have reached us of those fools from the Commorium causing explosions and destroying their own buildings by accident. Our spies have witnesses such events on numerous occasions; buildings crashing to the ground, debris and dust flying everywhere, their own people shouting in panic. It would not be surprising if those half-wits sent missiles instead of exploration satellites towards Xartax because they pressed the wrong button. Upon seeing the colony destroyed, our people killed by their mistakes, they turned tail and fled like the cowards that they are, refusing to take responsibility for their mistakes.

An Arc Fighter used in the recent fighting during the Xothic War

3. They had a fool notion of conquering our colony

Our spies have brought us many reports during their reconnaissance missions undertaken in the space surrounding the lands of the Commorium. Never have their reports mentioned any resources of note, any mining colonies such as ours or other harvesting plants. For a very long period of time, our leaders have wondered whether the attack on our colony was not meant to be destructive, but instead it was meant to conquer our colony. It has been hypothesized that the pilots of the Commorium meant to capture the colony and force our people to become slaves for them. Upon meeting resistance, the mission was abandoned and they opted instead to destroy what they had found, thus cutting us off from a source of supplies as well.

This leaves this reporter to speculate what really happened two years ago?

The Pilots of the Xothic Fleet

Xothic pilots are natural born fighters, aggressive in nature and show the exceptional levels of coordination that is required for flying starfighters. There aggressiveness is displayed in the types of weapons they choose to arm their ships and their flying style. Their starfighters are fast and maneuverable and it is said this is how Xothic pilots live their lives as well. 

The 74th "ViPuk" Squadron was the first set of starfighters to be sent across the great divide to fight the Commorium pilots that so viciously attacked the Xothic peoples. The 74th Squadron is quite vicious in its attacks, living up to their name "ViPuk", which is a traditional Xothic word referring to a ritual termination of young members of the tribe that cannot survive. Although this tradition has been mostly overcome in the more modern Xothic society the tenants of the ritual still live on in the "ViPuk" squadron. Their is more deaths among rookie pilots in this squadron than any other in the Xothic Fleet.


The following pilots have been successful in the war against the Commorium invaders and are considered top aces by many of the media outlets in greater Xothic space. The fleet has been using their exploits to generate support for the invasion of Xothic space with the general public and in the government. Also including in this listing is the pilots special effect in the Star Crush Miniatures Starfighter Game.

Delste Kalaga - Deleste has the honor of causing the first casualty in the war against the Commorium. This pilot is responsible for the destruction of the unmanned probe that was found at the site of the original attack and destruction of the Xothic mining colony on Xartax. Since this time she has accounted for four kills in various engagements with Commorium fighters and bombers. She also led the seventh wing against the Commorium planet of Forgothmen in the first attack on a Commorium homeworld called Operation Retribution.
In the Star Crush game when Delste's attack causes a Critical Hit, the player may choose to discard a Critical Hit and roll 2d6 new attack dice for the discarded Critical Hit.

Zatra Marfloon - If Delste is the darling of the 74th "ViPuk" Squadron then Zatra is the face of the brave warrior. Zatra took part in several clashes with the enemy racking up seven kills to make him the first ace of the war. He has also operated in a ground action when the 74th Squadron was called upon to support some marines in an advance on the frozen world of Vastipoole. In this operation Zatra landed his fighter in the Mountains of Tawordla. Using only his blaster pistol and chain sword he cut his way through Commorium troops who were protecting a satellite up-link station which was allocating fire from an artillery brigade,. Once he established contact with the advancing Marines and handed over the station, Zatra then fought his way back to his Starfighter and flew cover for advancing marines as they marched into the city that was their objective. For his efforts in this mission Zatra has been given the Gold Star. The word is that their is a holodrama in the works and Zatra has been asked to be an adviser on the set during the filming.

In the Star Crush game if Zatra uses less than 3 Thrust during the Movement Phase then he can perform a free Triangulate action.

Howhazar Twonzai - The luckiest pilot alive in the 74th "ViPuk" Squadron is Howhazar. His luck started during his rookie tour. On his first mission his instructor had lined him up for a killing shot, which in the "ViPuk" Squadron usually means the end of a career. Miraculously, at that moment in time, Howhazars wing man had a short in his right onboard autostablilzer, and veered into the path of the shot, took the blow on his lower hull, and immediately spun into the path of the instructor, killing the instructor. Both pilots were awarded for their bravery and promoted immediately. Later the pair were out drinking at the local 74th Squadron watering hole when the site was attacked by a long range Commorium Scout ship. The two ended up in a ditch with the base commander and threw themselves and a barrel of food stuffs over the base commander when the Commorium Scout was performing a strafing run. The barrel took the hit and the three warriors were thrown from the ditch into a nearby pond. Howhazar and his mate pulled the base commander from the pond before he could drown and the three collapsed in a heap, only to be awakened the next day by a patrol looking for the commander. Although Howhazar's mate died in the next mission they were given, Howhazar has survived by a mix of skill and wild blind luck in several other encounters since that day.
In the Star Crush game if  Howhazar is being shot at ships rolling Attack dice may not reroll those dice.

The Xothic War, a War of Retribution

Xothic High Command

From the desk of Admiral Faa' Sulgath Amorr

A Treatise on the Commorium Problem and a Call to the Peoples to Unite as One in Victory.

For two long years we have fought and bled. We have waged war in a part of space far from our home due to the cowardly attack that the Commorium unleashed upon Xartax. Xartax was a peaceful mining colony. We lost many people in that attack, hundreds of strong, able-bodied and patriotic Xothic citizens died in the flames of a world under attack for reasons that still remain unknown to us. 

What was it that drove that pathetic, xenophobic excuse for a race to attack our peaceful mining settlement? What misguided logic forced their hand into pressing the button on the weapon that would claim the lives of many innocent Xothic miners that fateful day. Good loyal citizens who had never wronged anyone in their lives? Such answers we have not received and perhaps never will. 

The Commorium race keep proclaiming their innocence. They turn a deaf ear to our accusations and claim themselves beyond reproach. Yet, their hands are stained with blood, the blood of our people!

What has now become known as the Xothic War, began more than two years ago, during a day that started as peaceful as any other.  At about midday, our leaders received a distress signal from the Xartax mining colony, followed briefly afterwards by communication silence. No matter what attempts were made, it was impossible to contact the miners. One of our fastest starships was sent to check the colony and to determine what had happened. Upon reaching the destination colony they found all that remained of the planet: the core of the world still burned hotly and debris floated in space. Perhaps we might have suspected an accident – mistakenly so – had it not been for the enemy spaceship orbiting around what had once been Xartax. The long range scout starship was on stealth mode and would have escaped our notice had our tracking devices not revealed it. 

It was clear who had perpetrated this horrible event. And we started fighting back. The first to fall was that long range scout, prowling the remains of Xartax like a scavenger. Then came their farthest colony city, built at the fringes of their system. The third step was full out war. For more than two years we have fought, sustaining loses and saying goodbye to many of our own good people, but we have never faltered. We will continue this bitter war until the Commorium is brought to its knees and those who killed our people are held accountable for slaughtering innocent lives.

The Nastchruka Run Mission - Part Two

Merry Christmas 2015!
It has been a great year being at two conventions, getting our first Kickstarter out of the way and shipping Flint and Feather miniatures to deserving customers. We are looking forward to great things in 2016.
Here is your Christmas present from Star Crush Miniatures. This is the second part of the Nastchruka Run missions. Enjoy and play lots over the holidays!

From,
The Staff at Crucible Crush Productions

Mission Set-up
Xothic: Xothic Fighter and Deleste and Xothic Fighter Ayann'tuke pilot cards.

Pirates: Pirate Starbomber and San Rafael Tor, Pirate Starbomber and Ejaw Atta'shol.

Use a 4' by 4' star map for this game.

The Xothic player sets up two Xothic Fighters with Deleste Kalaga and Ayann'tuke Habat on the Xothic Board edge first. Both Fighters are moving at Speed four. The Xothic player has initiative to start the game.

The Pirate player places the Pirate Starbombers piloted by San Rafael Tor and Ejaw Atta'shol on the pirate board edge. Both Starbombers are moving at Speed three to start the game.


Special Rules:
1. Beginning on turn #2 in the Command Phase and every turn thereafter roll a d6. If the roll on the dice is below the number of turn that it is then two more Xothic Fighter enter the board from anywhere along the Xothic board edge.
2. The second set of Xothic Fighters are piloted by Zatra Marfloon and Howhazar Twonzai. Both starfighters are moving at Speed 3.

Objectives:
Xothic Victory: Destroy or chase off both the Pirate Bombers.

Pirate Victory: Destroy the Xothic Fighters.

The New Starships are nearing Completion

Some news from the shop. The new masters have been completed. Bob Murch has completed the masters for the four new starships that will join the Star Crush line. From left to right above are the Commorium Warp Scout, New Pirate Starship which is unnamed as of yet, the Xothic Arc Fighter and the Xothic Skiff.
Once again these models are 1/250th scale and have each been uniquely hand sculpted by Bob. The detail is excellent and we will supply more pictures once we get them painted. We will also supply cards for the starships and statistics once we get pictures of them.
Enjoy the best of the season from both of us here at Crucible Crush!