Kosmika: One small step for me

So I had some time to put paint to model for my Crews Boss. I have decided to use the John Blanche paint sets for the bulk of my crew. It was going to be the whole paint scheme, but after watching another video about painting something else and looking at some reference photos I made the decision to veer slightly from that. So below are the list of paints and I will go over what I have used them for below.

Sanguine Read – Colour Forge

Emperor Gold – Army Painter

Heavy Metal – Army Painter

Tainted Gold – Army Painter

Ivory White – Army Painter

Bramble Grove – Army Painter

Dewpath – – Army Painter

Emberveil – Army Painter

Ruddy Terran – Army Painter

Grimdark Shadow – Army Painter

Nihilakh Oxide – Citadel/Warhammer colour

To start off with I primed the model with Sanguine Red. I wanted them to have a really Warm tone as a base also red just seemed like it was on brand for the game. For the space suit I used the Ivory white for the bulk of it. For the gloves and boots I used Dewpath with a spot colour of Bramble Grove so it’s not so samey. I did a similar thing for accessories using Ruddy Terra and a pop of Emberveil. For the visor I used Tainted Gold I saw a painting tutorial that used it and it had a more black gold look which I think helps with the Grimey feel of the game. The Emperor Gold is used for the tools and gribbly bits on the suit washed over with the oxide. When looking at the space suits from Alien they have a fair bit of oxidation on them which apparently is a possibility if space suits aren’t maintained properly. Then any pipework or vents were done with the heavy metal. Finally a wash of Grimdark Shadow to tie the whole thing together. Any pooling that happened wasn’t tidied up as it adds to the grimey aesthetic. There’s nothing fancy here but it leans heavily into the game’s inspirations. It’s a Diesel punk, Grime core game and I think the scheme works with that nicely. Lastly enjoy a Gallery of fun shots I took whilst I was set up

So let’s take a look at the book for Kosmika. The game itself is a miniatures agnostic extraction style PvE game with random elements and enemies. The premise is you are a crew of space faring salvagers just trying to survive in (mutant) dog eat dog cosmos. You build a crew, go into a space hulk of some kind and try to get out with as much loot as possible before anything nasty ruins your day. As it’s all random generation no 2 delves into the dark should be the same, but you are never safe.

You go aboard derelicts hoping to find something valuable enough to risk life and limb for, sometimes it pays off, sometimes the life or limb don’t make it. In terms of game play it’s a fairly easy game to play and you don’t require a huge amount of space or stuff to play the game. In fact the most challenging part is a 3 layered board that you can access all the levels of easily without playing an expensive game of twister. I will figure that problem out in a later project post though so that is a future me problem.

Now back to the book, it’s divided up into 5 chapters and a reference tables and charts section. The first chapter covers all the basic how to play stuff. It goes over your tests, basic concepts and obstacles in the game. Chapter 2 goes over how you select your crew to start playing. You pick types and the Boilers they wear, which all come out of your starting Scrip which is the game’s currency. Chapter 3 covers the weapons and gear you can purchase. This is things like weapons, gear and suit augmentation that make it easier to salvage and make scrip with minimal loses. Chapter 4 goes over the sequence of the game and adds in a few more rules on resolutions. It basically tells you how to start a game, what to do each round and how to end when you’re ready to get out. Chapter 5 Is how to generate your missions and the post game process when/if you manage to escape. It also covers the campaign steps for the game so what happens post game, how to upgrade your ship quarters and if what you have bought back is actually worth anything at all. There is also a great little section on crews from the studio.

That covers the contents of the book but what about my thoughts. Well Blacksite Studios are very good at giving you the nuts and bolts of a game without over complicating the playing part. The mission set up and any dangers you face is going to take more time than actually playing. The same goes for the post game process because there is a branching tree and you have to consider how much Scrip you earned, how your crew looks to pick the right path for you at that time. Again it means a second play through is a must. It has that one more game quality you want from this sort of game. For the most part because it’s not overly crunchy there is enough room for you to just have fun and play the game rather than constantly having to go into the book to figure out how you do something. As you can see from the photos provided the book has a very grimdark meets Alien vibe to it. Rating wise I’d give it 4 out of 5 drooling xenos. It’s not a 5 because I feel like the game set up portion of the book is a little too separated and disjointed, but as I am yet to play a full campaign it’s hard to tell if I am being too harsh or maybe even too soft. Only time will tell by either way I highly recommend giving it a look.

So this was a bit of an unexpected surprise when I received my book. I knew it was part of the deal in the US but being in the UK and ordering through Spectre Miniatures I didn’t expect to get one. This is a multi part plastic frame that builds 5 USA and 5 USSR astronauts. These are used primarily for one of black site studios other games Lunar which is a miniatures game based on the moon. If you have seen for all mankind it’s basically playing out the Lunar surface fight scenes from that, but I think BSS did it first. So what is it like? As you can see from the photos, it’s really good. There is a decent amount of detail to them and some fun and interesting options. So why did I get it with my Kosmika book I hear you ask. Well Kosmika is a lunar punk aesthetic. It’s the original Alien meets Blanchitsu with a hint of Cold War USSR in there for good measure. So first you build a couple of Astronauts then you kit bash them with bits you have or you can grab some bits from BSS themselves.

As part of Kosmika’s STL Permapack you get some 3D printable add ons to make the miniatures you build from the frame more in keeping with the games aesthetic. So I decided to raid my bits box and put together my first three crew members. As you can see they are very customisable and they were incredibly easy to build and pose. I have decided to paint them in some very specific colours (more on that in my next entry). So in conclusion for such a small company to put out a very versatile but simple sprue that covers 2 games is incredibly impressive. Now I have my first couple of crew, It is onto the next part adding some much needed colour.

Lately I have been hoarding single player games. The reason is mainly that I have health issues which I won’t go into and getting out and about is a struggle at the moment. So I decided make hay while the sun shines. I have bought a few games from Black site now and Snarling Badger studios because I enjoyed the themes and the battle reports I watched.

When Kosmika arrived I was quite surprised that I also got a free astronaut sprue. Especially being in the UK and buying through Spectre miniatures. The frame is pretty standard but the details are crisp and the material seems good so I look forward to building them. I will do a proper run through the book and sprues separately in another entry. Overall though I am very impressed so far. I will build my first crew from this and make decisions on what that crew looks like later. For now though just excited to make a start on a few things.