STAR TREK ATTACK WING REVIEW

After a long hiatus, I am finally posting to my blog again...  after playing numerous battles of STAW today for the first time with a couple of gaming buddies, here's a brief review of STAR TREK ATTACK WING.

If you're a miniatures connoisseur, you'll be disappointed, but from what I've seen on the Youtube, they re-paint quite well (Just search Youtube for Star Trek Attack Wing re-paints).

It's based on the X-Wing system, but produced by Wiz Kids. The main difference is that because you're playing with capital ships, you're able to add more upgrade cards and additional crew.

Components

Although the cloak mechanism doesn't hide your movement on the table, it seemed to do a good job representing the ability and gave it a decent feel with the additional evasion dice, displacement and loss of lock on after multiple turns of cloak activity.

Agreeing with my friend Chris Yoder, it feels the most like my favorite starship game: Star Trek Starship Tactical Combat Simulator (shout out to my old gaming buddy Silver!) since it stopped being produced. It certainly doesn't replace it, but it definitely emanates a similar vibe.

I especially like the idea that it's a system that seems to be aimed at running no more than a three ships (a squadron or wing) per player, I generally dislike the broad trend to make starship combat games aimed at clashing with massive fleets where you loose the nuance of starship to starship combat (the exception being Full Thrust, for when you DO want fleet battles, as it's a well designed classic game that seems to balance detail and numbers).

On the downside again, the miniatures are rather bland. The color choices are questionable, for example, the Federation ships are an odd shade of blue. However, the worst thing about them, isn't the miniatures themselves (save the Constitution class, see below), but the way in which they are releasing the waves. For example, they've released the Reliant (with Khan) this past fall, but the same era Enterprise isn't due out until July!? Huh!?

 Constitution class (OG Enterprise) vs. the Miranda class (OG movie era Reliant).

I'm pretty sure the Enterprise refit in the movies, was not much larger than the original Enterprise. The Wiz Kids ST:AW Constitution is ridiculously tiny. They MUST re-release this with better scaling.

I need to play it some more, but it I think I like it, maybe even more than X-Wing. It would definitely make for a perfect adaptation to capital ship combat in the Star Wars universe too (with the addition of some kind of fighter squadron rules). Another bonus, it appears to be easily adaptable to house rules (like STSTCS was).

3.5 to 4 out of 5 stars!

*** UPDATE ***

I've re-posted a slightly edited version of this review on my new blog: The One Inch General.

I'm going to attempt to reboot my attempt at gaming posts on this new blog, if you wish to continue follow just my gaming posts, please follow the new blog.

Victrix Napoleonic Infantry W.I.P.

Little did I know I would be working on Napoleonic miniatures again, let alone 28mm plastic ones!

My first experience miniature wargaming the Napoleonic era was back in the early 90's playing Napoleon's Battle's with the Frankfurt Wargamers. I later attempted collecting 15mm Napoleonic armies of my own, but realizing the task at hand, I ended up selling them off. I then had the bright idea of using 6mm miniatures and made a large purchase of Russians from Adler that are still sitting unpainted in a cabinet. I was later seduced by idea of Napoleonic Skirmishing in the peninsula based on the Richard Sharpe series of stories, the Sharp Practice rules set by Too Fat Lardies, and the lure of Victrix's extremely well sculpted and relatively cheap plastic 28mm box sets. After discovering that Sharps Practice was not the skirmish rules set I thought it was, and realizing the work needed to assemble the plastic figures, the Victrix boxes also sat in a cabinet collecting dust as I focused on other projects. However, my buddy Dean continued to host game after game of Sharp Practice and watching him slowly build his armies, and even trying out our own simply designed single page set of fast play Napoleonic rules, my interest slowly rekindled, and with a recent game of Black Powder, it finally sparked again! So here I am, actually working on 28mm plastic Napoleonic British for Black Powder,  possibly with the idea of our group hosting a game of Black Powder at this next year's Enfilade 2012 historical miniature gaming convention.

Victrix Napoleonic British.

First, I must admit that I did not assemble the miniatures. One more, and probably a very important element in contributing to my Napoleonic rekindling, was a deal I brokered with my friend Dean to assemble my Victrix in exchange for a couple boxes of Warlord Praetorian Guard I had recently obtained as part of a Foundry Roman army deal.

The plan is to place four miniatures each on 50mm by 50mm bases for use in 24 figure 'regular' sized units for Black Powder or Sharps Practice. The 48 converted light infantry in the left of the picture below will form the 43rd & 52nd Light Infantry Regiments, I am unsure which line infantry units the other 48 will represent yet.

A photo Dean snapped of the assembled Victrix.

You can read more about how Dean went about assembling the Victrix here: Plastic Project and Plastic Project +1 at the WAB Corner.

My plan is to use the MinWax 'dip method', which in fact Dean used on the Praetorian Guard I traded him, which can be seen HERE. The MinWax of choice is supposed to be the Tudor Satin, pictured below left. Because the 'dip method' leaves figures quite shiny, Testors dullcote was the recommended solution, pictured below right.

MinWax

Testors Dullcote

The first step was of course to prime the figures. As the Brits would have grey, and, or white slacks, I considered priming the figures in one of those two colors, and dry brushing/highlighting those areas as necessary. After a test of each I decided to stick with what I know and went with black. My favorite black primer has become one suggested by another local gamer buddy, 'Ace Hardware's Premium Enamel Black Flat' spray paint pictured below left.

Ace Premium Enamel Black Flat.

Dreamcoat Cadet Grey

After priming black, I went ahead and started block painting the grey slacks and bedrolls. For light infantry that will have white slacks, I will go back over a number of them dry brushing white over the grey before using the 'dip'. Because I inherited quite a collection of craft paints from my mother-in-law and wife, and because they've generally worked well for me,  I've continued to use and re-stock them as necessary. For my grey I chose Dreamcoat Cadet Grey by Delta pictured above right.

British 'Centre Company'.

British 'Flank Company' with optional Light inf heads/pieces.

Close up of Light infantry.

Next update: the flesh, white lacing and straps.

In my exuberance I've also put in on a friend's bulk Old Glory order for a pack of 6 pound guns, British Generals and a Rocket Battery pack, which was ordered a week ago, and amazingly has already arrived, which I hope to pick up this weekend. My final, and last addition to the British will probably be Perry's new plastic Hussars.

For the 6 pound guns, although I horribly dislike the idea of assembling Victrix, I was able to obtain a couple extra plastic limbers and artillery crew from another gaming buddy. Thanks James!
Perhaps I can wrangle Dean into assembling these too? ;)

Victrix limbers and artillery crew.

If I survive this Napoleonic project, I plan to move on to Russians next, basing the bulk of the army around either the new Warlord Plastic Russians (less assembly), or Old Glory's 2nd edition miniatures.

HUZZAH!

BLACK POWDER REHEARSAL

Two weekend's ago I was invited to my gaming buddy Dean's homestead for a learning game of Black Powder. I had my reservations about the rules, particularly the often mentioned need for large amounts of figures, abstract movement and vaguely written rules. Fortunately I decided to attend, even if just for the camaraderie, and ended up pleasantly surprised by the rules and the game.

For the game, Dean decided to use a smaller version of the "El Perez" scenario from the rulebook.

Maréchal de France Dean Pierre

The British were tasked with retiring across a bridge defended by a nearby French garrison of Voltigeurs, while holding off advancing French columns. Figures are mounted in groups on stands, the size of which isn't set in stone, but if I remember, 40mmx40mm was recommended. There were three unit sizes, small, regular and large, and this determined firing dice.

From the start, the majority of British units accompanied by Spanish guerrillas began there march toward the bridge, while two stout units of Highlanders aggressively advanced on the approaching French supported by a British rocket battery.

42nd Highlanders

British rocket battery

Movement was fast and simple, a command could either move freely on an initiative with limited movement, or roll a command check for up to three lengths of movement. Orders were also part of movement and had to include reasonably defined parameters, as with the British first movement command of "advance across the bridge and engage any opposing units".

Retreating British

The French entered from the far edge of the battlefield, taking a risk, I rolled for separate command orders, the cavalry to speed toward the rocket battery, the artillery to set up at the edge of the town and the infantry to follow the cavalry until it met an enemy unit. Unfortunately only my artillery unit made it on the table. I really liked this 'fog of war' system of command, even if it really bit me in the rear later.

 







Dean's French successfully advanced his cavalry, followed by his infantry through the town while also setting up his artillery at the edge of the town...

Unfortunately Dean's cavalry were later beaten back by the Highlanders, and because they wouldn't fit in the town in their current formation as they retreated, they had to continue back and off the table!

A needed brewskie for the Frenchies

Eventually the rest of my forces entered as my artillery exchanged fire with the advancing Highlanders. British rocket artillery sporadically reigned down followed by devastating musket fire from the Highlanders. The firing phase used a small number of modifiers and a set number of dice were used based on the size of the unit, this made fire combat quick and easy. Casualties were recorded by markers, for our game Dean painted up and mounted dead figures on poker chips colored to correspond with each side, red for British, Blue for the French. As casualties were taken, additional poker chips were placed underneath. Units could also be disabled which prevented commands, but could still fire, or worse, they could become shaken.

As I mentioned earlier, the 'fog of war' aspect came back to bite me hard later in the game. When rolling for command, double sixes caused my two infantry units to 'blunder', removing them from the game permanently. Only my battered cavalry, which eventually broke off the table too, and my pounded artillery piece remained by game end.

By the end of the game the French advance was severely crippled and the majority of the British units needed to exit and win were well on their way off the table. Despite a valiant defense by the French Voltigeurs, they were most likely soon to be crushed and so the British were declared the victors.

Although many Nappy enthusiasts would probably quip at historical looseness with which the game sometimes played, it felt right and was easy and quick to play, not to mention fun with the application of fog of war related outcomes. I plan to soon order my own set of rules, and I am starting on my own British units to contribute which I hope to blog on later, and a large Black Powder event is possibly in the works for this upcoming Enfilade 2012!

For an additional AAR on the battle, check out Dean's infamous  

WAB CORNER blog!

FIX BAYONETS! 2011

First, it has been a long time since I updated this blog and I am hoping this will be the beginning of more regular updates. My next addition will be a quick recap of my painting activities over the past year, so please stay tuned!

( FYI, all pictures are expandable upon clicking. )

This past weekend I attended the second annual NHMGS game day at the historic Fort Steilacoom in Washington state and thoroughly enjoyed myself! Thanks to hosts Damond Krump and Lawrence Bateman, not to mention Bruce Smith's assistance and all the GM's!

The event started at 9am, and I am not one to wake up early on weekends, but from my previous year's experience, I couldn't wait to attend! After rolling out of bed, I hit the road! But to my surprise, soon after hitting I-5, the traffic came to a complete halt over the Puyallup River bridge, apparently the state patrol had blocked off I-5 for a time to allow a a massive convoy of trucks onto highway! After we were allowed to continue, I ended up passing trucks of all shapes and sizes bumper to bumper in the slow lane from the Hwy 16 interchange to the 512 exit!

I later found out it was organized to raise money for the Special Olympics!

See article: LIGHTS AND SIRENS!!

I eventually rolled into the Fort thinking I was late, however the majority of attendees had yet to arrive, so I was able to spend some time kibitzing and poking around the tables. The self serve bring and buy was last minute, and the items reflected it, but it was still a good idea, I'm sure there will be more goodies there next year if they decide to keep it.

There were four games hosted during first period.

ACW naval using Bay Area Yards rules, hosted by Kevin Smyth.

Tactica 28mm hosted by Mitch Berdinka.

WWII Skirmish hosted by Damond Crump.

Command & Colors 28mm Ancients hosted by Mike Garcia.

This last game, dubbed "I am Spartacus" hosted by Mike, was adapted to the table top from the GMT board game, Command & Colors, and is the first period game which I participated in with my buddy Dean, and Scott Murphy. As usual, Mike puts on a fun game, and always provides beautifully painted miniatures.

Mike gleefully shared that many of his figures were modified.

May the gods bring us victory!

The game ended with a rebel/slave victory, but only by the narrowest of margins after the rebel left flank collapsed. Using the superior fire power of the slingers, as the rest of the rebel warriors were held back, they were able to pepper the enemy until the unit pictured above and right (after being reduced to one stand), brought the final blows to the Romans after fending off three attacking units!

Mike's game was over quickly, a testament to the simplicity of the rules. This was his first play test for the game's probable inclusion in Enfilade 2012. Dean and I decided to get lunch, and unpack his car for second period.

FORT STEILACOOM MUSEUM.

However, after lunch, and before the second period, Dean and I were fortunate enough to receive a personal tour of the fort's museum by Lawrence Bateman, fellow NHMGS gamer, reenactor and Historic Fort Steilacoom Association President.

Lawrence explaining the 12lb Howitzer.

The fort's last, and only remaining original flag, monies from last year's Fix Bayonets paid for its display and framing.

Second period, another four games were hosted.

ACW Regimental Fire & Fury hosted by Lawrence Bateman.

Sharp Practice hosted by Dean Motoyama.

Although I did not play in Dean's Sharp Practice game, I was honored to have helped him play test the scenario, and I am able to play Sharps with him outside of club events, so I thought I should let some other lucky gamers get in on his extremely fun game!

Sword and the Flame Colonials.

Zulus! Imperialism, hosted by Bill Vanderpool.

This last game in which I participated, was a version of Islandwah, hosted by the stalwart Bill Vanderpool. Bill GM'd and played the doomed British as my partner in crime, James Ruth and I, hoarded across the table. The British were eventually wiped from the battlefield and the Zulus rejoiced and cleaned their spears in celebration! ZULU! ZULU! ZULU!

By the end of the day, although I was sweating like a pig because the old building had no air conditioning, and the day's weather had surprisingly peaked at about 80 degrees, I ended up having a grand time gaming with a great bunch of fellows and visiting the fort's museum. I definitely look forward to next year's Fix Bayonets!

For another report on Fix Bayonets! Please visit Dean Motoyama's blog: WAB Corner.

Next, the Museum of Flight game day at Boeing field on November 14th!

Italian Allied cavalry

This Italian Allied cavalry unit will fight along side my Roman cavalry for my Warhammer Ancient Battles: Hannibal and the Punic Wars Republican Roman army.


A closer view.

The figures are 28mm Oscan Cavalry with Command from Old Glory miniature's Ancient Italy line, Product ID: PII-03.

The command.

Pictured below is the unit's standard bearer. I wasn't sure what they would have used but this sea dragon head seemed an appropriate choice.

Thanks for looking!

Republican Roman cavalry

Center two figures are from 1st Corp.

This unit will be a nice addition to my existing Republican Roman army, which currently has no cavalry support. I have one additional unit of Italian Allied cavalry I will soon follow-up with. This army is being used with the Warhammer Ancient Battles rules system and the Hannibal and the Punic Wars supplement.

The majority of these miniatures are 25mm Old Glory Republican Roman cavalry, Product ID: PPR-06 (10 figures with 3 three spear poses and shields). One miniature is from the Old Glory Oscan cavalry pack (the rest of which will be in my Italian Allied cavalry unit) and the two command figures are from 1st Corps.


Center figure is from Oscan cavalry pack.

I was disappointed by the limited poses and lack of command and I had issues drilling holes for the spears (some mangled hands). However, they painted up fairly well using my craft paints. The spears (also Old Glory) are probably too long but I am on a budget these days and used what I already had "in stock". In the end I am pretty happy with how they turned out.

The One Inch General

A friend asked me to take pictures of this miniature he painted for me many years ago when we we're members of a group known as the "Frankfurt Wargamers".

On one side "Markgraf von Schultz" is written, referring to an Imbiss outside the Frankfurt Kaserne often frequented by the Frankfurt Wargamers.

On the other side is "The One Inch General", a nickname I earned playing Napoleon's Battles. The 1" refers to a general's command radius within the rules set. At the time, as a new historical miniatures gamer, I often played overtly defensive tactics. I was often reluctant to play an aggressive game.

The miniature originally had a chicken drumstick in place of the morningstar but it was damaged and lost in transport. This was the best repair I was able to make. I also re-flocked the base as much of the original material had worn away.

28mm Hobbit, the manufacturer is unknown.



*** painted by Michael Kan