X Wing Miniatures: Ghost pics from Last Game

My Ghost Cake Topper finally saw action as a Leebo/Chewie YT 2400 with an accompanying K Wing loaded with ordnance against a Decimator picket.

The info drop for FFG's actual Ghost looks like it is going to be really good and I am sure it will be a beast on the board. Still, this stand in looked cool right now and my son felt like it was a real Rebels game, which we both enjoyed. The YT is so damn fast I am not sure I will be able to see FFG's Ghost the same way again...

Star Wars X Wing Miniatures: Ghost Final (Cake Topper)

I have been working on this on-and-off for too long. That's why I have to be done! I worked to make this look like the color palette in the source materials, in the McQuarrie style. This is a complete repaint of the Ghost, not a touch up of the original finish. I added brass barrels on the gun positions which were barely an original detail and I did layers of grime, wear and subtle chipping. There were a few points during the painting where the details on this cake topper decoration just sucked, frankly, and I moved on. Perfect example is the main cockpit bubble.Ugh. I had even filed parts of the canopy to get it to match up across the upper and lower sections. Still, it was a good exercise and my son is thrilled to have a Ghost to use in X Wing as an Outer Rim smuggler, until the FFG Ghost drops. All-in-all, worth it for 8 bucks!

Here's a before shot, followed by final after primer and paints.

Star Wars X Wing: Ghost (Cake Topper) Part 2

I've had this on the paint bench for far too long. I got this cake topper for my son then got discouraged by the wrong base color. And it sat. Well, the boy asked for the Ghost again so with no delay I re-based in OOP GW Space Wolf Grey and made with the painting. This thing was like US$8 bucks, so not expecting much but the lack of detail is daunting. The canopy is a real test but so far it's passable.

Now I am at an impasse. I mixed the colors based on source pictured and generally nailed it but the question is now one of finishing. There is some yellow stripe and detail painting that needs doing but really it comes down to hard lining: do I use technical pen or something brush-based like Nuln oil which won't be as harsh? Hard to tell really, looking at the source material you would to try to keep contrasts lower than how FFG would finish the model. But this will roll alongside other FFG models so I guess get with the idea that contrast will join it. Stay tuned for the finishing.

Star Wars Rebels: Season 2

I won't be making Rebels part of the fabric of the blog often but I am compelled to say that episode 1 of Rebels season 2, The Siege of Lothal,  was the most exciting Star Wars-anything I have seen in a long time. They took serious notes from movie Episodes 4-6 in terms of visual styles and aesthetics and I appreciated the hell out of it.

Being a McQuarrie fan since childhood, I see so much of his handiwork embodied in Rebels, from Lothal itself to the profile of Vader's mask and while I have enjoyed how Disney deployed his conceptualization from the beginning, something really congealed in this episode, really pulled together his signature influence and the classic Star Wars look from A New Hope onwards. Visually, it was more Star Wars than I though a cartoon could get, in due part to the "classic" look of everything on screen (no offense Clone Wars) but also the spotlight on Vader and how the universe "felt right." GOOD lightsaber fights, A-Wings, CR90's lumbering around, Imperial scapegoats... and Vader. Such Vader. Wow.

Season one was a bit childish and weak (even my 11 year old says so) but it is desirably dark now and feels so Star Warsy it has me scrambling to play Imperial Assault and X Wing (well played Disney).

If you haven't watched the series until now then you could simply jump into this episode and maybe feel thrills you forgot you once had, even without all of the back story there. Those with the Lucas-trope gene will know how to fill gaps in motives but if you had a choice I would say watch Season 1 first.

You may be surprised at how into it you get. Either way, enjoy!

Star Wars X Wing Miniatures: WIP HWK 290 Mod Part 2

So, this HWK is totally repainted though you'd probably never know, since I essentially modified it and then primed it brown, added some sponge weathering, a few washes to shade and add some color, picked out metals and re-did the canopy... only for it to look very close to the original. Hmmm. Was sorta surprised it ended up so close. I will be adding a flash of color somewhere but I am not sure yet where. So, probably another hour of so and that's it. More when finished.

Star Wars X Wing Miniatures: WIP HWK 290 Mod

My FLGS Redcap's Corner is running what equates to an RPG X Wing campaign, with pilots leveling up and acquiring more ships, skills and traits. I'm thinking of joining. The HWK seems a natural place to start. After all, if I was in Star Wars, I'd probably flying something like this ship, a cross between a freight truck and Bradley, depending on the situation.

I wanted to mod the HWK because I just wasn't feeling the stock pose since I got it. When I GIS'd and saw some simple moves of engine stacks I realized that I do love some new lines on the ship, basically the flat-top version of the HWK. I want to credit somebody I think named James who I saw on the Team Covenant site for his but at press time I couldn't source it. If I find it I will cite it.

This was fairly easy. I sawed off both wings and separated the wing nacelles. I trimmed and smoothed the pieces for fit and glued it together. I added a magnet to the turret too so it can spin because why not, right?

So now it is primed and ready for paint, which I might actually tackle tonight.

I think I am leaning towards some card art scheme like that of Torkil Mux's... utilitarian and low-key. Maybe a dash of color here and there.

More as it develops!

Weekend Star Wars X Wing

Colin's many points of articulation come in handy when explaining Star Wars X Wing to Jason

I had some of the fine PAGE fellows over Saturday evening to get some X Wing in. My cousin Mike joined us too, him being predisposed to playing this game really well despite not owning anything from the game at all and only playing when he is at my place. This is frustrating.

Colin has been playing steadily but just recently started into the game, Jason really doesn't like the Star Wars setting (you may have heard about that by now) but he acknowledged that the game is well-conceived and fun. Saying that he'd play it again is about as ringing of an endorsement as you can get from somebody who really needs infantry in his game and doesn't care about the difference between a proton torpedo and a photon torpedo. Colin and I offered D&D attack wing as a possible next step since it shares the same game mechanics and has some ground elements but my heating system did tick on when the chill went through the room at the mention of a Wizkids game. We had a 200 point non-scenario match, which was a first for me and probably for Colin and Mike.

Here, Colin's TIE Interceptors break through the trap the B Wings set for them and ride out the buffeting fire they took on their approach.

Farlander and his Dagger Squadron wheel back via advanced sensors and Keyan's intrinsic Stress-eating abilities to thin the darting TIES. Wedge makes it personal and how. The Merc Firespray bloodies everything around it and Lando leaves Chewbacca under the deck with his hydrospanners, ducking into an escape pod with some Colt 45's since it works every time.

 Colin ran a sweet elite TIE Interceptor force (minus Autothrusters) and Jason ran a bloated TIE bomber with a TIE Advanced escort along with a Merc Firespray. Mike ran a Lando perked-up YT with Chewbacca as crew along with the amazing Wedge Antilles with R2D2. True Story: Wedge rolled 100% on hits for 3 or 4 turns in a row with no dice modifications... you can't really walk that off, you just take it and start thinking about what you are going to eat for dinner, since your pilots never will again. Anyway we had a big ship traffic jam for a few turns as players learned to deal with blocking in ways they hadn't seen before and actually back-lighted the tactics, strategies and game features really well.

Nate the Great debates how to beat up Dad with the best '80's robot voice.

I ran a Farlander triple B Wing list that I liked enough to edit and try again Sunday morning against my 10 year old son, who I brutally destroyed when he ran IG88 against it. Hurray for making your opponents! And no, I don't feel bad. He usually beats me.

Nate88's bold move to close the distance before the warheads can activate.

Everyone is dented up by now, Guri strafes the hell out of Farlander as he up-and-overs his B Wing

Guri comes about hard on the accelerating Farlander, warming up the ordnance as his targeting computer chimes...

Guri's formidable Star Viper hits with a nice spread of Ion Torps, assisted by Focus, dealing Farlander a hit and Ionization as well as the same for a Range 1 Dagger!

Alas it was not to be for the Scum and Villainy, as The Rebels ride out the White 1 moves, shake the crippling Ionization and slowly mop up with their darting B Wings as they ride IG88's wake and slaughter the M3A.

Star Wars X Wing: Ghost (Cake Topper)

A very eagle-eyed member of BGG found a thread about a cake topper of Hera's Ghost in roughly the same scale as Star Wars X Wing. So I found it on Amazon Prime and ordered it for my son Nate, who loves flying YT's and turrets. So yeah, he'll be happy with this until FFG admits they are releasing one since they are now affiliated with Disney.

Mind you, this is a US$10.00 cake topper and not a fine scale model. I have to resist going nuts with re-detailing this. It is a clam shell design and so not all North-South running detail line up. There is decent enough paneling and such that making this table-worthy is possible. The only thing I really did to the ship was to tap out the mounting screw and widen the hole for a sacrificial large ship peg once painting is done. I also added brass rod cannons because the molded one were brutal or non-existent.

 Up next: Primer, paint then gluing a peg.

Star Wars X Wing: Highjacked Decimator

Sometimes you paint the engine glow on a new ship just in time to see your 10 year old son get inspired by that, take your new ship, run it against you and proceed to destroy you with it.

Star Wars X Wing Miniatures: TIE Phantom First Build

A cloaked TIE Phantom right out of the box.

I picked up my first ship of Wave 4, opting for the most interesting (Cloaking mechanic) vs the coolest looking (Headhunter or TIE Defender). The E Wing is really nice, according to her girlfriends, and has a great personality. She's also sitting home alone on Friday nights, watching The Middle with her Mom and little brother. Well, in my mind anyway.

Let's just start off with how I'm probably running this ship my first few games. The Phantom comes with a Cloak Action and Decloak. Notice that Decloak is NOT an Action. When you use a Cloak Action it gives you a Cloak Token, which goes on the ship and is not removed at the end of the turn. It remains until you spend it to Decloak. Cloaked ships add 2 Defense dice, bringing the base Phantom up to 4 Defense while cloaked. You can't attack while cloaked but that is made up for with base 4 Attack dice. Like the other Small ships that can take Crew (HWK) it can take 1 Crew. Upon decloaking before you reveal your dial, you take a 2 Straight or 2 Barrel Roll (also not an Action). It's easy to imagine that this is the ship not reappearing exactly where the enemy expects. This sets up some interesting ambush or dogging tactics. The dial is workable, it feels like it is cruising at 2 and 3 and has a sprint of straight 4. You are shedding Stress with a complete set of 2 moves, all Green, which I like. She has a red 3 and 4 Kiogran which I was surprised by too.

It comes boxed with 2 Modifications specifically intended for the Phantom, though only one is named Phantom-only. These make sense on the Sigma and Shadow pilots below without other upgrades. But I left these alone for now... Stealh Device was calling my name.

Some neat ability and options are on these cards. Being the compulsive shopper I am, I opted for psychological warfare instead of hitting power and doubled-down on the Cloaking ability. To do that I needed an Elite Pilot Skill and so, Echo.

That's 36 points... a tad pricy but probably frustrating to fight. I hope.

 I took the named pilot, "Echo" along with Stealth Device to give him 3 Defense dice uncloaked and 5 Cloaked. Push the Limit allows for an Evade or Focus to pad out a Cloak ability or Evade and Focus while cloaked. Echo's ability to use the 2 Turn templates instead of a 2 Straight upon decloaking is ok but I really took Echo for PTL via Elite Pilot Skill. You are looking at 36 points for everything you see here. Interesting, no?

If I were rolling this ship build against a Rebel Transport or Tantive list I'd probably opt to add Recon Specialist to help with Focus, which makes defense more annoying or shooting better when decloaking. 39 points is A LOT for a Small ship but again, a few hundred points of a large game can soak the gimmick up easily.

Look, 5 Defense dice is nothing to sneeze at, inconsistent as that may be. Decloaking behind some Rebel ship and throwing 5 Attack dice at Range 1 on an Ambush is pretty damn fine as well. To follow an old paint-makers saying, "you can make it nice but can you make it twice?" I don't know yet. It may be that the build above doesn't do much after you unzip your fly and take a shot. I guess it comes down to how much of the game you want to spend cloaked to begin with. For now, I like the odds it has to close against Rebel turrets and not bleed-out en route to Range1 or going stealth as the lines cross, head-on.  PTL is awesome on almost everything but if I find it's possibly overkill for the role this ship trends towards then I'll gladly take Determination.

I gotta say, I think the Cloak action is pretty elegant as a mechanic and it will be interesting to see if anything else ends up with it. While not FFG-legal I will definitely be removing the ship from the base when Cloaked for the visual gag during friendly games. Becuase why not.

The above is not a deep analysis of what you can do with the Phantom, more like a first blush response. I've found that my dream builds of newly released ships usually equates to going to the gym and just working the vanity muscles. Looks good in a pic but living it may be very different than anticipated when there is heavy lifting to be done on the job.

Well, I'm off to my sister's this weekend where I will face my Rebel-Scum-in-Law Mike. I'll share out how the Phantom worked in a (ulp) 100 point list.

Star Wars X Wing: Shout Out to Fantasy Flight Customer Service

Hey! Eyes up here and off my female peg!

This update is overdue. I bought an X Wing expansion a bit ago to pad out my army lists for the bigger format games these days, thanks to the largemungus Rebel Transport and Tantive box sets that were released.

When I opened the blister I noticed that the "female" peg that was seated and glued into the X Wing model itself wasn't seated all the way in before it was glued at the factory. I didn't think it'd break. It did, right after I put a flight peg into it. Bummer.

Let the record show that I own multiples of every expansion except for the new large ships and Wave 4 so I had not seen this before in X Wing Miniatures, nor any other FFG game I own. I didn't really worry as I pushed the stirring pangs of buyer's remorse back into their dysfunctional drab corners of my mind... but they did stir. 

I used FFG's Replacement Parts section on their Customer Service pages and told them the deal, sent them a pic. I only asked for another female peg as replacement since I could easily remove the broken one and replace with the new. Interface was easy and a message back landed within a day. They'd replace "it".

A brand new X Wing showed up at my door about a week or so later. They probably had to handle it that way since they probably didn't have access to sending out just a single peg but I was really happy with the service.

Well done FFG and thanks!

Warhammer 40k: 7th Edition & Star Wars X Wing Pics

I have a 7th edition game tonight, my first 40k in... what must be years. My good ol' Valhallans (above) will muster once again. I bought 7th Psychic cards and IG order cards in preparation which felt wrong somehow...  and somewhere I am sure, several baby dogs fell ill in sweet, soft ways. I am a monster.

Here are a few shots of the weekend Star Wars showdown, where a Lando list I built for Mike S. creamed my Boba Fett list. Mike is a monster. Or I am, not sure.

Hey Turr, we heard you like no Pilot traits and no Action bar from one hit by Flechette Torpedoes! Good luck repairing the damage with the only action you can possibly take... or not, after you shed Stress. FOR 2 POINTS!!!!!!

Oh Wedge Antilles, you had me at whatever the first word you said was...