Pass in Review: Sci-Fi Power Generator and Barricades

(Image:  DSS-02 Shield Generator)

Since I often don’t have the time, talent, or patience to paint miniature figures, I’m a sucker for pre-painted terrain.

A few months ago, I was at the Crossroads Bellevue and stumbled across Uncle's Games for the first time.

One of the items I purchased was the Galactic Warzones Power Generator...

...which is part of Gale Force 9’s Battlefield in a Box, Galactic Warzones line.

The color, weight, and texture a outstanding.  My only “issue” with this piece is that if you want to recreate the Battle of Hoth, and include the targeted shield generators, you’ll need to buy three more sets.  At about $29.25 per set, this will truly be a “high value asset.”

For other gaming scenarios though, a single shield/power generator will be fine.

But even one high value asset needs to be guarded and protected.

A few months ago, I had some Warhammer 40,000 (WH40K) quad-autocannons painted by my friend Dan.

These pieces are part of the Imperium’s  Aegis Defense Line.

Here’s a back-view of the quad-autocannons:

The Aegis Defense Line set comes with one quad-autocannon, four long, crenelated barricades and four short barricades. Below is a picture of two long barricades I purchased at a gaming swap meet:

Here’s a look at two identically painted, short barricades along with some obstacles:

Here’s another obstacle:

I purchased a couple unassembled and unpainted Aegis Defense Line sets.  While Dan assembled and painted the auto-cannons, I tried my hand at painting the barricades.  Here’s a couple of examples of a desert barricade:

And a couple examples of a forest/grassland barricade:

Here’s a look at the back of typical barricades:

When it comes to sci-fi gaming, I don’t limit myself to WH40K.  While I haven’t invested (yet) into Star Wars: Legion, I bought a couple sets of the Barricades Pack.

Since I’m too lazy don’t have the time to prime and paint these pieces, I simply brushed them with a grey ink-wash to give them a greasy, dirty weathered look:

I’m a regular patron of The Miniature Page.  This site offers free shipping for orders of $99 or more.
So to take advantage of this deal, I often top-off my orders with purchases of their Tiny Terrain Line.
In this case, both damaged and undamaged Sci-Fi Walls...

...along with the more mundane Jersey Barriers (only one style of damaged barriers seem to be currently available).

For impromptu barricades, there’s various piles of sandbags (currently out of stock):

While Tiny Terrain figures are inexpensive, I found the hard plastic made them hard to paint.  I tried ink-washing the Sci-fi Walls and the Jersey Barriers, but the fluid just beaded up and ran off the surfaces.  I had better luck applying brown wash on to the sandbag piles.

In addition to plastic, painted or otherwise, there’s also paper terrain the you can download.

I believe I got these from DriveThruRPG several years ago, but the set is no longer available.

The site Paper Make It! has some 3D Models available for download, costing between $2.50--$5.90, along with an assortment of various science fiction-themed materials.

So while we're all "barricaded" in our homes due to the Coronavirus Pandemic Stay-At-Home decrees; we can order, assemble and paint our miniature barricades to protect our critical terrain pieces on the tabletop.

Game Review: Star Wars Armada--The Corellian Conflict Campaign Game

(Image found on:  Sterling Knight Gamers YouTube video)

What intrigues me most about military history are the campaigns that lead up to the major battles.  I'm fascinated by the hows and whys battles develop more so than the actual blood-letting of combat.

I like campaign games because they force players to think beyond a one-of battle, and inhibits them from going all-out to achieve a single victory.  However, I've experienced mixed results at running and participating in campaign games, as I'm sure many (all?) of my fellow gamers have.  The initial enthusiasm may be high, but it's hard to maintain, which often leads to the campaign fizzling-out.

Still, I love the idea of being involved in such a tabletop venture.  Hey, I can still dream, can't I?

Which is why I snatched the one copy of Star Wars Armada: The Corellian Conflict Campaign Expansion that was sitting on the shelf at The Game Matrix (TGM).

Yes, it was an impulse buy, especially since I have yet to play the core game.

I paid $30 for it at TGM, but the price can vary from $24 at The Miniature Market to a tad over $50 on Amazon.com.

Here's what you get for your money--

--1 x 20-page rulebook
--6 x Fleet Rosters
--2 x Team Rosters (Rebel & Imperial)
--10 x Main Ship ID Tokens
--10 x Ship ID Tokens
--10 x Scarred ("damaged") ID Tokens
--2 x Main Flagship Tokens
--2 x Flagship Tokens
--14 x Squadron ID Tokens
--12 x Scarred Squadron ID Tokens
18 x Veteran Tokens
3 x each Diplomat, Spynet, and Skilled Spacer Tokens
--6 x Obstacles representing asteroids (3), dust fields (2) and a space station
--16 x Squadron Disks to place on the standard fighter squadron stands
--39 x various cards for squadrons, objectives and the space station
--1 x sticker sheet, representing active or destroyed bases and outposts
--and one small, cardstock map representing the Corellian Sector...

Here's what you don't get for your money--

--additional miniatures
--a hefty, mounted map
--counters representing active and destroyed bases and outposts

 Three reviewers on Amazon.com gave The Corellian Campaign a 5-star rating.

But after scrolling through the comments section on various "Unboxing" videos, like Crabbok, YouTube viewers have been less-than kind.  Some even cancelled their pre-orders.

Most gamers have issues with the small size and flimsy map.

My biggest sticking point--is with the stickers.

(Image from:  Boardgame Geek)

The designers' justification for using stickers instead of counters or tokens was "...to create a living record of the ongoing Corellian Conflict," (page 6 sidebar).

And...then what?  Frame and hang the map up in your man-cave?

The sidebar note goes on to say that players can eschew the stickers, which will probably be impossible to remove from the map, and keep track of who controls what via the Team Rosters.

Here's a suggestion:  How about using counters to represent political influence and military control, like other board games do?

To remedy this sticky situation, I intend to paste the stickers on blank boardgame counters, or a matboard, trim the corners, and use them as control tokens for the game. One player used magnets to create re-usable playing pieces.

Arts & Crafts project recommendations aside, since I haven't played Star Wars Armada...

(Image from:  WWPD's "Most Wanted!" Battle Report)

...I've only given The Corellian Conflict rules a cursory glance.

Set-up appears to be in "tic-tac-toe" style.  That is, the Empire initially controls Corellia proper.  Then players alternate placing their base/outpost stickers on planets, keeping in mind some planets provide more resources than others...

(Image from:  The Bell of Lost Souls)

...followed by constructing 400 points worth of starships and fighters.

Despite the above-mentioned shortcomings, I don't regret buying the game.  The artwork is nice.  The cardstock map is no thinner than other non-mounted boards I've seen in larger, more expensive games.  And the actual counters are thick and durable.

So I give The Corellian Conflict Campaign Expansion a conditional 3-star rating.

"Conditional" being based on how I feel about the game after I get a chance to actually play it.

If I ever do.

Movie Review: Rogue One--A Star Wars Story

(Image from: geek.com)

Last week, my wife and I managed to get some time off--even on some of the same days.  On one of these "date days" we caught matinee of Rogue One.

To be honest, I wasn't sure how I'd feel about this latest Star Wars movie since I wasn't all that crazy about The Force Awakens...

(Image from:  Independent)

...an-n-n-d I just realized I never wrote a movie review for The Force Awakens (8.1 stars out of 10 on IMDb), which we saw about this time last year.

Well, since I'm lazy I want to save blog space, this review by Honest Trailers...

...is funnier than anything I could write nails the good, the bad and the ugly about The Force Awakens.

Okay, now back to Rogue One.

Ever wonder how the Death Star plans ended up in Princess Leia's possession?

Well, Rogue One, which fits right into Episode IV A New Hope...

(Image from:  Muvi Blast)

...is the story of the ragtag bunch of misfits who steal the plans, deliver them to the Rebel Alliance and--Spoiler Alert!--pay for it with their lives.

I loved this movie, and consider it one of the best Star Wars films made to date. 

I'm wondering if I'm just being a fanboy by rushing to give the film a 5-star rating.  (It also received 8.1 out of 10 stars on IMDb).  I'll probably have to watch it a few more times to actually see any plot holes.

While I love the Star Wars franchise overall, it's easy to become cynical about it, especially since it falls into the trope of having the main characters doing everything.

Seriously.  Can't the "...galaxy far, far away..." even in the expanded universe, function without Luke, Liea, Han and Chewie?

Rogue One breaks this pattern.  And this is what I love most about the movie.  Swiping the Death Star plans cost the Rebel Alliance dearly.  It's not just red shirts dying on-screen, but the main characters.  All of them.

Even though this was a story about new characters on a one-way mission, there were plenty of appearances by iconic characters, thanks to cool, but sometimes unsettling CGI.

I'm not merely referring to Grand Moff Tarkin or Princess Liea either.  I got the biggest kick out of recognizing some of the rebel fighter pilots.  I didn't see Porkins, but some fans claim they did.

If you've never seen a Star Wars movie (I know of some people who haven't), then you only need to watch the original, Episode IV: A New Hope to fully appreciate the plot.

I use to love reading movie novelizations, because I'd gain deeper insights into the characters, setting and action.  However, haven't read movie-to-book in ages.

I think Rogue One will be worth reading.

Oh, and I'll probably be purchasing any Rogue One related wargame and role playing game materials once they're published.

(Image from:  comicbook.com)

RIP Carrie Fisher

(Image from:  Entertainment Weekly)

Yesterday, when I woke up from my nightshift nap, my wife asked me if I heard about Carrie Fisher.
My wife doesn't follow pop-culture and I hadn't gotten around to checking the day's headlines.  So I thought she was referring to Carrie Fisher's hospital stay over the Christmas Weekend.

When I mentioned this, my wife said:  No, she's dead.

The Seattle Times ran this article:  'Star Wars" Actor Carrie Fisher, known for her acerbic comic flair dies at 60.

I'm usually don't go ga-ga over the handful of celebrities I've met, or weepy when the ones I haven't met pass away.  But I must admit Carrie's passing surprised me.  I thought she pulled through, and compared to the average life-span here in America, she died relatively young.
 
Of course, like every other hetero-male fan, I'll always remember her this way:

(Image found on:  Rob.Nu)

Where as Chewbacca will remember this tender moment:

(Image from:  Ink Tank)

Rest in Peace Carrie.