Which should I buy?

Hi all!

Well, my birthday just came and went, and as a gift I got a gift card for some books; specifically, to replace some lost Sharpes books!

So.. Which ones do folks think I should get?  Maybe one or two from India?  Some of the original series?  Something different, like Trafalgar?

Any advice very, very welcome!

Working on another 25mm Richard Sharpe and Harper

Hi all!

A buddy of mine has a pretty great Napoleonic collection...

And asked if wanted to contribute something!  I said "But of course!"

So, he gave me a converted Sharpe and Harper to paint up.

Now, Sharpe is actually wearing the greatcoat he is often seen wearing on the show, seen below in a photo from "The Sharpe Dressed Man".

Harper is dressed in more the traditional Rifle uniform.  They have a bit more work left on them and then obviously the matte varnish, which will help GREATLY... right now they are so glossy it is hard to look at them!  Still, I think they look pretty sharpe... can't wait to see them based up and joining the army!

25mm Battlefield 3 Miniatures - Metro and Seine- finished!

Hey all!

Okay, I FINALLY got a few minutes away from the baby to finish my two Battlefield 3 projects!

Now, I play BF3 pretty religiously... like, at least one night a week is spent rumbling around in a tank or blasted choppers out of the sky with my IGLA.  I have always loved video games, and the UNPARALLELED multiplayer of BF3 sucked me in like no ones business!

One of the things that make BF3 so much fun is two of the guys I play with!  One is a guy I "met" online; we played together, we were both good and could talk, so we buddied up.  Another is a friend I met through a very close friend.  The three of us have been playing BF3 every week for... well, for two years I suppose.  It is a good little video game group.

So, when I saw these BF3 miniatures from Hasslefree Miniatures, I knew I wanted to do up a little gift for each guy!

Here is the first one.  My one buddy is a pretty good sniper, although to be fair, he is good at every class.  He really enjoys Operation Metro, so I did a sniper going through the tunnels on Metro.  I tried to add all sorts of details from the game, including an ammo pack.  Other bits from the game include the warning sign on the edge of the platform, and of course the seats and the sign.  Overall I think it turned out pretty good.  Below is one of the photos I used for reference.

On to the next one!

This is the one for my other buddy, Bill.  He is a HUGE fan of Seine Crossing, and tends to camp out in the building that overlooks A and C objectives on Conquest.  So I made up a rough version of that door (as seen below).  Again, I tried to add a few details from the game, including a med pack and, on the stairs, a claymore.  Unfortunately I did make him an engineer, even though he is usually a machine gunner on this level, but what can you do!

Anyway... so, I'm going to ship them off in the next day or so; I hope they enjoy them!

My "homemade" Star Wars cards

Hi all!

Well, I found a use for extra "unique" cards in Star Wars... make up a few of the cards I don't have!

Now, I have no plans on investing in any of the large ships (which are the only way of getting modifications) or in the X-Wing or TIE expansion, as I have three core sets worth.  But I want some of the cards!  So... just printed out a few, backed them on the real cards (in the case of modifications I used extra R2D2s and other astromechs) and voila!

New project: Raven Guard.

Hi guys, well its time to start a new project, ive been puttin goff painting due to a house move long enough and now its time to get my head down again.

as of now i will be putting my efforts into  constructing a new Raven Guard army.
I will start with that old forge world air defence platform....

Forge world Raven guard

So keep your eyes peeled for part one of this project on wednesday i guess!



As always thank you very much for visiting the site----------if you have any questions or comments please feel free to share them!----------You can help us out by joining us on facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/Scifiwargamers or Following us on twitter Here: @Marsekay-------If youre feeling VERY generous,by using the donate button or finally just browsing the site! ----------Thanks for visiting from the SciFiWargamers team.

Help finding a figure?

Hey all!

Okay, I am looking to find the best possible Napoleonic British naval captain in either 25mm or 40mm.  Anyone know of a particular figure that might work?

Thanks all!

X-Wing: Named Pilots- Maarek Steele

Named Pilots- Maarek Steele

Hi guys, i felt you all needed to see this, this is originally from Clint over at the the metal bikini.com so all credit goes to him for this!

Card: Maarek Steele (27)
Card Text: When your attack deals a face up Damage card to the defender, instead draw 3 Damage cards, choose 1 to deal, and discard the others.
Ability is an Action?: No.
Excels at: Uh...
Quick Take: Stele is another one of those guys like Winged Gundark that looks better on paper than he seems to function in reality.

The first, and probably most significant knock against Stele is that he's only two points cheaper than Vader. Not to get completely sidetracked onto Vader, but briefly, for those two points, Vader has +2 Pilot Rank and a second Action every turn. That's a much better ROI any way you want to cut it. Whether Stele should be cheaper or Vader should be more expensive, my opinion is Stele should be cheaper, but whatever.

I want to love Maarek Stele. I want to be the guy who finally figures out the proper way to use Stele because dammit, I loved TIE Figther back in the day. After getting my first PC for Christmas in '96, I subsequently spent New Year's Eve playing TIE Fighter instead of partying on the streets of Austin, TX. While other twenty-somethings were out living it up on Sixth Street, I was getting Force Lighting tattoos, so don't misunderstand my intent here- I'm not just another internet Maarek hater. I just still can't figure him out.

All that said, if you can manage to trigger his card ability, it really can be pretty devastating to the victim.

Elite Skills/ Upgrades: Let's get this out of the way right off the bat- yes, I've tried Maarek + Cluster Missiles + Marksmanship. Yes, the combo works, but no, I didn't feel it was worth it's points as there's still quite a lot of variables in that equation when there are cheaper and more reliable combos out there for the Empire. Admittedly, that might be more the way I feel about Marksmanship in general than about Stele in particular, but it left me underwhelmed- especially so for a setup that's running a point over a full third of a standard tournament list. Your mileage may vary, but honestly, I'd be shocked if it did.

If you put a gun to my head and said, "Run Maarek in a Wave 1 list", after experimenting with some offensive builds (including the misisles + Marksmanship one above), I'd probably just strap some Clusters to him and stick him front and center on the TIE swarm pile in front of Howlrunner with not other upgrades or skills. I think this role plays to his strengths- he has a decently high Pilot Rank (but not really enough to justify an application of Swarm Tactics, in my opinion) and he has shields on his ship. His special ability is kind of nasty when/ if you can get it to go off, so a Rebel player can't just ignore him, but if he's putting shots onto Maarek, then he's not focusing on Howlrunner, which of course is the whole point.

Would I take something like that to a tournament? You know, I just might. I like doing non-standard stuff like that just to put my opponent on his back foot for a moment. That moment where he's going, "Hey- what's this guy figured out with Maarek?", might just be the moment he makes a mistake. I like to make my opponent think and make as many decisions as possible in my games because there's a good chance if you make a guy deviate from his normal game plan either by fielding a weird list or executing strange maneuvers, he's going to underthink or overthink and make a mistake. Of course, I'd much rather just go into a tournament situation with a good combination tacked onto Maarek, but again- I don't think that exists right now in Wave 1.

I really hope that some exotic combination of Wave 2 and Wave 1 stuff unlocks Maarek's true potential. I want to like the dude. I really, really do. I just really, really can't justify him right now.
As always thank you very much for visiting the site----------if you have any questions or comments please feel free to share them!----------You can help us out by joining us on facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/Scifiwargamers or Following us on twitter Here: @Marsekay-------If youre feeling VERY generous,by using the donate button or finally just browsing the site! ----------Thanks for visiting from the SciFiWargamers team.

X-Wing: Named Pilots- Wedge Antilles

Named Pilots- Wedge Antilles

Hi guys, i felt you all needed to see this, this is originally from Clint over at the the metal bikini.com so all credit goes to him for this!

 
Card: Wedge Antilles (X-Wing) 29 Pts.
Card Text: When attacking, reduce the defender's agility value by 1 (to a minimum of 0).
Ability is an Action?: No.
Excels at: Attacking.
Quick Take: Wedge is expensive but boasts the highest pilot ranking on the Rebel side along with a special ability that helps his offensive output outcome. As many Imperial players will attempt to remove Wedge early from the game, it’s advisable to equip him with a droid to help him stay in the game longer. Any droid can help Wedge stay alive, but perhaps the best options for the average player would be R2-F2, R5-D8, or R2-D2. See their entries for more details.
Elite Skills/ Upgrades: Wedge with Swarm Tactics is a good combo as is Squad Leader. Both of these skills play off Wedge’s high pilot skills. If a player plans on having Wedge on a flank and too far away to effectively use Swarm Tactics or Squad Leader, the rest of the Elite Talents can all help keep him alive, but honestly, I don't know that you'd need them. A lone, roving Wedge is probably better served by a droid.

As Wedge is such a bullet magnet, many people will team him up with Biggs Darklighter to a nearly automatic degree. If you equip Wedge with a droid that requires an action (R2-F2, etc.), consider flying him with Garven Dreis or Dutch Vander as they convey Focus and Target Locks respectively which should help mitigate the loss of Wedge's Action to trigger the droid's ability. Some creative use of Swarm Tactics on either of those pilots along with some available targets of opportunity and Wedge can even benefit from either of those tokens in his shooting phase. Crazy.

As always thank you very much for visiting the site----------if you have any questions or comments please feel free to share them!----------You can help us out by joining us on facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/Scifiwargamers or Following us on twitter Here: @Marsekay-------If youre feeling VERY generous,by using the donate button or finally just browsing the site! ----------Thanks for visiting from the SciFiWargamers team.

X-Wing: Elite Pilot Skills- Swarm Tactics

Elite Pilot Skills- Swarm Tactics

Hi guys, i felt you all needed to see this, this is originally from Clint over at the the metal bikini.com so all credit goes to him for this!

Swarm Tactics (2)
Card Text: At the start of the Combat Phase, choose 1 ship at Range 1. Until the end of this phase, treat the chosen ship as if it’s pilot skill were equal to your pilot skill.
Usage in Game: To boost a ship/ pilot’s Pilot Rank to get some shots off earlier than he’d normally fire.
Action?: No.

It’s still kind of amazing to me that Swarm Tactics isn’t a “dotted” card, doesn’t require an Action, and is such a low-points card. Regardless of what faction you play, this is a card you should have on your best pilots, full stop. The ability to have a low Pilot Rank ship resolve its combat at a higher step is massive in this game and with the only real limitation being the target ship having to be within Range 1? Oh well.

Swarm Tactics isn’t without it’s more complicated applications either- it has been confirmed in the FAQ that multiple Swarm Tactics upgrades “chain” together. For example, Vader with Swarm Tactics flanked with two Black Squadron Pilots, one of whom has Swarm Tactics, effectively bestows Swarm Tactics to all three ships, and yes, all three ships resolve combat at Pilot Rank 9. Nasty Imperial players could use this chaining ability to create high Pilot Rank “bubbles” that move about as needed bestowing the higher Pilot Rank to ships who need it most. It would take some fairly precise moving and maneuvering, but imagine the previous example of Vader and the 2 Black Squadron Pilots, but now imagine they all possess Swarm Tactics and the wingmen are spread to the limits of Range 1 from Vader. That’s a pretty big area of Pilot Rank 9 effect.

While this bubble trick doesn’t work as well with Rebels, Swarm Tactics is still quite useful, even if you don't deploy in one big pile in the middle. Pair Luke with Swarm Tactics with a Rookie Pilot following closely enough behind to be within Range 1 of him, and you’ve got one heckuva 1-2 punch that’ll drop just about anyone but Vader before they have a chance to really react.

As always thank you very much for visiting the site----------if you have any questions or comments please feel free to share them!----------You can help us out by joining us on facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/Scifiwargamers or Following us on twitter Here: @Marsekay-------If youre feeling VERY generous,by using the donate button or finally just browsing the site! ----------Thanks for visiting from the SciFiWargamers team.

X-Wing: Secondary Weapon Systems- Ion Cannon Turret

Secondary Weapon Systems- Ion Cannon Turret

Hi guys, i felt you all needed to see this, this is originally from Clint over at the the metal bikini.com so all credit goes to him for this!

Ion Cannon Turret (5)
Attack Dice: 3
Range: 1-2
Card Text: Attack 1 ship (even a ship outside your firing arc). If this attack hits the target ship, the ship suffers 1 damage and receives 1 Ion Token. Then cancel all dice results.
Usage: First, understand how this works- if you score at least one hit (e.g. you roll more hit/ crit explosion symbols than your opponent can cancel with wavy arrow Evade symbols), they get an Ion Token and one damage (regardless of how many hits actually got through the Evades rolled, Evade Action, or shields). If they get an Ion Token, they don’t use a movement dial next turn, instead they move forward 1, which is considered to be a white move for these purposes (note they can still do Actions and can attack and defend as normal). Second, realize that a TIE with an Evade token is not very likely to be ionized- this isn’t some spam cannon- you do still need to be intelligent with your target selections. Third, you’re only going to do 1 hit worth of damage when you successfully use the Ion Cannon Turret, regardless of what you roll, so be smart about that too. 

Admittedly, with only having a 2 Attack primary weapon, it’s usually going to be better for a Y-Wing to fire the Ion, but not if you can get into Range 1 and fire primary which of course nets you 3 dice without a hit limiter.


All that said, many people, me included, really don’t consider fielding a Y-Wing without an Ion Cannon Turret as they tend to mitigate the poor manueverability of the Y-Wing. It’s also great for catching people off guard as many players look at movement and manuevering with a keen eye on the firing arcs of their opponent’s ships. Having a 360 degree arc of fire will catch veteran and new players off-guard a like, often several times per game (at least in my experience).

Bear in mind too, even though it's not some sort of missile or torpedo, the Ion Cannon Turret is a Secondary Weapon System. As such, you do not get an extra attack die firing from Range 1, but conversely, your opponent does not get an extra defense die if you're attacking him from Range 3!

EDIT: Recall that the Ion Cannon Turret has a Range of 1-2 so the above doesn't really apply to the ICT. The no extra Defense die portion of the discussion is the result of me getting that rule wrong for a long time, so I kind of go overboard mentioning it any chance I get.

The takeaway here is the discussion is correct, but it doesn't apply to ICTs.
As always thank you very much for visiting the site----------if you have any questions or comments please feel free to share them!----------You can help us out by joining us on facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/Scifiwargamers or Following us on twitter Here: @Marsekay-------If youre feeling VERY generous,by using the donate button or finally just browsing the site! ----------Thanks for visiting from the SciFiWargamers team.

X-Wing: Elite Pilot Skills- Marksmanship

Elite Pilot Skills- Marksmanship 

Hi guys, i felt you all needed to see this, this is originally from Clint over at the the metal bikini.com so all credit goes to him for this!

Marksmanship (3)
Card Text: When attacking this round, you may change one of your <eyeball> results to a <crit> and all of your other <eyeball> results to <hits>.
Usage in game: Similar to Focus, but automatically bestows a Crit result instead of just hits.
Action?: Yes

At a glance, this is basically paying 3 points for a Focus Action, but one of the eyeballs you rolled becomes a crit instead of just a hit. This is fairly significant in and of itself as crits can be pretty nasty and of course, often have an ongoing effect that really screws up the victim’s day. All that said, bear in mind that if you’re shooting at somebody who still has shields, this ability will do absolutely nothing for you a Focus wouldn’t as crits have no different effect than hits on shields.

Digging deeper, the use I see for Marksmanship is stacking with a Target Lock, where you can re-roll the results you want, regardless of what they are. Of course, as Marksmanship is an action, you’d need to have the TL from a previous round. If you’ve got one though, you could use Marksmanship with Proton Torpedoes and you’re practically assured of registering all hits and at least one crit. It’d also go nicely with Concussion Missiles as Marksmanship switches <eyeball> results and Concussion Missiles already has a built-in rule to change a <blank> result to a hit. Again though, kind of a waste on ships with shields left.

The thing that jumps out at me is you need kind of a lot of variables to be in conjunction contextually for this to work well enough to 1) make you take it over the more versatile Focus Action and 2) feel like you got your points worth. This is one of those cards I look at and wonder if it’s true value isn’t more apparent once Wave 2 has dropped. Otherwise, unless you’re just so much better at movement/ maneuvering than your opponent that you find yourself behind him all the time and wish you had a Focus action with more pop, I can’t see actually paying for Marksmanship over the free and available to every ship Focus.

That said, a case could be make for giving Skywalker Marksmanship as his special ability is kind of a Focus-lite that only works on defense.

As always thank you very much for visiting the site----------if you have any questions or comments please feel free to share them!----------You can help us out by joining us on facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/Scifiwargamers or Following us on twitter Here: @Marsekay-------If youre feeling VERY generous,by using the donate button or finally just browsing the site! ----------Thanks for visiting from the SciFiWargamers team.