This is my new 1/2500-scale Enterprise NX-01. I bought the new AMT/Polar Lights kit of all the Enterprise versions just to get this new little model - and more importantly, the new nearly-full-coverage decals - even though I have all the individual kits already. Guess AMT knew its audience. . .
The "Aztec" decals just rock, and really bring the models to life. Here's a shot of the NX-01 alongside the AMT model Reliant, a later "movie-era" Federation starship in the same 1/2500 scale, photographed on my Cor-Sec game mat.
Note: if interested, you can see how I am adapting the 1/2500-scale models to the Star Trek: Attack Wing game system in some of my earlier posts labeled Star Trek.
Of all the Star Trek franchises to date, I find the Enterprise series the most enjoyable to re-watch. I like the way most all of the traditional foes were handled, including the Vulcans - who were foes as often as friends - in the early heady days of warp-capable human space venturing. The humans were refreshingly human, too; a little dirty and more complicated. So it would figure that my flirtation with Attack Wing starts in the Enterprise-era. Eaglemoss is helpful, here, as well, as some of their models are close enough to 1/2500 scale to be used. For example, here's a shot of the Eaglemoss Andorian Kumari and the Vulcan Ni'Var.
Here's the Romulan Bird-of-Prey Praetus with the NX-01 again.
And finally, here's a shot of the Enterprise-era 1/2500-scale starships with their actual Attack Wing counterparts, to show the difference in size and relative scale between the models.
Now the reason for the "Blah Blah Blah" tag. . .
I come to Star Trek first and foremost because of the starship design, and I want to play games with cool models. Even though I am not a physicist, I still had to get over the whole "immensity of outer space" scale thing (check out my earlier post about being in different cities with our little 1/2500-scale models, still in phaser range). Battles will/may be fought from hundreds of thousands of miles apart and at computer-calculation speed. Then there's the whole debate about weapons use at warp speed. Not much fun on the table-top and maybe not even fun on a computer screen! So I rationalize our table-top game as the way a computer might visually simulate the battle, with the relative scale and positions of the combatants altered for the participating humans to make the few necessary critical (and cinematic) decisions. At least until humans themselves become altered by space travel into something altogether different than our current versions. . .
Next up, French and Indian War terrain: Woods 3.0!
See ya!
I'm getting ready to varnish a unit of John Jenkins Connecticut Provincials, and so needed to paint new uniform colors onto a pair of Sergeants and Officer. Thought I'd take the opportunity to share these, and a couple others who've gotten new uniforms.
On the far left is an officer of the Virginia Provincials, in his original uniform scheme of blue coat with red facings, in the process of getting his new base. To his right is the same officer in the uniform of the New York Provincials, drab coat with buckskin waistcoat and trousers. To his right is the most recent addition to the Connecticut Provincials, in red coat with yellow facings.
On the far right is the original Sergeant of the 60th Royal Americans (a unit with a fascinating history) in red coat with blue facings. To his left is a Sergeant of the Virginia Provincials (his officer is on the far left) in opposite colors: blue cost with red facings. And to his right is one of the new Connecticut Provincial Sergeants, in red and yellow.
Here is the Connecticut unit with its new officers, awaiting their protective varnish. . .
And now some Romulans for my 1/2500-scale Star Trek: Attack Wing project. I bought a Waclawski model of an Enterprise-era Romulan Bird-of-Prey, then after a bit of research discovered the Eaglemoss models were the same scale.
So I added two to my small but growing collection of 1/2500 scale Star Trek: Attack Wing models.
Here is one of the models set up for play on a Cor-Sec flight stand I configured to work with the Star Trek: Attack Wing stands that support the Ship ID and Captain tokens from the game, next to an actual model from the game.
Bigger is cooler : )
See ya!
This is a close-up photo of my new "space" mat from Cor-Sec Engineering. I bought the 80" x 60" size as a basis for my enlarged 1/2500-scale StarTrek: Attack Wing project - or whatever I end up playing. Says Cor-Sec:
Our mats are printed on heavy fleece. This synthetic fiber allows for a
durable and vibrant mat. The colors are not shiny like vinyl mats. It
is 100% Polyester. It doesn't fray and can be folded or machine washed.
They can be transported easily and hold up to heavy use.
The mat is very light-weight, the printed color is vibrant and the edges are folded and "hemmed" for durability.
So why Wagons ho?! I got a new wagon. The new Conestoga wagon from John Jenkins Designs. It's very cool (can an 18th-century wagon be cool?) with a complicated bit of hook and chain harnessing for 6 horses. It will be very complicated to "move" during a game so it may become part of a set-piece terrain unless I figure out a way to base it with horses that is functional and looks good. Might be a tall order. . .
And. . . if you happen to live in the Twin Cities, you are invited to play Muskets and Mohawks with us at The Source this Saturday afternoon. No experience necessary : )
Happy Father's Day!
The "Game Room" at Castle FusterCluck is actually more of an "Exercise Room" - or dojo - at the moment, but at the end of one my workouts I caught myself just staring at the mats I put on the floor. . .
. . . and seeing starships!
Still not even close to the actual scale, but gettin' there! And I get to play on the floor : )
Happy New Year! I'm kicking off 2017 with a couple of projects featuring magnets. First up is Magnetic Trees for the French and Indian War. I used some "super" magnets from Home Depot to make it a little easier to use the "giant" trees in my forest terrain.
Here's how they work currently; the "trees" have holes drilled in them to accept a bolt that inserts up from beneath the cork surface. The bolt holds the tree loosely so it doesn't rock the surface if it's bumped during play. Works well enough. . .
But "threading" around 40 bolts a game is kinda laborious so I'm making some improvements. I'm adding big washers to the base of the trees (superglue, of course) to add some stability and eventually I will landscape them to add a bit more "woodsiness" to the overall look. After gluing on the washer I glue on the ring magnet - this leaves the original drilled hole clear, in case I ever want to go back to the bolts.
I embedded the small round magnets in the cork base, in the holes originally made for the bolts, secured with, yes, more superglue.
When using two magnets per "attraction" it is important to make sure all are facing correctly, or you get repelling instead of attracting. Done right, though, the tree is held to the base snugly, but is still easily removed or "bumped" out of the way. Just needs the landscaping now!
Next up, my 1/2500-scale adaptation of Star Trek: Attack Wing. I'm using magnets to attach the spaceship models to the bases. I'll post later about the project in more detail, but here's a shot of the actual packaged Attack Wing models next to their 1/2500 Enterprise-era counterparts.
The Andorian Kumari and Vulcan Ni'Var are Eaglemoss models and the fuselage of the Vulcan D'Kyr is part of a BadAzz resin kit yet to be built. Only a few of the Eaglemoss models are the right scale; these two are.
I'm using the Omni-Stands from Cor-Sec, that have a magnetic option. A big ROUND magnet that let's you position your model in various "flying" positions.
Key is adding the "Small Mount" to the model, which is then attracted to the magnet on the top of the flight stand. A hole needs to be drilled in the bottom of the model, and the Small Mount glued into the hole.
Here's the primed resin model of the Enterprise NX-01 from Federation Models, with the Small Mount glued in place.
Here is the Small Mount attached to the two Eaglemoss models, and to the AMT styrene model Reliant, which is actually completed, and the AMT K'vort Bird of Prey, which still needs its final painting details.
Wishing you a great 2017; buckle up!
Go Chiefs!
Hello, 2016! Happy New Year. And no, you'll get no New Year's resolutions from me. I'm back to exercising regularly (post-shoulder surgery) and I eat better now than in any earlier time in my life, so no major changes needed there. Sure, I'd love to be more prolific in my hobby life, but I'll be damned if I'll trot out a list of all the game projects I want to complete this year, only to have to lament at the the end of the year how little I actually accomplished. My leisure time is too limited for that kind of pressure, and my Butterfly Brain fights me every step of the way.
That said, I did have a few days off work (mostly) between Christmas and New Year so decided to attack the Great 54mm Basing Upgrade by starting with a few troops appropriate for skirmish-sized games. Some Anglo civilians are shown above and below are some Coureur, Native villagers, Virginia Provincials and some assorted "leaders;" Provincial, Native and French Marines.
I have a few more units on deck: some British and French Regulars and some mounted leaders. The filler, texture and paint is on the bases - they just need the final "moss, grass and leaves" step.
Then I watched Star Trek Into Darkness and inspired the Butterfly Brain. I finished off the week with a little work on a Klingon Bird-of-Prey to go with the little USS Reliant I built last year for my 1/2500 scale Star Trek: Attack Wing project. The base green and "shadowing" is complete and ready for the application of various hand-painted greens to simulate panels of ablative armor (THAT will be fun).
See ya! Go Chiefs and Go Vikes!
Last week I played my first game of DBA 3.0 at Village Games in Champlin. Three games, actually. This latest update of DBA is the best DBA ever. I'll provide more on the games played in an upcoming post. That same day, after playing 3 games of DBA, I watched a local Star Trek: Attack Wing tournament for a little while. The day of gaming got me to thinking about my last post on Star Trek "scale." Though Star Trek: Attack Wing uses ridiculously scaled-down "ranges," it didn't keep me from enjoying "the game." The same way that playing with twelve elements of around fifty total 28mm models to represent an army of maybe 50,000 soldiers is enjoyable - see the photo above.
Once I enter the "game world" I accept the "world" we've constructed with our rules and our models and just. . . play the game. In between games I think about how I need more models to create a more realistic impression of the masses of soldiers that were present on ancient battlefields. . . like this photo of some 15mm models based for the Command and Colors:Ancients rules (I was working on rules for the Republican Roman Legions). . .
It looks really cool but I have just as much fun with 12 elements of 50 soldiers. . . at least during the game. So how do I explain - or rationalize - the scale and size of my French and Indian War project? Obsession, I suppose. . .
Happy Fourth of July! Freedom is good.
"U.S.S." as in "United Federation of Planets Star Ship." Here is my first 1/2500 plastic model kit completed. Yes, the U.S.S. Reliant. It is a stock build of the AMT plastic Cadet series kit that also features the "refit" Enterprise and a Klingon K'tinga cruiser. I buy these kits at Michael's when I have 40%-off coupons. I buy doubles just for the extra set of decals. Some of these models are literally completely covered in decals and they take a little practice to get right. The decals are worth the work - the "aztec" patterns on the Federation ships just look cool. I had a couple of decal accidents, so was glad to have the extra set. Decal-setting solution - like Micro-Sol - is a must. Some patience helps, too!
Not a perfect build but a good practice ship. I learned a lot building this little model - it's only about 4" long.
How am I going to play with my new model? The plan is to use it for Star Trek: Attack Wing, so it needs a base. Enter CorSec Engineering. CorSec makes a clear 60mm square acrylic base with screw-in support rods with a variety of attachments for the models.
Still deciding whether to mount the models permanently to each base or make them removable. More on that when I decide.
See ya!
