Star Wars Legion: Power Station

Another print of a Thingiverse file - perfect for breaking up LOS. I am very pleased with the way this printed - nice finish for 0.2 mm layer height/resolution, and I think I shall have to try printing it in 0.1, too, to compare the results. I am currently printing a moisture vaporator at slower print speed, lower temperature, and 0.1 mm resolution, and I am excited to see the finished piece later this evening!

Miniature for scale only.

Star Wars Legion: Second Intro-Game

The Initial Set-up

Monday afternoon, Michael came down from Glamsbjerg to visit me and inspect my 3D-printer, and I had set up for a game of Legion, of course with my newly printed Imperial Outpost on the table.

The experience from my first game with Ulolkish told me that cover is of the utmost importance in Legion, so I threw the extra printed barricade on the table as well. I need to print some more scatter terrain, but right now my printer is busy printing dungeon corridors, so that will have to wait until tomorrow, or so...

I had assembled another squad of Stormtroopers for Vader to motivate, and I used some Fringe Walker as AT-RT proxy for the rebs.

Michael donned the black mask, and started breathing heavily, while I meditated to clear my mind of all aggression.

Everybody decided that caution is the better part of valour, and the first turn saw lots of ducking and weaving, and diving for cover.

I managed to maneuver the AT-RT into a position, from which I am not sure if it was able to advance (I have to study those vehicle rules)...

...so of course I backed it off a bit (haven't checked if that is possible, either, but...).

Vader advanced, waving his lightsaber in front of him.

I forgot to take a photo after the third turn, but the most interesting thing that happened was the Stormtrooper section emerging from the bunker and coming towards the rebels on my right flank.

The Stormtroopers charged home, while my AT-RT picked on the section defending the outpost.

The Stormtroopers annihilated the Rebel section (I have to read up on the rules for close combat, too), and then Luke charged them and cut down two, while the walker joined the fight.

As soon as Luke left the Rebel section on the left, Vader ordered all-out attack, and led the charge from behind... (he is rather slow, you know)

With Luke occupied elsewhere, Vader's relentless attack secured the day for the Empire, as the Rebles only managed to obliterate one enemy unit.

This game was a bit more tactical than the first one, and we both enjoyed it.

I had some terrible Dodge Rolls, while Michael succeeded with a lot of his, so with a little luck I might have secured a draw, as the game really hang in the balance until the very last moment.

Vader is a beast, and I am really looking forward to playing some games with the full rules (and Force Power Upgrades), as I think it will only cause more cinematic moments!

Star Wars Legion: Bunker Finally Complete!

I printed both the closed, and open doors set today. As you can see in the first picture, 'Ironing' does not seem such a good idea - although some of the door surface is smoother, it is also as if the nozzle has pushed material towards the middle of the triangular areas, something I shall have to mend with my Dremel and some sandpaper.

The open doors were printed without Ironing, and they have the characteristic top layer muster that I cannot seem to get rid off. Well, at least it keeps the door surfaces in the right shapes...

The open doors can slide to the sides (and actually close, so I do not really need the closed door print), which meas, I have to do some interior features - but that is only fair for a game this scale!

Star Wars Legion: Bunker Walls Finished

I finished printing the walls for the bunker late last night.

Right now, the closed doors are printing, and this time I am trying out the 'Iron' setting, which should result in a much smoother surface.

It would seem that I have the infamous 'z wobble' problem, as the 'waves' on the vertical surfaces have not disappeared completely after changing the Infill Pattern, and I shall have to address that before printing decorative stuff that is not meant to be painted, but for terrain stuff - especially objects with 'natural' surfaces - it is not a big issue.

Star Wars Legion: Printing the Bunker Walls

Another 12+ hours printjob running since this morning. I have changed the Infill Pattern to Concentric, and it seems to have gotten rid of the 'waves' on the sides of the print.

Next print I shall try adding Ironing, which should - in theory - give a smoother finish to top layers.

Star Wars Legion: Imperial Bunker Roof

Finished printing this last night (or very early this morning), and as the picture shows, I shall have to play around with some settings in Cura to avoid 'threading', when the hotend travels far and fast. Well, nothing that cannot be mended with some scraping and sanding before painting (I intentionally print terrain in colours which mean they can be used on the table right away, though, so I shall have to live with the finish as is for now).

Star Wars Legion: Expanding the WotC Forces

I have a gaming appointment with Michael on Monday, and I expect to introduce him to Legion, and I would like the game to have a bit more 'oomph' that the first one, so I checked my WotC collection and was able to build another Stormtrooper squad (actually, when I start using the optional support weapon troopers, I can probably build four), while the Rebels got some Fringe-walker-thingy to use as proxy for an AT-ST.

I really need to start assembling those Scout Speeder Bikes...

Printing Terrain!

After finishing the two spool holder inserts for my wife's  sewing machine thread spools, I embarked  on the largest printing project, yet - an Imperial bunker (Ep. VI/Endor-style); this is the roof, an 11-hours print, even in resolution 0.2 mm.

It should be done around 1:30 a.m....

Complete set of Unit Card Holders for Legion

Finished printing card holders for Star Wars Legion yesterday (for now), and now have one for each unit in the starter box.

Star Wars Legion: First Test Game

Played a small test game with Ulolkish today, using the old pre-paints from Wizards of the Coast.

I do not have an AT-RT, and no Scout Bikes, but I mocked up two squads of Stormtroopers, two of Rebel Troopers, plus Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker (the mini is 'Jacen Solo', but I think he has been erased from canon).

Ulokish took it upon him to restore peace and order to the Galaxy, while I inserted a rag-tag force of insurgents.

Both the Force-using commanders moved forward supported by one squad, while keeping a tactical reserve hanging back. Luke was dodging a lot, expecting to have to deflect some Stormtrooper fire, while Vader is just plain slow...

While Vader was drawing a lot of attention from the Rebel Troopers, Luke charged in, and all but obliterated the Stormtrooper squad guarding the Sith Lord. Unfortunately, this also exposed him to a lot of fire from the second Imperial squad.

Thus softened up, Luke was no match for Vader, who relentlessly mopped the floor with his promising offspring.

The Rebel reserve squad. which had begun moving forward, came under fire and quickly fell back to hard cover once more. No strolling in the killing fields! Vader, in spite of being under heavy aimed fire from the forward Rebel squad, kept advancing in them.

Soon, the Rebels were no more. This was pretty much the end of this skirmish, only the lonely Stormtrooper commander was also wounded.

With the Lord Vader having destroyed two Rebel units, and the Rebels only managing to remove one enemy unit, Victory belonged to the Emperor's finest.

Thoughts on the game:
This was our first tussle with these rules, and we made quite a few mistakes (but learned from most of them), and we shall definitely have to play again with a few units more; I shall have to print some Order Tokens for that to be possible, though, as the game box contains only the tokens need for the included models (so if I want to field, for instance, another squad of Stormtroopers, I have one 'Corps' token less than needed).

Characters with lightsabers are powerful, but they can be withered down. I am very much looking forward to try the Force upgrade cards for both Vader and Luke, as I think they will add a lot of Star Warsy flavour to the game.

The game flows nicely. We only used the 'Learn to Play' rules, so no suppression, stand-by, and that kind of stuff, but I doubt that the full rules will slow down gameplay a whole lot.

In short: We liked it, and I shall definitely add Legion to my regular go-to wargames (I am sure that Michael can also be persuaded to play it with me, albeit probably not building his own force, not to mention Kevin).

Star Wars Legion: Empire Card Holders Ready for For First Test Game

While not necessary to play (especially when not using upgrades), I decided to print a card holder for all three units I am going to use in my first game: Darth Vader, and two squads of Stormtroopers.

I expect to get a gaming appointment with Ulolkish next week, and maybe I shall also have some stands for the Rebels ready by then (I have ordered some beige and khaki filament, but I do not think it is going to arrive until Monday).

It is still too darn hot to paint, so I focus on getting stuff printed, and playing games with my daughters at the moment...

3D Card Holder for Star Wars Legion

Yesterday, I also printed my first card holder for Star Wars Legion - by Iggymagoo on Thingiverse.

I had to print it at 2500%, as the model is tiny when opened in Cura - but as you can see, at 2500% cards with or without sleeves fit nicely.

I need to print at least two more in black (for the Imperial forces), and then three in khaki/beige (for the Rebel Alliance) - for now, but I shall have to make one for each unit I wont to field, and that will probably mean at least 10 for each faction.

Good thing that the printer works nicely and does not need constant monitoring! 😉

Star Wars Legion. Getting Stuck In

I got the SWL core set delivered today, and was very delighted to find that the minis come unattached to the bases, as I want to use washers instead of the clumsy plinth FFG provide for this game. The vehicle/large bases can probably be fitted with one or more washers underneath to add weight and magnetic properties.

It will be a while until I have time to assemble and paint the minis, but in the meantime I shall get some practise games played using the pre-painted WotC plastic figures I collected some years ago.

I shall start with only two basic 'grunts' squads, and a commander for each faction (I have enough to add a third squad for both factions when I have learned the ropes, but for now I shall settle for two each), and I can start assembling the speeders and the AT-ST on the side.

The Emperor's finest, led by everybody's favourite Sith Lord, bringing order and peace to the Galaxy.

Rebel scum, harbingers of strife and chaos.

Furthermore, I am receiving a 3D Printer one of the next days, destined for creating some Tatooine-style buildings, and Imperial bunkers (if I can get it to work as intended, that is).

2018-07-02, Star Wars X-Wing: Introducing Michael to the Game

Last Saturday we had been invited to Glamsbjerg, and I brought X-wing to introduce Michael to the game.

I mocked up two forces without any upgrades, and we had a scrap. In the end, a lone A-wing fled the area with Darth Vader and a couple of TIEs securing the victory for the Empire.

Star Wars X-Wing: Inquisitor's TIE (TIE Advanced V1)

When you say 'Rebels', you must also say 'Inquisitor's TIE-Fighter'. Or something...

When I ordered Ghost (and some card sleeves) I also got this iconic little ship from the Star Wars Rebels show.

It is the prototype of the TIE Advanced later used by Vader (and probably other high ranking Imperial aces), and comes with shields and targeting computer, which combined with better pilots than the usual TIEs makes it almost as tough as a reliable old X-Wing.

Very much looking forward to try it!

2018-05-02, Star Wars X-Wing: 3rd Game, The Empire Strikes Back(?), Part 2



Lea and I continued our third game Wednesday evening after dinner (and me walking Molly), as I wanted to get it finished, so I could clear the table for some work I have to finish for the weekend's gaming appointments.

Luke's X-Wing sat in a tight spot between all the TIEs, and had to try to evade a LOT of laser blasts

Ezra tried to help, but his shooting was inadequate.

As mentioned, ships with bases touching cannot target each other - I had not looked it up at this point.

If I had, Luke would not have lost a shield, here

As it were, a shield was knocked out, and the Imperial pilots kept firing from all sides.

Luke lost another shield - remember, he would still have had one up, if I had remembered the rule correctly...

Now, the X-Wing took Damage, it shouldn't have.

R2-D2 repaired a shield.

The dog-fight intensfied!

Luke hit a TIE for a Critical Damage!

Phantom II got blasted, also for a Critical Hit.

Luke got his restored shield knocked down again

Ezra using the Auxiliary Firing Arc (I think it is called) of Phantom II

Luke took a heavy hit, and his X-Wing blew up. Luckily he had anticipated this and ejected with a repirator mere seconds before

Phantom II was taking some severe punishment

Ezra sent out a distress signal, and made a run for it

But he was outnumbered too badly, and Phantom II was destroyed.

Of course, both Ezra and Luke were left for dead and later rescued by Han and Chewie in the Falcon - but that, as they say, is a completely different story!

The difference in points was too big this time, and I shall try to balance the points more, again next game we play.

I also shall not make quite as detailed AARs, as taking all those photos slows down gameplay somewhat, especially with more ships on the table.

But it was nice to see that a TIE-swarm can actually win - even though when I play it, is has to outnumber the Rebels substantially 😄

I apologize if the layout of this post is a bit messy - I had to write and edit it in Explorer, as I am not allowed to install Chrome at work, and Blogger behaves a bit.. erratically.. when exposed to a Microsoft environment.