Second Hand Find: Hasbro 2004 Millennium Falcon

We just returned from our annual camping trip through Europe, and while staying some days at Camping Les Terrasses du Périgord *** the son of the owner held an outdoor used toys sale, and I could not help noticing the Falcon sitting prominently on the table. I got it for €40 as it is missing some pieces (but that's what 3D printers are for, right? 👀)

The Imperial Assault Hera Syndulla is there for size comparison.

The model has access to some of the interior, and it should be possible to put some bits and bobs in there fitting 28/30mm models (I definitely have to lower that gaming table a tad).

The Belgian roads had shaken this piece loose, and I found it when unwrapping the Falcon from the carpet that protected it on the trip from Périgord to Denmark. At first I had no clue what it is, but watching a couple of presentation videos made it clear that it is the 'dashboard', meant to sit inside the cockpit canopy, and I managed to get it 'clicked' in place without any damage done.

I am quite happy with the purchase, as this Corellian freighter should make a great piece on the table when I get the exteriors properly fitted (and I have not yet tried putting batteries in it to find out if the lights and sounds still work).

Spectre 2 - Hera Syndulla

I also got Hera cleaned up and rebased today, and I have now put some filler on her and Brian Blake's bases.

I absolutely loathe the plastic those Imperial Assault miniatures are made from, but a good side cutter and a sharp X-acto blade go a long way when working them.

I expect to prime Hera at the same time as Brian, so she will be ready for painting when I have finished Brain and the Barbarian for Lea's Sellswords & Spellslingers party (Galactic Heroes has been released, now, and as soon as I have Hera and Chopper painted, I am going to purchase both that ruleset and FfoL Horse and Musket, which I want for very small scale Napoleonic conflict (smaller than Song of Drums and Shakos)).

I may not get to work a lot on myhobby stuff tomorrow, as I have to do some more work in the vegetable garden before noon (while the sun still shines), and I have promised the kids to play some games after lunch, but I still expect to get basing finished on both Hera and Brian Blake, so that they can be primed Sunday evening.

NOT 3D Printed Star Wars Rebels Phantom

*Gasp* 😛

I have been seaching and asking for a printable version of the modified VCX-series auxiliary starfighter known as 'Phantom' in Star Wars Rebels, and was pointed to this Hasbro toy.

It is probably a wee bit oversized - Wookiepedia has it at 11.63 metres, and the hull is a bit more than six Heras long (my new official Star Wars measurement unit 😉), which would indicate about the right length, but Wookiepedia does not state if the front twin laser cannon is part of that length.

On occasions, we see up to three members of the Spectres in the cockpit, and i think that with bases swapped with 20mm washers, I should be able to squeeze that many minis in there.

Wookiepedia also gives passenger capacty as eight, which is probably what can fit in the back compartment, so all in all I think this is the Phantom I was looking for!

I am very happy with this purchase, and it is now time to begin prepping Hera and Copper so that they can be painted and fly their first solo missions (as soon as I have decided on which skirmish rules system to use, that is - I may go for the Goal System, either Blasters&Bulkheads or Void Pirates, while I wait for Galactic Heroes to be published...

Star Wars: Unboxing the Spectres - and Then Some

Yesterday, I received my latest order from Hyggeonkel, and set about unboxing everything right away


Why Imperial Assault, I hear you ask; simply because I am probably going to buy that game in a not-too-distant future, and I really want to be able to use the Spectres (also for other games like the upcoming Galactic Heroes from Jake Wiley, and perhaps a sci-fi version of Sellswords & Spellslingers), - and I have a standing invitation for joining an Imperial Assault group this fall.

Well, the first clamshell I cut open with my lightsaber (pair of scissors) contained everybody's favourite pair of droids.

I included R2-D2 and C-3PO in my order, simply because they are available. No Star Wars collection is complete without them, and they are an obvious choice for complications, objectives, secret missions, and other ideas for spicing up scenarios.

I have NO idea about the rules, yet, but I expect to have a clue after my first evening playing the game.

Note the two Deployment Cards for R2-D2 - that concept is really puzzling me!

Next up was Spectre 2 and Spectre 3/Chopper; Hera Syndulla and C1-10P - simply because I was in the mood for more droid, and a getaway pilot is always handy!

Spectre 1 and Spectre 6, master and apprentice, Kanan Jarrus and Ezra Bridger.

I would have preferred to start with an earlier version of this pair - Kanan with his eyesight, and Ezra with uncut hair, as seen in the earlier seasons of Rebels, but I guess you cannot have it all...

Spectre 4 and Spectre 5, Zeb Orrelios and Sabine Wren.

Sabine is one of my favourite female Star Wars characters, because she is displaying such a complex dual personality; the artist, and the crazy pyrotechnician. That, and because she is tagging the phoenix that is turning into the emblem of the Rebellion.

Zeb is the brawler of the group, and although the knuckle-cracking pose is often seen, I would have preferred a more dynamic one for gaming.

Once more, I just have to settle for what has been made available, but I really hope FFG makes another pose for Legion, should they decide to add the Spectres to that game!

All in all a nice haul, and I am looking forward to getting some of them painted and used in a game (I also plan to mock-up some stats/rules for Legion, so that I can play covert ops/sabotage missions/fuel and food raids, and other scenarios as seen in the Rebels show.

Finally, a 'family photo' of the entire group in front of some of my recently completed jungle bases (and 3D printed giant tree trunks).

I shall probably paint up Hera and Chopper, first - as pilot and astromech of the Ghost, they are indespendable (and may fly missions on their own, which is also a good reason).

Star Wars X-wing: Sabine's TIE From Rebels

Another part of the recent expansion of my X-wing collection, the TIE fighter 'liberated' by Zeb and Ezra, and later put to good use by the Spectres.

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!

Star Wars X-Wing: Ghost and Phantom

It is Star Wars Day, and what better way to start celebrating than showing my latest acquisitions for the X-Wing game so thoroughly enjoyed by my youngest offspring and myself?

After buying Phantom II on a whim, and then playing some games with Lea the last couple of days, I decided to get some more Star Wars: Rebels-related stuff for X-Wing.

Here is Ghost, with the attack shuttle Phantom, and the entire Spectre crew. I forgot to order Sabine's TIE-Fighter, but the 1st ed. stuff may come on sale, soonish, as the 2nd ed. has been announced, so I may be able to get a few bits and bobs with a nice discount (as of now, I see no reson to plunge into conversion to 2nd ed., as long as I don't buy any 2nd ed. ships, but we shall see...)



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.