X-wing Miniatures: Custom "Cerberus" E-wing

Hi folks,

One of my mates from work has been playing a co-op X-wing campaign, centered around an E-wing squadron. Unfortunately, there seems to be an E-wing shortage in Australia. He was able to find some very nice 3D printed sculpts online, which he ordered around Christmas time. Having done some X-wing repaints previously, I offered to paint them for him, but it has taken me a long time to get around to the stage of doing detail. My main issue was that the materials used were so hard to prime! Anyway, I asked his gaming buddies what their favourite colours were, thinking I could get away with a generic scheme with a splash of each colour. The response was, essentially: Cerberus from Mass Effect, Ultramarines and some kind of Grim/Dark Blue (Grim/Darker than Ultramarines). The first completed model is my take on the Cerberus scheme from Mass Effect:

I added just a touch of weathering to the hull, to break up the white just a little bit. Other than that I was aiming for a simple, clean look. Considering the simplicity of the pre-painted miniatures, the highlights on the black section felt like over-kill, but the area was too flat without them.

I included a tiny red glow to the laser cannon barrels, to show that they are Rebel ships. Similarly, I gave the engines a pinkish glow.

The next ship will be in a scheme similar to the Ultramarines, which I know well enough. Then for the last one I will need to drop the blue to a deeper, stormy shade, though I need to consider the spot colours for that one pretty carefully before I proceed. At this stage I don't know whether maintaining some kind of squadron coherency in the scheme is possible, or even worth it, but that is the kind of thing I would usually aim for. Wish me luck ;-)

See you across the table,

Marc

X-wing: B-wing "Blade Wing" Repaint

Hi folks,

If you are a fan of Star Wars you may be familiar with the animated series Star Wars: Rebels. Like Rogue One, it bridges the gap between the Clone Wars (Ep. 1-3) and the Galactic Civil War (Ep. 4-6). It follows the adventures of the first Rebels as they battle the Galactic Empire, introducing some fantastic new characters to the Star Wars universe. In particular, I have a soft spot for the Twi'lek Hera Syndulla, pilot of the Ghost (VCX-100).

At some point, she pilots a prototype B-wing with a Deathstar-like cannon and a red paint job that is just to die for. Having an even softer spot for B-wings, as well as no great love for the Rebel Aces B-wing, a re-paint was definitely on the cards.

The Prototype B6 "Blade Wing" B-wing was undercoated with Mephiston Red (Citadel paints) after I masked the white circles on the S-foils. I washed this with Thraka Green wash, then added some highlights with Mephiston Red, Blood Red and a 1:1 Macharius Solar Orange/Mephiston Red. This gives it a slightly darker finish than the reference images but depth to the red that I am pleased with. The drive assembly was painted in Dawnstone and washed heavily with Nuln Oil, then highlighted with a 1:1 White Scar/Dawnstone mix. Details were then picked out in White Scar, including where the yellow stripes would go. These were added after the white dried using Golden Yellow. The weapons were picked out using Abaddon Black and the cockpit was finished with a Shadow Grey wet-blend and gloss varnish.

I also added a pink glow to the engines just for giggles, using a mixture of Lich Purple, Mephiston Red and White Scar.

In the series, Hera becomes the commander of Phoenix Squadron, which includes a bunch of A-wings, Correlian Corvette and the Ghost. I have put together a 150 point Phoenix Squadron Fleet, which can be made even larger with the addition of the Tantive. Obviously, that is a lot of points for such a small fleet of ships! In the scenarios we have played it has been fun to play and caused a lot of damage, but against a genuinely competitive Imperial Fleet it gets shot to pieces.

Being a game based on character and upgrade cards, I did a search through the community forums to see if there were any home-brew rules for this ship. Below is Hera Syndulla's card and the weapon mounted on the B6:

I'm looking forward to giving the home-brew rules a go, particularly against some of the bigger ships. It will be interesting to see how that laser works; I may try a few different rules for it. If you have any ideas, leave them in the comments section below!

See you across the table,

M4cr0

X-wing: The Defense of Bespin

Hi folks,

This week I discovered a new FLGS, though I use the term lightly. Not that the place wasn't friendly, you just couldn't play any games there. Combat Company is an online store here in Sydney, with its headquarters a short drive from my place. Whilst most of their sales are online, you can buy directly from the warehouse, which is a surreal experience. Sgt Waz and I made the road trip and parked in the middle of this industrial/commercial estate; all of the roller doors were closed and only one door was open. The whiteboard on the wall as we walked in said something like "help yourself to a basket" and I was all like, "I won't need a basket"...

They had everything. EVERYTHING. I needed a basket.

All of the best miniatures games were there, as well as extra stuff by other companies that support the same games. There was also an aisle of bases. I bought myself some Infinity miniatures and a terrain pack, then spied on a top shelf above the register this gorgeous playing mat for X-wing:

We broke it in with a quick game between my Bespin Defense Fleet and some random Rebel ships that Sgt Waz chose on the fly, including two A-wings, an X-wing and Lando in the Falcon. With my heavy laser toting Heavy Scyk Interceptors, I knew I could deal damage at range, but up close the StarViper (Guri) would need to punch way above its weight, even with an advanced proton torpedo kicker.

The Bespin Defense Fleet steams towards the Rebels at full speed.

Early on I put as many shots on the Falcon as possible, stripping its shields with an advanced proton torpedo volley and nearly destroying it with heavy lasers. The return fire heavily damaged my StarViper.

Advanced proton torp to the face in 3... 2... 1...

As I came around for another pass the Falcon's turret destroyed my StarViper, but an M3-A Interceptor returned the favour the next turn. The limitations of the heavy lasers were starting to gnaw at me. I couldn't shoot at all at range one, so I was now maneuvering carefully to set up range 2 shots. Edit: I forgot that I could still use my primary weapon! Gahhh! I may have been at home playing X-wing, but my brain was obviously still at Combat Company, pouring over shelves and shelves of shiny cool stuff.

The Falcon is taken out from range 3, after a previous critical hit reduced its agility and Sgt Waz rolled a blank.

I started to whittle down the shields and hull on the X-wing, as the A-wings were proving too nimble and weren't doing much damage with their flashlights. Then they teamed up to take down an Interceptor and it was a 1 vs 3 battle!

Maneuvering to shoot an A-wing at range 2 whilst staying out of range 1 of the other A-wing and arc-dodging the X-wing. My best move of the game.

My plucky little Interceptor managed to take the X-wing down to the brink of destruction before running out of luck.

The return fire was deleterious.

Sgt Waz can chalk this one up as a win for the Rebels, though I'm sure Lando will be unimpressed by the dings in the Falcon.

See you across the table,

M4cr0

X-wing: Star Wars Rebels Scenario

Hi folks,

A ton of stuff has happened over the past couple of weeks (mostly good), but I haven't had any time to blog. This has created a major bottleneck in my head, so I'll be trying to offload a few posts this weekend. First cab off the ranks: Wade's Birthday X-wing shenanigans.

I teamed up with the guys to test out Wade's new Gozanti-Class Cruiser, which looks like an absolute beast. I knocked together a Star Wars: Rebels themed scenario for us to play that I thought others may like to try.

Mission: Rebel Intelligence 

A rebel intelligence agent is being extracted from a critical mission aboard the Ghost, when they are ambushed by an Imperial Fleet. The intelligence agent must escape if the fledgling Rebellion is to survive. With its hyperdrive system disabled, the Ghost maneuvers into an asteroid field in an attempt to lose its pursuers. 
 

Mission Setup

Rebel: 150 Squad Points.
Kanan Jarrus VCX-100 (Ion Cannon Turret, Fire-Control System, Recon Specialist, Ghost)
"Zeb" Orrelios Attack Shuttle (Intelligence Agent, Phantom)
Ten Numb B-wing (Stay on Target, "Mangler" Cannon, B-wing/E2, Hera Syndulla)
Green Squadron Pilot A-wing (Push the Limit, Chardaan Refit, A-wing Test Pilot, Juke)
Green Squadron Pilot A-wing (Push the Limit, Chardaan Refit, A-wing Test Pilot, Juke)

Imperial: 150 Squad Points.
Gozanti-Class Cruiser (Ion Cannon Battery)
The Inquisitor TIE Adv. Prototype (Juke, XX-23 S-Thread Tracers, TIE/v1)
Academy Pilot TIE Fighter
Academy Pilot TIE Fighter
Academy Pilot TIE Fighter
Academy Pilot TIE Fighter
Captain Kagi Lambda-class Shuttle

The Rebel player places eight asteroid tokens into the play area. They cannot be placed within Range 1 of any board-edge.

The Rebel player places his/her ships within Range 1 of their board-edge. Then the Imperial player places his/her ships within Range 1 of their board-edge. The Imperial player has initiative.

Special Rules

This scenario introduces two new actions: Disabling Shot and Boarding Action.

• Disabling Shot: follow the same procedure for acquiring a Target Lock. Use the standard Target Lock tokens with an Ion Token stacked on the red target lock token. If the targeted ship is destroyed this turn, you may spend the Target Lock to restore it to one hull point. Roll a single attack dice, resolving any hits caused. Transfer the ion token to the targeted ship. This ion token remains on the targeted ship until the end of the game.

• Boarding Action (Large or Epic ships only): Large or Epic sized ships, that maneuver within Range 1 of another ship that has an ion token, may attempt a boarding action by rolling an attack dice. The player in control of the ship being boarded may roll a defense dice to oppose the action. If the action is successful, transfer one crew upgrade card from the boarded ship (or a ship docked to the boarded ship) to the Large/Epic sized ship. 

Objectives 

Rebel Victory: Destroy Captain Kagi and The Inquisitor. The Intelligence Agent must be in your control.

Imperial Victory: Escape with the Intelligence Agent crew upgrade card in a Large or Epic sized ship you control, by exiting the play area via your own board edge.

In our game I maneuvered the Ghost away from the Lambda-class shuttle in an effort to take out the Inquisitor early. The A-wings sped towards the Shuttle to weaken it, with only a few attack dice, I wanted to put them where it counts.

The Gozanti began working the Ghost over with its Ion Battery, while The Inquisitor outmaneuvered the B-wing, engaging the A-wings and take some heat off the Lambda-class Shuttle. With the aid of some freshly deployed TIE Fighters, both A-wings were destroyed in rapid succession. The Gozanti made an attempt to board the Ghost, but failed. Some more launched TIE's took out the B-wing at Range 1 with a blistering volley.

With both of the big Imperial ships committed to chasing the Ghost, I launched the Phantom in the opposite direction! The Gozanti tried to hit it with its Ion Battery but missed, giving the Ghost a chance to maneuver (at last). It pounded one of the TIE's, then K-turned and pounded it again, taking it out. The Gozanti continued trying to pin down the Attack Shuttle with Ion shots, but couldn't hit the little blighter. With the Ghost steaming in behind and doing some serious damage to Captain Kagi, a bit of desperation seemed to leak into the Imperial game-plan.

Wade tried to slow down the Attack Shuttle with a flurry of Disabling Shots. If successful, we predicted that he would have 3 turns to board and capture the agent before it drifted off the board; he would be cutting it close. The last TIE fighter managed to destroy the Attack Shuttle, spending its Disabling Shot token in an attempt to save the Intelligence Agent. Wade rolled a critical hit on the attack dice (!) and the hopes of both the Imperials and the Rebels were blown to dust. Somehow, I don't think the Inquisitor will be pleased...

See you across the table,

M4cr0

X-wing: Game with the Wifey Part 2

Hi folks,

For my Birthday this year I got the Imperial Veterans expansion pack for X-wing from the wifey (SQUEEE!). She offered to let me test fly the new ships against her, but knowing how jammy the TIE Defender is, I suggested that she take the new Imperials instead.

Wifey took "Deathfire" (TIE Bomber, extra munitions and cluster mines), as well as Countess Ryad (TIE Defender, Expert Handling, Tractor Beam and TIE/D) for a 60 point list. Facing off against that, I chose Nera Dantels (B-wing, Dead Eye, Advanced Proton Torpedoes, Heavy Laser Cannon, B-wing/E2 and Recon Specialist), as well as a Prototype Pilot (A-wing), which came in at 61 points.

The TIEs maneuver towards a flanking position.

I got off to a cracking start, dealing 4 damage (including a critical hit) to the TIE Bomber with the B-wing's Heavy Laser Cannon. The next turn the Bomber dropped some Cluster Mines before being taken out by my A-wing.  The mines were in a great position to cause me trouble... after maneuvering to avoid them, the B-wing was hit with the Tractor Beam and pushed back into the mines! With reduced agility, the Defender had no troubles dealing even more damage to my floundering B-wing.

Tractor Beams are great for moving enemy ships into obstacles, such as mines...

 I maneuvered both ships to fire on the Defender during the next turn. I snuck the B-wing into range 1 for a shot with the Advanced Proton Torpedoes, but again the Tractor Beam hit, knocking my ship back to range 2. The Defender's primary weapon chewed through more hull points, leaving me with one remaining. Together, the B-wing and the A-wing were able to strip the TIE Defender's shields.

I imagine most people use the Tractor Beam to bring ships closer, but wifey did the opposite, keeping the Advanced Proton Torpedoes on the B-wing out of range.

 

Now that we were up close and personal, wifey started using Countess Ryad's outrageously good K-turns to keep me in her sights.  She used a Tractor Beam hit to nudge me out of range 1, preventing Nera from using her special ability to fire the Advanced Proton Torpedoes. She needn't have worried though, primary weapon fire destroyed the B-wing before it could get a shot off.

With no defense dice, the B-wing is a very expensive, well armed and crewed, duck.

The A-wing managed to remove a Hull Point off the Defender, before we engaged in a tense dogfight for about half an hour of playing time. The tractor beam had been the perfect foil for the B-wing, but the A-wing avoided that fire more easily. Eventually, though, the plucky A-wing ran out of luck:

Three eyeballs on a turn when wifey decided to focus... it was always going to end badly.

Another victory for the wifey! Damn...

Best 3 out of 5?

M4cr0

X-wing: First Game with Wifey (...I've created a monster)

Hi folks,

We have been going a bit stir-crazy in my family the past couple of weeks, with various factors combining to keep us in the house doing nothing. I took a short trip to my FLGS with the kids, just to get out for a bit. Apart from adding to my daughter's growing collection of horse figurines, I picked up a Z-95 Headhunter and TIE Advanced Prototype for X-wing. I have been looking for a Z-95 to finish off a little fleet that has been on my mind, and I figured the TIE Advanced Prototype would be a characterful addition whenever a Ghost is on the board. Besides, both ships are ridiculously cute.

I roped the wifey into playing a game after the kids went to sleep*. Wifey is an avid boardgamer, but doesn't have any particular interest for Star Wars, so I was fully prepared for a short game followed by "Meh. Carcassone?" I was right about one thing. The game was short. I set Wifey up with Valen Rudor in the TIE, which would give her an extra action every time she defends. I also loaded the ship with assault missiles and munitions failsafe. I opted for Lieutenant Blount with Ion Pulse Missiles; no munitions failsafe, because Blount always hits (even when he doesn't).

I ran through the basic rules as we maneuvered towards each other, then demonstrated a K-turn and zapped a shield off the TIE. We had a short discussion about predicting an opponent's maneuvers and then things went pear shaped :o)

Once she got behind my Z-95, I never really shook her off, which is a testament to both the accessibility of the game and Wifey's natural inclination to stab me in the back whenever we play something together. Seriously, UNO is torture. In the photo above, she managed to hit with an assault missile, removing one of my shields.
 

After chasing each other across the starfield for a few turns, I lost another shield and my Ion Pulse Missiles to a critical hit. The next turn I rounded on the TIE and we jousted at Range 1. I evaded one hit, but one got through to wreck Blount's day.

It was a short, fun, game that she was still bragging about in the morning. I hinted "best out of three" and she didn't say no, so I'll take that as a positive sign :-)

See you across the table,

M4cr0

*...and by "went to sleep" I mean "watched Mum and Dad play Star Wars from the top of the stairs until they caught us red-handed."

X-wing: Bespin Orbital Defence Fleet

Hi folks,

If you are a fan of The Empire Strikes Back, you will remember the Storm IV Twin-pod Cloud Cars that patrol Bespin. They had a striking orange paint scheme and stung the Falcon with some blaster shots, as Han negotiated landing clearance. Obviously, there are no Cloud Car figures for the X-wing miniatures game (yet), but it did make me wonder what the paint scheme would look like on some other ships. In the hunt for upgrade cards, I ended up with a StarViper and two M3-A Interceptors. Having no particular love for the Scum faction, they soon found their way on to my paint table.

Bespin is a gas giant that includes a thin layer of habitable atmosphere. It is famous for its Tibanna gas mines, including Cloud City, which we see in The Empire Strikes Back. Bespin was a neutral world during the Galactic Civil War, but the Empire garrisoned the planet and seized Cloud City anyway. After the Empire's defeat at Endor, the gas giant and its prosperous mining colonies recovered their freedom. I imagine that, after the troubles they had been through, the various mining corporations would have established a government for the purposes of defence against off-world threats, possibly pooling their resources to buy a fleet of defence ships. I can imagine playing a few games against the First Order with such a fleet, particular if I can get hold of the new Cloud City playing mat!

The ships were given a light grey undercoat, then painted with Macharius Solar Orange. Some armour panels were painted a mixture of Lich Purple and Steel Legion Drab to match the original colour on the M3-A Interceptors. Small details were picked out with Warpstone Glow and Shadow Grey was used on the cockpit frames, again to match the original colour on the M3-A’s. I restored some detail with a generous Nuln Oil wash, before retouching with glazes of Macharius Orange. I finished the cockpit of the Viper off with a coat of gloss varnish.

I am not planning on playing the fleet very often, but I have knocked together a little list just for giggles:

StarViper: Guri, Calculation, Advanced Proton Torpedoes, Stealth Device
M3-A: Serissu: Wingman, Stealth Device, “Heavy Scyk” Interceptor, Heavy Laser Cannon
M3-A: Cartel Spacer, Stealth Device, “Heavy Scyk” Interceptor, Heavy Laser Cannon

…because orange counts as camouflage on a gas planet! SO STEALTHY!



 Here are a few more pics:

StarViper

M3-A Interceptors

The Fleet

If you can come up with an interesting list using these ships, let me know in the comments!

See you across the table,

M4cr0