More Starmada With the Kids

OK, I lied, I thought I had pics of the C8. I don't. I humbly ask forgiveness and hope you accept these pictures of a Starmada game in lieu.

This game was a three-way meeting engagement between myself (the blue/orange Mauridians), Michael (the grey/green GZG NSL), and Zachary (tan/scarlet GZG FSE). The boys actually had an advantage in that their designs were coherent, while I didn't realize earlier that somehow I had managed to mix together two separate sets of stats for the Mauridians and that the stats for the Mauridian dreadnought made no sense at all with regards for the weapons arcs. Yet in the end it came down to Michael and myself and was fairly close. He held back until Zachary was almost out of the game, then started advancing towards me. In the end though I had the dice on my side for one, especially with those one-shot supergun frigates.

Was a good, if long game. If I hadn't needed to help them with firing each turn the game would've been half as long as it was. It's not bad with only a couple ships per side, but this represented about 1500 points per side. My oldest son seems to have the hardest time grasping the combat phase. I think the stats I gave the GZG ships are fairly good, but need a little tweaking, especially for anti-fighter defense. The Mauridian carriers ended up being ridiculous, so weren't used and also need reworking. The "singularity missiles" I adapted from the original stats Xtreme Hobbies gave the Mauridians were insane. At one point in the game one hit from the weapon generated 21 damage and pretty much eviscerated Zachary's battleship. Another thing I think I need to do is boost the shield values overall.

Next week is Tomorrow's War, painted figures or not...

Finished Mauridian Squadron

I finally finished the Mauridian squadron from Ravenstar Studio's Cold Navy line. First, props to my favorite mini designer John Bear Ross. I really love the aesthetic of these ships. They have a very anime style to them and they'd feel right at home in a Macross fleet.

I'm really glad that I started with the big boys, as by the time I got to the smaller ones, my painting chops had degraded fairly following the deployment and subsequent PCS. If the battleship had turned out like the Ba'Rada frigates I'd have been really pissed at myself. In the end though, they are Done and at tabletop distance still look decent.

Painting Recession

Well, I seem to be experiencing a painting recession. Just haven't had the motivation to do much painting, which is bad becuase like most everyone else I have a lot of stuff that needs pigmentation. Thankfully I haven't been expanding the lead mountain either.

That being said, I finally did the last little bits on the Felid squad last weekend and got base coats on two of the three Mauridian frigates.

I'll post pictures eventually, just not real sure when...

Ven'Tara Carriers Complete

I actually finished these a couple weeks ago, just now getting a picture of them. These are Ravenstar's Cold Navy Mauridian Ven'Tara carriers.  They are resin like the rest of Ravenstar's miniatures and the quality is the same high level of the rest of the pieces I've ordered from him. They were already base coated before I deployed so they only needed the darklining, highlighting, and details but that was more than enough to remind me that it has been a while since I painted anything.

Some Finished Mauridians

OK, I know I said I'd be scarce, but I did finish the Mauridian Gal'Ethon battleship and the two Val'Naveg cruisers from Ravenstar Studios. I ended up changing paints with the cruisers. Reaper's Master Series Paints are great paints, especially if you're doing a lot of blending on a miniature. However, when you need two coat coverage it just isn't going to happen. So I switched to Reaper's Pro Paints which have better coverage. This resulted in the cruisers being noticeably darker, but I don't mind it too terribly. As more ships get painted, the ones painted with MSPs will be the minority.

Most of these pictures include the original metal frigates I bought when Xtreme Hobbies was still making these. I've said it before and I'll say it again, the difference in detail in the resin ships blows these away. I'm going to have a hard time going back to metals after these.









Oh, yeah, the battleship is missing the aft ventral fin/wing/thingy. It came off while I was painting at some point today and I'll be darned if I can find the thing.

2,000 Words (and a few more)

OK, the VSD is from Studio Bergstrom and is mounted on Ninja Magic magnetic flight stand adapters and Litko Aerosystems clear acrylic flight stand. The battleship is from Ravenstar Studios. You won't find it on his website, but you can email him for a quote.

Here's where I go into a mini rant. Ravenstar Studios has had the license to produce the Cold Navy ships for some time and his website shows no way in which to order them. If you don't know somebody who knows how to get them or don't check Starship Combat News (excellent source for starship gaming BTW) you'd never be able to get these beauties. I was very hesitant about just sending off money to somebody I didn't know from Adam. I glad I did, because the ships are outstanding in resin. Much crisper detail than the metal versions. He could be doing so much more business if he would get his site updated. Apparently he has a total facelift in the works, but has apparently gotten somebody rather unreliable to get it done. At any rate, he could be making so much more if he had an updated site with pictures of these wonderful pieces.

Mr. Ross, if you're reading this, the Mauridians are the ships I wanted for a long time. Sleek but deadly looking, detailed without being covered in stuff just to be covered in stuff, and a cool anime style.

Painting and A New Distraction

First, I did manage to get the adapters prepped and attached to their bases. I forgot to take pics and I apologize for that. The Victory Star Destroyer looks frickin' awesome on it. Especially since it makes it a bit taller than the other ships on the same shelf in the cabinet. Today I got the base coat and engine "glow" done on the Mauridian BB and it looks quite promising. Next up is mixing a lighter blue and a lighter orange (without going too yellow) for some of the panels, some highlighting, and darklining. While it doesn't have a lot of panel lines and greeblies compared to most CAVs or GZG starships it does have enough to make it a time consuming proposition. At least with the GZG ships I can wash them, drybrush them and call it a day. These Mauridians look so good that they deserve more than that.

And the distraction, I bought Star Trek Online. If you happen to run into Captain Aaron H. Perry in the Alpha Quadrant open a hailing frequency and send your complements. Still flying the noob ship, a Miranda, the U.S.S. Athena though it shouldn't be too much longer until I can pick up a more modern Cruiser.

The Next Fleet

I can't really say anything the picture won't except that these were designed by my favorite sculptor, John Bear Ross, for the Cold Navy line. They are available from Ravenstar Studios, though you have to email him as these aren't up on his website.