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...

Stay On Target...

OK, finished the NSL escort carrier and the two fighter flights. Pics when I get around to it. More interested in trying to finish 100 items by the end of the year.

Back to the Grind

Went back to work yesterday, so the output of painted miniatures will be slowing down, though I expect to get several ships prepped for primer and paint over the Thanksgiving weekend.

Speaking of which, last night I prepped and assembled the NSL Escort Carrier. It was a little bit more of pain in the butt than I thought it would be. Still need to drill out the engine exhausts on it but need to use the Dremel I think. Don't think my hand is ready to handle the power drill yet and the pin vise isn't doing the trick. Had to use a little green stuff to gap fill and ensure a good bond between the fore and aft sections of the ship.

Almost forgot, got the painting done on a Federation frigate, but don't trust my hand enough yet to try to put the decals on it, so not quite counting it as done yet. Have the other Fed CA base coated and ready for some detail work.

WooHoo

Nothing like opening a package of new miniatures, especially when it's coming from exotic locales like...Suffolk, UK. Just got my shipment of FSE and a few NSL ships from GZG. As part of the Christmas deal they offer I received a Merino-class livestock transport, 2x NSL Missile Destroyers, and 2x FSE Galiano-class New Heavy Destroyers. The rest of the order included (and needs to updated on the side bar):

1x NSL Escort Carrier
1x NSL Light Fighters
1x NSL Heavy Fighters
1x FSE Da Silva-class Battleship
1x FSE Duquesne-class Battlecruiser
1x FSE Centauro-class escort carrier
2x FSE Colbert-class escort cruiser
2x FSE Thetis-class destroyer
3x FSE Daphne-class corvette
1x FSE Mirage IX fighter
1x FSE Camerone heavy fighter

The casting on these are what I would expect from GZG, quite good, though it seems the mold didn't close properly on one side of the Duquesne, but nothing that can't be fixed. The flat areas don't exhibit the pitting that I saw with the NSL ships, which is a good thing.

Can't wait to get started on these, I think the FSE scheme is going to be brown/khaki on my wife's advice.

Nothing like new minis to make me feel all giddy.

Pictures as Promised

Here are the three corvettes as promised. Tried to not cover the whole thing in gray this time, dry brushed one and just tried to stay out of the corners on the other two. Not overly happy, but they're good enough for the table. I base coated the battlecruiser and battleship today and picked out all the panels I want green on the battleship. That took longer than I thought it would, so the cruiser will get green tomorrow. Probably won't make a lot progress beyond that though, have an appointment tomorrow.

More Ships Done

Finished up the three corvettes. Pics after they get on their stands.

First Off the Line

OK, they aren't the prettiest things I've painted, but not bad considering my right hand is in a cast. these are the first ships of my NSL fleet from GZG. Two each of destroyers and escort cruisers. There are three corvettes and a battleship already mounted ready to start painting tomorrow.

And despite using my light tent, these pictures seem to be washed out.