X-Wing in Blue Mode

So Cheef has been showing off his and his GF's X-Wing repaints (found here and here), so I thought I'd show off what I've done so far myself.  First of all we've got an alphabetical order group shot.  (Though this shot does have me wondering when they're going to add the New Republic K-Wing bomber to go with the E-Wing from the same time frame.  Seems a shame to leave out an option like that.  Though a recon X-Wing wouldn't be bad either .... )

As you can see I've got with a blue motif and I'm pretty happy with how they've all come out with the exception of the Y-Wing.  I'm not happy with it and I'll have to either start over or figure out a tweak on it.  That or just set it aside since I rarely run a Y-Wing in my lists.

 

 

 

 

I've still got another A, B, and X to get into the color scheme and there is a Rebel Aces, 2 E-Wings, and a pair of Headhunters in the mail coming that were funded by an eBay sale of some GW BFG that just isn't ever going to see the table top as a cohesive fleet since I can't afford eBay pricing for Strike Cruisers and such to finish the marine fleet.  It brought in a very tidy sum and funded both a decent CBT purchase as well as the above mentioned X-Wing.  I'm also wanting to tackle a YT-1300 conversion and paint but that's going to wait until I get a second one.  I've got one right now and plan on leaving it stock at least.

So that's the Raven Squadron so far.  It's coming along nicely though I'm really wanting to get some Swarm Tactics cards for an A-Wing list based around some of the stuff in the Rebel Aces pack.  I've been putting off Imperial purchases on purpose for now as funding one side of the rebellion is hard enough without going into both sides of it.  So if anyone has a few Swarm Tactics cards they wouldn't mind parting with, please shoot me a message and we'll try and work something out.

That's all for now and I'll see you all later.

Saturday Night Gaming

So first of all, my last X-Wing order came in the mail yesterday morning which worked out well.  It added a YT-1300, a Y-Wing, and a second B-Wing to my growing Raven squadron.  Eight of the Twelve pilots in my fluff now have a ship to fly, plus the YT-1300 to haul around supplies and the support element.  Raven Squadron thus looks like the following currently.

Fighter Element
Commander Piet Henke "The Hangman", E-Wing
    Raven Leader, Human Male (Corellia)
    Squadron Commander
Lt. Commander Irie Muslar, A-Wing
    Raven Two, Devaronian Male
    Squadron Executive Officer
Lt. Aivars Gessitt
    Raven Three, Human Male (Palanhi)
Lt. Emleriss Vaelden, B-Wing
    Raven Four, Duros Female
Lt. Kevaan Haerliss "Lucky"
    Raven Five, Human Male (Corellia)
Lt. Daud Moumin, X-Wing
    Raven Six, Quarren Male
Lt. Rhael Hurrskain, X-Wing
    Raven Seven, Sullustan Male
Lt. Lew Parmley
    Raven Eight, Human Male, (Rendili)
Lt. Aikawa Toumin "Tingrin", A-Wing
    Raven Nine, Human Male (Kuat)
Lt. Olwen Neukirchm, B-Wing
    Raven Ten, Human Female (Lorrd)
Lt. Hlaxx Domipakk, Hortek Male
    Raven Eleven, Y-Wing
Lt. Caerla Doumlin, Human Female (New Alderaan)
    Raven Twelve

Support Element
Hidden Roost YT-1300 Freighter
Lt.Gahlaen Veless, Mon Calamari Male, Pilot
Lt. Liin Plaxxon, Sullustan Female, Co-Pilot


Havlock, M-3PO series Droid, Supply Officer
Slascra Plor, Bothan Male, Mechanic
Cam Olwiss, Human Male, Mechanic

Ok, moving onward, we've got a few games to discuss.  Part of why I like X-Wing is that is not so fast that it feels rushed and missing something, but it's short enough that you can get multiple games in.  Between 6:30 and 11:30 Saturday evening, I got to play two 1v1 games at 100 points and then one 2v2 game with 100 points per player.  The first game was against Billy TheBill.  I had Corran in his E-Wing (Commander Piet Henke as far as my fluff would be concerned) and the YT-1300 with Han piloting (Lt. Veless).  I was against a Firespray and 2 royal guard Tie Interceptors.  The game went pretty well and we called it even with a damaged ship left each.  My second game was against a co-worker of TheBill's who was running a Howlrunner Tie swarm.  He had a high level pilot with an Ion Cannon who kept Corran stunned when I made a mistake and got too close to a board edge.  After three rounds of stunned, he was off the board and I conceded.  Next turn my YT-1300 would have been stunned by the Ion as it had even less defense than the E-Wing and it'd have gotten pounded by everything else.

Which brings us to the 2v2.  This game really didn't go my team's way at all.  I was partnered with a very nice young lady who unfortunately I can't remember the name of.  Between us we had an E-Wing, a Y-Wing, an A-Wing, 2 B-Wings, and 2 X-Wings.  They had a Firespray, Howrunner and friends, and 3 Tie Phantoms, one of which was upgraded to real nastiness.  This game quickly got away from us as they pounded two of my ships with just about everything early on while managing to negate pretty much all damage sent back at them.  Sometime the force just isn't with you and the dice just won't be forgiving as Vader.  It was all fun though and I'm looking forward to getting some more games in.  I think my main problem right now is the upgrade cards I'm taking.  I think I'm trying to force some combos that just don't work as often or as well as I think they should.  I need to look at a lot simpler way to go about it I think.

Anyways, that's all for now and I'll see you later.

X-Wing

So I've recently been getting into Star Wars: X-Wing.  I've always been a fan of the Star Wars Universe (Greedo edit, Jar-Jar Binks, and Yuuzhan Vong Invasion not withstanding) and it really is a nice tight skirmish game system.  Between the constant new release of a variety of star fighters (with plenty that haven't been even looked at yet) and the endless combo of the upgrade cards for the different ships, it really gives you a chance to customize your force but keeping it balanced for playing.  Unfortunately I haven't got to play anywhere near as much as I want to but I'm hoping to change that as time goes on.

Now the ships are VERY well done from a visual standpoint, both in the level of detail as well as the paint schemes they've been given.  The only real modification I'm considering is when I get a second B-Wing, I want to try one of the How To's on changing the orientation of the fighter so it's turned 90 degrees into the more iconic attack position from the Return of the Jedi movie.  And what is a force in a game system for me if I can't do a bit of fluff for it.  So here we are,after a bit of research and some decision making on which species and such I wanted to represent in the force, the Raven Squadron of the New Republic.  Now some of the ship varients have a specific pilot name attached to them, so for my fluff purposes, they'll just be a counts as for a pilot of similar skill level, though it won't reflect anything game play wise.  Actually, the fluff I've come up with won't really be reflected at all in the game play, but as this is part of the hobby that I really enjoy, I couldn't help myself.

Raven Squadron
    During the early years of the fledgling New Republic, a number of fighter squadrons were formed to help combat the numerous warlords and fragmented Imperial remnants.  One of these squadrons was Raven Squadron.  The unit's first major combat was during the Thrawn campaign where they lost nearly half their strength in one of Thrawn's hit and run raids to make Sluis Van to attack.  After rebuilding, they were deployed on anti-pirate patrol on the Assault Frigate Tannenhaus where they gained experience not only against the pirates but various small incursions by Imperial Warlords.  Raven Squadron then took part in a supporting role during the Crimson Empire crisis.  They were then deployed as part of Admiral Ackbar's fleet to overthrow Warlords Teradoc and Rogriss.  Their next major deployment was to the newly formed Fifth Fleet where they took part in the Black Fleet Crisis.  Since then, Raven Squadron has been assigned various training and escort missions.

Lt. Commander Piet "Hangman" Henke, E-Wing
    Raven Leader, Human Male (Corellia)
Commander Irie Muslar, A-Wing
    Raven Two, Devaronian Male
Lt. Aivars Gessitt
    Raven Three, Human Male (Palanhi)
Lt. Emleriss Vaelden, B-Wing
    Raven Four, Duros Female
Lt. Kevaan "Lucky" Haerliss
    Raven Five, Human Male (Corellia)
Lt. Daud Moumin, X-Wing
    Raven Six, Quarren Male
Lt. Rhael Hurrskain, X-Wing
    Raven Seven, Sullustan Male
Lt. Lew Parmley, Human Male, (Rendili)
    Raven Eight
Lt. Aikawa "Tingrin" Toumin, A-Wing
    Raven Nine, Human Male (Kuat)
Lt. Olwen Neukirch
    Raven Ten, Human Female (Lorrd)
Lt. Hlaxx Domipakk, Hortek Male
    Raven Eleven
Lt. Caerla Doumlin, Human Female (New Alderaan)
    Raven Twelve

Raven Squadron Flight Patch

The ship types listed in the unit composition are ships I already have or have purchased in the past week and am awaiting the arrival of.  I want to add another X-Wing and B-Wing for sure, and possibly a second E-Wing (Hands down my favorite Star Wars fighter from a visual standpoint).  And then I want to see about some Y-Wings and Headhunters to round out the force, perhaps to use as replacement fighters as needed.  Might pick up a YT-1300 Freighter to assist in hauling parts and supplies.  I have no plans what so ever in getting the Corellian Corvette yet, even though it's a gorgeous model.  It's just too many points for regular casual game play (Not to mention the $70 price tag on it).

So that's all for now and I'll chat with you all later.