Wargames
Advanced Squad Leader Starter Kit #3 — First Look
ASL Starter Kit #3 from Multi-Man Publishing is now available. As the name suggests, it is the third — and I believe final — game in the introductory line of Advanced Squad Leader games. ASL is generally considered the premiere wargame of WW2 tactical combat. ASL also has one of the largest and most complex set of rules of any wargame. The Starter Kits were designed to ease players up to the full ASL rules. They have generally succeeded better than anyone anticipated. Read the rest of this entry »
Victory at Sea — Another View
John and Dan from the All About Miniatures podcast review Mongoose’s Victory at Sea ruleset on their latest show, episode 8. They also compiled some suggestions for increasing realism in the game and provide some useful quick reference sheets. Of course do not miss our own review that also includes an example of combat.
AT-43 – The Second Wave
The second round of AT-43 releases are generally available now. This round includes the Accessory: Expansion Set 1, the Therian Bane goliaths, the U.N.A. Steel TacArms, Fire Toad MK.02, and Fire Toad MK.03.
The Therian Bane goliaths are the first of the new Therian infantry units. The Bane goliath ships three to a box and includes two unit cards although neither has a leadership value. One figure has a removable back plug that can be swapped with the leader back plug. All the figures are armed with dual nucleus guns. It is a well done figure overall and very large. They are on the same sized base as a Games Workshop Terminator but quite a bit larger. Overall it is an imposing figure especially when next to a Steel Trooper. The paint job is more like the original OD paint scheme than the newer golems. It is black with an orange wash and very dark gray highlights. The face is painted in a cream color and the various blades are touched with silver. Overall the paint job looks quite good. My only complaint with the Bane goliath is that it is rather bendy compared to the other figures. This is good for durability but a number of the figures we got were misshapen in various ways. See our article on how to straighten out your figures. The paint quality does vary from box to box and figure to figure so if you buy them in a store be sure to look through all the boxes and choose which ones you like best. Read the rest of this entry »
AT-43 — How to Straighten Out Your Figures
AT-43 miniatures are, for the most part, well cast, but the plastic used is slightly soft especially on the Therian units. The side effect is the occasional misshapen figure. Bent appendages are especially common on Therian figures. Luckily this situation is an easy one to rectify. All you need to do is put your figure, or the part you are trying to reshape, into warm water. Start with lukewarm water and get hotter to see what works best for you. After about 10-30 seconds in the water pull the figure out and you will be able to reshape it easily. Then simply run it under some cool water so it stays that way.
In the case of the Therian Bane goliath simply drop the entire figure into warm tap water. When you pull it out you should be able to reposition the entire figure’s stance as well as the position of the one free leg and also easily straighten out any bent arms, guns, or blades. This trick works great on all figures, such as the laser guns on the UNA TacArms, but the Bane goliath seems to need the most work.
In general the AT-43 figures seem very sensitive to heat and should be kept in moderate temperatures. I would not recommend leaving them in a hot car especially if you live somewhere like Arizona. But if your figures do become bent you can easily fix them.
This trick also helps with removable heads, arms, and torsos for replacing with the various option parts.
15mm Pre-Painted Buildings — A Few Choices
We recently picked up some new pre-painted 15mm buildings.
The 15mm buildings from The Miniature Building Authority are part of the EuroVillage series. They have a number of designs including a new apartment building and factory. We got the Townhouse rows. The buildings are cast in something that feels like a ceramic but is probably not. The molding and detailing is crisp and clean. The painting is also well done and should be acceptable to all but the most discriminating painters. All the buildings have a nice feature where you can take the top off and it leaves a ‘ruined’ bottom half. This is great for destroyed areas or just for access to the interior. The only problem is, at least with the Townhouse Row, the inside is too small to fit a regular infantry stand for Flames of War. Smaller stands, including FoW leader stands, fit fine. Read the rest of this entry »
Victory at Sea — FAQ
Mongoose Publishing released an official FAQ for VaS. It is two pages and contains a few clarifications and some errata for IJN destroyers.
Aeronautica Imperialis — Space Marine Transporter
Forge World released two new units for Aeronautica Imperialis. The new Space Marine Transporter comes in two versions: One carrying two Rhinos or one with a single Land Raider.
Victory at Sea — Coastal Forces
Mongoose just released rules for Coastal Forces for VaS in Signs & Portents Issue 42. It is five pages of rules and stats for all nations giving players Motor Torpedo Boats (MTBs), Motor Gun Boats (MGBs), PT Boats, and MAS craft. Also included are a few trawlers and landing craft. Issue 42 also has part III of the Kriegsmarine Z-Plan ships.
A Trio of Naval Miniature Rules
Three new WW2 naval miniature rules, General Quarters III, Battle Stations!, and Victory at Sea, were all released within just a few months of each other. What is surprising is that it turns out the three rule sets are more complementary than competing. All three rules are designed for use with 1/6000-1/1200 scale miniatures.
All three games provide ample ship and aircraft statistics covering the major nations and equipment. VaS probably has the least and is missing, most notably to us, the U.S. Casablanca class ‘Jeep’ carrier. Thus you need to make up your own stats to fight the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Both GQIII and VaS provide additional craft data on their respective Web sites. Read the rest of this entry »
Aeronautica Imperialis — Review
Aeronautica Imperialis is Forge World’s first complete game. It is a game of air-to-air combat in the world of Game Workshop’s Warhammer 40,000 for two or more players. Like their Imperial Armor books, AI is a large, 176 page, hardcover book lushly illustrated with lots of full color plates. If you have other FW publications many of the images will be familiar. The game rules themselves only take up 18 pages with an additional seven pages devoted to aircraft data and charts. The rest of the book is devoted to Warhammer 40K background data on the various aircraft (i.e. fluff). Also included are two sheets of color maneuver cards on cardstock that need to be cut apart. Our only complaint is that FW did not include a separate booklet with the rules as the vast majority of the book is not actually needed to play the game and thus having a more portable set of rules would be handy. Read the rest of this entry »
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The View from the Turret 
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