October Construction

Having acquired both the Lord of the Rings starter set and the Star Wars Legion box set within the last month, there was only ever going to be one outcome – construction!!

Not being able to decide which to build first I decided to build both at the same time. And the outcome is as expected…lots of grey models. Of course this was all further complicated by the fact that I purchased an additional box of Uruk-Hai Scouts for LOTR and Imperial Scouts for Legion.

However, this has proved to be a very relaxing past time over the last month (which was needed) and will shortly involve actual brushes and paint. I currently have two basecoated units of Stormtroopers (waiting for a light grey wash), half a unit of undercoated Uruk-Hai Scouts (due a brown basecoat) and a unit of undercoated Army of the Dead.

The rest of the models consist of the remaining Uruk-Hai Scouts, a Mordor Troll, two units of Morannon Orcs, a unit of Rohan troops, then Imperial Scouts, Darth Vader and Scout Bikes.

I hope to post some images of the painted units as they progress, but which will happen first I cannot say.

Star Wars Legion – Getting Started

As soon as this game was announced there was an inevitability that it would appear in our house at some point – a 40k-esque wargame but with Star Wars characters – I'm just amazed that I held out so long.

I was at the Tabletop Gaming Live show at Alexandria Palace a couple of weeks ago on my birthday, and saw it being offered for a ridiculous £55. At that point the restraint melted, almost buckling completely as I threw in the Boba Fett expansion as well, and I came home a happy man – happy birthday to me. I'd seen the videos, read the blogs, but now I would finally get to see what was in the box.

The first thing to greet you when you lift the lid is Vader's mug staring at you. This is the rulebook and I have to say I've struggled with it a little. It doesn't seem as clear as the Imperial Assault rules were – maybe because it's a different game, maybe because I'm a year older and my mind is going, but I had to resort to third party YouTube videos to get the drift.

Removing the rulebook and token sheet reveals… lots of plastic bags!

This felt like a bit of a let down. The outer box itself is stunning and maybe I was expecting to have an unboxing experience like the recent GW releases, which in turn is trying to emulate what Apple does with their products. This felt very bargain basement cheap in comparison – all your bits in ziplock bags and chucked into a box to take home. It did not match the quality of the outer box, or indeed the Imperial Assault experience.

Then I was hit with another blow. Six years ago I wrote a blog post about unboxing a Warmachine Cryx starter set. My main criticism was the material used to produce the models – a sort of plastic resin – which didn't really work with plastic glue (my adhesive of choice) and meant working with excessive amounts of superglue.

Guess what – yup, same material here. The issue I have is how are models without tabs supposed to stay on a base when they're simply superglued in place – it's a disaster waiting to happen. It would mean that I have to pin virtually every model to it's base.

On the upside, the models are that little bit bigger than Imperial Assault which means we lesser mortals have a fighting chance of picking out the amazing details.

The stormtroopers are almost all 2-piece models and go together relatively easily. There are a set number of poses and I thought it was an opportunity missed not to have these a little more posable – my two units are going to look identical without the intervention of some fancy painting.

The big winner for me though has to be the Boba Fett additional model. He came in a host of pieces, which was quite radical compared to the models in the main box, but went together very nicely. I wasn't sure of the pose when I first saw it, but once the model was together it was a winner.

In fact, I don't even feel the need to add the clear plastic flying base – I'm just going to pin him on his base. I'm really looking forward to painting this guy!!

Given that Mr Awdry has now joined the ranks of Legion owners, we can look forward to a game or two next year I think. I have firmly decided to base my models for a snowy Hoth environment, and will (try to) build a few bits of terrain to match. I will also need a new snowy gaming mat (shame!).

I think had this been any IP other than Star Wars then this box set might have found a home in the back of the gaming cupboard never to be seen again. However, once the models were built (the bit I normally enjoy but didn't this time) I am looking forward to getting some paint on them.

Getting Started With Age Of Sigmar – Storm Strike

Age of Sigmar was something that never appealed to me. GW decided to defy every gamer's belief and bin Warhammer, and AoS was the replacement – a pseudo 40k set in a multi-realm universe where pseudo Space Marines (or rather their fantasy equivalent) once again took centre stage. I wasn't interested. I had a fleeting interest in Warhammer as a game, loved the world it was set in and really like the model range that was developing. That had all gone now and I was cross, so lord only knows how the avid Warhammer gamers felt!

However, time heals many things and, as I don't play much of anything now, I find myself taking a greater interest in many things I would never have considered before. I have a handful of the new AoS miniatures as part of my Shadespire collection and really liked those, so found myself browsing the AoS range. Long story short, I am now in possession of the £25 Storm Strike Starter Box and the £5 "Getting Started with AoS" book and model.

STORM STRIKE

This box set have everything you need to get started at the most basic level. It comes with a handful of sprues that provide half a dozen or so models each for two players, as well as dice, rulers, a gaming 'mat' (poster!) plus basic rules and background fluff.

I have to say I'm mighty impressed.

First of all it was £25 (…actually I bought it from an online supplier and it only cost me £20)!! That's everything for the same price as a box of marines. The models are stunning – they may be 'easy-to-build' variants, but they're great and come with ridiculously lavish bases.

I have only built the Stormcast Eternals at the moment but it took less than 20 minutes to build the lot. The 'army' is the size of a Malifaux crew, which is my preferred model count, and they are chunky things – very solid. The gold coloured plastic is a little garish but that should only spur me on to paint them (or at least undercoat them!).

The rulebook is a printer version of the basic PDF that can be downloaded for free online – it's a light version of the rules so you will probably need to invest in the big book if you're sticking with it. There is also a build/paint guide and the main Storm Strike book. This main book is like an old-style 40k codex, so reasonably thick and well printed/finished. It contains lots of intro stuff, plus an extensive section on how to build, paint and game with your miniatures.

The thing that really impressed me with the main book though was how the scenarios (sorry, battleplans) are laid out and develop. It's basically a step by step intro to the game and in some instances may only have a single miniature on a side. Each battleplan focuses on or introduces you to a new rule and by mission 4 you're using everything in the box. The book rounds off with where to go next, as well as going into some depth about the background to all the units/factions involved in the box set and the universe they inhabit.

This is one of the best miniature wargame starter box sets I've seen. It was priced perfectly and had enough info and intrigue to provide great value for money as well as draw in a new player (even someone as cynical as me!). They do have two other starter sets that are closer to £50 and £100, which give you more models and even the full hardback rulebook, but this felt like a true starter set aimed at complete starters. It doesn't involve great investment and would make a superb Christmas or birthday present (shame my wife won't venture into a GW store!).

HOW TO GET STARTED

I'll be honest, the only reason I bought this was because there was a 'free' model included for the £5 pricetag. A stunning, single sprue Stormcast caster dude, the likes of which would normally retail for £15-£20. It was a no-brainer, even if you're not that interested – he'll be awesome to paint (£5!?!).

Immediately I jumped in and started to build him. Very straightforward to put together even though he's not an 'easy-to-build' model. He did come with a tiny pile of stones that were starting to float, to add to his base. I could see straight away that they would have snapped off very quickly, so clipped them and just stuck down the base stone to plug the gap in his base instead. His base is not nearly so elaborate as the models in the Storm Strike box set.

The Get Started book is very similar in size and finish to the Storm Strike book (even has the same image on the cover to confuse me even more) but has even more info packed into it. There are sample armies, a battle report, lots of background info as well as in depth explanation of the different painting techniques employed. It goes through the basic rules in principle, laying out the different phases without giving any actual rules away.

This was another win for me. It is the perfect precursor to the Storm Strike box set, and a great introduction to not only AoS but fantasy/skirmish miniature wargaming in general. It allows you to dip you toe in without spending more than your lunch money. I would have loved something like this way back in 1990, and I know it's the kind of thing my son will pour over for hours (when he's a little older).


Alas that's not the end to the GW fan-boy. Next time I'm going to go through the GW Battle of Pelennor Fields box set for the new Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game rules. Yes, I jumped in with both feet!!