AT-AT Walker; Star Wars Legion

I know that the question of AT-ATs in Star wars Legion can be a bit controversial, some players are adamant that they don’t want to use them in the game or even want FFG to make the model…which to be honest is just pure selfishness, If you don’t want them in your game, thats fine, but don’t try to stop anyone else having fun, which is what I thought was the point in the first place.

If FFG do make a scale AT-AT walker for the game it would be great for those of us that want one, but of course it would be hugely expensive…….so start saving!

Whilst we wait for that there are a couple of other solutions for those of us that must have this monster on the table, one involves a trip to Disney land, another a now out of production model by Wizards of the coast, but my solution was a Revell 1/53 ish Scale AT-AT model kit,  If this is going to be your solution i would keep an eye out for some offers or sales of this kit,  my solution to the problem was to write to Santa.

While we are on the subject…Revell, i wish you could make a range of models that have a common scale…..ye gods what is going on with them? To say that you’d sell more kits is an understatement, if they were all 1/48th and perhaps a slightly smaller range in 1/72nd you’d sell bucket loads.

Rant over, Ok its as near to scale as i can afford, and that will look ok. I know again, that not having everything on the table top in the same scale can be a problem for some model makers/gamers, but some times you have to lighten up and live a bit, lifes to short.

We are going with this, I will write up some basic rules for school use and see if i can’t make some actual legion style rules for it and make a few stat cards. It will not be invulnerable. We have some gun turrets and some Snow Speeders!

I have completely repainted the easy build kit, but lighting on the photos has not done it any favours, i will also likely add to the weathering, but it is nearly there. (The stormtrooper in picture is from Legion box set for scale purposes, I have not finished the  painting on him by a long way! Building from Corvus Game Terrain

Laser cannons/turrets by “Battlefield in a box” by gale force 9.

Revell Snowspeeder kits in scale with the AT-AT kit

Digital Camouflage Stencil by the utterly fantastic Anarchy Models

 

 

Corvus Buildings Painted

Finished off a couple of the excellent Corvus Games Terrain, if i get time I might add a bit more weathering, but they are good to go for the next club game.

Dice tower

Small City House

Power Generator

 

Plodding on…….

Been very busy painting the Star Wars Legion Figures for club game, tried a few different painting techniques and really happy with the results.

Jungle Camo left, Winter/Urban on Right

Winter/Urban close up

Speeder Bikes Winter Version

Sturmtiger RetrokiT conversion

I’ve had RetrokiT’s Sturmtiger conversion parts on my shopping list for some time, so added it to my letter to Santa!

It turned up this week, delayed slightly by a postal strike, but thats ok, I’ve had my hands pretty full with Star wars models to paint! I’ve been trying to build this inbetween waiting for washes to dry! The original Tiger donor chassis had been built about a year ago while I waited for the conversion kit to come out, so it was quite a quick and easy build.

The thing i really like about Retrokit models is the crisp detail and lack of bubbles in the resin. This went together really quickly with only minor modification to the original hull.

Now I’m waiting for the weekend in the hope of warmer weather so i can go out in garden and spray paint it! I think I’ll use a digital camo pattern again, and mark it up as a Hydra vehicle like my Kingtiger model. Updates as and when it is painted.

can’t wait to get this into battle either…will have to write some special rules for it!

Update!!!! detailing to do but Camo and decals done!

Fury gets a make over (again!)

I got a late Christmas present this week from Belgium, the box contained some HVSS suspension units for “Fury” Sherman and a Sturmtiger conversion kit…more on that later!

My little world war toons M4 Sherman “Fury” has had quite a history of make overs, it started out as a standard world war toons kit, then when RetrokiT started making sherman conversion parts i added the M4A3 hull a year later I’ve just added the HVSS suspension units to the kit, pretty pleased with results.

Will try and give this a run out in the next Tank battle we have at the school club.

 

Deepcut Studios Gaming Mats

Small section of the 6×4 foot “Wastelands” Mat

One thing our Star Wars Legion game really needed was a couple of very good gaming mats. They don’t come much better than Deepcut studios mats, in mouse mat/neoprene material.

We wanted the largest possible area to play on so we went for 6×4 foot mats. They come packed in the very own box, which will make life easier for storage.

Deepcut mats do come in a variety of sizes and material options so there is bound to be something that is just right for whatever game you are playing.  We emailed Gediminas and asked for his advice on what mats he thought would be useful for some Star wars action.  We really liked the look of the Wasteland mat and we just had to have a “Winter” one for all those battles in the snow.

Have to say I was blown away by the quality of the mats, they far exceeded my expectations. A major point here is photos do not do these mats justice at all.  If you get the chance to see one up close i recommend you go up to it and touch it. The rear is backed in rubber, this keeps the mat firmly on the table, it really isn’t going to slip.

As for the printed neoprene side, figures and terrain are cushioned, rolling dice are muffled the sound being easily absorbed, but best of all the mat on the table is perfectly flat. The printing itself is very well done, and i believe you can even have your own custom designs printed on any of the various material options, although they do have a lot of choice available.

Service is second to none, items extremely well packed, and arrived here in UK in a little over 10 days from Lithuania by courier with tracking for its entire journey.  Well worth the money, so if you are considering buying yourself a new games mat I would recommend checking out their site first. Deepcut Studios

Once we get these out for a game we will of course be adding many more photos of the mats to this blog, but here are a few others with some unfinished models.

Winter is coming

Rubber backing on wastelands mat

Sci Fy Buildings; CORVUS GAMES TERRAIN

Corvus Games Terrain trees

With Christmas and New Year out of the way,  I now have some time to devote to painting for the after school club. Still so very much to do.  It will take time to get all the figures finished, so very likely the first few games will be with primed, or partially painted figures.  One aspect of a game setting is of course Terrain.

The Star Wars Universe does have a specific look to it, this means some scratch building  which could be fun. (but takes more time, that for us is short)  Another is to find some buildings/terrain that is already assembled with a suitable sci fi aesthetic.

One of the latest developments in our hobby is the increase in 3d Printed models. This has taken huge strides in the last couple of years, with affordable home 3d printers, and more people learning how to use 3d design software.  This has led to a sharpe rise in the number of companies developing and producing their own models at home, great news for us hobbyists.

One such company is Corvus Games Terrain  They make an interesting range of models from ww2 Tanks in 28mm scale to Sci Fy terrain which has many uses within the different gaming systems.  Not only that,  an extremely useful development is that they don’t just sell the printed models but the 3d files at a fraction of the cost, so if you are lucky enough to have your own 3d printer at home, you can use the file to print out as many models as you need reducing the cost of populating your battlefield with stunning terrain with all the hard work done for you.

During the Christmas holidays we were lucky enough to receive a small sample of the Sci Fy terrain for use in our Star Wars Legion Games. The package arrived from Ireland very promptly and was extremely well packed. (thank you Stephen) Our personal favourite item is the very clever pumping tower which doubles as a dice tower!

CorvusGames Terrain Pumping Tower/Dice Tower

One of the issues we have at school is dice rolling……..so many dice on the floor!!!! this is really going to help.

Within their Galactic wars range they have some very useful designs, Pilgrim City and desert space port range that features some very nice buildings that have seperate floors and roof, enabling you to remove these and place figures inside building.

This is a small City House, roof section is removable (FFG Star wars Legion Vader for scale) The rear of this building  features a ladder to the roof section.

The level of internal/external detail is amazing and certainly adds to the sci fi feel.

a small house from the Pilgrim city range.

One of the Power Generators, a very useful piece.

A Speeder Garage (roof removed)

Rear of Speeder Garage (roof removed)

Corvus also make some nice scatter terrain, their range is quite large, they also have rocks, crators various barricades, but here are a couple of other pieces

The doors are very useful when creating some scratch builds at home. The concrete barriers also very nicely done.

We are certainly going to be adding to our collection from Corvus, but first i need to paint up what we already have. So more pictures to follow when that is done!

I would thoroughly recommend these models for their crisp detail as well as the design of the buildings themsleves.

If you have any questions about the range or need something from it printed out for you, Stephen’s email contact details are below. The website is worth a visit, with new designs added all the time.

corvusgamesterrain@gmail.com

Corvus Games Terrain