Jovian Chronicles Fleet Scale Review - CEGA

Last week I had a look at the first wave of fleet scale JAF releases for Jovian Chronicles and Lightning Strike and this week I'm reviewing the CEGA releases! We have the old school Wraith fighters, the stopgap Syreen exo armor and the new mass produced Wyvern exo armor. I put some more background info in this review, as the game is still an unknown for many readers. I'll be going back and updating the first review as well.

CEGA, short for Central Earth Government and Administration, is the second superpower in the Solar system, balancing the Jovian Confederation, and is desperately struggling to catch up with the technological leaps that happened after The Fall, where Earth descended into war and was cut off from the rest of the Solar nations. While CEGA doesn't represent all the nations on Earth it does wield substantial power and has resources to throw at aggressive R&D to fuel their plan of re-taking their lost colonies. This has not only made the rest of the Solar system really nervous but has garnered critique from CEGA's own citizens as resources are put into the navy rather than trying to rebuild the smashed ecosystem of Earth.

Now let's take a look at the models! Full disclosure, these models were provided to me by Dream Pod 9. Like last time let's start with the fighters!

Yes, fighters are still around as they can fulfill some roles exos are not suited for, at a fraction of the cost! The Wraith is an old design, dating back to the late twenty-first century. However, fighter designs don't change as quickly as exo designs and CEGA certainly couldn't afford to be choosy when emerging from The Fall to retake the solar system. Here are the models straight out of the pack. As you can see there's almost no mould lines and just a couple of pieces of flash to clean. Nice and quick! For some reason they look a little different from how I've imagined the Wraith. I wasn't all that fond of the original 1/500 scale sculpt as it looked a little too flat and "boring". It's a tricky design though, as it looks great as Ghislain's art but becomes a bit too boxy as a model. Still, let's have a better look at these fighters mounted:

Either the pictures didn't do the old sculpt justice or these fleet scale fighters have been ever so slightly tweaked to make the wings a little larger and with more of a downward slant. This certainly kicks them up a couple of notches in my view as I like the look of them better now. They look a little larger than the Lancers squadron but that's only because they're flatter and I guess their about the same mass. Just like with the fleet scale Lancer there are a number of small thrust vectoring plates that have turned into those small nubs at the end, but this, of course, can't be helped considering the scale. Overall I'm very happy with the Wraiths and I actually think they're a step up from the older, larger, models!

Next up we have our first CEGA exo armor! Well... it's barely a proper exo armor, is it? A hastily converted orbital transfer vehicle, meant to be used as a stopgap, that turned out to be surprisingly effective. Still, even after a refit the 30 year old machine is showing its age and has a hard time competing with the latest JAF has to offer. Of the models in this first wave the Syreen required the most amount of clean up. The flash attached to the engine bell and propellant tanks are quick to take care of but there were relatively visible mould lines along the side of the main hull, the tanks and on top of the "wings". Not excessive by any means, but enough for me to want to take out the file and get rid of them. Most likely this is because of the rounded shapes of the Syreen compared to the other more angular exos. Here they are mounted:

If you're wondering about the leader, it's the one in the middle. Syreens don't carry flashy close combat weapons like the plasma lance, so it's harder to make the leader stand out. What DP9 sculptor Tony Baltera has done instead is sweep the wings/arms back to give it more of a dynamic look. An alternative would have been to model the ECM pod that is only present on the command model. However the problem with that is that is has never been depicted what it looks like in the art (as far as I know). If I would convert it myself I'd probably put a comms dish vertically on its back. Anyway, when I first saw the renders for the Syreen I was a little worried that it looked too rounded and bulbous, but looking at the finished model in my hand now I can say that it's an almost perfect representation of the Syreen! People might wonder why, when there are such cool exos as the Pathfinder and Cerberus around, but the Syreen is actually my favourite exo design so I'm very happy to see it made the transition to fleet scale so well!

Ok, so even if my personal favourite is the Syreen most readers will likely be more excited to read about the Wyvern exo armor! Right about when JAF introduced the heavier Retaliator exo armor (which is being prepped for casting as I type this!) CEGA officials realized they needed to up their game and replace the Syreen with something sturdier. Not being able to match the speed of JAF exos they focused on armour and firepower! These guys required only a little bit of clean up, mostly just taking care of fhe pieces of flash underneath the feet and filing one or two areas where you could see some vague mould lines. Overall, great casts. Here they are mounted:

Another example of Tony doing a great job of catching all the important bits and the essence of what makes a Wyvern a Wyvern. The ins and outs of the armour, the thigh flaps and the thin, monitor-like head (less vision, but more firepower!). The hypergolic bazooka is pretty much just a tube, but that is how it should be. My favourite bit in this pack is the leader though! He of course comes with the comms upgrade visible on the right shoulder and has his bazooka replaced by a massdriver rifle, but the coolest bit is the hummer axe! If you've seen pretty much any Gundam series you know that the iconic Zeon front line Zaku suit, that was the inspiration for the Wyvern, often carry an axe shaped close combat weapon. It just fits so well and was not present in either the old model nor the actual rpg background. Wyverns carry hummer knives, but not axes - however I think this is much cooler from a visual perspective. Lovely models and I think they just nudge themselves past the Pathfinder as my second favourite fleet scale exos, thanks to the axe!

While I really like the JAF releases I think the CEGA models actually win this round. The Syreen and Wyvern are just so well translated into this smaller scale! Again, can't wait to get some paint on these models as I want to see them in their full glory on my space mat. I was out of onigiris so here they are grouped with a reference bottle of Ripobitan D!

Next up is Wave 2 which consists of the Retaliator and Vindicator for JAF and the Cerberus and Fury for CEGA and should be ready for sale in a week or two. DP9 also just revealed Wave 3 which will consiste of Venus units; the Brunhilde fighter, the Ryu exo armor and (sculpted for the first time ever!) the Bonebreaker exo armor! Lots of cool stuff in other words. Hopefully I'll be able to review these as well in during the coming months. I'll round off this review with the preview renders of the next two waves:

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Jovian Chronicles Fleet Scale Review - Jovians

Today I bring you a review of the first wave of the new Jovian models for the fleet scale version of Jovian Chronicles and/or Lightning Strike! I have the first wave of CEGA models as well, just waiting to be assembled, but I thought it would be better to split the review into two parts.

These models have been long in the making, with a teaser picture of the fleet scale fighters appearing ten years ago! Just check out this picture from Starship Combat News. I suppose someone should update that page now that we have new stuff! Also, why is the Uller missile cruiser on the Jovian side in this picture?! 

As Robert Dubois mentioned, in the interview I conducted with him last month, the fleet scale fighters were lost and not rediscovered until last year when DP9 decided to do a production run to gauge interest in future fleet scale models for Jovian Chronicles. Luckily for us mecha enthusiasts the response was a good one and now we have four sets of exo armors on sale already and four more on pre-order ready for release in April. Good times! 

Now let's take a look at the actual models shall we? We've seen the renders and although they looked good a render is not a model. Full disclosure: Dream Pod 9 provided me with the fighters and exo armors for review with my purchase of the missing ships for my JAF fleet (well, I'm still missing the Godsfire!). Please excuse the slightly wonky and badly lit pictures - I'm working with what I've got here... :)

Age before beauty, or something -first out let's take a look at the Lancer squadron. Above you can see what the pieces looked like right out of the pack, with no cleaning or anything. Minimal mould lines quickly taken care of with a file and some small pieces of flash at the front, but that was it. Very easy to clean! Mounted they look like this:

They're quite dainty, about as long as one of the exo armors is tall but much smaller. The entire fuel tank is about he size of one of the thrusters on the Hector. Which is as it should be of course! While the new models are all designed digitally these, and the Wraiths, were hand sculpted which you might be able to tell if you stare at them long enough. Doesn't really matter in the end though as they look very close to the original drawings by Ghislain Barbe. The two side fins are missing, but that is understandable considering how small they'd be.

Next up we have the Hector exo armor which is a slight improvement to the Pathfinder with the legs replaced by a thruster assembly. It's zippier, has slighly better armour and is equipped with a missile defense system. As you can see there's barely any flash on these guys - just a little at the end of the thrusters. The only mould lines I could find where at the side of the thrusters so, again, very quick to clean! There's the leader with the plasma lance and two regular Hectors. Unfortunately the rear thruster had to be removed, as otherwise it would be impossible to cast it in one piece, but when properly mounted it's not really noticeable. If you really wanted to you could probably put something together as a replacement though. Here they are mounted:

I really like the extra detail on the shield as the Spartan looking helmet made it through casting just fine. My only nitpick is the lack of detail on the thrusters. At this scale options are of course limited, but some simple lines mimicking what can be seen in the artwork would have been nice. Also the smaller thrusters on the back are filled in to facilitate proper casting, but I'll probably drill them out for extra effect. I really like space based mechas like this! While the Syreen is probably my favourite the Hector is pretty cool to. Hehe!

Finally, the pièce de résistance and the cover model of Jovian Chronicles - the Pathfinder! Again, barely and mould lines or flash. Just a little bit underneath the feet and the string going from the sword hand to the thigh. At some places you can see very slight print lines from the original rapid prototyping process, but they won't be visible after getting some paint on the model so no point in loosing sleep over. Here they are mounted:

The Javelins and the Hectors look good, but of these three releases the Pathfinder takes the price for best looking model! The characteristic shape of the torso and legs are there, the head unit with the visor, the comm dish, the 792A Particle Cannon carried by the leader... it's all there. I want to paint these guys so bad but it'll have to wait until I'm back home in May. I think they'd take to quick and easy techniques exceedingly well and look really nice on the tabletop! Compared to the Thunderbolt cruiser they are of course still out of scale, but the gap has shrunk quite a bit and it's now at the level where it's very easy for your brain to just fudge it for you. Yes, the exos and fighters are a bit too large, but it still looks perfectly fine on the table - in fact I think having smaller models would make it look worse as all the detail would be lost and it would simply become different coloured humanoid shapes.

I'm very happy with these Jovian releases! And as it turns out the Thunderbolt also look a lot better once you have it in hand than on pictures I have seen. Bonus! 

Finally I would like to talk a little bit about the new flight stand DP9 has designed. It's basically three bendable wires with a ball on top that you can glue to the ball joint on the model. This works very well and allows you to position your squads in different dynamic positions. How to mount fighters in space games have been something of a pet peeve of mine way back since I first played Battlefleet Gothic. 

I have seen many different solutions but the results have almost always been quite static looking. In the end I had decided that the best would be to construct something just like this, using wire and a lump of modelling putty. Except, now DP9 has done it for me! Granted there are only three prongs, so if you want to mount more fighters (five is a common number in other games) then you are out of luck. I'm also a little bit concerned about the longevity. Since they're modeled after piano wire they bend well even though they're made of pewter, but depending on how well protected the stands are when packed into figure cases I can imagine them getting weakened. The best solution would probably be a magnetized base on a metal tray. It's really nice to be able to position the models on the stand pretty much freely. You can go for different kinds of formations, creating more variety and so on. Good stuff!

And I think that is about it! This is the first of the new Jovian releases and we have the Vindicator and Retaliator up for pre-order already. It'll be interesting to see what other exos we might see - I wouldn't be surprised to see the Stormrider. Perhaps there will also be some of the newer mecha that were never released for the original Lightning Strike. Keeping my fingers crossed!

I'll leave you with a picture of them all lined up with the Thunderbolt cruiser and a common reference onigiri. Next week I'll take a look at the wave 1 CEGA stuff - the Wraith, the Syreen and the Wyvern!

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Review of X-Wing Miniatures Game

So maybe flimsy cards is not your thing, maybe abstract battle on a large scale doesn't suit you. Fear not! There are plenty of Star Wars action to go around. Today I will review Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures Game from Fantasy Flight Games.

This was also announced around the same time as the card game and roleplaying game and I was initially not all that impressed. I've always been a fleet scale kind of guy when it comes to spaceship battle games - Full Thrust, Starmada, Firestorm: Armada, Task Force Zeta, whathaveyou - whereas X-Wing is a much more intimate game focused on dogfighting. Around Gencon the same year there was a debate about wheather X-Wing is simply a re-dressed Wings of War and designers and industry folk on both sides of the fence stepped forward to tell their view on things. In the end I think most people settled on something like "the two games are very similar, but so are many other games within a given genre". Nevertheless I think X-Wing does owe a lot to it's predecessor, even though they are also different in several regards.

An early X-Wing prototype showcased during GenCon.

Anyway, as FFG ramped up their previews of the game I found myself becoming more and more interested. I mentioned that my enthusiasm for Star Wars has dampened quite a bit during the past 15 years or so (wonder why...), but the starships and space battles from the original trilogy have never ceased to enkindle my imagination! I love the design of the ships and the non-Newtonian (hell, non-scientific!) style of WWII in space actually works in Star Wars. So by mid 2012 I realized that I would at least have to get the core set to see if the game itself was any fun - the previews looked good, but some hands on experience was needed.

A few months later and I eagerly went to the post office to pick up my copy of X-Wing! Contrary to my original plan I had also ordered another X-Wing and three(!!) Y-Wings as well. Just couldn't help myself. Luckily my friend Anders picked up the slack on the Imperial side and bought extra TIEs so we could play larger battles.

Our inital impressions were very positive (you can read my thoughts here) but I think we played a bit too intensively and burned out a little after the first couple of weeks. Luckily by the time the Kessel Event rolled around to Sweden we were all eager to play again! Taking part in a tournament and facing several different players (and sides) taught me a lot about the game and I've come to appreciate it more I think.

So let's have a look at the game, shall we? I will be doing this review more on the game as a whole, rather than about the specific core box. While you definitely can have a lot of fun with the three ships you start out with, it's once you expand out and buy more and different ships the game really blooms. I also won't cover the rules in any real detail, if you are curious about them you can simply download the rulebook or watch the detailed video tutorial put out by FFG. In fact if you are at all interested in this game I strongly suggest you watch the video, preferably before you continue reading this review. I'll wait.

Done? Ok, here we go. This review might seem a bit backwards, but bear with me...

Building Your Squadron

A sample Rebel squadron showing the models and the corresponding cards.

The standard size of a game is 100 points which will give you between three and eight ships depending on which side you play and what ship loadouts you bring. Rebels have more expensive ships and usually end up with three or four (although they can push the limit and field five) while Imperial ships are cheaper and five or six seem to be the most common number. This helps to bring out the Star Wars flavour as the Rebels are virtually always outnumbered and really need to use the higher quality of their ships to their advantage. Fail to do that and the Imperial swarm will get you.

When building your squadron it's not only about choosing which ship types to field and wheather they should have proton torpedoes or not, there's a lot more to it. With each ship comes a set of cards with generic and unique pilots who all have different Piloting Skill and different abilities. Depending on the pilot and the ship there are also various upgrade slots available so an X-Wing can take an Astromech droid and an ace Obsidian Squadron pilot can take an Elite Pilot ability. This all combines to make squadron building a big part of the game, for better and for worse.

This is not Infinity where "it's not your list, it's you" (although that's not entirely true in Infinity either) but neither is it 40k where you can just look at your opponents list and see who will win. X-Wing sits safely somewhere in between where squadron building is important and some builds simply aren't viable, but a reasonably balanced list has a good chance of winning if played right. Personally I enjoy the squadron building in this game. It's fun trying to squeeze as much firepower as possible out of your squadron and make sure the different abilities synergize well together. It's not overly complex or time consuming though, so you'll be at it pew-pewing quickly nonetheless. To make it even quicker a couple of online squadron builders have popped up here and here.

The Rules

A couple of manuver dials and templates.

A game turn starts by assigning secret orders to all your ships. This is done via the maneuver dial and different ships have different maneuring capabilities - TIEs being very nimble and Y-Wings being flying bathtubs! Once all the dials are out you start revealing them and moving ships in order of ascending Piloting Skill, meaning more skilled pilots will move last and can take advantage of knowing where the opposition is. After moving a ship you also decide what action it will take, stuff like Lock-On, Evade or Focus. Generally Rebel ships can take offensive actions like Lock-On while Imperial ships are more defensively minded and can Evade and Barrel Roll.

Wedge, the most skilled Rebel pilot.

Once all ships have moved you go back and every ship (who didn't crash into an asteroid at least) get to fire. However, unlike ship movement this is done in order of descending Piloting Skill, of course meaning that better pilots get to shoot first. This can have a huge impact as ships can be destroyed before they get to shoot at all! It's not super important to have all high skilled pilots, but having one or two to be able to attack a critical target before it gets to attack is usually a good idea. Once shooting is taken care of there is a short clean up phase and you move on to the next turn.

Movement is taken care of by a set of templates that come in the core box and while the rules are similar to Wings of War the templates are a lot more user friendly than the cards ever were. While you can't actually collide with other ships you can "bump" them, meaning you lose your action for that turn. There are also certain hard maneuvers that incur stress on the pilot doing them, forcing him to make an easy maneuver in a future turn to get rid of it.

Shooting is handled by special eight sided dice - red attack dice and green defense dice. You want to roll more hits than the target rolls evades, and there are of course several ways of manipulating the dice. Focus, for example, allows you to change some dice results to hits or evades while Lock-On allows you to re-roll some or all of the dice. This is a game that favours aggression though so the attack dice are slightly stronger than the defense dice. The standard firing arc is 90° to the front of the ship, however some ships and upgrades allow for different firing arcs.

All in all the rules are straightforward and easy to learn. There are a couple of details concerning asteroid/ship collisions that are easily overlooked, but generally reading and understanding the rulebook shouldn't take much time at all. FFG has a reputation of writing convoluted and messy rulebooks, but I don't think X-Wing suffers from this (and I don't think the "problem" is even remotely close to what some people claim).

How the Game Plays

A practice game just before my first tournament.

In our first couple of games we were simply digesting the rules system and felt quite satisfied with the balance of details versus speed of play. There are a few abstractions and no detailed ship management, but on the other hand you can play a 100 point match in 45-60 minutes! After a few games I remember feeling a bit concerned that perhaps luck was a larger factor than I felt comfortable with, and I was also worried that the balance of the game favoured the Imperials as the TIE simply seemed to bring more bang for its buck.

In a game with dice like this luck is always going to be a factor, but as I played more I learned how to better stack the odds in my favour and how to use maneuvering to my advantage. You know... basic wargame stuff. It does feel like it's even more crucial in X-Wing than in many other wargames though. Perhaps it's because you have so few units to begin with (especially as a Rebel!) that you have to make sure that every move counts! Generally I think Rebels are a bit more challenging to play, at least in the beginning, as many of their abilities "buff" friendly ships, requiring them to stay close to each other and make use of teamwork. The Imperial ships don't have as many abilities like that but are more focused on individual ship advantages.

As I played more with my Rebels I realized that the balance is probably not as skewed as I first feared, in fact I think it's pretty well balanced as long as you don't go too extremes (I still think the eight ship TIE swarm is the strongest squadron right now). The key is learning how to maneuver in formation and how to make best use of your abilities.

Playing the first scenario - Escort Duty.

At first it's easy to just race ahead like disorganized rabble which usually ends up with a large chaotic furball in the middle of the table where the deciding factor usually ends up being luck. But as you learn what kind of maneuvers your ships can make and how to stay in formation (which really is surprisingly important!) things quickly change. Then there's the whole mind-game aspect of X-Wing where it's about out-smarting your opponent just as you try to figure out where his ships are going to end up during the next maneuvering phase!

Some of my most successfull games have been when I've managed to do the completely unexpected, forcing my opponent to commit to where my ships no longer are. It's great fun when you succeed, but it can be tricky to pull off.

The Components Ships

My slightly re-touched ships: Red 5 flanked by Red 2 and Gold 2.

Yeah, the components are usual FFG fare, high quality cardboard tokens and nice linen finish cards. Yadda-yadda-yadda. There. Now let's talk spaceships!

The ship models are the obvious big draw of the game and FFG knew that very well. There are actually a couple of pages in the rulebook where they talk about the design process and how they decided on which scale to use (1/270). The ships have all been modeled digitally and 3D printed to get a detailed master and then made using hard-injection plastic. The quality of the ship models vary a little bit from ship to ship, but overall I think it's very good. Not as good as some true model ships, but for "game pieces" they are pretty darn good. The larger ships like Millenium Falcon and Slave I especially are really beautiful pieces!

I have had some problems with malformed ships. So far only X-Wings which I guess stems from the fact that they have the most amount of parts - there have been a couple of crooked guns and engine exhausts, but nothing that couldn't be corrected with some modelling tools.

The Millenium Falcon and Slave I from the yet to be released Wave 2.

The ships also all come pre-painted and although I'm a miniature painter myself I'm a great fan of this. I don't feel that it infringes on my creative freedom or taints the model, I simply think it's great to be able to use them straight out of the box! I'm sure I could repaint them and get a better result, but to be honest I see no reason to. They look good as they are on the tabletop. What I have done is added some extra details here and there - the personalized markings on the Red Squadron X-Wings and some engine glow etc. - but that is just me "pimping" my ships. They really do look good as they are.

How to Get Started

Playing with just the core box.

So you think this sounds like fun and want to know how to get started with X-Wing? Well, getting the core box is of course the essential first step. If you are unsure wheather you'll like it or not simply get the core box. The game is good even with only three ships and there are three scenarios in the rulebook that are pretty fun to play! So say you like it and want more. Now there are two options, either you feel like more variety would be good in which case I suggest getting a Y-Wing and a TIE Advanced. They both bring some new stuff to the game and the Y-Wing in particular is great fun with its turret that can fire 360° around!

However, if you really like the game and want to get serious about expanding it getting a second core box is the way to go! You'll get another X-Wing and two more TIEs (as well as another set of dice, cards, templates etc) which will go a long way to getting that 100 point squadron. After this you can get the expansion ships you like and go from there.

Of course, with Wave 2 just around the corner things are about to change as the Millenium Falcon and Slave I can eat up a whole lot of points, while the A-Wing suddenly allows the rebels cheap(ish) ships in their squadron. That being said I still think that two core boxes will be an essential purchase if you really want to get into the game proper.

My Thoughts

Trying out the scenario from the Millenium Falcon expansion. Smugglers be smuggling!

I think X-Wing is a very fun miniature game with great looking models and rules that are balanced between ease of play and tactical options. If you are looking for a crunchy games with options like where to project your shields or power resource management X-Wing isn't it, and I'd advice you to track down the old WEG game Star Warriors instead, however if you would like something fast, with dice but still crunchy enough to include squadron building and tactical maneuvering you're in luck! Of course, if you are a Star Wars fan who even remotely enjoy miniature or board gaming it's really a no-brainer; you need to at least try this game. In fact, I think X-Wing is a great gateway game and a way to get into miniature gaming in general. Easy rules, few models and nothing to paint makes it very friendly for beginners!

Just like in most wargames you get a great sense of fulfilment as you start to learn how to use your chosen faction effectively. Which maneuvers work and which don't, how to make the best use of the pilot abilities in your squadron and making sure to fly in the formation where you can take advantage of the different Piloting Skills of your ships (and not bump into eachother). As I mentioned in the introduction post to Star Wars week I'm going to write an X-Wing tactics article from a Rebel perspective so expect more on this later.

As the game looks right now I don't think there are any huge, gaping flaws apparent. In casual play I think there's a slight lean towards the Empire being the stronger faction, but it's not by a large margin. However it's a bit more problematic in tournament play where it's actually the other way around. As tournaments are structured now a standard game is 60 minutes which is fine if you play Rebels vs Imperials or Rebels vs Rebels. In those matchups there's a decent chance that one side will get destroyed outright (rendering a full 5 points for a match win). Imperial vs Imperial matches on the other hand are usually long, drawn out affairs as TIEs lack the firepower to reliably hit nimble ships like themselves. Add to this the fact that most Imperial squadrons consist of around six ships (which take longer to manuver and shoot with than three or four) and you soon realize why almost all Imperial vs Imperial games only end in a 3 point partial victory.

Rebel mirror matches tend to be short and bloody.

So basically, if you play Imperial and end up with an unlucky draw and have to face three other Imperial players you'll have a very hard time getting more than 9 points. Now this is not something you need to pay attention to as you start out, or if you're not interested in tournaments (I wasn't... until I saw the prizes FFG offered!), but it's still an issue with the game that I'm unsure of how to resolve.

Besides that I don't really have any serious complaints about the game! I'm very happy with my investment and I think it will see a lot of play time in the future!


Next up on Star Wars Week here on Fire Broadside will be my first impressions of the Star Wars Edge of the Empire Beginner Game... that is to say, FFG's new Star Wars rpg starter box. Until then young padawans!

May the Force be with you!

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Dust Warfare Review: SSU Vehicles (and Chinese Volunteers)

My recent additions.

Last week I got another two large boxes in the mail and happily tore them apart to reveal the Operation Zverograd campaign box and the Mil Mi-45 helicopter that also comes with a squad of Chinese Volunteers. Of course the Zverograd box also contains the SSU hero Koshka and her modified walker Grand'ma (aka Babushka) as well as a single storey ruined building. So by now I've managed to acquire all the currently available SSU miniatures! They amount to about the same as what you get for one faction in the original starter set, except for twice the cost. Haha! Well, at least they look better.


Overview

I don't want to repeat myself too much here as most of what I wrote in my last review still applies. Naturally the same colour and the same, somewhat soft, plastic for the Chinese infantry. However the vehicles are made from sterner stuff. The plastic is a lot more similar to what you're used to seeing in regular model kits - much harder but a bit more brittle. While I wouldn't worry if I dropped a Dust infantry model on the floor I think dropping a vehicle would inflict quite some damage!

I've always thought of the walkers (and now helicopters) as the big stars of the Dust line. While I quite like the look of the infantry and they're fairly well sculpted, the walkers is the big draw for me. So it's nice that they're given a bit of extra attention with the better plastic and additional detailing.

That being said let's have a look at the miniatures! Hopefully with some better pictures this time around...


Mil Mi-45 Helicopter

It looks big and fat...

When I first saw the Mil Mi-45 helicopter in the FFG previews I thought it looked horrible (and I said as much here)! But then as more pictures surfaced of it from different angles I started to feel less adverse towards it. I still worried it would look weird, but not as much as I did when I first saw it. Now having been able to examine it for myself I'm glad that my fears were (mostly) unfounded. While it still looks a bit awkward it's more awkward in an ugly duckling sense than in a this-looks-like-a-toy sense. So, fairly similar to its real world counterparts, the Mil Mi-4 and the Ka-25.

but it's quite thin actually.

It comes pretty much assembled with only the torso of the pilot and the cockpit window left to put together. I was happy to see this as I was a little worried that those things would be pre-assembled hence more difficult to paint. There is a little bit of detailing in the cockpit, enough to get the point across. The pilot looks like a pilot and has the same head as the Medvedi mechanic (goggles are goggles I guess). The vehicle is fairly thin if you look at it straight on but this actually helps to lessen the toy aspect of it. There are three round hatches on each side but unfortunately they are simply holes and not actual windows. Bit of a shame I think but easy enough to add yourself I suppose. The rear doors look a little unpractical I think, removing a bit of the floor as they open, but that's exactly what the real Mi-4 looked like so par for the course I suppose.

The rear doors, and no windows. 

The blades spin and the quad machineguns tilt up and down a little, that's about as much movement you're going to get out of it. If you feel adventurous I think it would be fairly easy to open up the back doors. Would be nice to model some interior (and bubble windows)! The whole tail assembly also looks better in person, not as stubby and actually kind of functional. Although I keep wondering if the central pipe is supposed to be some kind of rocket exhaust! Hehe!

The pilot looking rather smug up there in the air!

It comes with a walker sized base and a clear plastic flying stand. It can be easily attached to the helicopter and snaps fit close enough that you can actually lift the model and the stand and base will follow. It's just about the right height to convey the sense of flight and look impressive on the table while not so tall that it'll get in the way.

When it comes to in game performance we need to wait for the Zverograd book for sure, but it seems to be able to take a bit of punishment (six hits) while dishing out a decent amount of anti infantry fire. Of course the main use of it is its eight model carrying capacity (which I wonder if it might be a hint at the numbers of infantry in an Armor 1 squad).

I'm actually a lot happier with the Mil Mi-45 than I thought I would be! While there still are a couple of things that I'm not thrilled about  it's a pretty cool model overall. Also, I'm sure it'll provide valuable duty as a transport to get my powerful, but short range, infantry into engagement range.


Chinese Volunteers

The wonky gun guy is on the right.

Now let's have a look at the Chinese infantry that comes with the helicopter as well. They have the same onesies and cuirass as the regular Russian infantry but have cute little caps instead of helmets and a proper looking backpack instead of just a... sack. They are all armed with submachine guns so no exciting heavy weapon unfortunately, but one of them is in a grenade throwing pose that helps adding some diversity and dynamics to the squad. The Allies could do with a bit more of this! The Axis have their panzerfausts and gasmasks to mix things up a bit but the Allied Armor 2 infantry all look the same!

Anyway, in spite of their simplicity I really like these minis! They feel like a group of boy scouts with guns, that the Russian commanders then simply use as cannon fodder. The heads actually manage to have an Asian feel to theem without going into stereotype/charicature territory. There's about the same amount of mold lines as the other infantry, so a little bit but nothing excessive. They came with one bent gun that I think got bent because of how the arms attach to the body. This is worse than a bent barrel as I imagine its harder to fix, althoguh I haven't tried yet.

Their game stats looks to be fairly modest. No heavy weapons and no impressive special skills besides Agile (meaning they're good at running away basically). However, they are very cheap so could easily be used as a screening squad to protect better, more expensive troops.

I'm not entirely sure why FFG decided to only sell them as a package deal with the helicopter as I imagine that will mean you'll rarely see more than one of these squads on the battlefield at once. Maybe that was the whole idea. Hmm...

Anyway I quite like them and I'm just trying to decide how to paint them. They do look good in the light blue of the studio models so I might go with that if I can't come up with anything better. I tried Googling Chinese volunteers as I imagine they're based on some historical infantry force but couldn't really find anything. Any WWII buffs out there who care to help?


Koskha and Babushka

Good to have some backup!

In the Operation Zverograd campaign box you get the SSU hero Koshka, her walker Grand'Ma (or babushka as I'll refer to it) and a one storey semi ruined building. Then there is the rule/campaign book itself and two large poster maps for use with Dust Tactics. As these aren't much use for Dust Warfare player (besides fluff and some hints at future releases) I won't go into them further. I'll actually leave the building as well, even though it does have lots of use for me as well. I simply want to concentrate on the models.

Koshka comes sporting some tight fitting piloting overall (with ample cleavage) and a pilots cap. She's aiming her grenade pistol and looks like she means business! It's a quite modest model, no big weapons or armour pieces but I like her in this way. As I said, she's does look like she means businesses. I might do something about the fur collar though as it's kind of hard to make out what it actually is from a distance. In fact, I thought it was her hair sticking out from under her cap until I actually had the model in my hand. It might work simply bending it downwards so the collar is resting more on her shoulders. Apart from that she looks good, while not spectacular.

She's nothing really amazing in game but she is the first hero with the Pilot skill. She also has Fighting Spirit meaning she can pack an extra mean punch once per battle (preferably while in her walker). Besides that her most practical feature is likely her grenade pistol since it will remove the benefit of cover from the target squad. However she's not meant to run around on foot, she's supposed to pilot Babushka!

Stomp, stomp, stomp!

Which leads us to her personalised walker! Apart from the Otto from Dust Models this is our first look at the new Russian KV-47 walker and it's a lovely piece of plastic! Quite a bit smaller and sturdier than the Axis and Allies walkers the design is just as good or better. It comes fully assembled except for the arms which need mounting. Babushka comes in a running pose which gives it a bit more of a dynamic look than the regular, static KV-47 model. However the legs are all jointed and I imagine you could probably take it apart and pose the legs anyway you wished with a little bit of work. This is certainly a plus in my book as I would like to try my hand on some different poses!

The body is sturdy and combined with the lack of a head and bent knees make the whole model look quite squat. The hatch at the top of the body is glued shut, but again could probably be forced open fairly easy if you want to put the pilot looking out or something. I know I will do that on one of mine at least. It's interesting that the KV-47 actually has hands holding the triggers for the guns, putting it more into Japanese VOTOMS/Gundam camp than the western Mechwarrior camp we've seen so far. I really like this but I know that some of you out there don't like the slight "humanization" of the mecha. Oh well, this just makes me more curious about the Japanese and their samurai walkers!

It has two large tanks on the back, similar to the Fury of Ivan, which I guess is the reason your walkers get no armour save when shot from behind. Haha! In its right hand it carries a howitzer and in its left a "Sulfur Jet", aka flamethrower. I think the model looks its best (and most realistic) when the arms are actually posed like a human running. This way you get the right balance and it really looks like Babushka is pushing forwards! I've seen her posed with both arms forward which I think just makes it look like its waddling and/or falling over. The arms are quite long as well so you need to position them correctly or they'll touch the ground. Again you could easily crack the joins apart and glue them together any way you want.

There are a few mold lines and a little bit of flash here and there that needs cleaning, but it's nothing excessive. The only real flaw I could find was a small area right in front of the hatch where there's a small gap in the hull. Easily fillable, but there nonetheless.

Looking at Babushka's Dust Tactics stats the most eyebrow raising item might be her five hit points, which I've heard all KV-47 walkers will have. It's not a big different but it does mean they can take a bit more punishment and still keep going. That's Russian redundant engineering for you! It has the Assault skill which I think seems to be a tricky skill to use wisely. Maybe I just need to figure it out. One other valuable bit is that the howitzer is a grenade weapon, meaning you don't get any cover bonus when shot by it. I think this can be a quite a big thing as getting entrenched infantry out of a building can take some time, especially if they have armour 3! It seems to me that the way you want to use Koskha and Babushka is to make it up the table, firing at infantry as you go and then quickly close the gap and go to town with your sulfur thrower. It should be enough to toast most infantry and should you come across another walker you can use the Fighting Spirit to be able to knock it out.

I really like the KV-47 models and I imagine I'll be getting a few of them at least! Babushka will surely get some extra attention during painting, and will hopefully make for a nice centerpiece. I think this is the way to make Dust Tactics expansions attractive for us Warfare players as well. Pop a walker and some terrain in there and it'll be worth getting for all of us.


Conclusion

Koshka in a slightly different position.

Like I said in the beginning the walkers and vehicles are the stars of the Dust line and the Mil Mi-45 and the KV-47 certainly underlines that. The helicopter is nice and clunky and not as toy-like as I first feared while Babushka is simply awe inspiring as it's lumbering across the battlefield. The Chinese Volunteers are fairly simple, but for some reason I'm eager to get some paint on them as I think they have a lot of character. Two boxes worth getting if you plan on making an SSU army. Financially I feel I must recommend the helicopter box more as you simply get more bang for your buck and as you can easily assemble Babushka from the parts in a regular KV-47 box. However, the Koshka model and the ruined building makes for added value for sure.

The SSU Ohotniki - Rifle Squad - and the SSU Specialists have just been released and I want to get my grubby little hands on them! Their snipers sound really cool with their long range rifles that can even damage medium walkers. So you can expect seeing reviews of those squads later in the month and perhaps another after action report or two as we're probably getting stuck in again tomorrow with some more Judge Dredd and some more Dust Warfare.

Now if we could just get some news, any news, about the Zverograd book for Dust Warfare. I want to read up on my little plastic men! Haha!

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Dust Warfare Review: SSU Infantry

The Red Horde!

The other day I got the first batch of infantry for the Sino-Soviet Union for Dust Warfare/Tactics. The Frontoviki, Fakyeli and Medvedi squads. I have also ordered the MIL Mi-45 transport helicopter (with its accompanying Chinese Volunteers) as well as the Zverograd Campaign Box for Dust Tactics that has Koshka and her Babushka walker as well. Yepp, pretty much went all in after our recent battle. Haha!

In this review I'll give an overview of the models and as well as a short section for each of them including some more detail. The chopper and Zverograd review should be up by the end of the week or so.

Overview

The models come in the same boxes as all the other infantry which is overly large for what they contain. Bit of a waste, but understandable to make for a good shelf presence in brick and mortar stores. I don't think the boxes are anything to keep around and I've already discarded mine.

The SSU models are primed in a kind of mustardy beige colour that I guess would work well as a base colour if you decide to paint yours like the official studio models. To be honest I had actually expected them to be stereotypically reddish brown, but this colour is actually a lot better as a basecoat. I recall Mack Martin mentioning in the D6 Genaration interview that the bottle making up the Fakyeli molotov cocktail would actually be a separate piece made from clear plastic, but from what I can see this is not the case. Either that idea fell by the wayside or it's exclusive to the Deluxe version of the squad. Would have been a nice touch though.

There are some mold lines here and there, mainly along the arms and sometimes on the extra equipment hanging on the belt. It's nothing major but will require some cleaning up. I will likely give my minis a once-over but won't be too anal-retentive about it - this is not Infinity minis that I will spend hours painting (I'll save that for the walkers!). In a couple of places (mainly around the helmets) the basecoat has formed rubbery strings that will need removing. There were only a few and they're about the size of a human hair, but they're there.

Then we have the bendy weapon barrels! Of my three squads only one of the Frontoviki machineguns suffered from this but it was easily fixed by hot+cold water treatment. There has been some talk about the semi-soft plastic used for the infantry but I think the issue has been overblown. The only bent things you're going to see are thin rifle barrels and antennas, anything thicker and the plastic is actually quite hard. Not brittle hard, but still hard enough to resist bending, even by force. And the few pieces that are bent can be fixed in 10 minutes in the kitchen.

The detailing on the figures are on par with the Axis and the Allies, although their simpler uniforms (military onesies?) are less detailed by their very nature. Something that is different however is that the SSU infantry are not jointed at the waist, the legs and the body is cast as one piece. It doesn't bother me personally but if you enjoy the added variation torso twisting might provide it might be good to know. This is likely because of the bulky cuirass they're wearing and the addition of grenades and tools haning from the belt.

Now let's have a look at the individual squads. Sorry for the bar pictures by the way... only had my cellphone and a single lamp.

Frontoviki - SSU Battle Squad

The core of the SSU infantry comes with five men armed with three short range submachine guns and two DPM machine guns. This is interesting as it's very different from the infantry squads we've seen before - foregoing anti-armour capability completely to gain more anti-infantry firepower. While we don't know their Warfare stats yet I'm guessing 16" range for the machineguns and 12" for the rest. Made for city fights, eh?

The miniatures look nice although they're definitely the least exciting of the three squads. They come with the regular onesie and helmets but with extra tools and equipment on their belts. I was surprised to see that one of the two DPMs was sporting a watercooled barrel as we haven't seen that on any pictures released so far. I think it looks cool tough and variation is always nice, even though it's only cosmetic. The submachineguns do have something resembling underslung grenade launchers, but so far there is nothing in the rules to support this. Too bad as they're quite nifty! Even so a solid backbone to your army and I may pick up one more later on as I think they could become very nasty with the addition of a Commissar!

Fakyeli - SSU Close Combat Squad

So far in our Dust Warfare gaming I've had great success using the Allied BBQ Squad so seeing the SSU has pretty much an identical unit made me jump with joy! They carry only short ranged weaponry in the form of shotguns, a sulfur (flame) thrower and molotov cocktails. The molotov seem to be similar to the democharge, only it can affect infantry as well, which is nice. Instead of Fast they get Assault which I think is a bad trade as I don't see it being as useful (although avoiding reactions can be huge in the right circumstances).

These guys have a lot more character than the Frontoviki, with their gasmasks and nice real looking shotguns. The Allied shotguns look ludicrously oversized in comparison. The guy throwing the molotov really shows what the squad is all about! I also like the big bulky looking "sulfur thrower" with its many caples running back to the tank. Finally, the sergeant sporting a classic fur hat seals the deal. I love the look of this squad and will most likely get one more later on! None of the Fakyeli comes with the belt tools attached, however they are provided in the box in a small ziploc back so you can attach them as you see fit. Nice touch, although I would have preferred squad specific equipment with extra molotovs etc . The gasmasks has a great design but the detail is very soft so I think you will need to be careful when painting them.

Medvedi - SSU Command Squad

The Medvedi is similar to the other "regular" command squads out so far, with a radio operator, a mechanic and a medic, plus the officer and DPM machine gunner. The differences seem to be a shorter range because of the submachine guns and the addition of the power tool to the mechanic. It's basically a large pneumatic cutter and gives the squad some serious anti-armour hardware! It does feel like it would be tricky to use though as vehicles can't be supressed and can simply move out of melee range when approached. Still, a nice addition.

There's a lote more going on with the SSU specialists! Love the bundle of wires. 

Now, here's what a command squad should look like, lots of extra detail and character! The command squads for both the Axis and the Allies are functional enough, however the different specialist miniatures only feature minimal cosmetic detailing setting them apart from regular grunts. Most of the time the only difference is an added backpack or a transfer on the helmet or shoulder. Not in the Medvedi though! All three specialists have a lot of character, from the radio operator with his large tangle of wires and retro-looking mic to the mechanic with his neat leather cap and goggles. My favourite is probably the medic as I really like his facemask and doctors bag, although the very Russian looking officer is really cool as well - the binoculars are a great addition! Just like the Fakyeli the detail on the masked miniatures is quite soft, so keep that in mind when painting. Apart from that there's only the occasional mold line to complain about, but it's very minor.


Conclusion

So am I satisfied with my purchase? Yes, I am. I think the Russians have a lot of character in their miniatures and the different squads look a lot more unique than their Axis and Allied counterparts, which makes it easier to tell them apart. The Medvedi are the star of the group, but the Fakyeli are what I'm most looking forward to painting at the moment (hopefully in time for the next #MiniatureMonday). Yes, the plastic is somewhat soft and the detailing is not as sharp as some other minatures, but this doesn't bother me very much. It's an army scale game and the miniatures look great on the field, especially accompanied by towering walkers! And that's just the thing, use your full painting potential on the walkers and dial it down a bit on the infantry, they still look good.

I'm eager to get started on these, but I'm not quite sure what to do about camo. The Soviet camo during WW2 was very limited so I thought I'd take inspiration from what came later during the cold war. Any input regarding this would be most welcome!

By the way, according to Dakkaite CT Gamer his order of the Zverograd Campaign Book for Dust Warfare  was shipped last week so the book might not be as far off as I presumed earlier (even though it's still listed as "in development" at FFG's upcoming page. If this is the case that's certainly happy news.

Next up is the review of the first couple of SSU vehicles and the Chinese Volunteers. Until then!

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