Touching-Up My Millennium Falcon

 

The Millennium Falcon is the most notorious starship within the realm of  Star Wars' Galactic Empire.  

It's also one of the most iconic starships in pop culture, next to Star Trek's USS Enterprise.

Since the movie's debut, the George Lucas, now Disney, marketing campaigns churned-out numerous playsets and action figures over the past 46 years.  Of course, one of the biggest, was none other than the Millennium Falcon.

About 10 years ago, I borrowed my friend Joe's playset.  Then, in 2015, I took advantage of a Christmas sale and bought The Force Awakens version, and returned Joe's Falcon.

What I liked right away about this playset is the plastic is softer, and more durable than earlier versions.  It was as if the playset was designed to be played with, instead of being put on display..

But as usual with the toy industry, the action figures are out of proportion to the starship.  This didn't matter to me, because I had no intention of using them.  I wanted the playset to use with my Star Wars Miniatures collection, or my 28mm sci-fi figures from other gameverses.

If you're interested in the playset as a playset, here's a video review about the Battle Action Millennium Falcon.

A couple years after buying this latest version, I decided to add a bit of detail by painting the recessed areas with  black ink wash.

Afterwards, I'd spend time pondering what--if anything--I could do to add even more detail, without turning this into a major painting project.

Since 2015, I purchased additional ink washes in various colors for my Cruel Seas vessels.  A couple weeks ago I thought I'd give another try at touching-up the Falcon.

I slathered the side hull with a coating of gray ink wash.  While the gray tone darkened the vessel along the side, compared to the top & bottom hulls, it didn't bring out all the details I wanted.  So I used a sparing amount of black ink wash in various spots.  I also added another layer of black to the recesses I painted years ago.

I added touches of a light rust colored ink wash in a few spots, mostly around the hatch entrances and vents.  I figured these areas would most likely collect condensation when in-use planetside. 

Here's my finished project from a few topside angles:

Finally, for the underside, I re-ink washed the recesses, then added an oiled earth wash on and around the landing pads.

Here's the underside view:

My mind's at ease now that I feel I haven't left anything out.  But this was an easy and relaxing project to do.  

So if I think of any more ideas on how to enhance my Millennium Falcon's look,  I may give it a try.

Star Wars Armada: The Corellian Conflict Campaign Expansion

(Image found on Sterling Knight Gamers YouTube video)

What intrigues me most about military history are the campaigns that lead up to the major battles.  I'm fascinated by the hows and whys battles develop more so than the actual blood-letting of combat.

I like campaign games because they force players to think beyond a one-of battle, and inhibits them from going all-out to achieve a single victory.  However, I've experienced mixed results at running and participating in campaign games, as I'm sure many (all?) of my fellow gamers have.  The initial enthusiasm may be high, but it's hard to maintain, which often leads to the campaign fizzling-out.

Still, I love the idea of being involved in such a tabletop venture.  Hey, I can still dream, can't I?

Which is why I snatched the one copy of Star Wars Armada: The Corellian Conflict Campaign Expansion that was sitting on the shelf at The Game Matrix (TGM).

Yes, it was an impulse buy, especially since I have yet to play the core game.

I paid $30 for it at TGM, but the price can vary from $24 at The Miniature Market to a tad over $50 on Amazon.com.

Here's what you get for your money--

--1 x 20-page rulebook
--6 x Fleet Rosters
--2 x Team Rosters (Rebel & Imperial)
--10 x Main Ship ID Tokens
--10 x Ship ID Tokens
--10 x Scarred ("damaged") ID Tokens
--2 x Main Flagship Tokens
--2 x Flagship Tokens
--14 x Squadron ID Tokens
--12 x Scarred Squadron ID Tokens
18 x Veteran Tokens
3 x each Diplomat, Spynet, and Skilled Spacer Tokens
--6 x Obstacles representing asteroids (3), dust fields (2) and a space station
--16 x Squadron Disks to place on the standard fighter squadron stands
--39 x various cards for squadrons, objectives and the space station
--1 x sticker sheet, representing active or destroyed bases and outposts
--and one small, cardstock map representing the Corellian Sector...

Here's what you don't get for your money--

--additional miniatures
--a hefty, mounted map
--counters representing active and destroyed bases and outposts

 Three reviewers on Amazon.com gave The Corellian Campaign a 5-star rating.

But after scrolling through the comments section on various "Unboxing" videos, like Crabbok, YouTube viewers have been less-than kind.  Some even cancelled their pre-orders.

Most gamers have issues with the small size and flimsy map.

My biggest sticking point--is with the stickers.

(Image from:  Boardgame Geek)

The designers' justification for using stickers instead of counters or tokens was "...to create a living record of the ongoing Corellian Conflict," (page 6 sidebar).

And...then what?  Frame and hang the map up in your man-cave?

The sidebar note goes on to say that players can eschew the stickers, which will probably be impossible to remove from the map, and keep track of who controls what via the Team Rosters.

Here's a suggestion:  How about using counters to represent political influence and military control, like other board games do?

To remedy this sticky situation, I intend to paste the stickers on blank boardgame counters, or a matboard, trim the corners, and use them as control tokens for the game. One player used magnets to create re-usable playing pieces.

Arts & Crafts project recommendations aside, since I haven't played Star Wars Armada...

(Image from:  WWPD's "Most Wanted!" Battle Report)

...I've only given The Corellian Conflict rules a cursory glance.

Set-up appears to be in "tic-tac-toe" style.  That is, the Empire initially controls Corellia proper.  Then players alternate placing their base/outpost stickers on planets, keeping in mind some planets provide more resources than others...

(Image from:  The Bell of Lost Souls)

...followed by constructing 400 points worth of starships and fighters.

Despite the above-mentioned shortcomings, I don't regret buying the game.  The artwork is nice.  The cardstock map is no thinner than other non-mounted boards I've seen in larger, more expensive games.  And the actual counters are thick and durable.

So I give The Corellian Conflict Campaign Expansion a conditional 3-star rating.

"Conditional" being based on how I feel about the game after I get a chance to actually play it.

If I ever do.

Movie Review: Rogue One--A Star Wars Story

(Image from:  Geek.com)

Last week, my wife and I managed to get some time off--even on some of the same days.  On one of these "date days" we caught matinee of Rogue One.

To be honest, I wasn't sure how I'd feel about this latest Star Wars movie since I wasn't all that crazy about The Force Awakens...

(Image from:  Independent)

...an-n-n-d I just realized I never wrote a movie review for The Force Awakens (8.1 stars out of 10 on IMDb), which we saw about this time last year.

Well, since I'm lazy I want to save blog space, this review by Honest Trailers...

...is funnier than anything I could write nails the good, the bad and the ugly about The Force Awakens.

Okay, now back to Rogue One.

Ever wonder how the Death Star plans ended up in Princess Leia's possession?

Well, Rogue One, which fits right into Episode IV A New Hope...

(Image from:  Muvi Blast)

...is the story of the ragtag bunch of misfits who steal the plans, deliver them to the Rebel Alliance and--Spoiler Alert!--pay for it with their lives.

I loved this movie, and consider it one of the best Star Wars films made to date. 

I'm wondering if I'm just being a fanboy by rushing to give the film a 5-star rating.  (It also received 8.1 out of 10 stars on IMDb).  I'll probably have to watch it a few more times to actually see any plot holes.

While I love the Star Wars franchise overall, it's easy to become cynical about it, especially since it falls into the trope of having the main characters doing everything.

Seriously.  Can't the "...galaxy far, far away..." even in the expanded universe, function without Luke, Liea, Han and Chewie?

Rogue One breaks this pattern.  And this is what I love most about the movie.  Swiping the Death Star plans cost the Rebel Alliance dearly.  It's not just red shirts dying on-screen, but the main characters.  All of them.

Even though this was a story about new characters on a one-way mission, there were plenty of appearances by iconic characters, thanks to cool, but sometimes unsettling CGI.

I'm not merely referring to Grand Moff Tarkin or Princess Liea either.  I got the biggest kick out of recognizing some of the rebel fighter pilots.  I didn't see Porkins, but some fans claim they did.

If you've never seen a Star Wars movie (I know of some people who haven't), then you only need to watch the original, Episode IV: A New Hope to fully appreciate the plot.

I use to love reading movie novelizations, because I'd gain deeper insights into the characters, setting and action.  However, haven't read movie-to-book in ages.

I think Rogue One will be worth reading.

Oh, and I'll probably be purchasing any Rogue One related wargame and role playing game materials once they're published.

(Image from:  comicbook.com)

Droid Hunting at the Jet City Comic Show

This one-page comic was inspired by one of the photos I took of some members of the 501st Legion at this year's Jet City Comic Show (JCCS).

I have at least one more webcomic I'm working on, based on my first JCCS (mis)adventure, so stay tuned!