I just bought the Poseidon Supercarrier and Babylon 5 station figures at 40%
off at D&J hobbies.
I think I was robbed.
the Poseidon is the worst molded piece of crap I have ever seen. completely
warped, no parts fit together, tons of flash etc. I had to literally
kit-bash it to get it to fit with extra putty and metal spacers.
Now that it is done it IS humongous and hellishly impressive. which brings us
to babylon 5.
The Poseidon is about 10 times the size of the B5 station figure. Both are in
the same size box, but the B5 figure is about the size of a large Sharpie
marker. originally 35+ dollars?
even at 40% off these figures are a HUGE Games Workshop scaled rip -off
don't waste your time.
> I just bought the Poseidon Supercarrier and Babylon 5 station figures
(snip) (snip)
> The Poseidon is about 10 times the size of the B5 station figure. Both
First, let me say that I'm a little off. You see, I will not buy or play with
any ship that didn't actually appear in the show. So right off the bat, I
returned the Poseidon my wife bought me. As for the B5 Station model, you are
correct. I would not have bought this mini for myself if I had know how large
it wasn't.
Now Bruce at AoG is saying they will make a Narn J'Stat station mini using
fleet action sized T'Loth wings. So this station will also be way small.
However, he did say you could special order five full size T'Loth wings if you
want to kit bash your own station, cost, I think he said $20 US. So I would go
the kit bash route.
Over all, I would say AoG has some growing pains. The last few mini's they
have released have been a very mixed bag. The Shadow and Vorlon units look
very, very good. As does the Brakiri Cruiser and the Vree Saucer. However all
of the restocking orders I have seen were pretty crappy. The EA Fleet box,
while a good deal was very poor quality. Also the last batch of White Stars I
bought and the T'Loths had serious casting defects. Perhaps AoG needs to take
a look at quality control.
> On Thu, Mar 23, 2000 at 02:13:29PM -0800, Mike Wikan wrote:
I wondered about the size of the B5 figure. The box didn't seem large enough
to warrant $35.
> > To kitbash B5, I'd be tempted to start with Jon's cylindrical
(One
> > of the GF range, I believe)
> [quoted text omitted]
Date: Thu, 23 Mar 2000 14:13:29 -0800
From: Mike Wikan <mwikan@us.infogrames.com>
Subject: What is AoG thinking?
I just bought the Poseidon Supercarrier and Babylon 5 station figures at 40%
off at D&J hobbies.
I think I was robbed.
the Poseidon is the worst molded piece of crap I have ever seen. completely
warped, no parts fit together, tons of flash etc. I had to literally
kit-bash it to get it to fit with extra putty and metal spacers.
Now that it is done it IS humongous and hellishly impressive. which brings us
to babylon 5.
The Poseidon is about 10 times the size of the B5 station figure. Both are in
the same size box, but the B5 figure is about the size of a large Sharpie
marker. originally 35+ dollars?
even at 40% off these figures are a HUGE Games Workshop scaled rip -off
don't waste your time.
<<<<<<<<<<
mike,
thanks for the review, as i was about to order B5. i suppose i will attempt to
kitbash something together or just make a big counter. although, a mini would
be much better....
i appreciate the warning as i would also have been disappointed.
so mike, have you made any new color counters recently? i sure would like to
use them as i now have a 600x600 dpi color printer.
dave
First Wi'Kan penned in with:
> I just bought the Poseidon Supercarrier and Babylon 5 station figures
Heh. ;-)
> The Poseidon is about 10 times the size of the B5 station figure. Both
Do you know how it compares to Jon's not-B5 resin station?
> then Scott Jaqua wrote:
Well, for me personally I wouldn't restrict myself *quite* so tightly (as
there are undoubtedly many more ships in the various fleets than what we saw
in the show; after all, JMS was interested in telling his *story*, not showing
us each individ ship class in the universe; however, that
said...).
Although I think AoG did go a little overboard with their creations.
> Now Bruce at AoG is saying they will make a Narn J'Stat station mini
So I
> would go the kit bash route.
Growing pains? They've been around for a while now. Long enough that (imho)
they should have their collective act together. But I've become less and
less happy with them as time moved on. :-/
> The Shadow and Vorlon units look
One day I may see them.
> As does the Brakiri Cruiser and the Vree Saucer. However
Has anyone suggested this to them? (I took myself off the B5Wars list many
many many months ago, have had no inclination to get back on).
Oh well, that said, I wait patiently for their Fleet Level stuff to
show up. And happily will keep using Jon's not-B5 type ships/fighters
indefinitely.:)
Mk (who has now posted more today than in the past 2 or 3 weeks, so as to not
have the list reach critical mass, will go back to lurking behind work once
again...)
To kitbash B5, I'd be tempted to start with Jon's cylindrical station. (One of
the GF range, I believe)
> To kitbash B5, I'd be tempted to start with Jon's cylindrical station.
(One
> of the GF range, I believe)
Nice model. It's definitely big enough, dwarfing most of the ship miniatures
I've got.
> On Fri, Mar 24, 2000 at 10:22:16AM -0500, Indy wrote:
I bought some of their fleet-scale Starfuries last week. The
wasted lead and vents on those things are atrocious. I haven't taken the time
to get them ready for painting yet, but their stands struck me as odd, too. It
looks like you're either supposed to leave the fighters loose and just stick
them into the stand or they've used a special stand to let you mount them in
different formations.
I'll probably do what I did with my GZG fighters -- use
washers and nails to mount each one individually so I have another dozen
squadrons instead of two.
On Thu, 23 Mar 2000 14:13:29 -0800 Mike Wikan
<mwikan@us.infogrames.com> wrote, apropos of some B5W minis:
> The Poseidon is the worst molded piece of crap I have ever seen.
completely warped, no parts fit together, tons of flash etc. I had to
literally kit-bash it to get it to fit with extra putty and metal
spacers. <<
That's interesting, Mike. I, too, have a Poseidon, as does my son, and
we didn't find anything like that. _Our_ beef with AoG anent this
ship was the fact that 2 out of 3 models were incomplete in the
(shrink-wrapped) boxes! The first one I got had half the engine module
missing, so I took it back. My local shop ordered a new one, which duly
arrived with all bits present. My son, who is an EA fan, saw my model
and began to drool, so I got him one for his birthday. _His_ was missing
the gun turrets! We didn't bother returning his because he had some spare GW
turrets left over from a conversion I did of a BFG battleship, and he was
happy to use those instead.
The resulting ship is not a perfect EA design, but he uses it as part of his
own fleet (the dreaded Confederation <g>) anyway. This is the
fleet that features the modified 3-engined Valley Forge conversion, and
he was kinda pleased to find a ship that was even bigger than that one!
> Now that it is done it IS humongous and hellishly impressive. which
> Later, Tom wrote:
(One of the GF range, I believe) <
Or you could use something like a half-litre water bottle... I have one
sitting on my window-sill right now that would make a good starting
point.
Me, I think I'll use my Revell model. Okay, the stand could do with replacing,
but it's a good size. Failing that, there's always the MicroMachine...
Phil, about to start painting his UNSC fleet
[quoted original message omitted]
[quoted original message omitted]
> Tom McCarthy wrote:
Depending
> on how you arrange the fighters, they perform differently in B5Wars
In fleet action, fighters can be given different missions, screen, intercept,
attack, etc. The original intention what that each of these missions would
have its own formation on their round base so everyone could tell what mission
a fighter group was assigned just by looking at how the little fighters were
arranged. Last I heard the formation rule was left out of Fleet Action so
could can put them in the base however you want.
> Indy wrote:
> Oh well, that said, I wait patiently for their Fleet Level stuff to
Actually I picked up some of the 'fleet scale' fighters at 40% off, they are
very nice indeed! (raider, Centari, Narn, Mimbari) Fit perfectly into FT.
Bye for now,
> On 24-Mar-00 at 11:17, Tom.McCarthy (Tom.McCarthy@sofkin.ca) wrote:
IMNSHO The Star Furies are wonderful. You stick them into the provided
circular base and as you lose them you remove them. I don't have to
attach them to jewelry/earring clips, I just paint and go.
> --- Indy <kochte@stsci.edu> wrote:
Oh, they do have an interesting batch of ship designs. However, after I type
my FB conversions in (which escaped the box of records accidentally recycled)
i may take a shot at another force mix based on ships shown onscreen and my
own additions.
> > Over all, I would say AoG has some growing pains.
It's been a mixed bag all along. Rememebr the Hyperions that warped in the
casting process or the Omega's that didn't assemble straight along the
centerline?
> Oh well, that said, I wait patiently for their Fleet
the Fleet Level miniatures I have are nice, if molded a bit boxy. Mind you,
these are from the prototype batch. The Primus came out a bit boxy where the
full-size ship has smooth curves (on the small stuff,
the general outline is right), the Vorchan is very nice (although a pain to
base), as is the Olympus. The Hyperion came out well, but also suffers from
some small curves being boxy.
I've seen a late playtest draft, it might even be
playable. The command-control rules I was agitating
for ealy in the playtest are nowhere to be found,
fortunbately I never sent along my best notes :-)
On Fri, 24 Mar 2000 11:17:16 -0500 "Tom.McCarthy"
> <Tom.McCarthy@sofkin.ca> wrote:
> I've heard rumours to the effect that a squad is six figures and the
Depending on how you arrange the fighters, they perform differently in B5Wars
Fleet Action. Quite frankly, that kind of detail (what formation your fighters
are in) is not something I want to worry about if I'm running a fleet. <
Standard AoG B5W fighter organisation is: 1 Flight = 6 fighters 1 Squadron =
12 fighters
I've always found it interesting that they seem to follow the EFSB/FT
model, particularly since most of the B5 fighter squadrons seen on
screen aren't that size -- the station's fighters look as though they
ought to be launched in sevens, since that's the number of Cobra Bays
to a "side", but, especially in the first season, Alpha/Delta/Zeta
Squadron/Wing tended to be about nine strong.
Not knowing of the Fleet Action rules, the idea with the FA-scale
stands seemed to me to be to allow each stand to be capable of taking up to a
full squadron, or to have a flight in a variety of formations. And yes, as
your fighters get zapped, you just remove them from the ring.
The idea has good points and bad points, and I must admit that, while I hated
them when I first saw them, the AoG stands are slowly growing on me. Who
knows, I may even use them when I get around to basing my fighters?
Phil
[quoted original message omitted]
> Robert Crawford wrote:
You are quite correct, I was at the AoG site and on one of the pages it does
state that the 'fleet scale' fighters should remain loose
and that 'formation/s' have an effect on the combat.
Bye for now,
> "Imre A. Szabo" wrote:
Someone at GZG-ECC III had one of those out and in play during one
of the B5 scenarios, I suddenly recall.
> <snip>
I've played on the floor a few times. Nice maneuvering room (just had to be
careful not to step on the escorts!)
> I like flying my
The other times were.....modified landings?? ;-)
Mk (oh, god, I posted again today!!)
> Scott Jaqua wrote:
> Of course you could always use the B5 plastic model kit that came out.
It's
> about right compared to the AoG capital ships. However a very large
<snip>
Table! Table!! We don't need no stinking TABLE!!!
Sorry, I just couldn't resist that one. I'm rather found of the floor myself.
Something about 8' x 24' play area that's just too much fun. I like flying my
fleet around at 36" a turn and missing planets by 1/8"... That really
happend,
once...
> Has anyone suggested this to them? (I took myself off the B5Wars list
I have. They're looking into it. I might get a message from them to post, I
might not.
I dropped the B5Wars list along time ago also. I do not want to play SFB, I
mean B5Wars. Too many new weapons never hinted in the series, damage
allocation that doesn't reflect what is seen in the series, and weapons arc
discrepancies between the control sheet and the miniature.
The moment they started adding all this "Insta-tech" superweapons to
these secondary races I was quite disenchanted. too much like the constant SFB
"This year's new super race! ISC, etc.." I will buy SOME of the figures
because they are the only B5 fare available. just none of the games.
-W'Kan
[quoted original message omitted]
The solution is obvious. Put them chains....
More seriously, you could try locking them in another room for the duration
the game. Fortunately, one of my cats is shy and hides under the bed whenever
anyone is over. The other one is rather old and doesn't do such things any
more.
IAS
> Nyrath the nearly wise wrote:
> Indy wrote:
AoG said that if you buy a pack and it is missing parts to contact them and
they will mail you what is missing.
My experience and what I have heard has been the they will promptly replace
missing or bad parts. Lots of flash doesn't count, but warped piece that can't
be straightened do.
> On Fri, Mar 24, 2000 at 11:17:16AM -0500, Tom.McCarthy wrote:
Depending
> on how you arrange the fighters, they perform differently in B5Wars
That's exactly what the stands look like, and I agree with you. I haven't
started getting them ready for painting (I'm a slacker, I know, I've only
primed 100 figures this weekend), but I plan on mounting them individually.
Hmm... my camera just dumped the picture I took. A picture
of fleet-scale Star Furies is at:
http://www.iac.net/~crawford/hobbies/miniatures/images/starfuries_new.jp
g
A rather washed-out closeup is at:
Just remember to order extra solar fins (you need 4 extra's to kitbash the
solar array).
Neath Southern Skies -http://home.pacific.net.au/~southernskies/
[mkw] Admiral Peter Rollins; Task Force Zulu
[pirates] Prince Rupert Raspberry; Base Commander
> -----Original Message-----