WEG Star Wars Figures

Part of the reason I have selected Star Wars for one of my four 2015 projects is the fact that I was recently able to retrieve my old metal figures from my parent's place. That, combined with a sense of nostalgia after reading the original rules again, has really made me want to play more SW games this year (and I have an overview for a campaign that I am working on too! ).

For those who don't know, before WotC produced the collectible miniatures game, West End Games had a license to produce a range of metal Star Wars Miniatures back in the early 90s. The first edition of the game won an Origins Award in 1991 and was followed by a 2nd Edition in 1993. I started with the second edition, so must have been no younger than 13 at the time.

A classic set of rules

Before I go on to the pictures, please remember this was probably my first effort at painting, in my early teens, and at that point I didn't even have my own paints. I was using my Dad's Humbrol acrylics I believe! I'm planning on re-painting most of them, but I thought I'd post some pictures of the figures in their current state before I do. Also, I took the rules very seriously when they specified the angles for line-of-sight, to the extent that I spent ages cutting out one inch discs of card and making the appropriate markings on them! Apparently I hadn't heard about basing materials at that time either!

Right, on with the show!:

Wookies

Rebel Commandos

Bobba Fett, IG-88 and Zuckuss

3 characters from the Darkstryder RPG campaign. Useful in a variety of roles in the miniatures game

3 more Darkstryder characters. The Rodian with the repeating blaster was always one of my favourites.

Stormtroopers

Imperial commanders

Imperial Navy Troopers with an E-Web Heavy Blaster

More Navy Troopers.

Rebels with blaster rifles and one with a repeating blaster

More rebels

And a few more Rebels with blaster pistols

These are nice. Mon Calamari Rebel Troopers and a commander

And to finish the pictures on a humorous note,  this photo is of my first ever 'conversion'... I wanted to have the Emperor in my games and so got hold of a model of a lich, which I superglued a pin to (painted it red) to represent a lightsaber. I have many memories of pricking myself on the end of the thing!

The 'Emperor'

So what have I learnt about my teenage gaming from this nostalgia trip?

1) I seem to have gravitated towards figures with repeating blasters! Nothing like a bit of firepower!
2) I clearly didn't have a concept of planning an army and then buying the figures for it. 3 Mon-Calamari?! Surely 6 minimum for a squad? Still, they can be mixed in to my regular rebels for some variation.
3) It seems I only had access to gloss versions of green and black paints!
4) It doesn't look like I had much disposable income to spend on this collection! Probably explains why I never took up Warhammer 40K!
5) I really, really wish someone made metal Star Wars Figures again....

I'm now feeling really torn about repainting these. I know I could do better now, but there is something about having these figures in the same state they were in 20 years ago that appeals to me. Maybe I could just dip them and redo the bases?

What would you do in this situation? And do you have any old collections of figures from when you were young and first getting interested in wargaming? These are some figures I will never be putting on eBay!

Taking stock and a focus for 2015

2014 was an interesting one. I seem to have been working on quite a few different projects, but getting very little in the way of gaming done. Looking back over my blog posts I have very little in the way of Bat Reps up there last year. Probably the most significant of those was a game of Slaughterloo, which I'd say was one of the highlights of the last twelve months. (Note: I did also become a Dad, which is obviously THE highlight of the year, but this is a gaming blog, not a parenting one).

So what about 2015? I think I need to pick up some slack in terms of what I have been posting. From looking at what people comment on and view, more games are the order of the day, perhaps along with some reviews of rules and other products. That seems to be what gathers the most interest and comment.

But I will also have a lot less hobby time. So what to do about that? Well, I have had a long, hard think about it and decided that I need to dedicate most of my time of a limited number of projects. That's not to say I limit what games I am playing, but that my limited time should be focused on a few key games rather than being split between too many, which will only result in fewer games and less productivity overall. So what to choose? Well, I have thought about that as well.

1) Slaughterloo



This is going to be my main 'massed battle' game of the year. I've been dipping into Warhammer on and off and meaning to paint more for it, but that always seems to be sidetracked by other projects. And, as mentioned earlier, I had great fun playing Slaughterloo last summer. I'm also planning for the future and think the miniatures might appeal to my son as he grows, so I fully hope to complete a couple of armies and start on a Burrovian force of rabbit men for him.

2) Muskets and Tomahawks



I picked up the rules for this at the end of last year, as well as some figures, and have no intention of letting this be another unfinished project that falls by the wayside. I also want to get more historical gaming done. As this will be a 15mm project it should also not be too demanding of my time in terms of painting.

3) Judge Dredd



I've recently finished reading the second in the series of 'Complete Case Files' collections of Judge Dredd Comics. I think when I was younger the humour and satire of the comics didn't appeal, but the more I read now, the more of a fan I become. So it was natural that this might lead to me wanting to play some games. I already have figures for several forces and just need to get on and paint them. Now, the official figures are way too expensive for my taste, so this is going to be another 15mm project. It would need fewer figures that M&T as well, so as you can see, I am 'staggering' these projects in terms of the level of effort they require to get them on the table!

4) Star Wars



This should really have been a no-brainer for 2014. I have plenty of the figures but I think it is the rules that have been stopping me as, like many others, I am looking for the 'ideal' set for this 'period'. As I posted last year, I have been looking to use 5150: Star Army from Two Hour Wargames to play Star Wars games. But a few days ago I was overcome with nostalgia and dug out my copies of the books published by West End Games. Reading them really took me back, as did getting my hands on my old metal Star Wars figures from the time. So this became project number 4 as the figures are pre-painted and just need the bases flocked before I can play with them. If time permits I can also repaint the metal SW figures I have, as they would be great to use again.


So that pretty much sums up my plans for 2015. Of course, I can't rule out other distractions, the big contender for this will be Wild West games, especially as 4Ground have told me they are going to be producing 15mm versions of their excellent Wild West buildings towards the end of the year. But distractions aside, I intend to post some good reports for the above games and hope to stay on target with my efforts by and large. The main problem with making a list like this is that a few hours later I will always think to myself... oh, but what about this game, or that half-finished project. But I have to be tough with myself!

Whatever you are planning for 2015, good luck with it!