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I can play out of the box.
I can use my minis as soon as I get them.
Rules are clear.
Games are short.
Games are fun.
Storage is EASY.
Storage space is minimal.
I can get others to play.
Most single figures cost $0.25-$3 and you can get some decent guys for that money.

The game needs more scenarios and I need more maps but other than that... I'm not seeing a downside.

Anyone else been tempted by the dark side of prepainted figures?

I played Mage Knight for a while, then I realized I could paint to a better standard than the prepaints. I'd probably buy into a Star Wars game with multipart plastics though, but I sincerely doubt that will ever happen.

Unless you count Legos as multipart plastics.

I have loads of these around here. This game was fun, and after awile, it got us playing the RPG, and then got into a roll where we played the game with carachter sheets and used the abilities and upgraded some of the guys who we had on the sheets. Everyone else had stuff, but the main players guys used other people for troops and parts of thier armies.

I always wondered why someone didn't come up with a decent set of minis rules that incorperated some of the RPG elements to them.

I as well wouldn't mind seeing a plastic minis game with various weapons outfits, heads, robot builds, and other little things to make out of them.
It would have aded a heck of a demention to the minis, and had someone been smart, they could have easily set up game campaign box sets with terraign and models to play the various moduals.

An example might be the Hoth battle. have a set of snow troopers with various weapons parts, some terraign pieces and a vehicle. then have the same sort of set for the Rebels. A couple of these sets, a couple of basic vehicle sets, and there you have it, Batle of Hoth for around a hundred bucks.

A good set of skirmish rules would give you some good assets like health kits, some ammo boxes and the like.


The books from the OGL line were... OK, but the material doesn't go very far when everyone wants to be a jedi, or some sort of mutt.


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For the money, I don't like that type of plastic.

I don't like "Grab Bag's" when I'm paying for the stuff.

The selection of vehicles blows.

Other then that, they sell butcher block pads of 1 inch square paper. Get a plexiglass and some dry erase markers and go for it.

I've been playing far more Star Wars than 40K over the last couple of years...

Kid_Kyoto wrote:The game needs more scenarios and I need more maps but other than that... I'm not seeing a downside.

Well, for scenarios, you could try these...

Maps, check out these ones or these
Not official maps, but very well done. I haven't had a chance to pick these up myself (short on cash just now) but they've received pretty rave reviews on the SWM forums.

Also worth checking this site out. Website of the guy who has been doing the official maps for the game. He set up his own webstore so he could sell maps he did for himself, or maps that he did for SWM that Wizards didn't want to use.


For the game itself, the only real downside for me is that the quality of the models is a little variable. There are good and bad paintjobs, although that's not a big problem in my book, as it's fixable. My gripe is really with the sculpts, which tend to vary a lot in quality. And the complete lack of adherance to scale.

Besides that, though... it's a simple to learn game with a surprising amount of tactical depth. Good for full-on gaming, or for casual 'just chuck some dice around' stuff.

Use D&D figs for...D&D. Probably would use 'em for other fantasy games too, at least to fill in gaps in my fantasy collection. Nice to not lug around all the lead and run the risk of damaging my precious dollies.

I'm rebasing and repainting a bunch of mechwarrior figs.

I have 2 armies (Red Blok and Karmans) for AT-43. Nice game, no interest in repainting--they're on standby when the local group decides to fire back up (or to use for some other game).

Just got rid of my heroclix (though I did convert some for pulp gaming and gave a pile to my son to play with). Still have my Mage Knight, which I used to play as a filler game.

So...yes.

Kid_Kyoto wrote:I can play out of the box.
I can use my minis as soon as I get them.
Rules are clear.
Games are short.
Games are fun.
Storage is EASY.
Storage space is minimal.
I can get others to play.

The SW tiles Wizards of the Coast sell are quite bland however, and a pale shadow to their D&D tiles.


Of course, having just said that...

insaniak wrote:Maps, check out these ones or these
Not official maps, but very well done. I haven't had a chance to pick these up myself (short on cash just now) but they've received pretty rave reviews on the SWM forums.

Also worth checking this site out. Website of the guy who has been doing the official maps for the game. He set up his own webstore so he could sell maps he did for himself, or maps that he did for SWM that Wizards didn't want to use.

WOW!

*runs to find credit card*

I see nothing wrong with PPP. I play and have played several games with PPP - from Horrorclix to AT-43. Some are good, some not so good, some execrable. A bit like games for miniatures you have to paint yourself in that regard!

Depends what mood we're in at the time. I'm a gaming tart!

These days I don't play any one game *much* any more as there's always something new and fun to try out.

Sure I can understand people who like to really get inot one particular game. I was like that for a few years with LotR. But nowadays I find there's too much on offer to get too deeply into one game and I like variety.

I also find that because I have quite a large backlog of painting projects, I am reluctant to buy anything new for that pile until I've painted it away. It seems like a waste of money to buy something that's just going to sit gathering dust for months or even years. So nowadays most of my new gaming puchases are prepaints or just rulebooks. Buying a starter box for Malifaux the other week and the odd ship for Uncharted Seas, oh and the odd 1:72 WWII kit are only recent exceptions.

I'm quite surprised GW don't do PPP already.

Alternatively they could make their kits in multi-coloured plastic like Gundam kits. I've mentioned this on Dakka before.

It seems to me that either of these options would further distinguish GW models from the mass of other companies, nearly all of which are too small to do them.

As well as making the models more attractive straight out of the box, it would justify a price increase.

Perhaps GW have considered these possibilites but feel they would lose too much value in sales of paints and stuff.

Since when have they needed to justify price increases?

Let's say it would justify an extra price increase.

It might justify the prices, as they stand now, but not a price increase.

I used to play Mage Knight briefly, but the scale and constant need to buy the next set put me off.
I also enjoyed D'n'D minis for a while, but then after Unhallowed, the sculpt quality took a severe nosedive and has continued to degrade. Which is a damn shame, as it was a fun little game. I just won't shell out for miniatures that are that damn ugly though.

H.B.M.C. wrote:It might justify the prices, as they stand now, but not a price increase.

Depends on your definition of 'justify'.

If I was Mrs Average Punter so I was used to paying £5 a model for Little Johhny's plastic Terminators, I might easily think a ready built, painted one was worth £7.50.

I like Star Wars but the finding a game is the hard part would really like to play Star Wars more.

Do you proactively try to find players for Star Wars?

I used to play Star Wars... I did a bunch of sculpted on bits and repainted most of the ones I used consistently.

Kid_Kyoto wrote:I can play out of the box.
I can use my minis as soon as I get them.
Rules are clear.
Games are short.
Games are fun.
Storage is EASY.
Storage space is minimal.
I can get others to play.
Most single figures cost $0.25-$3 and you can get some decent guys for that money.

The game needs more scenarios and I need more maps but other than that... I'm not seeing a downside.

Anyone else been tempted by the dark side of prepainted figures?

Constantly. Now that I am older I enjoy actually PLAYING games rather than the seemingly never ending chore of the hobby before I get to play.

I honestly think that prepainted games are horrendously underrated and people who poo-poo them simply because they are prepainted are truly missing the trees for the woods. Some great games out there right out of the box, games which make 40K look like the special olympics of wargaming to boot.

Many of the old wizkids games were and still are great, namely the Pirates! , horroclix and even the large scal shadowrun stuff. Their crimson skies game is great and all the models can be found for cheap.

AT-43 is a great game.

Axis and allies miniatures (both land and sea based) is most excellent.

Star wars miniatures is also nice.

I even like the new confrontation prepainted game even though I do not currently collect it.

The one major drawback to prepainted games is the blind buy factor. Blind buy, by default is the devil. That marketing strategy only effectively works for M:tG without cutting the games own throat and thats it. Luckily the secondary market is rife with singles sales, and is really the thing that saves blind buy prepainted games. Without those services I doubt many of those games would be successful to any degree.

Most companies recognize this fact, and apply marketing their products accordingly. Wizkids did this before they went under for many of their clix games. AT-43 and confrontation do this as well. Do not mistake Wizkids failure and Rackhams mismanagement as a sign that lacking blind buy is not the way to go. The consumer appreciates transparency (literally) in this regard.

Again I say that prepainted games are horrendously underrated. Its a game, its not meant to be a 'hobby' in the same way GW forces us to view a 'hobby'.

[edit]
the soap box stance is directed at the casual reader and not at you, kyoto. I already know that anything is game when it comes to miniatures with you, so you arent a hobby-snob in any sense of the word.

Kyoto sounds like he's going through one of those stages many gamers go through when they get tired of one game and fancy another. No problem with that whatsoever! After a while, you come back with a fresh perspective and besides, he's having fun. That's the point of all of this as far as miniatures gaming goes.

Besides, the Dark side is awesome!

I have to agree with prepainted, IMHO GW has overrated the"hobby" aspect of the game, specially if you have to earn a living and deal with wife and so forth... it is nice to paint, but i dont have the time... thus AT-43 was my coice, now i just paint minis as real hobby not to make them ready for the tabletop... and i enjoy it more

Recently I've been buying a bunch of cheapo Halo Clix off eBay.

For about £40 outlay I have 22 assorted Spartans and 16 alien figures which are ready to go into action except for a couple which have broken off their bases -- easily fixed with Araldite.

They are also size compatible with the McFarlane Halo 3 vehicles which are currently going cheap, and I've got several of.

Even without converting, this is plenty for a small skirmish game using either the Clix rules or any other rules I like (I downloaded three sets of free SF rules yesterday.) Or use them for SF roleplaying figures.

I could also adapt the Clix bases to make my own game.

It's nice to think about conversion projects but there's a lot to be said for taking them as they come and using them straight away without any more work.

I went through a phase of buying figures on ebay, right before the sculpting went to crap.

The goal was to amass some Imperial and Rebel forces, as well as some scum/character types for a LotR based skirmish/roleplay hybrid.

As is typical, amassing was as far as I got, and I have a box of figures which are waiting for me to have a few hours to write out some rules.

So how many figs do you need for a viable army? Are there other factors than just Imperials and Rebels?

Grab yourself a copy of War In Hell and it's all good!

http://www.jimwallman.org.uk/wargame/war%20in%20hell.pdf

Maxstreel wrote:So how many figs do you need for a viable army? Are there other factors than just Imperials and Rebels?

Star Wars Miniatures is a small-scale skirmish game, rather than an army level wargame. A typical game is 100 to 200 points, which would be anywhere from 2 or 3 to a dozen or so miniatures (occasionally more, but only if you're running something odd like an entire army of Ewok Warriors, which are (off the top of my head) about 5 points each...)

Faction-wise, there are Rebels and Imperials, Republic, Separatists, New Republic, Yuuzhan Vong, Old Republic, Mandalorian, Fringe (which basically includes anything from any of the eras that is non-aligned with any particular faction, and is usable by any other faction or by themselves) and Sith (which started out as Old Republic era Sith, and has slowly branched out to include Sith from throughout the timeline).

Brother SRM wrote:
Unless you count Legos as multipart plastics.

Where is Lego Dread

I still have a large Imperial army and a Sith army but no one plays star wars anymore. D:

lasgunpacker wrote:I went through a phase of buying figures on ebay, right before the sculpting went to crap.

The goal was to amass some Imperial and Rebel forces, as well as some scum/character types for a LotR based skirmish/roleplay hybrid.

As is typical, amassing was as far as I got, and I have a box of figures which are waiting for me to have a few hours to write out some rules.

I wouldn't mind buying them off of you don't have any use for them!

I used to play Star Wars minis. Used to go to a weekly tourny for them, got into the top three about every week with either a Jedi spam army or a Republic Commando spam with Commander Bacara. I have currently, twenty some odd Stormtroopers, some elite stormtroopers, a couple of assorted Storm Trooper and Imperial Officers, some Coruscant Guard and some Royal Guard, A couple of Dark Troopers (I,II, and III), a and a Vader. My Republic era force contains four Republic Commando Bosses, four Republic Commando Sevs, thee Fixers, and two Schorches, fifteen or so Clone Troopers and a few variant types, a Flash Speeder, an Isp Speeder, a bunch of Jedi Padawan and Jedi Weapon Masters, and the following Jedi Knights: Even Piell, Yoda, General Windu (2), Saesee Tin, Agen Kolar, Obi-wan. I've always kicked myself for never getting a Plo Koon. I've got a sizable Fringe force including the following named Bounty Hunters:E522 Assassin Droid, Calo Nord, Bossk, Dengar, 4-Lom, HK-47 (I was so excited when I go this guy), 4-Lom (alternate), Dengar (alternate), and Komari Vosa. I've also got enough Mandalorians to put out about 250 points. Damn, I used to play this game all the time.

What's the point of a game with pre-painted figures?

Without building/conversion/painting i'd have no interest in this hobby Might as well play computer games.

The main idea is that the game is fun.

I've been interested in Star Wars minis myself, and I'm picking up some kind of starter set (involves Rebels and the boarding of the Tantive IV)