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Hello! I'm reposting this from my naval gaming blog for those here that are interested:

http://www.manbattlestations.com/blog/2016/05/26/star-trek-attack-wing-uss-montgolfier-unboxing/



Background

The USS Montgolfier is a Federation Saber-class starship, which is a relatively small (about a third the size of the Galaxy class, similar in size to the Miranda class) vessel that made its debut in Star Trek: First Contact. Along with the Norway and Steamrunner classes, the Saber class was created in CG to flesh out the Federation fleet attacking the Borg cube at the beginning of the movie. As such, no physical filming model of this ship ever existed. The ship subsequently appeared in several of the battle sequences in DS9. Interestingly, based on the NCC numbers of Sabers seen on screen, the class actually predates the Galaxy class by some period of time. I have to admit to having a soft spot for the Saber; I think that of the three First Contact ship classes, it is easily the nicest looking. However, upon close inspection it is clear that the CG model is very simplistic, as one might expect from a "background" ship class. Particularly glaring is the very triangular-shaped secondary hull cross-section. If you are interested in more detail, make sure to check out the Saber episode of Trek Yards on YouTube.

The Miniature



The Mongolfier comes decked out in the new WizKids Federation scheme, which uses a dull metallic silver in place of the blueish grey that they used earlier expansion waves. Overall, I think the ship looks pretty good in this scheme, and does a reasonable job at replicating the look of the on-screen ship. Details are done in dark grey, with red and blue used on the engines and orange on the navigational deflector. The painting of these details was mostly neat, though there was some sloppiness on my mini on one of the Bussard collectors. I am also somewhat disappointed with the navigational deflector; the mini has a flat orange paint, while there is clearly a blue oval on the CG model. However, this is a minor quibble, and something that could be fixed with a little modelling work. Comparing the STAW mini with the previously released HeroClix version, I think the STAW version looks much better. The HeroClix mini has a lot of odd red detail painting on it that was clearly supposed to be a darker grey than the hull, and this was fixed in the STAW mini.



The Stats

Here are the stat cards for the Montgolfier and the generic Saber class:



This looks pretty good to me; this ship is a clear upgrade over other ships in its price range, notably the Miranda and Reliant. The ability to switch target locks as a free action, along with the +1 shield definitely make the Montgolfier an appealing choice.

Crew and Upgrades

Here are the goodies that come with the Montgolfier:



Subspace Transmitter, Thruster Array, and Heavy Graviton Beam all look interesting, though they are probably only useful in limited situations. The Subspace Transmitter strikes me as useful for setting up combos with another ship in a fleet, while the Heavy Graviton Beam is clearly intended to be an anti-Borg weapon. However, if you are not playing Borg, the Graviton Beam doesn't strike me as all that great. The Captain Quinteros' repair ability seems like it could be useful, though the fact that it requires dice rolling makes me wary. Wes seems very useful to me, allowing your ship to perform an action in a pinch even with an Auxiliary Power token.

Overall

The Montgolfier is a worthy addition to my Federation fleet. As I already mentioned, I really like the design, and the new paint job on the STAW model looks much better than the older HeroClix decorating. Until next time!

I like the saber class, not as much as the Defiant , but it's a nice ship. Of the two WK has released I prefer the Yeager. The Yeager has the same paint scheme as the heroclix model you have above. The Yeager makes a good torpedo boat because of it's ability, you don't disable the torp to fire. However with the new phaser upgrades that have come out the Montgolfier will probabaly be more useful. I like to use torpedoes in home games for theme, but if you go to an OP the phasers upgrades will be better.


I like Quinteros, but I want to put him on a ship with more hull, maybe a Galaxy or Excelsior class. If you are good at rolling, he could really annoy your opponent. There are ways to get past his Aux token, Scotty from the refit Enterprise and the Vulcan Aux Control Room are two good cards.

The only use I will ever have for Wesley is to kick him out the airlock for the Needs of the Many.

Thruster Array isn't bad and could get you out of a jam or into a great firing position.

Subspace Transmitter is pricey but it could be useful if you are building around scan tokens.

Heavy Graviton Beam is a bit meh. I don't like expensive discards. Even against the borg there are better things to spend your points on.

The Montgolfier is the one ship I skipped; it's recieved my vote for "ugliest ship in the fleet".

I do wonder, why did it come with Wesley - don't remember him in First Contact nor in Deep Space 9, with anything associated with this class.

 Stormonu wrote:
The Montgolfier is the one ship I skipped; it's recieved my vote for "ugliest ship in the fleet".

I do wonder, why did it come with Wesley - don't remember him in First Contact nor in Deep Space 9, with anything associated with this class.

There is no canon captains or crews for both the Akira and Saber class ships. They had to put something in the packs to fill them up. That doesn't bother me though. I would rather have more cards in the game than have half empty packs. There is no magic rule that states every card in a pack must be from that ship

I personally disagree with the "improvement over the Reliant" statement. Granted, that is in no small part due to having 3 copies of the Hood and two of the blind Excelsior-Class. With those and the Delta Flyer upgrades, The Equinox and the Reliant can both be beefed up into monsterous firecrackers.

 Corpsman913 wrote:
I personally disagree with the "improvement over the Reliant" statement.

Agreed With a 180 fron and a 90 degree rear, I say the Reliant has the advantage, not to mention it's ability for an extra attack die at range 1. Equinox can also become a beast to take out.

 Mr. S Baldrick wrote:

 Stormonu wrote:
The Montgolfier is the one ship I skipped; it's recieved my vote for "ugliest ship in the fleet".

I do wonder, why did it come with Wesley - don't remember him in First Contact nor in Deep Space 9, with anything associated with this class.

There is no canon captains or crews for both the Akira and Saber class ships. They had to put something in the packs to fill them up. That doesn't bother me though. I would rather have more cards in the game than have half empty packs. There is no magic rule that states every card in a pack must be from that ship

Oh, okay - I just thought I might have missed something in one of the episodes. In the end, I collect the ships, but I don't play the game.

The game is a blast you should play some

 Mr. S Baldrick wrote:
The game is a blast you should play some

I have played one game and enjoyed it - problem is, everyone's too busy playing X-Wing and I can't pull them away. The local FLGS even refuses to stock the ships because they don't want it to compete with his X-wing sales (I've specifically asked the store owner, and that was the reason he gave). I have to get all my stuff online, which precludes me from getting into any local tournaments and winning anything there - I'd have to buy it at the silly e-bay prices (did that for Mechwarrior, really don't want to get into that again).

 Stormonu wrote:

 Mr. S Baldrick wrote:

 Stormonu wrote:
The Montgolfier is the one ship I skipped; it's recieved my vote for "ugliest ship in the fleet".

I do wonder, why did it come with Wesley - don't remember him in First Contact nor in Deep Space 9, with anything associated with this class.

There is no canon captains or crews for both the Akira and Saber class ships. They had to put something in the packs to fill them up. That doesn't bother me though. I would rather have more cards in the game than have half empty packs. There is no magic rule that states every card in a pack must be from that ship

Oh, okay - I just thought I might have missed something in one of the episodes. In the end, I collect the ships, but I don't play the game.

This is very much the position I find myself in! My statement regarding the Reliant was based on a few minutes spent comparing the cards, not any hard-earned battlefield experience

 Ruckdog wrote:

This is very much the position I find myself in! My statement regarding the Reliant was based on a few minutes spent comparing the cards, not any hard-earned battlefield experience

I get it, you would think a Saber would be better than a 90 year old Miranda class, that would only make sense. Though this wacky game is a ton of fun it doesn't always make sense