Terran Alliance: Aegis Shield Cruiser

Remember how I said I was hooked on Firestorm Armada after only one game? Well, now I've gone and ordered some ships. 

Most of them have arrived, and this was the first to be completed: an Aegis Shield Cruiser. It's a Terran Alliance vessel, which means that its crew is human. I don't know why, but I always tend to go with the humans in space games. Not to mention their fighting to maintain order in the galaxy. So they're like the Galactic Empire in Star Wars. How could I not?

The Aegis is essentially a moving shield generator and can provide protection to other vessels in the fleet. Its sole purpose is defense. I figured it can't be a bad thing to have once I start playing games, especially with the tactics I intend to use. ::evil laugh::

The colors were inspired by the Nelson-era British Royal Navy. This particular ship's livery was based off of HMS Bounty, which you can see below:

Since Bounty wasn't a purpose-built warship, I thought it would translate well for an Aegis Shield Cruiser. So that's what I went with.

Being the test model, it took quite a bit of time to figure out what I wanted to do. I actually started work on the other ship in the blister pack first, but wasn't happy with how the color scheme was working out. I'm much happier with how the second ship turned out.

EDIT: Upon reflection, I've decided not to go with the red on the bow. I ultimately thought it too distracting...I'm much happier now without it on the model.

Firestorm Armada

Happy New Year everyone!! I hope everyone's holiday was a great one!

While visiting my family and friends in California, I went to a New Years party hosted by my dear friends Ben and Loni. Set up in their garage was something truly spectacular: a makeshift game room with two fully set tables of terrain. It was glorious!

Much of the evening was spent playing Firestorm Armada, which I had never heard of before. It's a sci-fi game where the players control fleets of spacecraft and do battle with their enemies. I was hooked after only one game!

Ben and his cousin, also named Ben, joined together to play as a race of reptiles known as the Sorylian Collective. Mike and I played as the Rense System Navy (RSN), which is a part of the Zenian League. What all of that means is beyond me at the moment...I'm sure I'll understand more as I start to learn the ins and outs of the game. 

Sub Commander Ben measures distance before the game starts.

The Sorylian Collective (in green) and the RSN (in red) sit on the board, waiting to be deployed.

The game got underway with the RSN striking the first blows. A massed torpedo attack very nearly destroyed a major Sorylian ship, and other RSN vessels made similarly sweet shots on the enemy.

But the Sorylians kept coming.

Despite initial successes (and a few more blasted Sorylian hulks), the RSN began taking heavy casualties. The Bens essentially split our forces in two and went to work annihilating our ships. 

Admiral Ben moves the Sorylian ships into position.

A Sorylian battleship coming in to take command of the situation.

RSN ships racing to the attack.

"The Sorylian Collective expects that every lizard will do his duty."

The tide of battle started changing again and we began to make a slight comeback. But while the RSN began scoring a few more hits, the Sorylians also took out a few more of our vessels as well.

Two RSN ships about to finish off a crippled Sorylian ship.

In the heat of battle.

Mike, Ben, and I surveying the battle.

The ships' final positions as 2014 dawned.

The battle came to a halt at 11:45 pm.

All of us went to watch the ball drop and left things unfinished on the tabletop. Afterwards, it was agreed that this fight was a draw. It could still have gone either way. 

This was my first introduction to Firestorm Armada, and what a great time it was! 

I've just ordered a few ships of my own, so expect to see them posted here at some point in the future. Stay tuned!

Now...back to the medical diorama...