I knew about WWE (risky acronym), but hadn't heard about a possible scale change. I'd love it if they do.

Because of my lack of space, I only go for 28mm skirmish type games... so end up with no more than 5x5 tiles of WWG terrain. If I was to actually get involved in a larger scale warfare game, it'd have to be 15mm to fit on my table... and I tried painting those when Mighty Armies was released. Let's just say that although I'm not a great painter at 28mm scale... my 15mm efforts are something I would not want to show anyone.

I don't hang out around the Mongoose forums anymore, so please do pass on any interesting info you discover there... like the Dredd goodness in S&P this month.

Arabin

Punkrabbitt Nice "artwork", both of them..




This is the company that does 5150.


CCotD - you lose!



Lord Abaddon of Wormwood

Wahooo.... Got mine in. Have not had time to seriously look at it yet, but I'll be doing that soon!!!



CCotD'

I saw a copy of AT43 in the FLGS today when I picked up my SWSB starter. It seemed interesting, and I liked the paint jobs... but for $80, only having 16 minis doesn't seem quite right, especially because the 7 minis each operate in single squads. Meaning, you only have two units per side, and crippled rules. Yes, the minis are painted, but painted minis do not equal a greater benefit to the gameplay itself, just the aesthetics and "time spent before you can actually play". I did read the rules online, and they seem playable and enjoyable, if not amazingly gripping and compelling. Also, the online rules leave out stats and combat tables, meaning it would be impossible to play them as posted.

The $80 (still fairly high priced) Starship Troopers starter of old (may 2005) had 16 troopers, enough for a medium sized platoon, 20 bugs, cardstock counters for fleet assets and bug holes, and the full rulebook. I played many, many games with just the contents of that starter with a buddy of mine (we also went halfsies on the cost, $40/$40), and even though we bought one additional starter, most of our games were just played with the core figures (about 16 troopers, two dozen bugs, and a few supporting units). I can't see playing dozens and dozens of memorable games with just the AT:43 starter, and in my mind, that makes it not worth the same $80.

Then again, my "earmarked for research" $40 I spent on SWSB could have paid for half of AT:43. Heh.

I was also underwhelmed with the tiny $50 box for Rezolution: Shadow War which gives you 10 minis, a scenario/basic rules book, a tape measure, and dice.

Maybe I'm just old, cheap, and spoiled by cardstock. I'm probably also a bit extra cynical after plopping $40 on SWSB, and I'll no doubt buy AT43 anyway. Let me know how much fun you guys have with the game! I'd love to see pictures on a mayhem or PCON build.

I understand Captain ... to each his (or her) own.

The free downloadable rules are okay, but not amazing. There is enough there to see where they might be going, but not much chrome (or grit, depending on how you look at details).

And gameplay with the starter is probably limited. I've read a number of posts and some folks (who got their game right away) have stated they played "all six" of the intro scenarios. That's not many, but it's better than nothing.

But because of how they wanted to package the game, both of these are addressed within the next three months or so. They stated that the core rules will be released in 1Q2007. They wanted to focus attention on some core troops and supply some basic rules to get people exposed to the idea. They wanted to have a bit more time to work out how all the other troop types interact with one another.

So a buying decision on the starter set is more an act of faith than, say, buying the GW 40k Battle of McCragg starter (where you get a few more minis and semi-full rules) or the Mongoose Starship Troopers (where you get lots more minis and the full rules).

For me the buying decision was the minis. I don't want 32mm minis (SST) I want a scale that will allow me to mix and match the figures with other ranges and rule sets. AT-43 minis are 28mm. If the full rules later are really cool, so much the better. If not, there are a number f other rules out there the minis will be good for.

So what's a good price for 28mm sci-fi minis? You can find a bunch of figures out there in the $3-4 range, and you have to assemble them yourselves. You can pay less here and there, and certainly more. So 17 minis at an average fair (low) price of $3 would be $51 right there. The two mechs would probably run you $20-35 as plastic kits. Lewt's go low and call them worth $20 each. We're tickling $90. The terrain (six wall sections, a storage container and some other devices) are probably worth $15 minimum.

So at reasonable "kit" prices for the minis it comes to $106. Rules, dice and tape measure are "free". And they are selling this for $80, so it's a deal if you consider fair separate prices. THEN you mention they are not kits, but pre-assembled, AND pre-painted to a very nice standard. And that's what pushed me over the edge. Besides, it could be pre-ordered for $60 (my FLGS wasn't going to carry it si I didn't feel guilty)

Is it as good a bargain as the McCragg or SST sets? Not at $80 but certainly at $60. Still, even at $80 it's enough of a bargain to warrant giving them a shot.

I do believe you are right about the limited playability. I think it will be necessary to pick up a few of the initial expansion sets of troops to flesh out tactical playability. But in the meantime, the figures look sweet and have plenty of other uses IMHO.

Steve

Ummm...I must say I can't see a difference in the size of the AT-43 figures vs. SST humans vs. Star Wars Imperial Troopers...

(each is not quite standing fully erect either and still come in at a pretty solid 30mm) (add to that the bases of the AT-43 figures are bigger and taller too, it looks like they will be even less compatable than I had hoped)

I have all three sitting on my desk as I check and if there is a whole mm between their eye heights, well, sorry I can't see it...funny thing is, each of those is still taller than one of my older GW SM Sgt's and grossly bigger than my range of 25mm figures that I still use as a baseline for figure sizes.

At the moment, I'm keeping my stuff in the box it came in with the plastic inserts.

Putting mini's in a plastic bag! I'm dumbfounded. I take pride in every mini I own, even the pre-paints. And I painstakingly take care of them. I make sure they are happy in a dustfree environment. I even purchased some very nice oak and glass display cases to store them in (at least the ones I have painted, oh the very few that I actually have ) but I cannot fathom why they would be tossed into a ziplock and tossed back in a box with no re-enforcements to keep them from breaking.

I'm going to have nightmares to night.


CCtoD'

They are game pieces, and their worth to me is directly proportional to their (a) cost and (b) assembly & painting time.

Painted GW minis are lovingly segregated into individual foam compartment in larger foam storage trays. They are only held by gloved hands and take to the battlefield in a sterile room.

But these? Pre-assembled and pre-painted, and reasonably priced at that. Plus I should ask, how many times have you tried to pop out and then pop back in each mini? They made the plastic bumps a little too large and thus the minis are hard to remove. I was worried about damaging them trying to get them in and out.

But the minis are NOTHING compared to the six barricades. They are IN THERE buddy, and not ready to come out and play. I figured I'd cause them less damage over the long haul by removing them once and placing them in a baggie.

But now that you mention it, after listening very carefully to the box, I can hear some faint voices ...

"Sarge ... Walter's foot is in my face ... again!"
"Can it Johnson. We've all got our problems."
"But Sarge, it's inappropriate touching. Didn't you take the sensitivity seminar?"
"Johnson, we're soldiers. Shut up and act like one, or next mission you take point!"

Steve