a new B5 player

[omega731]

i am interested in getting into Babylon 5 ACTA.

i bought a Omega class destroyer for collectors purposes back when mongoose was still selling them and would have gotten into the game.
but the atmosphere of my local game store focused primarily on games workshop and Trading Card games.

a new store and a very Open atmosphere that has players wanting to try new things; i want to make a small fleet and see if the game will get any traction locally.

i have purchased the second edition rules as well as the 2nd Ed Fleet list book and was thinking of trying to get the ACTA Boxed set for some counters.

i would like some advice as to any other purchases i need to make.

thanks

 

[basaint]

Hola, Welcome

so, you in the States or the Tiny Island?

 

[Greg Smith]

You could just buy the counter set. In fact the Sky Full of Stars counter set is probably the most complete one (although it doesn't include all the ships new to 2nd ed).

Burger's ship viewerhas all of the ship recard sheets.

 

[omega731]

@basaint
United states.

@Greg
ok i will see what i can get.


next question
i plan on grabbing some Earth alliance minis.
but i want to have my ships scale to what you would see in the shows.
whats the right mix of scales to do that.

i will also need a fleet for other players to use. what would be a good faction to have?

 

[treknogeek]

i will also need a fleet for other players to use. what would be a good faction to have?

I guess that would depend on what kind of game play you have in mind. If you are thinking of just one good fleet myself and others would recommend Centauri. If you are looking for variety of factions for a reasonable price, AOG still has League sets in Fleet Action scale. So, for a couple of hundred you could have multiple fleets plus the versitility of having a League fleet.

Ultimately, I would get whatever fleet you like the most. Even if they are not as strong in some ways as others, if you have an interest in the race then you will enjoy playing it (Centauri, Centauri, Centauri).

On a side note, get Powers and Principalities.

Also, a cheap and visually pleasing way of providing terrain is to grab outdated calendars at the beginning of the year that have a space theme. Simply cut out the nebula, planets, and such and there you go. Lamination sheets only cost a few at Wal-Mart and will give them longevity.

 

[AdrianH]

i plan on grabbing some Earth alliance minis.
but i want to have my ships scale to what you would see in the shows.
whats the right mix of scales to do that.

Earth is pretty good for scale, but other fleets are on different scales - Drazi Sunhawks, for example, are much bigger than they should be compared to Omegas. The best you can usually say is that, within a given fleet, if ship A is bigger than ship B then the model of ship A is probably bigger than the model of ship B. One compromise which some people have adopted is to use Fleet Action scale models for smaller ships and Babylon 5 Wars scale for larger ships.

i will also need a fleet for other players to use. what would be a good faction to have?

Centauri have already been mentioned; Narn are another possibility, and in fact, if you have one then you really ought to have the other.

Also, a cheap and visually pleasing way of providing terrain is to grab outdated calendars at the beginning of the year that have a space theme. Simply cut out the nebula, planets, and such and there you go. Lamination sheets only cost a few at Wal-Mart and will give them longevity.

Also look at NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day. Go back through the archives and look for nebulae, planets etc.

 

[locarno24]

Centauri have already been mentioned; Narn are another possibility, and in fact, if you have one then you really ought to have the other.

Agreed. Especially if you can get hold of Powers and Principalities (which tweaks quite a few of both races strongest and weakest ships for a more level playing field)

Narn vs Centauri is one of the two classic match-ups in Babylon 5, and is one of the best introductory ones. The other obvious one is Earth vs Minbari, but that generally doesn't end well; the Minbari's strengths are so well suited to the EA's weaknesses that it tends not to be fun for a novice player.

 

[Da Boss]

Welcome and hope you haev lots of fun

It may be worth trying out fleets with counters to see what play style you like -

sit back and snipe (Minbari)
charge and shoot (Centuari/Dilgar),
jack of all trades (Earth),

etc........

oh and of course target practice (foolish Narn)...... :wink:

also check out the resources thread - lots of useful things like counters and terrain

 

[tschuma]

If you are looking for miniatures, contact Jim Fox at fox@foxminiatures.com he bought the remaining stock from Iron Wind. Both Full Size and Fleet Action scale. But the stock is going down.

Speaking of I need a Marathon.

Where at in the states? I game with a small group in Cincinnati, Ohio and plan on putting on a tournament in March at Cincy Con.

tschuma

 

[omega731]

thanks for all the information everyone 8)

going to wait for my books to make their way to me and will post once i dig into the rules.

 

[AdrianH]

Civil wars are allowed. In particular, the Earth civil war was a major plot in B5. So, if you get enough EA ships, you can divide the fleet and let one player take Clark loyalists while the other takes Sheridan's rebels.

 

[omega731]

Civil wars are allowed. In particular, the Earth civil war was a major plot in B5. So, if you get enough EA ships, you can divide the fleet and let one player take Clark loyalists while the other takes Sheridan's rebels.

i am tempted to do that as i like the earth ships more than anything.

what about the raiders? i know i would have trouble finding some capital ship minis but it looks like the fighters are easy to get a hold of.

it looks like it would be a hard army to win with but that will not be a issue for me.

i am going to focus my efforts on a Third age Earth fleet, i just ordered a Poseidon and 2 Hyperions.
so even if things dont work out i got a nice collectors fleet once i figure out what scale to get fighters in.

does anyone own a FA Olympus ? would it be better than the Mongoose one for scaling vs the Mongoose omega ?

 

[AdrianH]

what about the raiders? i know i would have trouble finding some capital ship minis but it looks like the fighters are easy to get a hold of.

it looks like it would be a hard army to win with but that will not be a issue for me.

Someone already recommended getting Powers & Principalities. This includes rules for customising Raiders ships which can help make them more competitive. The Battlewagon should be relatively easy to scratch-build if you can't find one for sale.

so even if things dont work out i got a nice collectors fleet once i figure out what scale to get fighters in.

does anyone own a FA Olympus ? would it be better than the Mongoose one for scaling vs the Mongoose omega ?

I don't have the FA Olympus but I do have the Omega, Nova, Hyperion and later (smaller) Mongoose Olympus. So, for comparison, here are the lengths of the ships according to B5Tech and the lengths of my models:
Omega: length 1714.3m: model 112mm: scale 1/15306
Nova: length 1502.1m: model 112mm: scale 1/13412
Hyperion: length 1025.39m: model 77mm: scale 1/13317
Olympus: length 444.25m: model 43mm: scale 1/10331

The FA Olympus is probably smaller so closer to scale, but as you can see, no two ships are exactly the same scale anyway - and if you're concerned about scale, don't even think about getting an Explorer!

Besides, the models aren't accurate to scale anyway - the nose section on the Nova and Omega is too short. Also, where did you order those Hyperions? Unless it's the late issue Mongoose model, the bow is probably wrong, cut at an angle whereas the "real" ship has a squared off bow. And the FA Olympus might be closer to scale size but will look less accurate in detail.

Bottom line: the models are not 100% scale accurate, but they're near enough that you can put them together in a fleet on the table and they won't look horribly out of proportion. Do a bit of work such as adding rods and decals, and the fleet will look fine.

 

[locarno24]

Frankly the battlewagon is any ship that looks a bit babylon 5 ish that's about the right size. The less high tech looking the better. The raiders aren't terribly picky and they'll rebuild anything with a jump engine and a reactor...

 

[omega731]

been reading up on things and cant wait to try this out next week at out the LGS.

i want to print out some reference materials to help things go quicker.
does the resources in the new players post up to date with the 2nd edition ?

i notice several say Sky full of stars so i am unsure.


EDIT:

also my first minis came today, they are the iron wind casts so i guess thats what scale i am going to stick to, except maybe FA scale fighters.

 

[Greg Smith]

Anything that says Sky Full of Stars or Armagaeddon is out of date.

If you look at the resource thread and go down a few post you will see a second edition playsheet, posted by me. Burger's siteis also up to date.

 

[omega731]

The first minis i ordered came in the mail today.

and i have to say the poseidon is a Beast!!!

i cant wait to find some fighters for this baby.

on that note i contacted the fox@foxminiatures.com address and have not heard back from it, has anyone recently contacted it ?

i also got the Babylon station from b5 wars while the scale was a bit of a surpise it still will make a awsome piece.
was there a B5 made for the mongoose scale ???

i was thinking of making an order at AOG for fighters, would the FA scale work with the Ironwind ACTA Poseidon ???

EDIT: more questions

 

[tschuma]

Jim Fox might be a little slow answering. I will contact him and let him know that you are trying to get hold of him.

tschuma

 

[omega731]

thanks i am trying to grab alot of stuff at once while i still have the cash.

i found a set with the poseidon w/ fighters on ebay, in the grand scheme of things would it be better to get this set and have 2 carriers or just find fighters for the one i have now ?????

i am still having trouble what i should aim for model wise, i cant wrap my head around the piority levels and fleet alocation points.

 

[Greg Smith]

I can't see anyone having use for two Poseidons. However, it may be the cheapest way to get a bunch of fighters - so by all means buy it and flog the ship back on ebay.