I got my Centauri Fleet today and let me tell you...

[Abraxas]

... all the pieces were there!

I know a lot of posts float around about missing pieces/ships and I just wanted to say that MP has a satisfied customer. I bought it off of Ebay... but it was brand new so the seller had no effect on what was there and what was not. Merely a distributer.

AND, to boot, I got an extra Vorchan gun turrett. Happy Days!

Anyway, I also am putting this post here because I have some issues:

1) The Vorchans have so much caked on flash where the vertical strut goes that I don't think a hobby knife can handle it. Any sugestions? Can I heat it up and cut it out easier?

2) The holes where the pegs should go are ridiculously shallow... on ALL the ships. The Centaurian I can deal with (just drill a little) and the Vorchans... I don't know if I'll even use the stems, rather just glue them right to the base... but I *AM* worried about the Primus. It does not have a very high "ceiling" and I fear a drill will break right through. Any suggestions?

3) When I get to the point of painting... how do I paint fighters? Do I coat and paint them while they are still on the sprues?

Well, thanks for the answers and thanks Mongoose Publishing for a safe delivery and a great game. Also, I am extatic that I finally got a friend involved and possibly another... WOO!

 

[Jellicoe]

A set of different types of small files is a good investment when working with any ACTA fleet. I have not worked on cleaning up a Vorchan yet as I don’t have a Centauri fleet, but I would imagine it is similar to the ships I have worked on.
It takes time and patience to clean up some ships, but is worth it in the end. I got a Narn fleet box when the game first came out and the G’Quans were horrendous.

Make and use metal, stems there are a few guides knocking around the forum.

It depends a bit on the fighters in questions, but generally it is best to keep them on the spruces. Narn Frazi fighters are relatively “flat” so it is not so much of a problem to just stick them onto the bases and paint them there. EA Starfuries and TB on the other hand are quite complex and have many depressions so it is far better to paint them on the spruces.

 

[H]

... all the pieces were there!

I know a lot of posts float around about missing pieces/ships and I just wanted to say that MP has a satisfied customer. I bought it off of Ebay... but it was brand new so the seller had no effect on what was there and what was not. Merely a distributer.

AND, to boot, I got an extra Vorchan gun turrett. Happy Days!

Anyway, I also am putting this post here because I have some issues:

1) The Vorchans have so much caked on flash where the vertical strut goes that I don't think a hobby knife can handle it. Any sugestions? Can I heat it up and cut it out easier?

2) The holes where the pegs should go are ridiculously shallow... on ALL the ships. The Centaurian I can deal with (just drill a little) and the Vorchans... I don't know if I'll even use the stems, rather just glue them right to the base... but I *AM* worried about the Primus. It does not have a very high "ceiling" and I fear a drill will break right through. Any suggestions?

3) When I get to the point of painting... how do I paint fighters? Do I coat and paint them while they are still on the sprues?

Well, thanks for the answers and thanks Mongoose Publishing for a safe delivery and a great game. Also, I am extatic that I finally got a friend involved and possibly another... WOO!

I actually use a cordless screwdriver with a drill bit to improve the holes, and I have done it on 2 Ka'Tocs recently, and you don't get much shallower then them, just make sure your drill/dremmel/screwdriver is on the lowest speed. as for fighters, for sentris you may as well base them, they are nice and flat, depends how desperate you are to paint the underside!

 

[angelus2000]

Heh I feel your pain when it comes to teh vorchans. I managed to slap like 2 together before i gave up. On the question of the flash, I used a set of needle files to clear it out. A point though. You may actually want to keep som of the flash in there. Completely cleaned out, you have difficulty in keeping the vertical strut straight because its a lot smaller than the gap it goes into. Just cleam out enough to slap it in there and then work it around a bit.

As for the holes on the vorchan? Never tried this but someone suggested this to me. Drill straight through the mounting hole. Select a slighty smaller drill bit and insert into the first hole, then drill a mounting hole into the main body of the vorchan. You WILL have to get some some fine brass rod to do this though as there is simply no way to use the plastic stem that comes with the vorch

As for the fighters, I did a few up on the sprues when I could. You could paint them on the base, but if you mess up and actually paint the base, then you just made more work for yourself

 

[Wulf Corbett]

3) When I get to the point of painting... how do I paint fighters? Do I coat and paint them while they are still on the sprues?

I don't do full-scale ships, and I make my own brass rod bases,but I do have to paint fiddly little fighters.

I seriously recommend you slap a bit of paint on the underside, a base colour on the fighter, then black on the stem. Otherwise, as others have said, you get paint on the base (or leave bare metal or undercoat visible on the underside). It's not that bad having to paint the base black again, having said that. After that, I base them, and then paint the upperside with a bit more care & detail.

Wulf