| Rebel Pathfinders and a heavy support weapon for "Star Wars". |
My third submission to AHPC XIII sticks with the Star Wars setting, and picks things up right where I left off at AHPC XII. This is a group of Rebel Alliance troopers - most of them "pathfinders" intended to supplement the ranks of Cassian Andor and Jyn Erso's team that I painted last March. There is also one rebel trooper ready to employ a liberated Imperial heavy laser against its previous owners. All of these are independent 3D sculpts, printed in the unique and oddly large scale of the "Star Wars: Legion" game.
| View showing the rear of the fatigues, and some of the kit you can put on their belts etc. |
The "Legion" rules themselves are almost unplayably baroque, riven with mindless, card-driven complexity for no good reason and table that rapidly fills with a cloud of chit-style markers. But sometimes you need to separate the figures from the rules, and the "Legion" figures have been a lot of fun to paint, and because there is a great variety of rules you can use them for, they are worth getting. Since relocating to Ontario, I've no longer been able to take for granted that a "Star Wars" game could be whipped together at a moment's notice (which is 110% possible with my great friends in Winnipeg). So in the past couple of years, I have started painting up/collecting my own "Star Wars" figures and models - when I see them, I think of my friends, and hey, they are also ready for a game at any time, right?
| Selection of the Pathfinders - equipped with A-300 blasters in "long range" configuration. |
The "Rebel Pathfinders" from Fantasy Flight Games (I still use that name, as I have utterly given up keeping track of their endless corporate reorganization bullsh*t) are fine figures, but the pack is quite specific, and you really cannot use the box to build up a more generic force of "Pathfinder" type troops the way you can with the more generic Rebel infantry in the starter box. I really liked the look of the Rebels who fought on the the islands at the Imperial base on Scarif, and wished I could find more troopers with that look to add to my collection.
| Officer in the middle with a pistol - and the set also included a discarded Shore Trooper helmet, so I put that on the base to mark him out. The other two Pathfinders are carrying A-300 blasters in their short range, carbine-style configuration. |
What to do? It was hardly a problem - just enter the vast, and incredibly talented world of 3D sculptors and printers dedicated to Star Wars! This "Modular Pathfinder Battalion" was a bit pricey, but fit the bill perfectly - the right mix of helmets, of fatigues and the different blasters used by the Pathfinders, including the odd rifles and carbines that have what seem to be air-cooled barrels...that makes no sense, but why should it, right??? I love it.
Like so many good projects, these sat in the "pending pile" for months, and as AHPC XIII loomed, I thought it would be good to get them done! They are painted in colours to match the "Pathfinders" from the FFG box I painted last March.
| A "liberated" E-web blaster - the sculptor did a great job on this 3D printed design - the Rebel trooper looks to be really enjoying using this weapon against the Empire! |
And, when shopping online, it is very rare that I buy just ONE thing, so when I spotted the figure of the Rebel trooper with the heavy laser, well, it just sort of click-fell into my online basket. The colours here are only slightly different, so she could fight with the Pathfinders, or with the more generic Rebel infantry I had painted previously.
| Another view of the gunner. I'm sure nothing will go wrong if a stray blaster shot hits that generator, right? |
I now have enough infantry for a fun scenario where the brave Rebels must launch a daring raid on an Imperial base - and really, is there any other kind of raid, right? But the pendulum in my collection, having swung to the Rebel side, looks like it needs to get back to the bad guys...hopefully there will be more to share in that regard as this edition of the Challenge proceeds.
| For the Rebellion! |
For scoring, we have 12 Legion-sized infantry models, which had been scored as 40mm figures (7 points-per) in the past, and one crew-served weapon, albeit not a very big one, so I see that as only counting for another 5 points. In all, 89 points toward my target. Thanks for reading, and may the Force be with all of us - or at least, our brushes!
A cracking bunch of rebels, Greg. I've only tried the Legion game once and I agree about there being too many cards and chits floating around. It was fun though. The 3D printed models really look the part, I hope you have the chance to get a few games in with your friends soon.