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Thread: Idea for modified bases

  1. #1

    Default Idea for modified bases

    I wonder how many others put jam markers, fire and smoke markers etc. on the clear aircraft base rather than on the cockpit?

    It occurred to me that bases with a raised lip all the way round (sort of like a very shallow tray) would stop the markers from falling off when the planes need to be moved. I know it would be a more involved production process and therefore more expensive but...
    Last edited by Biggles downunder; 11-25-2014 at 17:40. Reason: Added detail

  2. #2

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    I play the Star Wars X-wing game. In that game, you often have tokens clustered around the base of each ship to track stress, various weapons, etc. It's a real pain shuffling around the tokens with each fighter move.

    I dunno; it seems to me that maybe it's better to just have a miniature on a base and leave things as uncluttered as possible.

  3. #3

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    In my opinion, having stuff on the base also spoils the visual effect. Fire and smoke can also be visualized with painted cotton (players did gorgeous things that way), or with Aerodrome accessories. For the rest I think that a little console on a corner of the table, easily moved a bit if a plane has to fly right there, is far more handy. IMHO.

  4. #4

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    If you're looking for that mechanic style, holes in the base and tiny pegs are a better way to go. More stuff to lose though.
    Karl
    It is impossible for a man to begin to learn what he thinks he knows. -- Epictetus

  5. #5

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    Quote Originally Posted by Angiolillo View Post
    In my opinion, having stuff on the base also spoils the visual effect. Fire and smoke can also be visualized with painted cotton (players did gorgeous things that way), or with Aerodrome accessories. For the rest I think that a little console on a corner of the table, easily moved a bit if a plane has to fly right there, is far more handy. IMHO.
    I agree with all of this with the exception of the Steep indicator. In a game with several players, it can slow down the game if players are checking at the start of each turn which planes can and can't do a steep manoeuvre. So, sometime (for large games) I have the players put the Steep indicator next to their planes instead of on the console.

  6. #6

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    Wise. By the way, you just keep it there for the time you need it - there is no need to bring it along as for X-Wing counters. So no problems with the actual base.

  7. #7

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    Yes I have got to admit that I like the way things are. I find the tokens/markers in X-Wing a real pain.

  8. #8

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    While I do prefer to keep the markers on the cockpit (I like to have the actual aircraft situation at a glance), I had a similar issue with another game back in my teens.

    I solved the problem, in order to have a raised lip, glueing wooden matches on the base border.
    First I cut the head of the matches then, before glueing, I painted the wooden stick.

    Mau

  9. #9

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    For me with my limited eye sight it is a no brainer. I can see what is on the cockpit most of the time, and with the Oberst's new 3D tokens this is even easier. As far as the model goes I can read the altitude dial if I pick it up, but counters on the base would be no good at all. Indeed they would hamper my reading of the dials if I wanted to pick up the plane.
    Once again it comes down to One man's meat is another man's poison.
    Rob.
    "Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."

  10. #10

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    I prefer the visual effect of smoke or fire with coloured pipe cleaners or similar methods attached to the plane.

  11. #11

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    We always place the jam/fire/smoke markers on right the bases AND attach fire/smoke plastic tails as well. Having the counters on the bases help other players to track the enemies' status. It would be much harder if players kept them on the consoles. I can not agree it is annoying to have the counters on or around the base. Not at all. For me it is all right. Since most of the WoG bases are larger than those of X-Wing, the counters can be kept in so called - order - on them.
    <img src=http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/image.php?type=sigpic&userid=2554&dateline=1409073309 border=0 alt= />
    "We do not stop playing when we get old, but we get old when we stop playing."

  12. #12

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    I seem to remember seeing somewhere tokens that could be clipped onto a special base with some sort of peg. Darned if I can find it just now.

    However, I'm with Andrzej. I often put the tokens straight on the base as a visual reminder to other players.

    Strictly speaking though, you shouldn't always know if your opponent has a jam. I have just finished reading Collishaw's memoir of his time in the war. There was one instance where his guns were jammed but he kept on with his formation in going after a group of huns who would flee, then turn back, then flee again. After landing he found that his whole flight had had their guns jammed (from the freezing temperatures of a winter at 18000 feet) but each of them stuck with the formation assuming that they were supporting their mates. It wasn't until after the war that he found out that the entire enemy formation also had all of their guns jammed! It was the most peaceful dogfight of the war.

  13. #13

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    Incredible story, Jon! Thanks for sharing it!
    Is this a specific book you could recommend us?
    <img src=http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/image.php?type=sigpic&userid=2554&dateline=1409073309 border=0 alt= />
    "We do not stop playing when we get old, but we get old when we stop playing."

  14. #14

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    Speaking of jams - check out this Udet vs Geynemer dogfight clip:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vylgMb2km3s

  15. #15

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    The book was "Air Command: A Fighter Pilot’s Story" by Air Vice-marshal Raymond Collishaw CB, DSO, OBE, DSC, DFC (with R.V. Dodds)

    Quite interesting, though it gets a bit repetitive; "Went up with x, y, z. Shot down one with one out of control." etc, etc.
    He has some very interesting stories about his inter-war experiences and about commanding fighter squadrons in North Africa in WWII.

  16. #16

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    Our second ace Scaroni wrote interesting things about his jammings and his checking every bullet before flight with his weapon technician "il Bigio" to discard up to half of them that were not perfect (hence the Bullet checker skills). About his struggle against high officers, sitting at their desk and never flying against the enemy, to get a second machinegun for his Hanriot and solve jamming problems - a thing he did, and brough him to further success:
    http://boardgamegeek.com/image/41248...62#comment2262
    I have both the oroginal editon of his diaries from 1919, very fresh and straightforward, and a more politically correct edition of the '30s, published again in the '70s. Alas, I fear they have never been translated.

  17. #17

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    More from first hand sources about jams and bullet checking...

    "In 56 Squadron we weren't allowed to have the armourers do any of the preparation of ammunition belts for fighting -- we did it ourselves. We spent two or three hours every morning loading and making the belts that we should use on afternoon patrol. By taking care with the way the belts were put together we got them so that they wouldn't jam in the breech." Lt Cecil Lewis, 56 Sqn

    But we're getting a little side tracked. Back to modifying bases to hold the counters better??



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