Re: Field Marshal Games Pieces Project Discussion thread

[questioneer]

@Yoper:

@kcdzim:

@Yoper:

kcdzim: Perfect post!  8-)

I know this will sound horrible, especially since I have a working agreement with FMG for dice towers, but I don’t use the FMG Combat Dice.  So I don’t care about the color of the dice as it relates to the parts.

I do care about how the two sets of parts relate to one another.  The colors need to match.

Thanks.  I’m worried that post will be buried, but I really do hope people try a game of AA50 with Germany played with OOB with AAP Anzac as tech units (or Revised German Gray) and convince me that that looks good 'cause I’m not seeing it.  And I can’t imagine playing Germany without a BF109 and a Stuka (undoutably OOB tac bomber) just using the FMG units.

As for dice, I purchased the FMG dice, and I like them well enough.  However, I would have prefered 5 color coded dice for each hit type (a one hit dice has crosshairs over the one pip, a two has two crosshairs over the one and two pip, etc, etc, through 5, and then 6 of each or so).  Roll all the dice at once and instantly know how many hits you got.  Though not as “cute” in the national sense, much MUCH more functional as far as the game goes.

In all of my games (Revised, AA42, AA50, AA40 Pacific) I have dice sets with four dice colors.

White- 1
Black- 2
Green/Blue- 3
Red- 4

It allows me to roll the little battles all at one time.  The standardization speeds up the game and keeps the arguments to a minimum as to what was rolled.

I do the same except for

1- White
2- Black
3- Red
4- Blue

Rolling at the same time makes things faster for sure.  Great tip.  Learned this back in the old “Caspian Sub” days. :wink: :-)

[WOPR]

@FieldMarshalGames:

Its so hard to make EVERYONE happy…   :-(

Don’t try.

“I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.” Bill Cosby

[WOPR]

@reloader-1:

That being said, I feel that you would be abandoning these selfsame customers by not allowing them to use the pieces they already have in addition to the ones you will make.

The pieces we already have are of inferior quality to what FMG will provide for us. They SHOULDN’T be used together.

@reloader-1:

I have made a poll on this matter - I am being vehement on this issue because I strongly feel that it would be in your financial interest to make them black

It would be in YOUR financial interest not FMG’s.

@reloader-1:

I don’t think people realize that a vote for gray is limiting  their options – let me explain:

I don’t think you realize that a vote for black is limiting FMGs options.

@reloader-1:

The Americans are color matched to OOB pieces: They have an M3 Stuart, and an M26 Pershing. They also have a P51 and B-24 piece, as well as a new artillery piece.

What can you do with those? Well, the P-38 OOB is now a long-range fighter. The M3 Stuart is a “light tank” (potential 3 move tank, maybe?), the OOB Sherman is medium or regular tank, and the M26 can be a heavy tank or tank destroyer.

See what I mean?

Yeah, I do. Now you don’t have to buy the FMG P-38, Sherman, etc.

@reloader-1:

The same can be done for Germany if done in black – light tank is a Panzer III, medium/regular is OOB Panzer, and a Tiger tank could be the heavy/tank destroyer piece, etc, etc.

The colors in gray would result in a huge array of pieces for the US… and a limited amount of pieces for Germany (really leaving us no better than where we started. I have trucks from Bulge, will have mech inf and tac bombers from Europe 1940. What I really want is more unit variety, so we can have more units on the board!

FMG can offer those units you want in their next set and SELL them to you thereby making MORE money not less.  :? Your argument is both short sighted and self serving.

[Viracocha]

Paint the minis, poof problem vanishes and the game is enhanced!  :wink:

[Guest]

@Viracocha:

Paint the minis, poof problem vanishes and the game is enhanced!  :wink:

Yes I agree. How hard is it to paint your pieces?

[Variable]

@Brain:

@Viracocha:

Paint the minis, poof problem vanishes and the game is enhanced!  :wink:

Yes I agree. How hard is it to paint your pieces?

I’d have to say that I have been giving this subject quite a bit of thought (more than I should, but I am obsessive). I would really love to have the German set black because I use the newer WOTC black pieces. BUT, if we have to choose between black or grey (and can’t have both), I’m changing my mind to GREY. Here’s why: I’ve painted some other pieces to make special house rule pieces to match the WOTC set. I can tell you, trying to match the mould colors is impossible, except for BLACK. It’s easy to match the black color mould and a satin finishing spray makes it still look “plastic”. So, grey is a decision I can live with on this after all.

1 vote changed from Black to Grey.

[Imperious Leader]

I prefer Grey as well. I have a feeling that companies will make consignment deals to produce games using these pieces. FMG really may not know how big they will be if they complete sets for most nations…. it will start a whole new genre of AA style games because the door is no longer closed to pieces which is very costly.

Grey is like in 98% of all wargames as the representational color for German military forces. The exceptions being Third Reich AH 1977 and Axis and Allies since 2004.  Plus the dice are already grey and they have to match them and lastly, FMG can make both… generating even more sales.

I don’t think anybody won’t buy them because they are one color or the other anyway, so Grey is safe.

I would buy them if they were orange.

[Guest]

@Imperious:

I prefer Grey as well. I have a feeling that companies will make consignment deals to produce games using these pieces. FMG really may not know how big they will be if they complete sets for most nations…. it will start a whole new genre of AA style games because the door is no longer closed to pieces which is very costly.

I agree with this statement…… and I am hoping we are right.

[reloader-1]

To WOPR… pretty strong statement for pieces that haven’t even been made yet.

When FMG delivers his pieces, let’s compare to 1942 and then talk. Until then, I’ll go by the prototypes and they are identical to 1942 quality.

[FieldMarshalGames]

I got ripped off!  All my copies of 1942 have most of the same pieces as the other AAA games?  Except the Russian Battleship of course.

For the record I think the stock AAA pieces are great!  We just want to make something DELUXE and really cool… as well as being Historically accurate.  Also the LACK of playing pieces provided is another problem out of the box.  These are the reasons we spend all this time and money…

[reloader-1]

My vote is for both - thse who like gray will buy it, and those who like black will use gray as Axis minors.

Win-win

[Viracocha]

Huh… the blob effect, know it from longf ago.  DOn’t use enamels on such small detail - spray a dark base coat, then dry brush everything with acrylic - I’ve seen friends of mine who are interested in some of the detail I for instance, get into.  But if you simply do as above, then slap a few decals here and there - still looks better (imo) then unpainted and isn’t too much of a chore…

[trackmagic]

What decals would you recomend Virachocha?  :wink:

[Rorschach]

@reloader-1:

To all you people talking about poor mold quality - have you bought Spring 1942? Some of the best mold quality I’ve ever seen in a game.

I highly doubt they have.

Yes, yes I have.  The quality is exactly the same as my AA50 version.  And the quality of the pieces in the AAP40 I got a chance to play was worse still (most noticably the half tracks) … /shrug

[Rorschach]

@Imperious:

I prefer Grey as well. I have a feeling that companies will make consignment deals to produce games using these pieces. FMG really may not know how big they will be if they complete sets for most nations…. it will start a whole new genre of AA style games because the door is no longer closed to pieces which is very costly.

Grey is like in 98% of all wargames as the representational color for German military forces. The exceptions being Third Reich AH 1977 and Axis and Allies since 2004.  Plus the dice are already grey and they have to match them and lastly, FMG can make both… generating even more sales.

I don’t think anybody won’t buy them because they are one color or the other anyway, so Grey is safe.

I would buy them if they were orange.

Very much my opinion as well.

Of course, no one persons opinion is “right” nor “wrong”, so of course, the debate could rage on forever.  In the end … it will be what it will be.  What other games use black as germany (besides AAA)?

[reloader-1]

Rorsach,

Maybe we are having a little bit of miscommunication here. There is a difference between Quality (proper molding, no flashing/discoloration, no distortion) and Detail (pieces are highly detailed, with visible differences).

There is a HUGE difference between Spring 1942 pieces and Anniversary pieces in quality - Anniversary pieces are universally smaller and have lots of mold errors. Now, there is no difference between them in detail, and I will grant you that.

I can provide pictures if you need further clarification. The difference between them is night and day.

[Viracocha]

@trackmagic:

What decals would you recomend Virachocha?  :wink:

I-94 Enterprises. Good stuff!  :-D

[Viracocha]

@Yoper:

@Viracocha:

Huh… the blob effect, know it from longf ago.  DOn’t use enamels on such small detail - spray a dark base coat, then dry brush everything with acrylic - I’ve seen friends of mine who are interested in some of the detail I for instance, get into.  But if you simply do as above, then slap a few decals here and there - still looks better (imo) then unpainted and isn’t too much of a chore…

AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!

Decals!!!

Never!!!

Sorry.  A bit of an inside joke with a friend of mine who has decals all over his game parts.  I really don’t care for the decal effect.

That’s too bad… huh, so you don’t care for the ‘decal effect?’  Do you not like national symbols on the actual WWII vehicles as well?

[bongaroo]

@Yoper:

@Brain:

@Viracocha:

Paint the minis, poof problem vanishes and the game is enhanced!  :wink:

Yes I agree. How hard is it to paint your pieces?

I have never had much luck painting plastic parts.  The paint actually seems to fill in the details and turn the units into rounded blob.

Yes, I could try to thin the paint, but I don’t want to have to try to figure this out.

Thinning the paint is as simple as adding some water.  Nothing tricky.

[Rorschach]

@reloader-1:

Rorsach,

Maybe we are having a little bit of miscommunication here. There is a difference between Quality (proper molding, no flashing/discoloration, no distortion) and Detail (pieces are highly detailed, with visible differences).

There is a HUGE difference between Spring 1942 pieces and Anniversary pieces in quality - Anniversary pieces are universally smaller and have lots of mold errors. Now, there is no difference between them in detail, and I will grant you that.

I can provide pictures if you need further clarification. The difference between them is night and day.

No miscommunication.  I used to work in a plastics injection molding factory so I definately know the difference.

Perhaps it was just the set that I was using, but in all honesty, there was zero difference in quality between Spring 42 and AA50.  Or, perhaps my copy of AA50 just happens to have a higher quality set of pieces?