Getting started with A&A miniatures - what to buy?

[Cinefyl]

Morning all,

Am thinking of diving into miniatures but am feeling lost on where to start (in the sense of what to buy). I have no problem tracking down what I need, but not sure which “set” I should get.

I have heard from folks about the ground starter pack, the naval and the Angels but not sure if in the end it will all come full circle or I should try to start with something specific and work my way into things slowly (time and budget issues).

Any ideas greatly appreciated,

Thanks

[Field marshall]

I would recommend starting with two basic nations, say Germany or Japan and an allied nation like UK or USA. From there you should acquire a mix of Infantry, armor, artillery, transport, armored cars and a few planes from each nation and play some matches. At that point it will become apparent what you will need to add to your armies to be competitive. Check-out my complete revised card database here for a idea what is available. (http://www.aamcardbase.com/search_AAM.aspx).

Feel free to ask more questions as the come to mind.

Cheers
Ober

[hkytown1]

I recommend the mini’s game, very collectable and lots of fun.  Time of the games are about 1-3 hours depending on how large your game is.  They made 6 sets;

Base Set
Task Force
Flank Speed
Condition Zebra
Fleet Command
Surface Action

The first two sets are sold out and pretty pricy but you’ll see some great ships in those.  Fleet Command is almost gone as well but I would say you should get a Revised Starter set and a few Surface Action booster packs.  Flank and Zebra are still readily available as well but Surface has lots of US pieces and some nice Japanese vessels as well.

12-7 games, Cool Stuff and Minature Market carry boosters as well as singles.  You’ll have to check out the singles market and pick a few pieces you like as well.

Enjoy!

[Azrael]

@Cinefyl:

Morning all,

Am thinking of diving into miniatures but am feeling lost on where to start (in the sense of what to buy). I have no problem tracking down what I need, but not sure which “set” I should get.

I have heard from folks about the ground starter pack, the naval and the Angels but not sure if in the end it will all come full circle or I should try to start with something specific and work my way into things slowly (time and budget issues).

Any ideas greatly appreciated,

Thanks

I started out with war at sea singles of just the commonwealth and Germany then branched out to the rest of Europe then everything remaining (usa/ijn) .  Since I liked was so much I eventually bought into a20 and the land game as well though I think was is the best of the 3.

The main question for you would be are you “collecting” or “playing”, what are you hoping to get out of the miniatures? That will probably dictate what you should do.

Personally I would pick a game ,pick 2 nations that fought each other and buy singles for them, and if you like it……expand :)

[Cinefyl]

Thanks to all for the great ideas and encouragement…A&A Minis is sounding more and more interesting.

So to answer a few of the questions you all had…and pose one or two more:

I am planning on playing with my teenage son, and we are interested in actually playing rather than collecting.

I get the gist of what you have all posted, but one thing that I guess will make me sound dense is

1. do I NEED a starter/base set to get the rules for a particular flavor (Task Force, Flank, Zebra, etc.)
2. Does a base/starter set have enough pieces and parts to let us actually get started (even on a limited scale) to give it a test run without spending major $$$

Thanks!

[Azrael]

@Cinefyl:

Thanks to all for the great ideas and encouragement…A&A Minis is sounding more and more interesting.

So to answer a few of the questions you all had…and pose one or two more:

I am planning on playing with my teenage son, and we are interested in actually playing rather than collecting.

I get the gist of what you have all posted, but one thing that I guess will make me sound dense is

1. do I NEED a starter/base set to get the rules for a particular flavor (Task Force, Flank, Zebra, etc.)
2. Does a base/starter set have enough pieces and parts to let us actually get started (even on a limited scale) to give it a test run without spending major $$$

Thanks!

Booster sets (condition zebra, task force etc) have different mini’s and units from each other not different rules they are expansions to the same game not different games with different rules.

Having said that the land,navy and a20 air game are all different games of axis and allies miniatures and all have their own expansion/booster packs.

The navy and air games starter packs are easier to find then the land game, if you only have the starter you can play but it’s very scaled down/basic from a regular game …. Good for learning the rules… But only a taste of the full experience  (like a salad at a steakhouse)

[Cinefyl]

Thanks for the clarifications…

One thing I wish is that there was SOME sort of board/war gaming that my son and I could play that was like A&A boardgames but took a lot less time. That was why were were interested in miniatures.

We both like playing A&A, but the 3-5 hour game wears us down.

[Azrael]

The miniatures games are very time friendly taking anywhere from 30mins-2hrs with 1 hr being typical of a regular game.

[z0m4d]

@Cinefyl:

1. do I NEED a starter/base set to get the rules for a particular flavor (Task Force, Flank, Zebra, etc.)
2. Does a base/starter set have enough pieces and parts to let us actually get started (even on a limited scale) to give it a test run without spending major $$$

Thanks!

1. You don’t need a starter or base set to play if you download the rules.  Each domain (land, War at Sea, and Angels 20/Bandits High) is independent and incompatible with the others.  Within each domain, all sets are completely compatible and no set is necessarily better than another.  The exception is perhaps with the land based game.  In the first four sets the vehicles were not always to scale.  Players call them version 1 or V1.  From the set 1939-1945 and thereafter, the vehicles were much more to scale.  We call them version 2 or V2.  Many, but not all of the vehicles were then reissued.  Many of the soldiers were as well, but they are essentially identical.

2. The starters have barely enough to get started.  I highly recommend buying some boosters or used collections on eBay.  Btw, I have a few extra unopened 1939-1945 (land game) starter sets and a number of War at Sea boosters:

Flank Speed, x1 booster
Condition Zebra, x1 booster
Set V, x1 booster
Surface Action, x19 boosters

PM for more info if interested.  Good luck and have fun!