I’d be glad to hear your opinion of HBG’s custom sculpts… if I just want to enlarge my copy of 1942 SE’s available force pool… are there any must haves or must avoids?
I know you didn’t ask for my opinion, but some of the FMG sculpts (depending on how many remain) are also worthy of consideration, especially since an Italian set is not yet on HBG’s radar.
This is the best piece by far and one of the best aftermarket sculpts ever, IMO:
http://www.historicalboardgaming.com/Semovente-10525-Tank–Italy-FMG-Combat-Units-Tank-2_p_615.html
Unfortunately, they are out of stock, for a couple reasons. Not sure if they are still available from FMG directly or not. I bought as many as I could a while back, I just think they are darn cool. Technically it is SPA and not a tank, but you could easily use it for armor.
EDIT: Just realized you were asking about 1942. Which I don’t think has Italy playable. If so, nevermind… but if you ever need Italians, see if you can grab any of them. Well worth it.
Ya, i’ll probably be sticking to 1941 (to teach my kids and a friend of mine) and then moving over to 1942 (my actual goal, I don’t really care for 1941 beyond a teaching tool)… Global 1940 isn’t really on the table for the foreseeable future due to the fact besides myself, I don’t know who I’d play and/or have time for it.
I already have both 1941 and 1942SE now… and I’m just waiting on all my extra HBG sculpts to come in (I ordered quite a few). So ya, I doubt Italy will be a playable nation for me (unfortunately, they always get the shaft, but I like playing them when they’re an option).
I just realized yesterday that FMG is a separate entity from HBG (silly me)… I got confused because they both seem to offer the same stuff… like Combat Dice that are out of stock at HBG but in stock at FMG? I’ll have to take a gander at FMG’s sculpts… I am waiting on my ton of sculpts coming from HBG… I did order quite a few, but thanks for the heads-up on FMG sculpts!
I just realized yesterday that FMG is a separate entity from HBG (silly me)… I got confused because they both seem to offer the same stuff… like Combat Dice that are out of stock at HBG but in stock at FMG? I’ll have to take a gander at FMG’s sculpts… I am waiting on my ton of sculpts coming from HBG… I did order quite a few, but thanks for the heads-up on FMG sculpts!
I would just caution you to be careful when buying from Field Marshal Games directly. I have read about multiple people having a hard time getting their orders processed and communication from the company. I am quite certain that FMG’s battle pieces production is defunct also… so I would do some further research or try to get in touch with them before placing orders. You may spend money and never see anything for it. I have always found it better to go through HBG when possible.
Ya, I noticed the thread about FMG after I already ordered from FMG… all I ordered from FMG was Combat Dice and a pouch (for the dice)… I’ve already been charged, and I’m hearing mixed things about FMG… mostly that people do seem to get their orders… eventually, with little to no communication from FMG. So long as I get my dice, I will be happy, and that will probably be the end of my ordering from them… I looked over their sculpt/unit section… aside from some nice Italian units (which I’ll probably never have a use for since I don’t see myself playing 1940), everything they offer is just HBG stuff.
Over the last several days, I’ve actually made 6 separate orders from HBG (admitted sculpt junkie here)… 5 of which have already shipped, so definitely no complaints with HBG. I just want my dice from FMG, then i’ll be done with them.
Yeah, I mean I have no personal experience ordering from them, but communication is very important to me. If I don’t have that communication it feels like I am not valued as a customer. I guess for me the ends do not justify the means. I am reticent to even try with FMG. Just my two cents. Hope you get your stuff though.
Yeah, I mean I have no personal experience ordering from them, but communication is very important to me. If I don’t have that communication it feels like I am not valued as a customer. I guess for me the ends do not justify the means. I am reticent to even try with FMG. Just my two cents. Hope you get your stuff though.
If you don’t have Combat Dice, and you love A&A, I think you owe yourself one really bad customer service experience to get them. Took about two weeks from ordering to having them on-hand, with essentially no contact from FMG.
So ya… FMG sucks for customer service, and that seems to be everyone’s experience… but they do (eventually) deliver… and having those combat dice is worth the one bad service order. I love those dice, and i’ll have them as long as I play A&A.
If you don’t have Combat Dice, and you love A&A, I think you owe yourself one really bad customer service experience to get them. Took about two weeks from ordering to having them on-hand, with essentially no contact from FMG.
So ya… FMG sucks for customer service, and that seems to be everyone’s experience… but they do (eventually) deliver… and having those combat dice is worth the one bad service order. I love those dice, and i’ll have them as long as I play A&A.
For some reason I have never like special combat dice all that much, whether from HBG or someone else. I guess I am a traditionalist and prefer normal dice or something. Kind of like how I prefer regular playing cards as opposed to themed playing card decks… even like spotter cards and stuff. They are cool and all, and I have a bunch of different kinds, but I always prefer seeing the normal numbers, suits and face cards. Just my preference I guess.
Plus, it has been my experience that during actual gameplay people just use whatever dice are handy, or seem to be rolling well for them. Same thing in Risk. The way we play, I just feel like they would end up getting all mixed up anyway.
Now if we had a good, permanent, organized setup like a custom table, I could see the dice being used more exclusively by their owners. Maybe some day.
Good to hear that you got them and they are serving you well. I have only heard good things about them from everyone who has bought them.
For some reason I have never like special combat dice all that much, whether from HBG or someone else. I guess I am a traditionalist and prefer normal dice or something. Kind of like how I prefer regular playing cards as opposed to themed playing card decks… even like spotter cards and stuff. They are cool and all, and I have a bunch of different kinds, but I always prefer seeing the normal numbers, suits and face cards. Just my preference I guess.
Plus, it has been my experience that during actual gameplay people just use whatever dice are handy, or seem to be rolling well for them. Same thing in Risk. The way we play, I just feel like they would end up getting all mixed up anyway.
I can totally respect that opinion. A couple of things I can say in the dice’s defense, the national roundels replace the “1’s” on all the dice… and when a “1” always means a hit in A&A, whenever you see your nations roundel in the dice tray, you know you’re hitting! The second thing, is that the dice match the color of the country it represents… and even with traditional dice, this is hard to match… oh sure, you can find Black dice or Green dice… but try finding TAN dice or MAROON dice… man, that’s hard to do!
While I know each game (1941, 1942 and 1940) all have different requirements/expectations as to how many dice one my be rolling in a given battle, I look at it this way… with Combat Dice, I got 6 for each nation (30 total)… and any way you slice it, that’s a lot more than the traditional dice you get out of the box (oh sure, I know most people add extra dice, I did too… just with Combat Dice instead of normal dice).
Funny you mentioned Risk… I recently tricked out my own version of Risk at the house, and one of the things I did, was make sure each nation in Risk had dice that matched their army tray (Blue for Blue armies, Yellow for Yellow armies, Grey for Grey armies, etc). So ya, i’m funny about dice.
Nonetheless, I do hear you… its just not your thing, and I totally respect that. But man, I do love these dice, and the kids got a kick out of having dice that matched the country they are playing!
P.S.
one thing I always find amusing, is people selling dice specific to a game on E-Bay… like “Original Axis and Allies Dice” (and not specialty dice like Combat Dice, we’re talking just every-day, plain-old 1-through-6 dice, usually in white, black or red)… ummm… ya, dice are dice man… if I just wanted extra dice, i’d just go buy some extra dice.
I only use them when I need a 1, especially if I’m trying to shoot down bombers during SBRs… I’m always saying stuff like “COMMON, SHOW ME THAT PAINT… DADDY NEEDS SOME PAINT”.
Ha Ha YG. I perfer the rounded corners on all dice. Just seems they roll better.
There are definitely some funny dice that came with one of the Axis and Allies games… gosh I forget which one though. I don’t know if it might have been Pacific 40 or Anniversary or something. There were two sets of dice: black with red dots and red with black dots.
We call them the Demon Dice…. I kid you not, they roll 6s like crazy. I think there is a legitimate problem with them. We quickly found this out and nobody uses them for normal combat. Anyone else ever noticed this or know what dice I am talking about?
On the other hand, I always use them for Tech research where the propensity to roll a 6 is a good thing.
These dice would be aces if used in Risk.
Thought the dice were from G40 games ?
We had a guy use the FM dice with small dice tower and I said you know what ,them dice seem to roll high all the time. Sometimes they would just slide out of tower and not really roll.
I’ll have to remember to use them when I SBR a factory ! :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :-D
@SS:
I’ll have to remember to use them when I SBR a factory ! :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :-D
Yeah! That too!
