Posts made by LHoffman

@CWO-Marc

I probably won’t be able to, since I believe the movie is going to be a summer release and my jacket is on the heavier side, but if the weather is cold enough I will. It currently has the patches for Enterprise and Yorktown shown above. Only reason I haven’t put on the Hornet one is that it is rather large and I have limited real estate to work with. I may just try to find a smaller one. As you can imagine, there are few online retailers selling replica ship patches from World War II.

Often I think of all these unique ships from the Second World War as being only memories and pictures; something departed from this earth forever, whose lines will never be seen and touched again.

But this is a reminder that they are still among us in the flesh… just out of sight and consciousness 10,000 ft below the ocean. Incredible.

Looks like I may need to add the Hornet patch to my jacket now, in company with those for Yorktown and Enterprise. I have always thought the three sisters, who weathered the storm early in the war and delivered retribution at Midway, ought to be always spoken of together.

This too is a late 2018 film, but I expect or hope it will have DVD/Bluray release in 2019…

They Shall Not Grow Old
https://www.theyshallnotgrowold.film/
Peter Jackson’s World War I documentary commissioned by the Imperial War Museum to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the end of the war.

In England it was released on Nov 11, not sure of the details beyond that. USA had a limited release at select theaters on two days in December. Buuuuut, I just found this, stating that there will be another US theater date this month: (https://variety.com/2019/film/news/peter-jackson-the-shall-not-grow-old-screenings-1203099003/

After the documentary was a 30 minute interview with Jackson where he described the different challenges faced and techniques used in restoring the film, which was as fascinating as the documentary itself.

Watch the Youtube trailer and you will get a sense of what the film is about. It literally brought tears to my eyes. It was absolutely incredible. It made a war which often feels like an antiquated story, long in the past, something very immediate and touching. There was a surprising amount of comedy too. There were no historian commentaries, just the voices of the men who were there. What Jackson and his people did with the film footage is nothing short of miraculous. It turned WWI footage into something that could have been filmed yesterday. I only wish they were able to do the same treatment for all the other Powers at war.

I HIGHLY recommend everyone go see the film. Given the subject matter, I imagine it will interest people here, but it is really something that every man, woman and child ought to be exposed to. Especially since the war is now effectively out of living memory. WWI is not unrelatable or nonapplicable to our present. This film shows it for what it is: humanity in another time.

@CWO-Marc @vodot

Gotcha. I get the pieces thing for sure. I got my Customizer badge for painting pieces and have always loved game figurines, whether for A&A, Risk or other games.

I guess with Historical Boardgaming existing now, in addition to other aftermarket outlets, I no longer see the need for people to buy entire game copies just to get pieces. Depending on the price point and how many are desired, buying the whole game could be more cost effective.

I am EXTREMELY interested in unique unit sculpts; ones we haven’t seen before, even if they are redundant for the unit-types involved. Pieces that are more historically accurate and detailed receive a premium of interest from me. Hence the reason I gravitate towards HBG’s original battle pieces. I guess I just assumed that other people would feel similarly. There are a few OOB pieces which are superior to HBG ones, or worthwhile in their own right, but not many.

I will never again use an OOB Wasp if I have access to an HBG Essex. Or a OOB Sherman vs a HBG Sherman. At least when it comes to painting.

So what is everyone’s rationale for owning multiple copies, or many multiple copies, of the same game. If it is just for collecting purposes, then I suppose that rationale isn’t necessary. But otherwise is it to get pieces, for game value if/when they go out of print, spares, lending them out to others, hosting game parties or tournaments where multiple copies are needed…?

I jointly own one of pretty much every version since the original Europe and Pacific, except for the newer 2nd Ed. Global 40, 1941 and 1942. But only one of each.

I guess I didn’t really answer CWOMarc’s question, but rather addressed my own curiosities. Yes, late-war/post 1945 tech.

HBG hasn’t made such a mixed-bag set before, which is why I thought it was interesting.

@djensen You are a gentleman and a scholar. I very much appreciate the indulgence.

Hi David. New forums look nice. Thank you for your time spent and attention to detail.

Did some searching but I cannot find any topics regarding migration of past year patron badges into the new format. Currently mine aren’t showing. My Customizer badge is there, but not the Patrons for some reason. If you or one of the other mods can figure that out for me I will go all in on 2018!

Thanks!

@CWO-Marc

Doug didn’t offer much in the way of reasoning behind his unit selection. However, some of his comments on the post make me think that he is trying to hit classes of pieces that haven’t been made yet, which will apply to all nations.

For example, Malta would stand in for the Heavy Carrier sculpt (of all nations?.. I am not sure). Similarly Montana would cover the Heavy Battleship. There is no seaplane piece currently, so throw in the PBY, etc… I believe he actually had Midway in for the heavy carrier until he edited it.

And yet, there are some categories here which HBG has already made sculpts for: Jet (Me 262, Kikka, P-80), Heavy Bomber (Ju-488, plus others they have labeled as heavy bombers), Torpedo Bomber (TBM, Swordfish, Barracuda, Kate).

So I am not really sure what they are trying to do, but I am also not complaining.

@LHoffman said in HBG - Axis & Allies Parts/Accessories and Custom Piece Sets Store!:

HBG asking for feedback on new GW1936 pieces. Looks like a general set which will have units that apply to the Axis, Allies and neutrals.
HBG Facebook Post

From the link:

***Which pieces would you like to see in a Generic Mold for Global War 1936? It would be similar to last mold, unique piece done in all major colors.

1-Battlecruiser (Scharnhorst) GERMANY
1-Heavy Battleship (Montana) USA
1-Heavy Carrier (Malta) UK
2-Jet (F-86) USA
2-Attack Transport (Haskell Class) USA
2-Torpedo Bomber (Devastator) USA
1-Heavy Bomber (B-29) USA
1-Hybrid BB/CV (Ise) JAPAN
1-Coastal Defense Ship (Norge) Norway
1-Airship (ZRS-4) USA
1-Recon/Seaplane Aircraft (PBY) USA
2-Colonial Infantry (French)
2-Heavy Artillery (M1931 203mm) Russia
1-Advanced Submarine (Nautilus) USA

Please list your ideas and needs for GW1936.***

HBG asking for feedback on new GW1936 pieces. Looks like a general set which will have units that apply to the Axis, Allies and neutrals.
HBG Facebook Post

From the link:

***Which pieces would you like to see in a Generic Mold for Global War 1936? It would be similar to last mold, unique piece done in all major colors.
ie.
1-Battlecruiser (Scharnhorst) GERMANY
1-Heavy Battleship (Montana) USA
1-Heavy Carrier (Malta) UK
2-Jet (F-86) USA
2-Attack Transport (Haskell Class) USA
2-Torpedo Bomber (Devastator) USA
1-Heavy Bomber (B-29) USA
1-Hybrid BB/CV (Ise) JAPAN
1-Coastal Defense Ship (Norge) Norway
1-Airship (ZRS-4) USA
1-Recon/Seaplane Aircraft (PBY) USA
2-Colonial Infantry (French)
2-Heavy Artillery (M1931 203mm) Russia
1-Advanced Submarine (Nautilus) USA

Please list your ideas and needs for GW1936.***

@SS-GEN Ah, gotcha. That is reasonable.

Giving the Bismarck-class equivalency with the Yamato’s certainly isn’t accurate. And IMO cheapens an exclusive NA to Japan - if that is part of your game.

@Dagon81 said in Axis & Allies Anniversary upgraded version:

@LHoffman was thinking the same…even though the advantage is called Most Powerful Battleships in the Revised Ed… changed it… also the Flying boats its now Sub-Hunters, makes more sense as I definitely wanted a de Havilland tactical bomber on the image… :)

Nice! I was trying to wrap my head around a Hornet or Mosquito on a Flying Boats card and understood your intent, but I think what you changed to works better overall.

Again, great set of cards. I followed Young Grasshopper’s Delta card deck with great interest a few years ago and have been collecting art to create my own at some point. But this set is very simple, is based in established A&A legacy and the aesthetic matches perfectly with the A&A brand.

The German Advanced Research card is genius, both in the illustration chosen and the reasoning behind the card. Easily my favorite.

Awesome cards. Nice aesthetic and callback to NAs in Revised.

Minor quip: “Powerful Battleships” may be more appropriately named “Super Battleships”, at least that is often what the Yamatos were described as. “Powerful” implies offensive strength, whereas the advantage is related to defensive resilience.

@Mordineus:

Star Trek movies should be watched as follows: Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek III: The Search of Spock, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Continues, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.  Then get really drunk and watch Star Trek V and pretend that it makes sense… There are a few scenes in there worth watching, but it really is a mess.

You are now done watching Star Trek motion pictures.  It is kinda sad, but even this fanboy realizes that the actors were getting old and the writers were running out of ideas, so it is almost certainly for the best there was never another Star Trek movie made.

:lol: :lol:

@CWO:

Ah, I see. Thanks.   No wonder it made no sense to me; I’ve never read any of that expanded universe stuff.  In fairness, Star Wars isn’t the only sci-fi franchise that brings back dead characters; over in the Star Trek universe, for example, Denish Crosby once said that her best roles on the show were in the episodes that were made after they killed off her character.

Oh by far. Selah was a far more interesting character than Tasha Yar. To be fair, TNG season 1 wasn’t great and most of the characters were not well fleshed out… Geordi, Worf, Wesley all really stand out in addition to Yar. But once the show developed more and they were able to work in an interesting plot line for her, she worked out well. Even to the point of being a favorite character for video game spin offs.

They brought Spock back in ST:III, but that seemed like a planned story arc from ST:II. Although I think I remember Leonard Nimoy asking to be killed off at one point. Maybe they just all thought better of it after the fact.

They set the same thing up for Data in Nemesis, with him downloading what amounted to his memories into his long lost brother before going on his suicide mission. Unfortunately we never saw where it went from there.

Hell they killed Kirk and then brought him back all in the same film. (Edit: and then killed him again.)

Nothing is as bad as the Emperor in the Star Wars expanded universe. He was killed in RotJ and then brought back as a clone like, what, at least 3 times?

Can’t let the good established characters permanently die it seems. The universe just isn’t as good without them apparently. If you count the Death Star as a character (and I do), they did it at least twice with that (RotJ and FA). And even more times with the whole Superweapon concept.

@CWO:

One thing that really bugged me (again, without spoiling anything) is that there’s a “major reveal” towards the end of the film that I found utterly baffling because it involves someone who died long before the events of the film and yet who’s still alive in this one.  This made no sense to me.  Perhaps the answer is somewhere in one of the many Star Wars spin-off novels, but I haven’t read any of them, so this plot element completely lost me.

I believe there was some old EU stuff in which said character was “not really dead” as it appeared. Not sure of the backstory behind it all, but I am positive it was just because the character was too popular to have been shortsightedly killed off so soon. Doesn’t matter how far fetched the “back from the dead” story would be, it would elicit more interest.

@General:

Without even getting into anything else Solo features the worst cinematography of any Star Wars film, and it’s not even close.

Since this comment conforms with my world-view, I second it.

@dangermouse650:

On my first quick glance i thought no they aren’t mine but then i saw the yellow sub, gosh it has been a while since i looked at my pics, those lexingtons were the product of shapeways. I find that as i am getting older, i have less and less me time for games and other hobbies, it really should be the other way around. Family and work demand more when i should be doing less. Such is life. Happy gaming my friends.
P.S. Photobucket is the pits, i lost hundreds of files ( like so many others) not only on this site but on my rc sites as well. They suck.

Thanks DM. And yeah, same with me on photobucket.