Star Blazers Miniatures

A classic from childhood Saturday mornings

This was shown in small episodes on Saturday morning reruns. I can't say it had a profound influence on my life or anything, but it is good - if lite - entertainment. At some point, we all need gorgeous bug-eyed enigmatic women to save our planet, don't we? Especially if they are offering us free engineering solutions to win our war against Ming the Merciless of Planet Mongo. Oops, I mean Desslock and the Gamilons, supported by Grand Moff Tarkin. Whatever.

So, what does this post have to do with Starfire? Well, the unavailability of Starfire miniatures at the time had me looking for an alternative to play Starfire rules in miniature. I wanted a very small, quick project, and this was the right one.

Star Blazers Wiki [HERE] explains the video distro - useful if you want to find/buy it.

Star Blazers Fleet Battle System reviews [HERE]

Star Blazers Miniatures are [HERE]

My order was from 08-29-2014, as the flat-rate box shows. It is focused primarily on the first few episodes with some space battles between Earth Defense Forces [EDF] and the Gamelons. It is easily among the most realistic space battle footage ever. Ha ha, just kidding, but it is fun and there is some maneuvering of the ships and blaster / missile action along the way.

Below, is the entire order. A bunch of physically small ships with just a couple of exceptions. My concept was to run a series of likely battles and encounters, and transports, minelayers, tankers, provide a great excuse for lots of encounters. Originally was going to use Starfire without any changes, as most weapons are there, including fighters and carriers. Of course, the Argo always provides a number of exceptions to any rule set, except maybe Battlefleet Gothic, which has a 40K equivalent of the Wave Motion Cannon.

Larger ships like the argo are multi-piece and need some assembly. Delicate bits like the photo-etched parts come on a common sprue so there's a diagram of the sprue parts you need to use. Obviously, these might be a bit delicate for fat-fingered gamers at conventions, but the intent is more for 1-on-1 games on a small table, much in the style of Starfire, et al.

I love this ship - don't know why! May have to swipe some photo-etched parts from the sprues of other models. It is a lot smaller than I thought, and in the TV series is called a "battleship".

Alex Wildstar's TD, an escort of them is in the Pluto battle. They all get wiped out.

Just imitating Desslok's voice is fun - can't have Star Blazers without him! His ship is pretty cool.

This looks like another interesting model to have on the table. Clearly different, obviously a support ship, I think it will work well.

Perfect!  All it needs is "Exxon" written on the sides! 1mm wire was NOT included, meh.

I like nearly all the Gamilon ships. If I could get these little ones in 2" versions, I might have put up the money, but that would be a larger-scale of ship game.

Uncertain if this is supposed to be more or less powerful than the high speed cruiser above - but hey, they are aliens so we can't insist they adhere to Jane's.

Nice small ship. Great opponent for the EDSF TD above.

These are, well, just too big. Dunno what I'll do with them. Wish I could sell them back or get a discount for not taking them.

Generally, the "capital ships" are 1.25-2" long. The minor ships are about 0.5". This makes them perfect for 1" hexes if there is zero stacking or they are mounted in groups. I plan to fight them individually as a pocket game in the TFG / Metagaming tradition.

This order was about $40 shipped and I think offers a nice balance of cost, prep time and game possibilities. I'd recommend this all and watching the series as light entertainment and a kitchen-table setup for space battles. If you are into small-table games [or have to be] then you should check out this genre and this line of miniatures!

The alternative is to go "big ship" and field mostly battleships in the 2" range, and multi-mount all the smaller ships in groups. this would increase the cost to about $100 for two battle lines, but would be a lot easier to see on a larger table. With the fragility of the models, I'm uncertain this is the right choice for a club night. For that, I'd rather use the Wizards of the Coast Star Wars ships instead.

Well, the project has languished for six years. It shouldn't take very long to get them cleaned and ready, so there's not much of an excuse to wait!

Starfire: another playtest

Newton's First Law: Is it really all that? Turning Starfire a bit upside down...

So another playtest, this time using the brilliant mechanics of Triplanetary [mostly]. Each ship can use its Ion Engine units as Thrust to change its vector by rotating the ship [1 pt], increasing / decreasing speed [1pt/hex]. At present, not using any additional energy allocation mechanics to concentrate on the movement rules. Using N1L inertia means that ships will move continuously unless they use thrust to execute a change. So to summarize, the critical points of this playtest are:
- N1L, i.e. inertia, ships will continue moving on same vector unless they use Thrust for a change,
- No shooting thru the rear 60 hex angle [it widens each hex row for a triangle shape],
- Ships have 5 Thrust and 6 Thrust respectively.
- Thrust can be used to power Sensors that give a bonus on turn IN.
- Vector recording on the sheet is by speed and direction, so 3-->1 is speed of 3 hexes in direction 1. A second direction is possible, so 3-->1, 1-->6 is 3 hexes direction 1, 1 hex direction 6. directions are in the top left of the map, 1-6.

Playing again, Scenario 1 of Starfire 2nd Ed, First Contact. For a decisive victory, the blue Frigate must enter the system from the warpgate [black counter, white cross], get within 2 hexes of both the Khanate Escort and the planet with an intact Scientific Instrument system, then depart thru the warpgate. With a quite generous 5 or 6 Thrust, preplanning isn't that big a deal [maybe it should be?].

Turn 1. pre-set up, Discovery enters at speed 3->1, Khanate ship is orbiting at point 6.

First reaction, Turn 1. Discovery speeds up, Khanate speeds up and prepares to leave orbit.

Turn 2. Terrans win IN due to powerful sensor advantage. Khanate spends Thrust maneuvering and speeding up, leaving atmo and looking for a shot which it gets with a great roll of '3', denting the armor of the Discovery.

Turn 3. Terrans speed up and turn, while Khanate tries to position itself to be shooting now, and shooting later. Not easy! Especially when you keep losing IN and having to move first. Terrans have a close scan on on the Khanate ship, and a Tactical Victory already. In the exchange of fire, the Terrans score a quick critical hit 2 systems to the right! The Khanate also get a hit.

Turn 4. Terrans do some tricky maneuvering using up a lot of their Thrust, scanning the planet on their drive-by, and losing IN in the process.

They sweep far north, gaining speed and looking for their exit warp point - they must bring word back to Terra - Aliens, hostile and technological!

Turn 6. The Terrans sweep away from the Khanate vessel, plotting a vector for the warp point, and battering the  aliens once more. The Khanate ship loses the range and the fight.

Well, I'm getting better with the attack pattern, but it seems like I am not learning much with the defense! I was trying to use a slow speed and interior lines to keep in Gun range as long as possible, but it didn't take long until I lost the Terran ship in a burst of speed.

Thoughts:
Using the full Ion Engine units of the game results in too many possibilities for ships maneuvers, which is a bit hard to track and play out. The original Triplanetary gives each ship ONE thrust unit per turn, and a limited number per game that have to be tracked, and when you run out of Thrust Fuel you are a hostage to N1L unless rescued by another ship that gives you fuel. I think that is needed.

A simple and flavorful way to address the mass variety in Starfire is to just say that capital ships have Thrust 1, smaller ships have a 2, and fighters have a 3. This will change ship construction and points - again. Oh well, back to the drawing board!

To summarize:
- Directions should use the letters in the bottom right of map,
- Ships should have 1 or 2 Thrust for massive or smaller, and 3 for fighters.
- Fuel is a good scenario limiter, but would have to be tracked.
- Less is more. There's plenty to think about without many special rules or exceptions. The tension between Missiles / Point Defense and Guns is already a learning curve, the two weapon systems are very different.

Next: Lots of time at the drawing board...

Starfire: Reworked Tech Level Timeline & Ship Building

   Turning Starfire Upside-Down [a bit]



OK, taking the plunge and going for sharing this draft. A number of goals were set:
- Engine Movement was converted into Thrust / Newton's First Law. Ergo, Thrust is more important and priced higher.
- Ships with large mass are now a bit more ponderous, with low acceleration [Thrust] and turn modes.
- I got rid of most 1/2 space use - it's just a pain.
- The Tech Levels are quite different. They represent a more typical, "weapon development history as we know it" approach that pendulum swings from offense to defense a bit. So Ships have armor, guns and missiles at first. Then the Energy Beam shows up that penetrates armor [distance, evasion and overload dampener are your counter tactics to this]. Then Shields are invented to protect you from Energy Beams. Then the Laser Beam shows up that penetrates Shields, etc etc. You can at least understand why each Gadget is getting invented at the next tech level - some Admiral went into the R&D lab and said, "Dammit! We need something that can do _______ better!"

- I plan to slow down the chronology of tech advance a lot, more like 20-30 years per tech level. This will mean that ship development will advance at a more realistic pace, sort of like from 1850-1950, instead of jamming all 100 years into a 5-year war with the Khanate. Sure, that may be what the future will be like, but...money and resources still talk, and your naval budget has to justify the expenditure!

The Notes show thoughts I want to try out. Some of pretty certain, others are pretty speculative and may go nowhere. But the overarching vision of naval architecture, weapons and tech advancement is pretty set. TLI is a clash between systems as we know them, mostly; it may be compared to modern naval warfare in space [without the fighters yet]. The main tension will be distant missile shooting and Point Defenses v. Close-Range Gunnery, and I'm sure both schools of thought will have their advocates!

I am particularly excited by the advance to TLII! The Energy Beam will be a significant tactical menace, making Armor useless and the answer will be distance, evasion and the Overload Dampener. I think that the Guns and Missiles will still be viable, just less decisive than capital ships with E-beams flying around! I may need to lower the hit chances a bit [due to attenuation] or enhance the ability to maneuver unpredictably to the gunnery computers.

I welcome constructive criticism, just comment or email me at my gmail. That is brasidas19004 at the usual ending.

NOTE: all data is Intellectual Property [IP] of Starfire Design Studio here [CLICK] and no infringement on their rights is intended. All information is for fan use by people who have acquired the Starfire 2nd Edition Rules [and hey, won't be any use if you don't have them, actually!]. These rules are available for a VERY reasonable price [HERE].

Starfire Ship Construction

Hull costs in MegaCredits [M¢] and their Characteristics

Hull Size	Cost	Spaces	Turn Mode	Max Thrust	Thrust Cost	Space / Thrust
Escort – ES	33	10	2	8	5	0.5
Corvette – CV	60	13	2	6	6	0.5
Frigate – FG	72	18	2	6	7	1.0
Destroyer – DD	130	25	2	5	8	1.0
Lt. Cruiser – CL	185	35	3	5	9	1.0
Cruiser – CA	300	50	3	5	10	2.0
Battlecruiser – BC	480	70	3	5	14	3.0
Battleship – BB	650	100	4	4	14	3.0
Dreadnought – SD	900	135	5	4	16	4.0
Freighter 1 – F1	60	20	2	4	4	1.0
Freighter 2 – F2	100	35	3	3	4	1.0
Freighter 3 – F3	150	55	3	2	3	1.0
Freighter 4 – F4	250	90	4	1	2	2.0
Base 1 – B1	100	20	-	-	-	-
Base 2 – B2	250	40	-	-	-	-
Base 3 – B3	500	75	-	-	-	-
Base 4 – B4	750	100	-	-	-	-

Ion Engine units have been renamed Thrust. Adding Newtown’s First Law to ship movement makes relative acceleration the most important movement aspect. Smaller ships may now escape the clutches of larger vessels which are usually slower off the mark but way more heavily armed – but they need to have a quick-witted commander!

Thrust cost has been increased a bit. The ability to outrace a superior ship is almost always a matter of life or death for the weaker ship, so one might say that speed is the single most important factor in positioning, and positioning the most important factor for weapon range friction zones and therefore combat.

The BC has been repriced to be what is was in WWI – a fast, heavily armed, lightly armored, but expensive patrol vessel.

System	Code	Cost M¢	Space	Tech Level	Special Rules
Armor	A	2	1	I	Max 20% of hull spaces; ignored by E
Cargo Hold	H	1	1	I	Max 10% of hull spaces on warships, but all must have 1+ [SD 2+]
Bulkhead	B	2	1	I	Max of 1B for every group of 4 H
Gun	G	5	3	I	*bang!*
Missile Launcher	M	10	3	I	Fired at +10 Thrust? Volley marker movement?
Ion Engine [Thrust]	I	*	*	I	Cost & Thrust on hull chart, above
Science Instruments	X	10	1	I	Per scenario victory conditions – scanners?
Multiplex Tracking	Mx	*	1	I	M2/30, M3/45, M4/65, +30 M¢ thereafter
Point Defense	D	25	2	I	°
Tech Level I = pre-all Beam technology
Gun/Missile Launcher	GM	20	3	II
Energy Beam	E	35	4	II	Ignores A and H – makes A obsolete?
Overload Dampener	O	20	1	II	Cancels 1 E hit per volley; may cancel 4, but then burns out
Transverse Thrusters	Tt	*	0	II	10% of hull cost – reduces TM by 1, allows Evasive Action
Tech Level II = Energy Beam breakthru; bypasses A, countered by O, Tt only; results in total redesign of ships with much less A and >ECM
Shields	S	4	0.5?	III	Ignored by Lasers; could take up 0 space – added to all ships
Datalink	Dl	40	1	III	Too cheap? Tech Level II?
Particle Thruster	Pt	*	0	III	Decrease Max Thrust ratings by “1” [min 1]. *Pt is 10% of Hull Cost
Tech Level III = Shield breakthru; results in ship refits to
Laser Beam	L	25	4	IV	Ignores Shields
Tractor Beam	T	10	2	IV	Shorten to 1 Hex & 1pwr/tech level; voluntary tug mainly
TL IV = L breakthru cancels S; S now leveled with A, each needed as have a weapon that ignores.
Shearing Plane	Sp	15	2	V	Cancels T
Force Beam	F	25	4	V
TL V = Sp breakthru cancels T use as major tactic, so probably boarding actions, also. F is logical extension of T and Sp development
Primary Beam	P	50	4	VI	Ignores S, A, H, hits d6th system – can miss. Shoots e/o turn
TL V & VI = P/P2 breakthru makes S and A of dubious value; Defense returns to TLII response to Energy Beams
Primary Beam 2	P2	100?	4	VII	As above, but shoots EVERY turn

Notes on variations and rule changes.

• Warp Point transit exit velocity should be 1 hex/turn. This represents the momentum supplied by the transit itself, all other ship velocity was lost in the immaterium of the warp. This also makes strikes thru a warp point slower and gives the inhabitants more warning!
• Unnecessary to differentiate port/starboard guns or shields; ships can rotate in reality, there’s no up or down!
• BFG Command Rolls: evasive Action [-1 H# penalty for you and your targets,
• Advanced Maneuvering: better at Evasive Action?

New Ship Stats

These are what the two ships from scenario #1 look like now, using my modified point values and [significantly] altered Tech Level timline.

Alkzar – TL1. ES, (2) A A A A I G I I I I I (6)                                                 

[Spaces/4      +0.5+3 +2.5  =10]

[Cost/33+8       +5 +5  +25   =76]

Alkzar has a bit more Thrust than Discovery. While about half the size, she has identical Armor [4] and one weapon squeezed in, a Gun that is best at short range. As a system defense boat and revenue cutter, about all she may need instead would be one less A and two less I for another Gun; that would also be worth trying out.

Discovery – TL1.  FG, (2) A A A A X H H H H I M X I I I I  (5)

                      [Spaces=18/4            +1    +4    +1+3+1  +4    =18]

                      [Cost/72      +8         +10    +4   +7+10+10+28=149]

Discovery has solid Armor in case she bumps into something while advancing the frontiers of science [or science fiction]. Her 4 Holds and 2 Scientific Instrument clusters [X] aid in her collection of data. She has one "weapon", a Missile Launcher that is normally used to launch data drones and scientific rockets around a solar system to explore faster. There are a few military grade missiles around, and a few other rockets that a talented science officer could jury rig into something that goes "BOOM!". But why would we need that...?

So we have a classic encounter shaping up. A smaller, faster ship that likes to fight close up, v. a larger ship that fights at a distance, but feels morally obligated not to shoot first! Both have their essential combat power at the end of their system line, 7 systems for moving, fighting, and [for Discovery] the needed instruments to fulfill the victory conditions.

Next up: Scenario #1 "First Contact 03MAR2205" at an unimportant star, VX134!