Firestorm Armada: Model arrivals. Want to know more?

[spagunk]

So despite my better judgment (*looks at huge pile of unpainted 40k figures in corner*) I dropped a few bucks on getting some FSA models. I decided to buy a new Patrol fleet box, a box of the new cruisers/heavy cruisers and some new Battlecruisers.

 

They are set to arrive around Friday so I wanted to see if anyone was curious to see an unboxing/general impression post.

 

Would you like to know more?

[generalripphook]

Yes please, I'd like to see one.

[Last_Bullet]

I would as well.  FSA had a few people up in Everett that bought in but we never play now :(

 

Always interested in seeing new things and ideas to get people playing.

[spagunk]

Cool. Since I don't know what time they will arrive on Friday, I may get something posted on Saturday.

[VonWalther]

Just got my new starter box set in the mail, and I have to say this.  They are more detailed then the older models, and they got together with less fuss and gap filling.  I have been very pleased with them so far.  Took me three hours to put two fleets together, while it took me two days to but last starter set together.

[spagunk]

I agree with that. While waiting for mine, I got a set of old style frigates and the difference is pretty noticable. The resin is slightly different too and seems more accurate than the old stuff.

 

I am processing the pictures now so hopefully I will post stuff today.

[spagunk]

Instead of posting one long post, I will break it up into parts.

 

First up, the

Fleet Patrol Box

 

 

The box itself is constructed pretty well. Rather than making the whole box a walking advertisement, only a sleeve covers a plain white box.

 

 

The components are all packed in their own bubble wrap which is good to know since we're talking about resin. Though there aren't very many bits that stick out or could break in transit, it's nice that they are all packaged separately.

 

The patrol box comes with a set of frigates, cruiser hulls, the battleship, engine/hull bits and flight stands. Resource cards are also provided as these are used in game as a tactical resource while playing.

 

 

Each box also has a set of tokens, measurements for movement and the like. They are made with a thin but sturdy card stock so investing in hard plastic counters is something you may want to look into later.

 

 

Flight stands come in two sizes: Battleship size and Cruiser/Frigate size. Each one has a peelable plastic coating on one side to protect from scratches.You can opt to keep them on or off depending on what you want to do. I've seen many people actually decorate the underside with star fields. Not a bad idea IMHO.

 

Also note that this set has a dual peg battleship stand. Other ships may have more since the pegs themselves are used for measuring and some firing situations.

 

[spagunk]

Frigates

Frigates in this box are highly detailed and are much improved over the older versions. Rather than having metal bits to glue together, you are given one whole piece of resin. I have to say that their resin manufacturing is pretty top notch. Very little flash from the mould which will make cleanup a lot easier.

 

Flight stands have a hole on the bottom of the ship.The front peg is just where the filled the mould with the resin. People familiar with resin are pretty used to this.

Cruisers

The next class up in the box, Cruisers are much larger than the Frigates by at least two or three times. Again, the build quality is really nice for resin. They smartly broke the ship up into two parts. This is a design decision they made to allow you to swap bits on the cruiser hull and make them Heavy Cruisers. For a normal cruiser squad, one ship can be upgraded this way. However from a company stand point, this allows them to get two models for almost the price of one. The other advantage is that the mould lines are all inside the recess that no one is really going to see much of anyway.

 

 

 

Engines parts are provided and attached to the back end on flat areas. They give you a set of normal engines for all ships plus an extra set to make one a Heavy Cruiser.

 

 

Because the ships are larger, they provide the holes for the flightstand on a separate piece. This same piece is going to be used for all the cruisers and the battleship in this box so there is no confusion on which bit goes to which ship. Note that the bulkier cruiser hull piece in the middle is larger but shaped slightly different. This did not appear to be a problem and would lend itself great for magnetization.
 

[spagunk]

Battleship

The battleship is significantly larger than the cruisers. I estimate it to be about 5 times if not more larger than the cruisers. Engine parts and peg hole bits are interchangable with the cruiser bits with the added exception that you need two peg hole bits glued in so that two pegs can be used.

 

Detail again is pretty phenominal. Being almost a single piece of resin, the amount of work done to make this ship stand out is absolutely great.

 

 

 

 

Comparted to 28mm figures, this thing is pretty big.

 

 

One thing to mention is that the blank spaces on the rear of the ship is for engine blocks. These are absolutely the same as the cruisers so again, no need to worry about instructions or issues with the wrong parts.

 

Next post: Cruiser Box and Battlecruiser

[spagunk]

Cruisers

 

 

The Cruiser box is similar to what you get in the Fleet Patrol box as far as parts go. However the benefit here is that you get the extra parts to make them Heavy Cruisers as well.

 

 

As with the fleet patrol, the hulls are shipped in bubble wrap to prevent them from damage while the more sturdy bits are given a bag. Flight bases are provided as well with the same plastic covering that can be removed.

 

 

Four sets of engine blocks are provided which are intended to match either a standard cruiser configuration or a heavy cruiser configuration. Four regular and four heavy lower cruiser hulls are provided giving someone a great opportunity to magnetize the ships.

 

[spagunk]

Battlecruisers

 

 

Battlecruisers are a recent release with a street data of February 28th. Not all of the races received quasi-carrier type ships so you may not get any fighter and bomber tokens with whatever race you get.

 

 

Consistant packaging with the other boxes. The bits bag provides engine parts as well as the tokens for your small fighter and bomber ships.

 

 

 

The flight stand pack contains a set of small dice which are there to mark how many wings of fighters or bombers each token represents.

 

 

Out of curiosity, I wanted to see how the token matches to a Battletech hex. They are pretty much the same size.

 

[spagunk]

The hulls themselves are pretty fantastic with lots of details.

 

 

 

 

All in all, I think these are all pretty good. Everything I received was in good condition with no breaks or issues. The models have plenty of details which will make painting fun. I am totally impressed with the entire shipment. Since I chose Sorylians as a race, I am increadibly excited to add more to my fleet. They are releasing new versions of Gunboats and other craft in April and what I see looks really good.

 

Hopefully I can get these painted soon and start showing them off!

[Guest]

Hmmm...thanks for the review...been wondering the sizes of these.

[spagunk]

Regarding size, I really like the scale they chose. I've tried to get into Battlespace/aerospace but given the expense and the figure scale it never felt very substantial. The sculpt quality and size is just nice. And since all measurements are made through the flight stand, ranges are a bit easier to handle.