Posts made by AG124

@ FMG - While we’re waiting, would you please be able to post a profile view of the Italian transport to complement the overhead shot which you posted for us earlier?

@ Imperious Leader - Well actually, the FMG USSR dice colour looks quite a bit more red than the WOTC USSR OOB game pieces (which appear brown-red to me). The others are largely consistent, with minor shade variations.

@questioneer:

Reloader is right on and you guys know it!!!…The colors haven’t changed since Revised (early 2004) and they have kept them in all of their games since- you guys have NO idea what you are talking about!!

No, you appear to have misunderstood what Reloader posted. He stated that the colours haven’t changed in the last four games (i.e. since Guadalcanal)- he did not state that they haven’t changed since Revised. Indeed, he agreed that the colours have changed prior to AA50, which they certainly have:

• Germany has alternated through metallic blue, to several shades of gray, to charcoal or black;
• USSR has alternated through at least three different shades of red and reddish brown;
• UK has alternated through several shades of tan and brown, and even lime green;
• US has alternated through several shades of olive green and bright green (although the shades are only slightly different);
• Japan has alternated through several (very) slight shades of orange, and its units were coloured bright red in early editions of Pacific.

However, I think Reloader is correct concerning units from the last four games (Guadalcanal, AA50, AA42, and AAP40) - the units from these four games appear to be perfectly standardized (unlike the units from early editions of Revised, Pacific, Europe, and D-Day). For support, I compared my US and Japanese units from Guadalcanal and AAP40, and they appear identical in colour (unlike my Revised units, which are completely different shades of green and orange, with the green being more noticeably different).

I do have to agree that although WoTC did not follow a standardized colour scheme between Revised and Guadalcanal, they appear to be doing so post-Guadalcanal.

I also agree that the newest WoTC German units look more black than dark gray to me.

Finally, I note that although I would prefer the FMG units to match the WoTC ones, I am willing to accept some slight variations. I also loathe the black plastic chosen for the WoTC German units, and much prefer the FMG steel gray.

Quick note - The Haguro was a Nachi class CA, not the nameship of a DD class. Just thought I’d point that out. :-)

As well, I definitely agree that the Shinano is not the best choice for a carrier mold, due to the OOB model and due to her relative obscurity in comparison to other IJN carriers. I would still choose the Shokaku class as being well-known amongst WWII PTO enthusiasts and military historians, as well as being typical of modern IJN carrier production (at this scale, she is somewhat representative of the Soryu, and the Unryu class, the latter of which was intended for mass production, with 17 planned, 6 launched, and 3 completed).

@ Deaths Head 420 - I assume you are referencing the I-19 and Kinai Maru due to their inclusion in Axis & Allies WaS. I-19 was a B1 class submarine, which was actually my own choice (I’d be willing to settle for a different B class variant though). The Kinai Maru is a possibility for a transport, although I’d still prefer a mass-produced Standard Merchant, although due to my inability to confirm the existance of the version in the profile I posted earlier, I’d now choose a Type 2A:

Type 2A Standard Merchant:

BTW - Off topic, but in response to an earlier poster discussing Soviet carriers, the Soviets did draft plans for two serious CV designs, and had several others that never left the drawing board (none of any design were actually laid down though). These two serious designs were Project 71 (a light carrier, intended to begin production earlier in the war) and Project 72 (a fleet carrier, intended to begin production later in the war). If an appropriate thread is opened by FMG, I’ll post some line drawings (profile and overhead).

If anyone can get access to a copy of Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1809-1945 by Dieter Jung, Peter Mickel, and Hansgeorg Jentschura, there is an accurate line drawing of the profile of the Standard Merchant variant of which I am thinking. I, however, don’t have a copy of the book at the moment (hence my use of a ship silhouette from a subsim PC game).

EDIT - Never mind; after checking the said book, it appears that I was mistaken, as I cannot find the particular profile of which I was thinking. However, there are plenty of other interesting Japanese merchants from which to choose, including other Standard Merchants. I’ll post some links for consideration later.

I’ll also note that if FMG chooses not to produce another Zeke, my second choice for a Japanese fighter would be the NIK-1 Shiden-Kai “George.”

EDIT 2 - Here’s an interesting link to some detailed WWII-era Japanese transports, including both generic and standard merchants; it would be interesting to hear the opinion of FMG and some community members on some of these:

http://ww6.enjoy.ne.jp/~iwashige/modellist.htm

@kcdzim:

Japanese Strategic Bomber: Ki-67 (Betty)

I think you might have made a typo here - are you talking about the Ki-67 “Peggy” or G4M “Betty”?

If I had to choose, these would be my choices. I know that some of them are A&A OOB units, but I consider the FMG units to be replacements for the OOB units (for the most part anyway) and I would thus like some better quality iconic units:

CV - Shokaku Class
BB - I’m torn on this one; Yamato class were the iconic class of IJN BB, and would represent new BB production.  However, the Kongo class would represent the backbone of the IJN BB surface fleet; they saw far more action than other Japanese BB’s in 1942 (due to their greater speed). I’ll leave it up to FMG to decide what mold to choose, and I won’t complain about what I get… (Too bad FMG isn’t producing two BB molds per nation - each nation in the game would benefit from having a pre-war and modern BB mold, IMO).
CA - Mogami Class
DD - Kagero Class
SS - B1 Class
AK/AP - Standard Merchant - I forget the exact designation of the variant of which I’m thinking, as several variants of standard wartime production merchant and auxiliary vessels were produced under direction of the Japanese government during the war. The variant of which I am thinking was approximately 5,000 GRT, and had an aft-engine forward-cargo hold configuration; it was the same variant included in the original Silent Hunter game, although the displacement and dimensions from Silent Hunter were completely inaccurate. I’ll post a screenshot of the silhouette of the Silent Hunter Standard Merchant (taken from Hawke’s Silent Hunter ID Manual) at the end of this post, and try to come up with a better picture later.
Fighter - A6M2 Zero “Zeke”
Fighter-Bomber/Tactical Bomber - B5N2 "Kate - At this scale, the mold could also probable be the Kate’s late war replacement, the B6N2 “Jill” - slightly different tail and cowling, other minor differences.
Bomber - Ki-67 “Peggy”
Heavy Bomber (If produced by FMG) - G8N “Rita” or G5N “Liz”
Air Transport - L2D “Tabby” (US DC-3 Mold can be used here with 100% historical accuracy)
Tank 1 - Type 95 Ha-Go
Tank 2 - Type 97 Chi-Ha (unless FMG is aiming for a medium and heavy tank for each nation; then use the Type 97 and either the Type 3 Chi-Nu or one of several never-completed Japanese heavy tank prototypes).
Half Track/Mech Infantry - Type 1 Ho-Ha
Artillery - Type 90
Truck - I understand these will be generic, so I shall not list a choice here.

EDIT - Standard Merchant Profile from Silent Hunter:

@ FMG - What about the AA Emplacement, Minor Industry, Major Industry, Naval Base, and Airbase? I believe you confirmed all of those a few pages back. Are they still slated for inclusion, or have they been canceled?

Also, have you decided how many of each unit type will be included for each nation yet?

I received my replacement cruisers when I started a claim, soon after the game was first released. I didn’t have to mail in the old ones, and still have them to this day (I keep everything, so they will remain with my game).

I received my replacement Board and Tactical Bombers today (I didn’t have to mail in my old one, as I opened my claim long before the announcement). I was a bit disappointed to see that two of the bombers had damaged wings, and there were some dents in the board itself (from aircraft imprints), but at least WoTC came through for the community and provided the replacements at all.

@BrainDamaged:

Each NATIONAL SET WOULD INCLUDE:

26 Infantry
12 Artillery
12 Armour
12 Fighters
9 Bombers
12 Submarines
12 Destroyers
9 Crusiers
6 Battleships
6 Aircraft Carriers
12 Transports
NEW
6 Bunkers / Pill Boxes
3 Commander Units
12 Half tracks
12 Trucks
3 Task Force Markers (Like Pacific)
3 ********* Special Suprise

FMG has already informed us that this list is largely obsolete (for example, some types units are absent), and will later be replaced with a more accurate list.  FMG also confirmed that the amount of certain types of pieces will differ from nation to nation, using as an example, the hint that the USSR will receive less carrier pieces than Japan.

@ FMG - Sounds good to me; it makes sense for unit types to vary among nations. You don’t have to rush to post the updated list if you’re not ready, although I for one am quite interested in seeing it. 8-)

@ FMG - I just a quick question regarding the plastic piece list for each national set, as posted below:

@FieldMarshallGames:

26 Infantry
12 Artillery
12 Armour
12 Fighters
9 Bombers
12 Submarines
12 Destroyers
9 Cruisers
6 Battleships
6 Aircraft Carriers
12 Transports
NEW
6 Bunkers / Pill Boxes
3 Commander Units
12 Half tracks
12 Trucks
3 Task Force Markers (Like Pacific)
3 ********* Special Surprise

However, I noticed that several piece types from your later announcements haven’t been listed here. Basically, I would be interested to know how many Minor and Major Industries, Airbases, Naval Bases, and AA Emplacements will be included per national set. Thank you.

Also, are all of the numbers in the above list currently correct? In light of AAA Pacific 1940, I would prefer about 8 BBs and CVs to be included per national set, but I understand that this may not be possible, due to development costs and the present late stage of production.

Another great mold; just the kind of quality which the AAA community has come to expect from FMG. 8-) Looking quite forward to this set, and to any further preview images which may be forthcoming from FMG in the coming weeks.

@ FMG - Thank you very much for your response; my appetite for new information is once again temporarily whetted, although I may have a couple of other questions in the not-too-distant future… 8-)

I think FMG has stated (on more than one occasion) that the colours of the new pieces will match FMG’s Combat Dice; these are slightly different than the AA50/AA40 colours, but they work quite well, IMO. Anyway, here is a list of the colours, if it helps (some of the colours are basically the same for both FMG and AAA, but the hues or shades are slightly different):

AA50/AA40 (so far):

• USSR - Dark Reddish-Brown
• Germany - Black
• UK - Tan
• Italy - Light Orange/Brown
• Japan - Orange
• US - Green
• China - Yellow/Green
• ANZAC - Pewter Grey
• France - TBA (likely some shade of blue)

FMG:

• USSR - Pure Red (no brown tint at all)
• Germany - Steel Gray (different colour than recent AAA games, but I personally prefer gray)
• UK - Tan (slightly lighter than AAA colour)
• Italy - Dark Brown (very different than AAA colour, and for good reason)
• Japan - Orange (similar to AAA boardgames, but slightly less brown)
• US - Green (appears brighter than AAA boardgames)
• China - Yellow/Green (very similar to AA50/AA40)
• ANZAC - TBA
• France - TBA

As I noted, some of the FMG colours are slightly (or in two well-justified [IMO] instances) different than those used by WoTC, but I personally regard them as perfectly acceptable (or even better than WOTC’s colours in most cases.

One should also note that WoTC has not been consistent with any of its colours; USSR pieces are now less reddish than they were in the past, Germany used to have gray and metallic blue pieces at various points, the US shades of green have varied from olive to emerald over several games, the UK have used multiple shades of tan (and even seafoam green in some copies of Revised, although mine are tan), and Japan had light red pieces in early AAP games. Since WoTC has never shown consistency in its colour choices (possibly due to supply issues), I personally wouldn’t consider continued use of AA50 or AA40 colours to be a sure thing (although this is hardly an objective and final conclusion on my part). I would conclude by stating that even if FMG does not match WoTC’s colours shade-for-shade, it would not at all be a bad thing, although I would prefer FMG to remain consistent within its own product line (and I have no doubts that it will do so).

Anyway, on another colour-related note…

@ FMG - have you considered any possible colours for ANZAC or France yet? I noticed (and voted on) your poll regarding roundels and colours for ANZAC dice, but I didn’t see any mention of possible colours from you (I understand if you’re not ready to discuss such things yet, but I can’t help but speculate…). Are there any colours to which your choices are limited? If so what are they? I personally would like to see ANZAC pieces in Turquoise (Blue/Green), but I will admit that this isn’t a colour for which I’ve seen much support so far from the community.  Scarlett or Crimson Red might be another choice for ANZAC too, unless you end up using this colour for an extra Canadian print run of UK molds (I don’t intend to ever house-rule Canada as a separate nation, but there might be enough interest to make a different colour print run economical, I guess).

From Larry’s posts, and from the colour of French-controlled territories in AAP40, I think it is obvious that French pieces will be blue. The shade of blue, however, remains to be seen. I don’t think it matters if FMG matches WoTC’s colour exactly, but I would understand if FMG wishes to wait another while to see what colour is chosen. @ FMG - do you have any thoughts on France you might want to share at this point?

Got my copy today; very, very impressed with the quality of the game parts (other than the usual plastic pieces, but FMG will take care of those later). Minor problem though; I received an extra bag of Japanese pieces instead of a bag of UK pieces - I guess I might be able to contact customer service to get the correct pieces (I haven’t had problems with them in the past anyway).

@ FieldMarshallGames - Any word on the complete sculpt list yet? Not trying to rush you, but I will admit that I’m looking quite forward to seeing your sculpt choices for each nation.

Thank you very much for the update; This set list is pretty much what I hoped it would be, and I think that it would serve the purposes of A&A gamers quite well (I know that I myself will have to pre-order a copy).

Now that the mold choices have been finalized, might it be possible to give us a list of the specific molds which have been chosen for each nation?

In reply to inquiries regarding the Soviet BB, the mold appears to based on the Gangut class; the only class of Soviet BB (other than the UK Royal Sovereign) to see action with the Soviet Navy during WWII.  It is quite a…well…interesting…looking ship, but from the pictures I have seen, the AA42 mold actually looks fairly accurate. Perhaps it would be fair to direct complaints towards Soviet naval engineers who modernized the class prior to WWII instead of WOTC… 8-)

Here is a line drawing of the Gangut class, for comparison purposes (the lower image depicts the class as it appeared during WWII, with the upper pictures illustrating the vessels prior to their modernization):

Personally, I have always stated my preference for the incomplete Soyuz class, for reasons I have stated elsewhere on this forum. Here’s a hypothetical illustration for consideration (although I am not terribly disappointed by the Gangut class, I do hope that FMG decides to use the Soyuz class instead):