The Monogram has Landed

As far as the moon is concerned terrain is fairly limited to rocks, craters and endless fields of uninhabited grey dust. As to not confuse the onlooker with a Detroit suburb more distinguishing features are in order.   In its more cosmopolitan locations Allen Shepard opened a par-3 fairway during the Apollo 14 mission and along with several other landing sites scattered around the moon, it can be clearly distinguished from America's rust belt. So making the board attractive with terrain is going to require something more substantial than plastic craters and railroad ballast.     

 

I know 1/48 isn't 32mm but for the sake of budget and availability, close enough. This should add a little color to the board and a plus, Apollo 11 is as popular with contemporary modelers as Leg warmers and sweat bands are with Peloton. EBAY $28 USD

Scale to Scale? 

 These are the Euro Space agency figures from Black Site Studios compared to the Monogram Figures in the box. The legs on the BSS figures are taller and the proportions are finer in detail. I think they are close enough to use on the same board. 

 

The First Order

 

No not these Guys!

The Box from Black Site Studios.

 

The Basic box set contains two factions. First the Cosmonauts of  the C.C.C.P., the first space agency to engineer a zero-g vodka in a Capri-Sun container and to get a man to orbit the Earth. The second is N.A.S.A., Creators of Tang and the first to put MTV on the moon.

 

 This is the Package for the European Space Agency. Early space exploration was severely limited by the lack of stops provided by the The Eurail pass for anyone traveling outside of the 33 nations states settled on in 1959.

 

 

 

These two packages contain remote drones and probes for missions that by the time we are done playing will violate at least two of Asimov's Laws of Robotics. 

 

These are some 3d representations of objective/resource markers for game play. 

 

Because America, We can't go anywhere we don't have a car and a gun. 

The Chinese Space Agency, a group so secretive the package isn't even labeled! For all I know it maybe a dehydrates Ice Cream Bar.

 

Lunar-Tac-Fringe

 

LUNAR

Black Site Studios recently produced the Game Lunar, a small unit, man to man combat system based on the realistic human nature to fight over territory monumentally symbolic but argumentatively worthless. The story behind the game is good. The Soviet Union wins the space-race to the moon and begins staking out territory, NASA, The E.S.A, and C.S.A. programs land shortly afterward and the scramble for resources and conflict soon arise.      

The basic set is perpetually on BACK-ORDER but if you can get a hold of a copy, you get two teams of EVA suited Cosmonauts & Astronauts, some counters, rules and proprietary dice. It's the best buy, considering the 5 man teams can be priced at nearly $40 USD. Cards represent characters and equipment to simplify team building. The play area is small, 2ft. X 2ft. and teams are generally less than 5 figures.   

So the Gimmick: All the supplemental units are packaged Like Astronaut Ice Cream Bars.

 

I can hear the chorus of Grognards out there now moaning about "campy packaging" and "over-priced figures", 32mm isn't their scale.... 

Well, In Space no one can here you grumble.  

I'm In.