Last Two Up: STO Starships Collection Issues 19 and 20

We knew this was coming but good grief did it take a long time to get hold of the final two issues from Eaglemoss' 20 edition run of the Online Starships Collection.

Just to say before we start here that this has actually been a really, really good selection of ships from day one with a good spread across the main fleets with a couple of curveballs thrown in and, of course, an Enterprise for all those completists out there.

The end of the collection so early was a surprise - at least it was then - however in hindsight it sort of told us collectors and fans that the writing may well have been on the wall for some time.

But let's not go down that rabbit hole another time and instead focus on the two great ships that finish off the set.

With issue 19 we have the Cardassian CUV Damar starship and bookending the series with a Federation vessel we have the impressive Concorde Class.

Carrying a lot of the hallmarks of the Galor/Keldon Class ships commonly seen throughout seven years of DS9, the Damar Class/CUV Damar vessel dons a darker overcoat and actually seems to devolve to some degree. The very form of the ship takes it back even more closely to that of a scorpion. For example right at the front the ship carries two elements which suggest pincers as well as retaining the long forked tongue of a tail to the rear. Deadly at both ends!

While it also does away with the standard sandy Cardassian paint scheme of its forebears, the Damar model is actually...class. The paintwork on this one is fantastic. There's a god contrast and a whole ton of panel detail on just about every surface. Even better is the choice not to emboss the window points onto the hull and just paint them on. This look a lot more accurate and aligned than previous editions.

What also impresses with this Online Cardassian ship are the sharp RCS thruster points and blue grilles which stand out very effectively. The CUV Damar really is one of the best and most visually impressive from the collection. Multiple colourings, accurate window placement and perhaps the pinnacle, the layered hull.

From the front this is much clearer with the segments of the ship stacked up and enhanced with the use of negative space between the two main pieces. These are securely fixed together with the joints all hidden away within the depths of the layered hull.

What I did spot as well is the slight colour shift between the upper and lower hulls when the ship is flipped over. There's a more matt finish to the ventral side of the Damar as well as a direct continuation of the fine detail that marks out the upper levels of the ship. 

The Damar is a real gem. Well constructed, well replicated from the game and one of the more expertly finished vessels that Eaglemoss produced over nine years. It's just a surprise to find one that's so impressive this late in the day. Clearly its assisted in a large part by the design itself but for once the collection has a model that looks solidly built, finely turned out and well painted especially when it comes to the highlights and features.

Issue 19 remains solid and true to the Damar with details of its in-universe development, nature and role as well as a discriminating examination of the ship's design for STO. There's a ton of graphics and in-game images of the ship as you would expect but I would jump to say that the model easily blitzes every single image of the Damar on these pages; it's that nice a model. 

Rounding out the issue alongside its in-game stats is a section broadly covering The True Way (a Cardassian revolutionary group) and the Union itself after the climax of the Dominion War and the years to the 25th Century. Well worth a read and very comprehensive in a surprisingly small amount of space.

The USS Concorde NCC-94500 looks like a mash up of several different ship classes. The main chunk of it does appear to take inspiration from the Excelsior with its dipped hull and thinned rear section. Yet, this design tweaks even that classic with the quad warp engines and a more "eye" shaped deflector dish. 

Now, I'm not a huge fan of this ship but personal opinion on the design has never been a factor in determining if the model itself is any good. 

The thing with the STO ships is that the Federation ones tend to have this light/dark, black/white contrast going on which I can't quite accept on most occasions. I get that it's more striking when you see them in the game and makes them more easily recognisable but I'm more used to the flatter colours from the show and movies. 

Yet the Concorde cuts quite a mark as the final edition in the 20 issue series. The contrast of the two opposite shades works well and there's little to no colour bleed between the segments. The speckled finish we've so often seen in the series also returns to break up what would otherwise be a very stark white base coat. What I also love about the finish to this one is the alignment of the lifeboat hatches which hang right across the black/white border but are absolutely spot on in their placement and colouring.

The alignment of the red striping towards the rear of the primary hull is a little off when you compare starboard to port. Neither is crimped or marked but the two aren't quite aligned if you dropped a mirror down the front to back centre line.  It also clashes in with the black arc around the middle of the saucer if you look even more closely and from memory it's unusual for the lining decals to be this out of whack with the hull.

Also the red hatch markings are way off and worse since they adorn the very front and centre of the primary hull. That said, the windows are nicely applied because they aren't relying on specific hull dips or rises.

But the Concorde gets much more interesting the further back you go. Once past the registry (very basic) and the bridge, the rear of the primary hull expands out with an array of mechanics, sensor platforms and more. This effectively acts as both the rear of the saucer but also as the very rigid and secure pylons that hold the four warp engines. 

The detail along that spinal section is pretty good, mixing in greys and blues to draw out the elements however the finish does look chipped in places and the decals once again (on very close inspection) just don't quite line up in all aspects. The chips in the paint are a real disappointment as once you see one, there's a second and then you're scouring the whole thing to spot any more - which sadly there are.

But onto the engines where we have two larger warp nacelles slung tightly underneath a shorter pair. The wise folks at Eaglemoss did mange to incorporate translucent bussard collectors but chose to paint in the warp field grilles since they are very, very slim elements here. The paintwork for those grilles is ok at best with some feathered edges and again some paint "chipping" where the engines have black segments. The bussard collectors fairly hefty in size which does mean you can clearly see the peg elements which are holding it all together.

Across the whole of the 20 issues this seems to have been a constant factor. This black mask always seems to be worn in some form be it at the edges or frayed within the striping and it's detracted from the visual brilliance of more than one Federation starship, present company included.

The underside of the Concorde continues the speckles over white paintwork but once more features a lot of misaligned decals marking out key pieces of the starship whether cargo  hatches or lifeboat ports. The real issue has always been the scale and application, something that the XLs have managed to walk a fine line with on most occasions.

It is a little blotchy as well with the grey areas coming across as blobs rather than distinctive elements on the tail piece. Both the black and grey pieces of the bulbous forward area do avoid this but there are signs of some sloppy paintwork that indicates quality control wasn't p to scratch on this day. Fortunately the panel/shield grid lines are very prominent here as they are across the majority of the underside of the Concorde. The bottom of the saucer too is well finished if somewhat smooth. The red striping decals are crisper here and line up more precisely with the curves of the hull and inlaid sections although the hatch markings are all over the place as they are elsewhere.

It's a decent model to finish this short-lived series though and throughout, the unusual Federation ships have been well presented and well-represented. In a sense the Concorde fittingly demonstrates the best and worst of Eaglemoss. Great base colours, a learning that we as fans want to actually see the panel linings and surface undulations but god forbid you want decal or window accuracy at this scale.

Issue 20's magazine offers up similar material to all of its 19 predecessors with details of the battlecruiser's in-game existence and reasons for development as well as some rather nice plan views of the class. These do illuminate that the speckled paint finish is a design choice rather than an element that is seen in the game. 

Some of the CG images in here are spectacular especially the one which opens the issue. There's more from the real world as we are taken into the design process for the Concorde Class before, fittingly, the final article of the whole line - and also Eaglemoss' smaller starships collections - covers Starship Design within the STO universe.

So that was indeed that and this marks the final review from this collections and as noted, the final review from a starship (numbered edition) collection of this scale. We still have some review of older Discovery lines and bits to wedge in but for now, this is really how it comes to an end. The STO Collection was tragically underrated and clearly undersubscribed but 20 issues have covered Klingons, Romulans, Tholians, the Dominion and a ton of Starfleet vessels of all shapes and sizes.

In no way a let down, the collection has replicated the game's starships as best it could and in some respects (Damar) actually produced something that may well be superior to the original source piece.

I've been lucky to review this series and I hope for anyone who is a fan of starship design and never got the chance that these will be back online to purchase not too far in the future. While you might not go for all of them there are definite must haves in here on the brilliance of their original design and also some that work better as a model than on screen.

Eaglemoss - it was great while it lasted and thanks for these great additions for any fan collection.

Check out all our Online Starships posts HERE

You can find out more on the Star Trek Online Official Starships Collection by visiting the Hero Collector website HERE

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Dominion Faction Pack: Cardassian Union

 

A break in the run of XL reviews to cover another of our popular topics - Attack Wing.

An eternity ago we discussed the excellent Starfleet, Vulcan and Klingon packs but were surprised that the Cardassian Union expansion was delayed in the UK. It's finally arrived on our shores and is sure to provide a new level of play to your existing Dominion faction.

Set up in the standard four ship faction box, the Cardassian Union set brings together various aspects of the DS9 storyline. Taking a piece from the Romulan/Cardassian alliance to destroy the Founders, another from Dukat's personal arc and a third that also encompasses TNG and Voyager, there's a lot going on just with the ships.

Providing a second side to your Dominion faction (if you're playing pure), the pack includes two Keldon Class ships, a Galor Class and Gul Dukat's Klingon Bird of Prey models along with 28 new cards and tokens.

The four ships are the standard versions of ships which already exist so we'll skip onto the upgrades. The highest costing ship is the Keldon Class Preloc at 24 points. Offering the same fie Attack, one Defence, four Hull and three Shields as the lower costing Orias, the Preloc increases the number of Attack die of Dominion faction ships within range one by one. The two Keldon Class ships both have options for two Tech, two Weapon and one Crew upgrade as well as Evade, Target Lock, Scan and Battle Stations.

Strange thing is, I would have actually put the Orias as the more expensive of the pair since it gets to field the Cloak and Sensor Echo Actions as well if there are only Romulan or Dominion upgrades attached to it. If a friendly ship within range one cloaks then the Orias itself can do likewise as a free Action. Honestly I'd go with the Orias due to that extra standard Action ability. I only tend to play faction pure so this would be a huge advantage.

The Orias and the Galor Class Vejar both come in at a 22 point cost. The latter loses an Attack die but gains a Shield. Again, the Orias seems a better choice since the Vejar only carries Evade, Target Lock and Scan as standard abilities and four upgrade slots; Tech, Weapon and two Crew. Its Unique Action allows friendly ships up to range two can perform a Free Action from its Action Bar. 

Finally there's Dukat's Bird-of-Prey for a cheaper 17 points. With a four Attack, one Defence, three Hull and three Shields, the captured Klingon ship fields the Cloak and Sensor Echo features as standard as well as Evade and Target Lock. Operating as a dual faction vessel both as the named and generic versions, the Bird-of-Prey gets to either receive a Battle Station, Evade or Battle Station during combat or can increase the Captain Skill by three for that round. 

The Bird-of-Prey is a cool addition to the set and something a bit more curveball. Two Keldon Class could have seen one substituted with some Hideki fighters. If you are looking to reduce costs then the Bird-of-Prey general version comes in at 13 points with a single Tech, Weapon and Crew upgrade. The two generic cards for the Keldon Class both cost 20 points with two Tech, one Crew and one Weapon slot while the Galor Class is 17 points with a single Tech, Weapon and Crew slot. Each of them also loses its Unique Action from the named card and one Shield point. 

As for the Captains, we have four in the set enabling you to field every ship straight out of the box... well almost as for some reason I was missing one base!

Top dog here is Gul Dukat. Oddly there's no benefit to placing him on his own named Bird-of-Prey but he still proves an eight Captain skill plus, rarely, two Elite Action slots. 

He does also provide an enhanced attack feature which more than justifies his five point price tag. While modifying attack dice, an Evade or Scan beside the ship can be spent to convert up to three Battle Stations into two damage each. Now, logically I'd stick Dukat straight onto the Preloc or Orias to max those dice every time and if not, have him on a ship which comes into range of one of those on every turn just to max the hit chances.

Enabran Tain can flip to either Fleet Admiral or Captain with a skill of eight. There are no penalities with him for attaching Romulan upgrades to his vessel and as a second ability, Tain lets you discard a Dominion Crew upgrade to attack with an additional attack die on your primary weapon. It does incur two Time Tokens but could up your fire power to six if you're staying with this pack.

The four point costing Gul Toran also has the Elite Action option and a Captain skill of six. Toran's action unusually gives a bit of added attack and defence for friendly ships within range two. As the Action for the round, he can select a faction and then all friendly ships engaging them will gain an attack and defence die that time round. I like this one because it's rare to get a good defensive option. Just remember it's there if you equip him - and I'd suggest to a support vessel.

Last up there's Gul Evek. While Tain and Toran are DS9 focuses, Evek actually appeared in TNG, DS9 and Voyager during the mid-90's aboard the Vejar - see it all links!

Skilled with a lowly four and costing a reasonable two points, Evek only operates his Action at range one but does take on all the Auxiliary Power Tokens that might be in play on those ships during the Combat Phase. While potentially incapacitating Evek's command, it may well open up other Action opportunities on more than one ship.

The four Crew for selection also give a broad pass across the DS9 Dominion story arc. The five point Tora Ziyal can act for either the Dominion or Bajoran faction. She targets an attacking ship during the compare results stage and if the enemy is within range one, she can cancel the attack completely and be discarded. Ziyal also allows her own vessel to then perform an attack on that same ship utilising one less dice than a primary weapon if possible. A good card to help live another day or stop that one huge attack that you know is likely to be coming.

Three point Korinas works a little harder out at ranges two and three. Disabled and incurring an Auxilary Power Token, she removes an in play Minefield token. Very subjective and a waste of points unless you know this is something that could be deployed. I'd probably leave this one aside.

Gul Damar (two points) although not a Captain himself is perfect to add to any ship since he ups the Captain skill by two. He also assists with a friendly ship at up to range two in that if they use a Weapon upgrade he can be disabled with two Time Tokens and up to three attack dice can be re-rolled. Very useful although the Weapon upgrades from this pack max out at three dice anyway. Last up is Gul Broca. The final puppet leader of the Cardassian Union during the Dominion War, his Action is another decent one worth considering. Two points for its use as well is very agreeable with him targetting all friendly ships within range two. All of those affected roll an additional attack die that round including the one Broca is equipped to.

As to those Weapon upgrades, the Cardassian Union has some interesting plays to use. Available only for Galor Class ships, Multiple Dorsal Arrays (three points) works at all angles of attack but only if your enemy is using Attack Squadrons (fighters). Disabled with two Time Tokens, it allows your vessel to perform a second attack against the same target. Now I like this because I also love fighters and understand how flipping annoying they can be. This does offer some protection and deterrent at the same time.

The Enhanced Resonance Field Grid is a bit of a sneaky attack for a cost of two points. When using the Primary Weapon and you have an uncancelled Damage result, the card is binned off and that Damage can be put straight onto the Hull rather than the Shields. I'm not sure if this will make much of a difference in the long run unless you use this multiple times to dodge the shields on your opponent. Plus you'll need to remain in range to make it work over several rounds.

Last up is Phase Disruptor Array which can be used on Galor or Keldon Class ships and will cost two points. Activated at ranges one and two, the card incurs three Time Tokens and you will need to spend an active Target Lock to re-roll any number of dice up to two times. Couple of BIG wins here. It's reusable and it's a multi-roll which is better than a standard Target Lock and is only actually costing one more Time Token (depending on if you're using that or Disable tokens). Ideal for close quarter combat, you will need to make sure that your attacking ship lines up with a target in the forward firing arc.

Tech upgrades in the faction pack range from four points down to one. Top price goes to Type-3 Galor Class which adds two points to the Shield value of your ship, making it more defensible than a Keldon Class. Legion Crew Module means you can add another two Crew slots to your ship for a cost of two points and Uridium Alloy (two points) can be disabled during the modifying of attack dice step to convert two Damage into Critical Damage.

Perhaps the most interesting of the four Tech cards though is Sensor Ghost. What looks like a lot of text for a two point price is another useful defence technique. Discarded, Sensor Ghost forces an attacking ship to roll one less attack die and if the attack doesn't destroy your ship then it can perform a "one" Sensor Echo move and get out of the way...hopefully.

Obsidian Order is the most expensive upgrade card in the pack at five points. Usable over all three range marks, it mirrors enemy ships. If they spend a Battle Station, Scan or Evade then you get to equip one. No disable or discard in play here either which means you can certainly use this to your advantage both on attack and defence. Another perfectly sneaky move from the Cardassians.

Interrogation for two points disables a Crew upgrade on an enemy ship at range one during the Planning Phase of the game and locks it out with three Time Tokens. Not a massive fan of this one as it need you to take a chance that your opponent will have something worth locking out for that period of time. Very risky but low cost so you could take a punt.

Third in the group of Elite Actions is Supreme Tribunal. One point is a good price if you need to fill up some points. It does incur a four Time Token penalty and the only result is that an enemy ship within range two receives an Auxiliary Power Token. Nice point filler to reuse if you have a gap.

The final upgrade card is Kanar which can be equipped on any ship without an upgrade slot. For one point it's a nice option to have as you perform your Action before moving with the penalty being twofold. First you have to reveal your manoeuvre face up and also take on two Time Tokens. However, very useful if you realise you're in an early tactical advantage before moving!

Two missions are also packed into the Cardassian Union box. The Simpler Times sees the Klingons chasing down Gul Dukat and his captured Bird-of-Prey on a straight forward seek and destroy. The Secret of the Orias Sector takes its lead from DS9's Defiant in that a Federation ship must escape from the Cardassians after completing scans of the sector. Its 60 points versus 40 points but more dicey for the Federation player who has a mission to finish before getting away.

This may well be my favourite faction pack to date. It's exciting, varied, sneaky, defensive and loaded with four ships that really do gel well as a force right out of the box. The upgrades here are exemplary and mixed in with the Jem'Hadar faction pack from a couple of years back, I can see this being one of the strongest armadas available.

The Keldon Class ships alone are worth the price and I'm looking forward to joining them up with the Dreadnought missile or even a Hideki fighter wing in combat. Definitely a must have pack that really could re-ignite a lot of passion for the game with its brilliant cards. Absolutely first class.

You can check out all our Attack Wing reviews over on the Gaming Section!

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Attack Wing: Cardassian Connections

The powerful Keldon Class was a late addition to Attack Wing, but added a great deal of weight to the Dominion fleet.

In fact the Dominion is fast becoming my go-to faction with a good range of ships from the fighters and attack ships right up to battleships. 

The Keldon Class Cardassian starship certainly sits more towards the latter category, acting as the most powerful vessel from the annexed race.

The model itself, as became of the later expansions, has a good level of detail and a fairly accurate, sandy paint scheme. The panel definition is quite impressive given the scale and there's some space for grey highlights although the blue window markings are a bit blobby.

Running a five for attack, one defence, four Shields and three Hull, it has the potential for greatness and could well act more as a capital ship than a cruiser. The Koronak can Action Evade, Target Lock, Scan and Battlestations with open slots for two Tech, Two Weapons and a Crew upgrade. 

Spending your Scan token, if in play, you can spend it and perform a three dice attack against two separate ships. Probably a feature I should have used more actively following a rather brutal defeat to the Romulans recently. The Koronak costs 26 points to put on your fleet while the generic Dominion Starship version drops a Weapon slot the Unique Action and a Hull point for 24 points.

Movement could be restrictive unfortunately but it's not when it comes to speed with a top of five. However, the bank turns are available at ranges two to four with hard rights and lefts at ranges two and three incurring that wonderful Auxiliary Power Token penalty.

Gul Dukat leads the command options for the Koronak expansion and costs five points. His skill of seven is average at best but he does offer a free Evade or Battlestations in addition to your Action on each round with no disable or discard in sight. Dukat can also field an Elite Action but the main ability here makes him essential for any Dominion fleet.

Gul Evek, one of the few characters to appear in The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Voyager, costs just two points and has a skill of four. He too is a solid option for your fleet, allowing you to re-roll all your blank results when defending. What you might want to do is pair this up with a card (or another ship) that rolls more than one die as the Koronak does.

Coming in for your lone Crew slot is a lone Crew offering but one that is super effective when lined up with Gul Dukat. Boheeka (two point cost) allows you to convert a blank result over to a Damage as long as you have the Battlestation token in play. It's a combo that I've seen mentioned on a few sites and one that doesn't involve discards or disabling. This pack could have done with at least another option for your Crew as this solo entry is disappointing from a numbers point of view.

Enhanced Weaponry is this pack’s version of Photon Torpedoes as its disabled to work and requires a Target Lock in place. Costing a cool five points, this one kicks in at ranges two and three with a roll of five attack dice. If it’s used on the Keldon Class itself then you can make this six which does make it a touch more exciting to use than standard torpedoes. 

Dorsal Weapons Array is slightly less powerful with a three dice attack in any direction although it’s not in continuous use as you find with the Enterprise-E’s dorsal phaser array. Three points will add this to your ship and it’s effective at any range which does mean those attack strafing runs can be fully utilised. 

The Koronak also comes with a couple of Tech cards. Tetryon Emissions is a big help especially on a ship with just a single defence due to counter your opponents. It does. It does as you would expect, need disabling  it adds three defence die to each encounter that round and costs three points to place in play. With this and the Cloak ability you might have a bit greater survival chance.

Cloak does cost four points itself but does offer the standard increased defence plus that Sensor Echo shuffle that can make a big ranging difference. The card itself is disabled so you’ll need to choose when to decloak and engage wisely because you then might not be in a good place just to use and Action to re-enable the ability. This one’s also very specific to the Keldon Class given that it will cost NINE points if you put it on any other ship.

Last up is Captured Intelligence, the Elite Action for the Koronak expansion. It’s one of those chances to correct an error or counter an unseen attack by throwing this card in to place an Evade token by your ship AND it allows you to add in a defence die for each time you come under attack that round. 

For three points it’s a great card that enhances tour evading ability but I would definitely stick it onto any ship with a single die for defence...pretty much like this one then!

Tying the Koronak into one of the Keldon Class' few appearances, the included mission is born from the Defiant episode of Deep Space Nine and sees a 120 point Dominion fleet take on an 80 point Federation team. The aim is for the Federation ships to scan the Cardassian base and "find out" whats going on while the Keldon fleet is there to stop them from getting the data away.

The Reklar Cardassian Galor physically takes up almost all of the Keldon class characteristics physically except for the rear unit added to the top of the Koronak.

The colour seems way off, coming in as a dark brown rather than a sandy desert colour that’s not exactly, but more like, the shade on the Koronak. The yellow and blue highlights are a bit gawdy against the brown and unfortunately the bridge module - ironically the same error I had on the Eaglemoss version - is set at a kinked angle. 

The stats make this ship as viable as the Keldon Class with four in attack, one defence, four Hull and four Shield. This makes it come in with exactly the same cost (26 points) as the Koronak but with a slightly more balanced card although you'll still need to work on building a solid defence. 

Luckily its Unique Action does just that. Place a Battlestations next to the ship and when defending you can roll an extra die. At least it's a bit more balance. As you'll spot, the Battlestations is missing from the Action Bar and there's still the usual Evade, Target Lock and Scan. Two Crew slots are open here plus one for Weapons and one for Tech. The generic version minuses off a Crew slot, the Battlestations Unique Action and one of those Hull points for 24 points. I actually would keep away from this one since it does eliminate that Battlestations option and that could be costly.

Able to achieve the same top speed of five as the Koronak, the Reklar is a little less maneuverable, dropping the banking turns at speed four and it retains the full and bank curves at speeds three and two with the sharper ones incurring the Auxiliary Power Token handicap.

Spun towards the classic The Next Generation two-parter, Chain of Command, the Reklar includes the two key Cardassian figures from the story in its command options. The seven-skilled Gul Madred can also be flipped as a Fleet Admiral and costs five points on either side. Having him able to deploy will be useful for those outlying attacks since he can target a ship within ranges one to three and if the Captain has a skill of six or less then both Madred and that card are out of play. If it's over or equal to 7 then the captain of the opposing ship rolls two Defence dice and if at least one Battlestations comes up then nothing gets discarded. It's a bit of a gamble as an Action either for the Fleet or on a single ship.

Four-skilled Gul Lemec had to deal with Edward Jellico and that cost sort of reflects his loss. Costing three points, Lemec likes to pick on the underdog as seems to be a trait here started with Madred. Any captains his ship takes on with a captain skilled less than his own is hit with an additional attack die making him fairly lethal on small opponents. It also offers up a thread of more underhand methods perhaps employed by the Cardassians and their Dominion masters.

Gul Ocett, taken from The Chase in season six of The Next Generation was the first female Cardassian we encountered in the franchise. She's carrying a skill of three here (unfair in my opinion since she was more effective than Lemec) and costs only two points. She's a ruthless card to have in play since critical Hull Damage will lead you to dig out Power Disruption or Minor Explosion from the Damage Deck rather than pick a card at random. Note as well she's continuously usable - no discard or disable which would make her a real asset.

With two Crew slots, the Reklar comes with two Crew to fill them. Glinn Tajor is a three pointer who takes the comfort out of a long range defence with any opponent fired on at range three not having the benefit of the extra defence die. It's a one time deal as he's a discard but might offer a nicely sneaky way to finish off an enemy ship.

Corak (two points) can be repeatedly called on as an Action and increases the Captain's skill by three until the end of the round. This will give you an early attack opportunity potentially against some bigger fish and not having to disable or discard means you can step in earlier more than once.

The Aft Weapons Array (four points) gives more chances to give fire from every angle. The full 180 arc already available is a big advantage but this provides a full 360 window. Offering four attack dice and an unusual chance to use this over the full three distances, the Array has to be disabled to be used and is limited only to ships with four Hull points or more. Given the gravity of the weapon's ability it does mean that the primary weapon value of the ship it's on will be four at a minimum. Firing all around is always a good advantage but having to re-enable this might kick some of the wind out but one shot could be all you need.

Subspace Carrier Wave punches out at range three only and rolls four attack dice. It's an Action and for each Damage or Critical Damage rolled you can disable the Captain or a Crew upgrade. It offers a chance for some disruption of plans rather than reducing a direct attack.

The Reklar's first of two Elite Actions, Coded Messages, unusually works on another ship in your fleet that's outside of ranges one to three and it can perform a move of speed three or lessas a freebie plus both ships gain a Battlestations token for the round which we know with both this and the Koronak pack are items to be prized and can be used very effectively by a Cardassian ship.

With Coded Messages costing five points, it's a big outlay for a one off use as I'm fond of noting and it's also sort of true when it comes to the Standard Attack Formation costing four points. This one's also a discard and very, very, very situational, relying on you keeping a very tight knit fleet as you'll need two other ships from your own battlegroup to be within range one. Also the ship that you're attacking will need to be in all three ships' forward firing arcs. Now, for a Cardassian ship that's not a big ask since they have 180 degree windows but it's a lot to ask just to get an additional two dice for a single attack. I'd suggest it's worth combo'ing this one in with a Target Lock for a super re-roll to ensure maximum damage.

The accompanying scenario takes us into the McAllister C-5 Nebula with a large portion of the standard 3x3 playing area acting as the nebula itself with the Federation starting along the southern edge of the board. Ships in the nebula also have the advantage of adding an extra three die when attacked, not being able to be Target Locked, only roll one die at range three in defence, can Sensor Echo and have to use two attack dice whenever there's an ability used that involves Scan - if the result includes a Battlestations then it's failed.

One more thing - each round, the ships in the nebula take one damage to the Hull and for each Damage card present that vessel rolls an attack die  and can suffer Critical Damage if the relevant symbol comes up. 

The core of this is for the Federation to place Anti-Matter Mines (so you'll need that card) ideally as they add an extra die in attack but ultimately it's a straight-forward fight to the end.

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First Ones In: Attack Wing Hideki Class Attack Fighter Squadron

One more long sought expansion comes in the tiny triple form of the Cardassian Fighter Squadron.  

Comprising of three Hideki class ships this is one of the three fighter squadrons available for the game and the last one up for review.

Given these are the smallest items in a range of small ships, the detail on the trio is pretty decent. Each is recognisably a Hideki Class ship with a sandy base coat and a darker brown top coat to pick out the ridges and finery. Again given the size the painting of the highlights is surprisingly clean and defined with all three looking identical. Credit to Wizkids, these could have been abysmal however they've managed to pull off a good result to start us off.

The 1st Wave Attack Fighters initially operate with a six for attack, no defence, one hull and no shields. As with the Federation and Romulan fighter wings, these stats alter as a hull point is eliminated changing both the way the fighters play as well as when due to the decrease in the skill score.

Basic Actions are Evade and Battle Stations with the chance to field up to three of the included Fighter upgrades. During the roll Attack Dice step one of those upgrades can be disabled to increase your attack by one die. Useful to use early on when you can pound in some seven die Combat sessions and cause serious damage quickly. 

That might suggest that the speed four maneuver is going to be pressed into service early to make the most of this opportunity. The squadron can tap into a full set of banks and sharp turns at speeds one and two with banks available with speed three and just a straight on with four. The Come About 180 degree turn is available at the cost f an Auxiliary Power Token at speed two. 

Thinking of their effectiveness early rather than later, the Hideki wing are a first strike weapon to be utilised early and potentially sacrificed early too for the sake of the larger, stronger ships that should be backing them up.

The generic version of the fighters retains the two basic Actions but drops a Squadron Token (starting skill of four) and costs 20 points versus the named option priced up at 24.

For two points you can equip Photo Lock-On which lets you Target Lock during the combat phase of the game if you've not already locked on. Effectively its a very late played free Action benefiting from knowing where your opponent is going to end up before locking on. For two points it's worth a shot early on.

Second and for just three points comes in Flanking Attack which operates at the extremely close quarters of range one. Its one of those situational ones that will happen if you plan it out. Flanking Attack can be used if you have a friendly ship attacking a ship that is also in your forward firing arc. If you’ve not unleashed hell you can add the amount of attack dice equal to your amount of squadron tokens left to that friendly ship’s attack. Potentially that's up to five extra dice from the squadron which could easily take one attack into double figure dice rolling.

Three cards offer upgrades for your Dominion/Cardassian fighters for a cost of four points. Cover Fire balances the pack nicely providing a defensive bonus to add the number of dice equal to your current primary weapon value to counter an attack. Now its apparent that a lot of these cards are at their maximum effect right in the opening gambit of a game - high attack, high defence early on.

Second in this little group is Support Ship which adds the usual benefit for these Fighter Squadrons of cheating death one final time. Acting as an additional life, it adds a chance to get even or get out of there. Understandably you can only have one equipped!

Third is Escort which is disabled to target a friendly ship within range one. Sacrificing the fighters' attack, the chosen ship can defend with the same number of defence dice as the Fighter Squadron has ship tokens on it's card. Good to see this is reusable as, along with the Flanking Attack you would want to be using this to its full ability early on to support your larger ships in battle.

Two five point cards kick off with Break Formation which means you can disable the card and immediately attack during the Action phase of the game but only if you are not within range one of a friendly starship. This free attack will let you roll up to three attack dice although it does also specify that the attack role must be one less die than your normal attack. Both of these points will need to be considered but this gives you the chance to stick in an early attack which might come in handy later in the game as your points start to fall.

Aft Disruptor Wave Cannons  lets you fire the main weapon backwards for another disabled card cost. Only one of these cards can be equipped to your squadron although it's something that can be reused. Problem here would be what would you want to reactivate and what to use because so many of the upgrades carry this feature.

Finally in this pack we have the incredibly expensive Galor Class Phaser Banks. This one costs a whopping seven points and benefits from being continuously in use during the game with no discard or disabling restrictions. Only available for the fighters and only allowing for one set to be placed on your fighters, the power this upgrade adds is of major benefit. Able to target ships in the full one to three arcs, it also adds a die to your primary weapon attack from the word go transforming that initial six dice attack up to a seven. 

The included mission scenario, Break Formation is a two player, 200 point battle with one player having to field the Hideki squadron equipped with the Break Formation card. The opposing Federation/Klingon force is attempting to activate the minefield in front of the wormhole (as per A Call to Arms from season five's explosive finale of Deep Space Nine). Each round a mission token is added to their pot to indicate the speed the minefield is being closed off. Both players can win the tokens with the Cardassian/Dominion player picking them up for attacking an enemy ship when not within range two of his or her own fleet or performs the Break Formation ability listed above.

The fight for the tokens can end in one way - total dominance by a single power.

The 1st Wave Fighters pack is an incredibly opportunistic set of upgrades which can, tragically, only be used with these ships. It also seems to suggest that a lot of these upgrades need to be used early for maximum effect virtually signalling that flying these is a suicide mission into the unknown. Having properly looked over the cards it's clear that these fighters were designed to be on the front lines and the first into a combat situation to make the most of their opulent offensive and defensive strategies before taking a more hit-and-run tactic as the stats even out.

Balanced with a great set of cards pertaining to the whole operation, these fighters seem on paper to be the best of the three wings released and definitely an expansion to consider taking into any battle for the Dominion.

Coming soon - reviews of both The Animated Series and Borg Faction packs!

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Return to the Nebula: The Official Starships Collection Issues 156 and 157

If you had your fill of Class variants then you might want to look away.

Eaglemoss' 157th issue of the Official Starships Collection drops a third Nebula Class offering following on from the USS Honshu (issue 23) and the USS Phoenix (issue 112). But what more can you give from this Galaxy Class kitbash? 

The biggest difference with the USS Melbourne is the removal of the rear sensor pod to be replaced with the smallest warp nacelles you've ever seen although a closer inspection reveals that Eaglemoss have stepped up the quality on this variant in a significant way. Apparently it's a prototype y'see - and one that surpasses it's earlier siblings.

The Melbourne has the highest level of detail on any Galaxy Class type saucer. It's a marvel and, as I've repeatedly, repeatedly said it shows how the machining and finishing of the models has simply become better and better over the course of the last few years with many lessons learnt.

Here the surface aztecing is flawless; the paint tones subtle and the lifeboat hatches cleverly shaded darker on one side to add a sense of depth to the surface. This saucer is all metal with some very distinct and ingrained panel lines emanating from the central island. The paint application means that the lines are very strong and Eaglemoss have avoided washing out the result. 

The saucer also carries four very distinctive yellow transporter pattern emitters but as with the window alignment it feels that these are just ever so slightly out by a fraction of a  millimetre. What makes up for this is the excellent marking on of the windows around the very edge of the elliptical primary hull and the near-perfect registry that adorns the dorsal side. It's neat - both as in cool and good.

As for further colour, there are the four RCS thrusters (tiny yellow dots!) at the edges of the hull and two postbox red impulse engines at the back. These do look a tad out of place being bright and red an' all but it does make the whole ship "pop" thanks to this and some other detail touches.

Leading out and down from the saucer section is the cobra neck here partially hidden away due to the sweeping arms of the warp pylons. Eaglemoss have covered the patchwork body here with the familiar aztecing and phaser banks.This plastic section then feeds directly into the twin warp nacelles hanging down under the hulls. These sections also seem to show off the aztec paintwork more visibly as does the unit connecting the ship to its mini nacelles.

These are a carbon copy of the larger pair with Eaglemoss even managing to fit all four with translucent bussard collectors and warp grilles plus Federation pennants. What I have noticed is that the colouring of those pennants, particularly the smaller ones on the upper mini nacelles is misaligned in the oval behind the delta. On the trio adorning the underside of the Melbourne this isn't as obvious but is still present.

I was also disappointed to find that one of these upper nacelles had paint marks on it from the black detail blobbed at the back of the engine units. That noted, the fit of the small nacelles as well as the unit attaching them to the hull is well built and without any huge gaps. Overall, I can't offer anything but praise for the construction quality here - easily the best of the three Nebula's.

Flipped onto her back there's immediately the awareness that the aztec pattern is missing. It's a single grey shade right the way across the underside of the Melbourne and that includes the secondary hull and the nacelles as well as the saucer. Panel detail lines remain as does the moulding of the captain's yacht at the centre and the multiple lifeboat hatches.

Thing is that the windows are awful. Moving away from the misaligned colouring to the hull indents, the Melbourne has the lit and unlit window slits out of alignment with each other. Somehow the larger square recessed windows are spot on in their gaps but the lined paint ins are horridly out of sync. 

Eaglemoss has managed to decal in the cargo bay hatches on either side of the yacht and also towards the underside front of the secondary hull perfectly but everywhere you look the windows just don't line up even on the engineering section. It's bloody annoying.

The pennants are slightly better here with the red of the ovals only a teeny bit out of place. The deflector dish painting also needs to be noted here. Again a big improvement over the years with both Galaxy and Nebula classes featuring on multiple occasions. The orange/blue combo is well executed and the hull in the recess bearing some very clear lining.

There are more evident signs of the construction methods on the bottom most prominently towards the rear but it's one line on a very well built replica. Y'see that's the gripe. The build is great, even dropping in a tiny tractor beam, strong colours and  very stable "back end" service pod but it's typically let down by that failure to attend to the detail that's plagued the collection since issue one.

As with all the Nebula variants the stand slides around the warp engine pylons from the back making a solid display pose for the ship. 

The magazine's a decent read too, explaining the reasoning behind the mini-nacelles, the fact there were two different USS Melbourne's at Wolf 359 and some of the variables through the Nebula Class. 

Following up, there's a double page on Ed Miarecki including the work he did restoring some of the original models used on the show including Deep Space Nine itself. Ed's work on the show is then covered in more detail with a selection of his models detailed over subsequent pages. 

It's a bit of a "best of" issue with the Rules of Engagement article then listing out key battles throughout Starfleet history from Azati Prime and the near destruction of the NX-01 The Ultimate Computer to Wolf 359 to the retaking of Deep Space Nine in Sacrifice of Angels plus a lot more. Issue 157 certainly covers a lot of ground in its pages offering a sprinkling of information. Most of it is generally in universe and already known but the Ed Miarecki 

The month's second starship - and a fresh design for the collection - is the Cardassian freighter Groumall. 

Best recognised as the ship commanded by the fallen-from-favour Gul Dukat n Deep Space Nine's fourth season, the freighter is one you might have expected to see a lot earlier in the series.

Carrying a dusty yellow paintjob from nose to engines, the Groumall finds itself with panel highlights striped across its forward pincers as well as on the stumpy cargo pods which cover its surface like the plates of an armadillo. I'm not a huge fan of the paint on this one as towards the front and the aggressive forked nose the detail of the hull surface seems to be lost in the colour.

The further you go back, the more the paint seems blotchy with the brown and grey highlights appearing fuzzy-edged and again, as with the Melbourne, ever so fractionally out of sync with the raised panel points it's supposed to be aligned to. The white window details are bang on to the edges and must be part of a separate painting process so no quibbles there however it still feels like a rush job.

That's not the biggest offender with the Groumall though as the join lines are barely concealed. At the nose there's a visible gap with a seam then running all the way across the top of the freighter hull right to the engine block at the rear. The "over" side to the left if you look from the top is metal front to back including the engine block while the left "insert" also runs the length of the craft with identical detailing. The paint is also flaked around this central join line and while it's great that the freighter has a worn look, it's obvious that construction has caused the superficial damage.

The rear engine block is one solid piece of starship with two thirds of it being metal. Once more emblazoned with the brown and grey highlights, it also carries, on both sides, the emblem of the Cardassian Union. Unlike the CG ships of the Enterprise era it has a much more angled and simplistic finish avoiding any intricate piping works or fiddly recesses such as with the Klingon Freighter last month. 

Also to the rear are the two large, vertically parallel engine units. Slat painted red with a grey surround, the look is very effective and the lower piece is utilised as part of the grip for the display stand. The detailing is well presented with the red restricted to just the exhaust points and there's no bleed into the surrounding hull works.The side impulse engines are uncoloured and almost nondescript. A bit if translucent plastic work here would have done wonders but the tight space and multiple colourings of the hull potentially make that too fiddy. The surface markings do exist but blend in unnoticed to the browns and greys.

Turning her over the Groumall is almost identical to the top with the one distinction that the wings to the rear (attached to the engine block) are now pointing up (think about it...). Note as well that the blue paint for the square details on these rear fins is vertical on one side and horizontal on the other, failing in any way to line up with the raised hull detail. It's a bit of a facepalm move to not even attempt to get them the right way. Ok, these squares will be hidden underneath but many a discerning fan will be checking every inch when they pull it out of the box on delivery day.

The issue 157 magazine details the uses of the Cardassian freighter with the clear focus on the Groumall's voyages under the command of the disgraced Gul Dukat including its final mission and secretive upgrades. There's some excellent CG to just highlight the flaws in the model because, well, the pics are that good. Of curse we also have some shots from Return to Grace. The detail of the images in the mag do appear a lot cleaner and crisper than the finished product as though it were new off the production line. 

Designing the Groumall calls in John Eaves and his cracking art which oversees the evolution from something very Cardassian to something not so Cardassian and the reasoning behind it.The Groumall does carry a lot of the traits that fans will see in other freighters from the franchise and even the story behind it belays that it was the direction Higher Powers wanted it to show.

Finally it's all wrapped up with a Cardassian flavour discussing The Rise of Damar under the expert guidance of actor Casey Biggs. The relevance of the character here was that Return to Grace marked his first - fleeting - appearance in the series. Biggs relates the key moments from that episode right through to his role as a figurehead leader to inspiring the Cardassian resistance. 

I really, really want to love the freighter but the detail and build of the USS Melbourne is a light year ahead of it. The Groumall is a key part of the Deep Space Nine story and certainly more visible than the Nebula Class prototype yet the very visible joins and some less than aligned paint features grind the gears.

Cardassian fan or one for the Nebula? What's your choice and thoughts on this month's starship pairing?

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