The Wargaming World of Nozza

Anyone venturing into Space Station Zero begins their journey with Challenge 1: Docking Bay Access Port. Unlike most tabletop skirmish scenarios, this opening encounter features a degree of randomness, with players rolling on the Challenge Table before the game begins to determine the hazards facing their crew. For our expedition, two rolls generated the particularly unpleasant combination of Poison Gas Leak and Collapsing Floor . The Poison Gas Leak meant the station was still harbouring pockets of toxic atmosphere. Each time a crew member activated, they were required to make a Life Save, with the Success Number equal to the number of active gas leaks on the table. Failure resulted in damage based on how badly the test was failed. The leaks could be located and disarmed, but until then every activation carried an element of risk. As if that wasn't enough, the station's structural integrity was also failing. The Collapsing Floor hazard required a d12 roll every time a crew me...

Captain Murray Burnham rose from his seat and stepped towards the wall display. For a moment, he simply surveyed the room, letting the silence settle. To his left sat his senior officers: Commander Starmer , his dependable First Officer, and Commander Sunak , the Vulcan Chief Science Officer whose expression remained, as ever, impossible to read. Across the briefing table sat their counterparts from the Klingon Defense Force. Captain Borath leaned forward with barely concealed impatience, while his First Officer, Z'Kai , watched the Starfleet officers with a warrior's suspicion. Beside them sat Science Officer Khrok , whose reputation for technical expertise was unusual among Klingons, but no less respected. The atmosphere was tense but professional. Federation and Klingon personnel working side by side was no longer unheard of, yet decades of rivalry ensured that trust remained a fragile thing. Burnham tapped a control panel and the image of a colossal structure appeared on ...

As recent blog posts will attest, I've spent a lot of my hobby time experimenting with FDM-printed miniatures using standard PLA filament. Most of my projects so far have involved resizing models from MakerWorld, but that raised an interesting question: how well would my printer handle figures originally designed for resin printing? Anyone researching FDM miniatures will quickly discover a hobby full of conflicting advice. Settings that produce excellent results for one person can fail completely for another. While FDM still can't quite match the ultra-fine detail of a good resin printer, the gap is far smaller than many people realise. For me, the lower costs, simpler workflow and lack of resin-related mess more than make up for the compromise. After plenty of trial and error, I invested in the Fat Dragon Games miniature printing profiles for my Bambu Lab A1 Mini. Combined with a low-temperature build plate, they transformed the experience, providing a solid foundation from wh...

The good news is that the work on the house is finally complete, which means my paints, brushes and other hobby supplies have emerged from their boxes. Normal service has resumed, and the Star Trek: The Next Generation crew have finally made it onto the painting table. One thing I've discovered is that painting makes a considerable difference to FDM miniatures. When they're bare PLA, it's very easy to concentrate on layer lines and printing imperfections. Once painted in the familiar Starfleet red, gold and blue, your eye starts seeing the characters rather than the printing process and at normal tabletop distances, I'm really pleased with how they look. Crusher & Picard I also still love the natural poses of these figures. They actually look like the crew of the Enterprise rather than an away team where everyone has drawn a phaser. Worf even manages to appear without the obligatory bat'leth! Troi & Riker Geordi La Forge presented one of the biggest challen...