Gratuitous Federation & Empire

 I bought some of these. They took well over a month to arrive from Canada:  For the Kzinti: ship insignia to the left as you look at them, and ships' names in suitably off-looking script to the right. I've tried them out now on the model I put together as a Kzinti Starbase, and they are rather disappointing. The sheet of Kzinti names comes out very dark, too dark for use, in fact, even though I tried them on a painted stripe of white. The ship insignia are also dark, but those ones are usable. I'll probably paint a little white rectangle on the ships themselves to make the decals 'pop' a bit more. One thing to look out for is that the entire sheet is covered with transfer film, so you need to cut around the individual decals to make sure there isn't too much extra - that can become a bit awkward when you are trying to put them onto a ship panel. This reminds me of older transfer sets like the old Revo medieval ones. Overall verdict: worth getting the insignia s...

 Our F5 Frigate Axe  is repaired at one of our Starbases, converted to the first of a new generation of F5E Escort Frigates, and renamed  Axe Guard . The conversion is intriguing, and as primary weapons officer I familiarise myself with the new systems. Basically, our two disruptors are removed and each is replaced with two drone racks of a relatively new design, similar to those in use by the Federation. The Type-G rack is a multi-purpose weapons platform, capable of being armed with either four standard anti-ship missiles or eight anti-drone defensive projectiles. The improved anti-drone capability is better than the standard ADD racks carried by most of our ships, but not quite as good as the double-sized 12-shot racks carried by the smaller E4 Escorts. However, the dual function gives the ship a useful option should we end up fighting the Hydrans or, possibly, the Feds. We move forward to join the fleet as it heads into action again. The so-called 'molasses' strategy ...

 The Klingons head for the last of the Kzinti border Battle Stations. It takes a while, but eventually the thing falls. Klingon casualties are pretty much all of their fighters; a D7 and an F5E crippled; and heavy damage to their C8 Dreadnought, a D7 and an F5. The Kzinti also lose all of their fighters, plus a Frigate destroyed and another two Frigates crippled. The second and third fights are rather enjoyable, as the elegant disruptor fleets trade shots. The final act takes place when the Klingons pick off the Kzinti light ships one at a time, and the Kzinti CVS group cripples a D7C Command Cruiser. The Kzinti leave because they no longer have enough ships to defend the installation.

 The Klingons continue to try mopping up the three remaining Kzinti border battle stations. Admiral Ulorf has had an easy time of it with his target, but then he does have most of the Klingons contingents' fighters. The next one along is not so easy, because although the Kzinti forces remaining at these stations are something of a mixed bag, in this case it is a very large bag. Or, rather, a bag composed of relatively few, but large, ships. The result in the first pass is a very bloody nose for the Klingons. The Kzinti deploy in two main groups. One is close to the Battle Station, while the other is quite some way off. However, it is composed of craft capable of producing a stupendous amount of drones, and while the fighters and other ships hold off the Klingons, a massive missile bombardment materialises. The Kzinti lose some fighters, but an entire Klingon F5 Frigate squadron simply ceases to exist, and a D6J Penal Cruiser is crippled. The Klingons withdraw, prepare another Friga...

 An easy victory for Klingon Admiral Ulorf as he chases off a smaller Kzinti fleet and then destroys their Battle Station. Ulorf basically has the fleet stand off from the Battle Station, negating the defending fighters with as many of his own as he can muster. The fighters more or less cancel each other out, and the superior Klingon force cripples a Kzinti Escort Carrier before the tiger-men realise they really should leave.

 In common with many of our personnel, I watch the initial stages of our defence against the Lyran attack on the vidlinks. We are mostly assembled at a pre-arranged rendezvous point, ready to feed ships and fighters into the ongoing series of combats as and when they are required. Count R'rorash leads a rousing defence from the Flag Bridge of the Starbase itself, co-ordinating everything with flair and the calmness in battle for which he is famous. It turns out that Commodore (now Constable) C'rorish is his cousin, which explains the similarity in names; he leads the fleet from a Battle Tug that has just been assigned to our front, and which is easily the largest single ship we have available. The Count has no named heir, and the message is clear: he is intending to go down with the Starbase if necessary, and C'rorish will carry on the fight. My newly constructed and painted Kzinti Starbase, with its full complement of fighters. The first battle goes relatively well for us,...

 It took eight battles to complete the first major assault on a Starbase in the campaign. Losses are as follows, although I have probably missed some of the details: Lyran ships crippled: an Escort Frigate; four Destroyers; a War Destroyer Leader; three War Destroyers; six Heavy Cruisers; a Battlecruiser; a Battle Tug; and a Scout Tug. Lyran ships destroyed: three Frigates; two Heavy Destroyers; a War Destroyer; four Light Cruisers; a War Cruiser; two War Cruiser Leaders; and a Command Cruiser.  Kzinti ships crippled: an FFK Improved Frigate; a Destroyer; an Escort Light Cruiser; three Light Cruisers; a Fast Battlecruiser; three Battlecruisers; and a Carrier Tug. Kzinti ships destroyed: a Light Cruiser; an Escort Carrier; two Medium Cruisers; a Battlecruiser; and a Command Cruiser. Plus, of course, the Starbase itself (eventually). Another way to look at it is that the Lyrans have had five light ships crippled to two Kzinti; five Lyran medium ships crippled to five Kzinti; six...

 This is the full Battle Mat for the Lyran assault on the Count's Starbase, and pretty impressive it is too. It could take quite a few games to play right through to the conclusion, whatever that might be. As usual, the Kzinti are relying on the installation plus fighters to balance out the enemy superiority in ships. I have too many variations of bits and pieces for both Star Fleet Battles  and Federation and Empire , so I lost track of exactly who could build what and when. This means the Lyrans have a couple of light carriers on War Destroyer hulls a bit earlier than they should have, but then again they did pay the economic cost for them. Besides, I find it rather strange that they only have the two Jagdpanther variants until Y171 and then suddenly get to build loads, so I am going to pretend this is proof of concept. It certainly gives the Lyrans a bit more attrition capability. I also have a bit of a bonus: A Kzinti Starbase with its attendant fighters, plus a shield mar...