So, I finally came across several sets of these colored bases! I had no idea they were about to release, so I decided to pick some up. My attitude a few hours ago was “Meh…I guess I’ll pick some up just to have something to blog about tonight. I’m only getting 1 pack of each squadron color (red, blue, green, gold). The clear ones are dumb and I don’t want the purple ones.”

Attitude now? “FFffnnngggg….damnit why didn’t I get the purple ones?!?!? And only one of each pack?!?! C’mon!!!” Check out these pictures and you’ll see why.

Basically, here’s a small x-wing porn collection…like…not actual porn, but porn for x-wing fans. But you can’t consider it porn….It’s tasteful! I’m really not explaining this well…just look at the pictures!

Red Bases

I started with the red colored bases and pegs because I wanted to get my X-Wings in the mix ASAP. You can see it comes with a variety of different sized bases. To be exact, you will receive:

-4 Small Bases

-10 Small Pegs

-1 Large Base

-3 Large Pegs

While it’s cool they give you the extra pegs in case any break or go missing, it’s a bummer you only receive a single large base. I think it’s pretty common to see 2 or more large bases in lists, and if you want them the same color, you’ll have to buy two packs.

The red color itself is great. Very strong and vibrant, without the acrylic being too thick or opaque. There is a range ruler that came in one of the Spring 2015 kit I believe. If you’re looking for a comparison, this color is not as dark.

I’m quite happy with the color here. Red is a common color for X-Wing, especially for Rebels, and the base really makes those accent colors pop. Additionally, it provides great contrast against the whites and grays that make up the base color of most ships.

One thing I noticed, however, is that the large based ships don’t seem to fit the pegs well. Mine are all consistently loose, the red one especially; if I try to move it, I can’t put my hands on the ship itself without it coming apart.

Blue Bases

Blue is one of my favorite colors, so after seeing how good the red looked, I couldn’t wait to get some Blue Squadron action going. I pulled out my B-Wings and T-70s and…

ehh…

Well…

It kinda sucks. Now, to be fair, I didn’t edit any of these images aside from resizing them. These pictures keep reading as black or smokey gray, especially on the bases. I would be hesitant to call this “blue”. I have a set of acrylic templates that…well…I have no idea where they came from, but they’re a stellar blue color (if you can identify them, please let me know)

Now, the color they chose isn’t bad. I think it’s an appropriate color for an X-Wing base. But it’s not blue! If you look at the picture above, I reeeeeeeally would have preferred the brighter color to the dull-ish gray. Now, I will say, I feel like not having a black color was a missed opportunity. This color is in somewhat of a middle ground between black and blue, so I wouldn’t mind seeing it underneath some TIE fighters or whatnot. Still, it’s just such a dull color that it’s not very exciting or pleasing to look at.

Green Bases

Now it’s one for two on successful colors, and I wasn’t sure what to expect with the green. Luckily, these appear to be a familiar color to those of you competitive veteran players. I think a comparison to the old Focus and Evade would be apt here; unfortunately, I failed to acquire any so I don’t have any to compare with, but I’m sure it’s very close.

Like the red bases and pegs, the green does a good job of catching the light. I also like that it’s similar to the old acrylics; since it seems to match so well, it makes me wonder if we might end up with prize support acrylics in some of these great colors. On the other hand…the acrylic Proton Bomb would have been a great color for this, so why didn’t they use that? *grumble grumble*

Orange Gold Bases

I….yeah…it’s Gold. Orange? Nah…that’s gold.

Or that’s how I justified it, anyway. Dutch Vander and his wingmen needed something nice to roll with, so I had to get this set as well.

It’s probably the brightest and most transparent of the colors. I do like it and it is fairly vibrant, but personally I don’t care for orange gold much. Because most playmats are usually darker colors, it does help the base stand out and separate from the background more than the other options.

Purple Bases

I’m ashamed of myself for not grabbing a pack of these. Putting ships on these bases then throwing them on a map looks so good, it’s hard to not want to try out different combination, even if they don’t make any thematic sense. I will say though, in the package, the purple ones looked good and were similar vibrancy to the green and red ones.

Clear Bases

??? Don’t bother. You own these already, unless you have a small collection and lost yours. Now…if it were something like opaque white or black…that’s something I would consider buying.

While I initially considered these a frivolous purchase, having the different colors can actually help keep things organized. For instance, this picture below.

Having identical ships and trying to separate them with the ID tokens can be a pain and really isn’t intuitive. Having the colors helps keep them distinct on a core level. You can also use these bases for custom scenarios, training and practicing your range control. Also, they’re just really damn pretty and can really make your ships and mats pop. At a full retail of about $8 a piece, it can get pricey to get a full set of colors, or if you need multiple large bases of the same color (but then don’t forget the problem with the pegs).

Personally, if you have to choose between this or the dial kit, unless you have some worn out Falcon dials that you use every game, I would actually choose the bases. They’re just so good looking!

Thanks for reading! Play X-Wing!