There is an app on android by Cool Grass; I'm not sure if it's also on iOS. Here is the android version if you have access to that:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gau.ia.campaign.log
There's actually a really neat <em>Android</em> app for campaign tracking. There's also the campaign log on the back of the Campaign guide, where you can write on it, or make a copy of it, to keep track of what you've played and where you go next.
The side missions, once selected are shuffled and kept in a separate pile, it's a really easy process and it's really just one more thing to keep track of in a multi-session game, not too crazy. I would recommend adding any expansions to the side mission deck first, so you're not fiddling with it during your campaign.
Edit - Added app specifics and a link
You should check out the official Star Wars app. (Android) It has a decent sound board with lines from the movies as well as sound effects, It's not as robust as I'd like but it has all of the major stuff in there.
You want to play pure co-op, no Imperial player? Check the Files section on Board Game Geek - there have been a couple posted. I'd recommend RedJak's Automated Emperor Variant, but I haven't tried the others.
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/164153/star-wars-imperial-assault#files
I saw this post after I had already sorted them by number. Originally I wanted to sort the pieces by size. I had thought the numbers would correspond to the sizes where the big pieces would be 1-10 and the little connectors would be 30+. I love his storage idea but I still think sorting them out by numbers will make setup and tear down much easier.
Plano 732 works pretty well. 3 big trays for figures and 2 side trays for tokens, dice, etc. as well as storage up top for rule books and deck boxes and such. I picked it up because it was highly recommended both by IA people and X-Wing people.
I actually replaced one of the bottom big trays with 2 3700 series half trays so I can keep a skirmish army in there for easy grab and go of it, tokens and a deck box.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Plano-Angled-Tackle-System/15904153
It looks like your order is right on the money for an increasing difficulty path. In addition to what the other commenters have said about the challenge with stormtroopers, white is a notoriously difficult color to paint.
I also found Leia difficult for the same reason. Mine came out a bit dirtier than I would have liked.
The tank from the Hoth set is pretty easy.
I spent $80 on a large Army Painter paint set from Amazon that came with 3 brushes. You can likely buy a smaller set, I just wanted to not have to worry about not having the right color when I needed it. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HC9YNZU
Army Painter primer from my FLGS for about $10 per can. Black and White. Some people use cheap primer from Home Depot as well.
Also purchased $5 can of Testers Dullcote and $5 jar of Citadel Ardcoat. Both of these are recommended but optional.
$110 total and I have enough paint for years.
Link to the video series https://www.youtube.com/user/Sorastro/
This place says they have three copies of Twin Shadows in the UK: https://anticsonline.uk/Product/Fantasy-Flight-Games-Twin-Shadows-Star-Wars-Imperial-Assault-Expansion-SWI10_N1219880
Amazon UK appears to have Heart of the Empire though I’m not positive since I’m not in the UK, but it does say “in stock” right under “can’t be shipped to the us, dummy”: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fantasy-Flight-Games-Star-Wars/dp/B076KQ2HYR
There is an app for Android, called Campaign Tracker for Imperial Assault that is pretty awesome.
It tracks the missions (including the rewards after you select who won), all the upgrade cards, agenda decks and rewards.
You can get it at the following link https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gau.ia.campaign.log
I don't know if there's an alternative on iOS, but maybe anyone at your group has an android device you all can use, since there is no hidden info on the app so anyone can track it.
Amazon UK third party seems to have a bunch of options including Ahsoka:
I just used these ones because they were the best deal when I bough them. I am in the US for reference. I know they make them in A4 as well but given how easy they are to cut to size I was not worried too much about what size I bought. I would think they are all pretty much the same across brands.
Try skimming through the lists on this blog to see if anything catches your eye on the rebel side:
https://boardgamegeek.com/blog/4499
While a lot of the lists are imperial (Personally I think Imperial has way more options for viable lists), what's nice here is that the author provides the preferred / ideal Command Card deck for the lists as well. It's dope.
Yes they rattle around. A few options:
You can use some foam and pluck what you need out
but since I painted everything and know I coated them well ... I just let them rattle (keep in mind they rarely travel).
+1 to what /u/dlr_firefly said - Sorastro's tutorials are exactly where I started. He's made it incredibly easy to get stuck in and do a decent "Tabletop" quality job.
He edits his own video, even composes his own music! Dude works bloody hard to put these out there. He's got a Patreon page which I highly recommend looking at if you find his videos useful.
According to BGG
Contents
• 1 Plastic Figure with parts for 2 configurations (General Weiss, AT-ST)
• 1 Rulesheet
• 2 Deployment Cards (General Weiss, AT-ST)
• 6 Command Cards (Endless Reserves, Explosive Weaponry (2X), Heavy Armor, New Orders, Overrun)
• 3 Agenda Cards (The General's Scheme)
• 2 Skirmish Mission Cards (Imperial Research Lab)
I am currently in a play by forum campaign of IA at bgg https://boardgamegeek.com/forum/1545140/star-wars-imperial-assault/play-forum
Works well and i like playing asynchronously rather than in real time
Here are couple I am checking out. http://www.orderofgamers.com/star-wars-imperial-assault-foamcore-v1/ and this one https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1314926/my-star-wars-imperial-assault-insert-plans-include I like the second better for the sake of extra space for my additional packs.
> how can I convert these images to fit on multiple sheets on letter or the very least legal sized paper?
http://posterazor.sourceforge.net/
Does the work for you and bakes the result in a pdf you can take to a print shop. Used it when I was still running my Pathfinder group and it worked quite well.
Banner saga is free right now for amazon prime customers.
https://slickdeals.net/f/9807923-twitch-prime-members-the-banner-saga-pc-digital-download-free
Banner saga 2 will be free next month.
You should feel good about those. It looks like you have good brush control. You got the black in all the crevices where it's needed without a mess, and that's not easy.
Stormtroopers are the most difficult figures to paint well in IA because they are white. White is especially hard because all white paints have poor coverage. However, if applied thick that puts unwanted texture onto the figure, and Stormtroopers want their iconic smooth shiny white armor.
Thinning the paint and applying 3+ thin coats is necessary for an opaque white result. New painters don't like hearing this, but unfortunately there's no way around it for white. Very optional tip: If you thin your white acrylic paint with white acrylic ink, it gives more opacity than thinning with water or medium (you'll still need multiple coats).
For me, accepting the idea that multiple thin coats are necessary for most colors was hard because, in addition to the extra time needed I saw it as too risky. Three coats means three times the chance that I'm going to make a mistake and get the wrong color in the wrong place. And that's true, but all of those mistakes are fixable, and as I got more experienced, I made those mistakes less often resulting in more confidence.
>ISB Infiltrators blister
You can find it here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01D1GR5Q6/?tag=pr-toys-21&creative=22374&creativeASIN=B01D1GR5Q6&linkCode=df0
Somehow Amazon got these stocked last week, even though FFG still shows "Shipping". I ordered on Saturday and did the free overnight shipping. Got all three of the new guys.
That would work, but use whatever works best for you. Just some labeled ziplock bags would work. I use one of these to keep them in numerical order. It holds everything except a couple of the largest pieces.
A lot of people go for Citadel paints, but they're in it to spend hundreds and never mix their paints. I bought this set:
for painting Blood Rage, and plan on using it for Imperial Assault as well. Sorastro has videos on youtube that are amazing for learning how to shade and highlight correctly, and he even has a specific IA series. Just ignore the paints he uses and use something similar. The Army Painter quickshade does wonders for helping you with shading early on.
If you have a good local game store, stop in and grab a tube or two of other colors you feel you'd like. I buy a color every time I stop in the store for fun, and it's fleshed out my collection a bit. If you don't have a local game store, Hobby Lobby sells vallejo paints in their models section, which is a paint many mini painters use as well.
I use a cheap white spray primer from Walmart, and it works fine. Get a decent size 1 and a size 0 or smaller brush, and testor's dullcote spray for a varnish so the colors don't flake off (you can find this at hobby lobby or michael's)
https://www.amazon.com/Army-Painter-Miniature-Painting-Warpaints/dp/B01MTXRUUT/
I bought one of these on sale for about $70. This has a wide array of colors, a nice variety of very high-quality metallic paints, and a decent selection of washes!
I have bought a few specific washes and colors to supplement this set, but I'd really just recommend getting a few cans of acrylic primer, a couple large containers of affordable white and grey paint, and a matte sealer.
I use the cd/DVD thing as well. Works well.
I have all of my cards in regular ultra pro deck boxes that are labeled. I can fit all the cards from all expansions (other than skirmish mission and command cards) in those deck boxes in the Hoth box. They are sleeved as well.
For the minis (painted) the imperials and scum are in the core box with this foam:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ZFTEM0U/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apip_mtrV4DAuWdnnV
The rebels are in the twin shadows box with the same foam.
All of the tokens are in a Plano box with the game manuals and campaign guides in the Jabbas realm box.
This all allows me to safely store every IA release in a very organized way, using the original boxes.
In my experience, using Insta-Set avoids this problem with standard CA super glue. You can usually find it at any hobby store, here's what it should look like;
https://www.amazon.com/Bob-Smith-151-Insta-Set-Accelerator/dp/B0000DD1QR
Find a picture or make your own and print them off in decent quality. Then adhere them to something like this.
https://www.amazon.com/Beadaholique-100-Piece-Stickers-Bottle-Pendants/dp/B00AFRWIRQ
Find the right size for your needs. You can get them at craft stores as well. I just looked up epoxy stickers and didn't check dimensions tbh
We've used these for homemade tokens for other games in the past. It gives you a good bit of durability and if you have a steady hand when making the tokens, they look good enough to use as spares.
I bought this and it works great. The only things I've had to buy in addition is primer and I added a few brushes.
It has tons of colors. They may not always match up with Sorastro's guide but a little mixing will get a good result. https://www.amazon.com/Army-Painter-Miniature-Painting-Paint/dp/B00HC9YNZU
I use this for skirmish:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01055A1D0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
The top portion easily fits all tokens you could possibly need and more. The bottom portion easily fits 2+ armies in there if wanted. There are even larger compartments that can house the Bantha rider. It's perfect for tournaments.
I just ordered 2 of these to see how they work out.
You are right though, a normal old Plano tacklebox is hard to beat.
I just ordered some more of these which I use for Armada - I did a dry fit and I think I can cram all the tiles and big models into the deep one and everything else into the other.
Put on a clear coat to help keep them safe. You can also buy some foam to help keep them from being damaged. If you have money to spend then you can buy whatever but if you want my advice you are much better off just buying a 2 or 3 inch foam pad like this. You can buy those at many hardware and fabric stores too. I buy mine from Home Depot.
We do the same map tile baggie solution as you, little plastic envelope things.
I bought one of these hoping to use it for storing all of the large cards but it ended up being a little small so I've used it for the imperial figures and smaller cards instead: http://i.imgur.com/Sjr03ap.jpg
It has 0 room for expansion but it does fit nicely inside the base game box. For the large cards I have each set rubber-banded together. Health and Strain tokens have their own plastic pots and all the misc tokens are kept in a different one.
Setup mostly consists of setting up the map, then chucking the tubs and bundles of cards onto the table and opening the unit box. Done.
Amazon HAD Twin Shadows for $29.99 w/Prime this morning, up to $31.99. Good chance to get it for a good price! http://www.amazon.com/dp/1633441091/ref=sr_ph_1?m=A25L68BCGPX2E6&ie=UTF8&qid=1440255470&sr=sr-1&keywords=twin+shadows
No - I used a tool like this:
This was the best to really get in next to the base of the feet. I would clip everything away from around the feet. So when the clipping was done - the bottom of the feet looked extended down longer... hopefully that makes sense.
i would then use the same clipper to cut more off the bottom - then use sandpaper to get them really flat - essentially would hold the model very firmly by the legs and pull it along the paper until they were evenly clean/flat - for how they would sit on the base.
I then repainted them to match the boots before I glued them on.
I have a friend who just finished this app. It's a character tracker with artwork reflecting different items weapons and armor on your characters. He definitely took it to another level with that.
You might find something at BGG, https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/164153/star-wars-imperial-assault/files.
If you have an Android device I can recommend this app for campaign tracking,
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gau.ia.campaign.log.
I've always stored my command cards separately than the deployments, mostly because I play campaign more than skirmish.
I keep my command cards in a notebook with small card sleeve sheets and they're organized somewhat. So I have one page per faction, for example, then keep all the other restricted cards grouped together, then the rest of them sorted by point value.
Like /u/fireresistant said, when list building you'll usually pick your deployment cards first then build your command deck around it.
I really like the Startactics app for this: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.shinayser.imperialassaultmanager
Hey, good job on this! Theres an app for it on android that does pretty much all that, for those who want it. Me and my partner use it, as well as our game group
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gau.ia.campaign.log