Got the money for Christmas and with the ap allowing for solo pure coop makes the game even more appealing. I’m also taking up painting, and while I’m not up to it yet it gives me a good goal. I do want to sort it a bit, I’ve heard of the binder method for the tiles. Saw the cool foam insets, but not sure I want to fork over for them. Yet at least. Just grabbing the base for now, and the boba fett pack because it’s available right now and I don’t want to miss it. I’ll get actual big box later. So any tips on storage and painting

My tips for painting are,

1. Watch Sorastros videos, they are fantastic And extremely helpful!

2. Don't feel intimidated just do it! I held off so long from painting because I thought I would ruin my minis and honestly they have all turned out great!

I recommend going through the painting forum here to start with specific pointers. You can also check any number of forums specifically for painting--usually run by a paint/mini company. Sometimes the forum is pretty specific (only their products), other times it's not. Also, Sorastro. Repeatedly.

Watch your prices on the expansion packs (like Boba Fett). Some of them sell out pretty quickly, and then things go nuts online--doubling or tripling the price, but FFG continues to put them back into print--although it may take a little time.

As far as storage goes, most of mine is still in the frame and unpunched--but our Imperial Player uses zippered storage bags for just about everything (even his miniatures--it makes me twitch, but I'm the main painter of the group).

I know you said you're not quite ready to take the plunge on foam, but there are some "pick and pluck" options out there that are reasonable.

If they're available, collect the fan favourites: Han, Chewie, and Boba.

Can't say the name enough: Sorastro. Pretty much the first and final word on Imperial Assault miniature painting tips.

I use the GW miniature cases for most of the minis (I had a spare old case with 108 25mm size slots), zip lock bags for the cardboard tokens and punch-outs.

There are also some apps that you can keep track of your collection and make lists, which makes finding and looking after things easier as you can keep the cards in either alphabetical or numerical (by cost) order.

I also use the expansion pack boxes to keep tiles.

I can also recommend sorastro for the painting. For storage I use KR Multicase foam and cases. There is also battle foam which is not bad but I don't like how hard the foam is compared to KR. There is also sirwilibald that makes printable tuck boxes for storage for the cards. I use them and it makes it so much easier and cleaner for card storage. I have never painted anything other than model cars and all I did was use a rattle can on the outside of the car. The interior was just the color of the plastic so kinda defeated the purpose. I just started painting with a brush and it just worked out really well. You can always strip them if you make a major mistake. I use super clean that you can get at walmart and it does not hurt the plastic at all.

Thanks you guys, I’m using some reaper paints(have the layer up kit, plan to get the actual core kit and go through all the minis to get the basics down). I’ll definit check out those vids. I’m getting the game for campaign/app play for the most part, far easier to organize

Ok put in the order, got the game at 80 and boba for 15. Game will be here tomorrow. Just realized I still have several xwing baggies(spares I mean, about 9 or so) I can use for tokens. Been wanting the game for quite a while, and Christmas money and the app have finally sold me on it plus painting. Twin shadows will probably be next on my list so Boba will be really useful, then bespin gambit plus bossk gotta get those bounty hunters

1 hour ago, MandoBard said:

Ok put in the order, got the game at 80 and boba for 15. Game will be here tomorrow. Just realized I still have several xwing baggies(spares I mean, about 9 or so) I can use for tokens. Been wanting the game for quite a while, and Christmas money and the app have finally sold me on it plus painting. Twin shadows will probably be next on my list so Boba will be really useful, then bespin gambit plus bossk gotta get those bounty hunters

If app play is going to be your main outlet, I'd suggest keeping an eye out for the app updates as they occur and have your purchases mirror the updates.

Granted, the next update may be a huge "product dump" where they unlock numerous expansions so it's a moot point but I'd hate to see someone getting into the game put up the funds for some of the later expansions only to have FFG publish updates to the app in chronological order of release and you have stuff just sitting around and unable to be used in app play.

16 minutes ago, FSD said:

If app play is going to be your main outlet, I'd suggest keeping an eye out for the app updates as they occur and have your purchases mirror the updates.

Granted, the next update may be a huge "product dump" where they unlock numerous expansions so it's a moot point but I'd hate to see someone getting into the game put up the funds for some of the later expansions only to have FFG publish updates to the app in chronological order of release and you have stuff just sitting around and unable to be used in app play.

Well my expansion approach was in release order, since I have a focus on campaign plus bounty hunters. I also have hopes to do campaign too, just need the people

40 minutes ago, MandoBard said:

Well my expansion approach was in release order, since I have a focus on campaign plus bounty hunters. I also have hopes to do campaign too, just need the people

With Twin Shadows, you should be good if they release app content based on physical expansion release order. You mentioned Bespin next but Hoth (which contained Dengar)came out prior to that, thus my suggestion.

18 hours ago, MandoBard said:

Thanks you guys, I’m using some reaper paints(have the layer up kit, plan to get the actual core kit and go through all the minis to get the basics down). I’ll definit check out those vids. I’m getting the game for campaign/app play for the most part, far easier to organize

I'm a Reaper paint devotee as well. The others are all, to the best of my understanding, fine products as well. I also recommend checking out Reaper's forum. There are many skilled painters over there who are happy to help out with advice.

One thing about painting, though, is that there are many different styles and everyone has a different level of desired result. Even though I love watching Sorastro's videos and get the occasional bit of inspiration, his style isn't mine (I simply don't have the patience, let alone his eye for colors). So don't feel that you have to mimic any one particular set of results.

Thanks you guys, got it in the other day, and got the tokens bagged, and that atst built(that chin turret is a pain to get in!). Also got in Boba and was happy to discover that his campaign mission is fully compatible with just the base game! Can’t wait for the opportunity to play, may do a solo run with the app this weekend, but hoping to talk some people into a game soon

edit: say, on the campaign boxes, which would be the best to go for first? Would love to pick up one of the smaller ones for the minicampaign so I have that option... there’s also the fact I want Hera and Chopper

I've just been working from the core set as well (plus all the wave 1 packs, hate using tokens to represent bosses and allies). Thinking about which expansion to do next, I am mostly waiting for the app to update like you guys mention. Do only the "big" expansions have extra tiles? Or do all of them? That would seem to be the way to increase variety other than just more models.

5 minutes ago, Wired4War said:

I've just been working from the core set as well (plus all the wave 1 packs, hate using tokens to represent bosses and allies). Thinking about which expansion to do next, I am mostly waiting for the app to update like you guys mention. Do only the "big" expansions have extra tiles? Or do all of them? That would seem to be the way to increase variety other than just more models.

All boxed expansions have terrain tiles. The large box expansions (Hoth, Jabba, HOTE) have more tiles than the small box expansions (Twin Shadows, Bespin).

1 hour ago, MandoBard said:

Thanks you guys, got it in the other day, and got the tokens bagged, and that atst built(that chin turret is a pain to get in!). Also got in Boba and was happy to discover that his campaign mission is fully compatible with just the base game! Can’t wait for the opportunity to play, may do a solo run with the app this weekend, but hoping to talk some people into a game soon

edit: say, on the campaign boxes, which would be the best to go for first? Would love to pick up one of the smaller ones for the minicampaign so I have that option... there’s also the fact I want Hera and Chopper

I'm a big fan of HOTE but that's due to me wanting to keep the timelines intact. It allows me to include the Wave 7 figures without hurting my head.

Say @FSD , out of curiousity do you have the Hera and Chopper pack? Could you check and see what tiles the pack included campaign mission require? I wouldn’t mind picking up a few more hero allies, but I have odd tastes(and prefer retail prices XD) although like I said, I think a small box campaign is next, both for the mini campaign, and they’re going for the price of around 3 character blisters at the moment

13 minutes ago, MandoBard said:

Say @FSD , out of curiousity do you have the Hera and Chopper pack? Could you check and see what tiles the pack included campaign mission require? I wouldn’t mind picking up a few more hero allies, but I have odd tastes(and prefer retail prices XD) although like I said, I think a small box campaign is next, both for the mini campaign, and they’re going for the price of around 3 character blisters at the moment

Hera only needs the base game so you are good to go with her. She's a good, versatile pack for my tastes as well as she can appear in pretty much any campaign as we know she's around during Rogue One so you can rationalize her being in pretty much any timeline campaign until evidence to the contrary is released.

As a general rule of thumb, most reinforcement waves do not require anything other than the base game while most waves released with an expansion box require the tiles from the boxed expansion. There are a few outliers but most releases follow that rule: notable exceptions - Boba Fett does not require any TS tiles for the campaign mission while the Bantha Rider does require TS tiles for its campaign mission.

4 minutes ago, FSD said:

Hera only needs the base game so you are good to go with her. She's a good, versatile pack for my tastes as well as she can appear in pretty much any campaign as we know she's around during Rogue One so you can rationalize her being in pretty much any timeline campaign until evidence to the contrary is released.

As a general rule of thumb, most reinforcement waves do not require anything other than the base game while most waves released with an expansion box require the tiles from the boxed expansion. There are a few outliers but most releases follow that rule: notable exceptions - Boba Fett does not require any TS tiles for the campaign mission while the Bantha Rider does require TS tiles for its campaign mission.

Ah, forgot there was more than one type of wave. I think I may go ahead and grab Hera then, also due to a new short from last year it’s now canon that Hera, Chopper and the Ghost survive until post Endor, so you’re basically good for the entire ot era. And I’ll wait a month or two before I pick up another campaign box. Say do you think a reinforcements wave is likely to be announced next?

my #1 tip: try skirmish. find a nearby tournament and go have a blast

13 minutes ago, MandoBard said:

Ah, forgot there was more than one type of wave. I think I may go ahead and grab Hera then, also due to a new short from last year it’s now canon that Hera, Chopper and the Ghost survive until post Endor, so you’re basically good for the entire ot era. And I’ll wait a month or two before I pick up another campaign box. Say do you think a reinforcements wave is likely to be announced next?

That is the general thought here in the forums. Last year at this time the Droid wave was announced so I think most of us are hoping for a similar announcement soon.

As stated, Sorastro is a must. i had never painted before and started with his first video on storm troopers, two years later I'm having a blast and still going strong.

I use Plano tackle trays for basically everything except the tiles, for that I use the cd binder. Plano trays are cheap and they come in all sorts of sizes for different things, small ones hold dice and tokens, large hold my smal figures, extra large hold the bigger figures. I use testers dull coat to seal my painted minis (as per sorastros recommendation) and have yet to have any chipping problems (knock on wood) with a lot of transport and banging around.

i love the Plano trays because they stack so easy for storage and transport. I have at least one of everything and a business card holder for cards while playing and some other knick knacks and it all fits inside a medium tote.

Paint something else first. Do not try your hand first at Imperial Assault minis, they are hard to replace. Hunt around and get some cheap or even free Reaper figures, old Citadel miniatures, something. Paint 3 or 4 practice minis before trying your IA minis. I would say the same thing if you were painting your very first Warhammer army or something. Paint a couple models that you don't really care about too much. if you are in the US pm me and I'll even mail you a couple random old figures for free if you are really hesitant to do this. The first couple minis you paint are a huge learning curve. Reaper Bones would probably be the best practice minis on the market for IA stuff but I don't have any to give away, though sometimes you get them free at cons, store events, and the like. Heck, even go to a drugstore and get a bag of cheap plastic soldiers/dinosaurs/whatever, scrub them in hot water, let em dry out for 24 hours and prime them and have a go.

If you live near a Games Workshop store they will also give you a free practice mini if you are new to the hobby.

Edit: Regarding the foam insert. How much is it? I have this and it's $100 and I'd never use anything else for IA.

http://us.battlefoam.com/privateer-press-tournament-bag-standard-load-out-black/

Into it I neatly fit the minis to the core set, Jabba's Realm, Return to Hoth, Twin Shadows, all the blister packs needed to replace the tokens therein, plus a couple extra human-size minis, and the Banth Rider. It also has a zipper pocket that I use to store my IA dice and a deckbox with all my deployment cards.

I’ve got a nearby board game shop with one of the licensed learn to paint programs if I really wanted to do lessons. We’ll see, my focus is on my masters work on the moment. But I do think the next step is the reapers core learn to paint, and possibly some bigger cheap minis...

also just realized I could buy a small box expansion for the price of 2 of most of the blisters right now, so I think that’d be the better idea, question is what campaign box adds the most to the base game?(both a general and a small box answer would be appreciated)

also, my tmnt ninja has already been the subject of my first attempt at painting(forgot to do the silver on the front of the legs though)

I have the reaper layer up kit, really need to get the core learn to paint kit and go through all six minis, and that should help for foundational work

oh and @TauntaunScout , these were the trays I was looking at for 25 https://www.amazon.com/Foam-tray-Imperial-Assault-board/dp/B014KSCYWE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1516461980&sr=8-1&keywords=imperial+assault+foam+insert they just go into the box

Yeah the boxes are a far better dollar value than the blisters. Far better. I would say, pick your boxed sets based on the minis and map tiles you like the look of best, or that fit the theme of what you want to do. If you buy minis based on what "works best" in-game, you'll be on a treadmill. What works changes with every new wave of releases. For example I had Jabba's Realm (must-have for me for the Rancor) and when I was picking out a small box I got Twin Shadows to do a Tatooine themed block of stuff. My favorite boxes overall are Return to Hoth and Jabba's Realm. I just kind of like Tusken Raider minis, and knew I wanted to use Boba/R2/3PO so that also weighed in on my choice to get Twin Shadows. I thought about skipping Jabba's Realm and just going with the Hoth and Bespin boxes to do an ESB theme but I didn't like the Bespin minis enough.

Well, thankfully Boba’s already useful to me in campaign and the ap, so I’m actually considering bespin first cause the tiles look like a fun twist for indoors, and the enemies add some nice variety. It also adds in Bossk and Lando so... we’ll see

I'd recommend Greedo. Not only is he awesome, but he's also quite an easy villain to get into play during campaign. His weakness of Slow on the Draw is also quite fun to play around and makes you think regarding line of sight and such.