Just bought 2nd ed core, will the first edition stuff work or do I have to buy all the conversion kits?

need the conversion kits if you have 1st edition ships

Conversion kits will be needed for any 1ed product to be played in 2e. That being said, buying a single conversion kit gets you *literally* everything you need to play in that faction that's been released to date, with the exception of the actual ship model. Those can be picked up on the secondary market pretty dang cheap.

Conversion kits give you the new cardboard bases, dials, and cards etc needed to play your first Ed models

KEEP YOUR OLD PLASTIC BASES because they don't come with those

Ok thank you!

No, it is only for those people who have 1st ed ships and want to convert them to 2nd ed.

New to the game also, and sticking to 2nd ed original 3 factions.