I got a package yesterday containing the Battle of Hoth Action Scene model by Ertl! Both halves of the box were very concave, which I guess is pretty common when a thin piece of cardboard is used over a large surface area.  My Jurassic Park board game box has a similar problem.  Thankfully none of the components were smashed.

The contents of the box are:

Four sprues of models in a sealed plastic bag
Instructions for assembly
A color coding chart
A Star Wars fan club card
An ad for the magazine "The Blueprinter"
A big white base to represent Hoth

Well...it's only been like 8 months since I posted.  My wife and our new baby had some health complications and I pretty much forgot all about Hoth for a while.  But everything is good now!

I just bought this beast off eBay.  Thanks to the help of other gamer blogs, I have found an alternative to micro machines in this excellent Hoth diorama produced by Ertl.  Not only is this the only place to find 10 mm snowtroopers, it also includes both kinds of rebel laser cannons!  Unfortunately there are only 5 lasers, so I will have to think up an alternative for the 6th one.  Maybe I'll try my hand at cold casting...

Imperial forces have landed...

These are the F-Toys brand, sold as blind boxes with a little piece of gum! The scale is said to be 1/144.  I bought these rascals from an online model shop.  The shop buys cases and opens the boxes to identify which ones are inside, then resells each box at about twice the original cost.  I didn't buy enough to fill out the game yet, just a few to try out.

The first recruits arrived!

These are from Galoob's 1996 Micro Machines line.  Each pack comes with 9 figures meant to supplement the Star Wars Micro Machine playsets.  Unfortunately, no pack of snowtroopers was ever produced.  For some reason 'Imperial Officers' and 'Naval Troopers' were, though.  Way to go Galoob.

I picked these up on EBay, and there seems to be plenty to go around at about $10 a pack.  AoH uses 14 rebel troop markers.  Since there were a lot more than 14 troops depicted in ESB,  I'm thinking about basing 3 rebels on a quarter-sized disc and flocking that with faux snow.  That brings the total to 42, so I'll need 5 of these packs.

It's not surprising the rebels have trouble taking down these AT-ATs... They're straight up 2-D!

What we're looking at here is a giant to-do sheet.  Every one of these cardboard units will need to be replaced with a good quality toy or model.  It's a lot of stuff! 

I just noticed there are different types of rebel laser turrets, although the game treats them the same.

The one that looks like a satellite dish receiver is the Atgar Laser Cannon... not exactly a low profile gun.  The giant black dish easily stands out as a target for Imperial forces.  I don't doubt whoever is standing behind it gets a good dose of shrapnel after it explodes from laser fire.

The other laser turret is the DF9 anti-infantry battery and it appears to be a safer spot for an unarmored freedom fighter.  

Although 6 of one type would work fine for unit identification during gameplay, I'll need to find good replacements for both kinds in order to have the right look.

There are a lot of images of gameplay for AoH on the interwebs. I ripped this one off of another gamer's blog, therobotspajamas.  The border of the game mat is used to keep track of unit damage, indicated by placing markers on the little red boxes.

  A really cool feature in the game allows snowtroopers to drop out of an AT-AT, making it easier to wipe out pesky rebel ground troops.  You never know when one might have delusions of being a Jedi and start hacking around with a light saber!

Assault on Hoth is an epic tabletop game produced by West End Games (WEG) in 1988.  The game box included some very basic but well designed components including a large paper hexagon map, cardboard units, dice, and cards in an effort to recreate the Battle of Hoth from Empire Strikes Back (ESB).  The game is no longer produced, and WEG has since dissolved, making it easy for friendly gamers to scan and share printable game materials.   Some creative gamers have taken the extra step of substituting some of the simple components with toys, models, and handmade bits.

ESB is easily the best of the Star Wars movies.  The Hoth battle produced by Industrial Light and Magic is an unforgettable, intense, dramatic sequence that I've always enjoyed recreating with toys and video games as a kid.  With so many great ESB toys available on eBay and the low cost of excellent models from the Japanese manufacturer F-Toys, I've decided I just can't hold back any longer.  I have to create my own customized Assault on Hoth game! I have to go for it!! Stay tuned...