Friday 31 October 2014

ClearHorizon Miniatures announces the Nemesis Light Strike Vehicle and Aurora Stealth VTOL are available for pre-orders!

ClearHorizon Miniatures writes:



The Aurora Stealth VTOL is designed to take a team of two or three operatives into the most heavily guarded enemy worlds.  Able to disembark from an orbiting stealth strike cruiser the Aurora can transit operatives into the heart of enemy strongholds as well as provide advanced air-to-air and air-to-ground strike capabilities.

The Nemesis Light Strike Vehicle gives the Hell Diver 5th Orbital Activities Division Special Operations teams the capability to take on heavy enemy armor and emplacements and is an advanced armored recon vehicle. The Nemesis is manned by two Hell Divers and has a remote-operated heavy turret and composite light-bending armored skin.

Check out the overview video here:

The Nemesis is $13.99 and the Aurora is $14.99

Pre-order now and get a PRE-ORDER  BONUS!  You will receive a free, unreleased, Covert Ops Pack! (2x Metal Miniatures) for each Aurora or Nemesis ordered!

Both will be released on December 5th, 2014.

Pre-Order today at:


Thursday 30 October 2014

November Gets Spooky in The Ion Age

A New Special Figure - The Witch Knight



While she may be a bit late for Halloween, IMP15 Witch Knight is a fun, spooky and dare I saw sexy treat for the Autumn season. Available free with any order until the end of November. Order before November 1st and you will get IMP14 and IMP15 free with your order. Remember, you can also order IMP15 on its own or extras if you like (give them as gifts!). Full details can be found - HERE.


Another side note, the Espaten guns and motive units will continue on their sale until the start of November. so you still have a couple of days to grab that 15% off on those great support weapons. For details on this deal, go - HERE.


Wednesday 29 October 2014

Creak and Rattle

New Undead Released from 15mm.co.uk



New fantasy releases from 15mm.co.uk today. Two new packs of skeletons adding bows and spears to the list expand the list of figures in their HOT 15mm Fantasy range. The range will be expanding further in November. For full info, read - HERE

HOT40 Skeleton Missile Troops

HOT41 Skeleton Spears 


Tuesday 28 October 2014

ClearHorizon Miniatures is proud to offer the Gruntz Activation Cards!

Available at: http://clearhorizonminiatures.com/shop/shop/rules/activation-cards-for-gruntz-15mm/

If you're interested in picking up the new Gruntz Activation cards we now stock them at ClearHorizon Miniatures!




Only $7.00, which is the lowest price anywhere!

There is also a video overview on the product page by Robin that gives a great overview on how to use them to spruce up your Gruntz games.

I personally use them by dealing a number of cards equal to the number of units on each side to the controlling player and then assigning them face down.

Then the players reveal their cards in order from highest to lowest, which adds a bit of pre-planning and battlefield fog-of-war to the game. Makes for some tense moments!





ACP Games New Release Tuesday! The Makat Assault walkers

Available at: http://acpgames.com/2014/10/makat-assault-walkers/

ACP Games has released the Makat Light Assault Walkers, and they look awesome!



You get three models for $20.00 And while you're checking them out check out the rest of the ACP Games website which has had a recent makeover and looks great!



GZG HALLOWEEN SPECIAL - TRICK OR TREAT?

Another awesome sale from Ground Zero Games



Well, the "treat" is that there is no "trick" - just a simple, straight 20% discount off EVERYTHING on our webstore, starting NOW and running for the next FOUR DAYS ONLY, ending at MIDNIGHT UK TIME on Friday the 31st October!

The first couple of weeks of November will be very busy with making stock ready for WARFARE at Reading - so this is a nice big incentive for you to get any orders in this week before I get stuck in to the show preparations!

There are no special codes or vouchers to enter - you will see that all the prices on the store are now displayed with 20% off (and don't forget that they are still the VAT-inclusive prices, so if you're outside the EU then you'll get the VAT deducted as well) - so  just place your order as normal, and you'll only pay the discounted prices.

In addition to the sale offer, we have FIVE new packs of 15mm infantry released today - and yes, these all qualify for the 20% discount too! (Prices shown here are the regular retail prices).

NEW ITEMS - ALL AVAILABLE NOW:



SG15-J14          Japanese Corporate Ashigaru Command and Comms - in helmets (8 figures, 2 each of 4 different poses) 3.00 (2.50 ex VAT)


SG15-P14    PAU Infantry Command and Comms - in helmets (8 figures, 2 each of 4 different poses)           3.00 (2.50 ex VAT)

TOMORROW'S WAR

TW15-BZ04   Brazilian Infantry Command and Comms (8 figures, 2 each of 4 different poses)    3.60 (3.00 ex VAT)

Plus TWO new packs for the Colonial Defence Forces (CDF): 


SG15-C18    CDF Autocannon Teams (2 weapon teams, each of autocannon, tripod mount, gunner and spotter)   3.00 (2.50 ex VAT)


SG15-C19    CDF Mortar Teams (2 weapon teams, each of mortar, baseplate and two kneeling crew)                3.00 (2.50 ex VAT)

Monday 27 October 2014

Khurasan previews Thrainite Noble Assault Team

From:  http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=363886

Khurasan Miniatures write:

From ages past the Thrainites have relied on their nobility in heavy armour to undertake the most hazardous assaults, which serves them well in battle to this day, in an age of plasma weapons and space demons. Now, instead of great axes, the nobles carry assault weapons, missile launchers, and DPMGs, and instead of steel armour they are girded with power assist osmium armour….


Just waiting for one more figure to be painted, and at last the Thrainites can be released!


Been looking forward to this range a while!

Friday 24 October 2014

They're Here

Just a quick post today to announce the release of the Espaten Portable Weapons. 

These versatile miniatures allow for a number of different weapons loads on both tracked and grav drives. Crew figures are available for both Muster and Retained forces. Because the crew are separate from the weapons, they can also be easily inserted into existing forces outside of the Ion Age. 

To kick off the release, The Ion Age are slapping a 15% off on these items for a week.

For full details read - HERE


Tuesday 21 October 2014

Khurasan releases Zantin Scutari for "Zantin Reconquest"

From: The Miniatures Page

Khurasan Miniatures writes:

We are very pleased to expand our 15mm Zantin Reconquest range with the release of the Zantin Scutari -- the heavily armoured infantry of the resurgent Zantin Empire. Unlike the tumultuous GOTA infantry forces, the Zantin Scutari are heavily armoured, superbly disciplined and trained, and fighting in the ranks of regiments with histories that date back thousands of years.

We are releasing three codes today…

Zantin Scutari with plasma rifles



Zantin Scutari with the fusion gun (the infantry's primary defence against grav tank attack)



Zantin Scutari Centurions and casualty



All are available now, at this link:
link

As with the GOTA Clans, if these are well-received we will certainly make more. Thanks for looking.

Fireteam Andromeda Revised Edition- First Impressions by Podsy McPod

Fireteam Andromeda Revised Edition- First Impressions
By Podsy McPod



Available at : Wargame Vault

This article concerns itself only with the changes to Fireteam Andromeda, please see link for a review of the original game.

First off I have to declare an interest as I was one of the play testers for this edition.  I was pretty happy with the play test version I had and when revised edition arrived I was shocked to see it differed hugely from what had gone before.  So what has changed?

The most important change by far is that the unique and extremely tactical command and control system has been given an overhaul.  The system for counting the number of commands you can give in a turn has been simplified. Shaken units now cost two commands to activate at all times.  With this simplified system there is no longer a need to share commands and this mechanic has been removed from the game entirely.  Even more important than this is that a hard cap of three commands per unit has been introduced.  As shaken units now cost two commands to activate there is an immediate reduction in their options for additional active or reactive commands.  You find yourself thinking very carefully about the implications of how you spend your commands.  For example if a shaken unit decides to concentrate fire for a bonus to hit it has spent all three possible commands already leaving it unable to issue any reactive commands like defensive fire against an assault.  This system may sound a bit confusing but I promise you it is a model of simplicity in play and highly intuitive.

The next major change is to vehicles.  The weapons that come as integral to the various vehicle types have been toned down so you will find yourself spending points to up gun them.  All vehicles now have two hit points with the exception of the heaviest armoured units like tanks which have three.  When firing a unit at a vehicle you only count your best result not all your hits.  So small arms if increased in power, firing at rear armour,  or being really lucky can damage light vehicles for one point of damage  but a volley of eight shots can no longer cause eight points of damage, only one.  Powerful weapons can still explode vehicles in a single hit.  The best result rule vastly increases the survivability of vehicles especially light ones.  Combined with a radical decrease in the points cost of light vehicles I am finding many more transports, infantry fighting vehicles and battlesuits appearing on table.  Infantry survivability has also increased with a standard saving roll going from 4+ to 3+.  These two changes combine to make it a much more viable option to use vehicles to transport infantry.

Melee combat has been revised.  It is no longer an "all or nothing" attack that wiped out the loser.  The loser must run away but lives to fight another turn.  The winner can choose to pursue the losing unit or take a free move.  There were a couple of unfortunate combinations of traits and upgrades in the old rules which allowed assault super units.  Thankfully these have been removed or restricted.  A successful assault against an unshaken enemy is very hard to pull off just as you imagine it should be.  So assault remains a useful tool but no longer threatens to overwhelm shooting.

Anti armour weapons in the old rules could only fire at vehicles and quickly became the least favoured weapon choices.  They are now free to fire at any target which means they can be really useful against heavily armoured infantry like power armour troops.  There also seem to be a lot more light vehicles around for targets.  Unfortunately the pendulum seems to have swung too far.  Automatic weapons (low power, high rate of fire) seem pretty feeble compared to their versatile or anti armour counterparts.  The moderately higher rate of fire not counting for much when it so hard to get a kill even on infantry with standard armour.
A couple of traits in the old rules especially commander traits were distinctly over powered and these have been removed or radically toned down.

Walker vehicles (mechs) were a poor choice of movement type in the old rules costing the same points as ground units but only giving one third of the movement of standard ground vehicles.  Now it is half which combined with their unique ability as vehicles to initiate an assault, ability to move unhindered through terrain and to fire all weapons even after a full move, brings them right back in to play.

Finally there has been a thorough revision of weapon stats and points costs in general.  There was not a lot wrong with the old point’s costs but I think the changes that have been made are in the main very successful.  I keep discovering little subtle changes which improve things so by no means take the above as an exhaustive list of changes.

So what is not to like?  Standard infantry weapons have been changed from a choice of six, each with their own unique stats and three possible upgrades. The six names remain but all three infantry rifles have identical stats as do all three assault carbines. The three possible upgrades are still available but I would be surprised if you do not choose the improved power upgrade option most of the time.  I have heard the change was done as most people chose the weapon with the most power.  So in short for playability.  I can see the author’s point that all infantry rifles serve the same purpose but the result does feel a little bland.  Buying improved armour for infantry has been made more expensive as the base armour value of infantry already starts one point higher and the higher numerical value it reaches it gets disproportionately better.  This now means light infantry are viable but I feel it is unlikely players will buy improved armour as an extra hit point or another figure can be bought for a similar cost.
Personally I feel infantry survivability is a little too good now but there are only six sides on a D6 so the graduation of change is limited.  Standard infantry with unimproved weapons and lacking support weapons will not cut it in a fire fight against infantry who do have these attributes even if the opposing units are similar points values.  The author has said that in his view of sci-fi combat infantry without support weapons would be "out of the ordinary".  This imbalance may come as a shock to new players.  I will have to get used to fielding smaller units with support weapons.

There are a number of colourful traits for infantry like artificial (robot) which are nice to provide interest for scenarios or free form games but they are really not viable in competitive play.  You will find yourself struggling not to choose the trait that allows access to additional support weapons for every infantry unit.  If you don't take support weapons for an infantry squad there are definitely plenty of good choices of alternatives to put the points into.  The points system is certainly robust enough for pick up games to an agreed point’s value, with the one proviso for infantry mentioned above, so I would imagine most games will be organised this way.  So you may struggle to differentiate your infantry with a limited range of viable weapons, armour, and traits.
So do the positives outweigh the negatives?  Yes, without a doubt, by the weight of a galaxy or two I would imagine. The core of this game is the unique and highly tactical command and control system.  Not only has it been streamlined it has been improved.  A highly impressive feat!  All vehicles even the lightest are now viable choices.  I thought vehicle combat was good in play test it is now even better.  In my original review of the rules I said they could do with just a little more polish.  I can assure you they are now gleaming.

Monday 20 October 2014

Brigades EuroFed Catroux IFV coming soon.

From Brigade Models:

Straight from Brigade towers today and one to watch out for in the near future is the EuroFed Catroux APC with planned variants which is getting up scaled from their 6mm range, I definitely want to get a couple of those chunky looking big gun turrets…. :) Zac



Another model making the move from 6mm to 15mm is the Catroux, wheeled APC of choice of the EuroFed Légion Étrangère. I've just completed the 3D modelling on the hull, wheels and the remote weapon system mount which you can see below. I might still do a bit of tweaking and add more details (in writing this post I've spotted a couple of changes I'd like to make). I've tried to retain the same detailing and style as existing EuroFed vehicles so the national resemblance is clear. Like its 6mm counterpart, it will be available with a number of other turrets from the Tassigny APC – MICV cannon turret, missile, and AA will all be available immediately, with a command variant and possibly engineering and ambulance later.



We're hoping to release it later this year – we have already ordered prints for the wheels and the remote gun so that they can be cast in metal ahead of the resin hull.




Coming soon from Clearhorizon Miniatures, the Aurora Stealth Infiltration/Interceptor VTOL.

Coming soon from Clearhorizon Miniatures, the Aurora Stealth Infiltration/Interceptor VTOL.


Designed to carry up to three passengers (four in emergencies) the Aurora can transport it's payload from orbit to any place on the surface of an enemy-controlled world without being detected.



The Aurora also carries an internal payload system giving it land and air intercept/attack capabilities.



The Aurora will be available soon!

Check out our website at: http://www.clearhorizonminiatures.com or our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/ClearhorizonMiniatures to keep up on all the news and previews.

Friday 17 October 2014

Support Your Local Prydian

The Ion Age is getting ready to roll out a new portable support weapon system - Espaten. This system will come in grav and tracked versions and will include a number of weapon systems to allow you to put the right weapon on the battlefield for any job.




These packs will roll out October 23rd and will include crewmen for both Retained and Muster. There will be no Early Supporter Offer for this release but there will be a 15% off release deal when they do come out, so still a big win for those looking to add some Space Opera weapons support.

For more info and pictures head - HERE


Thursday 16 October 2014

ClearHorizon Miniatures is proud to offer the printed Gruntz 1.1 Rulebook!

ClearHorizon Miniatures is proud to offer the printed Gruntz 1.1 Rulebook!


We now have the Gruntz ver 1.1 rulebook in stock and ready to ship.  We are also offering it at the lowest price anywhere for $18.00.


About Gruntz:

Gruntz 15mm SCI-FI is a dedicated 15mm fast play wargame designed for skirmish level play using combined arms. You can use miniatures from any 15mm SCI-FI manufacturer and the rules are not restricted to a set genre or background setting.  You can pick up, learn and play Gruntz quickly and add t

o the basic rules with the included optional rules with more advanced movement, turn sequence and activation.
This is the 1.1 release of Gruntz which has over a year’s worth of feedback and tweaks completed based on player feedback and further test games at conventions and with active players.  For the first time it is also now in print which you can purchase from the Wargames Vault.   There are new art works by Jake Parker in this release with story intro's to the various factions written by award winning author Jennifer Brozek. I was glued to reading the story intros, they a great little sci-fi reads although you don't have to use the background information in the rules and can use your own settings and scenarios for your games.

The rules were 88 pages long in v1 and have grown to a 135 pages with full colour examples, photos and map guides to play in this latest release. Gruntz has a points system and scenarios with unit builders for each type of vehicle and unit in the game. If you enjoy creating your own weapon payloads for tanks and mecha you can make use of the blank profile cards when creating your perfect unit.

Gruntz 15mm has been specifically designed to support tanks, support vehicles, air support, mecha and artillery. Vehicle rules are integral to the game and not a bolt on.  It is a combined arms gaming experience with support for all manufacturers of 15mm sci-fi and modern figures.

The rules and statistics in Gruntz cover modern and futuristic technology, allowing for low tech and high tech mixed battles. Included are statistics for alien technology and an introduction to the Heliopause setting.
You can build your own forces with the army builders and supplied blank profile cards. This enables any new manufacturer models to be designed and built with statistics which suit your own army with a points system which can be used or ignored if you prefer scenario driven story games.


Gruntz 15mm uses D6 die for rolling shooting and attacks with the core mechanic based on a 2D6 roll adding a number from the unit’s statistics. Official counters are available for the game to enable easy identification of conditions on the battlefield.

Wednesday 15 October 2014

ClearHorizon Miniatures releases the M-19 Recon Assault Transport - RAT SpecOps Buggy

ClearHorizon Miniatures releases the M-19 Recon Assault Transport - RAT SpecOps Buggy



 Available now is the M-19 RAT or Recon Assault Transport.  Designed for long range recon missions the RAT can be transported via the Raven-Class VTOL or the upcoming Heavy-Duty Condor-Class.

The RAT is a multi-part Resin Kit and comes with a separate roof, gun and gunner!


As part of the new release promotion it is on sale for $8.99, $1.00 off the normal $9.99 price!


Available at http://www.clearhorizonminiatures.com

ArmiesArmy is very pleased to announce the Pre Order for the BTR 160 APC!

Keith from Armies Army writes:



ArmiesArmy is very pleased to announce the Pre Order for the BTR 160 APC!

10% off and Free Stowage Pack for all preorders




Starting Saturday 10th of October; ArmiesArmy will be taking preorders of its BTR 160 range of vehicles. The venerable BTR 160, once described as the most exported Military Vehicle in the Galaxies is now available for your forces!



Pre orders will each receive 10% off and a ‘stowage/aerial’ pack that can be used for adding that little bit of individualism to their vehicle. I will be taking bookings until the 26th of October. Vehicles will be shipped within two weeks of close.



Several Variants will be on offer.
BTR 160 APC
BTR 160 Heavy APC
BTR 160 Air Defense Vehicle
BTR 160 Rocket Artillery (Katyusha)
BTR 160 Mortar Vehicle
BTR 160 Ambulance
BTR 160 Supply and Repair
BTR 160 Engineer Vehicle
BTR 160 Drone Carrier








More details and pictures can be found at http://www.armiesarmy.com/shop/

Friday 10 October 2014

What's New in Fantasy


While science fiction still seems to be flooding into the universe, there have been some great new releases and some notable re-releases for 15mm science fiction.

GIANTS
Splintered Light, Khurasan,  and 15mm.co.uk have released some nice giants.

Splintered Light has added two new Frost Giants to its existing range of giants. These are classic fantasy monsters of the sort that would have poured from classic modules G2 Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl or a Frazetta painting. 


Meanwhile, 15mm.co.uk has re-released a good ol' miniature from their Tabletop range. The might Fire Giant shows off old school charm and a host of rich nostalgic detailing. A great classic piece of fantasy encounter. 


ADVENTURERS
15mm.co.uk has also re-released an amazing assortment of adventurers and other characters. Available in several sets or in one large collection assortment you will find male, female, warriors and wizard characters among others.


UNDEAD
Khurasan Miniatures has expanded their undead range by adding lesser skeleton warriors to boost the forces of the walking dead. These skeletons are wonderfully detailed and depict more common warriors clad in armor and weapons.

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LIZARDMEN
Splintered Light has released their lizardmen in both warband and Might Armies army forms. These figures are very classic in their depiction of a staple antagonists of the fantasy genre

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