ClearHorizon Miniatures 28mm Hell Divers

Ok, I know these aren't 15mm.

They are 28mm versions of ClearHorizon's 15mm Hell Divers though, and I haven't painted any 15mm for a while, so they're better than nothing.

These models  are actually very big even for 28mm, they're more like 35mm foot to eye, and are quite 'leggy'. They're the support weapons for the squad,with what looks like a machine gun and a missile launcher.  I also have a pack of the basic squad members with standard rifles, I think there are six of those.

Enough waffle. Here are the photos.

http://clearhorizonminiatures.com/shop/shop/28mm/28mm-scale-hell-divers-support/

SLAP Miniatures Kickstarter - Space Knights

SLAP Mkniatures have just launched their latest Kickstarter campaign. This time they are releasing a set of 15mm Space Knights; heavily armoured SciFi troopers wearing armour that appears to be influenced by mediaeval knights with a touch of 40K space marine.

22 different bodies are available with about 25 different heads so that there are a lot of possibilities for some unique poses. Some of the figures have separate arms to further increase the options.

Their previous Kickstarter campaign was the Global Defence Force and some people were disappointed with the size of the figures, suggesting that they were a bit smaller than expected (they were 'true' 15mm scale, ie 15mm to the top of their heads).  Well, Stuart seems to have listened. He sent me a photo of one of the knights which shows it to be about 18mm to the top of the head. The slightly crouched pose means that this will be about as bulky as most figures currently on the market. The Paladins in the range look like they will be even bigger.

The figures are reasonably priced at £17 for the set. There is also the option to buy a random half dozen figures or multiple full sets.

Have a look at the campaign here:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1835446295/space-knights

Covert Ops K9 Operative

A new Covert Ops pack from ClearHorizon Miniatures, the K9 Operative with two cyber hounds.

Available from this Friday at www.clearhorizonminiatures.com

Happy Burger franchise

I'm not entirely sure how the Happy Burger chain fits into the background fluff for The Ion Age by Gavin Syme but it has caught my imagination.

http://theionage.com/collections/collected-monthly-miniatures

There's something appealing about a dystopian future where the burger franchise is run by 'happy' robots and the source of the food is best not considered for too long. It's all very Blade Runner.

So I bought some vending bots and happy burger bots a while ago and intend to make my own burger bar for them to populate eventually. In the meantime I'll have to be content ogling the one on Beighton' Shipyard and waiting for the next available franchise.

http://beightonshipyard.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/a-baron-walks-into-happy-burger.html

Some time ago somebody posted some posters to Fwacebook that really suit the feel of the Happy Burger ethos. I'm not entirely sure where they're from and hope I'm not infringing any intellectual property by posting them here. I am in no way passing them off as my own work and will make them down if requested.

They are wonderful pieces of art that will one day find their way into my gaming table in miniature form.

Fiddler Mech part 1

I assembled my first 15mm Fiddler Mech today. A stunning kit from White Dragon Miniatures in 16 pieces with amazing detail that was surprisingly simple to build.

The trickiest aspect of the build are the legs. Each leg has 3 pieces and a foot piece. It's worth dry-fitting them a few times to see how they go together, and it looks like you could get quite a variety of poses from the kit. I quite fancied a running pose, or a crouching pose so that those mandible-like arms could look like they're interacting with something on the ground. I'm the end I erred in the side of caution and settled for a pretty static pose. Well, it is my first attempt! I can get more adventurous with the next one.

The only downside to this model is that because of the way the moulds have been made, the sprue attaches in some really quite odd places, often over the top of some fine detail. I spent a few hours trimming and reshaping a few small areas so that the detail was mostly restored. A shame but don't let it put you off the model. I'm sure I didn't need to be so fussy over what are actually quite small areas.

I think the kit has a very insectoid look to it somehow. I may try to bring this out a bit when I paint it.

The Fiddler Mech is available from White Dragon Miniatures here:

http://www.whitedragonminiatures.co.uk/product-p/the-fiddler-mech.htm

Armies Army BTR160s

One of my favourite vehicle ranges, this. I only have a few of the various modifications available, it's a versatile old range.

Seen below are some APCs, some heavy APCs, a mortar vehicle. A MGS and an engineer vehicle. I only have five hulls, but the turrets and the mortar can be switched out to suit whatever I have in mind for them.

A bit of a quick paint job, but these are seen as serviceable, un-fussy vehicles.

White Dragon Miniatures hab block and barricades

I was very excited today to receive the new hab block and barricades from White Dragon Miniatures. Standing 9cm high (3.5") and approximately 9cm x 10cm (3.5" x 4") square, it is a very impressive piece. The resin is surprisingly lightweight, but holds the detail very well; there are some nice crisp lines here and a lot of very fine detail.

Using a mix of physical and digital sculpting media, sculptor Giacomo Pantalone, "The Lazy Forger" has managed to get some incredible detail into this piece, from the bullet damage to the shutters on the windows in various states of what I'm calling open-and-closedness.

There are ac units, ducts and wires in various states of repair and some lovely rubble on the roof where some part of the structure has collapsed. The odd tyre and blanket are carelessly strewn around too.

One of my favourite pieces of detailing is the crumbling doorframe with bullet holes standing testimony to attempted forced entries. Lovely stuff.

Also newly released are a couple of sets of barricades. The first, plainer set represents what I am informed are called Jersey Barriers. Straight and curves sections, both sporting a satisfying amount of wear and tear without going over the top. They're the sort of terrain piece you didn't know you needed until somebody made them. They'll probably be a part of every table I set up from now on. The longer sections are approximately 5cm (2") long, the shorter ones half that.

Finally, we come to the "Rubble Defensive Line". These appear to be based on the aforementioned jerSey barriers, but have all sorts of rubbish piled against them and thrown across them.

Look at them, go on just look at them.

Have you looked at them?

Lovely aren't they!

Retailing at £20, £5 and £7 respectively, they're not the cheapest of pieces, but they're not at all unfairly priced. They represent the top end in terms of quality.

IMHO, as the kids say.

(Or probably said a few years ago...)

See for yourself. They're available here:

http://www.whitedragonminiatures.co.uk

(PS A little birdy tells me there might be some shanties coming soon from the same team but I don't know if I'm allowed to say that, so pretend I didn't. They look fantastic too though.)