Tuesday 31 December 2013

15mm.co.uk - New Rim Mercenaries

By Eli


The gents at 15mm.co.uk have been at it again...



HOF103 Rim Mercenaries II
This pack contains ten white metal 15mm scale miniatures in a mix of three different poses. Supplied Unpainted and without Bases.  Save 15% off list price until 8th January 2014 on the website.  HERE.
The outer edge of Human Space is a dangerous place filled with planetary brush wars, raiders and alien menace. Sometimes your local governor just has to bite the bullet and call in the mercenaries. Tough and capable and paid by the day these fellow will keep you safe for a price.

Added to our existing HOF54 Rim Mercenaries, HOF82 Rim Mercenaries Patrol and HOF83 Rim Mercenary Support is our fourth pack in this part of the HOF Range. These mix ideally with the other packs for a varied force of a low to medium future tech level.

More info - HERE!

Saturday 21 December 2013

A Note on Re-posted Content

By Eli


Hey folks,

I just wanted to chime in real quick and address something that may not be a problem, but I certainly would hate to become one.

As announced earlier, Dropship Horizon will now be hosting posts taken from other blogs. We are doing this by the good graces and cooperation of the original posting bloggers and I'd like to make sure they get credit where it is due. To make sure this happens, please note the by line following the title of these posts. The crew and I started doing this with our own posts a bit ago, but with these shared posts it becomes even more particular because the posts will show as "authored" by DSH crewmen, even though they were taken from other blogs.

So, just make sure that, when you are giving props to the content of these shared posts, you are throwing it at the right person. 

I sure as heck didn't write all these cool posts :)

Thanks,

-Eli

Thursday 19 December 2013

Mad Mecha Guy Containers

By Paul
From Mini Metal Mahem


 A few photographs of some of my laser cut MDF crates from Mad Mecha Guy.  These have been painted in the colours of the IMEC mining company who inhabit my fictional sci-fi universe.  I've used a Wilko red emulsion tester (I think it was "flame"!) and drybrushed with desert sand for a slightly dusty, used finish.  These will come in handy for decorating the starport or an industrial site.

Ready to load the truck

An assortment of crate - 3, 6, and 9cm lengths

 
15mm figures for scale.


The tops of some have been left open

Old toy lorry gets repaint in IMEC colors


IMEC logo stenciled on

Ion Age - Christmas 2013 Releases and Offers Preview

A Look At Things to Come
By Eli



There is no release this week and instead we are giving you an advanced look at the two new releases and the several special offers on existing codes which will feature in our four day Christmas Special next week from 24th to 27th December 2013.  So have a look and then visit us on Christmas Eve to grab these new products and offers before the offer runs out.  There will be full details on our Ion Age Blog next week when the event begins.  Oh, and of course you get a free IMP04 Santa Desteria Miniature in all orders!

Read More - HERE.

Wednesday 18 December 2013

Learning Experiences - Electrical Box Terrain

By Raymond Ford

From Over The Hill Gaming


Editor's Note: You may be wondering, "Eli, why another electrical box terrain piece?" I found this two-part piece to be a very well through out, yet brief look at a hobbyist's first experiences with electrical box terrain. He points out some things some of us might not consider and I know I learned a thing or two.


PART ONE
This is project that got started after doing a little reading on the Internet. The idea is simple – take a blue plastic box normally used for electrical work and modify it to look like a futuristic building suitable for a smaller scale sci-fi game.This article on the Reaper Miniatures site and this post on TMP do a good job of presenting the concept. The boxes and bits were inexpensive and everything looked like it would be within my skill level.

But, as they say, experience is the best teacher.

The first step was getting all the materials. A quick trip to the local Home Depot and a few dollars made me the owner of a couple of promising looking electrical boxes. A few minutes of sorting through my bits boxes yielded enough plastic doodads to provide some additional details like doors. I already had plenty of paints.

There were a few things on the electrical boxes that needed to be removed. Basically, anything that made them look more like electrical boxes and less like buildings. A few minutes work with my trusty Dremel took care of that.

Next was assembly. I washed everything in soap and water and let it all dry completely. Then I sat down to work.

First Point of Failure – Plastic Cement. I decided to use plastic cement since I was assembling plastic bits on plastic bodies. The only exception was a metal bit that I used super glue on. This proved critical awhile later.

After everything was put together, I let everything sit until the next day.

Since I had two electrical boxes, I decided to try two different approaches to painting and see which worked best. The smaller box got sprayed with some Krylon Fusion left over from a home improvement project from last year. The bigger box got hit with some craft store primer left over from one of my wife's projects, also from last year.

Second Point of Failure (Smaller Box) – Spraying on a base coat without primer. I noticed I wasn't getting good coverage on the smaller box. The original colors of the plastic box and bits were showing through the light gray of the spray paint. I applied more paint to correct for this, ultimately spraying down two fairly thick layers. This turned out to be a mistake. The second layer never really set correctly – it was still tacky to the touch after a couple of days. The age of the paint may have also been a factor.

Second Point of Failure (Larger Box) – Cheap primer. I had a much easier time spraying down the primer on the larger box, although multiple thin coats were needed for good coverage. The primer set overnight and was ready for painting. Unfortunately, it didn't do a good job of holding on to the paint. I have some experience with painting large, flat surfaces on miniatures – shields and larger pieces like Warjacks – so I knew the need to thin down the paints and go for multiple thin layers. But the paint refused to flow properly on the surface of the primer. It either pooled or ran down the sides. In any case, the results were unpleasant.

At this point, I had two unusable terrain pieces – one with paint that wouldn't set, the other with paint too ugly to put on the table. Hoping that everything would look better in the morning, I gave up and went to bed.

The next morning revealed even more horror. At some point during the night, one of the boxes was knocked to the floor. (Ah, the joys of letting my wife keep cats around.) As I leaned down to pick up the wayward terrain piece, I noticed that a few of the plastic bits had come off. A little experimenting revealed that the plastic cement had failed to provide a strong bond. I could break the plastic bits off the boxes with little effort. On the other hand, the metal bit I had super glued on refused to budge. These pieces wouldn't have lasted long if they had made it to the table.

Lessons Learned:
  • Both pieces have taken a long soak in a solution of Simple Green and water. The paint and primer came off after a good scrubbing. They need another wash in soap and water to get rid of any residue from the Simple Green, but are otherwise ready for assembly.
  • First Lesson Learned – Assembly. I will be using super glue to assemble everything with time around. The bond is much stronger than plastic cement on this material.
  • Second Lesson Learned – Priming. Both pieces will be primed a dark gray with an auto body primer. The dark color will cover up the original colors of the plastic better. I've also had good results with auto body primer providing a good surface for paints on large, flat surfaces. Multiple layers of thinly applied primer will be used to provide good coverage.
  • Third Lesson Learned – Painting. I'll try a slightly thicker paint mix when I get started. The paint mix I used before didn't seem too thin, but it's best to be sure. It's easier to thin down a paint than thicken it back up, anyway.

PART TWO
This is a fresh start incorporating the lessons learned from my previous attempt.

 

First Lesson Learned – I used super glue to reassemble the piece this time. Some tugging and a short drop served to test the bonds after the glue set. It should stand up to normal use - place it on the table, remove it from the table, put it in a box, maybe drop it on the way a couple of times - just fine.

Second Lesson Learned – I got out the auto body primer and started spraying. Sandable auto body primer is good stuff - it leaves a surface that holds on well to paint and bonds to plastic, metal, and resin. It took two thin layers to get a good, even coat that covered up the original colors of the plastic.

Third Lesson Learned – A darker color for better coverage seemed like a good idea. I also went back to the tried and true method of paint large, flat surfaces - multiple layers of thinned down paint. The paint dried smoothly.


The end result wasn't bad, but it looked dull and flat. Applying a thinned down dark wash brought out the details, but the piece was still missing something. I highlighted the corners and top with the original base color. Finally, I applied a thinned down brown wash to weather the piece. Small steps like these add character to a piece, but I might have gone overboard with the brown wash.


There is another, larger piece in the wings. I plan on adopting the same techniques to complete it later. For now, I've got some other projects to complete first.

Tile Based 15mm Tunnels

By LittleBrother

From Two Brothers Tales


Okay, so you can't afford a lot of nice resin terrain, have a limited space for storage and playing...what are you going to do to get those little men onto the playing field?  Here is the first set of modular terrain I am making for gaming with my older brother this winter.  It is a set of caverns that will serve double purpose for games of FUBAR and Songs of Blades and Heroes to start with.  Here is the first tile:



The tiles are 12 x 12 and are completely modular.  They can be rotated in any direction and moved around to create different lay-outs.  I started with four tiles, total cost per tile was about $3-4 US and took about an hour to make, not including waiting for things to dry.  I spent about four hours over the course of a weekend to get them to this point:

I am working on some doors for Song, and probably some little holes for critters to crawl out of for FUBAR.  Here is a shot with a 15mm mini from Splintered Light for scale. Thanks for looking!




Friday 13 December 2013

Darkest Star Opens up Pre-Order for 15mm Talin IFV

By Eli



Darkest Star has kicked off its up-scaling of its original 6mm designs with the Talin wheeled IFV. This is a solid near-future design that sports that "just around the corner" look that is very popular in hard sci-fi gaming. A pre-order has been set up so folks can chime in early on this vehicle. 

More info - HERE

Thursday 12 December 2013

Pistols at Ten Paces

New Ion Age Packs and a New Special Monthly Miniature!

The Ion Age is definitely upon us as the stream of new codes grows ever longer. This week we see the release of IAFL03 Retained Pistoliers, a limited edition (500 total) pack of Retained packing twin pistols.

 

Also being featured is AIAF02 Maligs. While not new, these scruffy looking little greenies make a perfect counterpoint to any bright and shiny force, be they Retained or otherwise. There is even a 10% discount applied to all Malig codes on the site until December 19th.


And lest we forget, there is this month's special miniature. A holiday theme, as it should be, IMP04 Santa Desteria is available this month only and is included free with every Ion Age order. IMP04 Can also be purchased alone.


A lot of new stuff from The Ion Age and all looking very cool. For more information on the items in this post, other Ion Age releases and general Ion Age hobby news and fun, check out there blog - HERE.

Sci-fi All Terrain Vehicle?

By Mark Burgess 


Hi all,

While perusing the toy aisle of a well known supermarket, we all need inspiration from somewhere, my eagle eyes spotted this interesting little gem from Hot Wheels. 

 

I thought this Max Steel Turbo Racer (pictured below) would make a interesting Sci-fi vehicle. I had no idea who Max Steel was and had to google him!

Once painted to go with my sci-fi army, it made quite a nice buggy/recon vehicle. To give it some offensive capability I added a grenade launcher to the roof.



I am please with how it turned out, I think i'll paint up a couple more of these for some light vehicle support.

Editor's Note - Let me say thank you to Mark for allowing us to pick at his blog for interesting posts that we feel will demonstrate the joys of the 15mm sci-fi hobby. Mark is not the only one to offer up his blog feeds, so you should be seeing interesting material from around the blogaverse coming to roost here.

-Eli

Wednesday 11 December 2013

Call to Arms

Looking for Hobby Content

By Eli


For some time here, we here in the cockpit have been discussing how to increase the amount of hobby content found here. Dropship Horizon has always been a source of hobby news but it has also been a place for interesting projects, AARs and other hobby related posts. Much of this has diminished over time due to a number of reasons but the net result is that the blog has become, admittedly, a bit stagnate.

To remedy this, we are looking for folks who would like to submit their own articles relevant to the 15mm Sci-fi hobby or who would give us permission to pull content from their blogs, websites and other posts to share on DSH. Any such content would be given a by line and would have links to all included content as well as associated web content (company sites, referenced materials, etc). 

In the end, the goal will be to make this blog as much of a one-stop spot for what's up in the 15mm Sci-fi hobby as possible. It may mean there will be some repetition of content between this and other blogs. This should be fine as for many this is THE blog they visit (or have visited) for this sort of content and would expose them to other content they might normally see. It would also allow this blog to work as a sort of aggregator and focal point to raise overall awareness and interest in the hobby.

So, if you feel you have something everyone should see or would like to volunteer your site as a source of material for this blog, then please comment here and provide a link to your site and any special concerns, requests, or considerations for your inclusion.

Thank you,

-Eli 


Monday 9 December 2013

CyberPunkish Adventures: Khurasan previews PNHE Team

By Harold

Khurasan Miniatures has posted a preview of some great new miniatures over on TMP:

Very pleased to give you a first look at the PNHE teams -- Prohibited Non-Human Enforcement teams who hunt down and eradicate PNHs (aliens who are not SNHs (sanctioned non-humans)) from urban and megurban areas of Core Federal Space.
picture
The teams are made up of "Vyborgs," Vitros who have been machine- and computer- enhanced. (More on the Vitros next year -- entire battalions of Vitros are fielded by the Federal Army.)
As PNHs usually hide out in the seedier areas of Federal Megurbs, PNHE teams dress like urban thugs in order to blend in as they carry out their grim task. As combat is usually up close and personal they are generally armed with very powerful handguns, but usually one marksman with a long weapon is in each team.
I hope to release these before the end of the year but it depends when the production sets are delivered. Well, soon! Also coming are teen post-apoc survivors and downed pilots for mechas or flyers. Plus the usual "lots of other stuff!" Great painting here by sturmhalo!

These would be awesome for all types of games, from Judge Dredd, to Syndicate wars and cyberpunk games.

Hopefully they'll be available soon!

Saturday 7 December 2013

Army in a Can: PMC 2640 Army packs and rules from Assault Publishing

By Harold

From Assault Publishing:

PMC 2640 Cannon Fodder special starters
I’d like to announce an uncommon product: ‘Cannon Fodder’ PMC 2640 starters. They are intended as special gift sets for wargamers and are far from typical, hackneyed X-Mas “we’re going to clear our stock at the end of the year by giving a few percent discount” offers.TotalAll packs include a basic PMC 2640 army and a code allowing you to download the PMC 2640 e-book (alternatively, it might be used to get a discount on the printed version or the printed/pdf bundle). But one thing makes them really differ from other similar products: all sets are packed in real metal cans with specially designed labels, which gives them a really extraordinary appearance!
As a rather uncommon product, they are planned to be prepared only occasionally in very limited amounts. If you are looking for a really original gift for your friend or yourself which would merge a fine ruleset, a nice starting army, and superb packaging, consider the Cannon Fodder packs! But better hurry, as there only a few cans were prepared!

These are some really great starter sets of miniatures, and great for starting your PMC 2640 army or building up an existing army.   It's also great for starting armies for other rulesets, as it's a really good deal.

 The variants are:

Example of some of the miniatures that come in the packs.

For approx $88.00 USD (The postal priority, worldwide shipment is included in the price.) you get:

Cannon Fodder Variant I includes:

  • Two Rifle Teams I (16 models)
  • One LMG team (6 models)
  • One Rocket Armed team (4 models)
  • Engineers (6 models)
  • Light Infantry team (8 models)
  • Apache Mk.1 - heavy patrol vehicle
  • High quality, laser-cut, plactic-acrilic bases set suitable for the miniatures
  • Code allowing downloading PMC 2640 rulebook in pdf (Portable Document Format) format

Cannon Fodder Variant II includes:

  • One Rifle Team 2 (8 models)
  • Two Assault Troop teams (16 models in total)
  • Engineers (6 models)
  • Rangers team (8 models)
  • Tornado Grav Tank - Light Combat vehicle
  • High quality, laser-cut, plactic-acrilic bases set suitable for the miniatures
  • Code allowing downloading PMC 2640 rulebook in pdf (Portable Document Format) format

Cannon Fodder Variant III includes:

  • Two Rifle Teams 2 (16 models in total)
  • Mortar team (4+2 models)
  • Recon team (4 models)
  • Missile-armed team (4 models)
  • Assault Team (8 models)
  • Saber Mk.2 - light transport aircraft
  • High quality, laser-cut, plactic-acrilic bases set suitable for the miniatures
  • Code allowing downloading PMC 2640 rulebook in pdf (Portable Document Format) format
Cannon Fodder Variant IV includes:
  • Two Penal Troops teams 2 (16 models in total)
  • Irregulars team (8 models)
  • Rifle Infantry 2 team (8 models)
  • Engineers team (6 models)
  • AP-Team (6 models)
  • Gila - light patrol vehicle
  • High quality, laser-cut, plactic-acrilic bases set suitable for the miniatures
  • Code allowing downloading PMC 2640 rulebook in pdf (Portable Document Format) format




Friday 6 December 2013

Slipping Through The Gateway

Ion Age Releases Nox Poster and Offer

By Eli


Ion Age has released a second awesome poster. This time it's a brilliant image of a Nox coming through a matter gateway. Printed on high quality poster paper and in brilliant color, this will be a lovely decoration for your game room.

They are not having an Early Supporter Offer this month instead they are having new releases and some super special offers on some codes too.  More on this next week but for the moment they are offering 10% off the Nox miniatures on the website.  So until the 12th December the discount is applied on the page, just add to your cart and yes this is applied on top of the normal 10% off for three pack purchase.

For more details look - HERE.

Tuesday 3 December 2013

You Had the Noodle Dream!

New Terrain From Khurasan Miniatures

By Eli


No, it was no dream, it is really here.

Honestly, this is the terrain bit that I never knew I needed until I saw it. Really this is a superior piece of scenery that has a lot of detail. With a removable roof and full detailed kitchenette, it is every bit as legitimate a piece of wargaming scenery as any building out there. Useful in so many settings and easily a "repeatable" piece I can imagine several variants of this is any sprawl be it post-apocalyptic, distopian future urban or space colony. 

Find it HERE.

picture

And while we are at it check out these awesome new paint jobs on the Sepulvedan Provisional Army (SPA) Regulars in Helmets. The original paint jobs made them look cool, but these make them look amazing. Well worth a second look and a place in any collection. 

picture

These can be found HERE.


Something Wicked From 15mm.co.uk

Flower of Evil
By Eli



A nasty bit of fun kicks off 15mm.co.uk's new line of Eldritch Horror miniatures with EH01 Flower of Evil. While not exactly a scifi miniatures, this nasty manifestation would certainly be at home in some crossover games or as extraterrestrial flora or even fauna. Heck, it could even be an ambassador of an entire star empire.

For more information on this cool new release, head of over - HERE.

Rebel Minis New Releases

By Eli



A quickie this week from Rebel Minis. Mike and his crew have had so many requests for bits of these shields, they have released them as their own code BITZ7 - Riot Shields for 15mm.

While not exactly science fiction, these are the sorts of bits that are perfect for future law, wasteland raiders or zombie survivors among other uses. Add them to melee armed figures or strap them to the backs of your gun armed adventurers. They would even make good kit to add to vehicles.

picture

Also in Rebel news are the Tesla and Missile variants of the burly URSA battlesuits (on the ends of the group above). These are added to the existing variants and Mike says there are some new variants coming soon. Find these - HERE.