Skylark Patrol Flyer MkII at The Ion Age

Since before the outbreak of the Prydian Civil War the various marks of the Type 41 Skylark Patrol Flyers have been part of the Muster regiments of the Precinct. Based on a designed from the era of the Ban of Prejudice the Type 41 was put into renewed mass production on seven worlds before the Battle of Fenway Prime. While the Adder Combat Car fulfils the needed role of a multi propulsion ground transport for Muster Platoons there was a need for an armed transport that could move in three dimensions. The Skylark fulfils this role well with the objective of moving troops from a staging area to the combat zone with no intervening stages. Capable of dramatic bursts of speed with its four jet engines the howl of an incoming Skylark is common to the ears of friend and foe alike. The Type 41 was given the name Skylark during its testing on New Glastonbury with a hint of humour. That species of ancient Terran bird was brought to New Glastonbury during its long ago original colonisation and its swooping grace is very much at odds with a vehicle that puts ascetics well behind protecting itself and its occupants. 

There are five common marks of the Type 41 which are broadly as follows. The Type 41A Skylark Patroller is the most common of the flyers and is used as an armoured transport capable of carrying two crew and a fire-team of four Muster usually of the Patrol. Its armament is composed of a belly mounted rotary Moth 88 cannon and a top mounted Anda 60mm Missile Pod. Less common but often seen is the Type 41B Skylark Battle Bus which retains the belly mount but has an upper hull modification adding more internal space and an upper exit hatch which means it can carry two fire-teams into the fray at the cost of some protection and fire power. Speed is the aim of the Type 41C called the Skylark Screamer where the upper turret mount and internal space is given over to an additional jet engine mounted on the top of the hull. The Type 41C is used for rapid response and to give ground fire support in open terrain. Rarer is the Type 41D Skylark Big Lift which is unarmed but is fitted with a low slung rig for lifting cargo pods and pallets. But rarest of all is the Type 41E Skylark Eye which is a command and control flyer which features extensive top and belly slung sensor packages; this mark usual belongs to a general or other top ranking officer. All Skylarks have a titanium composite hull and are rated to extreme altitude though without extensive drive modifications it is not capable of reaching low orbit. 

Enter the next sequence to access basic flight training for all marks of the Type 41. Proceed now...

Academy Auto-Trainer Series 12, New Glastonbury, 4326IC 

You have been waiting and now is the time! It is my pleasure to present the brand new mark two Skylark Patrol Flyer designed by Sam Croes. Go HERE or read on for more. 

We are a wee part of Alternative Armies and as such are doing our bit in the mega March to War event which is now on! Until 16th April 2019 there is free worldwide shipping on all orders of 20GBP or more in the cart plus you get your Reward Points and you can use your Reward Points in these orders to save more. There is also 25% off the new Skylark plus several other offers. All are on our main page HERE. 

IAF029 Skylark Patrol Flyer MkII - Go HERE.

The Skylark is the main air support vehicle of the Muster Patrol and among its variants it typically carries one fire-team plus crew and provides gun runs too upon request. This, the new mark two Skylark Patrol Flyer Mark 41A is a 15mm scale vehicle in the form of a multiple part high grade grey tone resin kit. Composed of seven pieces which require assembly and can be fitted with a flight stand (not supplied). The multiple pieces are gun mounts and engine mounts allowing a good degree of posing for 'in flight' and 'landing'. Assembled the Skylark is 70mm long and 35mm across. You can find rules for its use in our own game system in the Callsign Taranis expansion book. Here is a picture of all the supplied parts of the model kit.

As with all our other codes you may choose from purchasing a single kit or three kits on screen with a 10% saving applied. Supplied unassembled and unpainted without a base (shown on a 40mm round base). 

This Skylark is part of a small series of codes all around one theme. The others are IAF033 Crashed Skylark which depicts your flying vehicle on a bad day and IAF034 Skylark Cradle a structure which can hold your landed flyer. Excellent pieces with a wide variety of uses. Here are their details. 

IAF033 Crashed Skylark 

Fast engines and titanium alloy armour are not always enough to keep you up in the air and clear of danger. This Skylark Patrol Flyer has been shot down after a really rough exchange of fire with the enemy. Crashed into the rocky terrain of a world in the Prydian Precinct it lays with smashed engine housings and a battered hull. Lots of details and an excellent narrative piece for your games or simply as battlefield terrain. The Crashed Skylark Patrol Flyer Mark 41A is a 15mm scale vehicle in one high grade grey tone resin piece with is about 70mm across at its widest point. As with all our releases if you purchase three you can get 10% off the normal price. Go HERE. 

IAF034 Skylark Cradle 

This one piece high grade grey tone resin structure fits right in not only with the IAF029 Skylark its designed to cradle for repair and reloads but also with the rest of the Ion Age 15mm terrain range such as the IAF015 Hab Dome and the IAF024 Fabricator Spire as a building in its own right. The Cradle is an industrial building with a high degree of detail. It is approx 70mm long and 60mm wide. As with all our releases if you purchase three you can get 10% off the normal price. Go HERE. 

This is our release for April 2019 and we hope you like it. March to War ends at 9am GMT 16th April (shipping returns to normal as does the price of the new Skylark). 

Thanks for Reading, 

GBS

Midsummer Madness at The Ion Age

Midsummer Madness ten percent off code plus three new Grey Adder 15mm vehicles

The middle of the year is here and with Midsummer comes madness with The Ion Age.  We have a ten percent (10%) code off everything on our website and we have three new 15mm scale vehicles.  We will also have two free articles for you for Patrol Angis.  We will have more details on the free articles soon but for now let me tell you of the event and the new 'Battle Taxi' vehicles.  Go HERE or read on for details.

Until 9am GMT on Friday 29th June 2018 use the code 'tenoff' during checkout (see the image here for a screen grab, just type into the box and it is applied) for 10% off every code in every range on our website both 15mm scale and 28mm scale.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION PLEASE READ
This event discount code GOES ON TOP of the normal system. You will earn Reward Points as normal and you can redeem them if you wish BUT you cannot use two discount codes and if you use 'tenoff' it will OVERRIDE any other code.  You may only use one code.  If you attempt to redeem points and then use 'tenoff' you will lose those points from your account.  If this happens please contact us on info@theionage.com with your order number and we will replace your lost points.  You can of course not use 'tenoff' and use your points as normal.

The 'tenoff' code works on all miniatures, all books, all digital downloads and all game packs too; everything.

This is a great chance to expand your collection or to get into our space opera setting.  As you can see on the screen grab I took advantage of several of the already bundled and discounted products for use in Patrol Angis.  I wanted to get my reading material now so (A) I added the trio of books for Patrol Angis as paid for downloads which were already 20% cheaper than in print and in the bundle of three a bit more too.  My initial force is going to be Cold Climes infantry so the platoon pack (B) which gives a whole force and includes a unique extra free sniper worth 0.50GBP too.  I liked the look of the new SuperBlue Adder and taking three of them (C) gives 10% off using the button on its page; my armoured support.  Lastly since I love an offer I added a single Tohlic Armoured Crawler (D) which is a monster of a vehicle which will carry my Cold Climes troops.  It is the month long offer for June so it is 20% off its list price.  With all these in the cart I have what I want and then into the discount box I typed 'tenoff' (E) and everything was reduced by a further ten percent saving me 7.00GBP more.  Excellent!  I hope you enjoyed my cart.  Go HERE to have a browse through the drop down menus.

We have three new 15mm scale resin vehicles which will be of interest to players of Muster and Planetary Militia and those who have low intensity warfare in mind.  I introduce to you the Grey Adder Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC's) commonly known as 'Battle Taxis'.  Each carries eight troopers and two crew and we have three different propulsion types for you.  Wheeled to go with the other IAF035 Wheeled Adders, a hover type to go with all the other IAF036 Lifter Adders and our first ever Tracked Adder too.  Go HERE or read on for more.

When you have to get into the fray quickly and on the cheap you need a Battle Taxi!  Watch out for Anvil 888 fire!

IAF035G Grey Adder APC Wheeled

This pack contains one resin vehicle. A six wheeled light vehicle the 'Battle Taxi' combat car APC variant which carries Eight Troopers and Two Crew. It has a large hatch at the rear and a front mounted Angis 12.5mm AP Gun.  Once assembled it is approx 60mm long, 40mm wide and about 25mm tall.   It is supplied in two pieces which are very easy to assemble.  You can purchase one pack or select three packs and save 10%.  Go HERE.  4.50GBP.

IAF036G Grey Adder APC Lifter

This pack contains one resin vehicle. A hover or 'lifter' type 'Battle Taxi' combat car APC variant which carries Eight Troopers and Two Crew. It has a large hatch at the rear and a front mounted Angis 12.5mm AP Gun.  Once assembled it is approx 60mm long, 45mm wide and about 25mm tall.  It is supplied in one piece.  You can purchase one pack or select three packs and save 10%.  Go HERE.  4.50GBP.

IAF164G Grey Adder APC Tracked

This pack contains one resin vehicle. A tracked light vehicle the 'Battle Taxi' combat car APC variant which carries Eight Troopers and Two Crew. It has a large hatch at the rear and a front mounted Angis 12.5mm AP Gun.  Once assembled it is approx 60mm long, 40mm wide and about 25mm tall.   It is supplied in two pieces which are very easy to assemble. You can purchase one pack or select three packs and save 10%.  Go HERE.  4.50GBP.

If you like these new vehicles then check out all the other 15mm Prydian Vehicles we have from light Adders to medium Mullos and to the heavy Taranis in wheeled, tracked, lifter and repulsar variants.  Troops to ride in them can be found in the 15mm Prydian Army section where we have Planetary Militia, Muster, Retained and Desteria as packs and also as platoon packs with an extra free miniature too.

We will soon have a free article for Patrol Angis which will give you an expansion to the game statistics from Callsign Taranis for using all three types of Grey Adder in play.  This will be published on the blog and there will also be a free article written by Aris where he introduces the 'Cranid' who are aliens intent upon conquest in a remote part of the Prydian Precinct..they also have to be floating Space Brains!  We have miniatures for these now on the website HERE. 

Thanks for your time and enjoy!

GBS

Early Supporter Offers on new Mullos at The Ion Age

The big release for March 2018 is now online at The Ion Age!  Six different variants of the 15mm Mullo with wheels, tracks and repulsar (anti-gravity) propulsions as Armoured Fighting Vehicle (AFV) and Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC).  Easy to assemble and on average 45mm wide, 80mm long and 30mm tall with resin and white metal parts.  Go HERE for them with an offer plus the mega bundle deals which are on until 23rd March 2018.  Thanks for your support and read on for more information  plus a free download with the rules for these vehicles in Patrol Angis. Awesome!

“The Prydian Civil War saw the production of the Type 36 Mullo Armoured Fighting Vehicle increase six fold.  Though Retained regiments had made use of them since the Battle of Fenway Prime, the design of the Mullo was entirely new unlike those of the Skylark and Adder which dated from before the Ban of Prejudice.  Its original fabrication pattern was laid down on New Glastonbury to fill a need for a ground vehicle that could provide fire power in excess of that offered by battlesuits such as the Havelock but not that needed by a battle tank like the Taranis series.  Restricted to the ranks of the Retained, the Type 36 was made to accommodate powered armoured knights with larger hatches and linked controls along with internal space suited to knights.  As it stood Adders were cheaper and faster to make and could pack a punch but their size meant they were really the domain of the Muster and some lucky Planetary Militia.  The Type 36 was given its name by the Council of Addans who with a node to the mighty Taranis took another ancient Terrain deity of celtic origins and knowing it would be a work horse of a vehicle gave it a name thus.

This auto-trainer vid is centred on the Type 36W Mullo AFV marks.  Those with a wheeled mode of movement rather than the other commonly seen Type 36G repulsar marks of the Mullo which float off the ground.  Used on worlds and asteroids where the native magnetic fields make replusars impracticable or in urban combat where rubble and enemy action requires tires on the turf for security.  In this regard its six mighty wheels provide powerful motive abilities and are capable of shrugging off small arms fire and near misses from Anvil 888 rounds.  There are seven different current marks of Type 36W Mullo AFV's.  The more common ones are the 36WA, 36WB and 36WC in which the only differences are the twin load outs of the turret support grade weapons.  Twin Valerin 15MW Laser Cannons give the Type 36WA an energy based weapons platform good against armour and aircraft.  The twin Fretan  II Rail Guns give the Type 36WB a pure anti-vehicle role in the field and the Type 36WC is every effective against enemy infantry and battlesuits with twin Angis 25mm AP Cannons.  The other common mark is the Type 36D which is in the 'battle bus' configuration giving up its primary weapons for additional space and hatches as an Armoured Personnel Carrier.  Other marks include those designated 'super blue' which is a tank hunter and the 'long bow' mark which carries heavy Anda Missile Pods for artillery support.  These are rarer but present in many regiments.  

All marks of Mullo AFV's have a titanium composite hull making them rugged and durable and can be driven with a minimum of complex training. There has been a call for additional anti-personnel ball mounted micro turrets for Mullo's in action in urban warfare and these upgrades have been rolled out where possible.”

Academy Auto-Trainer Series 18, New Glastonbury, 4329 IC

The Mullo is the medium size of vehicle in our range in 15mm scale which is ideal for Retained Knights, Muster and Planetary Militia. Bigger than the Adder series of Combat Cars and smaller than the Taranis Main Battle Tank this is the wheeled AFV variant of the model. There are six different Mullo kits.  Three medium fighting vehicles and three medium personnel carriers.  Here are their details and on the page for each there are more images including scale and parts.  You can purchase one or three with a saving.

IAF042A Mullo AFV Wheeled

A Mullo is an Armoured Fighting Vehicle meaning that it fills a variety of roles from gunnery support to troop transport and strong point defence; tasks it is well suited to. Once assembled the Mullo AFV wheeled measures some 80mm in length with a width of 60mm and a height to top of turret of 30mm. It is easy to assemble with a one piece hull and pre-set bracketing points for the six wheels to be mounted. The Angis 12.5mm AP weapon on ball mount can be attached to the front of the hull or left off if chosen.  The pintle mounted Angis 22mm AP Rifle is white metal and can be left off or put on. The main turret is one piece with two mounting points for a pair of support grade weapons.  Supplied with three choices for the turret: Twin Valerin 15Mw Laser Cannons, Twin Angis 25mm AP Cannons and Twin Fretan Rail Guns.  Go HERE.  10.00GBP

IAF042B Mullo AFV Tracked 

A Mullo is an Armoured Fighting Vehicle meaning that it fills a variety of roles from gunnery support to troop transport and strong point defence; tasks it is well suited to. Once assembled the Mullo AFV tracked measures some 80mm in length with a width of 60mm and a height to top of turret of 30mm. It is easy to assemble with a one piece hull and pre-set bracketing points for two tracked units to be mounted. The Angis 12.5mm AP weapon on ball mount can be attached to the front of the hull or left off if chosen.  The pintle mounted Angis 22mm AP Rifle is white metal and can be left off or put on. The main turret is one piece with two mounting points for a pair of support grade weapons.  Supplied with three choices for the turret: Twin Valerin 15Mw Laser Cannons, Twin Angis 25mm AP Cannons and Twin Fretan Rail Guns.  Go HERE.  10.00GBP

IAF042C Mullo AFV Repulsar 

A Mullo is an Armoured Fighting Vehicle meaning that it fills a variety of roles from gunnery support to troop transport and strong point defence; tasks it is well suited to. Once assembled the Mullo AFV repulsar measures some 100mm in length with a width of 55mm and a height to top of turret of 35mm. It is easy to assemble with a one piece hull and pre-set bracketing points for two anti-gravity units to be mounted. The Angis 12.5mm AP weapon on ball mount can be attached to the front of the hull or left off if chosen.  The pintle mounted Angis 22mm AP Rifle is white metal and can be left off or put on. The main turret is one piece with two mounting points for a pair of support grade weapons.  Supplied with three choices for the turret: Twin Valerin 15Mw Laser Cannons, Twin Angis 25mm AP Cannons and Twin Fretan Rail Guns.  Go HERE.  10.00GBP

IAF042DW Mullo APC Wheeled 

IAF042DT Mullo APC Tracked

IAF042DR Mullo APC Repulsar

The Mullo APC is an Armoured Personnel Carrier meaning that it transports up to fifteen troops a short distance into the fray. Once assembled the Mullo APC measures some 80mm to 100mm in length with a width of 55mm to 65mm and a height to top of turret of 30mm to 35mm. It is easy to assemble with a one piece hull and pre-set bracketing points for propulsion units. The Angis 12.5mm AP weapon on ball mount can be attached to the front of the hull or left off if chosen.  The pintle mounted Angis 22mm AP Rifle is white metal and can be left off or put on as with the 12.5mm Angis ball mount. Choose from three types using the options on page.  You can purchase one or three of the same type with a saving by selecting it.  Go HERE.  10.00GBP

Players of Patrol Angis using the heavy vehicle expansion title Callsign Taranis are most welcome to CLICK HERE to download from our website a free article with game statistics and more in it for use of these six new vehicles in play.  There are other free articles which can be had for Patrol Angis HERE on the website by following the links hosted on our website.  Enjoy!

Mullo Buy Three get Fourth free bundles! Save 25%

This Early Supporter Offer on the Mullo medium armoured vehicles is available until the end of 23rd March 2018.  15mm scale resin and white metal kits which you can select from the options on this page by clicking on your choice in the white box above.  Six different bundles as follows:

IAF042A Mullo AFV Wheeled 

IAF042B Mullo AFV Tracked

IAF042C Mullo AFV Repulsar

IAF042DW Mullo APC Wheeled 

IAF042DT Mullo APC Tracked 

IAF042DR Mullo APC Repulsar

Each bundle contains FOUR identical vehicles one of which is given free meaning a saving of twenty five percent off regular release price.  All bundles will be shipped by the end of the promotional period along with any other codes ordered at the same time. If you wish to learn and see more about the Mullo please look to the single vehicle pages.  Go HERE.  30.00GBP (Value 40.00GBP!).

Lastly a note upon the nature of the new Mullo 2.0.  Those of you who have been with The Ion Age since 2014 and been playing Patrol Angis may well have a wheeled Mullo in your collection.  This is now the Mark One and is gone and out of production permanently so if you have it you are fortunate and have a piece of history on your table which is still perfectly useful in play.  The re-design of the Mullo for this Mark Two set of six variants was needed in order to give other means of propulsion and once we had done that we thought a new turret would suit better and then we wanted to give you all the weapon options included plus a pintle mount..so here we are.  At once the same and not the same.  The Mullo...workhorse of the Prydian Precinct. 

Thanks for Reading,

GBS

In the Pipe...... 15mm Nova Respublik APC

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Following fast on the heels of Khurasan's Nova Respublik MBT, Jon has released images of his forthcoming Yozhik (Hedgehog) Heavy APC.

The Yozhik follows the design philsophy of the current Russian BTR-T heavy infantry combat vehicle, which itself forged from fierce combat experiuence in urban combat environments.

The resin and metal kit will be available from Khurasan Miniatures soon. In the meantime go to TMP and read Jon's full personal review of building the kit for himself. You'll also find photos of the Little Darling series of armed support robots I previewed here on Dropship back in December.

I'll have my own, if slightly biased photo review of the Little Darlings in my next post.

Cheers

Mark

IN THE PIPE... 15mm Cafferata APC

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Tonight, an exclusive colour render of the Cafferata APC. A 15mm Sci Fi AFV available from Jon at Khurasan Miniatures in about a month's time.

Khurasan Miniatures 15mm Sci Fi
Cafferata APC

The image is a full render of the completed rapid prototyping design. So it will look precisely like the colour image right down to the smallest details in the illustration above.

BACKGROUND

"The Cafferata is the main APC used by the Federal Marines. The Marines call them "camels" or, more often, simply "trucks." It's a conventional/anti-grav hybrid, with retractable wheels. (It's illustrated here in low hover, the wheels retracted.) As an anti-grav fuel-saving measure, the wheels can be deployed, in road mode, and the vehicle's anti-grav engines make electricity to turn them, rather than hovering the vehicle, as road mode requires far less fuel. It can achieve quite respectable speeds of 70-80 kph in road mode, under ideal ground circumstances. The vehicle can also operate as a normal anti-grav craft, of course.

Its sensor suites is very sensitive to sudden changes in altitude, and the vehicle's anti-grav engines kick on automatically if, for instance, the ground or ice give way, a bridge collapses, etc. (Of course the vehicles can just cross rivers by hovering over as well.) If a tire is shot out, the antigrav engines on that flank deploy automatically to keep the vehicle level, or it can
just switch to anti-grav mode.

Marine vehicles used anti-grav mode almost exclusively in the Sepulvedan War, as Sepulveda is one of the galaxy's leading supplies of angravium!

This vehicle has quite a punch with its heavy autocannon and two missile boxes, but its primary purpose is to transport the marines into battle. The L-HAC is the main battle vehicle of the Federation.

The mode is almost exactly 75mm (3") long. It is designed to transport a squad of ten marines, plus crew. It comes with a flight base, four wheels, a hull and a turret. The turret has a heavy autocannon and two missile boxes. The wheels can be attached in anti-grav mode or road mode.

The vehicle is named after a Terran Marine hero from a pre-Federal Terran war of the C20th , the "Korean War." (Click here)."


I really like the look of this APC. Chatting with Jon it appears that elements of the Bradley were used within the design. I think the Cafferata is an incredibly versatile and workmanlike model that will easily look comfortable on both hospitable and inhospitable worlds complimenting a wide range of manufacturer's figures on the market.

In wheeled mode I see it operating on my tabletop in tandem with GZG's new AV-7 Utility VTOL Transports and Rebel Minis Modern Americans (as 'Colonial Marine' style Mid-tech Sci Fi).

Cheers
Mark
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New GZG AFV's - More Pics!

Hi Guys

Following a day of rest after Hammerhead on Sunday, Jon has been kind enough to send me some more pics of his new AFV's.....!!!

V15-52A 8-wheel Fire Support Vehicle/Mobile Gun System
(Tank Killer) £7.50 each

V15-51A 8-wheel MICV with light weapon turret
(with gatling and missile pod) £7.00 each

V15-50A 8-wheel APC with remote autocannon mount
£6.50 each

V15-55A Advanced Heavy Grav Tank
with High Energy Particle Cannon (HEPC)
£9.00 each

V15-57A Advanced Grav Fire Support Missile Vehicle
£8.00 each

V15-56A Advanced Grav Lift Infantry Assault Vehicle

£8.00 each

Should be on the GZG Web store and ready to order, today or tomorrow.


Cheers
Mark

Latest Sci Fi AFV's from GZG!

Jon at GZG has sent me the following news item about his latest 15mm Sci Fi AFV's!

"First off, we have some new 8-wheeled combat vehicles - the first three are a basic "battle taxi" APC, a turretted MICV and a Fire Support/Tank Killer variant with a nice long cannon. As with all our 15mm vehicle range, they are generic designs and you can use them for whatever forces you like, but we think they're especially suitable for our Eurasian (ESU) and Islamic Federation forces".

GZG new 15mm 8-wheeled combat vehicles
Fire Support/Tank Killer, turretted MICV, "battle taxi" APC

GZG 15mm 8-wheeled turretted MICV

My personal favourite, this 8 wheeled MICV could replace the Roskopf 1/87th Spahpanzer Luchs of my youth that I mentioned in an earlier post. I can already see it providing support to some new Roco Minitank Wiesals.

Jon continues..."Then, from the opposite end of the tech scale, we have some new High Tech (or should that be Ultra Tech?) Grav Armour; in a distinctly different style from our other Grav releases, these will give you a new force option if you want to do high-vs-high tech battles".

New GZG 15mm Ultra-tech AFV family
heavy tank, infantry assault carrier, missile support vehicle

"The first three items in this new "family" are a heavy tank with a huge fusion cannon, an assault infantry carrier and a missile support vehicle with two 4-round launcher units mounted in the hull. The perfect armour unit to carry and support your crack Orbital Assault Marines!"

Can 15mm Sci Fi get any sexier!

"These are all shots of some basecoated first-off castings from the new moulds; no codes or names yet, but they will be fully listed soon along with prices; the costs are not decided yet, but will probably be in the region of £6 - £7 for the wheeled vehicles and £8 - £9 for the big Gravs. As with all our 15mm range, these are ALL METAL minis in kit form, and for size reference they are all pictures on a centimetre-grid cutting mat".

Jon (GZG)

Jon will have a small number of these new vehicles at HAMMERHEAD in Newark on Sunday and they will be available online to the rest of us ground pounders in a few days time.

Cheers
Mark