Odds and ends for the week...

We didn't see as many new 15mm items this week as last, but there are definitely a few things we need to mention.  In addition to the release of the Blasters & Bulkheads rules, we have a few minis... new and old... to put on our Christmas lists.

ArtCrime Productions have released Makat, Nationalist, and Fed starter forces for their flagship Valkyrie game.  Each set includes 250 points worth of minis, along with the PDF version of  the Valkyrie rulebook.  Or if you just want to use ArtCrime's great minis in your own games, Mechanized Infantry Platoons are also available.

For brand new minis, Khurasan Miniatures released the Federal Police/Security Guards.   These are lightly armed, lightly armored, and would be ideal for small skirmishes in urban settings.  They are also valuable minis for anyone collection a Human Colonial force in Alien Squad Leader.

And on the opposite end of the spectrum, RAFM has resurrected the ancient Martian Metals Traveller Grav Armor range.  They are certainly older designs, but they still hold up against today's releases.  And talk about heavy metal - the vehicles themselves are 100% finger-smashing pewter castings.  The interior detail kit for the APC is resin - and a pretty neat piece for diorama modelers.

Cheers,
Chris

Orange Planet: The Arrival

  
The Doctor Who Micro-Universe Sanctuary Base Rocket arrived safely form the Ebay Zone earlier in the week. It's yellow and grey (metal), stands 15cm tall and 5cm wide. Quite cool for a fiver including postage. I can see a couple of these as planetary defence rockets, perhaps on some moon, and they need to be taken out prior to a fullscale planetary assault..... hold that thought.

The arrival of the rocket prompted me to dig out some spacesuited 1979 era ex-Citadel Traveller miniatures  figures from the original box sets. They're painted orange and very much showing their age. However, all was not lost. With a heavy wash of Windsor and Netwon Peat Ink the bluey metal of the originals merged with the ink to look like worn/oily workaday space clothing. I actually really like them in their new grungy form - and you can't see where the original paint job had worn off. 30 blah years on they remain a fitting tribute to the Traveller games I ran in the 6th Form common room.

 VBCW 2036 Morris Dancers

(Citadel 15mm Traveller circa 1979)

However, with Spacejacker's wonderful miniatures inspiring me at every turn, I am probably going to give them a light drybrush with pure orange then pick out some minor detailing (now done). Maybe, just maybe drybrush the helmet yellow. But something pulls at me and says leave 'em be as a tribute to days gone by.

Excluding my Asgard Space Marines, I have a couple of dozen 15mm ex-Citadel Traveller miniatures left from 1979. Funnily, sometime back in the early 2,000's I took them to CLAYMORE in Edinburgh and tried to sell them as a lot on the B&B for £1.50.  Here were the guys who explored the Kinunir, crossed the bright face and then hired themselves out as Mercs on the arrival of Book 4: Mercenary. No-one bit and they came home.

And now they are off on another adventure - to the Orange Planet.

Cheers

Mark

RAFM 20% Off Christmas Sale

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RAFM 20% off Christmas Sale now running from today, Friday December 3rd until Sunday December 12th. Use coupon code: CHRS2010 in the webshop.

Ex-Citadel classic Traveller 15mm Sci Fi goodness.

RAFM

Cheers

Mark

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RAFM 20% Off

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RAFM are offering 20% off until 24th October. A great opportunity to stock up on their 15mm ex-Citadel Traveller minis!

WWW.RAFM.COM

Cheers

Mark

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Earth Force Marines - Class!

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My mantra for 2009 was "You can never have enough Earth Force Marines". I probably have sufficient to keep me busy for another 6 months, especially as I don't have none of that there fancy 'dip' and have to paint them the old fashioned way..... with a lick of spit and a Sable Premier P33 size '0'.

My favourite brush is, well, was.... an Airfix No. '6'. No, don't laugh! It may have had the Tommy Cooper of pedigrees as far as brushes go, but it had a fine tip was a sterling perfomer for over a decade. I reasoned that if the job needed a smaller brush in 15mm, I wasn't going to notice the detail anyway.

The brush took a pounding with all these new figures over the past year, and to be honest, I became careless and didn't look after it. Nevertheless it is still playing a useful role as drybrush No.2.

Back to chummy here in the photo. To me, these Earth Force Marines are classic Sci Fi soldiery - and can't get more classic than the 4518th Lift Infantry Regiment, the Duke of Regina's Own Huscarles. I have squads of these Marines basecoated GW Adeptus Battlegrey, mounted on old CDs and perched on any convenient flat space in the study just waiting to be finished.

Little and often.... 6-7 minis an evening, don't push it and enjoy the experience. That's the advice I gave myself and despite the extra effort - really enjoyed painting these minis. More likely to get a platoon finished by the weekend like this than forcing myself to sit in front of 30 miniatures and push my enthusiasm to get them done in 48 hours.

Cheers
Mark
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GZG's New Tracked Explorer ATV : PREVIEW

If you are a fan of the original Classic Traveller, you will remember Across the Bright Face/Mission on Mithril: Double Adventure #2, which featured a tracked ATV at the centre of both it's missions.

Whilst both were essentially RPG map exercises I did actually use the tracked 15mm Laserburn chunky 15mm APC as the ATV and ran the games around the model. Across the Bright Face was my favourite of the two missions. Mostly because I had read an incredibly evocative and detailed short story in an anthology called The Science Fictional Solar System edited by Isaac Asimov, about an expedition to be the first men to cross the bright face of Mercury. Excellent stuff and a great read!


GZG's new V15-63A SURVEYOR II tracked ATV explorer vehicle brings back superb memories of these early Traveller games. But perhaps touches more of a soft spot because it reminds me of the SHADO APC's in the classic TV series UFO.

V15-63A SURVEYOR II tracked ATV explorer vehicle
£8.00 from GZG

Cheers
Mark

NOTE: All new codes are in production and will be available at SALUTE on the 28th March - shortly after that they will be up on the webstore for mail ordering.