100 Posts in the Pipe!

An express elevator to hell;
GOING DOWN!

Welcome to the 100th post on Dropship Horizon

The 15mm Sci Fi scene has expanded in Super Nova terms over the past 100 posts. There is a vibrancy in the marketplace and new ranges instead of competing with each other are actually fuelling the appetite for more. A new wave of sculptors and manufacturers have come forward and more have expressed the intention of following. New modern rules systems are in development....we really are on an express elevator ride right now. WHAT A RUSH!

My sincerest thanks to everyone who has supported Dropship Horizon to date, and especially to each of the manufacturers who has contributed towards the 100th post! A special thank you to Gavin at 15mm.co.uk for his very generous 15% discount deal for Dropship Horizon readers!



When Mark asked us at www.15mm.co.uk to make a contribution to his landmark 100th posting we were happy to help, after all its rare to have access to such a quality blog as Dropship Horizon. As most of you will be aware we produce the Laserburn range of classic 15mm sci-fi miniatures and vehicles along with the HOF 15mm sci-fi range. Both can be found on our website.

Our latest releases for HOF are all on our site right now. They are:

HOF53 Octopod Infantry. This pack contains ten miniatures taken from three poses of humanoid infantry with rifles. Octopods have slimy skin and tentacle bunches which cover the lower parts of their faces and chests. £3.50 per pack

HOF54 Human Rim Mercenaries. This pack contains ten miniatures taken from three poses of human males armed with rifles dressed in paramilitary gear. £3.50 per pack.

HOF55 Post Apocalyptic Warriors. This pack contains ten miniatures taken from three poses of human males armed with machine pistols and dressed in gas masks and leather trench coats. £3.50 per pack.

HOF57 Starfighter Crew. This pack contains ten miniatures taken from four poses. Starfighter Pilot in helmet, Srarfighter Pilot bare headed, kneeling mechanic and Starfighter Droid. £3.50 per pack.

HOF56 Cultist Infantry. This pack contains ten miniatures taken from three poses of human males armed with a variety of rifles and a shotgun dressed in hooded full body robes. £3.50 per pack.

HOF58 Stellar Refugees. This pack contains ten pieces. One set of Human child with grav sled and separate load, multiples of three poses of Human Refugees. Human male with bags standing, Human male with bags walking and human teenage female clutching bags and robotoy. £3.50 per pack.

As an added bonus in conjunction with Dropship Horizon we would like to extend a promotional offer to all you gamers out there who are fans of this blog. Go to our site www.15mm.co.uk and place an order as normal, when you reach the 'checkout' screen with the white background enter this code ' 1703 ' into the voucher box and automatically get 15% off your order. This is valid for all miniatures, rulebooks and so on from us and will be valid for the next two weeks.

Here's to the next 100 postings!
Gavin

DROPSHIP HORIZON
PRIZE DRAW No.1

Everyone who is signed up as a follower of Dropship Horizon will be entered into a free prize draw on June 21st. First person chosen at random will recieve a Grey Landing Party from 15mm.co.uk. Second person will recieve a pack of Cultists and third will receive a pack of Post Apocalyptic Warriors. Good Luck!

http://www.rebelminis.com/15mmscifi.html

Meet the all new Sabre Dropship coming soon from Rebel Minis:

Rebel Minis 15mm Sabre Dropship - Laser variant

Rebel Minis 15mm Sabre Dropship - Missile variant

MAEF4 15mm Earth Force Marines Infantry (Soft Top): Sculpted by Martin Baker, the Earth Force Marines Infantry (Soft Top) Pack comes with 21 15mm Miniatures (5 EF poses) for $10.95, in a Boonie style cover instead of the enclosed helmet. They also feature respirators over the nose and mouth.

http://www.rebelminis.com/15eafomainst.html

MAEF3 15mm Earth Force Marine Infantry (Hardtop) : Once again, sculpted by Martin Baker, the Earth Force Marines Infantry (Hardtop) Pack comes with 21 15mm Miniatures (5 EF poses) for $10.95, in Hardtop cover instead of the enclosed helmets.

http://www.rebelminis.com/15eafomainh.html

These guys give Near Future gaming a hard edge. Keep an eye on the website for more new releases and remember that shipping anywheer in the world is now one flat rate of $4.60.

http://greeneyedminis.blogspot.com/

Green Eyed Minis will be going live with a website before the end of May. We will be releasing the Tolero (the little bears), Yetis and Slugs to begin with. Future packs will compliment these packs. We have a Tolero Catapult being worked on and also Tolero's rifing giant Terror Birds. There will also be a command pack and probably another 8 basic troopers.

Green Eyed Minis 15mm Tolero

The Yetis will have another 8 figures released. They will be armed with a variety of bones, rocks and stones, and we have a few other ideas being played with at the moment.

Green Eyed Minis 15mm Yetis

We will also be working on several more alien bugs and welcome suggestions as to what people would like.

We have 3 alien races planned and these will be complete ranges with various troop types and vehicles.

We plan to release packs with 8 individual figures in, so you don't need to worry about duplicates.

Finally, We're putting together a range of Space dwarves, with the first pack due for release mid June. These figures will be part of a complete range and we hope to launch with a platoon pack made up of 30 unique figures, which will incld command and heavy weapons.

If anyone wants to contact us we can be found at greeneyedminis@gmail.com for the time being.

Cheers

Adam

http://khurasanminiatures.tripod.com/

Mark, just for your 100th, here are some EXCLUSIVE images of upcoming items.

1) An closeup image of the missile bay of the Pelagic Dominate's SPA missile tank. There will be an APC and an AFV on the same hull. The basic design is a secret so far, but here's a peek! These vehicles are the amazing work of vehiclesmith John Bear Ross.

2) An in-progress look at the 28mm heavy weaponsgarn. He was changed a bit after this shot was taken (his targeting periscope was shortened, and the power/support cables going from his power backpack into the gun rack were added) but this is the basic look. The gun rack will be able to receive the plasma cannon (shown), laser cannon or missile launcher, all three of which attachments will come with each heavy weaponsgarn.

And here are some further updates on the rest of my Sci Fi lines as posted also to TMP:

The Corporate Marines are in my hands just waiting for the painted samples to be
released.

Garn 15mm are at the casters.

Pelagic Dominate:- Karkarine line troopers in ablative armour are almost done, soon to be

shipped to me (four trooper poses with hydroplasma rifle, one two-kar hydroplasma cannon

team, one commander with hydroplasma assault rifle).

Hydrozoan Overlords, in battle dress with nematocyte energy harpoon, have been described to sculptor and will be started soon

Spearbearer bio terror troops are done and on their way to me.

Pelagic armoured assets (grav tank, grav APC, grav missile artillery) are completed 3D sculpting and the patterns are at the printers.

So lots of sci fi fun coming in the next few months. If sales support it I will make vehicles for the Garn and Corporate Marines as well. Also probably everyone's favorite genocidal overlord, Jellina Joel I, in 15mm."

"Who can resist a girl in leather even in 15mm?"...Mark

http://www.splinteredlightminis.com/

David at Splintered Light Miniatures has informed me that they will shortly have two packs of 15mm Space Crew, one pack armed, one unarmed.

Splintered Light are also offering a 20% discount on purchases made in April and May. Check out the website for details.

DROPSHIP HORIZON
PRIZE DRAW No.2

Win a Rebel Minis Dropship & Earth Force Marines(new and unpainted)

To Win:First person with all 3 correct answers!
You can have one attempt per comment left on the blog
between 30th May and 21st June 2009.
Send answers to dr#pshiph#riz#n@yah##.c#.uk
(This address is purely for the competiton. Replace the # as appropriate)If no-ne gets all three. person with most correct who has
contributed best comments will win. My comp. so my decisions are final.
1) What Sci Fi TV series am I currently watching on DVD?

2) Which pack of 'gritty' 15mm Sci Fi miniatures
do I think would make great Legionnaires?

3) Which movie actress would I like to see cast as Jellina Joel I?

Best of luck!

Cheers
Mark

Some Useful Star Wars Battles Miniatures

"You and Whose Army?"

'George' with some Star Wars Battles' Super Battle Droids

"Klaatu barada nikto"

Transaltes as "Read my Fist!"

"Yer Berilium manifold's gone mate! That's gonna cost ya."
A Star Wars Miniatures Repair Driod
Useful as 'clutter' in any Sci Fi repair shop, spaceport docking bay etc

A variant on my SkyRaptor Kitbash

15mm QRF AMX13 hull married with the turret from
GZG V15-26C Manned Groundmount Weapons Platform with Missile System

Found these pics which I took back in Jan/Feb and promptly saved to the depths of my laptop's hard drive. The Star Wars Battles Miniatures are a cheap source of 'supersized droids' and can usually be found for 99p to £1.50 on EBAY.

100th Post!

My next post will be my 100th on Dropship Horizon. I hope to be able to make it something special with all the latest news and buzz on 15mm Sci Fi miniatures. I've written to manufacturers and asked them if they'd like to contribute with photos, news or hints on whats coming up. So, it will be a few days whilst I give everyone I've contacted a fair chance to reply and make a contribution, should they be able to do so.

The 101st post will have a free pdf of our Space Cowboy game and thereafter as life and work priorities have faded into the background expect more after action reports, rules reviews and miniature comparisons.

Cheers
Mark

I Have Mostly Been Reading.......Contact Harvest

Bit of a relapse and back in bed for a while today, as I have been really struggling for air in my lungs once again.

Never mind, make the best and take the opportunity to start CONTACT HARVEST by Jospeh Staten.

Set in the HALO universe, it covers a multitude of themes including an internal struggle between the UNSC and insurrectionists and the first battle between man and the alien Covenant on the agricultural colony world of Harvest.

From the very first page CONTACT HARVEST had me hooked. Don't worry if you haven't played the game or simply just not a fan of the HALO 'verse, this book stands on it's own two feet. It's not just immensely believable military Sci Fi, it's also a superb read.

As an author Jospeh Staten is easily on a par with Alan Dean Foster. If there can only be one HALO movie, I want CONTACT HARVEST to provide the inspiration for the script.

Shame about the relapse, though it's been a wild & pissy sort of day, quite out of character with the rest of the week and the sort of day where being in bed isn't such a bad thing. I'm glad that last night we took advantage of the warm evening to walk in the local forest and amble along the old 'Kings Highway' (pictured below).

The Kings Highway (click on picture for larger image)

Roman Legions, Pictish tribes, Edward Longshanks, Covenanters, Jacobites & Redcoats, Boswell and Johnston all travelled this road. The sense of history within this church of trees is compelling. If you want to see ghosts, this is where you conjur them.

Cheers
Mark

Life Work The Universe......Mum

Thought you'd like to share some good news.

My mother had a major stroke last September. This not only left her paralysed from the waist down but also effected her state of mind.

When I saw her in hospital there was no recognistion at all, she thought I was the doctor. Believe me, one of the hardest things you have to face in your life as a son is when your mother doesn't know who you are.

Within a couple of days she regained a degree of her mental faculties but still belived I was her brother. When I eventually returned to work, I had to make sure my colleagues knew that if anyone (carer, doctor etc) called and asked for someone by another name, it would probably be for me.

......Out of the blue I received a call at home this afternoon. It was mum. She was phoning to ask how I, Mark, was and to let me know she loved me.

I'm not too proud to say I held it together only for the length of the call.

I can now close the door on what has been a dark room for the best part of the last year.

Cheers!!!
Mark

15mm WW2 Red Army female soldiers

Whilst on the Neo-Soviet theme, Soldadets (TMP nom de guerre) has submitted WW2 Red Army female soldiers to the Eureka Miniatures 300 Club program.

You can read more about it here on TMP: "Eureka 300 Club: WW2 Russian female soldiers" Topic

It's going to be interesting to see what sculpts come out of the project, and if there will be any potential Soviet WWW2 Zombie fighting heroines. I'll pop for 10 minis for my WW2 Soviet collection, not an earth moving number, I know, but it helps Soldadets project along.

The Red Army Heroine in the photo on the left would be fine in 15mm and could be enhanced by the addition of a Plash-Palatka rain cape.

One of my favourite ever wargame minis was a Platoon 20 Soviet figure standing with a PPSH, wearing pilotka sidecap and Plash-Palatka. He was just the epitome of Soviet soldiery.

Now, I also came across the box art below from a set of 1/35th scale Soviet WW2 miniatures.

If you can image our heroine in the photo above, in same pose but given skirt and boots with overcoat draped over shoulders in a similar manner to the female soldier in the box art - would this make a better character figure? Or should the figure in the box art be an additional figure representing a female Red Army survivor, armed with a PPSH?

Would you prefer a more combatative pose - stalking forwards perhaps, PPSH at the ready?



Cheers
Mark


p.s. A present has arrived this morning in the post, a gift from Heather, as a small token for letting her have the cats and subsequently enduring this reaction to them....BLOODY STREETS: The Soviet Assault on Berlin, April 1945 by A. Stephen Hamilton.

I have no excuse now not to forge on with my Götterdämmerung. Bum! I can feel a Race to the Reichstag game coming on....oooh - FOF or Crossfire, FOF or Crossfire? - wait, I have an idea, something else entirely.......!

Mark

Columbian Guinea Pig Fever........

I've spent the last few days consigned to my bed. The reaction to the cats has subsided with the help of a HEPA air purifier, not cheap but cheaper than posting the cats back to the breeder. My chest has cleared but I think it opened me up to a vicious bout of something nasty with flu-like symptoms, which is I am glad to say are starting to dissipate.

The good news is that it's given me time to finish reading The Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi. Bloody excellent read and thoroughly recommended to anyone who wants to write Sci Fi orientated rules, especially if you want to incorporate clones and neural intelligence/communication nets. There are potentially 4 gameable scenarios within the book though the attack on the Heirarch's Palace is gold dust and a must to play. I'm reminded in a small way of a Classic Traveller double adventure; Divine Intervention/Night of Conquest, Double Adventure 6.

At least I was well enough for us to enjoy a beautiful evening last night and whilst Heather took charge of the BBQ, I was able to pour over the first draft of Ambush Alley: Force on Force's futuristic/sci fi variant which Shawn kindly sent me to look at.

Sunset in The Shire

(click on picture for closer view)

The postie arrived with 100 Space Troopers (blame the W40K novels!) and 2 packs of Jet Bikes from Mike at The Scene along with some very nice low 'green' hills. On opening the package Heather says....."You buying a 15mm golf course" but agreed that they were well made, nicely finished and looked good on the tabletop (for 15mm Eastern Front etc).

The Space Troopers are well cast, robust miniatures, though the detail on some of the helmet faces aren't as crisp as they used to be. No worries, a portion of these guys are becoming WWW2 types with Peter Pig WW2 separate heads. The Jet bikes are great and I really like the 'Gimp' helmets worn by the riders. It's a shame only one of the three riders is firing a 'pistol' though, as he does makes for a very nice figure. Recommended! (pics to follow).

The Space Troopers are to fight Battlefront's new Soviet Assault Engineer-Sappers in an never-ending struggle for a decaying and destroyed city. I may, try to sculpt some hoods and masks on the Sappers to resemble the Forge World Chaos Renegade Militia, which I think are brilliant (especially the vehicle crew), sort of Texas Chanisaw Massacre meets W40K!

Cheers
Mark