Backstories: I don't give a......

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Show me the minis. Show me the quality of the sculpting. Show me a range of believable combat poses. Show me the leader figures, the SAWs, heavy weapons.....

I don't care if you call them Nid Mercs - on my gaming table this week they will be Blu Ars Marines, next week they might be Zoltarian Drop Troops. Humans, clones, synthetics whatever, according to scenario and what the miniatures best pass for.

I just want to be able to put my minis on the table and have enough poses that will compliment each other and allow me to tell a story on each base - this is a fire team giving covering fire, this team is assaulting, this team is under fire and taking cover.

That's the only 'story' I want from your minis.

Have a backstory to present a coherent design philosophy across a range of miniatures, AFVs, heavy weapons and accessories - I applaud that - but I'm still not going to buy into it.

Maybe it's because I'm from the Airfix Generation and not Generation Y, not bought into Warhammer and W40K - I accept this - but I also know when one or more disparate packs are being passed off as "the emperors new power armour" ;-)

Cheers
Mark
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New Zombie Hunters from The Scene

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Mike has some new Zombie Hunters / Survivalists. These should be available on The Scene webstore for pre-orderfrom tonight along with 40 odd other releases including 15mm scale barb wire with picket fences (Mike sent me a sample - it's rather excellent!), radar dishes and building accessories.

The Scene 15mm
Zombie Hunter/Survivalist
ZH004: 40p

The Scene 15mm
Zombie Hunter/Survivalist

ZH005: 40p

The Scene 15mm

Zombie Hunter/Survivalist

ZH006: 40p

Cheers
Mark
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Critical Mass Games - New 15mm Buildings

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A preview of Critical Mass Games new 15mm Sci Fi buildings and building sets. For several months we've been given tantalising glimpses of the new buildings that Craig and Dale would be using on their Kyushsu Bay game board, and now they are available to the gaming public.

Let's take a look at the building sets:

ARC Fleet Building set 1: AFBD1 £50.00 (RRP £56.50).
6 buildings: 1 x AFBD4, 1 x AFBD6, 1 x AFBD8, 1x AFBD10, AFBD12, AFBD14

ARC Fleet Building set 2: AFBD2 £50.00 (RRP £56.50).
6 buildings, 1 x AFBD5, 1 x AFBD7, 1 x AFBD9, 1x AFBD11, AFBD13, AFBD15

ARC Fleet Otilium Refinery set: AFBD3 £60.00 (RRP £64.00).
5 buildings, 1 x AFBD16, 1 x AFBD17, 2 x AFBD18, 1x AFBD19

For more photos visit the Critical Mass Games Forum (click here).

Now some individual buildings in more detail:

The buildings come with interior details
such as doors and windows

This is really cool, very useful for RPGs and individual skirmish games but also looks so much better than having your miniatures imprisoned in a slab sided box. Well done guys!

One of my favourites: AFBD15 - Research Facility - £11.50

No more buying plumbing from the hardware store or taking extra straws from Starbucks with my Latte & extra shot!

Another favourite: AFBD19 - Otilium Storage Tank - £12.00

For more photos visit the Critical Mass Games Forum (click here).

For the building sizes, check the Critical Mass Release Schedule

A well conceived range of Sci Fi buildings for the 15mm gamer. Even if you have no reason to purchase the hab, office and store buildings because you already own GZG's great range of buildings, or like the look of those from Basement Gaming Bunker, there's still room for the refinery pieces, either individually or as a set.

Even one or two of AFBD19 would compliment my GZG Colony prefabs or my desert dwellings from The Scene. I can see the use for the refinery models going beyond Sci Fi to post apocalypse, near future and future pulp gaming too.

Overall, the new Critical Mass buildings have a more robust and permanent look to them than GZG's prefabs and to my mind would suit a more established colony or outpost. There's no reason why you couldn't mix and match GZG's and Critical Mass Games buildings to create interesting frontier settlements and company towns with unique character.

What can I say? Some amazing buildings that can only push the 15mm Sci Fi hobby forward and establish it as being here to stay. These new buildings should be available online during the course of this week from:

WWW.CRITICALMASSGAMES.COM

Cheers
Mark
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Critical Mass Games at Carronade

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See what I missed.....Doh!

Critical Mass Games
Kyushsu Bay Game
Carronade, Falkirk

More pics on the Critical Mass Games forum:
Click Here

Cheers
Mark
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House Antigonus: Tiger Scouts

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Wednesday was not a normal day. I began in the morning taking part in a conference call/webinar from my study at home and ended the day in hospital having a chest X-Ray.

I'm OK, but the result being a couple of days off under doctor's supervision. Best will in the world looks like I'll miss Carronade at Falkirk tomorrow, where I was hoping to meet up with Craig and Dale at Critical Mass Games and take part in the Kyushu Bay game.

Still, painting Critical Mass figures is chicken soup for the soul. A platoon of these with bot support for Tom. War plus cleaning and building five GZG Light Gun & Scout Sleds keeping me busy.

If I haven't said it before, the Critical Mass Light Recon are a joy to paint - crisp detail, clean castings, no mould seams, flash or rough spots - I'm glad that Craig and Dale chose to expand the Light Recon range with support weapon troopers, available towards the end of the summer. I'm really looking forward to these as they will make the range 'pop'! I'm thinking that I might get some packs to be a discrete Commando unit in their own right.

I do still think the Light Recon need a pack of command/leader figures but having said that, in my games these guys are fully netted into the command grid - each member of the team receiving his own personal AI leadership and direction through his earpiece/displayed on his faceplate.

Cheers
Mark
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In the Pipe......Critical Mass Games NEW Sci Fi Armour

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Critical Mass Games are releasing some exciting new 15mm Sci Fi armour to support their newly released 15mm Kaamados Dominion range. Here is a preview of the 3D renders

Critical Mass Games 15mm Sci Fi
Dractamaa APC Body and Heavy Tank

Critical Mass Games 15mm Sci Fi
Dractamaa APC turret options

Critical Mass Games 15mm Sci Fi
Heavy Tank turret options
(green box = 15mm figure height)

Critical Mass Games 15mm Sci Fi

Heavy Tank size comparisons

Critical Mass Games 15mm Sci Fi
Kamaados Scout Cars

Critical Mass Games 15mm Sci Fi
Kamaados AFV size comparisons

(green box = 15mm figure height)

When Craig sent me these pictures a month ago, it caused me to sit down and rethink my 15mm Sci Fi gaming strategy.

I like these models a lot. The APC is rugged and purposeful - you can 'see' it at work on inhospitable worlds. The tank is pure HALO and as for the Scout Cars ..... I think they can be used in any future wasteland/post apoc setting as well! Imagine 3 of them as desert raiders.

These new models give me new focus for building and painting my armies over the coming months, where the successors of great houses are at war for control of a Tatooine/Dune'esque desert planet.

The Harkonnens battle force will have GZG's latest Rommel III hover gun-tanks and the Atreides/Antigonid faction will oppose them with the new Critical Mass Kamaados Heavy Tanks. Mercenary and alien cannon fodder abound. Gunships roar overhead and bots will secure the flanks.

Those Scout Cars, mmmm? Sahadeen raiders allied to no side but always ready to pick off the stragglers.

Speaking to Craig last night, the Kamaados armour should be available in July/August, which suits my pocket fine. Pop over to the Critical Mass Game Forum for more pics and updates.


Cheers
Mark
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