Aliens, Armed Explorers, Xenobiologists, and Hammer's Slammers

by Chris

Rebel Minis has expanded both the Manth and Pangalactic Legion ranges. The Manth are joined by the Command and Heavy Weapons Pack. It includes a Commander, a Communications Specialist, two Automatic Pulse Cannon soldier, a Missile Launcher soldier, and a Galactic Peacekeeper (which is one of new favorite 15mm figures).  

Even if you aren't a Manth player, this pack would make a wonderful narrative-skirmish force. Maybe it's just the excellent paint scheme that Jason Moore gave the Peacekeeper... I see this pack as a senior diplomat/religious leader/chief-of-state with his/her/its personal bodyguard. Grab a handful of other figures from your current collection, some MDF or electrical-box buildings, and you have everything you need to play out a spaceport ambush, an embassy attack, or a mercenary or special forces hit on a high-value alien terrorist leader.

The popular Pangalactic Legion is reinforced by the Shock Troopers. 

These figures are equipped with "pig sticker" vibro-gauntlets instead of the Legion's traditional energy weapons. They add a much-desired melee capability, making it one of the more versatile 15mm alien figure ranges on the market.

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Early last year, Dropship Horizon founder Mark showed us a sneak peak of Khurasan Miniatures' Horizon Explorer and Iguana Personnel Carrier. They were sadly delayed due to some issues with getting the prints cleaned, but I'm pleased to announce that the Iguana is now available (with the explorer due very soon).

Seeing it painted and weathered like this... it was a vehicle worth waiting for. These are exactly what I've always imagined carrying vac-suited troops through dusty moonscapes and across Martian deserts. Something tells me that we'll see a few sellouts of these vehicles before everyone manages to get one. :)

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Khurasan Miniatures also adds another character to the Sepulvedan Resistance range. Xenobiologist Camilla Bathurst joins the ranks of legends like Dave Rimmer, Desiree Kim, and the Teacup Tornado.

I can't imagine that this will be at all appealing to the pulp and cinematic gamers in the 15mm community... great figure!

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Big news for all you Hammer's Slammers fans out there. The 15mm range of officially-licensed vehicles has now been taken over by Ainsty Castings, who have released the Blower tank and the Combat Car.

Ainsty assumes the license from Old Crow Models. Old Crow has been on a lengthy hiatus while Jez has been busy with real life (and by real life, I mean major involvement in a Hollywood film). While certainly understandable, it has left players of one of the largest 15mm games without the ability to get vehicles for their games. Ainsty Castings not only stepped up to cover the gap, but they worked with Crucible author John Treadaway to update the vehicles. The Blower tank was increased in size - and now looks like the 170-ton behemoth featured in the David Drake books. Here's a comparison with its Old Crow predecessor:

It now scales quite nicely with the larger offerings from Critical Mass, Ravenstar, and Khurasan. For more comparison shots and information about the new range, have a look at this TMP thread. Note that while Old Crow will no longer be producing 15mm Slammers vehicles, the rest of the 15mm range will still be around when the store reopens.

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And speaking of real life getting in the way... A new "product" appeared in my home this week:

As much as I'd like to do a proper review on this new product, I just haven't had all that much time with him yet. But so far he seems very strong, if not a bit fragile. I'll just have to wait and see how he performs in the future. :)