REVIEW: Top Gun Armor - Light Grav Tank and Grav IFV

By Harold

To order or request an email catalog, e-mail Rob at: topgungrav@yahoo.com

There is a sale going on now until Oct 10:  http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=283386

I have wanted to order some Top Gun Grav tanks for a while and I finally got around to it the other day. I ordered 2x Type 22 Grav Infantry Fighting Vehicle with AADS and 1x Type 9 Light Grav Tank with AADS.

 Type 9 Light Grav Tank

These are very nice kits.  Well cast, and nice crisp edges. They come with resin hulls and metal parts. The tank has the hull, turret, barrel and antenna.  The IFVs have door panels and a 3-piece turret.  Also included were some extra pieces I didn't use (maybe different antennas?) and some rare earth magnets.  It was great to get the magnets since these turrets would work well magnetized, you would just have to drill some holes.

Two Type-22 Grav IFV and one Type 9 Light Grav Tank

I ordered mine with the "active armor bumps" AADS, although they come in smooth varieties too.

Type-22 Grav IFV and one Type 9 Light Grav Tank (left)

For these pictures I placed the tanks on dice to lift them up a bit.  I haven't quite decided what I am going to do for the bases.  Probably a washer with a thin sturdy wire to hold them up.

The recon patrol secure a comm relay while technicians look on.
Comm tower from Warmill, figures from Ground Zero Games

I really like the look of these vehicles and they match the infantry I have very well.  I would imagine with the IFVs the troops would be in a fairly reclined position, and that it would easily hold 6 troops.  I don't see that as too out there, since reducing the cross section size on a grav tank would be top priority.  They match well with other vehicles I have, such as vehicles from GZG and Khurasan Miniatures.

The recon patrol secure a comm relay while technicians look on.
Comm tower from Warmill, figures from Ground Zero Games

I really like these tanks, I'll have to order more soon.  Top Gun has tons of different options and they are having a sale going on right now!

I rate these vehicles a:

6 reclined grav IFV riders out of 6!

New Hammer's Slammers and Tomorrow's War Infantry from Ground Zero Games

by Chris

Ground Zero Games has added three more infantry packs to their web store - supporting two of the most popular rules systems in the 15mm sci fi universe.

The Hammer's Slammers infantry have been resculpted, and they are definitely up to the high standards set by the NAC, New Israeli, and UNSC. The new Slammers Infantry pack includes 2 each of 4 new poses - all armed with the Slammers' trademark 2cm Powergun.

Providing heavy support to the infantry is the Buzzbombs and Bloopers pack - containing four Slammers armed with Buzzbomb missile launchers and four with the Blooper grenade launcher.

Both packs will be quite popular among Hammer's Slammers fans (and really, any 15mm player who likes their appearance). They're a nice complement to the re-released Slammers vehicles at Ainsty Castings and the revised Eurofed vehicles at Brigade Models.

If the Slammers troops seem a little fragile for your tastes, you might like the new US Power Armor in the Tomorrow's War range.

This pack includes six multi-part Power Armor figures - two each of three body poses, three each of two different weapon arms (plasma guns and autocannons), and six optional backpacks with integrated mini-launchers. These are a very good option for hard sci-fi power armored figures.

ClearHorizon Miniatures - Pre-Orders Specials Available!

By Harold


Note: This is another shameless self-promotion post. :)


Hi Everyone,



The 15mm Hell Divers figures are at the casters and should be in by Mid-October.



Until they come in I am offering a Pre-Order Special for both the Operational Squads (12 Figures) and the Drop Ops Pack.

Standing Riflemen

Kneeling Riflemen

SAW Gunner with backpack.

Operational Squad $10.99  / Operational Squad w/ Support Squad $14.99 
(With free Sniper team!)

• 12 Unique Figures
• (2) Command Figures
• (2) SAW Gunners
• (8) Riflemen

All figures come with a separate backpack.

Support Squad:

• Sniper/Spotter
• (2) AT Weapon with Riflemen

Designed to fight in two distinct fire teams that arrived via Drop Pods, the Hell Divers follow an organization very similar to modern Special Forces units.

As a pre-order bonus, you get a sniper team ($1.99) for free!

Sniper Team

AT Team

Drop Pod painted by Dwartist

Drop Ops Pack $60.99

• 3x Drop Pods
• 3x Operational Squads

As a pre-order bonus you get a support squad ($5.99) for free!:

Sniper Team [Sniper/Spotter]

(2) AT Teams [Figure with AT weapon and Riflemen]

Link here:

clearhorizonminiatures.com/store/pre-order-infantry-and-drop-pod-specials/

The Ion Age - More Desteria Knights, Female Knights Previewed

by Chris

The Ion Age has released Desteria Demi Beta - the companion pack for the Prydian Army's heavy power armor.

Demi Beta contains five Desteria Knights - each armed with an Impact Fist for smashing through armored infantry, creatures, vehicles and bulkheads. For ranged combat, they are armed with a mix of Hermit Plasma Rifles, Urgan dual-bore shotguns, and a Valerin Laser Rifle. A couple of these poses were in the sample pack sent to me by Gavin (see here for the review and comparisons), and I'm going to order plenty more of these for the highest echelons of my space opera factions.

*     *     *     *     *

When The Ion Age's new website was launched, one of the first things everyone noticed was this piece of Sam Croes artwork - depicting a female Retained Knight.

Unfortunately, no matching sculpts existed for the 15mm Retained Knights. Gavin received numerous requests for some female Retained poses - and the Ion Age crew has the project well underway.

Take a look over at The Ion Age Blog for more details - it's one of the most enthusiastic responses I've seen to feedback from the 15mm community.

Painted Angel Barracks walls and Warmill Satlink

By Harold

Hi everyone, just wanted to share the painted pictures of the Satlink and walls.  

See the reviews here:

Review: Angel Barracks OKI corporation Walls and Wind Turbinehttp://dropshiphorizon.blogspot.com/2013/09/review-angel-barracks-oki-corporation.html

Review: Warmill Satlink MDF/Acrylic Terrain:http://dropshiphorizon.blogspot.com/2013/09/review-warmill-satlink-mdfacrylic.html

Quick and dirty painting... prime, wash and drybrush.

Really happy how they look on the table top.

Figures are Colonists from Ground Zero Games

The Ion Age - Limited Edition Character Packs

by Chris

The Ion Age is trying something a little different for their weekly release - two packs of limited edition characters for the Prydian Army. Both of these packs are going to be limited to just 500 castings.

The first pack brings us Knight Commander Hackett, armed with an Octa sword. He is bundled with Sarj Tasker - a unique Knight sculpt armed with a Moth rifle. These are both nice additions to the Retained Knight line - Hackett's armor is beautifully detailed, and Tasker has a nice command pose.

The second pack is Knight Commander Grimwood, armed with an Iago Mace and a Carnwennan Pistol. He is paired with Jupon Wyrme - another unique Knight figure armed with a Moth Grenade Launcher. I suspect this pack will quickly catch the eye of 40K-in-15mm gamers, as Grimwood's weapons would make for a skullz-free Space Marine Chaplain.

These character packs are a damn clever idea. Anybody who has been unsure whether or not they want to check out the new-and-improved Retained Knight figures can use these packs as a sample taste... and purchase a few packs of Knights later on after painting the characters. These small packs are also quite useful for small, character- and story-driven skirmish games like In The Emperor's Name and Blasters And Bulkheads. 

Another option still is to use these as commanders in a completely different 15mm army. At our scale, it doesn't take much more than a coordinating paint job to bring together figures from different ranges.

Khurasan BTR, Spartan Games Gunship, Angry Badger Barricades

by Chris

Khurasan Miniatures has released the BTR-3000 for the Nova Respublik faction.

This near-future wheeled beauty includes several weapon options... you can leave it disarmed, arm it with a single antipersonnel laser if you want a more traditional APC, or use the pictured laser/missile launcher combination for a heavier IFV. It's a great aesthetic match for the rest of the Nova Respublik vehicles - a good range for near-future games.

*     *     *     *     *

The selection of laser-cut terrain options continues to expand.

Spartan Games (Dystopian Wars, Firestorm Armada) has created the Invincible-class Planetary Gunship for 15mm and 28mm ground games. 

It's an interesting concept - a large ship that can be used as terrain or an objective. Or if you're really crazy (or using a gym floor as a game table), you can use the attached flight stand to turn the Invincible into a game piece. Spartan Games is offering two versions - a fiberboard-only version for £50.00, or the deluxe version with additional resin details (pictured) for £70.00. I'm curious to see how many of these end up being used on 15mm battlefields given its size and price... but it's a good sign that Spartan Games may have some other interesting products for us in the future.

*     *     *     *     *

For a more conventional terrain item, Angry Badger is now offering a complete 15mm barricade kit. 

For $40, you will get a laser-cut MDF set consisting of twenty 2" modular walls, one entrance wall, twenty straight walkways, four corners, four guard towers, two staircases, and a tank-sized entry gate. It's a pretty tempting set, if nothing else for how easy it would be to get it to the table. Spend a few hours sanding and gluing the parts, give it a coat of flat black spray paint, a quick drybrush or two of your favorite military color, and it would ready to use. 

It's quite reminiscent of a bug-defending compound from a certain iconic movie, and I can easily imagine building small settlements inside these walls for post-apocalyptic games. It will be worth keeping an eye on Angry Badger for more offerings.

Ion Age Desteria Demi Alpha - Released and Reviewed

by Chris

Here's a look at The Ion Age's latest release - the Desteria Demi Alpha.

The Desteria Knights are the heaviest power-armored troopers in the Prydian Army. The Demi Alpha pack includes five unique poses - armed with Impact Fists and a mix of double-bore shotguns, laser rifles, and plasma guns. They dwarf just about every infantry figure you might find on the 15mm battlefield... they are much larger than even the Retained Knight figures:

Review: Angel Barracks OKI corporation Walls and Wind Turbine

By Harold

From: Angel Barracks http://angelbarracks.co.uk (listed in the scenery category)
£8.50 for a wall set

£3.00 for a wind turbine

Hi everyone,

The wall set with Angel Barracks 6mm troops

When I saw Angel Barracks release this wall set I knew it would work great for 15mm.  While designed for 6mm it has some great details that don't give away the scale.  The wall set comes with three different pieces, a gate section, a wall section and the corner section.

Each wall set comes with two gate sections, four corner sections and eight wall sections.  Very reasonably priced at £8.50 for a set, I got two of them.  

Review: Warmill Satlink MDF/Acrylic Terrain

By Harold

Warmill MDF/Acrylic Terrain
Satlink
Avaliable from: http://www.warmill.co.uk
Cost: £13.99

Hi everyone,

I'm not sure where I first saw it, but when I did I knew I had to have it. I think I saw a preview picture a couple of weeks before it was released and I kept bugging them until I could order it!

When I saw the Satlink it instantly invoked invoked an image of a lone colony outpost, or military installation, that needed a high-powered communications array.  A great objective and terrain piece. 

It also reminded me of bases that you fight over in the video game Planetside 2 (which, while i'm not very good at, is a lot of fun and a great online sci-fi military game).

Image from the Warmill website

ClearHorizon Miniatures - 15mm Infantry "The Hell Divers" Final Preview

by Harold


Hi Everyone,

First, a disclaimer.  Yes, this is an article about my own miniature line :) And yes, I'm too excited not to share it with all of you!


Rodrick Campbell of Highlander Studios, Inc. has almost finished sculpting the initial release of ClearHorizon Miniatures' sci-fi SpecOps team, the Hell Divers.

Rod has written a very cool "behind-the-scenes" article on his blog about the process of scultping the Hell Divers:

http://highlanderstudios.blogspot.com/2013/09/one-down-five-hundred-thirty-projects.html

Standing Riflement

Kneeling Riflemen

One of the command figures.

Sniper Team

SAW gunner with backpack.  The backpacks are separate and each squad comes with enough to outfit all the members with backpacks.

Initial release will be 16 unique figures, including command, squad support weapons, AT weapons, a sniper team, and riflemen.

Each squad will also come with a separate backpack, to give you the option to show them on a long deployment, or just a quick direct-action mission.

These should be released soon, but in the meantime, here are some of the preview pictures of the finalized sculpts, ready to be turned into masters!

Beyond this I have some pretty cool things on the horizon too! Including Power Armor, Rim Defectionists (Mercs/Space Pirates) and more!

Rebel Transport and Steampunk Infantry, More Laserburn Vehicles, and Micropanzer Building Bits

by Chris

Rebel Minis has unveiled a new conversion kit for the Earthforce Dropship.

Sculpted by Chris at Ravenstar Studios (who also made the Warthog conversion for the Titan Dropship), this brilliant bit of work add a dorsal intake hood and an open passenger bay to the original JBR-designed dropship. The result is quite impressive - it has a place in everything from near-future to space opera settings. I expect Lightning Division players in Hammer's Slammers: The Crucible will get some mileage out of these!

*     *     *     *     *

On the other side of the sci-fi spectrum, Rebel has also released a pack of Steampunk British Infantry.

These gasmasked soldiers are perfect for those late-19th century expeditions to Mars, Venus, or those undiscovered creature-infested islands. Rebel's own Chupacabras might be a good opponent for this infantry pack. 

*     *     *     *     *

15mm.Co.Uk has released two more vehicles in the remastered Laserburn range.

The Support Wagon (pictured left) is a nice military-grade speeder. The sleek shape and open top imply speed and utility rather than a front-line combat role. That makes it ideal for occupation and police patrols (especially since there's a seated Law Officer figure available) or general counter-insurgent operations. Very useful in small skirmish games.

The Partizan Scout Car (pictured right) is a fully-enclosed vehicle with lots of potential. The sculpted details give you lots of room for judgment - it could be a thin-skinned cargo van, a slab-sided armored courier car, or a small, fast military vehicle. The raised section on top offers conversion potential - it would be easy to add a small sensor, radar, communication array, or remote-operated weapon. I've always thought it was a nice looking vehicle, but the old pewter casting in my collection just isn't clean enough to use. It definitely looks like the new resin castings will bring the Laserburn range up to today's standards.

*     *     *     *     *

A couple weeks ago, Jason at Micropanzer Studios posted about a restock of his resin terrain items. But somehow I completely missed all the new bits he added to the range (sorry, Jason!). 

The range offers a ton of parts to convert your own buildings - Jason has been using them very successfully with plastic electrical boxes. It's a great mix of items - some are hand sculpted, and others are cleverly cast from obsolete toys and models. 

What really caught my eye is bit #28. I've been looking for something to use as futuristic street lamps with my Mad Mecha Guy, Proxie Models, and GameCraft cityscapes. This part might just do the trick - effectively and inexpensively. And it's a great excuse to get some of his Crate Sets, and some of his Mass Extractors to pull fossil fuels from the depths of my snow-world table.

New Retained Knights from The Ion Age

by Chris

The Ion Age returns to its roots this week - with an all-new pack of Retained Knights for the Prydian Army.

Retained Post Charlie brings us the first new Retained Knight poses we've seen in...well... quite some time! The pack includes ten unique poses - one Knight Commander, five Knights with Moth and Angis rifles, two Knights with Anvil missile launchers, and two Knights with Tumbler SMGs. The pack is available for £5.00, or the figures are available as single castings.

I've always been a fan of the Retained figures. The unadorned appearance of their armor makes it easy to imagine their character - they fight not for personal gain, but for what they believe to be a noble cause. Gavin Syme has an article on the Ion Age blog about their role in the official universe. It's a great read - very inspiring, even if you aren't going to set your own campaigns in the Ion Age.