ClearHorizon Miniatures releases the Apocalypse-Class Superheavy Tank

ClearHorizon Miniatures releases the Apocalypse-Class Superheavy Tank
$34.99

Available now at: www.cleahorizonminiatures.com

 The Apocalypse-class superheavy tank is designed as a deep-space all-in-one peacekeeping solution.

The turret contains two high-wattage plasma cannons, auxiliary mini-gun, four AA/AT missile pods and a multi-spectral RADAR/LADAR sensor package.

The tank can use its four independently powered drive/track modules to raise or lower itself giving it a wide variety of capabilities.  Its troop compartment can carry up to eight fully armed and armored combat troops or six power-armored troops.

The Tank in the raised position

Size-comparison

  

This is a 15mm scale multi-part resin kit.

The Apocalypse tank was sculpted Steve “Coolhand” Tyler.
Painted by Spaceman Spiff

Rumblings in The Ion Age

News on Armor and New Releases

Some way cool news coming from the Ion Age.

Isn't all news from the Ion Age cool?

Yes, but this is extra cool.

This week, Gavin announced his upcoming heavy armor, the Taranis. Not only does this mean new models of even heavier Ion Age vehicles but it also means a new expansion for his rules set. To bring this to life, he has tapped into the talent of the legendary Bob Naismith.

While it is just beginning, we hope to see more of this project in coming weeks.

In the meantime, we have a splendid release for Ion Age fans - IAF080 SuperBlue Adder (1 Repulsar Vehicle Kit). This is a beefed up version of the Adder, equipped with enhanced armor and  beefed up gun.

A later addition to the wide and growing Adder series of light combat hulls the Type 07 SuperBlue was commissioned in 4312IC at the New Glastronbury Targa works with the express purpose of being the best of its peer group. This mission was largely successful due to the extra effort put into its construction the care and time over and above the norm. Four tons heavier than the regulation twenty standard of the Adder series it was given a smaller than usual and expensive construct of the Podkletnov Gravity Protective Scute (PGPS) repulsar drive making the Type 07 Adder very nimble at considerable cost. Titanium Alloy armour upped from 4mm to 7mm around the rigid fabricated frame increased survival rates against incoming projectile and energy based weaponry by more than forty percent. The Type 07A is armed with a Valerin MkII 15Mw Laser Cannon with doubled heat dissipation coils allowing a more rapid rate of sustained fire against armoured targets without the weight of ammunition storage. This makes it a lethal enemy for Battlesuits and other light vehicles. SuperBlue's are crewed by two with a driver and a gunner being the norm. There is space in the vehicle for two more regular equipped soldiers or up to four at a push. There are several more unusual variants of the SuperBlue including the artillery support, the 07B which has twin Anda 60mm Missile Pods and the 07C which mounts twin Moth 88 rotary cannons however the 07P is the most experimental. It mounts a temperamental Hermit 71mm rapid fire plasma cannon with the passenger compartment given over to equipment to deal with the strain of the weapon. The majority of the SuperBlue's in active service are deployed with regular Muster Regiments fighting across the Precinct and there are smaller numbers of the Type 07 present in the armouries of the Marcher Barons too. Diodine Sparrow of the Quarrel Company has four dozen at his personal command he rates them so highly and used them to great effect during the Campaign for the Hadadan Statues.

Academy Auto-Trainer Series 52, New Glastonbury, 4335IC

For full info on these or continuing updates on The Ion Age  read - HERE 

ClearHorizon Miniatures releases the Standard Colony Transport Conex

ClearHorizon Miniatures releases the Standard Colony Transport Conex

The Standard Colony Transport Conex©… perfect for populating everything from spaceports and colonies to industrial complexes!

Let CLEARHORIZON INTERSTELLAR TRANSPORT Handle all your transportation and storage needs!

Each Conex comes in three resin pieces, the middle and two ends, and can be combined to form larger conex boxes.

15mm Scale Multi-Part Resin Model

Available now for $5.99 at http://www.clearhorizonminiatures.com

Leading Ladies

IAF076 Retained Lance Command Charlie released!

Gavin and the crew at The Ion Age continue to release the goods with yet another cool unit for their female retained. This month a cool leader unit to command the previous releases to this range. These warrior woman will mark your force in a glorious, characterful way. Even if you do not play The Ion Age universe, these are great Space Opera characters.

Read on to hear straight from Gavin, himself....

IAF076 Retained Lance Command Charlie

Five more brand new specialised poses in this code and all of them female to boot. Female Retained Knights to lead your lances. IAF076 contains 15mm scale white metal miniatures in female pattern Alwite powered armour in the following poses. A Banneret with Carnwennan Pistol and a Staff of her position, a Comms specialists with communication suite, a banner bearer to inspire, a medic with equipment and lastly a casualty resting in a sitting position which off sets nicely with the same kinds of poses in IAF004 and IAF014. All are without helmets so you can see their faces. Excellent on their own or for mixing into other Retained forces. 

Information Burst!

It is the middle of August 2015 and we have our second of three releases this month. Following up on the Year Two Collection at month's beginning we now have the long requested female command set for the Prydian Army and all your Marcher Barons and Condots too. Ain't they just lovely! Next week we have the anticipated up gunned and up armoured anti-gravity tank hunter variant of the Adder..the SuperBlue so if you are holding your Reward Points and are waiting for a new vehicle to use them on it will be next week. That will be the end of our releases for August. But there will be some mighty impressive things to follow don't you worry but more on that end of the month. I would like to thank everyone for their kind comments and emails about this months free monthly miniature IMP24 Planetary Militia Demolition Expert which as well as being a cool figure had it seems an excellent little story with it (see the blog post 1st August for this) too. Additionally if you have not already signed up for our Mailchimp mailing list you should (its the top right box on our blog home page and its free) as loyal IonFans who are on the list now have access to a ruddy good monthly deal only seen there that last month wore out some of our molds! Thanks for your custom and for the kind words about our products we do appreciate it. Finally remember that by placing an order with us you will sign up for an account with the website and that means you get Reward Points in all purchases and the free monthly miniature too. These points can be used any time to get free products and discounts on orders too. With The Ion Age its all good!

Thanks for Reading.

-GBS

Armies Army: Infantry again.

In April this year, Keith Armstrong of Armies Army announced that he was going to stop making 15mm infantry figures and concentrate solely on his excellent range of vehicles. 

Many people, myself included, were dismayed to see such a great range of miniatures 'taken off the shelf', but we were reassured when Keith said that they would be taken on by another company, and indeed, Brigade Models are now selling most of those figures.

So it will have come as a surprise to many when Keith declared that he has a new range of infantry miniatures. A range that went on sale earlier this week: the SKOV insurgents.

I was privileged to be sent some of them to paint before they went on sale, and was absolutely delighted with what arrived. The detail is remarkable, and the poses feel very natural, with much better proportions than his previous range. The figures are unarmoured as you would expect from this type of troop and with the exception of the commander, all wear ski masks/balaclavas. Weapons include assault rifles, SMGs, LMGs and RPGs.

So why has Keith decided to make infantry miniatures again? I'll let him explain:

"First question I normally get asked is - 'did you not stop making figures?' And the answer is yes.

Why did I stop? I was simply running out of 'hobby/business' time I had each week. I was working some silly hours with work and then having to come home and cast. So the grand plan was to sell the infantry and concentrate on the vehicles. Cunning plan...

...actually no, it was not.

My sales completely dropped I guess people want both figures and vehicles; a one stop shop :)

So that's why I decided to go at it again, however this time I'd do it properly.

One of the issues I had was the ad hoc growth and, to be frank, poor choices I made in mould layouts, pack options etc etc, and over the years I had lots of 'wish I'd done it like that' moments.

So that's what I did, I've started with the SKOV and I'll produce it in a more logical order. I'm also outsourcing the 'bulk' casting to a professional outlet and I'll continue to do the one off casts for varying vehicles. It means I make less per pack, however it also means that I have the time and I have hopefully re-opened my market!

I think that makes sense...

So with that in mind I have started off with the 'SKOV', a name that Harold Crossley suggested which I instantly loved. To many however they are still RUSKS, a name which I still own :)

I think the inspiration for them comes from the Ukraine war. Lots of rebel photos with balaclavas and AKs. They all seemed to have this look about them; covered in bandoleer a for AK magazines and menacing :)

The more I researched the more I found with Chechnya and other similar 'dirty' wars and thought yes, I want serving like that. So that's what I'm looking at, dirty colonial wars.

The SKOV will be the first line of a new series. I'm also looking at providing a Government force, who sponsor the SKOVs and a global international force somewhat akin to the UN. All of which are in progress :)

I'll keep you posted on some of these!

I've also got a couple of other rather juicy projects, a non SciFi project to be known as Armies Army Cold War 'Operation Frostbite'. As we are SciFi I'll say very little about this :)

I've also got another SciFi project. It's a little early to say too much, however it will be based around a very popular series of books. Full cooperation with the author and I'll be creating some rules, figures and vehicles for it. 

To be fair, my current and new stuff will coexist very nicely. I'll have some variations on given input from the author, however I'm really excited about it all."

My thanks to Keith for filling us in on what's afoot at Armies Army, and of course, for providing those superb figures!

Don't forget that readers of DropShip Horizon can get a one-off discount of 10% at http://www.armiesarmy.com/ until 31 October by using the code 10dropshipAA.

Ravenstar Summer 20% Off Sale!

Chris from Ravenstar Studios writes:

Hey everyone, its been a while! 

We just wanted to tell you starting today (August 18, 2015) we're going to have a week long End of Summer Sale!

That means if you use discount code ES20, you get 20% off your whole order at checkout. On top of that, if you use the discount code, be sure in the additional comments tell us which EXTRA figure you'd like. Thats right, you get a discount and a FREE extra figure.

Be sure to jump on this deal before fall comes!

Sale ends August 25th!

Armies Army release the SKOV and a new website grand opening sale!

New Website Grand opening sale for DropShip Horizon readers:

Use the code 10dropshipAA

For 10% off, one use and 2015-10-31 expire.

 The threat of the ‘Great Purge’ has gone. The last of the Enemy Unknown fighters have been exterminated by the combined National forces of the Old and New Worlds but not without cost. In a final attempt to rid the worlds of the Humans large Bio bombs and ECM weapons were deployed causing destruction on a scale never seen before and hopefully never been seen again. The old world was utterly destroyed of life and only the nations whom had explored had any hope of survival.
Many saw it as an opportunity to rebuild their nations and live a peaceful existence. They were wrong... Nations grew and typical neighbour quarrels grew into National Wars and more!

One such Nation grew. It followed the old ways of old and became the Russian Federation in name.

The Russian Federation excel at insurgency warfare. They are slowly but surely growing its territories. Insurgency tactics are prevalent in the Federation.

 These Insurgents / militiamen are well armed and well trained and have become known as SKOV forces. Named after a Soviet campaign on the settlement of Kalingrad the SKOV forces are lightly armoured and armed with the latest generation AK’s, RPGS and RPK LMG’s.

For support they count on the Russian Federation ‘Guard’ Forces whom can provide support through APC’s, MBTS and VTOLS from the Armoured Corps of the Federation.
 
The Skov Forces that are Available immediately are:

Insurgents Squad
Command Squad
HMG Squad
All Infantry Pack
Light Machine Gun Pack
Rocket Propelled Grenade Pack
And finally a Platoon Pack! The platoon pack contains 34 troops, enough for 6 fire teams, HMG team and two commanders.
These will be quickly followed by heavier weapons, tank riders and finally the Guards Troops. The government forces ‘Guards’ are more conventional  forces with heavier armour and exo assisted suits.

They will all be available on the new website www.Armiesarmy.com

ClearHorizon Miniatures - HADES Banshee VTOL now available for Pre-Order!

HADES Banshee VTOL now available for Pre-Order!
Save 12% off the release price!

$31.99 Release Price

$27.99 Pre-Order Price

NOTE: This is a Pre-Order and should ship by mid-September. All orders containing a pre-order will ship the same time the pre-order is released.

The HADES Banshee VTOL is an advanced stealth assault craft designed to deliver HADES Ghost teams directly into the mission are and exfil them under heavy enemy fire.  The two Higgs-Newby 46-megawatt phase engines produce over 400Kn of thrust and allow for atmospheric and low-orbit flight. The virtual cockpit system provides maximum protection and sensor acclimation to either a single on-board pilot, slaved in via cortical implants, or a remote pilot.

On the nose is mounted a twin-linked 40mm smart-munition cannon capable of engaging armored and unarmored targets at up to 20 km. The Banshee can also carry multi-role missiles systems via its internal bays located on either side of the armored front.

Stealth systems include low-to-no emission systems, low-profile ECM/ECCM systems, RADAR/LADAR absorbent coatings and an adaptable optical coating to disrupt visual detection.

The HADES Banshee is a 15mm Scale Multi-Part Resin Model

Pre-Order at http://www.clearhorizonminiatures.com

A Primer on Patrol Angis

Gavin Syme talks about his new rules set

The whole idea of 15mm scale science fiction wargaming has gained much ground in the last decade and now it is rightly considered a genre and pursuit taken up by many thousands of wargamers all over the world. The Ion Age is a part of this and every month it contributes to the growth with its own unique space opera setting and range of miniatures. With the release of Patrol Angis the miniature range has its own first rule system and this led to an email from Aris Kolehmainen who had questions to ask of us and of me for his convention Planetfall....

“Hello Ion Age and Gavin Syme. My name is Aris Kolehmainen. I'm asking questions aboutPatrol Angis on behalf of the Planetfall 15mm Sci Fi event. We try to stay on the front line of new 15mm Sci Fi games and promote the heck out of them to build interest in our hobby, and provide a friendly competitive atmosphere in the form of tournament play. We are wanting to demo your game this year and consider it for official tournament play next year at Planetfall 2016. So I'm making things ready for Planetfall this year and play Patrol Angis. As the author I'd like to ask you some questions both for my information, and as a primer before a demo game begins. I'd like a kind of Primer on the game and how to get into it and where it sits if your plans for The Ion Age. So here are the questions!”

Its been a while since I have been asked to contribute to an interview or primer and I have a lot of respect for guys who run the smaller conventions and shows that form the backbone of many wargaming clubs. Plus I know for a fact that a good dozen or more IonFans (our name for our customers) are attending Planetfall. Ask your questions and the knowledge shall be imparted upon you!

(The following Q&A session is presented with the Questions being asked by Aris and the Answers being given by myself Gavin Syme)

Q: Patrol Angis looks like a fascinating rules system. Can you tell me what makes your game system different from other 15mm titles on the market?

A: One of the things I love most about wargaming is its diversity and choice in rule systems and settings. Every wargamer I know, myself included, owns many different books and treasures them all. So I was well aware that Patrol Angis would go out into a world with a lot of competing titles including some others I had already written myself! What makes it different is in two main areas. The rule mechanics and the setting. I will talk about the mechanics first.

Patrol Angis is the first of a series of titles in The Ion Age and its the core book. This means its a starting point and its skirmish wargaming in the far future. Skirmish wargaming with one platoon a side (but you can have more) with full rules for infantry, bikes and battlesuits. Its tactical and small level. The rules are easy to learn and are centred around the D8 (eight sided dice) with a couple of features special to this system the 'Activation Token' and the 'Troop Element'.

Activation Tokens are taken from the Initiative roll that is made once per turn by each platoon in play with the highest roll winning and determine the number of tokens for the turn for each platoon meaning every turn can vary in length and choices must be made. Players love this feature as a Troop Element needs a token to act in the turn. Troop Element are what your platoon is made up of and you can choose the size of these! Squads of ten, Fire-Teams of four, Sticks of two making up your platoon. This is very flexible and you choose how your Troop Elements are composed! As well as these two aspects there are the 'Courses of Action' which are the choices a Troop Element has when its activated and it covers things such as Movement, Firing, Close Combat, Re-Motivate (part of the morale rules) as well as Dash and other more specialised choices. This gives a lot of variety in play. There are 'Advanced Rules' which add customisation to your miniatures in play with special abilities, skills and equipment opening up options for your Retained Knights and Muster. Lastly the 'Platoon Creation Rules' give a massive level of choice in assembling your miniatures into a force in play. There are full rules and statistics tables in the book.

As the first title in our series Patrol Angis is the 'light bulb' in an otherwise dark room. Its a window into The Ion Age and its universe. The setting is during the Prydian Civil War so its a war that pits brother against brother and former allies as enemies. An embattled Prydian Army tries to hold 'The Precinct' together as rogue Marcher Barons and their armies as well as the Leagues of Canlaster and Yordan try to grab worlds for themselves. All of this over the vacant Throne of the Addans on New Glastonbury. Space Opera that is imaginative but solid. Retained Knights wearing powered armour align themselves to a lord and carry his or her banner. Its a universe much of my own design and it borrows from the real world in some ways. I have always adored the War of the Roses and a I am sucker for the Arthurian Myths too. I have a tale to tell and as time passes it will become deeper and more glorious. People have come to The Ion Age for the miniatures, they enjoy the rules, but some tell me they stay for the story.


When you take these features of the rules and of the setting together you get something rather different to anything else out there on the market. Read an independent review of the rules on Conflict Cornucopia blog HERE. If you want to download a free folder of files for the game you can do that HERE.

Q: What is the level of unit customisation in your game? Are units presented as written (such as in Warhammer 40K) or completely customisable (like Gruntz). Where does Patrol Angis sit here?


A: I would say on that scale that its as open as a set universe will allow. What I mean is that all the platoons, lances, formations in Patrol Angis must be set in The Ion Age but within that its very open. You can choose the structure of your platoon, you can choose its members weapons and skills. I did this on purpose as it reflects the fact that every Marcher Baron organises his Muster and Retained Knights differently. So its not generic but its very open.

Q: How steep is the learning curve for Patrol Angis?


A: Patrol Angis is not a complex wargame to learn. It was extensively play tested by a public group (you can see the results of this on The Ion Age blog searching tag Patrol Angis in 2013) whose experience level ranged from not very much to veteran. The rules can be absorbed really in the first game and the advanced rules in maybe three games. So three hours of play all in. I would call this a shallow curve. I don't create or want to play complex games that give me a headache. Wargaming is a hobby that should be fun for those playing and heck if its space opera sci-fi it should be awesome fun!

Q: What is the average footprint of the game meaning how much space do you need to play?


A: As this is a 15mm scale wargame you do not need a lot of space in which to play. I put a lot of thought into the lay out of tables and of the 'footprint' and to that end the Patrol Angis rules have a whole page on this subject with an explanatory image as well. The game uses 30cm squares to assemble a playing area and a small game can be played in 60cm by 60cm and a normal sized game in 120cm by 120cm so your normal sized wargaming surface will do just fine.

Q: In relation to the last question how long do you think that average game of Patrol Angis would last?


A: One Hour. Patrol Angis is a title in the 'One Hour' series in which we have aimed to have a typical game last sixty minutes. Now that is tuned to novice players so if you are more familiar and experienced with the rules it would be less. Its a fun and fast tactical game. Personally I now play one platoon a side in about thirty minutes and an hour for two platoons a side and three or four players. The solo play rules do not slow play all that much at all and some people have told me that against their normal human opponent they are actually faster!

Q: What would you recommend as a well balanced force for a new player of Patrol Angis?


A: There is a full points system in the book and this allows for the creation and tailor fitting of forces (platoons and lances) of Muster, Retained and Desteria as well as mixing in Portable Weapons, Bikes and Battlesuits. Players can balance up a force in this manner and a lot depends on the advanced rules, skills and so on the player chooses. We have core forces called 'Platoon Packs' which give a wargamer a whole force to begin with and each of these contains a whole force including a bonus unique free extra miniature only in that code. Excellent! We will have more but currently we have IAFP02 Retained Lance and IAFP04 Muster Platoon as well has IAFP07 Planetary Militia Platoon and others. You can really take any normal code and use it as we provide miniatures in tens, fives, twos depending on type in play. Lastly we do have a game pack for Patrol Angis which contains the book along with two entire diverse platoons and a unique miniature for free as well. Wargamers have told me directly that the game pack is great for getting into the game and its pretty balanced too containing infantry as well as portable weapon and battlesuits. There are also three scenarios in the book using these forces. Really one of the greatest things about Patrol Angis is that you get yourself twenty two miniatures and then assemble a force with them.

Q: Could you give a very brief description of game play of Patrol Angis for me?


A: I can do better than that! Conflict Cornucopia blog published an independent AAR (After Action Report) which goes through a scenario in the book turn by turn along with pictures. This explains the game and how it works. You can visit the original post HERE or go HEREon our blog to download it as a PDF as it is quite a read.

Q: Is there a standard points cost for competitive play in Patrol Angis? Or is the game purely scenario driven?


A: To answer that I have to turn to other titles I have written over the last decade plus. Tournament and competitive play is excellent and I encourage it as ultimately our hobby is a social one when people get together and compete. However I have found that this takes a different form depending upon where in the world and when wargamers are playing. To that end I typically do not put additional mechanics in a book concerning this. Flintloque is played all over the globe and has been for near twenty years through different editions but it has no mechanics for this and instead alongside a points system it plays in scenario form as that suits its humour and style. USEME is purely points driven and has no narrative and its excellent for tournament play. Patrol Angis contains a full points system and while its ultimately a narrative or scenario driven game system (we love tales of high adventure!) there is a listing for points values for a quick game and this serves also for building forces for competitive play. 1800 Points for a Force.

Q: Are there any special concessions that will need to be made for tournament and or competitive play?


A: Not at all. I assume that all the players have a copy of Patrol Angis and along with that a working knowledge of the rules mechanics as that will hopefully ensure a level playing field when the fun begins. Follow the force creation rules and platoon / lance content along with armour, weapons and skills then it becomes tactical as you can choose the 'Troop Elements' in which your force is assembled on the table. Beyond this tournament games are just like they are at home or at the local club.

Q: I am stoked up now for this game! What does The Ion Age have coming that wargamers can look forward to?


A: Heck you know I can't give away all the secrets! I can tell you what is coming later on this season and that is more troops for Patrol Angis including a Desteria Knight Command pack and a Desteria Knight Lance with unique miniature. Later on we will be adding new lines to the website and expanding our vehicle pool with a number of new resin kits including the SuperBlue Adder which was previewed earlier in the summer. There is also the follow up to Patrol Angis which is titled 'Callsign Taranis' which is an expansion to add vehicles of all sizes and also structures to go with with our excellent terrain range to the game. This expansion is optional so you can move up from skirmishing if you wish or not. We will also be adding our first non-humans and also a new faction of humanity as well. We have done well and with the aid of no crowd funding or commitments we have walked our own path and it means we have potential now to become one of the largest ranges of 15mm science fiction that there is.

Lastly unlike ANY other miniature company out there you get two big bonuses being an 'IonFan'. Firstly when you sign up while ordering your account earns 'Reward Points' which you can save up and exchange for discounts and other items for free! Secondly we have a monthly free miniature which is put in every order for nothing. Now...that is space opera, that is wargaming and that is old school fun and value!

Q: Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions from a humble organiser of a local gaming convention. Come to Planetfall 2015 if you are in Indiana! Aris.


A: My pleasure and thank you for all the kind words you have spoken over Patrol Angis, The Ion Age and about me as well. I wish you the best of fortune for the convention and who know perhaps in 2016 we will sponsor prizes on the day. Gavin Syme GBS.

ClearHorizon Miniatures releases the 15mm Armadillo APC

Armadillo APC 
$14.99

The Armadillo APC is an advanced armored personnel carrier developed to work across a wide range of terrain and in any situation.

It features a MK-24 High Velocity, High Explosive Rounds automated turret, drone-compatible launch system, AI-activated close and distance countermeasures, a high-survivability troop compartment and a half-track all-terrain configuration.

The Armadillo APC is a 15mm Multi-Part Resin Kit.

Check out a 360' video here: https://www.facebook.com/ClearhorizonMiniatures/videos/842052139217654/?l=5484399367686471037

Available now at http://www.clearhorizonminiatures.com

Keep up to date at http://www.facebook.com/ClearHorizonMiniatures