The Ion Age - 25% off Adder Combat Lifters this weekend!

The Ion Age has offer on some 15mm science fiction vehicles. Valid until the month switches over early hours of the 1st May.  The hover, floating variants of the Adder Combat Lifter series of vehicles.  An offer of 25% off on each code.  Go HERE

A detailed account of the origins and design of the Adder series of Combat Cars can be found elsewhere in the database (link).  However not all the Adders taken from the ancient military designs were of a wheeled variety there were others too.  In some campaigns the Muster required light vehicles that could traverse ground that wheeled and tracked designs could not.  While repulsar technology was available its relative expense compared to more primitive lifter technology for hover propulsion made the production of a huge number of Adder Combat Lifters the feasible choice for equipping the Prydian Army.  Worlds with a lot of water and swamps and also urban zones with broken ground were ideal for these vehicles.   They could carry a four man fire-team or they could act in a support role with mounted weapons in the same range as those used by crewed weapons or battlesuits.  A modular hull meant that often only the turret and some internal systems had to be changed over to create a new model in the series.  

Adder Combat Lifters come in many types within the series.  With an average weight of just over seven tons and roughly seventeen feet in length that Adder is not as resilient a vehicle as the Mullo used by the Retained but its easier to maintain.  A colour coding system is in use to make Adders easy to assign to Regiments (and indeed the Marcher Barons use the same system) and to allow Muster who can sometimes not be as used to war as a Retained Knight a simple recognition method.  The Red Adder is the standard Combat Lifter with space for four and mounting a turret with a Moth 88 Rotary Cannon.  The Yellow Adder is  the fire support lifter and has two crew along with a turret with an Anda 60mm Missile Pod.  The Black Adder acts as an armoured punch giving the Muster the ability to knock out battlesuits and other smaller tough targets with two crew and a turret mounted Fretan Rail Gun.  Less common is the Orange Adder which is infantry support mounting a specialised turret with a Moth 30 automatic 50mm Grenade Launcher which is a recent introduction to the series.  Others in the Adder lifter series include the Green Adder which is a command and control at the battalion level and the White Adder for medical teams and battlefield triage.  The 'Battle Taxi' type Grey Adder is heavily modified and can carry two fire-teams or a whole squad at a real squeeze.  There are also some very specialised Adders too for purposes such as Blue Adder, the Brown Adder and the Purple Adder.  Every Muster Regiment is in possession of hundreds of Adders across the spectrum for all its roles and since they are so easy to fabricate and to maintain they are making a real impact in the ongoing Civil War and in the Camarthen Star System too.

An offer on some of our smaller sized 15mm science fiction vehicles.  The hover, floating variants of the Adder Combat Lifter series of vehicles.  An offer of 25% off on each code.  Choose exactly what you want in your order. The Adder is the standard light combat lifter used by the Muster in the Ion Age.  Go HERE  Adders come in colour defined variants:

IAF036A Red Adder Combat Lifter (Mini-Gun Turret)

IAF036B Yellow Adder Fire Support Lifter (Missile Pod Turret) 

IAF036C Black Adder Punch Lifter (Rail Gun Turret) 

IAF036D Orange Adder Combat Lifter (Hermit Grenade Turret)

IAF036E Green Adder Control Lifter (Comms and Command)

IAF038 Smashed Adder Lifter (Hover Destroyed Vehicle) 

Brigade Models Keeps us Rolling With New Vehicles

New releases keep rolling from Brigade Models. Continuing on with more 15mm science fiction goodness they bring some excellent new vehicles.

But, don't take my word for here. Here is Brigade Models' own presentation...

Following hard on the heels of Friday’s new 15mm Fasolini figures, we stay in the same scale but get a bit heavier in terms of hardware today.

Most powerful of all is the Henschel Pz266 Eisenfaust (Iron Fist) laser tank, a large blower tank equipped with a heavy turreted laser and a secondary autocannon in a ball mount on the glacis plate. It’s protected by a sandwich of sapphire and alloy armour, with an explosive close-in defence belt around the hull.

Much bigger and bulkier is the Schützenpanzer Pz441 platoon carrier, also manufactured by Henschel. Known as the Kastenwagen (Box Van) by the troops that use it, the Pz441 carries a full platoon of 24 infantry in its capacious rear compartment. Access is via two large side doors which drop down to form ramps and allow the infantry to disembark very rapidly (possibly because they would be sitting ducks if they remained in the now open troop compartment !). Armament consists of the same autocannon as the Eisenfaust, mounted on the roof of the driver’s cab.

Our final model for today is the Gamelin wheeled tank used by EuroFed rapid reaction forces to provide armoured support to the lighter Catroux AFVs. Armour is lighter than a conventional tank, but it still packs a hefty punch.

HS15-311 – Henschel Pz266 ‘Eisenfaust’ Laser Tank – £10.00

HS15-312 – Henschel Pz441 ‘Kastenwagen’ Platoon APC – £9.00

SF15-407 – Gamelin Wheeled Tank – £8.00

New Stuff Rolls Out From Brigade Models

The folks at Brigade Models have some new stuff to share and here they are, in their own words...

After the rigours of Salute, we’ve had a relatively relaxed week – the workshop has been restored to some semblance of organisation (as much as it ever is !), all outstanding orders have been shipped out and the backlog of emails and other missives dealt with.

Today we’re adding the first of the Salute releases to the website. These are the Fasolini models and figures to make up another Hammer’s Slammers-themed force. There are two complete detachment packs that match thelists on the HS website, two tracked guns and six packs of figures.

HS15-401 – Fasolini Company Detachment – £43.00
HS15-402 – Fasolini Support Detachment – £24.00
HS15-416 – Oto Melara Single Autocannon – £5.00
HS15-416a – Oto Melara Quad Autocannon -£5.00
HS15-460 – Fasolini Infantry (x8) – £3.00
HS15-461 – Fasolini Rocket launchers (x4) – £1.50
HS15-462 – Fasolini Command (x4) – £1.50
HS15-463 – Fasolini MG teams (x2) – £3.00
HS15-464 – Fasolini Mortar Teams (x2) – £2.25
HS15-465 – Fasolini Gun Crew (x6) – £2.25

More new items will follow over the next couple of weeks including further 15mm releases (vehicles and figures), the 2mm warehouses and 6mm buildings.

For full information on Brigade Games and all their excellent products, feel free to visit their site - HERE 

New Laser-cut Buildings from The Scene

The Scene has released a range of 15mm city-scape buildings. These detailed kits, laser cut from MDF are part of a new modular building system and include store fronts, two office blocks and extra floors. They are stackable and you can add as many floors as you like. Prices start at 2.75 GBP.

You can find The Scene on Facebook at - https://www.facebook.com/The-Scene-UK-1605218213063852/

For more details on these buildings and the rest of the fine products from The Scene, check out there website - HERE

Mad Mecha Guy 15mm Flying Skiff

I have coveted several of Mad Mecha Guy's mdf creations for a while now but for various reasons my money has always been diverted elsewhere. A recent post from a Facebook friend recently alerted me to these new offerings, and at £5 (approx $7) for two, I just couldn't resist. They arrived within five days. You can't fault the speed of service.

Described as a Flying Skiff/Lighter, the 40 piece kits arrived in seperate bags, detached from the frame with no instructions. A confusing puzzle, and for one such as me with very little experience with mdf kits, a little daunting.

I needn't have worried. Comparing the pieces with the photos on the website made it very clear where everything goes. So much so, in fact, that I thought I'd put together a little guide.

The completed skiffs are 12 x 6.5 x 2cm (4.75 x 2.5 x 7/8" approx) and the pieces slot together very easily without being too tight to join or wobbling around too much. There is plenty of room for figures to be placed on deck, even for the more ham fisted among us 

I will probably add a few features such as tarps draped over the side before I paint them, but they could easily be used in game as they are.

So, the assembly guide. First, the pieces, all 40 of them:

I started with the hull. The five pieces shown create the aft section with what looks like the propulsion or exhaust opening.

All very neat so far.

The next part creates the shape of the underside to give it that boat-like hull. It took me a while to realise where the wedges go because they're hidden on the finished model. They are for fixing the sloped sides, as shown below.

The wedges. Three go along each side, but more are supplied. These fiddly parts could easily get misplaced.

The angled sides and front finish off the bottom of the skiff.

Flipping the model over, the prow section looked simple, so I did that next. (I subsequently realised what the small rectangular piece with 3 circles is for - you can see it in the first photo of all the parts just to the left of the prow. It attaches vertically on the outside of the prow. Lights, I assume.

A few more pieces make up the aft, stern or blunt end, but it follows a similar principle.

Two rails enclose the sides.

The last few parts are for the outriggers. Another small fiddly part gives the strut a more three-dimensional look before the hexagonal end plates are attached.

The finished skiff (with the rectangular lights part that I didn't know what to do with at that time!)

The models goes together very quickly; I managed to build three in just over an hour whilst taking pictures and arranging pieces for one of them.

Snap up a bargain for yourself here:

http://madmechaguy.kong365.com/en-gb/collections/new-15mm/products/15mm-flying-skifflighter

For reference purposes, the figures in the following pictures are based on UK pennies, which are a touch over 20mm, or 7/8" in diameter.

IAF123 Legionary 4th Command Tesseran and IAFP05 Legion Ordos Platoon released!

It is still very unclear what the military structural systems of the Shia Khan Empire actually are. Certainly we capture few prisoners and none of them will allow us a grasp of information that is of use. In fact I feel that the enemy, at least at the lowest echelons which we face in the fray, has no idea what their position is in their own Legion never mind anything larger. Our linguists have had no luck deciphering the guttural snarl of the Maligs tongue or the lilting tune of the few Legionaries we have taken alive. What we do know is all observed from first hand combat experience and studied from helm recordings. Not as much as we would like but unlike the Reord we do not know all. The Khanate Empire uses the Legion as its primary formation of war. We do not know how many troops are in a Legion and it seems to vary. Certainly the Styx Legion in its red glimmer suits is larger than the Cyclopes legion or the vicious Viper Legion. There are several racial types with a Legion but they seem to mix fairly freely at the platoon and lace level. We know the Khan word for platoon. It is 'Ordos' and an Ordos seems to have about thirty to thirty two members. Ordos are mixed Legionaries and others with support weapons, portable weapons, vehicles and warlords too. While our Retained are a match for most Ordos we have found that the Muster can struggle without Desteria or Havelock support. As the campaign to take back Camarthan Prime continues we shall learn more. I am sure of this. 

Knight General Obermann. Fleet Command. 4331IC

Salute Season now at The Ion Age new releases, offers and Free Worldwide Postage!

The Ion Age has begun its Salute Season. While we will not be attending the show in London you will not miss out! For two weeks from now until the end of the 18th April 2016 (we will end about 9am GMT on 19th April) we are offering FREE WORLDWIDE SHIPPING on all orders anywhere (no limit per customer) on orders over 10.00GBP product value. This applies to all of our ranges, all of our books, miniatures and anything else we sell. Just add items to your cart and proceed to checkout and the website will automatically do the rest. Go HERE and explore. 

We have releases and other offers during this period too. These will be put up in articles over the next week or so in detail but in brief here is everything that will be happening during this period: 

IMP32 Hand of the Duxis free miniature for April 2016!

Repair and Operate: This skill is given free to all suitable Drones and to Vehicle Crew, Mechanics and Techs in your force. Field repairs and if required subsequent operation during a battle is no easy task and only the brave of the machine attempts it. If your Troop Element possessing the skill is within 1cm of a Vehicle (any kind of Vehicle including Infantry Sized Vehicles) they may attempt to repair it. This cannot take the unit beyond its original maximum DMR rating. This cannot be carried out upon destroyed or killed units but it can be upon damaged and disabled units. This requires one action to be used per attempt with no maximum attempts per turn. Only one Troop Element may attempt repairs per turn. Roll 1D8 and on a 6+ add 1 DMR to the chosen vehicle for Repair Drones and 7+ for Humans for the same result. Any Human Crew or Pilots who are Vehicle crew may use this skill to automatically be able to capture, start and operate another Vehicle or Portable Weapon at a cost of one action. Included in the cost of allowable Drones and Humans including Battlesuit pilots.

Taken from Callsign Taranis a forthcoming publication from The Ion Age in the Advanced Rules special skills section. An Expansion to Patrol Angis

Welcome to April at The Ion Age. This month sees our 'Salute Season' which begins on 4th April with two weeks (until 18th April) of free worldwide postage on all orders over 10.00GBP (you still get the free miniature and Reward Points in every order as normal) plus new releases into the Shia Khan Empire 15mm range. These releases will be made on the 5th April meaning you can get right in and serve the Khanate straight away.