New Releases Inbound From GZG (Updated with more pictures)

Another cool release from Jon at Ground Zero Games.

Not only are we getting three new variants on the Gauntlet APC, we are also getting new Crusties. Jon was kind enough to send some advanced previews of the Crusty Non-Combatants and the Heavy Armored Support. I'm sure pics of the Gauntlet variants and the new sculpted NAC Power Armor heavies will be out soon.

Full list of new releases:

SG15-X15     Crusty Armoured Heavy Infantry support weapons

3 each of 2 different figures - one with heavy railgun/launcher and one with heavy plasma projector, to give fire support to the Crusty Armoured Infantry (SG15-X14). Supplied with 6 (optional) separate backpacks.

£3.00 GBP inc. VAT (£2.50 ex-VAT for non-EU customers) per pack of 6 figures.

SG15-X16      Crusty Non-Combatants 

2 each of four different figures - adult carrying large case on back, adult kneeling over box, adult standing with bundle under arm, juvenile carrying cylinder. The latter two figures may be used separately OR posed with the juvenile holding the adult's hand (claw?).

Produced in response to many customer requests, these very versatile figures can be used in many ways - civilians, refugees, scavengers, equipment porters/bearers or  as additional crew and ammo carriers for Crusty heavy weapons teams.  £3.00 GBP inc. VAT (£2.50 ex-VAT for non-EU customers) per pack of 8 figures.

SG15-A23     NAC Power Armour (new sculpt) Support Weapon Troopers

2 each of 3 different figures, with rotary autocannon, HAMR anti-materiel railgun and HVAT missile launcher. Supplied with 6 separate jump packs.  £3.00 GBP inc. VAT (£2.50 ex-VAT for non-EU

customers) per pack of 6 figures.

V15-82D     Gauntlet IIT Hover MICV 

Turretted version of GauntletAPC, with 3 gun options included - twin light autocannon, light fire-support mortar and plasma cannon).  £7.50 GBP inc. VAT (£6.25 ex-VAT for non-EU customers) each.

V15-82E     Gauntlet IIR Hover FDC/Comms Van 

Raised-roof version of Gauntlet APC with comms array, as command post communications van or Fire Direction Centre for artillery and AA units.  £7.50 GBP inc. VAT (£6.25 ex-VAT for non-EU customers) each.

V15-82F     Gauntlet IIS Hover Field Ambulance

Unarmed, raised-roof version of Gauntlet APC with rear loading doors).  £7.50 GBP inc. VAT (£6.25 ex-VAT for non-EU customers) each.

As if this wasn't cool enough, Jon so teasingly promises there is more to come soon!

-Eli

EDIT: Thanks to Jon for speeding more pics to us for posting the same day!

New releases from GZG & final days of Christmas vouchers

Remember - if you bought from Ground Zero Games during the Christmas sale and haven't used your discount vouchers (like me) - they expire on 31 March.  Get your orders in first thing this weekend!  Jon does have a special treat for those of us who waited... a whole bunch of new goodies were just released.

For the NAC (possibly the most popular human army in all of 15mm Sci Fi), we have this great pack of medics with wounded:

Along with some NAC casualties.  

Jon received many customer requests for casualty figures.  If these prove to be popular, it's something we could hope to see in his other factions.

The Crusties also received some love.  The extremely popular Crusty Mech received a second pose variant. This one is a bit more dynamic than the first version, and will let us field larger units of these great walkers.

On the Civilians & Characters side, we now have a Survey Team in Vac Suits.  These would be a great companion for the Surveyor Tracked Explorer Vehicle. 

The versatile Rommel Hover Tank received two new variants.  One is armed with a quad pulse cannon:

And the other a dual multi-missile launcher:

The quad pulse cannon seems designed to take down fast-moving aircraft.  The missile system is far more versatile.  It could be a long-range artillery piece, or a dedicated hunter of mecha or tanks.  

The new weapons systems for these tanks would also look great as standalone defensive positions.  And Jon must have been thinking the same thing, because both are available as groundmount systems.

Kudos to Jon for loads of great new minis!

Cheers,

Chris


Edit: I missed two new items!  The first is a pack of tripod-mount energy cannons with gunners for the extremely popular UNSC range:

And the second is a variant of the Gauntlet Hover APC - armed with a multi-missile system.

And check out Jon's comment below - there may be some additional new items available at Salute.

The Christmas War - Laurentian Defense Forces

I envision the Laurentians to be a fairly high-tech army.  Technology and automation play a pretty significant role in their background, and I wanted to reflect this on the battlefield.  One army stood apart from the others on my display shelf - Rebel Minis Droptroopers with CAT 'bots as support weapons.

I never did get around to finding vehicles for this force.  But I have plenty of infantry and CATs to portray the defenders.

Laurentian Border Outpost

The only thing missing was some elite troopers to use in the second scenario.  I thought about just painting more Drop Troopers in a different color (Spartan red or blue?), but this army needs a bit more diversity.  And I like power armor.  So I tried my "300 Second Spartan" scheme on a pack of the new-sculpt Ground Zero Games NAC Powered Armor with Hand Weapons.

Exactly what I wanted!  These sculpts works surprisingly well with the Halo-inspired Rebel Drop Troopers. And the Y-rack mini launchers are similar to the rockets found on the Rebel CATs.  The new NAC power armor are actually fairly small compared to most infantry out there - especially small compared to similar power armor from Khurasan or Kremlin.  But the Rebel Droptroopers are also a bit on the small size, so they work extremely well together.

I just need to finish a few terrain pieces for Scenarios 1 and 2 and this force is ready for The Christmas War.  And since I'm going to use FUBAR to play the first couple scenarios, here are my unit stats for the Laurentian Defense Forces:

Cheers,

Chris

Review GZG New Releases – Humanoid Bots, NAC and UNSC

Jon over at Ground Zero Games was kind enough to provide the Dropship Crew with samples of his latest releases.

First up, and the most interest to me, is SG15-V16 Humanoid ‘Bots. These are 3 different humanoid-styled servant robots. Jon describes them in his news feed as “the offspring of an illicit liason between C-3PO and Gort with a strong dash of Hajime Sorayama thrown in for good measure.” I think the picture below illustrates this point!

There are two well proportioned human-sized "male" and "female" bots, but the gem of the 3 is a larger cargo-handling bot who’s exterior plating closely resembles the armour of GZG’s New Israeli range (perhaps it’s a product of the NI arms industry!?!).

I’ve been crying out for more 15mm humanoid robots and these guys certainly fit the bill. These could be used as anything from casual bystanders in colony space port to murderous Fabricated Human Simulants for the game The Department. The pack contains 6 figures (2 each of the 3 different bots) and is £3.00 inc. VAT.

Next up is SG15-A22 NAC Power Armour with Hand Weapons. This is the second pack of the newly re-sculpted NAC power armour and contains 6  figures (3 each of two, quite similar, poses) with hand weapons, supplied with separate (optional) assault jump packs - pack contains 3 "standard" jump-packs, 2 jump-packs with over-shoulder micromissile clusters, and one command jump-pack with sensor/comms systems.

As you can see from the pictures above, these new sculpts compare well with the older NAC PA sculpts but are a little but thinner and have different integral back packs. You can particularly see the benefits of the resculpt in the details on the legs of the new figures. You can see our review of the first pack here. The weapons and pose options available also expands the possibility of fielding larger power armoured forces without the same few poses repeated over and over. The pack contains 6 figures plus 2 sprues of jump-packs: £3.00 inc. VAT.

Lastly we have SG15-U26 UNSC Light Troopers with GMS(P) light portable anti-armour missiles. This pack contains 8 figures, four each in prone and kneeling poses, all with single-shot missile tubes in firing positions.

The prone figure is the same that which is currently supplied in pack U24 and Jon will probably revise U24 into a different figure mix in due course. Pack contains 8 figures (4 each of 2 different) and is £3.00 inc. VAT.

All in all some nice, useful, releases. That said what I, and many other 15mm sci fi gamers, really want to see is what GZG are going to produce as part of the official figure line for Tomorrow’s War!  But we may need to be patient... Jon has a Christmas Sale on at the moment so what better excuse to pick up some GZG stocking fillers!

REVIEW: Crusty Combat Walker and NAC Power Armour

As we mentioned earlier the latest releases from Ground Zero Games are now available for order. Jon sent me a few samples for review and here are my thoughts.

First off we have the NAC Power Armour. I know a lot of people have been waiting for resculpts of the different GZG power armour troopers and the NAC are the first ones out. They come six to a pack with two different poses and weapons (grenade launcher and rifle) and are supplied with optional jet/backpacks. What first sprang to mind when I saw them was "Gort!", followed by "Traveller!". They have a kind of retro hardsuit look that really appeals to me! The detailing is good and I like the stubby guns as well as the fact that the jetpack is optional (although I prefer it on). Only two poses is a bit disappointing though and to make matters worse the two poses that we get are very similar. I'm hoping that we might see some further addition to this line later on, providing us with more diverse weapons and poses. Also, it bears mentioning that if you're after some really bulky Heinlein-esque power armour you might want to look elsewhere as they are relatively skinny. Personally, as I have something different in mind for my UNSC, I will use them as player markers for 3:16 - Carnage Amongst the Stars.

With all this human power armour goodness we need something alien to balance it out, and hey if it isn't Crusty heavy infantry! Again six to a pack but three different poses this time and all carrying the same heavy arc rifle. Also included are optional backpacks. These guys I'm sure will be a welcome addition to many of the Crusty forces out there as they supply some added punch. They seem to be wearing some kind of hard/power suit with large, bulky helmets. Actually the helmet design have a slight look of dog or pig to them so I could see them being used as some kind of uplift aliens as well. The detailing is good and I like the more varied poses in this pack. I've always liked the alienness of the Crusties and the design of the armour (the helmet in particular) helps reinforce this. They will most likely form the tough core in my Crusty force (that's made up of riff-raff mostly).

And of course the new Crusty combat walker! I think this is the model most people were expecting when Jon first mentioned the Crusty mecha. At twice the size of a man it has the right size and, again, it simply looks very alien. There are two models in the pack with six arms and two different sets of legs. There are four weapon arms and two with no weapons so you will be able to get a few packs of these and still have a lot of variety in your models.

It's a well detailed kit and I kept discovering little details as I looked it over, like what looks like thrusters at the back of the body. The weapons look great, I especially like the gravity gun(?). I think I will drill some holes in my walkers to add some more fine detail to it like spines and antennas.

The only complaint I have is the connection points between the limbs and the body that are very loose and jingly. While it is a fairly trivial matter I still like it when my models click together just right. Once it's assembled though it looks great on the tabletop and I look forward to seeing this guy duking it out with my Khurasan DIMOG's and Micro Panzer WarBots!


All in all a solid set of releases. I only hope we get to see more of those NAC power armoured troopers in the future!

SPOTLIGHT - Ground Zero Games

The Dropship recently stopped off in the Tuffleyverse to catch up with Jon and gather some intel on Ground Zero Games and get a look at some new models that will be available shortly.

First of all, how did you get into table top wargaming?

I started wargaming when I was about 10 or 11, when I got hold of a copy of Charles Grant's Battle - Practical Wargaming. Around the same time (1970-71), the very first 6mm / 1/300 minis were becoming available - funny little lumps of lead that looked vaguely like Shermans and Panzer IIIs... but to a kid used to nothing but OO/HO plastics they were something new and wonderful!

My fascination with Sci Fi has been around as long as I can remember, and it wasn't long before I began to put the two interests together and think about the possibilities of SF wargaming - in the mid-70s I found the first commercial SF rules and minis, followed quickly by a copy of Traveller. Around that time I wrote my first rudimentary rules set, a very simple space combat game which eventually metamorphosed into Full Thrust. The rest, as they say, is history...

 Crusty Power Armour and a Crusty Combat Walker.

Ground Zero Games has been around for quite a while, when did you decide to set up your own business and how has running the business changed over the years?

Around 1985 I started to cast a small range of resin 15mm SF vehicles in the garden shed - some Traveller-inspired Grav Tanks, ATVs etc.- and these were the first products ever marketed under the GZG name; with the help of small ads in White Dwarf (still an independent games mag in those days!) I sold a surprising number of them and it just snowballed from there. At the same time, I published my first "commercial" rules set - G-CAV - very much aimed at 15mm actions with the resin vehicles I was making.

The 25mm resins followed soon after, then the first FT starships and 6mm (though at that point the metal stuff was sculpted and cast by Paul Copeland (CMD), I just marketed them - a number of years later Paul had to give up due to poor health, and I bought the ranges from him). Once I decided to go into 25mm figures, I started doing my own metal casting as well as resin; by this time the 25mm sales had vastly overtaken the original 15mm, and 25mm (plus the starships of course) became my main focus for many years.

By 1991 GZG had grown to the point where I simply couldn't continue to run it as a part-time "hobby business" while holding down a full-time job - so I took the plunge, quit my "proper" job and GZG became my full time livelihood, which it still is today, 20 years on.

During the '90s I wrote and published the full, glossy second editions of Full Thrust, Dirtside and Stargrunt (all of which started life as first-edition photocopied A5 booklets). Metal casting gradually overtook the resins, to the point where I gave up on resin altogether; it's a good medium but compared with metal it's very time and labour intensive.

So, now everything I do is metal-cast and it is still 100% manufactured in-house. Unlike a number of the other companies in the field, I still do virtually EVERYTHING in-house - I design, build masters (still in the traditional way, not pixel-pushing!), make the moulds, cast the stock, pack the orders and take them to the post office each day. The only thing that is outsourced in any way is the human and alien figure sculpting, as I've always been more of a builder than a sculptor; aside from that, I still do the lot...

My return to 15mm started around 2000/2001, when I released some new 15mm figure packs which were effectively reduced size versions of our 25mm lines; they proved immediately popular, and a couple of years later I built the first new 15mm vehicle sculpts - sales of these were so good that I expanded the range as rapidly as I could, starting to cover all "tech levels" from near-future tracked equipment right up to ultra-tech grav stuff. The 15mm ranges were soon outselling the 25mm lines, and it wasn't long before 15mm was once again my best-selling scale (alongside the ever-popular FT starships, of course). It's funny how things go full-circle!

Rear view of new Crusty miniatures

What are your general plans for Ground Zero Games 15mm sci fi range?

At the moment, a continued steady growth of new items, plus going back to revisit and resculpt some of the earlier items. The last few years have seen a huge and rapid expansion to get the range built up, now it has slowed a bit because I'm kept so busy casting stock and fulfilling orders.

A long-term ongoing project is revisiting each of the figure nationalities that were released early on, and expanding them into full ranges of all-new sculpts - the NAC and NI (New Israelis) are pretty much done, but there are still a lot of other forces to do. In between these, I'm introducing entirely new stuff like the Crusties and the UNSC-Light guys, which have proved to be especially popular.

Vehicle-wise I have quite a few ideas in mind, but I'm not going to give details till they actually happen; I'd certainly like to do some more civilian and paramilitary type stuff, and maybe a few more buildings if I can figure out ways to do them effectively in metal - I won't be going back to resin-casting for the foreseeable future.

Do you have any plans to update or expand the setting of your Stargrunt/Dirtside/Fullthrust rule sets or the rules themselves?

I'd love to but, realistically, at present miniatures production is occupying all my work time; one day in the future I might get them done, but it's going to be a long way off. At the moment I'm happy to help to promote and recommend several of the new rulesets that have come on the market in the last couple of years - such as Future War Commander, Gruntz, and AAG/Osprey's forthcoming Tomorrow's War, all of which in turn help my miniatures sales. The hardcopies of my own rules have long since sold out, but I keep them available as free PDF downloads via the website for anyone who wants them - it's nice to see that they are still popular even with so much new competition around. Seeing GZG products used on the table with all sorts of different game systems is great, because it means people are buying the minis because they like them for themselves rather than because they are the "official" range for that game.

New NAC Power Armour including optional Jump Pack

How do you think the hobby (sci fi wargaming generally and 15mm sci fi wargaming more specifically) look now compared to when you started out?

It's quite odd to look back and realise that everything has come full-circle - I started out with 15mm, and more than twenty-five years later here I am back with it again! When I started, it was mostly home-brewed rules, converted toys and using what few crude and basic figures you could get - we'd have killed for the sort of ranges and variety that there is now, in 15mm and all the other scales.

Even with the recession, I think that most folks still want to keep doing their hobbies - possibly even more so to escape from how bad Real Life(tm) is... Wargaming is still NOT an expensive hobby compared with a lot of others, and I think that provided there is still a steady flow of newcomers at the bottom end of the age range (which is where, like 'em or loathe 'em, the "big boys" such as GW do perform a useful function for the hobby as a whole) then the future doesn't look too bad.

15mm SF is certainly having a "golden age" at the moment; in many ways it's never been easier to start a small miniatures business - you can get freelancers to create and sculpt (or 3D print) the models for you, then get contract casters to produce them - all you really have to do is come up with the initial ideas, then sell the finished product. The fact that I still do everything myself the old-fashioned way is just my choice!

More and more manufacturers old and new are seeing this resurgence of the scale and deciding to get involved - which is great from the consumer's point of view, though inevitably if the market gets too crowded I fear that a few will probably fall by the wayside. For the time being, though, I think it is a case of "a rising tide lifts all boats" - the more there is out there for them to buy, the more SF gamers are getting interested in the scale again and hopefully this translates into more sales for everyone in this part of the industry - I know I've never been busier than in the last 12 months, and long may it continue. As I've said before, if people keep buying the stuff, then I'll keep making it!

GZG NAC: Critical Mass Kaamados VivPara Comparison

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Todd emailed me with a request to see the Kaamados VivPara alongside a GZG NAC trooper as they may be a perfect proxy for an alien race in his game backstory. The NACs being the human OpFor.

15mm Sci Fi
Critical Mass Games Kaamados VivPara (right)
GZG NAC Trooper (left)

Cheers
Mark
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15mm GZG NAC Trike Preview

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This evening we have a couple of close up shots of GZG's latest NAC release - V15-75A All-terrain Trikes with NAC rider.

The bike frame/body is a robust single casting. The wheels and rider are separate. and fit securely.


With a change of rider and maybe an armed pillion passenger, I think it would make a great addition to any Outlaw Gang or Wasteland Warrior style of army. With only a little bit of work, you could transplant one of GZGs new Mohican Character Heads onto the rider.

GZG 15mm Sci Fi
V15-75A 2x All-terrain Trikes with NAC riders £3.00

According to Jon, this and the other new releases I've previewed this weekend will be up on the webstore during the coming week.

Cheers
Mark
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NEW GZG 15mm ACAVs (Air Cushioned Assault Vehicle)

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You may remember that a couple of weeks back I suggested a quickie kitbash aimed at turning a GZG High-tech Hover Tank into a hover assault vehicle. Well, Jon liked the idea and out of that madness sprang this tasty little 15mm ACAV (Air Cushioned Assault Vehicle).

GZG 15mm Sci Fi (Air Cushion Assault Vehicle)

The ACAV will be a choice of either NAC gunners (as shown) or generic "bonedome" helmet ones.


Once again, Jon hopes to have these available in time for SELWG on Sunday. They should be available on the webstore later this week or sometime shortly after the coming weekend. Details of pack code and price to follow.

I'm just going to have to get a couple
for my offworld 'Brown Water' Navy ops.

WWW.GROUNDZEROGAMES.NET

Cheers
Mark
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NEW GZG 15mm Sci Fi Heavy Auto-Cannon Preview

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It's Saturday night, so I thought you'd appreciate this superb new 15mm Heavy Auto-Cannon with NAC gunner, shortly to be released from GZG.


It's a 6 part kit including a separate optional gunshield (not illustrated) and a seated NAC gunner. No details of code no.s or pricing at this time, but Jon tells me it will appear on the GZG web store some time this coming week together with some interesting new NAC, mini drones and ....the newly scuplted NEW ISRAELIs.

Do you wanna see what they look like?.........

Thanks Jon!
Cheers
Mark
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Incoming Transmission..... GZG 15mm NAC Heavy Weapon Teams

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New from GZG this week, NAC heavy weapon teams & NAC Gunners:

GZG SG15-A15 NAC Heavy Laser teams

(2 each of laser, powerpack, gunner, observer) £2.50

GZG SG15-A16 NAC Auto Grenade Launcher teams

(2 each of AGL, gunner, prone no.2) £2.50

New NAC standing gunners and pintle-mount weapons - can be used in the back of vehicles or as static mounts (eg: on fort walls or behind defences); The figures may also be cut down and used in turrets or vehicle hatches:

GZG SG15-A17 NAC standing gunners

(4 guns/gunners, 2 with autocannon/MG
and 2 with grenade launcher) £2.50

Just the right stuff for manning the perimeter at Whiskey Outpost and holding off hordes of bugs!

WWW.GROUNDZEROGAMES.NET

Cheers
Mark
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