Roman Monuments

Posted on October 27, 2017 by Tony

Today we have a few bits and pieces to extend our range of Roman items in the Small Scale Scenery range.

We have a triumphal arch, similar items to which are still seen in today in monuments such as Marble Arch and the Arc de Triomphe. This dimensions of this one are based on the Arch of Constantine in Rome.

There’s also a Roman bridge with a smaller arch and two lighthouses/beacons, based on the remains of ones in the UK. Finally, we have a pair of obelisks and a Funerary Tower (a tomb, essentially). All good for your Roman city, or in more modern layouts since the arches and obelisks are still in evidence in many European towns and cities today.

SSS-8100 – Roman Triumphal Arch – £1.50
SSS-8101 – Roman Bridge with Arch – £1.00
SSS-8102 – Lighthouses – £1.50
SSS-8103 – Roman Obelisks and Funerary Tower – £1.50

Posted in New Releases, Small Scale Scenery | 1 Comment

Under New Management

Posted on October 25, 2017 by Tony

We have some very exciting news to announce today. As followers of our Facebook page may already know, we’ve agreed with Ainsty Castings to take over ownership and production of the Hammer’s Slammers range of 15mm vehicles, based on David Drake’s series of SF combat stories. This includes both the Slammers’ own vehicles plus the ones of other forces such as the Thunderbolt half-tracks and Broglie’s Legion blower vehicles, along with decals and other accessories.

This brings both the 6mm and 15mm Hammer’s Slammers ranges under our roof now, and of course many of our existing models already feature in the Slammer’s universe in other mercenary forces.

We’ve already been talking to John Treadaway, one of the authors of The Crucible, the official Hammer’s Slammers ruleset, about further development of the range including additional vehicles for the Slammers themselves and more opposition forces. This will include many of the vehicles that are mentioned in the rulebook but which have never been available in 15mm or 6mm. The first of these should start appearing in the first quarter of 2018.

In the meantime, we’re hoping to start production of at least part of the range within a couple of weeks – our target is to have at least some stock available at Crisis next weekend.

Posted in 15mm SF, Hammer's Slammers, Updates and General Waffle | 7 Comments

Another Crisis

Posted on October 24, 2017 by Tony

Our final show outing of the year is our annual trip under the Channel to Antwerp for the Tin Soldier’s Crisis 2017 event.

As always, we are taking pre-orders for any of our ranges – you can either place an order and pay in advance using the collect in person option on the website, or just drop us an email with a list and pay on the day. Pre-orders need to be with us by Tuesday next week at the latest (Oct 31st) in order for us to have a chance of getting them ready.

It’s just me again, so I’ll be setting up on the Friday in order to be ready Saturday morning. I’m on stand 8a01, which as far as I can see on the plan is on the river side of the second hall, between Frontline Games and The Gamestore. We will have the following list of items with us. If there’s anything else you’d specifically like us to bring, just drop us a line.

  • Celtos (individual figures, unit packs, army packs)
  • Spaceships (fleet packs, rulebooks, individual models of our recent releases)
  • Squadron Commander (blister packs, starter packs, individual models)
  • Small Scale Scenery (all models)
  • 15mm SF (army packs, platoon packs, rulebooks, individual models and packs of figures)
  • 6mm SF (army packs, rulebooks, company packs and building packs, individual models of more recent/popular items)
  • Aeronef (fleet packs, flotilla packs, starter packs, a selection of battleships in blisters, individual models of the major nations)
  • Imperial Skies (rulebooks and accessories)
  • Magpie Miniatures (individual figures and blister packs)
  • 10mm SF (individual buildings)
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Do You Want Fries with That?

Posted on October 17, 2017 by Tony

Last weekend I finally managed to try out Rogue Stars, Osprey Publishing’s SF skirmish ruleset (well, they’re a sort of RPG-lite with squads of five characters who can progress between missions). I played a couple of games with fellow members of Maidstone Wargames Society using various 15mm figures (the rules are intended for 28mm but we kept the same distances and ranges but just used smaller figures and scenery).

I managed to find time to make a new piece of scenery for the game – a fast food restaurant built from one of our Advanced Buildings. I used a piece of 3mm acrylic sheet as the base (I have a distrust of plywood, MDF and hardboard as they all seem to warp when painted) – I found a load of largish scrap pieces in a skip near the workshop a while back, offcuts left there by one of the other businesses on the farm where we’re based. This was cut to shape then the surface sanded to provide a key for painting. I had a self-adhesive model railway car park (from a German company called Busch) which I stuck on the acrylic to make a customer parking area, put an offcut of roadway at one end for the entrance and then textured the edges using brown acrylic caulk and sand. The building was painted in the red and white colours of the fast food establishment, and I added an awning over the door made from the splinter screen of a Mantra combat car supported by two of the triangular girder structures from our 2mm Airship Shed. The cunning part was the restaurant’s name and logo, which came from a very old branded plastic coffee stirrer which I’d been hoarding for just such a purpose since the early 1990s! Sadly, although I thought I had several of these I could only find the one.

I used our 15mm Street Furniture set to provide entrance billboards, flower planters around the car park, an automated order point and several sets of seating. The tables were made from scribed plastic card supported by the legs of the aforementioned Mantra’s splinter screen. Two large rubbish bins came from our Skips and Bins set (one blue for normal rubbish, and a green one for recyclables).

The finishing touches were provided by assorted flock and vegetation (Games Workshop and Woodland Scenics) and some signs and posters printed off onto sticky labels.

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City Expansion

Posted on October 13, 2017 by Tony

Today we’re adding two new packs to our range of Small Scale Scenery European City Buildings. The first set is two straight blocks with features at one end that allow them to be used as the ends of terraces. The buildings in the basic straight block pack have blank end walls, but these have doors and windows at the end plus a slope to the roof.

The second set consists of four inner curved blocks that when used together would make up the outside of a circular plaza. They have the same overall dimensions as the normal corner pieces (40x40mm).

I’ve painted these in an alternative colour scheme to the previous sets, going for a pale stone with grey slate roofs. This would have nothing to do with my discovery that I’d run out of grey spray paint… I’ll be adding some to the sets of city blocks that I made up recently as my city increases in size.

SSS-8098 – City Block Inner Curves – £7.50
SSS-8099 – City Block End Terraces – £2.50

Posted in New Releases, Small Scale Scenery | 2 Comments

Imperial Skies Gameplay Video

Posted on October 10, 2017 by Tony

Robin, author of Imperial Skies, has put together a gameplay video going into the rules at some length. Well worth watching if you’re either after some more information on the rules, or need some hints and tips about the way the rules work.

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Fattening Up

Posted on October 6, 2017 by Tony

The latest Aeronef model to receive a makeover is the French Les Arcs carrier. We’ve kept the basic configuration (dig hull with forward deck) but that’s about it. The new version is much, much bigger, with lots of space inside the resin hull and plenty of metal fittings. It comes with four triple AA turrets and four light gun turrets for self-defence, four funnels and two masts, and a new winged bridge. The deck is also a metal fitting that sits in front of two large hangar doors.

Altogether a mighty vessel around which to base a French carrier force.

VAN-402 – Les Arc Class Dig Fighter Carrier – £9.00

VANFP-402 – French Carrier Pack – £22.00

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Soon It’s SELWG

Posted on October 3, 2017 by Tony

Next on the show calendar, and our penultimate show of the year, is SELWG at Crystal Palace sports centre in South London.

As always, we are taking pre-orders for any of our ranges – you can either place an order and pay in advance using the collect in person option on the website, or just drop us an email and pay on the day.

This is a two-man show, so good news if you’ve missed Phil’s cheery demeanor at recent shows. We will have the following list of items with us. If there’s anything else you’d specifically like us to bring, just drop us a line.

  • Celtos (individual figures, unit packs, army packs)
  • Spaceships (fleet packs, rulebooks, individual models of our recent releases)
  • Squadron Commander (blister packs, starter packs, individual models)
  • Small Scale Scenery (all models)
  • 15mm SF (army packs, platoon packs, rulebooks, individual models and packs of figures)
  • 6mm SF (army packs, rulebooks, company packs and building packs, individual models of more recent/popular items)
  • Aeronef (fleet packs, flotilla packs, starter packs, a selection of battleships in blisters, individual models of the major nations)
  • Imperial Skies (rulebooks and accessories)
  • Magpie Miniatures (individual figures and blister packs)
  • 10mm SF (individual buildings)
Posted in Shows | Comments Off on Soon It’s SELWG

The Listening Wind

Posted on September 29, 2017 by Tony

The very first models released in our Small Scale Scenery range (way back in 2011) were two types of acoustic mirror; a pair of round ‘listening ears’ and a larger sound wall. Both are Great War era structures designed to detect approaching enemy aircraft by the sound of their engines. They also work in Victorian SF games as an analogue for radars in games of Aeronef or Imperial Skies – they make an ideal objective for bombing raids.

Being one of the earliest items to be released, we’d got to the stage where we needed a new mould. So at the same time as doing this we’ve taken the opportunity to add a couple of different types of smaller mirror to the Listening Ears set, and you now get six in the pack.

SSS-8001 – Acoustic Mirror – £1.50
SSS-8002 – Listening Ears (pack of 6) – £3.00

I’m now back from my holiday, which was a very enjoyable break (apart from the local insect life taking a shine to me and deciding I made a tasty movable feast – by the end of the week you could play dot-to-dot with the bites on my legs and ankles, and the resultant drawing would probably resemble a new class of Yenpalo cruiser !). I have been busily ploughing through the order backlog, and hopefully I should have everything cleared by the end of Monday, then we’ll be back to normal service again.

Posted in New Releases, Small Scale Scenery, Updates and General Waffle | 1 Comment

Upgrading the Les Arcs

Posted on September 27, 2017 by Tony

The French battleship fleet has recently had an upgrade with the arrival of the new Massena and Loire to go along with the Gloire and Charlemagne. This just left the carrier Les Arcs to be brought up to the new design standards.

And here she is – I am particularly pleased with the way this has come out. This is just the resin hull with metal deck and bridge – I haven’t yet added the array of funnels, masts and gun turrets to the model. To give you an idea of the look of the final assembled model, here’s a CGI image. It’s a lot bigger than the older model, slightly longer and much wider.

The new Les Arcs should be on the website in a week or two – I obviously need to assemble, paint and photograph this one, but the production moulds are all ready to go.

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