Rebel Minis is proud to announce the next release in our Star Army pack series, the Star Army: Pangalactic Legion Platoon.

This is everything you will need to run a Pangalactic Legion Platoon in 5150: Star Army. The set contains: 24 Infantry, 4 Command and a bonus Extra Heavy Weapons asset! SRP$: 15ドル.99

Sculpted by PF, these are highly detailed and a must for any Sci-Fi gamer! Painted by Jeff Racel! You can see it here: www.Rebelminis.com along will all of our other Star Army packs. You can check out the rules for Star Army here: http://www.twohourwargames.com/.

Thanks!

GameCraft Minis has added a set of resin computer consoles to their Spaceship Interiors range.


This is a handy little pack - good not only for the GameCraft MDF interior sets, but they would work fine with Khurasan's resin system, any print-and-play set of rooms and corridors, or even the interiors of 15mm buildings.


Hot on the heels of the new Cougar MBT and Wombat APC, Brigade Models has expanded the PacFed vehicle range. The Ocelot Light Tank follows the overall Cougar design, but reduces the overall profile. The result is a combat vehicle that looks very nimble - ideal for escorting the Wombat APCs.


Then there are two variants of the Minigwal Recce Vehicle. The crew compartments on these are fairly small - intended for two crew sitting in tandem. As David B. so pointed out on the Google+ community, these really blur the line between ground combat vehicle and support aircraft. Both versions have two beam weapons attached to the front of the hull. The first variant has a small twin-gun turret:


And the second has a light missile turret.


They would be great hit-and-run vehicles for attacker/defender scenarios, and would be ideal for outflanking a more ponderous opposing force. The entire PacFed ranges is shaping up to be a very advanced force. It would be ideal for high-tech human infantry - Rebel Shalur and EF Droptroopers come to mind, as do the new Tomorrow's War DPRG from Ground Zero Games. They would also match well with alien factions - something just like the Rebel Pangalactic Legion or ACP Hadai mentioned above.

Cheers,
Chris

ArtCrime Productions brought us an idea that we couldn't pass up. Jimbo wants the 15mm community to see that ArtCrime is as dedicated to producing the best available rules as well as their excellent miniatures range. As an exclusive gift to Dropship Horizon's followers, he has provided a free copy of their Valkyrie rulebook!


Jimbo warns that these rules are still technically in beta form, so the book is still missing some of the final artwork and army lists. But this is far from a rough draft. This version of Valkyrie offers a great look into their Kaczar setting, and features full army lists for their Nationalists, Federalists, and Makat, and four different scenarios that are ready to play.

We didn't see as many new 15mm items this week as last, but there are definitely a few things we need to mention. In addition to the release of the Blasters & Bulkheads rules, we have a few minis... new and old... to put on our Christmas lists.


ArtCrime Productions have released Makat, Nationalist, and Fed starter forces for their flagship Valkyrie game. Each set includes 250 points worth of minis, along with the PDF version of the Valkyrie rulebook. Or if you just want to use ArtCrime's great minis in your own games, Mechanized Infantry Platoons are also available.

For brand new minis, Khurasan Miniatures released the Federal Police/Security Guards. These are lightly armed, lightly armored, and would be ideal for small skirmishes in urban settings. They are also valuable minis for anyone collection a Human Colonial force in Alien Squad Leader.




And on the opposite end of the spectrum, RAFM has resurrected the ancient Martian Metals Traveller Grav Armor range. They are certainly older designs, but they still hold up against today's releases. And talk about heavy metal - the vehicles themselves are 100% finger-smashing pewter castings. The interior detail kit for the APC is resin - and a pretty neat piece for diorama modelers.


Cheers,
Chris

Art Crime Productions has a Halloween Treat in store for miniature wargamers this month. They are releasing the first offering in their Mercenary line, the Port Reliant Mercenaries, and these bad boys look kind of familiar-


Fans(myself included) of a certain, super-popular video game franchise will be very pleased with these minis. Jimbo at Art Crime Productions was kind enough to send me a sample pack to review-



The pack is comprised of 6 figures; 2 armed with assault rifles, 2 with assault shotguns, 1 with an anti-tank laser, and 1 with a squad support machine gun. A very functional little squad!

Here are the individual figures-







The figures size up well alongside figures from other manufacturers-




The photos of the unpainted figures don't do them justice though, so here's what they look like once they're painted-





All in all, the Mercs are extremely good figures. Very cleanly cast, minimal clean-up. The detail is very crisp, making painting a snap. You don't have to be a Spacejacker or Jeff Racel to paint up a nice looking force of minis.

The official release date for the Port Reliant Mercenaries is October 31, and the pack will retail for 8ドル.00 USD, which might seem a little steep for some gamers, but the overall quality of the castings makes them well worth the cost. This is definitely one set of infantry minis that you should consider adding to your collection.


Again, the Port Reliant Mercenaries will be available on October 31, in the ACP Games store.




Cheers,
Spartan 117

How well does ArtCrime Productions new Valkyrie Battle Suit stand against 28mm Sci Fi?



I also checked out GZG's 15mm spare heads against the Valkyrie and they look like they would be cool in place of the Valkyrie's cast head. Giving another dimension to this Battle Suit - perhaps battle damaged, a Merc 'suit' or one salvaged by Resistance/Rebel forces.

Following on from my review of the ArtCrime Production 15mm Sci Fi Nationalist Infantry, I thought I'd write seperately about the metal base inserts that accompany the pack.


As you can see in the photo above, the Infantry packs are accompanied by 'slotta' plastic bases and a sprue of metal base inserts whihc feature various terrain items.


At first sight these are a cool concept and certainly make the ArtCrime infantry packs stand out from the rest of what's available on the market. I think the idea has merit, especially for signals, camp, street tech or objective markers of alien terrain or discarded/HQ equipment.

As basic rocks and the odd fallen tree, I'm not so sure. The terrain is at the end of the day linear as you can see in the photo above, and I found, limits the placement of the infantry figures themselves.

It does mean that the gamer doesnt have to fish around for terrain items in the garden/spares box or pop down/order tallus etc from a model shop. You open the packet and off you go.

Again, an interesting idea with a lot of potential but worth it for the additional cost to the miniature packs? As an old hand with my own basing conceits where I'll be discarding the plastic bases anyway - the answer has to be, no. I can however see that it offers kids, newbies and those who just want a simple and effective solution, something instant and different.

Standing 28mm tall (including base) and 20mm wide at the shoulders ArtCrime Productions 15mm Sci Fi Valkyrie Battle Suits are impressive.


There are three Valkrie models available - TC001= standard, TC=002= Anti-tank and TC003= Support. The Anti-tank and Support variants can be seen on the ArcPro blog. Nuff said about them here.

The models I received in TC001 had enough parts to create 3 of the basic Valkyrie battle suits plus 3 square plastic slottabases. Each model comprised of a torso with integral head, legs, left and right arms, weapon. In this case the weapon is a drum fed slug or grenade launcher.

The legs which came in the pack were all in a wide-legged standing gait. There's a robust spigot on the hips which attaches the torso and allows it to swivel. I initially felt the torso was too small but once the arms are in place and the model is tooled up, it looks really good. The design feels solid and real-world, whilst the finish is clean and sharp. I found that the Valkyrie will also works alongside with my 20mm, 25mm and to a lesser extent, 28mm Sci Fi miniatures.

On the workbench the Valkyrie gives the impression of being a powerful battle suit or combat mechaniod. There's also a touch of Heinlein in the air - you can imagine the running anti-tank Valkyrie (shown on the blog) being 'Mobile' Trooper 'on the bounce'.

I feel tempted to use these Valkyries within my ASQL2 Mechanoid Army. They will definitely appear as 'army generica' badass combat robots/battle suits to support my Felids et al.

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Those of you who know me, know that I don't do the whole Jetbike thing, despite owning a full 15mm 1940-42 German Kradschutzen Company. Sure Return of Jedi Speeder Bike scene but, well that's it, except as something that lives in the realm of W40K Space Orks and High Elves.

All that has changed with ArtCrime Productions new 15mm Sci Fi Bulldog Jetbikes.


When I saw the pictures on ArtCrimes blog, to be honest I wasn't impressed. When Jimbo sent me a pack I initially put them to one side to concentrate on the infantry and Valkyries. But I kept finding myself going back, which in the end, allowed me to look at the bikes again with a more objective eye.

What you get is a one piece casting of bike, rider and stand as a single model. The rider is essentially sitting astride a jet turbine engine. The design has a hard edge that you could believe would actually work. I like it. Plus the small but important detail of the weapon fixed to the turbine casing.

Whether or not you plan to buy into ArtCrime's Fed and Nationalist armies, the Bulldog Jetbike offers a tasty stand alone model that can be incorporated into any human army for scouting, recon or rapid strike force/commando assault.

In summary, I really like the Bulldog Jetbike. Perhaps more so because I overcame any initial misgivings about jetbikes generally and 'found' it for myself.


Plus I need something fast, agile and armed to chase them Sci Fi bats with! LOL!

On wednesday we'll look at ArtCrime Productions Valkyries.

Stealthily circling in orbit for the last year ArtCrime Productions is now ready to make dirtfall and heading towards the pipe, five by five....

Jimbo and team have been working on creating two human factions - Nationalists and Federalists, both based on the same basic troop types. There will be infantry, infantry support weapons, power armour/walkers and some pretty amazing jetbikes. Really pretty amazing jetbikes.

The initial release will look like this. Each blister retailing for 20,ドル except the jetbikes at 15ドル:

Nat001= Nationalist infantry(18 figs)
Nat002= Nationalist antitank infantry(15 figs)
Fed001= Federal infantry(18figs)
Fed002= Federalist antitank infantry(15 figs)
TC001= Valkyrie (squad of 3)
TC002= Antitank Valkyrie (squad of 3)
TC003= Support Valkyrie (squad of 3)
TC006= bulldog jetbikes (squad of 3) at 15ドル

I can only wish them every success with their endeavour and you can follow the design and new releases on the ArtCrime Productions blog (here).

Over the next couple of days I'll be taking a closer look at the infantry, Valkyrie and jetbikes.

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