New updates this week from across the spectrum of Ultramodern Wargaming. Scenarios from Spectre, Vehicles from Miska, Cool Operators from Combat Octopus and Scenery from Urban Scatter Gaming. What’s not to like?
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Spectre Miniatures Releases New Rules Content and Previews A Pile of LTVs
Spectre Miniatures this week has been going hard on releasing new rules updates for Spectre Operations V3, with both some rules for our favourite Suit-Wearing-Pencil-Weilding Assassin and three scenarios to put on the tabletop. The Baba Yaga rules add a 200R element with a single figure that uses the existing rules and puts a new spin on them, making an element that can continue to take actions after a successful kill and just won’t stop coming. It’s a fun addition and a good starting point if you want to add your own Cinematic Heroes.
Operation Gallowglass puts you into a three-way fight as Russian and Coalition Special Forces descend on a militia group along the Iran/Iraq border. With the two Special Forces teams having different objectives, and the militia intended to be played as either a player or using the Non-Player Element rules, this game seems perfect for a wargames club night, introducing an aspect of wheeling and dealing when the bullets start flying.
Spectre Patrons will remember Operation Leatherback, one of the few scenarios included during the patreon’s lifespan. Well, it’s now back, updated for Spectre Operations V3 and with a second part to let you conclude the goings on in the backwoods of Tennessee. These two missions, as well as portraying operations you don’t normally see in Ultramodern games, are interesting as the force builders used are actually not primarily the Task Force or Russian lists. Instead, both games see some mixing of Force Builders, with a small proportion of each force being able to pull from the higher-end lists.
However, the week was not entirely without previews – we got another look at what’s on the painting tray at Spectre HQ and this week it’s a set of LTVs/ There isn’t anything shown we haven’t seen previewed already but it’s good to see the new parts being assembled and painted up. This also means we’re probably getting dangerously close to an upcoming release, so prepare your wallets for some heavy firepower for your vehicle force.
Black Powder Red Earth Shows Off Spearhead
Black Powder Red Earth has uploaded a short trailer for BPRE28mm Spearhead, the latest expansion. The trailer does a great job of kicking off the vibe of the release, with the shredded urban landscape a good backdrop for showing off the new figures.
As an aside, my desk is covered in tiny SPEAR operators which means my own coverage on Spearhead will be starting soon – the figures I’ve assembled are some of the best yet from BPRE, and from reading from the book I’m getting ready for running a campaign of my own.
Miska Miniatures Shows Off More For Zanganie
Miska Miniatures showed off another item from the upcoming “Zanganie – Part 2 – “Vox Populi”” Kickstarter that is launching soon. We’ve already seen this beat-up civilian vehicle before, but now we get a better shot of the paint job Bernd Diehl has done with it.
The Zanganie Kickstarter page is online, with posts on Facebook announcing the launch coming this Friday (26/04/2024).
Combat Octopus Shows Off A Heavily Armoured Boy
In news that I was happy to see, the heavily armoured Combat Octopods Europe and North America won the poll to be the next theme for Combat Octopus. Since then, we’ve seen the latest version of the first figure. These guys are loaded to the nines, with full armour (including shoulder, neck and groin protectors although these sets will also come as a version without the additional armour pieces), modern tactical clothing and a battle belt. The set is going to use modular pouch options for the different weapons, but with a few already in place to save you from trying to slide them into place. CO is also trying something new with texture on the velcro portions.
I’m very excited to see how this set turns out and will definitely need to get them to the board quickly once done!
Urban Scatter Gaming Prepares The Hospital
Finally, for this week, Urban Scatter Gaming has shown off a preview of the set coming next weekend.As you can see the idea with this set is to give you all the little items you’d need to fill out a hospital board, giving it that extra touch. From the reception desk and waiting room to a CAT scan machine through to everything needed for a hospital ward (both with modern beds and older styles). I really like the attention to detail USG is putting into these pieces – the beds come with three different styles of mattress and six different pillows, making it incredibly easy to set up a varied-looking hospital with only a few minor alterations and careful part-picking. If you’re looking to assemble your own medical facility to fight through, this is definitely a pack for you.
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