We’re reaching the end of the month, but that doesn’t mean the updates are stopping on this week’s edition of The News Stand. Urban Scatter Gaming has released a metric ton of new items for your MENA table, we have a trio of previews from Spectre and much, much more below!
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Spectre Miniatures Unleashes PREVIEWS PREVIEWS GALORE
First up this week, Spectre Miniatures has been in a previewing mode with not one, not two but three previews for us to feast our eyes on. First up, we have the physical version of the SAS Close Quarters team we’ve been seeing the last few weeks, including a few extra friends. As you can see, although they are all armed with the KS1 rifle, there is a good bit of variation among the operators, with different clothing choices, plate carrier layouts and more. There is also a nice sense of movement to them, perfect for your operators kicking the door in.
The second preview is for the Low Profile SAS team. Long-time fans may remember the original version of the Low Profile team back in the original Kickstarter days and these guys are a nice update, bringing a lot of the gear and guns up to modern day. There is a concern fault on the middle guy (hopefully an issue from the image) but I’ll be very excited to get these guys printed when they are released.
And finally, we have another quick tease that appeared on the Spectre Instagram. It took a little bit of sleuthing with the ChargeBlog research team (aka I asked my friend Paul to tell me what the heck this thing is) but Spectre is working on ZA-SPN TITAN armoured vehicle. This is a new MRAP that Rosoboronexport is developing and showed off at the World Defence exhibition last year. I think this is a great-looking MRAP, a nice change from the Tigr or the Typhoon and would look good across the board from the JLTV Spectre releases.
Echo Dark Studios Running Q&A Session
We have a new update from Echodark Studios, the team behind the updated version of InCountry. They are planning a set of Q&A sessions going over the latest announcements for the game as well as talking about the future. Despite being based in the US, they are doing two-time slots for this Q&A, allowing both EU and US fans to partake. Full details are available on their Discord, where you can find events for the EU and US time slots.
Fire! Modern Combat Launches Kickstarter
Excellent news from the team at SEN Games about the Fire! Modern Combat Kickstarter. At the time of writing, they are sitting at €22,637, having funded within 3 hours and now kicking its way through the stretch goals. We’ve already added several additional token sets and templates, as well as new squad lists for European NATO. There are 24 days left on the clock, giving plenty of time to keep heading up through the addons with plenty to be excited about. If you’re interested, you can jump onto the Kickstarter now.
Urban Scatter Gaming Releases A Metric Ton Of New MENA Pieces
After weeks of teasing, Urban Scatter Gaming has come out with a plethora of new releases, all ideal for your Middle Eastern/North African tables and up on the Gumroad immediately.
For sensible people, Hotel Faqir is designed to fit in among the other releases as a characterful piece, giving you a small hotel to fit in the urban streets. Designed to be highly modular, the hotel also includes interiors to fight through, giving you a key strong point for any tabletop. I really like the fact that, as with the other MENA structures, you can scale them up to make a relatively sensible structure or something incredibly tall. The kit, designed for FDM printing, also includes a blank version to let you detail yourself, including working doors for breach and clear scenarios.
For the less sensible people, there is also the Hotel Al-Manara. I’ve previewed this the last few weeks as I think it’s an incredible set. Ideal for either building a centrepiece or filling a board edge, this hotel has a full-featured interior, multiple wings and piles of decorative elements to let you go all out on this piece. I am really excited to get my hands on it and I can’t wait to go all out getting it on the board.
If you want to add some objectives to your board, then this Radio Mast is ideal. Designed for both FDM and Resin printing, the mast includes a whole collection of add-on parts to make it stand out. As you can see above, it’s an impressively scaled next to your 28mm operators and will fit on any kind of table, be it your jungle outpost or just a cellphone mast on an apartment block.
Finally, for those who already have the MENA buildings, the MENA Balconys kit is ideal to add a little extra texture to the board. Changing the regular-shaped buildings to have a little more variety helps to really sell the scene, with 5 different buildings, a set of bases for helping you fit them to the building and a collection of flat doors to make your suddenly additional real estate actually accessible from the interior. Combine these with the other MENA Building accessories pack and it’s a quick way to turn your recently printed building from nicely looking boxes to feeling much more lived in.
Black Hills Games Previews 1990’s Delta
Heading over to Patreon, Black Hills Games has shown off the first preview for the upcoming Delta operators from the 1990s. Inspired by the D-Boys of Black Hawk Down, the pack is going to come with 7 figures – four riflemen, an LMG with the M249 and a pair of marksmen with the M21 and M24.
Now, if you’re cursed with the same senses I am, you may notice that the guy above has something not suitable for the 1990s – a set of KAC rails. This isn’t suitable for the Gothic Serpent vibe these guys are aiming for (the rails weren’t available until 1997 at the earliest) but BHG has already announced the rails will be swapped out for the usual handguard.
Combat Octopus Previews The First SSO Figures
Combat Octopus has started rolling on next month’s release for Russian SSO in Syria with all four poses in various stages of completion. For figures One and Two, we have two shooting poses, showing off the variety in clothing and carriers the Russian SF wore at the time. Both also have AKs with an interesting set of Western optics, something that makes them stand out compared to other Russian elements.
For Figures Three and Four, we have a matching pair. These two are advancing under fire, with the rear operator covering the upper floors while the lead aims forward. You can also see that there are plenty of Zenitco gear on these AKs, all you need to make them suitably high-speed operators.
April’s poses are going to be more high-speed and less shooty, so combined together we should have a good set ready for building your force. We also haven’t seen the weapon options, so stand by for a frankly terrifying list of options.
Goggles Miniatures Releases February’s Vehicles
Goggles Miniatures has released this month’s vehicles to patrons. February brings the LAV-25 and the MaxxPro MRAP to the table. Both are now available on the Google Drive available to patrons, giving you access to two very useful for operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and beyond. In addition, the KA-52 and the VAB previously released will soon be available for individual purchase via the Goggles Miniatures Store.
Modern Miniatures Shows Off Painted RAB
Finally, Modern Miniatures had a weekend away wargaming with the European arm of the Asymmetric Warfare boys and got to take his latest project with him. The RAB craft, bristling with every form of automatic firepower and SWCC operators ready to use it looks awesome painted up and on the tabletop. Modern Minis has done a fantastic job designing, printing and painting up this piece and from the reports, it sounds like the guys had a great time getting it onto the board.
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