June is into its second week, which means it’s the perfect time to get an update of what’s going on in the Ultramodern world. This week? It’s a heck of a lot of previews from all the usual suspects, as well as the Patreon release for Combat Octopus and Modern Miniatures.
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Spectre Miniatures Prepares The MENA Militia
First up for Spectre Miniatures, we have some previews hot off the public posts from their Patreon. This month is all about the MENA Milita, a range which I’m very sure I have an absolute pile of. There was some evolution during the releases (seeing as the first set was literally in our hands in 2015), and these latest figures definitely seem to have continued the trend of the Veteran Militia released in 2017.
As you can see from the Work In Progress pieces up top, there are a lot of beards and long hair that you may have seen from the more die-hard groups in various MENA conflicts. Clothing is designed to be painted as either military or civilian to allow for more variety, a great touch when building a massed force. The first image does show a few soldiers with no trousers, but this is simply work in progress images – all militiamen will be correctly attired for warfighting.
The release plan is to split 23 figures across 4 packs:
- MENA Militia Fighters (8 man set)
- MENA Militia Support (8 man set)
- MENA Command (6 man set)
- MENA Sniper (single)
The fighters’ set will be entirely armed with AKs, but there will be plenty of other weapon systems to support (such as the PKM and scoped G3 in the original WIP image up there). I think these could be a very cool release, ideal for use alongside the Insurgent or Insurgent PMC sets already available. All four sets will also be included in this month’s Direct Action tier on Patreon.
BobMack3d Readies The Mule
Bobmack3d is well on its way to launching the next Kickstarter “Airland Battle” on July 4th (still an excellent day for this set). We saw the Blackhawk last week ,but this week we have the M274 Mule. The Mule is a lightweight cargo carrier to provide a truck to forces unable to use the US Military’s larger trucks (such as USMC or the Airborne/Airmobile forces). In the Kickstarter, there will be several versions with a selection of loads – not pictured are the weapon carrier,s but as you can see above, there are three stowed versions with three very important loads – TOW missiles, M40 rounds and Beer. You can also see a crew figure sculpted by Flank March Miniatures (we’ll get to them in a second), but there will be packs to give you crew for a variety of vehicles available as add-ons.
If you’re interested in the Kickstarter, you can sign up over on the preview page before it launches on the 4th of July.
Flank March Miniatures Announces Launch Day On The 4th of July
As mentioned last week, but now confirmed by the man himself, Flank March Miniatures is launching the Reforger Kickstarter on the 4th of July. Launching the same day as Bobmack’s releases and designed to go with them, this Kickstarter will bring all the figures you’ll need for a US Infantry platoon and support during the early 1980s. The Kickstarter will also include a pile of stretch goals, so it’s well worth signing up to both the Kickstarter and the Flank March newsletter.
Urban Scatter Gaming Returns To Patreon
Urban Scatter Gaming has taken a break from aggressively targeting my scenery collection and returned to Patreon. This is going to be his WIP feed, a chance to show off all the stuff he’s currently working on. The current pack in progress is a MENA-themed street scatter pack, another set designed to turn your boards from a cool collection of buildings and into something you can lose yourself in. The first set are these utility poles for FDM printing, These poles are designed to be modular, designed to be set up for a selection of capabilities. The two currently being worked on are a lamp fixture and a power line component (especially cool as it has wire holes to run real wire for that extra effect).
The other piece in this update is Date Palms. These plants are everywhere in the MENA region and are ideal for adding a touch of green in places you might not expect. These pieces are printable as both FDM and Resin, and are already looking pretty cool.
No date for the release of these, but the fact that they are painted up should give a little clue. If you want to keep up to date, the Urban Scatter Gaming Patreon is the place to be.
Combat Octopus Releases the Cultural Support Team
Combat Octopus has released the latest set of figures, being the long-awaited (and well-covered in this series) Cultural Support Team to his range. This set, now available for all patrons, is designed to let you build up a set of female Special Forces enablers during the Global War on Terror, while also providing plenty of modular options. Such as the fact that every figure in the pack comes with two body variations – one with purely tactical clothing, while the other has an Afghan-style long shirt over the top. This means you can make some very unique-looking figures, especially with the fact that you can mix and match the pieces to give you a new style – an untucked combat shirt or something more civilian.
The other half of the modular assets is the wide selection of weapon systems the set includes. As well as the classic M4 that most CSTs used, the set also includes M16s and SCARs for the purely US military style AND MP5s, G36s and AKs to give you even more options – I can see plenty of fun with the AK for local intelligence assets mixed in with regular troops. The set also includes multiple heads and even some kitbashing parts – crouch legs with the bottom half of the long shirt and a headscarf for digital kitbashers.
If you’re wanting to get your hands on these ladies, they are currently available over on the Combat Octopus Patreon now.
Googles Miniatures Prepares June Releases
Goggles Miniatures has announced an upcoming set of releases for June, coming later this month. The regular release will be ideal for all your Russian needs, bringing both a BMP-3 and a BRDM scout car. For those wanting something more unusual, the BTR-100 and BPM-97 (one a Cuban tank destroyer, the other a Russian internal security vehicle) will be released this month as the Seasonal sets. Both tier will come out later this month, roughly between the 17th and 21st.
Modern Miniatures Releases Snowy OPFOR and Technicals
As prompt as ever, Modern Miniatures has released this month’s models for both of tiers on his Patreon. First up, we have the miniatures tier that delivers an OPFOR for your Western winter operators, released last month. This set of five figures gives you a mixture of assault rifles (including a UGL) and a PKP, a good combination for building a force. These figures are non-modular due to the design, but an additional set for Chinese winter soldiers will be released by MyMiniFactory later this month.
On the terrain/vehicle side, this month’s release is a Hilux-style pickup truck with a pair of new weapon systems for the Modern Miniatures range. The SPG-9 recoilless rifle is ideal for giving you a light anti-tank weapon system or a method of slinging HE rounds at dug-in opposition. The SPG is available as either a low ground mount or a custom-constructed pedestal mount and even better, Faris has already done a painting guide for them on Patreon. The other weapon system is a BRDM turret mounted to an armoured crew compartment designed to fit in the back of the hilux. This setup includes separate armoured pieces, letting you decide how well-constructed you want the makeshift mount to be.
Both pieces are already available if you sign up over on Patreon.
Skull Forge Studios Prepares Void Mantle
Finally, Skull Forge Studios has managed to sneak into this week’s edition with a new release for their SCP-Adjacent range, Protocol. This team feels very Aftermath-y, giving you a set of heavily Russian-equipped supernatural SF fighters, with AKs, SMGs and a PKM complete with a backpack ammo feed. Additionally, as with all protocol teams, there is a Modern Supernatural fighter, merging military aesthetics with psychic powers. I think this set looks pretty damn cool, and is currently available through this month’s Patreon.
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