We are into August, and that means things are heating up both outside and in the news space. We’ve got the final house of the USMC Kickstarter, we’ve got releases, previews and more. We even have the first hints for some hard plastic figures coming to the Ultramodern space. Read on for more!
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White Dragon Miniatures Approaches DZ with USMC Platoon
At time of writing, there is just less than two days left before the latest project from White Dragon Miniatures (the USMC Platoon) finishes out on Kickstarter. So far, it has raised over £9500, solidly eating through the target and a set of the stretch goals.
And speaking of, those stretch goals are pretty cool. So far we have gained two additional free figures (a rifleman with a hand grenade and another using the M1014 shotgun) and the ever-useful M240 team on a tripod as an add-on. We’re also getting very close to the M2 .50cal team which will bring serious firepower, ideal for supporting a platoon push. These models are all looking pretty great (and we have already seen some preview prints on the Kickstarter, which is even better).
The latest update also shows off that White Dragon Miniatures has been getting everything ready for a quick turn around once the project ends. In contrast to many Kickstarters, these platoons should be out and in the hands of anyone who backed for physical releases before the end of September in many cases (with further goals coming close to October).
Finally, and importantly if you were on the fence about the Kickstarter because three full squads of USMC were far too many Devil Dogs in your life, good news! Two new pledges have been added. These will let you pick two squads worth of guys (8 packs in total), either for physical dispatch or in STL format (the STLs including all three head options), giving you enough figures for games needing multiple elements (or even just one oversized squad) without the prospect of a whole platoon.
If you’re interested in these USMC figures, you have until Thursday 14th August at 20:00 BST to jump on the project and get your hands on these guys. I really hope this project goes further, mostly so we can keep seeing projects from White Dragon Miniatures.
Spectre Miniatures Release More SAS On The Store
Fresh off last update’s release to Patreon members, last week we also saw the release of the two new SAS sets to the general public. Now available as either physical products or STLs, the SAS CT Element and the SAS Command Element are now on the Spectre store. If you haven’t been keeping up, from the last few updates, here is the lowdown.
The SAS CT Element is a replacement for the older CT set, now updated with new gear and posing. The set is mostly assaulters, but a door sized ballistic shield, a breacher with the required gear and a specialist with backpack mounted jamming equipment should help you clear through an area. I really like how the set looks with the mixture of traditional black kit and tan/multicam elements – additionally, having seen the files, the Shield Operator’s shield is seperate, setting up some conversation oppturunities if you need an additional operator.
The SAS Command Element, on the other hand, is designed to extend the previously released SAS CQB Element with a set of specialists. This includes a marksman, breacher, machine gunner, grenadier, comms specialist and team leader. There is plenty of additional gear on these guys, as well as expanding the force up to 12 figures (16 if you add the Low Profile Element for some variety in your KS-1 equipped figures).
BobMack3d Delivers AirLand Battle Files
Little note from BobMack3d – those of you who backed the AirLand Battle Kickstarter should now be finding the files turning up in your inboxes over the next few days. This includes the TOW equipped FAV after it was added to everyone’s pledge due to it’s usefulness. That’s it, nothing else to mention.
Echo Dark Studios Releases Armoured Combat
New update from Echo Dark Studios and InCountry – last week we saw the release of Armoured Combat, a new expansion for INX 2.0 that adds a whole bunch of stuff around adding vehicles to the game. New scenarios, fully detailed rules for vehicles and the gear used to smack them around and even some new lore for fighting in the country of Orsovia.
Alongside the new expnasion pack, there are three new infantry teams, one for each of the factions in the game, where the chosen method of dealing with vehicles shows off their focus and feel. Blackthorn gets a Russian ATGM, Direwolf has a Javelin team, while Lion has to deal with an M40 recoilless rifle to handle anything with armour. Each of the three sets includes everything needed for the game.
Additionally, each faction has an Armoured Combat bundle, packaging a full faction (main fighter group, anti-tank team and a vehicle) – Blackthorn gets the BPM-97 armoured car, Direwolf get an armoured Humvee, and Lion gets the technical with a BMP turret in the back. These bundles are a great starting point for the game, letting you jump in with everything released so far for a reasonable price.
Speaking of vehicles, Echo Dark is now offering vehicles through it’s store. Long time fans of the blog may recognise that many of these vehicles are from Modern Miniatures, giving you a chance to get hold of his vehicles if you don’t have a 3D printer yourself (especially in the US). These vehicles range from techicals and humvees all the way up to main battle tanks such as the Abrhams and the T-62. So if you want to run the new game mode, this is a great time to get hold of the vehicles.
Wargames Atlantic Shows Off Box Art For Modern Operators
Great news for Ultramodern Gamers who like using hard plastic for their figures – we’re getting closer to the time when you can drop that ancient set from Warlord Games. We’ve seen some sprue previews in the past, but it has now reached the stage where the box art (and some final figures) have now been previewed. This means we’re getting pretty close to release, with the Wargames Atlantic update page listing them as injection moulding in the UK and the boxes being printed. Additionally, the counterpart set of Agents (previously previewed with some John Wick looking example figures) is also well on it’s way with Tooling and Illustration in progress. This is good news – I know that plenty of gamers have been begging for hard plastic kits, which (for such a niche as ultramodern gaming) I had always assumed was never going to be profitable.
Combat Octopus Shows Off More Previews For Navy SEALs
Combat Octopus is well on his way to being close to the release of the first Navy SEALs in 2007 set, all ready for the streets of Ramadi (or providing the basic parts for some lower-tier SF to work alongside your Operators). As you can see above, we have the final pose (complete with MK48 7.62mm machine gun), and the Discord has seen the signs of heads being sculpted. This should mean a release is coming soon, so get those printers wound up. Next month’s release will be the second part to this set, perfect for building up a full squad.
Goggles Miniatures Previews Buffel
Finally, Goggles Miniatures has released a preview of one of the vehicles being released this month. The South African Buffel is one of the very first mine-resistant vehicles developed in the world, giving you a Cold War era vehicle capable of protecting the troops inside from a mine strike. The other vehicle that Goggles will be releasing this month is the Rooikat, another cold war icon from South Africa and perfect for bringing to the tabletop.
Okay actually ONE MORE thing. Modern Miniatures is running its Summer Sale. This means that a whole HOST of the usual suspects are running discounts on their STL collections. Combat Octopus, Modern Miniatures and Turnbase Miniatures are just three people where you can get between 20-30% off with the code “SUMMER2025”. The perfect time to top up the archives!
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