Desk-Ops Launching Late Spring Skirmish Sale

A little post-publication adjustment, but friend of the blog Desk-Ops is kicking off a brand new sale starting on the 26th of April and lasting until the 10th of May. This sale is a blanket 12% off almost everything on the site, covering the whole selection from physical prints of News Stand favourites such as Combat Octopus and Urban Scatter Gaming, to being the European stockist for Austin Miniatures and Echo Dark Studios. Desk-Ops also has some exclusives, with a unique range of vehicles (including the nifty KAMAZ BPM-97) and the DOPSX Minis that kitbash Combat Ocotopus figures into brand-new and unique forces for you to purchase. Finally, the Black-Ops bundles are also available, offering a selection of pre-prepared forces at a discount (which is more than the sale discount). Desk-Ops prints in a variety of scales, with most sets available from 28mm up to 54mm (and custom sizing on request). Finally, as well as the 12% sale, orders over €55 will receive the free start pack for Desk-Ops’s own wargame Dynamic Infantry Combat, including tokens, templates and the Quick Play Rules to get you started. The sale kicks off on the 26th of April and will be running for two weeks, so if this sounds interesting, take a look over on the website.

Spectre Miniatures Welcomes Us To North Korea

Big week for Spectre Miniatures – we have the start of a brand new range of Ultramodern figures with two sets for the forces of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea or North Korea. We have already had some previews for them, but today (literally hours before going to the blog) we got to see these painted up and already in the store.

The two sets represent two parts of the North Korean armed forces. The KPA Infantry Squad is from the regular KPAGF, giving us a 10-man squad. Wearing Chinese-made tactical equipment and armed mostly with the Type 88 rifle, this squad showcases the army’s modernisation. Things aren’t entirely aligned with their regional rivals, though – there is a distinct lack of suppressive and anti-tank weaponry by default, with the squad having a pair of RPK-74s and two figures with rifle grenades. There is also a mix of poses within the squad, although they all have an aggressive offensive feel.

However, most people have a different image when you say North Koreans, and that’s where the North Korean Worker-Peasant Militia comes in. Dressed in clothing that wouldn’t be out of place in the Cold War and armed with a grab bag of weapon systems, this pack includes everything from Mosins, DP-27s and license-produced PPSHs up to Type-58s (AK-47s), the RPD and the RPG-2 for support. This pack has plenty of uses outside of Ultramoderns but is also perfect for whatever situation you may need North Korean Militia for.

As usual, both sets are available as physical and STL releases. Additionally, during the launch weekend, there is a bundle deal that will also come with the early release of a North Korean General, perfect for getting a scenario up and ready (especially if you have a pile of Tier 1 sneaky types). This bundle is only available during the launch weekend, so you may want to pick it up sooner rather than later if you’re interested (especially if you’re buying the physical release).

Over on the Patreon, patrons have received their files for the contents of the bundle (both squads and the general) as well as some news for what’s coming next (that is included in the release post of the files, so technically it is behind the paywall and can’t be covered in this article). However, earlier in the week, there were some mentions of additional figures next month to support this release – machine guns and RPGs for the regular army were mentioned, as was some more specialised troops for fighting in the mountains. Having painted these figures up, we may also see a painting guide for them over the next few months.

Flank March Miniatures Updates BRUDERKRIEG 1 And More

Safe to say, I feel like Flank March Miniatures has done rather well with his latest Kickstarter BRUDERKRIEG 1. The project still has 9 days on the clock but it has absolutely smashed it goals, even reaching the end of its stretch goals. This means that pledges at the all in tier will be getting a massive number of infantry, support weapons and vehicles, as well as parts for all three formations included in the Kickstarter – mechanised infantry, elite paratroopers and the militia ready to form up if East Germany were invaded (a fun tweak to the usual Cold War Gone Hot). Now, with Reforger, this was the point where Steffan at Flank March started sweating and disappeared down the Stretch Goal hole, frantically sculpting more. This time, however (as announced earlier this week), he’s taking a different approach.

First up, the next Flank March project has been announced. As you might expect, if you bring the East Germans you will also need to bring those boys to the West of the Inner German Border, the Bundeswehr. The aim is for this project to be released later this year, meaning that by the end of 2026, Flank March will have complete ranges for all of the Big Five nations of the Cold War (Brits, Soviets, Americans, East Germans and West Germans).

However, the big news is that Flank March is also taking a big step later this year. Along with BattleGround HD, BobMack3d and Full Metal Miniatures (you may have seen them hanging around together at Salute), they have helped to drum up more interest in Cold War Gone Hot gaming in 28mm. The next step? Going into Plastic.

Plastic is the final boss of a wargaming period, the last stop that a genre has to reach before it can hit the mainstream and get in front of the regular wargamers. Flank March is working with a plastic manufacturer to prepare kits of the American and Soviet releases, tweaking the STL figures to suit plastic tooling and production. This is a great thing to see, but as you might expect, it might end up taking a little bit of time getting things ready.

Finally, we should be seeing the East German Wargaming Guide soon – I’ve been chatting to Steffan, and he has been really in the weeds about making sure the guide shows off the differences between them and the Soviets, bringing that difference to the table. If you’re interested in getting your hands on the figures to go with it, BRUDERKREIG 1 will be running for another 9 days.

Pegasus Miniatures Shows Off Another Paramilitary

A new week means a new preview from Pegasus Miniatures of their upcoming figure range. This week, we see another Paramilitary fighter, this one preparing for operations (pulling out his pistol and donning a balaclava). This is another figure sculpted by Flank March Miniatures, joining the previously previewed figures, a perfect fit for the small-scale conflicts that Contact On Wait Out are designed for. Pegasus has also started talking about initial planning for future appearances at shows with rules and figures, so stand by for more details.

WarDaddy Studios Prepares Near-Future High-Tech Operators

In the latest update from this blog’s favourite provider of The Corporate Regular Opponent’s favourite scale (15mm), WarDaddy Studios is showing off a new set of Near-Future High-Tech Operators. Maintaining the feel of modern-day troops but packed with details for the near future battlefields, these guys look kick ass. As well as these regular troopers, there will also be some Special Forces and LRRP types, accompanied by plenty of heavy weapon teams.

Of course, for those of you scared by the cheese wedge helmets and prefer the high cut operator look, then you’ll be pleased to see that WarDaddy has some guys more suited to a 15 minutes into the future look. No release date for this set just yet, although it’s intended to be this month, but keep an eye on War Daddy’s Patreon and MyMiniFactory.

Warfront Studio Announces Plastic Ultramodern Figures

This is a new one. Seemingly out of nowhere, a new page has popped up on Facebook for Warfront Studio. These guys have come out swinging with a promise to make HIPS Plastic kits for Ultramodern US and Russian, promising a whole load of things from a single spure (including support weapons, head options, and more). The image above shows some of the initial items being test-printed, and there are more previews on their Facebook page, including an assembled Russian RPG gunner and a pile of US Military heads. I’m going to keep an eye on this project and see how they go, but part of me is very cautious – this page has appeared from seemingly nowhere (without familiar backers or notable names in the space), mentioning a plan to release via Kickstarter but with two sets fully funded to make in plastic, a cost that is not small. We shall have to see where this goes, but it has some potential.

Black Hills Games Provides An Update

Another month, another text post update from Black Hills Games with not a preview in sight. Putting aside the hot water from the March IDF release, we have some additional news of future plans from BHG. This month’s release will be IRA fighters of the 1990s, inspired by films such as Patriot Games and The Devil’s Own, and featuring several paramilitaries with a mixture of small arms suitable for the early 1990s. This set should be out before the end of the month.

The other side of the news is that Black Hill Games has announced that he will be starting work on a Kickstarter set, intending to cover the operators from “13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi”. This is a project that BHG has been interested in for a while, but wants to spend more than a month working on the figures. There is no other information currently available so stand by to see how this project goes.

Combat Octopus Releases The D-Boys

Combat Octopus has released the long-awaited Delta in Somalia set. With four figures prepared for combat and wearing all the gear of the period, these are perfect to accompany last year’s Rangers, while also bringing a vast selection of weapon systems that Combat Octopus has sculpted for your own set of modular operators. With Colt 723s, Colt 733s, M16A2s, M249s and even an M14, these guys are armed to the teeth.

As you can see from the rest of the layout images, the four poses are a good set for troops in contact. In addition to the weapon options and modular parts, there are also pre-assembled versions to get them on the printer and in action as fast as possible. The head options are also great, with several options based around the Protec helmets and goggles, complete with comms and dust goggles. Overall, these sets are great, but if you want them from Patreon, you’ll need to hurry – they will only be available until the end of the month for Patreon prices, before appearing on MyMiniFactory later. Next month’s set will expand on this theme, bringing NVG options and more variety to the load-bearing kit.

Modern Miniatures Shows Off His Greenhouse and His Herbs

Mere hours after I posted last week’s tease, Modern Miniatures decided to show off more of the greenhouse that he has been working on for the May release – and I have to say, it’s looking pretty good!

Entirely 3D-printed in FDM, this is an impressive modular structure intended to give you a brand-new style of structure to fight over. There are several cool additional elements, such as the loading dock at one end for your trucks to pull up to, and the optional side door piece to give you more tactical opportunities. And this is even before we talk about the transparent PLA pieces used to make the glass, something I haven’t seen before, and now intend to take a good look at. It’s going to be incredibly useful, with the modular aspects letting you build everything from the centrepiece of modern high-end terrorist plots to a point of interest in the post-apocalyptic future.

Of course, as with any greenhouse, you need something to grow inside. As well as the planters that will provide all the cover you may need, there are also some dubiously legal plants printed in resin – these nail the distinctive look and even look the part under tiny LED grow lights. I’m looking forward to seeing more details on how it was set up, especially once it’s fully configured for a game.

These items will be released in May, alongside the latest set of cops previously previewed in this column. We can expect full details next week, and a release soon after.

Turnbase Miniatures Shows Off A Monster

Finally, we have a preview from Turnbase Miniatures of the Tier 3 release coming for March patrons. This monster is a BTR-80 in name, but has had several major changes to make it stand out from the more uniform ones – ERA blocks slapped all over is one part but the combined S5 rocket pods and anti-drone shield is a pretty nasty combination.

As cool as it looks, I’m still very concerned by the fact that we’re almost into May and March patrons have not yet received their files, while the plan for April patrons has not even been revealed.