Spectre Miniatures Releases Baseball Caps and Hazmat On Patreon

Starting off, we have Spectre Miniatures releasing products over on Patreon. After everyone got the North Koreans last week, this week was a chance for the Patreon members to get something exclusive and something new. Spectre previously announced that we’re going to start getting some new Patreon-exclusive models, variants of existing sets. The first one is a version of the M7 armed Rangers with baseball caps rather than helmets. A handy addition and something nice for the patrons. The new figures are the four-person Biohazard team – fully kitted up in Hazmat suits and rolling some very pimped-out Kriss Vectors (all with the Hydra mount to raise the optic up). It’s also cool to note all the additional kit hanging off their belts, an ideal addition for Outbreak and Aftermath. Also, having modelled some Hazmat suits, I can see the zombie fans looking forward to how those elements can be reused.

For the Mechanised Infantry Tier, patrons will have received the Boxer Infantry Carrying Vehicle (or ICV) model that was released to the main store earlier this month. This is a sizable vehicle, although not quite as big as what’s coming this month – The Challenger 3. Patrons have been teased this sizable vehicle for a while and in May, Mechanised patrons will be able to get their hands on it (with a physical release coming later). This means that the Spectre British Infantry Platoon now has a full list of high-end supporting elements if you want to get the mechanised forces on the board – definitely a change from the original Spectre releases!

This month has been a very productive one for Spectre’s patreon, including a whole new faction and it’s releases. It will be interesting to see what we get next from Spectre, with a whole lot of possible irons in the fire.

Desk-Ops Launches Sale, Releases New DOPSX Models

Unfortunately, missed off last week’s post at release time before being edited in (my mistake), friend of the blog Desk-Ops has a new sale up on his store. To quote myself from last week:

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.

However, speaking of DOPSX Minis, we have a brand new faction and set of figures. Black Atlas Consulting is the latest group that Dan has created, taking advantage of the modular features of Combat Octopus’s releases to give us some good old Western-style contractors. The mix of the body armoured torsos and mostly civilian legs gives them the traditional visual we’ve all grown to love, while the default heads (which can be swapped out) have all the beards and baseball caps you might need. If you need some figures in this style, you can find them over on their page, and yes, they are included in the sale.

Fire! Modern Combat Shows Off The Spanish

This week, we have a new update from SEN Games, makers of Fire! Modern Combat. Released last year (and heading for a reprinting soon), the initial release included US Rangers and Insurgents before being expanded a few months later with a pre-sale that added marksmen teams (now available from their store). However, last weekend we got another pre-sale announcement, and this time they are adding a brand new faction – and excitingly, it’s a brand new nation we haven’t seen on the tabletop.

As appropriate for a Spanish company, this new faction is a Spanish Army Infantry Squad. A nine-man squad equipped with G36s and MG4s and wearing their distinctive helmet and body armour, this pack can be used as both regular troops and the Spanish Legion (or Legión Española). As with all Fire! Modern Combat sets, these figures are white metal, cast in Spain and shipped out from there. The pre-sale for this unit kicked off on the 28th of April and will wrap up on the 5th of May (before shipping out on the 20th). If you want a squad for yourself, you can pre-order them here.

Also, for pre-sale is a support weapon for the Middle Eastern Insurgents. Yep, it’s a three-man mortar team, complete with several additional rounds and a glorious combination of figures using the mortar, ideal to fit with the ragtag look of the rest of the range. As with the Spanish infantry above, the pre-sale for this team kicked off on the 28th of April and will wrap up on the 5th of May (before shipping out on the 20th). If you want to back up your infantry with indirect fires, you can grab it here.

Flank March Miniatures Drop A Double Bill Of East German Documents

With BRUDERKRIEG running for another 50 hours at the time of writing, Flank March Miniatures must be pretty happy with how that project has gone. Despite clocking in at 3581% of the target goal, he hasn’t sat back and started counting the money yet. Instead, he’s been hard at work finishing off my favourite part of each Flank March Kickstarter project – the Wargaming and Painting guides!

KLASSENKAMPF is the wargaming guide, a 25 page PDF intended to get you ready for wargaming with the East German NVA (or Nationale Volksarmee). This document includes more than the battle orders and squad layouts; it also includes some background on the NVA, history of the various sub-arms the Kickstarter supports (Fallschirmjäger and Kampfgruppen der Arbeiterklasse) as well as detailing how things ended. As someone who hasn’t read much into the East Germans in the Cold War, this is a great starting point, well laid out and easy to read. To take a look, you can find it over on the Flank March website or at this link.

The latest in the PAINT series from Flank March is “Paint For The Protection Of Worker’s Power”. This covers painting the East German troops, including how to paint Strichtarn in a way that doesn’t drive you insane – don’t! Well, more accurately, take advantage of the fact that the pattern merges together at a distance. This guide includes a full list of paints to use, along with plenty of tips for painting the different parts (including some modifications based on further research). To take a look, you can find it over on the Flank March website or at this link.

If you want to jump in at the last moment and get your own NVA forces, you can jump into the Kickstarter before 9AM on May 4th.

Miniature Building Authority Smashes Crowdfunding Campaign for Mosque and Minaret

The Miniature Building Authority has launched a brand-new crowdfunding campaign for the latest terrain piece in its Middle Eastern range. Designed to be a centrepiece among your residential buildings, the Mosque and Minaret tower over the other buildings that have been previously released. As well as the two buildings, there is also a set of stretch goals that were trampled over in the rush to hit the funding goals – these add loudspeakers to decorate the Mineret and give it more of a modern vibe, a foot washing station and a water fountain. All of these are now included, and will also be painted if you pick up the painted version of the project. The project runs until the 14th of May, so if you’re looking for something striking, you can pick it up on the MBA website.

Miska Miniatures Previews “Red Dawn Intervention”

Miska Miniatures has a brand new preview for their upcoming Kickstarter “Red Dawn Intervention“. Bringing the South African Defence Force to 28mm, we have some very nicely painted sets to show off what the project will include. The set above shows off regular troops in their Nutria Brown uniforms and armed with the Vektor R4 assault rifle (along with a few additional support weapons such as the M79, GPMG and RPG-7). These represent troops involved in the Border War of the 1980s (and will also be supported by the Ratel 90 IFV (as seen on the Kickstarter preview page).

For those who prefer to be a little more sneaky, the recce squad is a great interpretation of various Special Forces and scout units on long-range patrol. Heavily laden and with a mixture of unusual weapons (including enemy equipment), while also shown with some characterful pieces (such as checking maps or lying low with binoculars). These guys are intended to complement the regular infantry and will also be available alongside the Eland Armoured Car. Overall, a pretty good set of figures and vehicles for the pledge.

We’re still waiting for details on the stretch goals (Miska projects are usually packed full of them) but if you want to be the first to know when the project launches, sign up on the preview page.

Pegasus Miniatures Shows Off New Det Operative

This week’s update from Pegasus Miniatures shows off a brand new figure for the 14 Intelligence Company (also referred to as The Det). This time, we have a female operative (an occurrence that was unique among UKSF at the time) with her Browning Hi-Power in hand. What’s cool with this figure is that we have two variants – one wearing jeans and the other in a dress, ideal for adding some variety on the board. So far, we have seen 2 of the four figures for each faction, showing off the lightly armed and small-scale type of fighters that will play a part in Pegasus’s game “Contact Wait Out!”. We’ll see another preview this weekend, and I’m excited to see what we get next.

Urban Scatter Gaming Shows Off His Bank

Last weekend was release weekend for Patrons of Urban Scatter Gaming, giving them building 2 that was previewed, as well as a whole host of add-on parts. While these parts are not available to new patrons now (the month has changed), it is still worth reading the latest preview and seeing just what you can get up to with the Bank addon. As with all of USG’s previews, this is just a great read, complete with plenty of hobby hints and lots of painted models. You can find it over on Patreon, and enjoy!

Black Hills Games Releases Urban Guerrillas

After a name change to avoid shenanigans, April’s release from Black Hills Games is here: Urban Guerrillas. The full set brings seven figures to the table, all wearing civilian clothing and armed with a mixture of weapons (and in one case, maybe one Hong Kong Action Movie-inspired loadout too far) as well as modular heads to give you a group of fighters that would work for anything from political dissidents to criminal gangs to undercover operators. The pack has been sent out to the patrons and is already available on the Black Hills Games Gumroad , with MyMiniFactory coming soon.

Now, someone tell the quartermaster that one of the L85S has been nicked.

Combat Octopus Starts Working On More D-Boys

Fresh off the D-Boys, Combat Octopus is now hard at work on… more D-Boys. This set of four poses is going to be much more shooty, intended to complement the more active set released in April. We already have the first pose displayed (crouching and shooting) as well as wearing a different rig and some PALs stripes on the back of the best for variation. We also have a preview of a tweaked rifle that will be coming, a Colt 733 with an aiming laser to give you that full early 1990s tactical vibe.

The second D-Boys set will be out later this month, so stand by for release and sign up on Patreon.

Modern Miniatures Shows Off May Release

Like clockwork, it’s the 1st of a new month, and Modern Miniatures has its previews all good to go. This month we have a full-on action pack – an industrial greenhouse and contents, accompanied by armed and armoured cops.

For the terrain level, May will have you receive the Industrial greenhouse. The greenhouse itself will come in two versions: the one with 3D-printable windows shown above, and a simpler, solid-walled variant if you don’t have transparent PLA lying around (or just want the greenhouses to fill the space, perhaps if you’re printing them at 15mm or similar). The scatter portion contains everything growing inside the greenhouse, including some hemp plants, larger planters with the rig you see above, and even a pot model if you just need a smaller single-plant variant.

For the miniatures tier, you get a five figure set of police in body armour and armed. Four of them are figures in combat, with sidearms, shotgun and assault rifle options. The fifth figure is an ideal scenario piece, injured and calling for backup. The set also includes some modular head options, perfect for theming around sheriff hats, baseball caps or uncovered heads if you want to run your own set of cool characters.

Meanwhile, over on the MyMiniFactory tribes, this month’s release is the Caveirão armoured van, a troop carrier utilised by the Brazilian BOPE but wouldn’t look out of place in many locations around the world. The kit comes with two options, letting you pick between an armoured visor lowered or raised and the turret style on top (although we seem to be missing the sleeker version in the previews). This is a good vehicle if you want something for your police unit to roll around in, and don’t want to use the Bearcat Modern Miniatures also makes (maybe your department isn’t that rich).

The items for May haven’t been released just yet, but that’s because Modern Miniatures is away playing Asymmetric Warfare. On his return, I’m sure the files will be sent out.

Turnbase Miniatures Releases March Vehicles and Preview April’s Releases

Finally, Turnbase Miniatures has released Tier 3 for its March backers. The modded BTR-80 (previously shown with its Rocket Pod form) has now been released, along with a mine-laying option. These vehicles have been sent out to backers already.

Ironically, we haven’t seen the final form of the releases for the Tier 2 backers, as the final details for the M113 are still in progress.

If that’s March, and we’re now in May, what are patrons from April getting? Well, it looks like Turnbase is going Future War on us, with previews of a futurist operator (complete with AR Glasses) and a stompy walker with autocannon and missiles on its hands. No other details on what is coming, but if you like your Ultramoderns even more modern, these seem like the releases for you.