{"id":29625,"date":"2024-09-23T21:27:43","date_gmt":"2024-09-23T20:27:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/?p=29625"},"modified":"2024-09-23T21:27:46","modified_gmt":"2024-09-23T20:27:46","slug":"the-news-stand23-09-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/2024\/09\/23\/the-news-stand23-09-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"The News Stand:23\/09\/2024"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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A bit of a shorter one this week but still no less exciting. New releases from Spectre, previews from Combat Octopus and the second half of this month’s release from Modern Miniatures. Read on for more details!<\/p>\n\n\n

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Support ChargeBlog on Patreon!<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n
\"Become<\/a><\/div> \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n <\/div> \n\n\n

As always, thanks to the News Fans and other patrons over on the ChargeBlog patreon<\/a> for buying my time to make this wrap-up each week. If you like these roundups and find them useful, why not chip in on the Patreon<\/a>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Spectre Miniatures Previews Vietnam And Releases A Pile Of Stuff<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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First up from Spectre Miniatures is a preview of the upcoming Vietnam range. This guy is an early MACV-SOG figure, armed with his Swedish K and covered in gear. It sounds like Spectre is excited about this range, so I’m interested to see more preview figures, as well as a post on their Patreon<\/a> with some more info.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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However, the big update this week is the release of the Insurgent Mercenary range. This update of the Insurgent PMC brings the same concept of a better-trained and equipped force to support your lower-tier insurgent and militia forces. The Insurgent Mercenary Element (available as both STL <\/a>and physical<\/a>) includes many of the details of the first set, with the G36 and FN2000 for some different assault rifles mixed with helmets, plate carriers and tactical clothing. What is new is that the basic set now includes two other weapons systems to support the main fighters, with both a M249 SAW and a figure with a set of M72 LAW tubes (although still carrying a G36 for the rest of the time). There is also a good mixture of poses, both Condition 0 (currently shooting) and Condition 1 (poses that make sense for an action scene)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There has been a continuing discussion over the weapons for an insurgent force but I have to admit the G36\/FN2000 ratio is definitely making me think about other uses for this set. With six figures armed with either the G36 or SAW, you could easily use them for a lower-tier national force, such as local Special Forces under the leadership of a Western team of operators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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To support the Mercenary Element, there is a trio of support elements. The Command (available as both STL <\/a>and physical<\/a>) provides radio support to other elements (as well as a looted AUG for that trophy weapon feel). The Marksman (available as both STL <\/a>and physical<\/a>) brings an M110 to the battlefield while the Drone Operator (available as both STL <\/a>and physical<\/a>) rounds out the set all ready to deploy a remote weapon system while checking the link on his laptop (and also carrying a FN2000 for when things gey a bit closer). These guys should give you a good set of capabilities for an irregular force, both alongside the Mercenaries but also as specialists with a predominantly milita element.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There were also a few other digital releases. The remote weapon stations have now been released as digital items, with all the options on a single page<\/a> but the bigger news is around the ruleset. There have been plenty of calls for a purely digital release of the core rulebook and that call has finally been answered<\/a>. It is the same price as the physical ruleset (which raised some eyebrows) but now provides a way to get hold of the ruleset without having to pay shipping and import fees. The starter set,<\/a> as shown above, is also now available digitally, bundling the rules, two elements and a set of terrain together for a significant saving. Now we just need to wait for the scenery to be sold as STLs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is however a good sign for those of us who buy STLs from Spectre – rolling out the support for the rules digitally means Spectre is happy to continue selling into this market, which I did worry may have been too much of a risk for them. We’ve now had roughly six months of digital releases, and lets hope to see they continue!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Combat Octopus Shows off Deniables Part 2 and a Big Boom<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Combat Octopus<\/a>, not a man to keep things easy for himself, has shown off all three of his current ongoing projects. The big one is that the figures for next month’s release, the second part of the Eastern European Deniables range are all done, giving you a set of Ivans en route to the objective. We’ve got a few more weapon options to see, including the new addition of a Saiga 12. I’m not usually a fan of combat shotguns for everyone (as their usage is nowhere near the number of models we see with them) but seeing as this set is highly likely to be used for some Tarkov-esque Scavs it’s a sensible addition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We also have some news that once the Somalia campaign is done, we’re going to be seeing some DLC packs for previous releaes – the first two mentioned are AKs for the PMC and Western Ocotopods and a SMG pack for the Eastern Deniables.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Speaking of other releases, CO has been hard at work on the Loyalty reward that was announced back in July. This set brings some Modern AT weapons to a set of Operator bodies. As you can see above, the RPG-7 is well on it’s way although apparently, Carl G is being a pain. Hopefully we’ll see some more details soon but I’m excited to see these guys as another option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Finally, the Somalia campaign is moving on with some test figures. Fresh from the printer at Desk-Ops<\/a>, these guys are already looking pretty great. We’ll see more when the project kicks off in November (and in previews along the way) but you can expect to see it launching with a set of painted figures to show how they are going to look.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Modern Miniatures Release The Tank Crew<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Finally, Modern Miniatures<\/a> has released the second half of this month’s Patreon release, this time providing the reward for those at the Miniatures tier. This pack is designed to compliment the T-62 that came out this month, but could equally be used on a whole host of other vehicles. With five heads, four bodies and a separate AK-74U for stowage, this set is a great addition for your lower-tier armoured forces. If you want these for yourself, they are still available on this month’s Patreon<\/a> on the Miniatures and All-In Tiers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Desk-Ops Now Stocking Black Hills Games<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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New update from friend-of-the-blog Desk-Ops<\/a> – as well as helping out Combat Octopus with the test prints for the Somalia campiang, Dan has been hard at work expanding the offerings avaible for his print on demand service. This week has seen the addition of the Black Hills Games range, making all the sets previously released on Patreon now available as 3D-printed physical figures for the tabletop. As with all figures sold by Desk-Ops, they are offered in a variety of scales, ranging from 20mm up to 54mm making them ideal for gaming or diorama work. So if you’re interested in taking a look at the new French release (with both FAMAS <\/a>and 416 <\/a>available) or wanting to take a look at the South American SWAT team<\/a> but don’t have a printer of your own, it’s well worth giving Desk-Ops a look.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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If you want to support my work on gathering the news together, my Patreon<\/a> is the best way to keep things going. With a minimal cost of \u00a31 a month, every little helps to keep the news spigot flowing and to let me cover more of the suppliers out there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, if you are a REAL news fan, there is a brand new tier called, shockingly, News Fan. For \u00a35 a month (or \u00a31.25ish a news post), you can guarantee you\u2019ll get your weekly dose of news updates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think the news is only okay but would like to see me actually do something slightly more unique, you can join the ChargeReal Researchers. For only \u00a37.50 a month, you’ll get to see first insight into the ongoing world of the ChargeReal, as I detail my fictional Ultramodern setting. Researchers will also get thanked in the final product as well as some input into the ongoing work such as suggesting ideas and providing feedback.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A bit of a shorter one this week but still no less exciting. New releases from Spectre, previews from Combat Octopus and the second half of this month’s release from Modern Miniatures. Read on for more details!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":29640,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1115],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29625","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-news-stand"],"author_meta":{"display_name":"Michael Charge","author_link":"https:\/\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/author\/chargedog\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/TheNewsStand55.jpg","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/TheNewsStand55.jpg","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["The News Stand<\/a>"],"unlinked":["The News Stand<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":"0","relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 2 years ago","modified":"Updated 2 years ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on 23\/09\/2024","modified":"Updated on 23\/09\/2024"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on 23\/09\/2024 9:27 pm","modified":"Updated on 23\/09\/2024 9:27 pm"},"featured_img_caption":"","series_order":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pvEn5-7HP","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":31054,"url":"https:\/\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/2025\/03\/25\/the-news-stand-25-03-2025\/","url_meta":{"origin":29625,"position":0},"title":"The News Stand: 25\/03\/2025","author":"Michael Charge","date":"25\/03\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"It's Adepticon week, so I hope you're ready for a pile of Stand numbers to guide you where to go. For everyone else not descending on Milwaukee, we have plenty of previews from Spectre Combat Octopus and Modern Miniatures to fill in your week with.","rel":"","context":"In "The News Stand"","block_context":{"text":"The News Stand","link":"https:\/\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/category\/the-news-stand\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/TheNewsStand78.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/TheNewsStand78.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/TheNewsStand78.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/TheNewsStand78.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/TheNewsStand78.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":30365,"url":"https:\/\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/2024\/12\/09\/the-news-stand-09-12-2024\/","url_meta":{"origin":29625,"position":1},"title":"The News Stand: 09\/12\/2024","author":"Michael Charge","date":"09\/12\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"A little bit quieter this week but we do still have a few cool things to preview from a whole bunch of the usual suspects - Spectre, Combat Octopus, Goggles Miniatures and more!","rel":"","context":"In "The News Stand"","block_context":{"text":"The News Stand","link":"https:\/\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/category\/the-news-stand\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/TheNewsStand66.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/TheNewsStand66.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/TheNewsStand66.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/TheNewsStand66.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/TheNewsStand66.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":30077,"url":"https:\/\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/2024\/10\/21\/the-news-stand-21-10-2024\/","url_meta":{"origin":29625,"position":2},"title":"The News Stand: 21\/10\/2024","author":"Michael Charge","date":"21\/10\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Start of a new week and some big news coming out - the Launch Date for Combat Octopus's new campaign, Distribution Deals between Black Site Studios and Spectre Miniatures and multiple exciting STL releases. Read on for more!","rel":"","context":"In "The News Stand"","block_context":{"text":"The News Stand","link":"https:\/\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/category\/the-news-stand\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/TheNewsStand59.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/TheNewsStand59.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/TheNewsStand59.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/TheNewsStand59.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/TheNewsStand59.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":28738,"url":"https:\/\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/2024\/05\/20\/the-news-stand-20-05-2024\/","url_meta":{"origin":29625,"position":3},"title":"The News Stand: 20\/05\/2024","author":"Michael Charge","date":"20\/05\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"I spent most of the weekend away from home (mostly at the Tank Museum) but in the meantime, there seems to have been a fair chunk of updates going on in the Ultramodern world. From Flytrap Factory announcements to Kickstarter updates from Bobmack3d and Miska to previews from Combat Octopus,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The News Stand"","block_context":{"text":"The News Stand","link":"https:\/\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/category\/the-news-stand\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/TheNewsStand38.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/TheNewsStand38.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/TheNewsStand38.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/TheNewsStand38.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/TheNewsStand38.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":31023,"url":"https:\/\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/2025\/03\/18\/the-news-stand-18-03-2025\/","url_meta":{"origin":29625,"position":4},"title":"The News Stand: 18\/03\/2025","author":"Michael Charge","date":"18\/03\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The waves of Ultramodern releases ebb and flow like the tide BUT that doesn't mean when the tide is out, there isn't something exciting to look into. This week has updates from Spectre, Combat Octopus, Austin Miniatures and more!","rel":"","context":"In "The News Stand"","block_context":{"text":"The News Stand","link":"https:\/\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/category\/the-news-stand\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/TheNewsStand77.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/TheNewsStand77.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/TheNewsStand77.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/TheNewsStand77.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/TheNewsStand77.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":29577,"url":"https:\/\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/2024\/09\/16\/the-news-stand-16-09-2024\/","url_meta":{"origin":29625,"position":5},"title":"The News Stand: 16\/09\/2024","author":"Michael Charge","date":"16\/09\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"We're halfway through September and the nights are starting to get darker earlier. In other words, the perfect time for getting on with hobby projects! Luckily this week's News Stand is packed full of new items for Ultramodern Wargaming - we have previews from Spectre, updates from Combat Octopus, modified\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The News Stand"","block_context":{"text":"The News Stand","link":"https:\/\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/category\/the-news-stand\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/TheNewsStand54.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/TheNewsStand54.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/TheNewsStand54.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/TheNewsStand54.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/TheNewsStand54.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29625","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29625"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29625\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29640"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29625"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29625"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hntdaab.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29625"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}