Tag Archives: HOF 15mm Sci-fi

Danger on Outpost 32!

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I really do need to keep track of time.  Really I do, as I seem to have lost a couple of months.  I blame the summer holidays from the schools.  Having the three little demons at home has thrown me for six and no mistake.  My own work output has dropped by about half over the last eight weeks.  Leaving aside the fact that I personally think that eight weeks is WAY too long for children to have off school (poor overworked teachers they say, what about all of us who work on while they relax for twice the time I get off in a whole year!) my reason for this post is to announce a return to normal once more with my next project about to go on general release as of the end of this week.

Danger on Outpost 32

This follows up on the WIP posts from back in May.  Have a read of those for the concepts and so on behind the USE ME Starter Packs and the over all plan.  But DOOP32 (catchy eh!) is all you need to play in a handy box which, trust me on this, is really good for carrying about your current Flintloque project too.  A rulebook, two dice, twenty seven miniatures and twenty seven bases along with a set of sheets with three scenarios and rosters.  The miniatures are from the HOF range and the SHM range and include some crackers such as the Prang that Eli Arndt designed for the range. Packed full of Fun!

You will be able to see more images once it is uploaded to the site along with a link to download a PDF of the included sheets, so you can read them and use them if you already have the rules and miniatures to hand.

DOOP32 was a small project that came about due to some conversations mainly with Chris Knowles (head blogger on Dropship Horizon blog) and a few dozen requests from customers who desired to get a whole game in a box for USE ME.  It was about fifteen hours work all in.  A testament to the rugged simplicity of the rules system and the 15mm scale.   I do not know how well it will sell but time will soon tell and I await wargamer responses with eager nervousness.  One additional point worthy of mention is that many of the requests for a starter pack was that it be affordable as most wargamers are working to a tight budget these days.  Well I took this on board and DOOP32 is very affordable at only twenty pounds which is spot on budget for what you get.

You can see the whole USE ME Series on 15mm.co.uk.

GBS

Noble Knight Games now carrying 15mm.co.uk ranges

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Something I had been working on for several weeks a wee while ago has now become public knowledge so I can mention it on the blog!  Below I have lifted the text from 15mm.co.uk as it saves me a bit of typing:

We are proud and pleased to announce that Noble Knight Games, one of America’s foremost suppliers of wargame miniatures, roleplay games, out of print titles and much more, is now stocking 15mm.co.uk and Alternative Armies products. NKG aim to provide a top notch service and with that in mind if you are in North America please go along to their website on the links below and have a look. You can order HOF,HOT, Laserburn, HOTT Armies, Altuos and all Alternative Armies starter sets and rulebooks like HOF Fire-Team and the USE ME Series. All prices in USD and provided locally to American gamers. If you are a fan of Noble Knight Games and of us as too you can now combine both interests in one order!

Additionally if you can’t see one of our products on the NKG website that you would like to order please email them and let them know!

I am very pleased with this new arrangement with Aaron Leeder over at NKG’s as I have watched his work with admiration from afar for years.  Noble Knight often causes referrals to Alternative Armies. When they, NKG, pick up small amounts of stock (Firefight 1.0, Flintloque 1.0, 2.0, Erin and other miniatures) from their sources and sell it on using their webstore.  Their customers then coming to us directly for more.  Back in the 1990’s Alternative Armies product was in most of the thousands of gaming stores in the USA before the big distributors went belly up.  This results in little amounts of treasure popping up all the time.

Once more the peoples of the USA can access the goodness of the Alternative!

You can read more and follow the links by going to 15mm.co.uk now.

GBS

Jeff Worley about to enter the SHM 15mm Sci-fi range

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A few months ago a great guy by the name of Jeff Worley told me of a miniature he had sculpted.  He offered it to 15mm.co.uk for inclusion in the SHM range which as regular readers will know is open to all novice and otherwise designers and is a place where all kinds of miniatures see the light of day.  The miniature was a ‘human commander’ and I asked him to send it across the pond so that I could see if it would mold up ok.  I was pleased to be able to tell him it would and now the time has come for the miniature to be released so that every wargamer will have a chance to get their casting of Jeff’s work.

The miniature has been coded SHM41 Human Commander and will be released this Friday on 15mm.co.uk (if you are reading this after then just go along to the website and click on SHM to see it).  As a single man sized figure it will be just 0.40GBP.  As you can see above it is a super and unique looking 15mm miniature with a lot of uses.  What springs to mind for me is the obvious squad leader but also perhaps tank driver or crew or perhaps private security too.

Jeff did not tell me his final intended use for the miniature but I look forward to seeing what he does with it.

Well done my friend!

GBS

Can you ‘Kickstart’ miniature designs by appealing direct to Wargamers?

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I saw an interesting posting on the Dropship Horizon Blog a few days ago.  At the time I was too busy with other things to do anything on it so I just bookmarked the page and moved on.  But now, here I am back again.  What is it about you ask?  Well it is about a theory.  Can you get the wargaming public to finance your new miniature designs and through that your new company without those wargamers seeing miniatures upfront or the promise of any end result?

There are a huge number of miniature wargame companies across the world and this is a great thing as it brings diversity and great choice to thousands of customers each day.  Many of these companies I do not know the names of and a large number exist only for a few months or a year and then fold for one reason or another.  But in the last couple of years the way of beginning a company has changed.  While I will not go into the other ways of making the process easier with free e-commerce software, low cost hosting, print on demand books, electronic publishing and so on I do want to look at Indeigogo and Kickstarter for funding miniature design work by using this as an example.

You can see the posting here and read about it but the gist is as follows. A brand new (so new they do not have a website or any presence I would find beyond this and a few other blog postings) and shiny new company called ‘Grinning Skull Miniatures’ wish to release a range called the ‘Oggum’, 15mm scale white metal miniatures of science fiction war pigs.  You can see a screen grab below.

Taken on 5th August 2012

The aim of the Grinning Skull is to raise 2000USD for their range of 15mm miniatures.  They have given themselves until 4th September 2012 to raise the funds.

Will they do it?  I shall check back near the end of the time allotted to find out and will post a second time on this topic then.  But my gut feeling is no, they will not.  Will I be incorrect?

GBS

A look at Miniature Wargames magazine No 352

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I got my advertisers copy of this months new Miniature Wargames magazine in the mail on Monday so I have it fairly close to those who line up at WHSmith newsagents at the weekend.  Now that the carnage of the The Thinker’s tenth birthday is over I can do a wee look at this issue.  So without further ado….

Miniature Wargames No 352

Cupola: Andrew Hubback does his editorial commentary as normal and this time he announces or hints at a refreshed design for the layout of MW coming next issue.  I look forward to seeing the rests of his feedback from the readers.  Feedback is vital in all industries and I often feel as if I operate in silence because if the customers who buy my titles and miniatures do not tell me what they think of them or what they would like to see it is really tough to improve!

Letters Page:  Good letters in this month especially one from John Treadaway (ah..fond memories of Full Thrust!) concerning the lack of non-historical materials in the magazine (not just MW but focused on it).  While this can mean Fantasy and Science Fiction it also means ‘what if’ scenarios from history too.  This is an important point to take up.  MW own survey last issue showed how much non-historical gaming there was at Salute 2012 and I commented then about its importance to the future of the industry especially among younger wargamers.

Boxing Clever at Fisticuffs:  Nigel Pell and Gary Mitchell report from the Fisticuffs show in Weymouth (south coast of England).  A good read this and its always good to hear of the joy and suffering that wargamers go through getting to shows.  I have not been to Fisticuffs (it would be a thousand mile round trip from Girvan!) but it looked like a fine event with a lot going on including a large game of GrUnTz put on by the Wessex Wyverns local club plus of course Gary’s own excellent Space Vixens from Mars was there; love that range!

The Attack on Raedykes Camp:  The third article in the series by Peter Hall on re-fighting Mons Graupius with the Hail Caesar wargame rules.  This time a Roman Marching Camp hobby article and run through of two games centred around it.  I studied this campaign at university and Peter does an excellent job in turning it to wargaming.

Apocalypse Vow:  It is going to be the end of the world on December 21st this year if you believe the long vanished Mayans.  This article by Gary Mitchell looks the this prediction along with Mayan warfare and ways to use it on the tabletop.  As to the end of the world…no way…I still got rules to write!

The Osaka Campaign:  Part two, and sadly the final, of Kevin Jones look at the rise of the Tokugawa family and the Japanese feudal wars.  One of my favourite nations and a period I know a lot about and in fact I own almost of the books the author quotes as sources.  An excellent summary with some wargaming notes and ideas too.

Scuffle at Shevardino:  Napoleon’s 1812 campaign and the smaller battle that came just before Borodino written by Chris Hahn.  This is a fine article with a lot of history, maps and wargaming material in it but it did not grab me much.  Perhaps I am not in a mood for Napoleonics just now (I am busy with my preparations for a ‘Martian’  terrain set for 28mm scale but that is another matter) so I read it and passed on.

15mm.co.uk’s advert for Renaissance miniatures..gosh it almost looks like a professional did it!

Don’t Forget Your Tomahawk:  I always look forward to Steve Eardley’s pages in MW because he ranges wide and far for material and always delivers a good read.  This time its an approach to wargaming the French and Indian War (or the Seven Years War if you come from the civilised side of the pond!) followed by a delve into the miniatures that can be had for the conflict.  Four excellent pages!

Wargaming Gettyburg Part Two:  Jon Sutherland offers up the second part of his series on wargaming the biggest battle of the American Civil War.  It is a well delivered and sharp article which is just as well as I am fairly tired of ACW as a period and of that battle in particular.  Good for fans of the period.

France 1940:  World War Two booty for fans of the most recent worldwide conflict.   Mark Freeth presents a report on a battle that recently took place at his Wargames Holiday Centre.  It reads like a plug for the place but hey its a good plug and I for one would love a weekend of Mark’s hospitality!

A Spreading Insurgency:  Mike Haran presents a system for wargaming the action when the recent Arab Spring turns to a cold, cold Arab Winter of war and terrorism.  For me this near future article is the best one in this issue. Presenting a squared grid of the Middle East and surrounding regions along with outcomes allows for massive variety and unknowns in play.  Added to this is a system of unit deployment, spies, situations.  Excellent all around and could be adapted to a sci-fi setting with ease.

Darker Horizons: This time headed up ‘Redundancy’ Gary Mitchell begins my favourite part of the magazine by outlining his potential woes of facing the loss of his teaching post and having to do the ‘trolley shuffle’ so loved by the middle aged all across Britain’s thousands of supermarkets.  I wish him luck and while its not the purpose of this posting or this blog to get political it does make you wonder if teaching children is about experience or being cheap…ah but lets carry on.  Gary crams and I mean crams information into the pages listing all the current happenings of two dozen companies and fifty or more releases.  Black Cat Bases get a feature of their new ‘between scales’ Grey Aliens and Sheep while some other person gets a mention about his ‘amazing sci-fant empire.  I wonder where he finds the time?’…what can I say, not much sleep, fast typing, a strong work ethic and a loving wife.

MOTH and Me get a mention! 

Book Reviews: A collection of reviewers look at Twilight of the Hellanistic World (Pen & Sword), The Fall of English France (Osprey), Austrian Seven Years War Cavalry and Artillery (Ken Trotman Publishing), Napoleons Swiss Troops (Osprey), Forts of the War of 1812 (Osprey), The Eastern Front 1914-20 (Amber Books) and a biography of Georgy Zhukov (Osprey).  Good reviews but all I can say is thank heaven for Osprey eh, otherwise what would the review pages do!  I often think that a wargames magazine should review wargame rules as well as military history books in its pages; after all it is aimed at the wargaming hobby.

All in all a good read and recommended for those of you who can get it.   But then I would say that…I am in it!

GBS

WIP – USE ME Cyberpunk rules as a download

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A page from the download edition of UM011

This has been a tough week for me a lot of work on and not a lot of free time to go with it.  Next week proves to be much the same but it also has my eldest’s tenth birthday to look forward to but more on that next week!

In the time I have had I took a project from the pile and decided to try and get it done in the twenty or so hours I had spare.  What is this project you say!  Well it is the conversion of UM011 USE ME Cyberpunk from a printed title into a dedicated PDF electronic title.  When it is released it will be added to the growing list of PDF titles which already includes most of the USE ME series and also MOTH as well.  Like the others it will have three parts, full colour separate cover, a full colour main body and an ‘ease print’ plain version of the main body.   All in a zipped file for just $5.00.  Bargain!

15mm.co.uk has done well with PDF versions of its USE ME Series with electronic sales being about twenty percent of the total compared to print.  So far UM001 USE ME Science Fiction is the best selling and most popular but this does not surprise me as it is also the bigger paper seller too and it into its third print run!

I take some time over the conversion to electronic from print as I for one do not like it when I purchase a download only to find it is just a scanned version of the print book.   The files I produce are designed from the outset to be read on screen and as such feature bookmarks, links and other live material for easy navigation and use.  On top of this the ‘ease print’ version is for those who want to go to a copy shop or home print their purchase; it has all of the artwork, colour, table graphics removed leaving plain text.  It takes some extra time but from the email we get wargamers appreciate it and I am all about customer satisfaction!

There are a few dedicated miniature packs for this title including my personal favourite of the year so far…the Corporate Ashigaru.

HOF76 Corporate Ashigaru

I cannot give you a release date for this yet but it will be in the next month or so I imagine.

GBS

New Blister Backer

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A ‘rough’ of the new Alternative Armies and 15mm.co.uk blister backer card

Some of you might have noticed I have been in a ‘hobbit hole’ for the last two days and have not answered my usual three dozen or more personal mails a day. Well I had been handed a new and urgent task; to replace the current now almost extinct blister backer used by Alternative Armies and 15mm.co.uk.  I had expected to be doing this but due to the placing of a large trade order into the USA last week it was moved up the job list to ‘do it right now!’ status.

Those who purchase their miniatures from stores or at conventions will know what a blister backer is.  A piece of card with all the needed information about the company and about the product which goes inside a blister of miniatures allowing the customer to know what he is looking it along with how much it costs.  These used to form the back of a blister but those were ‘heat sealed’ use once blisters which we have not used for a decade or more.  We use a ‘clam shell’ plastic blister which is more secure but also is reusable and many wargamers use them to transport finished figures too!  So they full fill the same purpose but are no longer the ‘back’ but the name remains much like ‘watching a video’ does despite it being a DVD!

If you click on the image above you can see a low rez rough of the new design. Size wise it is 105mm by 75mm in dimension. It is simple and effective and tells you all you need to know over an attractive mottled blue with the famous Alternative Armies ‘arrowhead’ embedded in it.  The blue is used as it is the best colour behind white metal miniatures to be able to see them properly and the blank white area on the front is for the placement of the ‘product label’ which tells the customer what code he is holding.  This is different for each pack of course.

I will be catching up with the backlog of email soon as I can but this is turning into one hectic week!

GBS

Rob Alderman has a video look at HOF Fire-Team

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Congrats to Rob Alderman, talented painter and miniature sculpter and all around good guy, for posting up a video review of HOF Fire-Team on his Voodoo Orc channel on You Tube.  He read a posting by the rules author of the game Bob Minadeo in which Bob pointed out that despite being playtested and bought by hundreds of 15mm sci-fi wargamers he had yet to see any review of the rules.  Well I like to read independent reviews (or watch them as in this case) and also had through it odd that there were no reviews of HOFFT while USE ME has had at least a dozen I know of.

Rob says he will be doing more posts about the game and perhaps even a couple of live play through examples too. Plus possible hobby articles like my own ones on TTWG blog about HOFFT tiles and scenics.  I look forward to this!

I have known Rob for about five years now and he always impresses me as a designer and as a person.  Keep up the good work lad!

Oh, and congratulations also to Harlequin Han on getting a 1st in her Fine Art degree…she is too good for the likes of you now Rob 🙂

GBS

Cultists, Ashigaru and Arid World Warriors – Concept to Completion

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A while ago I discussed with Elton Waters some idea for expanding the HOF 15mm Science Fiction range at 15mm.co.uk.  We went over many ideas, keeping some, discarding others and also paying a lot of heed to the hundreds of requests that customers had made in responce to being asked ‘what next?’ in miniature designs and releases.  While I cannot discuss everything we worked out (that would spoil the surprises to come this year!) the time has come for the first three of the agreed sculpting sets to be set loose on the world!

Starting last week and over the next few weeks three new packs will be added to the 15mm.co.uk website.  I have included some of my thoughts on each of them under the pictures. They are:

HOF76 Corporate Ashigaru

This pack is one of my personal favourites of the year so far.  The Corporate Ashigaru went up on the 15mm.co.uk website Friday last.  Full of character these three came about from an ideas session about who would be perfect for troops in a ‘Cyberpunk’ setting.  While the HOF range already had cyborgs and so on one area not covered was Japan.  The Japanese feature heavily in vintage Cyberpunk writings and wargames so what better than some near future hired guns in armour that mimics that of the Tokagawa period of Japan’s history.  Great for skirmish gaming and as bodyguards to your leaders. So look out for HOF76!

HOF77 Cultist Command

It would be no mistake to tell you just how popular the current HOF Cultists are.  Infantry and Heavy Weapons packs go out all over the world to wargamers and many of those happy customers come back and ask for expansions to that part of the range.  Highest ranking among the requests were ones for a Command set featuring characters who would be fit to lead their fanatics on their missions.  So Elton and I agreed on a theme, that of robes and bare feet, then we thought about poses.  I knew we needed a ‘grand pooba’ a head honcho (far left) and a second in command (one in on left) to get the Cultists properly instructed.  But on top of that Elton came up with the idea of the ‘propagandatron’ (middle) upon which the cult can broadcast its views to the world while in battle.  Added to this someone to wave the flag and a general runner rounded out the concept and then the sculpts.  HOF77 is bound to please many.

HOF78 Arid World Warriors

I like to introduce new ideas and new sections into the ever growing HOF range and on that note we either pick an idea from the ‘suggestions’ pile (like we did with the HOF Rim Mercenaries) or I let the designer make a suggestion.  In the case of the Arid World Warriors it was the latter and Elton suggested some Human warriors from a very dry environment.  Lots of science fiction settings take place in deserts and other dry places so when you need an enigmatic tribe or some plain old raiders to take on your regular forces these are your fellows for the job.  HOF78 is a first in the range.

So get along to 15mm.co.uk and check them all out.

GBS