New for Salute – 4/4

Posted on April 8, 2026 by Tony

And finally for today, we go from the skies to the surface of the Syrtis Major shield volcano with this assortment of forts. The territory of the Syrtians is well defended and studded with forts, castles and fortresses. These new models will be a new part of the Small Scale Scenery range, compatible with both Land Ironclads and Imperial Skies.

These smaller ones are independent installations with a variety of weaponry – a heavy gun turret, rocket battery, giant bombard mortar or air defence turrets.

This much larger fortress has a mix of open gun mounts and small turrets with a divided courtyard. There’s also a separate satellite tower, just because there was a big gap in the mould 🙂

And lastly, we’ve come up with these modular Syrtian castle components, similar to our existing medieval castle. So far there are walls, multiple types of tower and walls with gun mounts and towers with turrets. There’s currently no way in – the gateways are still in the mould, as is the main keep!

As you can see, there are multiple combinations – we haven’t yet decided how to package them for Saturday, it very much depends on how much we can cast in time!

There might yet be more – there’s are several uncracked moulds waiting at the work, with even more shiny new bits in – let’s see how those go…

Posted in Previews, Salute 53 (2026), Small Scale Scenery | Leave a comment

New for Salute – 3/4

Posted on April 8, 2026 by Tony

We just had to have some new Imperial Skies models – and as promised, it’s a whole new world. These are Syrtians, from the Syrtis Major Planum region of southern Mars. So far we have these two massive battleship sized vessels and some fixed wing bombers and fighters. All being well, there are more ships lurking inside a mould that we’ll be spinning for the first time tomorrow. Assuming all is well with that, there will be the obligatory fleet pack as well as individual models.

We’ll write up more on the Syrtians after Salute, but for now, you’ll have to make do with the models.

Posted in Aeronef, Imperial Skies, Previews, Salute 53 (2026) | 1 Comment

New for Salute 2/4

Posted on April 8, 2026 by Tony

Here’s some more 6mm – these are Neo-Soviet infantry, expertly sculpted by Martin Baker. We have both regular infantry with assault rifles, RPGs and LMGs, and there’s also a pack of heavy weapons with a variety of weapons – tripod tribarrels and grenade launchers, heavy mortars, shoulder mounted anti-tank missiles and guys wielding huge gatlings.

These aren’t the greatest pictures (so far all we managed is a quick spray undercoat) but trust us, like all our other 6mm figures they have loads of detail – you’ll just have to come and see them on the stand Saturday.

Posted in 6mm SF, Previews, Salute 53 (2026) | Leave a comment

New for Salute – 1/4

Posted on April 8, 2026 by Tony

Usually we’re pretty good at getting our new releases for Salute onto the website in advance, but not this year. For various reasons we’re horribly behind and it’s only now coming together at the last minute (there are still moulds in the workshop which we’ll be casting for the first time tomorrow). We’ve had to abandon one or two of our planned releases through technical issues that we haven’t been able to fix in time but plenty of things have still made the cut.

So are you ready for a small blizzard of posts ? Tomorrow is the last workshop day before Salute, so today was the last chance to get new releases painted for the show. Thus it follows that this evening is the last chance to get these new releases onto the blog.

We’ll start with the missing VTOL – remember those two 15mm VTOLs we posted a while back? We said at the time that there was a third one and here it is, a chunky, box-van flying APC, a similar design to the open drop ship but with a solid body.

And there’s also the 6mm version of the same craft. We were hoping to get all three 6mm versions out for the show but we had some issues with the other two so they’ll have to wait until after the show. But we will have stock of all three in 15mm and this one in 6mm on Saturday.

Posted in 15mm SF, 6mm SF, Hammer's Slammers, Previews, Salute 53 (2026) | Leave a comment

Air Cossacks

Posted on March 26, 2026 by Tony

We’re looking at the next items on our Salute list today. We’re still sticking to this year’s theme of cavalry, but with the word ‘Air’ stuck in front.

One of our favourite Hammer’s Slammers forces is the New Ukrainian Army. They have an Air Cavalry detachment list and we’ve made some shiny new 15mm VTOLs for it (the list should get an overhaul as a result).

There are three in total, although we’re only showing two today (the mould for the third is curing while this post is being written). This is the an attack craft, a twin boom design which comes with a variety of underwing stores.

The second flyer is a cargo carrying drop ship. It is capable of hauling a light tank or truck in the open rear bay, which can be driven off the two rear ramps in a matter of seconds. Cargo pallets can also be carried, and some enterprising crews have fitted a fixed platform between the ramps and rigged an anti-tank gun or artillery piece to fire from the rear, although this is strictly a field modification and not officially approved.

Keep an eye out for the third model over the weekend, assuming no problems with the mould…

Posted in 15mm SF, Hammer's Slammers, Previews, Salute 53 (2026) | 1 Comment

Little Dragons

Posted on March 24, 2026 by Tony

Salute 53 is 18 days away. 18!!!

It feels like we’re a long way behind with our prep this year – it’s probably the same every year, but this time it really feels like we’re really behind.

However, thing are starting to happen – a big stack of moulds went into the pressure pot yesterday (what’s in them ? That’s for later in the week…).

If everything comes together then we should have a cracking release lineup for the show. For the first time we’ve tried to run with the show theme which, if you missed it, is Cavalry. And our first reveal is right on point.

We’ve had the Celtos range since 2004, but it’s been a long time since we released anything new. We’re breaking that drought with this new set of Sidhe dragon riders. Equipped with lances, heavily armoured and driven by the beat of the drums, they’ll pack one heck of a punch on the battlefield.

There are four brand new riders – two lancers, a drummer and a sword-armed leader – and dragons fitted with plate armour. Seasoned dragon watchers might also notice that we also have a new rear end, so that all your dragons are no longer standing on the same leg !

Posted in Celtos, Previews, Salute 53 (2026) | 1 Comment

Sheds and Barracks

Posted on March 20, 2026 by Tony

Our 1/1000th scale airfield range gets a couple of additions today.

The first is a pair of aircraft sheds, more correctly known as ‘Side Opening Aeroplane Sheds’. The first were built at Leysdown on the Isle of Sheppey for Short Brothers, and they were the standard Royal Flying Corps hangar type until 1916. There are three pairs still standing at Montrose in Scotland, built as linked units, and doubtless many others would have survived until WW2 at least.

You can find out a little more here -> LINK.

Secondly, we have a pair of H-block barrack buildings. These are based on buildings at West Malling airfield – they are still standing on the now-redeveloped site, refurbished and used as office buildings. If you Google ‘west malling airfield aerial photo’ there are several images that show these six buildings on the airfield (we’d put one on this page but they all seem to be under copyright). At one point they were used by Kent County Council as office buildings – Brigadier Phil started his IT career in one of these way back in 1987, just at Brigade was coming into being…

SSS-8209 – H-block Barracks (x2) – £3.00
SSS-8227 – Aircraft Sheds (x2) – £3.00

Posted in New Releases, Small Scale Scenery | 1 Comment

Agri Update

Posted on March 13, 2026 by Tony

If you haven’t met our Agricultural Colony ranges of sci-fi models before, they represent a set of prefabricated buildings that are designed to help a new colony get off to a quick and easy start by being easy to assemble and erect. We started with a series of 6mm models (you can read about those and the ideas behind the range in a previous blog post). We’ve since expanded to a 15mm range and there’s even a set of tiny 3mm ones to accompany Germy’s sci-fi models.

Today we’re focussing on the 15mm versions. These are different to the smaller models in that they’re designed to be modular; the base buildings are just blank shells, and all of the external features – doors, windows, aircon, vents etc – are separate pieces, allowing you to position them wherever you like. This makes for a surprising amount of variation – the two buildings pictured below are made from exactly the same building shell, but with a different arrangement of features.

Today we have a new building shell, plus some extra features to allow even further variation. This model we’ve named the Small Shed (the existing shed model has been renamed the Large Shed – we’re nothing if not imaginative…).

It’s a simple small building which comes with a window, door and aircon unit which can be arranged in a few different ways. In a domestic setting it could represent a garden shed, or it could be used as a tool store on an industrial site, right up to a weapons or explosives locker in a military base.

We also have several new external features to add to existing buildings. The Lean-To fits on the side of a building and can be used as a car port to park your cyclo under, as a dry storage area to keep the alien weather away, or simply as a porch to sit under.

Agricultural Colony building showing lean-to on the side

The Chimney fits to the side of our larger buildings – it’s designed to fit the wall profile and over the roof.

Agricultural Colony building showing chimney

And finally, a pair of larger Bay Windows let more light inside, and we’ll also supply these with our Shop models as a front display window.

Agricultural Colony building showing chimney

B15-1306a – Small Shed – £4.00
B15-1376a – Bay Windows (x2) – £1.50
B15-1381 – Lean-To – £2.50
B15-1382 – Chimney – £2.00

Posted in 15mm SF, New Releases | Leave a comment

Marching to Salute

Posted on March 11, 2026 by Tony

It’s March 11th – which means that the 2026 edition of Salute (or Salute 53 as it’s now branded) is exactly one calendar month away. As you can imagine, preparations are reaching fever pitch here at Brigade HQ and we are *checks notes* miles behind and beginning to panic (that this is being posted at sometime past 11pm tells you something…).

For once we have played along with the topic of the show this year, which is cavalry. This theme will run through a number of the new releases that we have planned for April (although by no means all of them). We’ll start showing these off soon – we have two more regular Friday releases lined up, once those are out of the way then the previews will begin.

Salute 53 show logo - 'Salute 53' in white text on a red shield, surrounded by cartoonish images of cavalry

If you’d like to place an order for collection at the show then we’re already open for those. We’ve set up a ‘Collect at Salute 2026‘ shipping option for a number of the closer European countries (plus the USA, in case anyone is flying over) so that you can place an order to pick up on the day – if your homeland doesn’t have this option yet, let us know and we’ll add it for you, it would take us too long to add it individually for every country. For reasons to do with the way the website handles VAT, overseas orders have to be paid for up front; UK customers can still place orders to be collected and paid for at the show. Alternatively, you can drop us an email or message us on the various socials with your wishlist or even (as one enterprising customer has just done) write us a letter.

Also – and this is important – don’t forget to visit the club to which we both belong, Maidstone Wargames Society, and play their excellent ‘Labyrinths of Mars’ game.

Posted in Salute 53 (2026), Shows | 1 Comment

Keep On Keeping On

Posted on March 6, 2026 by Tony

If you haven’t come across it before, the Modular Castle set from our Small Scale Scenery range is a set of components that allows you to put together all sorts of medieval castles by combining a variety of walls, turrets, gates and keeps.

The component that shows the most variation is the keep – there are big ones, small ones, square, rectangular, circular and all manner of geometric shapes. Today we’re adding three more, taking the total of different types to eight.

The first is a cylindrical keep, which we’ve based on the one at Pembroke Castle in Wales. It’s a fairly straightforward design but has an interesting roof with a double layer of crenellations.

Pembroke Keep

The second design is a Shell Keep. These replaced wooden motte and bailey castles, with a stone wall replacing the wooden fence on the top of the motte. They provide more protection than the wooden palisade, but without the massive weight of a full keep. There are many good examples still left in the UK, including Arundel, Restormel, Tonbridge, Totnes and more.

Shell Keep

Finally, the most unusual design (and unique) is the keep at York Castle, also known as Clifford’s Tower. It is a quatrefoil design; similar to the shape of a four-leave clover, it’s basically made up of four overlapping circles.

Clifford's Tower

All of the keeps can be bought individually, or as part of a set along with walls, turrets and a gate.

SSS-8121f – Shell Keep – £2.25
SSS-8121g – Clifford’s Tower – £2.25
SSS-8121h – Pembroke Keep – £2.00

Posted in New Releases, Small Scale Scenery | 1 Comment