Our other new set of models for Sunday’s Joy of Six show is this rather large collection of Sincanmo dune buggies. There are 14 different chassis in three configurations – half-track, 4×4 and 6×6 – and a total of 22 variants once the turret and weapon options are added up.
We don’t yet have a full list of product codes, you’ll have to find us on Sunday and just point at the ones you want!
They make ideal counterparts to our recently released 6mm Desert Raider infantry, and their natural opponents in the Hammer’s Slammers universe are the Hashemite Nation, already available from us.
So for the next couple of weeks it’s summer holiday time again for the Brigadieress and I, starting today. We’re not away for the whole of the fortnight and I’m hoping to get into work for a day or so each week to try and keep the backlog down. Nevertheless, there will be an inevitable slowdown in turn-around times so please bear this in mind when ordering. It’s best to assume that your order will take at least 2-3 weeks to ship, but if I can I’ll try to get some posted sooner. All orders that arrived by the end of Wednesday (22nd) are complete and I’ll take them to the post office tomorrow morning.
This isn’t perfect timing following the release of Castles in the Sky yesterday (we’ve already seen a distinct increase in orders in advance of rulebook), but unfortunately the Osprey release schedule doesn’t factor highly in our holiday planning!
The Joy of Six falls in the middle of the fortnight – more great planning! We’re still intending to have some new releases for the show, they’ll be previewed next week, so keep an eye out. I’m afraid that you’ve now missed the window for show orders, but we will have plenty of stock so you should be able to get what you need from us on the day.
And finally, just a reminder that tomorrow is the annual Open Day of our local club, Maidstone Wargames Society. We’re putting on a 6mm Hammer’s Slammers game which you’re welcome to join in with or just observe – I’ve been working on a lot of new scenery so I hope it should look pretty good (taster below). There are half-a-dozen other games to take in of various periods, so if you’re in the Kent area, please pop in.
Coming up this Saturday is our local club’s Open Day. Maidstone Wargames Society has a history dating back over 50 years (the Golden Jubilee was rather disrupted by the pandemic) and a current membership of around 30. The Open Day is an annual showcase where the club puts on a number of games so that potential new members can see what goes on, try out a game or two and see if the club is for them.
We’ll be there in our role as club members. Tony has been working hard on one of the games on display, a 6mm Hammer’s Slammers event which you can join in to get a feel for the rules. If that doesn’t float your boat then there are modern, Spanish Civil War, renaissance and other games to try. You can find out more here.
Our 15mm Sincanmo Federation Dune Buggies came out at the end of last year, with over a dozen vehicles in three configurations. Today we have some new options, including a couple that fall under our Surgeon General fundraiser range.
The first two are 6×6 and half-track ambulances with fully enclosed rear cabs. They could also be used as command vehicles or troop carriers if you wish. 50% of the ex-VAT sale price of each model sold will be donated to the Macmillan Cancer Support charity.
Accompanying these is a new version of the Qaadi 4×4 with three different equipment options – a twin buzzbomb launcher, mortar or recovery crane.
Returning to stock today are the 15mm etched brass Turret Baskets – three sets of four baskets in different sizes to keep your tank crew’s kit in. Click on either picture to go straight to the website.
You might also notice a few items have gone out of stock recently. These are some older models (mostly Imperial Skies), ones that we don’t usually sell many of, that we’ve been muddling along with using less than perfect moulds. We’ve had a couple of time-consuming orders recently that have finally persuaded us withdraw these until we can get new moulds made (and in most cases redesign them). There are also some resin models – mainly 10mm and 15mm buildings – that also need remoulding, so again these will show as out of stock until the new moulds are made. Resin moulds are easier to make so hopefully this process won’t take as long.
On the plus side, the 15mm Neo-Soviet BMP-BM and the NUA Yastrub are both back in stock – I remoulded those before Christmas but hadn’t realised that they were still showing as out of stock !
This week we have something new for our 15mm Tolero aliens – somewhere to live !
There are three small stone houses, resembling yurts with multiple sides. The windowless dwellings have suitably Tolero-sized doors (your average 6′ trooper is going to have to duck to get in) with smoke holes in the centre of the roofs. The sturdy construction is proof against the weather of Eta Odin IV, their homeworld.
They’re available individually or in a pack of three.
We did promise recently that we’d give a few clues about what we have coming in 2022 (beware what you say in a Facebook comment…). As always, our release schedule will be fairly fluid (there are weeks when we’re scrabbling round to find something that’s ready!) and the recent cancellation of Salute means that we’ve had to rewrite it again 🙁
But we do try to have some sort of plan, while also leaving some deliberate gaps just in case we have a flash of inspiration somewhere along the line.
Imperial Skies
We’ll be moving on with the South American fleets, with the Uruguayans making their appearance very soon (they’re ready apart from the final production mould for the small ships). Once the local fleets have been finished we want to add British, French and Dutch units for their respective colonial fleets.
General Artigas class Light Battleship (Uruguay)
Hammer’s Slammers
The first HS models of 2022 will be 6mm versions of the Sincanmo dune buggies that came out in 15mm at the end of last year. Then we have a pair of matched forces that come from the same story (chapter 2 of The Warrior if you’d like to read ahead) – the Han Black Banner and Hindi National Army. The Han use lots of 8×8 wheeled vehicles and laser main armaments, along with 1-man trikes for command and liaison. The Hindis on the other hand have tracked tank destroyers and heavy anti-tank guns. The plan is to release the 6mm forces one week followed by the 15mm versions the next (or maybe the other way round). After that … who knows? There is an unusual 10-wheeled tank destroyer somewhere in the mix too…
Spaceships
The first project of the year (apart from a couple of odd EuroFed models) will be a batch of new capital ships for the German fleet to replace the existing ships. After that we’re planning a redesign of another of the remaining fleets, and (drum roll here…) releasing a brand new fleet – the first in a long time. This was supposed to have happened last year, but events overtook us. We also have to finish off some space stations, another partially completed but delayed project.
Voltigeur Corvette
Small Scale Scenery
This releases in this range tends to be more random, Phil now does much of the design work so what comes out depends on his mood…
What we already have lined up starts with six forts/castles, including a very impressive Polish Baroque fortress. There’s a set of distinctive buildings for the Free City of Hamburg in case anyone fancies creating a northern European port. Phil’s also embarked on a series of buildings from days gone by in our home town of Maidstone – well, we say ‘series’, so far it’s just the one, but I’m hopeful…
Glücksburg Castle
Other Ranges
There should be some additions to the Squadron Commander range of starfighters – some will be larger vessels such as shuttles or assault craft, which will have a crossover with the 6mm range.
We should add some more small forts to the 1/700 range, plus a set of generic houses which we’ve been asked for several times.
Phil is putting the finishing touches to a 28mm Belgian artillery piece for the Great War range. This will be a departure for us in that it will be released as a 3D printed model, created on a hi-res resin printer. He’s also part way through a stretcher team for the Surgeon General fundraiser range.
Speaking of which, it will see some other new medically themed additions, these will generally be single models that appear as part of a larger release.
And Finally…
In other news, the EU shipping solution should go on line this week – our account is set up and we’re ready to go with the shipping agent. I’ve made the website changes but was wary of uploading them just before the Christmas holiday when I may not be on hand to make any fixes.
Rounding off this bumper week of new releases, we have a huge swathe of vehicles for our latest Hammer’s Slammers force, the Sincanmo Federation. The Sincanmo share the planet of Meridienne with the Hashemite Nation, with whom they are constantly warring. You can read all about them in the Slammers story The Warrior, which follows the misadventures of Slick Des Grieux across several contracts and planets.
The Sincanmo ride around in high-speed vehicles which come in a number of variations including 4×4 and 6×6 wheeled models, plus light half-tracks. For heavy support they use 8×8 armoured cars with railguns or light lasers. Our recently released Desert Raider infantry are also ideal for the Sincanmo, including the fearsome Lizard Riders.
We released our 15mm Desert Raiders a little while ago, and at the time we only released a subset of the packs. This was for the rather ridiculous reason that I hadn’t finished painting all of the options! Well, now I’ve done, so we can add the last four packs to the list. These are the missile and mortar teams, plus a gun crew and a pack of vehicle drivers.
It’s back to the new releases again, today with a pair of 15mm military ambulances. Both are designed to also be dual purpose and usable as command or utility vehicles as well.
The PacFed Sharkey ambulance is a wide-bodied grav vehicle. The main hull flares out either side into a pair of sponsons each with racks for two stretcher cases, and the roomy hull leaves plenty of space for the medical crew to work. A Sharkey is large enough to act as an emergency field operating theatre with a compact robotic surgeon to back up any human counterpart.
The same hull, when fitted with a full command and electronic warfare suite, is known as the Rangatira command vehicle. These are used up to company level – at battalion level and beyond the larger Bennelongs are used.
The Sharkey/Rangatira has a single-piece resin hull with a metal crew hatch. The hull has a 7mm turret ring which is covered by a blanking plate on the Sharkey or mounts a radar in the Rangatira. It will also accept a small gun or missile turret, or you could even mount a small crane to make an engineering vehicle.
The EuroFed Legion Etranger utilise the Catroux 10-wheeled hull for most purposes, including command and ambulance variants. Like the PacFed equivalent, the same hull can be a command vehicle or ambulance by swapping over the blanking plate or radar.
All of these (command versions as well as ambulances) are part of our Surgeon General charity fund-raising range. 50% of the ex-VAT price of these models will be donated to Macmillan Cancer Support.
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