Brigade Models

Keep those Salute orders coming in, folks – as we mentioned last time, the website is now setup for orders for collection at the show for UK and overseas visitors. And the sooner we get the orders the better, so that we have enough time to prepare them.

Onto more new stuff for release at the show, and more new 15mm figures. This time a set of four starfighter pilots, two with their sidearms drawn. They’d be ideal for a scenario rescuing the crew of a downed fighter, or as background characters on a starship. Like the previous starship crew, they have been sculpted by Martin Baker.

So … how come there’s less than three weeks left until Salute !? Last time we checked we had ages, now there are just (checks calendar) 17 DAYS !!!

We’ve already had a few orders for the show, but we’re always happy to take more. UK customers are always able to order for shows using the ‘Collect at Show’ shipping option which means that you won’t pay any postage. However, since there are always a large number of overseas visitors that make the trip to Docklands for the event, we’ve set up a specific ‘Collect at Salute’ shipping option. This allows customers in Europe and beyond to place an order on the website and pay for it in advance and not be hit with any shipping charges. We have to set this up individually for every country so we haven’t done the whole of Europe – if your country is missing the option and you’d like to place an order for Salute, let us know and we’ll get it fixed for you. Or you can also just email us a list of what you would like and we can either send you an invoice, or you can pay on the day.

And so, onto another of our new releases for the show. This is a set of armed starship crew in the same style of uniforms as our existing starship crew set. Two are armed with rifles, the other two pistols – they’d make the ideal backup to an away team beaming down to an unexplored planet, although their life expectancy is probably limited… Despite the title of this post, we’ve resisted the temptation to paint them in the traditional red shirts of expendable crew, and instead have gone for these stylish 70s inspired beige uniforms with coloured sleeves (guess what classic TV sci-fi programme Tony has been watching lately …).

Our 6mm Agricultural Colony buildings range came out just over 18 months ago and has proved to be pretty popular, and has been added to a couple of times (and there are more in the works). Now we haven’t introduced any new 15mm buildings for a while, and so the ideal range for us to scale up had to be those.

But we had a think about it, and instead of just a straight scaling up of the 6mm models, we took a different approach. We stripped all the accoutrements (doors, windows etc) off of them and reduced them to simple shells. The external components were then made as separate pieces that could be positioned anywhere on the shells.

The building shells have a lip around the bottom half, just to make them look a bit more interesting. This means that where necessary the components have been designed with a rear profile to fit over this lip. Fortunately this profile is the same on all sides of the buildings so it doesn’t limit placement of the doors and other parts.

So far we have four different building shells – a simple rectangular building, two L-shaped versions (mirror images of each other) and a smaller, lower square shell which works as a shed or utility building. These buildings in this preview are made from one of the L-shapes (blue and green) plus the shed (yellow). Components consist of doors (three types), windows, roof units (four), aircon units (three), side extensions (two) and a large shed/garage door.

The idea is that we’ll sell the buildings as complete kits – something like a shell with a door, a couple of windows, a roof unit, an extension and an aircon unit. Extra components will then be available in separate packs so that you can further customise them. We’ve built up a couple so far and it’s surprising how different they can be made to look by utilising the different components and reorienting the doors so that a different face becomes the ‘front’ of the building – it’s not immediately obvious that that the blue and green buildings in the photos are the same basic model. These are both made up from the set of parts listed above.

One distinctive feature of some of the 6mm buildings is the raised bases, intended to keep the inhabitants safe from nocturnal vistors. So we’ve also made a resin base with metal legs that is large enough for a single building. You’ll be able to buy the buildings with or without a base (and a set of steps), or again buy the bases as a separate item.

Coming to a Salute near you in the next few weeks…

So last week’s release that was delayed because it wasn’t ready ? It’s still not ready. So instead, here’s another Salute preview.

Another part of our grand 28mm sci-fi scheme is a set of building components – doors, windows, aircon units and other parts so that you can create your own buildings. You can use whatever you like as the base for the building – a simple cardboard or plastic box, an interesting lump of polystyrene, an upturned picture frame or something more esoteric like a plastic plant pot or unusual piece of plastic packaging. Moulded card packaging (the sort of shaped inserts used to hold parts in place inside an outer box) are also fertile ground for SF buildings.

The simple dwelling we’ve put together as an example is made from a small folding crate which Tony picked it up from a homewares shop in France. It has the perfect look for a prefab building with its corrugated sides and corner detailing. It’s been roofed with a piece of 3mm PVC foam board (Foamex) and we’ve then added some of our new doors, windows and steps by simply glueing them to the outside with all-purpose adhesive. Yes, the roof looks a little bare, we’re waiting on some roof vents to complete the look, then it can be painted.

You can see the original box below in its folded and unfolded state, plus the rear of the building.

The Brigadier looks reasonably pleased with how his new home is coming along …

The Brigadier (like his new uniform ?) would like to introduce you to his latest toy – it’s a Tarling-Kinnersdal Raeside DST-10 single-occupant grav sled. Powered by a Netzer 235kw DT microfusion reactor, the Raeside can achieve speeds up to 210kph in open terrain but is equally at home in an urban setting. It can haul up to 1.2 tonnes of cargo in the flat bed load area, and the lack of moving parts in the phased grav array means minimal maintenance.

Raesides are used in the civilian market as the ideal vehicle for hunters, prospectors or farmers. The combination of fusion reactor and grav drive means that the Raeside is almost silent, so prey or livestock isn’t startled or alerted by the approach.

They’re also employed in the military market as general purpose load carriers, scouts and liaison vehicles.

We should have the Raeside available at Salute in April. It’s a 5-piece 3D printed kit that requires minimal assembly.

So last week we showed you some new 28mm toys which we’ll be launching at Salute as part of a brand new range aimed at sci-fi adventure and skirmish games. As well as our own designs we’ll be supplementing the range with a licensed** series of 3D-printed scenery and other bits and pieces, including this fearsome looking powerloader – the Brigadier figure next to it should give you some idea of its size (roughly 80mm tall, since you asked). All of the stowage, the pallets and boxes surrounding it, will also be part of this range. Phil’s currently running the 3D printers at full speed to ensure that we have enough stock for the day. There are still just under six weeks to Salute, so there’s no need to panic yet – is there ?.

* – you were expecting the title to say ‘bitch’, weren’t you ? The Brigadier would never stoop to such language.
** – 3D printed items licensed from David Sheff Models.