It's that time again, time again for SF 15's call for articles!

That's right, it's that time again. We need more contributions for SF 15 for publication in late Feb, early March. We're looking for anything of interest and import to the 15mm Sci-Fi gamer, be it interviews, product reviews, painting articles, scenarios, you name it, we'll find a use for it! We're especially looking for ART! So if you can draw and you're interested, send it along!

Please send any contributions to jasonDOTweiserATgmailDOTcom

Little Christmas gift for everyone in Ambush Alley Land.

I made some changes to my Terminator and Kafer rules to bring them into line for TW. Please feel free to either download them at the AA Yahoo Group, or HERE and HERE. Feel free to download...and Merry Christmas all!

Sierra Foxtrot One Five has been released!

Here it is folks, come get it!

Sierra Foxtrot One Five is BORN!

As submitted here:

Sierra Foxtrot One Five, a new fanzine for 15mm SF gamers, is looking for article submissions from you. Just about anything that could be of use to the 15mm Sci-Fi gamer will be accepted.

- Articles should be good, but pithy. Anything over 2-3K in length is going to probably be made a 2-parter.

- Pictures should be in .jpeg or .gif format.

- If you want to do art for us, realize we're doing a "hard-sf" look for the mag, we're getting away from the Gothic SF look of GW.

What kinds of articles are we looking for? AARs, Scenarios, reviews of figures, resin vehicles, terrain or just about anything of interest to the 15mm SF gamer. (We're especially looking for stuff that could be useful but a 15mm gamer might overlook). Interviews with figure manufacturers and rules writers (down in front Jon, CW and the gang at Rebel and Khurasan!).

All article submissions should be in .doc, .txt or .rtf format. Please send all submissions to jasonDOTweiserATgmailDOTcom

And thanks!

It's a go!

As I posted on TMP:

Ok folks,
Jage 111 and I have begun work, I've already penned an article, a scenario to be honest, and it's generic enough you can use it with any system.

What do we need from you? If you want to write, we're looking to put the first issue out sometime next month, after that, it'll be every three months to start. So, we need articles! Anything 15mm sci fi or stuff that can be used with 15mm sci fi is welcome. Please send it to me at:

JASONdotWEISERatGMAILdotNET

I'll get it to Jage, unless he's willing to give his email out here.

We'd especially love articles on world building and new backgrounds to game in, or how to adapt that favorite RPG or other game background to your beloved rules set.

We're also taking name submissions for the fanzine, names suggested thus far are:

"Miniature Droptrooper"

Obviously, we need a bit of help here. So, send your ideas about that too either via PM or email as mentioned earlier.

Thanks a bunch guys, and let's see if we can make this a success.


A link to the actual post is here:

TMP Post

15mm Sci-Fi Fanzine?

With the recent explosion of 15mm as a sci-fi scale, I've been pretty happy to report that it seems that the new releases are just getting harder and harder to track. What is vexing however, is that there isn't as much of a "one stop shop" or more indepth articles for those of us who appreciate the 15mm and it's sci-fi Renaissance.

Jage, a friend and fellow TMPer, has proposed a fanzine to fill in the blanks that Dropship Horizon or other's can't because blog entries aren't always able to be longer affairs like a fanzine can. I think this is a solid idea and I am certainly in favor of the idea. I think a quarterly format, of four issues per year in PDF format might work best, and I think for the most part, it's what one can get in terms of articles for now.

But the fact is, we really don't want to "step on toes" of the great bloggers like LSS and Dropship, to name a few. So, what say you, fellow 15mm gamer? I'd like to hear your take on the idea.

A birthday, a lot of lead and some new books

It's been a busy, though not very productive time since the last blog post. Haven't gotten much in the way of painting done, but I did get a test scheme of one of the Caliph's troopers for Djazlah done. I may highlight some of it a bit...but other than that, I am pretty happy with it and am going to use my new portable photo studio to snap some shots of it. Who says Ebay hasn't got anything useful anymore?

Also, I am very happy with the recent acquisitions I've made, a large Libmins order (probably the last one for a while), and a Battlefield miniatures lot I got second hand I'm splitting with Jage. Battlefield has some unique subjects, and I'm looking forward to my half of the figures. Hell, even the negotiations will be a blast.

Jage also told me he got the first of the 6mm he's painting for me at cost done. I am eager to see and photograph them. Future War Commander may happen sooner than we think?

My main addiction these days is Silent Hunter 4. Yes, that's right, I am happily sinking lots of the Japanese Navy and Merchant Marine. I'm running a campaign with an old S boat and I've already sunk:

At least a half dozen freighters (including one I had to shoot with a third torpedo, two didn't even slow him down...the third broke him in half!)
2 Tankers
God only knows how many Sampans and Fishing Boats
And the feather in my cap? 1 Takao Class Heavy Cruiser (ironic since three of the four in this class were sunk by US Submarines historically, I just did one in two years earlier)

The game's got some small frustrating factors, like a propensity to crash at times, (Save often) but it's pretty good, and there's nothing tenser than sneaking past the escorts at 3-4kts trying for that one good shot on a convoy.

Also received for my turning 36...yeah, I'm that old...was some books from Amazon. Not all have arrived, but I am working my way through Achtung Schweinhund!, and honestly, I really don't know why in the hell I didn't read this sooner. It's hysterically funny and poignant at the same time, though my collapse into near hysterics on the Metro probably scared some of my fellow commuters. My seeming lack of decorum was in response to the one scene where the young author tries to "bayonet" his grandfather in the groin. It's just priceless. His description of Airfix charades and the "Reich/Spice Girls" comment is comedy gold for wargamers. Not to mention his description of teenage model builders and their exposure to various solvents and other chemicals makes you wonder if we're all a bit addicted to what's IN the glue?

I've got the more serious work Tonight We Die as Men which reminds us, there was more than one company and one battalion in the 101st, no offense to Dick Winters and the rest of Easy Company. I am expecting a quality product from Osprey and I don't think they'll disappoint.

Well, that's all for now.

My upcoming weekend!

I am going to be busier than well, a lot of folks this weekend. I have the following on my plate:

1. A 28mm Renaissance Pike and Shot game with the folks from NoVA Gamer's Pavilion. This was a last minute thing I will be attending and it's by the same folks from last month's Irish Rebellion game, which was a hoot, so I am expecting more of the same here.

2. The 5th Meeting of DC Gamers at Victory Comics. I know we've got two attendees for sure excluding myself. This will probably be the last playtest of TW we do for a bit, assuming things go as well as they have thus far. I think the game's well on target for the release that Shawn intends to make, even with his recent move.

3. I want to get some work done on finishing up my Slammers before Saturday. They are basically being flocked and sprayed as we speak. Might be pics up of the lot by tomorrow. I think they came out better than I had reason to hope IMO.

4. I'm starting to get things together for 6mm moderns in Iran. Now if somebody could show me a place on what Iranian vehicles looked like, was it just a desert tan paintjob with a roundel? If so, makes my job easier, don't it?

5. Awaiting the release of FFT 3. Ty please get this out soon! My copy of 2 is looking like it went 15 rounds with Apollo Creed. Even if it's a PDF only release, something's better than nothing!

That's all for now fellow readers!

New Hammers Slammers Book review.

Well,
The Crucible arrived. And from first glance, it was gorgeous. Nice full color photos, glossy pages, hard cover sewn in binding...my only complaint is that some of my pages near the spine stuck together and there was some tearing getting them apart, but no real damage.

So, as for bang for your buck? It depends. If you're:

a) a rabid Hammer's Slammers Fan
b) need dozens of painting ideas.
c) liked the rules from the first two books
d) would like everything in one place.

Then it's worth it if three or more reasons applied. As a art book with rules, I think it admirably serves it's purpose. I was happy to see some mention of 15mm, even if the book is mainly geared to 25mm...and I really am hoping we get 15mm Molts before too long (Down in front GZG!!). But it's a decent product for the price if your interests lie that way. All of the vehicles one sees in 25mm are available for the most part in 15mm, with the exception of a few vehicles, and figures can be substituted when required. All in all I was pretty impressed.

Other than the minor quibbles I mentioned, and the fact I wish they had put the play cards separate. (PDF's better than nothing however), I was pretty happily surprised with the level of production and the new items in the book (Most of it being an amalgam of previous WI articles and stuff from the two old books), which in of itself, is very welcome. Is it pricy, yes. But for the production value, it's better than some of the stuff I see coming out of RPG companies of late.

All in all, I give it 3.5 out of four stars, solid product and worth the money.

Not too much to report, but progress is being made.

Started the third squad of Slammers. I'm about halfway through on basecoats, so I should be done tonight. I figure with some effort, I may FINALLY get the Slammers done next weekend. Hey, I did have things to do this Memorial Day! ;-)

In other news, I got a bunch of vehicles put together, including all my Caffertas and another of my PP Pickup Trucks. I made this one with some Plasticard armor over the windows and an an armored "box" for the truck bed. I think it's going to look great when I paint it! So. I guess I did get some work done.

I took a bunch of stuff down off of the Spring Cleaning thread, and traded them off to Noble Knight, along with a bunch of old XTR ziplock games I am never going to play again. In any event, I am rather happy with the store credit offer I am getting and I do plan to put it to the best use I can, including getting the D8s I really do need. I might finally have enough of them, dagnabit!

I am rather happy with the pace of my 15mm Sci-fi, sure it's slow, but when your eyesight is like mine, I'd rather take my time and save my sight then either rush it or push too hard. I am sure many gamers are in the same boat, and yes, I use A TON of light. I just got a foldup workspace light I really do enjoy. Gets the job done, and it's small and powerful..very recommended and got it for a good price at Utrecht.

I am glad to see AAG's making a lot of progress with Osprey. I am rather ecstatic to see this happen for the crew, good people are hard to find and Shawn and company qualify. Their progress puts many larger companies to shame. And they really do subscribe to the "no game before it's time". Quality shows.

I procured some Rebel Minis Riot Police and the Post-Apoc Survivalists. Both were the usual high quality one can expect from Rebel. The Post Apoc guys were an answer to my prayers especially, as one of them looks a lot like a certain female cyborg for my terminator army....And there's another figure that will do well for John. Yep, the more I can procure, the better. And the Scene's new cyborg line will do well for the older model cyborgs one sees in Terminator Salvation (The rest of the movie, ehh. But, I liked the Machines, with the singular exception of the Mototerminators).

That's it for now, patience all, the rest of the Slammers are coming!

New Blogs and painting

Two freinds of mine have put up new blogs, I'm going to mention them here because I think they need encouragement and a general welcome to blogland.

The first is Kreiger's Wargaming Records. It's got a clean look and the pictures are good quality. I am really enjoying the work he's putting in with the Cafferta from Khurasan. I wholeheartedly recommend it.

The second is GG's Log of Miniature Wargaming. This is another friend of mine who reminds me of me a bit back when. He's only got one post, but his painting work is darn good and I want to encourage him to share more of it on his blog.

As for my own painting? I got another squad of Slammers done, and I hope to get more done this week. Now that I've found a rhythm for painting them, as well as a color scheme I like...it's pretty easy to get the job done. 15s are fun like that. I think I can probably get the lot done by Wed/Thurs at the worst. And when they are done, look for a TFL-style write up for them...I really had fun with that.

In other news, Rebel Minis has released these nifty PA survivors who I think may get added to my Human Resistance army for Terminator...now I just gotta paint the darn lot up!

Not much else left, other than take a look at the Spring Cleaning list, theres a couple more items that are going up as I remember to put them there, and that which is there is going a bit briskly. Also, for those local, our postponed meeting is THIS weekend.

AAR 4/24/10 Meeting of DC Gamers

Well. We came, we saw, we gamed. We playtested the AAG Game "Tomorrow's War" that's currently under development. I can't get into too many details, but suffice to say, it's going to be a good game. I am very confident in it's quality. We identified some tweaks that might be needed, but nothing too glaring that we saw.

All in all, Sci-fi gamers are in for a treat. I have some pics of the game as well as some scratchbuilds from one of our members, Jage, who well, beats me all hallow.

Here's some pics from the game. Happy Gaming all.

New release over at Khurasan

Their Cafferta APC is out! It looks great honestly and the pictures show what looks to be a clean and easy to assemble kit. JBR has done it again IMO folks, but once I manage to get some later this month, I'll let you know in a more in-depth review. I think the QRF Marines just moved up the paint queue!

Hammers Slammer's 15mm Test Figure

Well, here's the first of the Hammer's Slammers Platoon and may I say, this was better than I thought it would be.

The Combat Cars are done!

Here they are! Next is the Infantry!

The Mat arrived! And other ideas.

Well, my mat from Hotz Artworks arrived. I was suitably impressed, though the wife referred to it as a "piece of felt". The mat was solid, no bald patches or discolorations and it glided! Figures are going to move like butter on that thing...eventually, I will get a desert mat for Djazlah. Sometimes, I wish she was a bit more understanding of the hobby, but I understand her POV...we're a bit cramped. And yeah, I might be culling the collection again at some point, when that is? Dunno. In any event, right now, I am happily assimilating some DLD Productions Komodos I managed to acquire. It's a shame the guy isn't making the stuff anymore, he did some AMAZING work. They're going to go with the DLD I already had to make up the core force of the Emir's army(Be nice if I could get some more Bengals though). If anyone out there has other DLD stuff they want to get rid of in 15mm, lemme know. I'm always on the lookout for it. Same goes for the old Grenadier 20mm figures for Twilight 2000.

There's some other gaming related stuff that's going on for me right now. I can't talk about it..NDA's involved you know. Needless to say, it's very cool. I am enjoying my hobby again...it's been a while. My painting is VERY productive and Jage is really spurring me on with his own work. Now if I can get some time to get my OWN Sahadeen done!

Yes, I know the 20mm has taken a back seat, but right now, it's the 15mm that's showing some promise. Not only that...I'm thinking of getting my Modern US and Stargate stuff done for October. I think a Zombie themed game would for October's meeting WOULD ROCK HARD!

Djazlah, French forces in the Field (Short post)

Sketch by George, The artist (George) reserves all rights to this work, and it is used here with his permission. You can contact him at jagethebrain@gmail.com. More to come soon.


An charcoal and pencil image drawn by a French War artist of a I/REAI trooper on a sweep through the lower Northern highlands after a successful Sahadi ambush of a Caliphate supply column. The sweep turned up a single contact with four local force Sahadi, none of whom were taken alive.

The figure is carrying the FAR-27 bullpup rifle in 7.5mm Short, but is missing the clip on 35mm grenade launcher that is usually standard. The "curiasse de tactique" is camouflaged with local paint stocks, a usual expedient as the "bleus" and the Kepi de combat stood out for Sahadi snipers like a sore thumb. This troops seems to be buying trouble, as he is defiantly wearing the Kepi Blanc.

More Work in Progress photos of the Combat Cars and a 15mm Pickup for my Human Resistance forces for Terminator.

I thought I'd take another photo session of my Hammers Slammers Combat Cars, as well as a photo of a project I'm working on with some Peter Pig trucks. All I am awaiting now is the Selpduvian Resistance fellas from Khurasan Miniatures. I am going to mix them with the militia types from GZG and I think we'll have something, that with the right paint work, looks darn close to what we saw on the big and small screens to the human resistance fighters.

Anyhow, here's the pics:

And they say running a blog is easy...Hah! New release from GZG for their 25s line...now if only these were in 15s....

But, knowing GZG, I suspect the 15mm line is well in hand. I really like the look of these guys.



The TMP story can be found here

UPDATE: This just in from GZG when I asked Jon about the prospect of these fellas in 15mm:

No plans at the moment, but it's not impossible......

Jon (GZG)

All I can say is, folks, warm up the email and ask, nicely for them. They look great in 25mm and the Molts were a neat, unique race in the fiction I've read. So Jon, what say you sir? Up to the challenge? I think so, what, with all the really nice 15mm releases thus far!

Combat Cars WIP

They're turning out pretty well thus far. I am liking the way they're looking comparable to the scheme on the tanks, which of course, is the point, correct? I am looking forward to finishing these and getting the infantry done.

Comments gang?