The Alternative Armies Blog

Welcome to the Alternative Armies blog. This blog tells you all about what we are up to and it is where we post our latest tabletop gaming news and articles.
We cover Flintloque and Slaughterloo, High Fantasy, Other Ranges as well as our 15mm scale fantasy, science fiction and historical ranges.
Our game systems and free content such as PDF downloads and reading articles. Enjoy and do dig back in time to see what was going on before now.

Feel free to comment and ask questions. We are always happy to help gamers with their hobby.

Tuesday 26 September 2023

Perimeter Borg of the Khanate released 28mm Ion Age

"The crust of Selway Minor III is thick with the volcanic deposits needed for the intense production of titanium and this has made the planet extremely valuable; despite its extreme frigid nature.  Mines cover the planet’s surface like icebergs expanding deep into the dead rock.  The largest of these the Grefa Mega City called Gicela was also the oldest and was the first place the Shia Khan Empire appeared outside of the contained Camarthen Cluster.  Elite Legionary infiltrator teams were materialised by Matter Gateway projection from Camarthen Prime and while the failure rate of this method was vast several teams survived and began their work in the darkness of the deep shafts of Gicela.  It took them weeks to assemble the delicate parts each member of the four Legionary team had brought with them to establish a stable ‘door sized’ Matter Gateway and to begin to bring in the invasion force through it.

During these weeks the infiltrators grabbed men, women and children who wandered far or would not be missed.  These they quickly and crudely turned into Perimeter Borgs. Attaching a control unit to the skull and then grafting the head and vital parts into mechanised bodies thralled to the Legionaries control.  Tracked and carrying a heavy weapon these expendable wretches established a controlled zone allowing the Legionaries to work unmolested upon their goal.  These Borgs would not live more than a few weeks but that would be enough time.

The first encounters with Perimeter Borgs went badly for the security patrols sent to seek out those missing. The dispatching of Gicela Planetary Militia platoons established there was a credible threat from what was initially thought to be a small Gryre infestation.  Destroyed Borgs being taken miles up to the higher city established that it was actually the Shia Khan. The great enemy of Humanity."  Academy Auto-Trainer Series 61, New Glastonbury, 4345IC 

We are delighted to present one of the rarest of the original 1990’s Ion Age models back into the world.  With the entire Ion Age 28mm range now in new molds and returned to the website as well as new releases taking it to over two hundred and fifty miniatures it is the ideal time for the Perimeter Borg!  Our sole sci-fi release for this month.

IA241 Perimeter Borg:  A multiple part resin and metal 28mm scale miniature.  Composed of four pieces (body, two tracks, head) easy to assemble.  Choose from a single model or a pack of four identical with a saving. A tracked cyber thrall with human head and Janus Blast Gun.  Dimensions assembled are 27mm tall, 25mm wide and 25mm deep.  Part of the Shia Khan Empire.

Shown above with a Human Betrayer (30mm total height) and a Psycoborg robot for scale comparison.

Not seen in the thousand years since the Ban of Prejudice the return of cyber thralls to Prydian Space came as an unpleasant surprise.  The Khanate incursion was thought to be contained in the Camarthen Cluster.  This was incorrect…  If you wish to see the Prydian Precinct as a whole (not just the small part seen here) then check out our PIA007 Poster which shows you all the star systems as an A3 print or a digital download.

Thank you for Reading,

GBS (Gavin Syme – Creative Manager)

Thursday 21 September 2023

September becomes October with Book Delay offers extended and new cover reveal

UPDATE Please refer to this new ARTICLE as the content below is now outdated and partially incorrect.

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Due to circumstances beyond the control of Alternative Armies the planned pre-order and release of Furioso English Civil War by Steve Danes has been postponed. Not by a great deal of time but by over two weeks. We have all of our books printed locally here in Scotland and to ensure this we have encountered this delay.  The pre-order will begin later, the release in October and our current free in all shipped orders code (15mm Ruined Arch) will be extended into October as well for fairness. Read on for full details...

The Pre-Order offer on Furioso English Civil War will commence 2nd October 2023 in the 17th Century 15mm Range pages.  Alongside the print book to pre-order will be army packs with free bases, a mega bundle and savings to go with the rules and of course the brand new range of over 40 single ECW miniatures.  The offer is 20% off the book AND all the other codes in the 17th Century Range AND in the 16th Century Range (including other Furioso titles, their digital versions and their army packs and mega bundle) at Checkout (shown on screen then before payment). Originally meant to end 1st October this discount of these ranges will be extended until Thursday 12th October 2023 when the book is released and the digital download version (20% cheaper as are all our digital books) will come out. We will then commence shipping all orders which contained the book and army packs as pre-ordered.  Miniatures only orders will ship as normal at all times.

To be totally fair we now also ‘Extend September 2023’ in terms of the offers on ranges outlined above and in terms of giving you MRS8 Broken Arch totally free in every order shipped out.  This will be until Tuesday 17th October and then the free item will update to another brand new different code.  We have updated our announcements to reflect all this.  This includes the current Deals and Offers array of 5% to 50% off codes which will not change until then too.

We are delighted to show you now the cover for the upcoming Furioso English Civil War created by Sam Croes.  Enjoy!

We apologise for this unavoidable delay but we hope these measures will make up for it and we are sure the wait will be worth it.

GBS (Gavin Syme – Creative Manager)

Tuesday 19 September 2023

15mm Human Adventurers classic 1980’s by Asgard Miniatures renewed

Our expansion of the original Asgard 15mm Renaissance line has doubled its size to now 300 poses from late 15th Century to 16th Century and 17th Century. It also included new scatter scenics and the rule system Furioso. But this is not all there is to 15mm scale from Asgard oh no! There is an array of fantasy miniatures which are total classics ideal for skirmishing and quick play on any game system. 
 

The Tabletop 15mm Fantasy Range contains all of the restored Asgard codes in that scale too. These are larger 15mm scale and go excellently with the Renaissance miniatures as well as our mighty HOT 15mm Fantasy Range and match up to HOF 15mm Science Fiction poses. 
 

A chance encounter with FM66 Large Troll (by Nick Bibby) a miniature which can work in any scale sees the adventurers in combat. As well as magic users and fighters there are also two Barbarians and a great Pack Mule as well. Singles (within the Packs), Packs and a value skirmish set containing all poses. 
 
 
The HOT 15mm Fantasy range contains a great many different monsters and behemoths but few match up to HOT35 Giant Hydra which gives your party a beast which will take some conquering. 
 
Thank you for reading, 
 
GBS (Gavin Syme – Creative Manager)

Sunday 17 September 2023

15mm Human Adventurers classic 1980s by Tabletop Miniatures renewed

Alongside historical month at Alternative Armies this September we also undertook a remolding of the classic Humans in the Tabletop Fantasy Range. These popular figures get you into 15mm skirmishing or dungeon crawl or anything else with singles (within the packs), packs and a value skirmish set of all of them. 
 
 
These true scale 15mm (they match up perfectly with Laserburn and with our Dark Age and Medieval ranges) miniatures are 1.5cm to top of head for an average person in miniature.
 
 
You can see these adventurers in combat with the FM76 Dragon Newt by Nick Bibby which works in any scale. Wizard, Mage, Paladin, Cleric, Thief, Assassin, Bard, Fighters and female versions of some of those too. 
 

These Humans sit atop of steadily returning Tabletop Fantasy Range of codes which include various monsters and beasts as well as really unusual miniatures such as F34 Winged Fiend which is a great foe. 
 
Thank you for reading, 
 
GBS (Gavin Syme – Creative Manager)

Thursday 14 September 2023

Over 40 new 15mm miniatures released Furioso English Civil War

Historical month builds at Alternative Armies with over 40...yes 40 new additions to our huge 15mm Renaissance Range.  There are now over 300 different miniatures for 15th to 17th century!

These are not in the 16th Century part of the range but rather the 17th Century and are for the English Civil War to go with any system including the upcoming third Furioso title by Steve Danes.  See our BLOG if you missed that news the start of this month.

All of the new miniatures were sculpted by Sam Croes (our lead designer and creates our 15mm Ion Age range as well) including three pike, twelve musket, three halberd as well as four command for infantry, four artillery crew, three riders, three dragoons, three lobster cuirassiers and three pistoller cavalry. There is also cavalry command plus a Royalist and a Parliament brigade commander to lead. Variety of head gear and pose gives variety to your troops.

It is not possible to show you all of these miniatures close up here but proceed to the website and you will find pictures both front and rear of every code.  As with the rest of the range every miniature is a single except for command and artillery four figure sets (which you can choose singles from if you wish too). 

Following the release of the brand new 15mm Brick or Stone scatter terrain last week we wish to remind that the MRS8 Broken Arch is free and automatically included in every shipped order this month.  You need do nothing but order and when your package leaves us the Arch will be included.  It along with the other pieces are on the website.

Lastly until the middle of October both the 16th century range and the 17th century ranges have 20% automatically off them (discount will appear on screen during checkout) and that includes all miniatures, the books, army sets, terrain; everything.

Thank you for your attention.

GBS (Gavin Syme – Creative Manager)

Thursday 7 September 2023

New 15mm Terrain brick and stone plus tents campfire and more!

Our range of terrain suitable for Horse and Musket, Napoleonics, late medieval, fantasy and renaissance era tabletop gaming expands again with brand new and remastered pieces as well as a value pack with saving.  See it all on our 16th Century 15mm Range and in our 17th Century 15mm RangeBrickdust 15mm Napoleonic Range plus the HOB 15mm Fantasy Buildings Range.  

Lots to choose from and most useful. During September 2023 MRS8 Broken Arch is free automatically in every order shipped out; our gift to you.  Just place your order(s) and we will put it in when it ships from here in Scotland.  Here are the details.

The new releases are ruined and broken piles of brick or stone depending on how you paint them and are ideal to populate a gaming table.  As singles plus a value set of all the single codes.

MRS8 Broken Arch (Two pieces) 

MRS9 Ruined Chimney

MRS10 Ruined Corner 

MRS11 Broken Pile

MRSP01 Ruined and Broken Set (MRS8, MRS9, MRS10, MRS11) with saving


As well as the brand new codes we have remastered the existing 15mm terrain we have (not the 15mm Buildings which have already been put in new molds) but rather the more ‘on campaign’ items as follows.

MRS1 Stone Well 

MRS2 Campfire 

MRS3 Logpile

MRS4 Folded Blankets and Cloth Piles (Two pieces)

MRS5 Wedge Tent 

MRS6 Herald Tent 

MRS7 Pavilion Tent 


Until middle of October 2023 we are giving away the MRS8 Broken Arch a symbol of the shattering of England at the start of the English Civil War.  It is in all orders shipped automatically and a useful piece.  No limit on the number of orders placed and if you purchase it you will still get it free too.

With the release of this new terrain we complete the first part of the promise of Furioso Month here at Alternative Armies. Next week we will be releasing a very large number of brand new 15mm scale English Civil War miniatures onto the website. Infantry (one of them MR145 previewed above), Infantry Command, Cavalry, Cavalry Command, Artillery Crew, Senior Command; some forty poses.  All sculpted by Sam Croes and for the upcoming rules set by Steve Danes later in September for pre-order. 

Thanks for Reading,

GBS (Gavin Syme – Creative Manager)

Friday 1 September 2023

Furioso ECW Month is here and free new 15mm Broken Arch in all orders

“England was an arch bolstered strong by Kingly divinity. Seldom had gentlefolk thought it to be otherwise but in the King’s cruel acts upon Parliament the notion of sovereignty awoke.  England stood in fire and in smoke of battle; countrymen fought each other and in those actions the arch weakened and like England broke.”

September and into October is 15mm historical month which will see not only the release of the anticipated Furioso English Civil War rules but also a massive English expansion to our 17th century range to go with it.  On top of this we have twenty percent off auto at checkout on both our 16th Century Range and our 17th Century Range (no code needed and discount appears on screen during checkout) and brand new 15mm scale terrain releases including the Broken Arch a two piece code which is free in all shipped orders until 17th October.  Here are the details.

Free in your order, as many orders as you wish; the only condition being that the order is shipped out by us until month change on 17th October 2023 as a package (no digital download orders only sorry!). MRS8 Broken Arch contains two different 15mm scale resin pieces which can be painted as brick or as stone for your table.  Useful in many settings from horse and musket to pike block and fantasy too.

The third book in the Furioso series of wargaming rules by Steve Danes will release late in October with an offer in print (20% off as with the rest of the 17th century range) and two ready made armies each with free element bases.  At that time we will ship out pre-orders (any order with the book in it) and release Furioso English Civil War as a paid digital download too. 

The 17th Century 15mm miniature range has expanded massively with the following forty new metal miniatures in support of Furioso English Civil War.  Every miniature is a single code or a small set (Command, Artillery) and features infantry, cavalry, artillery and command. 

MR140 English Pike 17thC

MR141 English Pike Middle Rank 17thC

MR142 English Pike Front Rank 17thC

MR143 English Musket March 17thC Wide Hat 

MR144 English Musket March 17thC Hat

MR145 English Musket March 17thC Pot Helmet

MR146 English Musket Loading 17thC Wide Hat

MR147 English Musket Loading 17thC Hat 

MR148 English Musket Loading 17thC Pot Helmet

MR149 English Musket 17thC Wide Hat  

MR150 English Musket 17thC Hat 

MR151 English Musket 17thC Pot Helmet

MR152 English Musket Firing 17thC Wide Hat 

MR153 English Musket Firing 17thC Hat

MR154 English Musket Firing 17thC Pot Helmet

MR155 English Halberd 17thC Wide Hat

MR156 English Halberd 17thC Hat

MR157 English Halberd 17thC Pot Helmet

MR158 English Foot Command 17thC (4 poses) (Officer, Drummer, Fifer, Standard)


MRX25 English Artillery Crew 17thC (4 poses)


MRC83 English Cavalry Command 17thC (Officer and Standard)

MRC85 English Dragoon Wide Hat 17thC

MRC86 English Dragoon Hat 17thC

MRC87 English Dragoon Pot Helmet 17thC 

MRC88 English Curiassier / Lobster Sword Raised 17thC 

MRC89 English Curiassier / Lobster Sword Ready 17thC 

MRC90 English Curiassier / Lobster Attacking 17thC 

MRC91 English Pistoller Loading 17thC

MRC92 English Pistoller Firing 17thC

MRC93 English Pistoller 17thC. 

MRC94 English Rider Sword Raised 17thC 

MRC95 English Rider Attacking 17thC 

MRC96 English Rider 17thC. 

MRC97 Royalist Brigade Commander.

MRC98 Parliamentarian Brigade Commander 


Our 16th century 15mm range not only features Furioso and Furioso the Italian Wars but also a massive array of infantry, cavalry, artillery, command, personalities, scenics, buildings and more.  We have Da Vinci, Borgia, Machiavelli, Von Frunsberg and the Venetian Ambassador too. Until 17th October everything in this range is 20% off automatically at checkout (no code needed, discount is automatic at checkout on screen) and that includes the Furioso Bundle with two armies and the army packs.


New 15mm Terrain is released!  Adding to the existing Stone Well, Campfire, Log Pile, Cloth Bundles as well as Tents there is the Broken Arch which is free in all shipped orders this month plus other brick or stone style codes plus a value pack containing them all. This terrain features in 16th and 17th century ranges and includes our HOB buildings as singles and a value set.

In other news for September we are currently remolding the classic Tabletop 15mm Fantasy dungeon adventurers and will have new pictures of them as singles and the great skirmish packs too.  The 28mm Ion Age range will see the return of a little known code from the 1990’s which was about the last thing added to the original range...the Perimeter Borg. Our current Deals and Offers will end when the Furioso event does (including HOT35 Giant Hydra) so have a gander there for 5% to 50% off list prices before they change.

Thank you for Reading,

GBS (Gavin Syme – Creative Manager)