Stone Cold Lead paints our Crystal Elves

I will admit to being in somewhat in a state of awe at the brush stroke talents of Simon Bradley known online as 'Stonecoldlead' and we were fortunate enough for him to put paint to metal on some of our miniatures. You can check out his work in full on his Facebook PAGE if you wish. 

We have a great many 28mm high fantasy miniatures at Alternative Armies and this includes the Empire of the Crystal Elves (forerunners of the Elves of Armorica in Flintloque) a regime of elegant and decadent High Elves great for any game system. Here are the pictures we have from Simon's collection

From left to right:  CE15 Dismounted Dragoons (Bowmen and Officer), CE18-01 Crystal Elf Duellist, CE2 Crystal Sorceress, CE11 Guard Infantry (two Pikemen) and CE10-01 Guard Officer.

Now that is some remarkable brush work. 

 

There is a book in the works at Alternative Armies just now titled 'En Garde' which features the Crystal Elves and will be a stand alone duelling game which links the Darke Age of Valon to the time of Flintloque. Some of these pictures will feature in the book which is being written by Steven Danes Furioso, Doom Squad and Sengoku Monster Hunter and Gavin Syme: DarkeStorme, Erin, Typhon, Escape the Dark Czar with artwork by Sam Croes and Edward Jackson.  All books in print HERE and digital downloads HERE.  More on this later in the year but soon...Sengoku Monster Hunter Rampage! 

Have a great weekend and we will see you all again in September...wondrous things to come... 

GBS

Alternate Stars new 28mm Science Fiction range released!

The new generic science fiction range of characters called Alternate Stars is now released at Alternative Armies. We would like to thank everyone who took us up on the pre-order offer. Twelve single codes and a set with a saving now on the website. Go HERE to see these miniatures sculpted by Sam Croes and to learn more about some snippets of setting you could pursue as well. 

We are well known for Flintloque for our High Fantasy Ranges for our Ion Age science fiction all in 28mm scale plus many more and as a long established company with a proven track record we hope you like these too. Alternate Stars is totally generic (do you like the play on our name?) and each miniature has its own style and potential uses plus some of the characters draw their inspiration from other parts of Alternative Armies....can you spot them? 

The Alternate Stars 28mm science fiction range composes the following. 

AS000

AS001

AS002

AS003

AS004

AS005

AS006

AS007

AS008

AS009

AS010

AS011

ASP00 Alternate Stars Collection One 

(All Twelve Miniatures)

Thank you for reading and see you out among the stars! 

 GBS

Article 20 The Adventures of Gorgon Lightfoote - Part 2

Following up on Part One of Gorgon Lightfoote we are back with the twentieth article on Flintloque with Andy Jefcoate.  This time it is three way fighting and nifty ideas for planning your scenarios. If you missed any of the previous articles you can see them all for free on the blog by clicking on this TAG. If you would like to Begin in Flintloque visit our website HERE for Escape the Dark Czar and free content and videos.  Enjoy!  GBS

The Adventures of Gorgon Lightfoote - Part 2 

Fighting Battles with 3 opposing forces 

In my last article I introduced you to the core of Gorgon Lightfoote's Britorcn section that I've now included in my Witchlands games. This has enabled me to create some interesting little scenarios, and establish a third party with no loyalty to the Ferach or the Witchlands armies. My initial games were small scenario driven skirmishes such as raids to capture supplies or personnel for interrogation as Lightfoote's force is fairly small but as his force grows I plan to tell you what I have added in future articles. 

However, in the meantime I have also had battles between 3 opposing forces which have been great fun and for my twentieth article I wanted to tell you about my simple system for doing this, which I feel gives variety and unpredictability to keep the games interesting. I have made them small affairs with forces of around 300 points a side on a 4' square table but you can increase or decrease the force size and/or the gaming area and the system will still work. 

Stage 1 

Set up the playing area and all scenery to your personal taste. For a skirmish game such as Flintloque I like to have several pieces of scenery to break up line of sight, give your miniatures cover and generally to look good. 

As this is a three player game the fairest way to set up the table is to divide your scenery items between the players and each place one in turn. On a 4' square table I would recommend 2 to 3 scenery items per player and as all of my trees for Flintloque are based individually I usually count a clump of 3 trees as one piece of scenery. 

Stage 2 

As there are 3 opposing forces, I like each force to start in a different corner of the table as this keeps the forces well apart. I suggest each player rolling a D10 dice and the players choosing their starting corner from highest roll to lowest (with ties re-rolled). 

Stage 3 

All troops are placed up to 12" from each players own starting corner, placing one character each in turn. Start with the player with the lowest dice roll in stage 1 then work clockwise around the table. 

Stage 4 

Randomly determine force A, B and C. Three counters are placed face down with A, B and C marked on them. One player shuffles them and the other two players pick a counter each. - Force A attacks force B - Force B attacks force C - Force C attacks force A 

Stage 5 

Each player decides their main objective by a D10 dice roll. I use the following scenarios but you can change them to your preference. 

1-2 Capture enemy commander. To do this the commander's last wound must be taken in close combat to represent them being overpowered. 

3-4 Assassinate enemy commander. Close combat or shooting is fine. 

5-6 Give the enemy something to think about. Destroy at least 50% of the enemy force by shooting or close combat. 

7-8 Get off our land. Force all the enemy troops back to their starting zone or rout them from the table. 

9-10 Take the ground. Measure a 1' square centred on the exact centre of the gaming area. You must have 50% of your starting force in this zone by the end of the game with no enemy forces in the zone. 

Each main objective gives 5 victory points. 

Players gain 1 additional victory point for each complete 30 points of either enemy force destroyed. This is cumulative and I recommend increasing this if you use larger forces e.g. 1 victory point per 50 points if using 500 point forces. Likewise, if the enemy commander is the main objective then don't count his points value for additional victory points. 

Possible Variations 

As stated earlier you can use other scenarios if you wish, but be careful if you use something like 'have 50% of your force exit the table via your enemy starting zone' as if all 3 players roll the same it could be a very strange game, something like a relay race. 

You could also initially keep the rolls for the main objective a secret if you wish to add an extra element of unpredictability. Players would then have to be more careful how they proceed. 

Each of the scenarios can be expanded on if you wish i.e. if you have to capture the enemy commander is it just a matter of taking his last wound in combat or do you then have to escort him from the table, giving your opponent a chance for a daring rescue! This sort of thing complicates matters but if you have time for a longer game it can add to the fun. 

For most games I usually restrict them to 10 Turns but if you have more time then don't use a Turn limit and see how the victory points rack up in the time that you have. 

In Conclusion 

I have had some great games using this system. Imagine Lightfoote's force trying to capture a Ferach commander for interrogation (Capture enemy commander) while being attacked by the Dark Tsar's forces (Get off our land), then the poor Ferach player has the main objective of taking out the Vampyre leading the undead (Assassinate enemy commander) while being attacked by the Britorcn force and trying to protect their own commander. This rightly sounds confusing but I promise it isn't as complicated as it sounds once you give it a go and can lead to some good games! 

A couple of tips I would like to give are that the forces need to be able to move if required so taking artillery pieces can make life difficult, and you also have to be able to mix attack with defence so while a completely mounted force will be fast moving and hard hitting, it won't be able to defend the ground as well as an infantry firing line. I'm sure there will be exceptions but I just want to give you something to think about! 

What's next 

As always I hope that you've enjoyed reading about my system for creating battles using three opposing forces. I will expand on all 3 of my forces in future articles but for now I am concentrating on the Britorcn force as it is much smaller than the others. As ever I'll let you know how I get on. 

Thank you for reading. 

Andy

Worldwide Shipping just 2GBP (2.4USD) until 1st September 2019

Summer time is nearing its end and Alternative Armies has a great offer to get you into the new campaign season. Until 1st September 2019 our standard shipping worldwide (Royal Mail in the UK and airmail everywhere else) is just 2.00GBP on all orders. This offer runs until the red banner vanishes on our website. As usual at 80.00GBP free shipping kicks in automatically and as always if you want 'tracked' shipping select that during checkout at regular price. This is an ideal time to get that miniature or book or bases or anything else you have been looking at on our website for a small order. You need do nothing but add to cart. Check out our NEW RELEASES page, currently 15% off all GANESHA FANTASY miniatures and our OFFERS page too. 

Get yourself a wee order to kick off the campaign season. 

Our website is large and to make it easier to navigate we have a simple list of all the ranges for you to see on our BLOG. Click through and find what interests you as a listing. We have made all of our releases for this month so what you see on the site now is all there will be until September. We have some offers added during this event for existing codes which have been newly re-molded. We have taken 10% off their regular price until end of this event. 

HOT33 Chimera 

This 15mm scale metal monster gives you a fearsome creature for your army. Go HERE. 

VNT5 Tree Demon 

A 28mm scale creature ideal for your fantasy games. Go HERE. 

SHM Helmith and Lesser Shuggoth 

Eldritch in 15mm (but suitable for 28mm and 6mm too) two bizarre creations. The Helmith HERE and the Lesser Shuggoth HERE. 

Thanks for Reading, 

GBS

New Cavalry for Sengoku 15mm Japanese Fantasy

Now released at Alternative Armies new 15mm scale miniatures by John Bell added to the Sengoku range of Japanese Fantasy. It is the last pack release from the upcoming mega set giving you some cavalry to add to your forces for Hunters and Followers. Cavalry will feature in the coming Sengoku Monster Hunter expansion book 'Rampage'. Go HERE or read on for more. 

The second book in the Sengoku series titled 'Rampage' has been completed and soon we will show you the contents of the book and its excellent new cover art as well. Written by Steve Danes (creator of Furioso) it will need a place in your collection if you play Monster Hunter.

SGFP37 Sengoku Japanese Cavalry 

This pack contains four multiple part metal 15mm scale miniatures. Each cavalry figure is composed of a horse plus a pair of legs and an upper body. There are two poses of horses (supplied evenly) and two poses of legs (supplied evenly) and the upper bodies are those of our SGFP12 Japanese Warriors which join at the waist (two male, two female with swords and spears) meaning a degree of pose choice. You can choose from a pack of four or select a single cavalry figure. A single figure is one random horse, one random set of legs and one upper body. If you purchase multiple singles then we will ensure each is different until you purchase more than four in your order. When assembled each cavalry figure is approx 20mm tall. There are rules for cavalry in Sengoku Rampage expansion book. The pack offers a small saving off the single purchase. Go HERE. 

There are now more than one hundred and thirty miniatures in the Sengoku range making it the biggest 15mm Japanese Fantasy selection in the world. Have a BROWSE. Great for any Japanese period placement 15mm game system. 

Sengoku Monster Hunter 

A Tabletop Game for up to Four Player or Solo Play using the Sengoku range of 15mm miniatures. A game for one to four players set in medieval Japan where monsters and creatures of myth roam the jagged crags and hidden valleys of the Sacred Mountain. It is from the Sengoku setting and has merciless hunters who track down the monsters and slaughter them at every opportunity. Who you Play. Hunters are the players characters in the game. Each hunter has a profile of attributes, skills and special abilities that players can improve if their hunters are successful. There is a range of weapons, armour and equipment that hunters can acquire as well hired henchmen, spirit guides and others to assist them in their expeditions. The more powerful the hunters get…the greater challenges they can take on! Author: Steve Danes. A4 Format, 52 pages. In PRINT or a DIGITAL DOWNLOAD at a twenty percent less. 

Thanks for Reading, 

GBS

Kuu Patrol Vehicle new 6mm by Bradley Miniatures released

Now on the Bradley Miniatures 6mm science fiction range page at Alternative Armies the brand new BR029 Kuu Patrol Vehicle! Go HERE or read on for more details about the twenty ninth model in the range. 

The Kuu is a large armoured car which is at home in any near future or far future game system to transport and back up your infantry. Perhaps it is a vehicle in the arsenal of a post apocalyptic warlord or the transit for your Colonial Army alongside the BR014 Trencher APC. 

BR029 Kuu Patrol Vehicle 

A mean six wheeled lightly armoured transporter to carry a squad or go on patrol. This metal 6mm vehicle comes in a pack of four or can be selected as a single vehicle too. Each vehicle is composed of a body with separate turret and separate twin machine gun pod. Easy to assemble and 25mm long. Supplied unassembled. Go HERE. 

No matter which game system you play in 6mm you will find something of interest in the Bradley Miniatures range. Here is the current list of codes each of which comes as a single model or in a pack from which you can select a single if you wish. 

BR002 Armadillo APC 

BR003 Stalker Missile Tank 

BR004 Hunter Battle Tank 

BR005 Nemian Assault Tank 

BR006 Tiger Walker 

BR007 Jet Grenadier Platoon 

BR008 Grenadier Platoon 

BR009 Grenadier Weapons Platoon 

BR010 Stormhunter SPG 

BR011 Lionsguard Platoon 

BR012 Attack Bike Platoon 

BR013 Gryphon Gravscout 

BR014 Trencher APC 

BR015 Flame APC Caisse 

BR016 Tryant SPG Caisse 

BR017 Marksman AA Caisse 

BR018 T47 Main Battle Tank 

BR019 Actium Superheavy Tank 

BR020 Kourian Superheavy Tank 

BR021 Calydon Battle Tank 

BR022 Tyros Laser Destroyer Tank 

BR023 Lionheart A Battle Tank 

BR024 Lionheart B Battle Tank 

BR025 Ironclad Superheavy Tank 

BR026 Lynx Scout Walker 

BR027 Corvo Dropship (Massive 6mm scale Dropship) 

Thanks for Reading, 

GBS

Logann Braves twelve new 28mm fantasy miniatures by John Bell

Now released into the World of Valon as part of the Frontear range Alternative Armies presents a dozen miniatures sculpted by John Bell (he of the Sengoku range) in 28mm scale.  The Logann are the first native race of the Amerkan continents and they are detailed in the Frontear game book along with their rules for play. These are all of our 28mm scale fantasy and Flintloque releases for August.  Go HERE or read on for more.

HOME OF THE BRAVES

Like the Macaw before them, the Logann Tribes of North Amerka who resided in the great woodlands of the west had enjoyed a very personal and productive relationship with magickal beings. These, however, were not the blood-thirsty deities of the southern continent, but the less powerful, though more numerous, Spirits of earth, air and water. Respect, rather than veneration, was accorded these beings and their environment, and in return these Spirits educated selected individuals, enabling them to draw on Wylde Magicke and perform wondrous feats. These shamans were able to fly, exert limited influence over local weather patterns, and even shape change when the mood took them. In addition, these learned individuals were also able to pass on lore to members of their Tribes; modest gifts that allowed hunters and warriors to move undetected through the woodland, survive unaided in hostile conditions, and draw briefly on the powers of their woodland neighbours to endow themselves with greater speed, strength and agility as the situation dictated.

Then the tide of annulment arrived on the Amerkan continent and things began to change. The patron Spirits went abroad less often, and grew less inclined to interact with the Logann Shaman; preoccupied, as they were, with identifying the reason for their loss of power and the threat it posed to their very existence. As the Spirits’ powers waned, so too those of the Shaman: flight became impossible; their ability to control weather was replaced by an ability to accurately predict upcoming weather patterns. Useful, but a poor substitute; and the ability to shape change also disappeared, leaving in its wake an empathic bond with the creatures of the forest which was, again, a poor reflection of the greater power. Enough Magicke remained to ensure the Spirits’ survival. The warriors’ abilities remained unscathed, but on the whole the Logann became disenchanted with their lot.

Then the Uropeans arrived, and the Logann’s trail of thought ran along similar lines to the unfortunate Macaw. Surely this could not be a coincidence? Many pointed the finger of suspicion at the settlers, convinced that they had somehow worked some Magicke of their own, weakening the Tribes and their allies as a prelude to invasion. So the Logann retreated behind their stockades and prepared for battle.  The fourth age of Valon was upon Amerka...

(An Extract from 7000 Frontear the Skirmish game book)

There are four new codes as follows.  Go HERE.

7115 Logann Leaders (Three Miniatures)

7116 Logann Braves (Three Miniatures)

7117 Logann Braves II (Three Miniatures)

7118 Logann Braves III (Three Miniatures)

You can select poses from each pack if you desire single miniatures an any amount and you can purchase three packs and save 10%.  All options are on screen.

While meant for use with Frontear you can see that they will fit into Flintloque games too.  A scale picture showing that the Logann are taller and thinner than Elves (such as General Saindoux from 5024 Escape the Dark Czar).  Lithe forest runners. 

We have another treat for you.  Drawn by John Bell we have the first maps of Amerka!  Two different maps along with a couple of pages explaining place names and their real world equivalents.  Downloads it from our website storage by CLICKING HERE.

Thanks for Reading,

GBS

Classic Asgard 25mm miniatures return with Orts and Weapons Set

It is with great pride that Alternative Armies presents to you the first of several re-releases of classic 1980's science fiction miniatures in 25mm scale by Asgard Miniatures. Working alongside wargaming veteran Mark Stevenson who runs the Asgard Miniatures group on Facebook (check it out and join HERE) and who is an avid historian and collector of Asgard we present five codes.  Mark was lucky enough to be able to speak to the sculptor of the 'Orts' Mr Rick Priestley recently and here is what he had to say.

"Some of Rick Priestley's earliest production sculpts for Asgard Miniatures, the 'Inscrutible Orts' were bipedal human size aliens with heads resembling the body of  an octopus. They were originally designed for use with the classic game 'Laserburn' and, later, Combat 3000/3001. Foes of the Asgard Space Marines they were frequently allies of the Trimotes and Mandiblex."

You can see what we have thus far on the Asgard 25mm Science Fiction page and we also have the 15mm scale Asgard as well on the website if you like them smaller.  Here are the codes and their details:

SF3 Weapons Set 2019

This metal 25mm scale code contains a variety of weapons and equipment which are ideally suited not only to the Asgard science fiction range but also to many other ranges too.  Add them to the miniatures or make conversions or scenic items with them.  Note that this is the '2019' version which were sculpted by Sam Croes due to a total lack of mold stock to re-release.  They are new designs done as close to the style of the original 1980's as possible.  Choose from a set with a small saving or use the on screen choices to select parts of the code in any amount.  Use the image provided as a guide by item code. These are as follows: SF3A Displacer Cannon, SF3C Sonic Pistol, SF3D Disintegrator Gun, SF3E Projector Unit, SF3F Power Pack, SF3G Vortex Grenade, SF3H Hunting Blaster, SF3K Assault Laser, SF3L Heavy Laser Cannon and SF3N Heavy Weapon Pedestal (2 pieces) (fits SF3A,K,L).

SF20 Ort with Sonic Gun

SF20A Ort with Assault Laser

SF21 Ort with Sonic Amplifier

SF22 Cyborg Ort of the Sacred Claw

Go HERE for these miniatures.  Images are from the collection of Mark Stevenson and each Ort is 30mm tall to the top of their heads meaning they work well in 28mm scale too.  Supplied Unpainted and without Bases. Get yourself a piece of British wargaming history now brought back to the world!

These are our only Asgard releases for this month but we will return with more after that so keep your peepers peeled.

Thanks for Reading,

GBS