Free USEME Scenario - Uplink 404

Today we give to all you 15mm science fiction wargamers out there a brand new free scenario for USEME.  Uplink 404 is a small scale mission between Corporate Ashigaru and Security Force Alpha all about a Maginot Turret.  A quick and fun scenario written by Thomas Hamilton.  You can see the USEME Range HERE in print (for the moment) and all as paid for PDF downloads too.  This scenario uses UM001 15mm Science Fiction.

Click HERE to download this fun and free one page scenario from our Dropbox account.  Enjoy!

If you like free scenarios for USEME a quick reminder that you can get the whole Terminus mini-campaign arc of scenarios from us.  Linked up and great fun and written by myself just click HERE to download it.

Thanks for Reading and well done Mr Hamilton!

GBS

An Introduction to the Tavshar Archon 15mm Mechas

Loud Ninja Games will be releasing in late November though 15mm.co.uk brand new codes at the core of which are the fantastic Tavshar Archon mecha in 15mm scale.  This article by Eli Arndt gives you an introduction to the concepts and story behind the mecha and how they came to be.  The sketching here was done by Sam Croes who is a big fan of LNG and who has also painted up an Archon too.  See Loud Ninja Games HERE.  Take it from here Eli...

The Story of the Archon

The Yan’drassi (YD) Archon mecha started out as an idea for how to add some heavy firepower to the existing YD range. So far, the range includes several infantry option and a light vehicle that has some firepower but not enough to take the fight to an opponent’s medium to heavy vehicle. While tanks and other vehicles are definitely in the realm of possibility for the YD, I felt the first release since the Kickstarter really needed to make a statement and mecha certainly make a statement.

For the design, I contacted sculptor Sean Bullough who had sculpted the original Yan’drassi range and who I knew was a huge anime and mecha fan with a broad frame of reference for the genre and various design aesthetics. I had seen his work with ClearHorizon miniatures first Kickstarter and the great work he had done on their mecha design and so I was confident in his ability to deliver a quality model. 

This is one of the first projects I have done where there was no concept art. Sean and I talked about design elements I wanted and drew mostly from references drawn from other existing mecha. The process was a lot of back and forth with me giving some design points and sending and image and Sean sending me his own thoughts and additional reference ideas. Sean has a vast collection of mecha pictures that he was able to draw from so we quickly found our stride in design process. For me, the key was to make a design that looked like it fit in with the existing Yan’drassi aesthetic. This meant rounded shapes. As the Archons are piloted be the YD’s elites, the Tavshar, I also wanted the Archon to resemble the Tavshar Primes. This second element meant making them look like a warrior’s armour as much as a battle ready machine. 

For weapons, I wanted the Archon to have a good number of choices. I wanted all versions of the Archon to have missile support so a pair of vertical launch missiles pods was added. The original three weapon options were a basic Shredder rifle, a sword/shield combo and the powerful, lance-like Singularity Cannon capable of launching micro black holes across the battlefield.  After these the model had been molded and Gavin and I started talking about release plans, it was decided to add an additional three weapon options to the Archon to provide greater depth and variety to the design. These new parts were designed by Sam Croes and would include a new more powerful Plasma Rifle, a missile launcher version with several add-on missile pods, and a massive Ripper Cannon with an attached combat blade. This brought the total options to six, making the Archon a versatile and unpredictable opponent.  There are six different Archon mecha single codes.

The final model does including a lot of individual parts, regardless of which weapon configuration you choose. This was a by product of trying to minimize the number of individual parts that needed to be made, allowing us to then re-use many parts by making the model mostly poseable. This makes the Archon a more advanced model and one that will take a bit of attention with a fantastic reward.

So, where does the Archon fit into the Yan’drassi force structure?

Archons are elite war machines, piloted by Tavshar that have reached the rank of Prime and shown their prowess in battle above other Primes, making them the elite among elites. Archon is not only the name of the mecha but also the new rank of those who pilot them. Each Archon selects its weapon load based on its mission or sometimes the preference of the individual Archon where command edict does not override personal choice. A mix of weapon types is common, allowing Archons operating in force to counter unexpected threats. Archons are most often tasked with providing heavy support to lesser troops alone or in small groups, but may be used as strike teams by themselves. 

For general combat Shredder Guns and Plasma Cannons, supported by Heavy Ripper Guns are the most effective, combining withering fire with powerful long-range plasma fire. For heavier targets Singularity Cannons and Missiles are best. On the rare occasions, where assault in necessary, there is nothing better than the combination of a powered blade and shield for wading into enemy formations. 

We hope you enjoyed this read and you can find Loud Ninja Games range HERE.  There will be one more big article on the Tavshar Archons which will show you all the codes, the poses, the bundles and reaction forces which are being released late November.

Thanks for Reading,

GBS

HOT111 Dem Bones 15mm Skulls and Skeletons released

Back in the summer of this year we released five excellent and popular packs of 15mm scale scenics for use in wargaming, roleplay, dungeon crawl and vignette and bases.  These were so well received that we have now expanded with a new pack by request!  HOT111 Dem Bones gives you face down and face up skeletons, a sprue of skulls, a skull pile and a floor tile or base of skulls.  Excellent.  As a pack or multiple packs with saving or...as single choice of pieces.  Go HERE to see the HOT 15mm Fantasy Range or read on for more.

Dem Bones are a rattling!  Dem Bones are a stirrin!  Dem Bones are a marching!

HOT111 Dem Bones

The Bones of the Dead. This pack contains a random but even mix of ten 15mm scale white metal pieces taken from five different scenic miniatures (the sprue of 6 Skulls counts as one piece). In this pack are from left to right two different skeletal corpses, a sprue of six Human skills, a heap of skulls (1cm across) and a 20mm square carpet of skulls all of which are ideal for use as dungeon quests, dioramas, base or element decoration and for scattering on your wargames table or tiles. All are single piece castings and can be applied in many different ways. You can purchase a pack, or three packs with a 10% saving and selecting from the drop down product menu on the page a choice of single sprues taken from the pack if you wish only for certain types of items from the pack.  These run from left to right in the main image for your choices. Suitable for any 15mm system for fantasy and even historical in many cases too.  Go HERE.

In our scale shots you can see evil knights (17mm tall) on a 20mm square base) standing among the scenics to give you an idea of their size. This miniature is from the HOT104 Anti-Paladins pack. Also an Undead Rider from HOT24.

We have five other packs of 15mm scale fantasy scenics which you can see HERE on a specialised search on our website.  Read on for details of the packs.

HOT105 Dungeon Gear 15mm Fantasy Scenics 

Great for 15mm Fantasy Wargaming! This pack contains a random but even mix of fourteen 15mm scale white metal pieces taken from nine different scenic miniatures.  In this pack are four different grave markers, two different loot piles and three different treasure chests all of which are ideal for use as dungeon quests, dioramas, base or element decoration and for scattering on your wargames table or tiles.  

HOT106 Stockpiles 15mm Fantasy Scenics 

Great for 15mm Fantasy Wargaming! This pack contains a random but even mix of seventeen 15mm scale white metal pieces taken from seven different scenic miniatures.  In this pack are a shield pile, a baggage pile, a bundle of spears as well as five different kegs, barrels and boxes all of which are ideal for use as dungeon quests, dioramas, base or element decoration and for scattering on your wargames table or tiles.  

HOT107 Encampment 15mm Fantasy Scenics  

Great for 15mm Fantasy Wargaming! This pack contains a random but even mix of eighteen 15mm scale white metal pieces taken from ten different scenic miniatures.  In this pack are a small tent, two different bed rolls and a campfire, a giant birds nest and a well along with four different mushroom clumps all of which are ideal for use as dungeon quests, dioramas, base or element decoration and for scattering on your wargames table or tiles. 

HOT108 Woodlands 15mm Fantasy Scenics 

Great for 15mm Fantasy Wargaming! This pack contains a random but even mix of twenty 15mm scale white metal pieces taken from thirteen different scenic miniatures.  In this pack are four different big mushrooms, four different rock croppings, two stumps and three fallen dead wood pieces all of which are ideal for use as dungeon quests, dioramas, base or element decoration and for scattering on your wargames table or tiles.  

HOT109 Crops 15mm Fantasy Scenics 

Great for 15mm Fantasy Wargaming! This pack contains a random but even mix of twenty four 15mm scale white metal pieces taken from twelve different scenic miniatures.  In this pack are three different wheat stalks, three different cabbage rows, three different potato plant rows and three different squash rows all of which are ideal for use as dungeon quests, dioramas, base or element decoration and for scattering on your wargames table or tiles.  

Thanks for Reading,

GBS

November 2016 at 15mm.co.uk begins teasingly!

Us teasing!  Never!  Well just a bit.  Everything we are doing this month is building up to our awesome Black Friday Weekend Offer.  This offer will run for four days and will be detailed a week before it starts.  This will be after we have made all of our releases for the month.  We hope you will check us out when the end of the month comes!  For more here is some more information on what is coming and a totally awesome a mighty set of releases by Loud Ninja Games which will make fans of 15mm sci-fi and the Yandrassi over the moons with joy!

Look at that!  Those are some big guns.  But big guns for what?  Tavshar and Horgosi of the Yandrassi created by Loud Ninja Games stand next to severely up scaled versions of their own personal weapons.  We will tell you more across this month in two more instalments.  For the moment....Eli Arndt of Loud Ninja Games would like to whisper the word 'Archon'  and 'Mecha' in your virtual ears along with the name of the designer Sean Bullough.  Trust us this is gonna be spectacular!

We have one fantasy release this month and that will add to our 15mm Scenics Range with a new pack.  HOT111 Dem Bones will be essential for all 15mm Undead armies as well as dungeon furniture and perhaps much more.  This release will be next week. If you want to see the other packs go to the HOT 15mm Fantasy Range for a look. We are preparing Dem Bones right now...

More news next week!

GBS

Kidnap - An alternative use for the HOT103 Cockatrice 15mm monster

I am delighted to present to all you 15mm fantasy wargamers out there a new article by Andy Jefcoate!  If you missed the previous half dozen by Andy you can see them on the blog HERE. Great for Age of Might and Steel and also USEME 15mm Fantasy plus of course any other 15mm system this time his subject is a conversion of our HOT103 Cockatrice one of this years most popular releases.  Enjoy and Thanks.  GBS

Kidnap - An alternative use for the HOT103 Cockatrice 15mm monster!

Some of you may have read my earlier article about painting the new Cockatrice that has joined the excellent 15mm.co.uk HOT range of figures. By strange coincidence Sam Croes and I both painted the new figure using similar colours despite being separated by a few hundred miles! I was therefore determined to paint another and come up with a very different colour scheme so Gavin very generously provided another casting for me to use. At the same time I was planning a big fantasy game and needed a  general to lead my combined forces of evil, so I decided that the Cockatrice would make an excellent mount.

After much consideration I picked the mounted Chaos Knight figure from the Tabletop fantasy range (537 Chaos Knight on mount) to be my General. This was because the figure has a full helm so could be male or female, human or Vampire and could be used to fit various scenarios. In my game it was a Vampire Lord who had control of a Goblin tribe to fight alongside his Undead forces but as I've said before the only limit is your imagination. I clipped off the spear that the figure holds and replaced it with the sword from the Undead Cavalry standard bearer (HOT24) to make it different from my other Chaos Knights. 

To make the figure stand out further I decided to portray it as in flight as the Cockatrice already has it's wings spread. I carefully clipped off the base and used a flying stand (from the LBA1 pack) that was attached to the Cockatrice with a thin brass rod. The flying stand itself was then attached to a 40mm square base to give it stability.

As the bulk of my forces of good are human I decided to put a human command figure in the creatures claws to look like an enemy leader has been kidnapped for questioning. I used the command figure from pack MRC26 of the Altuos historical range as the majority of my humans are also from that range. 

For this Cockatrice I painted the scales in purple with a light blue underbelly and legs, then the feathers were coloured a light grey with the crests on the head in a vivid pink. The whole thing was given a black ink wash to tone it down so that it fit in with my Undead army but as the Chaos knight is mostly encased in metal, pretty much any colour would work.

I enjoyed this project as it's fun to spend a bit longer on your leader figures to make them stand out on the tabletop. I know that the colour scheme won't be to everyone's taste but you have to agree that it's very different to the last Cockatrice that I painted. I have a growing collection of characters with monsters as mounts and they are always fun to do. While I like having a good size collection of generic monsters that will fit with pretty much any army, it's good to tie some to a specific force as for me it helps to give the army an identity.

Here is the HOT103 Cockatrice as it appears on the 15mm.co.uk website.  It is a three piece white metal monster.

Recently the lads at 15mm.co.uk released digital downloads of Age of Might and Steel and UM002 USEME 15mm Fantasy.  These are excellent compact rule systems check them out!

Thanks for reading.

Andy 

USEME Solo Play Campaign Setting and Rules for free by Vic Dobson

Last week the entire USEME series of wargame titles was released as digital downloads. At just 3.00GBP each these twelve titles cover science fiction, fantasy and historical wargaming along with other settings too. You can see all of these on the 15mm.co.uk website HERE if you missed that. We are delighted now to present to you for free an entire campaign setting based on the HOF 15mm Science Fiction range written by Vic Dobson which also includes solo play rules. Read on for the download link and more. 

To download the campaign setting in a zipped file from our Dropbox click HERE. 

You will need UM001 USEME 15mm Science Fiction to make use of this campaign setting and we also recommend UM010 USEME Support Pack too for your games. If you want to fight actions in space around the planets then you might like UM006 USEME Starship Battles as well. Super fast, really easy and great fun! 

Written by Vic Dobson who has created other USEME articles (click here to search our blog for USEME to find them HERE) this solo play campaign is a great way to plan out your table top battles across several weeks. I think a campaign of four player sides with two dozen games would take about six weeks with several games of half an hour or so each session. Enjoy! 

There are many free files for all of the USEME titles and these are collected on its page of our website where you can download the latest version for free. 

Thanks for Reading and well done Vic! 

GBS

My beloved USEME Series of wargame rules is now digital downloads!

Following on from HOF Fire Team and Age of Might and Steel but proceeding the mighty Alien Squad Leader we at 15mm.co.uk are proud to announce that the dozen titles in the 'Ultra Simple Engine for Miniature Engagements' USEME series are now digital downloads.  At just 3.00GBP each you get the book, the covers and an 'ease print' version for home printing with all the non-text and vital graphics removed. We no longer have all of the A6 pocket print booklets of USEME in stock but what we have is on the website. You can see them all HERE.

USEME as a series has sold more than seven thousand copies and to me, as its lead author and creator, it makes me so happy that the little set of rules I developed for playing with my then eight year old son has given wargaming fun to players all over the world ever since.  Firstly as booklets and then as downloads and now as digital books on the 15mm.co.uk website.  If you are short of time or want something to plug in and play in ten minutes to an hour then USEME is for you.  Science Fiction, High Fantasy, World War Two, Modern Warfare, American Civil War, Starship Battles, Post Apocalypse, Wild West, Zombie Dawn, Cyberpunk as well as Eldrich Horror and the fantastic Support Pack that works with the other titles.  Here is a list of the titles and a link to each.  We also have two Complete USEME Games containing book, miniatures and scenarios too.  Each page linked to has all the information you need as I want to keep this article short enough for sanity!

USEME 15mm Science Fiction

USEME 15mm High Fantasy

USEME World War Two

USEME Modern Warfare

USEME American Civil War

USEME Starship Battles

USEME Post Apocalypse

USEME The Wild West

USEME Zombie Dawn

USEME Support Pack Expansion

USEME Cyberpunk

USEME Eldrich Horror

Though there have been no new USEME titles published in two years or so there are a half dozen titles in the works from several authors.  It is my intention to get these out to wargamers as digital downloads.  More on this at the time of course but the nearest to ready are about Gangsters and a Modern Warfare Setting title plus of course my own Alien Safari.

Thanks for Reading,

GBS