Posts of latest news or events
Hi all ,
I’ve just had a minor impact accident, and have hurt my shoulder enough that I’m taking two weeks off to recover .
Hahaha!
I’m Ok , but I need to give my shoulder a break , and get it happy again.
I’ll get done the few orders I have already here before me now , and take it easy for a short bit .
All the best
Jimmi
Hi all , I hope this finds you well and productive .
We’ve just got one of our most popular sets of items back in the shop , the forest packs ; ‘Palm forest’ ; ‘Jungle forest’ and ‘Wet forest’ packs are back in stock and enlarged by half , to make the best value tree assortments possible.
also, .. the ‘Village bundle’ and ‘Village fences’ terrain items are back in stock. Now with more and versatile pieces than before. The village fences is now available in packs of six which in intended to be used for village fencing and animal pen construction , but also for camouflage hides or pallisades for your CIDG/RF/PF fortifications.
also…
the ‘ Hatchett force’/MIKE force /Stryker Platoon pack , and the MACV/SOG RT pack have been increased to 24 figures and many other packs including the recently added ‘Firebase Defenders’ pack have increased or adjusted accordingly. This has been an exciting time as many packs have had improvements planned for some time and useful feedback has been returned on recently-added packs . This is the largest overhaul of Flashpoint Miniatures’ contents since 2017. We have a few new things ready to present ; an ‘ARVN HQ’ pack that has been ready for a while , ‘NVA Counter Recon’ troops, and maybe even some Khmer Rouge are near .
stay in the current !
more to follow soon .
out for now
Jimmi
Hi all,
Well , my planned “quiet period” over January didn’t happen , hahaha !
I am taking a break until the end of April to do some ‘behind the scenes’ upgrades (and restocking) , get some commissioned jobs finished , and get some of my own personal wargaming tasks done in time for my next big meeting coming soon. Might even get outside. ..Woohoo !
Thankyou for the last three months of some great projects out there and a busy few months at Flashpoint Miniatures. Thankyou for the feedback on some of the new packs ; particularly the MIKE/Hatchett force and MACV /SOG Operators. I’ll be “expanding” these two packs as suggested , and also adding some ‘linking’ HQ Packs to enable you to deploy expanding formations for bigger “Raid” (or “Rescue”) scenarios. Likewise the NVA are about to receive a “Counter Recon Team” with tracker dogs and more. (based on the histories of John Plaster) . I am also looking to offer ‘squad’ -sized packs of figures to help to bulk out your formations
I also have a few new (and old) projects that are about to see the light !
… Plus I’ve been able to restock items I’ve been ‘out of stock’ for a little bit . Like our super popular trees packs , of which actually have been wholesale ‘bought-out’ even before making it to the shopfront here. We are adding a few new ‘trees packs’ and terrain items. I’ve been shopping around to find some of the best products and bargains on the internet. I think you’ll like.
But first , a short break.
The website will continue to happily accept your orders, but I will be unlikely to be shipping any new orders out until after April . I’ll still be around (mostly) so am happy to chat .
Jimmi
Hi all , I hope you have had a great holiday period wherever you are .
I’ve had a really busy period up to now , and am still getting things out the door from (immediately) before Christmas ,… admittedly they are some pretty big orders, that have lots of special bits ; but I’m still going, and about to get these away.
I’m planning on taking it pretty easy over the next few weeks up to the end of January. I have a few wargaming commitments I want to put my attention to , so I’ll still be taking orders , but I’ll likely be a bit slower to get them out in the next few weeks .
Plenty of good stuff coming , thankyou for your support and custom over the last year. Despite me having a few weeks away for family reasons , last year was the most busy and innovative so far , AND we are making some more fundamental changes to how we do things behind the ‘scenes so things should be getting better.
I just had the challenge of assembling a large bunch of scenery and figures for a special ‘movie-prop’ project , and pulling in a large number of disparate products (not just the popular ones) ; at short notice , just after the end of an already busy period , and I was remarking at how much our production (in quality and numbers) has improved from our first years . So am feeling good for what’s ahead , now looking to get some time in throwing dice on a table or few .
All the best for now ! Happy Gaming in 2019.
Jimmi
Hi Gents ,
I’ve just had a six week period whereby I’ve been a bit quiet on the Flashpoint front as I attend to extended family duties. All good .
I have used the brief downtime to perform all the ‘behind the scenes’ admin like stocktaking, filing and cleaning (there was a lot to do here) ,.. but most importantly ,.. getting a few new projects ready and completed. My new Sampans and cemetery pieces are ready (mastered by ‘Sunihanble’ ; a genius wargame terrain builder ), and a few other ageing favorite molds have been improved and replaced.
I have been a little busy here over the table nonetheless, as a few gamers have been amassing some interesting NVA Sapper Companies that we put together earlier in the year. There has also been a lot of interest in larger VC units and I have really enjoyed a run of packing up larger NVA and VC units in some big orders.
Sappers on the wire ! … courtesy of the desk of Josep Ribera.
I’ve also added a few figures to my ‘pet’ project of MIKE force/ Hatchett force and MACV-SOG pack rethinks , after reading John Plasters’ book ‘SOG’ again earlier in the year. I have a few painting/modelling priorities rightaway ; but I am so looking forward to getting a formation of these bad boys together and painted. I am looking to add some sort of ‘irregular’ HQ units with a few heavy weapons and medics / signallers / interrogators etc to ’round these units out on the wargames table for bigger ‘jobs. I have a few friends who are fully exploring the ‘special-operations’ genre , and I have had some excellent feedback on “wants and needs” .
“Clear ! ” ; from the wargames table of ‘Just Jack’ .
So thankyou very much gents , thankyou for giving me a little time that I needed , and thanks for keeping me busy nonetheless. Huge thankyous for your kind comments on other forums about my “outstanding” service (very appreciated to hear) . Plenty of most excellent new and old 15mm Vietnam wargaming goodness is here.
more to follow , out for now .
Jimmi
Greetings Flashpoint friends ,
I have just had a death in the family, and plan to be supporting my immediate family as a priority over the next few weeks.
I will process current orders and happily receive new orders throughout this time , but I’ll take it pretty easy at least until the end of June , … so immediate orders might take a bit longer to put together.
I thank my Flashpoint customers and friends very much for a great year so far , and hope this won’t interfere with any plans for world domination at this time.
All the best
Jimmi
Flashpoint Miniatures (third tour) is five years old !
In late 2012, we purchased Flashpoint Miniatures from previous owners who had let the range decline and it may have been lost altogether. From a relatively disorganised situation five years ago, we have taken this small range of 15mm Vietnam figures, a few vehicles, and even a few Ultramodern subjects , and expanded and improved, and expanded some more, … with more coming.
We can now offer a relatively comprehensive range of relevant Vietnam miniatures, terrain, and a few more vehicles.
We are long-time Vietnam wargamers, and are aiming to offer innovative subjects not offered by other manufacturers such as Green Berets, Montagnards, “RuffPuffs”, ARVN Rangers, NVA medics, Mechanical Mules, Light Seal Support Craft (LSSC), and even a (recently reworked) LVTP5 and LVTH6 which are designed to “lift-off” for waterline versions. Tabletop experience has also revealed the need for other relatively uncommon figures such as Minesweepers, Dog handlers, Snipers, Casualty figures, and one of my favourites ; an innocent looking clump of bamboo… …is it a booby trap ? … is it a cache ? … is it a hidden unit or ambush ? … is it an objective marker ? … is it a lone water buffalo ? ….or is it just a clump of bamboo ? .. there is only one way to find out … this the nature of the best Vietnam gaming.
We have also developed our range of terrain pieces from a few hooches and sandbag walls to a comprehensive selection of fortifications for establishing a firebase, …or a strategic hamlet , …or a VC basecamp , …or just a rural civilian Ville ; complete with all the ‘clutter’ you’d expect to see in an Asian village, and the largest range of Vietnamese civilians (including livestock) in any wargaming scale.
We have also done our homework with commercially available “vegetation” (eg. plastic palm trees , … for starters) and offer a few combinations of the best available items we have found for 15mm tropical terrain-making, and offer these at the best prices I have seen on the internet.
We made the decision a year or so ago to sell our products directly, instead of through resellers. This might mean you pay relatively more for postage from Australia (where we are based; in the forested mountains behind Byron Bay), but it also means we can offer a lower, more competitive base price for items, respond to specific requests, and keep pack contents up-to-date with the best items we can offer. We can often be clever with postage and packing to minimise costs as we can, and can and do advise on the best shopping strategies to maximise value for money.
We have also made the effort to source (and prepare ourselves) the cleanest lead-free pewter which casts beautifully well, and results in a tough, durable, metal wargaming figure (without missing or fragile weapon barrels) that will also cope with gentle adjusting or conversion. We also cast our terrain pieces out of polyurethane for maximum durability and minimum weight. No fillers are added.
We have more new, innovative ideas in the pipeline ! … We are expanding and improving our terrain offerings in collaboration with other Vietnam gamers. We are expanding our range of Riverine Craft in collaboration with Gomi Designs (the original source of the largest selection of Riverine craft in 15mm), and have found enthusiastic figure sculptors who complete fantastic original work with a knowledgeable eye for detail. Our immediately soon-arriving projects include a Vietnamese cemetery ‘set’ and reworked sampans from our friend ‘Sunihanble’ (who is well known in Vietnam gaming circles for his beautiful terrain ideas), plus a few V100 armoured-car versions from our friend ‘Uncle Les’ (who is a legendary award-winning modeller Down-Under), plus (on the suggestion of our friend ‘Jack’ , a prolific gamer) a selection of squad-sized packs for skirmish-game players, or just more economical when a Platoon-sized force increase is not required.
Thankyou to our friends and customers who have made this last five years of work with a great range of 15mm figures from my personal favourite genre such a joy, despite the work involved.
By way of saying a wider thankyou , and marking our 5th Birthday at the helm of Flashpoint Miniatures, and to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Tet Offensive;
I’d like to offer a 20% discount on orders over $100.00 USD AUD for the next week. (!..except for the plastic tree items which are already v good value!)
Enter the code TET18 on the way through the checkout process.
Happy Vietnam gaming 2018 !
Jimmi at Flashpoint Miniatures
Hi all,
Welcome to 2018 ! .., we have had a really busy holiday period and filled some really interesting orders ! Thankyou for keeping us busy (no really …hahaha!) , and thanks for some of the excellent feedback and shared projects I have seen recently. Thankyou, Gracias , for the many emails and photos .
I’ve got a heaps of stuff to share ;
If you hadn’t seen already ; the LVTP5 and LVTH6 are back with an improved master. I do have the ‘Palm trees’ pack back in stock and the ‘Jungle trees’ pack has sold well but with only a few left already (but I will restock very soon). I have added the terrain grids and need to restock these too ..only two left as of right now. I haven’t yet got the new cemetery terrain set or new sampans ready yet , but they are awaiting the right moment for production-casting.
I am just about to split the MACV/SOG ‘Hatchett Force’ into two . Now I will offer an eighteen man MACV/SOG Patrol (think ‘Project Delta’) with a few US advisors and smaller indigenous LRRP troops , and a small heavily armed ‘rescue’ (or ‘ambush’) force . …and .. add a MIKE Force pack (think also ‘CIDG Striker’ or “Border Rangers” ) of 18 heavily armed local/’indig’ troops a few US advisors , … with their sleeves rolled up and loaded with ammo , …. ready to drop into anything with guns blazing .
I’m also about to add ;
NVA Sappers ( a long time coming ! , I haven’t painted these myself yet ; can’t wait) , NVA Medics and casualties ( completely as a result of needs from gaming experience , you need these guys to drag your casualties off the table, plus ‘walking wounded’ you don’t want captured) , FWF Engineers (incl; minesweepers, dog-search teams, …again useful as the result of gaming experience ) , FWF Base Defenders (machinegun teams and RTO, to man your defences) , US Army ‘Mechanised Cavalry’ (to ‘mount’ in your ACAV Platoons), and a US Army M40 RCL Support Platoon ,… as ‘Platoon’-sized packs (like we already do)
..BUT … according with popular request I want to offer ‘squad’ packs of 8 to 12 figures so you can customise your forces more economically . Keep a lookout ! Lots more to come !
I’m also looking to change the way I do standard packaging , this is because if I can keep smaller orders thinner and lighter, I can maybe save you a bunch on postage. I’ve been trying this out with well known customers who give me good working feedback (many thankyous) and I reckon this will work fine. You should see postage prices come down at lower, smaller weight thresholds.
For those who are following this ; The “Leading Elements” Rules project is maturing nicely. We hope to have a stripped-down version and basic data tables in your hands very soon. Probably… also available (free) on Kindle ! We have been playtesting stuff wonderfully, ruthlessly well , and am having some good confirmatory success at dovetailing layers of rules together. and keeping it simple, readable and reference-able. ( The TOE and data charts are 1000% better looking and readable than they were even 3/12 ago.) (! Awesome 😉 ) This is taking longer than we keep thinking , and we are keen to share , but really worth doing right. We are seeing this with the easy complexity the ‘game’ seems to allow, and we have a few things to do , fix, rewrite as of right now ,.. but it’s getting where we want it to be.
as well as being busy in the Flashpoint ‘shop’ and posting stuff away, plus making new stuff and replacing old stuff , and me being a social songbird of Happiness in 15mm Vietnam wargaming, …we will get this done .. Hahaha!
I think this will be another big year for 15mm Vietnam wargaming !
… I don’t know if you have been noticing , but it’s been quiet out there in the jungle ,… it has been quiet for too long , something ‘real big must be about to happen . (..and it’s the 50th anniversary of the 1968 Tet Offensive )
If you are on Facebook come and see where the “Fields of Fire” forums have moved to… a great place to discuss Vietnam wargaming with Vietnam wargamers .
https://www.facebook.com/groups/204855620081089/
all the best for the New Year !
Jimmi
Hi all ,
! Another year has flown by !
Thankyou all for your support and comradely good fellowship you provide through the year. I’m looking forward to a great year for Flashpoint Miniatures. I’ve been uncharacteristically all over the place in the second half of this year, but I’ve got a lot done , and I’ve got a lot more coming. I’ll post more just as soon as the silly season is past.
Sorry again I’ve been remiss in keeping here updated. You’ll know if you write I’m pretty good at getting back to individual questions or conversations. I’m often checking in here ; https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/fieldsoffireonline/index.php or here https://www.facebook.com/groups/204855620081089/
A lot here at Flashpoint Miniatures to share ! , Lots of new packs here on the back of some serious gaming experience ! ..things you didn’t know would be so important later !! … More new terrain (and restocks) coming soon !
But for now …
Merry Christmas 2017 ! .. Hope it’s a good one !
Jimmi
Hi all ,
I trust you are well , wow ! .. nearly end of September ! … a lot has been happening ! ..again a busy few months here ! Thankyou all . I’ve packed a lot of Marines, VC, SEALs and LRRPs recently ! I’ve got quite a few things finished, played a few games, met some new people and found a few pearls
I have a few new things to share ;
firstly; I am happy to be able to offer some new scenery items from a veteran Vietnam and Indochina wargamer that I think are brilliant, and I hope to be offer more of into the future. These pieces are created by Pascal , located in sunniest France ; here is where to find his blog if you would like to see more http://chtigurine.blogspot.com.au/ . Pascal’s work is well known in the Vietnam Wargaming Community for his beautiful and imaginatively themed realistic wargaming layouts, scenery and models. I am fortunate to be reproducing a few of his pieces for sale here at Flashpoint Miniatures.
Starting with the pieces to make this cemetery layout …. I know one of our wargaming brothers in Texas, USA has been looking for cemetery pieces … these are fantastic , but Pascal also has three beautiful sampan models I can also share. I’ve only just first-casted copies of (most of) these pieces , and they have copied beautifully, so I’ll have these on the website available for sale very soon . . There are more pics you can find (including of the Sampans) by clicking on Flickr at the bottom of the page. I’m thinking of offering a mix of the gravesites , walls and doorways , and the Buddha and plinth, together and separately . Thoughts ? ,, this has only developed in the last few weeks so I am just seeing what works or is wanted for now .
next …. some old friends are back at Flashpoint Miniatures ….. the LVTP5 and LVTH6
The production moulds for these monsters wore out at the very end of last year , so I took the opportunity to ask Darby Eckles (the original designer of this beautiful beast) to remaster a few little details (like ‘thickening’ observation periscopes and headlight thicknesses and shapes … tiny details.., plus adding a few details like antenna mounts) so they cast out more reliably than the first (scrupulously accurate) versions do. I’ve test-casted these , they turn out great ! …and so these will be available again very soon , …. I have a waiting list of about a dozen to do ……
but also … some more old friends are back ! … the “palm trees” pack , plus a “water plants” pack of mixed smaller greenery (and shorter palms). and a “jungle pack” of mixed trees and palm trees. …The “Palm trees” pack has been a perennial favourite since I started stocking these nearly five years ago , and I thought these had disappeared from supply a few months ago. These are by far the best-value for money assorted trees (chosen for 15mm) you can buy. Tough, ready to use , and packed to allow you to construct 11cm-high forests with several (up to four) canopy layers of mixed foliage in a number of (at least three) different shades of lush green. I’ll take some photos, and you’ll see these on the website shelves in a day or so.
… and I’ve just got another project or two along a bit further ; thanks Uncle Les , this will be doing convoy duties in no time … an Airforce version is a certainty…
Betta go for now , … please keep the emails and good conversations coming , it is awesome to see so many different projects happening and to be sharing ideas . Thankyou .
