Category: News / Events

Hi all ,

It has been a great few months since I posted here last. Sorry it’s been a short while, but I’ve been having some super busy times getting some really interesting projects out the door this season. Thankyou to our many customers and (now long-time) friends and gamers who make our business and wargaming hobby the awesome community experience it is.  I’m glad to have met some really good people, a shared more than a few laughs in the last five years, And, hey ! …. I just found out one of my nearest country towns has a young, thriving, gaming club !

 ” …  here they are ! ” 

The new SEALs and Sappers are everywhere and well received, the terrain bundles are a hit, The brand-new PBR and LSSC look great !  I have a whole bunch of new things (BWN, Khmer Rouge, casualty figures ) moved forward,  and  , and have found some treasures too ! …. More later, I’m still figuring the last bit out !

Most of all, I’ve had some really fun gaming in too ! Have seen some amazing things and great people come together ! … and blow stuff up with dice !

and have a great time doing it ! …  That’s what it’s all about !

so yes , despite my not updating the front of the website for a little bit ;

.. Flashpoint Miniatures is still open for business, producing good quality casted pewter miniatures and casted urethane terrain and thoughtfully sourced additional terrain and wargaming products for a good price, and posting them everywhere. Plenty of innovative new stuff coming, … including our own bunch of rules when we can agree to finish them at some point, and not go off on some new tangent like gamers do.  Hahaha !

Happy gaming !

Jimmi

Flashpoint Miniatures

 

 

Hi all,

Thankyou for your support, engagement and comradeship again for another year ! 2016 was a fantastic behind-the-scenes year with a few long term production goals realised and the quality of what we do lifted by another notch. Thankyou to people like Darby Eckles who is good with CAD Amtraks and 3D printing can-do, Tim Parnell (Gomi Designs) who is good with boats (and pretty handy with CAD and 3D printing), and Erica Clark (Reaper Miniatures) who is good with hot rubber under pressure.  But what’s ahead ?…

just Now ?…

… the release of the new US  Navy SEAL Team figures for  a start… an awesome pack of 24 special forces figures with no figure repeats .. 24 different figures to allow you to configure two identically armed teams or customise weapons for specific troublemaking.

..the release of the Local force VC Headquarters Platoon and Sappers ; a large 46 piece pack of VC “Infrastucture” troops (Cadres, taxmen, porters, trailwatchers, medics and casualties) plus Combat teams of Sappers, plus a few “Heroic Comrade” personality figures, and a few additional pieces to help fortify your VC base or village.

… the release of our first terrain ‘bundle’ pack .. a “Civilian Village Bundle” pack of twenty urethane pieces, plus another twenty metal pieces and two pieces of turf matting. Intended to be a “one pack” start to an interesting looking small Vietnamese “ville” as a collection of specific terrain pieces. This particular bundle has received great feedback from trials at the start of the year and from last year. We are happy to be able to offer it now. We have more terrain ‘bundles’ coming.

so what’s coming up soon ? … as I write this on Sunday Night 22 January , … I’ve just been away , I’ve just spent about two days cleaning up, packing, weighing and counting Flashpoint stuff, and I’ve updated and serviced the website, … I’ve got a few packs of Somalis waiting to post, and late gifts to some mates here and there still waiting to go too , I’ve got to paint up some VC , ….I’m getting ready to go to CanCon at the end of the month  …. I’m probably going to drink beer. I have to mow the lawn before then,

what’s coming up this year ? … I’d like to get Tim at Gomi Designs’ LSSC (Light SEAL Support Craft) and PBR finished for production. The LSSC is ready, … I’m changing  the twin-50 cal tub gunner on the PBR to a metal-and-urethane piece because the original piece doesn’t cast out so easily with the fast-setting urethane I use.  I also have new 3D-printed masters of the LVTP5 Amtrak,…Darby has added and changed details (like antenna mounts) and improved the originals a little for production, I need to do some new production casts for these new pieces too. Darby has also improved the T50 turret for production , and.. I’m about to cast out the V100 Commando armoured Car hull , …. and….. I’ve got the one-piece urethane ‘tuk tuk’ ready to master cast. … so a few things are awaiting some love and about six hours of attention with a perfect storm of latex.

…Easy ! .. got all the pieces ready and materials handy.. just need a day at home on  a day with normal temperatures and humidity.

Plenty more ! .. many of the figure packs are bigger and diversely packed (less figure repeats) than ever before. A lot of the figure improvements from last year are in the range of figures you will see in each of the US Army, NVA and MVC Platoon packs. You will also see that a lot of the ‘Special Forces’ figures have completely improved in quality and range , for example we can offer a 24 figure pack of kick-arse Navy SEAL Team figures , offer 24 different figures , that will dominate your 15mm Vietnam battlefield. You can see in some packs of 40-ish figures only a half-dozen  figure repeats. ! …Happy with that, … as a figure collector now-turned-producer.

Plenty more coming , ! … Welcome 2017 ! Gaming news to follow !

I need to be painting stuff .

all the best

Jimmi

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi Gents ! , .. what’s new at Flashpoint-Miniatures. ? …Well… lots !

I’ve just had a pile of long-awaited spincasting moulds with new figures and pieces arrive. I’ve had a test spinout of the moulds and they (and the figures) are great.

I’ve been formulating a bunch of new packs with the pieces added from these moulds to deploy some new interesting tabletop forces ; Mike Force Strike Teams, VietCong ‘Infrastucure’/HQ cells, NVA Sappers and two new Boat models ..a PBR and LSSC are here !

I’ve just got to make up a few, check weights and sizes (for postage) and put ’em in the shop. …aand I’m painting a few examples up so I can show you some pictures of what’s on offer .

I am super-busy at the moment, with a few other things on the boil too, so I’ll get these done just as soon as I can. I’m also looking to overhaul the website a little , and start a Facebook page.  (..instead of the ‘forums’ on the website which is a crawlspace for hackers, and I haven’t had them working for a while.)

the “Leading Elements” Rules project is awesome … we are playing a “1964; Special Forces Camps” campaign game at the moment to test them out. Thankyou to everyone involved with this. ,.. the year has flown !.. and we are looking to another gathering in November. …

again … I’m sorry for not writing more here, more often . But you can be fairly assured that if I’ve gone “quiet” , I’m up to something …. keep a lookout !

All the best

Jimmi

 

Hi Gents , Great days !

Yes, have been usually busy with many new things. Thankyou to our newest happy customers who have kept me well busy.

? new stuff ;

–  the SEALs pack will now get a few new members and be a full SEAL ‘Platoon’ of 18 men.

– a new 40piece Local-force VC Headquarters ‘Platoon’ ;  a collection of Command, Sappers, Porters, Trailwatchers, medics, markers, and extra machineguns for the well organised Localforce VC Company HQ .

-The ARVN have a HQ Pl coming, and a MIKE force PL ,  and new MACV/SOG figures.
-The USA Infantry have been rebased and remastered a little. …eg machine guns + ammo belts better casted .
-A handful of NVA figures have had the same overhaul.

At the moment these have all been master casted and are awaiting production casting.

I’ve got new Khmer rouge master figures x8 half-done,  a metal tuk tuk for production casting , a urethane Renault ‘Saigon taxi’ , a V100 Commando Armoured car nearly finished.

I’m collaborating with Tim at Gomi Designs to do more crew and weapon pieces for his upcoming boats as he overhauls some of his work and adds the PCF boat he’s doing right now . I’ve just done a great twin .50 gunner for his PACV  model; for example. The PBR and LSSC metal pieces are next in line to be production-casted so I can
manufacture these also.

No new terrain. I have a bunch of ‘hard-building’ masters to be production casted. I’m looking to expand what I do with  the ‘hooches’ pack to make a good looking 20+ piece ‘Asian rural village’ as a bundled item.
The Rules project is looking really good. The main working party (here in Australia) had a big meet and game
in November last year and again just before Christmas, and again just a fortnight ago.
The Tactical tabletop rules working well and written clearer, and are getting good results in the scenarios we’ve been using / testing . (in the dark, in the wet, lots of irregulars, special forces  etc. etc. ) The Force TOE’s are being added to , and Scenario/theatre/specialist rules being done now as ‘extras’ (eg field engineering, boats/BWN .. lotsa ‘extras’) instead of  bulking out the core rules . November -December was a short test of  our adaptation of Martin Porters’ “Guerilla Warfare” campaign rules with a simplest of settings .. want to repeat for a BWN setting to see if they can  handle it at BTN level with lots of moving pieces, moving tides , and sneaky Sappers and SEALs in the dark.

Not rushing things, and want to make sure all the bits work together . Having fun.

Flashpoint figures calling the shots !
However most of the Working Party has got ADD with OCD for PGM’s  , and have got distracted by the potential Cold War gaming awesomeness hysteria sweeping the known world. They’re in Africa with Saggers and T-28 Air-Forces. …Like herding cats right now .

I wish I was painting a lot more than I’m getting done right now … how about you ?

Hi Gents ,

Just a quick hello and “best wishes” for the season. Another whirlwind year is in its final hours… what happened to 2015 ?

My ‘best laid plans’ for this year had me getting the ARVN Rangers out for sale (after near a year on the sculptor’s desk), releasing a whole bunch of terrain items (mostly fortifications.. for both sides), re-organising and re-moulding the ageing production moulds for a lot of the most popular figures, pushing our rule-writing project forward, attending a few conventions, and a planned ‘field trip’ to Vietnam with my wife.

Well …plans ‘never survive first contact’, …the ARVN and Terrain pieces got over the line without too much trouble (thankyou Matt at Reaper miniatures) , the production moulds re-do is on track (..although is a bigger task than I gave it credit for), the rule writing has gone really well, maybe a bit too well**….and I think we have something good to share more widely here real soon. …I never got to attend the two conventions I’d planned for ..one was out of my hands , the other was a “strategic call” not to attend (…was harvest time on the farm). Visiting Vietnam itself was a definite high point … my wife finally ‘gets it’ why I have a love for this country and its’ history.

However this year also came with the opportunity to collaborate with Tim at Gomi Designs on making “crew” figures for his PBRs and a Light Seal Support Craft (LSSC) , which put me to work on top of other things ..but with good effect. The end result of which is now available through Gomi Designs (link below) ..but will also culminate with Flashpoint Miniatures also producing Gomi Designs’ boats in the near future (ie; Monitors, ATC, PBR, LSSC, APSB, PCF, ACV, with a MSSC and a LCM-8 coming soon) … a project / direction I hadn’t seen coming at the beginning of the year..but am very enthusiastic about . Wow !

The “Leading Elements” rules have progressed well, the Combat rules themselves have had a thrashing, the Army Lists sections have ‘arrived’ (and I’ve learned how much I didn’t know) the Campaign rules have matured to allow the player to play out a frighteningly realistic campaign (or mini campaign) in the boots (or sandals) of a Company Commander or Battalion Commander.  (…** Umm… problem is that the Communist Commanders’ Campaign Brief also reads like a ‘how-to’ organise and effect an insurgency / terrorism campaign ..a bit too realistic perhaps …so we got a bit of re-writing to do before this circulates further … or we might be facing jail time methinks). Thankyou to the “dirty dozen” of playtesters we have on board with this , and more most sincere thanks to many others who have offered advice, material, feedback and best wishes as we have moved / meandered forward. Yeah .. we aren’t rushing this .. but I think interested parties will be happy with the results.

For me personally, 2015 has been a fantastic year.. mostly because of the legion of most excellent wargaming gentlemen I have had the privilege to meet and correspond with; a quick count in my ‘wargaming emails’ folder says I have exchanged just over 850 emails with this year !  double Wow !

But most completely the “best bit” has been actually getting figures on the table and playing a few interesting Vietnam games with people I’ve newly met. This has reminded me what this is all really about … good times with good people having good fun.

! Thankyou Gents … More to follow .  See you next year !

( a Company of Marines arrives upriver by Amtrack, while another Company enters a village expecting trouble )

Hi guys ! , I’m sorry I’ve been slack here,… but I’ve been awesome everywhere else !

I’ve just got back from northern safari and a few days of most supremely excellent playtesting goodness. …..with a few days before that of organising and finishing off plenty of nice looking terrain pieces. ….with a few days before that of getting some nice looking minis all ready for tabletop combat.

Now I have some really pretty eye candy to share . Will post some AAR’s as soon as.  The rules project is advancing steadily … I haven’t posted anything here because it seemed to be evolving so quickly leading up to ‘safari’. The campaign rules have been popular with those that have seen them so we are considering keeping more to the original presentation of tactical and campaign rules …just now with greatly increasing ‘Army Lists’ and background ‘scenario’ information ! Hahaha! I feel like we’ve come a full circle ! (…or we are going around in circles ! …Hahahaha!)

I shoulda put a ‘note on the door, saying I’ll be away …have come back to lots waiting to do ..thankyou for shopping at Flashpoint Miniatures ! …Glad you like !

I need to do a little restocking !

Great days !

 

Hi Gents,

Another few weeks and months have flown past, and a lot has been happening since I posted in June. Firstly we’ve been pretty busy with some pretty cool looking ARVN and USMC armies and ‘Village terrain’ going out the door.  The ‘Checkpoint kit’ (TER-11) has been the runaway favourite terrain item, along with the ‘VC Bunkers’. …. Thankyou much for your business, kind feedback, and cool pics !

Our own figure remastering and re- production-moulding schedule is moving ahead really well.       I am now producing more and better cast figures than ever before. We have invested in quite a few new production moulds for our biggest turnover ranges, some of which were ‘remastered’ a little (to improve bases mostly, or rectify persisting casting difficulties)… so now I can offer a better looking range of fantastic figures, some of which have been out of circulation for a while it seems. Some items I used to have trouble producing , now produce very well. I have also filled a lot of gaps in little details such as heavy weapon accessories and civilian ‘clutter’ , and produce more items I wanted such as more casualty tokens (now for  M14 USMC and ANZAC ) …I am already passing this on in more interesting and useful combinations in the composition of various packs. Funnily enough, this also means I’m looking to reduce prices of some things (or pack more and better) because I am now producing much more efficiently. Watch this space !

We’ve recently been collaborating with Gomi Designs in England to make a series of  “crew and weapons” figures for their expanding range of Vietnam Riverine boats. Tim at Gomi Designs has a PBR , a Light SEAL Support Craft (LSSC) , and a much, much awaited ‘Swift Boat’ (PCF) also very near production. Tim is planning a Medium SEAL Support Craft (MSSC) next with a LCM-8 planned thereafter. Watch this space. I’m looking to provide gunner options for the PACV from Gomi designs very soonly too

The ‘Leading Elements’ Tactical Rules project is very advanced and I should be posting a lot of it on the forums here in the next month.  …Thankyou for your feedback and “Comradely good fellowship” in scrutinizing and shaping these.  A lot of good observations, information and advice have been offered here. Thankyou ! The Army List sections have come together well, and a miniCampaign test run has been scheduled for a loong weekend in November. Stay tuned, will share pics !

Thanks again to all for keeping the Flashpoint Miniatures shop-floor pretty busy recently, and an enjoyable place to work ! ……..Yes ! ..still have lots of new things coming …. more SEALs and ARVN , Riverine/boat crews, civilian ‘tuk-tuk’, Saigon taxi, modular ‘hard’ buildings, terrain remasters, LVTP5 remaster, M113 remasters, a CH34 Choctaw, ‘technicals’ for the Ultramodern troops … most of which exist already and are just waiting for a chance to be prepared for production. …The concurrent ‘Rules project has slowed me down a bit here.

I have been busy making piles of gaming-ready terrain for this coming November. Found some cool things,… will share !

Great days ! Good things closer ! … Woohoo !  November coming !

Jimmi

Hi Gents,

Yes ! …back from a short trip to Vietnam and home unscathed ! … Have been characteristically busy since returning home , …. apart from catching up on my ‘day job’, tending to farm chores  and unpacking treasure;  I have been immediately busy mastering some crew figures for my friend Tim at Gomi Designs (these are already on the way to be master moulded so stay ‘tuned, …see link at the bottom of this page), … plus some new SEAL figures, a few ‘Mike-force’ figures, plus some improvements to some of our current US Army figures.

Also …  I’ve been using many photos from the trip to master some new modular ‘hard’ buildings for the Vietnam wargames table. These will have lift-off rooves and are designed to ‘stack’ to make multiple-story structures such as town/city shops and larger buildings with a “French-colonial” appearance in a number of combinations. I’m excited about this project as it was one of the original terrain projects started back in early 2013, but ummmm… ‘M14 Marines, Mechanical Mules, Amtracks, Firebase fortifications, VC fortifications, 38 new figures and another fifteen recent ARVN figures have all taken precedence. ….Hahaha ! I need more hours in the ‘day, days in the ‘week, weeks in the ‘month ……

For those following the ‘rules project I’m just about to update the current (January 2015) draft and will disseminate more widely and begin posting in the ‘forums’ section of this site. Feedback, comments and criticisms are invited. I’ve got some cool looking AAR’s to show you too !

Better get busy !

06 June 2015.

Hi Gents,

How’s it going ? …Have been pretty flat out here till now. Thanks for all your support !

Lotsa good things happening ! …ARVN Rangers/paras seem a big hit ! New (actually ‘old’) SEALs about to arrive into production. More SEALs (as boat crew for Gomi’s Designs LSSC), and Boat Crews… about to come. Mould Replanning project doing well. …even getting some painting and gaming done ! Rules projects looking real good !…scary !

Just a note on the ‘front door’ to say ..am about to go away touristing for a fortnight from tomorrow,

…am on tour to Vietnam ! ..true ! will take some photos.

The shop will still be open to take your urgent orders but I will be unable to pack and ship until I return in early May.

I hope this is OK !

Hang in there ! Lots of good things coming !

(Civilian vehicles, terrain pieces, new and ‘old’ figures ..looking their remoulded best !)

Jimmi

Hi Gents ! …I’ve recently had a few requests for postal/shipping rates clarification, so I went and had a look at the Australia Post plug-in that calculates shipping and options, to my surprise I found that the cheaper shipping rates options had been switched off …so  I’ve switched them back on !  Hereby, cheaper postal rates than “Express hand delivered by  three wise Magi” is now available.

Also ..if you aren’t following the financial news from Australia ( I don’t think anybody does) , the Australian economy under our current fearless leadership is spiralling into the toilet , and nearly all the robber barons in the mining sector have sold out and left ! … But that’s great news ! (only if you are self employed , grow/kill your own food and make your own electricity..)

(At the time of writing)… The Aussie dollar (AUD) is down about 22% against the USD (…than what it was about this time last year) (AUD= .76 USD), and down about 10% against the GBP   (AUD= .52 GBP), ….great news ! … if you don’t live in Australia !

So exploit the opportunities ‘Down Under ! … Buy Australian!

… before we officially convert our currency to Renminbi (RMB) ! …

All the best  😉

Jimmi

16 march 2015.