Hi all ,
Thankyou for the running start back at the packing shed and production floor ! Great to back to the smell of urethane chemicals and hot tin and rubber ! … It smells like … Victory !
I’ve had some big orders arrive straightaway and am diligently getting them altogether regardless of some typical seasonal rain and flooding , Covid isolation (I am fine, just following the rules after close contacts) , and my air compressor limping through it’s last spincasting session.
I have just added a few new things to the catalogue and I have a list here of what’s coming if you don’t see it in the shopfront already. There are a few additional changes happening too ;
The biggest changes will be that the US Army , USMC and ANZ HQ Platoons will be reduced slightly in size , Combat engineers and Tracker dog elements reduced to one team (from two) , and a separate “Engineers” Platoon created with its’ own command and security details.
The original intention of the HQ Platoon packs was to offer some Company-HQ-level specialist teams ; particularly Combat Engineers. With developing gaming experience these Engineer Units have proved so useful on the table that I added another of each Engineer teams to the packs which along with extra Scouts, Snipers, Medics, Signalers and Heavy weapons, which now made the HQ packs a bit heftier in size than was intentioned. Accordingly I have now reduced the Engineer ‘Attachment’ to just one team and composed a Combat Engineer Platoon (and an ‘Assault Pioneer’ Platoon for the Aussies) which has it’s own Platoon Command and security elements ; and two additional teams of specialists. ( to make three teams when added to the team from the ‘HQ Platoon’ pack) . When you really need to search, and really need to destroy a large target area (or VC bunker system) ; these are your best tools. The rest of the Rifle Platoons will be protecting these guys.
ANZ Assault Pioneer Platoon ; (25 Pcs )
US / FWF Combat Engineers ; (25 Pcs )
Also ; two recently added packs are being ‘split’ to add flexibility in planning your specialist forces.
FWF Base Defenders ; A ; Machine Gun Posts . (four machine gun teams with Comms ; 12 Pcs)
FWF Base Defenders ; B ; Clearing Patrols (12 Pcs)
US Army Armoured Cavalry Platoons ; A : ACAV Track crews (crew for four M113 ACAVs)
US Army Armoured Cavalry Platoons ; B ; Infantry dismounts. ( including a minesweeper team and machine gun team)
The newest offering a ‘NVA Rear Services Section’ is intended to deploy as unarmed Camp-watchers and Armed guards occupying Base camps or rear areas . .. These are the (live) targets for your SOG or Recon teams’ prisoner-snatch Missions.
NVA Binh Tram Group , Rear Services Section : ( 12 Pcs )
And the oldest new offering is a generic pack of “Vehicle / Aircraft crew on foot” ; for the moments when; the crew has bailed out, shed their helmets ; picked up a machinegun and radio and are now needing to be rescued. …. These are the (live) targets for your SOG and SEALs Teams’ “Bright Light” Recovery Missions.
Downed Pilots / Bailed Vehicle Crew on foot : (12 Pcs )
The next newest offering is the formula of “Rifle Squad” -sized packing Combat Squads. This has been asked for by players of smaller “skirmish-level” rules who don’t need more than a dozen figures to play out scenarios . 15mm is the smallest scale that skirmish games will “work” visually, and is the wargaming scale used in heaven. It now seems such an oversight that I have not had smaller -squad sized offerings for Skirmish games before now.
…. Also for the players who enjoy larger Company game/scenarios ; it makes it convenient to add a few extra increments of rifle squads or security without having to purchase a whole platoon .
LVC Bareheaded rifle squad with obsolete weapons (12 Pcs )
LVC Coolie hat rifle squad with obsolete weapons (12 Pcs )
MVC rifle squad with AK47 (12 Pcs )
NVA rifle squad ; (12 Pcs )
ANZ Rifle squad ; (12 Pcs )
US Army Rifle squad ; (12 Pcs )
USMC Rifle Squad ; (12 Pcs )
ARVN Rifle squad ; (12 Pcs )
Not bored of new stuff yet ? … Terrain bundles ! ; the Village Terrain Bundle (TER 24) has been our most popular terrain Pack since it was released.
This is now the basis for expansion of the following Terrain bundles ;
VC Forward Base camp (16pcs)
VC Rear Base camp (16pcs )
… and something I’ve been playing with for a short while now ;
CIDG / PF Fortifications Bundle (16pcs )
Further combined bundles are planned to expand on FWF Firebase Fortifications. The FWF fortifications ‘collection’ has been intended to offer modular choices for temporary and permanent fortification. They are intended to mix and match to allow you to build up your FWF defensive positions as you expand your needs from simple Platoon -sized temporary ‘Remain Overnight’ dug-in positions , to Platoon -sized permanent defensive positions ; ’all the way’ … to a full scale Firebase with multiple Platoon-perimeter positions , plus a Mortar platoon position, and Artillery Battery positions with corresponding HQ and C3 (ie ; the Tactical Operations Centre ) defensive and Administration positions (think of ammo storage ) depicting the ‘targets’ for your opponent’s Company-sized Sapper attacks.
A complicating design criteria for all of this is actually “popular basing conventions” ; ie ; the ‘old-school’ 3x3cm fireteam base and the recently more popular 5x3cm fireteam base made commonplace with the FOW rule systems . I have been mindful of the different basing conventions necessary when designing the pieces and composing the bundles, and have aimed to satisfy both sets of requirements.
The “new” bundles are supplementing an already extensive selection of fortification choices, and list as follows ;
Platoon RON Positions (FOW bases) 9 Pcs
Platoon Dug-in Position A (3×3 bases) 12 Pcs
Platoon Dug-in Position B (FOW bases) 12 Pcs
Sandbagged Infantry Platoon position ; (12 Pcs )
Sandbagged Perimeter Defences (20 Pcs ; drums, walls , obstacle stakes + wire )
Sandbagged Infantry Company TOC (12 Pcs ) ;
Sandbagged Mortar Platoon (12 Pcs )
Sandbagged Firebase Battery position (10 Pcs )
Minefield Templates (6pcs ; 2x Minefield templates )
Wire Obstacles (10 pcs + wiring supplies (fuse wire and thin mounting wire)
…. Last on the list ; but absolutely not least ; is the “wire obstacles” fortifications pack of lengths of wiring stakes and a small supply of galvanized steel wire which is ideal for making wire obstacles in 15mm. I think this is a most innovative (genius) urethane terrain piece we’ve done… the 10cm-long ‘wiring stakes’ terrain piece is designed to snap in halves to make two 5cm pieces. It depicts pairs of vertical wiring stakes spaced out over a 10cm length of six depicted pairs of wiring stakes. The depicted wiring stakes have a mass at their base to drill a hole to allow the coiled galvanized sealing wire to be ‘wired’ onto the urethane base easily at up to six tie-down points. It had been designed to be used as a stand-alone single wire obstacle, or to be based to create more complex wire barriers, damaged wire obstacles or combination field defenses.
… as you can see I’ve got a lot here that I’d like to share ; I’ve got the background workshop parts done , some of these combinations have been tested and ready for more than a year , I still need to list the products up on the website ; … and (because of some really bad weather here over the last month and a bit ) I’ve been having a little trouble getting a good internet connection for long enough at the right times to complete all of this, right now it is terrible. But it will pass , and I’ll get it done. There are peoples worse off than me .
Meanwhile I’ll continue getting orders out as well and quickly as I can. That’s always the first priority.
I hope to share more here on other news ; I’d like to offer pre-painted terrain / fortifications ; but have to ensure I have a reliable supply of the materials I would need . I’d like to offer some 3D printed pieces ; again this depends on supply of materials .
I hope all of this is helpful at this moment ; I’ve posted this ‘gday notice before I have all these items posted up in the ‘shopfront so if it’s not in the shop ; It’s coming soon . ..stable internet permitting . Hahaha.
More to follow
Jimmi