Thursday 21 May 2015

The Prototype 15mm SuperBlue Adder Vehicle


We do not often show off early prototypes but in this case I wanted to make an exception. With Patrol Angis coming out in just over a weeks time (Go HERE) I wanted to fill you in on where we are going. Not next month or next three months but the next stage and the lead to the next title in the book series. While Patrol Angis focuses upon infantry skirmish with the addition of battlesuits, bikes and portable weapons the next title will add in structures and...vehicles. Small to large these vehicles are everything from most humble to the most glorious. One of the most heavily requested additions to the Adders, Skylark, Mullo and other vehicles in our current range was the mentioned in the story 'SuperBlue'. A massively up armoured Adder variant featuring replusar (Anti-Gravity) propulsion like the talked of Taranis main battle tanks which sported a heavy laser capable of bringing down much larger targets. The Super Blue is a hunter killer with a lot of bang for the buck as they say. 


What we are showing you here is currently the master of the prototype SuperBlue Adder. While the final design that will be released will be a little different it will be close to the same as what you can see now. We carry out such tests and prototypes upon all of our vehicles and larger items to make sure they are just right and this is the first time I have shown anyone outside of the company such images. As you can see the SuperBlue is composed of three pieces. The Hull with its repulsar engine pods and superior armour, the turret with a modified Valerin Laser Cannon and a specially designed floating stand to lift the vehicle off the playing surface. The second image shows the prototype next to an Orange Adder Combat Lifter for scale along with a measurement. This vehicle is a part, a distant part, of the Adder family and will sit well with the dozen Adder Combat Cars and Lifters we already have available. You can see these on our website HERE

We hope you like our hunter killer and any feedback is as always most welcome. Expect to see it later this year. If you are interested in knowing where the origin of this vehicle comes from here is the text from 2014 that inspired it: 


One of the innovations that the very beginning of the Prydian Army made in the year before the battle of Fenway Prime was to bring back ancient military designs that had been brought to the Precinct by those first long forgotten Humans fleeing the anarchy of the species home world. While the powered armour and energised weapons were inventions from the Ban of Prejudice a thousand years earlier the patterns for what would become the Havelock and Duxis battlesuits were taken from this ancient knowledge. The Prydian Army had no ground transport for its Muster. Ground transport that could bring the soldiers to the battle but also support them while they were in combat. The answer came from this same source and became the Adder Combat Car series. In the Resource Wars of the 21st Century before the time of the Ark Ships and mankind taking to the stars a similar style of warfare combined with a lack of raw material existed. The solution of the time for the bulk of infantry was the Combat Car. Easy to produce, easy to maintain and made from simple parts and well tested technology they were cheaper than any other vehicle of the time overall. They could carry a four man fire-team or they could act in a support role with mounted weapons in the same range as those used by crewed weapons or battlesuits. A modular hull meant that often only the turret and some internal systems had to be changed over to create a new model in the series. Fitting new power systems and drives and moving away from the fossil fuels of the twenty first century meant that Reckart Nevall and the weakened Aeddan Council on the New Glastonbury Tor now had the Adder. 

Adder Combat Cars come in many types within the series including newer different drive systems but the bulk of them are four wheeled or lifter types. With an average weight of just over five and a half tons and roughly sixteen feet in length that Adder is not a combat heavy weight like the Taranis. A colour coding system is in use to make Adders easy to assign to Regiments (and indeed the Marcher Barons use the same system) and to allow Muster who can sometimes not be as used to war as a Retained Knight a simple recognition method. The Red Adder is the standard Combat Car with space for four and mounting a turret with a Moth 88 Rotary Cannon. The Yellow Adder is the fire support car and has two crew along with a turret with an Anda 60mm Missile Pod. The Black Adder acts as an armoured punch giving the Muster the ability to knock out battlesuits and other smaller tough targets with two crew and a turret mounted Fretan Rail Gun. Less common is the Orange Adder which is infantry support mounting a specialised turret with a Moth 30 automatic 50mm Grenade Launcher which is a recent introduction to the series. Dedicated Adders include the Green Adder which is a command and control car at the battalion level and the White Adder for medical teams and battlefield triage. The 'Battle Taxi' type Grey Adder is heavily modified and can carry two fire-teams or a squad at a real squeeze. There are also some very specialised Adders too for purposes such as the SuperBlue Adder, the Brown Adder and the Purple Adder. Every Muster Regiment is in possession of hundreds of Adders across the spectrum for all its roles and since they are so easy to fabricate and to maintain they are making a real impact in the ongoing Civil War and in the Camarthen Star System too. 


I also want to remind everyone that our first 15mm scale wargame title Patrol Angis is up for pre-order with offers until 1st June. You have ten days left. Its a great offer as you can get the book, the game set or the game set pro-painted and based with a 15% saving off release price and each of these includes not only the book and or miniatures but also the unique Knight Errant miniature to these codes and also the monthly free miniature which is IMP21 Planetary Militia Drill Sergeant. You can use your Reward Points to save even more off the price if you wish and in fact I encourage you to do that after all you earned them with purchases. To read the full post on this go HERE or to visit the Early Support Page of the website go HERE

Thanks for your time. 

GBS

Thursday 14 May 2015

Patrol Angis 15mm Science Fiction Rules Pre-Order Offers!


15MM SKIRMISH WARGAME RULES SET IN THE ION AGE 
Go HERE.   15% Off Pre-Order Until June 1st 2015 Offer!

Wargame rules for use with 15mm miniatures and models from theionage.com. An enjoyable playing experience in a space opera setting unlike any other. Tactically challenging but not complex, these rules reward players for their playing and not by the use of endless charts, tables and over powered characters. Once familiar with the game rules, in a single hour you can play a full game with another person or several or on your own in solo play. The rules will not take long to learn and are suitable for wargamers of all ages from novice to veteran. They are fun and can be expanded into other titles in the series. 

Patrol Angis is a skirmish level of wargame which means it typically has between a dozen and about forty 15mm scale miniatures a side in play during a game. It works well with more but those amounts are ideal. Most games have one Platoon sized force per player and have one or two or maybe even three players. A Platoon or Lance which contains typically twenty two (22) miniatures. In Patrol Angis you play either as the Prydian Army in its quest to reclaim worlds lost to the Marcher Barons during the Civil War or you can play in the employ of Canlaster or Yordist or any of the other dozen smaller array of Marcher Barons. This includes playing as a “Conda”' or paid professional mercenary for any side. 

This is low intensity warfare title where troops mainly on foot, root each other out over small objectives. It’s not massive, not often glamorous, but it’s pure adventure, it’s the stuff of heroes and it’s skirmishing at its best! Easy to get into and to build upon. It’s the starting point for your wargaming in The Ion Age! 




In the book you will find the full skirmishing rules along with solo play, part one of the Prydian Civil War background, game tables and statistics, troops and armoury of the Civil War, the Dando II Campaign and three introductory scenarios set within it and an article on just what is The Ion Age. A lot to read in a packed sixty four pages! Go HERE



As well as a packed book you can purchase for wargaming we also offer Patrol Angis as a boxed set with two forces of miniatures to get you started and to play out the starter scenarios. Here is what is contained in the Game Pack and if you take the time to total it up compared to retail price you will see its a deal before any other offers are added. 

Lance 1 (Prydian Army) 
IAF001 Retained Post Alpha (10) 
IAF002 Retained Post Beta (10) 
IAF005 Balthazar and Jermone (2) 
(Unique Knight Errant with Pistol) 

Lance 2 (League of Yordan) 
IAF016 Retained Post Delta (10) 
IAF030D Duxis Battlesuit (Moth 88) (1) 
IAF030E Duxis Battlesuit (Valerin) (1) 
IAF030H Duxis Battlesuit (Angis) (1) 
IAF046A Espaten Platform (Moth Long barrel) (1) 
IAF066 Grav Platform Propulsion Unit (1) 
IAF055 Retained Espaten Crew (2) 

The miniatures in the game pack are all supplied with our round resin bases as used in all our photographs of miniatures. Extra Value! 


You have the choice of purchasing the book or the game pack or the game pack pro-painted and based by the Alternative Armies staff. In all cases you will automatically receive for free the unique Patrol Angis miniature. A Retained Knight Errant! Worth 0.60GBP it is supplied with the book or the game pack and if purchased painted it will also be painted and based. Go HERE


We are running a pre-order offer. Early Supporters of this new game can place their orders for it at 15% off release price on the book and the game pack options. This offer runs from today until about 9am GMT on June 1st 2015 when the month switches over for us and the new monthly free miniature appears. All orders containing Patrol Angis codes will ship from 1st June worldwide. 

Remember not only will you get Reward Points (if you have Reward Points by all means use them to save more on this offer!) with your account for an order but you will also automatically get IMP021 Planetary Militia Drill Sergeant (worth 0.60GBP) which is May 2015's free miniature as well! Plus the unique Patrol Angis miniature as well. Go HERE

All orders not containing these pre-order items will ship worldwide as normal. Please note we will have no further releases in May only this offer. 
 
Free Files Coming Soon!
There are more materials coming for Patrol Angis for free. A folder of free PDF files to download that contains not only an additional starter scenario to those in the book but also counters to print out and a quick reference sheet. Bonus fun! More on this soon. 

Calling Patrol Angis Playtesters! 
Lastly there are sixteen named playtesters in the book and as per our agreement during playtesting in 2013 (yes that long ago!) every one of these wargamers is entitled to rewards. On top of your names being in print in the book you get free stuff! When you place your order for the book or game set you will get the offers as everyone else does but at that point email me on info(at)theionage.com with your order number and items will be added to your order for free. I will inform you of what they are by reply email. Excellent! 

I know its been a long wait for this title but its worth it and it marks the full fledge launch of my own dream of space opera wargaming.  A cloud lifted from my brow as it were. There is a lot more to come. Thank you in advance for your orders and for your support. We all appreciate it. 

Thanks for Reading. 

GBS

Tuesday 12 May 2015

Boxes of Patrol Angis books arrive!


The boxes of the Patrol Angis wargame rule book have finally arrived here at Alternative Armies and this is just a quick post to let you all know that the early supporter offers on the book and the game set will begin on Thursday of this week for The Ion Age! I know its been a long wait. Its actually been the longest product development I have ever had. Its been frustrated by illness and delay and finally by the print works too but its now here. 

The book looks superb with a really glossy and space opera feel that reminds of a far future and a past in wargaming too. Just what all of us here wanted. So roll on Thursday and thank you all for your support and patience. Trust me; its been worth the wait. 

GBS

Monday 11 May 2015

Customers Excellent Service from The Ion Age


A quick and short post across our three blogs today.  Alternative Armies, 15mm.co.uk and The Ion Age are all part of one company of which I am the creative manager.  Its a varied job with a lot of responsibility in many areas.  On top of the office work and the creation of wargames and content as well as design briefs for new miniatures I also oversee the websites and the photography and product construction too.  Finally as part of my role I speak to customers and to wargamers.  

I do this often outside of normal working hours and at weekends too.  In fact I take such great pride in my role and the company that I answer every single message and email sent to us or to me.  Every order passes through my hands at least once and all questions are addressed by myself.

Over on The Miniatures Page the level of service we offer has been raised by several customers and I wanted to provide a link to the page.  Its not about blowing our own trumpet but rather after a simply awesome month of April it cheered me greatly to see this thread.  Thank you to all who choose to spend their hard earned money with us on products thought up, designed and manufactured from here in the UK.

Thanks for your time.

Gavin Syme (GBS)

Friday 1 May 2015

PM Drill Sergeant free miniature for May 2015!


The IMP20 Planetary Militia Drill Sergeant is May 2015's free 15mm scale miniature for the month! This miniature is automatically put into every order at the rate of one per order regardless of order value.  It can also be bought in any amount on the monthly IMP page of the website for this month only too before being withdrawn on the first of next month.  It will be one of the twelve in the 'Year Two Collection' on our second anniversary this summer.


It is the task of the Planetary Militia's or Planetary Defence Forces of Prydian space to defend their home worlds against attack.  This attack could be from a rival Marcher Baron or Mercenaries or even Aliens.  But who readies the men and women of the defence forces for this job?  Why, its the role of the 'Primary Allied Instructor Teams' the Drill Sergeants or just the plain old 'PAIN guys'.  While some drill sergeants are locally raised it is often a soldier from the ranks of the Muster or even the Retained who is drafted in.  They are very good at their work and in many cases will fight on the front lines in times of the world's need.  This miniature is in one piece and stands 18mm tall with arms folded and a stern look on its face.  A Charlatan IV Launcher, a heavy infantry weapon, is slung over his back.  If you are interested in the rest of the Planetary Militia range of infantry, battlesuits and vehicles you can see them all HERE and HERE.



Of course you earn reward points on all orders too through your account.  We realise that some of you may wish to purchase the currently free miniature to get multiples of it without placing a lot of orders so you can do just that.  Visit this page on the website for the miniature at a fair price for a special miniature.  There is a growing page on the Ion Age website where the current and all former IMP series free miniatures are shown so that you can see what came before.


As it is our second year we look back at this time last year and see what the free miniature was at that time.  In May 2015 the free miniature was IMP09 Retained Sniper Prone. It was our ninth miniature to be given out free.  You can find this miniature in the Year One Collection if you are lacking it.

April was manic for us and a very busy month.  We want to thank you for that.  It was also a sad month as Patrol Angis was delayed but do not worry we will put that right during May 2015.  I want to leave you with an image of one of the most popular models of the last four weeks the IAF072 Steornade Battlesuit with twin Moth Cannons standing next to the Drill Sergeant.  Any Marcher Baron would think twice before messing with these two! 

Thanks for reading.

GBS