MINI WARGAMING: New 6mm Microarmor Manufacturer!

.

TOP: U.S. W.W.I.I. T30 Howitzer Motor Carriage by Bob MacKenzie.

Hi All,

A new microarmor manufacturer appeared over the weekend:

ARMSTONG MINIATURES!

Welcome to the scene, ARMSTRONG!

You can find their fledgling web site here:
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/bob_mackenzie/ARMSTRONG_MINIATURES.htm

And according to their press release, this is their plan as a manufacturer:

We present for you a range of 1:300th scale miniatures for conducting large-scale wargames without the outlay of larger scales. The range will be added to as fast as I can!

The product range looks good with lots of rarer vehicles, previously unavailable, being included in their lines:

Prices as indicated by code, otherwise individually priced.
A= 55p, B= 80p, C=£1.50

* Means that this product is available.

Italian Range:
It1, Dovunque-Viberti Radio truck. A*
It2, Autocannone 102/35 su CM50 Milmart self propelled Naval gun 102mm. B*
It3, Autocannone 65/17 su Morris Self propelled 65mm gun. A*
It4, Armoured Morris ammunition truck for Auto portei batteries. A
It5, Lancia 3RO Self propelled 100/17 Howitzer. B
It6, Lancia 90/53 Self propelled AA gun. B
It7, M13/40 Command Tank. A
It8, 65/17 Infantry gun with crew. A
It9, Breda Tipo 90/53 - Forthcoming.
It10, Breda Tipo heavy truck. - Forthcoming.
It11, Fiat 508 Topolino - Forthcoming.
It12, Dovunque light truck - Forthcoming.
It13, Ciano self propelled 75mm AA Gun - Forthcoming.

TOP: An Armstrong prototype mini, possibly from the Italian W.W.I.I. line.

British Range:
Br1, Morris 15cwt truck with tilt. A*
Br2, Morris Radio truck Mk2. A
Br3, 18pdr Mk1 Field gun with No24 Limber (BEF/ Hungarian Battery). A
Br4, Morris FAT1. A
Br5, Bedford MW 15cwt truck with tilt. A
Br6, Bedford MW Radio truck. A
Br7, Austin K2 Ambulance. A
Br8, 6pounder Portee. A
Br9, 2pounder portee. A

TOP: U.S. W.W.I.I. T30 Howitzer Motor Carriage prototype by Bob MacKenzie.

American Range:
Am1, M3 Halftrack. A
Am2, T30 HMC mounting 75mm Pack Howitzer. A
Am3, M3 Tank Destroyer mounting “French 75”. A
Am4, T19 HMC mounting 105mm M2 Howitzer. A

Russian Range:
Ru1, SU57, SP 57mm gun. A
Ru2, SU76i 76mm self propelled gun on captured Pz3 tank chassis. A
Ru3, Odessa Tank. A
Ru4, SU45. A
Ru5, STZ5 Artillery tractor. A

TOP: An Armstrong prototype mini, possibly from the German W.W.I.I. line.

German Range:
Ge1, Pz3 F 37mm gun tank. A
Ge2, Pz3 H/J Short/Long 50mm gun tank. A
Ge3, Pz3 N 75mm howitzer tank. With etched schurtzen. A
Ge4, Stug3 B Assault gun. A
Ge5, Stug3 D Assault gun. A
Ge6, Stug3 F Assault gun. A
Ge7, Stug3 G Assault gun. With Welded & Saukopf mantlets & Etched schurtzen. A
Ge8, Stuh42 105mm Fire support with Welded & Saukopf mantlets & Etched schurtzen. A
Ge9, Pioneer Panzer3. A
Ge10, Bergepanzer3 with Anhanger. B
Ge11, leSPW-304 APC. A*
Ge12, leSPW-304 APC with Mortar. A
Ge13, leSPW-304 APC command with 37mm PAK. A
Ge14, leSPW-304 APC Pioneer wagon. A
Ge15, leSPW-304 APC Command radio. A
Ge16, 75mm PAK auf Hotchkiss. A
Ge17, 75mm PAK auf Lorraine. A
Ge18, 105mm Howitzer auf Lorraine. A
Ge19, Somua Mittlerer personnel carrier. A
Ge20, Somua Reihenwerfer. A*
Ge21, Panzerjager PAK40 auf SomuaP301. A*
Ge22, Somua “Katyuska”. A
Ge23, Somua Munitions wagen - Forthcoming.
Ge24, AML Mortar carrier. A
Ge25, Lorraine Beobachtungs wagon. A
Ge26, 76.2mmPAK39 auf SD6 “Diana”. A
Ge27, 10cm K18. A - Forthcoming.
Ge28, 24CM k18 - Forthcoming.

Empire WW2 Range:
In1, Indian Wheeled carrier. A
In2, Karrier Spider FAT. A
In3, 3.7inch Pack howitzer. A
So1, Marmon Herrington Mk2 Armoured car. A
Ca1, Otter Scout car. A

French W.W.I.I. Range:
Fr1, French 75 mounted on a medium truck - Forthcoming.
Fr2, French 25mm ATG mounted on a light truck - Forthcoming.
Fr3, Halftrack reconnaissance vehicle AMC M1929 P16 - Forthcoming.
Fr4, ZT2 25mm SPG - Forthcoming.
Fr5, ZT3 37mm SPG - Forthcoming.
Fr6, Renault AMR33 - Forthcoming.
Fr7, 4.7cm APX Anti Tank Gun - Forthcoming.

X Gauge Rail Guns & Locomotives:
X1, Kurz Bruno. £4.80 *
X2, “Winnie” 14inch gun. £4.80 *
X3, “Pooh” 18inch Rail Howitzer. £4.80 *
X4, V188 Diesel Manoeuvring Locomotive. £3.00 *
X5, BR-- Locomotive - Forthcoming.
X6, Crew carriage. £3.00 *
X7, Ammunition van. £3.00 *
X8, Flak wagon with Flak 38. £3.00 *
X9, Flat wagon for springing mines or carrying goods. £2.00 *

And despite the new manufacturer being run by a chap named Ian Armstrong, my friend Bob is also obviously involved. You can check out his wonderful web site here:
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/bob_mackenzie/index.html

Have a great Monday!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).

MODELLING: Inexpensive terrain...

.

Lil Mini Shops, now OOP, made some of my favorite microarmour 1/285 terrain.

Hi Guys,

I think that inexpensive terrain is great, BUT...

Inexpensive terrain is usually less attractive than a set of manufactured terrain items combined with home-made ones collected and purchased over many years.

In my personal case, I've been a microarmor player since the early 1980s so I have a huge set of 1/285 or 6mm terrain.

A cool WWII microarmour layout I saw.

I have also played 6mm sci-fi games such as Dirtside II and am now developing my own sci-fi tactical ruleset for miniatures combat so... I have plenty of 6mm or 1/285 sci-fi terrain! I have a homemade Mars the Red Planet set, futuristic cities, an alien mushroom forest and much more!

My upcoming game called "Planetfall" is intended for use with 6mm, 10mm or 15mm miniatures. You can check out the link to my blog in my signature here for more information.

My personal terrain collection is a combination of home-made items (trees, swamps, hills, mountains, etc.) and manufactured items (structures, skyscrapers, etc.)... Most of my structures (buildings, skyscrapers, airports, etc.) scale best at 6mm to 10mm while natural terrain items (woods, swamps, hills, etc.) do well at most scales.

I think of terrain as having pros and cons. Here are a few:

HOME-MADE SET:
Description: These area collections of paper, felt and home-made items.
Attractiveness (1-10): 5-7
Pros: Inexpensive, easy-to-collect, very functional, requires little work in many cases...
Cons: Has a very home-made look and feel to it, not very durable, not always recognizable by all gamers as terrain items...

DOWNLOADABLE PAPER SET:
Description: These are downloadable paper templates that have to be folded and sometimes glued. They are far more attractive than most home-made kits although they require a lot of work to make. There are whole clubs on the Internet dedicated to paper terrain. They are more attractive than most home-made kits and are usually made from free designs on the Internet although some pay kits are also available.
Attractiveness (1-10): 6-8
Pros: Inexpensive, easy-to-collect, some nest for easy storage, very functional...
Cons: Requires A LOT of work in many cases, will not hold miniatures in many cases, not very durable...

FOAM TERRAIN SET:
Description: These are collection of foam packaging building and home-made hills... they can often rivel or surpass manufactured foam terrain.
Attractiveness (1-10): 6-8
Pros: Inexpensive, easy-to-collect, very functional...
Cons: Requires A LOT of work in many cases, not very durable...

MICROARMOR TERRAIN SET:
Description: These are manufactured buildings and terrain items, usually made from plaster, hydrocal, or resin. They are made in many diiferent scales 2mm-54mm with larger scales being much more expensive. On the other hand, some types of scenery such as industrial structures are very hard to get otherwise.
Attractiveness (1-10): 6-10
Pros: The most attractive, easy-to-collect (sold through retaillers), very functional, will hold miniatures, usually durable but not impervious to ham-handed gamers depending on the material...
Cons: EXPENSIVE, requires a lot of work in many cases (painting and assembly), requires a large number of pieces to really have a strong effect...

An assortment of microarmour building I saw on E-bay.

Have a great day!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

Notes regarding photos / pictures: These are not all my images. I am using various images from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).