Team Bravo - Update

Mid 1980s US Infantry

Final two greens for the first 12 figures of this line, an officer and a further M249 variant.

Full group shot to follow, but until then an old one is here:

The initial release will look something like this:

Pack 1: Officer, NCO, M47, M60
Pack 2: M16A2, M16A2, M203, M249
Pack 3: M16A2, M16A2, M203, M249

These initial packs will probably come with optional M1 heads for those wishing to convert them.

These will cover  c. 1986 for Europe (ie, Team Yankee scenarios - the M249 is a little early for historical deployment but in a war footing I'd have thought it would have been rolled out quicker) and should be good for Panama (at least those not in LBVs).

Once cast, the figures will be heading back to NZ to be converted to:

• M1 helmets with M16A1s (with optional PASGT heads for those wishing to convert)
• M1 helmets and M16A1s, with M79 body armour for early '80s USMC (Grenada) 
• PASGT helmets, M16A2s, and LBVs for Panama etc.

For early '80s, the M249s will be replaced with additional M16A1s and a bipod case.

I'll also get some loose LAWs done.

Timings for the future releases will be dependent on sculpting and casting schedules but should be Spring '16 (ish)

Comments/questions/criticism welcome!

Team Bravo #3

The latest 2 US Infantry from Anton...

Variant M203 and M60 gunner in the works.  And the earlier 4:

 Meanwhile, in other news, have a gander at these...  Destined for some grubby, thickheaded men...

Team Bravo #2

Two more 1980s US Infantrymen for preview:

...and a recap of the first two:

...and all four to date:

(figures to be able to put out a platoon - Inc M60,  Dragon and HQ elements - are in the pipeline.)

Comparison Shots

So the first greens have arrived from Anton in New Zealand, so here are some comparison shots (together with Robi's Wild Goose) with some Empress Miniatures ("EM"), Radio Dish Dash ("RDD") and Under Fire Miniatures ("UFM") figures:

(L to R: RDD, MBM, EM, MBM, UFM)

(L to R: EM, MBM, UFM, EM)

(L to R: EM, MBM, EM, MBM, EM)

(L to R: MBM, MBM, EM, MBM, MBM, EM)

The crude pen marks on the right are an attempt to indicate where 28mm lands - its roughly eye level for most of these, with a good range of variance within the various manufacturers and compared to each other.  None really look too out of place, but the Wild Goose might need some slightly taller companions (it's a difficult pose to compare, but he looks the shortest of the lot).

The War Correspondents (bottom pic, green) will be off to the casters today/tomorrow and when the first test casts are done, I'll be able to think about taking orders.  TBC!

Team Bravo

Taster/proof of concept for 28mm Cold War US Infantry - mid/late 80s with PASGT kevlar and M1 steel helmet options planned.

As ever, comment and criticism welcome!

An agent for...?

not really sure where we're going with this one - any ideas? Perhaps we need a couple of 00s etc...

A picture of war (2)

And third of 4...

And number 4...

And the whole group...

A picture of war

War Photojournalist & TV Correspondent

First 2 of a 4 pack of war correspondents...

Still to come: TV Cameraman & female photojournalist.

Wild Goose

Wild Goose Test Sculpt

This is a test sculpt to try out a second sculptor. who had mentioned that he was a big fan of the Wild Geese film.  He had an SLR handy in the stash, so this is the result.

Comment invited - anything not quite right, anything look odd?   (Aside from the SLR, known issue)

I have a few niggles but I'm broadly happy with it, so really tempted to flesh this out into a mini range (officers with Uzis, a Sterling or two, maybe a Madsen, some FN FALs, a Bren, Blindicide & Vickers etc..) so should anything be done differently if it was to be put into production?

These guys are a distraction as my main aim is to do some 70s/80s Brits in '68 pattern DPM and '58 webbing and full section/platoon weapons, head variants and so on. Suggestions taken, and if anyone happens to have served during that time frame and has a pic of themselves they'd like immortalised in miniature, I'm unashamedly on the scrounge for good source material!

(On the subject of photos, I should be getting images of the greens for the first two war correspondents later this week.)

Comparison vs: Spectre (top left, bottom left), Radio Dish Dash (top centre), Empress Miniatures (top right, bottom right)

Ugandan AMISOM/African Union Green

Ta da...

Critique and comment invited - if things ought to be tweaked, let us know...  These are to be based on the Ugandans forming part of the AMISOM mission in Somalia.

Will try to get hold of something better to show scale etc, but vs a Perry rifleman:

Note: Taking third party advice on board, the figure in the scale comparison picture has been amended slightly from the original pose above.  ie. Adjusted the confusion with legs and extended them to re-scale the figure into 1:6 proportions, and also removed the chin strap which made the head look bigger than it was.

Hidden a bit by the AK is the chest webbing, seen more clearly below:

There'll probably be a couple of webbing/vest variants as they seem to be inconsistently equipped...  We'll have PKMs and RPGs, and some NCO/Officer poses.  We'll have swappable heads with initially a mix of covered and uncovered kevlar helmets, but the wider ranges will have bush hats, berets and so on.

Comment welcome!

Hot off the press... More IDF and an AU torso

I've not even had a chance to have a proper look at these, but this is what I woke up to this morning...

Our first test Green - 2014 IDF

Here's the first look at the first green that we have commissioned from our sculptor, Anton Ducrot.  It's a proof of concept sculpt and should give a good idea of what to expect from us generally and our 2014 IDF range in particular.    These will be modelled with Tavors and have a mix of helmets and mitznefets - possibly as separate head options...?

Below is another of Anton's sculpts that he has done on his own account to give an idea of both Anton's skill and the aesthetic that he will be bringing to our ranges.

For more information on what we have planned, see here.

Next up for previewwill be an African Union proof of concept sculpt in a week or so.  Stay tuned!