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A particular company which I'm rather fond of, Special Artisan Service Miniatures (brought to us by Kings Hobbies and Games), has recently shown off a few new lines to add to their existing modern miniatures collection.
The company has an existing range of various forces, covering all sorts from German marine commando units to American contractors operating in the Middle East, and a certain "El Pablo", a Colombian narcotics dealer. Along with vehicles to support them.
Their latest list of upcoming releases this month only add to this variety. But before I cover those, its only right to mention what came out last month to show off just how much this little company's able to come out with.
Which right away had me thinking, "Polish GROM? In what world is someone ever going to make those?!". The owner Tim has an eye for nuanced things like that, or rather a habit of going "hey that looks cool, maybe I'll have one of my sculptors make some" it seems. He must be reading those military news sites a lot, as his offerings cover some really cutting edge kit (some of which is just barely in service).
Besides the Poles, we have a a squad of US Navy Seals, again kitted out in the latest of equipment for those wanting to play those "ultra modern" games (because, well, drones and guys in exoskeletons are cool...). They're equipped in a fairly standard set of gear in use world wide, so could easily represent a number of different Special Forces units. And come in a variety of combat poses. I pick the Seals out specifically to talk about though as you've got to love that guy in the top right of the teaser image with his "eyes on" pose.
Besides that, the immediate draw of last month's releases had to be the American GMV Flyer personnel carrier. Pegged as a possible replacement for the Humvee, specifically for SOCOM (as well as possibly British and Italian forces). Whilst the vehicle is yet to see service (...assuming that some haven't been given out for under the radar field testing) it should work great for near future games, especially as a counter to "Russia 2021" projects. Not only that though, just looking at the thing gives me a District 9 feel. It would work great for sci-fi games with some power armoured soldiers riding in it (the Humvee certainly saw a long service life, so who knows if these things will have actual guys in power armour riding in them in 20 or 30 years...)
Up next is the SOC-R Boat, a craft currently in service with the United States Navy Special Forces. The vehicle's intended to give a squad all the firepower it needs when rolling up on the enemy; the model featuring two miniguns, a pair of dual mounted machine guns, and a rear facing machine gun (which of course would be in addition to any passenger weapons in real life). Being capable of being deployed from an aerial vehicle where necessary too. Whilst the amount of games people are playing involving water features may be niche, this may be just the excuse people have to go buy a set of river tiles to add to their board, and there's certainly not that much competition out there for 28mm patrol boats (pair this with some of the 1/48th Vietnam era craft out there and you could have a scenario involving Spec Ops bringing in an arms shipment or the like).
Last up, and personally what piqued my interest the most. Coolers. Yes, coolers. A rather simple item which as far as I'm aware nobody else is making in this scale (barring possible on thingiverse for some extortionate fee). Special Artizan Services has seen another niche in the market and is in the process of making various bits of clutter to act as stowage on our modern vehicles, or terrain for tatting up our scenery. They've been in the process of adding to their modern accessories range for months now, with all sorts of bits like portable stoves, water bottles, plastic cases and of all things a militarised laptop (which would be a perfect objective marker for games). I just love little details like this to make models seem more believable, and they certainly help to bring older vehicles into the 21st century with just a little bit of work (my own collection is full of vehicles which would be suitable for decades worth of conflicts, but plastic containers and other bits give the impression that they're going on today). Of all last month's releases it'd be this Cooler, and the rest of SASM's accessories which I'd most recommend you folks check out!
July Releases & Teasers
Which of course brings us to this month's teases and releases so far. The first week's only just over and we've already had one new item for sale, another go up on Pre-Order, and a tease at a future unit.
The latest product on the SASM site is a selection of Boko Haram fighters which have been teased at for the past few months by SASMs. This may be the first in potentially more African units released by the company ...and well if not I'm sure if enough of you send the owner pictures of strangely dressed fighters from that region he'll find one dumb enough looking to sell you (the views expressed on this site in no way represent the views of SASM miniatures. Still, send the pics anyway).
The line are sculpted by Igor Karpov (of Lead Adventure Miniatures fame) whom SASM have brought on to sculpt a number of miniatures, including an upcoming range of Ukrainian fighters which have especially drawn my attention. They're dressed in fairly generic MENA style outfits, and armed with your typical Soviet Bloc weapons, so could well work as militant forces throughout the world and easily mix with similar ranges out there from other companies. I'd specifically note that whilst the guns are slightly larger than manufacturers like Empress and Spectre Miniatures, my experience with Igor's latest work on the Tiny Terrain Models Chechen War Kickstarter has shown they fit in rather well and aren't noticeable at all in case anyone has any concerns.
Meanwhile SASM have put up a set of ISIS fighters for pre-order. These appear to still be in the process of being sculpted, so there's no ETA for when they'll be released (if going by the Ukrainian figures pre-order it may be a two to three months). So far five of the ten fighters have been shown off, who similar to the Boko Haram models are wearing suitably generic garb.
Notably however, these aren't your run of the mill militants your grandfather shot. These guys are armed with captured NATO spec weaponry (presumably from some captured government armouries), with a pair of M16s and a SCAR among other weapons. They bring to mind this particular image of Taliban fighters (taken from The Hoplite blog).
Paired with SASM's Boko Haram, and potentially similar ranges by the other companies, you could put together a substantial force of MENA fighters at this point. What these ISIS fighters offer which most of the other companies aren't is guys armed with stuff other than AKMs. Spectre have a few fighters with Western guns of course, but most of them don't have the bangs and whistles these do (specifically the sights and picatinny rails) which make them look like they've been taken from some just dead opposition fighters and the like. They could work as veteran fighters amongst a rabble of generic mooks. ...Now if only SASM made some of those Taliban "Special Forces" wearing those all black Ghillie Suits and flip flops. Tactical flip flops.
Finally we have a teaser image for some Russian Spetsnaz suitable for their current campaign in Syria. The soldier in the image links back to the Seals which I talked about earlier in this blog with the same cool pose. These go with SASM's existing line of Russian Spetsnaz for the conflict, though are made through a 3D modelling program rather than the original hand sculpted models which came out a few months ago.
Again these could easily work as multiple other nation's special forces, wearing knock off American gear and armed with AKs. In fact looking at this soldier he could well do to work as other Nations who are armed with AK based platforms like the Finns with a bit of work remodelling the rifle a bit. Which seeing as their Special Forces, you could start a force for one of these Nations without having to go out and find all the regular Army guys and vehicles (which may not be available). I mean, some guys in a Humvee kind of covers something like a quarter of the world's Special Forces at this point...
Closing
So there we have it folks. For a company as small as they are Kings Hobbies and Games they're certainly putting out a hell of a lot of products. There doesn't seem to be much talk about them outside of the Facebook groups, so I thought it would be worth the time to keep you guys informed about what's been going on over there recently.
All of SASM's products can by found on the Kings Hobbies and Games website, or at the below link. They also have a Facebook page where they post their upcoming releases and news about pre-order campaigns which help to pay for production of their miniatures lines, so if you're interested in a specific set of models it goes a way to throw them a couple of bucks early (as is there occasionally a discount offered for these "early birds").
I'll likely feature some of their models in my upcoming posts on my blog as I work through my unpainted miniatures collection, but for those who missed it I did post up a few of their figures a while back in my modern miniatures thread (which besides being stuff that nobody else was selling at the time, seemed like fairly decent quality wargaming miniatures).
(I yelled inwardly when I found out that SASM were releasing a Zil Punisher. If anyone's played the game ARMA III they appear as the "Ifrit" IFV in use by the OPFOR forces in that game, painted in a sci fi paint scheme and with a fictional additional weapons platform. In the real world they're currently in use by Russian Internal Special Forces units, seemingly with the intention to scare the enemy into submission without the need to fire a shot. I'm currently using them for some "Internal Operations" in my modern games inside the Contested Territories in Eastern Europe)
This message was edited 8 times. Last update was at 2019/03/31 22:25:34
2018/07/10 04:53:29
Subject: Special Artizan Service Miniatures 28mm Modern Miniatures Releases
I feel like in the 28mm miniatures market we've had a successive group of companies coming out recently who have each been trying to fill the niches in each other's lines. The contemporary era of modern miniatures gaming began with companies like The Assault Group and Eureka miniatures, who covered a whole load of lines of miniatures, but typically were still making Cold War era miniatures. Then Empress Miniatures came along and they started making models of the major military powers (along with buying out Red Star miniatures and licensing the Honourable Lead Boiler Suit Company's vehicle lineup). Still, they were covering the major world power's regular military forces mainly. So Spectre Miniatures arrived to sell the smaller nation's irregular forces and special forces units for the major powers.
Special Artizan Service Miniatures seems to be selling a lineup similar to Spectre, in that they're mostly covering Special Forces and irregular forces at the moment. The owner has Igor Karpov on tenure evidently, so has been having him pump out loads of odd stuff which covers those conflicts which Spectre hasn't been able to touch yet. Whilst Spectre itself has a large pool of models, their release schedule has been slow lately (as has Empress', though it seems like they're tied to a single sculptor). I believe SASM has maybe two or three sculptors, in addition to all the 3D modelling work done by the owner of the company as well. Which is why the amount of models they're releasing each month is surprising compared to their competitors, and something which I thought would put them on people's radars, but I just don't think they have the time to be advertising themselves as much as the other companies unfortunately.
I'd keep an eye on them. Their products have improved immensely over the past year, and their new stuff looks really great. It helps that their lineups are consistent with the scales of the other contemporary manufacturers, and that yes, whilst the other manufacturers may be slower on producing new models, this company's fairly quick at producing miniatures to cover what they're missing (Empress for instance didn't release an APC to go with their new German soldiers, but SASM already has a Boxer). And well, nobody else is making drones yet; Spectre's rules oddly don't cover them at all, but I'll definitely be picking up the Russian ones once I have the money.
@ Kid_Kyoto
Hah, I totally forgot about their 1/50th WWII line! Tsk, I should have posted that to the "sci fi kits for use in 40K" thread as well. They also do artillery pieces which may be useful.
(I'm personally eyeing up this Soviet era Heavy Howitzer for my games set in modern Ukraine. The Ukrainians pulled at least two of those out of the mothballs for use in that conflict)
2018/07/10 12:26:34
Subject: Special Artizan Service Miniatures 28mm Modern Miniatures Releases
Check out my gallery here Also I've started taking photos to use as reference for weathering which can be found here. Please send me your photos so they can be found all in one place!!
2018/07/10 19:32:20
Subject: Re:Special Artizan Service Miniatures 28mm Modern Miniatures Releases
And the start of a African Mursi warband (which are just an awesome idea for modern miniatures). Currently this is just a teaser with no ETA for release, however usually we're looking at a few months. Go voice any enthusiasm on the Special Artisan Service Miniatures Facebook Group if you want the owner to know of course.
I'm due an order of SASM's latest releases appearing any day now (if custom's hasn't swallowed it up), so if you're interested in reading my review of those I'll be posting it up on my blog then.
2018/07/13 19:54:48
Subject: Re:Special Artizan Service Miniatures 28mm Modern Miniatures Releases
My recent order from SASM arrived today after making a brief stop to experience the privileged of customs (no fees at least!). Here's a link to an article covering my first impressions of SASM's new GMV Flyer kit which you guys may be interested in.
TLDR:
Nah, its pretty good.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2018/07/13 20:33:58
2018/07/13 20:05:30
Subject: Special Artizan Service Miniatures 28mm Modern Miniatures Releases
Bender wrote:* Realise that despite the way people talk, this is not a professional sport played by demi gods, but rather a game of toy soldiers played by tired, inebriated human beings.
Bender wrote:* Realise that despite the way people talk, this is not a professional sport played by demi gods, but rather a game of toy soldiers played by tired, inebriated human beings.
Doing this a bit on the regular, here's what's been happening with this company since the last time I posted.
I'd recommend for anyone wanting to keep up on Modern Miniatures news to check out Michael Charge's blog. He tends to have most of the bases covered. I'm just filling in the blanks and giving my own opinion when something catches my eye. Oddly he doesn't really cover SASM much, so I'll do my best to even that out here.
New Releases
Things again seem to be going at a fair pace over at SASM, with two new vehicles and ten figures going up on sale this month.
First up, a set close to my own heart. The Conflict Ukraine range starts off with a set of 10 Separatist fighters from the Donbass People's Republic (DNR).
These figures are sculpted by Igor Karpov, and should fit well with previous releases by this sculptor – notably Tiny Terrain Model's Chechen War Kickstarters, should you be looking for more figures to add to your collection.
The set are armed with Soviet era weapons and wear a mix of military and outdoor wear for that militiaman look. They stand out from say the aforementioned Chechen Wars range with the inclusion of more modern gear, like knee pads and radios (or the odd baseball cap), but otherwise are your generic Eastern European fighter types.
There's plenty of character with these guys, and would probably do for representing fighters beyond the DNR. Frankly they would work for either side in that conflict. Beyond Ukraine I could see them serving as Mercenaries or rebels worldwide (uh, maybe that guy bought that Cossack hat from a thrift store). Were you to replace their heads with specific helmets they could be used for even more forces in those countries with less uniform militaries.
I'm certainly picking these up for my own Eastern European moderns. SASM have a further as yet unseen set of ten figures which will represent the Ukrainian Nationalist forces. Hopefully that will mean a mix of more Western gear with this old Soviet stuff; possibly the odd NATO gun or one of those Ukrainian made AR-15s. We can hope.
Elsewhere an American BearCat Armoured Personnel Carrier also came out a few days ago.
I can't remember seeing much in the lead up to this, but SASM seems to have all sorts of stuff saved up for future releases...
The Lenco BearCat's an APC currently in service with law enforcement and military forces worldwide. Being your sort of generic "SWAT" vehicle that you see whenever armed response units turn up in the United States. One of these would certainly be appreciated for those wanting some sort of modern looking security vehicle, at least based on all of those threads I've seen where the nearest suggestion's been to go buy a Humvee or 1/43rd armoured van...
The kits following SASM's newest releases in being a mix of resin and pewter, with the bits especially prone to breaking off coming in pewter (wing mirrors, wheel axles, foot steps). If their GMV Flyer's anything to go by then it'll be another high quality release.
And the last of the miniature releases this month (so far) is something else in their civilian vehicles line, the "Taguar Luxury Car".
The perfect vehicle for your High Value Target to be driving when they're ambushed during a kidnapping scenario...
Rather than having separate axles like the Flyer kit, this one looks like it'll be similar to SASM's earlier Civilian vehicles by having the wheels connect directly onto the resin. Which should be fine as the vehicle already has a low profile. Surprisingly this kit too has pewter components, which may well be a standard for SASM with their vehicle kits to come (and certainty is appreciated).
Now onto looking at what's being happening with their Pre-Orders and teases of future products.
First up we have more Russian Spetsnaz.
Taking a similar path as their earlier SEALs, these are 3D modelled rather than being traditionally sculpted like the first set of Spetsnaz SASM released. Their uniforms look a bit more generic than those, who were a bit more specific to the current conflict in Syria with their neck scarves (though this lot carry over face scarves , but those could easily be to hide their identity if you don't want to use them out in the desert).
Pose wise they're similar to the SEALs too with what's been seen so far, with a mix of action and patrolling poses (plus another "eyes on" guy). I'd say they have a bit more of an edge over the SEALs with their kit, as they have a bit more in the way of pouches, and personally I kind of prefer that they have sunglasses and scarves, rather than exposed faces (helps with the persona).
Of the two Spetsnaz sets, I'd likely recommend that you pick these up when they're released over the originals. As they're computer modelled the lines look a bit neater than the traditionally sculpted ones, as do the attachments on the guns seem cleaner than the ones which their sculptor made themselves. Regardless, these will do for soldiers world wide, and I'd recommend you pick them up if you're wanting some Special Forces armed with AK platform guns if you don't want the M16s that the Seals have (they do appear to be wearing Russian ballistic vests, but who's going to know?).
We also now have a look at the full 12 ISIS fighters.
It seems like Igor got a little carried away with this lot, as I'd thought there would be only 10...
At a glance these look like they'll be perfect for anyone wanting to have an "elite" element to their militant forces. Not necessarily just Jihadists thought, they could easily work for Western backed rebels too (where else would they have found those guns...). The mix of NVGs and gun attachments definitely gives them that "tacticool" look, and well, its 50/50 on whether they're using all that gear because they know what its for, or just want to look cool...
Definitely an interesting looking line, and I'll give SASM props for coming up for such a unique idea. They could have just done them up as guys with Aks, but all that NATO equipment sets them apart from the run of the mill militants that are already out on the market (really only Spectre Miniatures do MENA fighters with these sort of guns, and not many at that). If you're looking for some militants with more traditional Soviet Bloc guns then SASM also have a set of Boko Haram fighters due who are wearing the same type of clothing, also sculpted by Igor Karpov.
Who apparently will be part of a future line of African Mercenaries. Whether that means mercenaries fighting in Africa (likely against SASM's Boko Haram) or Africans that are mercenaries, who can say. ...They'll likely be "acclimatised" to the region regardless. The great big bushy beard and bald head on this guy definitely does remind me of some news reels though... (and I love the incongruity SASM's having with these modern lines between the traditional bits of dress and facial hair, against top of the line kit, kind of representing what actual irregular forces look like, not the spotless fighters that we've seen for the past decade from other manufacturers).
Closing
So, for today, July 20th, that's what Special Artizan Service Miniatures have been up to. There's still a while yet left in the month, so likely more to follow. To think that its just been over a week since my last post on the subject. If anything the speed at which this company's been putting stuff out will hopefully give the other guys a boot to start at least showing off more of what's been going on on their ends...
Oh, and for those looking to show a bit of support to the company, they've just came out with a T-shirt. In case you're playing a game with their models and someone asks where they're from (I dunno, whip up your hoodie and show off the T-shirt underneath if you're that sort of guy).
Its also worth mentioning as I close this, that SASM have hinted at the potential for some Sci-Fi and Fantasy releases at some point in the future. So they may be worth an eye out for those into that sort of thing. Stuff which sound like they may work for a system that sounds a bit like "Korty K".
As ever this is cross posted over on my miniature's blog, in case you want to see my first impressions of new miniatures releases, along with my usual gaming stuff. Hopefully I should have a post up detailing what's been going on with my modern Eastern European collection over the weekend.
2018/07/20 18:52:41
Subject: Re:Special Artizan Service Miniatures 28mm Modern Miniatures Releases
Its a single man company, with the sculptors being contractors. Usually he's quite quick though, but the shipping can take a week or two (bloody customs).
I'd contact the owner Tim on Facebook directly and see if things can be followed up on.
I've had several customers come to me with pictures and complaints of the latest hummer that was released by another company.
So now would be a time to tell me what you would like to see better both in quality and options.
If you hadn't been aware Spectre Minitures recently released a Humvee kit which is currently on the market for £16, plus upgrades purchased seperately. They've been casting them all in house, rather than using a third party like the rest of their stuff.
It appears however that in response to complaints about casting issues, Special Artizan Service Miniatures have elected to sell their own Humvee kit. Apparently with the "upgrade" addons included as part of that base kit (for the same price as Spectre's as I'm led to believe). That's a shot across the bow in the modern miniatures world folks...
Now, I should mention for transparency that I'm currently awaiting a replacement Humvee from Spectre after having experienced similar casting issues myself. I had written up a review, but decided to get a replacement first before making it live so as to give them the benefit of the doubt as for their casting quality. ...Rather than just posting the review with the bad one, as that could negatively effect people's opinions (however, I have seen others post reviews of models with issues, which has then led for people to seemingly say that all models from a company are of bad quality. I.e. with Warlord Games for example).
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2018/07/21 18:03:08
2018/07/21 17:35:22
Subject: Special Artizan Service Miniatures 28mm Modern Miniatures Releases
Out of the above ranges, SASM's appear the best scaled for paring with 1/50th vehicles. They aren't as large as say Airfix's 1/48th Infantry, but much better looking compared to the other ranges when it comes to ...not looking like children when placed next to 1/50th vehicles. Whilst not being immensely larger than the others so as to look too weird if you want to mix the ranges.
I've posted up some first impressions of the new SEALs and GROM if anyone's wanting more of a look at those models. I'll be using them as Ukrainian Spetsnaz, which they should be perfectly suitable for (among dozens of other Nation's Special Forces) given how amorphous their equipment is becomming. Once the new Russian Spetsnaz are out there'll also be the option for those Countries not arming their guys with M16s (who also could do as Ukrainians come to think of it. ...Ukraine uses a lot of different guns. Hmn, make some Tavors SASM!).
2018/07/27 01:03:42
Subject: Re:Special Artizan Service Miniatures 28mm Modern Miniatures Releases
DarkTraveler777 wrote: How long do they take to process orders? I ordered some things on July 10 and haven't received even so much as an order confirmation.
Just wanted to update that I contacted Tim and he got back to me the next day and had my order shipped shortly after. My order arrived today in perfect order and has really, really crisp castings.
*edit* left out a word
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2018/07/27 01:04:17
2018/08/04 12:50:23
Subject: Re:Special Artizan Service Miniatures 28mm Modern Miniatures Releases
Here's another quick round up of what's been going on over at Special Artisan Miniatures. Since my last post we've seen more new releases, some stuff going up on pre-order for later this month, and bits and bobs of progress on some vehicles.
Oh, and a sale. Everyone likes sales.
Sale
First we should be concerned about the Sale now on over at SASM to celebrate the owner Tim's birthday (or I suppose for him to give a little back to the community). This is running from now (or a few days ago that is) till the end of August.
Its 20% off on everything below:
28mm Armored Limousine
28mm CIA Juarez Operators
28mm Contractor Benghazi
28mm French Foreign Legion
28mm German Kommando Kayak Team
28mm German Recce Unit
28mm KSK
28mm Mexican Cartel Members
28mm Modern BearCat
28mm Modern DNR
28mm Modern Dumvee
28mm Modern GMV Flyer
28mm Modern Taguar Luxury Car
28mm Modern Ukraine SVU
28mm Russian Spetnaz
28mm SAS with Dog
28mm SOC-R Boat
28mm Special Operator with Prosthetic Leg
28mm US NAVY SEALS
28mm World War 2 Rangers
Which looks to include a good number of new releases if you've been interested in those.
Now onto releases.
New Releases
SASM now have the crew figures from their SOC-R Boat available as an individual set for use as technical crews, with a bit more of a spec-ops edge. If you're looking for some figures which are a bit more appropriately scaled for your 1/50th vehicles ...without looking huge, I'd recommend this set - at least in trying them out with my own models.
They come as a set of six figures, in varying poses for $24. So about £3 a model. The arms are loose from the torsos, so you could maybe even try swapping out those for some out of the SEALs set if you want them to have rifles, or for the SEAL figures to double as gunners.
Also released, and on the other end of the scale from all these nasty soldiers. Some European Civilians, clearing the hell out of whatever warzone you're currently fighting in.
These are another set by Igor Karpov. Done up in a style suitable for Chechnya by eye. Though equally suitable for anywhere in Europe from the 20th century. They probably wouldn't be that out of place in WWII to be honest, or if you paint them up with some more fluorescent colours they'd do for the modern day.
They come as a set of 10 for $30. So £2.30 a model.
These are more miniatures from Igor, following the earlier release of Seperatist forces last month. This lot different from the Seperatists in the inclusion of some more Western looking gear ...and baseball caps. Giving them more of a modern look than the other set, who had a mix of Soviet and after market stuff.
Personally, these would do for loads of stuff outside of Ukraine, which I think was the intention. They're just the part for mercenaries, or if paired with Tiny Terrain Chechen Wars line (also by Igor) they could be the more elite forces among all the militia rabble (I already have mine on pre-order...).
This lot are available now at $40 for 10. Again about £3 a model.
These'll be a set of 10 fighters, done up in a similar style to the ISIS figures out last month. Though generally with more typical equipment for the region, rather than the top of the line gear that the ISIS set had. Given that, they could work as fighters from multiple conflicts over the past few decades. ...Or paint them up in a garish red and they could do for some fictional modern pirates.
Previews
Meanwhile, there's some pictures showing an Oshkosh SandCat going off to the moulds.
The SandCat covers a family of vehicles in use worldwide. Originally developed in Israel this variant is now built by the American company Oshkosh. If you're looking for an armoured car for some of the smaller, or lesser known states out there (at least those represented in miniatures form I mean), then this may up your alley. With it currently in service with Canadian, Mexican, Polish and Ukrainian forces, amongst others.
SASM have gone on to show more images of their upcoming Humvee variant. This one follows their earlier Spec Ops Humvee that had an interior. Instead being similar to their GMV Flyer, with a solid resin body which then has additional pieces added onto it for detail.
I believe SASM's intent is to expand their line up of variants over time. With this one being a more heavily armoured one like we're currently seeing in service. (I've prodded Tim to make some of Ukraine's variants to go with his Conflict Ukraine line ...ah, that'll never happen of course!).
This would come as a single Humvee, with all the addons and bits included in the base kit, rather than as separate listings I believe. Similar to SASM's other stuff. Though with the modularity of their other stuff in case you want to leave certain bits off (we'll have to see how that far that extends).
Hopefully this will mean we see some of the variants out there that aren't currently available in 1/50th. Not just the fancy American stuff, but stuff from other Western forces ideally. With SASM already doing one with an interior we could perhaps see some of the rest of the world's stripped down spec ops versions if that's where they decide to go. I'm reminded of the 1/35th scale BlackDog Julkat Humvee for instance (which would be a wonder to see in this scale).
Finally, some of SASM's stuff is now due to have a European distributor. Infamous JT, who are currently dealing with their Warsaw Uprising Kickstarter, have said that they're going to stock SASM's Polish GROM once their site launches. We'll have to see if that leads to an expansion in their stock eventually.
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2018/08/04 15:16:43
2018/08/12 12:18:02
Subject: Re:Special Artizan Service Miniatures 28mm Modern Miniatures Releases [Sale now on till the 31st]
I'd picked up their US Navy SEALs not too long ago. Whilst I'm not doing modern American soldiers, I am doing Ukrainians. The figures come with their arms detached, so I went ahead and swapped those out for some from the Warlord Games Project Z Spec Ops set - giving them AKs instead of M16s, and sculpting on some other details. With how much modern Special Forces are looking the same, the set seems like it could be a good basis for loads of countries that aren't already covered in 28mm if you're willing to put in a bit of effort.
2018/08/12 21:42:21
Subject: Special Artizan Service Miniatures 28mm Modern Miniatures Releases [Sale now on till the 31st]
The conversions look good. I'll admit, your gushing about them has made me tempted to get some. Especially Spetznas. I'm just really curious how they're going to compare to Empress and Spectre's modern Russian stuff.
It seems odd thinking about it how innovative modern figures with removable arms is. Till now most manufacturers have sold their moderns as one piece figures, possibly with removable heads (or just tear them off with a pair of pliers). With the guns on these being easily swapped out for something else that opens them up to so many possibilities. Or even give them heavier weapons like PKMs instead of AKs, or repose the figure a bit and have the guy be an engineer with a mine detector, etc. I reposed mine, but if SASM were to do a set with more variety in the poses, and the loose guns, there's a lot of potential for some foreign forces when mixed with that Warlord Games sprue, rather than having to wait for a manufacturer to get around to making your obscure miniatures line of choice.
SASM right now are either 3D printing their masters, or using Igor. I believe Empress and Spectre are all hand sculpted.
Here's Spectre Miniature's upcomming Spetsnaz:
Compared against SASM's set.
SASM's new Spetsnaz so far appear to have more variety in their poses compared to the SEALs, as have they had extra gear added since they were first previewed. As they're 3D modelle personally the detail looks better. The feet on the Spectre models have chunkier details for instance. The trousers too have better looking folds to them as well. ...And I don't like the faces on the new Spectre ones.
From what I can see the Spectre models are missing cables to their radios. The Russians have a coiled cable running from their helmet, over their shoulder to a radio on the SASM figures - similar to the SEALs. Spectre's set appears to have more variety in weapons in the squad - though they may be selling their's as packs rather than as a single squad like they've done before. They also have a Spartan Belt Fed PKM (on the far right) which is nice. However, I don't see any guys with 50 round AK mags, which are popular among the Russians.
Empress meanwhile have their own Spetsnaz.
Their set are differentiated from the regular Russian infantry with Ratnik armour that they sell with the inclusion of some extra pouches, knee pads and attachments to their guns (the heads come separate too). Russian units have a good diversity in gear, so you could mix these with the regular infantry with some headswaps to make a unit of all Empress figures, though personally I don't think they look different enough. Rather I went with Spectre's Spetsnaz to complement my Empress Russian force.
The sculpting on Empress' Spetsnaz looks better than Spectre's new set. With better detail on the feet in particular. However, their set have some really samey looking faces (though SASM's SEALs had a similar issue. Their new Spetsnaz have face masks). Some of the other details aren't as good in areas, looking a bit flatter - specifically the suppressors (which may be realistic, but I'd prefer fancier looking ones).
If you were to make a modern Russian force with Spetsnaz backup I'd probably say go with Empress for the regular troops and vehicles, SASM for the basic Spetsnaz and Spetsnaz vehicles (they do Falcatus and Chabroz), and Spectre for the more specialised weapons (there's a lack of uniformity with their figures however, so its difficult to put together a full squad of guys all wearing the same stuff - which may be ideal depending on which unit you're representing). For support weapons Spectre do stuff like SPG-9, and SASM have a few drones (and I think want to expand their line up).
Given that Spectre appear to have started work on their new Spetsnaz around the time SASM did their's (they were pictured half sculpted just after SASM announced theirs, indicated they started work on them around that time), Spectre definitely sees SASM's line as competition. Both sets are likely for different purposes though. SASM's is more for a modern force in Syria, or a more uniform group. Whilst Spectre's prior line are a mix of character pieces, and their new stuff seems to be doing the same as SASM did with a more uniform group. We'll have to see how each are priced. Though SASM's is a squad of twelve, I believe with 2 PKMs, and Spectres are eight with two PKMs and a DMR (possibly also an automatic shotgun as well).
In any case, besides the figures, you'd want to be going to Empress if you want a BTR-80A (which are in common usage by Russian regular and police units nowadays - well, at least the 82A is) and SASM for the Falcatus (which Russian anti-terrorism units use) or the Chabroz buggy (and I believe SASM were doing a four seater buggy as well). It'd be nice if someone were to do a BPM-97 (with or without a 30mm gun, as you could take one off the Empress BTR-80A).
2018/08/13 01:10:13
Subject: Special Artizan Service Miniatures 28mm Modern Miniatures Releases [Sale now on till the 31st]
If Phalanx Consortium ever does their Skirmish Sangin Russians, I'll probably go for them. The chunkiness of the. SASM figures looks really nice. I just wish they were available in smaller assortments. That's definitely something I like about Spectre's guys, you can pick and choose. Plus they have guys with the ballistic visors and breacher shields. Does anyone make Russian troops in Gorka suits? I can't if the Spectre ones have them or not.
