Latham, at Burn In Designs, is on the verge of releasing a new line of laser cut buildings, the Metro City. With five buildings and a host of accessories, this scenery will nicely fit gaming needs from Pulp to Modern. These Brownstones have tons of character and will add tons of visual impact to your gaming table.

As I have noted previously, Latham does not use hardboard (aka MDF) instead opting for birch plywood for his kits, at least up to this point. This has the benefit of bypassing the splayed corners that happens when hardboard takes a hit. As with all such things though there is a trade off, as you may want to primer, sand, primer. Spraying primer will cause the wood fibers to expand slightly showing the wood grain which you can knock down with a quick sanding of 120 grit sand paper. The end result though is very impressive!

Bruce, of Hirst Arts, has released three additional molds for his line of Rubble bricks...

Rubble Slab Mold #262

Rubble Floor Tile Mold #264

Large Rubble Floor Tile Mold #269

I have been so busy casting Rubble Block Mold #263 that I hadn't realized that Bruce had put these three new ones up in his store on the 7th of this month. The bricks from #263 are gorgeous and I have no doubt that I will be equally impressed when these new molds arrive.

Bruce was kind enough to take a few minutes out of his day to talk to me about what he is working on next. He is hard at work on the medieval style stucco and timber wall panels which are going to comprise an estimated four plus molds. I will be sure to stay on top of these developments as I am very excited to see what Bruce comes up with!

With nearly 15 million viewers The Shannara Chronicles are a solid hit for MTV. Based off of Terry Brooks best selling novels, it follows the trials of Amberle, Eretria, and Wil as they start a quest to stop a Demon army from destroying the Four Lands.

I am very impressed with the first two episodes that I watched...yes I am a bit late to the game, I was building scenery and painting minis. However, after seeing these episodes I will be sure that my DVR is set to record every new episode, Tuesdays nights at 10/9c on MTV.

They say that artillery is the King of Battle, if that is true, then allow me to introduce you to the Crown Prince of WW2. Warlord Games is offering the M7 HMC Priest for pre-order. The 105mm Self-Propelled Artillery piece was a key player in both the European and Pacific Theaters for the U.S. and some were used by the British. Armed with a M1A2 105mm howitzer and a M2 (Ma Deuce) .50 HMG the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) produced 2,814 of these self propelled guns. It's nickname, Priest came from the British and is due to the pulpit-like drum cupola mounting for the .50 caliber HMG.

If you happen to be feeling the need for some heavy fire support or perhaps you are simply a fan of this big beast you will be able to add it to your British or U.S. forces in short order!

Viv over at Knights of Dice is still busy at it, this time with Kraken Petroleum. The last gas station at the end of the world.

Having grown up in the western U.S. there is a bit of nostalgia with this particular piece of scenery. From buying a 15 cent cream soda to the station attendant washing the windows as he filled up the gas tank at 50 cents a gallon.

This gorgeous piece of terrain boasts a sizable footprint at 12.6 by 13 inches, with a height of 6.3 inches to the top of the sign. The detailing is up to par with the rest of the scenery that Knight of Dice produces. Priced at $48 Australian Dollars (or $33 US) it should be a good seller, especially with lower shipping costs these days.

Lone Wolf Development has released another of their Spotlight Series video for Realm Works.

If you are looking for a vantage point to locate your snipers, Impudent Mortal says that they got the perfect spot, atop their Industrial Storage Tanks. They have a sizable footprint at 14 x 10 inch and stand 12 inches tall. With three ladders you are going to have plenty of chances to climb into position.

At 12 inches this building is right on the edge of being too tall, at least in regards to Infinity. Personally I prefer buildings that are 8 to 9 inches tall, so that my units that have Climbing Plus (and a 6-4 move) can fully get to the top with a single order. This doesn't preclude me from recommending this piece of scenery, just a reminder that it is going to take a couple of orders to get to the top.

It is a good looking piece of scenery though and should add some visual impact to your table.

If you have been following this board you will know that I use Hirst Arts molds. Since Merlin's Magic dental plaster goes for around $40 for a 50 pound box (not including shipping) from Clint Sales...I try to get the most bang out of my buck. To those ends I rely heavily on two things, my vibrating casting table and Almore Surfactant.

Having just started in on a new box of plaster I noted that I was getting a little low on Almore so I went to reorder and that is where things got a little...hinky.

Gallery screen grabs from left to right...

Almore Surfactant (40 oz.) on Amazon.com, then on net32.com, and the Dental License requirement by net32.com.

Now, I could complain about the situation but I like being the guy who has a solution instead. A full gallon of Almore Surfactant (128 oz.) for a better price than net32.com and you do not need a Dentist's license to purchase it. I just placed my order with them a few minutes ago without any problems.

I have used Jet Dry and water both spraying and dunking the molds in the solution...Almore Surfactant provides a better result with both Excalibur Stone and Merlin's Magic.

If you have found a better deal on Almore please feel free to let us know in the comments below!

I like themes...so I am going to run with the "time to paint your miniatures".

Burn In Designs is offering their Expandable Paint Dropper Bottle Wall Storage System...it is a rather lengthy title but it looks like it will do the job.

He offers it in two styles, the Expandable Wall System 42 which holds...yes 42 bottles (HWD of 12x6.5x3.25") and the Expandable Wall System 126...126 bottles (HWD of 12x19.25x3.25"). He uses plywood for his products which gets away from several flaws of hardboard and is lighter weight.

It turns out that Games Workshop didn't have holly jolly Christmas after all. The Guardian has reported that GW has lowered predicted annual profits...

"Pretax profit for the year to 29 May was unlikely to exceed £16 million. Last year, it made profits of £16.6 million."

They went on to report that overall sales fell at their global chain of 430 stores...the bright spot was that online sale were up 5.3%. In addition to all of that...they have hired a recruitment expert to "ensure a constant supply of store managers" while they froze staff pay. Not altogether surprising GW one man stores are experiencing a 30% turnover rate.

In other words...the GW...oh sorry...the Warhammer death spiral continues. Having three rather large 40K armies I am seriously pondering selling them while there is still interest in the game. My fantasy armies at least have the benefit of being useful in other games (Pathfinder monsters, Frostgrave, etc.) so I can hold onto them. The upside is a fair amount of them are in unopened boxes and blisters so they may retain some of their value.

Well the weather is definitely on the "stay indoors" side of things and the best tv shows are either done or on their midseason break. So what does that mean?

It means it is time to paint some miniatures!

Which is a fortunate thing seeing how the latest issue of Figure Painting Magazine is available. Now, it isn't free but it is so reasonably priced that it isn't going to strain your wallet. How reasonable is it?

It is £1.30 or S1.89 in US currency. You can't even buy a pot of GW paint for that! This issue (#32) clocks in at a 144 pages with an interview of Javier Gonzalez Lozano and Andrew Argent...plus a great deal more!

Fantasy Flight Games will be releasing the Savage Spirits sourcebook for Force & Destiny in the second quarter of this year.

Savage Spirits is for the Seeker with new backgrounds, Moralities, signature abilities, specializations along with a plethora of medical and survival gear. There are three new PC species along with a Force power that enables the Force user to see great distances. GM's get expanded rules covering survival and wilderness settings.

It seems that Savage Spirits will be a good addition to Nexus of Power which is slotted to be released soon!

The latest issue (#7) of Game Nite is available for downloading.

Did I mention that it is free?

It includes interviews along with a wide range of game reviews...overall it has more of a boardgame angle to the content. Clocking in at an impressive 74 pages it not only has considerable material it is visually professional as well.

If you are looking to expand your gaming horizons this is an excellent publication to check out!

The latest release by Warlord Games for Beyond the Gates of Antares game is the C3 Interceptor Squad.

"Interceptors form part of the Concord’s Strike Forces, the most advanced and most lavishly equipped fighting formations in all of Antarean space.

Interceptor Squads ride high-speed Interceptor bikes that enable them to rapidly deploy in situations where convention transporters would be easily identified and destroyed. Their chief advantage over other troops is their incredible speed, making them ideal reconnaissance units where closed-down communications render it impossible to delay remote drones or other means of distant observation.

These squads are often accompanied by a compactor drone, which can be used to carry the unit’s bikes or as a means of carrying other mechanised drones into combat.

Interceptors are buoyed upon and propelled by their own suspensors. Like most machines of Antarean space the bikes are autonomous drones in their own right. They are equipped with hyper-light boosters, which intensify and redistribute the armour field worn by the bike’s rider, enabling them to more easily shrug off enemy fire. When it comes to offensive armament, Interceptors are fitted with twin plasma carbines, but can substitute this formidable armament for a punchier plasma lance capable of puncturing more heavily armoured targets."


One of the First World problems as a gamer that I face, is simply not enough time and money (not to mention storage space) to explore the vast range of games that are out there currently. Beyond the Gates of Antares is certainly one that I would like to get in on...maybe you will?