New 10mm Cold War Vehicles Available From Miniature Figurines

Our ever-expanding range of 10mm vehicles and infantry now includes these latest additions:

American M59 APC – £3.75 GBP

An Amphibious APC in service with the U.S. from 1954 to the mid Sixties, the M59 also saw service with a number of allied nations, and is ideal for early Cold War era conflicts or for use with smaller nations. It also gave rise to the M84 Mortar Carrier.

American M75 APC – £3.75 GBP

Designed to replace the M3 Halftrack after WWII, the M75 was one of the first fully enclosed, fully tracked APCs. This revolutionary vehicle saw service in the Korean War and was passed on to the U.S.' allies after its first life ended.

American M114 APC – £3.75 GBP

Smaller than the contemporary M113, the M114 didn't stand up to the rigors of the war in Vietnam, and so its service life was short. But it was useful as a reconnaissance vehicle and its low profile design helped it in this role. Deploy them to Vietnam or reactivate them from reserves to fight the Soviets in Europe!

German M48A2G2 Tank – £4.50 GBP

The Germans took a large number of M48 tanks to supplement their indigenous Leopards. To aid commonality, theirs were equipped with the British L7 105mm gun and internally, with standardized equipment, and they served with both the regular and territorial armies. Now your 10mm West Germans can field the superb M48A2G2 as well.

German Jagdpanzer Kanone – £3.75 GBP

During the early part of the Cold War, the doctrine of Tank Destroyers operating independently to blunt enemy tank formations was still considered valid; as a result, the West German forces developed the Jagdpanzer series from the highly successful Panzer IV-based Tank Destroyers of World War Two. It may not have lasted when rockets and missiles took over from guns in the anti-tank role, but if the Soviets had invaded during the early years of the Cold War, the Jagdpanzer would have gone toe-to-toe with T-54s and T-62s.

Soviet SA-13 Gopher – £4.50 GBP

Lastly, we have the MT-LB based SA-13 Gopher Surface-to-Air missile system. The Soviet plan was to motorize everything; so their SAMs could be right in the thick of the battle alongside the tanks and IFVs. Still in service with a large number of Soviet allies worldwide, the SA-13 system is sure to prove a nasty surprise for the Americans.

Miniature Figurines

Buildings & Accessories Japan / China from Najewitz Modellbau

Buildings & Accessories Japan / China from Najewitz Modellbau

Buildings & Accessories Japan / China

printer settings

To make it fast, you can certainly print the models with a layer thickness of 0.3mm. However, the lower the layers, the higher the quality. Also think of sufficient infill. Because here is sure that the top layer of printing is opaque and smooth.

We achieved our best results with the following settings:

Layer 0,2mm, Infill 20%, 50-80mm sec

But everyone knows his own printer s.besten and by trying to get the desired result. Ultimately, it depends on which printer you take. This can be a cheap geetech or an expensive ultimaker. They should all work.

Scaling   The models are designed to work for the 20/22 mm scale. The following scaling I recommend to

• Get 15mm - 73% • Get 28mm - 127% • Get 1: 144 - 50%

§§ Legal   Unfortunately, it is not without a reference to legal. By purchasing the STL file, you have the right to use them to express your building models. You determine the number of required models yourself. The copyright on these models remains with us. Specifically, this means: • The file must not be distributed under any circumstances. • The printed models may not be sold, or impressions or casts made of them. • a modification of the STL files and the transfer of modified file contents is also prohibited.

Najewitz Modellbau

Landsknecht Hellebardiere Sculpts by Warmonger Miniatures

These are the sculpts I've commissioned from Bob Naismith so far. I'll likely do a Kickstarter in April for them to commission the last eight sculpts and get them cast.

Warmonger Miniatures

Wargames, Soldiers & Strategy, 82, Mar 2016

WWII in the desert

Column: Rick Priestley, "This gaming life - The turning of the year"

It’s a sorry sight to see the pale gold leaves of autumn once more carpeting the lawn in remembrance of another summer gone, not least because I have to sweep it all away! It’s a task fraught with such concealed hazards as rotting windfalls, backache, and the spoor of assorted fur and feather.

Bitesize battle: Arvid Kappe, "A Frostgrave three-part mini campaign - A howl in the darkness"

Beyond the vast ruins of Frostgrave is an expanse of empty tundra, empty apart from the occasional patch of pine forest or forgotten mountain peak. This sweeping wilderness is now criss-crossed with newly-etched paths in the landscape, all leading to the once pr oud city.

Feature: Pat Lowinger, "A Bronze Age supplement for Lion Rampant - Chariots Rampant"

For many wargamers, the Late Bronze Age holds a wealth of wargaming opportunities, as well as a tangible connection to the ancient world. This was a time of heroic combat characterized by the clashes of mighty armies led by elite cadres of chariotmounted warriors. This was a time of pharaohs, kings, and warlords. Whether your interests lie with the fast-striking armies of Ancient Egypt or the nigh-unstoppable might of the Assyrian Empire, the rich history of the chariot era awaits you.

The Swedish invasion of Estonia

Feature: Michael Leck, "Swedish steel in the conquest of the Baltic - The Swedish Crusades"

According to the Eric Chronicles, King Eric rallied knights, farmers, and servants from the entire Swedish realm in what was known as the Ledung fleet, to combat the heathens. The King appointed Birger as the leader of the crusade. The chronicles tell us that the men were well-armed with weapons, helmets, and armour, and the women cried as the men embarked to sail acr oss the Baltic Sea.

Feature: Gary Mitchell, "A 25mm-ish Zombie skirmish scenario - Pride prejudice and zombies"

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains.” Wise words, indeed. In 2008, Quirk Books editor Jason Rekulak developed the idea for Pride And Prejudice And Zombies, after comparing a list of popular fanboy characters like ninjas, pirates, zombies, and the usual suspects with a list of public domain book titles, such as War and Peace, Crime and Punishment, and Wuthering Heights. Out of copyright equals fair game.

Theme: Guy Bowers, "The Italian war in the desert - Mancò la fortuna, non il valore"

The war in the desert, from 1940 to 1943, was quite unique in many ways. It was fought over vast expanses of open terrain, with some actions resembling sea battles. On the whole, troops had to be carried in vehicles and supply was vitally important; petrol and water were paramount. It also involved few civilians and generally lacked the atrocities that haunted other theatres of war. There was a mutual respect for their opponent from each side; even chivalry at times.

A pair of M11/39 tanks

Theme: Warwick Kinrade, "Representing the Regio Esercito on the tabletop - Making Mussolini’s men"

During my research and reading around the subject of the war in North Africa (something I’ve done quite a lot of over the past year or so, in preparation for writing the Battlegroup supplement that will cover the desert battles … well, at least the fighting in 1940-41), I have taken a special interest in the Italian Army.

Theme: Mark Backhouse, "Black Ops mini campaig n in WW II North Africa - “Crystal palace would look small fry...”"

David Stirling’s attempt to create an elite raiding force to attack the Axis troops behind enemy lines in North Africa had an inauspicious start. The initial parachute raid in November 1941 was a total catastrophe. Of the 55 men who took part in it, 33 were captured or killed. A second raid a month later was considerably more successful, destroying fourteen enemy planes and damaging ten. But the jury was still out as to whether such raids were a worthwhile investment in time and resources.

Theme: Arnold Blumberg, "The Batt le of Bir el Gubi - The Ram defeats the Lion"

General Sir Claude J.E. Auchinleck, British Commander-in-Chief Middle East, launched Operation Crusader on 18 November 1941. The aim was to relieve Tobruk and to throw the Italian-German foe out of Libya. The Eighth Army’s immediate objective was the destruction of the enemy’s armoured forces in Cyrenaica. To accomplish this, the main body of armoured strength (4th, 7th, and 22nd Armoured Brigades, 7th Armoured Division) would move north-west from the Egyptian frontier, with the mission of destroying the hostile armour near Tobruk, before lifting the siege.

Free French engage Vichy troops

Theme: Eoghan Kelly, "The Battle for Kissoué, 15 June 1941 - A mixed show"

In May 1941, Allied commanders were increasingly concerned that Germany would attempt to use Vichy French territories in the Levant (the collective name for the French holdings in Syria and Lebanon) to launch attacks into either Egypt or Iraq. These concerns led to the launching of Operation Exporter, the code name for the invasion of Syria and Lebanon. As Axis aircraft were spotted using Vichy bases to send arms and equipment to anti-British forces in Iraq, skirmishes occurred along the border, as well as Allied attacks on Vichy airbases. These escalating tensions led Allied commanders to decide on a ruthless solution to the Vichy ‘problem’.

Theme: Guy Bowers, "Building Mussolini's army in Africa - The Regio Esercito"

The Regio Esercito (Royal Italian Army) was reformed in 1861 as part of the Risorgimento. It lasted until 1946, when the monarchy was abolished and the modern Italian republic was established. The Italians were major players in the Western Desert campaigns and contributed to Germany’s campaigns in Yugoslavia and Russia.

On the cover: Andres Amian and Philip Cocking, "High tide for the Axis in Egypt - Duel in the Desert"

The Battles of El Alamein marked the height of the North African campaign in World War II. The combined German-Italian army of the Deutsches Afrika Korps and Regio Esercito had pushed the British Desert Rats far back into Egypt, seemed poised to push on to Alexandria and Cairo. British officials burnt important documents in what was known as ‘Ash Wednesday’.

Column: Jamie Gordon, "The Irregular - Computer dat... err, gaming"

“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive, but those who can best manage change.” This statement attributed to Charles Darwin sums up the theme of my article this month, as I will be exploring ways of exploiting developments in technology to enhance and progress our hobby. It’s safe to say that the world today is somewhat different from the way it was 25 years ago when I first started pushing lead around my parents’ dining room table, and this is particularly true in the field of technology.

Hobby: Ruben Torregrosa, "Painting Deutsches Afrika Korps - A closer look at the DAK"

North Africa is one of the most exciting theatres of war in the Second World War. The dust, the heat, the difficulties of the terrain, the supplies … Rommel and the Deutsches Afrika Korps (DAK) did not have it easy. Nonetheless, they obtained victory after victory, until the Allies’ superiority in men, supply, and machinery finally won the war in Africa. Due to the supply difficulties, the German soldiers had to draw on anything available in the field, including uniforms from their Italian allies or captured from the British forces.

Hobby: Stephen Tunmore, "Modelling realistic water on the tabletop - Water, water everywhere"

Trying to represent water in wargaming scenery on the tabletop can leave the average wargamer feeling a bit cold! Nothing seems to come close to realistically representing this medium. The default setting of blue/green strips of cloth, blue lino tile, or MDF painted blue with a coat of gloss varnish is purely representative. But with nothing else to turn to, the wargamer is left with little option.

Let's play: Rick Hudson, "Hard Sci-Fi from Warlord Games - Let's play Beyond the Gates of Antares"

I love Warhammer 40,000, both as a system and a game milieu. So, when I learned that Rick Priestley – the man behind 40K and many other great games – had designed a new SF game, you would imagine that I’d be delighted. But to be truthful, I was somewhat ambivalent. Would Beyond the Gates of Antares match the unquestionably excellent standard of Rick’s previous output? Would I just be saying “it’s a bit like 40K, but ….”?

Reviews: Paul Burkin, Rossco Watkins and Guy Bowers, "Game Reviews"

In this installment of our regular game review section, we take a look at Dragon Rampant, Skirmish Outbreak, Honours of War, and Tailfeathers.

Column: Richard Clarke, "Up front - Leadership"

I’m always loathe to quote Sun Tzu in the presence of our esteemed editor, as I know that he gets overexcited and is liable to leap on the table and start singing The Big Sun’s greatest hits to the tunes of various rock classics. (True! Ed.) Clearly, an Auntie bought him the Sun Tzu Bumper Album from Woolies when he was a nipper and it scarred him for life.

Wargames, Soldiers & Strategy

New Schleswig-Holstein Flags from Pendraken Miniatures

We're ploughing ahead with more flag sheets for our various ranges, and this time it's the turn of the 1st Schleswig-Holstein War!

The Danish sheet contains two flags for each of the 5 battalions, plus 11 general Danish flags, for a total of 21 flags.  The German set contains 3 copies of 7 different designs, again for a total of 21 flags.

Again, all of these were researched and designed by new Forum member Mig, so thanks once more to him for his work.

SCW Flags

PNFL701 - 1st Sch-Hol Danish      £2.50

PNFL702 - 1st Sch-Hol German/Prussian      £2.50

There are some more designs to come soon, so keep an eye out for those!

Pendraken Miniatures

Warband Lizardmen Now Available from Pendraken Miniatures

Slightly later than planned due to the Painting Competition, we've got the next new Warband range, with the Lizardmen all ready and released!  A few lucky folks got their hands on these at last weekends Hammerhead show and we'll also have them with us at both WMMS and Triples later this month.

Our new Warband packs all contain maximum variety, so 25 different sculpts in the foot packs and 12 in the cavalry.  Techno has done some excellent work on these and really made each one unique.  The new command and shamans are excellent as well and will look great painted up for Warband.

Lizardmen
FAN-LIZ1 - 25 x Lizardmen Warriors
FAN-LIZ2 - 25 x Lizardmen Hunters
FAN-LIZ3 - 12 x Raptor Riders
FAN-LIZ4 - 5-man Command Group
FAN-LIZ5 - 4 x Shamans with runestone
FAN-LIZ6 - 25 x Newtmen Warriors
FAN-LIZ7 - 25 x Newtmen Hunters
(packs are £4.50 each, command/mages are £1.50)

Army Pack: Contains 2 packs of Lizardmen Warriors, and 1 pack each of Lizardmen Hunters, Raptor Riders, Command, Shamans, Newtmen Warriors and Newtmen Hunters, plus 8 x MDF bases.  Priced at £30.00

FAN-LIZ1 - 25 x Lizardmen Warriors

FAN-LIZ2 - 25 x Lizardmen Hunters

FAN-LIZ3 - 12 x Raptor Riders

FAN-LIZ4 - 5-man Command Group

FAN-LIZ5 - 4 x Shamans with runestone

FAN-LIZ6 - 25 x Newtmen Warriors

FAN-LIZ7 - 25 x Newtmen Hunters

Next up should hopefully be the Dragonmen, which will be completely new sculpts!

Pendraken Miniatures

Pendraken's Painting Competition Winners Are!

First off, thanks to everyone who entered the 2016 Pendraken Painting Competition, once again we saw such a high standard of entries which pushed the envelope in what can be achieved in this scale.  I hope you all enjoyed entering, certainly more than the Judges enjoyed trying to pick the winners!

So just for info, each judge had 6 points in total to award.  3 points went to their 1st place choice, 2 points to their 2nd place, and 1 point to their 3rd choice.  The points from all 5 judges were added together to give us our winners and runners-up.

And now, the Winners of the 2016 Pendraken Painting Competition are...

Foot - Pre-20th C. (24 entries)

This category always brings in some colourful entries and this year was no different.  The judges gave honourable mentions to many of the entries on show, but in the end there was a clear winner, picking up maximum points from all of the judges.  Second place was a bit of a scrap, with one just edging out the other.

1st place: "Lombardia", by bradpitre - wins £20 Pendraken credit, and a £20 voucher from Leven Miniatures!

"A nice mix of using black lining and shading..."  "Just great, fallen man in front rank a nice touch."  "Superbly done, beautifully executed."

2nd place: James II Foot Guards, by redstef - wins £10 Pendraken credit!

"Overall a nice paint job, always love to see hand painted flags, well done."  "Really nicely done, superb flags."

Foot - 20th C. (11 entries)

We often see a smaller number of high quality entries in this category and this year was no different.  Five of the eleven picked up points but we had two clear winners in the end, with first place picking up a maximum 15 points.  

1st place: SCW Regular Army, by MIG - wins £20 Pendraken credit, and a £20 voucher from Ironclad Miniatures!

Really nice eye for detail, well painted, cleanly based and a great photo."  "Clean and well-presented; nice palette."

2nd place: WWI Engineers, by Tiny Tin Troops - wins £10 Pendraken credit!

"Well thought out and put together.  A nice paint job and great table dressing."  "Nicely presented, lots of interest to the eye; simple, limited palette draws everything together."

Mounted (18 entries)

A couple of the categories each year have multiple entries from the same member, which can sometimes split the judges and result in that member missing out on a prize.  Always something to be a careful of!  This year it was a tight run race between three entries, with one chap just missing out on a place.

1st place: 7th French Hussars, by MIG - wins £20 Pendraken credit, and a copy of the new 'Paints' magazine from Wargames Illustrated!

"Super paint job aided by a really clear and well lit photo."  "Very crisp and clean. Shading almost too subtle for this scale."  "Simple and understated, really subtle."

2nd place: James II Life Guard, by Redstef - wins £10 Pendraken credit!

"Lovely crisp painting with nice shading."  "Beautifully executed."

Vehicle (19 entries)

We had a lower number of entries in the category this year, with one clear winner picking up maximum points, and then several entries vying for that second place. 

1st place: Sherman, by BH62 - wins £20 Pendraken credit, and a copy of the new Blitzkrieg Commander ruleset!

"Crisp, clean painting, great highlighting."  "Cracking job here, lovely use of shading and highlighting edges."  "Very crisp, really good edge highlighting. Very clear winner."  "Really nice, simple but effective use of highlighting to make this one 'pop'.

2nd place: AVBCW Char St Chamond, by Vanvlak - wins £10 Pendraken credit!

"Nice job here, I like the whole display idea."  "Subtle and clean job."

Fantasy & Sci-Fi (14 entries)

This category was an interesting one, with four different entries placing 1st amongst the judges, showing both the high standard of painting and how difficult it is to separate them at times!  Finally, two entries pulled ahead that little bit and grabbed the prizes.

1st place: Squogglers and Night Goblins, by Hetairoi - wins £20 Pendraken credit, and a copy of 'Warband'!

"The faces on the squigs are great."  "Good painting and appropriately dark photography."  "Very nicely done, great looking unit, love the flame-effect hoods."

2nd place: Skeletons, by Mostyn - wins £10 Pendraken credit!

"Nice tidy painting, great shading."  "White's not an easy colour to pull off especially at this scale, well done."  "Nice crisp style and shading."

Warband (5 entries)

This was the debut year for the Warband entries and we only picked up a few entries.  Hopefully we'll see more next year!  There were two clear favourites in this one, with only a single point separating them in the end!

1st place: Goblin Riders, by Andy T - wins £20 Pendraken credit, and a Warband Army Pack!

"Really nice job, made me smile."  "Fun unit, execution of painting ok."  "Innovative and nicely done."

2nd place: Dwarf Gyrocopters, by fred. - wins £10 Pendraken credit!

"Nice detail and highlighting."  "Light, clean.  "Decent painting, lovely basing."  "Basing is nice, lifts the unit (no pun intended!)"

Open - Single Base (26 entries)

This category always sees some outstanding pieces of both imagination and painting ability and it's one we always look forward to.  This year the judges had one clear winner picking up a maximum 15 points and then a couple of others scrapping for second place.

1st place: 30YW Artillery, by bradpitre - wins £20 Pendraken credit, and a Scourge Army from Hawk Wargames!

"Excellent attention to detail, a great artwork."  "Really enjoyed these figures, great paint job, basing and photos.  I love to see well painted figures with great basing, the full package."  "Just gorgeous."  "Superbly done, beautiful vignette."

2nd place: Russian Winter, by Tonton Flingueur - wins £10 Pendraken credit!

"Love the whole winter feel to this piece, again an entry that ticks all the boxes."  "Nice storytelling, gets points despite uncertain photography."  "I always love a well done winter base - and this is nicely done, simple but highly effective."

Open - Army! (27 entries)

The Army category always brings in some fantastic entries and this year certainly didn't disappoint.  There were so many that picked up points and this was easily the closest category to be judged, with over half the entries getting an honourable mention from our judges.  In the end, it was the 'complete' armies that got it, the ones that came together into one impressive piece of work.  We did have a tie for second place, again showing how close this one was.

1st place: 30YW French, by bradpitre - wins £20 Pendraken credit, and a copy of the new 'Paints' magazine from Wargames Illustrated!

"A simple paint job that works well close up and on the table, cracking basing.  These are more like individual vignettes, well done."  "Superbly done - simple but really effective."

Joint 2nd place: James II in Ireland, by Redstef - wins £10 Pendraken credit!

"A lovely looking army in the group shots, could have scored higher if the close ups of units had been clear."

"Love the painting, and the size of the units; those really are battalions."  "Superb - effective and eye-catching."

Joint 2nd place: ECW, by DHautpol - wins £10 Pendraken credit!

"Top-notch, really coherent force."  "Very clean, tidy painting, these really stood out."  "Very tidy, again a coherent force."  

Congratulations to all of our winners!  We'll be contacting you in the next few days to get your prizes sorted out.  We'll also get your Winner's medals added to your profiles!  

Also, a huge thank you to everyone who entered from all of us here at Pendraken HQ.  We always look forward to the Competition each year, watching every day as these wonderful entries come in.  The time and effort that goes into achieving such a high standard is appreciated by all of us here and we hope you've enjoyed it as much as we have.

We'd like to thank our Judges as well, for accepting the difficult task of going through all of the entries to pick our winners.

Coming up next will be the People's Choice Award, where all the entries who achieved at least a point (plus a few of my own favourites!) will go into a public poll to decide a winner.  The thread for this can be found here:  and voting will run for a little over one week, closing at 6pm on Tuesday 15th March.  The winner of this category will receive a £25 voucher for loads of Minibits goodies, so please make sure to place your votes once the thread is up.

And finally, as a special bonus for everyone who entered, we've got one more prize to give out!  This participation prize will be given out to one randomly selected person who has entered this years competition.  The Winners and Runners-Up will be taken out of the pot first, and then we'll draw a name from the hat to find our winner!  The lucky person will receive £10 worth of Pendraken goodies.  We'll announce this at the same time as the People's Choice winner, so stay tuned!

Pendraken Painting Competition

People's Choice Award 

Pendraken Miniatures