Patrol Angis Week 6 Round Up - End of Playtest

Canlaster Retained Post advance on Prydians!

Khanate play Peek a Boo with a Havelock!

Its the end an era...well its the end of the six weeks of playtesting for the grand group that has the honour to be playtesting Patrol Angis.  This week everyone reported in but there will not a lot of pictures or questions asked since all of us are now happy with the rules.  What is good, what needs work, what can be added.

You can check out the previous playtest results posts on this blog.  Week Five, Week Four, Week Three, Week Two and Week One by clicking the links.  Its been a grand experience and I have enjoyed it a lot. While the core mechanics of PA made it through the grinder almost intact there will be changes made as a group result of the testing.  I think the game will be all the better for it and all IonFans now and in the future will benefit from these six weeks of glory.  Remember all the Anvil 888 fun?

I do have some pictures and a little tale for you.  From Huggable and also Ian Hoffman who has given us a lot of excellent images to explore during the testing period.  I included the tale so that Ian's pictures are of more sense...happy Halloween..a few days late...but hey we all do our best.

Huggable's Solo Play Set up Week 6

Huggable's Yordan Retained in the thick of it!

"Tales told around a campfire or holo-cube change with the telling. The story of the Knight of the Dead is one such tale, and with each re-telling it grows in complexity and mystery. Some call him the Star-Wraith, and hint that he is older even than the original designers of the black Alwite armour he wears. Others say that he was first seen when the arch-traitor Hugo Sevaris opened the Matter Gateway on Carmarthen, allowing the Shia Khan to return to the Prydian Precinct. Hugo's head was the only part of him to return to human space through the Gateway, and it is whispered by some that the Knight of the Dead was his executioner. This would make the Knight the only man alive to have seen the worlds of the Shia Khan, that is if he can even be said to be a 'man' or, indeed, 'alive'! The Knight, it is said, adheres in his own way to the Code Gallant. In particular he is thought to concern himself with the punishment of traitors and oath-breakers. Those humans who have abandoned their fealty to the Aeddan and instead pledged their allegiance to the Shia Khan - humans now universally known as Betrayers - no doubt tell their own tales of the Knight when they gather in their encampments, and they surely check their weapons and glance around more carefully than usual when they think of the stories they have heard. Who knows - perhaps the tales are true, and even as we speak of him the Knight of the Dead has tracked his prey to a remote area where they will surely meet their doom..."

I would like to finish with two points.  Firstly that I extend my whole hearted thanks to everyone involved.  I know it took a lot of my time every week and I must have typed fifty thousand words of replies but I make my living from this and all you fellows do it for fun so your time is greatly valued.  Thank you for your input, your comments, your criticisms and your joy and enthusiasm for Patrol Angis.  Your rewards will be given to you upon pre-release as promised.  Secondly there will be further smaller bolt on's for Patrol Angis as time passes for expansions to the first title...I would welcome your help for this so if you are keen do let me know.

See you all next year on the battlefields of the Prydian Civil War and then against The Shia Khan and then..well that would be telling. 

GBS

Huggable's Hab Domes - The League of Yordan

Hab Domes in Yordan League colours

Huggable's unique battle damaged Dome in Yordan colours

Back during the October Early Support Offer on the IAF015 Hab Dome, which you can find on the Ion Age website, one of our customers got a special and unique gift.  Huggable placed an ESO order and during product stress testing Sam Croes knocked the hell out of a Hab Dome to check the quality of the production run.  

It took a great amount of effort to damage the dome to the state the pictures show which I take as a testament to the quality not only of the raw materials we use (high quality resin only for us!) and of the design too.  Its a tough little structure.  There are IonFan's asking for a 'cratered dome' and this makes me think we will have to purpose design it as doing it yourself at home would be very demanding. 

This dome was given free to Huggable and she promised to send us pictures...here they are!

The pictures are very nice and these are the first Marcher Baron livery scheme Seorc Habitation Domes that I have seen so its good to share. Enjoy and all comments are welcome.

Well done Huggable!

GBS

PLEASE READ THIS
May 2019 and The Ion Age has been taken back into Alternative Armies.  It continues with new releases into the future!  Go to Alternative Armies for Ion Age pages of the 15mm Range the 15mm Terrain Range the 28mm Range the Publications range and the Free Downloads collection too for the latest.  All links to the ion age site are now defunct sorry!  If you wish to see something or ask a question email me on sales@alternative-armies.com.  GBS

The Ion Age now advertising on Wargame News and Terrain

We have just finalised an agreement for advertising on the great Wargame News and Terrain Blog.  This is the Ion Age's first piece of advertising and we hope it goes well.  You can see it on the right hand side of the main page.

We chose to go with Timmy over at WN&T because since we launched he has reported every single release and piece of news to the world and many people look at his pages and enjoy them.  We value that dedication.  The banner ad is above and it directs viewers to the main page of the website.  The WN&T blog has a massive amount of news on it and many tutorials and wargaming information.  I have spent several hours over the last two months browsing.

The Ion Age is growing and its all down to you lads and ladies who are reading this.  Thank you all!

GBS

IAF020 Havelock Battlesuit - Early Supporter Offers!

From the 4^th of November 2013 until the 14^th of November 2013 you can head on over to the Ion Age website and place one or more early supporter orders for the IAF020 Havelock Type 57 Battlesuit bundles. All orders placed for early supporter will be shipped worldwide on day of release. Excellent eh! But there is more! You get treats for being an early supporter. Go to The Ion Age Website. Adding one or more IAF020 Early Supporter Offers to your order gets you the following. There is a 15% off bundle and a 25% off bundle:

The first bundle gets you a 15% saving off the list price of 5.00GBP each on three Battlesuits. Each of the Battlesuits is a single piece white metal miniature supplied with a separate Anda Missile Pod and a choice of FIVE different weapon arms included as per the concept art and images. On top of this you also get the IAF023 Fallen Havelock (one piece, grey tone resin) which is either a casualty or a piece of battlefield terrain which upon general release will be priced at 5.00GBP. That's a total product value of 20.00GBP for just 12.75GBP and an item not due for release for many weeks to come! Plus you will get the IMP03 November 'Knight of the Dead' miniature automatically in your order! If you order something else with your IAF020 early supporter offer then it will be shipped at the same time on release day.

The second bundle gets you a 25% saving off the list price of 5.00GBP each on five Battlesuits. Each of the Battlesuits is a single piece white metal miniature supplied with a separate Anda Missile Pod and a choice of FIVE different weapon arms included as per the concept art and images. On top of this you also get the IAF023 Fallen Havelock (one piece, grey tone resin) which is either a casualty or a piece of battlefield terrain which upon general release will be priced at 5.00GBP. You also get an IAF024 Fabricator Spire for use in your games and on the wargames table (one piece, grey tone resin) which upon general release will be priced at 2.50GBP. That's a total product value of 32.50GBP for just 18.75GBP and two items not due for release for many weeks to come! Plus you will get the IMP03 November 'Knight of the Dead' miniature automatically in your order! If you order something else with your IAF020 early supporter offer then it will be shipped at the same time on release day.

Havelock, Retained Knight, Fallen Havelock - Scale Picture (Retained 17mm)

Havelock, Fallen Havelock (rear) and Fabricator Spire - Scale Picture

Fabricator Spire with Retained - Scale Picture

The Havelock is our first Battlesuit release and it takes The Ion Age into the realm of 15mm scale small vehicles. IAF020 stands, legs splayed, without the optional missile pod attached at 30mm tall. The Fabricator Spire stands 42mm tall and has a request console on its front for data input. The Fallen Havelock lays on its back shattered and is about 40mm across. All three have a high level of external detailing. These miniatures add great options to any science fiction 15mm force.

The Havelock Type 57 Battlesuit 

At the battle of Fenway Prime the fledgling Prydian Army made the first of several innovations in its military technology. The Precinct had been a peace for near a millennia and many lessons had to be learned again. While the armours and weapons of the Marcher Barons were and still are based on the fabricator patterns of the second and third millennia IC and work excellently for the Retained and Muster in many ways it was found that Muster had a real problem dealing with Desteria. In enclosed environments such as those seen during the under ground colonies of the Ban of Prejudice soldiers wearing Aketon and using the Hermit and Moth types of weapons could deal with the super heavy knights of the Desteria given clear lines of sight and accurate gunnery. Fenway Prime had urban engagements but on the whole, much like many of the worlds of the Prydian Precinct, it was surface war under the open sky and in areas not at all built up. In these new arenas the Desteria could deal great harm to soldiers before they could focus themselves well enough to bring down the Noblesse pattern armour. A solution was needed and Reckart Nevall in leading the alarmed and reeling Aeddan Council found one in the remaining hard texts of Old Earth held on the New Glastonbury Tor.

In the Resource Wars of the 21^st Century before the time of the Ark Ships and mankind taking to the stars a similar style of warfare combined with a lack of raw material existed. The solution of the time was to create a Battlesuit. A form of twice or three times the size of a soldier which could be piloted rather than worn. Smaller than the great mecha that were in service but capable of carrying a great deal more firepower than a foot soldier. They could be slow but they were easier to produce, transport and maintain than a tank or other larger armoured vehicle. Nevall took this and applied the fabricators to it and the results were the Havelock types of Battlesuit. Havelocks are nicknamed the 'Tall & Strong' by the infantry they fight with.

Made to walk alongside the Muster the Havelock is a sold weapons platform with varied uses. Small enough to fit into most transports and portable castles with ease but capable of hammering flat the most powerful worn powered armours such as the Noblesse of the Desteria. It was a great success and with the formation of the Leagues of Yordan and Canlaster the Havelock found its way in its tens of thousands into the armies of the rogue Marcher Barons. Capable of carrying a wide array of weapons the Type 57 fills many roles across thousands of Muster Regiments. The Type 57A is an anti-infantry Havelock armed with a Moth 88 dual rotary cannon mainly for use against Muster and other softer targets. The Type 57B is nicknamed the 'pride taker' and is fitted with a Valerin 15Mw laser cannon for melting the armour of Desteria Knights. Fire support indirectly from the Bodkin 55mm AP Howitzer is the function of the Type 57C. Taking apart armoured vehicles like the Adder and other Battlesuits with a Fretan II Rail Gun is the support role of the Type 57D. Lastly the 'knightmare' Havelock the Type 57E is fitted with a heavy Angis 25mm AP Cannon that gives the Muster the hitting power to smash Retained Knights. The fitting of an Anda 60mm five deck pod of missiles is possible to all variants of the Havelock Type 57 if a little more punch is needed. This has been an upgrade fitted to most Havelocks dispatched to face the Khanate threat. 

Havelock Type 57A

Havelock Type 57B

Havelock Type 57C

Havelock Type 57D

Havelock Type 57E

Havelock's operate in Fire Teams of typically three machines that mix and match weapons to suit their battlefield roles. In tougher campaigns Battlesuits of the Havelock and other models are placed by Regimental command at the platoon level from a central reserve. This is most welcome to the often hard pressed Muster who have to deal with much more hardy foes than themselves. Some pilots have earned a measure of fame and the title of 'Byrs' given by Knight Commanders to those who can make a Battlesuit act almost as if on instinct while at the controls. A Byrs can handle a Battlesuit like a puppet in the hands of a marionette master. While it is true that more of the these pilots are of the Retained and pilot the Duxis type Battlesuit the Muster have their own hero in Byrs Shauna McBride of the 281^st Regiment. McBride single handedly took down a dozen Nox on Camarthan Prime with her Type 57B Havelock. 

Thanks for Reading! GBS 

Knight of the Dead - IMP03 Free Miniature for November 2013

Its the...Knight of the Dead!

November is the month of screamy scary fun for all so its only fitting that The Ion Age does something for it. We have a new FREE MINIATURE for the whole month of November 2013.  The Knight of the Dead is the deathly fellow in the image above and you get him free cast in high quality white metal in ANY order placed with us.

That's right.  Until the 1st December you will get one IMP03 miniature free in every order placed on The Ion Age website.  From one miniature to a pack of miniatures, to a Hab Dome or a pack of SupaBases or dice and so on; one IMP03 will be placed automatically in your package.  There is no limit per customer on the number of orders and every order earns you points on your account.  Build up points and get discounts and other freebies!  A win for everyone.

In fact even if you are not keen on our 15mm Miniatures you could try the 28mm Ion Age or our rulebooks or just get some accessories for your collection.  Once the month is up this miniature will vanish forever!

This month's free miniature in every order is the most detailed yet and its the first to depict a character who is seasonal and not just for inclusion in your Prydian Army ranks.  Above you can see a series of images composite that I made up for this blog post on top of the official slide at the top of this post and on The Ion Age website.  I increased the light levels a bit more and took pictures from the rear and the side.  Just who is the Knight of the Dead?

Well I don't really know.  He came from the mind of Sam Croes who was possessed of an urge to sculpt him just so.  Modified Alwite powered armour and an Angis 12.5mm AP Rifle with a serrated bayonet.  A leering skull and a cloak with foot atop a small pile of pumpkins.  Is the Knight of the Dead a force for good or evil?  Get your's paint it up and decide for yourself!

Either way the one in the pictures is now in the glass case of destiny in our office where it joins the ever growing line of Ion Age miniatures.

Lastly there is now a page on the Ion Age Website that showcases present and former free monthly miniatures. Have a look.

GBS

October 2013 for The Ion Age!

Playtesting Began in October 2013

Last month I did a round up of the first month plus of our existence as a wargaming brand.  The posting was well received and I got several emails asking me to do it again and indeed provide a round up every time the month and the current free miniature period was about to end.  Why?  Well we make a release or releases every week and a good number of people liked the idea of a snapshot of the month to take it all in.

So picking up where I left off in September 2013 we announced a new free miniature and then went on to make the following releases:

IMP02 Retained Knight with Bionic Fist.  The monthly free in all orders miniature. 
IAF011 Legionary 2nd Tesseran.  8 Shia Khan Legionaries, Apollo ADS.
IAF012 Pioneers 1st Tesseran.  8 Shia Khan Legionaries, Maia Mpi.
IAF013 Murdo and Galaine. 2 Desteria Knight Characters (Male, Female).
IAF014 Retained Post Command Beta. 5 Retained Knights, command poses.
IAF015 Seroc Hab Dome.  1 Resin Building.  Our first structure!
IAF016 Retained Post Delta.  10 Female Retained Knights, mixed weapons.
PIA001 Ylona of Prydia. 1 Poster Print, A3 format.
IAF015A Sentry Gun Turret.  Top piece for IAF015 Hab Dome.
IAF015B Comms Spire Mount. Top piece for IAF015 Hab Dome.
IAF015C Hurwent Generator Mount. Top piece for IAF015 Hab Dome.

Releases that expanded both the Prydian Army and Shia Khan Army in 15mm scale and brought us into the resin terrain business too.  On top of that we struck a welcome blow for women's promotion with female miniatures and kicked off our artwork range too with Ylona.  Have a look to read and see a lot more on all of the above.

During the month we had other things going on alongside our weekly releases which we detailed on the blog.  The most salient points in the month were as follows:

Patrol Angis Playtesting.  We assembled a talented group of just over twenty playtesters for our 2014 planned 15mm skirmish title (first in a series) set in The Ion Age.  Each week playtesters sent in reports and pictures.  You can see these on Week One, Week Two, Week Three, Week Four and lastly Week Five.  Lots of interesting material to read and great pictures to look at.  Testing ends in November. 

Hab Dome Early Supporter Offer.  We had our first early supporter offer (eso) lasting two weeks in October offering two bundles.  a 15% discount and a 25% discount on one or three domes with an unreleased 15mm Noblesse miniature thrown in.  The response to this was frankly huge, thank you all, and we blogged about it as well.  The Noblesse, well she will appear in 2014 as part of a noble code.  We are doing another ESO in November.

Female Retained Concepting.  In response to wargamers pleas we moved our first release of female miniatures in 15mm right forward.  Sam Croes produced a green sculpt and concept art for a blog post in late September and the response to it was good so he went ahead on another nine and working fast got them ready in time for release as IAF016 in October.  Really good going for a few weeks work.  It makes for excellent reading so have a look. 

1000 Views on a Blog Post.  Quite simple this one.  I was really proud of the fact that the release of IAF016 got more visits more quickly than any other post in the month.  We did a wee bit of art to celebrate the 1000.  Its now well past 1500.

Poster Prints and Sci-Fi Art.  I really love science fiction art and a lot of our customers do too so The Ion Age decided to get into the grand old poster print game.  High quality and great art.  A blog post showing the first print as an image and a physical product was done.  We will be doing more!

You would think we never slept...well we do a bit.  Even though we run 15mm.co.uk and Alternative Armies as well.  See you about on the blog during November...its gonna be a spooky awesome month!

GBS

PLEASE READ THIS
May 2019 and The Ion Age has been taken back into Alternative Armies.  It continues with new releases into the future!  Go to Alternative Armies for Ion Age pages of the 15mm Range the 15mm Terrain Range the 28mm Range the Publications range and the Free Downloads collection too for the latest.  All links to the ion age site are now defunct sorry!  If you wish to see something or ask a question email me on sales@alternative-armies.com.  GBS

IAF015 Top Mounts (Sentry Turret, Comms Spire, Hurwent Generator) Released!

“Can you see them yet?”

The nervous voice of the young Muster Private had repeated the question for the best part of an hour. Wearily his Sarj scanned the horizon once again and prepared to reply no to the private, but he hesitated. Upon the rise above the small cluster of Seorc Habitation Domes dark shapes had appeared. It was an atrocious night. Wet and with high winds too. Luckily the Sarj's platoon were out of the weather; holed up in the domes. While most of the domes were the typical five person sleep and live models three were not. The settlement had a comms spire for reporting to the district command and it had the small 'bubbler' type Hurwent Generator that put a hazy field over all of the domes and it had one sentry dome with a Moth 88 Rotary Cannon in a turret mount. It was this turret's visual system that the Sarj was using to scan the horizon.

“Yeah. I see them. Looks like at least two platoons of Yordists.'

The small figures up on the rise had arrayed themselves with their weapons pointing toward the fizzing and hazy field extended over the cluster of domes. The Hurwent Field generated by the dome was nothing like that of even a small town. Those fields could halt any form of attack and could withstand so much that ground assault was often the only option. This Hurwent Field was much weaker and while it could and would stop incoming fire and play havoc with powered armour that got near it eventually it would burn out its micro fusion generator and collapse. The Sarj knew it and the Yordists knew it. Anvil 888 rounds boomed out from the rise and exploded against and then within the Hurwent Field. For four minutes the rounds impacted and exploded and the Muster within the domes readied themselves as best they could.

“Get the ammo cans for the cannon ready. Gonna be any time now.”

His voice was steadier than he felt on the platoon channel but the Sarj needed his raw Prydian Platoon to be calm now. The Hurwent Shield was going to blaze out any moment and then only the Moth cannon would be able to slow the Yordists. Without the rain the shield would have lasted longer but those were the breaks. Back up was an hour out so it was the cannon and then the rifle once again. Hopefully the rebels would be put off closing in by five long barrels of fun.

In a sudden shock of white light the Hurwent Shield blazed out and by the time the first rain drops were hitting the rubbacrete of the domes the Moth 88 Rotary Cannon was firing long bursts of explosive shells at the rise and the Yordists were dying. The weight of their Anvil fire had dropped the shield and now the killing began.

“Are we ok Sarj? The Moth 'ill stop the Yordies won't it?”

In the green glow of the turret's visual system the Sarj trained the cannon across the rise and watched the Yordists die. An Anvil round struck the outside of the dome but failed to crack it. The Sarj gritted his teeth and continued to shoot.

“Be ready with that ammo kid. Can't fab any more now. Just be ready.”

Derby III, South Trentland, 672^nd Prydian Regiment, 4327IC

IAF015 Top Mounts for Hab Domes!

IAF015A Sentry Gun Turret

Put a Rotary Cannon turret on your Hab Dome and strike out at your enemies on the battlefield. Fitting to the universal circle on the top of the IAF015 Hab Dome this top mount can also be used as a separate scenic item too. As always you can purchase one or select the three packs and save 10% option on the page. Price 2.50GBP.

IAF015B Comms Spire Mount

Call in the troops or signal to space with the comms spire for your dome. Fitting to the universal circle on the top of the IAF015 Hab Dome this top mount can also be used as a separate scenic item too. As always you can purchase one or select the three packs and save 10% option on the page. Price 2.50GBP.

IAF015C Hurwent Shield Generator

Just like the cities of the Prydian Precinct you can fit your dome with a protective shield generator. Fitting to the universal circle on the top of the IAF015 Hab Dome this top mount can also be used as a separate scenic item too. As always you can purchase one or select the three packs and save 10% option on the page. Price 2.50GBP.

IAF015 Hab Dome

Our first 15mm resin building and it gives form to the structures of The Ion Age. Fabricated by the Seorc Guild Hab Domes have many uses and can be found all across Prydian space. The Hab Dome is the starting point for a whole series of resin structure system for The Ion Age in 15mm scale. The Hab Dome is the basic unit for future stackable and adaptable units. It can be used on its own or with other IAF15 series releases. It is a high quality grey tone resin one piece casting which is 65mm wide and 30mm tall with a high degree of external detailing. Suitable for use in any science fiction setting as well as The Ion Age. As always this code can be bought as a pack or as a single or select the three packs and save 10% option on the page. Price 7.00GBP.

Information Burst!

It's the last week of October 2013 and you have only TODAY to get your IMP02 Retained Knight Bionic Fist free in any order before its retired permanently. What a month its been for The Ion Age. We hope that you enjoyed both the release of the Hab Dome and also these brand new top mounts for it. We meant what we said, the Hab Dome is the bottom of the mountain for our scenics range. There will be much more for it and beyond. Personally I am going to use my own IAF15C Hurwent Generator mount on its own as a part of my playtesting of Patrol Angis. Here's to the end of a big month for The Ion Age! Remember when you place an order with us you will be promoted to join the loyalty scheme which will earn you Reward Points on all purchases which can, once accumulated, be redeemed for discounts and special miniatures.

Thanks for Reading!

GBS

PLEASE READ THIS

May 2019 and The Ion Age has been taken back into Alternative Armies.  It continues with new releases into the future!  Go to Alternative Armies for Ion Age pages of the 15mm Range the 15mm Terrain Range the 28mm Range the Publications range and the Free Downloads collection too for the latest.  All links to the ion age site are now defunct sorry!  If you wish to see something or ask a question email me on sales@alternative-armies.com.  GBS