Federation Polecat - Khurasan's new light APC

Federation troops on Forsey have been reinforced by General Bedford H Baxter and the 5th Infantry Regiment of the New Vistula Legion. This is the first part of a major restructuring of Federal forces which should see state-of-the-art heavy mechanised forces being added to the existing Federal forces.

General Baxter is accompanied by Colonel Bryan Xanthoudakis of the NVL and Major Arran Reid of the Federal Army 4th Corp. General Baxter's staff car a new Federal Polecat LAPC.

Below: Polecat with Khurasan Federal Army and Oddzial Osmy New Vistula Legion

Below: Khurasan Federal Army and Odzial Ossmy New Vistula Legion

Yesterday I received the new Polecat APC from Khurasan just in time to transport my newply painted Federal command unit, which is a mix of Khurasan Federal Army and Odzial Ossmy's New Vistula Legion characters. The Polecat is a lovely little kit with a choice of weapon turrets. I've added the light weapon turret with a tiny bit of bluetac to hold it in place so that I can swap this out with the missile launcher that is also supplied. The model was extremely cleanly cast (although there was one large bubble at the lower back of the rear of the vehicle... I hid this with some weathering - the kit was too good to complain about this fault). I've shown the Polecat alongside Antenociti's Kabardin as a comparison.

The Odzial Ossmy pack of characters is a great addition to their range and brings the NVL figures to life. I'll add the other's from the pack once I get the infantry figures painted up.

I've also rebased my Khurasan Federal Army figures. Next up will be a major rebasing of the Critical Mass Arc Fleet as these are currently based in multiples and I've now decided to base individually - don't ask why, it just happened!!



Khurasan Polecat Armoured Light Utility Vehicle

I couldn't resist this. I've ordered one even though I have a pile of figures waiting to be painted. Available here.

15mm Scifi Miniatures Comparison Pt4

The in the last comparison I mentioned a difference in size with the new "Nostromo" crew figures compared to some newer 15mm scifi and a few commented that they didn't see a size difference. Here's another pic showing those alongside both Khurasan's Federal Army, Critical Mass's Arc Recon, and Oddzial Osmy's New Vistula Legion. The Federal Trooper shows clearly the difference I was meaning.

15mm Scifi Miniatures Comparison Pt3

Today I received an order from Khurasan. I've come to expect the very best from this company and I wasn't disappointed.

I'd ordered a pack of Control Battalion Infantry, a pack of Control Battalion Command, the Commercial Freighter Crew (the crew from Alien), and a pack of the new Government Forces in Power Armour. 

The first packs I opened were the Control Battalions. These are great, crisply designed figures, perfectly in scale with the newer and larger 15mm scifi ranges. Obviously these match with the Sepulvedan Resistence figures - and they are armed with the same weapons - so I plan to use these as the same faction.

Next I opened the Commercial Freighter Crew. My first thought was the oppisite of when I opened the SHM aliens from 15mm.co.uk earlier this week - where those were bulky, large figures, these were really quite small. I had to grab an old Traveller figure to compare right away. And these ARE small, with the figures shorter than the old figures I had from 20 years ago - I'm not sure why Khurasan have opted for smaller figures when so many they produce are that little bit bigger. Size aside, they are great figures, and I'm looking forward to watching Alien again to get the colours for these.

Lastly, I opened the Government Forces in Power Armour figures... now these guys are BIG!! And I don't mean that the look out of scale. I mean they look like how GWs Space Marines should look compared to other human figures in the same scale. They are fantastic, absolutely stunning, and I'm hoping that Khurasan expands this faction. These armoured troopers are going to be perfect for the security forces of my Fyoder Industries faction - tough, heavy, and intimidating - just great for supressing the locals.

Here's a comparison shot of these figures alongside some others from various other manufacturers...

Left to right, these are: Laserburn Crewman, Khurasan Control Battalion, Traveller Militia, Micropanzer SAS, Khurasan Freighter Crew (x2), Khurasan Government Forces Power Armour, and a Traveller Mid-Tech Trooper.

**Oops - I've just noticed the "Ripley" figure is facing the wrong way**

Individual Basing

After deciding to base my figures on multiple bases I have suddenly changed my mind and decided to go with individual bases. I'd planned on individual bases originally but was never happy with the size of coins that were easily available, ie 1p and 5p pieces - 1p being too large and 5p too expensive.

Now thanks to warbases I have the perfect size bases. Only thing is I now have a load of painted figures that will need rebased.... so it's off to work!!

The bases come in various sizes. I opted for 15mm circles, 2mm deep. These come in packs of 30 and at £1.20 a pack, that's great value. They are made from laser cut MDF so are quite lightweight but not so as to cause any issues. Here's a pic of the bases with coins for scale...

I've started basing some figures that were already needing bases, rather than those already based. Here's a comparison pic of three minis, all from Khurasan - the first is a Federal Trooper on a 1p, the next is their bounty hunter based on a Euro 1 cent, and the last is a Selpuvedan Rebel on a new 15mm base. I found that I had to use the thicker Super Glue to stick the figures as the more fluid glue is absorved by the MDF. I'm not sure if a strong PVA wood glue would hold the figures, that's something I'll need to try out.

And here's the work in progress of the newly based figures, glued to the bases and sand added using PVA glue. Once these are dry I'll paint the ground with Games Workshop Graveyard Earth, then drybrush the same with added white, then some grass and tufts etc, and I'll post the finished figures soon.

Jaka Walsh - Khurasan Bounty Hunter

Decided, just for a change of pace, to paint an individual figure. I spent a little more time and effort on this guy than I would for a figure that was part of a unit. Quite happy with the result and think I may do some more, but I'll need to find more coins the same size as this Euro 1Cent. UK pennies are too big and 5pences are too expensive.
The figure is Jaka Walsh from Khurasan...

Chewke Attack!!

Report: 25739-656
Date Ref: 311.56/45 (ED 22/11/2311)
Unit Ref: Ind.Recc.Squad 2, 58th Infantry Special Forces Brigade, Federal 2nd Army Forsey.
Subject: Mid Sector Fyodor Water Mine 378 Defence

Reporting: Sgt. Artur Meade (Marksman 1st Class)
"On Nov 22 ED, Independant Recon Squad 2 were tasked with scouting the area around a Fyoder Industries water mine 49 clicks north of the temporary station midway on Highway 7. Reports of attacks on Fyoder facilities in this area by seperatist forces suggested that this would be the next target. The main 8 man patrol, led by 2LT Weihagan, left on patrol of the area leaving myself, Sgt Meade, in a covered position."

"I then contacted the group to say he was under attack from hostile forces. I must also report that the hostiles were not seperatists, or even one of the low tech local tribes, but small insectoid aliens of a previously unknown race."



"I defended my position for as long as possible then withdrew with a full report of the enemy forces composition and strength. The small creatures were well armed and had the support of various large insectoid creatures. The full data has been passed to Intel for analysis but confirmation of this enemies existence will reshape the military planning of this sector. (Deleted as opinion only). 

NOTE: One interesting image that Sgt. Meade supplied suggested that these small creatures were actually an advance force to a larger insectoid species. 

15mm Scifi Miniatures Comparison Pt2

Last week I posted a comparison image of the new Vistula Legion figures from Odzial Ossmy. This week I've received some of Khurasan's Sepulvedan Resistance fighters plus the new DPLS Passenger set, so here's a comparison shot of those with some other figures...

The figures shown above are, from left to right:

1. Arc Recon Trooper with sniper rifle from Critical Mass Games

2. Sepulvedan Resistance Fighter from Khurasan Miniatures

3. New Vistula Legion trooper from Oddzial Osmy

4. Jaka Walsh from Khurasan Miniatures

5. Muster Troops Command from 15mm.co.uk

15mm Scifi Miniatures Comparison Pt1

I've always found it useful to see comparison shots netween different ranges and manufacturers of miniatures so when I received my new 15mm Vistula Legion from Oddzial Osmy (fighting15s) I thought I'd let you see how they compare to some other minis. I've also included some Spugs and Chewks as I'm using those in a new faction. I'd wanted to include some Khurasan Federals but I didn't have any that were unbased.

These are:

1. Arc Recon Trooper with sniper rifle from Critical Mass Games

2. New Vistula Legion specialist from Oddzial Osmy

3. Spug drone from Spriggan Miniatures

4. SAS Infantry with plasma rifle from Micropanzer

5. Chewke from Khurasan Miniatures

I hope you find this helpful.

Federal Army

The Federal Army has sent a small taskforce to the planet Forsey to assist the Fyoder Corporation. Water mining rights on the planet have been openly disputed by the Nationalist Independence Party resulting in armed conflict with the corporations security. Fyoder Corp has asked for mediation in the ongoing conflict and is threatening to send in it's own forces to protect it's facilities if issues are not resolved. The Nationalists meanwhile deny any attacks on Fyoder's properties but have stated that they will defend their territory against Federal incursions.

This is my Federal Army forces so far. I think I'll take a break from these as I want to add some alien races to the collection. I have some new figures on order that should hopefully arrive soon. Meanwhile I have to work my way through a large painting commission of Night Goblins.

Alien Plant Life

Much of the Flora and Fauna of Earth was transplanted to the colonies during their terraforming, but much of the native plantlife and animals survived. The Federal Army often finds itself waging war amongst the most exotic and strange foliage.

I used the tops of some dried out poppies at the back of the garden to make these suitably alien plant forms. I'd love to do more but I suppose I'll have to wait until the same time next year. The figures are a Khurasan Federal fusion gunner and supporting infantryman (top) and a Special Forces (not Arnie from Predator) from The Scene (bottom). Here's an in-progress pic of the planets before the bases were finished...

Federal Drones and Control

When it's too dangerous to send in the infantry, the Federal Army utilises remote Drones. This version of the wheeled drones are armed with autocannons and are controlled by a command team from as far a way as several miles. The command team can track the drones on a field holoprojector.

The drones are from Ground Zero Games and the Command Team is from Khurasan Miniatures. The holoprojector is supplied with the projection printed onto clear acetate - a brilliant idea from Khurasan who also manufacture some of the best 15mm scifi figures on the market.

Khurasan Reopen!

It was a bit of a shock recently when Khurasan closed their website. Thankfully it has reopened with a limited range, mostly their scifi and pulp range. Now all I need to do is resist rushing to spend my cash on their site.