Jean Bey is No Longer with Rackham

As reported on dragonpainting.net and awaiting confirmation by TGN, Jean Bey is no longer with Rackham:

Hi my Friends,

After several months of silence, it is time for me to give you some news: as of yesterday, I’m officially and definitively no longer part of the company.

I want to say thank you to all of you, for all your support, your confidence and your passion for CONFRONTATION and AT-43 all these years, and for some of you for more than 10 years! I have really liked being on board with you, meeting some of you each year at conventions, sharing with you every day all this passion for the CONFRONTATION and AT-43 minis lines and gaming universes.

CONFRONTATION has definitively changed the face of the 30mm miniatures industry and the way of playing a miniatures game forever by becoming a standard. Nothing would happen without you and as the creator of the game and the miniatures lines, I want to personally say that you have been the best supporters a creator can have. You are great!

See you soon again!

Thanks for all guys.

Jean.

NB: Carlo, send me an email when you come to visit Paris. Scott, Aaron, Francis, Antoine, Tracy, Duncan, Nicolas, Johan, and a lot more you have been fantastic partners.

“The Physics of Space Battles”

Kotaku concept art from the Ninja Magic Web site

There’s an interesting article on Gizmodo.com by PhD candidate Joseph Shoer about the physics of would-be battles in space that’s worth reading.  From the article:

First, let me point out something that Ender’s Game got right and something it got wrong. What it got right is the essentially three-dimensional nature of space combat, and how that would be fundamentally different from land, sea, and air combat. In principle, yes, your enemy could come at you from any direction at all. In practice, though, the Buggers are going to do no such thing. At least, not until someone invents an FTL drive, and we can actually pop our battle fleets into existence anywhere near our enemies.

Croc Tales 2, Titans

Croc Tales 2

Crocodile Games recently released the second issue of their free PDF magazine, Croc Tales.  This issue features their new range of titan miniatures.  Personally I’m a fan of the Titan Overlord for all its retro Harryhausen goodness.

Titan Overlord

Victoria Lamb’s Labyrintus

From Victoria Lamb’s Web site:

Labyrintus is a miniature game by Victoria Lamb. It combines the spectacle and craft of a miniature game with the fun and ease of play of a board game.  A fast paced game for 2-4 players with a playing time of 30 to 60 minutes. Each player takes control of a team of 4 creatures and attempts to be the first to get through the Labyrinth. But beware, things may not always be what they seem, your progress can be thwarted by other creatures, the shifting Labyrinth and even your own tactical choices.Labyrintus is a miniature game by Victoria Lamb. It combines the spectacle and craft of a miniature game with the fun and ease of play of a board game.  A fast paced game for 2-4 players with a playing time of 30 to 60 minutes. Each player takes control of a team of 4 creatures and attempts to be the first to get through the Labyrinth. But beware, things may not always be what they seem, your progress can be thwarted by other creatures, the shifting Labyrinth and even your own tactical choices.

A recent post over at Tabletop Gaming News reminded me of this project.  After some browsing I was elated to learn that the miniatures for the game are already available from Eureka.  I’ll be picking up Billy Bagshot, the twiglets, and the fairies soon.

Billy Bagshot

Twiglet 1

Twiglet 2

Fairy 1

Fairy 2

D&D Retro Clones

(Image taken from To the Blogmobile!)

RetroRoleplaying and To the Blogmobile! are home to some of the best sources of information on the Web about retro clones of old Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying games.  Be sure to check out the following articles, if you’re interested:

“Old is New Again: A Guide to ‘Retro-Clone’ Roleplaying Games” (To the Blogmobile!)

“Retro-Clones” (RetroRoleplaying)

Kallistra 10mm Viking Huscarls

Copplestone Horse Tribe infantry (left) and Kallistra Huscarls

Kallistra Huscarls (lefft), Magister Militum greater orc, MM ashigaru, and more Kallistra Huscarls

Kallistra Huscarls (left) and Copplestone City Spearmen

Kallistra Huscarls (left) and GW Warmaster Swordmasters of Hoeth

Kallistra Huscarls (left), Eureka Anvil dwarf, Eureka Warspite elf, more Kallistra Huscarls

Old Glory Persian commmand (left) and Kallistra Huscarls

Eureka Frog Warrior Musician

I recently finished this piece as a present for my brother.

You can purchase this model from Eureka Miniatures or Eureka Miniatures USA.

I apologize for the poor quality of the photos.

Frog Warrior Musician from Eureka Miniatures

Baueda 15mm Viking Foot Command

Baueda Viking Command (front)

Baueda Viking Command (back)

Kallistra's 10mm Viking Huscarls (left) and two 15mm Baueda Vikings (right)

Click on the photos to see larger images.

Kallistra 10mm Mongolian Light Cavalry

Kallistra's four different sculpts of Mongolian light cavalry

Kallistra Mongolian light cavalry (left), Copplestone Horse Tribe cavalry, Magister Militum Mongolian heavy cavalry, Kallistra Mongolian light cavalry

Be sure to click on the photographs to see larger images.

Red Box Games, Goblins and Dvergr

Crowbiter and four Bonebacks (from the left) Scratch, Snothocker, Howler, and Gut

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Crowbiter (left) and two Bonebacks (from the left) Scratch and Snothocker

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Snothocker (left), Howler, and Gut

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Snothocker, Dvergrs Hostrom Hammersmite (left) and Bjorti TrollsBane, and Scratch

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Detail of Hostrom Hammersmite (left) and Bjorti TrollsBane

Administrative Update, 11 December 2009

Over the coming months I’ll be working on a new section to the site devoted exclusively to Rackham miniatures, the Aarklash Archive in the Athenæum.  I’m currently building the Factions department, which, when finished, will be a complete catalog of every miniature (including WIPs and back stories for some) Rackham created from their inception until the end of the metal line circa late 2007.

I’ve got a bunch of comparison photos to share as well.  Expect to see them soon.

RedStar Miniatures

RedStar Miniatures

I‘m not really into this sort of thing, but so far these guys seem to be doing everything right.  Click on the image to be taken to their site to read their mission statement and see some of their impressive WIPs.

Nostalgic Image of the Day, 05 November 2009

Star Frontiers advertisement from Dragon Magazine 7, no. 8 (69) (January 1983).

Nostalgic Image of the Day, 04 November 2009

"Ready for Anything," Dragon Magazine 7, no. 8 (69) (January 1983): 63.

Meanders of Darkness Painting Challenge, Final Update

Rackham's Kelt Musician

Be sure to visit Dragon Painting to see more completed entries for this challenge.