Battlefronts New Project
http://www.flamesofwar.com/Default.aspx?tabid=53&art_id=1639 apparently in conjunction with Flashpoint Miniatures. Interesting times!

I don't game post-WWII, but I can imagine there being a lot of interest in these. As an aside, I like clear discs as spinning propellers on planes, but am I alone in thinking those clear plastic chopper blades look funny? After all, they are fashioned the way a camera with a short shutter time sees them, not a human eye, which sees a round blur. So you would be modelling a picture of a chopper, really, not reality? My head hurts now, need more coffee. Really. Waiter!!!

I prefer the choppers with separate blades - with the modern highspeed camera I can take photos of helicopters in flight with the individual blades clearly shown without any blurring of image.

When I saw the ad for the WI Nam issue I thought that this might be coming :mental: just as well I'm not a FOW player.

Gungnir - I imagine a round plastic disc would be easy enough to paint to get the blur effect. Making a blurred disc clear though is harder.... As it is, from a distance you don't see the blur anyhow - at least I didn't on the Apaches I shared a valley with yesterday.

According to the relevant websites, no mention of Flashpoint - the miniatures for La Drang are FoW ones. And Flashpoint aren't owned by Battlefront, but Siege Works Studios...

So who were Flashpoint Miniatures and what about the opposition - it seemed to only show US forces

There are PAVN troops there too. I'll be getting the AA & HMG platoons at the very least as they were very similar to those used in the earlier French Indochina war. Hell, I'll probably get the lot! Flashpoint Miniatures were a NZ company that made large 15mm (18mm) figures for Vietnam (I've got some of their Viet Cong masquerading as their fathers, the Viet Minh) & also modern US forces. About a year ago Anton, the then owner & sculptor sold out to a group of Australians. (I think it's the same Anton mentioned in the BF article). The new owners are in the process of putting the range back into production. According to a post from the new owners on the 'Fields of Fire Reloaded' Vietnam gaming site they're involved in the project with BF, although they're being pretty coy as to what that actually means! This is the thread http://fieldsoffireonline.freeforums.org/what-s-up-with-flashpoint-t1041.html Frog used to put a ridged disc into some of their models to represent a spinning prop - my Tempest model certainly had one.

Looks interesting. Angel Barracks has just released paddy fields as well.

Always said Paddy Fields was innocent!

Think BF must have been looking over my shoulder last year when i was writing my 'modern Africa' version of FOW! Albeit with a very long telephoto lens to see me from where they are haha. Very interested in those Hueys though ideal for bush wars!

Oooooooo! I'm aware of all the rumours and gossip over on the Fields of Fire forum, but like Etranger said, everyone was being very tight-lipped. An interesting and encouraging move. I was getting a little skeptical about whether Flashpoint would ever be able to get back off the ground again. Since the big announcement of the move to Oz and ressurection of the company things haven't exactly been moving superfast. Now we know why. They've been busy little beavers. Hopefully with Battlefront on board they'll have much better distribution as well. I do like those Hueys. The market's been crying out for a big slick with doors open and door gunners for a long long time now. I'm a big fan of single rotor blades, so I'm not convinced about the clear plastic things. Pleased to see they give you a choice though. Dear Santa...

The were some nice 15mm(?) slicks in the Israeli/Syrian game at Fiasco, but with closed doors

I'm guessing that they might well be the resin QRF slicks in the Israeli/Syrian game, especially judging by some of the other hardware on the table. As far as I know only QRF do stretched slicks at the mo, albeit with the doors shut. Nice game by the looks of it. Makes it seem all the more churlish to ask why the artillery and AA support are so far forward? And why are those choppers so near the battlefront without any kind of gunship support? :)