Mike Bravo Miniatures

A package from Mike Bravo Miniatures finally arrived a week or so ago. It was a bit of an ordeal to get it, but I'm pretty happy with the figures. About a year ago they'd self-crowd-funded a new line of models: State of Emergency. It included British troops circa 1970-1980 and an assortment of armed civilians. By "self-crowd-funded" I mean they didn't do it through Kickstarter or any other crowd-funding websites, they just did it on their own through pre-orders - much like North Star Figures has been doing with their "Nickstarters".

As the fellow running it was just starting out there were a LOT of delays. At one point in the fall he'd offered to send partial shipments of the miniatures that were ready at that time and would send the rest along to others. I like to think of myself as a patient guy, and I dig the lines of minis this guy is trying to make available, and I'm aware for small guys like this it's more of a labour of love and that postage is a killer... So I said I'd wait until it was all ready.

In the new year I was snooping on their website and it looked like ALL off the range was now available for ordering... but I still had not received my stuff. So I sent an email asking if it was indeed available and when my stuff might ship. Got a reply stating that he'd be picking up the last batch of stuff that week and would send off my stuff presently - and even include a few bonus figures from the new Zimbalawi line! Hooray! The next day I received an email confirmation that the miniatures were indeed on the way. A confirmation from his webstore, mind you, not from a carrier with a tracking number or anything.

So I waiting in eager anticipation.

And waited.

AND waited.

After a couple months I thought I'd best get in touch as it seemed something had gone amiss. I had hoped that perhaps he'd simply forgot to mail it. I'd placed an order with Hasslefree miniatures around the same time, and they admitted they had simply forgot to post it... Such was not, apparently, the case with Mike Bravo. He said he'd sent it out and it simply must have been lost in the mail and he would send along a replacement.

In nearly 30 years of ordering stuff from England (and this includes pre-internet days when I would get a money order from the bank and mail off orders to companies I'd found out about in Wargames Illustrated advertisements) I don't think I've ever had an order simply disappear. packages have arrived bashed and broke. Packages have arrived missing items I ordered. Packages have arrived with the complete wrong order. Things have showed months after I ordered it. And on one or two occasions, businesses went out of business and never sent anything at all.  But I don't recall anything ever going completely missing forever? Maybe I've just been insanely lucky. How about you, dear reader? Has anything you ordered simply disappeared in the mail?

Anyway, the package finally arrived. It didn't include any bonus miniatures from the Zimbalawi line. It didn't even include the Iron Lady special figure that was supposed to come with any of the crowd-funded orders (it is listed in the webstore as an item that could be ordered - but was listed as Out of Stock when the replacement was shipped... so I'm guessing they were just out of them...). I did get a bunch of extra miniatures, though... so... If I ever order more (and I might,  not completely writing them off just yet!) and they have the Iron Lady in stock, I'll hit them up for one then...

Here are the first batch:



Some SAS types with M-16s - the pack was to include four, I got seven? I painted up four of them and then painted the other three. As I was finishing the last three I decided to repaint one of the berets green - so I could pass the figure off as a member of the Royal Marine Arctic and Mountain Warfare Cadre (which I think also made use of the M-16).



An assortment of modern irregular/insurgent types. Could be I.R.A...? Could be Tooting Popular Front...? Could be some really extreme football hooligans...?

I have a fair few more of both British and armed civvies. I'm not in any rush to get them done, though. I do really need to work on the Jet Bikes!!!

The pictures were taken between bouts of rain - I do like taking pictures outdoors in natural light. And I usually like taking pictures on overcast days when the light is more diffused. I'm also trying to figure out how to edit photos on my fancy new computer. I don't love the new photo program... 


In other news...

I have also finished off two troops of Scottish Horse - which finishes off my Company of Scots Government/Covenanters for The Pikeman's Lament. I'll put them up in a separate post later today. 

Mike Bravo Miniatures (Part Two)

As promised, here are the remaining figures that arrived last week from Mike Bravo Miniatures.

See previous post here:

Mike Bravo Miniatures (Part One)

(Remember: click on the pictures for a bigger version):

Also part of the 28mm State of Emergency line - 1979 Paramilitaries in Balaclavas. These figures are nice and beefy miniatures and should stand up to the abuse I give miniature figurines – solid weapons, easy to paint details.

Their backsides.

I thought they’d go well with the thugs in balaclavas from Killer B Games that I picked up to do double duty as either criminal thugs or Provos.

Here they are in a long line up of some of the other modern-ish thugs with firearms I have… (From left to right); Hasslefree Miniatures, The Assault Group, Copplestone Castings (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang), Mike Bravo Miniatures, Copplestone Castings (Future Wars), Mike Bravo Miniatures, Hasslefree Miniatures, Mike Bravo Miniatures, Victory Force Miniatures, Mike Bravo Miniatures, The Assault Group.

I also picked up a pack of War Correspondents from their “Modern Miscellany” line.

Their backs.

Here is a comparison shot with a couple other TV reporters. The two on the left of the picture are from SuperFigs and the reporter without a camera operator on the right is from The Assault Group.

Another comparison shot of photo journalists (From left to right); Superfigs, Mike Bravo Miniatures, RAFM, Mike Bravo Miniatures, Black Cat Bases.

The war correspondents seem to be done by a different sculptor, they are stylistically quite different and considerably slighter than the State of Emergency figures.

Coming soon on Tim’s Miniature Wargaming Blog:

Probably back to some Fantasy and Medieval stuff, considering what’s on my workbench at the moment… 

Mike Bravo Miniatures (Part One)

…and now for something completely different…

Last week a package arrived from Mike Bravo Miniatures. Mike Bravo Miniatures is a new-ish company out of the UK that produces modern figures. I can’t even recall how I came across them… probably Wargame News and Terrain Blog...? At the time I placed my order they had only three packs available for pre-order so I ordered all three; British Infantry in Flak Vests and Paramilitaries in Balaclavas from their “State of Emergency” line and War Correspondents from their “Modern Miscellany” line.

From their blog and news page it looks like they’re planning some Cold War Americans, Modern Africans and IDF, and more 1979 State of Emergency figures.

Currently they are running their own crowd-funding campaign to get some more packs made for the State of Emergency line. I am seriously tempted to order a bunch more... 

I had hoped to have them all painted up quickly, but I got busy with other things this last week, so here’s what I’ve painted so far.

(Remember: click on the pictures for a bigger version):

1979 British Infantry in Flak Vest.

I like these figures, they’re nice, beefy miniatures with fairly solid weapons, easy to paint details. (That being said, despite the very good packaging, on of the FN barrels did break off in transit… as the forestock was too slight for my wee drill to drill into I had to carv off the lower half of the forestock to the hand and drill into the hand to insert some wire for a new barrel and then rebuild the forestock with green stuff… It happens – seems to be the bane of all British modern troops of all manufacturers – whether armed with FNs or SA-80s - the barrels are prone to breaking off… can you tell which one it was?)

Back Side

Below are a few comparison shots of other modern British (and others armed with FNs)...

Here is the standing firing chap with a few standing firing squaddies from other manufacturers. From left to right - The Assault Group, Mongrel Miniatures, The Assault Group, Mike Bravo Miniatures, Mongrel Miniatures, Gripping Beast.

(Mongrel Miniatures are more or less out of print – they are, in theory, available from New Line Designs but they haven’t been in stock for years and most codes have been dropped from their catalogue - but people have them so I included a few)

Here is on of the partolling troopers with similar sorts from other manufacturers. From left to right - The Assault Group, Gripping Beast, Mike Bravo Miniatures, Mongrel Miniatures , The Assault Group.

Here is the kneeling/crouching Corporal with a few similar figures from other manufacturers. From left to right - The Assault Group, Mongrel Miniatures, Mike Bravo Miniatures, Gripping Beast, The Assault Group

Here is the standing rifle up with the only other modern british soldier I could find with a rifle up – from the out-of-print Devil Dog Designs. DDD kindo f dwarfed all other moderns (except, perhaps, Victory Force Miniatures)



While the Mike Bravo Miniatures tend to be on the slightly beefier side, I don't think it's nearly enough to be concerned about. but I've never been that fussy about miniatures - once they're all on the table no one will notice the differences that are more apparent when you line them all up next to each other. I think differences in paint jobs an dbasing stand out far more than slight variations in scale... 

On last pic – a  sneak peak at one of the figures from the 1979 Paramilitaries in Balaclavas pack – I should have the rest of these finished up in the next day or so… 

Coming soon on Tim’s Miniature Wargaming Blog:

The rest of the figures from Mike Bravo Miniatures. Then…? There are Dwarves and Seljuks, and Wizards and Hobbits and all manner of other figures crowding my painting table at the moment… perhaps it’s time for a clear off again…