All is Truly Quiet on the Martian Front

Roughly two months after the Robot Peanut / Alien Dungeon website went down - followed of course by the normal levels of rampant speculation on the internet, we finally got the following announcement via Kickstarter this morning:

Official Announcement

Posted by Alien Dungeon

We regret to announce that effective January 27th, 2016, Robot Peanut Studios, LLC, and its associated brands, Architects of War and Alien Dungeon have permanently closed their doors.

Our sales plummeted precipitously in the 3rd and 4th quarter of 2015 and never recovered across our online retail operations as well as hobby shop and distributor sales. We could not maintain our business under these conditions and despite a continuing series of sales and marketing efforts, we have been forced to file for bankruptcy. The case has been filed in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania at case number 16-20247. Please contact an attorney if you have any questions.

We set out six years ago to start a company providing exciting and entertaining intellectual property primarily in the analog gaming market. RPS began with miniature games with the intention of expanding to board and digital games. While the All Quiet Kickstarter project brought in significant sales for us, the cost of development, manufacturing, and shipping exceeded the sales numbers and we were relying on sales beyond the Kickstarter in the broader market to carry the costs and expand the game. These sales never materialized in sufficient quantities. It is just that simple - we sold stuff through the Kickstarter that essentially ended up just above cost and then paid for the shipping. All Quiet just didn’t generate enough money for its scale. In addition, our original cost estimates based on quotes and time frame from various vendors Pre-Kickstarter were exceeded, making the business model untenable without retail sales that never materialized.

We are very sorry that it has come to this. Certainly not the outcome we dreamed of when we started the company. To our investors, the Kickstarter supporters and our loyal customers, we’d like to thank you for your support. It has been difficult not communicating during this legal process, but we have had to go through a process and that has been well outside any of our previous experiences.

This will be our last communication. Customer service inquiries will not be answered and there will be no additional communication on Kickstarter. We do not know what the final disposition of All Quiet and or other product brands will be at this time. We have to forfeit our participation in such matters to the court.

Barb and I must move on and find employment and start putting our lives back together. To our friends, investors, vendors, and loyal customers, thank you for helping us try to fulfill our dream and we wish you the best possible future.

Yours Sincerely, Barb and Ernie

The original Kickstarter raised a little over $300,000 and had just north of 1000 backers. Unfortunately it is now absolutely clear that Alien Dungeon drastically over-committed themselves with their ambitious list of stretch goals which were unlocked like clockwork during the original campaign. Plastic molds (as was used for the tripods and steam tanks) are very expensive in terms of up-front cost, and only pay for themselves with large volumes - large volumes which apparently never materialized.

This whole experience is a cautionary tale for both Kickstarter backers and creators. Only companies with a strong business plan and a realistic appraisal of true costs will be able to successfully bring a product to market, even with the large infusion of capital a campaign like this generates.

Sadly at this point All Quiet on the Martian Front is now "owned" by the court, and its disposition is up to them. At this point if anyone is interested in following up on the disposition of the IP, molds, and any remaining game inventory, I'd advise contacting the Pennsylvania court and referencing the above case number. Honestly part of me wishes I had the money to buy the IP and see if there is a way to revive the game, but I know it will likely take a six figure investment to do that.

A Unit Through the War in Flames of War - Schwere Panzerjäger-Abteilung 653 - Part 1

This second full installment of “A Unit Through the War in Flames of War” focuses on Schwere Panzerjäger-Abteilung 653. Famous later in the war for their employment of the Elefant and later Jagdtiger heavy tank destroyers, Schwere Panzerjäger-Abteilung 653 was formed initially as Stürmgeschutz-Abteilung 197 with an activation date of November 25, 1940. Part 1 will focus on the unit as it served as Stürmgeschutz-Abteilung 197 in Early War, while Part 2 will cover Mid War, and Part 3 will cover Late War.

Originally formed as Sturmartillerie-Abteilung 197, the battalion was formed alongside Sturmartillerie-Abteilung 192 at Jütterbog. Though training started in November 1940, the unit had to wait a few weeks for their vehicles to arrive, but by January 1941, the unit was completing live fire exercises. The unit was equipped with the Stürmgeschutz III Ausf B, which mated the short 7.5cm gun of the Panzerkampfwagen IV to the lighter Panzerkampfwagen III chassis in a fixed superstructure. Training of the unit was not without its hazards, as the unit suffered one killed in an accident when he was crushed between two of the units assault guns.

First Action… Maybe!?!

By April 8, 1941, the unit’s training was effectively complete and it was loaded onto trains to support "Führer Directive No. 25" – the invasion of Yugoslavia. Stürmgeschutz-Abteilung 197 was moved to the border of Austria and Yugoslavia, but was unable to advance further because the bridges of the Drau River had been blown up. It took three days for engineers to build a bridge over the river, but by that time the Yugoslavian army was in full retreat. Some accounts indicate that portions of the unit at least never fired a shot in anger. Other accounts indicate that the unit was involved in battles around Belgrad (Belgrade) and Sarajevo. The lack of any clear indication of which formations the battalion supported makes it difficult to nail down

Fielding Stürmgeschutz-Abteilung 197 as it was equipped in early war presents some challenges, as there are no lists that let the player take the early model and organization of Stürmgeschutz-Abteilung 197 as HQ and Combat Platoons. The player is therefore generally forced to use the battalion in support of some other force unless you want to form a Support Company, which is usually only allowed in “Total War” games or with your opponent’s permission.

To field the battalion in its support role in Yugoslavia, it could be used in support of one of the various divisions that actually took part in the battle.  Though the invading forced included panzer divisions, motorized divisions, infantry divisions, and even mountain divisions, Stürmgeschutz-Abteilung 197 shouldn’t (and by the EW lists can’t) be taken in support of a Panzerkompanie force.

Stürmgeschutz-Abteilung 197 in support of Motorized Infantry – Yugoslavia 1941

List used:  Blitzkrieg Schützenkompanie, p 74.

·         HQ:  As per list – p. 75

·         Combat Platoons:  As per list – p. 75

·         Weapons / Support Platoons:  Any allowed

·         Add Stürmgeschutz-Abteilung 197 – use Assault Gun Platoon in the “Armour” Divisional Support Platoon box – p. 102.

Stürmgeschutz-Abteilung 197 in support of Motorized Infantry – Yugoslavia 1941

List used:  Blitzkrieg Infanteriekompanie (Motorisiert), p 92.

·         HQ:  As per list – p. 93

·         Combat Platoons:  As per list – p. 93

·         Weapons / Support Platoons:  Any allowed

·         Add Stürmgeschutz-Abteilung 197 – use Assault Gun Platoon in the “Armour” Divisional Support Platoon box – p. 102.

Stürmgeschutz-Abteilung 197 in support of Infantry – Yugoslavia 1941

List used:  Blitzkrieg Infanteriekompanie (Heer), p 92.

·         HQ:  As per list – p. 93

·         Combat Platoons:  As per list – p. 93

·         Weapons / Support Platoons:  Any allowed

·         Add Stürmgeschutz-Abteilung 197 – use Assault Gun Platoon in the “Armour” Divisional Support Platoon box – p. 102.

Stürmgeschutz-Abteilung 197 in support of Mountain Divisions – Yugoslavia 1941

List used:  Burning Empires Gebirgsjäger Infanteriekompanie, p 56.

·         HQ:  As per list – p. 58

·         Combat Platoons:  As per list – p. 59

·         Weapons / Support Platoons:  Any allowed

·         Add Stürmgeschutz-Abteilung 197 – Technically the Gebirgsjäger list isn’t allowed to take the Assault Gun Platoon on page 68, but if your opponent agrees – take it anyway using the “Heer” point values.

Operation Barbarossa

Starting on June 22, 1941, Stürmgeschutz-Abteilung 197 was committed (along with most of the rest of the German Army) to Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. Once again, records are scarce regarding exactly which units the battalion supported during this operation, but it is known that the initial border fighting was around Galicia and the unit took part in breaching the Stalin line on June 25.  The unit also fought at Zhitomir and Kiev through July and August, and later fought at Kharkov and Belgorod.  During these engagements, the unit likely supported various infantry, motorized infantry, and mechanized infantry formations.  By December, the unit had been transferred south to attack Sevastopol.

Stürmgeschutz-Abteilung 197 in support of Mechanized Infantry – Operation Barbarossa 1941

List used:  Barbarossa Panzerschützenkompanie, p 18.

·         HQ:  As per list – p. 19

·         Combat Platoons:  As per list – p. 19

·         Weapons / Support Platoons:  Any allowed

·         Add Stürmgeschutz-Abteilung 197 – use Assault Gun Platoon in the “Armour” Divisional Support Platoon box – p. 34.

Stürmgeschutz-Abteilung 197 in support of Motorized Infantry – Operation Barbarossa 1941

List used:  Barbarossa Schützenkompanie, p 20.

·         HQ:  As per list – p. 21

·         Combat Platoons:  As per list – p. 21

·         Weapons / Support Platoons:  Any allowed

·         Add Stürmgeschutz-Abteilung 197 – use Assault Gun Platoon in the “Armour” Divisional Support Platoon box – p. 34.

Stürmgeschutz-Abteilung 197 in support of Infantry – Operation Barbarossa 1941

List used:  Barbarossa Infanteriekompanie, p 28.

·         HQ:  As per list – p. 29

·         Combat Platoons:  As per list – p. 29

·         Weapons / Support Platoons:  Any allowed

·         Add Stürmgeschutz-Abteilung 197 – use Assault Gun Platoon in the “Armour” Divisional Support Platoon box – p. 34.

Note:  There are some digital exclusive lists that will likely also have the Assault Gun Platoon in support – these could be substituted using the examples above as a template.

Modeling Stürmgeschutz-Abteilung 197 in Early War

Stürmgeschutz-Abteilung 197 used the early models of the StuG III during its campaigns in 1941. At this point, Battlefront makes two miniatures that will help the modeler portray the unit during this time. The first is the StuG III Ausf A (GE120). While it doesn’t appear that Stürmgeschutz-Abteilung 197 actually used the “A” model, it did use the visually similar early “B” model at least in training. Battlefront also produces the StuG III Ausf D (GE121) which can also be used as the unit received some of the visually similar C models in late 1941. However, photographic evidence suggest that the vast majority of vehicles used, especially early in Barbarossa, were the late "B" models. The major difference from the Ausf A is the drive sprocket is of the later type (as on the Ausf D) while the idler remains the earlier type. This is a fairly minor detail which would require some small amount of surgery on the tracks, which likely isn’t worth it for most modelers and players.

Painting and markings for the unit were also fairly simple – all vehicles by this point in the war were painted in overall Panzer Grey. The Sturmgeschütz were marked with the national insignia (Balkenkreuz), which was generally of the open white variety. Frequently a letter signifying which gun in the battery each vehicle represented was included (A, B, C, D, E, and F for the 3 batteries), and on many vehicles the unit insignia of an eagle with wings displayed perched on crossed cannons was included (see below)

Many phots show that as the war in the Soviet Union bogged down, the initially fairly tidy assault guns began to acquire more and more stowage. As winter set in, the Germans were generally unprepared, so whitewash was very rare during the winter of 1941. At this point I’ve been unable to find photos of a whitewashed assault gun or halftrack from Stürmgeschutz-Abteilung 197 even as late as December 1941 – so I would surmise that they didn’t receive any during the “Early War” period for Flames of War.

Part 2 will cover the unit in Mid War as it continues its campaign in Russia and receives new vehicles through 1942 before being transitioned over to the Ferdinand in 1943.

Black Brigade Progress!!!

Yes, there actually is some progress to report on the Polish Black Brigade. I've been working on getting all of the wheels and tires on the vehicles. Unfortunately a couple of the treads for the halftracks had too many pin-hole imperfections in them, so I'm having to make up two new tracks. However, Other than that, everything is on it's own "feet" as it were.

So just to give you a brief snapshot of where things are - here are a few, ummm... brief snapshots of the vehicles for the army.  Here you can see the carts, wagon, a few of the halftracks, the Vickers tanks, and the TKS tankette platoon pretty well.

Forward view - making progress on the trucks as well - still have some detail painting and all of the washes to do. There's some touch-up needed as well where I accidentally lost a couple of windshields and headlights removing the vehicles from the nails I used to paint them.

One last view - this angle lets you see some of the smaller softskins a bit better including the staff cars.

These vehicles all still need final detailing and then I'm going to add light dust/mud on them to sort of round out the look. Ammo of MIG is my friend.

The tournament is on February 20th - if you want to face all of this scratch-build stuff first hand - join us!  We're a friendly group and the tournament should be a lot of fun. There may even be some loaner armies available for newer players!!!

Of Miniatures, Crowdfunding, and the How to Grow in a Changing Market

What follows is a Miniature Ordnance Review editorial based on recent observed trends in the miniature gaming industry. Opinions expressed are purely my own based exclusively on publicly available data and personal experience.

At its core, traditional miniatures wargaming is a bit of an “old-fashioned” hobby requiring substantial user input and work in terms of miniature clean-up, painting, and preparation before the game can be played beyond a very casual level (read bare metal or primed miniatures on the table). There is no denying its ongoing popularity, though, as the number of miniatures games on the market today is fairly staggering covering everything from pre-historic combat to combat in the far future with healthy doses of magic, aliens, mysticism, demons, dragons, tanks, ships, space cruisers, and you name it along the way. In some ways, it is an amazing time to be a miniatures wargamer as there has never been so much choice in the industry, but in other ways continued technical and demographic shifts threaten the hobby.

Recent years have seen an increase in the number of high-quality pre-painted miniature games. Back in 2005, Wizards of the Coast released an “Axis and Allies” series of 15mm pre-painted World War II miniatures – a line which has been expanded now to include air and naval variants.  Fantasy Flight Games’ X-wing miniature game is extremely popular, and they’ve expanded the range into a smaller scale version (bigger capital ships on the tabletop) called Armada. Several other good ranges of pre-painted miniature games are out there as well, including HeroClix from Wizkids. Wizkids also has several other lines including their own space combat game based on the Star Trek universe (pre-reboot). Games using pre-painted miniatures have a lower barrier to entry for the new player, as the miniatures are ready to use “out of the box,” though some systems use the Magic-style “booster pack” where you’re never sure what miniature you’re getting until you’ve paid your money. This has created a large secondary market for specific miniatures on ebay and other direct sale sites.

Despite the large market for pre-painted miniatures, traditional gaming miniatures still seem to be very popular. Games Workshop is still avidly pushing its Warhammer and Warhammer 40K lines, and still holds the license to produce Lord of the Rings wargaming products. Battlefront’s Flames of War is still going strong, and has been expanded into several eras beyond World War II, including World War I, Viet Nam, the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, and now into speculative “Cold War Gone Hot.” Warlord Games has their own 28mm lines covering a wide range of historical and other conflicts including World War II. Wyrd games Malifaux is already in its second edition and has begun to transition to plastic miniatures from all-metal in its first generation.

Looking further afield, several gaming companies have gone online to crowdfunding sites to release or expand new miniatures games. One of the most successful in this space has been Reaper miniatures, whose first three “Bones” campaigns raised $3.5 million, $3.2 million, and $2.7 million respectively. Other studios, like Cool Mini or Not, have run several campaigns for both miniature games and board games with distinctive playing pieces to great success. Several smaller companies have also found success in crowdfunding including Heer 46’s series of 28mm German miniatures from the Third Battle of Kharkov in 1943 (which I’d love to see in 15mm!!!). Stonehaven miniatures has an unbroken string of good Kickstarters as well, and the list goes on.

Unfortunately, there are several cautionary tales as well as just because a company has a successful Kickstarter Campaign, that doesn’t always lead to a successful product. Palladium Books’ Robotech RPG Tactics miniature game had a very successful campaign raising almost $1.5 million, but delivery dates slipped and while one “wave” of miniatures has shipped, most of the backers are still waiting for “wave two.” Based on the most recent updates, the company has encountered production issues which are not yet resolved, meaning it will be well into 2016 at the earliest before the second wave reaches backers – and the project funded in 2013. Alien Dungeon’s All Quiet on the Martian Front seemed like another safe bet back in 2013, and indeed the company shipped at least two “waves” of miniatures before abruptly cancelling their follow-up Crush of Iron campaign and going radio silent in November / December of 2015. At this point some of the backers are semi-organized on Facebook trying to parse through what’s going on with the final miniatures. Then there’s the sad case of the joint Dust Studios / Battlefront Miniatures Dust – Operation Babylon kickstarter which ultimately became the poster child for everything that is wrong with the internet and business practices today. Much has been written on the topic, but in this case what should have been a confidential contractual dispute between two companies became very, very public with the backers being caught in the middle and asked by one side to support them.

Miniature games also face competition from other quarters.  Video games have completely outstripped miniatures games and traditional role-playing games for a very large piece of the entertainment industry’s revenue. Bethesda’s Fallout 4 brought in $750 million in its first day – those are Hollywood blockbuster numbers. Video games also represent a form of near instant gratification because you pop in the game, do “the thing” and get the “achievement unlocked.” Historical wargames are also hampered by the fact that, unlike Games Workshop's copyrighted games, you can’t trademark a Sherman tank. Companies like Battlefront therefore face mutual competition from every 15mm miniature producer out there from Peter Pig, to Plastic Soldier Company, with even Russian plastic kit maker Zvezda getting in on the action. However, the elephant in the room for the entire miniature industry is the rise of 3D printing. Online printing services like Shapeways have large libraries of miniatures on a “print to order” basis. However, most 3D printed miniatures are not only expensive, they’re fragile – so more often than not they’re most useful as masters for more traditional manufacturing techniques. The resolution of most commonly available 3D printers is also not up to producing highly detailed miniatures in most of the smaller scales commonly used in gaming.

Taken as a whole, several common threads emerge from the trends above. While there are an almost unprecedented number of miniatures games to choose from today, it appears that the sheer number of systems has the manufacturers fighting to maintain their slice of what may be a shrinking miniatures gaming pie. In a stagnant or shrinking market, availability of liquid capital is key, which is one reason many companies have turned to crowdfunding to finance new lines. Many companies have also had inventory reduction sales to clear out one line to either free-up space or money for the next. However rapid generation of capital has its own risks. Reaper has not been able to match the take of their first Kickstarter campaign with either of their subsequent ones, implying that they’re already past the point of diminishing returns. Furthermore, most successful Kickstarter campaigns seem to have an impractical number of stretch goals and add-ons which result in additional expense for the production team, expense which may not have been modeled correctly in the initial financial analysis. Even established miniatures companies like Battlefront can’t release everything for a new system at once – all of their releases for any new product (World War II, Team Yankee, etc.) have been staggered, and they’ve suffered availability issues and delays with some recent product lines as well. In Battlefront’s case, they’re moving to a new production facility (which will hopefully improve delivery times), but they’ve also diversified into other product lines as well including fantasy miniatures and board games. Games Workshop, the largest miniature game company, isn’t exactly riding high achieving a net income of £8 million on roughly £123 million in revenue (compare again to the first day sales of Fallout 4).

Customer expectations are also evolving. The age of the internet has increased the speed of communication and commerce, and consumers demand a much higher level of transparency than has typically been provided in the past. Today, buyers generally expect to receive any and all orders within days, not weeks, and companies that aren’t able to communicate and deliver on that timescale frequently find themselves at a disadvantage – and facing a lot of unhappy customers to boot. Staggered released schedules where all new product for an expansion isn’t immediately available are written off as “botched” or “bungled.” Any delay to a product, even a slight one, is generally met with anything from anger to derision.

It is clear that after a renaissance in miniatures gaming over the past decade, there are some troubling trends in the industry. Unless these trends are reversed, there will likely be some consolidation over the next few years. One key concern is what impact this would have on the miniatures wargaming hobby itself. While it’s true that the internet has also ushered in the era of self-publishing, most self-published and cottage industry products appeal to a niche market and frequently don’t meet the quality standards of most commercial products.  Going forward, successful companies must find ways to diversify while keeping their current product lines fresh to maintain or grow their revenues and maintain the business. This will allow them to hopefully keep the best and brightest game designers employed doing what they’ve done so well to this point as the loss of some of the larger commercial games would truly be a blow to the hobby. 

Upcoming Early War Tournament in Portland

Just a heads up, it's official now - there will be an Early War tournament at Guardian Games in Portland, Oregon on February 20, 2016. You can get some information on the Flames of War forum, but the official announcement is over on the Ordo Fanaticus forum. Point total will be 1550, which is just north of the official point value for 2016, but not egregiously so.

I'm hoping for a good turn out at this event, as I am finally going to have my Polish Black Brigade finished and ready to run at this tournament. I've been jonesing to get these guys out in their glory for months, and now I finally have a decent local tournament to do so at (EW Nationals is outside my travel range for this year, unfortunately).

If you're going to be in the area, or can now plan to be in the area, come on out! The crew here in Portland puts on some very fun tournaments, and Guardian Games is one of the best gaming stores in the nation - hands down!

Mike's 2015 in Review and 2016 Preview

When it comes to Flames of War, 2015 was a bit of a mixed year. It started with a lot of promise with my Polish Black Brigade, but unfortunately work demands meant that force wasn't completed in time for the tournament, so it has "lingered" on my painting table. For me, any time a project like that lingers, it takes a bit of the wind out of my sails in terms of actually getting things done in the hobby. So what follows is a look back at "what was" in 2015, and what I'm hoping to accomplish in 2016.

As I mentioned before, the year started off with a bang with my madly working on the Polish Black Brigade. The infantry, anti-tank guns, and most of the artillery were painted, but not based. Basing took a while, and then I simply ran out of time. Unfortunately for the next several months the army just sort of sat there waiting for motivation to actually get it done. Fortunately that is getting ready to change... as you'll see below.

I've continued to write and proofread for Battlefront. I was an assistant writer for Nachjager, Great War, and Berlin, and I proofread those and several other books and projects, including Team Yankee. I've also done a lot of writing on some things that... well, I can't talk about yet, but I will... soon... I honestly enjoy the history, model building, and painting as much as the playing when it comes to Flames of War, so this hasn't necessarily been "a bad thing."

Early last year I did my first "Unit through the war in Flames of War" feature covering 654. Schwere Panzerjäger-Abteilung. I haven't had time to go back and do another one yet, but rest assured it is on the "to do" list. I'll likely do its sister unit 653. Schwere Panzerjäger-Abteilung, but I may get ambitious at some point and do Grossdeutschland.

In terms of painting, the summer was a bit of a lost cause, but I picked up again in the fall and finally got together my Soviet Lend Lease tank army for Berlin. I still need to go back and add the stowage to a few of the vehicles, but that was one army I'd always wanted to do, and I finally did it... even though I was painting until 12:30AM the night before the tournament!

For 2016, There are several tournaments coming up over the next few months that I've started working on vehicles for. I've been assembling some of the new Team Yankee models - and the tanks are amazing - at this point I'm a little less impressed with the Hind (see a future review). I've also been working on some more Berlin Soviets to bulk up what I can put on the table there, as well as several very LW Germans as well.

The first tournament of the year is a local early war tournament still in the planning stages for late February. I will, I repeat WILL, have my Black Brigade ready for this tournament. I'm not sure whether this will be a 1500 or 1550 point set-up at this point, but I'm hoping 1550 since my list is already set up for that point level. There is actually an earlier tournament in Washington that is late war, which I may spruce up my Soviets and head to.

Starting in March, the local group is going to do a Raiding Aces league. Desert Italians have always been one of my guilty pleasures, so I'm currently assembling a bunch of vehicles to make this work. Hopefully it will all get painted, but since it is a league, the early games may be with vehicles that are more "bare" than I'd take to a tournament.

May brings us the Enfilade convention, and on Saturday there will be a 1700 point MW tournament. For the past several years I've had a conflict during this event, but I may not have the conflict this year, so I'm hoping to go up. This event would be a fun one to take a couple of MW armies I'm hoping to get together to. If all else fails, I can always spruce back up my 502 Schwere Panzerabteilung army from a couple of years ago - I want to correct a couple of details on the Tigers. I may also need to add some forces to the unit as it was set for a lower point value. Also, given MW is getting ready to get a digital revamp, some of the points may change!

I don't have a lot of visibility to the tournament scene after May at this point. There's a major tournament, OFCC, at the end of July, but I'll be out of the country at a professional conference and won't be able to make it...

The painting queue:

1. Polish Black Brigade
2. Italian Compagnia Autosahariana
3. New MW Army - U.S. 1st Armored at Kasserine or LSSAH at the Third Battle of Kharkov
4. Berlin Soviets (T-34, ISU, Stalins)
5. VLW Germans (Panzer IV/70 (A), Berlin troops, among others)
6. Japanese for the Pacific

As normal, my queue is longer than I'll likely have time for, but you only live once - you may as well dream BIG! So how was 2015 for you the readers? What are your goals for 2016? Feel free to comment below!