I’ve got news to share! So, with the death of Wargaming Week, my opportunity to share news has been limited to only Facebook. And, as much as that site is useful, it is still a hellsite that I perfectly understand why people avoid it. So, as we slowly return to having news to share, I’m going to be posting it here so that everyone can see the news.
So Spectre, who has had to act rapidly to get the fulfilment issues under control, has just shown off some new and upcoming releases (now they are getting the stock levels under better control). With four new figures on their way to extend/support existing ranges, it’s time for me to break out the handy magnifying glass and some internet sleuthing to try and ruin everyone’s surprises! However, I am not an arms expert – these are all rough guesses so take them with a pinch of salt.
Up first, we have a relatively easy one. The gas mask and chemical suit gives him away as a new member of the Aftermath team (released earlier this year).
The addition of a Milkor 40mm grenade launcher probably means that the Aftermath set is one of the heaviest armed, with an RPG, PKM and now an MGL to really ruin anyone’s day.
Figure 2 I think is taking us back to one of Spectre’s most popular (and one of my favourite ranges), the Tier 1 Operators. The cap, lightweight clothing and belt mounted pistol are the main signifiers.
As for the gun, I think it’s one of the Knight’s Armament LMGs, something addicts to Modern Warfare will recognise as the Finn. I’m not 100% sure if it’s a 5.56 light MG or the 7.62mm medium MG but based on the size of the mag, I’m leaning towards the Medium Machine Gun (as seen above). This will give you a nice chunky base of fire gun for a Tier 1 team, especially if paired with the Mk46 they already have.
Now, we get onto the interesting one. Spectre have these listed as “supports to an existing range” but I don’t recognise this one. The most obvious addition is the line launcher linked to the backpack, ideal for getting your team up to high places. The figure is possibly wearing a bump helmet (ideal for climbing) and has the look of a high tier merc team from a Nolan film. However, the interesting bit is the gun. It has a very AK look to the curve of the magazine, as well as some Valmet/Galil features but it’s also very modern and tactical. There has been some great discussion in the Chargeblog Research Group (aka Twitter dms) trying to guess what it is. I’m thinking it looks very much like the guns from the Chinese Special Forces Assault Squad but it’s not quite 100% the same. Either way, this is going to be an exciting release.
EDIT: Stop the presses! Thanks to the tireless work of the Research Group, they have managed to find a possible contender. This is the AMB-17 from Kalashnikov, a suppressed assault rifle that is similar to the classic VAL in function. If this is the gun on the side, it seems like the Russians will be getting another assaulter ideal for getting the drop on the bad guys.
Now for the final figure (and the reason for the title of this news post). He’s a very interesting setup – civilian clothing but heavy body armour, a head covering and something held in his hand… Oh and the rocket launcher. After looking around, I’m pretty sure this is a new addition to the FSB line. Let me explain why.
This is an RPO PDM-A Shmel-M. It’s a thermobaric launcher used by the Russian Military as a “rocket assisted flamethrower” – basically bunker busting/room clearing with a longer range punch. This is ideal for close quarters battle (especially if you’ve read the rules for thermobarics in the Spectre rules). As for the rest of the figure, the mix of armour and clothing is very similar to the puffy coat wearing FSB Kill Team CQB Specialist. The helmet (which looks like a visor carrying Russian one) would be handy if you’re firing the launcher. It’s also good to see he isn’t just a single weapon figure – if you look closely at his right leg you can see a piece of metal that is probably a weapon slung over his shoulder.
That’s my coverage of this preview. It’s a really interesting set of figures, perfect for some releases to add to your existing teams to give you a few additional options in your games. We’ll have to see if these are the only specialists we’re seeing or maybe a few extra figures not quite ready for primetime. If there are, you can be sure I’ll be covering it on the news posts!