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Good miniatures / figures?

Shard

SOC-3
Since I couldn't find any "official" Traveller miniatures for playing, I was wondering if anyone had some suggestions for a good brand to use. For the spaceships I am thinking of using Battletech cruisers, and maybe some Games Workshop minis for the actual PCs.
 
The new Star Wars (or even D&D?) miniatures would probably work fairly well for many PCs and aliens. Plus they're cheap and you can probably find somewhere that sells them individually.

I dunno about ships... they tend to be a bit more specific to the backgrounds they're made for. I don't know if some Battlefleet Gothic minis might work for spaceships. Or maybe Silent Death, if that's still around?
 
If you're looking for good 25mm figures may I suggest the large range by Denizen miniatures. Big thank you to Andrew Boulton for helping to identify mine.
 
ANyone know who owns the old Martian Metals rights?

The GURPS Grand Traveller Deckplans each include a sheet of 25mm Cardboard heros. The Deckplans are sharp as well and will work with any version of Traveller. (Unfortunately 25mm deckplans are rather large. I wish they were 15mm since SJG used to have sets of 15mm Traveller Cardboard Heros.)

If you can find them the old Ral Partha Shadowrun figs work well. (I wonder who owns those molds now.)
 
Just picked up a handful of the new Star Wars figures at a local shop. I am pleased with the overall quality. They are priced in accordance to their "rarity". So the Sith Lord himself runs about $10 U.S., while a common Imperial officer w/ pistol costs $1 U.S. and are well worth it. The manufacturer has really stepped up quality control from other lines they have sold. The only problem I have is with the weapons. It seems as if everyone in the SW universe carries an SMG-sized weapon but the EMPTY holster is sized for a standard sidearm. Overlooking this little issue, the figures are very pliable without damaging the paint job and the figures and stand are all one piece. The color and shading used in the paint jobs is very nice (compared to the Marvel Hero Clicks). Overall, I would recommend these to anyone looking for sci-fi figures to add to or starting a new collection.

As for the ships, many OTU ships appear to be sleek and slab-sided with a few exceptions. IMHO, the Battlefleet Gothic ship minis have too many projections, but as a wise man once said: YMMV.
 
Originally posted by Bhoins:
ANyone know who owns the old Martian Metals rights?
Back in the 1990s, it was the same guy who bought the FASA Traveller rights.

Originally posted by Bhoins:
The GURPS Grand Traveller Deckplans each include a sheet of 25mm Cardboard heros. The Deckplans are sharp as well and will work with any version of Traveller. (Unfortunately 25mm deckplans are rather large. I wish they were 15mm since SJG used to have sets of 15mm Traveller Cardboard Heros.)
Actually, the deckplans are about 45 mm. The _hexes_ are 1", which is one yard, so miniatures look rather undersized compared to the furniture.
 
So Seeker owns them? Well then perhaps we might see them re-released in about 10 years or so. :(

I thought those deckplans seemed a bit large. 3 times as large as the 15mm plans. Hmmmm. So what exactly is the scale difference between a 15mm fig and a 25mm fig?

And what scale should I print the free cardboard figs in the E-Library for 15mm? (Those are definitely larger than 25mm.)

Originally posted by Robert Prior:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Bhoins:
ANyone know who owns the old Martian Metals rights?
Back in the 1990s, it was the same guy who bought the FASA Traveller rights.

Originally posted by Bhoins:
The GURPS Grand Traveller Deckplans each include a sheet of 25mm Cardboard heros. The Deckplans are sharp as well and will work with any version of Traveller. (Unfortunately 25mm deckplans are rather large. I wish they were 15mm since SJG used to have sets of 15mm Traveller Cardboard Heros.)
Actually, the deckplans are about 45 mm. The _hexes_ are 1", which is one yard, so miniatures look rather undersized compared to the furniture.
</font>[/QUOTE]
 
I've always wanted some children and teenagers, in addition to random civilians, in case I needed a crowded mall scene, or whatever else.
 
Well DUH! Obviously the answer is 15/25!

Originally posted by Bhoins:
I thought those deckplans seemed a bit large. 3 times as large as the 15mm plans. Hmmmm. So what exactly is the scale difference between a 15mm fig and a 25mm fig?
 
Thanks for all the suggestions, I'm heading to my local shop this weekend so I can look around for those various brands.
 
Sources for PC figs:

"True" 25mm:
Denizen (Venturian forces look like Zho's in combat armor)
Ground Zero Games (UNSC Marines look like Imperial Battledress troops)

28mm:
Void (Look for the VASA Milita figs)
Copplestone Castings "Future Wars" line.

Star Ships:
Ground Zero Games
Silent Death (Many of the ships are recycled TNE ships).
Aerotech
Noble Armada
Jovian Chronicles
Cold Navy (Coming in November)
 
Of course, someone COULD try again to get an official line going. There are plenty of great sculptors and casting houses we could use. Hell, if I had to money I'd take the chance, purchase a license and find someone to make them.

Too bad reporters make a pittance.
 
Originally posted by Shard:
Since I couldn't find any "official" Traveller miniatures for playing, I was wondering if anyone had some suggestions for a good brand to use. For the spaceships I am thinking of using Battletech cruisers, and maybe some Games Workshop minis for the actual PCs.
The best ranges of starship miniatures, IMHO, are Ground Zero Games and Brigade Models. They have a similar look so work well together. Both companies are based in the UK. Between them they must produce about 500 models, divided in to a number of fleets each of which has its own particular look.
 
Bhoins said:
> If you can find them the old Ral Partha
> Shadowrun figs work well. (I wonder who
> owns those molds now.)

Iron Wind Metals - they should have all of the old Ral Partha molds. In fact, it looks like Ral Partha, or some of the old employees, reformed as Iron Wind Metals.

http://www.ironwindmetals.com/
 
The ships at Brigade Models are simply wonderful, thanks a bunch for the reference. I hope my local shop carries them so I don't have to hassle with online ordering. Other than that, I snooped around a bit and found the odd CAV ship to be passable (http://www.reapermini.com/albums/cav/7026_G.jpg). I'll keep looking, but there sure is a lot to add to the wishlist so far.
 
Someone asked up-thread about the rights to the old Martian Metals line. I'm afraid that's kind of a moot point, since what put Martian Metals out of business was a fire that destroyed (among other things) their molds.

John
 
Minis Scales:
the rating is for the height of the average man in that scale.

Problem comes from "Bottom of feet to top of hat" vs "Bottom of feet to Eyes" measurements...
Essentially, 15mm scale means 15mm should be about 1.7-2.0m, and 25mm means 25mm should equal the same 1.7-2.0m

That being said, scales for minis have been fairly consistant in 15mm being to top of head of normal upright human.

Thus the 15mm being on a 12.7mm (half-inch) grid marked as 1.5m is actually a fairly close match between figure and ground scales.

The 25mm on 1" hexes being 1 yard puts the figs at half the ground scale; be aware of it.

The 28's used to be called "Heroic 25mm"... by pudding workshop at least.

The Minaitures Page http://theminiaturespage.com/ is a wonderful source for finding minis in all sizes and shapes...
 
OK, USing my Color All in One, making one copy for personal use, setting the copier to 60% turns the 25mm Cardboard Heros in the SJG deckplans into 15mm. Now if I can figure out how to reduce the excellent deckplans to 15mm so they will fit on my coffee table and in with the rest of my collection of 15mm Deckplans. (All that cutting and pasting using my poor little 8.5x11 scanner is a nightmare.)

Gawd I wish SGS would get its stuff together and publish all those 15mm plans already!
 
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