Miniatures for Traveller?
- Thread starter mhensley
- Start date
I use actual Traveller minis, MM & Citadel; Space Opera minis; HOTT; GZG; Laserburn; Micromachine figures, particularly the Star Wars line; some repainted HO scale figures, a Small Soldier toy figures I got at a clearance shop(the Archer figure repainted makes a nice Aslan); Warhammer Epic line for warbots; Peter Pig. Used to use some Predator minis for Aslan until I replaced my Aslan minis. These are all in 15mm or HO scale since 15mm is the scale I play in.
The problem I find with the Star Wars minis is that they distract from "Traveller" and players are reminded of "Star Wars" which results in a non-Traveller in character (or OOC) comments that are directly from Star Wars (a pet hate of mine - not Star Wars but out of context comments).
There's nothing wrong with the actual miniatures themselves - just that they aren't 'generic' - they are much too "Star Wars".
Others that I do use are various metal minis picked up over the years that are all more generic SF figures. Have a look at what Ground Zero Games have available.
Yeah, I wouldn't want to use many of the SW figures for that reason. Some of them are pretty generic sci-fi though. And if the stormtroopers were repainted in camo, they would look like imperial marines to me.
The link you posted no longer works. Here's a better one-
http://www.groundzerogames.net/index.php
It amazes me there aren't really any official traveller miniatures out there, I know that megaminis did some ships and some really bad droyne, but there used to be a great traveller line with imperial marines, characters, etc.
It's just so hard to believe no one does a real, decent, traveller line today.
It's just so hard to believe no one does a real, decent, traveller line today.
Jeff M. Hopper
SOC-14 1K
A few years ago, Galoob produced a large number of HO (1/72") scale Star Wars miniatures. I stocked up on those and have found them to be invaluable for Traveller, because the map scale for them comes out to 3/4"=1.5m and that is easy to enlarge a deckplan to as well as there being no end to models and hobby train paraphenalia that can be adapted to the game. The minis are just large enough to determine facing and other wargame combat data on the map.
You can usually still find the Galoob miniatures in discount toy stores and online.
You can usually still find the Galoob miniatures in discount toy stores and online.
Megaminis are now selling limited edition k'kree and Newts on Ebay
I tend to modify & repaint some of the Micromachine SW figures(i.e. the Bette Noire grav board rider on my website a repainted Imperial scout). I also do my usually mind games on players-using villain figures for good guys & so forth. It's amusing to have the party stumble into a firefight between stormtrooper vs. rebels figures, shoot up the stormtroopers-then find out the rebels were pirates & the troopers were an Imperial noble's bodyguard. If you go into my games thinking Star Wars, you won't for long.
Though I find any human in 15mm & HO scale are viable Traveller figures, its harder for aliens, particularly Aslan & Vargyr, the only non-Traveller figures of feline or canine people are pretty goofy
Though I find any human in 15mm & HO scale are viable Traveller figures, its harder for aliens, particularly Aslan & Vargyr, the only non-Traveller figures of feline or canine people are pretty goofy
CosmicGamer
SOC-14 1K
We never used any. In my latest Traveller excursion (last year) we used the Steve Jackson Traveller Cardboard heros that come with the deck plans. I happen to like those a lot.
Years and years back there were some official lead minis, but I never took a liking to them. Today's fantasy minis are pretty sharp, but, for the life of me, it doesn't seem like anyone can produce a decent sci-fi gun-toating marine or adventurerer. The barrels were always bent, or the detail was poor, or there was a lot of flash that needed to be cut away.
If I ever whip out the Traveller campaign again it'll be with SJ Games paper Traveller minis. Those are very impressive.
If you're really stuck I've done a few 28mm Traveller paper minis you can use - on my website under 'RPG Stuff':
The Crow's Nest
Crow
The Crow's Nest
Crow
CosmicGamer
SOC-14 1K
All I saw was a Blog / Forum. I've got plenty of Traveller specific forums that I don't have the time to get to so I'm not going to read through the whole thing to find the minis; my attempt to do a search was in vain too.
Can you (or if someone else finds it) post the link directly to the Traveller minis?
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My group uses minatures fairly heavily. However, it's pretty much just two of us bringing minis in - myself and Soloprobe. I use the Star Wars minis exclusively because they're very adaptable to my chosen mode of transport (I have some metal minis but these don't travel nearly as well in small plastic bags); Soloprobe uses a variety of metal miniatures.
Personally I think that the metal ones are a bit more Traveller in feel, but the SW ones are perfectly useable for our group's purposes.
Personally I think that the metal ones are a bit more Traveller in feel, but the SW ones are perfectly useable for our group's purposes.
CosmicGamer
SOC-14 1K
Thanks. Good stuff!
Qstor2
SOC-13
I think it depends on what minis you're looking at in the WOTC Star Wars line. The new human bodyguard and human scout IMHO are generic enough to use. I agree if the mini is a Jedi figure or a stormtrooper. There's a few that I think are generic enough and have gotten as individual minis on Ebay to use in a game.
I can't paint and think the 'soft' plastic minis from WOTC are great since they're durable so I got a ton for D&D and a few Star Wars ones to use for Traveller.
Mike
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