Miniatures

[bobbycondo]

No doubt this has been covered in the past, but with the new T20 rules realeasing soon, it becomes relevant again.

Anyone who has played (or is familiar) with the d20 system knows that the use of miniatures is more helpful than ever before.

What are some of the most suitable Traveller miniatures made today? I recommend the StarGrunt figures from GroundZero Games , but surely there are others out there that are appropriate.

Anyne care to weigh in?

 

[bobbycondo]

Sorry about the link in the first post, here it is corrected: GroundZero Games

 

[MT++]

Originally posted by bobbycondo:
minis in T20QB]

I think there are some TNE minis at my FLGS

Must go get some (I think I saw the pack with the HIver and the one with the Aslan

I am reluctant to buy more of the damn things, I still have about 100 unpainted now!

 

[Simon Jester]

I've come across a miniatures line I like called VOID, put out by a company called i-Kore. There are several factions, most of which can be used in just about any SF game. I especially like the Syntha.

Simon Jester

 

[Leondus]

I still have my old Laserburn figs and they worked out great (in 1985).
For 15mm Peter Pig makes some sci-fi figs http://www.peterpig.demon.co.uk/range9.htm
We used the African and Vietnam range for low-tech troops.

25mm GZG is great and true 25mm which lets you mix Denizen SF range in http://www.historicalminiatures.com/denizen.htm.
I have so many figs that were sold as 25mm and when they came in I soon found out they are 28mm.

 

[DrSkull]

Does anyone know if there is a US web-store or franchise that carries Ground Zero Games figures?
I used to buy them through Geo-Hex, but they lost their license this summer.

 

[cgriffen]

I've painted dozens of the old 1983 Grenadier Traveller miniatures. I managed to stockpile far more than I could use several years ago and auctioned a bunch of them off on eBay. The ones I kept and painted, however, are my favorite Traveller miniatures, especially the Vargr.

The TNE minis were only of average quality, IMHO.

I do, however, have a bunch of 28mm sci-fi minis from a range that I can't remember the title of. Great looking sci-fi minis. Mostly soldiers, most of whom are helmeted and a few of which ride grav bikes. They're great-looking, realistic sci-fi figs instead of the grotesque Warhammer figures that can't possibly be used for Traveller. If I can somehow remember the name, I'll post it to the list. I think they're long since out of print, but I'm sure they're available somewhere. Made in Germany, I think.

 

[Uncle Bob]

Look at http://www.wargamesfoundry.com
The Street Violence line has some usable non-military characters, and the Darkest Africa line has some character figures for scouts and hunters.

Also the Similar Future Wars and Darkest Africa lines at http://www.gisby.org/copplestone.htm

 

[Rodina]

I like the "Armed Archeologists" in the "Back of Beyond Line" - proper English gentlemen with big ass rifles.

Can anyone recommend a good website or little book on miniature painting? I never really did much mini painting in my youth - and I wouldn't mind doing a few. Assume I know absolutely nothing - except what a "paintbrush" is.

 

[trader jim]

i just gave up on wishing for Traveller miniatures. i use all my "chits" from other Traveller games when i need or play figs.

 

[siefertma2]

Amen regarding GZG's figures. I plan on using the UN troopers for Imperial Marines because their hardshell armor looks very much like Traveller battledress. I'm also going to use Microtactix Games' "Cardstock Creations" (www.microtactix.com) for building terrain.

Later,
Mark A. Siefert

 

[BluWolf]

Here is a link to a series of articles WoTC did a coupla years ago dealing with intro to painting. It was for their less than stellar Chainmail game but the techniques are relavent to anything.

http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=dnd/pp/pp20020129a

This site has an amazing gallery of painted minis and some articles

http://www.coolminiornot.com/

The only problem with coolminiornot is some of the paint jobs are so incredible it makes you to ashamed to even purchase paints or brushes.

 

[trader jim]

I have said it once and a thousand times....some one has just got to put out or reisue some or all of the traveller series miniatures....they will make a healthy profit just from ME!!!...

 

[BluWolf]

Here is an example of an incredibly painted pirate or maybe a shadowy free-trader.

 

[Leondus]

Here is a really good review of some 15mm sci-fi figs
http://wind.prohosting.com/~warbard/sg2fifteen.html

I just got in some 15mm SG2 figs and they look really nice.
Someone told me that BITS is reprinting, At Close Quarters? I think that was the other set of miniature rules for Traveller?

My group just used Snapshot and Azhanti.

Well, I'm off to convert a 15mm T-55 into a hover tank

 

[Redleg58]

Originally posted by trader jim:
i just gave up on wishing for Traveller miniatures. i use all my "chits" from other Traveller games when i need or play figs.

For the best in true 25mm Sci-fi and a growing line of 15mm I highly recommend Ground Zero Games,

You can down load their catalogue here, you wont be disappointed.

http://www.gtns.net/gzg/index.html

 

[Redleg58]

Ground Zero Games 15mm Stargrunt 2
Unless otherwise stated, normal infantry packs (not power armor) come in eight figures, typically an officer, a SAW (MG), a GMS/P (rocket launcher), and five riflemen in two poses.

Japanese Corporate Mercenaries:


http://www.cowell.org/~andy/min/15mm/gzg.html

 

[Redleg58]

Frei Korps 15mm SF line include Col. Marines, Predators and Alien lookalikes.
Painted samples.


http://www.cowell.org/~andy/min/15mm/fk.html

 

[Redleg58]

The models feature open hatches and doors with hollow interiors where appropriate. Larger vehicles will feature turrets with separate AA machine guns etc. We also intend to produce accessory packs with vehicle stowage, pintel mount weapons, add-on armour etc.

Some photos at the moment are of the original masters rather than production castings, but all the models listed below are in full production and available to buy now.


http://www.brigademodels.co.uk/Frames/SF15/index.html

 

[nobby]

Originally posted by bobbycondo:
No doubt this has been covered in the past, but with the new T20 rules realeasing soon, it becomes relevant again.

[ ... ]
Anyne care to weigh in?

I've got a fair few 25mm figures (I guess about 200, of which about 120 are painted). These were accumulated for Traveller and a homebrew sci-fi game. Roughly, the figures came from these sources:
</font>

• Denizen (25mm sci-fi)</font>
• RAFM Aliens franchise (mostly the alien figures - decent sci-fi monsters are quite hard to come by)</font>
• Some TNE-vintage Aslan (can't remember the manufacturer)</font>
• Grenadier Cyberpunk (solos pack, from memory)</font>
• Grenadier shadowrun</font>
• Ral Partha shadowrun</font>
• Some fantasy figures - pirate/swashbuckler types and a couple of not-too D&D-ish monsters</font>
• Vampire hunters and some vampires (probably Ral Partha, from the cha-cha-cha poses)</font>
• Some Call of Cthulhu figures (Ral Partha?)</font>
• EM4 miniatures</font>
• Starship troopers (can't remember the manufacturer)</font>
• Ground Zero rednecks, other odds and sods</font>
• Grenadier star wars</font>
• Probably several others</font>

I've never found any original 25mm Grenadier traveller figures for sale. I would be interested in grenadier 1003 alien animals and 1004 alien mercenaries if someone's got these for sale, as my collection is still a bit short of aliens. (Note: If someone has these, I would pay a good - within reason - price for them)

I have quite a few modified figures, in particular, I did quite a lot of conversions on 25mm soldier figures to tone them down to adventurers. The main tools I used were click-click knives, some jewellers' chisels, needle files and a fantastically expensive fine-tip haematite burnisher I bought from a jewellers' supplier. Most of the filling was done with epoxy and milliput.

I found conversions were often necessary as there weren't (ca. 1992) a large variety of 25mm sci-fi figures available that weren't soldiers or warhammer. It's a lot easier to find that sort of stuff now (google is your friend). I'm not particularly dextrous, but found that conversions are not that hard to do at 25mm, as you're not really concerned with detail in the way that the diorama building and warhammer army painting contest set are.

The figures are mostly painted with Humbrol enamels (as this is what I had lying around). These are quite a different beast to work with than acrylics, but lend themselves very nicely to dry-brushing. (try white dry-brushed on dark blue for a nice denim effect). I find that I ended up painting 25mm figures in a more or less impressionistic style, primarily concerned with impressions of materials and textures. Dry brushing is very good for this; I didn't use washes much. Most of the figures are matt-varnished.

I guess the moral of the story is that building a set of sci-fi adventurer figures is not a simple one-stop-shop exercise; you have to hunt around literally dozens of ranges, both in and out of production, to make a really comprehensive set. Hope there is something of value to you in this post.