Traveller Miniatures...No, really...

[Veilheim]

Please excuse the cross posting. I thought this may be interesting to people here who wouldn't normally look at the Fleet board.

Announcing the opening of Travellermini.org.

Travellermini.org is a fan-based operation developing miniature figures for Traveller. Our first miniature will be the modified Scout/Courier seen in the new T20 RPG. Its been too long since we Traveller players (whatever
your game and whatever your milieu) have seen support from miniatures companies. Guess its time we do something about it. Come on by, take a look, and decide for yourself. It's time we make this happen.

We look forward to seeing you at

http://www.travellermini.org

 

[trader jim]

I will be rolling the dice on this....when I win I will be buying 30 of these for a buck each..But I need a MAIL ADDRESS so I can mail a MONEY ORDER for my donation. I didnt see one at end of write up, just PayPal.

also what scale are these..did i miss something??

probably other questions later

GOOD LUCK TRADER JIM

 

[trader jim]

after you all...after we all get this Major Project off the ground and flying...will you PLEASE do an inter-galactic, jump 3 WINNABAGO??
just for Trader Jim???

 

[notagoodusername]

Originally posted by trader jim:
after you all...after we all get this Major Project off the ground and flying...will you PLEASE do an inter-galactic, jump 3 WINNABAGO??
just for Trader Jim???

Just for you? Hell, I'd buy one for a bit of fun!

Shane

P.S. Whaddaya all waiting for - my donation is in! Help support Traveller folks!

 

[thomryng]

Brilliant, brilliant idea.

I'm in!

Well, once payday rolls around.

cheers,

thom

 

[Veilheim]

Originally posted by trader jim:
I will be rolling the dice on this....when I win I will be buying 30 of these for a buck each..But I need a MAIL ADDRESS so I can mail a MONEY ORDER for my donation. I didnt see one at end of write up, just PayPal.

also what scale are these..did i miss something??

probably other questions later

GOOD LUCK TRADER JIM

Hiya Jim. Sorry, I'll post the address soon (I'm thinking we need to get a PO box...

I don't really want to post my personal address all over the place.

The target scale is right around 1/285, give or take a little. If we ever get to producing the capital ships, they will probably be of a different scale. The huge variances capable are simply too extreme to be effectively modelled and distributed (though, given some of the stuff I saw today, there may be some options available...).

Character miniatures, hoping we can get further along with them, will probably be of the 28mm scale. As a painter, I find it is a prettier overall look than 25mm tends to be. The figures will be slotted, rather than based, allowing painters to manipulate these to meet their own needs. (Personally, I do all my figures on round bases) -- but I'm probably not the norm.

Another great point was made to me... We will probably have to limit purchasing based on input during our little capital gathering period here. If you only donate a dollar, you probably aren't going to get to buy 30 final minis.

Brenn

 

[Veilheim]

Darn... typing too fast I guess. My apologies, the minis will be in roughly 1:1200 scale, not 1/285. As much as I would like a 3' long Scout Courier, I simply don't have the posable star wars figures around to populate it with anymore...

 

[siefertma2]

Originally posted by Veilheim:
Darn... typing too fast I guess. My apologies, the minis will be in roughly 1:1200 scale, not 1/285. As much as I would like a 3' long Scout Courier, I simply don't have the posable star wars figures around to populate it with anymore...

1/285 scale Scout being 3' long??? I didn't realize Scouts were that big. 1/285 roughly translates to 5.6mm wargaming scale. I think you may mean 25mm.

 

[trader jim]

when you get a MAIL ADDRESS i will be sending you a NICE HEALTHY donation.....really it will be NICE...AND you all know how CHEAP i usually am!!

 

[far-trader]

Well I'm in!

I made a small initial donation today, possibly more as time goes on. Come on citizens, even the cost of a cup of fancy CJ (not the raw stuff TJ sells ) will get your foot in the airlock and bring this closer to reality.

Even if it goes bust your money will go to help (excuse the humor here but the typo on the web page was too good to pass up ) the Human Society, a charity dedicated to creating an Imperium where our relationship with the Solomani is guided by compassion, so what's to lose?

Hey you could probably even sell your $1 (plus s&h) mini for enough to make back your donation and purchase cost!

This shameless promotion is completely without compensation, well, except for the minis I'll be buying

 

[siefertma2]

I'm going to go for it too.

As soon as I a little more cash, I'll donate whatever I can. In the meantime, I'm trying to attract as much attention to the project by reposting the oringial post to as many Traveller/Space Combat/Miniatures venues as I can.

 

[Veilheim]

Originally posted by trader jim:
when you get a MAIL ADDRESS i will be sending you a NICE HEALTHY donation.....really it will be NICE...AND you all know how CHEAP i usually am!!

Jim, contact me directly at brennan@obrien.net and I'll get you an address.

 

[Veilheim]

Originally posted by Mark A. Siefert:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Veilheim:
Darn... typing too fast I guess. My apologies, the minis will be in roughly 1:1200 scale, not 1/285. As much as I would like a 3' long Scout Courier, I simply don't have the posable star wars figures around to populate it with anymore...

1/285 scale Scout being 3' long??? I didn't realize Scouts were that big. 1/285 roughly translates to 5.6mm wargaming scale. I think you may mean 25mm.</font>[/QUOTE]Hmm... okay, obviously I'm struggling with this scale thing...

The scout is about 1.5" in miniature. A scout in canon is what, 48meters? So that would be about 1872 or so inches, so roughly 1/1248 scale.

 

[Veilheim]

Wanted to give everyone a quick update. Thusfar we've received about $60 in donations, and we have a couple of people who are offering some emergency backup funds.

Ted and I have found another FDM printer, and we're working with them on the prices.

Our expectation at this point is that we should have a hard model in the next couple of weeks. (And I'll find us some way of getting pictures up on the site).

 

[Gaming Glen]

I had written this and then got a reply to my e-mail, which told me what I was just asking:
--------------------
How about creating a fairly simple d20 spaceship miniatures combat game, mostly for Traveller, but hopefully generic enough to get others interested? (there's Dragonstar)
--------------------

http://www.powerprojection.net/

And based on Full Thrust, my favorite spaceship miniatures game. Hooray!

I'll contribute, but I will wait a little longer to hear more details.

Glen

 

[siefertma2]

Originally posted by Gaming Glen:


http://www.powerprojection.net/

And based on Full Thrust, my favorite spaceship miniatures game. Hooray!

I'll contribute, but I will wait a little longer to hear more details.

Glen

I hate to use this opertunity to plug my page but:
http://www.homegame.org/siefert/uftwwwp/index.htm

...and here is my Power Projection Lite review:

http://www.homegame.org/siefert/uftwwwp/html/pplite.htm

Later,
Mark A. Siefert

 

[Bishop Odo]

I’m all for some new ship models, but I'm really in the market for some new character figures, but will all the attention that this post has focused on the state of miniatures, I hope we have a real opportunity to get some good stuff made. On the JTAS discussion boards someone mention Eureka Miniatures and I just checked it out. WOW has anyone else checked them out.

http://www.eurekamin.com.au/

They have this 100 club, were once the get 100 preorder for a custom figure set, that has been suggested, it can’t be copyrighted materials, and they make it. But check this out, there only $2.00 to $3.00 a figure and that’s Australian dollars. The exchange rate to is US$0.58 to every au $1.00. That’s great for me, I’m in the US, so I’m going to order a couple of each set. There are some finished science fiction figs and the “Rebel Trooper” look like Imperial Army. Check them out, the sooner we can get people to commit the faster they will be put into production. I have a buddy that a comic artist and I’m going to have him do some character sketches and put them on the list with a link to help motivate Traveller players and also I’d like to focus on figures that weren’t produced by RAFM or grenadier.

Who know we might be able to have our ships and RPG figures too.

My list will ask for:

Ships Away team/ Adventurers
Robots utility/ships robots
Civilian w/without weapons
Spacesuits and belters
Security
Thugs and rouges
Nobles and suites
Weapons pack

I’d better stop: I’m going broke.

Bill

 

[far-trader]

Originally posted by Bishop Odo:
I’m all for some new ship models, but I really in the market for some new character figures... <snip>

Bill

Cool, I'm intrigued. Though Travellermini plans to do characters too if this thing flies so for the nonce I'll (continue to) pledge my support here, still Eureka will make a good fall-back plan. I see on the list already a couple good candidates (eg. a Four Armed Barbarian Alien, sound familiar?) and could surely suggest more and get behind your own suggestions. If you can get a link to some good graphics by your artist pal I think the orders would fill faster, assuming the illos are suitable for molding and the company sculptors are inclined to follow it closely.

I am a bit bothered by the copyright warning and how it might affect specific Traveller representations, but I guess one uplifted canine looks much like another. And of course who wouldn't want the Kangaroos with Steyr's and Aussie equipment

Uplifted Boomers! I love it! And it has already hit the 150 mark. One thing before you suggest your own, make sure there isn't one close enough already on the rise, it'll get to production sooner if ya don't split the pledges. For example I see there is already a Sci-fi Small Arms - sprues of seperate weapons with 25-50 pledges which might copy your Weapons pack idea.

 

[Bishop Odo]

I’m not trying to hijack the thread and I’m not trying to pick nits about a venture I hope will succeed. Truly, I still puzzled at the miniatures industries lack of miniature support for Traveller. How SJ games can do a box of hellboy miniatures and not do any Traveller products is mind bogging. Traveller figures are generic sci-fi figures that could be used in any game, Star Wars or Dragonstar, yet they gaming companies come out with these weird hybrid miniatures like Forgotten Worlds or something like that, did you see the figure of the three hundred pound S&M fat man, who was smoking the crack when that figure was approved. Then you have games where they make only a handful of what was promised, Star Wars, or make them to character specific, after all how many Han Solo figs can you have on the hex mat at time, and they wonder why the miniatures lines don’t sell and die.

The age demographics of that poll in the scout section illustrate two things. The players of Traveller are getting older and they need to appeal or even be available to a younger market. What new player is going to be familiar with the CT, MT, and T4 products that he could use to enhance a T20 game? I worked in a game store, and how can you sell T20, I know its coming, or any game without support material. It’s a little hard to tell a kid and his parents that he still needs to convert this and use that from GURPS, or buy the $150.00 worth of GURPS stuff just to get stated. The seconded lesson of the poll is age has its benefits; we have the buck to invest in the toys, like miniatures, and new materials, if IT’S available.

Well I’m sorry about the rant, I’m just passionate about miniatures.

 

[CarlP]

I think that, with all the human figures out there, doing human characters wouldn't be a priority. Jeepers, just from the figures I've collected over the past <mumble> <mumble> years, I can do up a very large, varied party, with opponents, without any trouble at all. And new people getting into the game have plenty of choices already.

I'm more interested in seeing Traveller specific items. The starship models are an excellent start, since many of the Traveller ships are quite distinctive. I'd also like to see a variety of other figures. Vargr is my first choice, although I can see where people might like Aslan, too.

The Zhodani have a unique look--especially their armor--so something like that would be useful, too. And all of the other alien races--Hivers, etc. would be useful.

Just my two credits worth.