"Space Ships for 15mm scale" Topic

What I am looking for, before I decide to take the 15mm plunge, is whether there are decent 'spaceships' for that scale.

Let me explain first what I mean. I picture sci-fi crews zipping around space in RV(or slightly larger) sized vehicles.

I've tried for years finding suitable ships in 28mm scale, but they are either extremely expensive, or not quite what I have in mind.

I'm thinking (size wize) the Bounty Hunters ship from Riddick, or Serenity from Firefly…or even the Millenium Falcon. Ships that would support a small crew.

I'm not interested in VTOL, or anything overly militaristic.

I've poked around on the web for a while, and am not coming up with anything.

Can any one make suggestions?

Thanks!

There have been a couple of plastic kits of the Eagle from Space 1999 – the ERTL one in 1/76, and especially the Aoshima / Imex in 1/110 scale might be worth a look…. Probably OOP, but they crop up on Ebay pretty regularly.

There was a nice kit from the Lost in space film a while ago. I reckon it would make a good 15mm shuttle type.

"Can any one make suggestions?"

Take a trip to the nearest Toys R' Us (or equivalent), with a spare 15mm fig or two (for approximating scale). As you've already discovered, most purpose built models are likely going to cost a good amount of money. Look for things that could be modified with plastic card or the like to suit your tastes (most large G.I. Joe vehicles would work well). GW's Tau Devilfish APC's would work for a Riddick type bounty hunter ship (if you like the look). Good luck.

kitbashes are your best friend here. You could look at 1/72 helicopter models or even some plane models with some modification. The Tau Devilfish from 40K might work here. I would find somethign with the right shape for you and start adding bits until you are happy with it.

-Eli

You could always do the heretic thing and go papercraft. First thing that comes to mind is World Works Games, their ship "First Light". Print, build, modify to your hearts content.

There are others out there if you are interested.

I myself have built ships with playable interiors in 15mm for long running Traveller games out of basswood, cardstock, sheet plastic, bits, etc.

Thanks very much guys! Lots of places for me to look.

You could just make one.

Not too hard, and many of the Traveller designs are pretty basic, e.g. a cylinder with a rounded bow can easily be made from wooden railing material.

You could also make a ship out of a flattened rectangle, with a streamlined bow.

Wood is easy to work with.

Add on a stern rocket engine, and thrusters. The engine can be made from a suitably sized and shaped plastic cup, or other item, or carved by hand.

Some of the ships are also like flattened triangles – rather like a Star Wars Star Destroyer, but without the large bridge structure, and much smaller. Probably best to make these out of blue foam, and styrene or cardboard sheeting.

Children's toys should not be overlooked either.

I've had my eye on this AMT/Ertl for a while. I think it might work for 15mm:

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What do you think?

Or do you want something a little more alien in mind? If so, look at this Monogram model:

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CC

Styrofoam and HO scale Styrene can get you pretty far.

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Also, the AMT/ERTL Milennium Falcon is listed as 1/72, but I personally think it's fine in 15mm.

Some other plastic kits to add to your thoughts:

Pegasus UFO. I'm going to use one for my Rebel Greys, but no reason it couldn't be re-purposed.
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Pegasus Appollo 27. I got one for 15mm pulp adventures (going to remove the dome, though)
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AMT Defiant. Least "Federation" looking of the Federation vessels. With minor mods it could work well as a 15mm ship. Still readily avaliable.
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Probably can still find a Monogram Fying Sub around.

There's also all the Anime ships, would be worth a look at HobbyLink Japan's site.

Martin

MxConnell,

Oooo. I like that Defiant!

CC

Long ago, when I was first doing 15mm SF (Traveller etc) for a hobby rather than a business (!), I built a very acceptable Traveller Scoutship from the main hull of the original Star Wars Imperial Star Destroyer plastic kit (AMT or ERTL??) – the one that is about 12-15" long. I turned the hull upside-down (discarding the bridge tower assembly completely) and built a 15mm cockpit interior in the rectangular gap where the main docking bay should be (the bay where it "swallows" Leia's blockade runner in the opening sequence).
The model is long since scrapped, unless it's lurking in an old box somewhere, but it really did look the part…..

Another great model for a smallish 15mm ship or shuttle is the Narcissus lifeboat from Alien – either the larger Halcyon kit if you can find it (big enough for a small trader starship), or the smaller Aliens Action Fleet toy version, which is an ideal size for a military lander.

Jon (GZG)

Jon, the idea with the Star Destroyer is awesome! I have been trying to figure out a way to convert a couple of 1/48 WW2 Shinden models into some sort of ships for 15mm for awhile.

-Eli

Frisbees work in a pinch….

A lot of great ideas usually spring from the Starship Modeler scratchbuilder subforum. Great stuff over there, especially with "found item" kitbashing. You'd be amazed what you can do with those giant plastic easter eggs.

Just realize that things in 15mm are relatively small, but big things are still pretty big. Something that has to survive transatmospheric planetfall and still carry cargo/troops/tanks has to be substantial. At least a foot on the tabletop, I'd say. Even if your transplanetary mothership is just the size of a 737, you're talking about a ship 119 feet long, or 1428 inches, equalling 14 and a quarter inch long on the tabletop.

I've thought about branching out into 15mm shuttles, assault landers, and support gunships. The prices would be hefty, which leads me to dream about component kits, bolt-on cockpits, turrets, blisters, etc.

You know what I want to turn into a shuttle? A big Monster can, you know, the energy drink. Not the $1.99 USD can. The big whopper that enables you to road-trip across Texas in a night. That's big, and begging for a conversion.

Best,
JBR

I got Boba Fett's ship (Slave-1?) in roughly 1/72 from ebay for a couple of quid. Perfect for a small 15mm ship.

Those Star Trek ships are perfect! They are generic enough to work with anything, yet not readily identifible as coming from Star Trek's universe!

I've got a couple of the old Galoob Star Wars Action Fleet Imperial Shuttles that are perfect as small (platoon or less) landers for 15mm:

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They show up on eBay all of the time.

JBR,

Great points. I was freaking over not being able to find helos in 1/100 to convert to dropships. Then I came to the same conclusion that an orbital dropship would have to be bigger so a 1/72 helo would work nicely for a dropper.

Here are a couple of quick and dirty MS Paint mods for Ka-27 "Helix" helicopter –

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-Eli

Vereh nice.

Best,
JBR

Ted,

If you imagine the "Galoob Star Wars Action Fleet Imperial Shuttle" without wings, it almost looks like a scaled down version of the ship in Firefly, doesn't it (at least it looks that way on photo)?

CC

My 1st question is how big?

The next a static exterior or a model that one can open up?

These are the two questions I have been hitting on.

Anyone done anything with their BK ST Shuttles?

TMP link

Dan

I wonder if this could be done using styrene instead of paper:

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What do you guys think?

Dan

I have a McDonald's Valkyrie shuttle, but it's not really big enough for 15mm. Maybe work as a (very) small lander or unmanned vessel like an X-34.

Lifting body designs like the X-33 are very easy to scratchbuild. Resin models cost something like $200 USD though.

Paper models are good:

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It's been mentioned in a couple other threads: the Terminator Salvation aerial Hunter-Killer (on clearance at Toys R Us for $15) is a first-rate dropship. It uses phillips screws and disassembles easily for customizations.

this could fit the bill and it's not to pricey just depends on what you want to spend
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15 inch Serenity model. Probably viciously expensive.

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