"Other 15mm Sci-Fi Troops Still Needed" Topic

I posted this in reply to another thread on what is still missing in the marketplace, as far as aliens go.

Granted, most humanoids desired aren't really aliens, but they could be, if desired. Just paint them a different color, add different heads, etc.

I thought I would post here as well, since I think it deserves its own thread, and in case any miniatures manufacturers are interested in filling a rather large niche that is currently missing from the marketplace.

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There are no seated, spaceship crew, in futuristic uniforms, e.g. UFO, Star Trek, Space 1999, etc., style clothing.

There are also none of the above standing, unarmed, or with weapons.

About the closest anyone has come to them are the Infiltrators (as far as uniforms go), but they are all wearing helmets. I'd love to see a wider range of these, e.g.: some with longer, two-handed weapons, and some kneeling, prone, throwing grenades, running, etc., both with, and without helmets. They would be excellent for ship-board actions, or for assaulting/defending a base.

Add backpacks to the Infiltrators, and they can be astronauts in spacesuits.

These would be great for: small ship-board battles; larger actions, where someone still has to stay at helm, navigation, comms, and weapons stations during the fight; to serve as pilots and passengers on a space shuttle, or landing craft; or to crew land-based, or moon-based bases.

Given the recent re-release of Traveller, and other Sci-Fi rules, I imagine these would fill a rather large niche that is missing in the marketplace, so they should sell well.

Sadly, there are also very few flying troops in battle armor, carrying laser/blaster/plasma rifles. Heck, even gauss or needle rifles would be okay.

As has been posted elsewhere not-Vrusk from Star Frontiers and I'll add not-Sathar. Also the Birrin by Abiogenisis…if I could figure out how to post a picture I would. Cacique Caribe posted pics of them once or twice.

I'll add bipedal ants again, a la Steakly's Armor.

I'd love some not-Eldar in 15mm.

How about a non-cowardly, Nivenesque Puppeteer-like trilateral-symmetry race?

I think the upcoming wasps, with jetpacks would work for the ants, with guns.

Their heads look like ants to me.

You'll just need to remove the tail stinger.

I'd like to see two versions of spacesuited troops. One in a nearly skin-tight pilot/shipsuit, and the other in a bulky, armored, powered exoskeleton for Damage Control parties and Marines.

That way you have 'crew' and 'Marines'. Seated crew would also be good, especially if you actually put them in crash frames, not just a lay-z-boy (err, acceleration couch).

Spug Engineers

Peter Pig still has some interesting figures.

Combat-service animals, such as dogs, with and without ELINT packages on them. Picture a dog in a harness covered with sensors, and perhaps a head-mount sensor halo, as well.

Space monks in flowing cloaks with laser-swords. Really.

Droids. We need more cool-looking droids, both as auxiliaries to organic beings or as independent warfighting forces.

Some kind of burrowing race. Then you could make both skirmishing infantry and ones emerging from the ground, much as the old Epic Termite tunnelers: picture I don't think anything like that has been done in 15mm yet.

A crystalline race (thinking here of Master of Orion's Silicoids).

"Combat-service animals, such as dogs, with and without ELINT packages on them. Picture a dog in a harness covered with sensors, and perhaps a head-mount sensor halo, as well."

I would second that idea. I was getting ready to purchase Peter Pig dog pack for my K-9 teams but a scifi dog fitted with camera and harness etc… would be very cool.

We are definitely missing some field service droids, in all sorts of duty assignments (but not like they are Terminators or anything like that).

Perhaps something like the Pig Iron ones:

picture

CC

Peter Pig still has some interesting figures.

The range is being withdrawn according to the website.

I think Peter Pig lost a fantastic opportunity to do a PBI with Sci Fi and offer multiple packs of Mid/High/Ultra-tech and aliens, and corner the market.

The Buccaneers picture and BOMAG Dropship are the only elements I will miss.

Cheers
Mark

Missing?

Zho'g'ani! ;-)

Cheers
Mark

What's a "Zho'g'ani"?

Dan

Moonbeast:

link
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ooo oooo oooo I like these too!

link

I believe "Zho'g'ani" is a heavy accented version of the pronunciation of Zhodani, popular with the Traveller crowd, and always in high demand, due to their psionic abilities, and since they look cool.

Cephalopods? Cephalopods are very cool.

Any bug people need to have at least 6 legs too.

Power armoured guys for most of the new lines !!

Otherwise
Eldar in 15 mm would be cool ;D
But Infinity line would be cooler :>

I just ordered some Peter Pig sci-fi troopers packs 9-1
and 9-8 I think. I think they are great figs very detailed and a truly unique look. They are on the smallish side of 15mm and I did modify the weapons. To bad the range is going away, now I need civilians and other things that scale up to the troopers.

Mongo

Mongo: "They are on the smallish side of 15mm"

I know. They have sooooooo many cool choices but, what I've bought so far, is too small (including weapons) to mix with what I've got from others (Rebel, CMG, new GZG stuff, etc.).

CC

Peter Pig's sci-fi range is a hidden gem. Its a small, older range (with the exception of the re-sculpted troopers) but there is some nice variety and novelty there that IS missing from other ranges. The other thing PP's range has going for it that is almost absent in all 'new' ranges is that it is really 15mm – and its internally consistent. Not to do a compare and contrast but (most of) the newer figs on the market are huge compared to most 15mm figs, I can happily use my PP sci-fi with my modern and other figs from a variety of manufacturers without them being overly gigantic or having eaten all the pies…

To single out some of the range: the civvies are very useful colony figs, the combat robots are great, small and utilitarian and the missile and beacon markers have a host of uses from drones to… …missiles, and finally, the Phug a great alien race if you wanted to play Heinlein-style SST games.

Its a shame its being withdrawn.

As an aside, the Company rules are a very fun set of rules. They are old and not very well written, but the scenarios are fun and games short so several can be played in a session. I'm a fan because these are the rules that got me back into sci-fi skirmishing.

For Space Monks with laser swords, I imagine you might be able to find some Samurai era monks in robes/capes in 15mm, and can just snip off the sword, and insert a styrene, brass, or spring-steel lightsaber rod in its place, suitably colored, of course…..

Kittens with lightsabers look very cool too, just in case you were wondering (see a posting in the Lounge).

I prefer Kamodo Dragons for my combat service animals. They are fast, mean, and intimidating.

Wonder if their teeth can slice through battle armor?

I guess we may just need to test that out…..

@28mmMan – I have been pulling for those same sorts of aliens for some time now. I found the pics elsewhere so thanks for posting the DeviantArt links.

-Eli

TopGunAce: "Still Needed"?

SF "accessories" perhaps?

TMP link

Dan

Sharks with laserbeams attached to their heads?

Javelin98, you said you were looking for a burrowing race in 15mm I would suggest looking at the new Monsterpocalypse faction, the Subterran Uprising. Plenty of diggers there, that should work for 15mm.

There are other figures I think would work for 15mm as well, the Elememtanl Champions units, some of the Cthul units, Savage Swarm, the Shadow Sun infantry. Check it out, and some can be had chea.

LOL Rothgar.

Rothgar, certainly you mean "laser"!

YouTube link
YouTube link

CC

"I'd like to see two versions of spacesuited troops. One in a nearly skin-tight pilot/shipsuit, and the other in a bulky, armored, powered exoskeleton for Damage Control parties and Marines."

Which is pretty much exactly what we have done with our light and heavy vacc-suited figures…. :-)

Jon (GZG)
gzg.com

@ 28mmMan: That's them! I love his concept art. Thanks for posting them.

Moonbeast and 28mm man, I love the birrin too, but making models of them would just be ripping off the artist.

Cyberpunk and post-apocalypse including road-warriors seem to be the most forgotten corners of sci-fi in 15mm. Parts and weapons for dressing existing toy vehicles for the road warrior vehicles might be good.

It might be nice to see some Dune inspired minitures?

Hrm… I guess I need to look through the GZG catalog more often… [embarrassed emoticon]

To be fair, they were released recently, and none are in sitting poses yet.

On the plus side, there are some NAC troops in sitting poses.

I would like to see the light and heavy astronauts, NI, UNSC, FSE, and NSL in sitting poses too. Reclining acceleration couches for the astronauts, as well as more upright poses.

"I would like to see the light and heavy astronauts, NI, UNSC, FSE, and NSL in sitting poses too. Reclining acceleration couches for the astronauts, as well as more upright poses."

If sales on the seated NAC are reasonable (they are moving already, but we need to see how they go over a few months) then we will most likely do a seated pack for each nation/power as they get the "full works" treatment we have given the NAC (and are working on with the NI).
I know how badly you want the seated crew in spacesuits, TGA, but I'm really not sure how many other people want/need them – the point of the seated military troops is that you can use them for passengers in trucks/sleds, sit them around on vehicles and crates for vignettes and so on – the spacesuited figures in acceleration couches are really only good for building spaceship bridge interiors, and how many folks actually want to do that for the gaming table? Of course, if a load of you come on here and prove me wrong, then we might do them….! ;-)

Jon (GZG)

Doesn't everyone want to play out boarding actions on board spaceships??????

I mean, rules for specifically that have been written, e.g. Traveller's Snapshot, a free set of rules whose name currently escapes me, etc.

I fully understand Jon, from the business side of things.

I know you need to recoup your investment on them.

Have I steered you wrong yet? ;-)

I imagine most of the other things I, and others have suggested are selling reasonably well.

I especially like your new NI troops in action poses, and your expanded NAC range.

Parts and weapons for dressing existing toy vehicles for the road warrior vehicles might be good.

Yes! Fully support that idea.

a free set of rules whose name currently escapes me

Starship Marine PDF link

Cheers
Mark

For Space Monks with laser swords, I imagine you might be able to find some Samurai era monks in robes/capes in 15mm

LOL! Now, that's not fair Top Gun! You are asking for 'spacesuited ships crew screwing in light bulbs' but palming off another equally valid suggestion with a make-do and mend answer.

Cheers
Mark

I just thought it might be a little quicker to get the look desired, assuming you can find some warrior monks with swords.

I have some in 25mm, so imagine Two Dragons, or someone else might make them in 15mm.

I'd still like to see Colonists at work or at least carrying tools.

Miners, mechanics, technicians.

Also, I have suggested before guys wearing exo-skeleton (not PA) frames with heavy industrial gear or cargo.

These would be good for colonists, engineers, space prt personnel, field ground crews but they also allw for a sort of armed civilian force with improvised weapons.

-Eli

Some more astronaut figures, carrying mining tools, large bolt cutters, heavy laser cutters, etc. would be cool.

Also useful would be some of these carrying large cases, or barrels in front of them, with two hands.

I would prefer the heavy vacc suit figs for this.

Spacefighter crews and ground personnel would be excellent too. 15mm.co.uk make a set, but I would like to see some more poses, e.g. seated, standing firing a weapon, kneeling firing a weapon, etc.

[q]Parts and weapons for dressing existing toy vehicles for the road warrior vehicles might be good.[/q]

Taking this a stage further it would be good to see a range of cheap undetailed vehicle forms in resin which could be dressed to taste with cast parts – this would allow gamers to create pretty much the particular look they want, not to mention the parts would help those whose kitbashing skills aren't that hot.

I came up with some others too, after seeing these in battle:

TMP link

Astronauts, wearing MMU's (manned maneuvering units), and armed with auto-rifles, or laser/blaster weapons.

That would be a lot of fun to play out on the gametable, while fighting for a spacestation, a space shuttle, moonbase, etc.

Parts and weapons for dressing existing toy vehicles for the road warrior vehicles might be good.

Ahem! Go here and sign up:

link

I'd love to see more guys in Power Armor. I know GZG has some power armor but they haven't redone them yet and they're a little rough and/or blobby.

Sci fi/near future street gangs are missing from the market. Rebel mini's has a small but decent offering but other than that I have not been able to find any others.

Personally I was looking for gang members that would be suited to a Predator II/Robocop esk setting. Not armed with lasers but heavy modern fire power. If someone sculpted these I would defo get at least 3 – 4 packs if not more.

Cheers

Chris

soooo top gun, you are making those tank things, why don't you make these things too? why don't you make seated spaceship crew?

Speaking of near future, some generic stuff that might suit a wider audience than pure cyberpunks are –
'Hollywood' generic post-modern infantry – usually dressed in fashionable camo prints, with the most high-tech looking firearm the props people could find and often masked.
Generic dystopian society security forces – uniformed and plain clothes, done right they could well cover from the 1920's to the near future.
'Hollywood' mercenaries – look like walking catalogues for small arms manufacturers (& were chased through a south american jungles) would do for post-modern and low-tech sci-fi
- though some cybernetically augemented soldiers would be nice

Proper landmate / District 9 Prawn biosuit for 15mm. Powered armour / jump infantry / zero-gee troopers in flying poses.