"Report on suitability of CMG figs for 28mm Sci-Fi Gaming" Topic

CMG figs are among the most accessible and least expensive miniatures currently available. Mentions have been made here and on the web on the suitability of CMG figs for gaming outside of the CMG setting. Most of this has centered on fantasy gaming, and smaller scale gaming with CMG battlemechs.

Follwing my previous inquiry I purchased a selection of figs to explore the posibilities in Sci-Fi/Near-future/Steampunk Gaming. I'm going to use this topic as a sort of log and over the next week I'll report my observations regarding:

-Scale issues (Vs EM4 and GW figs)
-Sculpt and paint quality
-Repainting and Stripping
-Rebasing and modifying/customizing
-Gaming and setting usefullness (40k, Combat Zone, and Post apocalyptic and Steampunk settings)

I'll check in soon with the first report, but for now here are the brands and lists of figs I picked up. I may have gone a bit overboard with the SW figs…

Mage Knight
Black Powder Boomer #088 Mage Knight Unlimited
Khamsin Gunsling #037 Mage Knight Unlimited
Bow Golem #051 Mage Knight Omens
Brass Commander #032 Mage Knight Minions
Tezlacore #101 Mage Knight Minions
Iron Lung #006 Mage Knight Lancers
Khamsin Freelancer #037 Mage Knight Rebellion
Steam Tinker #041 Mage Knight Dark Riders
Steam Tinker #042 Mage Knight Dark Riders

Heroclix
Lobster Johnson #034 Rookie: Indy
Hitman #022 Arkham Asylum: DC

HorrorClix
Muttering Igor #077 The Lab

Star Wars Miniatures
Corellian Pirate #24 Bounty Hunters Star
Corellian Security Officer #30 Legacy of the Force
Czerka Scientist #38 Knights of the Old Republic Dark Hellion Swoop Gang Member #27 Bounty Hunters
Echani Handmaiden #39 Knights of the Old Republic GenoHaradan Assassin #40
Knights of the Old Republic
Gonk Power Droid #18 Universe
Human Blaster-For-Hire #35 Bounty Hunters
Human Force Adept #45 Alliance and Empire
Human Scoundrel #47 Legacy of the Force
Human Scout #48 Legacy of the Force Star
Human Soldier of Fortune #36 The Clone Wars
Iktotchi Tech Specialist #47 Revenge of the Sith
Kel Dor Bounty Hunter #50 Legacy of the Force
New Republic Commander #54 Universe
Old Republic Recruit #02 Legacy of the Force
Old Republic Scout #03 Legacy of the Force
Zabrak Fringer #55 Revenge of the Sith
Klatooinian Enforcer #54 Clone Strike
New Republic Trooper #55 Universe

Scale Issues By Brand.
Here I offer a comparison of size and scale issues for the brands of figures I purchased. My standard for figure size is the somewhat "heroic" 28mm scale range with GW and EM4 representing the larger and smaller end of the scale respetively.

Mage Knight:
Varied is the name of the game here. It's clear that MK does not put alot of emphasis on scale as some figs are a perfect match for GW/EM4 figs, and others are a bit too large. This is even evident among human figs within the same faction. As an example, the Khamsin Gunslinger and Freelancer are similarly attired, armed and painted, yet differently proportioned, even their weapons being different sized. It's not quickly evident, and might not bother you on the table, but it is a bit odd that they wouldn't even make their humans a standard size.

In Mage Knight's favor, they do have heroic proportions that fit in well with GW/EM4 figs. In general, most of the unarmored Mage Knight humans were closest in size and build to the Arnold-like physique of the Catachan jungle fighters, and are roughly the same height as a space marine, perhaps a mm or two taller in some cases.

Some were a perfect match for standard heroic 28mm. The Steam Tinker, Iron Lung, and Boomer being examples of this. The large robot figs like the Bow Golem and Brass Commander were very impressively sized as they rightfully towered over all the other figs. More on them later. To sum up, Mage Knight tended to be very close to standard 28mm, erring on the large side.

Hero Clix.
These guys are bigger, no doubt about it. They are however, slightly less "Heroic" in scale than the Mage Knight. That works to their advantage as they are taller than standard heroic 28mm, but they seem to be of similar "thickness". I only chose two of them and I'm not sure if they will make the cut for use on the tabletop, but I'm going to paint/base them and see how they turn out.

I don't feel I purchased enough Hero or Horror Clix to make any statements about size/scale continuity within the line.
At this point, I will probably pick up a few more hero-clix at some point.

Horror Clix.
This guy (I only ordered one) is even larger than the Hero Clix. The figure is of Igor the hunchback with a scoped hunting rifle. He's bent-kneed, hunched over, and yet still as tall as a standard heroic 28mm fig. Proportions seem to be the same as Hero-Clix. As hunched as he is, his giant size doesn't seem very noticeable, so I'm not giving up on this figure yet. However, judging by this figure, I will probably not be purchasing anymore human Horror Clix figures. Assuming Igor is par for the course, a human standing erect would be a towering giant. It's too bad because the sculpt seems quite good, and his rifle is the best of all the rifle bearing figures purchased.

Star Wars.
Height wise, these folks are nearly spot on, I'd estimate and average of one mm taller than Heroic 28mm figs. I purchased enough to be able to tell that these figures are quite consistent in size and scale. SW mini's are obviously held to a consistent size/style standard.

The bad news is that they are not at all Heroic. They are in fact realistically scaled, perhaps leaning towards slender. Only a few of the figures with bulky clothing looked remotely "heroic" scaled. I'm not sure I'd mix SW and GW/EM4 within a squad, but they might not look to out of place on the same table if fielded in squads with each other. Finally, In the vein of being a bit more realistic, SW firearms are the smallest of all the CMG figs reviewed.

Final thoughts.
When appropriately scaled, the Mage Knight figs are the closest in size and proportion to what a 28mm Heroic gamer will be expecting. Heroclix is a bit larger but not too far off proportionally. SW is by far the closest height wise, but much slimmer in proportion. Horror Clix proportions are fairly close, but much taller.

Igor is a bad example of Horrorclix scale. The other human types a lot closer. Look at the Vat Grown Clone and the Razor Vixens. I think they are a lot closer. The starter pack figures are another bunch that are closer in size.

Hitman from, Heroclix Arkham Asylum, is not a good example of Heroclix scale. In general the scale is all over the place with Heroclix. However, Secret Invasion and Arkham Asylum were huge compared to previous releases. The new Hammer of Thor set looks to give us more of the same. Lobster Johnson is a little big too, but a better representation of most of the line up to their Origin release. After that things got sketchy in regards to scale and figure quality.

One final thing about Horrorclix. The final set, Nightmares, seems to be at least partially made in the same manner as Secret Invasion and Arkham Asylum. There are still a few good ones that match up though. There was some kind of Survivor with gasmask that scales up well. And Barney with a chainsaw.

Thanks for that information. It's good to have information relating to different sets and eras of the different lines.

Good to know about the Lobster Johnson size standard. I'm rather pleased with that fig and may pick up a few more hero clix at some point.

Coming next. Paint jobs and sculpt and mold quality compared.

Before exploring more quality issues, I've decided to first do a bit on the possible uses of these figures in Sci-Fi, Steampunk, Near Future, and Post-Apoc settings.

FIGURE USEAGE

At this point I just wanted to present some of the less thought-of uses for these kind of figures. Most of these lines of figs are either superhero or medieval in bent, but -especially Mage Knight- in their efforts to exhaust every possible figure option have created lines of figures that have uses well outside of the medieval range.

MAGE KNIGHT

Steam Punk:
Mage Knight is a treasure trove of Steam Punk'ish figures. A few examples that I've found (I am sure there are more)
-"Steam Tinker" a steam powered exo-suit
-"Khamsin" faction a group of individuals that look slightly Middle-Eastern, but also have primitive firearms
-"Bow Golem" and "Blade Golem" figures that look somewhere between a Clockwork robot and a 40k Chaos terminator.
-"Black powder boomer" a bulky armored fellow with a large gun.
-"Iron Lung" a very Jules-Vern looking undersea suited fellow with a trident.

Post Apoc:
Quite a few figs with possibilities here. Most have been listed in the Steampunk sectin, notably the "Khamsin's" from above work with a few that will need weapons swaps. Despite some difference in figure sizes, I like the Khamsin figs so much that I went to a comic store, found some more, and am converting up a couple Combat Zone gangs with these figs.

Traditional Sci-Fi
There are a number of great robot types that really fit well into Sci-Fi settings.
-"Brass Commander" available in several colors and under a few different names, this guy is a great three legged robot.
-"Undersea Golem" Alien-in armor looking fig with a anime/tau vibe
-"Whirling Golem" Alien Robot figure has similar dimensions to the above fig, but more of a robot than alien-in-suit

Lastly 40k players will find alot of figs that will fit well into a necromunda campaign, and a few that would be great starting point for conversions, Bow Golem and Steam Tinker come to mind.

HEROCLIX and HORRORCLIX.
If you are playing super-hero or horror-movie games, the uses are pretty clear. However…

Post Apocalyptic and Near future
seem to be the order of the day for these guys.
There are a wealth of figures in body armor or body suits with suitable equipment to be future gangers, security forces or post apocalyptic scavengers. The Lobster Johnson and Henchman figure that I purchased would work great in these kind of roles. The "Muttering Igor" Has already had his hunchback hump removed, a backpack added, and a head swap for a great post-apoc sniper.

Future Sci-Fi
I didn't order any, but I saw several figs in the Hero-clix line that could do duty as Future-Sci-Fi crew members, and if alien races are your thing, there's plenty in this line to work with.

STAR WARS

Future Sci-Fi
It kind of goes without saying that the line is a wealth of interesting aliens and futuristic civilians. One of the neat things about this far ranging series is the number of figures of individuals that don't appear in the movies, and without the iconic status of other characters might not stand out too much in a non-SW futuristic setting.

Steampunk.
I found most of the figs to be a bit crisp for steam punk settings, but there were a few, notably "Fringe Human 5" that have a less clean vibe would do well in such a setting. There were a few others with bulkier clothing and long coats that could be used.

Near Future/ Post-apoc.
Not many of these figs are dirty enough to make good scavengers, but there are dozens of appropriate figures wearing non-descript clothing that is not necessarily tied to any particular era and holding weapons that are equally multi-era. I will be asembing a few squads of near-future civilian rebels from these.
A reasonable number of military types are available also that could be of use outside of a SW setting.

SCULPT, CASTING AND PAINT QUALITY

Star Wars

Sculpts are good, and Paint quailty varies from passable/sloppy, to good. Mostly basic colors though, only a few figs have any kind of shading or wash. Casting is good on most figures, but mold lines are obvious on many, and often times run along or through part of the face. On some of them, cleaning up the mold lines necessitates a repaint.

Mage Knight.
Scuplts have more detail, and mold lines are not as evident. The faces are not as crisp as SW. Painting is not as crisp as SW, but lots of the figs have washes and drybrushing that makes some of them look pretty good on the tabletop. A few are just sloppy.

Hero/Horror Clix

Of the batch, these are among the best sculpts, neatest paint jobs and cleanest molding. The paint jobs are very clean, but also very simple, not much in the way of washes, drybrushes or highlights here.

I'll add one more section on my attempts to strip the paint. Rebasing, repainting and customizing will be saved for a separate topic that will center around a project I've just started making a Combat Zone or Necromunda gang out of Mage Knight figs.

Stripping the Clix!

Attempt 1

The only thing that reports to strip Clix well is Acetone, so I skipped all the other substances, dumped my wife's nail polish remover into a glass jar, dropped in a couple of Mage Knight minis that I hadd removed from their bases and…

nothing

Took them out scrubbed them with a old tooth brush and..

nothing

repeat twice more and a tiny bit of loose paint, but I'm scrubbing so hard that I'm not sure if the acetone is affecting, or it's just physical abrasion. Whatever they add to the acetone to make it smell lemoney and not eat through the plastic bottle must make it ineffective against the paint.

Attempt 2
I've pretty much given up, but I decide to purchase some pure acetone from the hardware store and a nice stiff bristle plastic brush. I put the acetone in the glass Jar, drop in the mini's and come back in 5-10 minutes (not sure of the times here) and…

The water is murky with the disolved paint!

I take them out scrub them down and toss them back in. One or two rounds later, they are down to the creamy white color of the plastic, with some dirty residue. Some of the residue I remove, some I just leave. I repeat the proces with a Star-War's Miniature just to make sure, and in 2-3 quick sessions, he is stripped of paint!

I waited a few days, did a few mods to the Mage Knight figures weapons, reprimed them with Gesso, and there seems to be no loss of detail. If anything, the detail seems clearer than with the original paint job!

There you have it:
Stiff plastic bristle brush + Several short baths of pure Acetone = Stripped CMG figure!

Notes about Acetone and Softening figs.
The Acetone can soften the vinyl a bit. If you don't leave them in too long, and don't scrub too hard, there shouldn't be any damage, but either way, they may need to be left to stiffen again for a couple of days. I have heard that if left in long enough, the figs will become so soft as to be unusable, but I'm not eager to try. Neither of these figs became unusably soft as a result of this process.

The next time I try this, I will do more and quicker baths of acetone, and hopefully they won't soften at all.

Well, that's it, if there's any questions, let me know, but otherwise if I can get a camera, I hope to start a new topic in a few weeks with pics of my new CombatZone (or Necromunda) gang made and converted from Mage Knight Khamsin figures.