"Sci-Fi 1/285th Tanks: Who made these? (not an ebay ad)" Topic

Back in the mid-1980s, our gaming group used to play a lot of Sci-Fi tank games.. A friend of mine gave me 8 tanks just before he was stationed to Europe (he was in the Canadian Military). He didn't know who manufactured the models.

Since then, whenever I post photos online with these tank models, I get a number of people emailing me asking "where did I get those great looking tanks?" or "Who made those tanks?". I have no idea.

All I know is: They are 1/285th scale metal/pewter Sci-Fi tanks and they may have come in a set of 4 as I have two sets of each, and each set is four tanks. They were purchased in 1984, and no, I did not paint them.

Photo 1: picture
Photo 2: picture

Any help would be appreciated!

E.H.

Hmmm, haven't seen those.

Perhaps some Scotia Sci-Fi vehicles? They don't have pics of their range.

Another option might be Irregular, if they do Sci-Fi.

Superior models. Was my 1st answer.

But I think they are from Reveirsco. link Look a little more than Half way down the page…

That Reverisco link goes to a page full of old cars…
Did you mean their Days of Empire range? I don't seen any obvious matches there…

I've not seen them before but I like them.

Perhaps some Scotia Sci-Fi vehicles? They don't have pics of their range.

Could be Scotia Sci-Fi because my friend bought them from a fellow who used to sell Scotia Sci-Fi models back in the 1980s, and with the Scotia's website not showing photos of the miniatures they produce, I may never know.

On an unrelated topic: Why doesn't Scotia show photos of every model they produce on their website? What is the purpose of having a web-store if you cannot see what you are purchasing? Who purchases blindly?

E.H.

I reckon Garrison, they look the same as the ones used in the Hotz mat ice planet ads..

Firstly, those are *not* Scotia – Having seen a lot of the Scotia range ( They did have a fair number of pictures up before the website was hacked, then renewed) and besides, that isn't the Scotia style; Too heavy a level of raised detail.

They aren't QT Miniatures either – Though HotzMatz show a lot of QT minis in their advertising, these are not part of that range either. Garrison is unlikely for the same reason as Scotia . . . Garrison have little or no surface detail.

It would be nice if HotzMatz themselves had a note as to the source of the miniatures the way many English companies do when showing examples for scale . . . Maybe asking somone AT HotzM<atz might answer the question? :)

( On an unrelated topic, GreyONE or EH, perhaps you might want to read this article from the US Army e-rcps.com/gripes – it explains why foreigners don't do what you demand :) )

It would be nice if HotzMatz themselves had a note as to the source of the miniatures the way many English companies do when showing examples for scale . . . Maybe asking somone AT HotzM<atz might answer the question? :)

Covert, I'm reasonably certain GreyOne *is* HotzMatz, or at least an employee thereof. Look at his member ID.

On topic, they don't appear to be MAATAC pieces, going by the catalog flyer here:

link

and they don't quite match any of the Reviresco Days of Empire tanks. My guess is one of the "mystery" Scotia models, probably one of the ones with a pseudo-historical name (eg Abhrams), but I certainly can't prove it. Not all Scotia is light on surface detail – their range appeared to have several sculptors with slightly different styles, and 4-in-a-pack matches my dim memories of SimTac pack sizes.

I sent the photos to Scotia and they stated that the models were not produced by them. They are nicely detailed tank models, which matches Scotia's detail.

They are definitely not MAATAC as I own examples of the entire line.

The mystery deepens.

E.H.

Weird. Maybe they were once part of the Reviresco Days of Empire range and have been discontinued? The style's pretty close, although I didn't think they'd taken anything out of production from that line.

Maybe from an out of production company?I have two grav tanks from a company called T-Rex that look similiar in style.The time line is right,the bag they are in has a
copyright 1981.

Never saw T-Rex Space Opera figs in person (just some ogre stuff) but they seem like a possibility. Photos online seem elusive, though:

link

auction

Tough search…I do like the tanks greyone shows…a bit toy like but still fun.

Found an interview with the designer of T-Rex (dated 2004). Apparently he also sculpted the Ogre line (or at least, the original line from the 1980s):

link

Maybe I can locate him and then send him the photos for a positive ID.

I remember "Space Opera" when I was working in the RPG industry. One of our staff played it, but he didn't own the tanks/space ships.

E.H.

Fantasy Games Unlimited still sells Space Opera, including the Ground & Air Equipment book:

link

You might see if they can answer your question as well.

Off-topic, nice to see them putting out new V&V adventures after all these years. I'd still play that game even today, given the chance.

Battle Works and GreyONE, sorry if I offended; As there are probably millions of people with the initials EH, I didn't make the connection. If I came off as insulting or rude, I do apologise.

As to the important part ( Identifying the miniatures ), my next suggestion is to contact a guy who is a guru when it comes to 6mm minis in the US – Maksim Smelchak. His biog is pretty thorough, and if he can't help, then he can find someone who can.

I'd bet it's T-Rex though as they were very elusive as to finding photos as well*, and from what I HAVE seen of them, and given the style of sculpting in the late 70s-early 80s they would certainly fit the period. What size are the items, BTW? A scale bar would be a great help – We may be looking at something that appears 6mm in scale, but is labelled by the manufacturer as 10 or 12mm.

*One reason for lack of photos in English adverts from companies there, BTW, is a cultural and financial one; In England even today, a good 60% of the sales a wargames company makes in a year is through the big "shows" or conventions, where the companies travel to the "show" and sell direct to the public. People are therefore able to see what the company offers in the display and thus the advert is merely an aid to memory. Too, the cost of advertising in the printed media is a lot higher, relatively speaking , in England than in such countries as the USA; Especially for smaller 'niche' outfits such as 6mm scale or SF producers. While that has been changed with the advent of the Internet, there again the costs are high- unless the company has someone who knows IT tech and money to invest in servers, digital cameras and scanners to start with, they have to pay for them and at rates higher than in the US ( Our Broadband, for example is the slowest and most costly in the world – 11 times what it is in the US for 75% of the download rate, simply due to infrastructure and tax ). Brigade Models has a great and well illustrated website, for example, because the guys who run it have day jobs in IT.

Right, put a hold on that other suggestion – Just opened my email and see that the query has been posed on the 6mm SF Gaming Yahoo Group: Maksim moderates that, so we should soon get an answer of some kind :)

Covert Walrus -- Not a problem. After I read your first note I could see where confusion could arise. No offense taken.

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I did look over the two tank models and, after scraping the number ID my friend originally glued on the bottom of each tank, one tank model had a copyright stamp date on it. It is partly drilled out (probably done in the mold itself) so it is only partly legible: it says "copyright symbol" 1978 or 1979. Can't make out the last number but it either a 9 or an 8, but it looks more like a 9.

The detail of these models is very high. If they were manufactured in 2010, they would be in line with most other models being produced. Very crisp, fine detailing. Quit impressive actually.

They do remind me of the MAATAC line, but only in detailing and sculpting. Did Superior Models make tanks other than MAATAC? or did the guy who made the original MAATAC tanks also go on to make models for other companies?

E.H.

I too posted the link on Tactical Command … some one there may know …

Someone did send me an email note saying the models could be 1/144th or 9/10mm scale as well and not 1/285th scale as they are Sci-Fi tanks. Not sure who made 10mm scale tanks at that time.

E.H.

Sorry about the bum link, but on second look it was off too.

I received an email from Abby Charden Mobasher, the original designer and the man who designed the T-Rex model line. He didn't start producing Sci-Fi vehicles until 1981 and his model masters were etched from brass, whereas the tank models I have clear putty marks underneath, which matches the MAATAC vehicle type sculpting. Mr Mobasher sent me a complete photo reference showing all the vehicles/space craft he designed/made -- none match the tank models I currently have.

The size of the tank models fit nicely with the MAATAC tank model range (medium type tanks: ie the Terran Monarch tank).

E.H.

I received an email from Abby Charden Mobasher, the original designer and the man who designed the T-Rex model line.

Out of curiosity, did he say who has the production rights these days? Might be something for someplace like Monday Knight or Mega Miniatures to look into – the world can always use more scifi microarmor. :)

OK. As the principle designer/instigator behind Reviresco's Days of Empire, I can confirm that these are definitely *not* from that series. I also own a fair share of MAATAC models, and have been quite familiar with that line since the '70s. These are *not* MAATAC AFAIK.

I am also familiar with the entire T-Rex/Space Opera line of models (I still have some buried in my collection); not them either.

These are a mystery to me, and frankly, WE WANTS THEM, PRECIOUSSS!!!!

Leland R. Erickson

Abby Charden Mobasher wrote: John Rankin has position of all the models (T-Rex) except the Star Lord which I have.

Just have to locate John Rankin. Apparently they spin casted the models themselves somewhere in Texas. A friend of mine used to sell these in the 1980s in Vancouver. I remember seeing a few of the T-Rex models.

E.H.

*timidly he asked* Have we completely discounted Battletech figs?

Doug

Doug, for what it's worth, those don't look like anything remotely to do with Battletech that I for one have ever seen, and I have painted probably at least two or three of every mech, aerospace fighters, tanks, and etc. ever made for this classic game… I don't consider myself infallible mind you, but I do have an obsessive, pedantic, and long memory for such things, and I just dont recognize these as having anything to do with Battletech… I admit I am stumped (and I still WANTS THEM, PRECIOUSSS!!!!)….

Leland R. Erickson

I looked through the BattleTech miniatures and quickly discounted them. The reason: One of the tanks has a 1979 or 1978 copyright symbol on it which pre-dates BattleTech. I went through the list of vehicles, but didn't see them, although a number did not have photos.

--

However, after looking through all the BattleTech tanks I realized that there are some very nice miniatures in this collection, especially Sci-Fi tanks. I own a few BattleTech tanks but never knew there were so many. The style of modeling is different. Comparing the two mystery tanks with the BattleTech tanks I have, the BattleTech tanks lack same amount of detailing.

E.H.

CnC had a series of space tanks way back then. Some of their models had exceptional detail. The 1/285 WWII aircraft in particular.

They don't look anything like the CnC line. I have some of those. CnC tends to do very crisp designs without a lot of "greebles and bits" on them.

While your mystery tanks do have some design elements that could lead you believe that they were Superior/MAATAAC or Reversco, I too can attest that they aren't. I'm very familiar (though maybe not as familiar as Leeland!) with both lines and those aren't in 'em.

I hope that someone IDs these – I love sci fi micro armor and would at least like to know where these came from. :)

J

Outside of the background data, they look like they may be kitbashed from multiple vehicles, some bits, and some putty.

The grey one look like it has the running gear and turret from a Dark Realm Miniatures "Chasseur", the green one's turret looks like some bits from a MAATAC vehicle.

Kitbashing in 6mm…it boggles the mind :)

I kit bash in 6mm all the time. Not nearly enough stuff to make me happy, so I've turned box-supply trucks into tankers, removed tracks and put on wheels, created a new turret for a model that had a nice chassis, but for which I didn't like the original… yup. Do it all the time. :)

J

link

Cyclops Class Medium Tank

Wolverine Class Medium Tank

And nice to see them back in production as well !