"Is there a market for non-scary or lower tech aliens?" Topic

A recent project of mine has me wondering what exactly the scifi miniatures market is looking for.

Most alien miniatures, regardless of scale, seem to fall into the monsters with guns department. But not only do almost all aliens tend to be monstrous, they tend to be equipped with advanced weaponry.

I realize that not every alien out there is disgusting and scary and not all of them have super nifty weapons, but is there a place for aliens that are less assuming and who may have limited technology of their own?

-Eli

Low-tech aliens are pretty well served by the fantasy minis market, I would think.

The Quar seem fairly popular…

You mean like Ewoks? Or Fuzzies (H. Beam Piper)? Or Hisa (C.J. Cherryh, "Downbelow Station")?

Allen

Allen commenting on one of my posts!

I'm honoroed.

Seriously though, Allen, the answer to your question is yes and more.

Khurasan released the Lhuurg and and they seem to have been pretty well received. The Quar seem to have done nicely.

However, do these two successes mean there is a place for such aliens or are these both just flukes?

Though, I would agree that fantasy races CAN work in this regard, they are neither specific to or perfect for this purpose. Most of them are distinctly fantasy/medieval in tech.

There are also the various VSF miniatures ranges though I have yet to see them jump from their intended sphere of influence to mixing with the harder scifi types.

I have a feeling that with the real world conflict moving more and more away from large big army fights and into assymetrical warfare I can see a likelihood that scifi gamers might want to play out such conflicts more.

There are more than a few scifi book that use the whole assymetrical warfare plot where the aliens are on the stunted side of the tech tree.

-Eli

I would definitely go for Fuzzies, but done to scale for 15mm-sized humans:

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Some with SF rifles used as "cannon".

Dan

I like the 40K Kroot and they seem to be the that variety… not overtly scary, their weapons look lower tech.
The various non-combatant aliens walking around in Star Wars would make for good civilians in scifi games. Maybe just make a bare-handed option in addition to the hand with a gun?
One wants to shoot you, the other one is offering you a pie.

A pack of 'alien merchants' or 'alien diplomats' or 'local friendlies' could be useful… in 28mm.

For non-scary low tech:

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Or apparently "primitive":

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Dan
PS. These guys (Unas) are a bit scary, though primitive:
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Are we talking along the lines of Zombiesmith starport travelers or AE Bounty? I think Warmachine miniatures make great low tech figures, just change some skin tones.

They may not have primitive weapons for long . . .

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Dan

I think the chewks will be pretty non scary, though they are armed. They are such little guys.

There's always room for more types, for sure. I do think that's what Eli was really asking.

Dan

Hey I would love a bunch of Alien Merchants and civilians.

Alien Merchants and civilians for me too. I wish some one would do Tau civilians in 28mm or re-do Tau in 15mm.

I'm not so sure about "low tech" (whatever that means, it shouldn't just simply mean faux Earth-historical) or "not-scary" (as I'm partial to non-humanoid aliens, I also think that if it's alien, it almost needs to be a little "scary") but if this is about alien civies/non-coms then sure, why not? If you design them right they can be kitted with weapons as well as various other devices, instuments and other sundry items for extra variety. Atenociti does this for their human scifi civvies.

I think the Chewks are pretty scary, after all they seem to be invisible!!

Tim

I would buy some aliens for rpging and skirmishing in 28mm.

"I think the Chewks are pretty scary, after all they seem to be invisible!! "

You crack me up!

Dan
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Eli,

What about some 15mm non-Thermians?

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Check them out, at 4:10 in this clip:

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Dan
PS. Or, perhaps, something like this?
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I needed some 15mm scale primitive monkey/lizard type aliens for a Slammers scenario I'm writing (primitive weapons and needed to be smaller than human).

I bought 10mm scale Pendraken lizard men as seemingly the clsest I could get:)

John T

Here's something I took out of this thread…

If you are going to do a line of miniatures do some humans in space (it's been done already but …). Do some aliens with primitive weapons, do the same aliens unarmed, and the same aliens again with captured human weapons.

This allows us to do the scenarios with diplomats, peaceful villages and then ambushes and finally all out fights.

Hopefully with a great rule set that's done for games of 10-15 minis per player and 2-6 players in a game.

Or come up with a background where Humans are the Big Bad Imperial Empire and the Aliens are all subjugated. Have your aliens shown at a wide range of tech levels and are trying to revolt. Throw in some renegade human personalities along with alien personality figures.

YES!

Well, anyway, I'd buy 'em.

- Shawn.

I am not specifically talking about civilians but I agree we need those too.

P J Parent seems to have come closest to where this was heading. Aliens with lower tech shooters, or alien militia or tribals and such.

When I say non-scary I mean not the sort of "grrrr…look at me" that a lot of alien miniatures fall into. You know the sort – brutish, spikey, bitey, clawful, etc.. I'm suggesting an alien that is less physically assuming. Now that doesn't mean a human in a mask either.

-Eli

emu2020, I think there probably is a market for them.

I think it unlikely that in the universe there are going to be monstrous aliens with aggressive natures; In fact, it human nature tells us anything, the most aggressive individuals are usually the ones that are physically weak and have used tools to make themselves stronger.

So such species are more realistic. Besides, why would humans need to compete and therefore come into conflict with uber-armoured aliens who would survive in much more hostile environments than them? It makes more sense to have less imposing looking creatures as foes.

"Now that doesn't mean a human in a mask either" And that *alone* makes me support the idea> :)

Eli,

Are these scary enough for you? :)

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Dan

What PJ Parent is describing sounds good to me… except that I don't need new rules for them.
5150, Rogue Trader, Fantastic Worlds, Mutants and Death Ray Guns, etc… all serve those purposes.

Daaaaaaaan! Daaaaaan! Daaaaan!

*Shatner Voice*

Ya, I'm not a rules guy.

If anything, I'd contact makers of existing rules systems and get permission to allow for "official" write-ups for their rules.

I want to add to the business out there, not take away from others.

I should also make it quite clear that this is not me offering such a range, at least not yet. That's for the future.

-Eli

I bought a pile of Zombiesmith's Aphids for this very reason. They're not acid-drooling face eaters and their tech is on the lower end of the sci-fi tech scale. Nice little models.

There is a disturbing lack of mid-tech to low-tech aliens out there. Even the Garn from Khurasan are pretty high-tech. (Personal shields, mostly energy based weapons? They're pretty well off. Even the Felids have energy weapons.)

Even the Garn? They are higher tech than the terrans!

Guys,

Check out what GEM has in the works:

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Dan
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Seriously, you should consider these guys:

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Dan

Would love to see someone make several 10-12mm tall figures, done just like this, but in 5-6 poses:

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Dan
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All the low tech aliens have been subjugated/conquered/eaten by the higher tech ones…..

Uhh…Dan…You Know I Am Already Making Them!
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Not lower tech:

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But the starting point for the figures could be low tech:

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Dan

Eli,

How about these guys here?

Dan