khurasanminiatures | 06 Mar 2013 11:05 p.m. PST |
It all began with the reunification of the Koreas, in the mid-21st century. Soon a combine of China, Korea and a declining Japan incorporated other Asian states as well, and before long the Pacific Rim Combine (PARICOM) was on the move, conquering states that would not submit voluntarily. Battle lines were drawn across entire continents. Australia fell to the PARICOM, but a fierce resistance held out in the rugged terrain of the TSZ (Tasmania Safe Zone). The west coast of the United States and substantial portions of South America were conquered. Slow to effectively respond to this threat, the states of the Atlantic were knocked on their heels until forming the Atlantic Alliance (ATAL) -- Europe, the eastern United States, Eastern Canada, Brazil and Argentina, and most of Western Africa. Only after the formation of ATAL were the ambitions of PARICOM tempered on the battlefield. But could the ATAL take the fight to the enemy? This is the setting for our upcoming 20mm Near Future range. We are pleased to announce that we have purchased the rights to the Mad Robot drop troops range, which will receive some modifications and serve as the basis for the ATAL infantry forces. To fight them we have begun work on the PARICOM infantry, shown here:
We already have lift autos made as street terrain for your 20mm battlefields and have just commissioned the Columbiad Tank, the formidable ground combat lift drone that spearheads the ATAL war effort. Stay tuned for more details -- and remember the brave defenders of Idaho Falls, Minsk and Asuncion! |
Gasmasked Mook | 06 Mar 2013 11:37 p.m. PST |
Great concept but I have to ask, why 20mm? All your other ranges are 15mm and most 1/72 scale models are historicals rather than scifi. Personally, that feels like a bit of a killer. Not trying to be negative; I am a sucker for near-future stuff anyway so you may force me into a new scale despite myself. Edit: maybe it's just the same concept artist but I can't help wondering how they would look with some of the new Armies Army stuff (disregarding the scale difference, of course) |
khurasanminiatures | 06 Mar 2013 11:41 p.m. PST |
Why not? There are people out there that play the scale and feel a bit neglected. So this is something for them. Plus I have tons of 15mm scale stuff in the market already. |
Splod89 | 06 Mar 2013 11:52 p.m. PST |
SQUUUUUUUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! I'm actually completely and utterly excited about this. I'm 20mm through and through, so this is completely a positive move in my books. All my middle eastern terrain will get plenty of game time I suspect. |
Gasmasked Mook | 06 Mar 2013 11:57 p.m. PST |
All right. I was just kind of excited because they looked like a good fit for my EndWar project. Not a whole load of good Future Force soldier types available in any scale really – Armies Army's new Brits being a good exception. |
BlackWidowPilot | 07 Mar 2013 12:18 a.m. PST |
Great gallopin' Gallifreyans! 1/72 sci-fi?!! The West Coast conquered?! Ah, well, I can always organize a resistance movement
Leland R. Erickson Metal Express metal-express.net
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kabrank | 07 Mar 2013 3:41 a.m. PST |
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6sided | 07 Mar 2013 5:34 a.m. PST |
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Chef Lackey Rich | 07 Mar 2013 6:00 a.m. PST |
Great concept but I have to ask, why 20mm? All your other ranges are 15mm and most 1/72 scale models are historicals rather than scifi. Personally, that feels like a bit of a killer. The ex-Mad Robot figs he mentioned were apparently badly oversized for 15mm (although I never saw them in person) so this is probably the only way to get some use out of them. Still, seems like a risky experiment, especially considering past statements about how much better 15mm has done for him than 28mm. If anything, I'd expect 20mm to have an even more limited audience, no matter what gets put out for it. Good project concept, iffy scale choice – reminds me of the similar decision by Hawk Wargames to go 10mm with Dropzone Commander. Both the Khurasan 20mm and DzC 10mm may sell enough figures to pay for their production, but in bothe cases I'd bet they'd earn several times as much if they were done in more popular scales like 15mm or 6mm. |
khurasanminiatures | 07 Mar 2013 6:25 a.m. PST |
No need to worry about the business end of this -- that's my job. |
PiersBrand | 07 Mar 2013 7:28 a.m. PST |
Count me in Jon
20mm is my scale. The Guild will go mental for them. |
kabrank | 07 Mar 2013 8:11 a.m. PST |
Rich Actually there are a lot of us around that are primarily 20mm players. I have loads of 20mm Modern vehicles I wish to use for future wars but a lack of figures [except the Mongoose ones which are not that fururistic]. I have tested with 15mm but having to get loads of kit/buildings again is just too much. Hence I am quite excited about this. Not purchased from Khurasan before[as I tend to purchase UK to minimise shipping and tax etc] but will do for these if I like the look of the figures. Hence new customer! |
moocifer | 07 Mar 2013 8:13 a.m. PST |
Hmm .. you announce this new undertaking but your actual website (where we can buy stuff) is still offline. :S |
khurasanminiatures | 07 Mar 2013 9:02 a.m. PST |
Don't really see a contradiction there TBH -- I have closed it to new orders to settle up a backlog of orders, but continue to develop new product and shepherd it to market. |
Hayden | 07 Mar 2013 9:27 a.m. PST |
Excelent news, and dont be mistaken there has been always demand for 20mm especially from Ambush Alley Games comunity but not just only from them. and Dropzone Commander would make more money if they werent overcosted, while the miniatures looked pretty nice, system is good but when i saw the price my first answer was ? Excelent Idea maybe it will convice me to paint up that 20mm Strykers i have at home:D |
Jojojimmyjohn | 07 Mar 2013 9:37 a.m. PST |
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M1Fanboy | 07 Mar 2013 9:39 a.m. PST |
Oh god, ANOTHER SCALE TO DO SCI-FI
SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY! |
Peabody | 07 Mar 2013 9:41 a.m. PST |
20mm Sci-Fi! About bloody time. The Khurasan pedigree means this will be something awesome. |
Sloppypainter | 07 Mar 2013 10:15 a.m. PST |
(Whispers seductively) open
your
store
please
you
know
you
want
to
|
Earther | 07 Mar 2013 12:04 p.m. PST |
We already have lift autos made as street terrain Ooooo! Any chance of a sneaky pic? |
Dragon Gunner | 07 Mar 2013 3:24 p.m. PST |
I would have chosen 20mm over 15 mm if I had been given a choice. My biggest gripe about 15mm is attempting to identify infantry weapons at that scale. Now I am so heavily invested in 15mm I wonder if I would ever switch. Are you planning to give 20mm the same treatment as 15mm or is this near future line a one shot deal? |
Twilight Samurai | 07 Mar 2013 7:27 p.m. PST |
PARICOM seems more likely to nuke each other than join hands and subjugate the world. |
Lion in the Stars | 07 Mar 2013 9:00 p.m. PST |
What's to say that they didn't toss a few at each other before (relatively) saner heads prevailed? I'm expecting to see some fireworks in a few days. |
Steve W | 08 Mar 2013 2:45 a.m. PST |
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Earther | 08 Mar 2013 6:10 a.m. PST |
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kabrank | 08 Mar 2013 8:48 a.m. PST |
Hi Khurasan Is the intention to reflect/expand in the new designs some current infantry and vehicle development trends such as Jaw protection for infantry and Crew in hull/remote main gun for tanks? |
gregmita2 | 08 Mar 2013 12:45 p.m. PST |
Thank you! Thank you! :) Especially with the near future setting, a lot of existing ultra-modern hardware can be used along with this. I thought the Mad Robot miniatures were 15mm? |
khurasanminiatures | 08 Mar 2013 3:45 p.m. PST |
They're pretty tall. Here is one compared to a new-scale 15mm model -- note the difference to the model on the right.
They are 18mm to the eye and 21mm tall. So they fit within the smaller end of the spectrum for 20mm. |
clkeagle | 08 Mar 2013 5:21 p.m. PST |
I thought the Mad Robot miniatures were 15mm? They are 18mm to the eye and 21mm tall. So they fit within the smaller end of the spectrum for 20mm. Assuming they are human males of average height
I wouldn't call them either one. Instead they are dead on for HO scale, 1:87 figures. Here's an example of where they fall in an ideal world of figure scales:
Obviously the world isn't ideal. There simply aren't many comparison pics online of 1:72 – 20mm SF figures (Starguard, MJ Minis, Rolf Hedges, Stan Johansen, and Elheim come to mind). But if you look at this huge assortment of WW2 figures link , you'll see that the ex-MRM figures are going to be pretty small in the 1/72 world. In the following pics, the middle blue line indicates 20mm from the ground.
The only range which is comparable to the MRM figures is Liberation, which are small among their 1:72 brethren. Those are 20mm, at eye level, measured from the cast bases. On the 15mm side, I just took this picture. It's with two HOF figures, which are darn near close to the Jump Troopers in height. The other is Jon's power armor – obviously not an unarmored human, but it's another figure that I've heard name-dropped as "20mm eligible." The camera lens is as level with the 2cm line as I could possibly get it.
My general conclusion is that they are about 2-3mm taller than average 1:100 human figures. And they're 3-5mm shorter than average 1:72 human figures. From tabletop distance, they'll probably work just fine in either scale. They "stand out" as 15mm troops. I personally hand-wave them as their faction requires a minimum height of 6'4". :) And, to be completely blunt about it, 20mm SF players are probably so starved for figures that they will welcome these with open arms. And if Jon has them bulked up just a bit before releasing them, they'll probably match pretty well with existing 1:72 SF figure ranges. Jon – I love the concept sketch in your original post. What's going to be your target height on new figures – are you going to match them to the Jump Troops, or run them at a true 1:72? -Chris K. |
khurasanminiatures | 08 Mar 2013 6:48 p.m. PST |
Actually the models are about 20mm sole to eye--just measured one. I think the measurements have been done on models with their legs spread in a firing from the hip pose, and knees slightly bent, which has skewed the measurements. I just measured one of the flying guys who has his leg straight down, from his heel (not toe) to his eye and its 20mm, same as Elheim. Ka-Ching! |
Pijlie | 09 Mar 2013 12:12 p.m. PST |
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StarfuryXL5 | 09 Mar 2013 4:53 p.m. PST |
They can be 8- or 9-foot giant aliens in 15mm. |
gregmita2 | 09 Mar 2013 6:28 p.m. PST |
Thanks everyone for the size comparisons. It doesn't look too bad then, and the Mad Robot miniatures have significantly better proportions than many other 15mm "big head" miniatures. Jon, are the proportions of the newer line, the PARICOM troops, going to be closer to 1/72s, like Elhiem, or are they going to be a chunkier style? |
khurasanminiatures | 09 Mar 2013 6:55 p.m. PST |
They will be similar in proportion to the ATAL troops. |
cloudcaptain | 10 Mar 2013 12:12 a.m. PST |
You will certainly get my money. |
jack c | 10 Mar 2013 12:50 a.m. PST |
and don't forget this beauty from khurasan, a perfect match for 20mm link |
John Leahy | 10 Mar 2013 1:20 p.m. PST |
I'm in the same boat as Dragon Gunner. I am a huge fan of 1/72 & 20mm. It is my preferred scale of choice. However, I have bought so much 15mm stuff over the last several years that it is unlikely I would do much in this scale. Plus, I already own a lot of Gzg 25mm figs. I wish you luck and am happy for the 20mm fans out there. It's simply too late for me. Thanks, John |
Big Ian | 11 Mar 2013 5:14 a.m. PST |
Nice some more 20mm sci-fi. Great size for skirmish games and ideal for my homebrew crossfire sci-fi rules i have in mind. Don't get me wrong, 15mm is cool but i much prefer 20mm. |
Earther | 11 Mar 2013 1:27 p.m. PST |
Aim for about 21-22mm to the eye and you can't go wrong! |
Splod89 | 12 Mar 2013 2:33 p.m. PST |
I've been keeping a close eye on the 15mm Mecha War project while bulking up my '73 Syrians with every intent of running mechs against a Middle Eastern power in the almost near future. I figure the mechs will work just fine at 20mm, they seem pretty solid for 15mm anyway. So add those sexy ass mechs, my hordes of Syrian armour, a veritable bucket load of Mujahideen and these up and coming near future figs a-la Khurasan's first post, and I'm a very happy man. Now if only I can convince Elhiem to do up some Taliban with near future weapons
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zonk76 | 13 Mar 2013 7:08 a.m. PST |
Looking forward to this! Brian
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13thMonkey | 14 Apr 2013 5:10 a.m. PST |
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Augustus | 12 Aug 2014 2:02 p.m. PST |
So what happened to this? |
Turtle | 12 Aug 2014 9:41 p.m. PST |
Likely other things came up, but still something he wants to work on. As someone who was also working on a 1/72 scifi game, there's some realities in the marketplace right now that mean it's difficult to get a 20mm line up and running. |
Stuuuh | 15 Aug 2014 6:52 a.m. PST |
Elheim Figures seems to be getting a new 20mm scifi line up and running: link |