"HELP ME PICK SOME MINIS" Topic

HI ALL, I am new to Sci Fi and beyond 40K know nothing about it. I am wanting to buy some miniatures and thought that I may be able to get some advice here. I don't like the GW type figures as the weapons are too large for my tastes and I also dislike futuristic troops armed with close combat weapons. What I really want are some more slender correctly proportioned type troops sort of a Perry Miniatures in space. Thanks to all for any info all the very best…CH.

Well your basically describing every other miniature company in the world :) Well at least he ones that produce 28mm.

Khurasan does some 28mm
Check out Infinity
Mercs
Reaper

Having an idea on the rules you plan to use might help as well. there are probably a dozen more but those are what I have off the top of my head.

Go 15mm sci fi. You will be a happy camper. Tons of manufacturers and the variety will astonish you.

Pig Iron
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If you are looking for anatomically correct 25mm figures you can't beat Denizen for looks and price:
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Hi all, I have just returned from my friends house where we played a set of rules that he had written himself and they worked well. We were using 15mm Critical mass figures which when I picked them up and looked at them with my specs on looked great, however when they were on the battle field they looked indifferent and a nasty little man inside my head kept saying "This would look great in 28mil". Anyway thanks for the feed back, all the best…CH.

There are also GZG figs--though those are more like 25mm (but so are the Denizen, IIRC). There are also plastic figures also available, from Wargames Factory and Dreamforge Games (also made by Wargames Factory). I really like the Dreamforge Eisenkern--they have a very neat look. Defiance Games put out some stuff as well--I like their Chinese--but their track record is not exactly stellar.

Rob

however when they were on the battle field they looked indifferent and a nasty little man inside my head kept saying "This would look great in 28mil"

Go with your gut/subconscious.

Yeah, 15mm can be a problem when trying to figure out weapon characters are wielding, if you like playing games that have many different types of rifles all with different stats and special rules (*cough*40K*cough*) or you like different ranks of characters with special rules (*cough*40K*cough*).

I have 15mm WWII individually mounted for skirmish. I have to mark the bases to tell from a distance which figures have a BAR or carbine, since those can look like plain rifles in 15mm when viewed from a distance. A touch of Woodland Scenics red, white, yellow, or orange 'flowers' added to the base helps pick out those soldiers. Or in sci-fi, give that fellow the red shoulder pad. Same trick works for leaders.

Upside, I can field a full platoon per side with some AFVs and fight in a real town all on a normal table that would take up my living room and my bank account if in 32mm Games Workshop size figures.

It's a hobby so do what you enjoy doing best.

Her is my choice for 25mm:
EM4Miniatures
Bluemoon miniatures
Hydra miniatures
Ground zero games

Yes, the Blue Moon stuff from Old Glory are very nice. They've also recently released 28mm mercenaries which look great.
Dreamforge's basic Eisenkern troops and heavy weapon teams are quite nice too.
The Wargames Factory Shock Troops(which I love) have unusual special weapons. I use them as general infantry and the Eisenkern as elites for my Neu Swabian Empire troops.

Hasslefree Miniatures:

Sci Fi-

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Modern-

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A mix of all sorts but I'd draw your attention to the 'White Ops' miniatures about half way down the page:

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Copplestone Castings (similar to Em4):

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Hi lads, thank you for some very informative and helpful feedback, courts still out though. Does anyone have any experience of the Mantic game Warpath stuff, that looks pretty good on the monitor but this can sometimes be misleading. Anyway thank you all for being good enough to reply, best wishes…CH.

1st Corps also have a range of 25mm Sci-Fi
1stcorps.co.uk

Why not Alternative Armies Range of 28mm:

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Admittedly I do have a lot of these I want to sell off, when remember to put them on the web.

Regards

MMG.

Dream Forge via Wargames Factory:

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The Eisenkern Stormtroppers may give you what you're looking for:

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Hope this helps!

Leland R. Erickson
Metal Express
metal-express.net

I have over a hundred of the Mantic Corporation marines and rangers and weapons teams. I really like them, they are well proportioned and they are very affordable (if you are in the USA you can get a starter set on clearance right now at frpgames.com that has a squad of marines, a squad of rangers, and a three-pack of heavy weapon support teams)

The one drawback I've had when assembling them is that their rifles are molded onto their arms, and their "special weapons" (flamethrower, plasma weapon, fancy sci fi gun, etc) are separate pieces – so you have to cut off the rifle from the arm and glue the squad special weapon on.

In fact I use those and the Mantic Enforcers matched up with Antenociti's Workshop vehicles (Bucephalus grav tank, Bear jeep, their APC's) and they work perfectly.

I'd echo some of the suggestions made here. Here's some based on scale. Most of these are quite inexpensive as well. Also, these lines all have enough variation to not look too samey when playing multiple squads. If you're looking to play small games of less than 15 minis per side, then your options are even greater.

25mm:
Denizen Miniatures Sci-fi line is really fantastic and just about the cheapest option out there. Extremely realistic proportioned people and weapons, with detail that was so far ahead of it's time that it's shocking.

28mm:
EM4 Troopers. A bit on the heroic side, but they look good, with a bit of an ALIEN's aesthetic and a very wide range of sculpts

Khurasan. Just released a line of "federal" troops. Not as many sculpts and the heavy weapons are huge, but the main troopers and their weapons are well proportioned.

30mm
Eisenkern stormtroopers by DreamForge. These guys are quite tall and their slender (realistic actually) proportions make them look even taller. Still, they're really well done and if you like the assembling plastic figs and customizing them, they offer a similar experience to GW plastic kits in options and in quality.

Mantic troopers are a great deal, especially when bought in bulk.

Here's a few that have been suggested, that IMHO aren't actually what you're post suggests you are looking for.

-Pig Iron figs is nice, but a bit more expensive. Also, they're quite chunky. Great figs, but not really the proportions you're looking for.

-Reaper IMEF marines are well sculpted, but rival GW for bulky weapons. Their NOVA corp figures are better, but only available in 8 poses.

-Alternative Armies forces have all the bulk (in weapons and proportions) of GW, have close combat weapons as well and even more fully embrace the anachronistic medieval'ishness in space vibe.

Best of luck in your mini's search.

Almost forgot, Copplestone Castings makes some very spiffy not-Aliens human infantry and other fun things:

link

Just some samples:

Size comparison of different manufacturers. Left to right, Hasslefree, 1st Corps, EM4, Copplestone, and Woodbine:

Further, I found an economical basic tracked APC kit that IMHO is a great jumping off point for starting in 28mm sci fi:

link

Hope all this helps!

Leland R. Erickson
Metal Express
metal-express.net

I really like Infinity, but it has trouble with more than 20 models per side. Also, it doesn't really handle vehicles well (everything dies to a rifle), and only runs motorcycles and light mecha so far.

However, I have not found a better squad-per-side special ops game than Infinity. There are some models with blades, but every soldier still carries at least a bayonet today. Close combat is hard to get into, but it is pretty deadly. Even the Ninjas are armed with an assault rifle.

Rules are free to download, as are the army lists and most of the scenarios. If you want the fluff and art, buy the books. If you want to play the Paradiso campaign, those rules and scenarios are only available in the Campaign: Paradiso book.

The downside to Infinity is how much terrain you need. On a 4x4 table, you need 9 large pieces (~8"x8" or more), 4 medium pieces (4"x6" or thereabouts), and lots of "scatter" terrain like cars, planter boxes, and related street clutter.