"What 15mm sci-fi needs is...." Topic

What does 15mm sci-fi need?

Lots of stuff, but my first want is for starship/spaceship crews in modern, form-fitting uniforms – armed with laser/blaster pistols and two-handed weapons, unarmed and walking/standing, and some seated, as if on a space shuttle, or at work stations/battle stations, controlling a vessel. The latter also work for on a planet's surface too.

All of the above, for the most part, bareheaded. We've got plenty of figs wearing caps, and overalls, to serve as the workers.

The Rebel Minis Black Widows, and Infiltrators are close, but the selection is limited (too few poses without capes for the BWs, and all of the Infiltrators are wearing helmets, and only have pistols). I'd love to see some stylistically similar to these two, but without capes, in more poses, without helmets (bare-headed), and with two-handed laser/blaster rifles.

The former could also serve as civilians working at a base. on a planet, businesses, etc.

More alien creatures – carnivores, herbivores, etc.. Not enough of those, in my opinion.

What 15mm sci-fi REALLY needs is for my eyesight to come back and my hands to stop shaking.

Always always ALWAYS need more adventurers, hired guns, prospectors, pirates and irregulars.

Animals, pets and critters in various sizes.

Law enforcement both relatively benign and more fascist looking types.

More vehicles that look like they were converted from civilian construction equipment and upgunned.

Stand-ins for Mass Effect Geth.

Some alien armor that is different than tanks or apc's etc

More aliens that are NOT of the rubber-suit-humanoid variety. That is complete sets, not one or two packs….

I will second Twoball Cane, there are not enough well designed alien vehicles. Everything is too human-centric, not that is a bad thing. I also agree with Weasel about the various non-professional military types and you can never have enough civilians. Although I can see why manufactures might not be in a hurry to make many of these. If other players of this genre are like me I put off buying civilians until I am done with all the other stuff or unless I need them for a specific scenario.

We need more options for structures and buildings. Gamecrafters has come out with some excellent stuff recently but I want more.

Along with the structures we need the bits and bobs that make up an urban or suburban setting.

Packs of "bits" you can stick on buildings are always welcome as well.

Heck, maybe someone could come up with some high-tech bits we can buy and attach to existing tank models to "future'ize" them.

I'd say that we need more collateral damage, errrmmm, civilians. And not just human civilians.

After all, the Xenos need something to eat

Flash Gordon and Mongo denizens.

Well, I need more money to buy more stuff. So many good choices!

I think I am good for skirmish games (other than more non-humanoid aliens with weapons) but I really can't afford to move to large unit combined arms battles in 15/18 mm just yet.

Street furniture, room furniture and clutter. Character packs. Alien civilians that match troops races (like GZGZ's crusty's). Merchants, star ship officers. Tracked versions of hover tanks. Bigger buildings for more built up colonies.

Many of the posters above have already covered what I could think of, but to highlight a few for any manufacturers coming across this thread:
- civilians, including alien civilians matching existing alien military lines
- ship's crew (inc. hatless, like Mako said)
- alien vehicles
- personalities
- interesting aliens

For the most part I'm good for the infantry for my project(s), but I'd buy all the fluff that I could.

Bladerunner-esque figs, e.g. androids/replicants, and those that oppose them.

Perhaps some more droid options too.

Definitely yes to the furniture and chairs.

Futuristic riot police, and ED-209 from the Robocop movie. Man, that thing was effective – hadn't remembered that, until I saw a recent clip of his debut. Perhaps a little overzealous, but certainly useful against some factions.

A larger size! 25/28mm?

A properly thought out and conceptualized alien power bloc complete range including 'infantry', 'fighting vehicles', 'artillery' air cover and drop ships, civilians, buildings, defences/fieldworks that look scifi alien not just ww1/ww2/nam, backstory etc.

A larger size! 25/28mm?

Never Again!

Obvious cyborg types would be great.

Some more hooded cultist types?

Special forces / vat-grown ninja / espionage-types with multi-lense NVGs, full body suits and guns that have every accessory ever conceived attached…

Fighting suits that are in between PA and full-blown mecha?

It'd also be nice to see a line of civilian / colonist / adventurer-types in the vein of the original Traveller miniatures – yes still in production and still good, but a bit of competition never hurts!

A good cyber-punk range…

A set of rules that allows you to design your own forces and field at least a Company or two per player along with vehicle support of 10-18 vehicles.

design your own forces

A two edged sword, IMHO

John T

John, you should check out Fireteam Andromeda for custom force building rules.

More grav-gunships that look like they're designed to move and fight in 3D, rather than being essentially hover/track tanks with grav-modules installed instead of tracks/hover-skirt.

"Grey" aliens in armour, not jsut force fields. Powered armour as a bonus.

More starships/dropships/sci-fi fighters in 15mm troop scale to provide some close-in air support and/or landing. Bigger transport ships are a bonus (as scenery).

Gecko-like alien assassins. We've got enough good lizardmen warriors, but what about "lizardmen" assassins inspired by geckos (with terrain-climbing abilities in-game).

More insectoid aliens. You can't have too much of them.

Gecko-like alien assassins. We've got enough good lizardmen warriors, but what about "lizardmen" assassins inspired by geckos (with terrain-climbing abilities in-game).

A chameleon's may be better suited in this role due to their camouflaging capabilities and their long sticky tongues that could be a natural weapon of sorts, maybe with a injection system fitted to the tip covered with poison or toxins…
I just want to see some more choice in resin terrain especially futuristic buildings large and small with a reasonable price tag, i used to love the old Critical mass resin buildings but they were just to expensive to think about creating some sort of cityscape using them.

@Yorah77

Oh I know they can work – and work fine* – but systems that omit finished army lists** etc can often act as a barrier to gamers who want to just build with and play a balanced force that has already been pre-prepared for them.

Some players (though not all) are put off by the need to create forces from scratch whereas others like the freedom to adapt a ruleset to any vehicles they have and any they may buy in the future.

Like I said, just a two edged sword IMHO.

John T

* though many dont!

** which can then form the basis of endless mini/max arguments by tedious competition gamers, I accept, but…

Avamango

I think we will all agree over the last two years 15mm has grown…..at least in choice, but especially buildings and civilian cars.

I never had a chance to snag some critical mass buildings…but I have a ton of crescent root studios, impudent mortal, and gamecraft buildings. But that is a scratch of the surface….shark mounted lasers, sarrisa precision, ion age, mad mecha guy, and etc

Cars have a lot of choice as well.

I think many of us would agree…we would always want more

Twoball Cane

Oh yes 15mm has come along in leaps and bounds the past couple of years you wont get any arguments from me on that one, but when i mention cityscape buildings i'm taking about big/tall city skyscrapers, office blocks and apartment buildings while they are readily available in MDF i just prefer heavy resin on my games table its just a personal preference, trying to find these type of larger buildings produced in resin is no easy feat…

Yes, diy can be an issue in the wrong hands. However, in the group I game with it wouldn't be an issue. I use Fubar now since it has a Diy section. But Fubar isn't at heart a big battle set.

There are a few I have tried. Quadrant 13 has possibilities. So does Slammers. Just not sure.

Thanks,

John

True Ava..not a lot of choice for resin…..and for Skyscrapers in mdf their is only mad mecha and gamecraft….unless I missed a few ( not excluding railroad buildings)

Here's what I'd like:
A website with pictures of 15mm scifi figs down one side, a list of rules along the top. At the cross reference point it 'suggests' what to use it as under those rules.

It beats looking at what a figure is armed with and thinking: "OK. I know its a fusion, plasma, laser, pulse cannon launcher…obviously. But is it the medium or the light one?"

_Sometimes_ its fun to make up the force lists. Sometimes (especially when trying out multiple rules,) its just a pain.)
Guy

I want to point out that this wishlist was brought to you by our very own editor…. 8)

What we need are MORE Character Figures….

Next Gen Crewmen in form fitting jump suits.

Aliens, none bipedal Aliens would be nice.

Grav Cars, Hover Cars, GEV Cars and vans and trucks too… (Note I say grav, I also Mean Landspeeders as well) (in 1/100th scale, some of the silly amounts of scale creep are starting to show)

More Victorian Science Fiction!

The army list thing is hopeless :-)

Whenever you ask people BEFORE writing a game, they'll say they want to make their own armies and hate army lists.
When you ask people AFTER you've written the game, they want points values for Eldar vs Warzone Bauhaus.

:)

Ivan, I'm surprised that the feedback you got was guys hate army lists for Scifi. I would think several lists at a minimum would give folks a guide to how those lists work within the rules. I own Quadrant 13. Some interesting ideas in them. However, I have yet to play a game with them since the author had no Human army lists available for a while. He does have a nice variety of Alien lists. in fact, I bought Spugs and some other bugs due to those lists. Just only one human list now. I'd love to see a couple more.

Don't you have a Company level scifi set? Does it have army lists?

Thanks,

John

Sculpting dollies of various ages and species.
Leotard and gogo boot – clad retro SF girls with Rayguns, for pulp/atompunk adventure. For some originality, add the bit everyone else forgets about – slings and holsters.
Rocketships they can use.
For that matter, interface craft that don't look like some variation of Star Trek shuttlepod redesigned by someone who can't draw curves.
Hangars that can accomodate aircraft with wings.
Civilian vehicles. They don't need to be airborne, and if they are, they shouldn't be limited to a car shape.
Trains that run on two rails. Guess what? Monorails and maglev trains have already been invented. Ask yourself why they are not currently in widespread use (the monorail was invented in Victorian times, in fact!) and you will see why I don't want them on my table for settings other than futures so far away they won't even be needed.
Mecha that look more like the newer designs for Battletech (or Ponytech?) but not so big.

A consistent scale which can be expressed as a ratio or a fraction rather than a measurement which some companies even admit is really now just a saying.

If your going to build, test, and sell the rules.
Work with the makers of the figs, have on your web site some suggested Lists for figs already produced.

List them as suggestions, but it would be a great place to start from.

Also if you have a points system, use it on your forces as well.

Now for those using the 32mm, you will need lists for space elves, space orcs, and powered armor humans, because many folks own them already.

To be safe they might need to be found in message board from a "fan".

But if you start with 5 or 6, and add another each month, you will have enough to get folks started.

Models wise,
We all know 15mm is a code word for 18mm ish humans. Lets make it official and stop confusing new folks.

More forces that work together, I have some great figs, but too few to be a army, so if your making figs, help players out with some crossover if you do not have a full force, you had idea for them tell us.

Would like to see working with authors to get some of their creations to figs.
Many would welcome it, and not be charging real arms and legs for it.

Would like to see more like Pan galatic, mixed races with similar weapons and armor.

Some aliens know they are tough to sell, but something not a rubber suit is good, now and then.

The mono rail thing, I think they would be packet cars, each car is self run, so it does not slow everyone to make a stop.
A car may group with others but when the stop comes it breaks off, so no engine.

Still outside the US they are used and work great.

"But Fubar isn't at heart a big battle set".

It can be if each hit is a kill.

In the future, combat will be deadly, so you might as well simplify larger battles, and ignore the minor wounds, etc..

Large games of FUBAR are also possible with Platoon activations rather than squad level. It's what I use when I host multi-player games with an average of eighty infantry plus vehicles in 28mm…
Will be doing the same thing in 15mm…

More Bits; heads,weapons, ammo belts you can bend and cut to size and ammo drums you can connect to them. Mecha/ Battlesuits that do not mount a Gatling gun for a change.Unit leaders/ NCOs with an option to actually wear a helmet, I know, it is to identify the leader but, PSG. Killzmoore didn't get a bulletproof skull when he got that second rocker.

Bio-mechanical, or even fully organic, mecha and power armour.

I think it needs RETRO SF miniatures and for ,,hard,,sf it need human trench coat infantry in gas masks. Preferebly with some bayonets.

Def need multi part power armor and battlesuits…