"Power Armoured figures - John Steakley - Armor" Topic

Folks,
I wonder if the collective wisdom can assist?

I'm looking for a range of figures to game the Human – 'Ant' War from John Steakley's book – Armor.
Initially at a skirmish level and not the all-out war with thousands of 'Ants' .

I'm looking for a range of realistically proportioned and equipped humans in powered armour that fit the descriptive themes of the book, i.e. not GW Space Marines (or whatever they are called these days?) that defy physics!
Figures will hopefully be believable with a realistically proportioned weapon.

Finding suitable 'Ant' figures may be a stretch, I'm considering having some sculpted for casting or drawn for printing, scale would be dependent on what is available for the humans.
I'd like something 'Ant' like as this matches the description in the book rather than 'Bug-like' from the likes of Starship Troopers and spin-offs.

Scale is not important 15/20 or 28mm, what is important is the look and quality of the miniatures.
A huge range is not important as there are few derivatives of the 'Warriors' in the actual book, Scouts have weapons, plain infantrymen have weapons built into their suits, medic's have a different colour suit for example.

Any suggestions? Anyone already done this?

TIA

Take a look at some of Khurasan's ranges. Or if 28mm is yo thing, see if you can find some of the Starship trooper the miniature game up armored troops. Think they were called Grizzlies.

ST Grizzlies are too bulky and even more over-the-top than Space Marines. Realistic proportions ate the key words here.

Concord infantry from 'Beyond the Gates of Antares'

Great book. I wish you luck of the project.

How about these for your scouts?:

link

Elhiem Miniatures in 20mm has few ranges of powered armoured humans.

GZG, Khurasan Miniatures, Rebel Minis have in 15/18 mm, both powerarmours as well as ant-like aliens.

The GW Primaris models are much more realistically proportioned, though they are some 40mm tall (in-fluff, they are supposed to be taller than normal Astartes, but most of the old hands are calling them 'true scale space marines').

There are a couple different power armor types in the Reaper range. IMEF troops are one set, and Blackstar Corsairs are another. link

IMEF:

Blackstar Corsair:

Not sure what to recommend for the Ants in 28mm.
- Starship Troopers plastic bugs would definitely work, but are long OOP.
- GW Tyranids would also work, but may be more expensive than you want.

Here is a bit of a reference from the cover art:

In 15mm the Alternative Armies Laser Burn line is very much like this:

I've always loved that cover.

my first thought when seeing DyeHards picture was Dreamforge's Valkir

note they are multipart plastic so you there are a variety of weapons available and you can leave of the tabards if you don't want them.

Here is a bit of a reference from the cover art:

I like this one better. It's H.R. Giger-esque with a strong 'Aliens' vibe:

Then there's this one:

How about these Anvil Industry "Martian Orbital Fusiliers"?

I was going to say Dreamforge Eisenkern Storm Troopers. Looks like they're out of print, so you'd have to pick them up on eBay or some other marketplace.

While cool-looking, I'm not sure the Martian Fusilier's armor looks "powered".

What about some Infinity figs? Might get expensive, but there are some great powered armor suits all across that range. For example:

Those ST Grizzlies were also repurposed as some sort of Judge Dredd judges in armor figures when Mongoose had the JD license.

There were two types of up armored SST MI in the newer game, the smaller ones are the Cougars. Might still be too big though.

Thanks folks,
lots of avenues to explore there.

Interesting that the artwork posted by DyeHard does not actually portray the descriptions in the book of the Warriors, there are numerous mentions of a 'faceplate' on the helmet through which the occupants face can be seen.
The 'ant' looks to be a good representation however.
Perhaps the artist had not read the book when the art was produced?

The second & third (flipped) pieces of artwork are closer to the books description, although the weapons depicted are off as his weapon must be of a reasonable length as he uses it as a club several times.

Something along those lines is the goal, I wonder if the uncropped version of the third piece of art is around somewhere?

Thanks for your efforts.

If you're looking for a faceplate how about Pig Iron
miniatures separate heads?

Another cover, presumably a further reprint of the novel?

Mantic Enforcers maybe?

15mm and 28mm Fanatik

Mongoose SST Cap Troopers:

Clear Horizon Hell Divers:

Starcraft Terran Marines (found on Ebay):

Anvil industries has a variety of unit packs in their regiments that you can customize in addition to the Martian Orbital fusiliers shown. Multiple choices of bodies, helmets, weapons, etc.

AT-43 UNA TAC ARMS

Leading Edge Games Seven Swords Power Armor

You said no GW, but I think the new Primaris Aggressors kinda fit the bill more

Or this guy from Ground Zero Games BGC Character set

20mm Khurasan ColSec Infantry?