"In Search of Innocent Bystanders" Topic

Looking at gaming right on the line between skirmish and RPG, and for that I need the sort of people you don't shoot just because they're standing between you and your real target--fellow patrons of the Mos Eisley Cantina or the Spaceman's Rest and the associated barkeeps and dancing girls, shoppers in the Zocalo and clerks and maintenance workers in Administration. (OK, maybe we shoot the clerks.)

I know I can pick them up one at a time on Etsy for $2 USD-3 each plus postage, but does anyone have an idea about a cheap way to bulk them out, so I can spend more time and money getting just the right dancing girls?

Yes Sir, you in the back: your suggestion of "buy a 3D printer" is duly noted. Neither time nor money available at the moment, thank you. Anyone else?

I'm interested in this, too, at 25-28mm, but I don't have any great suggestions. What scale are you looking for?

Could paper work? For example, a photo of a crowd taken from above cut into pieces with X people per piece, and mounted on something stiff. Maybe you could use AI to generate images of a specific type of crowd.

You can buy (or could) 1/50th plastic railway figures quite cheaply in larg packs that could probably be painted to look slightly more SF like?

e.g.

auction

Stargrave crew figures?

link

I had the same problem, I ended up 'Biting the Bullet' and getting most of mine from Crooked Dice, they are really nice but NOT cheap!
there are some 3-d printed civilians on ETSY which could be cheaper and are very good?

Thank you, IUsed. Hoping for something a bit more exotic than paint conversions.

28mm Oberlindes. I cannot go to 32mm: the original figures were West End Games Star Wars and Heritage John Carter of Mars. If I have to go to paper, it will be figures held upright in clear plastic--and only until I can get real 3D miniatures.

79th, I'm looking for non-combatants. Plenty of scruffy-looking SF figures with weapons already.

Thanks, Herky. Looking as though Etsy is the way to go, but if they're cheaper than Cooked Dice, Crooked Dice must be ghastly. I was actually hoping for something like 50 figures for $50 USD and postage, and then I'd spice it up with more expensive individuals, but Etsy isn't as cheap per figure as you'd think, and so few offer a varied line that I'll keep getting socked for postage and handling. Rapidly turning into a 2026 (or later) project.

But I shall persist.

You might find some suitable figures here:
link

IUsedToBeSomeone -- great idea! You can also get them unpainted on Amazon.

link

I thought "crew" might work for civilians, especially if you had the option not to put weapons in their hands. I am not familiar with the sprue, so I don't know if that is possible or not. Just a thought.

yeah, the Stargrave Crew box is for putting together an armed crew.
I have had good luck using Etsy getting nicely printed hovering droids/bots as well as a few other characters. I do recall seeing some civilian types as well. I have a feeling I will be shopping for some sci-fi or post apoc civilians soon as well

Good to know.

These are 3D printed, I bet you could ask them to downscale them a bit?

link

Thanks, EC. Last time I asked, the vendor acted as though that were a highly immoral proposition, but I haven't given up hope.

Mongoose Dredd gangers? They're multi-part plastic & you could trim the weapons off. Can probably source them cheap on feebay… ;-)

I'd swear the two female figures standing by the tables in Extra Crispy's pic look like Janice Rand from Star Trek – TOS.

Hi gamertom! I thought the same thing as soon as I saw the

figs! Janice Rand!

I'd agree. I wondered where Rand went when Kirk was through with her. Dealer in a Fizzbin game sounds about right. Though maybe she could learn Pyramid?

Side note: of the dozen people in that bar/casino, three of them are trying to hold the place up. This is not uncommon in Etsy packs. Harder to accumulate 50-100 legit civilians when you have to buy 17-35 more combatants to do it.

There are Chinese 30mm green plastic army men on eBay.

Maybe grab some animals for head swaps.

Even just selecting the usable ones is still cheap.

Some have easy to remove weapons, otherwise just trim and sculpt over the gun, or add a piece of bulsa, them they can be carrying a box or critter.

Modern ones are a bit flat, but you can fix or ignore that. Add blankets, back packs, carrying rolls of tubing, even clump several on one base with no gaps.

Cost almost nothing, worth having around for many projects.