Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Future Wars => Topic started by: Mr.J on December 14, 2010, 12:30:05 PM
-
Star Wars is something that I have been interested in gaming for a long while but I've never been sure of which minis are out there and what are the best ones to use so I was hoping for some clarification really.
Basically who makes Star Wars minis and which are the best/most readily available?
Thanks.
-
For 'proper' Star Wars minis you have two options. The pre-painted randomly collectible plastics from Wizard of the Coast - the line is now stopped I believe but there are lots of online sellers - but be warned, cost is due to rarity/value in game - so for example you could buy Stormtroopers at 50p to a £1 each, but pay £30+ for Boba Fett.
Second option is to search on ebay for the oop West End Games true 25mm (literally 25mm - but size up well with GZG's 25mm range) range - but these have been oop for aeons and can be difficult to track down in sufficient numbers.
-
Thanks Aliensurfer, what scale are the Wizard of the Coast ones?
Also are the micro machines ones any good? Seen a few of them kicking around with packs of Storm Troopers but can't decide if they are worth buying or not?
-
Some months ago there was talk of GW picking up another license, something sci-fi with fantasy influences. Big movies. Or so "inside sources" said. Some people were pretty adamant it was SW, no idea if there is any truth in that. But as much hate as there is for the evil empire a nice plastic set of storm troopers would be quite awesome.
-
Its not GW as far as I know YPU - more likely Fantasy Flight.... ;)
As for the Micro machines figures, let me know if you got down that route, as I should have a few kicking about - i've been hoovering up most of the WEG that have appeared on ebay in the last few weeks..... :D
-
Your fault then is it?
::)
And no Matt you can't have any of mine for the third time! ;)
-
Its not GW as far as I know YPU - more likely Fantasy Flight.... ;)
Well GW apparently does have a big license in the works, but indeed if FF was to pick it up that could count as big gaming company as well, which might have gotten people to draw conclusions that are not there. FF don't do minis tough?
-
Thanks Akula I'll let you know :)
I've found a few of both WotC and Micro Machines anyone wana pitch in and tell me which ones to buy? I have no idea which would be the better of the two, I know the scales are completely different but as I paint both 15mm and 28mm that doesn't bother me and as I'm starting from scratch I could go either way.
I'd be interested on which ones are the nicer and which are the most readily available.
I would very much like to see a company pick this up as I think there would most definately be a demand for the miniatures.
-
The WotC range is widely available, and the most comprehensive Star Wars range of minis ever made -- it includes nearly all the characters from the new and original movies, the Clone Wars series, the video games (like Dark Trooper and Knights of the Old Republic, and Force Unleashed) and even many of the novels. The figures are about 30mm scale, though there are some pretty big scale inconsistencies in their final few releases. These minis, though plastic, also repaint very nicely. As somebody stated before, the prices vary according to rarity, but I expect the prices of the expensive figures to come down a little, as it is effectively a dead game.
The old West End/Grenadier range was OK for the time, but the minis are very small, and only include the characters from the original trilogy.
-
The old West End/Grenadier range was OK for the time, but the minis are very small, and only include the characters from the original trilogy.
Which is a good thing! ;)
(Only joking but the I'm with the original triliogy here).
-
I have a few WEG figures, 3 stormtroopers, 2 rebel cstarship crewmen, Bossk and Luke, Leia and Vader, They are small indeed.
-
I do think I may have a few Micro Machines ones somewhere at my parents as I remember playing with them as a kid but that was a long time ago now and I can't seem to did them out.
So one last question (hopefully) before I bite the bullet and purchase some, what about vehicles? Are there any easily available in corresponding scales?
Thanks for all the help guys.
-
So one last question (hopefully) before I bite the bullet and purchase some, what about vehicles? Are there any easily available in corresponding scales?
Thanks for all the help guys.
There are a LOT of Star Wars vehicles available that are suitable for gaming. In my opinion, that's the best part of gaming Star Wars, is the ready availability of lots of cool vehicles. Plastic models, the small-scale toys, actual gaming minis from WotC and West End, there is a lot to choose from.
The WotC range has a big assortment of vehicles available, from speeders bikes to tanks, pretty much everything from the movies. West End had a few pieces from the original series, and a couple from the extended universe, but the WotC stuff outdoes them by a mile, and you can still get most of it at game stores. The biggest problem with the WotC stuff is that the plastic is a little too bendy on some models, so guns and other thin parts can get a little wonky.
The best vehicles (in my opinion) come from the old Galoob Micro-Machine "Action Fleet" toy range from the 1990's. These are mostly hard plastic, between 1/72 scale and 1/50 scale, and ideal for miniatures, and they made a vehicle in this scale for nearly everything. And, they still be picked up very inexpensively on ebay. You can see an archive of their toys at rebelscum, a toy collecting site:
http://www.rebelscum.com/mmbattle.asp (http://www.rebelscum.com/mmbattle.asp)
http://www.rebelscum.com/mmaction.asp (http://www.rebelscum.com/mmaction.asp)
A word of caution, the galoob toys effectively came in 2 different scales, the original Micro-machines (which are too small for most minis), and the Micro-machines "Action Fleet" (which are in scale with most miniatures.) Be sure to look for "Action Fleet" if you decide to try these. I've had a lot of fun with these, there are several of the Galoob speeders on my blog.
-
Thank you Vongoosewink and everyone else who has helped answer my questions. Going to go with the WotC minis I think. Now which ones... Lots to choose from I'm sure I can decide. Thanks again.
-
Oh yeah, I got some of those Galoob Action fleet ships: X-Wing, A-wing, Y-wing and Boba Fett's Slave I. For some reason I was never able to find Tie Fighters in the ebay.
These vessels come with a pilot figure which exactly the same size as the WEG/Grenadier SW minis of which I managed to collect quite a few. So I can vouch for the Galoob/WEG combo. Of course, they might not be as easy to find or cheap as the plastic prepaints, but I really don't like that bendy plastic or the Clone Wars / Prequel drivel.. ;) but each to his own.
And even if using the WEG minis you can use the plastic ones, like some monsters and speeders which aren't so scale specific. I can tell you that the plastic Rancor looks pretty darn big and impressive alongside the 25mm Grenadier minis!. :D
Also, I got from eBay two AT-ST 'chicken-walkers' that are plastic kits. I think they're form MPC/ERTL or some such. They're perfect size for 25-28mm minis, I think. And Revell does a prepainted (would you believe?) snap-fit Millenium Falcon, which is just a tad too small for the 25mm Grenadier figs (I think it might be 1:100), but still pretty great as a prop for you spaceport etc.
Much of this is irrelevant for 28mm but I thought I might mention these.
-
would echo the Action Fleet stuff (have been hoovering this up as well, but have now got everything I wanted). The one exception is the AT-AT - the AF one is fine, but the Revell one is bigger (a foot tall) and more in scale.
In terms of figures, if you go with the WOTC, you might still want to have a look at the micro machines droids pack, as its good value.
:)
-
I use the West End Games stuff for my Star Wars games. The Revel model of the AT-AT is a perfect size for those figures. In fact West End used that model in their rulebook for their official miniatures game. Some folk think it's too small. For a gaming table I think it's perfect. Since they were re-released a few years ago they don't cost a fortune . I use the Action Fleet AT-ST instead of the Revel one because it looks the right size next to the model AT-AT.
-
Knight Models make some really nice models of some characters in 30mm. A bit expensive, but they are nice, metal, and you can paint them yourself.
http://www.knightmodels.com/inicio_ing.html
-
Things may be changing though:
http://www.tabletopgamingnews.com/2010/12/14/41974
-
Ooh intriguing... May hang on buying something until I hear something more solid on this.
-
Ooh, so that's not GW then!
Anybody want to venture a guess? Fantasy flight is still an option indeed.
-
I would love some multi-part plastic Stormtroopers, that would be very cool!
-
I would love some multi-part plastic Stormtroopers, that would be very cool!
I think that form SW miniatures that is the No.1 wanted one. Generally models based on specific characters are hit and miss or very expansive.
-
For generic Star Wars universe stuff, WOTC prepaints are leaps and bounds ahead of any other line, at least when it comes to amount of different minis available. Plenty of generic humans/humanoids and aliens that fit well in any period - some are characters from the expanded universe, but many are new generic characters like "corellian smuggler" etc.
Couldn't read the info on the posted link, blocked at work. Quick summary anyone?
-
GW actually dabbled with SW many many years ago (80's) but nothing ever came of it. I have a stormtrooper that Bob Naismith sculpted somewhere.
-
If you are interested in Clone Wars gaming I would advise you to keep an eye out for the Turbo Tank/Kasyyyk playset (http://www.sandtroopers.com/smf/index.php?topic=12752.0).
They pop up now and again on eBay at a good price and work a treat for 28mm/WotC gaming.
/edit/ stupid link typo. >:(
-
GW actually dabbled with SW many many years ago (80's) but nothing ever came of it. I have a stormtrooper that Bob Naismith sculpted somewhere.
Pics?
Also, if you don't want him anymore I would love to take him :D
Cheers
-
GW actually dabbled with SW many many years ago (80's) but nothing ever came of it. I have a stormtrooper that Bob Naismith sculpted somewhere.
Very very rare and goes for silly money. There's the normal trooper and a sand trooper variant as well.
-
I use the West End Games stuff for my Star Wars games. The Revel model of the AT-AT is a perfect size for those figures. In fact West End used that model in their rulebook for their official miniatures game. Some folk think it's too small. For a gaming table I think it's perfect. Since they were re-released a few years ago they don't cost a fortune .
The one pictured in the WEG rule book is the old mpc/ertl kit. The one released by Revell a couple of years ago is a brand new kit and is at least 3 times the size of the old mpc/ertl kit. I have both and the new one is far superior
-
The wizards stuff always seemed to suffer from the low detail bendy bendy issues for me, (granted some nice repaints seen VGW & Agis for example). I stuck with the Grenadier WEG line have a fair bit, (that certain members keep trying to nab off me lol):
(http://i446.photobucket.com/albums/qq186/Vyperzoom/RIMG4870.jpg)
A few double sets of Imperial forces and stormtroopers, 12 Snow troopers and a load of blister pack contents as well as the boxed set contents.
I've also got a tie fighter, tie bomber, vaders tie, y wing, a wing Snow speeder and a few other vehicles that escape me at present (all action fleet galoob). Nice and perfectly scaled.
The Commander
-
8)
-
Grenadier Star Wars will always make me think Marshall McCrombie Southsea Models - genius
-
Funny that - when I was trying to buy the WEG stuff I stumble across Southsea models online and ordered a few from there :)
-
Its not GW as far as I know YPU - more likely Fantasy Flight.... ;)
As for the Micro machines figures, let me know if you got down that route, as I should have a few kicking about - i've been hoovering up most of the WEG that have appeared on ebay in the last few weeks..... :D
The Micro Machine vehicles are great for the most part. The figures leave something to be desired.
Another source of vehicles are the Transformer Crossovers. Mostly in scale with the figures.