Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Fantasy Adventures => Topic started by: Hobgoblin on May 23, 2022, 09:19:14 PM
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I've resumed painting up some old miniatures for an ongoing 'true 25' (and 1/72) RPG project. This summer, I'm planning some one-off sword-and-sorcery games (using Barbarians of Lemuria) for when we have insufficient numbers for our regular campaign. With Covid restrictions gone, these will be in-person games with miniatures.
I've got quite a large batch of monsters suitable for this scale - 1/72 goblins, etc., are perfect - and I've also amassed various PC types: old Ral Partha, RAFM and Denizen - essentially, anything that will fit on a penny base.
What I want to find more of, though, are human foes. A sword-and-sorcery game is likely to be less heavy on goblinkind than most of the games I run, so city guards, temple acolytes and barbaric raiders are required. Denizen probably has me covered for extra PCs and important NPCs (see below), but rank-and-file in a similar scale would be handy.
(http://www.denizenminiatures.co.uk/Images/Fa1.jpg)
My fallback is to use 1/72 historicals, which are OK heightwise and more or less work with Denizen, etc., if one allows for a sort of 'hierarchical scale' (i.e. PCs are bigger and differently proportioned from run-of-the-mill NPCs). But I'd like to get some proper 25mm types on the go too.
So, are there any current sources of 25mm figures that would be suitable for a Bronze Age(ish) game? I like the stylised Tin Soldier UK types, but they might look a bit squat and chunky next to Denizen and Ral Partha. Does anyone do more naturalistic 'true 25' ancients in the UK?
Any pointers much appreciated!
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Mirliton carries the old 25mm Grenadier miniatures. Mysteriously they are filed under the menu bar labelled '28mm', but these are indeed 25s. There is a good variety of humans.
https://www.mirliton.it/fantasy-25-28mm/grenadier-classic
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Ah - thanks! That's a good shout: I did order some of their Cthulhu ghouls and deep ones about a year ago for the same project. I think those late-80s Bladestorm ones are probably a bit big for penny basing - I certainly recall them as being quite chunky - but I could be wrong. And certainly, some of the earlier ranges would be spot on - I have an early Grenadier gorgon that's perfect.
I suspect Mirliton will be a bit pricy on the postage front for "20 city guard", but a deep dive into the nooks and crannies of that site won't hurt!
Thanks again!
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I suspect Mirliton will be a bit pricy on the postage front for "20 city guard", but a deep dive into the nooks and crannies of that site won't hurt!
Stateside, Noble Knight usually has some of them in stock at good prices and shipping:
https://www.nobleknight.com/Products/Grenadier-Fantasy-Miniatures---Humans-25mm-Mirliton-SG
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Hello mate,
Do I need to suggest Viking Forge for classic miniatures? And best Elf ever(sword,shield and chainmail) :)
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Stateside, Noble Knight usually has some of them in stock at good prices and shipping:
https://www.nobleknight.com/Products/Grenadier-Fantasy-Miniatures---Humans-25mm-Mirliton-SG
Thanks again - I'll have a rummage and keep an eye out!
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Hello mate,
Do I need to suggest Viking Forge for classic miniatures? And best Elf ever(sword,shield and chainmail) :)
Now, the orcs, dragon-lizards and trolls needed no introduction, but I'd forgotten about those old Asgard elves. They look - in the best possible way - like a Tom Meier tribute, which is exactly what I'm after.
Do you know what sort of size those elves are? The Asgard/Viking Forge dwarves are marvellous but a bit too hefty for this project (if I use dwarves, it'll be as antagonists, and the small Ral Partha dwarves are perfect). And some of the Asgard humans are chunky 28s. But those elves look suitably slight.
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They are. I’ll take a comparison photo a bit later today :)
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Cheers!
As an aside, a brief review of the stuff I've got (and can find on eBay) suggests that true 25 is peculiarly well served for sword and sorcery - perhaps because so many of the miniatures emerged from the 70s. I appear to be amply equipped with sorcerers and sorceresses, barbarians and thieves - much more so than in 28mm!
Denizen's Legion of the Damned should cover me for undead (and I've long wanted an excuse to acquire them), and demons and reptile people are easily obtained; I just based up an old Citadel dragonewt for this project, and Tom Meier's lizardmen and troglodytes are on hand.
So once I find some suitable human mooks, I should be good to go.
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Some specific ancients ranges I'm looking at for this - any size pointers on these much appreciated!
- Minifigs ancients. I have quite a bit of the Minifigs fantasy stuff, which is often quite chunky (hobgoblins, pig-faced orcs) or even outright large (forest orcs). But are the ancients smaller? I wouldn't be at all uncomfortable about fielding the simpler Minifigs designs for 'faceless' characters alongside more detailed Ral Partha, etc., for the main heroes and villains. Indeed, that might even be a plus point, aesthetically. I'm also considering whether the pig-faced orcs might not look OK as snouted monstrosities on penny bases.
- Cutting Edge from Warlord. I've read various descriptions of these as looking like children/youths next to other 28s (which is exactly how Ral Partha Europe markets some of the very old RP stuff), but I suspect these might still be too big.
- 1st Corps. These look extremely promising (the Indian Maiden Guard simply scream sword and sorcery, but the descriptions seem to waver a bit between 25mm, 27mm and 28mm.
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Lousy telephone photo:
(https://myalbum.com/photo/ix8j7CKHcJPh/540.jpg)
Left to right: Citadel Runequest, Asgard Elf, Citadel Broo,Ral Partha Hobbit.
All still in their 35 year old (at least) paint jobs, a bit circumspect about repainting them :)
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They look pretty good for that vintage!
That's really helpful - many thanks! I have that broo, so he's a perfect reference. The elf does look good - possibly as a Melnibonean stand-in, given the sword-and-sorcery vibe I'm after.
I'd forgotten that some of those Gloranthan adventurers were quite petite too - I have Griselda and Wolfhead on the table, though I think the latter is a bit bigger than most of the others. I might well rebase Griselda for this project, though!
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You might also have a look at Redbox Games Miniatures.
And I’m intrigued; Griselda and Wolfhead,can you take a quick pic? A big Griselda fan :)
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I'd only started slapping on some paint when events intervened. Not sure where Wolfhead is - in a box in a cupboard, I think.
Looking at her with a Meier elf and a Guthrie hobgoblin, I think she's probably a bit chunky for this project and best kept as her petite self in 28mm. I think some of the RQ Citadel stuff might well be smaller, though.
Cubs has them both painted amazingly here (https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=109712.msg1662369#msg1662369).
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If you can get hold of them Ral Partha historicals were always on the tiny side and less chunky than minifigs. Might be something useful in these links for city guard?
http://www.miniatures-workshop.com/lostminiswiki/index.php?title=The_Hoplites (http://www.miniatures-workshop.com/lostminiswiki/index.php?title=The_Hoplites)
http://www.miniatures-workshop.com/lostminiswiki/index.php?title=1200_A.D (http://www.miniatures-workshop.com/lostminiswiki/index.php?title=1200_A.D)
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Thanks, Diablo Jon! Yes, those are perfect. I managed to snare one of the RP Vikings last night - entirely ahistorical with his two-handed sword and longbow, but perfect as a barbarian adventurer.
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Most of the old Ral Parthia range can be bought from Ironwind Metals (ironwindmetals.com) and Ral Parthia Legacy (ralparthalegacy.com), but the cost of postage from America maybe prohibitively expensive.
The Minifigs 25 mm figures became much more chunky over the 1970’s, so for example earlier figures like the old Mythical Earth range were much smaller than the pig faced orcs. The same is true for their historical ranges, so the Macedonians that I collected in 1975 were incompatible with the updated range released three or four years later.
The old Hinchcliffe 25mm range could be worthwhile checking out. They are now being sold by Lancashire Games. Similarly the old Lamming range appears to still be available (lammingminiatures.com).
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Most of the old Ral Parthia range can be bought from Ironwind Metals (ironwindmetals.com) and Ral Parthia Legacy (ralparthalegacy.com), but the cost of postage from America maybe prohibitively expensive.
Yes - and I think the figures themselves are quite pricy too! ;)
The Minifigs 25 mm figures became much more chunky over the 1970’s, so for example earlier figures like the old Mythical Earth range were much smaller than the pig faced orcs. The same is true for their historical ranges, so the Macedonians that I collected in 1975 were incompatible with the updated range released three or four years later.
Ah - that's great info - thanks! I'll try to procure a few types and see how they look, and then see if I can find matching pieces to any that fit.
The old Hinchcliffe 25mm range could be worthwhile checking out. They are now being sold by Lancashire Games. Similarly the old Lamming range appears to still be available (lammingminiatures.com).
Brilliant! Thanks! There are some things in the Lamming range that could be just the job!
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Thanks for that Hobgoblin,I’d forgotten Cubs’ miniatures. Unlikely I’ll ever get my hands on them.
I was thinking about my miniatures (above),their actual age is over forty years,cripes!
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Yes, a lot of the bits and bobs that I've been digging out for this project are survivors of the 70s that I got my hands on as a kid in the 80s - things that languished at the bottom of boxes for being "too small"!
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CP Models has a small selection of 25mm ranges, including gladiators along with crowd figures and spear-armed guards, Arabian nights and Greek myth (plus some Harryhousen-style skellies).
https://cpmodels.co.uk/product-category/25mm-ranges/ (https://cpmodels.co.uk/product-category/25mm-ranges/)
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CP Models has a small selection of 25mm ranges, including gladiators along with crowd figures and spear-armed guards, Arabian nights and Greek myth (plus some Harryhousen-style skellies).
https://cpmodels.co.uk/product-category/25mm-ranges/ (https://cpmodels.co.uk/product-category/25mm-ranges/)
Thanks, Garanhir - that's a great call! I'd entirely forgotten about them - and they're very much the thing for sword and sorcery. And yes, those Roman auxilia look very promising as generic guards. Gladiators are great as generic bandits and D&D-style 'berserkers', etc., too.
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how does the 25mm stuff compares with 1/72 plastics? Some photos would be great :D
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It varies a bit!
Here's a photo. The 25mm figures are the plate-armoured RAFM warrior second from the left, the Ral Partha shield maiden third from the right, and the RAFM half-orc on the far right. The rest are 1/72 (MiniArt Burgundian, Zvezda hoplite, Strelets bashi-bazouk, Emhar Viking).
To my eye, the Ral Partha figure works pretty well with most of the 1/72 stuff. The RAFM figures are more cartoony, with big, characterful heads. But the shield maiden would look fine with a group of the Emhar Vikings - especially if you afford her just a little bit of 'hierarchical scale' as a character figure.
Oddly, though, the 25mm figures look fine with each other.