GZG Lunar 18mm minis

[Rick]

those astronauts are nice... mechs are a bit too sci-fi for me as Apollo era type combat ala For All Mankind

They're lovely figures - I did think about using some of the gzg wheeled drones for a more near-future game.

[zrunelord]

Thank you both.
The mechs are hard scifi yes,  but out of curiosity what war machines would you use for that era if any ?

Those Gzg are great vehicles , especially if you prefer metal ones & would fit the part perfectly.

He also has a US faction if it interests you.

Would like to see heavy weapons next.

Z

[anevilgiraffe]

none... the payload in that era was always a factor. Armour? Mech suits twice the size of a man? forget it. it's open bare bones moon buggies or hoofing it on foot...

Have you seen For All Mankind on Apple TV? well worth a watch. I don't think they even had lunar surface shuttles in their alternative timeline until the 90's if memory serves. (and calling them shuttles is a stretch, they were more like Lunar Lander modules without a detachable stage)

[Cat]

but out of curiosity what war machines would you use for that era if any ?

Ooh, good question.  I haven't thought of expanding that route, but I might yet...
 
Treads, treads with a big center torso were 1960s reality.  This fits my own project image of retro-future sci-fi late 1960s as imagined c.1960:
https://thearmoredpatrol.com/tag/robot/
 
For kitbashing fodder, I've seen the RX-75 Guntank from Mobile Suit Gundam in small scales:
https://gundam.fandom.com/wiki/RX-75_Guntank

[Rick]

Erm, just to be clear, you are aware that we're really talking about 3 different era's of Moon wargame here? Cat and Aeg are in the 1960's, pretty sure I'm in the 2060's and I think zrunelord is in the 2160's.
Just thought I'd mention it.

[Redshank]

I need another project like a hole in the head, but there is some inspiring stuff here.

This might finally be an excuse to pull the trigger on some Maschinen Krieger, like this guy: https://slave2gaming.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=87_106&product_id=442

[Rick]

I know, I've seen them and I like them a lot. If I find out somebody has imported them to the UK then I'll be getting me some. Until then, I'll be over here, looking at Moongrunt.

[Rick]

Thank you both.
The mechs are hard scifi yes,  but out of curiosity what war machines would you use for that era if any ?

Those Gzg are great vehicles , especially if you prefer metal ones & would fit the part perfectly.

He also has a US faction if it interests you.

Would like to see heavy weapons next.

Z

Just out of curiosity, zrunelord, what sort of heavy weapons did you envisage?
I thought about the usual SAW, HMG, Autocannon sort of thing and considered the recoil would be tremendous - you'd go flying rearwards in no time. I also thought about MDC's or railgun's and you'd likely need a power pack the size of a fridge-freezer for even a few shots.
So if you've got some ideas it would be great to hear them.

[zrunelord]

Personally I think the generic beauty & versatility of these minis is that they can be used in whatever era one chooses
just by changing the extra assets, whether droids, robots, landers etc.

I think they can also be used for games like Space 1999 & S.H.A.D.O. also.  Yes ? 

he also has other minis which can easily be converted to a bubble helmet.

Whilst I'm at it, I would strongly suggest reading this superb trilogy by Ian Douglas
https://www.goodreads.com/series/41537-heritage-trilogy

If I were to go scientifically & again depends on the era....
I would choose GyroJets in various calibers ( as in the original boltgun idea in Laserburn ) but modified to have a self sustained chemical propellant ( since there's no air , something like MRE's ? )
This might work also for exothermic or thermobaric etc munitions but again air is required.
The beauty of solid shot is that is keeps going until it hits something ( no vacuum ). Imagine being hit by a stray shot a million miles away !!!!

Lasers are too complicated & power hungry ( unless a small power pack can be invented ) to manhandle. Vehicle mounted might be possible ( Space Toyotas  !!! )
As are mag coils.
Simple spring loaded darts ( as in a ballista ) are also a possibility if a fast loading system is invented. Imagine the damage this simple devise can do to a paper thin Lunar Lander !!!!
Concentrated rad beams are also a no go but thin sonic waves might be possible.

Z

[zrunelord]

Oh and I just remembered the solid shot multi barrelled ship guns from the Expanse..

[anevilgiraffe]

the Expanse is another example of payload limits... having a wooden desk was considered the height of decadence because of the cost to weight incurred to export from Earth, even when you have sci-fi engines.

[Rick]

Oh and I just remembered the solid shot multi barrelled ship guns from the Expanse..

No! Please don't conflate space weaponry with surface weaponry, even if they both work in a vacuum. The multi-barrelled guns from the expanse were designed to be fired with the combined velocities of both the firer and target working to their advantage. Using a similar weapon on the moon, unless you had the energy to really ramp up the velocity, would likely result in those multiple shots just bouncing off a spacesuit and doing minimal damage! 

[Chief Lackey Rich]

I don't see mention of this elsewhere, but anyone in the US who was thinking about grabbing some lunar figs from GZG is out of luck for the foreseeable future.  Jon announced all US orders are suspended a few days ago.

AUGUST 14th: FURTHER UPDATE ON US ORDERS!

With the situation still unclear about just how the new Tariff charges for shipments to the US will be handled by the Postal authorities and other carriers, to avoid any problems I have reluctantly made the decision to SUSPEND all orders from the US with immediate effect. I sincerely hope that this will be TEMPORARY, and as soon as I have clarity on how the new systems will work I hope to be able to re-open sales to all my US customers - thank you all for your patience while this is all sorted out!

Jon (GZG), Thursday 14th August 2025.

[Rick]

Sadly unsurprising until there's a bit more clarity on what and how to pay.

[Chief Lackey Rich]

I see Brigade Models also posted about the changes, although they're apparently continuing to sell to the US with an added 10% tariff charge that should theoretically cover everything.  I have my doubts about how well that's going to work with the current US administration.  Apparently most of the problem is that the increasingly-shaky USPS is relying on other countries' postal services to collect the tariffs - which appears to be insanity to me, and will probably fall apart in short order like everything else in this country lately.

The blog post is an interesting read, if nothing else.

https://www.brigademodels.co.uk/Blog/2025/08/tariffs-and-tribulations/