Star Wars

[Mr.J]

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.

[aliensurfer]

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.

[Mr.J]

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?

[YPU]

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.

[AKULA]

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.....   

[Commander Vyper]

Your fault then is it?

 

And no Matt you can't have any of mine for the third time!

[YPU]

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?

[Mr.J]

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.

[Vongoosewink]

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.

[Commander Vyper]

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).

[Anpu]

I have a few WEG figures, 3 stormtroopers, 2 rebel cstarship crewmen, Bossk and Luke, Leia and Vader, They are small indeed.

[Mr.J]

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.

[Vongoosewink]

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/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.

[Mr.J]

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.

[Verderer]

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!.

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.