Martian Metals for a time had the license for Traveller miniatures which, in contrast to most RPGs, required 15mm figures. Martian metals are well detailed with a flat appearance likely due to the two-piece molds used. The range offered was fairly comprehensive and interesting but the license for 15mm Traveller ultimately went to Citadel. The figures shown above closely mirror illustrations used in GDW Traveller literature.
The figures above show the standard EVA set plus a few spacesuited figures from other sets in the background. All figures were painted with a primer coat of white enamel. EVA figures were then brushed with a wash of black enamel followed by cleanup with white enamel.
The Steve Jackson game, Ogre, always seemed to lend itself to miniatures wargaming. The rules were simple, clean, and precise and the number of miniatures needed was minimal. The original game offered pretty simple terrain. The follow-up, GEV, improved on that.
The license for manufacture has been held by Martian Metals and Ral Partha. Currently, the license appears to be held by Steve Jackson Games and can be purchased from Warehouse 23.
The original miniatures were based on the counter silhouettes created by Winchell Chung. Over the years, other vehicles have been added but the original designs still remain relatively consistent.
The Martian Metals pieces had thin barrels for tank guns. Howitzers were little more than a rod attached to a base and had a tendency to break. Ral Partha strengthened the gun barrels and added more detail to the howitzers. The incarnation of the Ogre miniatures now features plastic Ogres to replace the earlier pewter pieces. Below, an example of the plastic Mk III Ogre alongside an earlier Ral Partha version of the same piece. The main differences I noticed were less detail in the treads with no detail on the interior side and the rear and forward portions of the Ogre attached.
Other smaller pieces are still cast in metal. They are attractively sculpted. The pieces are a little too small to work well with the massive Battletech pieces even though the scale is supposed to be the same. I have found that the infantry figures for Battletech appear to me to be a little bit larger.
Older metal Ogres alongside the plastic Ogres. The plastic Ogres are in red. The tan Mk V Ogre has not yet had its armament added. On the left, are two Battletech pieces, an unpainted Demolisher II and a Big Demolisher.
For fans of Ogre miniatures, these are the natural choice. The Mega Force toys by Kenner also mix well with these. With dedicated miniatures support, Ogre provides a nice alternative to Battletech.
The temptation is to refer to these as Traveller miniatures but some are part of the Laserburn range which had its own unique set of rules. The figures shown are by a variety of companies including Citadel, Laserburn, Martian Metals, and Asgard. There may be others tucked in there but I am not really sure. The figures are over 30 years old give or take a year. These are my only award winning figures having taking first place for SF/Fantasy group at some in the distant past Origins convention. Most of the painting was done with enamels.
15mm had seemed an odd scale for an RPG. RPGs usually relied on larger 25mm and 28mm figures. It did make Traveller unique for its time and facilitated the introduction of the Striker rules for mass combat replacing the earlier simplistic rules found in the original RPG. There were also rules like Snapshot and a later more streamlined version of the Snapshot rules in the Azhanti High Lightning game set that allowed battles using individual figures rather than using multiple based figures. With the Snapshot type rules, figures could use maps of spaceships, outdoor areas, and buildings as handy battlefields. Eventually, Traveller began using 25mm figures with several companies licensed to manufacture them. Licensing really would seem unimportant as any figure could function in a Traveller game but the alien races were pretty unique.
All the figures are nice though I prefer the Laserburn and Citadel (now RAFM) figures. Vehicles have never quite kept up with the range of figures. There are more manufacturers offering vehicles these days but all seem grounded in 20th century technology.
