Khurasan Miniatures produces historical and non-historical ranges, some in 28mm, most in 15mm, and a range of 6mm SF stuff. It is a pretty rich variety though some figures seem more inspired than others. Good detail, the figures are easy to paint. I have yet to do a size comparison since I only have some threatening looking aliens. The figures do seem to tend a little large. Another American company, this one in NY.
just a note, the ursids wear sunglasses and smoke cigars.
From Steve Jackson still focusing on less complex rules came this game featuring cars and trucks battling each other on miniature highways, 1” = 15 feet. Later supplements introduced additional vehicles and terrain, boats, helicopters, shopping malls, as well as additional weapons. Though 40 years old, the game and its supplements are still available at Warehouse 23.
Car Wars used card cutouts moved along a square grid at a scale of 1:180, smaller than the more common 1:160 N scale (what else is new?). According to the Stuff of Legends website, a company called T-Rex produced the first miniatures, though molds and masters were soon picked up by Grenadier Miniatures who added a package of trucks.
Currently, miniatures made specifically for Car Wars Are no longer available though with the fifth edition the scale has been modified to accommodate larger scale vehicles. Irregular Miniatures has in the past offered these sort of cars in 6mm though it is not clear if these are still available.
Hard to believe but there was a range of SF miniatures in 15mm that were not designed for use with Traveller. Instead, they were designed for use with with a set of rules called Laserburn written by Bryan Ansell. There was also a 25mm range which I have not seen.
The 15mm figures are interesting and well detailed with a nice unique quality. They provide an effective range that works well with the RAFM Traveller range. The set includes a variety of figure types and vehicles. The entire range is still available either through the Alternative Armies website in England or the Noble Knights E-bay store in the US. Another instance where an attractive set of 15mm figures has remained available years after their initial release. If only all miniatures were handled in this manner.
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.
In the 80s, Citadel released an extensive range of figures for Traveller. Shown above are the Tech 3 military. the figures were produced and are still available from RAFM. The figures above use a black undercoat with a layer of pthalo blue acrylic paint and some Testors gold paint on the visors.
Starfire offers a unique set of rules for space combat. The rules are designed for play on a blank board with a hexagon overlay so is readily adaptable to miniatures. They were written by Stephen V. Cole and published in 1979 by Task Force Games as part of their pocket series, thin rules booklets, a small map, and a hundred pieces or less.
The basic rules use a simple system of laying out a starship’s basic design by a simple listing. The initial example given is a small corvette: S S A H R L I I This listing gives a quick layout of the ship listing its defenses, S for shields, A for armor, its movement points, the two I’s indicating engines, and weapons, an R for a missile system, an L for laser cannon. Additionally, there is a cargo hold, H. The sequence mandates where ship damage is taken. An additional value, turn mode, is based on the size of the ship as is the maximum speed.
The sequence of play is first move, then fire, with an initial initiative determination phase and a final record keeping phase. Following combat, there is also a tractor beam phase.
Ship movement occurs one movement point at a time. Each player expends their first movement point, then each player expends a second, etc. If ships do not have the same number of movement points, the ship with the greater number will continue moving after the other ship has finished movement. Each ship also has a turn mode indicating how many movement points they must expend before they can turn the ship 60 degrees.
The original rule book features 10 scenarios with Terran forces battling Khanate and Ophiuchi alien forces starting with a simple clash of 2 ships in the first scenario and finishing with an enormous 3 way battle in scenario ten.
Optional rules offer such things as restricted field of fire, planets, data links, simultaneous movement, damage control, and a section allowing players to design their own ships. A second book enlarges further on the game with additional rules for fighters while a third game adds a campaign to provide a link between battles.
At its simplest, it is a game that is quickly learned and played. Complexity is added through additional ships, weapons, and optional rules.
Task Force Games did license a range of Starfire miniatures no longer available but of course, a spaceship is a spaceship and any decent range ought to serve. A set of miniatures to match the current incarnation of Starfire can be found at Shapeways.
Starfire continued to evolve over time with later additions adding additional rules changes and switching finally to a 10-sided rather than a 6-sided die as well as further developing the Starfire universe. Newer editions of the rules may add on layers of complexity beyond what some players are looking for. The original game is simple and straightforward enough to present as an introduction to people unfamiliar with miniatures.
Traveller was one of the first widely accepted SF RPGs. Since its release in 1977, it has gone through a number of changes including a GURPS Traveller release. The original boxed set of 3 books is now referred to as ‘classic Traveller’.
A simple character combat system is provided in Book 1 of the set. In it, characters may close or open range with their adversaries, and evade or launch attacks. The system was expanded upon several times, first with Snapshot, a boxed game presenting combat between characters aboard starships.
This was followed by Azhanti High Lightning. The rulebook offered a simplified Snapshot combat system as well as a large number of deck plans mapping out the interior of an enormous starship.
There are numerous supplements produced by any number of publishers including some attractive maps of ship interiors and buildings. FASA, for example released a set of maps detailing the interior of a luxury hotel.
Finally, GDW introduced Striker, a boxed 3 book set, Book 1 covering the basics, Book 2 covering advanced rules, and Book 3, covering vehicle design. With each figure still representing a single character or creature, a standard infantry unit contains 4 figures mounted on a one inch square base.
The rules are designed for larger battles. They impose rules for leadership, morale, and unit combat readiness. They also provide a rich source for designing vehicles if one has the time and energy.
Book 2 of Traveller introduces starships and offers a combat system more complex than the character combat system. Movement is through vectors, ship’s abilities are modified not just by character abilities, but by software packages which may be loaded or unloaded each turn. The size of the ship’s computer will limit what software may be active and in this way limit the choices available to the player.
The rules were used to create a board game, Mayday. There is really not too much different here from the rules in the RPG but the game is easier to use in that a ship’s movement is tracked by 3 markers, one showing the ship’s position on the previous move, another showing the ship’s current position, and another used to determine where the ship will move.
A fifth book in the rule book series was added to cover battles between large fleets of ships. The first version of the rules with somewhat murky rules is on the right. The second version with rewritten and more understandable rules is on the left.
The fleet rules are closer in design to the character combat rules. Opposing fleets lie at long or short range in relation to each other. Fleets may close range or they may break off. Additionally, there are two lines of battle, The second line, the reserve, is screened by the first.
There are also rules for pursuit, planets, and more, and rules for boarding, the game being a post-Star Wars production.
For players wishing to avoid designing their own ships, GDW offered this handy supplement listing ships of the Imperial fleet.
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.
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.
![IMG_2896[1]](https://i0.wp.com/littlemenatwar.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/IMG_28961-e1427646936254.jpg?ssl=1)
Ral Partha picked up the license to produce Battletech figures for FASA’s boardgame. For those unfamiliar with it, giant robots piloted by humans fight with a range of weaponry while trying to avoid heat overload. Each robot had a rather elaborate chart associated with it to track weapons available and expended, heat build-up and physical damage similar to charts used in many naval games.
A problem apparent in the original figures is that they all tend to look like robots from Japanese cartoons of the time. In fact, many could be purchased as kits or figures from other manufacturers. This eventually led to the discontinuation of a number of figures which are now characterized as “unseen” and remain fairly hard to get.
![IMG_2898[1]](https://i0.wp.com/littlemenatwar.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/IMG_28981-e1427646913269.jpg?ssl=1)
Some less finished pieces from the lazy painter, he has a bunch of mechs drifting about unpainted or partially painted. These include some resin cast pieces purchased from the Ral Partha booth at a HMGS convention back in the early 90s. The figures are popular enough that they are still in production though Ral Partha has ceased to exist.
![IMG_2895[1]](https://i0.wp.com/littlemenatwar.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/IMG_28951-e1427646881836.jpg?ssl=1)
Even if the figures did cease production, it is likely that there would still be compatible figures produced in Japan which has never lost its taste for giant robots from such early favorites as Gigantor to the later more sophisticated Mobile Suit Gundam and Macross. Above, a figure from the Bandai Gundam collection alongside one of the Battletech mechs. Additionally, ranges of similar giant robots not carrying the Battletech license also exist and are readily adaptable.
Ogre, a game also about future warfare, has some similarities to Battletech in that the eponymous cyber-tanks must also have available weapons systems and movements factors recorded and charted as the ogres are exposed to battlefield damage. Smaller vehicles are not so lucky.
This is not the first Warhammer 40K rulebook nor the last but it is handy. I had played the much older Rogue Trader rulebook at some point. I do have some Orks and a handful of Necron skulking about so this seems a likely candidate for play. Then, I also have some Space Squats and some compatible Russian figures.
Teleport back to the 1980s when Games Workshop was refining its vision of Warhammer and that is when Rogue Trader made its appearance. With a heavy emphasis on background detail, the rules seem more like Warhammer with an SF veneer, psionics replace magic, squats replace dwarves, and orks are still orcs. There are extensive rules for such familiar things as robots, tyranids and genestealers but there are also oddities like Slann and Jokaero, bouncers and Psychneuin. An interesting book especially compared to what the whole thing has become.
From the days of Rogue Trader, this pleasant little book was apparently just the first of a million such books providing army lists and scenarios for the futuristic Warhammer world.