The resurrected miniatures painting and showing off thread

I know of lots. Historical wargaming is mostly miniatures agnostic, and quite a few companies also apply that model to fantasy and sci-fi.

Focusing on plastic first, have you checked out the official range of plastics for Stargrave by North Star? They can be used for any Sci-fi or near future game, despite the Stargrave label. Best thing about the North Star plastics is they are designed to be compatible with each other, so it is very easy to kit bash a set of Frostgrave cultists with Stargrave troopers or crew to get cultists in space; mixing Stargrave with the gnolls is also very cool.

Who else? Wargames Atlantic have great plastic sets for historical, fantasy and sci-fi. Some are designed to be literally fantasy and sci-fi, like the giant spider set that comes with laser arms…

These should be easy enough to find pretty much anyway via the Web, and there’s usually some sellers on ebay that sell individual sprue at not too much of a mark up.

If you’re into kit bashing, there’s some plastic cowboys recently released by Great Escape Games that might be mixable with the Stargrave plastics.

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I’m assuming 28mm is your desired scale by the way, as that’s the standard for most skirmish games (including Stargrave).

Metal sci-fi ranges, with a warning that there will be some models within these pages that are not safe for work.

CP Models have a fairly broad range of characterful models.

Hasslefree Miniatures is another pretty impressive range with a bit of something for everyone.

Copplestone Castings have a nice selection of more ragged scavenger and near future models in their Future Wars collection. (Also great pulp figures, and fantastic not LotR 10mm, but I digress).

Old skool GW your thing? Knightmare Miniatures and Die Hard Miniatures are worth checking out.

Anvil Industry do some resin design yourself or buy parts for GW style models, particularly Imperial Guard.

Ganesha games have a cool range held at Alternative Armies. Some cool laser sword wielders in particular.

There’s plenty more. Pinning down particular sculptors is actually quite hard, as most sculpt on commission for particular ranges. The real trick is finding stockists that carry ranges that are produced outside the local area to avoid huge shipping costs. Brigade Games carries quite a few European ranges for North America.

**Edit Forgot to mention Crooked Dice. Some great film/TV inspired models (Blakes 7, Flash Gordon etc.) but also some generic sci-fi aliens and civilians in their Colony 87 range.

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Wow. @Scribbs thanks so much! This is amazing. :heart_eyes:

(Also yes, totally forgot to mention 28mm preferred).

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Also should have pointed out that as Stargrave is miniature agnostic, there’s no barrier in dropping in any GW or Infinity models for the game, or raiding Imperial Assault etc.

I can’t remember if it was you or someone else who had picked up Core Space - the crew models from that are perfect Stargrave material.

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I’ll second raiding Imperial Assault, since, at least in my area, the core set shows up at game swaps and discounted pretty regularly.

The last 24 hours of this thread are likely going to have a significant impact on my budget for the next month.

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:shushing_face: (Sorry! Looking at independent miniature ranges has become a bit of an hobby in of itself for me over the last couple of years…)

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As long as everyone limits their posting of links to mid-month, I’ll be okay.
I think…
(looks at Hasslefree’s Grimm Power Armor)

We’ll see…

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I’ll stick to posting images of historics as I don’t think they’re quite as tempting to the crowd here :sweat_smile:

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That was me and I’m kicking myself now for letting it go. Between it and Blackstone Fortress (also gone) I’d have had a pretty ramshackle little crew to work with already.

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A quick vote for resin printers if you want a crazy range of models at low unit cost. Previous gen printers can be had for £200 odd, and resin is £40 a litre with a 28mm mini using maybe 20-30ml depending on settings. If you’re doing 40-50 minis for £240 total then that’s already competitive with individual models by the end of the first bottle. If you do a couple of busts too you’re ahead pretty fast.

Loads of options on patreon for STL files, and easy to dip in at tiny costs. Also lots of free ones on various sites like cults and thingiverse.

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I can definitely see the argument for getting a 3D printer growing ever stronger, but at the moment I’m not inclined to pick one up. It feels like a hobby itself, and I’m content for the moment leaving it to others. That may change in time, especially if more historical lines start to be developed.

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Speaking as a 3d printer owner-operator, I’d say that while every manufacturer wants you to think it’s a matter of loading a model and pressing “print”, it’s definitely not there yet. But they’re improving…

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I’d be inclined to get a 3D printer if I had the space, but mostly because it’s a rabbit hole I think I’d very much enjoy falling down. As it stands now, though, it’s just not in the cards. Not enough space, at least relative to the amount of time I could commit to it.

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Last lot of miniatures to tempt people -Black Site Studio. Ace range of models inspired by cinematic sci-fi and cyberpunk (Alien, Blade Runner etc.), plus great terrain too.

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To put this thread back on topic, here’s some WIP Frenchmen just waiting for their bases to be completed.

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Also these guys can do some interesting stuff nit associated with any games Heresy Miniatures

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Their Old Hammer inspired stuff is fantastic.

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Actually, if I’m allowed to call out favourites, it’s always the historical figures that I ogle the most. While I’m not especially interested from the gaming end of things, I do just love all the sculpts and the way they hold their paint. My grandpa used to get me metal miniatures (might have even been a trade name, I’d have to dig them out) from the UK so there’s a certain nostalgia factor at play, but I just tend to favour the classic styles in general, I think. There’s a curio element to them that I find really natural and appealing.

Anyway, with the path I’m about to take, don’t be surprised if I end up popping in a few painted Highlanders or something down the road.

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Bases all finished with these four.

That finishes my ragged band of Frenchmen ready for low model count Napoleonic skirmish games.

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Hopefully this doesn’t feel like a slap in the face after all that help, @Scribbs, but sometimes a box stands right in front of your eyeline and says “today you’re taking me home, buddy!”. Seems I’m not keeping GW entirely out of the mix.

Should be easy enough to scrub the 40K signage off these brutes, and I think the Datasmith thing in the middle will make a fine captain or first mate.

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