• Registered: 2009-12-29
  • Posts: 12

Topic: Plastic miniatures?

I just received my copy of the Starmada books in the mail (yay!) and have a Hotz mat I'm about to order.  Now to find some miniatures of ships.

My problem:  I don't like lead ones.  It's just a personal thing - I don't plan on painting them, so something cast in plastic is more than adequate.  However, I've perused what must be 20 or more sites that sell SF miniatures, but only one sold plastic ships, and those were (to me, at least) aesthetically unpleasing.  I did a search in the forum archives, but other than 3D printing there seems to be precious little mention.

Can anyone point me towards a good source for reasonably priced plastic ones?  They'll go on either a 2" or 1-1/2" hex. 

Thanks in advance.

  • Registered: 2009-12-08
  • Posts: 31

Re: Plastic miniatures?

The EM4 (old Silent Death) ones are actually not as bad once painted up.
Problem I would say they have is that they look to atmospheric for my taste.

GW's basic box Battlefleet Gothic are plastic, as is the predecessor Starfleet(?).

  • Registered: 2009-12-29
  • Posts: 12

Re: Plastic miniatures?

The EM4 ones were the ones I did see that didn't appeal to me.  I agree they look a little atmospheric.  I just didn't want to name names.   :oops:

I think the GW ones look intriguing, but are a little too OTT and are probably too big also - I couldn't find GW mentioning sizes on any of the minatures, but the large ones certainly don't look like they'd fit comfortably on a 2" hex.

Maybe I'll just print up some counters instead....

  • Registered: 2005-03-28
  • Posts: 416

Re: Plastic miniatures?

You might like to check out Hobby Link Japan (or a similar site, if available) for Japanese Gashaphon collectibles. With some luck, you can catch anime series ship models such as those from Yamato for rather cheap. They are prepainted plastic, but of a different type from GW plastic, which may be an issue if you want to do conversions. Long term availability is also likely to be poor so you'll need to buy what you want pretty much at once.

Another option (of a somewhat long-shot type IMHO) that gets floated around the relevant forums by a group of enthusiasts is a company called Wargames Factory. They have a "Modular Generic Starship" plastic sprue in the works. More info here:
http://www.wargamesfactory.com/BookingRetrieve.aspx?ID=40033

A third option might be to ask around on the dedicated forum, if you haven't already:
http://www.star-ranger.com/forum/

  • Registered: 2008-03-15
  • Posts: 70

Re: Plastic miniatures?

There's a company that makes party novelties, US Toys (ustoys.com) that has two assortments of small, plastic ships. Under "keywords" type in "spaceships" or "space cruisers". The designs are pretty good for something so cheap.

  • Registered: 2022-11-14
  • Posts: 86

Re: Plastic miniatures?

The ones at UStoys are the old Silent Death minis, same as EM4 has.
Another option is American Science & Surplus (http://www.sciplus.com). Do a search for Buck Rogers and you will find the plastic figures from the old Buck Rogers board game. They are small and not very detailed, but for a couple of bucks you can put together a huge fleet.
<IMG src="http://www.sciplus.com/itm_photos/webbuckrogers.jpg">http://www.sciplus.com/itm_photos/webbuckrogers.jpg</IMG>
Bottom row, left to right.
BR WAR BIRDS, (36)    $1.00
BR FIGHTER PLANES, (96)    $1.00 
BR SPACE SHUTTLES, (24)    $1.00

  • Registered: 2009-12-29
  • Posts: 12

Re: Plastic miniatures?

I might just bite the bullet and get those Buck Rogers ones.  I certainly can't argue with the price.  Thanks for the link.

On the other hand, I just found out a couple of weeks ago that the 30+ pounds of Lego I had accumulated back in the '70s and '80s wasn't sold by my parents at a garage sale when they moved home, but instead has been quietly sitting in storage in a Rubbermaid bin.  Perhaps I should use my imagination a bit - although fitting them in a 1.5" hex with any level of detail is going to be a task....