Friday, October 9, 2009

1/72 Sci-Fi

One problem with 1/72 scale plastics is the lack of science fiction models. However, there are good miniatures of very modern armies, and these can be used for mid-tech science fiction forces. Also, there is a wide range of sci-fi minis available in 15 mm metal, and the aliens in many of them can work well with 1/72 scale. I'm currently trying to create science fiction forces with 1/72 plastics, and here are some examples of what I have so far.

Here is a 1/72 scale Caesar modern French soldier and a Ground Zero Games 15 mm alien, the Ixx. Due to the massive size of the Ixx (for 15 mm) they can be used quite nicely together with 1/72s. In this case, they are for my force of alien tribesmen (tribesaliens?) led by human officers who sort of have a French Foreign Legion vibe. The FAMAS rifle looks pretty futuristic too.
More 1/72 scale Caesar modern French with FAMAS rifles. These will form the backbone of a mid-tech sci-fi army.
This is a Ground Zero Games missile launcher drone along with another Caesar French soldier with an APILAS missile launcher. The UGVs (unmanned gound vehicles) will be a nice sci-fi touch to the heavy weapons teams.
Now here's something for them to blow up. These are Trumpeter 1/72 scale BTR-80 models. Modern wheeled APCs can be used in a variety of sci-fi settings. Wheeled APCs make a lot of sense, even on alien worlds, since they're cheap and low-maintenance, and sure beat walking when nothing higher tech is available! These will be used in an opposing force to the Caesar French.
These are Orion 1/72 modern Russian soldiers. When I first got them, I thought they looked horrible and were extremely poor quality. However, after a primer undercoat, they don't look so bad. A simple paint job and a wash can bring out some good detail. Again, these will be used as the enemy for the Caesar French. Those poor Russians, they never get a break!

I will probably use Fast and Dirty 4 for the ruleset for now. When Ambush Alley's sci-fi rules come out, I'll definitely get that.

7 comments:

  1. Interesting way to use 1/72s. The mixing with the GZG is good.

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  2. Thanks Bob. I originally wanted to use GZG 25 mm miniatures to do sci-fi gaming, but that was too expensive, and the vehicles are all resin. I also loathe 15 mm human miniatures, so I ended up settling on 1/72s. I had quite a few of them available anyways.

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  3. Great ideas. I've been (slowly) painting some 20mm WW1 Germans in gas-masks to use as near-future military police - they look quite modern!

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  4. Thanks. Are you talking about the Caesar WWI German set? I've got some of those too. They do look very sci-fi, especially the ones with body armour.

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  5. The Caesar figures are good but I bought a few 20mm metal figures from http://tumblingdiceuk.com/

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  6. Have you been tempted at all by the 20mm sci-fi range from Liberation Miniatures?

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  7. The "chunkier" style of the Liberation miniatures don't really fit in with the rest of my miniatures. Also, I can't find many pictures of Liberation's sci-fi stuff.

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