Monday 23 April 2012

My ten favourite mini manufacturers - part 2


Following on from last weeks post I thought it was time to finish off my top ten mini manufacturers. Again in no particular order.
Another company I have had a long relationship with. They have an excellent range of WW2 figures. When I used to be into Spanish Civil War, the Pig was the place to go. They have a lot of nice civilian types and a wider range of 15mm Modern US than Rebel Minis in their AK47 range. They also have a lot of seated figures, casualties, and character types in multiple poses. I have seen some of their Hey You in the Jail (Wild West) converted into some nice Firefly/Serenity types. They have several nice ranges for American War of independence, (American)Civil War Battles, WW1, War in the Age of Magic (mainly fantasy but a few SF and the best Arabic fantasy figures out there), English Civil War, War of the Roses and Samurai. These are another good company and they produce regular updates for most of their ranges. They also produce a lot of spare heads and odds (the biggest out there) which is useful for conversations. They do some nice modern vehicles. Not a massive range but some would be harsh to source anywhere else.

Whilst mainly a manufacturer in larger scales, Eureka have some nice figures in 15mm which are of interest to the 15mm fraternity. They do some unusual ranges of historical stuff such as Hawaiians and Amazonian Indians and few other North American Indian tribes. More of interest are the SF Germans and more significantly 15mm Ventaurans. The Ventaurans were originally a race designed by Denizen Miniatures in 25mm and have been done in 6mm as well. The Ventaurans are a very nice range of figures which evoke the feel of Zhodani Commandos from Traveller. These were my choice for a force in Future War Commander and look the part of very high-tech power armour.

A rapidly growing range of 15mm SF figures. They have a lot of nice alien figures and their human figures are a must for all fans of HALO. They still have a way to go to catch up with some of the other players in the field. If you are looking to set up the cantina scene from Star Wars take a look at the Mercenary Range which have some very nice and a few unusual aliens. Also in this range are the Blockhead battle suits which are very nice robotic infantry. There are also some nice snake like warriors that would work for any X-Com game as Snakemen. The jackal like Protelene Kahnate figures and nice light power armoured figures much beloved by Gruntz. The Kammados are a nicely supported alien bipedal race based on snakes with a nice range of vehicles and terrain. I am not sure where the Presentia range of figures get their inspiration from but they are figures equipped with staff like weapons. Not as big as the other ranges but currently growing. Their Human ARC fleet are very nice figures which are very reminiscent of the troops in the HALO computer games. A huge range with figures for just about every occasion. I have talked to them at shows a few times and they seem like very nice people who are driven to get their range of the ground in a big way.

Alternative Armies hived off their 15mm figures into 15mm.co.uk some years ago. They had their own fantasy figures and SF figures based on their Ion Age background. They also picked up the moulds for the old Laserburn range which are very space opera. The range is expanding with some intersting figures as and when they pick them up. I have been buying their fantasy stuff for a long time for HOTT and they do some nice army packs. I particularly liked their undead figures and have a large army of their orcs/goblins as well. If you are looking for an unusual figure 15mm.co.uk probably have it somewhere.

Astro are a fledgling company who have a nice but small range of miniatures availble. They make a nice range of starship crew in uniforms which are very similar to the kinds of uniforms in Star Trek:TOS. I am no Trekkie (or was that Treker I forget) but these are nice figures. There is also a range of Sybots which look enough like old school Cylons. One of the nicest things about the range is that they have some conversion packs something that 15mm sadly lacks a lot of.

Comments are gratefully received.

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