Ogre Miniatures Without Ogre Miniatures
by Thad Blanchette
March 26, 1997
(Thad works for Devir Livraria, a publisher and distributor in Brazil.)
Thinking about the miniatures crisis which seems to have afflicted many Ogrephiles out there has prompted me to compile this list of sci-fi figure manufacturers. All of the companies below produce 1/285th-1/300th scale figures suitable for Ogre. Quality is measured by the number of asterisks next to the company's name (on a scale of 1-5, with 5 being the best). Some of the stuff listed here is nicer looking than the rest, but any quality judgments made are my own subjective opinions. Your tastes are probably way different, so don't sweat it if I pan your pet manufacturer, O.K.?
A word to the wise: please do not order stuff blind from this listing and then blame me if it's not what you wanted. All these companies will be more than happy to send you a catalog and/or some photos of their figures. Look before you leap!
Please be aware that this is not a complete listing – I don't have catalogs for everybody and there are literally hundreds (OK, dozens upon dozens) of small garage manufacturers out there. Not listed here (for starters) are companies like RAFM which produce some nice mecha figures but otherwise leave 1/300th scale sci-fi untouched. Also not listed here are pure terrain manufacturers. Finally, I'm only giving descriptions for those figures that I've personally seen up close. The stuff below is merely what I've run across up to now, in as complete a form as possible.
Company: Geo-Hex/Capricorn Space ****
Let's start off with Geo-Hex, my favorite sci-fi company. I like their stuff, though it's slightly smaller and more modern (meaning closer to the '90s) than the traditional Ogre line. (Geo-Hex's GEVs are small, turreted tanks, for example). Great for third world Ogre powers. The Triton IV chassis is used as the basis for many of the vehicles listed below, which supports the idea of vehicles built by a country with a limited military/industrial base (such as Brazil or India).
Address: 2126 North Lewis, Portland, OR, 97227
Phone/Fax/Net: 503-288-4805/503-288-8992/geohex@aol.com
Line Name: Future Wars 1/300th scale sci-fi miniatures
Ordering Info: Accepts check, money order, VISA and MC (credit card payment available to US residents only). U.S. Domestic shipments pay 7% shipping charges while us overseas folks pay 25% for land or 50% for airmail. Canadians pay 15%. Better yet, Chessex and many other distributors work with these guys, so your local games pusher will probably be able to front your order for you. Support local merchants, where possible!
All blisters are $6.50 unless otherwise noted. Number in parenthesis is number of figures in the pack.
| Item | Name | Ogre Equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| FWT01 | Triton IV Tracked Tank (5) | Light Tank |
| FWT02 | Triton IV GEV Tank (5) | GEV (has jump jets instead of skirt) |
| FWT39 | Symtor GEV MBT (5) | GEV (has GE skirt) |
| FWT11 | Jupiter IIA Tracked Med. Tank (4) | Heavy Tank (this is very, very nice) |
| FWT16 | Andromeda/D1 w/Hy. Turret (3) | Super Heavy Tank, 1 cannon only |
| FWI04 | Triton IV GEV IFV (5) | GEV-PC |
| FWM08 | Triton IV Tracked Msl. Launch. (5) | Missile Tank |
| FWM09 | Triton IV GEV Missile Launcher (5) | GEV-MSL |
| FWSV16 | HEMTT Heavy Flatbed Truck (5) | Really nice Truck unit |
| FWA04 | Hellcat Tracked SP Gun (5) | Mobile Howitzer |
| FWG01 | Infantry (50) | MIL (I prefer Sintacs armored infantry for INF.. This stuff is slightly smaller.) |
| MT-25 | GEV Mobile Command Post (1) | Mobile CP in resin. $4.50 |
| MT-26 | GEV Bulk Cargo Transport (1) | BIG GEV Truck in resin. $4.50 |
| MT-46-50 | Industrial complex (1) | Factories in resin; each one of five sections is different. MT49 makes a great reactor. $9.50 (Resin) |
| MT-01 | Small General Purpose Buildings (3) | Typical resin sci fi urban houses. $4.50 |
| MT-02 | Med. Gen. Purpose Buildings (2) | Typical small resin warehouses. $4.50 |
| MT-33 | Basic Building (1) | Basic resin office/store complex. $8.50 |
| MT-08 | Armored Command Installation | CP in resin. |
| QUD001 | Signs, Public Toilets, Greenhouses | Lots of fiddly bits for sprucing up urban areas. (White metal.) |
| Full Listing for Geo-Hex | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| FWT01 | Triton IV tracked tnk | FWT44 | Wolfcat tracked tank |
| FWT02 | Triton IV GEV tank | FWT45 | Wolftor GEV tank |
| FWT04 | Deimos hvy GEV tnk | FWT46 | Wolfbat grav tank |
| FWT05 | Diemos/IO (lg turret) | FWT57 | Sencat trackd sup tnk |
| FWT06 | Ganymede shvy GEV | FWT58 | Sencat GEV sup. tank |
| FWT07 | Ultratron shvy trk tnk | FWT59 | Sencat grav sup. tank |
| FWT09 | Antron hvy track tnk | FWG01 | Infantry |
| FWT11 | Jupiter II md. track tnk | FWI03 | Triton IV trackd IFV |
| FWT12 | Deimos w/FWT11 turret | FWI04 | Triton IV GEV IFV |
| FWT14 | Deimos w/twin mnt turret | FWAC01 | Tritonian II trk APC |
| FWT16 | Andromeda shvy track tnk | FWAC02 | Tritonian GEV APC |
| FWT17 | Andromeda w/twn turret | FWAC09 | PT-124 lt grav com. |
| FWT19 | Andromeda w/FWT11 tur | FWAC10 | PT-124 ACAV |
| FWT20 | Ganymede II w/hvy turret | FWM08 | Triton IV trkd msl |
| FWT21 | Ganymede w/twn turret | FWM09 | Triton IV GEV msl |
| FWT30 | Triton AAA tracked | FWM10 | Triton IV lt grav msl |
| FWT31 | Triton AAA GEV | FWSV05 | Trkd ammo carrier |
| FWT36 | PT-124 lt grav tank | FWSV08 | Police GEV van |
| FWT37 | Simcat MBT tracked | FWSV09 | Trkd engineer veh |
| FWT38 | Sycat AAA tracked | FWSV10 | civilian vehicles |
| FWT39 | Symtor GEV MBT | FWSV16 | Heavy truck |
| FWT40 | Sytor AAA GEV | FWA04 | Hellcat tracked SPA |
| FWT41 | Simbat grav MBT | FWA05 | Helltor GEV SPA |
| FWT42 | Simbat AAA grav | FWA06 | Hellbat grav SPA |
Geo-Hex has lots (and lots and lots) more sci-fi stuff (including boats, VTOLs, two entire lines of buildings...), but the above is what would most interest an Ogre player. Ask for Geo-Hex's full catalog if you need more info.
Company: Simtac/Scotia ***
Many people don't like these folks' sci-fi miniatures, as several of them are kit-bashed together from WWII and modern micro-armor parts. For example, their hover scout vehicle is based on a German WWII SPW 251 chassis... Nevertheless, some of the items in the Simtac line paint up quite nicely. In particular, I like their power armored infantry – when painted correctly these make great battlesuits! I've received several faulty castings from Simtac over the years. Assume that 5% of the figures you'll get will be poor castings. In Simtac's defence, they do offer a quality guarantee. I've never taken them up on it because of the cost of sending figures back and forth between Brazil and the States.
Address: 15G Colton Road, East Lyme, CT, 06333
Phone/Fax: 203-739-3609
Line Name: Scotia Models 1/300th scale sci-fi miniatures
Ordering Info: Accepts check, money order, VISA and MC. U.S. Domestic shipments pay 15% shipping charges while overseas pays 20% for land or 40% for airmail.
All blisters are $5.50 and the figures are either lead-free pewter or normal white metal unless otherwise noted. Number in parenthesis is number of figures in the pack.
| Item | Name | Ogre Equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| SF2 | Air Cushion Tank (5) | Primitive GEV |
| SF11 | Hvy Multi-turret tank (1) | A primitive Ogre/Chinese Dragon $6.50 |
| SF14 | Twin Laser Grav Tank (5) | Light HWZR (it looks non-mobile) |
| SF15 | Lt. Grav APC (5) | GEV-PC |
| SFI108 | Power Armored Infantry (+/- 40) | INF, ENG, WPN (three models) |
| SFI05 | Lying trooper (+/-40) | Militia |
| TT301 | Pre-fab Light Laser Turret (4) | Laser Turret. $3.00 |
| TT319 | PPC Tower Type 1 (1) | Laser Tower. $5.00 |
I'm not as familiar with Simtac's line as Geo-Hex's stuff, so I've only listed here the items I can personally attest to. There are many other sci-fi figures produced by Simtac, however. One thing I haven't listed which is pretty neat is a heavy power armor design which would make a great 10mm figure for a miniatures version of Battlesuit. They also make a line of exotic modern vehicles (including Brazilian, Argentinean, South African and Chinese stuff) if you're looking for some odd archaic armor. Ask for Simtac's catalog for more info. (BTW, all recognizable armor names in the list below are vehicles built on that chassis. The 2000 line generally has a railgun turret while the 3000 line has a railgun and GEV skirts. 4000's have their bottom hull filed off to give them that high-tech grav vehicle look...)
| Full Listing for Scotia | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| SF1 | Lg grav tank w/heavy hull | SF61 | York 4000 grav AAA |
| SF2 | Std air cushion tank | SF62 | SA4 2000 tread msl tank |
| SF3 | Air cushion scout vehicle | SF63 | SA4 3000 GEV msl tank |
| SF4 | Primitive grav tank | SF64 | SA4 4000 grav msl tank |
| SF5 | Lg grav APC | SF65 | SA5 2000 tread pt defence |
| SF6 | Sm scout vehicle | SF66 | SA5 3000 GEV pt defence |
| SF7 | Hvy scout vehicle | SF67 | SA5 4000 grav pt defence |
| SF8 | Sm grav jeep | SF68 | ZA1 2000 tread SPA |
| SF9 | Imperial grv tnk w/hy gun | SF69 | ZA1 3000 GEV SPA |
| SF10 | Imperial grv tnk w/laser | SF70 | ZA1 4000 grav SPA |
| SF11 | Hvy multi turrent tank | SF71 | ZS14 2000 tread SPA |
| SF12 | Sm flying saucer | SF72 | ZS14 3000 GEV SPA |
| SF13 | Lg flying saucer | SF73 | ZS15 4000 grav SPA |
| SF14 | Twin laser grav tank | SF74 | T10 2000 lt AT laser gun |
| SF15 | Lt grav APC | SF75 | T10 3000 lt AT laset gun |
| SF16 | Medium field support laser | SF76 | T10 4000 lt AT laser gun |
| SF17 | Twin lt field support laser | SF77 | XT101 lt sonic canon |
| SF18 | Hvy plasma supprt cannon | SF78 | XT201 md sonic cannon |
| SF19 | Thunderbolt 3000 fighter | SF79 | XT301 hvy sonic cannon |
| SF20 | Abrams 2000 tread MBT | SF80 | PXT2001 super hvy laser |
| SF21 | Abrams 3000 GEV MBT | SF81 | PXT2002 supr hvy plasma |
| SF22 | Abrams 4000 grav MBT | SF82 | PXT2003 super hvy disrpt. |
| SF23 | Chieftan 2000 tread MBT | SF83 | Scorpion 2000 tread lt. tnk |
| SF24 | Chieftan 3000 GEV MBT | SF84 | Scorpion 3000 GEV lt. tnk |
| SF25 | Chieftan 4000 grav MBT | SF85 | Scorpion 4000 grav lt. tank |
| SF26 | Challenger 2000 trd MBT | SF86 | Ford XT 2000 truck |
| SF27 | Challengr 3000 GEV MBT | SF87 | Ford XT 3000 GEV truck |
| SF28 | Challengr 4000 grav MBT | SF88 | Ford XT 4000 grav truck |
| SF29 | Merkava 2000 tread MBT | SF89 | GMT 2000 md truck |
| SF30 | Merkava 3000 GEV MBT | SF90 | GMT 3000 GEV truck |
| SF31 | Merkava 4000 grav MBT | SF91 | GMT 4000 grav truck |
| SF32 | Leopard 2000 tread MBT | SF92 | Scamm 2000 hvy truck |
| SF33 | Leopard 3000 GEV MBT | SF93 | Scamm 3000 GEV hvy trk |
| SF34 | Leopard 4000 grav MBT | SF94 | Scamm 4000 grav hvy trk |
| SF35 | Osario 2000 tread MBT | SFI01 | Marine w/laser rifle |
| SF36 | Osario 3000 GEV MBT | SFI02 | Marine w/pulse rifle |
| SF37 | Osario 4000 grav MBT | SFI03 | Strike trooper w/pulse rifle |
| SF38 | Leclerc 2000 tread MBT | SFI04 | Support laser grav sled |
| SF39 | Leclerc 3000 GEV MBT | SFI05 | Lying trooper |
| SF40 | Leclerc 4000 grav MBT | SFI06 | Officer w/bolt pistol |
| SF41 | BMP 2000 tread IFV | SFI07 | Rocket team (prone) |
| SF42 | BMP 3000 GEV IFV | SFI08 | Power Armor Infantry |
| SF43 | BMP 4000 grav IFV | SFI09 | Bounty hunter |
| SF44 | Warrior 2000 tread IFV | SFI10 | Crewman/pilot |
| SF45 | Warrior 3000 GEV IFV | SFI11 | Battle Armor Squad |
| SF46 | Warrior 4000 grav IFV | SFI12 | Ranger in envirosuit |
| SF47 | Bradley 2000 tread IFV | SFI13 | Combat powered troops |
| SF48 | Bradley 3000 GEV IFV | SFI14 | Combat powered cmand |
| SF49 | Bradley 4000 grav IFV | SFI15 | Combat powered hvy wpns |
| SF50 | M-113 2000 tread APC | AAF1 | Alien infantry/w hvy laser |
| SF51 | M-113 3000 GEV APC | AAF2 | Alien infantry w/club |
| SF52 | M-113 4000 grav APC | AAF3 | Alien command |
| SF53 | BTR50 2000 tread APC | AAF4 | Insectoid infantry |
| SF54 | BTR50 3000 GEV APC | AAF5 | Insectoid hvy wpns |
| SF55 | BTR50 4000 grav APC | AAF6 | Insectoid Command |
| SF56 | GEP AMX 2000 trd AAA | AAF7 | Biomech tank, medium |
| SF57 | GEPAMX3000 GEV AAA | AAF8 | Biomech tank, heavy |
| SF58 | GEPAMX 4000 grav AAA | AF1 | Alien hvy transport APC |
| SF59 | York 2000 tread AAA | MS1 | Hyper Speed Tank XT-T1 |
| SF60 | York 3000 GEV AAA | MS2 | Heavy APC Power 7 Type |
Company: Irregular Miniatures * to **
This company has three sci-fi figure lines; two in 1/300th scale and the other in 2mm! I've only seen the 2mm stuff up close, and I found it very unimpressive. Even a careful paint job will probably not liven these buggers up. However, they might be of some use as unit markers on a campaign game map. The photos for their NSF 5mm (1/300th) line look better, but it's hard to tell a figure's quality from a black and white shot in a catalog. In any case, Irregular's stuff looks much more high-tech than the Ogre universe norm – vehicles are clearly grav powered, etc. However, they do have some nice infantry, scenery and even some odd stuff you cant get anywhere else (such as Empire Strikes Back-style rebel cavalry). A further bummer (for Yanks) is the company's English location, which means a pretty hefty freight charge for American customers (welcome to the club!)
Address: 69a Acomb Road, Holgate, York
N. Yorks. YO2 4EP, United Kingdom
Phone: (01904) 79-0597
Line Name: 6mm science fiction miniatures, 2mm Sci-Fi
Ordering Info: Accepts international money order, VISA and Access or pounds sterling (add 10% for bank charges if paying in non-Brit currency). U.S. and Canada residents pay 45%-50% shipping charges (depending on order size) for airmail, 25%-33% for surface (which means it'll get there about the time the Combine/Paneuropean war really starts to heat up). Eurofolk pay 25-33% while Aussies and Africans pay 35-90% (!). Apparently, Irregular has forgotten that us folks in South America play miniatures games, too...
| Full Listing for Irregular | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 6SF1 | Infantry Group | 6SFHA8 | Humanoid jeep |
| 6SF2 | Missile Team | 6SFHA9 | Humanoid command vehcl |
| 6SF3 | GM74ATL MBT | 6SFHA10 | Humanoid gun mortar veh |
| 6SF4 | GM274 Cutlass AA Tank | 6SFHA11 | Humanoid APC |
| 6SF5 | GM311 Alexander IFV | 6SFHA12 | Humanoid AA msl vehcl |
| 6SF6 | GM591 AT missile vehicle | 6SFHA13 | Humanoid SPA |
| 6SF7 | GM561 Attila lt tank | 6SFHA14 | Humanoid assault vehcl |
| 6SF8 | GM191 GUV jeep | 6SFHA15 | Humanoid early MBT |
| 6SF9 | GM191 jeep + AT msl | 6SFHA16 | Humanoid msl team |
| 6SF10 | GM571 Gun mortar vehcle | NSF1 | Stabber MBT |
| 6SF11 | GM581 Armrd cmmd veh. | NSF2 | Strumber MBT |
| 6SF12 | GM541 APC | NSF3 | Slider MBT |
| 6SF13 | GM321 AA msl vehicle | NSF4 | Lifter APC |
| 6SF14 | GM531 SPA | NSF5 | Jet bike |
| 6SF15 | GM76 assault gun | NSF6 | Track pulse cannon |
| 6SF16 | GM86 IFV | NSF7 | Robot attack class |
| 6SF17 | M62 early MBT | NSF8 | Robot mechanic |
| 6SF18 | Infantry msl team | NSF9 | Attack Infantry |
| 6SF19 | Infantry recon team | NSF10 | Support Infantry |
| 6SFG1 | AGS430 Human gunship | NSF11 | Alien Infantry |
| 6SFG2 | OG 420 Human scoutship | NSF12 | Alien Support Inf |
| 6SFG3 | UG 400 Human asltship | NSF13 | Rebel cavalry |
| 6SFHA1 | Humanoid inf group | NSF14 | Large dust worm |
| 6SFHA2 | Humanoid msl team | NSF15 | Baby dust worm |
| 6SFHA3 | Humanoid T1 MBT | NSF16 | Alien MBT |
| 6SFHA4 | Humanoid AA tank | NSF17 | Alien light MBT |
| 6SFHA5 | Humanoid IFV | NSF18 | Alien SPA |
| 6SFHA6 | Humanoid armored car | NSF19 | Alien APC |
| 6SFHA7 | Humanoid AT msl vehicle | NSF20 | Alien skimmer |
Figures generally run around 15-60 pence apiece (what that is in Yank money, I have no idea). [As of June 1998, the exchange rate was approximately $1.625 US per pound sterling. So 60p would equate to about 40 cents, give or take. – Fish] Attack infantry come based 4 to a 15p stand. I'll not go into details here (as I've not seen the stuff outside of the catalog), except to say that figure NSF7, the Robot Attack Class, looks suspiciously like a Dr. Who Dalek... Irregular also produces any kind of historical 6mm figure you could possibly want, and many you probably couldn't care less about. Ask for their catalog and have your mind blown. Cavemen hordes vs. a Mk V, anyone?
Company: Ral Partha ****
Most of you know about Ral's Battletech stuff already. I'm not a big fan of it, but I do use some of their figures. I'm not going to go into much detail about Ral Partha here as they supply practically every games store in the world. Ask your local store owner for a glance at the catalog. Ral's Kurita 6mm Infantry is particularly nice as it has two different types of figures: 5 armored battlesuit models and 5 unarmored militia models.
Line Name: Battletech Figures
Phone contact: 513-631-7335
Company: Games Workshop
Now, now... they do make 6mm scale sci-fi figures. For the three or so of you who dont know about this company, GW is the biggest miniatures manufacturer in the world. They produce a 6mm sci-fi game called Epic 40,000, which has sort of a dark, gothic ambiance. GW's figures are very overpriced and not at all to my tastes, though I suppose that someone could conceivably use them for Ogre. I've even kit-bashed one of their Eldar Tempest heavy grav tanks into a MkII-sized GEOgre; anything is possible. Like Ral, GW is in every game store in the universe, so I'll only give contact info here.
U.S. Address: 3431-C Benson Avenue, Baltimore, MD, 21227-1072
No other contact info at this time. Pick up a copy of GW's house organ White Dwarf at your game store for further news.
Line Name: Epic 40,000
Company: Nightshift Games *** for plastics **** for metals
Nightshift took over the old Renegade Legion sci-fi armor game from FASA. As part of the deal, they aquired some of FASA's miniatures stock as well. Of particular note are their plastic Renegade Legion tank boxed sets. These are two different kits with around 50 miniatures of 5 or so different tank and APC models each. Again, these figures are quite high-tech compared to Ogre, looking more like grav tanks than GEVs. [Possibly because they are... – Fish] However, theyre nice looking and relatively cheap, if you can find them. Check out Nightshift's stand at conventions; they should still have some in stock.
Line Name: Renegade Legion Miniatures, 1/285 scale (they look closer to 1/300 to me)
I only have a contact number for these folks from the 1996 Games Quarterly Catalog. God only knows if its still current... 510-797-0717. Last years sales contact was Paul Lidberg. Ask for items 5975 – Plastic Death: TOG Cohort Pack and 5976 – Plastic Death: Legion Cohort pack. Each is 20 bucks, though item #5985, the Miniatures Bonus Pack, will give you both for a measly US$29.95. C-in-C used to produce metal figures for Renegade Legion – ask the folks at Nightshift if they've still got any.
Company: Stone Mountain Miniatures ****
Yet another high-tech looking 1/300th sci-fi minis line. Stone Mountain has support walkers (two-legged vehicles smaller than mechs), infantry and nice laser installations as well. Their tanks look sleek enough to drop from orbit, however, and are obviously about a century ahead of Ogres tech level. Very pretty, though.
Line Name: Dark Star 6mm Miniatures
Again, I only have a 1996 contact number for these folks as some well-meaning person here at Devir apparently tossed their catalog while cleaning out our files... Phone: 303-654-7989. Sales contact person last year was Dave Babb.
| Full Listing for Stone Mountain | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ASF100 | Marines | ASF220 | Zukat walkers |
| ASF101 | Inf. sup. weapons | ASF250 | Sorhan IFV |
| ASF120 | Scout walker | ASF251 | Srahne com. IFV |
| ASF150 | Puma IFV | ASF261 | Zirhan MBT |
| ASF160 | Lynx ACAV | ASF210 | Imprl mid-tech Inf. |
| ASF161 | Tiger MBT | ASF252 | IFV |
| ASF110 | Mid-tech inf. | ASF262 | Tank |
| ASF151 | Stormer IFV | ASF262 | MBT |
| ASF162 | Lancer MBT | FAN600 | Laser towers |
| ASF200 | Legionaries | FAN601 | Laser cmnd towers |
| ASF201 | Legion sup. weapns | ||
Abbreviations for the jargonically challenged are as follows:
SPA = self-propelled artillery (a big, mobile howitzer-like gun)
MBT = main battle tank (a tank)
APC = armored personel carrier (a mobile box for carrying foot soldiers)
IFV = infantry fighting vehicle (an APC with more armor and a bigger gun)
ACAV = armored cavalry vehicle (a faster, better armed IFV)
