"Shh! Wait!...Can you feel that?..." It's 28mm Sci-Fi, and it's coming back to life...
I've noticed a trend over the past few years: 15mm Sci-Fi is waning (not dying, just waning - Don't Panic©) and 28mm Sci-Fi is again gaining ground. To mix metaphors: The pendulum has swung full circle.
Disclaimer/Claimer (Sorry/Not Sorry): When I do an overview/review, I invariably ruffle some feathers - that's the nature of reviews, because they reflect individual tastes, preferences and opinions. I do not review items outside my area of interest i.e. WH40K. I just don't like it, I don't play it, I don't review it or anything directly associated with it, and that's that. That said, Hail the Emperor, He Suffers for Us.
Neither am I beholden to any of these companies under review: I don't get review samples, I don't want review samples, and I decline review samples. The only exception is, if something is included in a regular order, as a freebie - then I review it if it takes my fancy. I remain a Free Agent.
I need to include this disclaimer because there are people who feel that some manufacturer-suppliers are entitled to special consideration, simply because these vendors make stuff these people especially like. That's alright for some, but not here. Whether I like something or not, the reader is free to agree or disagree, but that doesn't change my position - unless I've made a factual mistake, whereupon I will occasionally change positions.
Finally, defining "Old School": Old School hearkens back to a time when:
- We played face-to-face
- Figures were rules-agnostic, made of metal, (or resin, in the case of terrain) and painted.
- The Content was neither video-game nor anime derived, nor so aesthetically inspired.
Acheson Creations
A neat line of Sci-Fi scatter terrain. Including pipelines, furnishings and small buildings. They are reasonably quick in dispatching your purchase, and I've always had good service from them.
Amara Plastic Mouldings
Amara has their Future Zone line of moulded styrene for 28mm. One of my favourite pieces is the Fortress Wall Section, which has appeared in my 15mm Stargrunt Games as well as my 28mm VSF games.
Armourcast Terraform Terrain
Produces an excellent variety of Modern/Near Future terrain, alien plants, ruins. One of my very first Sci-Fi terrain purchases was from Armourcast. The old Lance and Laser and Mega Miniatures Salvage Crew line have found their home there.
From 2000 to 2005, after they lost the WH40K license, and associated business, they branched into "Steampunk", where they flirted with some arguably off-beat designs, like the Steam Buddha and Steam Mushroom (and the wargame application for these are...what again?), while abandoning the higher-demand items like the Grizzley Steam Walker - probably because the moulds had worn out, and they didn't want to deal with the expense of making new ones.
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| Ex-Armourcast Steam Walker - Sic Transit Gloria |
Armourcast also make Cinematic effects and Bases. Now, these are undeniably cool, and I have a couple of the latter- that said, Cinematic Effects is a niche line and is somewhat over-represented on their website. As an inheritance from the previous owners, I suspect it's intended to service diorama enthusiasts, and not gamers. That said, if you need an "Attack Hamster Muzzle Effect" Armorcast is your go-to guy.
In 2007, the company changed hands, though it's sometimes difficult to judge whether Armourcast is a company moving forward, or one whose best days are behind it. Despite any perceived erosion to their previous reputation*, the new owner/operator has spun off a new concept, to breathe life into the "same-old, discontinued" line, and so created "Ginfritter's Gnomish Workshop". There are new items being added, of a quirky, humourous nature, that you won't find elsewhere.
*In case of any doubt, I can pull up the relevant TMP threads. Again, nota bene.
Black Cat Miniatures - An assortment of furnishings, set dressing, et al. Very handy for the odd bit no one else make. Reasonably quick dispatch.
Crooked Dice Design Studio
A plethora of crates, set dressings for The Village, 1960's-style control panels, even a Secret Base where you can Hideout and destroy your favourite Star Trek franchise.
Knights of Dice
Based in Australia, Knights of Dice offer several lines of SciFi buildings, some of which can certainly be classified as Old School style. Their Easy District has a certain Blade Runner feel, with acrylic "neon" signs for good measure. Their Invictus line is a bit more "gothic", but would fit with a game set in the Riddick universe, and their Sandport Hydra line would make a good Arrakis or Tatooine.
My caveat with Knights of Dice is, their buildings span 28mm-35mm, which can be a trifle biggish for 28mm. That said, the workmanship is excellent - with multiple layers that give the buildings depth.
Mantic Games
Despite my aversion to plastic minis, I'm less fussy regarding terrain. Mantic do a series of Sci-Fi Terrain Crate sets, and their Industrial Accessories set has proved especially useful for my purposes
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Miniature Building Authority
MBA also has a small, newish 28mm SciFi line, of just under a dozen. It's mostly greebles and bits & bobs, but there is a nice Flux Capacitor that's fairly unique. MBA's Shanty Town line is useful for you post-spoc fans. I've had good service from MBA.
Sarissa Precision
While MDF usually falls outside my definition of "Old School SciFi", Sarissa Precision deserves an honourable mention, due to the clean, futuristic lines and Old School design. I have an entire farm from Sarissa. Some of their stuff looks like Blade Runner, some of it looks like Saturn 3. With their System 28 SciFi line, you can re-create Hadley's Hope from Aliens, and that's good enough for me.
Scotia Grendel
Has some 60+ entries in their Sci-Fi Terrain line, including those awesome pillboxes that I use for 15mm SciFi games. Also futuristic doors, cryo chambers, control panels (one of which has a three-ring binder on it - how Old School can you get?) and xeno-eggs.
TTCombat
These are another 28mm-35mm scale product. I have only one item in TT Combat's SciFi Utopia range, and that's their Geodesic Domes set. It looks very neat - as I have yet to assemble it, I'll need to wait before I can give it an honest review.
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| Geodesic Dome from TTCombat |
Honourable MentionsThe following may very well be the best thing since sliced bread - only, aside from searching their websites fairly often, I haven't had the opportunity to purchase much, if any, of their relevant stock.
Black Site Studio -
Post Apoc,
Arcology, and a Blade-Runner-esque
Zaibatsu line. A lot of Out-of-Stock items...
when will suppliers learn that this is almost always seen as a bad sign by browsing shoppers?
Rebel Minis - 28mm Fenceposts and UAV. Hopefully, they will expand their 28mm Sci-Fi line.
Warlord Games - I've included Warlord as the Elephant in the Room, because I haven't quite forgiven them for
Doctor Who. That said, I've been very, very close to purchasing their
Freedom Colony Outpost, because it's unique and very future-y. I do have some Frostgrave miniatures, via
Northstar Figures, and they are very good.
Closing Thoughts
This list cannot be compleatly exhaustive, and there are some smaller startups offering "one-shot" terrain items which may, or may not, fall under the Old School Sci-Fi umbrella as I'm using here - that said, feel free to offer additional suggestions, in the comments, if there's something you think I've missed....Ω
