Author Topic: WOTC Star Wars Miniatures  (Read 143631 times)

Offline Thomas Grey

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WOTC Star Wars Miniatures
« on: January 26, 2003, 03:04 AM »
Star Wars Clix?

I know that licensing would be a pretty big task for Wizkids to pull off, but I would love to see them do a line of Star Wars 'clix'!
The Mage Knight stuff is pretty cool, Mechwarrior is ok, and I am hopelessly addicted to the new Marvel Clobberin' Time Heroclix run! Anyone else agree this would be an ultra-cool thing to add to our collecting and role playing lives?
« Last Edit: August 23, 2005, 03:24 AM by JediMAC »
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Offline Scott

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Re:Star Wars Clix?
« Reply #1 on: January 27, 2003, 09:25 AM »
I saw these at the local WotC store the other day and thought the exact same thing.  While I wouldn't buy them (I have enough crap ;)) they do look fun and would be a good idea for the Clix people to persue

Offline BigDumbWookiee

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Re: Star Wars Clix?
« Reply #2 on: March 22, 2003, 10:02 PM »
I used to be really into Mage Knight (collecting, not really playing), and I think Star Wars would be really great in a Clix line! WOTC hsa been expressing an interest in this liscense, so perhaps we will see these down the road.

The only problem I have is with all the extras, and the setup of rarity. I realize to keep it a game you have to set rarity levels, but going outside the set is what turned me away from Mage Knight and Hero Clix; there are just way to many convention exclusives, mail exclusives, tournament exclusives, etc. For a completist like me, I'd go nuts (and broke) trying to get them all. Combine that with a group of people who get mad because they cant find the figure that was released yesterday (Im not saying everyone, just those who really think like that), and you also get a lot of people that will ruin the hobby for others.

If they kept the set within the bounds of the actual retail set, I'd be all for it.  They could make some cool expansion stuff as well (ala Mage Knight castles, etc). They could easily make a lot of scale vehicles, environments and other stuff. Not to mention the fact that the Star Wars TCG isn't doing well, and all of the mini roleplayers are doing quite well, WOTC would be foolish to not look into it!
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Offline Thomas Grey

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Star Wars Clix
« Reply #3 on: October 28, 2003, 05:18 PM »
Just wondering...

Now that the LOTR Clickable figure/rpg have been announced and realized (release is soon I think) it seems Star Wars will want in the game too at some point. I know that anyone who wants to buy the licensing is going to pay a pretty penny, but they would be very cool and something to look forward to as an expansion of collecting for when it's all said and done. I know that the Marvel & DC are very popular here and the sets get a lot of play on the auction sites and they have intentional limited edition figures for those of us that like the Toy Fair Vader...

I am all for it and hope they do get something in the works at some point in the future.

Anyone else interested or looking forward to this happening for the Star Wars universe? Or do we have anti-Clix people out there?
« Last Edit: May 5, 2004, 07:35 PM by JediMAC »
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Offline BigDumbWookiee

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Re: Star Wars Clix
« Reply #4 on: October 28, 2003, 09:51 PM »
If they announced Star Wars Clix, it would probably be the best and worst Star Wars news I've ever read.

I love "Clix" style miniatures. For a while, I was overboard obsessed with Mage Knight, a very cool game. I love miniatures, and these are a great size.

On the other side, like you mentioned, are more exclusives than you can shake your fist at. Stuff harder to find than Toy Fair Vader or the Gentle Giant Blue Clonetrooper (so just imagine what it would be like with Star Wars applied to the equation). Also, the set sizes and frequency of releases make these really difficult to collect. At least with MageKnight, there were 3 to 4 150 (regular) figure sets released per year. Add to that the packing scheme (not everything is available in the same ratio, like CCGs), and you add an even higher expense to collecting these.

So on one hand, I love the idea, but on the other hand, it would drive me crazy trying to collect them.

So tell me more about these LOTR clickables. Got a link? That surprises me, since GameWorkshop deals so heavily in LOTR miniature role playing figures, didnt think there would be such a huge difference in the license.
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Offline Thomas Grey

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Star Wars CMG
« Reply #5 on: January 15, 2004, 09:15 PM »
From what I've read, these will be similar in scale and presentation as the WotC D&D CMGs. A new game will be introduced and provided with the starter sets and the 'super rare' miniatures will be packaged only in the boosters.

What makes this cool is they can also be used in the RPG arena. Purists might argue that the prepainted figures are a bit of a bummer and unpainted miniatures would be nice. I don't know really.

Just curious how many are looking forward to a new era of SW miniatures.
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Offline JediMAC

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Re: Star Wars CMG
« Reply #6 on: January 15, 2004, 10:43 PM »
I'm not a "gamer" at all, nor do I have any plans of becoming one, but that said - I do love miniatures.  So I'm very anxious to see what these turn out looking like.  I contemplated picking up some of the older ones, but have no painting talent (or patience) whatsoever, so I passed on those.  But since these are pre-painted, I might be very interested in collecting them just for the hell of it.

Heck, they may even work well with the old vintage Kenner Micro collection, or even the modern Micro Machine sets.  That could be an interesting combination...

Any idea when we'll get a peak at some of these Thomas, and how much they might cost?

Offline Jesse James

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Re: Star Wars CMG
« Reply #7 on: January 16, 2004, 12:57 AM »
Being a semi-Minis aficianado (If I do say so), I'd have to say the idea of pre-painted is a major turn-off, as is a collectible version of minis gaming.  

I've heard rumors of them being similar to the D&D style but I've also heard rumors of them being a re-production of the famous West End Games Miniatures Battles game from days of yore.

Pre-painted, I can safely say, is a bad thing though...  Painting them yourself is part of the fun of the minis hobby partly, but the other part that's bad is the paintjobs are never of the quality that you can acheive on your own.  You get mass-produced paintjobs more or less.  They rarely look up to the standards of the miniatures hobby overall.  Lots of touch-up work to do if you want them to truly shine generally.

A real minis game is the Lord of the Rings Tabletop Miniatures Battles game.  THAT thing is amazing.  It's everything you could want in Lord of the Rings, and honestly I'd say forget sinking your $ into those crappy Armies of Middle Earth figures, and start buying/painting those minis instead.  TONS of great figures from all 3 films, and in a scale small enough that you could make a true-scale Helm's Deep and it would look great and not take up that much room.

And top it off with you being able to actually PLAY with it too. :)  Kick ass!

I was/am still hoping the Star Wars minis game is similar...  The old West End Games minis batttles were that way, and that's a game with a still solid following to it.  Those minis generally fly off of Ebay for good prices...  At least the army builders do.

I've got a nice army, but need to cast more of them, especially if this upcoming game isn't a true miniatures battles game, but instead is one of the D&D style games that is out.  :(  I'll be bummed if that's the case though.
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Offline Thomas Grey

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Re: Star Wars CMG
« Reply #8 on: January 17, 2004, 01:53 PM »
That's cool that you are a miniature painting fool Jesse! That is something that requires a lot of patience and techniques with a brush that are challenge for even experience fine art painters. I am by no means saying that miniature painting is a lesser art form...

Do you use kolinsky sable brushes when you paint? If so, what brand and size do you prefer? I see them advertised a lot in Diamond Select monthly for decent prices. As an aspiring comic book writer and artist, I find kolinsky is the best for the inking process and I do not cut corners on my brushes. I usually am spending $25 - $30 for my kolinsky brushes (usually series 700 Winsor & Newton #'s 2 or 3). Sorry to get off the subject, just very interested. Also would be curious to know what paint you use or would recommend. I think sharing this info would benefit anyone interested or even those that have some experience in miniature painting.

Did I mistake you for saying you need to CAST some more? Do you cast too? I've done larger sculptures and cast them with Forton MG using a poly-eurethane for the mold (spelled that wrong, I know and not sure what brand it was). I enjoyed it and still have several cast pieces I need to sand and polish and patina... I like the casting part and the creation process, but you can have the finishing duties; so monotonous and tedious... If you don't, then I just wrote a long paragraph of nonsense...

Back to the subject at hand:

I think the LOTR miniatures are pretty damn cool too. I think I have a link that has an early prototype of what they will look like and I'm not sure how legit it is... Scroll to the bottom of the page...

http://www.creationmatrix.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=3058&st=20
« Last Edit: January 17, 2004, 01:54 PM by Thomas Grey »
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Offline Jesse James

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Re: Star Wars CMG
« Reply #9 on: January 17, 2004, 05:40 PM »
Eh, it's still on topic I suppose.  It's related to minis I guess right? :)

Well, I don't really use a specific brush brand myself...  I use anything from needles and toothpicks on up to expensive brushes I pick up at Hobby shops.  There's a couple shops dedicated to RPG and minis gaming in Pittsburgh that you can get supplies specifically for minis at.

I tend to use a variety of paint for minis though, as their composition lends them to using most any brand of model or hobby paint.  Testors works fine since the plastics used are generally rigid.  The other minis are cast metal, so it's real easy to find paints that work well.  Keeping them from chipping is more a problem really.  Clear coats work fine though, but in that small a detail, if you want something like a single piece to shine with the rest of the figure being flat, then even clear coating can be a chore.

As for casting, I use poly-eurithane resins, which I also employ in customizing Star Wars figures as well, but casting miniatures is a side thing.  The intricate detail makes it difficult so some complex methods are  needed to do proper casts but it's cheaper than looking for metal minis from a line that was canned back in the early 90's.  West End Games had some of the best minis out though.  There's like a dozen different stormtroopers, and a dozen different Rebel Troopers...  It's great really.  

Anyway, on the brushes again, yeah I don't use anything particular...  Whatever looks really good to me for what I need it for is more what I look at.  Often times for the details though, like I said, I go with any tool I can rig at the time like needle points and things...  No brush seems good enough for me then, not when painting eyes in that scale, haha.  :)
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Offline Thomas Grey

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Re: Star Wars CMG
« Reply #10 on: January 18, 2004, 02:22 PM »
I am impressed and as an inker I have never tried the toothpick method (and it probably wouldn't do me much good...).

The casting that you do sounds great and I am very intrigued that you are so adept at it. I have probably missed a thread of where you post your customs and miniatures and I apologize for not being a more well-rounded forum reader.

To get the detail on the miniatures must be a total pain, especially if you have to apply sprues for pieces that extend out too far. The other thing is that the sanding and cleaning up must be a royal pain on something so small. I have tried my hand at jewelry and wanted to start using my tiny files and sanding tools and just flush them along with my work. I just do not have the patience.

When you customize the 3 3/4" figure, I imagine it must be in many different pieces that you join when they are set. My obstacle has always been the engineering aspect of the action figure. The joints always come out mangled or oversized or not at all. I prefer a bit of a larger scale and I don't fear the small, I just abhor the maintenance of getting them to the finished product.

It's very cool to know that you have such an interest in this and use your knowledge and creativity to make your own Star Wars stuff. I'd love to see your work and I'd be happy to post a digital image of my favorite cast sculpture. It's just not related to Star Wars.
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Offline Jesse James

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Re: Star Wars CMG
« Reply #11 on: January 18, 2004, 08:42 PM »
Hey Thomas, thanks for the kind words...  I'm not nearly that impressive though, haha...  But it's nice someone thinks so anyway.   ;D

For the toothpick thing, I actually learned to improvise tools like that when I built model military figures as a child...  Tamiya and some other companies put out some really REALLY amazing World War II model kits that my brothers got into, and then I started grabbing an odd kit here and there to make figures.  They had everything from BMW German motorcycle couriers to Artillery crews you could put on a German 88 model or Flak gun or whatnot.  Really neat stuff.  

Since I couldn't afford the expensive brushes at the time, and was spending $ on various things as a kid, I improvised the tools sometimes.  Pins, toothpicks, etc...  Even cobbled good brushes from cheap testors model brushes by cutting the hairs to a point and such.

Quote
The casting that you do sounds great and I am very intrigued that you are so adept at it. I have probably missed a thread of where you post your customs and miniatures and I apologize for not being a more well-rounded forum reader.

I wouldn't say I'm adept at it, but thanks. :)  I'm just self-taught because I wanted to get to know how to make my own pieces and cast entire customs instead of relying on Hasbro to make a decent figure themselves or only having one of a figure I made incase I wanted more than one.

You've missed no threads though, don't worry. :)  The few customs I have done I'm not really wanting to show right now...  Most I've scrapped and want to improve upon.  I have a lot of projects that are partly finished...  Those are mostly vehicles though.  My casting's been dead in the water for a while since I can't afford supplies at the moment and am out of most everything I need.  I have worked on scratch built vehicles and some modified vehicles but only have them partly finished...  One project's even been years in the making, and is nowhere near done, haha.  Sad...

Quote
To get the detail on the miniatures must be a total pain, especially if you have to apply sprues for pieces that extend out too far. The other thing is that the sanding and cleaning up must be a royal pain on something so small. I have tried my hand at jewelry and wanted to start using my tiny files and sanding tools and just flush them along with my work. I just do not have the patience.

Yeah, nailing detail right is a pain, and takes practice, but good minis painters really can do amazing work because a lot of minis are VERY intricately detailed.  The old West End Games ones were amazing, really.  If you ever get the chance to see some of them, they're worth a look.  The Lord ofo the Rings ones are superior even if you ask me.  Those are a diverse line...  There's even a vintage line, and the modern tabletop minis line that's out now.  I think they're the same scale too.  The vintage line my brother had all of, and he's a true master at minis painting.  He even was able to paint tattoos on figures in that tiny scale....  That just boggles my mind.  He has a vast array of speciality tools he uses to do his work too.  Lots of magnifying equipment, clamps, etc...  And the things look like real mini people when he's done too.  

It really does take a lot of patience and a steady hand...  It can result in some great items when you're done though.  The old SW minis are a neat side collecting thing too.

Quote
When you customize the 3 3/4" figure, I imagine it must be in many different pieces that you join when they are set. My obstacle has always been the engineering aspect of the action figure. The joints always come out mangled or oversized or not at all. I prefer a bit of a larger scale and I don't fear the small, I just abhor the maintenance of getting them to the finished product./quote]

A good way to work it is to build off an existing base, if you're casting a figure.  That way you get the correct joints and things.  not possible for a 100% handmade figure, but it's good for improving figures that Hasbro's given you a start to (or any other company).  Proper casting should yield a perfect copy more or less though, so it should work out...  I've done that just practicing, simply to see if I could do working joints...  I casted a Dr. Evazan upper body perfectly...  Was pretty neat. :)  There's other problems I'll run into then later, more advanced things I guess, but for a basic run it worked and I was pretty proud at the time.  It's just so darn expensive to get into though.

You'll have to post some images of your items you've casted, I'm pretty curious to see them.  At some point maybe I'll be able to post images of something I've done, but at the moment I'm dead in the water on the issue of customizing.  Eventually though.  :)  

If the minis line pans out to be a true minis battles game I'm probably not going to bother casting any minis anymore.  May as well just buy em I figure.  I just hope the game's as good as the old WEG one was.  That thing rocked...  I hope the minis are that nice (prepainted or not) and as diverse as WEG had.  
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Offline Thomas Grey

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Re: Star Wars CMG
« Reply #12 on: January 18, 2004, 10:06 PM »
I am glad you are honest and I think maybe I just made too big a deal. I get excited when someone else shares an interest of mine and knows what I'm talking about. So, good or not so good, it's still cool that you try.

I have known people that have gotten high powered magnifying glasses and that was the method of painting so small and intricately. It's a good trick and works wonders! You just have to get used to manipulating the tiny tools...

Good stuff and if you have to shalve it for a while, that's cool. Just don't leave it there too long... Rust is always hard to get of of your brain.
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Offline Jesse James

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Re: Star Wars CMG
« Reply #13 on: January 19, 2004, 06:58 PM »
Yeah, I always dip back into things...  I try practicing any way I can to master certain techniques...  Everything from complex casting techniques (nothing's been as complex as casting minis though, and I doubt anything ever is), making true water-transfer decals that are high quality, etc...

In the meantime, just try to get what I can if I can afford it.

It's all one can do I guess.  :)
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Offline Jesse James

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Star Wars Miniatures (RPG & Minis Battles)
« Reply #14 on: January 22, 2004, 08:55 PM »
Anyone here a collector of the old West End Games Star Wars Miniatures by chance?  

I wish I could scan some of the color images from the Minis battles gaming book to show off what I'm talking about incase you're not familiar.

The Star Wars miniatures line consisted of a slew of finely sculpted miniature lead figurines from classic Star Wars and a few from the Expanded Universe.  The line was originally created for the Star Wars Role Playing Game from West End Games, but later the line was expanded to have a diverse group of military-styled figures to flesh out armies for the Star Wars Miniatures Battles Tabletop game that followed towards the demise of West End Games in the early to mid 1990's.

Here's an image of a mix of some of the figures you could get:



There's a pretty nifty mix there!  :)  

And here's a link for the majority of the rest with some good closeup shots RIGHT HERE.

There's some REALLY amazing sculpts, and the variety involved in the final designs of some of the characters was downright amazing.  

Rebel Troopers alone sported about a dozen different Fleet Troopers, and a dozen different Spec. Forces miniatures.  Same went for Stormtroopers who had a dozen unique miniatures which made for a really impressive set-up on any battlefield.

The scale lends itself well to HUGE dioramas as well, plus the practical use of actually playing the Miniatures Battles game was a great addition to collecting the minis.  

Unfortunately, these aren't common anymore since WEG went under...  They're some of the few non-action figure things I collect though, and am attempting to reproduce to build my armies with, without sinking the $ into the actual metal originals in grand numbers.

If you have any Star Wars minis stores (Or any for sale?  ;) ), please feel free to post and reminisce on a great past line.  

BTW, beyond the Fleet Troopers being my favorites, I love the Grand Moff Tarkin miniature, and the Wookie soldier one's pretty neat too.
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