"Recognize these Aliens?" Topic

Hi all,

I am seeking help identifying the following science fiction figures:

link

The first picture is of a faceless alien with a weapon in hand. The base is marked with appears to be "SF20 (or 28)" and "Rick Priestly". The figure is cast in lead and appears to be 25mm. I am aware of Rick's work with Game's Workshop, but I am not familiar with the Science Fiction line that this represents.

The second picture shows representatives of a large army that consists of all the same figure as pictured. They appear to be cast in lead, 28mm in scale and no markings on the base. The bases appear to be irregular in shape and inconsistent from one figure to the next.

The final three pictures are part of a large army of Star Wars figures. They appear to be cast from lead, 25mm in scale with no markings on the base. Aside from the West End Games figures, I can't seem to find another early Star Wars figure release.

Any help that you might provide about the makers of these figures would be greatly appreciated.

Take care,
Andy

Those aren't WEG Stormtroopers. The guns and heads are too misshaped, WEG did a better looking job than that. I know I still have some of their miniatures, unless those are very early versions.

They look like starguard minis to me.

1st picture is an "ORT" originally from Asgard miniatures but now available from 15mm.co.uk/MSM41_Ort.htm

2nd picture I'm not entirely sure but think they come from minifigs

3rd picture the guys(not sure of the mount) come from tin Soldiers Star guard link

The Star wars guys could have come from the old Archive miniature line from the 70's

hope this helps

The third, fourth and right hand fig on the fifth pic are all Starguard figs (the stormtroopers were discontinued 'cause the manufacturer never had the proper permission to produce Star Wars figs). All were produced in the 70's…some still in production, I think.

The stormtroopers are not Archive/Rkiiv, I have some and they are much chunker, and not even close to "true 25mm".

But I would love to see some pics of the rest of Rkiiv "Star Rovers" line. I have only ever seen a handful.

I had a number of Star Guard colonials, exactly like the storm troopers in the photos.

Hey,

Thanks for the help all. The ORT identification was spot on. I can't seem to find any pictures of the Starguard miniatures that closely resemble star wars colonials and rebels, but I understand why.

Any additional help on the yellow alien would be helpful, though I will search through my Minifigs propaganda to see if they made him back in the day.

Take care,
Andy

Can't check the links from work however we've put a load of the Archive Star Rovers line (inlcuding the 'not Star Wars' pics on the Lost Minis WIKI –

link

Interesting that Rick sculpted the Orts – didn't know he was sculting that early – good info for the WIKI!

also, I'm sure most of the Starguard minis are still being porduced but haven't got my info at work :(

The first figure is indeed an old Asgard Miniatures Ort (I have a small pile of these relics as yet unpainted).

The second photo with two identical aliens I can't say I've ever seen them before…

The third photo is of two Federation Colonial Militia from Starguard, a sniper/sharpshooter with a needle rifle, and a scout or officer mounted on a "Hopper." The two bumps on the rider's helmet are supposedly for the comm gear BTW, marking the figure as a scout or officer.

The fourth photo is again figures from Starguard, being of two Imperial Terran Marines with laser rifles, and a scout on a "Skyscooter," all wearing the original (unauthorized) helmet before Lucasfilm Ltd. won a landmark lawsuit concerning product resemblance and brand recognition that turned the toy industry on its head. Hence why the Imperial Terran Marines have a different helmet these days…Sadly, the Skyscooter has been long OOP.

The fifth photo is of an Asgard robot, and of another Imperial Terran Marine (old helmet) from Starguard.

All of the Starguard figures are still very much in production:

tin-soldier.com

The game itself is available from the same source (5th edition). Starguard is the granddaddy of all sci-fi miniature wargame rules AFAIK, having first been published in 1974. There are over 200 different figures, robots, AFVs, etc., available for this fine old classic game where jet pack troopers move like they know what they're doing, and powered armour troopers fight more like the descriptions from Heinlein's classic *novel* Starship Troopers, than glorified medieval Knights Templar (and are armed accordingly).

For the record, Starguard was the first miniature game I ever played over 30 years ago. I still have most of my figures from my high school and college days (repainted to a much higher standard than my first poor efforts!), and sold them for many years when I ran Federation Armory in California.

I am also the designer for several of the AFVs and robots found in the game starting with the Ralnai "Chickenfoot" scout walker.

I still play Starguard every now and again, and it is IMHO just as much fun now as it was over 30 years ago when I first battled scum-sucking alines and vile Terran interlopers with my schoolmates so long ago.

Hope this helps!

Leland R. Erickson
Metal Express
metal-express.net

Thank you for the excellent information, Leland. I have one final question for you or anyone else that might be able to help. Is there a resource that shows pictures of the original Starguard! line? I have a large army with many more figures that I assume are from those originally produced before the Lucasfilm lawsuit, but I would like to verify that.

The link to tin-soldier is helpful, but I have many more figures that are not represented there and those that are similar are different in the ways you mentioned (different helmets, weapons, etc.)

Isn't there a website with a gallery showing the original line?

Andy

Andy,

AFAIK there isn't. Reviresco is the current iteration of the original company run by John McEwan, one of the principal authors of the game itself, and the sculptor and manufacturer of the figures themselves.

If you could post more pictures in Photobucket, I would be more than happy to help you ID them, as I have owned (or still own) a considerable number of the figures and models myself, as well as having sold many of them through my old mail order service for a number of years.

Hope this all helps!

Leland R Erickson
Metal Express
metal-express.net

Hi Leland,

Being able to positively identify the figures with the help of you, zerozero and the others is exciting. Learning some of the history behind the game, company and the original line is invaluable and an unexpected treat.

I would like to post some additional pictures and get your thoughts on them. The Archive miniatures in the army are easy to ID as are the Asgard. I would like to post the information provided here to the Lost Mini's wiki as DozingDragon mentions above, along with my pictures. It would be great if we could build a reference to these under the McEwan section of that site.

Though I was looking to trade or sell these Sci-Fi figures as I primarily focus on fantasy lines, your description of Starguard! and a few sites I found today dedicated to the game has me on the verge of changing my mind. I wonder if I could find someone to play the game with in my area…hmm.

Andy

Andy,

Starguard *is* addictive to put it mildly…

Leland R. Erickson
Metal Express
metal-express.net

Andy,

this may help you in your efforts:

link

Leland R. Erickson
Metal Express
metal-express.net

If you are thinking of selling some of those not-storm troopers please PM me!