PREVIEW: GZG 15mm RAVAGERS!

Thanks to Jon at GZG I'm now the proud owner of his new 15mm 'Ravager' miniatures.

The 'Ravagers' come in two different sets, each pack containing 2 each of 4 different sculpts. The miniatures are lovely sculpts in the flesh (believe me, better than they appear in the photos), approximately 16mm to 16.5mm from sole to eye level. To my mind certainly some of the best 'civilian' figures from GZG to date.

As you can see from the photos below, they can be used as the denizens of a thousand starports; criminal elements, gangers, tramp starship crew, space pirates, heroes, sidekicks and villains. They are really versatile miniatures and can even be utilised as modern day survivalists or Zombie Hunters.

Detail? Well, look for yourself. I think it's comparable with any 28mm from Hasslefree or Heresy Miniatures! Click on the photos for a larger image...

GZG 15mm Ravagers

Figure A: Bald head (or headscarf/skullcap) with a scar or bionic implant on the right side of his forehead. The detail of the folds in the back of his coat is well done. He will make a perfect space pirate captain or petty crime lord.

Figure B: Bald head again, but this time with a small tuft of hair on his forehead in ska-punk fashion. There's a handle of a knife or cosh tucked into his right boot.

Figure C: A very curvy female character dressed in a cropped top. There's even goggles on her forehead. She would make a welcome addition to any ship's crew, or become a great survivalist, adventurer or Zombie hunter figure in the mould of the Resident Evil babes. A quick conversion giving her a chainsaw would turn the miniature into a fair representation of Hasslefree's Ashlee.

Figure D: Better in 3D than the photo may suggest, this guy has dreadlocks and a goatee and is oozing character! He actually makes a good Samuel L Jackson lookalike "When you absolutely, positively got to kill every motherf**ker on the starship!"

More GZG 15mm Ravagers

Figure A: Very feminine figure with attitude and a shotgun!

Figure B: Shoulder length hair wearing a long coat which again has excellent folds that will lift the miniature out of the ordinary once painted and will repay careful wash/shading. Makes a good character figure.

Figure C: Wearing a skull cap with a more asian, african or face. Armed with an assault rifle.

Figure D: Once again a great character figure for RPG's and individual skirmish gaming.


How do the Ravagers stack up against other miniatures? Fine, and they compliment each other well too. Here you see them next to a Rebel Mini's Earth Force Marine and a GZG UNSC Hard Suit Marine.

GZG 15mm Ravager vs Khurasan Miniatures Garn Warrior

Can't wait to paint the Ravagers and get them on the table, but even with just an ink wash they look incredible and detailed enough to game with! At long last I feel that there are figures which surpass Citadel Miniatures classic Traveller Set1: Adventurers and Set 4: Citizens. These GZG minis have lifted me from the doldrums and make me want to play Traveller again. If only they had been available 25 years ago!

UPDATED....30th June........actual pack contents:

GZG SG15-X06: £2.50

SG15-X07: £2.50

Cheers
Mark

15mm GARN: Close Up and Personal

One of the most anticipated releases of the year, Khurasan Miniatures 15mm Sci Fi Garn Warriors will not fail to disappoint. I suspect these new miniatures will become THE alien scumbags of choice amongst the 15mm Sci Fi gaming community.

15mm Khurasan Miniatures
Garn Warriors

Front and rear views of the Garn. Note that these miniatures do not have their weapons attached yet. All figures are sculpted as firing from the hip. The weapons come on a separate sprue and have a small spigot which fits into the hole you can see on the central figure. Take notice that the magazine is already moulded grasped in the right claw.

15mm Garn: L-R: Heavy Weapons trooper and 2 Warriors

The Heavy Weapons trooper comes with a sprue of different weapon 'inserts' which fit beneath the bar you see on the left-hand Garn in the photo above. You can cut off this spigot and paint it as a sword or similar close combat weapon.

15mm Khurasan Miniatures Garn Warriors
Comparisons with other manufacturer's human miniatures

This photo illustrates how solid and powerfully built Garn warriors are compared to humans, yet they do not look 'oversized' , or out of scale in any way. Playing around with the unpainted miniatures, I placed two on a base with the Rebel Earth Force Marine and they looked like a cool mixed species 'mercenary' unit.

The detail on the figures speaks for itself. I particularly like the prominent 'brow' feature above the eyes as it adds both 'menace' and character to the individual Garn models. These are minis you can easily develop empathy for and will want to command on the tabletop as your primary 15mm Sci Fi force - perfect for the upcoming AMBUSH ALLEY Sci Fi variant.

Remember to click on the photos for larger images!

Cheers
Mark

GZG 15mm Xenomorphs

As previous posts have looked at Vacc-Suited miniatures, tonight I'm turning the spotlight on 15mm Xenomorphs beginning with GZG's SG15-X1.

GZG 'Aliens' and SG15-V14 Heavy Vacc Suit

GZG's pack consists of five 21mm tall bipedal Xenomorphs in two poses, an egg cluster and a base of two 'face huggers. The Xenomorphs fit the bill for anyone inspired by the 'Alien' genre of movies. As you can see in the photos, there's plenty of detail which will paint up beautifully.

Not shellfish for supper again sighed George

Ground Zero Games: SG15-X1
£2.50 for 5 Xenomorphs, an egg cluster and a base of 'face huggers'

Walking The Dog

George out walking his dog

In this case, it's a Star Wars Titanium Series AT-ST by Hasbro, £5.95 from my local Forbidden Planet. 70mm tall and 35mm wide at the 'hips' it makes an excellent 15mm support weapon or AFV in it's own right. Go on, you're itching to paint George plus his UNSC buddies white and call them Stormtroopers now aren't you!

Here's my Titanium Series AT-ST's in a 'Benghazi or Bust' Weird WWII game. Herr Leutnant Clumpf's band of hardcore Peter Pig 15mm DAK raiders, storm Monty's HQ.

Old Crow Miniatures Compatability

For TMP Member Cacique Caribe (C.C.):

The squad leader to the right of George is from Old Crow's Infantry Squad C15001.

He is a slender figure which doesn't quite come out in the photo. The standing firing figure in the C15001 pack is slightly more slender still. As you can see, the Crow figure's base is lower than the GZG figure and when raised to the same height as George, he is also 15mm to the eye line. The Old Crow figures are therefore a 15S using the Barrett system.

However, given that George wears USNC 'hardsuit' and full helmet you can easily mix both manufacturers figures in the same force as different types of troops without having to go into 'squint mode'. Same is not true of all the GZG range though. It's worth bearing in mind, once painted and deployed on the tabletop differences in height and bulk between 15mm figures are mostly insignificant. Mostly.

A full review of Old Crow's Infantry range to follow.

Cheers
Mark

Meet George

Who is George?

First of all, let's check out George's origins. He comes from GZG's SG15-U1: UNSC Hardsuit Marines pack. I aim to use George as our control figure against which all other 15mm Sci Fi figures, AFV's and accessories will be base lined.

Why George?

I know, you are asking, why pick George out of all the figures available on the market? Well, there's something classic about George that to me at least, embodies humanity in space in the age of interstellar exploration, colonisation and of course, war. There's a certain NASA meets Traveller Imperial Marine feel which gives him an epoc spanning quality. George can also cross canons quite easily, transcending his Stargrunt origins. Due to GZG's lead in the 15mm Sci FI figure market over the past few years, a lot of gamers will have George and therefore he will be a common frame of reference.

Above all though, George is 15mm from the sole of his boot to the eye line of his visor, and of relative human dimensions for a grunt in a 'hardsuit'.

Throughout my reviews, I'll use the Barrett Measurements System, as popularised in The Courier magazine. By way of explanation, the figure is assigned a number and letter which when combined, describes his relative height and 'bulk' in comparison to other figures.

The number is the height in Millimeters from the bottom of the figure's foot (or top of the base) to it's eye. The letter refers to the "heft" of the figure: L = Light; M = Medium; and H = Heavy.

Thus George is 15M - 15mm from foot to eye and of medium build. Perfect.

I may add the occasional 'Space burger' symbol, if I think the figure had one too many Space Burger Royale's before hauling his backside onto the Dropship. It's the Irish devilment in me ;-)