Friday 3 February 2012

Toy Soldiers: Proxy Vehicles for 15mm sci-fi!

There seems to a much more relaxed attitude to gamers using a mix and match attitude to army building when it comes to 15mm scale gaming than with 28mm scale games. Obviously companies want you to buy their own products, but they seem happy to accept that gamers will just buy specific vehicles (and figures) to fill out their forces rather than stick to the prescribed models…

In this vain, I have picked up a few of the McDonald’s Happy Meals Star Wars walking tanks to add to my CMG ARC Fleet army as they complement the CMG Walkers.

Just this week I have just found a treasure trove of vehicles at a great price and I couldn’t resist letting everyone know!

A friend of mine recommended that I take a trip to The Works (a chain of remainder bookshops in the UK) as they had the die-cast Tron Legacy vehicles at a very reasonable price.

Last night I popped into the local Works and had a look. The models were priced at £1.99 each and as I was looking at them one of the assistants approached me and told me that they were were on offer, £1.99 each or 2 for £2! Well, that was it I couldn’t resist picking a few up…

Tron Haul

Now for a better look at each model.

Firstly we have the two aircraft.

Tron Jet 1

It is not easy to see as the pilot is in black (just about visible in the close up photo), but this jet has an exposed pilot. The figure is approximately 20mm or 1/72 scale. So a little large for 15mm games. However, I will probably remove the figure, or at least enclose the cockpit to make it look less like a sports micro-light and more “military”. I might even use it back to front, as it is quite reversible!

Tron Jet 2

This is model that I was really pleased to get! It will make an ideal light fighter-bomber. The enclosed cockpit disguises the scale nicely (it is supposed to be a three seater jet, for those that haven’t seen the film).

Tron Scout Car

I think that this model will make an excellent all terrain scout vehicle. It  is difficult to see in the photos, but it has an open cockpit. The seats look reasonable for 15mm scale, so it may just be a matter of adding a couple of seated figures. The strange twisty front end will just be glued in a standard configuration as I can’t see a use for it on the gaming table.

Tron Car 1

This ground car is a like strange and I am not quite sure what I can use it for. I imagine it will probably end up as a civilian vehicle, just used for table decoration etc.

Tron Car 2

In a similar way to the last car, this one will probably end up as a civilian vehicle, but I quite like the design and it may end up a command vehicle or anti-grav jeep!

I didn’t pick up any of the flying archway kind of ships, as I couldn’t see a use for them, however I am regretting it a bit as it may well make a good door, or indeed freestanding archway for table decoration… Oh well maybe they will still have a few when I am in their next time!

So what next, I will probably give them a quick spray of undercoat and them a quick paintjob. To be honest the paintjobs aren't that bad anyway, but I will have to decide how I want them to fit in with my ARC Fleet forces. A couple will need minor modification, but that shouldn’t take long, a quick look through my bits boxes and they should be ready.

I didn’t have any 15mm figures lying around when I took the photos, so you will have to take my word for it that they are just about the perfect size to compliment any 15mm forces…

6 comments:

  1. Can you give some more details on the McDonalds Happy meals toy? it looks to be a great size to use with 15mm figures as a walking tank.

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  2. The McDonalds Star Wars toys were given away with Happy Meals in the UK, around a year ago (early 2011 I think!). There were various things R2D2, some light sabers, a tie fighter, a rebel fighter and this 6 legged tank. I picked up three or four of these walker tanks from Ebay (the McDonald's toys do a good trade on Ebay).

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  3. Awesome stuff - I've shameless nicked your idea: http://industrialscalealchemy.blogspot.com/2012/02/something-i-stole-from-another-blog.html

    Only 50p on eBay. Thanks for the inspiration!

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  4. Glad you managed to get one!

    I know a few poeple have copied my Nissen Hut idea with the Britains Pig Huts too...

    http://ironmammoth.blogspot.com/2011/09/model-making-quick-and-easy-wargames.html

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  5. I am only 5 years late to the party here, but over the last few years I have picked up at least 10 of those AT-TEs at my local goodwill stores. I do not know if you gents have anything like that in England, but I assume you have something similar. If you don't mind sifting your other peoples junk, you can quite often find a treasure trove of old toys and the like for figs and terrain. Be warned however, it can end up in a garage full of "projects" and an angry spouse like what I got.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for the comment. Here in the UK we have what are called Charity shops, I assume they are the same as your Goodwill stores...
      They certainly can be a great place to find this kind of thing!

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