I've gone 6mm Sci-Fi crazy

Welcome to new reader Eric. Hope you enjoy the posts.

So, I've gone a bit 6mm science fiction crazy at the moment. The figures from Onslaught Miniatures came in and I really liked them and they spurred an idea that had been brewing in my mind. I am not so wedded to the GW Warhammer 40,000 universe and fluff¹, but I think it makes for a good basis for games. I would probably add Space Elves, Space Dwarves, Space Orcs, and Bugs no matter what.

The idea is to use Richard Borg's design for Battle Cry! (his American Civil War variant of the Command & Colors game family) – one of his simpler designs – and make a science fiction version on it. I am not going to focus on the rules this post mostly because a big – well, actually, small – package of miniatures. I am making up an order of battle still so it is not Onslaught Miniatures this time, but those from Microworld Games (MWG). MWG not only has the Dark Realms Miniatures (DRM) line, but its own science fiction and fantasy 6mm lines. Although I think the fantasy line looks very nice, one thing at a time.

MWG Foundationists

Actually, I did not buy any of these as the basic infantry were sold out.

MWG Lizard Riders

I did not buy any of these either. They are an interesting play on the Feral Orks, and their use of beasts in war, but I was not interesting in figures of dinosaurs with battle cannons strapped to their butts.

MWG TEF

I did buy some of the TEF figures, but they were vehicles, not infantry. I will include vehicles photos, with comparison to the GW vehicles, in another post. I may try out some of their infantry later.

MWG Kreen

First up is the Assault Infantry.

The figures have nice little wings and interesting weapons. Most figures have light weapons, but there are a few heavy ones. As you can see they are a bit chunkier than the GW figures, but not terribly so. At 40 figures for $7.50 they are still more expensive than Baccus, but less than Onslaught.

I did not get any of the other Kreen infantry.

The MWG figures seem to have a lower tin content, thus the figures are duller and less crisp. But for 6mm, they are fine.

DRM Pax Arcadia

First up are the Light Infantry. Interesting figures, sort of US Infantry with padded chest armor. Still compatible in size with GW infantry.

Next up are the Scouts. These guys definitely have the Eldar Ranger look going on. Nice figure with cloak and draped camo on the weapon. The Scouts come in packs of 20, not 40 like the rest of the infantry, and thus are only $3.60.

Next are the Regular HQ troops. It consists of officers and special weapons troops, like grenade launchers or shotguns (it is hard to tell in 6mm, or better yet, it is what you say it is!).

Here are the standard infantry. I must have pulled out the officers, with their two pistol weapons. Either that or there was a mix-up in packing. I also seem to have lost my comparison picture, but they are basically the same size as the rest of the Pax Arcadia infantry.

Unless otherwise noted, the Pax Arcadia infantry are in packs of 40 figures, and are $7.20 per pack.

DRM Kraytonians

First of the Kraytonians are the Heavy Monitors. Basically this is a reptilian race, but the monitors are so heavily armored and suited, you cannot really tell. They have some heavy weapons and ar very chunky. Nice for a difference.

The Medium Monitors are a little less bulky, but not much. Their squad weapons are more like under-slung automatic weapons.

Finally, the Light Monitors are less bulky still, but not by much. Honestly, it would be hard to distinguish by looking at just the figures; you would need some marker on the stand. (In fact, I am not sure whether the figures without the special weapons are not actually the same!²)

The Monitors are 30 figures for $5.60.

The above figures are labeled Karrok II and Guard, so it appears to be some leader and the bodyguard. These are the bodyguard figures, with the very large swords on their backs. (Maybe reptilian is not the right word to describe their race…)

This pack contains 39 Guards and 1 Karrok II figure for $7.50.

Adding yet more diversity to the Kraytonians, they have the Torakk Riders. You can see these are nice, tall figures, but still to scale with the GW figures. Torakk Riders come in packs of 4 for $6.50. At $1.62 per figure, they are a bit on the expensive side I think, so I probably won't be buying hordes of them. Then again, I cannot be them being an especially effective weapons platform either…

Of course, I bought these figures for this one:

When I saw this figure it just immediately reminded me of the movie Wizards. The rider is probably a little too big.

DRM Andrayada

These looked too much like Power Armored Space Marines of a different flavor, so I skipped them, for now. They can always fill in as Chaos Space Marines, to give my figures some variety.

DRM Skyth

I mainly bought some of the Skyth figures to see how well they would mix with the Legion figures from Onslaught. The quick assessment is that they will not look good mixed in a unit together, but as larger creatures in a Bug army, they look fine.

The Claw Beast makes for an interesting two-armed not-Carnifex. (I am not a Tyranid expert, so maybe it looks like something else too.) As you can see, the figure is not as tall as the Onslaught Mantis Beast either in the body, or when "stretched out". You get ten Claw Beasts for $12.60, so at $1.26 apiece, they are a little on the expensive side (all things considered, in 6mm land).

Last but not least – of what I bought; there are a number of other Skyth figures you can buy – is the Skyth Beast. I was hoping to use it as a not-Hive Tyrant, but it is too big for that. Instead, this makes for a good big, ugly bio-Titan. I am looking forward to painting this in the same paint scheme as my Legion figures, but with a glowing ice blue plasma look in the gun and the head.

Well, I hope you found that useful. I'll show some of the DRM vehicles I bought next time. Maybe something will even be painted!

---

¹ Which means that I can change it when it does not suit me, such as when I want to use figures or races from other manufacturers.

² I did look at the pack descriptions later and the Medium Monitors were 18 Light Monitors and 12 Medium Monitors, so the latter appear to be "medium" because they carry the Squad Automatic Weapon. The Heavy Monitors pack come with 12 Monitors with heavy weapons and 18 with light weapons.

---

UPDATE: Chief Lackey Rich on TMP asked for a comparison shot between the medium Skyth Beast (I assumed the Claw Beast) and a 15mm figure. Here is the Claw Beast threatening a cringing Battlefront WW II German infantryman. How's that for Weird War II?