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If you're going by price-per-model in a boxed set, some of the Mantic Deadzone boxes end up below that price point.

In general usefulness...
- Asterian Cyphers - $35 for 14 robotic models
- Asterian Cypher Specialists - $18 for 6 robotic models with fancier weapons
- GCPS Troopers - $35 for 20 human soldiers of the type you might call generic space marines with an assortment of rifles

It looks like some of the boxed sets like the Asterian Strike Force also manage to be less than $3 a model at higher bundle costs while including some vehicles. (Plague Strike Force is 60 zombie (two types of zombie) looking figures plus four other models for $100.)

Most of the Troop Boxes from Mantic are <3$

Enforcer Squad, 2.5 per model
Pathfinder Squad, 2.5 per model
Forge Fathers Militia, 1,75 per model
Forge Fathers Steel Warriors, 2.5 per model
Veer-myn Night Crawlers / Night Stalkers, 1.75 per model
Marauders Commandos, 2.5 per model
Plague Zombies, 1.75 per model
Plague 3rd Gen, 1.75 per model
Asterian Marionettes, 2.9 per model
Asterian Cypher Troops, 2.5 per model
GCPS Troopers, 1.75 per model
https://www.manticgames.com/games/firefight/

Thanks for that.
Mantic Added!

I don't know how big a thing selling individual plastic frames from boxed sets is in the US, but eBay is the place to go here in rainy old Britain.

A frame of 5 minis generally goes for £5-6, so just over £1 per figure. Say $1.30-$1.60.

A special shout out to the Frostgrave/Ghost Archipelago and Stargrave plastic lines, which come with a lot of extra details: different weapons, packs, rope and lanterns for fantasy; or data slates, tools, oxygen masks and cases for scifi.

It's easy to build a well-equipped party of 5 for RPGs or dungeon crawlers with a single frame.

Oathmark frames are more for wargamers, but contain a mix of weapon types - you can generally kit out all five minis with bows or swords/spears plus shields.

One bonus is that the majority of parts are designed to be interchangeable between sets. You can really go wild, it's even better than the glory days of mixing GW multipart models.

The only small downside is that every Frostgrave set is for a single race. There are separate sets for male and female humans. Most Oathmark sets are male only, at least by surface appearance.

The Stargrave line has separate sets for male and female crew, although all sets contain head options for Star Trek "rubber mask" aliens. The Stargrave troopers set has male and female heads, as all figures are in bulky armour. No females for the Mercenaries yet.

North Star Figures makes all these lines:

https://www.northstarfigures.com

If you buy by the box, Frostgrave minis are £22 for 20, Stargrave are the same and Oathmark sets are £25 for 30. All less than $1.20 per figure!

Automatically Appended Next Post:
@kodos one thing I always mention about the Mantic Marionette figures is that they're advertised as ten troops with three support drones.

In fact, they come with six drones! All you need to add is three more bases and flight stand. A bit of brass wire or a paperclip will do!

 Momotaro wrote:
I don't know how big a thing selling individual plastic frames from boxed sets is in the US, but eBay is the place to go here in rainy old Britain.

A frame of 5 minis generally goes for £5-6, so just over £1 per figure. Say $1.30-$1.60.

A special shout out to the Frostgrave/Ghost Archipelago and Stargrave plastic lines, which come with a lot of extra details: different weapons, packs, rope and lanterns for fantasy; or data slates, tools, oxygen masks and cases for scifi.

It's easy to build a well-equipped party of 5 for RPGs or dungeon crawlers with a single frame.

Oathmark frames are more for wargamers, but contain a mix of weapon types - you can generally kit out all five minis with bows or swords/spears plus shields.

One bonus is that the majority of parts are designed to be interchangeable between sets. You can really go wild, it's even better than the glory days of mixing GW multipart models.

The only small downside is that every Frostgrave set is for a single race. There are separate sets for male and female humans. Most Oathmark sets are male only, at least by surface appearance.

The Stargrave line has separate sets for male and female crew, although all sets contain head options for Star Trek "rubber mask" aliens. The Stargrave troopers set has male and female heads, as all figures are in bulky armour. No females for the Mercenaries yet.

North Star Figures makes all these lines:

https://www.northstarfigures.com

If you buy by the box, Frostgrave minis are £22 for 20, Stargrave are the same and Oathmark sets are £25 for 30. All less than $1.20 per figure!

Automatically Appended Next Post:
@kodos one thing I always mention about the Mantic Marionette figures is that they're advertised as ten troops with three support drones.

In fact, they come with six drones! All you need to add is three more bases and flight stand. A bit of brass wire or a paperclip will do!

Nice to know the various fantasy kits are largely compatible. Maybe someone should start a cheap fantasy figure thread. Would be a much longer list though.

North Star was a recent addition to the list. In the US, I think Recreational Conflict is the best source for many separate sprues. I bought one Crew and one Merc for my son to build a crew from. Really nice kits.

Sometimes they're out of stock, but EM4 usually has nice cheap flight stands.

Apologies Eilif, given the focus of the thread I should have been more specific: the Stargrave parts are compatible with the fantasy figures.

I have a nice unit of gnolls in my Guard/Astra Militarum army serving as abhumans. They have gnoll bodies, Stargrave Mercenary arms, and goblin wolf-rider plumes for tails.

You'll get a nice force of squats, for example, by mixing up sets. The Stargrave frames have a lot of arm options.

Proxie Models make a lot of plastic bases, plastic terrain, some plastic 15mm tanks, and these guys: http://www.proxiemodels.com/product/stealth-suit-troopers/

At $1 per figure, they are very affordable. They come with three types of heads, the not-great goggle heads on the product page, a robot/space mask head with shallow detail, and the faceless goon visor head (my favorite). The sculpting and proportions are more like Stargrave than Wargames Atlantic, a bit cartoony and smooth in style. If you want a lot of background unit bodies to soak up bits, you could do worse.

Thanks for that Bob.I didn't realize those were still in production. Might grab a set just to use up extra Stargrave arms and heads.(Edit: Just ordered a set)

Momotaro,
I'll clarify the wording in the OP about Stargrave and fantasy compatibility.

Ramshackle Games added. How did I forget them?!

Brigade Games is where i usually go for Frost/Star Grave, $28 for 20 models. That's what, $1.40 a model?

Do you want to include Dead Man's Hand western gun fighters? They're $21 for 10, so $2.10 a model. Not sci fi but steampunk and space western appropriate.

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:

Do you want to include Dead Man's Hand western gun fighters? They're $21 for 10, so $2.10 a model. Not sci fi but steampunk and space western appropriate.

I'll give that some thought. There are some great mashups with Stargrave plastics. However, that opens the door to allot of fantasy and Historical kits that I want planning on including.

I love my Gunfighters. Using them for civvie RPG characters. I have not seen pics of anyone doing the female ones, which an area that is lacking.

I'm wondering if I can make civilian space elves with the Oathmark Light Infantry. I have a TON of the original elves they did.

I have made space dwarves form Mantic fantasy dwarves, the ones with the guns. They look much better and generic than the Forgefathers.

Someone should make a thread for robots and where to get them. Why does every combat robot look like the terminator?

There are options for robots. In HiPS, you have Maelstrom’s Edge, which has spider drones and flying drones as well as humanoid robots, as well as Mantic’s Asterian Marionettes, which look like anime battle droids.

If you are okay with PVC/Bones, Reaper has some robots, and some CAV walkers could pass for enforcer droids.

Archon has these:

Manufacturer - Archon
Line(s)/Factions - Varies, currently largely fantasy minis intended for DnD
Price - a little over a Doller each retail, cheaper if you get in on a kickstarter
Website: https://gamefound.com/creators/archon-studio and https://www.dungeonsandlasers.com/

DnD minis for populating dungeons. Currently largely fantasy based, and currently split between two sites. Packs on minis that sell for about a dollar and a half each, or less if you catch them during a crowdfunding campaign.

Current run - https://gamefound.com/projects/archon-studio/encounters

 CynosureEldar wrote:
Archon has these:

Manufacturer - Archon
Line(s)/Factions - Varies, currently largely fantasy minis intended for DnD
Price - a little over a Doller each retail, cheaper if you get in on a kickstarter
Website: https://gamefound.com/creators/archon-studio and https://www.dungeonsandlasers.com/

DnD minis for populating dungeons. Currently largely fantasy based, and currently split between two sites. Packs on minis that sell for about a dollar and a half each, or less if you catch them during a crowdfunding campaign.

Current run - https://gamefound.com/projects/archon-studio/encounters

Those look cool. Do they have sci-fi figures? This thread is for Sci-Fi figures available at retail. Cheap fantasy figures are far more widely available.

MSD Miniatures -US producers of Kryomek- added.