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What the title says, something along the lines of the Arvus or the like; a compact shuttle craft that can hold a dozen or so bodies, wouldn't look out of place on the tabletop and doesn't take up as much space as the Valkyrie. Please have a care, I do NOT have access to a 3d printer.

I think the Armadillo is the current winner of that crown

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Buzz-LightYear-Armadillo-Spaceship-Astronaut/dp/B09NQPSLL7

That is the larger version I think, but there should be a smaller one as well.

Mantic has the hornet shuttle from their warpath universe:
https://www.manticgames.com/games/warpath/gcps-warpath/gcps-tad65-hornet-dropship/

It's not that big, has a cargo hold and some small armament. I've seen a Kitbash with expanded cargo space and extra wings.

Did I hear my name being called?

Right now Lightyear toys are on clearance and are the best you can find, perfect intersection of cheap, good and not too famous. The fighters ($5-10 on Amazon) are small but some can work as 1-2 man ships.



The Armadillo ($25 on Target) is a bit larger than a Rhino and is basically a flying box. There's a bigger $45 one for 6" figures but that might be more than you want.



Beyond that there's the Marvel Crisis Protocol Quinjet and various Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy toys. Don't have any to show ATM.

The Star Trek Runabout model is very modular and easy to customize, plus it has the flying box look. They were $25 about 2 years ago but seem to be OOP now.



The Maquis Raider model also works well. OOP too though.



Halo Pelican is also around the right size.



Valkyries can be converted into shuttles fairly easily. They're all modular so you can replace the 2 seater cockpit and omit the tail and swap the wings.



Hope this helps, some gallery links with tons more.

https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/images-518-52456_Wasteland%20Spaceport.html

https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/images-518-14619_Shuttles%20and%20fliers.html



Automatically Appended Next Post:
Oh and Snap Ships for some pseudo Lego goodness.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=snap+ships&crid=2MJ32K8Z53J40&sprefix=snap+ships%2Caps%2C207&ref=nb_sb_noss_1

 BrookM wrote:
Please have a care, I do NOT have access to a 3d printer.

Lies. The Dune ornithopter from Skullforge looks pretty decent...

The quinjet can be found at Wayland - https://www.waylandgames.co.uk/scenery-accessories/88674-quinjet-terrain-marvel-crisis-protocol?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIksyFhOL-_AIVEt7tCh1c5wcrEAQYASABEgLwoPD_BwE

Try ebat for Star Trek / Deep Space 9 runabouts

Ironically, in the UK at least, the Armadillo for 5 inch figures tends to be about £5 - 10 less than its smaller scale counterpart.

Core Space has a £14 expansion called "Get to the Shuttle", which features a card shuttle.

Well you may not have a 3d printer but many of the stores on etsy do-

I particularly like the one from 2nd dynasty
You also get to choose which wing/nacell layout you like-

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1230751288/science-fiction-miniatures-shuttle-alpha?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=3d+printed+scifi+shuttles&ref=sr_gallery-1-25&organic_search_click=1







If you want something a bit cheaper and less detailed-

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1056647181/soldier-transporter-cargo-space-shuttle?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=3d+printed+shuttles&ref=sr_gallery-1-38&organic_search_click=1




Then there are the designs from papsikel

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1055415743/aeronheigh-av-p14-dropship-cyberpunk?click_key=08154ae41184fab91ae3bc1053ccdea7a45ca9b8%3A1055415743&click_sum=c568436b&ref=shop_home_active_28&sts=1



lastly the gunship/dropship from mantic-i own one myself great model easy to assemble-

https://www.manticgames.com/games/warpath/gcps-warpath/gcps-tad65-hornet-dropship/

Thanks all for the suggestions given so far, this has been very informative. 👊🏻

As a comment on the mantic vehicles, I have to give them highest marks for model assembly/design for ease of building. I am below average in building skills but their vehicle kits (I have a flyer, two different tanks and some of their bikes) were even easy for me to get together.

For storage and transport it seems there's space in the miniatures area for a good flying box style shuttle/huey, with small to no wings.

The Mantic flier looks awesome but looks really hard to move and store.

The Mantic dropship’s wings have big tabs that slot into big holes in the fuselage. They can be left unglued for transport and held on with magnets or blue tack or maybe friction during the game.

One more vote for the Lightyear Armadillo. It really is a great generic looking craft that would fit in most sci-fi environs. Plus it's cheap and quite well suited for the tabletop as it's compact, not having a large wingspan or lengthy fuselage.

My second choice would be the Mantic dropship. Nice Chunky generic look but not too big.

The ST runabout is a very cool craft but even with modifications, it's hard to de-star-trek it.

Lastly, if you're interested in a less armored more spaceship looking option (possibly a civilian craft) the Lunar bus model from 2001 is a pretty cool.
https://www.amazon.com/Moebius-MMK2001-2001-Moon-Bus/dp/B002PH1B1S


I own all of the above, so let me know if you have any questions.

Lastly, though you don't have a 3d printer yourself, there are also quite a number of relatively affordable 3d printed options on etsy. Price competition has driven the price down, especially if you're fine with a blocky craft with no interior.

15 euros armadillo and painting...

donegcx wrote:
15 euros armadillo and painting...

Nice work. There's something right about a basic light grey spaceship. Those look like they belong on a star wars set.

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
The Mantic dropship’s wings have big tabs that slot into big holes in the fuselage. They can be left unglued for transport and held on with magnets or blue tack or maybe friction during the game.

Yea most of mine holds together with just friction.

The Lightyear Armadillo is also ace, wish I could find one locally. The days of free international shipping are long gone...

So Brooke what did you go with?

Rather anti-climatically, I got nothing. 😅 My Halloween plans pretty much fell through due to a variety of reasons, but a shuttle is still somewhere on the list in the future, I've pretty much tabbed away all options shown here for when the bug bites me again and I feel like I can work on the project once more.

Many thanks to all for the suggestions given! 👊🏻

Okay, surprise update: I've been gifted an Arvus Lighter kit. It's a real one from GW, one of the wings is bent and everything. Will still be on the lookout for more craft in the future, but for now, a generic shuttle is here, perfect for both 40k scenarios and Stargrave.

That's a nice gift!

I saw this thread pop up again and was going to note that the Black Adam Hawk jet is on Amazon today for 8 bucks, but it looks like you're covered.

That hornet is still tempting.

I picked up an interesting candidate recently.
Black Adam Hawk Cruiser
It's softer plastic but the price is right and it has a nice big cargo Bay.
DC Comics, Hawk Cruiser Patrol, Includes Black Adam and Hawkman Action Figures, Over 16-inch Wide, First Edition, Super Hero Kids Toys for Boys and Girls Aged 4 and up https://a.co/d/e2SWDYj