Hate to ask but...

[MajorMirth]

Are there any alternatives for the ship miniatures? I own a bunch and I have to say the quality is pretty terrible.

That being said, I love the rules and would really like to continue playing. Mongoose has also been amazing in sending replacements, but I've got replacements worse than what I'm replacing on occasion. Also, having to ask for replacements about 6/10 times is a little much for everyone involved.

So, what are my options here?

 

[LimeyDragon]

Amarillo Design does offer the 2400 series and the cardboard cut out for all most all the ships..

 

[Nerroth]

To clarify, are you referring to the Starline 2500s for A Call to Arms: Star Fleet, or to the minis for A Call to Arms: Noble Armada?

In the latter case, some of the older minis are based on ships which Holistic Design had released to support the original NA game system (akin to how Mongoose had used many of the old Babylon 5 Wars minis to help get the first incarnation of A Call to Arms off the ground). I don't know if any of those older production runs are still available, or how they compare to the newer runs being done by Mongoose themselves.

It should be noted that both games' mini lines are in the process of being shifted to a new producer, which should help these lines in avoiding some of the pitfalls they have had to deal with to this point.

 

[MajorMirth]

Sorry, somehow forgot to post the product. It's "A call to Arms: Star Fleet".

 

[Nerroth]

I see.

ADB tend to refer to Mongoose's ACtA:SF minis as the "Starline 2500s", both as a means of contrasting with the older Starline 2400s and to indicate that both lines are intended for use with multiple game systems.

(Technically, the same may be true for the ACtA:NA minis, if a revised edition of the original Noble Armada ruleset is ever published by FASA Games, but anyway.)


Is the problem in terms of the actual designs, or the consistency of how the models actually turn out?

Personally, I have ordered the 2500s from ADB rather than Mongoose directly, since there is an extra step of quality control in the process. (Basically, the folks at ADB double-check each mini as it arrives, post the ones that are fit for purpose onto their storefront, and ship the ones that aren't back to Mongoose.) However, if you are not in Canada or the USA, that might be a less useful option for you.

But then, given that ADB themselves have expressed their confidence in the new company which will be running both the Starline 2500s and the ACtA:NA mini line, the latter problem (of consistency) should be on its last legs.

 

[MajorMirth]

The problem seems to be in the casting. I've had ships that looked like the two halves of the mold weren't lined up properly. I'm fairly skilled on working with miniatures, but trying to even them out with filing left a very lopsided looking ship.

If I left it as is the model would look pretty bad, especially with the amounts of flash that would sometimes even damage the fine detail. It was just very frustrating to work with, and if I'm not having fun with it I have to look for an alternative.

I still LOVE the rules though and would really like to play the game, but I just can't use those miniatures. I'm interested in seeing what the new production brings and if it will resolve the issues I've seen.

 

[mdauben]

The problem seems to be in the casting. I've had ships that looked like the two halves of the mold weren't lined up properly. I'm fairly skilled on working with miniatures, but trying to even them out with filing left a very lopsided looking ship.

How many ships have you seen with this problem? Are they the current production metal minis, or the original resin cast miniatures?

I ask becuase I have bought five of the big "Fleet" boxes and a number of additional singles, but I don't think I have run across the particular problem you describe. IIRC all my ships required only minimal clean up before they were ready to paint.

That said, if you really want an alternative the only viable one would be the smaller Starline 2400 miniatures made by ADB themselves. Aside from the Federation Constitution Class cruiser, the Klingon D7 cruiser and the Romulan Warbird all the other ships in ACTA:SF are original creations of ADB for the Star Fleet Universe in which the game is set, so none of the other "Star Trek" lines of minis that do exist (old FASA, Micromachines, and Heroclix) will have suitable representations.

 

[MajorMirth]

I have this problem with A LOT of my ships. I bought the Fed, Klingon and Rumulan fleet boxes, as well as some individual ship packages. It appears to be more of a problem with the metal ships, the resin ones just have excessive flash.

I started cleaning up the ships but some of the were just cast unevenly, so trying to clean them would leave them lopsided. At that point I realized I needed to find an alternative as the models wouldn't look right.

It's a real shame as again, I can't say enough about how great the ruleset is. It gives a great depth to the game without being overly complex, and keeps the pace moving quite well.

 

[Dagretto]

Dunno, but I have been buying feddie ships lately, and haven't had any major problems. Assembly on the BC (specifically the warp engines) wasn't great however...

Damon.

 

[Drummer]

The problem seems to be in the casting. I've had ships that looked like the two halves of the mold weren't lined up properly. I'm fairly skilled on working with miniatures, but trying to even them out with filing left a very lopsided looking ship.

I've had a couple ships like this... yes, the hull of the Fed BCH... and occasional missing or switched parts (like engines) too. Mostly, an annoying, but slight problem in hindsight. Mongoose has been very generous at replacing the few bad apples I had amongst the fleet and squadron boxes I've bought. My Kzinti wings were a problem, too, but I reinforced all of them, and they turned out good. Even mini's that didn't look great at first cleaned up nicely for me and turned out just fine. The detail/casting on these ships is good to great in my opinion. Then again, different casting batches might have various degrees of quality. In general, I'm happy with my Mongoose miniatures

 

[mdauben]

I have this problem with A LOT of my ships. I bought the Fed, Klingon and Rumulan fleet boxes, as well as some individual ship packages. It appears to be more of a problem with the metal ships, the resin ones just have excessive flash.

It sounds like you may have gotten sent a bad batch? If they are as bad as you say, I'd suggest contacting Mongoose and seeing if you can get them replaced. At the price being charged for the SL2500 miniatures, you should not have to accept seriously flawed castings.

 

[billclo]

I have this problem with A LOT of my ships. I bought the Fed, Klingon and Rumulan fleet boxes, as well as some individual ship packages. It appears to be more of a problem with the metal ships, the resin ones just have excessive flash.

It sounds like you may have gotten sent a bad batch? If they are as bad as you say, I'd suggest contacting Mongoose and seeing if you can get them replaced. At the price being charged for the SL2500 miniatures, you should not have to accept seriously flawed castings.

If you will re-read the original post, you will see that he said that he's gotten "replacements" that were worse than the ships he wanted replaced.

I've seen that on occasion as well.

I really hope that the production quality improves with the new facility (Bruce Graw, I am told); better quality miniatures would be a start to help mitigate the double black eyes the game has in the eyes of some folk I talk to...

 

[mdauben]

I really hope that the production quality improves with the new facility (Bruce Graw, I am told); better quality miniatures would be a start to help mitigate the double black eyes the game has in the eyes of some folk I talk to...

I hope things go smoothly, too. As I said, I have not seen much problem with the minis I've bought, but I an eager to see Mongoose get back on track with this game and start releasing the planned expansions and more minis. I think the lack of new development in the game is having more of a negative impact than any percieved previous problems.

 

[MajorMirth]

Don't even get me started on the Klingon ships with the "droopy neck" problem. I really hope the new minis are better quality.

Maybe for now I'll go back to Star Fleet Battles. Can't go wrong with cardboard.

 

[AdrianH]

If by "cardboard" you mean cardboard counters, you could always use those to play ACTA, at least until better models become available. The rulebooks don't care what you use to represent the ships.

 

[MajorMirth]

Would there have to be rule changes regarding measuring to the "stem" or "base"?

 

[Focke-Wulfe]

Just measure to the middle of the counter, that's what me and my opponent did during our first game since i had the 2500 minis and he only had the fedcom counters. Worked like a charm.