Let's sing this shall we, we have Hasslefee, Haresey, Infinity, Black Tree, Darksons, Reaper, Grenadier, RAFM, Wizkids, Wizards of the Coast, Denizens, i-Kore, Ral Partha, Ironwind, Martian Miniatures, Mega Miniatures, GHQ, Sim-Teck, T-Rex, Stan Johnanson, Laser Burn, Dr. Who, GW, and Mongoose.
Now and apologist or bean counter will looks a just numbers and be impressed, and scream at me that I’m delusional and a liar. But while everyone of these lines has something that can be, at one time, used as a Traveller miniatures, some are 15mm, true 25mm, 25mm, true 28mm and heroic 28mm, and go to 30mm if not 32mm, you can see the problem, scale maters to some people, not to mention "quality." There are some figures out there that look like fishing sinkers, others are great, but quality and continuity matter. Some are collectors’ figures and fetch a pretty penny on eBay. Many are pirated by, some on eBay, because there are “collectors” that seem to have and endless supply of miniatures.
Sure you can make due, if you can resculpt clothes or do conversion and turn Gnolls into “space wolves, or Vargr. How do you promote using miniatures in a game if you make them like hen’s teeth to find? We can do better, but every time this comes up, it make due.
In the past few years, a small company made an attempt at making Traveller miniatures, and surprisingly, there was an unbelievable level of incompetence that doomed the attempt to failure. First the company has a predilection for producing old out of scale miniatures, just like Reaper did at first, but Reaper used the old lines, at first to bank roll, it future lines by hiring first rate sculptors and making them the figure to have, smart. This company did the exact opposite, it stuck to the old scale, 25mm, and yes miniatures scale have evolved, and there is a big difference between true 25mm and 25mm. They hired a no name to sculpt them, and they where made in limited numbers and yes limited sculpting quality as well. The first set was Vargrs and they sold out fast, the rest Dryone, K’Kree, lingered and Finially the Bwaps…the freeking Bwaps. Bwaps, the race of Galactic paper pushers. Who choose these figures, someone who never played the game for one…..and the attempt at Traveller figures died, because of Idiocy? Same thing about making ship models, sure there cool, but in terms of gaming you would use Characters miniatures, what ten or twenty times more then ship miniatures. Unless you are using them in a tactical space combat game, but they made two, not really enough to use in a space game, wasted time and money.
So, the bean counters will look at the numbers as the only facts and never see the more esoteric relevant issues and hence we will never have Traveller miniatures. As long as we just make due and we are quite little sheep and not voicing our wants and needs.
