METAL MINIATURE FIGURES (West End Games , Archive , Heritage , Star Rovers)

Archive / Star Trek Galore Miniature Figures

Unlicensed - Made In USA

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These height of these figures range in size from 3/4 " (Jawa) to 2 1/4 " (Tusken Raider)

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Please note that there is also a Bantha without a saddle variation that can be found .

Ben Kenobi

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C-3PO and R2-D2

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Chewbacca

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Darth Vader

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Garindan

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Han Solo

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Jawa

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Luke Skywalker

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Princess Leia

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Stormtrooper

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Tusken Raider

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Bantha w/ Tusken Raider Rider

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We found this ad in Starlog Magazine # 15 (August 1978)

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It can be interesting looking at the hobby's past, at "old" collectors and what they collected. When doing so, one will find that what was considered highly valuable to the collector of 15 years ago is often of little consequence to those of today. This set of pewter figures, produced without a license by the Heritage company soon after the onset of the initial Star Wars craze, fits into this category of collectables that fell by the way side. Though few today are even aware of their existence, they represent perhaps the first Star Wars "figures" and were considered quite desirable during the early years.
They were produced by Heritage and apparently were distributed, both individually and as a set of 15, through Star Trek Galore. The set consists of Luke, Leia, Han (a late add-on that was not present in early sets), Chewie, Threepio, Artoo, Vader, Ben, a standing Tusken Raider, Bantha, two riding Tusken Raiders, Stormtrooper, Imperial "snitch" and a Jawa; and was available in both painted and unpainted versions. A set of similar style Cantina band members, once thought to also be Heritage figures, was produced. As time has passed, collectors now believe the Cantina band members were produced by a different company.

As Heritage never did obtain a license to produce these figures, Lucasfilm soon shut them down, an occurrence that perhaps accounts for some of the draw the set once seems to have had. Its notable for its inclusion of a Bantha and "snitch" figures and as a possible pre-cursor of Kenner's Micro Collection which also featured posed metal miniatures. As the close-up images show, while not technically precise, the sculpting of these things exhibits a kind of quirky charm that is easy to appreciate.

Source :  http://theswca.com/index.php?action=disp_item&item_id=13977

Archive Miniatures
1111 S. Railroad Ave.
San Mateo, CA  94402

Archive Miniatures was formed in the late 1970's.  Most of the miniatures in the Archive collection were the work of the infamous Neville Stocken.  Somewhere near the end, Neville brought on another sculptor, the astounding Steve Lortz.
In many ways, Archive was a miniature company ahead of it's time.  While not everyone agrees to the technical quality of the miniatures, no one can deny that those figures had character!  Also, they were larger than the true 25mm figures that everyone else was sculpting at the time.  A few years later, a little British company (that was the sole importer of Archive Miniatures into the UK) would rise to the top of the industry with armies of larger, more characterful figures... but that's another story.
In 1977, Archive released an extensive range of unlicensed "Star Wars" miniatures, apparently hoping to make a killing before (if ever) the budding Lucasfilm found out.  The miniatures were only released at Origins, before the plug was pulled.  In the years that followed, Archive would frequently tempt legal action by releasing obviously "Star Wars" miniatures with easily removable details (Stormtroopers with rabbit ears, Darth Vader with bull's horns, etc.)
Fans of Archive miniatures need not dispair... although Archive is long gone, there are still miniatures by Neville Stocken and Steve Lortz still available in the gaming industry.  Lance & Laser (Columbus, OH) has a selection of excellent science fiction models by Neville Stocken, and several entire ranges by Steve Lortz.  Fortress Figures (Jonesburo, IN) also has an excellent miniature range by Steve Lortz.  Both small companies, and could use your support!

- Chris Fitzpatrick  ( Source :  http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~tpope/sol/archive/history.html )

Richard Meints writes : Archive miniatures has a rather colorful history of success and failure. Regardless, the sculpting of the miniatures was always noted for its artistic quality. Unfortunately, the molds deteriorated over time and the quality of the figures produced by Archive declined as the 1970's faded into the 1980's. Subsequently, the earlier castings tend to have a much better look to them, with more detail and less casting flaws, such as bubbles, excessive flash, cracks, and a general lack of fine detail. Ultimately, the company went bankrupt when some of its unlicensed miniatures fell pray to lawsuits, like the unlicensed Star Wars minis that George Lucas liked, but his licensed distributors did not. You have to admit that even if you change the name and add antlers, Darth Vader is still rather distinguishable to corporate attorneys. Even changing the company name to R'Kiiv only delayed the inevitable.

- Richard Meints  ( Source : [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] )

Here's a link with more info and pictures of additional unlicensed Archive miniatures …

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Star Rovers

Archive Miniatures ( Made In USA )

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Star Rovers was a role playing game , similar to Dungeons and Dragons , that was created in 1981 and was not licensed by Lucas Films .

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Star Wars West End Games Miniature Metal Figure Sets

LFL 1987 - 1990 Grenadier Models (Made In USA)

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There were 14 different Boxed Sets released between 1987 and 1990 in this series .

Actual Box Size : 4 1/4 "  x  8 1/4 "

1987 Series

The 1st 2 sets of West End Games figures were marked 1987 on the bottoms of the figures but the box and paperwork is marked 1988 .

Heroes Of The Rebellion

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Unfolded Insert ( Front / Back ) :
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Ourchickenshack's Painted Set :

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Imperial Forces

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Unfolded Insert ( Front / Back ) :

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Ourchickenshack's Painted Set :

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Both the 1987 series figure sets are marked LFL 1987 on the bottoms :

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Please Note : All of the WEG box sets were originally shrink wrapped with the folded paper insert under the shrink wrap on the back of the boxes as shown here with a " A New Hope " set ...

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The actual backs of the boxes are just plain cardboard ...

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Inside The Box :

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1988 Series

A New Hope

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Unfolded Insert ( Front / Back ) :

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Ourchickenshack's Painted Set :

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Bounty Hunters

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Unfolded Insert ( Front / Back ) :

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Ourchickenshack's Painted Set :

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All the 1988 series figures are marked LFL 1988 on the bottoms :

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1989 Series

The Empire Strikes Back

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Unfolded Insert ( Front / Back ) :

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Jabba's Palace

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Unfolded Insert ( Front / Back ) :

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Ourchickenshack's Painted Set :

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Mos Eisley Cantina

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Unfolded Insert ( Front / Back ) :

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Ourchickenshack's Painted Set :

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Rebel Characters

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Unfolded Insert ( Front / Back ) :

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Ourchickenshack's Painted Set :

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Return Of The Jedi

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Unfolded Insert ( Front / Back ) :

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Ourchickenshack's Painted Set :

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Stormtroopers

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Unfolded Insert ( Front / Back ) :

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Ourchickenshack's Painted Set :

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All the 1989 series figures are marked LFL 1989 on the bottoms :

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1990 Series

Imperial Troopers Set

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Unfolded Insert ( Front / Back ) :

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Ourchickenshack's Painted Set :

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Please note that the large gun actually comes in 2 pieces which has to be glued together …

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The Rancor Pit

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Unfolded Insert ( Front / Back ) :

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The Rancor came as 5 pieces that had to be glued together ...
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Rebel Troopers

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Unfolded Insert ( Front / Back ) :

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Ourchickenshack's Painted Set :

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Zero-G Assault Troopers

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Unfolded Insert ( Front / Back ) :

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The arms were originally like this :

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All the 1990 series figures are marked LFL 1990 and have a figure number on the bottoms :

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Star Wars West End Games Miniature Metal Figure Blister Packs

LFL 1992 Grenadier Models ? (Made In USA)

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In 1992 West End Games started releasing the miniatures from the 1987 - 1990 boxed sets on individual blister cards . They can be found in several different package styles and number of figures per package . Most of the figures packaged for retail sale only had 3 figures per package . There are special "Miniature Battles" boxed game sets that came with blister packs of 6 figures . The 6 figure packs can be found with either a plain white blister packages or the typical color card but marked " Not for Resale ".

It seems that during the 1992 run the manufacturer switched from making the miniatures out of lead ( due to toxicity concerns ) to a different metal . The 1992 figure packages all have a "made of lead warning" on the back but can be found with or without a "Lead Free" sticker on the front bubble . The earlier lead figures are more of a dull grey and the newer metal is a brighter silver . It is likely that all the figures sets released in 1992 can be found made of either metal .

In 1993 the "Lead Warning" on the back of the packages was removed and Lead Free was printed at the top .

So far we have only been able to document a limited selection but there were many more available for purchase .

Actual Package Size :

1992 Series

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1992 Backs :

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1992 Series w/ Lead Free Sticker added

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1992 Series w/ Lead Free Sticker added ( Back ) :

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Star Wars West End Games Miniature Metal Figure Blister Packs

LFL 1993 Grenadier Models ? (Made In USA)

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1993 Series ( Blue Foam - Lead Free printed on back )

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12 figure Imperial Stormtrooper Troop Pack :

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1993 Series ( Blue Foam ) Backs :

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1993 Series ( Grey Foam )

The next couple examples have the 1993 package but have had a white name sticker applied on the front and the foam insert in the package is grey instead of blue .

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1993 Series ( Grey Foam ) Backs :

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Star Wars West End Games Miniature Metal Figure Blister Packs

LFL 1993 / 1994 ? Grenadier Models ? (Made In USA)

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All the figures and vehicles shown below were never released in the original 1988 - 1990 box sets . These sets were only available in the blister packs :

Dark Stryder Crew

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Heir To The Empire Villians

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The Nogri

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Mos Eisley Cantina # 2

This set contains Walrus Man , Dr. Evazan and a Abyssin alien :

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Vehicles

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These sets are stamped 1994 on the metal but seem to be packaged in 1993 cards ...

Imperial Speeder Bikes :

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Bantha with Rider ( Loose Set ) :

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Ourchickenshack's Painted Set :

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Coming Soon :

AT-PT
Landspeeder
Storm Skimmer
Taun Taun

Miniature Battles Boxed Game Starter Sets ( Figures & Vehicles )

LFL 1992 / 1993 ? Grenadier Models ? (Made In USA)

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White Card

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1993 Series w/ Color Card & Lead Free printed on back

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Star Wars Monoply Game Tokens

LFL 1996 / 1997

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In 1996 & 1997 there were Star Wars Monopoly games released that reused figure molds from the 1988 - 1990 West End Games box sets for the game tokens . The Monopoly tokens are made of pewter and the WEG figures are made of lead . When compared side by side the Monopoly game tokens are slightly smaller then the WEG figures .

1996 Set of 8

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Sealed Bag :

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1997 Set of 9

The 1997 Monopoly game reused figures from the 1996 set and added/changed a few figures . The reused figures are still dated 1996 while the added/changed figures are dated 1997 on the bottoms .

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Sealed Bag :

***Coming Soon***

New Figures :

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Here's some of the figures I painted …

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grinchy wrote:brilliant thread, those early heritage figures look great, very interesting

Thanks Ian , glad you like them

I would really love to pick up the rest of the Heritage / Archive miniatures but they don't turn up very often .

Here are some pics I found online of the rest ...

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I think this is the Cantina Band set that was mentioned one of the articles about Heritage / Archive shown above …

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Yep , it's pretty tough on the eyes but I have found a couple things that help ...

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The magnifying thing helps a lot - got it for about $15 shipped on Ebay . [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

It has a light and lots of adjustment . I changed mine to the headband attachment rather then the glasses setup . I also took the nose bridge off so I can still wear my regular eyeglasses while using it .

I found a good paintbrush to use for the whites of the eyes and , instead of trying to paint the pupils , I use one of the metal pointy sculpting tools to do the dots for the pupils - just poke it in  

Finished painting another set of WEG figures ...

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This set had some real oddballs but hard to top this …

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and what the hell is it supposed to be holding  

Here are my Imperial Forces and Mos Eisley sets after painting ...

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