As readers of this blog know, I have been collecting figures from the now-defunct Archive Miniatures Star Rovers line. The figures from this line were made in the late 1970’s, and my goal is to get them collected and adapt them for use with Buck Surdu’s Combat Patrol™ card-based rules.
There was a lot of work on this project – so please enjoy the photos!
They show up from time to time on eBay, and my experience showed that the ones I found were more or less 25mm in scale. However, the Aphids I am going to describe here were a surprise as far as size goes as you will see. You have to be careful in acquiring these – there are a number of really bad recasters of these figures (and others) out there – selling them at exorbitant prices. I have been sure to be diligent before deciding to buy them.
One listing is below. I had seen it several times from the Noble Knight Games store on eBay, but I was initially unimpressed. It looked like a hodge-podge of painted and unpainted figures and bases, and I could not tell what was there at first glance.
The Aphids listing picture from eBayOn a phone call to catch up, I had a discussion with Buck about the Star Rovers line, and he pointed this listing out to me, so I gave it another look. I compared this with Lost Minis Wiki Star Rovers page and saw that there were several figures that I did not have. They appeared to be different Aphids types, including Aphid Scouts on Grav-Cycles, Aphid Infantry, Aphid Officers, Aphid Mortar Crews, and a couple of robots. Archive had two different numbers for the same miniatures, and Lost Minis Wiki does not explain why – perhaps Archive changed the numbers with later production? In any case, they looked to be original, and I bought them. This set included the following miniatures (I list both catalog numbers here for completeness but I am sure that they are from the older group due to the robots being included):
11 examples of Archive #2060/2314 Aphid Scout on Grav-Cycle (11 riders and 11 grav-cycles plus bases).
18 examples of Archive #2061/2315 Aphid Infantry.
4 examples of Archive #2061/2316 Aphid Officer. The 2061 listing included 5 Aphid Infantry and 1 Officer while the 2316 was just the officer.
3 examples of Archive #2062/2317 Aphid Mortar Team (two figures per crew for 6 figures).
2 examples of Archive #2011A (no later listing) Robot Group. There were 3 robots originally in the set of different types.
Archive Miniatures Catalog detail showing the Aphids with the newer catalog numbersI will refer to the older numbers for the most part in this article as I think mine are older.
The figures were in good shape except for one scout rider who was missing a right leg and foot. Surprisingly, they were small – really small – maybe 12mm. The detail on them was appropriate for the time period – but as you can see from the eBay photo they were not greatly detailed. To me, this was a challenge to let the brush bring out the potential of the figures. Also, I thought that this acquisition presented me with an opportunity to field an entire platoon of Aphids for Combat Patrol™ games!
My first step was to strip all of them down of any residual paint – which I accomplished with a long (2 week) soak in Simple Green®. I prefer the blue type as it seems to work better (and smells nicer). This time I used some rifle cleaning tools (bore brushes) with plastic bristles in addition to tooth brushes to remove the old paint which was pretty thick.
The Aphid Scouts as received – just stacked together here
Aphid Scout base detail showing #2060Aphid Infantry as receivedAphid Infantry Officers as receivedAphid Mortar Crews as receivedClose up of Aphid Mortar Crew as received – this shows their size and how the previous owner had painted them
The two robots – look like self-propelled guns – in the form of a steam boiler!I decided that I should first work on the Aphids on Grav-Cycles as they would be the most difficult due to the needed assembly. There were 11 Aphids and 11 Grav-Cycles with bases. More research showed me that these originally came with piano wire to mount them – similar to the image below from Lost Minis Wiki:
From Lost Minis WikiI did not have the piano wire and this did not seem to me to be a sturdy way of mounting the grav-cycles. I wanted a more permanent solution, but one that was cool as well. The cycles themselves seemed to had the wire in them at some point in the past, but nothing remained. The bases still had the holes. While shopping at Michael’s it hit me – I could use clear plastic push pins as mounting platforms.
To make this work, I needed a plan as I did not want to varnish the clear plastic and take away from the visual effect of flight that I was going to try to achieve. I mounted the bases on two stacked and centered ¾” steel washers using wood glue and let the combination dry overnight. I cleaned off the flash from the bases, filed them, and primed them with Krylon “Ultra-Flat” matte spray paint. After that I flocked them with 4Ground “Brown Leaves” using white glue. Once that glue was dry, I applied two coats of Testors “Dull Coat” to the bases. Using wire cutters, I trimmed off the pointed tips of the pins to be recessed in the washers when inserted into the bases. I then flattened and narrowed the rounded push pin tops with an Exacto knife, and sized them up with the base of the grav-cycles. This was to make a small flat mounting platform. However, I wanted more stability than super glue alone would give me. My pin vise was the needed tool to make this happen. Using my smallest drill bit, I made a hole in the top center of each push pin. Using E6000 epoxy, I affixed and mounted the push pins onto the bases. Once that had set, I mixed some Aves® Apoxie® Sculpt, and filled the bottom of the washer wells where the push pin tip was. This had the advantage of giving the structure more strength as well as some weight for stability on the gaming table. I cut some pieces of wire from a thin paper clip and glued them at a nearly vertical angle in the hole in the top of the push pin. This worked well as the wire was deep enough to secure the grav-cycle to the platform.
How I used push pins – note the narrowed and flattened tops. The paper clip wire was subsequently superglued into the holes in the pin topsI then moved on to painting the riders and their grav-cycles. This was more difficult as I could not mount these onto a suitable painting structure and paint them successfully – which took much longer. I basically had to paint the Aphid Scouts and Grav-Cycles in my hand.
First I’ll discuss the cycles. I painted the deep recesses of the bottom of the grav-cycles successively with Americana “Deep Burgundy”, followed by Citadel “Spiritstone Red”. I wanted an “aviation” look to the cycles (which had flywheels and a big ray gun as part of the details!). I gave them a heavy dry brush of Tamiya “Flat Aluminum”.
Grav-Cycles after dry brushingFor the details, I used Americana “Ebony” on the seat base and the center of the exhaust port. FolkArt “Gunmetal Gray” was my choice for the front ray gun support and the flywheel bracket, while the flywheel got Tamiya “Chrome Silver”. For the ray gun cowling, Martha Stewart Crafts “Pale Bronze” was my choice. For the tip of the ray gun, I used Craftsmart “Festive Red” metallic. For the exhaust port. I used a combination of Craftsmart “Bright Yellow”, Tamiya “Orange”, and “Festive Red” in a concentric circling pattern. Once this dried, I gave the cycles a wash with Secret Weapons Washes “Armor Wash”, and let that dry. Using “Flat Aluminum”, I highlighted the cycles’ edges and reflective surfaces. Lastly, I used two applications of the “Spiritstone Red” to bring out the ray gun tip even more.
Grav-Cycles paintedLet’s discuss the riders and the other Aphids painting in general. As I wanted them to look similar (all in the same platoon and the same insect species), I wrote down each step of painting and washing and highlighting. That helps with reproducing the same effects. There are a few differences among each type but I’ll note those as I go along. The only special steps for the riders involved basically repairing the one missing leg on one figure. I used my pin vise, and drilled out a hole in the figure’s leg stump. I cut a piece of paper clip, and bent it at 90°, and superglued it in place. I sculpted a suitable leg with Aves® Apoxie® Sculpt, and let it harden overnight. It came out acceptably!
The painting of the Aphids followed the same basic pattern. I wanted to smooth over any rough areas, so I gave the figures a wash with Secret Weapons Washes “Green”. I then base coated the bunch with my old 1984 Polly-S “Slime Green” using a dry brushing technique.
Amazingly, this 32 year old paint is still good!Each of the Aphids (all types) was equipped with a couple of tanks on their backs, which I interpreted as being a breathing apparatus. For these, I used “Chrome Silver” on the tank bodies and Tamiya “Copper” on the valve sections. After this dried, I gave each Aphid a wash with Citadel “Nuln Oil Glossy”. I wanted glossy so as to bring out the small details that were recessed. Then I highlighted the flat chitinous surfaces of the head and thorax (these are insects) with Craftsmart “Apple Green” satin. To smooth out the colors, I applied yet another wash of “Green” to the Aphids’ shells and “Nuln Oil Glossy” to the ribs on the breathing tanks. For varnishing, I wanted to dull down the glossy a bit so the Aphids got two coats of Testors “Dullcoat”.
Riders painted and awaiting varnishingAfter varnishing and awaiting mounting
Let me get specific about the Aphid Scouts on Grav-Cycles, which were then ready for assembly. I glued the riders to the cycles. Then, I drilled a hole on the bottom of each cycle with my pin vise to fit the paper clip in the push pin with my smallest bit. I needed to also use an Exacto knife to clear the hole of filings and another push pin to start the pin vise (pilot hole). I had some of the riders come off during this process but was able to reglue them easily.
Hole drilled in bottom of cycleThese were then finally assembled. I used differently-colored flocking tufts from Army Painter to show their command and control relationships. They are organized as one squad in the platoon – with one squad leader, and two team leaders each leading teams of 4 grav-cycles. My thoughts initially are to treat the ray gun weapon as an automated analogue of a 37mm anti-tank gun and the vehicle as terrain-defying flying motorcycles.
Scouts out! The Aphid Grav-Cycle SquadClose up of figure left sideRight side of grav-cycle
Coming at you!The process of painting was the same for all of the Aphid Infantry, Aphid Officers, and Aphid Mortar Crews with some differences. First, they are all mounted on two #8 steel washers that have been glued together with wood glue. Second, the infantry is armed with tommy guns (I am assuming that Thompson submachine guns must have a thriving export market in the future!). I used my 1987 Deka Lack “Braun” for the wooden parts of the guns, and “Gunmetal Gray” for the metal ones.
For the officers, three would be squad leaders and one would be the overall platoon leader. The officers’ laser pistols got painted with “Chrome Silver” and the tips got the “Spiritstone Red” treatment on top of Citadel “Gehenna’s Gold”. I chose “Flat Aluminum” for the squad leaders’ helmets, and “Gehenna’s Gold/Spiritstone Red” for the platoon leader’s. Once again, I used Army Painter tufts of different colors and locations to indicate command and control relationships. The platoon leader has three mortar crews and the two robots reporting to him as well. The only difference for the mortar crews was the mortar round and mortar tubes. For the small mortar rounds, I used “Chrome Silver” on the body and “Spiritstone Red” for the fins. The tubes got “Gunmetal Gray”.
Base coat on Aphid InfantryBase coat on Aphid OfficersBase coat on Aphid Mortar CrewsPainted and flocked, awaiting varnish and tuftsSquad Leader with his Aphid Infantry Squad armed with Thompson SMG’s. Tuft locations and color denote command relationships.One completed mortar crew. Each crew has its own tuft color, and reports to the platoon leader.Three completed squad leaders
Completed Aphid Platoon LeaderTo round out the platoon, there are the two Robot self-propelled guns. These look almost steam-punk-like in design. I went with a very metallic scheme for them. First, I gave the figures a wash with Secret Weapons Washes “Armor Wash”. The top part/gun turret was painted with “Flat Aluminum”, while the bottom of the chassis was painted with “Copper” . I painted the wheels and lower chassis with “Gunmetal Gray”. I added Citadel ” Auric Armor Gold” to some of the chassis attachments. For the radiator in the back (!) I used “Copper” framed with “Gunmetal Gray”. The whole assembly got a wash again, and then I painted the robotic insect eyes with Craftsmart “Festive Red” metallic. I highlighted the figure with the same paints again after the wash, and I was pretty happy with it.
From Lost Minis Wiki – Robot Group – I got two of the models on the top
Completed Robot Self-propelled GunsThe platoon structure (41 fighting figures) is as follows in summary:
Aphid Platoon Leader (1)
Scout Squad Leader for Aphid Scouts on Grav-Cycle (1)
Team A Leader, Grav-Cycle (1)
4 Aphids on Grav-Cycles
Team B Leader, Grav-Cycle (1)
4 Aphids on Grav-Cycles
1st Squad Leader for Aphid Infantry (1)
6 Aphid Infantry with Thompson SMG
2nd Squad Leader for Aphid Infantry (1)
6 Aphid Infantry with Thompson SMG
3rd Squad Leader for Aphid Infantry (1)
6 Aphid Infantry with Thompson SMG
Mortar Section A (2)
Mortar Section B (2)
Mortar Section C (2)
Robot Assault Gun Section (2)
The Aphid PlatoonI have to say that this was a very challenging project – the figures were smaller than I am used to painting, and they were much less detailed. However, I am pretty proud of what I was able to do with it and look forward to seeing them in action in a game. It’s fun to bring nearly 40-year old figures back to life – especially with many old paints as well. I’m glad I got these, and am very happy with how they turned out. I’m planning on chatting with Buck about assigning combat values to them soon.
I have been casting miniatures with pewter for a while now, and I usually use a spoon to remove any impurities, slag, and ash that are floating on top of my crucible before I pour anything into the molds. Up to now, this material was useless to me. As I am now working on creating retro sci-fi units for Combat Patrol™ games, I came up with the idea of repurposing this material for needed terrain – like old lava flow mounds or industrial slag.
To finish up for October, I created four CD-mounted slag/lava mounds using three regular size CD’s and a smaller one. I used five slag piles, gluing each to the CD with wood glue and letting them sit overnight. I also applied a coat of wood glue to the surfaces of the CD’s for better paint and flocking adhesion down the line.
Step one – the slag is glued to the CD’s – and other projects look on!
I then primed the group with Krylon “Ultra-Flat Black” matte spray paint. I took Reaper Master Series Paints “Grey Liner” and coated the slag and the CD’s. After this, I applied a coat of Citadel “Nuln Oil”. To bring out the highlights, I used Americana “Zinc” to dry brush the pieces.
After priming and dry brushing
I then let the pieces dry. Then, I used white glue to affix two types of flocking from Army Painter – “Ash Grey” and “Battlefield Black” in a random pattern. I applied two coats of Testors “Dull Coat”, allowing for adequate drying in between each.
The four pieces completed
I am pretty pleased with the results. It was not a difficult process at all. Of course, I will need to acquire a dark cloth for covering my tabletop battlefield with these. I thought about adding some grasses or tuft, but in the end went for a more wasteland look – devoid of life. I look forward to having figures use them as cover in a Combat Patrol™ game!
I have been collecting various examples of the long-defunct Archive Miniatures Star Rovers line of figures from 1977. This month, I have had some health issues that precluded being able to sit down (long story and a pain if you know what I mean). Therefore, I chose to work on making molds and casting, focusing on Star Rovers, which is something I do standing up.
My overall goal is to create squad-sized units of these “lost” but very cool minis. I want these to set up and play games of Buck Surdu’s Combat Patrol™, as well as to see if I can create a scenario using the Star Rovers figures that I have collected. Combat Patrol™ was created as a WWII skirmish card-based miniatures rules set, but it has been successfully adapted to other historical periods as well as Star Wars™ scenarios. To learn more about Combat Patrol™, click here.
Before I get to the figures and the making of the molds, I wanted to share information about my casting set up. I basically use pewter and I use a Hot Pot 2 crucible with a Lyman pyrometer to measure the alloy’s temperature.
I also use appropriate safety equipment!
The Hot Pot 2 holds about 4 pounds of molten metal, and is used for making bullets, fishing sinkers, and miniatures. Unfortunately, it comes with a tripod stand which teeters and is prone to tipping. Why the manufacturer did not use four legs on the stand for stability is beyond me. After a couple of spills (where I dodged the 650° F contents and had a lovely clean up) I was determined to have a new set up. Currently I have 1′ x 1′ steel sheets clamped to my old Sears Craftsman® work bench that I have had for close to 30 years. My friend Jeff Smith came up with an idea that proved to be a great fix. He had an old cast iron (heavy) Christmas tree stand he was not using. I filled the large holder with play sand to raise the bottom up and put the tripod into the sand in the tree well. This provided great stability and rendered the set up virtually spill-proof. I clamped the tree stand to my work bench (after extending my bench depth about an inch). This worked great and I am very happy with my new casting set up.
My new set up in the garage – clamped molds on the right
Close up of use of the iron Christmas tree stand to hold the Hot Pot 2, clamped to the workbench
To learn more about the Archive Miniatures Star Rovers line click here.
I cannot find any reliable sources to buy these figures – I only find them sporadically on eBay. This is why I recast them for personal use and for gifts.
My first mold in October was for the Space Phraints. These are 9 foot tall emotionless insect men that were in the old Arduin game. These are armed with huge swords and a ray gun.
I found a nice synopsis on Phraints from Saundby.com that you can see here. The photos below show the original I got on eBay (the blue clay you see came from the mold-making process and is easily removed).
Space Phraint front
Space Phraint back
Below is the first mold half set up for the Space Phraint. I used an old metal mold plug to create my flow aperture along with some golf tees my wife gave me a while back for Christmas. I also used toothpicks to create air flow vents and release points for better casting. I also wrote a mirror image of the word “PHRAINT” on the clay. The QuickSil is measured and mixed and put into the mold press for curing. I generally wait 28 minutes for it to cure – and I use a hand-held hair dryer to warm the outside of the press to assist in curing the RTV (room temperature vulcanizing) compound.
Space Phraint mold in the mold press – first half
Removing the first half of the mold from the mold press before removing the blue clay from the RTV
The first mold half of the Space Phraint mold
I then put the first half back into the mold press, applied a releasing cream to any wooden surfaces of the press that QuickSil would touch as well as the green set up rubber RTV. I then measured and mixed more QuickSil and repeated the process. After I made the mold, I cut out wooden backings for the mold from 1/8″ plywood using my scroll saw.
The Space Phraint mold was very successful and needed little modification during the casting process. I was able to cast 42 figures from this mold.
A formation of Space Phraints led by the original
The next mold is a Mark III Warbot. As far as I can tell, there are no Mark I or II’s in Star Rovers! He is clunky and retro looking, with a very cool ray gun/blaster. He reminded me of Bender from Futurama, though he was created in 1977!
Mark III Warbot front
Mark III Warbot back
I followed a similar process in making this mold as described above.
Mark III Warbot first mold half
Mark III Warbot mold completed
This also was a successful mold. I cast 42 figures using it.
A formation of Mark III Warbots led by the original
I then moved onto the Space Centaur, who has rocket packs on his back, but is only armed with a laser pistol! This was my first try at making a mold of a four-legged creature. The mold itself needed more tweaking during the casting process than I like in terms of cutting vents and opening up spaces. I believe that I should have used more of a cone-shaped pour aperture for the mold. Here I used a small hotel soap and golf tees to shape the pouring well – and I think that works less effectively than a cone. I also had leaking issues with the mold initially. I solved these with adding more C-clamps when casting.
I was able to cast 36 figures with this mold.
Master Space Centaur figure
A formation of Space Centaurs, led by the original
The last two figures that I worked on were Dragonspawn Infantry. There were actually three made by Archive, but I do not have the prone figure, only the crouching and kneeling ones. My guess from these pictures is that they were originally painted but then stripped.
Kneeling Dragonspawn Trooper, right side
Kneeling Dragonspawn Trooper, left side
Standing Dragonspawn Trooper, right side
Standing Dragonspawn Trooper, left side
I tried a new mold design – two figures in one mold. I wanted to see if this would be more efficient. It was not, primarily I believe that the cone aperture design works better, especially a tall one. Here I used another hotel soap and golf tees – and I had a lot of casting failures with this mold. With some adaptations during the casting process (making the pouring aperture and tees wider), my success rate improved, but the overall mold leaked a lot and was a pain to work with. At one point, some of the RTV came off in a figure, but this did not seem to be a major issue with subsequent castings.
My attempt at a new mold design – less than fully successful
I was able to cast 24 good figures of each type, but I probably had a 50% failure rate overall.
Two Dragonspawn formations with master in front
I cast 168 miniatures in total with the four molds. Some I am giving to friends, while the rest I an putting into the painting queue.
October production on the table
I learned some new things about the process, and got a new casting set up that is much safer. My next casting will be in a few months – I really want to start painting now that the weather is turning colder, and get them into a Combat Patrol™ game!
Mark A. Morin 
