Martial Metals was a company that produced miniature figures in the 1970s and 1980s for science-fiction tabletop games.
Company history
Martian Metals was founded in 1976 by Forest Brown to provide metal miniatures to the burgeoning science fiction role-playing and board game industry.[1] Miniatures produced by the company had a distinctive six-sided base designed to fit the standard hex grid map used in many miniatures games.[2]
The company became the licensed supplier of miniatures for science fiction games such as Ogre/G.E.V.,[3] Traveller,[4][5][6][7]
Miniatures lines
OGRE/G.E.V.
Miniatures for the Steve Jackson Games board games Ogre and G.E.V.. In Issue 29 of The Space Gamer, Nevin J. Templin commented that "My sample [of Ogre] needed a minute with a file prior to assembly. The G.E.V. is sharp and crisp, and requires a bit of assembly. The Heavy Tank is an impressive vehicle, nicely cast. The only other vehicle available is the Missile Tank, another sharply detailed casting."[13]
Runequest
A 1982 line of 25mm bubble-packed sets of denizens of Glorantha for the fantasy role-playing game RuneQuest. In Issue 57 of The Space Gamer, John Rankin commented that "Overall, the Runequest line is a very imaginative and well done offering. Considering how long Runequest players have waited for these figures, the line should enjoy considerable success."[14]
Awards
Martian Metals won two industry awards for their miniatures:
Reception
Martian Metals received many positive reviews in industry publications.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9] Various reviews in the pages of Dragon used phrases like "quite distinctive",[2] "a good range of armored and unarmored figures [...] Technical rating of 9/10",[29]
References
- Forest Brown Warpigs, September 2010, retrieved 2020-02-20^
- Kim Eastland. Figure Feature: Knights Dragon, TSR, Inc., February 1983^
- Nevin J. Templin. Capsule Reviews The Space Gamer, July 1980^