Thirty-five years ago, a friend of mine introduced me to my first tabletop wargame, Warhammer Fantasy Battles. I was instantly hooked, and quickly moved on to the newly-released sci-fi iteration Warhammer 40K. Needless to say, once I discovered the existence of an Epic-scale version I was all over it, and this game – which began life as Adeptus Titanicus back in 1988 – would become one of my favourite gaming properties of all time- who doesn’t want to see building-sized robots duke it out across a ravaged urban cityscape?
Although the original AT was (at least to my teenage mind) great fun and immersive, it was also clunky, and became even more so with the release of Space Marine, a companion game designed to introduce infantry and vehicles to the battlefield. This would all change when the game was reworked into a more user-friendly version which not only streamlined things (a little) but expanded the races available: previously only Imperial factions had been released, now there appeared a whole host of alien and daemon forces.
Understandably, as the years passed, my interest in Warhammer waxed and waned, but the old Epic game system always had a place in my heart. Over the last twenty years or so, I’ve revisited it from time to time, and have even looked at picking up a few bits and pieces to add to my old armies. However, as is always the case, any of these miniatures which appear for sale at a reasonable price are scooped up by traders and sold on at exorbitant rates. While there were a few companies which produced reasonable proxies, I always liked the aesthetic of the older models.
A few years ago, I came across a company called Scourge Scenics, a 3D printing business which deals primarily in sci-fi miniatures. A large portion of their catalogue consists of tanks and infantry which fit perfectly with the old Epic aesthetic and are sold in small unit sizes at a very reasonable cost. I’ve ordered a bunch of models from here, and the owner is great, very accommodating and offering excellent communication, it’s just a shame that as of posting they only do Imperial, Chaos, and Ork units. I’ve posted pics here of some of the stuff I’ve picked up, but to be honest, they don’t do these fantastic miniatures justice. I’d definitely recommend these to anyone looking for an affordable way to put together an Epic army.
It’s also worth noting that Scourge also produce a range of miniatures designed to proxy for the space-combat game Battlefleet Gothic, but as that’s a game I never had any appreciable involvement with, I’m not really qualified to pass judgement on them. Have a visit yourself and see what you think!
