The Colonial Defence Force Gets Shipped Off By Mad Robot
June 2, 2014 by brennon
Mad Robot Miniatures have a rather awesome looking kit out now for their Colonial Defence Force. Whether you have bugs to squash or Aliens to blast in corridors these guys have you covered. Oh, and if you want some more fire power why not check out their Bulldog Battle Rifle too...
The kit works for 28mm size gaming with heroic proportions and comes with...
- 10 Heads
- 10 Torsos
- 10 Pairs of Arms
- 10 Pairs of Legs
- 10 Pulse Rifles
- 1 Special Weapon
- 1 set of Sgt Arms
- 1 Heavy Gunner Upgrade
...so it could well be a nice kit for use as an alternative Imperial Guard unit or for any number of different skirmish games out there. I could see these matching up well with Enforcers from Mantic Games for example due to the style of weapons and armour.
On the bitz front they have the aforementioned Bulldog Battle Rifle. I thought this was some kind of shotgun to begin! I like that it has enough space on the top for adding things like scopes and sights and it's made to fit with a range of different 28mm miniatures.
Will you join these Colonial Marines?
They look like a squad of ultimate bad asses! Bit rich for almost £30 plus shipping though.
That rifle is a “fattened up” FN-FAL battle rifle from the 1960s, complete with a folded-down carrying handle near where the ejection port should be. Hey nothing wrong with borrowing from real retro-tech to make a sci-fi game. If anything, I tend to shy away from Star Trek – Buck Rodgers – Flash Gordon looking “ray guns” that look TOO sci-fi to be taken seriously.
oriskany,
I used to fire the British version of the FN-Fal called the SLR; self loading rifle, now obsolete, when I was did military service. The 7.62mm round it fired was pretty devastating compared to it’s replacement; the 5.56mm used in the SA80 rifle.
Thanks, I couldn’t remember the British name off the top of my head. But doesn’t this weapon look a little like a “cartoonized” SLR? The three air vents in the forward handguard? The 20-round magazine? The folded carrying handle? The shape of the shoulder stock? Yes, the 7.62 FMJ vs 5.56mm NATO debate has been raging for decades. Trained on the M16A2 in the USMC myself (maaaaaaaany years ago), which (I’m sure you know) fires the very small 5.56 / .223 Remington. They used to tell us all the damage comes from its velocity, cavitation in the target’s tissue, and… Read more »
Canadian version was the FNC1. Loved the 7.62 round. Longer range, and you could shoot through walls. Not so much with the lighter 5.56. The C2 had the full auto setting, heavier barrel, a bipod, and weighed 17 lbs. vice 11. Never had trouble with ‘climb’ when firing three-round bursts, as has been stated elsewhere. Switched to M-16 type C7 about midway through my career. Too many little pieces for my liking. So easy to lose that little pin at night when cleaning it. And it was a diva compared to the FNC1. Lighter ammo meant you could carry more… Read more »
oh the 7.62, little entry wound BIG exit wound, when hit buy one of these you know you’ve been hit. With 5.56 you hit to wound that way it takes out more manpower, ie the medics having to patch up the small wounds etc
oh the best thing about the SLR that of course no one did, was use a bren mag, those were the days
We should start our own “vets forum” topic somewhere to talk about old firearms, etc. 🙂 This is a great thread, but has 0% to do with sci-fi colonial marine figures. 😀
Never knew that about the SLR’s magazine. When you say “Bren mag,” are we walking about the wold Bren gun? Top-loading LMG? I always thought that magazine was slightly curved. Is this a later version of the magazine, or am I just way off base?
Yeah British forces used the WW2 vintage Bren gun up until the end of the 90s I think. Troops liked it because it was reasonable accurate for a LMG, but more important it was reliable. The banana mags could fit the SLR. Great for extra rounds. It also made the SLR look like the illegitimate offspring of the AK47. I liked the SLR because I am a south paw and could fire it left handed whereas the SA80 could only be fired right handed. This bulldog miniature rifle looks very much like an SLR with solid stock and the carry… Read more »
“The banana mags could fit the SLR. Great for extra rounds.”
Well, s*** on me. I totally did not know that, I hella-learned something today. Thanks!
Your welcome, however thank, rickoshea, for remembering the bren gun mags. I had forgotten all about them. The biggest problem with both FN-FAL and the SLR is that their recoil made them kick up like a bitch. The SLR was semi-auto only, however if you tried rapid fire; by the forth round you were aiming at the sky.
I’ve heard that about the FN-FAL / SLR (no full-auto). I’ve never fired one, but I think because of the larger round, and (in some models) lack of a full-auto option, they were classified in most sources I’ve seen as “battle rifles” rather than “assault rifles.” Other rifles in this category (at least in American sources) included the American M14 and the German G3 (7.62, 20 round mag, semi-auto . . . I think). The AK-47 / AKM was 7.62 as well, but a fired a shorter round and had a full-auto option, so kept the “assault rifle” category. I… Read more »
Sorry – don’t look like great sculpts to me – will pass
I guess you already know that film armourers who made the pulse rifle used by the colonial marines in the aliens films used WW2 Thompson SMGs as the base then built all the other bodywork around them. Just as in Star Wars they used Sterling SMGs to make the Storm troopers rifles and a Mauser C96 for Han Solo’s handgun.
Knew about the Stirlings . . . and of course the 1898 pistol for Han Solo (they left the broom handle on it, after all). Didn’t know about the Colonial Marines (Aliens) and their Thompsons, though. Looked it up and sure enough, you are right. Man, they did a good job disguising those things, even knowing what to look for and looking right at it now . . . it’s really tough to see. I see where they added a shotgun underneath for the “grenade launcher” part. http://www.imfdb.org/wiki/File:M41a01.jpg I also knew the big MG “smart guns” in Aliens were German… Read more »
Oh neat an SLR. I have got to get me some of those, I still remember helli-shooting pest animals with my dad before the semiauto buy-back.