Survivors of the Twilight, Part 1 (15mm figures suitable for Twilight 2000)

(Disclaimer: While I don't do 15mm anything, except for Sci-Fi, I know plenty of people DO want to do Twilight:2000 in 15mm, and thus I would be remiss to talk about it.)

Khurasan Miniatures

Photo taken from Khurasan Miniatures Webpage

Khurasan Miniatures does a lot for a "one man band" and is an honest, straightforward seller. While they do have "sales outages" from time to time, they always announce them in advance and rarely have left a customer in the lurch for long. They fed my sci fi addiction for quite some time, and their figures are sculpted to a very high standard in my opinion, as the painted examples on their pages bore out. Their "Late Cold War" and "Cold War to Modern Russians" lines are perfect for anyone looking to do Twilight:2000 on the table top.

They are also organized into formal units which works well, as if you wish to create a more "ad-hoc" look for Twilight 2000, it really would not be hard to do so with the building blocks found here. 

Prices are reasonable, and the unit packs are economical. Their paypal shopping cart makes things a breeze, and I simply cannot recommend them enough.

You could do a lot worse than these figures.

Rebel Miniatures

Photo taken from Rebel Minis Webpage

Rebel Miniatures is a slightly bigger company, and also is a good, honest seller that sculpts to a pretty high standard and has a variety of figures, including some odd types, like SWAT teams and gangbangers (in both standard urban, and post-apocalyptic varieties), this can allow you to field some of the weirder marauder bands one found in some of the modules (Last Submarine and Armies of the Night come to mind). 

Good lines to choose from are the "Modern Military", "Gangs, Gunmen, Hostages and More", and the "Zombies, Zombie Hunters, Werewolves and Horror" lines (The latter has some nice hunter figures that would work well in a Twilight:2000 setting). 

The figures are priced reasonably, and like Khurasan, the paypal ordering system makes shopping a breeze. 

These figures, like Khurasan, are a good fit for a Twilight: 2000 table.

Oddizal Osmy

Photo taken from Oddizal Osmy webpage

Oddizal makes some really nice figures for the buck. The details are nothing short of incredible, and yet, the figures aren't chunky like what you find with say, Battlefront's efforts. I have some of their Vistula Legion sci-fi, and their figures have nice proportions, movements that make sense with regards to the human anatomy, and are in short, well-sculpted. They do suffer from more than a bit of flash, but much of it can be cleaned up with a day's work with fingers and files. 

Prices are more than reasonable, and with PicoArmor as a US distributor, it's not hard to get these figures (PicoArmor is often found at many a HMGS show), and the shopping cart is simplicity itself.

If you're going to do Poland in Twilight:2000, and you're doing it in 15mm, you simply must do it with these figures, you won't be sorry.

IrishSerb Miniatures

Taken from IrishSerb's Miniature Website

IrishSerb, like Khurasan is a "one man band" and I think (the website hasn't been updated in a while) is in the midst of a sales outage. But to be honest, their Armored HMMWVs and Bradley models (I have some of their HMMWVs) are among the best I have seen. Assembly is a snap and with the plethora of crew figures and stowage gear on the market, you can make these vehicles look rather like the "gypsy caravan" most vehicles should look like in a Twilight:2000 environment. 

Prices are very reasonable, but the shopping method is still "email and paypal" which works well for a company of this size, but with Khurasan having a shopping cart, you wish IrishSerb had one too.

In short, see if you can get your hands on some of these, you won't be sorry.

ArmyBits Miniatures

Photo taken from Armies Army Miniatures Website

(Disclaimer: I wrote "Red Star - White Lights for AA as part of their Ram Company Games line)

Armies Army makes some really nice 15mm figures, they are a bit on the chunky side, tending more towards Battlefront dimensions, but they are well sculpted with personality and poses not often seen at this scale. 

Their Cold War line has very good coverage for the British and Soviets (including Soviets in cold weather gear, perfect for a cold winter of the Twilight War.), and with the kickstarter of Canadians and Dutch just being concluded, it seems Armies Army is poised to make inroads into the lesser known corners of the Cold War.

Their shopping cart makes things easy and pricing is very reasonable, with much of the infantry available in unit packs.

In short, give this range a try, you might like what you find!

UPDATE: ArmiesArmy is still there, after a fashion, now as ArmyBits, and is strictly a 3D files outfit. That said, much of his 3D files are suitable for both 15mm and 20mm. Sadly, something happened to his store page at the time of update, but you can order from him via Facebook and Paypal or at Wargaming3D. Link to his FB page is here.

Battlefront Miniatures

Photo taken from Gametime Miniatures Website

Battlefront's new game, Team Yankee, has been greeted on the whole, fairly favorably, with some detractors as well (for the record, am not overly nuts about it on first blush, but I haven't played the rules either). But, they are prodigious in their production of figures to support the game. Very prodigious.

Right now, they have fairly complete lines for the Americans, Soviets, West and East Germans, and Brits, though, there are some holes (No Challengers or Bradleys as far as I can tell), but you have at least 80-90% of what you need. Poses are also pretty dynamic and animated..which I like. Who likes boring figures? Infantry is all metal, with vehicles being plastic and easy construction from the looks of it.

There has been some complaints about the quality of the figures and vehicles, but honestly, the few of their WWII line I owned when I was making a foray into WW- II 15mm were pretty serviceable, and would work with a small bit of filing. Their size might make them a bit 'chunky' compared to other lines, but if you limit them to their own units, it won't be as noticeable. The webshop is a breeze and I personally found it easy to use the few times I have purchased something from Battlefront.

Price may also be an issue. They are a mite expensive for 15mm, to be honest, and many Team Yankee/FoW gamers I know tend to supplement their collections from other manufacturers. But, the figures do come in a good sized pack, and for many of the rules I have mentioned, one or two packs should fill in the infantry component of an army nicely with most of the rules sets I have mentioned, not to mention the troop densities one finds in Twilight: 2000.

They would not be my first choice personally for 15mm, but, if you cannot find or get anything else, they would not be the worst choice.

QRF Miniatures

Taken from the Pigmented Miniatures Website

QRF has been pretty much the source for modern miniatures in 15mm. They make EVERYTHING. You name it, they make it, infantry, AFV, softskins. It's a pretty large range that covers everything from Americans to Yugoslavs.

Everything is all metal and you'll need epoxy and green stuff to put everything together. Infantry is also all metal, and is a bit on the "true 15" side, so it won't mix well with Battlefront's stuff, but if you follow the advice I gave earlier, you should be alright.

Quality is overall good, but like any company, they have their hits and misses. I do find their website a bit of a headache, and it was triggering my spyware alerts on my computer as I was surfing it. I have not tried to order anything from them, but it is something to consider. Not to mention, as a British company, shipping to the rest of the world isn't going to be the cheapest thing in the world, but for 15mm, it's not too bad.

All that said, if you're going to do Twilight:2000 on the tabletop, give this range a look. Chances are, they have something you need to fill out your army. And trust me, with Twilight:2000, there may not be a lot of vehicles, but there is a little bit of everything to be found.

Peter Pig

Photo taken from Peter Pig website

Peter Pig, like QRF, is a prolific manufacturer that also turns out a good quality product with their Modern Africa line (which covers a lot more than Africa these days). Their minis are a bit more on the chunky side, so they will mix better with lines like Battlefront. The poses are also very animated, and easy to paint. Vehicles have good detail, are all metal, and easy to build (but they could use instruction sheets, I was a bit confused putting together a Buffel armored truck I had gotten for my sci fi 15mm).

That said, this in many ways is the perfect line for Twilight:2000. It has many of the rag tag types you'll need, as well as the ubiquitous militias armed to the teeth with AKs they barely know how to use. It's just perfect. They have a nice variety of HMMWVs, and anything more in the ironmongery department you might need, other people make, so it won't be too hard to make things happen there.

Prices are reasonable, and at 8 figures a bag, armies can be built quickly, as I said. Troop densities in Twilight:2000 aren't too big after the bomb falls.

Again, as a British company, shipping is an issue to guys like me in the US, but I would take a look at these guys, they are well worth it.

PS: The Toyotas? Grab em! Technicals are a dime a dozen in Twilight:2000..till the alcohol runs out. 

Well, that is it for now, but before I conclude, also take a look at plastic kits from such folks as Zveda and Plastic Soldier Company (who is about to release a 15mm T-55 kit, 5 vehicles you can build in a variety of versions? Where can you go wrong there? In Twilight: 2000, 5 T-55s comprises a division!)