Aliens tabletop miniatures

[StephenDutton]

There have been several different tabletop games based on the Alien franchise over the years, wiht miniatures to go along with them. There have also been a number of miniature ranges that have clearly been influenced by Aliens and could be used to represnt characters within the Aliens universe on the tabletop.
I have quite an extensive collection of wargaming miniatures, mainly Warhmmer 40k, but I also have quite a few of the official and unofficial Aliens figures and I thought it might be useful to have a thread to show off what people running Aliens tabletop games could choose from if they want to use miniatures in their games.

[StephenDutton]

I'd liek to start with the original Leading Edge figures. These are 25mm scale and for the most part are based directly on the characters from the film Aliens itself. As well as the characters there were also models of the power loader, APC and dropship.

LeadingEdgeAliens-ColonialMarines.jpg

LeadingEdgeAliens-APC.jpg

LeadingEdgeAliens-Dropship.jpg

LeadingEdgeAliens-Powerloader.jpg

As well as the marines there are alien moidels, including eggs, facehuggers and the queen and some hypothetical models of the colonists in their last stand. I have these too but they aren't painted.
I'd say that the only real positive point to using these is that they represent all of the significant characters in the film if that is what you are recreating.
On the negative side the sculpts arem't great by modern standards and since they've been out of production for a long time the models are rare and can be expensive. Also if you aren't trying to reproduce the film in your game then the range is limited.
Overall I'd say that these are more for collectors than gamers.

[StephenDutton]

For a while Prodos made their Aliens vs Predator game and there are figures available for that. These are 32mm scale, which seems to be becoming more popular nowadays.

Prodos.jpg

I only have this one squad of five but there was at least one other squad done, plus what was called an officer but who wore the same armour as the regualr marines. Aliens and predator figures were also made to go with them. Perhaps someone else can post any that they have.
On the pro side these are nice sculpts and they are still fairly easy to come by for a price that isn't extortionate.
On the negative side the range for marines at least seems limited.

[StephenDutton]

The third and latest official figures are from the game Another Glorious Day In The Corps from Gale Force Nine.
These are 30mm scale and as with the leading Edge figures are based on the film Aliens.

GF9-1.jpg

GF9-2.jpg

GF9-3.jpg

There are also alien figures and a power loader available. Although the figures were released with game rules you can also buy at least some of the figures without the rules. The Heroes of Hadleys Hope set contains the marines but I advise being careful if you buy this. There are two editions, the first of which does not include the drop ship crew. They were released later and added to a second version of the set.
On the pro side these are still available new so easy to get hold of.
On the negative side the range is limited to what was in the film and their scale is unusual, making them stand out when compared to other ranges if you mix and match. I've heard some people complain about the figures being fragile but I haven't had an issue with that.