Stargave – Scavengers

We are picking up two more plastic kits from Stargrave, starting with the Scavengers (SGVP007), which were released a while ago but which I haven't had time to review yet.

These impressively well-made sci-fi kits are produced by Northstar Military Figures in cooperation with Osprey Games. They cover 20 multi-part miniatures and have an RRP of 22 GBP.

Although they are designed with Stargrave in mind, they can obviously be used for a wide range of sci-fi settings. They are kept in a 28 mm scale with slightly heroic proportions, and of course they are interchangeable with the other kits in the range (such as the Mercenaries), and you can also use bits from the Frostgrave range.

Each box contains four Scavenger sprues (enough parts for five miniatures) and two sprues with 25 mm flat round bases.

The sprues all have a similar layout and are produced in the UK by an experienced team who work with many companies in the lead belt. Mould lines are visible but not too strong to cause an issue. The casting is well done, with the space within the frame used properly.

Content of each sprue:

• 5 Bodies
• 23 Heads
• 3 arms with pistols
• 10 arms with rifles / automatic shotguns
• 3 arms with a machine gun
• 3 arms with close combat weapons
• A lot of unarmed and open arms
• 20 items of gear like bags, ammunition and pouches

We are going to make a batch of these from one sprue. As you can see, they have numbers on the side to indicate which pair of arms goes with which.

All of the Scavenger bodies have long coats of various kinds. Some look more rugged than others, and in a few cases there is armour beneath the coat.

I opted for a variety of weapon options to depict patrol soldiers, leaders, scavengers, and perhaps even the undead of a dark future. These would also work well in some post-apocalyptic settings.

With more than 20 different heads to choose from, we can move these miniatures in many different directions. I used humanoid and partially bionic faces, along with a more dire-looking face, to build a zombie from the future. These miniatures already look very complete, but they are missing a few bits.

As each sprue covers a lot of bags, pouches and gear, we naturally want to add these to the mix. In some cases, I suggest filing down the area where you want to glue an item to the body for a cleaner finish or filling in the gaps with putty or something similar.

To give you an idea of how the Stargrave miniatures scale with other ranges, here are a few comparison shots (the second and fourth miniature in the first picture are from the Stargrave range).

I like how dynamic the miniatures have become and the range of options they offer.

Conclusion

At just over a pound per miniature, these offer excellent value for money. A whole box might be a bit much for Stargrave, but you can always split it with a friend to get even more out of these sets. This is especially true given the broad range offered by Northstar, not to mention the fact that these can easily be mixed with Star- and Frostgrave, and even beyond that, with other plastic ranges like Bolt Action or Great Escape Games' Dead Man's Hand plastics, thanks to the chosen scale.

These are great designs, not only making for a great addition to your pool of crewmen, but also perfect for NPCs or enemy mobs - the space pirates or other malicious groups you might encounter on your adventures.

Since I prepared this review, a second box of Scavengers has been produced: Scavengers II. This adds even more options for your crew in the ragged design. As mentioned above, due to their reasonable price and the variety of weapon options, this kit (or the entire range) is ideal not only for skirmishes, but also for platoon-sized wargames. Whatever ruleset you prefer.

• Production Quality: 4/5
• Design appeal: 4/5
• Options / Customization: 4/5 
• Value for money: 5/5
• Ease of Assembly: 4/5

Stargrave is a brand of North Star Figures and Osprey Games.