Martian Empires: Prussian Steam Tanks

The Prussian steam tanks for the Martian Empires range of 18mm Victorian science fiction figures are back in production after an absence of five years. The original versions of these items quickly destroyed their moulds thanks to design defects in the masters that trapped the mould rubber, causing it to pull and tear. Fighting 15s has spent its development time this summer correcting these defects as much as possible to the extent that as a stop-gap solution we can now cast the affected parts in metal without wrecking a mould after three casts.

This isn’t the ideal solution because the models weigh two to three times as much, with consequences for the cost of materials used to make them. We are therefore approaching Early War Miniatures, also based on the Isle of Wight, with a view to producing pressure-cast resin versions. We hope to have news about these one-piece models soon. For the numbers we typically sell it is not worth investing in a pressure pot and compressor to make the models this way ourselves, and so if the vehicles are produced this way they will be contract cast. This also has implications for the price, but models will be lighter to ship than those produced using the stop-gap method.

Current prices are as follows:

EMPV11 Prussian heavy steam tank, £20 inc VAT

EMPV12 Prussian light steam tank, £13.50 inc VAT

Because these items are time consuming to produce, purchases are currently limited to one model per customer. Once Fighting 15s has enough stock, preferably of the all-resin version, we hope to remove this limitation. Accessories – guns, hatches and funnels – are all cast in metal.