Mystery Solved! Scruby Star Trek Miniatures

I recently picked up a small lot (19 minis) of what appear to be 25mm Star Trek miniatures. They were listed as Heritage on eBay, but upon closer inspection, I don't think they are. Or at least they are not part of the Star Trek line released by Heritage. There are no base markings on any of these minis, and while there are similarities, there are also subtle differences that make me think they are not Heritage. Namely, the phasers and lack of Starfleet uniform crest, as well as the lack of a raised collar on the Fed minis.

UPDATE (5/24/21): These are Scruby miniatures! Thanks to Mike Taber who answered my recent Facebook post on these guys. Mike says that they are indeed Scruby castings, and they were only available in-store at The Soldier Factory. Please see Mike's comment in the comment section at the end of this post. It took a while to finally ID these minis, but I have found that this community of collectors usually comes through.

UPDATE (5/16/21): A couple of weeks ago I posted these guys on eBay. And then earlier this week, I was contacted by a former Wee Warriors employee who saw the listings and let me know that Wee Warriors did not make or sell their own line of Star Trek miniatures. He confirmed this with Pete Kerestan.

The Anshell Miniatures ad from issue 10 of Starlog Magazine (December 1977) that lists the 54mm and 25mm sets from Wee Warriors will remain an enigma, at least for now. Was the ad a simple oversight, as in they said Wee Warriors but meant Scruby?

Once again, thank you to everyone who has contributed to this ongoing Star Trek minis mystery.

UPDATE (2/25/16): I went back and took another look at each miniature, and what I discovered was that there are 12 different poses total. 6 human poses, and 6 alien poses. This would be consistent with the Wee Warriors entry on the LMW, which lists 2 sets of 6 miniatures each - Landing Party and Alien Set. So it appears I have 2 sets of Landing Party, and 1 set of Aliens, with an extra female Romulan for a total of 19 minis. Of course, I still don't have have any photographic evidence to back me up, so it's still just a theory at this point, although a better than average one in my opinion.

Kirk, Spock, Uhuru

Redshirts

More redshirts?

Romulans?

Aliens

Looks Andorian to me.

Mugato?

I'd say Gorn, but the snout is rather long.

Ledfoot Frost Giant - Anyone Recognize Him?

I picked this guy up earlier this month on eBay. It was an easy choice, as it was A) a giant and B) cheap ($5). But not to be overlooked, C) it is from the 80s and not something I recognize at all. And there is no entry for Ledfoot on the Lost Minis Wiki, Stuff of Legends, or Leadpoisoned. Hmmm.

I have dubbed him "Punisher" due to his skull-shaped belt buckle. Or maybe he's from Texas, where everything is bigger, especially belt buckles.

He stands 2.25" tall from top of base to top of helmet.

And here's a shot of the base bottom and hallmark.

If anyone knows anything about this mini and/or the manufacturer, please share. Thanks!

UFOTW #4 - Unidentified Figure of the Week

This ugly fella has three letters on the bottom of his base: A C and what looks like an A and a T that have been combined - basically an A with a line sticking down.

He's actually kind of a cool mini. I like the tribal vibe, along with the tongue sticking out - who does that, the Maori warriors of New Zealand? Yeah, that's it. Anyhow, I think it makes a good bugbear, orc, or greater goblin.

Hopefully someone out there is familiar with this line or recognizes my attempt at describing the hallmark. Thanks!

UFOTW #3 - Unidentified Figure of the Week

A face only a mother could love! I like this ogre because his face is so...non-traditional? It has almost a cartoonish quality, something more anime or sci-fi than high fantasy. The bottom of his base is totally devoid of any sort of hallmark, and the shape of his base could be a couple of different brands, so my best guess at this point is Heartbreaker - but that's just a stab in the dark, really.

I'll have to post a painted pic of him, as I let my 7-year-old son paint him up.

UFOTW #2 - Unidentified Figure of the Week

Take a good look at this big fella - I know for sure this is a TA-HR miniature, but beyond that I'm at a loss. The hallmark on the bottom of his left rear paw reads "TA-HR SB-3 © 1980" but even then I'm only about 90% sure it reads SB-3, and there is only one creature listed in the Lost Minis Wiki with the SB- prefix, the SB01 Skykat. The 25mm Broadsword mini in the pic is for scale reference.

It's a hefty mini, weighing in at 5 ounces (135 grams). It stands about 2.25 inches high (5.5 cm) and is 4 inches long (10 cm). It is a three-piece casting, consisting of the main body, right front paw, and right rear paw + tail. I would say it is feline/canine in appearance with dragon-like plates running the length of the underside from jaw to tail tip. A sharp spine protrudes from the back of each front leg, and it has a small horn on the tip of the snout. I do not see any teeth.

There is a small saddle just behind the head, but if I have the rider, I'll be damned if I know which of my mount-less minis sits atop this critter. My hope is that one of you vintage minis experts (specializing in rare and/or obscure lines) will look at this and give me a positive ID. The icing on the lead cake would be some sort of reference photo that goes along with it, if only to also let me know what sort of person/creature is supposed to be riding this beastie.

UPDATE (5/10/2010): The good folks over at leadpoisoned.com have some TA-HR minis in their collection, so at least now I know I do NOT have the Skykat. What I have still remains a mystery, at least for now.

Superior Resource Solves Superior Mystery

One of the great things about the mini collecting community is the people who comprise the mini collecting community. Case in point: I replied to a post over on the Collecting Grenadier Models group on Yahoo! about the ID of a large winged demon by Superior Models. This demon, by normal conventions, is pretty much your iconic balrog and/or pit fiend: large (almost 60mm tall), leering, wings, cloven hooves, and wielding a long whip in one hand and a sword in the other.


Many collectors, myself included, assumed this fella was WL-113 Large Devil, Pit Fiend. Back to the post on CGM - one member said no, the demon those of us assumed was WL-113 was in fact WL-71 Surtur, the Fire Giant. I replied to that, asking for some sort of evidence to back that up, as the identity of several demons on The Stuff of Legends and Lost Minis Wiki was a source of constant misery...err, mystery. Same for a double entry: WL-112 and WL-114 were both listed as Monster Masher, Catapult.

So in my inbox this morning is an email from Boki Gromdal over at Stunties.com with a small batch of images from what I'm assuming is a Superior Models catalog. And what do you know, the "pit fiend" is in fact WL-71 Surtur, the Fire Giant! Also identified were WL-98 Baalzebul, Arch Devil; WL-113 Large Devil, Pit Fiend; and WL-112 and WL-114 are in fact two different variations of the Monster Masher - 112 has a devil's face with horns, and 114 has a dragon's head.


The sum of all this for me is a big smile on my face, as a long-standing identification conundrum is laid to rest. Big thanks to Seebrin on the CGM group for bringing this up, and even bigger thanks to Boki Gromdal for his images. You guys rock!

UFOTW #1 - Unidentified Figure Of The Week

This little gal kicks off my "can you ID this mini?" entry I'll be posting each week. She stands a hair over 1.25" tall, but since she's not standing upright, so she would be pretty damn tall for 25/28mm, but I'm not sure if she would be a good fit for 54mm...

There are no hallmarks that I can see on the bottom of her base, which isn't flat. It's actually kind of textured, like a poor casting. I should post a pic of that. The front edge of her base almost has that Archive-looking angle to it, but the rear of the base is more or less square.

She looks like a Water Nymph or Water Spirit, perhaps even a Water Elemental? Water Goddess? Nekkid Chick having a Really Bad Hair Day? Hopefully someone out there will look at this and know exactly what she is.