Androids 01

Let me start this post with a question - what is the difference between an android and a robot? It is the issue of free will. An android is self-aware and has rights - a robot does not. In RPG games such as N.E.W. and Starfinder, androids can be player characters. The first part of this post originally appeared on my Vampifan's World of the Undead blog, but I've updated it to include four new figures, who have not been seen before.

These five 28mm scale figures come from a variety of companies. At the far left is a very old figure produced by Grenadier Miniatures for Cyberpunk 2020 and/or Shadowrun. He is a cyborg cop, heavily influenced by Robo-cop from the films of the same name. In the few games where I have used him, I've always referred to him as "Robo-cop". I have no idea if this figure is still available for sale or not. I know a lot of old Grenadier figures are still available but I'm uncertain about this particular one.
Next in line is a figure I bought recently. She is Maria the female android produced by Reaper Miniatures as part of their Chronoscope range. She looks like a female version of C-3PO from Star Wars. However, her name is a dead giveaway on who she is really based on - Maria the Maschinenmensch (German for machine-person) or robot in Fritz Lang's 1927 film of Metropolis. The figure is a very good likeness of her and the sculpting of her is quite exquisite. You'll find her in the Reaper Chronoscope webstore as 50246: Maria - She-Bot where she is priced at £5.22.

In the centre of this group is Narindan, who is an android produced by Space Vixens From Mars. I have been buying quite a few figures from them to use in my The Ace of Spades Campaign. This figure is listed as SV36 and costs a very cheap £2.00. Note that he is slightly taller than most humans of the same scale.
Finally are two androids produced by Alternative Armies for their Ganesha Games sci-fi range. They bear a slight similarity to the B1 Battledroids seen in some of the Star Wars films but they are different. However, it is fair to say that my colour scheme for them was directly influenced by the B1 Battledroid. They are listed as PSY04 Combots and they cost £2.00 each.

Now we come to my new figures. The three androids to the left of my two photos above and below were produced by North Star Figures for their Rogue Stars range. At the far left is ROG113 - Big Bot, sculpted by Mike Owen. He is one big and intimidating android. If he was scaled up to life size he'd easily top eight feet, and possibly more. He is either an assassin droid or a combat droid. He costs £6.00, which isn't too bad for such a huge hunk of metal.
The next two android come as a pair - ROG103 - Gun Bots, and they were sculpted by Mark Copplestone. Again, these could be assassins or combat droids or even bounty hunters. The green droid has painted kill markings on the side of his rifle. Clearly, they are not to be taken lightly. The pair of these figures costs £6.00 from the North Star webstore.

Last in line is Jeeves the Clockwork Robot from Reaper Miniatures' Chronoscope range. Technically, he is not an android, but I'm including him here anyway because he could work as an android at a pinch. Once again, this is a very tall figure and to be honest, he is quite fragile. I superglued the wrist of his right hand to his thigh and reinforced the joints of his left arm with superglue. It isn't clear from my photos but his left "hand" is actually a circular saw. When I first saw him, I thought it was a tray. He costs £5.22 and he is listed as 50063: Jeeves, Clockwork Robot on the Reaper webstore. By the way, I order my Reaper figures from the Miniature Heroes webstore, who are based here in the UK. This saves me a fortune in postage and customs charges. You can find them here - http://miniature-heroes.co.uk/