(written from a Production point of view)
Citadel Miniatures Limited is a British company based in Nottingham, England that produces metal, resin, and plastic miniature figures for tabletop wargames, and was formed as a division of the British game company Games Workshop PLC in early 1979. No longer operated as a separate company, the brand is currently used for miniatures retailed by the parent company.
Star Trek association[]
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In early 1980, the company issued a line of licensed (as indicated in its Red Catalog of that year) Star Trek 25mm gaming figurine miniatures, capitalizing on Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and associating them with the multitude of background aliens seen in the feature. Sold in 24 pairs, the 25mm white-metal gaming figurines were Citadel originals, not derived from FASA, unlike its later starship miniatures line. The figurines came packaged in a plastic bag stapled shut at the top with an doublefolded identifier header card. There were also four 54mm figures: Kirk in command chair, Spock, Ilia Probe and the Klingon Captain.
An issue of Games Workshop's White Dwarf, the UK Science Fiction & Fantasy Games and Miniatures Magazine (Issue No. 18, April/May 1980), featured a Motion Picture refit-USS Enterprise cover and an article with a "Miniatures Scenario" (pp. 8-13, written by Tony Yates and Steve Jackson) to promote their Citadel licensed products.
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For the UK market in late 1985, Citadel released starship miniatures, which had been derived from gaming materials created by FASA and by whom it was sub-licensed to do so, as was dutifully indicated on the packaging. As far as the starship miniatures were concerned, apart from being mounted on different style cards, the models differed from their US counterparts by requiring fewer construction steps and were more detailed, due to a higher tin content in the pewter. Although this made the metal more brittle, it also made the metal harder than the metal used for the (relatively soft) US versions and able to better preserve details. It seemed however that the Citadel sub-license was quite short-lived, as the starship line had only been advertised in the company's Citadel Journal Spring 1986 catalog (specifically mentioning the sub-license in the byline), as far as can be ascertained. [1]
Incidentally, the FASA starship miniatures releases in the UK were not whimsical acts on Citadel's part, as mother company Games Workshop had released the second edition of FASA's Star Trek: The Role Playing Game – the very same game the miniatures had originally been conceived for in the first place as complementary game-enhancing supplements – and the first edition of the Star Trek III: Starship Combat Game that year, under its own respective catalognumbers 24362 and 010501 for the British market.
Incidentally, it appears that some of the starship miniatures had multiple release issues, despite the limited time span Citadel was allowed to market the miniatures. Of at least one miniature, ST17 USS Excelsior, there are two issues known; one issue had white lettering on the blister pack, whereas the other issue had slightly differently placed yellow lettering on its blister pack. Being the largest and heaviest miniature Citadel did release, the Excelsior was also marketed at the higher retail price of £3.95, instead of the standard £1.95.
In the end, Citadel released only fourteen of the 34 ship models that FASA eventually produced (guided by FASA's numbering, which explains the gaps in Citadel's numbering). FASA concluded its Star Trek licensing in 1989, while Citadel never had a direct license from the franchise for this line, so the moment FASA's license ended, so did Citadel's. Being the rarer one of the two releases, the Citadel variants commonly command higher prices on the second-hand markets.
Star Trek releases[]
| Star Trek gaming products | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980/81 Figurine models (licensed) | ||||
ST01: Captain Kirk (two poses) |
ST02: Mr. Spock (two poses) |
ST03: Dr. "Bones" McCoy (two poses) |
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ST05: Sulu & Willard Decker |
ST06: Uhura & Christine Chapel |
ST07: Ilia (one of two poses) & Janice Rand |
ST08: Enterprise Crew |
ST09: Security Guards |
ST10: Vulcans |
ST11: Deltans |
ST12: Klingons |
ST13: Aaamazzarites |
ST14: Kazarites |
ST15: Betelgeusians (spelt "Betalgeusians") |
ST16: Arcturians |
ST17: Zaranites |
ST18: K'normians |
ST19: Rigellians |
ST20: Rhaandarites |
ST21: Shamin Priests |
ST22: Megarites |
ST23: Saurians |
ST24: Andorians (spelt "Andoreans") |
Alternate poses: Kirk, Ilia |
Magazine ad: Citadel Miniatures |
54mm: Kirk in command chair |
54mm: Commander Spock |
54mm: Ilia Probe |
54mm: Klingon captain |
| 1985 Starship models (sub-licensed) | ||||
ST01:refit-USS Enterprise |
ST02:USS Reliant |
ST03: D7 class |
ST04: Romulan Bird-of-Prey (two pieces) |
ST05: USS Enterprise (Old design) |
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ST15: Romulan Winged Defender |
ST16: USS Chandley Frigate |
ST17: USS Excelsior |
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ST19: USS Grissom |
ST20: Deep Space Freighter |
ST21: Romulan Graceful Flyer (two pieces) |
ST22:Orion Wanderer (two pieces)[1] |
Generic blister pack back |
See also[]
- Star Trek: The Role Playing Game – Detailed info and photos of many Citadel miniatures
- Star Trek starship miniatures
- Star Trek model kits