HERO history help?

[Duke Bushido]

Okay, the long-timers here know that I've got an on-again, off-again project of cataloguing all the HERO and HERO-compatible products (and sometimes just advertising) whose existence I can confirm.  I started by simply cataloguing my own collection as a possible resource for other collectors, and it's grown a bit from there.

 

In preparation for Chris G's trip to the east coast, I went rummaging around for some ideas on how to celebrate, and I realized that I had a set of Champions miniatures that I had never actually opened-- so yeah; we're going to rip into that when he arrives. 

 

At any rate, it hit me that I had never entered the miniatures into that catalogue; clearly something I needed to do!   So while working on that, I realized that I _still_ had a question that hadn't been answered since '85 (when the minis were first released).

 

I have read through all the old NPC books (1-3e) and several of the modules (again, 1-3e) today (nearly wasting my one day off), and _still_ haven't found the answer.

 

 

The big 12-pack of villains (product number 4002; I believe that's a Grenadier number and not a HERO number) contains miniatures for two characters I can find _no_ reference to:  Jiant and Wreckage.

 

 

Can anyone give me even a hint as to where these Characters are from?  I have always _assumed_ they were likely from one of the original HERO Games team's notes but these characters never made it into publication, but I'd really like to be wrong here.

 

 

Anyone?  

 

Anyone at all?

 

 

[Spence]

Noble Knight has a listing and the Super Villain box GDR4002 boxed set includes Lady Blue, Mind Slayer, Utility, Jiant, Wreckage, Lazar, Wyvern, Ray, The Fox, Cobra, Anklyosaur, and Sunburst.

[Greywind]

I don't recall them being anywhere except the box of miniatures. Might be the counterpoint to the hero box that had 2 "Do It Yourself" heroes. Grenadier made minis. Have 2 extra and stat them up yourself.

[Duke Bushido]

That is an entirely reasonable assumption.  Still, seems odd they would name them when they had already done the "do it yourself" thing with the heroes.

 

 

[Spence]

There were three Grenadier Champions mini sets.

 

[Duke Bushido]

There were 12 of the 3-figure blister packs:

 

301: Road Fighters.  Non-descript and vaguely post-apocolyptic or cyberpunk-ish.  

302: UNTIL / SAT Agents

303: VIPER Agents

304: The Death Stroke minis you have pictured

305: "Generic Heroes"  (Seriously: that's what it was called.  This was the "your PC here" model pack.

306: The Circle (my Moonsilver figure has been a generic female NPC for the youth group a time or two, owing to an unfortunate costume design that comes off as a blazer and miniskirt in metal)

307: Riot Police  (strong Judge Dredd vibe in those figures.  No; they didn't _look_ like Judges, but there was a strong vibe)

308: Foxbat and Friends (I don't remember who the friends where, as my set was lost in a move, but if I remember, I'll let you know)

309: "Normals."  Just that: normal background people.  I remember them being all female, but I could be wrong there.  It's been a long time)

310: Terrorists.  Two clearly villainous masked figures and a third that I'm pretty sure was Rambo.

311: Mighty Pinchus and Friends: three of the named aliens from M.E.T.E, making the Circle and M.E.T.E. the only supplement to result in more than three minis.

312: Super Evils.  Doctor Destroyer, the Crimson Claw, and Ripper.

 

The two big sets were all 1e / 2e characters (the boxes featured a wrongly-colored 2e logo), while the bulk of the 3-figure blister packs featured characters from 3e supplements (hence the wrongly-colored 3e logo) save for the Super Evils, of which only the Crimon Claw is a 3e character.

 

I am not sure why this line stopped.  I seem to recall Grenadier having some problems back then, but I think they survived them and went on for some time after that.  As above, it's been a lot of years, and I don't really remember.

 

I _do_ remember always secretly wishing that Ral Partha was doing the minis.  Grenadier minis were notoriously chunky and poorly detailed.  Titan, for example, is just bizarre in the face mask, and the Frost figure could be a rather terrifying demon.

 

 

Almost forgot: the big kits were released in 84.  The blister packs would be released across 85 and 86.

[schir1964]

History of Grenadier Models Inc.

 

Grenadier Models Inc.