Citadel Miniatures

Real world article
(written from a production point of view)
Citadel Miniatures
Citadel Miniatures

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

Star Trek ST figurine series spread in the 1980 Red Catalog (l), figurine ST05 in its typical packaging, the packaging identifier carton, and the starship miniature series page from the 1986 catalog (r)

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.

Cover White Dwarf, issue 18, 1980
1985 UK variants of the Star Trek: The Role Playing Game and the Star Trek III: Starship Combat Game, for which the Citadel starship miniatures were manufactured

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)

ST04: Scotty & Chekov

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)

ST09: Klingon D-18 Destroyer

ST15: Romulan Winged Defender

ST16: USS Chandley Frigate

ST17: USS Excelsior

ST18: Klingon L-42 Bird of Prey

ST19: USS Grissom

ST20: Deep Space Freighter

ST21: Romulan Graceful Flyer (two pieces)

ST22:Orion Wanderer (two pieces)[1]

Generic blister pack back

  1. ↑ One of only two FASA design originals elevated to canon status.

See also

External link

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