Federation Commander

Not mine - but I saw some and thought someone might want them.

http://cgi.ebay.com/TASK-FORCE-Miniatur ... 518d4de975

and

http://cgi.ebay.com/TASK-FORCE-Miniatur ... 518d4deabe

Uggg! Low-down, dirty-rotten, methane... y'all know the rest of it...

I've already got 7 Paladins and 29 FRigates. I think I'm good there...

I'm good too, but thanks for the head's up. TFG-era minis are something I always take note of.

Just a general note, not about any specific listing of late.

Over the years, I have seen ADB minis listed as FASA, and FASA minis listed as ADB. I have also seen minis from other unknown sources listed as FASA and/or ADB minis. This seems mostly to be a matter of ignorance, not fraud.

I have also seen stuff bought from our shopping cart one week listed the next week by that customer as "rare out of production minis" which is nothing short of deliberate fraud.

Before you buy stuff on Ebay (or Amazon) make sure you know what you're buying. If you see something mis-described, politely let the seller know his error, and assume he just didn't know or just make a mistake.

Steve,

Roger all. I understand all to well how some people try to turn a huge profit by using the "rare out of production minis" tagline.

I have just completed two deals that the sellers swear the miniatures are real no reproductions / recasts. (OOP stuff for to other game lines.)

I'm always weary of the FASA listings unless I see them in the packages. I once got a huge "Deal" of Repos for the BT/AT line they made.

The same with the Micros - I got one that turned out to be a rubber Chinese made POC. It was painted nicely though.

eBay is always "caveat emptor" (Let the buyer beware).

Guys like me and Tony have been at this for 20+ years and know all the tricks fraudsters pull and know what we are looking for (and what we are looking at).

Always look at eBay auctions with a skeptical eye (even from reputable sellers).

Gaming minis are a niche thing and even the "Power Sellers" who move a lot of wargaming stuff don't know ADB/TFG_SFB/FC or FASA minis very well (we are a drop in the bucket compared to all the fantasy stuff these sellers move every day). Like SVC said, they often don't know the difference (or used to play and used them interchangeably and are forgetting that there is a difference).

One of the best indicators for an auction of minis is a mediocre picture. This is counter-intuitive, but it tells me that it is more likely a picture of what I am trying to buy (as opposed to a picture they stole from someplace else; like ADB's shopping-cart pictures). A quick snap-shot of the lot is usually enough to identify what the various minis are. A beautifully arranged, well-focused, and well-lit photo is likely a picture they "borrowed" from someplace else and not of the lot being sold.

A perfect example is this lot, which I just won recently:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0363855973
Crappy photo, but good enough to see what's there (with some squinting) and likely of the real-deal (and it was). I could see an old-style lead Gorn CL, the hull from a FASA Klingon D-10, and some starfighterace decals in there and that was enough to get me to bid. I ended up winning.

Some of us hardcores actually trade emails trying to "trainspot" what the contents of some lots are, partly to coordinate buying (and avoid bidding against each other) and partly just for the fun of it.

There is a guy on ebay that paints up the micro-minis and puts them on "ADB style" stands.

Like dj said, there are a bunch of us on this forum that have been using SFB minis and others for quite some time (20+ years) so if you have a question about authenticy (sp?) of a mini for sale, just message one of us.

I think Scoutdad has at least one copy of every mini. The elevation of his house has probably a few inches lower due to all the metal.

wedge_hammersteel wrote:I think Scoutdad has at least one copy of every mini. The elevation of his house has probably a few inches lower due to all the metal.

Nope... I had USSI install micro-piles and jack the foundations on the workshop end of the house. It's now level once again!

There has been a small issue with the EPA; however, something about an over-abundance of heavy metals stored in a residential zone and something about the need for environment insurance to cover the clean-up of the hazardous materials in case of a fire...
And on the subject of fire, they're now making me placard the house in case of fire to warn any rescue workers of the potential for hazardous vapors and debris...

It would be fun to visit Tony's house.

He has lots of toys.

It's only 8 hours away and I'm on vacation from X-mas to New Years. Y'all (you, Mike, and Matt) should drive up one day... crash at my place... play Fed Comm all the next day... crash again... then head back home!

I could certainly get another 5 or 6 players over for a really big game.