15mm Sci Fi Clearhorizon Miniatures Review

For those of you who are interested in 15mm Science Fiction miniature gaming, there is a relatively new company called Clearhorizon Miniatures run by Mr Harold from the Dropship Horizon Blog. Currently the miniature line is very small, but he has plans to expand it and has put out some amazing products so far. I also have to say that Harold's customer service is very good and he ships his product as soon as possible. That being said, he does seem to 3rd party his casting and molding so there can be some delay if he is low or out of stock of a product. He does however let you know about these delays instead of leaving you wondering like certain miniature companies out there.

Onto the products!


15mm "Hell Divers" Infantry:

These seem to be designed as a special forces unit that specializes in rapid insertion missions.  I feel like they have a ton of character with very nice sharp detail.  They are definitely on the more slender side of 15mm miniatures, but match up height wise with the larger 15mm companies out there.  This does make them seem rather small at times from a distance.  They have an optional backpack that gives them that added character you don't get with most 15mm minis out there. Currently you can buy an Alpha squad and a Bravo squad, which essentially is a 12 man regular armed unit, or a 6 man special weapons squad.  

For those who care, I will be using these in Gruntz as an Elite unit that consists of 6 gruntz, 1 SAW and 1 AT attachment to make a squad of 8.  Each of my platoons will be 3 squads, with one squad swapping out the AT weapon with a sniper.

Would definitely like to see more command options. 

15mm Drop Pods:

I think it is safe to say that there really is nothing like this kit out there in the 15mm market right now. I have to admit that at first I was skeptical as to how interesting this kit would be.  I think my first picture shows how beautiful this model really is and how much flavor it actually has for essentially a box that falls out of the sky.  The model itself is cast very well with very few air bubbles and nothing major.  There are definitely some fiddly parts to the model and the smaller pieces do need some cleaning and trimming to actually fit properly, but well worth it in the end.  You can also glue the outer doors shut if you want.

I do feel like this model requires a base as it is rather fragile without one which could be a downside.  No open doors internal doors is also something to note, however I do think that it would be very difficult to cast one with that feature without redesigning the entire model. Overall I enjoy this model a lot, I don't think pictures can really do this model complete justice.

Note: This model brings out my inner child as I constantly make imitation thruster noises as I crash my model through the atmosphere and land it on the table deploying its cargo.  Just ask my friends...

15mm VTOL Attack Craft:

Harold currently has 2 different VTOL attack craft, the Raven and the Sparrowhawk.  I won't go into extreme detail on the differences of each one, but will kind of lump up my thoughts about both into one review.

The casts are pretty clean for resin with little to no air bubbles just like the Drop Ships. There is of course some clean up to do and some mold lines will need to be filed, but nothing too extreme. One thing that I really appreciated was that when I did find a noticeable air bubble, it was actually filled with a modelling putty of some sort and filed down to match the model. I think this is very important to note as not only does it show that Harold inspects his miniatures for defects before shipping them, he corrects those defects that would possibly make a customer disappointed in the purchase. The smaller pieces could have been cast or molded differently to make them easier to clean, but I think they are good enough to where most people won't complain.

Both of these VTOLs are pretty sizable. Not sure if you can tell by my cutting board, but the Raven is roughly 5 inches long and the SparrowHawk about 3.5 inches. They have some pretty solid detail and they dry fit pretty well.

I am pretty happy. I usually hate resin models due to the casting flaws, but these are really nice. I would like to see some sort of flight stand that could be bought with these models. I am not very savvy when it comes to making my own flight stand, but this is really nit picking at this point and would definitely be a logistical burden on Harold's part to provide them.


Packaging:

This might not be important to the majority of customers out there, but something has to be said about packaging. I would honestly say that Harold packages his model in a more professional manner than just about any other 15mm Company out there. Usually you get a little baggy with a permanent marker tag denoting what item code the model inside is. The full color tags on the bags are really well done and definitely make it easy to identify what you have ordered. As I said, most customers won't care about this little touch, but I do think it shows just how passionate Harold is about his miniatures. You will also find a few business cards and some nice full color print outs of rules for the miniatures if you plan to play the game Gruntz which I would highly recommend (but that is for another post).


Hope you enjoyed my review. This is a company I would definitely recommend.