I recently received a rather unexpected but very welcome note from journalist Paul Taylor. Having spotted my previous post and plea for for information about the old Skytrex spacecraft, Paul dug out these models from his own collection and very kindly photographed them. I'd like to thank Paul for getting in touch, and for allowing me to share his lovely pictures on this blog.
This photo (left) features a mix of the Skytrex spaceships together with some of the first Minifigs spacecraft. It is interesting to see that the original cast metal bases have survived in both cases. The Skytrex ships are all cast in resin, and feature a hole underneath plugged with a little section of flexible plastic tubing that connects the ship to the stand. This tubing was fish tank airline as far as I remember. It was a clever way of ensuring a decent fit.
In the background we have the classic Galactic Warfare rules, by Dave Rotor. Paul tells me he met Dave Rotor back in the day. He was - as many may know - a founding member of the South London Warlords along with Jim Shiels and Bill Brewer. You can find more about the origens of the Warlords and Dave Rotors role in it at https://southlondonwarlords.co.uk/club-history
Younger gamers look away now! A feature of the the Galactic Warfare rules is that fighting ships gradually expend energy, which must be replenished by means of docking to a depot ship. It was almost certainly with this in mind that both the Skytrex and Minifigs ranges are designed to 'connect' together. Yes, they really were made for each other!
It's nice to see the full set of the first two Skytrex releases - third and fourth row - as well as the Earth Federation and Cehan ships from Minifigs.
All models from the collection of Paul Taylor. Galactic Warfare rules by Dave Rotor.
I'd like to thank Paul once again for sharing with us, and wish him all the best with his new wargaming endeavours in Doha.
If anyone else has the remaining Skytrex models in their collection - or indeed more of these - I'd love to hear from them.
Paul has a lovely collection of spaceships and very nicely painted too. Interesting stuff, I know very little about them, the rules look interesting too.
ReplyDeleteToo true - it's great to see these models have survived all these years.
DeleteGreat stuff. I remember as a shy teenager (late 70s? I would have read about it in 'Battle for Wargamers') venturing to Dave Rotor's shop in Gillingham Street, near Victoria station - very handy for trains from N. Kent where I was! I think it was called 'Minifigs-Skytrex' and was quite a big deal back then. I wonder if it even pre-dated the first Games Workshop place?
ReplyDeleteI believe so - for a while the Nottingham Model Soldier shop was also semi-Skytrex - folks forget how Skytrex was quite a big player amongst wargames companies in the 70s.
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