Miniatures Help

[Deadshot]

I have recently started up a new D&D campaign and am finding my collection of miniatures rather thin for a weekly game. I like the D&D miniatures but given the other things that I collect I can't afford to buy booster packs looking for enough standard monster figures (orcs, goblins, skeletons, etc) to fill out the ranks.

Does anyone know of a company that makes pre-painted plastic minis and sells them in lots instead of as singles? Any other recommendations for how to keep the visuals fresh week to week without going into the poorhouse for miniatures?


Thanks,

Deadshot

 

[MerricB]

One thing you might try doing is buying a couple of boosters of DDM and then trading the uncommons and rares for *lots* of duplicate commons.

Cheers!

 

[Ogrork the Mighty]

You can buy piles of commons on the cheap off Ebay.

 

[Keeper of Secrets]

Yeah, Ebay is the best way to go for a bunch of cheapies.

 

[BigFreekinGoblinoid]

I prefer to buy singles online and choose exactly what I want instead of playing the ebay game or spending a lot of time trying to trade and running to the post office all the time.

There are several online vendors to choose from - Here is one I have used before:

http://www.cardhaus.com/cgi-local/shop3.pl/SID=1687346254274203754/page=Info_DungeonsAndDragons.htm

I buy mostly commons ( 40-60cents each ) or uncommons ( 80 cents & up ) so, I can gets lots of the same mini when I need to.

 

[Jeff Wilder]

One thing you might try doing is buying a couple of boosters of DDM and then trading the uncommons and rares for *lots* of duplicate commons.

IMO, this is the best way to go. For an average Uncommon (of which each booster has three), you should be able to get two to four Commons. For even a lousy Rare, you should be able to get six to 10 Commons. (And for a very good Rare (e.g., the Stone Giant from Angelfire), it wouldn't be unreasonable to expect 20 or more Commons.)

Right now I have nine Uncommons and 33 Commons (all extras, over and above what I've decided to keep for my own collection) from Angelfire, and I'd trade all of them away for a good Rare or two decent Rares. Just for instance.

You can find an active trading community at www.maxminis.com. The site has been changing gradually, IMO for the better, and very few people try to "cutthroat" trade with newbies like they used to. And if you're unsure of a trade's fairness, you can simply post the details and ask the community at large if it's a fair trade.

So, in short, for the price of a $10 booster and less than $2 postage, you should be able to get a collection of 30-plus "staple" miniatures for your game.

 

[IronWolf]

I built up a small, but reasonable collection of minis by buying several boosters and starter sets from a couple of the D&D mini series. From there as MerricB and others have said you can trade your rares away for several commons and uncommons to help build your collection for RPG gaming.

To help fill in the gaps there is eBay, but watch out for the shipping some people charge. That's one of the biggest complaints about eBay is the shipping charges some people try to charge. In addition to some of the other sites you can also check PopularCollections.com.

 

[Psychic Warrior]

Here's the best kept secret on eBay

Auggies Games n' Movies

25 miniatures (commons and some uncommons) for one low price with excellent shipping rates. Enjoy!

 

[IronWolf]

Here's the best kept secret on eBay

Auggies Games n' Movies

Nice link Psychic Warrior!

 

[Deadshot]

That's a great link but unfortunately I can't take advantage since they don't ship to Canada.

Does anyone have other cheap alternatives to official D&D minis? I would love to have blister packs of pre-painted plastic zombies, skeletons, orcs, etc. Are the counter collections anygood?