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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Cergorach" data-source="post: 9480987" data-attributes="member: 725">That's a load of BS! In all cases it's a problem with the consumer, not reading well enough and/or not understanding what they're buying.Let me start by saying up front that I find that Wizkids (prepainted) miniatures tend to be quite expensive (I bought the gigantic Tiamat) and the painting not all that great, in many cases worse then the old WotC prepainted miniatures. The last time I bought prepainted random boosters was when WotC was still making their own.Miniatures aren't exactly cheap. Not even the cheap PVC Reaper mini KS... Pre painted minis even less cheap. And not much competition that actually make them. Getting others to paint for you isn't cheap either (far more expensive actually). Painting minis yourself isn't cheap either, the paints, the brushes and all the other supporting products, not to mention the value of your time. You paint yourself either because you enjoy it or you have no other choice.A $25 booster gets you 1 large and 3 medium/small prepainted miniatures. That's cheap compared to any other options! That your not getting exactly what you want is a problem with your expectation! They say upfront that the selection is random with rarities. If you then expect to get X when you buy Y your expectations are skewed!d&d icons of the realms 50th anniversary set[URL unfurl="true"]https://www.minisgallery.com/index.php?id=icons-of-the-realms-50th-anniversary[/URL]This lists exactly what minis to expect at what rarity. Something like:[URL unfurl="true"]https://www.gallantgoblin.com/post/wizkids-minis-booster-sets-demystified/[/URL]Explains the way this works.The 'Chase' minis are a new addition to the formula, but with a quick google search you find that you can expect 1 chase per case. Personally I find about half the 'Chase' minis undesirable and only half (the cartoon minis) really interesting. But the rest of the series is almost absolutely GOLD! Imho far better then most old WotC distribution. The commons are actually desirable common monsters, uncommons are uncommon monsters that you don't want 10 of and the rare are actually rare monsters or unique NPCs. I'm not a fan of the 'Chase' shenanigans, but I'm not buying this anyway...If you want some VERY specific minis, you either buy from a third party seller that opens oodles of cases and sells the minis, prices are often based on demand vs supply. Thus the insanely high prices for a Dungeonmaster mini (extremely rare and very high demand). OR your buy pre painted sets that are significantly more expensive then the random minis if you pay per mini.Prepainted:D&D Classic Collection: Monsters S-T (1x small, 3x medium, 3x large) $80[URL unfurl="true"]https://shop.wizkids.com/collections/dungeons-and-dragons/products/d-d-classic-collection-monsters-s-t[/URL]D&D Icons of the Realms: Kuo-Toa Warband (5x medium) $50[URL unfurl="true"]https://www.dndmini.com/collections/pre-painted-minis/products/d-d-icons-of-the-realms-kuo-toa-warband[/URL]D&D Icons of the Realms Premium Figures: Gnome Wizard Male (1 small) $8[URL unfurl="true"]https://www.dndmini.com/collections/pre-painted-minis/products/pre-order-premium-painted-gnome-wizard-he-him-they-them[/URL]Unpainted:2x medium/small minis $51x large mini $9Unpainted + paint:1x large + paint + brush $20[URL unfurl="true"]https://shop.wizkids.com/products/dungeons-dragons-nolzurs-marvelous-miniatures-paint-kit-nycaloth[/URL]Paying someone on commission is $4-$9 per medium figure at the most basic painting level available, $20+ for more advanced stuff. And that's from the cheapest commission painter I could find!If we look at the pre painted stuff you're getting 3x $2.50 + $9 = $16.50 for $25, so you're paying $8.50 for painting 3 medium/small and 1x large minis. The disadvantage being you don't know what you'll get. ~$1.30 per medium/small mini and ~$4.60 per large mini. That's way cheaper then Wizkids non-'random' assortment of prepainted minis, far cheaper then buying unpainted minis and paying someone to paint them, painting them yourself (even if you don't value your time), etc.IF I were starting a (pre painted) miniature collection for D&D AND had the money for it, I would buy 2-4 cases of this. Sell the double rare uniques and possibly sell the Chase ones as well, as at some of the prices mentioned one could buy a lot nicer minis and let some professionals paint it. So unless you're a collector or completionist... But in most cases this is a source of relatively cheap pre painted miniatures.Note: As mentioned, I have the old WotC ranges from the randoms, I often bought multiple cases to get 12 of a (common) monster and a few of the uncommon monsters with the rares often as bonus. The advantage of these was relatively cheap minis that came with a very basic paintjob that I could literally dump in a plastic bag and toss in my backpack. Something that I couldn't do with any other minis at the time, them either being hard (HIPS) plastic, metal or resin... And if I invest my time in painting a PVC cheap mini, I'm probably not dumping it in a plastic bag... The time I spend on it making it way more valuable (to me). I'm not sure how well these Wizkids minis take being tossed in a plastic bag, as I only have the bigger dragons and they seem a lot more fragile then the WotC ones...</blockquote>

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