Mystery Man
First Post
Psion said:
I am going to cancel out your ambivalence and buy MORE!!
HA!
Chiming in on the D&D minis (merged with "anyone buying the new Mini's?")
- Thread starter buzz
- Start date
I am going to cancel out your ambivalence and buy MORE!!
HA!
haiiro
First Post
buzz said:
I picked up the minis for the skirmish game, as I'm thoroughly happy with FD's counters for my D&D campaign. Given the limitations of cost and variety -- neither of which compare well to counters -- actually seeing the minis didn't change my mind about this.
Counters rock.
Just got my 2 entry packs from Amazon yesterday. My Umber Hulk looks great. The Kuo-Toa also looks good. All my Orcs and Half-Orcs also look good.
I checked on ebay and alot of the Rares are going for $7-10.
Pluses, cheap, I don't have to paint them and I can let my 5 yr old play with them.
Minuses - The medium sized ones don't scale very well with my 1980's, 25 mm lead figs. Also, it looks like its going to be difficult to find the 3 rares that I want (Minotaur, Earth Elemental, and Fire Elemental) at a decent price.
I checked on ebay and alot of the Rares are going for $7-10.
Pluses, cheap, I don't have to paint them and I can let my 5 yr old play with them.
Minuses - The medium sized ones don't scale very well with my 1980's, 25 mm lead figs. Also, it looks like its going to be difficult to find the 3 rares that I want (Minotaur, Earth Elemental, and Fire Elemental) at a decent price.
WizarDru
Adventurer
Currently have two entry packs and two boosters...and I like them fine. The paint jobs are pedestrian (although some are suprisingly good) but they're sturdy and lightweight.
We've used minis since day one, and I'm not here to call a referendum on their use, either way...although coming to a thread about a new line of D&D minis and then complaining that you don't like 3.5's emphasis on miniatures seems somewhat silly to me (not the dislike of the emphasis, just the choice of venue). C'est la vie.
I was pleasantly suprised by several, and like the fact that they're cheap in cost, resilient and light....so much so that I can let my 3-year old play with them and not worry that he'll ruin them. Compare that with the painted metal minis on the table that our extremely skilled painters watch with terror when a drink gets too close to them on the table.
Plus, as a busy DM, painting is something I do once in a while, and these won't replace that...but it's nice to be able to just pull out ten orcs and plop 'em down, like I can now.
We've used minis since day one, and I'm not here to call a referendum on their use, either way...although coming to a thread about a new line of D&D minis and then complaining that you don't like 3.5's emphasis on miniatures seems somewhat silly to me (not the dislike of the emphasis, just the choice of venue). C'est la vie.
I was pleasantly suprised by several, and like the fact that they're cheap in cost, resilient and light....so much so that I can let my 3-year old play with them and not worry that he'll ruin them. Compare that with the painted metal minis on the table that our extremely skilled painters watch with terror when a drink gets too close to them on the table.
Plus, as a busy DM, painting is something I do once in a while, and these won't replace that...but it's nice to be able to just pull out ten orcs and plop 'em down, like I can now.
haiiro
First Post
mmu1 said:
If they're anything like most plastic toys, you should be able to run the deformed bit under warm (not super-hot) water while holding it in the position you want it to be, then switch to very cold water -- while still holding it in position. With a lot of toys, this works like a charm. I haven't tried it with the minis -- do so at your own risk, of course.
Out of the 70-odd D&D minis I have, maybe 3 of them have a deformed bit. I don't think this is bad at all.
Last edited:
*cough* This sounds a little obsessive compared to the rest of the thread, but perhaps I'm just balancing out some of the anti-miniatures crowd.
I've gotten two starters (for the floor tiles) and around 40 booster packs. As you can see, I really like the miniatures. Here's what I like about them:
I've gotten two starters (for the floor tiles) and around 40 booster packs. As you can see, I really like the miniatures. Here's what I like about them:
- They're so light that you can easily store them without worrying about breakage. I keep mine in plastic containers, about 75-100 in each one.
- They're easily distinguishable from one another. An earlier poster said that the colors run together, which is true in some cases, but an important note is that none of the forms are the same. You can tell each one apart simply by the stance or weapon used.
- The fire elemental looks much more dangerous than a fire elemental counter, just to pick one. Not to bash counters, since I also am a huge fan of Fiery Dragon, but players who aren't as experienced get a better feel about a monster from a mini.
- They're $1.25 each.
- You can drop them without problems. Good for me, since I tend to knock things off the table.
- Too many crested felldrakes. I don't care about human commoners, goblin sneaks, or wolf skeletons. I can see a use for a scythe-wielding horde, a goblin horde, or substitute skeleton figures for an undead horde. But felldrakes? They're not even in the Monster Manual! I suppose I could use them as Small green dragons, but how often do you need a dozen of those? This is kind of nitpicky, I understand.
- I don't believe the distribution of rares/uncommons is equal. I could be using too small of a sample set, but I do have almost 350 figures, and I have lots of some rares, and none or one of some uncommons.
I got a chance to see about $200 worth of these yesterday and I was pleasantly surprised by the detailing of a fair number of them. Yes, some are low end paint jobs and I do agree that more contrast would help in identifying them at a distance. The pre-production models I saw several months ago were cleaner, but these pass muster for me.
Over-all I'm sold. I'll be buying some.
I also got a chance to play the skirmish game and found it much better than Mage Knight.
A few added bonuses I like from a DM standpoint:
Cards with the mini's stats on them. On one side the skirmish game stats and on the other their D&D stats. These could be a major boon when running a combat. Put them in order by initiative and you've got everything you need in one place. We put them in plastic card keeper pages and used wet erase markers to keep track of hits and spells during the skirmish and something similar could work during a D&D combat.
The entry pack contains a large map with 1 inch squares and then several room or area tiles that can be placed around to create added environments affecting play in different ways. Handy for a quick dungeon setting.
The fact that these are cheap, and do a decent job representing the critters from the monster books (MM, MM2, FF) is a big plus. No more "what penny is the kobold and which is the goblin" situations to worry about.
Over-all I'm sold. I'll be buying some.
I also got a chance to play the skirmish game and found it much better than Mage Knight.
A few added bonuses I like from a DM standpoint:
Cards with the mini's stats on them. On one side the skirmish game stats and on the other their D&D stats. These could be a major boon when running a combat. Put them in order by initiative and you've got everything you need in one place. We put them in plastic card keeper pages and used wet erase markers to keep track of hits and spells during the skirmish and something similar could work during a D&D combat.
The entry pack contains a large map with 1 inch squares and then several room or area tiles that can be placed around to create added environments affecting play in different ways. Handy for a quick dungeon setting.
The fact that these are cheap, and do a decent job representing the critters from the monster books (MM, MM2, FF) is a big plus. No more "what penny is the kobold and which is the goblin" situations to worry about.
This may sound odd, but since the advent of 3E, we have used miniatures less than when in 2E. It might just be that we're a bit older and lazier now... and also that we have so much that it is a burden to get it all out and choose the right mini for an NPC or a human villain type....
We almost always used minis in 2E, but now only break them out for big, climactic combats in 3E.
That said, I have plenty of painted Warhammer orc & goblins, ogres, trolls and giants that I can use when needed, as well as Warhammer Empire types that can be used for your typical town guard or mercenary group. And, I have a decent collection of Reaper minis for characters....
What I saw on the boxes in my local gaming store was not too impressive in regards to the D&D miniatures.
We almost always used minis in 2E, but now only break them out for big, climactic combats in 3E.
That said, I have plenty of painted Warhammer orc & goblins, ogres, trolls and giants that I can use when needed, as well as Warhammer Empire types that can be used for your typical town guard or mercenary group. And, I have a decent collection of Reaper minis for characters....
What I saw on the boxes in my local gaming store was not too impressive in regards to the D&D miniatures.
Missing six rares and one uncommon.haiiro said:With as much as you've bought, I'm very surprised that you don't have a complete set. Wow.
Definitely food for thought -- thanks for the alternate perspective.
Off the top of my head (and reviewing the checklist at Wizards.com) Large Earth Elemental, Centaur, Mummy, Medusa, Vadania, and Displacer Beast. The aforementioned "rare" uncommon is the Axe Sister.
I have multiple rares with four occurrences, too many to count, and five Swords of Heironeous.
The most common figurine is the goblin sneak, with 18? I'm not totally sure. The crested felldrake isn't actually the most common, just the most frustrating.
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