D&D Miniatures: First impressions

[Benedict]

minis

I'm really on the fence about these minis. I bought 2 starter packs and got 32 minis for my $42 + change, plus all the extra stuff. I'm happy to get 32 minis... just not most of these minis.

2 Feldrakes, 5 iconics (4 actually but one is a duplicate), 5 kinds of "canine-oids"...

Nothing large, and nothing "exotic" as D&D goes.

BUT!!!

I think they look okay, and I love that I can toss them into a box and not worry about damaging them. I plan to collect more of them for use in my rpg, and to try out their battle rules, so I must not be too annoyed with them... a little disappointed though.

-benedict-

PS: I'm looking forward to them being marketed in preset groups, and for large figures to begin appearing.

 

[Mapmaker]

Nothing large, and nothing "exotic" as D&D goes.

Sounds like you had some slightly bad luck in your first draws. If your game store staff doesn't mind, pick up several different expansion sets before you buy more, and see if you can feel a weight different. The larger miniatures are ever-so-slightly (but noticably) heavier, and this may help you find some of those "exotic" D&D monsters you're looking for.

 

[DrSpunj]

2 Feldrakes, 5 iconics (4 actually but one is a duplicate), 5 kinds of "canine-oids"...

Nothing large, and nothing "exotic" as D&D goes.

I picked up 1 Starter and 3 Boosters, just to see what they're like. While I could've wished for a few less "canine-oids" myself (3 Dire Wolves, 3 Wolves, 2 Worgs, 1 Skeleton Wolf), I was fairly pleased with the mix overall.

Some Humanoids, some undead, lots of possibilities for PCs. The Rares were a Mindflayer, Fire Elemental, Centaur and Blackguard.

Since I don't paint minis (and don't plan on starting soon) even the few atrocious looking ones are significantly better than I'd be able to do on my own, even if I wanted to take the time (no, really, trust me! ).

While the modular floor tiles are nice, I'd have to agree that they'll have to be sold in fairly large sets separate from the minis for me to want more. I could put them to good use if I had a bunch, but I'm not buying a bunch of Starter sets (since for the same price you can get 2 Boosters = 2 Rare figs) to get them.

Thanks.

DrSpunj

 

[Benedict]

Sounds like you had some slightly bad luck in your first draws. If your game store staff doesn't mind, pick up several different expansion sets before you buy more, and see if you can feel a weight different. The larger miniatures are ever-so-slightly (but noticably) heavier, and this may help you find some of those "exotic" D&D monsters you're looking for.

Now that is some useful advice... I'm a bit ham-handed though that's why I don't paint my own minis, but I think I will try that!

-benedict-

 

[Pagan priest]

I was standing next to someone who bought a starter and two boosters. The paint didn't look nearly as bad as I expected. I was doing much better paint jobs back when I first learned how than what I saw in those packs, but it was better than I expected.

Still and all, I will not be buying any of them until I can pick and chose which figures I am getting. Whether it is for a tabletop battle or my D&D campaign, I expect to have full control over what forces I am using... not some clerk off in a warehouse half way across the country. I'm not willing to pay one cent more for a so-called "rare" either.

On the other hand, if I can get them on my terms, I would happily use them as monsters and minor NPC's.

 

[Bagpuss]

One of our local RPG shops that carries Mage Knight isn't even getting them in as he's seen magazine shots and thinks the paint jobs are so much worse than Mage Knight.

 

[MeepoTheMighty]

One of our local RPG shops that carries Mage Knight isn't even getting them in as he's seen magazine shots and thinks the paint jobs are so much worse than Mage Knight.

His loss. All of the stores around here are selling them like hotcakes.

 

[Katowice]

I was skeptical at first, but now I am addicted to D&D miniatures.

 

[DMScott]

I picked up a starter and two booster sets to get an idea of the range. I'm not a collector, just looking for some cheap and easy figures to use in my game.

Paint-wise, it's generally better than what I produce (I am the World's Worst Painter (tm)), but still below average. Dark paint jobs seem to predominate - of my 32 minis, only about 4 stand out at a distance.

Looking over the checklist, it looks like there aren't any Huge critters or mounted figures in the line - too bad, but I guess that's the limits of packaging. I like the maps (cards and battlemap), haven't tried the mini game itself but it looked decent enough as skirmish games go. And of course, it's really nice to buy a pack of minis and be able to use them out of the box.

The thing I wish they'd done differently is to theme the boosters a bit - maybe keep the rares truly random, but then keep the rest within a range of types. So I could go get an undead booster with some mix of zombies, skeletons, wights, etc. and a random rare. Or an "good guy army" booster with a mix of elf/dwarf/human/etc. grunts. It'd be nice to be able to say "hmm, I'm running Forge of Fury next week so I'll need a lot of orc grunts - I'll go pick up a couple of humanoid booster packs and I should get enough to fill out the numbers". But overall, I don't regret the purchase at all, and I'll definitely pick up some more boosters as the line develops.

 

[Dana_Jorgensen]

I've got 3 stores I shop at that carry RPG goods.

one is a comic book shop that sidelines in CCGs and RPGs. However they do manage to maintain about a 35' x 6' section of wall for minis. Mostly reaper & GW material, they still manage 200-300 individual packs on the pegs.

the next shop is an old compleat strategist, one of four shops that used to be part of a fairly expansive chain. It's cluttered inside, full of a lot of handmade shelving and display racks. They keep an 8' glass case of painted minis at the register, a 25 x 8 foot section of wall for minis, and a 25 x 6 foot aisle of minis. They maintain about 1200 different packs, from rafm, rp, reaper, dp9 and a few smaller companies. Even found some "antique" arduin minis there about 2 years ago.

the last shop is the satellite store for gamer's realm. They have a long wall of minis, maybe 40 x 7 feet, with a shelf above storing box sets of minis. The opposite side of the isle is also dedicated to minis. And they have spinner racks loaded with minis, as well as OOP minis atop the low shelves of used books. And there is the almost mandatory glass case at the register, where they display the expensive stuff, like the gemstone dice. atop that is a smaller glass case storing painted minis for sale. I'd guess that between wall space and spinner racks, they can store about 3500 different individual packs on the pegs. They do mainly DP9, rp/iron wind, and reaper, with a section dedicated to carrying an eclectic smattering of 20 to 50 packs each of everybody else.