Do you still buy metal minis?

[Azul]

Most of my mini collection and over 90% of my spending on minis (over $1000 per annum) is on metal minis, mostly Reaper products. Reaper's Dark Heaven Legends line is pretty much the best D&D-style set of minis on the market. The Warlord line has more dramatic poses and looks, but it's a little too Warhammer-ish and outlandish sometimes. DHL minis are more versatile. I do wish they made more non-humanoid/non-dragon monsters though.

Games Workshop metal minis are a bit too game specific for my needs and frankly, they usually horribly overpriced. I'll occasionally get an oddball Warhammer mini because it happens to suit my needs or looks unusually cool. Their Lord of the Rings product line is more reasonably priced (and useful to D&D players) than their Warhammer universe stuff. The LotR minis are also more realistic in their proportions than the Warhammer line (who all look like steroid freaks from ultra-high gravity worlds), but this also means they are somewhat more fragile.

I occasionally buy a package of the new D&D minis, mostly in the hopes of getting the oddball D&D-specific monsters. I have plenty of orcs, but the bulette I got in one pack was pretty neat. Their plastic is flexible and prone to distortion, which looks awful. As a result, I'm not fond of them for "medium-sized" or smaller critters. On the plus side, they are highly resistant to breakage. That part I really like.

I am of two minds on Games Workshop plastics (which I've noticed some people praising). They do look quite nice, but I absolutely hate the plastic they use. It is very very prone to breakage, especially when it is cast into thinner parts (e.g. arrows, sword blades, any minor projecting bit really). Even so, I bought 2 packages (each) of Moria goblins and Mordor orcs (from the LotR game) to use as my mooks in my current campaign (which involves a war against orcs and goblinoids). GW plastics are very cost-efficient compared to metal.

 

[JoeGKushner]

The D&D plastic ones are okay for certain things but for PCs or specific creatures nothing beats painting your own. Well, nothing beats having a specific creature that you've been looking for and having someone else paint it.

 

[Prince of Happiness]

I've got tons of Ral Partha, Grenadier, and Citadel miniatures, plus every Chainmail figure (minus the half-dragon sorceror), two of the post-Chainmail D&D metal sets, Games Workshop's LOTR figures (Faramir's rangers are great for ranger PCs), and a whole 'nother ton of the plastic figures. I love 'em all, so yes, I do still buy metal minis.

 

[DaveStebbins]

I used to buy metal minis, but I never had time to paint them, so they all looked kinda crappy. The last time I bought a metal mini was so long ago, my metal minis are all made of lead.

The plastic minis, on the other hand, look great and several of my players are collecting them too. I've got about 150 of them and I am looking forward to the next sets. We've all commented on how they have improved the look of our games. My lead minis are in a box in the basement.

Different things work for different people and I'm glad we all have options which appeal to us.

 

[Orius]

If it's a good sculpt, reasonably priced and useful to my game, I don't see why not. I don't really care if it's painted either. Though all of my metal minis, a small handful of Ral Partha, GW and Reaper minis, are painted reasonably well.

 

[Psion]

Ayup.

The idea of relying on the lottery to know whether I am going to have the right mini for the evening repulses me.

The idea of returning to the days of MtG, buying pack after pack looking for that one card, doubly so.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I have to agree...boxing minis at random is NOT something I want to encourage the companies to do.

I personally buy both plastic and metal minis, mostly metal. I don't have the time to paint or alter them, and I have hundreds of pounds of those suckers, so I don't see that fact changing anytime soon.

In fact, despite my being P-Oed about the demise of CHAINMAIL, it was a boon to my minis collection: when those minis hit the clearance bins all over Dallas/Fort Worth, I bought them up. I probably have 100 still in boxes, not to mention the storage bin of unassembled ones in just plastic baggies.

The plastic ones are mainly used for sci-fi/supers games, because I don't expect my players to supply their minis for those. So, for them, I have boxes of HeroClix and Star Wars Minis to fill out the ranks.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Eliminating double post.

 

[frankthedm]

yep, I still but metal when i find them at good prices.

too bad reaper has been pricing themselves out of what i think is acceptable for minis.

They are dangerously near having a "Our fans will pay it" attitude that had killed many a shop that carried gouge workshop minis.

 

[Gez]

Metal when looking for a specific mini for a PC.

For critters, I've used dice, paper chits, printed counters, and even simply drawing their position on the map. But I'll probably buy D&D miniature packs once in a while. I must admit that my initial reaction of rejection ("It's random! It's collectable! It's made of people!") has started to crumble under the assaults of cool minis such as those:
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