Good/cheap miniatures where?

[zyzzyr]

Hi all,

I'm looking to pad up my miniature collection. I find Dark Heaven to be excellent minis, GW has some good stuff, and I like some of the old Ral Partha. I am not opposed to looking into new companies either.

The gist of this post is: How do I get as many good quality miniatures for as little as possible?

I've already posted a message in the RPG Marketplace here about buying minis.

My question is the following: If I am planning on buying, say, 150 - 200 minis in one shot, would retailers give me a discount? I realize it depends on the individual retailer, so I guess my question is directed more towards finding out if anyone knows of retailers that will give a discount, or allow you to order in bulk, or similar.

I'm trying to find boxed sets as well, to bring the cost down.

Lastly, does anyone know of other good second hand mini sites to buy or sell, or locations, etc.? Anyone had problems with used minis?

Any other advice or comments would be great.

Thanks,

zyzzyr

 

[Tewligan]

MasterBlaster runs Bartertown!

Check out www.bartertown.com. They've got big sections where you can buy and trade miniatures from other users. I used to use it now and again a couple of years ago when I had a wicked 40K habit. Actually, I hadn't thought of Bartertown for quite a while, until I just read your post and checked to see if it was still there. I think I'll mosey over there and see what deals I can find...Anyway, hope this helps.

 

[Ayrk]

We sell most miniatures at 30% off of retail (Games Workshop being the noticable exception), including box sets.

Also we are having a mega-sale on Chronopia miniatures (fantasy skirmish game). Prices are 40%-79% off.

Truck on down and see if there is anything that catches your eye.

Thanks.

 

[zyzzyr]

What are good mini companies?

Thanks for the help all. I've sent out some feelers.

What are good mini manufacturers? I hard previously heard of GW, WotC, Reaper, and Ral Partha, and now when I take a look it turns out there are many many companies, including ones I've never heard of.

Such as:
Lance & Laser
Rackham (Confrontation)
Chronopia
Grenadier

and so on and so on.

Which are "quality" companies? Which are actively creating new models? Which are no longer producing minis? Which are overpriced?

Also, the size issue seems to be a little muddy. I use 25 mm minis - why am I now hearing about 28 mm minis? And what size are the confrontation minis - I find it hard to believe those are 25 mm.

Does anyone else mix mini sizes at the table? Are the differences between 25 to 30 mm overly obvious to the point of distracting?

Any help would be appreciated. I was kind of hoping for a "welcome to the wonderful world of minis" web page that detailed each company and their various minis, sizes, prices, etc. but I couldn't find anything like that.

Is there a mini site that is the equivalent to ENWorld or similar? Something like White Dwarf, but one that covers all mini companies?

Thanks

zyzzyr

 

[Sodalis]

I guess i can use this thread for my own personal usage...

I am looking for a really well-done mini:
knight (fullplate)with lance- mounted on an armored (or covered) horse

the proportions have to be great (not OK, or even good) and the detail has to be beautiful, at worst.

thank you

 

[Holy Bovine]

Sodalis - have you seen the Green Knight from GW? Expensive as hell but it may be what you are looking for;

http://ussearch.games-workshop.com/...n+knight&DisplayImages=1&MaxNum=25&StartAt=99


I can't seem to find a better picture of it though - sorry.


zyzzyr - have you checked out Silver Snail in downtown Toronto? I remember (back about 6 years ago mind you) that they always seemed to have a large stock of out of print miniatures on the second floor. Real cheap too - 40-80% off for the most part.

If you up my London way you can always check out LA Mood on Richmond St near King St, they have Void and metal Mage Knight minis for 50% off right now and a special section open only on weekends that has lots of out of print minis for $3-$7 and no tax! There is also Imperial Hobbies on Oxford at Richmond they have a huge selection of cheaper minis but the guy who owns it is nuts

 

[Wicht]

heh - the first thing I thought of as I read sodalis' post was GW's green knight. Of course almost any of the knights from GW's fantasy line, especially Brettonians knights, could work.

 

[alsih2o]

i know thismay not be feasible if you are in a hurry, but casting miniatures isn't all too hard.

i would reccomend aluminum casting.

take a piece of small cell styrofoam and, using a dremel or hand tools, sculpt it into what you want. if you take too much off or need an addition, make what you want and attach it with a small section of toothpick or a tiny bit of white glue.

sink upside down in some slightly moist sand(it should be able to hald a snowball shape). heat a small amount of aluminum in a ceramic crucible with a oxy-acet torch, and pour it onto the styro.

DO NOT INHALE THE FUMES! HAVE GOOD VENTILATION AND WORK OUTDOORS!

wait for it to cool, remove from sand and clean up with dremel or emory board, polish and paint.

there are lots of good sights on casting, and almost every city has a sculpture class at some college where you can learn technique and get access to the proper tools pretty cheaply.