Miniature size comparison

[Sacrosanct]

This has come up a few times, re: how mini sizes have changed throughout the years. So here's a visual. Sorry I don't have my grenadier minis in this photo to compare by; I didn't have them handy when I did this photo. For me, I've found the scale up of minis in the past decade or so to be disappointing for a few reasons:

1. It wrecks the mood a bit to have my awesome Ral Partha barbarian I've always loved now not look so intimidating when on the same table as modern minis
2. transport is harder, because now minis don't fit into carrying cases anymore. Parts expand way beyond the foam cutout slots

But I do like how some of the monsters look better, so there's that. See that bugbear from the 80s? The minotar was the same size. Not very imposing or intimidating is it? Wyverns and chimera were as big as the ral partha ogre there. A bit tiny even by 80s/90s standards. They look like babies when used with modern minis.

I kinda wish they kept the same scale for people, and just scaled up the monsters. I know plastic has allowed this big scale up, but that's how I feel.

 

[el-remmen]

I've had a set of those Ral Partha lizardmen that I got in the 90s that I still use regularly and only just recently painted after nearly 25 years. Sorry, a tangent, I know. . . But while the different scales of minis can be annoying (esp. for storage as you mention), it never really bothers me on the table - since I'm re-using minis all the time (for example, those lizardmen men, who served as eventual allies when I ran Danger at Dunwater are about to be repurposed as troglodytes for another adventure).

 

[tommybahama]

1. It wrecks the mood a bit to have my awesome Ral Partha barbarian I've always loved now not look so intimidating when on the same table as modern minis

Until the Adventurer's Guild bans performance enhancing steroids your barbarian is out of luck. You can always put him on a taller base. There are lots of options available on Etsy. These are the ultimate for barbarians with an size complex:

Or even better:

I'm just happy that you're using miniatures. I hated the DMs that used Starburst candy, dice, and the worst was lego mini figures for miniatures.

 

[el-remmen]

I hated the DMs that used Starburst candy, dice, and the worst was lego mini figures for miniatures.

Why? I prefer minis, too. But we don't always have (or can afford) a bunch of different minis and ya gotta use whatever is available (esp. dice, but I used LEGO mini-figs before it was cool! )

 

[QuentinGeorge]

With there being a big catalogue of Lego CASTLE, Lego Lord of the Rings and Lego Harry Potter sets, LEGO actually is pretty good now for representing D&D characters and monsters...

 

[el-remmen]

With there being a big catalogue of Lego CASTLE, Lego Lord of the Rings and Lego Harry Potter sets, LEGO actually is pretty good now for representing D&D characters and monsters...

Yes! It was castle LEGO I was referring to and this was the early 90s!

 

[Sacrosanct]

I'm just happy that you're using miniatures. I hated the DMs that used Starburst candy, dice, and the worst was lego mini figures for miniatures.

Well, that was me back in the day lol. In 1981 as a kid, I didn't have a budget, and there weren't a huge selection of minis in Ketchikan Alaska. So paper minis, popcorn, dice, whatever were used.

That didn't stop me from buying them when I could though, and after 40 years, I probably have over 1000 minis or more. And yes, most aren't painted (I blame the various Bones kickstarters, but I kept buying more even after I got those as well lol).

It's a sickness.

 

[el-remmen]

I have probably around 500 minis and that still seems like not nearly enough!

 

[Lanefan]

Yeah, I've got a few boatloads of these things as well, and the scale shift - particular in metal minis for characters - bugs the crap out of me. A Human in 1982 is a Hobbit now. Bleah!

I do like the larger plastic monsters, though even they go a bit overboard sometimes (says he, looking at the vast size range among the bulette pieces on the shelf).

 

[R_J_K75]

I stopped collecting or painting minis about 10 years ago. Still have some left but rarely use them unless its a boss fight. TotME is quicker and more appealing in most cases. I agree the scale difference from manufacturer to manufacturer is very irritating. You'd think a human in 12mm scale by Ral Partha would be relatively close to a human in 12mm scale by Reaper but that never seemed to be the case. I always chalked it up that some people just dont understand the concept of scaling an objects size up or down. Perfect example.

I'm just happy that you're using miniatures. I hated the DMs that used Starburst candy, dice, and the worst was lego mini figures for miniatures.

We started using minis when Combat and Tactics came out in the mid-90s. Everyone bought at least one for their character except one player. He just refused to spend a $1.49. The cheapskate opted to use a nickel. Surprised he spared that much and didnt use a cigarette butt.