Outside of the WoTC D&D minis...

[kenobi65]

To answer your question: I was looking at the Umber Hulk, the Wraith, the Troll, and the Owl Bear on eBay

I'm pretty sure that Reaper has made an umber hulk, numerous wraiths, and an owlbear.

 

[catsclaw227]

I sold all my D&D minis online last year -- all my harbingers, dragoneyes, archfiends, etc.... I made like $3000.

Now I think I'll use fiery dragon counters. I don't need to spend $30 on a plasitc mini and I can make like 10 of them if I need to. I also am putting together a way to take the digital ones and using a photoshop script, making stand-up paper ones that just require a little glue. Yep! Stand-up fiery dragon counters.

 

[catsclaw227]

I'm pretty sure that Reaper has made an umber hulk, numerous wraiths, and an owlbear.

I have a few metal minis like this, but I just CANNOT find the time to paint them. I like painting too, but between my work, my wife, my family, my DMing and my normal social life... geez. Painting takes some serious time. Don't get me wrong, there's something theraputic about a calming and focused activity. But the idea of all the set-up and clean-up stops me in my tracks.

And it kinda makes me feel like Andy from 40-year-old virgin too.

 

[teitan]

I used to buy piles of Reaper minis b/c they basically make D&D monsters and just name them differently. The problem? Too bloody expensive. The prices kept going up, then their site got hacked, then the prices went up some more, and now I just buy the plastic DDMs. Much more economical, much less weight, and no hassles with painting.

But if it's metal you want to buy, I'd recommend Reaper (except for the price).

And yet they are cheaper than almost every other miniatures company out there...

 

[teitan]

Thanks for the responses.

Orgrok, I am buying the D&D minis, but there are some rares from the initial sets that I want, and they are WAY overpriced on eBay.

Unfortunately, this is the kind of 'issue' I saw becoming a problem when WotC decided to go with the collectible format, and it has. I'd like to find an alternative to some of the harder to find D&D minis.

Thanks again.

Overall, and I knew this going into DDM, it would be best to buck up and lay down the 10-20 bucks Reaper wants for minis like Beholders etc. than to try to get them in the DDM sets. DDM is great for PC types, goblins and other fodder and some weirder monsters. You even get lucky and find the occasional iconic monster but for your trolls and other things that DDM make into rares, just pay the cash up front as it is about 30-40 dollars cheaper for the Reaper than the rare and they have a great beholder and their dragons are to the same scale as the ones that WOTC are putting out and a lot cheaper.

 

[Glyfair]

Overall, and I knew this going into DDM, it would be best to buck up and lay down the 10-20 bucks Reaper wants for minis like Beholders etc. than to try to get them in the DDM sets.

Assuming, of course, you don't mind assembling and/or painting the miniatures (or don't care about painted miniatures). I my experience, that's one of the huge advantages of the collectible miniatures. I know people who bought the early MK figures for miniatures because they were painted, even though the paint jobs were horrendous.

You even get lucky and find the occasional iconic monster but for your trolls and other things that DDM make into rares, just pay the cash up front as it is about 30-40 dollars cheaper for the Reaper than the rare and they have a great beholder and their dragons are to the same scale as the ones that WOTC are putting out and a lot cheaper.

Of course, only the very elite few hit that early (mostly dragons, although a few like the beholder hits it). Sure, a few miniatures like the Umber Hulk go for huge prices now. They weren't that bad when Harbinger first came out. Yes, you are often paying more. However, getting a rare for $8 or so isn't uncommon. That's a lot cheaper than buying the metal miniature and paying someone to paint it for you.

 

[Erik Mona]

I've been very, very impressed with Magnificent Egos miniatures. They are increasigly venturing into "Reaper territory" in terms of minis that make good swap-outs for official D&D monsters, and they are definitely worth a look. Their giant dragon was at Origins, and it is sweet!

Now that my Confrontation addiction has been broken, Magnificent Egos is turning into one of my favorite miniatures companies.

http://www.magnificentegos.com

--Erik

 

[Lawgiver]

...which other companies make miniatures that closely resemble the various monsters found in the D&D game (in other words, a Troll that looks like a D&D troll, a Carrion Crawler, an Owlbear, an Umber Hulk, and the like) ?

Reaper gets my vote. Hard part is finding some figures because the names don't necessarily match the copyrighted D&D name. Magnificent Egos gets my second vote, some of their sculptors sculpt some of Reaper's stuff.

OwlBear
http://www.reapermini.com/store/customer/product.php?productid=540&cat=0&page=1
http://www.reapermini.com/store/customer/product.php?productid=704&cat=0&page=1
http://www.goodmangames.com/6007preview.php

Carrion Crawler (not the old school millipede):
http://www.reapermini.com/store/customer/product.php?productid=3661&cat=0&page=1

I recommend www.exodus-road.com over ebay when you can't get combined shipping/good lots. Cheap, fast shipping - free over $100.

 

[Kanegrundar]

I've been very, very impressed with Magnificent Egos miniatures. They are increasigly venturing into "Reaper territory" in terms of minis that make good swap-outs for official D&D monsters, and they are definitely worth a look. Their giant dragon was at Origins, and it is sweet!

Now that my Confrontation addiction has been broken, Magnificent Egos is turning into one of my favorite miniatures companies.

http://www.magnificentegos.com

--Erik

They are great. I've bought a good chunck of their Uncommon Character line.

Warcrow is another excellent line of character minis as well. They are made in Italy, so they can be costly and tough to find stateside, however. http://www.corvusbelli.com/en/default.asp

 

[pogre]

The only problem with all of the other minis mentioned above is that they come unfinished (unpainted, unassembled). So, if you're like me and have no talent or patience for assembling/painting minis, then they will be of no use to you.

I have no problem with D&D minis per se, however, a good alternative for non-painters is to hire someone to paint a few minis for you. There are a few painters in our area that will paint figures for the cost of the miniature. So, you can get a really cool Reaper beholder fully painted for less than you can snag the plastic version on ebay or other sources.

BTW - I am not that cheap and extremely backlogged with commissions, but I am happy to suggest other painters in my area (central IL) for those interested.