Pre-Painted Plastic Minis!!!

[Nathal]

COOL! I am so excited! I always wanted pre-painted minis (saves time) that were plastic (thus cheaper)!!! This is great news!

Wow...

Ever since I was a young kid I wished somebody had gotten smart and made collecting minis cheaper and more fun for the sort of gamer who thinks that painting them is boring.

Who agrees?

 

[NiTessine]

I consider prepainted miniatures to be heresy, only one step away from action figures or toys. Miniature painting is an art form, dammit!

 

[Oni]

The only thing mini's have going for them (IMO) is the fact you can customize them. If your going to do that, whats the point in pre-painted (not to mention cheap plastic, blech).

 

[Creamsteak]

I consider prepainted miniatures to be heresy, only one step away from action figures or toys. Miniature painting is an art form, dammit!

You be an artist, I'll love my plastic minis (painted or not). They have always been my favorite, ever since that old sacred boardgame: HeroQuest. I've always wondered why companies don't make 'reshapeable' dungeons like they used in HeroQuest. I've seen a few (like WotC starter set, that one of my players thought was the entire game ), but none of any dependable quality. That, and plastic minis can be broken without causing me any pains. I always liked the idea of sacrificing the BBEG mini in an after-game fire. You mini-painters wouldn't let me!

 

[alsih2o]

I always liked the idea of sacrificing the BBEG mini in an after-game fire. You mini-painters wouldn't let me!

come play at my studio creamsteak, we can melt down a pewter/lead mini and recast it into a victory trophy or henchmam, your choice

 

[DDK]

There are pre-painted mini's out there that are, quite frankly, crap. They're more expensive than regular mini's too since they're hand painted.

I voted yes because I'm betting the quality will be better than crap and, ultimately, I think it's a good idea for the poverty stricken and artistically challenged and those who simply want to game without the bother of the ordeal that accompanies mini painting.

I'm just hoping they're either colour molds or they're machine painted. If they're hand painted then the job will be crud (gotta rush through 'em) and they'll be more expensive in which case I won't be interested in buying them.

 

[Nathal]

Pre-painted plastic minis would be awesome for the DM in "blister packs" of certain common types of enemies. Orc war band, human thief brigade, enemy adventurer party, etc. The only thing I'd hope to see would be bases to the minis with a letter and number to each so that the DM can easily keep track of which is which and who is who for the sake of damage & other effects.

If they don't do that for monsters and NPCs---use an easy letter and numbering system for ease of combat---then I am likely to stick with painted minis for characters only.

Currently I use what I've called "foamitures" for my NPCs and monster combatants. Each is a round piece of foam cut out from a sheet of various colors, and each has a number written on it. I have #1 through #20 of about 6 different colors all cut to different scales according to the 3rd edition rules. So for a horse I'd have a 2x2-square piece of foam with a number designation on it. This system works extremely well and saves me a ton of money on armies of minis (not to mention storage).

But I'd gladly give it up for painted plastics with the same sort of numbering system.

 

[megamania]

Hope the quality is better than mageknight or at least in par with their Hero Clix figs

 

[Creamsteak]

come play at my studio creamsteak, we can melt down a pewter/lead mini and recast it into a victory trophy or henchmam, your choice

Now THAT would be fun.

 

[Foundry of Decay]

I'll admit that I'm biased. Both in the fact that I have hideous amounts of the little bank account draining models, and the fact that I rather enjoy painting them. I had to put my vote of disgust down.

However, I do believe figures should be offered to those who have been an 'outside consideration' in the fantasy genre for some time. Those who wanted to use colored miniatures, but didn't have the time, or didn't lose their sanity to a degree that they would spend so much on little figures of Elves and Ewoks

So I think it's a bold, and rather good business move, but I do give these warnings: Do not think these miniatures will look anywhere as good as hand painted ones. Also, don't expect them to be hard plastic.

Too many people have been assuming these would be the hard, detailed 'sprue' type plastic from Hero's quest, or from GW's boxed set. It is much more likely that these will be those abominations of vinyl that Army men are made of, or that Mage Knight are made of. Expect a lot of swords/staves/spears to be bent, and which may never be bent back. Also expect a lot of loss of detail due to globby, greasy enamel grade paint.

But despite the fact that I have doubts about the quality of the figures, I now think its a good thing for a majority of players who were ignored for years. So many players have wanted to simply open a box, sit down, and play, and more power to them, they now can. As long as they don't make creature 'types' random, you should be able to have an army of orcs or hoardish things in no time!