WotC Miniatures
- Thread starter Ogrork the Mighty
- Start date
Holy Bovine
First Post
xazil said:
Repaint them as Elementals (a fellow over at www.maxminis.com has done this very thing turning a Nightwalker into a stellar fire Elemental!).
I bought lead and pewter mins for decades. Painting a few here and there and generally getting really sick of painting. I get these for the D&D RPG only (although I have played the skirmish game a couple of times it just felt like D&D combat to me) and a few other RPGs where I need a T-Rex to go rampaging through town.
The quaility of the paint jobs now is head and shoulders above the first set and there are some truly excellent paint jobs & sculpts. Lareth the Beautful, Behir, Treant, Dire Rat, Bulette and Lizardfolk Rogue all come to mind - only 2 of which are rares.
rgard
Adventurer
DaveMage said:
I'm in your camp in that I find this the least desireable part of buying the minis. Quote from my son George, "Dad, I got another Barghest, that makes 4 of them."
Fortunately we managed to trade these away and other dupes at these two places:
www.maxminis.com
http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/DnD-Mini-Trader/
Thanks,
Rich
DaveMage said:
Amen to that. When a mind flayer and a hoarde of drow look like they cost $.10 each to make, I'm okay paying $.50 each for 'em and pick up a couple dozen. But currently WotC's MSRP is more than $1.00 for a random bit of plastic -- with Aberrations not having those nice huge figures, either.
No, the "you give us huge amounts of money and we give you plastic you might not even want" seems like a really inequitable business deal to me.
::Kaze (has learned that the more collector-based the industry is, the less valueable the objects being collected -- from baseball cards to card games and even stock options...)
Wombat
First Post
No need, no desire.
Some of the minis look okay, a few even "o KEEN!", but most of them are average-or-less and, what with random distribution and tons of critters I would never use in my games, they are more or less pointless for my group.
One odd point from my FLGS -- the person who buys the most D&Dminis does not play D&D, nor does he play the minis game. He just collects the figures. None of us can figure him out...
Some of the minis look okay, a few even "o KEEN!", but most of them are average-or-less and, what with random distribution and tons of critters I would never use in my games, they are more or less pointless for my group.
One odd point from my FLGS -- the person who buys the most D&Dminis does not play D&D, nor does he play the minis game. He just collects the figures. None of us can figure him out...
I voted 'for D&D only', but I may look into the ocasional skirmish at my FLGS. I've yet to play the skirmish game, but with the size of my collection it doesn't make sense to not even try it.
I kinda hope their is still a sizeable portion of skirmish players, as they will be the ones who really keep the mini line viable (always needing the latest and greatest to win the competitions). My collecting will likely slow down significantly after the next couple of expansions (I'll have most of that I need to run games), and I'll likely move to just purchasing the handful of minis I want from each expansion in singles.
For those complaining about random distribution...
If you have the cash to get a case, do that. Recent changes to distribution have made such a purchase a decent way to get a lot of useful minis. You can order cases online at pretty deep discounts (like 30% less per booster). www.gameoutfitter.com is a popular place to purchase by the case, but you almost have to preorder there as they tend to sell out quickly.
Oh, but you still don't have the minis you were looking for? Trade! You could trade locally, but once again I am going to point you to the internet. Their are several communities that deal specifically with trading these minis. www.maxminis.com is very popular. I've done a handful of trades there and they've helped me secure those rares I just had to have. I've found that setting up the trades can actually be kinda fun.
For those of you complaining about the quality and the price...
Take a look at the newer minis. These things have gotten much better through the expansions. There are still a few metal mini lines that look better (especially if you have the skill and time to paint them correctly), but the price per figure for the D&D minis is still much cheaper than those quality metal figures... and many of us (although this might not be the same for you) enjoy not having to paint every mini (although you could if you really wanted to). Not to mention the convenience of their portability (much lighter and much less fragile in most cases).
As for the 'secondary market'. Stop using Ebay! That isn't a secondary market, its a last resort. Sometimes you do okay there, but there are several companies that sell individual figures at set prices online. If you absolutely can't trade for what you want, hit one of the shops. www.popularcollections.com is popular. I've ordered individuals from other companies as well though.
Keep in mind that the prices go up a little, and the minis get rarer, after an expansion is discontinued. If your going to the secondary market you need to stick to recent expansions. If you do so the price isn't so bad. Most of the commons and uncommons from the newest expansion are listed around $1 or less on the site mentioned above. They have the bulette listed at $4. I'd like to see a decent quality metal figure of that size for that price.
I kinda hope their is still a sizeable portion of skirmish players, as they will be the ones who really keep the mini line viable (always needing the latest and greatest to win the competitions). My collecting will likely slow down significantly after the next couple of expansions (I'll have most of that I need to run games), and I'll likely move to just purchasing the handful of minis I want from each expansion in singles.
For those complaining about random distribution...
If you have the cash to get a case, do that. Recent changes to distribution have made such a purchase a decent way to get a lot of useful minis. You can order cases online at pretty deep discounts (like 30% less per booster). www.gameoutfitter.com is a popular place to purchase by the case, but you almost have to preorder there as they tend to sell out quickly.
Oh, but you still don't have the minis you were looking for? Trade! You could trade locally, but once again I am going to point you to the internet. Their are several communities that deal specifically with trading these minis. www.maxminis.com is very popular. I've done a handful of trades there and they've helped me secure those rares I just had to have. I've found that setting up the trades can actually be kinda fun.
For those of you complaining about the quality and the price...
Take a look at the newer minis. These things have gotten much better through the expansions. There are still a few metal mini lines that look better (especially if you have the skill and time to paint them correctly), but the price per figure for the D&D minis is still much cheaper than those quality metal figures... and many of us (although this might not be the same for you) enjoy not having to paint every mini (although you could if you really wanted to). Not to mention the convenience of their portability (much lighter and much less fragile in most cases).
As for the 'secondary market'. Stop using Ebay! That isn't a secondary market, its a last resort. Sometimes you do okay there, but there are several companies that sell individual figures at set prices online. If you absolutely can't trade for what you want, hit one of the shops. www.popularcollections.com is popular. I've ordered individuals from other companies as well though.
Keep in mind that the prices go up a little, and the minis get rarer, after an expansion is discontinued. If your going to the secondary market you need to stick to recent expansions. If you do so the price isn't so bad. Most of the commons and uncommons from the newest expansion are listed around $1 or less on the site mentioned above. They have the bulette listed at $4. I'd like to see a decent quality metal figure of that size for that price.
Steel_Wind
Legend
Love the plastic minis. I think they are one of the best things to happen in the game and their utility and looks are great. We have thousands of metal minis in our gaming circle - plastic D&D minis are now preferred over the metal ones.
I agree the eBay aftermarket is a crock given the ridiculously high shipping costs.
I recommend staying away from eBay and instead pay a visit to www.popularcollections.com
Their deals are more in the .29 to .70 cents range, they have 30-50 of some figures available at the same time in that price range, and the shipping costs are WAY lower when you are buying a lot at once.
The aftermarket can be done right - but eBay is not the way. Spend your $30 instead at a site like popularcollections and get a bagful of stuff for your trouble that you can field an army with - and pay a reasonably low shipping and handling cost for your trouble...
I agree the eBay aftermarket is a crock given the ridiculously high shipping costs.
I recommend staying away from eBay and instead pay a visit to www.popularcollections.com
Their deals are more in the .29 to .70 cents range, they have 30-50 of some figures available at the same time in that price range, and the shipping costs are WAY lower when you are buying a lot at once.
The aftermarket can be done right - but eBay is not the way. Spend your $30 instead at a site like popularcollections and get a bagful of stuff for your trouble that you can field an army with - and pay a reasonably low shipping and handling cost for your trouble...
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wingsandsword
Legend
I voted for D&D games, only.
I originally used the minis from my old Hero Quest game I got back in the early 90's, having all 4 expansions released in the US and two copies of the base game meant I had a pretty decent library of cheap, molded plastic figures. If I want to throw 20 orcs at my PC's, I've got the cannon fodder to do it!
I never used metal minis, and I never will. I don't like painting them, they're way too expensive, and they're hard as heck to carry around to games.
When Mage Knight came out, I bought many packs of that, and used a hobby knife to pop them off their little "clicky" bases and transplant them onto 1-inch squares of clear plastic with some super glue (a local hobby shop is great for that sort of thing). When MK: Dungeons came out I got some more, as those were better for D&D (less unusable steampunk junk, more classic monsters).
By the time D&D minis came out, I thought I was satisfied with what I already had. At Gen Con this year, I made it a priority to pick up common MK minis (and some HeroClix stuff, they have some have neat monk and samurai types). I found that at 3 different booths I could get MK/HC commons for .25c each, maybe .50c in a few cases. D&D minis were almost always $1 each, just for the commons! If I want an army of kobolds, I can pick them up a lot cheaper from WizKids than I can from Wizards.
But, D&D Minis did have the advantage of monsters that only D&D had, or were most common by far in D&D. So I found one guy who had some D&D commons he was willing to sell for $.50 and picked up a few, and since then I've bought a few packs of D&D minis at my FLGS. I normally just remove them from their little black bases with that same knife and superglue them to a bit of clear plastic (so you can see the terrain beneath them, it helps with the visual aspect of the game IMHO). I don't do this to rares, unless it's a rare I really, really want, otherwise I can resell them to partially recover the costs of buying minis.
The only problem is, I hate a lot of the 3e art that they based their miniatures on: anorexic displacer beasts, "iconic" characters, hell hounds that look like wolves with mohawks, and Gorilla-style Orcs.
When I saw that the one mini I actualy wanted, a Mind Flayer, had a resale value on eBay of around ~$25 I was stunned and saddened. If I really, really wanted one for my game it would be far cheaper to buy a metal mini and paint it. ~$25 for a piece of poorly painted injection-molded plastic that cost maybe $.10 to make?
What I wonder is: Why hasn't anyone just made big bags of cheap, injection molded unpainted generic monsters? Like those Army Men or Cowboys & Indians bags they have at toy stores, make a big bag of Orcs, or Men-At-Arms, or Undead, or the like, they'd probably sell great to the "discount mini" crowd, and they could even get non-gaming sales to little kids
I originally used the minis from my old Hero Quest game I got back in the early 90's, having all 4 expansions released in the US and two copies of the base game meant I had a pretty decent library of cheap, molded plastic figures. If I want to throw 20 orcs at my PC's, I've got the cannon fodder to do it!
I never used metal minis, and I never will. I don't like painting them, they're way too expensive, and they're hard as heck to carry around to games.
When Mage Knight came out, I bought many packs of that, and used a hobby knife to pop them off their little "clicky" bases and transplant them onto 1-inch squares of clear plastic with some super glue (a local hobby shop is great for that sort of thing). When MK: Dungeons came out I got some more, as those were better for D&D (less unusable steampunk junk, more classic monsters).
By the time D&D minis came out, I thought I was satisfied with what I already had. At Gen Con this year, I made it a priority to pick up common MK minis (and some HeroClix stuff, they have some have neat monk and samurai types). I found that at 3 different booths I could get MK/HC commons for .25c each, maybe .50c in a few cases. D&D minis were almost always $1 each, just for the commons! If I want an army of kobolds, I can pick them up a lot cheaper from WizKids than I can from Wizards.
But, D&D Minis did have the advantage of monsters that only D&D had, or were most common by far in D&D. So I found one guy who had some D&D commons he was willing to sell for $.50 and picked up a few, and since then I've bought a few packs of D&D minis at my FLGS. I normally just remove them from their little black bases with that same knife and superglue them to a bit of clear plastic (so you can see the terrain beneath them, it helps with the visual aspect of the game IMHO). I don't do this to rares, unless it's a rare I really, really want, otherwise I can resell them to partially recover the costs of buying minis.
The only problem is, I hate a lot of the 3e art that they based their miniatures on: anorexic displacer beasts, "iconic" characters, hell hounds that look like wolves with mohawks, and Gorilla-style Orcs.
When I saw that the one mini I actualy wanted, a Mind Flayer, had a resale value on eBay of around ~$25 I was stunned and saddened. If I really, really wanted one for my game it would be far cheaper to buy a metal mini and paint it. ~$25 for a piece of poorly painted injection-molded plastic that cost maybe $.10 to make?
What I wonder is: Why hasn't anyone just made big bags of cheap, injection molded unpainted generic monsters? Like those Army Men or Cowboys & Indians bags they have at toy stores, make a big bag of Orcs, or Men-At-Arms, or Undead, or the like, they'd probably sell great to the "discount mini" crowd, and they could even get non-gaming sales to little kids
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Dark Psion
First Post
Said neither because I don't use them. I would rather save my money for the next book that I know I will use than a random miniature that will probably end up just siting on my shelf.
Now, there are some minis that I would LIKE to put on my shelf, but the random packs makes getting that one difficult. If they offered some sets, like a "Psionic Set", I would buy that in a moment, and buying a carton is just buying a larger random pack.
As to buying individual figures, I try to limit my online purchases to those companies I trust and if I don't buy from Ebay, I sure am not going to buy from Bob from Nebraska off some messageboard.
As to their quality, I really don't know because I have never seen one in person. None of the stores that have D&D around here sale the minis, and that also answers the question of local trades.
Now, there are some minis that I would LIKE to put on my shelf, but the random packs makes getting that one difficult. If they offered some sets, like a "Psionic Set", I would buy that in a moment, and buying a carton is just buying a larger random pack.
As to buying individual figures, I try to limit my online purchases to those companies I trust and if I don't buy from Ebay, I sure am not going to buy from Bob from Nebraska off some messageboard.
As to their quality, I really don't know because I have never seen one in person. None of the stores that have D&D around here sale the minis, and that also answers the question of local trades.
Henry
Autoexreginated
Our group uses them for D&D almost exclusively, but we have played the skirmish game occasionally. I own about 150 of them, and I find that I have a wide enough range to create any setpiece I really want, and there is enough variety that most of the time a player can find a mini that represents them fairly well.
I also want to thank some of the posters who listed various trading and selling sites besides ebay - I will be checking those out.
I also want to thank some of the posters who listed various trading and selling sites besides ebay - I will be checking those out.
