WotC Miniatures

[TheAuldGrump]

The anti-D&D-figures crowd is so off base here, and I suspect it has less to you with objective observation than prejudice (at least diaglo's prejudice is tongue-in-cheek consistent).

The plastic minis are fantastic in every way. They cost less. They're lighter. They come pre-painted. They're available in a wide variety.

The D&D minis don't require me to be independently wealthy, strong as an ox, or artistically inclined. And I don't have to look for hours on end at row upon row of nearly identical pieces of faded pewter in order to find the one mini that will be "good enough" for my next adventure pieces.

I have no interest in the miniatures game, but the minis easily add the third dimension to my games -- visual placement. I don't have to have them, but I am very glad to have them anyway.

My goodness, a mentalist! Able to read my very thoughts! Not. Liking or not liking a miniature is subjective - there is no 'off base'.

I have very concrete reasons for not liking them. They are getting better, but they are not very good miniatures, comparable to 1970s Minifigs in detail. The most recent sets are close to 1980s Grenadier in sculpting, not as bad, but there are better sculpts out there in both plasic and metal.

Paint jobs - bad. The few plastic D&D minis that I like I would have to repaint.

Random packaging - horrible, horrible idea, for this alone I will never buy a package.

Material, soft, easily warped.

But the biggest reason is because they just don't look that good. This is changing, particularly on the last few sets, but I like the metal and plastic figure being produced by other companies better.

I have nothing against plastic miniatures - the G.W. multipart models from a few years ago were great! (They are now switching back to one pose wonders, and I have stopped buying them again.)

And I admit to enjoying the act of painting a miniature. So, if I buy an unpainted miniature I get a better looking figure and the joy of painting it both.

The Auld Grump

 

[Steel_Wind]

With all the large size figures being rares is painful, since a good amount of commonly encountered DnD monsters are large. Even with a few odd uncommons being large in upcoming sets I would still love to see a "Large Box" expansion along the same line as the huges for GoL.

While this was not specifically a problem with Giants of Legend, it has been a problem, yes.

Ogres, especially, are very annoying to not be able to get as commons/uncommons. When you are dealing with rare monsters which are unique or rarely ancountered in more than groups of more than 1-4, it does not matter all that much.

But some creatures - giants, trolls and especially ogres are aggravatingly hard to aquire in large numbers without spending a SILLY amount of money in the aftermarket to acquire them.

Lets face it - you NEED 20 ogres - not 2.

This is my only beef so far with the plastic mins.

COMMON OGRES! and more giants too, damn it

 

[Ogrork the Mighty]

I agree. Common (or at most, uncommon) ogres!!!

Another thing... I don't wanna see WotC making minis that would normally be common into uncommons or rares simply by adding a class to them. Like the sahuagin ranger; giving it a class seems like an excuse to make it uncommon/rare when it should be common (does it look like a ranger to you? I couldn't tell...).

 

[Droogie]

I voted for D&D games, only.

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

Good idea. WotC could use more competition in this area.

I need a bag of trolls. Nor do I want to pay $22 each for them in the aftermarket.

 

[MerricB]

Incidentally, Rob Heinsoo has just made some encouraging noises about large uncommons in future sets. See my webpage.

Cheers!