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The Problem With Miniatures

Engage in tabletop gaming for nearly any length of time and you're bound to run into an obstacle faced by Players and Hosts alike: the cost of acquiring miniature figurines (minis). These small, often plastic representations of one's character(s) are, at best, a luxury for assisting Player immersion (in the case of D&D and the like), and at worst, absolutely vital for the enjoyment of the game (Warhammer, Heroclix, etc.). With this in mind, it comes as little surprise when companies specializing in such products typically demand outrageous prices from their customers.

Think that to be an overstatement? Perhaps you should take a moment to see for yourself: http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/. No hurry, I'll wait.

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Done?

Outstanding (Granted, Games Workshop, as a company notorious for price inflation, may not have been the most realistic choice to illustrate this sort of thing, but I feel it makes my point quite nicely.)

Now, in my usual spirit of constructive offerings, I'd like to present some thrifty alternatives you may find useful in your quest to amass a respectable collection of minis.

http://onemonk.com/

These talented artists have been kind enough to design some impressively detailed, high-quality model designs that are available to be printed out, carefully cut from paper, and placed in a stand for subsequent deployment. I'm not 100% familiar with the various stipulations of membership, but I do know that they offer a portion of their creations for free; a gesture that's always appreciated in my book.

http://www.kassoon.com/dnd/#dnd/cheap-minis/

This site takes a distinct 'DIY' spirit to things, as evidenced by their comprehensive guide to designing and executing your very own minis. The expertise doesn't end there however, for among the miscellaneous tabletop offerings sits some quality advice from an obviously experienced host. Some quality reads, if you've a spare moment.

Alas, I've no resources to aid those with an interest in war gaming on a budget (WH40K, etc.), but I know for certain that a particularly diligent purveyor of the internet can, with some investigative work, locate certain methods for molding, painting, and otherwise producing your own miniatures. For those with the drive to undertake such an extensive project, I extend the best of luck and the assurance that the effort is worth the price. For those with personal funds impressive enough to disregard this post in favor of flaunting a battalion of custom-made GW figurines at your local war gaming tourney, I advise you to repeatedly fornicate with yourselves.

26 comments:

Dola said...

interesting post keep it up =D

Intraman said...

thanks for the links, don't people sell mold for miniatures? you'd just buy the mold and some plaster, then hand paint the stuff and it should be much cheaper than buying the ready made plastic miniatures?

Xenototh said...

I remember back in the day one of my friends made these for spare cash for other people. Note this was back when people HAD spare cash. >.<

Asty said...

minis are nice, gives a nice visual

RageCompeX said...

yeah, stupid problem

Dave Benzene said...

I think custom miniatures are the best way to go, tailored to fit what you want it to be like perfectly. I got quite into them with the WH40k game Inquisitor

Kyle said...

Oh wow, my friend has a bunch of these he uses for dnd, now I know just how much money he wasted haha.

psychpost said...

always keep the minis safe, they are like your soul >_>

zemzero said...

Yeah, some of the costs are outrageous , but people still tend to have a ton of figures. The price of models in general are going up though too.

Brofessor Neeko said...

I loved making small 'toons' when my friends tried to get me into DnD

Lasse said...

Ah, I remember when all my friends bought Warhammer... Everyone bought Orcs&Goblins...

Jesse Crows said...

they just make things more fun haha

Triper said...

Wish you luck with this!

Speedy Ed said...

i totally agree, i dont really get them anyway

Wolle said...

I heard that these figures are very expensive

Dale said...

the diy is a great idea compared to the plastic and lead figures

Unknown said...

There are a lot of Skype based RPG's now, so they are all digital. I remember going to the hobby shops to buy them. Good times.

Cameron said...

A very complex industry. I wonder if those artists will one day in the future be selling electronic versions of those molds to use in 3d printers?

Anonymous said...

As always, a fascinating post ;D

willyt3hwhale said...

Great info, thanks!

TIMMYTHEROBOT said...

yea dude pricing on some of these things are out of this world.

Simon black said...

Interesting read, thanks!

psychpost said...

do you have any miniatures of your own?
personally i don't but others are always willing to lend for sessions.

and try to keep the posts up, good reads but not enough to read.

Anonymous said...

This is a good post, following

Unknown said...

i hated the cost of the 40k stuff

Derrick O said...

Your sir have one 100 points :D

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