|
Post by gnomezrule on Dec 13, 2013 20:24:12 GMT
cheap minis
I ran across this today. The scale is 1:72nd which comes to 22mm (most rpg minis are 25mm or heroic 25mm which is 28mm) but 40 some odd archers and knights and such seemed like a good deal for 7 and change plus shipping.
|
|
|
Post by gnomezrule on Dec 13, 2013 20:35:45 GMT
Did a search for the "Airfix brand on Amazon and a lot of historical figures at this scale came up the price for 30-40 minatures under 10 bucks really can't be beat.
|
|
|
Post by earlteagrey on Dec 13, 2013 21:57:26 GMT
Thank you for sharing this! I've looked on Amazon for a long time for something like this!
|
|
|
Post by sgtslag on Dec 13, 2013 22:04:04 GMT
There are a growing number of 1/72 scale fantasy figures. All are very affordable. Caesar has several sets; Dark Alliance makes a number of sets as well. I have a mixture of 1/72 (height vary, by manufacturer, some are 22mm tall, others are 25mm+ tall). A good place to check out plastic figures, is the Plastic Soldier Review web page. There are a great deal of historical 1/72 scale figures which can be used for gaming. Some 1/72 scale figures can be re-purposed: I am using a Ceasar set of Elves (around 23mm tall (minus their base), which is 4+ feet, on a 25 mm = 6 feet scale, so perfect for 1st Ed. AD&D scaled Elves), as Drow. I will paint them with coal black skin, and either white, or silver hair. I am using 1/72 scale Orc Warg Riders as Goblin Warg Riders -- just paint up the Orcs as 1st Ed. AD&D Goblins (no green skinned Goblins in that version...). I use 'brick red' for their skin color -- looks great IMO. Caesar's Goblins, and Orcs, are fantastic figures, as well. Check them out. Cheers!
|
|
|
Post by gnomezrule on Dec 13, 2013 22:44:46 GMT
Are they as cheap as 30-40 minis for less than 10 bucks, if that is the case I am going to kick my self for mentioning paper minis to one of the guys in my group who bought 100 bucks worth.
|
|
|
Post by gnomezrule on Dec 13, 2013 22:53:32 GMT
|
|
|
Post by adamantinedragon on Dec 14, 2013 1:36:24 GMT
I bought several boxes of the Caeser minis, including Roman, Hittite and some other ancient armies. I use them as soldiers. I ended up purchasing about 400 minis for less than a hundred bucks as I recall, and I painted them all in a week. Here's a photo of them all: And here's a link to my blog with some close ups if people are interested. They are a little small, the orcs are more like goblin sized and you could probably use the elves as gnomes if you really wanted to. But if you don't mind a bit of size discrepancy, they work fine. In my current campaign these are probably the most used minis since there's a major battle going on between different armies.
|
|
|
Post by gnomezrule on Dec 14, 2013 15:39:30 GMT
Do you find that the scale is off normal 25mm figures?
|
|
|
Post by adamantinedragon on Dec 14, 2013 17:56:06 GMT
gnomez, I mentioned that the size difference is enough to be noticeable.
Miniature size is a sort of pet peeve of mine anyway. I call the tendency over the past 30 plus years for miniatures to increase in size "miniature creep". My oldest miniatures are downright tiny compared to my new ones. In some cases the new minis are like giants compared to my old ones. The armies I have posted above are pretty much the same size as the first miniatures I purchased for gaming.
But by today's standards they are pretty small. I tried to address that a bit by putting them on a thicker base and leaving the original plastic base on them, but even so they aren't as tall as the latest D&D miniatures.
I also use a lot of Mage Knight miniatures, which are more "heroic" in size, but they also have different takes on some monsters. And of course I have created a lot of my own miniatures and I use animal and dinosaur miniatures in my games.
The result is that there isn't a 100% size congruency in my miniatures. I do try to keep the scales as close as possible when I can, but the whole point of getting the miniatures above was to allow for some pretty epic battles between large groups of soldiers or undead. And sometimes I will use one of the smaller elf minis as a gnome or halfling.
For the most part I just ignore the size differences.
|
|
|
Post by sgtslag on Dec 15, 2013 16:21:23 GMT
Gnomezrule, Check out the photo's, on The Plastic Soldier Review site. They show the figures standing in front of a millimeter scale, so you can see exactly how tall they are. For inexpensive miniatures, it is hard to beat Prince August Molds. They are true 25mm scale figures, which you cast yourself, out of lead, or Model Metal, or another alloy which can be purchased from the same vendors who sell PA Molds. Years ago, I had around six different PA molds. I made a number of castings (if they don't turn out, back into the melting pot they go...). They come out best using Model Metal. Around 10 years ago, I was able to cast my fantasy figures for less than $0.40 per figure! Metal prices have increased, dramatically, since then. They give an estimate of how many figures can be cast from each bar of metal (used to be 35-40 25mm figures of men/elves/skeletons/etc. Lead can be had for free, in the form of used tire weights, from automotive shops which install tires -- they use new weights each time, and they have to pay to dispose of 'hazardous' lead, so they are happy to give you as much as you want. However, pure lead it more difficult to get a good casting from. Model Metal is your friend, if you go this route. The Caesar and Dark Alliance figures (search e-Bay, and toy soldier sites, for best prices) are true 25mm scale, so they will be rather small compared to 25mm Heroic (28mm), 28mm Heroic (30mm+), etc. They can be incredibly inexpensive, compared to most other options. These plastic miniatures, also have tremendous details, which you won't achieve with drop casting PA molds. Bear in mind, though, that casting your own figures, painting them, and then gaming with them with your friends, has its own rewards, especially if you play war games with them, and you place Ten's, or even Hundred's of figures you cast yourself, upon the table of battle. It can be quite satisfying. The D&D plastic figures are 28mm+ in size. I, too, mix scales. But I also adhere, when feasible, to Gygax's scales/sizes. If you look at my comparison page, Gaming Miniatures vs. Toy Figure Conversions: Giants, you can see just how different the various races of Giants are, according to 1st Ed. AD&D's Monster Manual -- those figures are in line with Gygax's original sizes. It really makes a difference when you try to stay within his guidelines, because otherwise, you are just looking at numbers on a page, and the actual size differences, is lost in your theater of your own mind. Cheers!
|
|
|
Post by gnomezrule on Dec 15, 2013 18:52:07 GMT
I am sorry AD you did mention the scale it got lost for me on the tablet its easy to lose things scrolling. Those moulds are cool Sage.
|
|
Bael
Room Planner
Posts: 288
|
Post by Bael on Dec 17, 2013 14:38:07 GMT
Gnomezrule, Check out the photo's, on The Plastic Soldier Review site. They show the figures standing in front of a millimeter scale, so you can see exactly how tall they are. For inexpensive miniatures, it is hard to beat Prince August Molds. They are true 25mm scale figures, which you cast yourself, out of lead, or Model Metal, or another alloy which can be purchased from the same vendors who sell PA Molds. Years ago, I had around six different PA molds. I made a number of castings (if they don't turn out, back into the melting pot they go...). They come out best using Model Metal. Around 10 years ago, I was able to cast my fantasy figures for less than $0.40 per figure! Metal prices have increased, dramatically, since then. They give an estimate of how many figures can be cast from each bar of metal (used to be 35-40 25mm figures of men/elves/skeletons/etc. Lead can be had for free, in the form of used tire weights, from automotive shops which install tires -- they use new weights each time, and they have to pay to dispose of 'hazardous' lead, so they are happy to give you as much as you want. However, pure lead it more difficult to get a good casting from. Model Metal is your friend, if you go this route. The Caesar and Dark Alliance figures (search e-Bay, and toy soldier sites, for best prices) are true 25mm scale, so they will be rather small compared to 25mm Heroic (28mm), 28mm Heroic (30mm+), etc. They can be incredibly inexpensive, compared to most other options. These plastic miniatures, also have tremendous details, which you won't achieve with drop casting PA molds. Bear in mind, though, that casting your own figures, painting them, and then gaming with them with your friends, has its own rewards, especially if you play war games with them, and you place Ten's, or even Hundred's of figures you cast yourself, upon the table of battle. It can be quite satisfying. The D&D plastic figures are 28mm+ in size. I, too, mix scales. But I also adhere, when feasible, to Gygax's scales/sizes. If you look at my comparison page, Gaming Miniatures vs. Toy Figure Conversions: Giants, you can see just how different the various races of Giants are, according to 1st Ed. AD&D's Monster Manual -- those figures are in line with Gygax's original sizes. It really makes a difference when you try to stay within his guidelines, because otherwise, you are just looking at numbers on a page, and the actual size differences, is lost in your theater of your own mind. Cheers! I love your page and ideas. I have those cavemen as well. I plan to use them as "young ogres" in the "Against the Giants" campaign I plan to run. Those frost giants are great. I'm all for finding cheap and cool alternatives for monsters from kids toys. I want to have every monster it seems, just in case the party encounters them. I found some odd brown plastic dwarves that I've painted as frost giants as they look like stumpy vikings. It's possible I've won the auction from someone on here. I saw videos online that gave me an idea to use wire and green stuff to extend their legs a bit to give them more correct proportions. You can never have too many Frost giants. I'm still looking for toys that would be good Titans, Storm, Cloud, Fire and Stone giants. Some of the Reaper ones seem to have insanely big weapons to the point of being cartoonish.
|
|
Bael
Room Planner
Posts: 288
|
Post by Bael on Dec 17, 2013 14:48:34 GMT
I bought several boxes of the Caeser minis, including Roman, Hittite and some other ancient armies. I use them as soldiers. I ended up purchasing about 400 minis for less than a hundred bucks as I recall, and I painted them all in a week. Here's a photo of them all: And here's a link to my blog with some close ups if people are interested. They are a little small, the orcs are more like goblin sized and you could probably use the elves as gnomes if you really wanted to. But if you don't mind a bit of size discrepancy, they work fine. In my current campaign these are probably the most used minis since there's a major battle going on between different armies. These would be awesome when your character gets high in level and runs a fief or kingdom and needs to fight wars with your armies.
|
|