I’m considering getting back into using miniatures for my tabletop RPG game, and was wondering if my faithful readers could help with some recommendations. I’ve found a few manufacturers online, but nothing beats personal experience and first-hand experience. What I’m looking for specifically:
- 25mm scale (not 28mm)
- No slotted base; I want the things to stand on their own without a plastic base under it
- A wide variety of both monsters and adventurer-types
- Reasonable pricing under US$4 per figure (maybe I’m just spoiled by buying 15mm, or I’m still living in 1984 when it comes to minis prices, but some of the prices I’m seeing online are just incredible)
- Preferably, but not a requirement, available in bulk sets
I know about Underworld minis (which unfortunately violates my fourth bullet above; they’re beautiful but damned expensive), but any other recommendations would be greatly appreciated.
Try Mega Miniatures USA. True 25mm, very reasonable price, and a large selection, including some Ral Parth and Julie Guthrie sculpts.
I've got to second Desert Scribe's recommendation. There aren't a lot of 25mm options out there, but Mega Miniatures is probably your best bet.
The more criteria, the more individual vendors you'll have to deal with. MegaMinis has heroes, Viking Forge makes retro orcs, some Splintered Light 20mm sculpts would blend. Lots more to choose from if you can afford shipping over the pond.
http://www.lead-adventure.de/index.php?topic=27037.0
Ebay. Grab some ad&d original boxes. They are pretty cheap. Grenadier.
You can look at GW LOTR plastics. These are good if you think you need some smaller forces of monsters or trops for your RPG. The only disadvantage is that you'll have to rebase them for your requirements. Will still be much cheaper than your limits.
Do they have to be metal miniatures?
I've invested about $200 in the plastic AD&D minis line off of ebay and I have a very decent collection of minis that I use every week.
Example:
http://nerdwerds.tumblr.com/post/30507137701/minis-and-maps-for-dcc-rpg
I'm a big fan of minis from Reaper.com. They're mostly 25mm with good detail and metal bases.
The Reaper figures themselves are nice, but they're hideously expensive.
If you like the Reaper stuff, wait until all the Bones miniatures that got funded by their Kickstarter get released. That will cut the price dramatically. Otherwise, check out Iron Wind Metals. They have a lot of the old Ral Partha figures and are not horribly expensive.