D&D Minis

[Vexxaar]

Hey all,
So I've been looking for a while now for cheap D&D minis, as the ones I'm currently using belong to a friend, and I'm keen to give them back to him.
I'm just wondering if anyone has any suggestions where to get these from? I'm ideally looking for something in the ratio of rougly $1 per figurine, happy to buy in bulk. I want a bit of a mix if possible between the playable races and monsters of varying sizes etc if possible, but I'm not too picky, I just want figures that have a fantasy look. :smallbiggrin:

[Grand Poobah]

I found eBay is the only place you're likely to get minis anywhere near that price point. I've splurged around £800 over the last couple of months buying around 400 minis off there. US sellers maybe cheaper. I was browsing European sellers.

[Blackhawk748]

Reaper minis is excellent if you want a bunch of cheap minis, their Bones collection has a bunch of great plastic minis that are unpainted (if you dont mind that) and they are generally under 3 bucks a mini. I got 6 kobolds for 3 bucks i think

[Starchild7309]

I sent you a private message...I got a lead on some for you.

[Scorponok]

Also, don't underestimate the cost savings of using other company's minis. For example, Heroclix minis are around the same size, and some are DIRT cheap. Only thing is if you want them to look like D&D minis, you'll have to cut them from their Heroclix bases and find similar-to-D&D bases for them.Some of the ones that can fit into a fantasy setting:

50 cent Mummy:
http://www.miniaturemarket.com/catalog/product/view/id/35056/s/hcasm-011/

Generic sorceress/vampire for 75 cents:
http://www.miniaturemarket.com/catalog/product/view/id/35082/s/hcasm-034/

Female rogue claw fighter for 45 cents:
http://www.miniaturemarket.com/hcaka-14.html

Bald Barbarian for 85 cents:
http://www.miniaturemarket.com/catalog/product/view/id/7346/s/hcaw-064/

Samurai girl for 25 cents:
http://www.miniaturemarket.com/catalog/product/view/id/34142/s/hcbm-011/

And I found these in the first 5 sets. There are tons and tons of sets, with more being released all the time. Also, if you are willing to do a little painting or customization, things like this miniature:

http://www.miniaturemarket.com/catalog/product/view/id/7295/s/hcaw-013/

...can have her gun cut off and krazy glued with a sword from the Samurai Girl and you'd have an acceptable rogue-like character. Since she is 35 cents, you can buy a few of her, cut off her head and glue it onto another female character, paint her hair blonde, and have yet another character.

For animals, go to any of those $1 stores and they will have bags of plastic toy animals. I find these are great for insects, dinosaurs, and horses. Safari is also great for releasing "Toobs" sets.
https://safariltd.com/products/search/category:1/page:2

Sets like the Big Cats one, where you get a bunch of lions, tigers, pumas, etc. as well as their infamous dragons:
https://safariltd.com/products/view/dragons-golden-dragon-figurines-10118

...are really awesome and add a lot to a miniatures-heavy game.

Of course I have yet to find a good Manticore or Griffin that is the right size, and that where I have to splurge a bit for the official D&D minis, but for custom characters and basic mammals, reptiles, and giant bugs, you can do it for really cheap if you take the time to look.

I've been collecting and customizing junk for the past 5 years and have a few office boxes of various things I can cut and glue for interesting combinations.

[Vexxaar]

Thanks guys, these are all great options! :smallsmile:

[Phelix-Mu]

Yeah, I second repurposing minis from other sources. WotC seem to have entered the market to make money, and only done so half-heartedly at that. And there really are a mountain of other source for miniatures. I borrowed a number from fantasy board games, RISK, and the like, and just used them for mooks.

Generally, these days where we are using skype, I just use dice maps. Simple, cheap, and care-free.