How huch do you pay for miniatures?

[Grear Bylls]

Hey guys!

Doing a quick survey just to see how much you guys would/ do pay for miniatures:

Generic (like Reaper)
Custom (like Hero Forge)
Painted Generic (like Reaper, but someone else painted it like you wanted)
Painted Custom (like Hero Forge, but someone else psi it like you wanted)
Custom Sculpted (like a polymer clay figure)

[ZorroGames]

Hey guys!

Doing a quick survey just to see how much you guys would/ do pay for miniatures:

Generic (like Reaper)
Custom (like Hero Forge)
Painted Generic (like Reaper, but someone else painted it like you wanted)
Painted Custom (like Hero Forge, but someone else psi it like you wanted)
Custom Sculpted (like a polymer clay figure)

When I first started wargaming military miniatures in very early 1970s the price of a footman jumped from 25 cents to 50 cents! Nowadays I have one Hero Forge Mountain Dwarf Monk (circa $20) but I prefer to pay much less. Much of my “not ‘Good Old Days’ figures” (25mm) are pretty much Reaper level pricing (usually Bones) for FRPGing and less for wargaming figures (which for space and cost reasons I have changed mostly to 3mm (aircraft) and 6mm to 18mm land battles (a few 1:6k ships) so prices for those are obviously less.

I try and buy a figure ‘close’ to my image of the character and add, delete, modify details based on 40 years of modifying my figures to be what I want it to be.

Short answer - ideally $1 to $2 but realistically sometimes $5 to $7 for metal figures that are requiring no or very little changes.

[Dankus Memakus]

I really enjoy nolzurs marvelous miniatures so I pay around 5$ and I paint my own. I honestly can't bring myself to pay for heroforge. A friend of mine got one long ago and it was crap.

[LudicSavant]

I would pay the cost of the some cardstock paper. Paper miniatures are easy to make using a printer, some extra-sturdy cardstock paper, a little easily-looked-up know-how (http://www.intelligentgamer.com/e107_plugins/content/content.php?content.34), and any image (just search the net for a bajillion and one options). I find it actually works better than the much more money and time-intensive metal or plastic miniatures (barring a truly unlimited budget), due to being able to focus more on preparing the game itself and having more looks to choose from for characters.

http://robertsongames.com/paperminis-wide.jpg

https://purplesorcerer.com/images/minis_small.jpg

I mean, sure, if you've got money to set on fire or enjoy painting minis for its own sake or want a statue for your mantelpiece, do that. But if you just want to play some D&D with some pretty and functional miniatures, paper minis all the way.

[ZorroGames]

Paper minis are nice and have their place but I still have multiple 100s of 25-35mm metal/resin/plastic figures after disposing of about 1,000 of them plus trunk loads of board games so until I reduce what I have adding more figures to track is not an option! 😇

Now if I played in an environment where paper figures were not looked down on and were just starting then such a route would be an excellent quick alternative.

Those are very nice paper figures.

[ZorroGames]

I really enjoy nolzurs marvelous miniatures so I pay around 5$ and I paint my own. I honestly can't bring myself to pay for heroforge. A friend of mine got one long ago and it was crap.

Mine was fine but what material was that one made of? I question the $19 model just from the description about (?) layer lines or whatever the build produces. My $29 Mountain Dwarf Monk was exactly what I was looking for.

[mephnick]

Mine was fine but what material was that one made of? I question the $19 model just from the description about (?) layer lines or whatever the build produces. My $29 Mountain Dwarf Monk was exactly what I was looking for.

I've heard even the expensive ones break from a light bump. I consider my minis to be tools and a tool that breaks easily is useless.

[swamp_slug]

I've heard even the expensive ones break from a light bump. I consider my minis to be tools and a tool that breaks easily is useless.

I have a couple of the $30 HeroForge and have knocked them off my dining table onto hard floors a few times and they are both still in one piece. Unless you have a pose with lots of thin bits sticking out such as the shield with arrows sticking out I wouldn't worry too much about their durability, it's not like they are made from Forgeworld's resin!

[Sigreid]

Last time I used miniatures it was for a Star Wars game and the micro machine Star Wars sets were perfect and cheap.

Now I play via internet so mins aren't worth anything to me.

[Ventruenox]

I wouldn't spend more than 50-75 cents per figure. Garage sales, flea markets, eBay auctions that are not listed correctly, Milton Bradley games from the 90's at 2nd hand stores; the legacies of grognards can be found here and there to the detail oriented eye.

I've collected a few hundred figures compiled from Dreamblade, Mage Knight, Heroscape, and a few bits of terrain and figures from forgotten fantasy board games. I haven't spent more than $110 on all of it. I've had to adapt from a 28mm square grid to a 35mm hex based combat system, but it was well worth it.

[willdaBEAST]

This is based on a probably biased and subjective viewpoint, but I don't think these forums are a good way to gauge monetary investment for tabletop games. The answers I commonly see are, "at cost" or "I'm not willing to pay anything". To get any kind of accurate breakdown, I think you need more details concerning things like age, how DIY you are with this hobby and things of that nature. A 13 year old will generally have a different perception towards money than someone who is wealthy and 65.

I remember a forum argument on a separate site concerning how much computers cost and you had people who build their computers from scratch arguing about cost with people who buy fully assembled computers. Both are valid approaches, but it's going to be hard to reconcile any kind of conclusion when you have huge variables like that.

[MaxWilson]

Hey guys!

Doing a quick survey just to see how much you guys would/ do pay for miniatures:

Generic (like Reaper)
Custom (like Hero Forge)
Painted Generic (like Reaper, but someone else painted it like you wanted)
Painted Custom (like Hero Forge, but someone else psi it like you wanted)
Custom Sculpted (like a polymer clay figure)

For me, price isn't really the object--it's convincing me to actually use them. Smaller is better because that means less to tote around. Normally I would just use coins or something, but if the miniatures are good enough I can imagine them adding enjoyment to the game. For good miniatures I'd probably pay up to $10-15/apiece. I can't see going $25/apiece because ultimately they're just props, not a core part of the game.

[Sariel Vailo]

Custom and painted by spmeone else its exactly what i want, even though it is a little extra money.

[Grear Bylls]

This is based on a probably biased and subjective viewpoint, but I don't think these forums are a good way to gauge monetary investment for tabletop games. The answers I commonly see are, "at cost" or "I'm not willing to pay anything". To get any kind of accurate breakdown, I think you need more details concerning things like age, how DIY you are with this hobby and things of that nature. A 13 year old will generally have a different perception towards money than someone who is wealthy and 65.

I remember a forum argument on a separate site concerning how much computers cost and you had people who build their computers from scratch arguing about cost with people who buy fully assembled computers. Both are valid approaches, but it's going to be hard to reconcile any kind of conclusion when you have huge variables like that.

Completely agree with the first part of this. These results were not what I was looking for. Where I go to game, everyone has a unique mini from Reaper (though that may be 'cause I play AT a Reaper store.

Definitely will do some more research elsewhere, as I was planning to use this data to price some minis I was going to sell, however, I'm not inclined to sell things I put hours into for less than a dollar.

I'll probably look at an online store where people make things and sell them. Results may be more beneficial in those places, even if I think those places charge WAY to much.

[Xaryo]

we use LEGO minifigurines. some set are already perfect and for other kind of character, a visit to the lego store and 1 hour later, hop 3 minifigures almost exactly like i want or at least the accessiroes i want that i can swap.
it is funnier than miniature

[Grim Portent]

I pretty regularly shell out £30+ on miniatures for wargaming, and most of my RPG characters wind up being pieced together from spare parts or even based around a single existing model with spares grafted on from all sorts of places, so I'm not averse to spending a lot on minis. Current D&D party figures I worked together cost maybe £2 each since the base models are all from multi-model kits, but I did graft on pieces from other kits and even frankensteined three different heads into one head for one of them. Quite cheap, but then none of us are playing anything all that monstrous or macabre, those would probably see a higher cost on my part.

[Waterdeep Merch]

The amount I'm willing to spend on any single miniature comes down to three questions-

1.) Is it for a PC?
2.) Is it likely to be used for a while?
3.) Does the miniature precisely convey what I want?

If all three criteria are met, I've spent upwards of $35 in the past and never considered it that bad of a deal. I'm willing to skip lunches to get an idealized PC miniature. I've used Hero Forge several times in the past. For those mentioning brittle prints- I've had to repair several in my time, but these days they've really improved their quality and durability. Their grey plastic is especially hardy, probably the best material I've ever handled for a miniature.

If only two criteria are met (but one of those is the first), my willingness to pay nosedives. I wouldn't go past $7.

If #2 and #3 are met, but #1 is not, then I'm only willing to go for about $2-3, if I pay for anything at all. I'm just as likely to use my vast back catalogue from my days of playing the D&D Miniatures wargame and sub in something similar.

Under any other combination, I'll only buy if I can get the miniatures dirt cheap. These days, that means my scrappy little 3-D printer. With a bit of time and effort, I can have a whole army for pennies. I even use pretty respectable plastics and fill settings to make them pretty durable, as I can be unreasonably rough on non-PC pieces.

I've been practicing 3-D modelling to edge out every case beyond printing my own, but I'm not confident enough in anything organic yet. I feel like I'd just be embarrassing myself.

[rbstr]

I'll skim through Reaper ect. too see if they've got something 90% of the concept first but for a PC in a game that'll go for a while I've got no qualms spending $30 on a heroforge mini. Over a couple dozen hours that's not the worse fun/$ you can spend.

If I were trying to populate a DM's bag of mooks I'd go with paper/prints or cheaper sets of things. Bosses or important recurring characters might get $5-10 minis or more.

I did have one heroforge break, but it was in a bag with dice that got knocked off the table and a pretty precarious extended are with a big sword on it.

[ZorroGames]

I've heard even the expensive ones break from a light bump. I consider my minis to be tools and a tool that breaks easily is useless.

Being clumsy, that is not my experience.

[DeadMech]

I'm a pretty thrifty person. I don't spend a great deal of money on myself. But DnD isn't just a me thing. I can justify spending too much money if it's on other people. Snacks, books, and yes if the rest of the people at the table get enjoyment out of nice mini's I might buy some of them as well.

And at this point I'm just looking for an excuse to buy a nice 3d printer. I just know though that I'll never get enough use out of it to make it worth my while.

[ZorroGames]

I'm a pretty thrifty person. I don't spend a great deal of money on myself. But DnD isn't just a me thing. I can justify spending too much money if it's on other people. Snacks, books, and yes if the rest of the people at the table get enjoyment out of nice mini's I might buy some of them as well.

And at this point I'm just looking for an excuse to buy a nice 3d printer. I just know though that I'll never get enough use out of it to make it worth my while.

I like your attitude. I thought about giving some to new players but the old ones are 25mm tall (small ny today’s figures) plus the FLGS where we play sells figures and I do not want to step on their toes...

[ZorroGames]

Changed my Short answer - ideally $1 to $2 but realistically sometimes $3-4 for plastic or resin and $5 to $7 for metal figures that are requiring no or very little changes.

[BlizzardMayne]

At the beginning of a campaign, I'll usually spring for a Heroforge, the $30 variety.

For generic bad guys, we've been using the same Star Wars minis for years, and have no problem continuing to do so.