Sunday, October 14, 2012

Old School Minis

One of the other fun consequences of the renewed interest in old school fantasy gaming over the last few years is the greater availability of old school miniature figures. Several companies have sprung up and are producing some of the best minis I've ever seen. That they're modeled so closely on the illustrations and esthetics of RPGs of yore is almost icing on the cake. A good example of what I'm talking about is Fractured Dimensions, which seems to specialize in doing some of the more obscure and outré monsters of D&D lore, such as:
The intellect devourer
and Joiblexx, Slime Lord of the Bleak Fens, among many others. I fear these photographs don't do these miniatures justice. They're very attractively sculpted and it pains me that I don't have any talent for painting (almost as much as it pains me that the player in our group who painted most of my Otherworld Miniatures has moved away).

Speaking of Otherworld Miniatures, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention their crowdfunding campaign to raise money for the production of a new series of minis called "Dungeon Adventures." Here are the greens of the first batch of these adventurers -- a magic-user, a cleric, a fighter, and a thief:
There's a lot to like there if you're an old school gamers, from the wizard's pointy hat to the Friar Tuck-style cleric to the fact that that thief looks downright untrustworthy. Other installments of the series will include sub-classes, demihumans, and females. It looks to be an excellent collection of miniatures.

5 comments:

  1. Wow you're right James that your photo doesn't do their Joiblexx mini justice... I'd definitely recommend people to check out the detailed view on the manufacturer's website: http://fractureddimensions.mybigcommerce.com/opde03-joiblexx-slime-lord-of-the-bleak-fens/

    Looks amazing!

    Yes I also love the Friar Tuck cleric :)

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  2. Much as I love Otherworld, the rewards for their crowdfunding struck me as being not very generous. As an example, pledging $85 will get you the box set of 12 Adventurer minis. $85 is about £52 which I'm pretty sure is more than the box will retail for when it's released. The other reward levels are on the same lines. Not much of an incentive I'm afraid :(

    Compare that with the Reaper Kickstarter where you get a whole host of minis (admittedly plastic not metal).

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  3. @Dave - The boxed sets will eventually retail at £55 plus shipping. The Indigogo price includes worldwide shipping. As things stand currently, pledging $85 for a boxed set will also get you a Weapons Pack, a Treasure Items pack and a pair of War/Guard Dogs, with the possibility of further bonus being added too.

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  4. My friends always complain that wizards are depicted as old bearded men. Otherworld solved the issue: they're ALL bearded men! :D

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  5. You would be amazed at how a quick ink wash can really give a mini "zip" without having to go to the trouble of painting it. It is what I started doing after my paints dried up and I didn't want to re-invest.

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