Buying 

To recap, these web pages concern miniatures such as those used for gaming, historical battles, dioramas, and such. These are generally made from lead, lead substitute (e.g. Rallidium from Ral Partha), or plastic, and are generally 25-28 mm or 54 mm scale.

What to Look For When Buying a Miniature

First, let me start by pointing out that there are so many competing companies in this field that you can easily be somewhat picky. If you are dealing with standard fantasy races and vocations, such as Elves, Hobbits/Halflings, Dwarves, and Warriors, Magicians, Rogues, then you can probably find a miniature from at least one company with the exact weapon, race, vocation, and probably even facial hair for a character in a role-playing game (RPG).

Who makes miniatures?

From my experience, Ral Partha is hands down one of the best miniature companies. They are in transition at this time with the dissolution of FASA, but as I understand it they will be getting back up to speed soon. Games Workshop is a powerhouse in the industry and they have rather aggressive corporate practices and pricing that often annoys vendors and customers; however, they are still around and that says something. GW current minis are generally considered to be of good quality. Reaper is another big company that has a large line and gets a lot of press. I am not as familiar with them, but the minis I have purchased from them are good. They have a wide selection.

There are folks that sclupt and cast their own miniatures as well. Too involved for me right now. There is yet another group of folks that cast copies of minis they buy. This is wrong and illegal. Please do not do it. I am not sure about the legalities of out of print (OOP) stuff though; I would still try to get formal permission from whomever owns the rights. I have learned that this applies even to simple things like a single bit for a miniature.

Miniatures Manufacturers
1st Corps (UK) Historical minis, but also a line of sci-fi minis seemingly inspired by the movie Starship Troopers
Crocodile Games They make miniatures for their miniatures game, War Gods of Aegyptus.
Dark Sword Miniatures, Inc. Minis based on the artwork of Larry Elmore & Keith Parkinson
Devil Dog Design These folks make rules and minis for modern 28 mm skirmish games, including modern Afghanistan minis.
Fanatic This company supports a number of games formerly produced by Games Workshop - Bloodbowl, Mordheim, Warmaster, Warhammer 40,000 Epic, and Necromunda.
Games Workshop Known mostly for their 28 mm miniatures wargames, Warhammer and Warhammer 40k, they also make Inquisitor, a 54 mm skirmish level miniatures game. Some of their older lines are supported through Fanatic.
Irregular Miniatures A company in the UK that makes minis at scales from 2 mm to 54 mm.
Minifigs (USA, UK) Primarily historical miniatures in 10 mm, 15 mm, and N scale, as well as 25 mm Fantasy figures.
Iron Wind Metals
(Ral Partha)
Ral Partha stopped US production in January, 2001. Iron Wind Metals is the December, 2001 reincarnation of Ral Partha via six of its former employees. Ral Partha made a lot of good miniatures, primarily for RPGs. They also make the miniatures for Shadowrun and the previous version of Battletech.
Rackham Miniatures (Fr.)
(French language site)
They make the Confrontation line of miniatures. They definitely have a distinctive look about them, which may be exagerrated by the heavy use of the non-metallic metal painting technique on their display minis.
Reaper Minis They are one of the major producer of miniatures for RPGs right now. They have a decent line of paints for minis as well.
Wargames Directory Not a specific vendor, per se, but a directory of vendors for wargames.

Sculpting quality - does it actually look good?

Because of the aggressive competition, most active companies produce good stuff.

Who sells miniatures?

Many companies sell them directly, but most vendors will give you a better price. The manufacturers will generally always charge you the full retail price.

Vendors

Local Stores - direct or indirect

  • Good for the hobby! - This is generally the best choice for overall health of our hobby. I especially recommend, ask, and please with you to find a local store that supports the hobby by providing game space and/or regular gaming events and buy from them.
  • They will order it - I have yet to come across a true gaming store that would not order something that was not on their shelves. Just ask them if they can order something. Better yet, ask for their distributor catalog and point out exactly what you want if you do not have the exact title and item number handy. Be proactive!
  • They should be a friendly face and vice versa - A game store keeps your hobby alive and you keep the store alive. Both of you should get along famously. If you don't remedy that. Of course, there are incorrigible asses, and I am confident that I have been classified that way by others, but give it a try.
  • You should expect a discount! - For better or ill, you should expect a discount of some sort. You may have to buy a special card or something, but the most intelligent and successful approach seems to be just giving a blanket discount. You can expect anywhere from 10% to 15% normally. If you do any special work for the store or are a big supporter of the hobby and/or their business by organizing events, including conventions, you can likely get more. If the store is giving you mre than a 25% discount, then you should start feeling guilty.

Mail Order Vendors, In the USA (A List of Vendors in Other Countries Follows)

Vendor Lines Sold
Chaos Mail Order
(South Bend, IN, USA)

Miniatures: Warhammer 40,000, Warhammer Fantasy Battles, Inquisitor Battlefleet Gothic, Mordheim, Warmaster, Clan War, Armorcast, Mage Knight Rebellion.
Terrain: Armorcast
Paints/Brushes: Citadel Colour (GW).

Discount Hobby

Miniatures: Lance & Laser, Thunder Bolt Mountain, Metal Magic ("Exclusive"), Dark Ages Miniatures ("Exclusive"), Grim Reaper casting, Reaper, Emperors Choice, Crunchy Frog, Ground Zero, Eureka, Irregular miniatures, Rafm, Simtac, Doster Entertainment, I-Kore, Superfigs, Excelsior, Ral Partha, Chronopia, Warzone, Boobarians.
Terrain: TERRAIN Pegasus Hobbies (21 items) TERRAIN Grendel Resins (74 items) TERRAIN Mystic Moldwyrks (40 items) TERRAIN Armorcast (62 items)

Fantization.com
(Fullerton, CA)

Miniatures: Confrontation, Reaper, CAV, Lord of the Rings (GW)
Paints/Brushes: Pro-Paints, Vallejo Paints & Brushes
Misc: Kleer Kases (display cases)

Miniature GameWorks Miniatures: Military Gaming Collectibles by Miniature GameWorks, AIM 10mm, Game Figures Inc (Modern)
Rule Sets: Field of Glory, DBA, DBM, DBR, HOTT
Accessories: BaseIt DBx Bases
New Wave Miniatures: 7th Sea, Assassin, Battlefleet Gothic, Bloodbowl, CAV, Celtos Miniatures, Chainmail, Charlie Company, Chronopia, Clan War, Combat & Biker Babes, Confrontation ,Crunchy Frog, Cry Havic, Death in the Dark, Disk Wars, Dragon Rune, Dungeon & Dragons, eM4 Pre-Painted Miniatures, Eureka, Excalibur, Fairy Meat, Fenryll, Foundry, Ghost, Gear Krieg, Grenadier, Heavenly Bodies, Heavy Gear, Inquisitor, Ironclaw, Jovian, KRASH, LAB, Lord of the Rings, Mage Knight, Mithril, Mordheim, New Wave Limited Edition, Reaper, Ronin, Shadowforge, Star Wars, Superfigs, VOID, Vampire Wars.
Paints/Brushes: Citadel, I-Kore, Vallejo.
Fair Warning:
I have heard some horror stories about customer service on missing or late orders. However, this company has a great selection and a great web site. I would suggest you judge for yourself, but I would recommend small orders to be safe.
Online Trains & Hobbies
(Lakewood, WA)
Minifigs, USA; N and HO scale vehicles and figures

Mail Order Vendors, Outside the USA

Vendor Lines Sold

Discount Hobby
(Battle Creek, MI)

Miniatures: Lance & Laser, Thunder Bolt Mountain, Metal Magic ("Exclusive"), Dark Ages Miniatures ("Exclusive"), Grim Reaper casting, Reaper, Emperors Choice, Crunchy Frog, Ground Zero, Eureka, Irregular miniatures, Rafm, Simtac, Doster Entertainment, I-Kore, Superfigs, Excelsior, Ral Partha, Chronopia, Warzone, Boobarians.
Terrain: TERRAIN Pegasus Hobbies (21 items) TERRAIN Grendel Resins (74 items) TERRAIN Mystic Moldwyrks (40 items) TERRAIN Armorcast (62 items)

Gamezilla
(Truro, Canada)
Miniatures: Games Workshop, Battletech.
Great Canadian Miniatures
(Ontario, Canada)
Miniatures: Games Workshop, Reaper.
New Wave Miniatures: 7th Sea, Assassin, Battlefleet Gothic, Bloodbowl, CAV, Celtos Miniatures, Chainmail, Charlie Company, Chronopia, Clan War, Combat & Biker Babes, Confrontation ,Crunchy Frog, Cry Havic, Death in the Dark, Disk Wars, Dragon Rune, Dungeon & Dragons, eM4 Pre-Painted Miniatures, Eureka, Excalibur, Fairy Meat, Fenryll, Foundry, Ghost, Gear Krieg, Grenadier, Heavenly Bodies, Heavy Gear, Inquisitor, Ironclaw, Jovian, KRASH, LAB, Lord of the Rings, Mage Knight, Mithril, Mordheim, New Wave Limited Edition, Reaper, Ronin, Shadowforge, Star Wars, Superfigs, VOID, Vampire Wars.
Paints/Brushes: Citadel, I-Kore, Vallejo.
Fair Warning:
I have heard some horror stories about customer service on missing or late orders. However, this company has a great selection and a great web site. I would suggest you judge for yourself, but I would recommend small orders to be safe.
Woodrow's War Store Miniatures: 15mm - Corvus Belli, Essex, and Dixon; 28mm - Black Tree Design.
Paints/Brushes: Humbrol

Questions? Comments? Please let me know via my questions/comments form!