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43 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
cheap figures for your hordes, October 30, 2003
This review is from: D&D Miniatures Harbinger Booster Pack: A D&D Miniatures Game Product (D&D Miniatures Product) (Misc. Supplies)
The expansion pack contains 8 prepainted flexible plastic figures, in a typical distribution of 4 commons, 3 uncommons and 1 rare. Also contained are 8 related cards for each of the figures, with rules for use in the D&D Miniature Skirmish game on one side and the D&D roleplaying game on the reverse side. If you wish to play the skirmish game, you will need access to one copy of the D&D Entry Pack which is also availible through Amazon. Since the expansion pack has no rules for the game, I will concentrate this review on the quality of the figures. Are they perfect? Not in the least. I agree with some points from a review written by the reader in Florida. (The one who thinks I sound like a company plant.) There are sections of the figures which have not been fully painted. My Umber Hulk figure (a Rare) has what looks to be a half centemeter light brown spot which is probably caused by a drip from an overloaded paint brush. You'll have figures without the eyes painted. Many of the sculptures pale when next to the majority of quality metal figures on the market. There are other options to these miniatures. There is a company that have small sets of 5 prepainted non-random metal figures which are much better than these D&D figures, but they also cost $25 for a set of 5. A typical unpainted metal figure will cost on the order of $3, with some of the larger figures around $5. Games Workshop puts out several sets of plastic figures which are unpainted but a similar price. At first glance, the Mage Knight prepainted figures look to be of higher quality, but once you take into account that they're a larger scale (35 mm tall as opposed to the more historical 25-28mm D&D Miniature scale) the overall quality is about the same. There are plenty of options availible for those people who wish to pay more money. That's the key point to my review for this product. At $1.25 a miniature, the number one advantage is that these miniatures are cheap and you need to spend no time painting them. These figures are not works of art and shouldn't be viewed as so. They're tokens for a game. Some are absolutely delightful, like the tiny common Kobold figure. Some figures are horrible; the rare elf called the Arcane Archer looks like it was painted with a cotton swab. (I feel that the elves are a general weakness in this line.) Would I like a higher quality? Sure, but it would drive the cost up. I can understand how people might not like these figures -- they're the ramen noodles of the miniature world: cheap, usually bland, but they get the job done. Considering the inexpensive price and the time saved by not needing to paint hordes of miniatures, I highly recommend these figures, and I look forward to the future sets.
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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great game, variable quality miniatures, October 21, 2003
By A Customer
This review is from: D&D Miniatures Harbinger Booster Pack: A D&D Miniatures Game Product (D&D Miniatures Product) (Misc. Supplies)
The D&D miniatures game is a lot of fun to play-- all the excitement of a simplified D&D without any prep time. You will need to buy at least one "Entry Pack" to play. This expansion pack just gives you more miniatures. It takes a few expansion packs (~4) to really have a good set to choose from. Commanders, a fairly important type of piece are a little too rare for my tastes. The miniatures themselves are so-so. I understand they have to be plastic to make the product affordable, but that was tough for this "real" miniature-lover to accept. They must truly be hand-painted, because the paint jobs on similar pieces varies quite a bit. If you want quality miniatures, buy metal (no longer lead) and paint them yourself. If you want a fun new D&D product, or aren't picky about your miniatures, then this is for you.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Uneven, but worth the ticket price ..., November 30, 2003
This review is from: D&D Miniatures Harbinger Booster Pack: A D&D Miniatures Game Product (D&D Miniatures Product) (Misc. Supplies)
Having read the many mixed reviews of the new D&D miniatures, it was with some hesitation that I took the plunge and bought a few packs. Like those reviewers whom I found most convincing, I think the miniatures, while flawed, are a good value for the money spent. As others have said, quality of painting and sculpting varies wildly from figure to figure. Most of them -- say, 70 to 75 percent -- stack up pretty well against the typical amateur's paint job. A few -- 20 percent -- are noticeably better, and a very few -- 5 to 10 percent (Axe Sister, anyone?) -- are horrendous. Here's the short version: If you like painting your own figures, and have the time to do so in the numbers a typical D&D game requires, these probably aren't for you. But if you'd like to assemble and use anywhere from a dozen to a couple hundred colorful models, sized and sculpted specifically for D&D ... the D&D miniatures are worth your $1.25 each.
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