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Miniatures)
A miniature figure -- also known as a miniature or just a mini -- is a small figurine commonly used in role playing games (RPGs) such as Dungeons & Dragons. Minis help visualize where characters are during combat, such as which way each character is facing, who's fighting who, line of sight, etc. They are also used in tabletop wargames such as Heroclix, Mage Knight, and Warhammer. Some minis are superbly sculpted, and are collectable in their own right.
Materials
These minis were most commonly cast in white metal (an alloy of lead and tin, with a small amount of antimony, which improves the alloys ability to take fine detail). Because of the high lead content, minis were sometimes called lead figures.
Following some (unfounded) concerns about the safety of white metal, many manufacturers now cast minis exclusively in a more-expensive lead-free pewter (an alloy of tin, copper, and antimony).
Some manufacturers offers plastic (polyethylene or hard styrene) minis; others offer resin minis.
Scales
Mini scales are commonly expressed as the height of a six-foot figure. So 28 mm minis of human men are around 28 mm high. Women, children, dwarves, hobbits, etc. will be typically shorter than this; ogres, trolls, etc. taller.
Minis are available in various scales. 25 mm, 28 mm, 30 mm, and 35 mm are the most common for RPGs and other popular table-top games. Smaller minis – 10 mm, 15 mm, and sometimes 20 mm – are also made for table-top wargaming, rather than RPGs. Mithril Miniatures uses an idiosyncratic 32 mm scale for its main range. And larger minis – 54 mm and more – are made specifically for painters and collectors.
‘25 mm’ figures can range up to 33 mm or more (a 33% deviation). When some manufacturers began using a ‘28 mm’ designation, many of their own figures were already well over 30 mm tall.
Some manufacturers take the proper measurement of figure height to be to the level of its eyes rather than the top of its head. Using this interpretation, a 6 ft (1.83 m) figure in 28 mm-scale would be 30 mm tall (if the eyes are about half-way up the head, and if the head is about two fifteenths of the height, then the height to the eyes is fourteen fifteenths of the full height).
| Scale | Scale foot | Ratio | Comments
|
| 10 mm | 1.667 mm | 1:182.88 | Seldom used for RPGs.
|
| 15 mm | 2.5 mm | 1:121.92 | Seldom used for RPGs.
|
| 20 mm | 3.333 mm | 1:91.44 | But, in practice, 1:87, the same as HO scale; i.e., a 'true' figure height of 20.7 mm. Many '20 mm' wargaming figures and models are labelled HO rather than 20 mm. Seldom used for RPGs.
|
| 25 mm | 4.167 mm | 1:73.152 | Effectively a match for 1:76 (4 mm scale/OO gauge) and 1:72 models, but there is a wide upwards variation in figure height, even when not described as 'Heroic 25 mm' or 28 mm.
|
| 30 mm | 5 mm | 1:60.96 | Common for pre-1970s wargaming figures; modern minis may really be up to 35 mm.
|
| 32 mm | 5.333 mm | 1:57.15 | Idiosyncratic to Mithril: genuine 32 mm
|
| 35 mm | 5.833 mm | 1:52.251 | Where the manufacturer is being honest about how big its '30 mm' minis really are!
|
| 54 mm | 9 mm | 1:33.867 | Collectable figures, a good match for 1:35 models, but oversize 54 mm figures would fit better with 1:32 models.
|
Painting
Many role-playing gamers and wargamers will paint their miniature figures to be able to differentiate characters or units on a gaming surface (terrain, battle mat, or unadorned table top).
Although many gamers are indifferent to the quality of the paint job, for some the skilful painting of minis is a hobby in itself, on a par with the "more serious" modelling of historical and military figures. Skilful mini painting is a difficult, exacting, time-consuming process, but the results can be quite amazing. (The Wikipedia article Figure painting (hobby) discusses painting minis and model figures in more detail.)
Fantasy and role-playing conventions will sometimes feature miniature painting competitions.
Manufacturers
Notable sculptors
- Many sculptors now have their own "boutique" mini companies, marked (*) below.
- Nick Bibby - Citadel (his owlbear is a classic). Bibby also sculpts beautiful 'ornamental' animal figurines and bronzes.
- Steve Buddle - Dark Age, Spyglass (*)
- Mark Copplestone - Copplestone Castings (*)
- Andy Foster - Heresy (*)
- Sandra Garrity - Reaper
- Jes Goodwin - Citadel (skaven, wood elf "war dancers")
- Julie Guthrie - Reaper
- Werner Klocke - Reaper, Dark Age, Freebooter (*)
- Tom Meier - Ral Partha, Thunderbolt Mountain (*)
- Ali Morrison - Citadel (samurai)
- Bob Ridolfi - Reaper
- Chris Tubb - Mithril
- Kev White - i-Kore, Hasslefree (*)
See also
External links
Manufacturers
- See Wikipedia articles on other manufacturers for external links to their sites.
Major manufacturers
Boutique manufacturers
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