Getting Started with Miniatures for D&D

A beginner-friendly guide to 3D miniatures for D&D and other TTRPGs
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🖌Wizkids Minis on Amazon: amzn.to/3zKtoSm
🖌Reaper Miniatures: www.reapermini.com/
🖌Reaper Minis on Amazon: amzn.to/41gSHal
🖌Crippled God Foundry: www.crippledgodfoundry.com/
🖌Broken Anvil Minis: www.brokenanvilminis.com/
🖌
MINIATURE PAINTS & ACCESSORIES
🖌Army Painter Speedpaint 🖌 amzn.to/3iBM8L2
🖌Wet Palette 🖌 amzn.to/2rQQfuV
🖌Reaper Bones Learn to Paint Kit 🖌 amzn.to/2rhbOjO\
🖌Vallejo Paint Set 🖌 amzn.to/2tlB3C6
🖌Vallejo Primer🖌 amzn.to/38XKAXr
🖌Army Painter Brushes 🖌 amzn.to/2t1bA1x
🖌Windsor & Newton Sable Kolinsky Brush 🖌amzn.to/2snXjya
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[@d-bro-sector36]

For a more low-fantasy vibe, like not too crazy, you can NOT go wrong with Frostgrave and Oathmark miniatures. They have Orcs, Goblins, Gnolls, adventurers, a large variety of wizards, barbarians, wolves, bears, undead creatures, and sooo much more. Their models are my absolute fave.

[@Barbarossa3]

Adding to this, if you're going for a low fantasy vibe, historical wargaming is a great place to look around. From some manufacturers, like Perry Miniatures, you can get boxes of early to late medieval soldiers for a price that comes out at around 1€ per miniature.

[@t4washere384]

Yea, they are great for teaching people how to build and paint too.

[@nosotrosloslobosestamosreg4115]

The call for miniatures is stronger than the Call of Cthulhu.

[@B.-T.]

And if the call for both is equally strong, thankfully, there's both official Call of Cthulhu miniatures AND unlicensed but still compatible stuff (like Dunwich Detectives currently produced by EM4 Miniatures).

[@jimwalker1837]

I am just getting started in D&D and I don't don't have much money to spend. Thanks for the tips and also, if there is anyone else out there in the low budget boat with me, Lego figures will work until you can build your collection if you (or your kids) have some around the house and the weapons are interchangeable! Also I found a Mike Wazowski and Sully at the dollar store that I plan to paint as a Beholder and bugbear.

[@willschoonover8654]

Papercraft 2d minis are a great option if you want to save a lot of time and money. There are also companies making plastic 2d minis, including WizKids which uses the renders of their models so the detail is usually higher than the "real" minis.

[@MikChaos]

I would also suggest the Epic Encounters range from Steamforged Games, not only great miniatures, but each set comes with a double sided map and and encounter booklet with tactics and stats for the models.

[@Mafeen]

I love the shoutout to 1985 games! I was a backer of their most recent Dungeon Craft kickstarter, and I watched them struggle through probably the worst bind I’ve ever seen a Kickstarter have to deal with with manufacturer and shipping problems caused by the pandemic. I really felt for them and worried that they might go under, but I recently saw that they are finally fulfilling that Kickstarter, so I’m glad to see they’re also reaching out to support the TTRPG community again!

[@SuouEtsumi]

Dungeons and Lasers is launching a kickstarter tomorrow that also looks like a good deal!

[@WASD20]

Nice! Thanks for the tip.

[@druidjay]

Every time you put a video out I am adding links of resources to read up on, things to watch, and stuff to dig into and try. Thanks for the latest Nate, keep 'em coming! :)

[@guycalgary7800]

Saw minatures painted gold with stone bases , they were beautiful and looked like serious little statues from ancient rome or something.

[@B.-T.]

Reaper recently introduced a third material type alongside Bones classic (which is now in a more detailed gray instead of the classic white) and Bones Black: Bones USA, which uses a new technology called SioCast. Despite not needing to be produced in China anymore, though, the costs are still comparable to Black and higher than classic Bones. 30086 Young Ice Dragon and 77026 Young Fire Dragon are the same model in Bones USA and Bones classic respectively, and the Bones USA version is twice the price of the classic Bones. Another issue I have with Bones of late is they've suffered heavily from a scale creep, to the point that their bases don't even fit on battlemap grids anymore. It's kinda frustrating. As far as Wizkids unpainted, I think another big flaw that you didn't mention is that they are not designed or engineered in the same way that, say, a Reaper model or an old Ral Partha or Grenadier model or the likes, since Wizkids is a toy company first and foremost. Their prepaints are made in factories in China and painted in assembly lines BEFORE they are put together, not so much with these prepaints, so you end up with so many tiny recesses and nooks and crannies that are incredibly hard to reach to paint well. This is less an issue with big monster models but the humanoid/adventurer models just end up being frustrating as a result. As far as the cheap stuff on Amazon, I think two lines give a good low cost options (with all the drawbacks you might expect): Monster Gaming by SCS Direct (the guys I'm assuming you've alluded to with that "out of scale" comment) do NPC townsfolk and some basic encounter monsters (orcs, kobolds, goblins, bandits, gnolls, zombies, skeletons) in both unpainted and painted offerings. The prepainted ones are definitely not Wizkids levels of prepainted though... there's usually only four colors used for each model type so the paintjobs are not impressive (but they're considerably cheaper than any other prepaint brand on the market). Path Gaming sells injection-molded minis based on MZ4250's STLs. Some are based on his very early designs which'll be very low in details, and in the ogre's case it just ends up being a very "polygon"-y model. Similar to very early Bones a lot of fine detail went missing in the process. Both lines'll need a lot of cleanup when it comes to mold lines, too. One other range I think deserved a mention would be Frostgrave's sprues. They're similar to Games Workshop's sprue stuff but much more affordable. Lots of customization options, just make sure to have that model cement handy. The only drawback some might find with them is they're true-28mm scale so they'll come up short next to Reaper and Wizkids models.

[@cheduhcheez]

Great vid!!!! Happy to see you still posting!

[@Starwarsgeek-nx9pq]

Most of the time my party will buy a hero forge mini for the pc and some of the bbeg but then for regular minis we just buy from the nolzur’s line or sometimes the frameworks or just anything we can find that’ll work. Also we use hero forge to show off certain factions or characters so they have a clue on what the character might look like if the minis don’t fully look like the actual characters

[@robertnope1993]

Juuuuust getting to a point where we might need minis. Gracias.

[@itchytoes4412]

Miniatures and crafting terrain! Ugh! I am pretty hooked on the hobby!

[@pndmike6330]

If you don't mind painting minis, 3D Printing is by and the far the best option IMO. Once you've bought the printer (which you can get a good starter printer for $99-$149 if you wait for a sale) the machine will practically pay for itself when you compare to purchasing minis. Plus you can print and paint exactly what you need for your sessions. Heading to a cave full of Kobolds? Cool, print exactly as many as you need. With the 3d sculpting community, you can get sculpts that are even better than commercially available models too -- Artisan Guild, for example, puts out monthly releases of amazing minis that IMO are the best models in the biz. With all the new contrast and speed paints on the market, painting minis is easier and faster than ever. I've batch painted armies, usually spending around 15 min per model, and gotten better quality paint jobs than the pre-painted offerings. 3D printing will take a time investment to learn the ropes, but once you've got your settings dialed in it's fairly plug-and-play. There aslo material costs like IPA, Resin, Paper Towels, gloves, and it does have a space requirement as well. The biggest downside to 3D printing is learning discipline. Just because you can print *anything* doesn't mean that you should print *everything.*

[@yagsipcc287]

Glad you mentioned 3d printing alot of channels dont and i really dont know why. I pretty much only print now tbh ha from full war game armies to bow doing some minis for Mork Borg and Forbidden Psalms 😁 countless companies out there, many do monthly deals sub to them get x nunber of stls or sets, kitbash etc... well worth it. I saved so much noney because of 3d printing.

[@Motavian]

Pewter miniatures are my favorite. Soak them in soapy water, hit up with toothbrush, dry, prime matte black and then dry brush grey with a dry brush white highlight layer. You can paint them with contrast paint and you can have a dope miniature in 10 minutes.

[@homesteadspirit9209]

I recently picked up Rise of the Planes Walkers just for the miniatures

[@connyheb9015]

Thank you for the great overview! I didn't know about the Reaper kickstarters, definitely will be looking out for that in the future. Now I just need more time to actually paint the ones I already have ;)

[@tonymontenigro9107]

😁Great video! Been using and painting minis for years and I like your views on the subject, thanks for the tips! Keep up the awsome work! All my best, Tony M

[@rallymum5246]

Having mold lines may give you a shaping opition by either filing or sanding

[@TheLucasdms]

The world needs dirty cheap rpg miniatures sold in bulk like those plastic dinosaurs. It would be a great way to help people get into d&d with cool minis with little cost.

[@WASD20]

Would be nice! There are some things kind of like that.

[@chill_will9816]

If youre thinking about a custom mini on HeroForge, know the resin is super brittle, might work better for chonky characters but thin characters will break from a 3 inch fall into a padded dice pad.

[@kazmeyers]

I am new to D&D and I love your channel. Just wanted to say thank you!

[@WASD20]

Cool! Welcome to the hobby and thanks for watching!

[@ptorion8622]

Kings of war have a great miniature line. They usually offer whole regiments of goblins, elves, orcs demons and undead that are perfect scale for any d and d game. You can usually find sets of 20 minis for around $30-$35 which comes out around to $1.50-$1.80 per mini. This is a great value in my opinion. Also frostgrave is a fantastic one to look into as well. They offer a lot of mini customization with various heads, weapons and items for the models. Again provides 20 minis for around $30. I got their cultist and gnoll sets which came out fantastic. I was looking into getting their knights but found a good deal with perry miniatures. They offer 36 English foot knights for only $36. Also trying hail Caesar’s Viking hirdmen. I thought both would make great guards mercenaries or bandits in my home d and d game. Keep in mind all I’ve mentioned require assembly but I personally enjoy that. Much better than buying official d and d stuff in piecemeal for a higher price per mini and only getting 2-3 a pop. Warhammer minis are neat but soooo expensive. If that’s your thing great but $60 for only 10 minis just seems crazy to me when you can get double that for half the price.

[@whitemansucks]

Miniatures for D&D really help people understand realistic monster challenge ratings!

[@neilhenderson6602]

Awesome video. I’ve been painting since lockdown and I learnt stuff from this. Wish i could get a 3d printer!

[@simounobrien9096]

It made me laugh when you mentioned a Board Game named Hate that has "Alot of Good things" Well, so much for the Dark Side XD!!!!

[@troydouglas4193]

You forgot to mention my favorite. Dark Sword Miniatures. They do beautiful metal miniatures from famous fantasy artists like Larry Elmore, and Keith Parkinson. They are the best there are out there in my opinion.

[@mathewcoppola8622]

In the 2000s, I bought a case of almost every Set of D&D minis that Wizards put out after Chainmail so I have tons of those leftover that I still use. They have the same issues that Wizkids does with paint jobs. The good thing is that both tend to have better paint jobs on the monster minis vs humanoid/pc/npc types.

[@ttuarmyjag84]

Great video!

[@EposVox]

Thanks!

[@SarumSabre]

I use 15mm metal miniatures. Bit more fiddly to paint, but a lot cheaper (around £1 each) and much easier to store. Shrinking down also makes it easier to do big scale on a normal dining table. Great video though-will have to check out Reaper, as I haven’t seen them much in the UK.

[@Sk33l]

Great Video, love the reaper style way more than wizkids more... realistic(?) proportions. A little thing to add: Another cheap option are Kings of War Minis. While needing assembly and beeing really (REALLY) fragile the cost is almost unbeatable for people without 3d printers: 20 Standard Soldiers (Orcs, Humans, Skeletons, Goblins) cost ~20€. Filled ip the ranks of my bbeg quite good. Scaling is also... acceptable.

[@falsehero2001]

Wargames Atlantic is a good place for GW guality plastic models that are a decent value. They’re made for wargaming more than rpgs so their value comes in bulk buying. They charge $35 a box and the number of models depends on the army. It ranges from 9 (large) ogres or 40 halflings. Warlord Games is another wargame manufacturer that does GW quality without GW prices. Their offerings are mostly historical, but they do have some fantasy offerings. Again, value comes from the bulk buy.

[@Hwelhos]

i really want miniatures to, eventually

[@WestfaliaStuff]

Once you got hooked, it's worth checking out top-shelf brands like Dark Sword Miniatures and Westfalia Miniatures. They're more in the 10$ per mini price range but worth every penny.

[@LutesDice]

4:30 that second Nate voice made me jump on my seat a little

[@WASD20]

Oops! Editing error there. :/

[@darbizzlebacon]

I’ve only been painting miniatures for about 18 months now, and I already miss the flexibility of the reaper bones that I started with. I am really into Malifaux now, and those models are so brittle and delicate, that I count myself lucky if nothing breaks during the build stage. I still love Malifaux, and the quality of those sculpts really helps make people believe I’m a better painter than I am.

[@RIVERSRPGChannel]

I like collecting the prepainted minis because I don’t have time to paint anymore. We’ve been using them for years

[@WASD20]

Completely makes sense. It’s a very time-consuming part of a hobby.

[@odinulveson9101]

Awesome! Also to bring back the true chromatic Purple dragon from 4e, buy any Legend of Drizzt boardgame ( you get ton of value with alot of minis to paint )and prime it before paint it. And you are VERY lucky to find the 4e brown, gray and purple dragon in the 2003-2014 line of Wizkids minis. The 5e Deep dragon is not a replacement of the purple, they dont even call it that and also its a cousin of chromatics. Purple is slender, breathes energy and are very high on themself. Anyway to bad WotC throws out alot of awesome monsters from previous editions like 3.5 for NO explained/ apparent reasons.

[@The_Wise_Sage_]

Ive played with army men and other cheap figurines like that, they work pretty well id say!

[@calvanoni5443]

Inexpensive hobby! 😂

[@joshualichkay7047]

I used hero forge before. It's cool.

[@StShryock]

2D option: Dungeon in a Box Skinny Minis. Definitely not as good as 3D but you can get a ton of them fairly cheap.

[@aaroncrumbley]

Can you do a video on DND board games? I bought “Castle Ravenloft”(4E) off Amazon for $40 but I can’t find any of the 5E games for under $200 and WOTC website they are all sold out. What happened? Will they make more?

[@sv2670]

As a guy coming from war gaming painting, the pre painted d&d minis, although a time saver, look like absolute shait

[@WASD20]

Absolutely agree! Lol

[@lapertosa]

My bone to pick with Reaper Bones (pun non intended) is that one time I got a Frost Giant from them and one from WizKids and the Bones' "giant" was more to scale with an ogre (D&D size Great) rather than the expected huge which WizKids' one clearly was

[@Kain2805]

Kickstarter Dungeons & Lasers V: World of Deuslair 5E - up to 400 miniatuers

[@BarbarosaAlexander]

When did you switch to the black studio? My only real issue with Reaper's website it the images are sooooooo small.

[@WASD20]

I occasionally do videos on black or green screen. These are usually filmed at the school where I work. Looks nicer than a computer lab. 😁

[@BarbarosaAlexander]

@@WASD20 Makes sense. I approve. Carry on. 🙂

[@catalin2766]

A personal recommendation from me if you want to pay a little more (I'm saying a little because they are pretty much the same price as the wizkids miniatures per miniature) is to go for Deathrattle skeletons that are from Warhammer Age of Sigmar, their fantasy game. Also in that line are some other undead miniatures that are a bit pricier. Like if you need a BBEG who's a lich or ghost search for Reikenor the Grimhailer (lich with a giant scythe on an ethereal winged horse), Lady Olynder, Kurdoss Valentian or even Awlrach The Drowner if you want your lich to move via boat. Like for miniatures that give an impact when put on the table these are some of the best, Reikenor isn't that expensive either, 35 euros for a pretty big miniature

[@SergeiTheSlav]

Hey, what do you think of Epic Encounters in terms of the miniatures you get?

[@WASD20]

They seem pretty decent. I own a few of their boxes.

[@BlizzardLegends]

Everyone needs Aspect of Tiamat in the collection😊

[@calebprice304]

How many do you need to start. And what is the purpose of having a lot of different characters

[@gameram6382]

I use 15mm fantasy mins, cheap and the Battles can be bigger.

[@jwmmitch]

man... I'm trying to buy a small collection of minatures for the newer starter set and it's really hard to find some the ones in the campaign

[@dcincco]

Since I watch random and stuff, I thought well, I want to play Sans the Skeleton from undertale (and possible variations) in D&D. But my question is, if it isn’t a already existing race, can I still play it?

[@mj101inf9]

I can’t believe he didn’t mention ETSY! Seriously, I buy most of my minis off that website. Excellent quality of 3D prints, unlimited selection (whatever you can think of you’ll find it), decent prices and best of all different sizes. I find the 28mm & 32mm too small for my taste, if you’re willing to pay a little more you can get figures in 50mm, 75mm or even bigger.

[@The.Sad.Cat_]

Thank you @WASD20

[@LutesDice]

You haven't mentioned the somewhat new Wizkids Frameworks line which has supposedly higher quality, because a mini comes disassambled on a frame (just like Games Workshop). And it's customizable. Also that treefolk mini made my jaw drop a little. 😍

[@WASD20]

The thought of mentioning Frameworks came into my mind at some point in production, but it escaped. Kinda wish I had! Overall I've not been super impressed with the quality.

[@B.-T.]

Frameworks is definitely not the affordable option, though. They're outpricing Games Workshop while providing less!

[@mrmaat]

Frameworks went on clearance at my FLGS for 50% off and they were still overpriced. Huge miss of a product.

[@danielramsey6141]

Word of Advice! Take it from me. If your gonna be a DM and buy Miniatures. Then get miniatures you can reuse for Multiple Adventures, especially if you decide to start using Adventure Modules. While you may not be able to Grab more unique Bosses or enemies, save your money for those Options later (I know EPIC ENCOUNTERS has a lot of options), cause you never know where your players will take you. Instead focus on Specific Landscapes, environmental details, or Areas that are in relation to some of the encounter rolls on a list! If you’re theming a Dungeon around Undead! Get Undead Enemies! An easier way to grab Minis is to seek out old Sets Like “Dungeon Command”, or Other Board Game “Dungeons and Dragons” stuff that will give you PLENTY of Monsters and Characters to work with.

[@mackyd955]

would you go resin or filament 3d printer 1st?

[@WASD20]

Definitely resin if miniatures are the goal.

[@coreyrose5875]

Love paper minis. free! lol

[@JasonSmulan]

Mantic games is my go to instead of Games Workshop, founded by ex-GW staff they are sitting in the same space. Kings of War or Dungeon Saga (now on kickstarter) make great D&D minis.

[@BigBunky]

I live in Portland, and all the game stores quit carrying Bones minis!!! All!!!

[@WASD20]

Wow. Strange!

[@lillyraisin]

How come there are dice goblins and not minature goblims

[@mynameispsyduck]

Can i 3d print it?

[@garfusa2]

There is a new line for dnd minis called frameworks but they arent cheap.

[@WASD20]

Yeah, I’m not a fan. They’re higher quality, but I just can’t see paying that much.

[@AvianEdits]

2D miniatures are always a cheap option. printable heros is my favorite. The options there are amazing and only for few bucks a month

[@xXCHOTOXx]

How the hell do I buy hate, I keep looking for it and it just keeps redirecting me

[@Daemonbear41]

Honestly, I use Lego minifigures for my tabletop

[@WASD20]

That’s a solid way to go.

[@DDrag0n_]

can anyone reccomend me a miniature? i am a dragonborn monk, and i do not use a staff.

[@twitchster77]

Can be an inexpensive hobby? Oops. I think I went wrong somewhere along the line >.

[@WASD20]

Most of us do.

[@twitchster77]

@@WASD20 I actually love jumping into new hobbies and spending a bunch of money on it lol. Those moments in time are full of excitement and joy!

[@ryansullivan5854]

Couple of points. Don't use spray primers with Reaper minis. They react with the plastic and make the mini go sort of soft and sticky. Hero Forge is definitely buyer beware. Even their "premium" plastic is super fragile. Every single mini we have from them has a piece broken off after falls of less than 4 inches, and their customer service couldn't care less.

[@WASD20]

They are definitely very fragile! I really prefer to print them on my own, because I have more faith in my own resin than I do in their material.

[@WASD20]

Or at least I can always re-print one if it does break.

[@seileen1234]

Pawns from Pathfinder and papercraft in general is the way to go. Cheap, looks good, easy to store, and you can print at home. 3d minis are a huge waste of time, money and space for D&D unless you plan to play some wargames, so play smart and avoid 3d. With paper I can have any monster I want, any setting I want, and I can even print my pg with the actual art (if you know how to draw or if you commissioned it). No proxy needed and no "I can't use a monster because I do not have the mini"

[@dennisthornton4434]

Miniatures cool 😊 but not everyone can paint.

[@jamesedwards1145]

What no Star Wars ?

[@doomhippie6673]

unfortunately reaper never delivered my kickstarter. and I am one of those elephnts who don't forget. So be aware of them. Not cool.

[@WASD20]

Whaaat. That’s crazy. I assume you’ve tried to contact customer support and they are not still fulfilling? Never heard anything like this before.

[@sandyman3070]

This guy looks like Andrew Tates’s infinitely cooler cousin.

[@WASD20]

Lol!

[@Xnoob666]

hahahahahaha, goodbye

[@ratatatuff]

Mantic Games Terrain Crate GM Dungeon Starter Kit. Tons of (good) miniatures, furniture and other stuff. And compared to other options highly affordable. I've got a few of the Reaper Bones minis. For stuff like Goblins or monsters they are okay but like I already mentioned, the Terrain Crate range is imho the far better option. The D&D pre-painted minis are a joke. Most people could do a better paint job with their eyes closed.