"Cheap and easy 20mm fantasy project, now with centaurs!" Topic

I prematurely deleted and replaced my imageshack images, and now the images in my original thread won't load. So here it is again! Also, I'm thinking of starting a blog on this topic: would anyone be interested?

I've started a series of posts over at enworld covering my efforts at building and painting a collection of fantasy minis on the cheap. The idea isn't to paint the finest figures with the highest artistry, but to use affordable materials and simple techniques to make table-ready minis that still look good. As such I'm breaking a lot of quasi-rules: 1/72-20mm instead of 28-32mm scale, plastic (when possible) instead of metal, craft paints instead of hobby paints, and dipping instead of inking.

Read more here, or check out sample photos below. Comments/questions welcome!

Oh cool! I am a plasticphile too. Did you scratch those centaurs. If so, how? If not, where did you get them?

There is a market for this sector, and they are selling -- or Caesar would have discontinued the lines… I am with you. I am using the Caesar Goblins, and Orcs, which are allegedly 1/72 scale, with my 25mm-30mm figures. Goblins, according to AD&D manuals, are short, and nearly all of the 25mm-28mm scaled figures, are equally as tall as the Humans! The Elves, again, according to AD&D manuals, are shorter than Humans… Again, all of the figure makers are making 25mm-28mm scale Elves the same size, and bulk, as Humans! Dwarves, too, are much too tall, from most figure makers.

I've started collecting, and painting, 1/72 scale figures for use with my larger, 25mm-28mm Humans, as they more closely match my AD&D RPG gaming, as well as my AD&D-based, 2nd Ed. BattleSystem fantasy miniatures games. The Caesar, and Dark Alliance figures, are fantastic quality, and they actually fit the sizes I prefer (Humanoids and Elves actually being smaller stature than Humans…). The figures have exceptionally low prices, and they paint up fast, and easy, when using the GEtGW (Good Enough to Game With) painting standard (for me, this means simple block painting, followed by The Dip). Thanks for sharing. Your figures, by the way, are painted to a higher standard than what I consider to be GEtGW -- not a complaint, just an observation, they look really good! Cheers!

Thanks guys!

@Dano: The centaurs are kitbashed. They're basically some Arcane Legions centaurs with Italeri Barbarian heads and Milliput-sculpted hair. The original figures had Greek helmets that I didn't like, so I swapped them for something a little wilder looking. By the way, if you're into 1/72 plastic fantasy, pick up some Arcane Legions booster bricks while they're still available. They're terribly cheap if you know where to look, and they have some great figures. More here.

@Sgt Slag: Thanks for the kind compliment! I guess my approach is somewhere between GEtGW and pro-quality. I can't quite crank these figures out, but I'm also not spending a lot of time blending and highlighting and washing and all that: just blobs of color and some drybrushing, and the dip for shading. For the few months I've been at it, I've painted about 70 miniatures, which I think is a pretty good clip.

Using 20mm figures for 28mm gaming is a great approach. I'm planning on doing sort of the opposite: springing for Reaper Bones and DDM halflings and gnomes as 20mm humans and elves for certain types of characters that I can't find in scale.

Yes, there is a place on blogger for this topic. I paint fantasy figures and until now have been using only expensive boutique figures. Like you I'm now into mixing in Reaper figures and really, I'm enjoying painting them. Here's a link to my blog fortwitter.blogspot.com

If you do start a blog, go through my comments and follow all the guys there. They are wonderful chaps and will make you welcome.

I am a BIG fan of 1/72 scale figs. I am pleased that 1/72 fantasy has finally arrived. I think it is a huge asset to players who use mainly historical type armies but want some fantasy flavor. I really do not see it as a chance to do GW style fantasy gaming (and maybe that's not a bad thing) due to the limited # of sets. Tolkien possibly. Personally, like 1/72-20mm scifi it's too late on the scene for me. I am already massively invested in 15 and 28mm.

Thanks,

John

Nice work with the centaurs. If only the archers weren't all lefty's! The Arcane Legions sets did have some useful figures if one bought carefully. And thanks especially for the clear figure scale comparison; I wish more people would do that on their photos.

What bugs me most about my centaur archers isn't that they are all southpaws; it's that the one with the rakish eyepatch seems to be aiming with his bad eye.

Blog. I'd be interested, and I find blogs easier to follow and return to than forum posts.

Those are really interesting!

I've put together a crude blog: I'll start posting there from now. Please stop by and comment if you're interested!

cheapfantasyminis.blogspot.com

Nice stuff here.
Could you list the sets used to build this collection?

Yes, and I'm sure everyone getting into this scale would like links.

I'll post a general buyer's guide for 1/72 fantasy later this week on the blog, but what you see in the post above is mostly either Caesar Miniatures fantasy figures, Age of Mythology figures from Eagle Games, or repainted boosters from the defunct (and therefore closeout-cheap!) Arcane Legions minis game. There are also a few Italeri Barbarians and half of a Hat "Jungle Adventure" figure.

yeah, I saw those! 15 dollars for 120 Figures is 6mm only territory most of the time.

Since a couple of you were asking for it, here is an exhaustive list of real and potential sources for my cheap mini collection. Manufacturers and sellers are both included.

link

Very nice project! Cheers to 1/72 plastic fans worldwide!

Posted some comments on your blog. Thanks for sharing all of the information on your project. I am a big fan of 1/72 fantasy, and I am glad to see I am not alone. Cheers!