"Rusty Dragon Inn Miniatures" Topic

This is a review of the miniatures I got from a couple of Rusty Dragon Inn booster packs. I plan to review them in multiple posts in order to avoid any single post becoming too picture-heavy.

I already reviewed the Dancing Girl as well as the Cutpurse and Aristocrat in different threads. I won't discuss them here, even though I received a second Dancing Girl in one of the booster packs.

I will update this thread as I get more Rusty Dragon Inn miniatures to review.

Graceful Slayer

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This is an elf wielding a curved sword. A wolf pelt adorns his head, and a bow is strapped across his back. The paint job is okay, but not too inspiring. The wolf pelt would have stood out more had it been painted brown or gray instead of black; as it is, it blends with the other clothes.

This miniature would make a decent PC or NPC in a fantasy game. He may be used in a post-apocalyptic game; making him a mutant could explain the elf ears.

Guard

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Guards are always useful; this one is no exception. The guard stands in a ready position, with a scowl on his face. He is carrying a polearm (possibly a glaive, although it looks more like a damaged voulge or bill hook) and is gripping his sword.

The paint job isn't particularly noteworthy, but it's functional. His eyes and eyebrows are painted and are easily noticed. His beard lacks detail; it looks like it was painted on a clean-shaven face. The helmet blends in with the coif a bit too much, but different parts of his armor are otherwise distinguishable. Aside from the flesh tones, only the gambeson provides a bit of color.; the padding is more visible from behind than from the front.

The guard is a useful figure all in all. He can be used in either a fantasy or historical game.

Flesh Golem

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This figure is made to look like it has been made out of many different parts. Its right hand is made of tentacles, and spikes line its back.

This figure is huge! It's easily one of the largest miniatures I have, towering over my dragons and giants. My only complaint about it is the size. I don't remember flesh golems being that large in AD&D. Maybe later editions allow larger golems to exist.

Aside from fantasy, this miniature would be great in a horror game. It's essentially Frankenstein's Monster on steroids.

Kobold Devilspeaker

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I must admit I've never had much love for kobolds. I've almost never used them in my D&D games This miniature may just make me change my mind. It's a shaman with a wand and dagger, both made of bone. I do have a few other kobold miniatures, and this guy can be part of a squad.

While it is a fantasy miniature, the Kobold Devilspeaker can be useful in a science fiction game. It can easily be a member of a primitive race in either the Star Trek or Star Wars universe.

Draft Horse

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The horse has a yoke strapped around its neck. It is nicely sculpted and nicely painted. It would be useful with a cart or wagon (both were part of the Rusty Dragon Inn line), but I don't have either. Maybe I can buy or make them.

Riding Dog

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This miniature is nicely sculpted. The dog has a saddle and barding. Both blend in with the dog's fur; a little highlighting would go a long way in detailing the figure.

Since dogs aren't made for riding, this miniature has little use outside fantasy. A halfling or goblin miniature would fit well on it, if you can find one in a riding position.

Crate

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It's a box. Detail is okay, not too overdone, not too understated. Crates can be used in any number of genres, but they are best when they come in packs. A single one tends to limit the options. Maybe I can make a scenario where the crate contains a MacGuffin, but I'll need to buy or craft some more in order to get more use out of it.

I bought the bards separately from Miniature Market.

Half-elf Bard

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This miniature seems to be especially sought after; it's hard to find one in stock. And if it's in stock, it's pretty expensive. Having said that, I had to put this miniature on my must-have list and bought it first chance I got.

The half-elf bard is a nice miniature. She's playing a violin, which is a rare choice for fantasy bards. She has a rapier and small dagger strapped to her sides.

The sculpt is nice and is fairly detailed. The violin stem and bow on my miniature are very slightly bent; these being small parts, I'm reluctant to try and straighten them. She is wearing a leather vest under her coat and has greaves over her knees. The bard is clearly left-handed, as she's bowing with her left hand and her rapier is strapped on her right hip. Being a southpaw myself, I approve!

The paint job is nice, if a little monotone in some places. The eyes and mouth are painted, giving the bard a slight smile on her face. Her ears are visible, indicating her elven heritage. Her leggings, greaves, and boots are all painted the same color, obscuring the detail. The dagger is likewise hard to distinguish. A little highlighting would work be useful. Likewise, the bow of her violin was only painted silver on the sides; I finished the paint job to give it a more uniform look.

Dwarf Bard

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Drummers are underrepresented in bard miniatures. This miniature helps fill that discrepancy.

This dwarf is nicely sculpted with good detail on his hair, especially the braids, and clothes. His eyes are painted, but his mouth is obscured by his beard. He is unarmed, but he is wearing armor under his vest. He has a lyre strapped to his back . The lyre strings were painted the same color as the clothes, so I touched them up a bit with a little gold paint. His drum may also benefit from a few highlights, but that's a minor quibble.

These bards make a good set. If you ignore their fantasy origins, you can put them in a variety of settings. The best part about these two miniatures is that they're actually playing their instruments. Most of the bard miniatures I've seen are either in combat (usually wielding a sword) with only lutes strapped to their backs indicating they're bards or posing with their instruments. To be fair, other lines have bard miniatures playing their instruments as well; I also have a few of them, notably Anwyn from Reaper and Shamus O'Shameless from Iron Wind Metals (originally from Ral Partha). I'm mentioning these two because I'm pairing them with the two bards above to form my band.

The Riding Dog looks an awful lot like the horse.

I quite like this review style. It's quick and easy to read.

Thanks, I'm going to keep the style informal.

I ordered a couple more miniatures from this line, so I'll update this thread at least one more time. I'd like to get the Bartender miniature, but at $23 USD-26 depending on the store you go to, she's too rich for my blood.

I wasn't aware these were available. really like the Bugbear models too. Thanks for the reviews.

Link to list of some of the minis available:
link

Many are available from Troll and Toad, Miniature Market, and CoolStuffInc. I believe this line is no longer in production, so a lot of them are hard to find.

The bar is available at my local game store, but it's expensive, around $50. USD

I just ordered a couple more miniatures from CoolStuffInc. I will review them soon.

Oops! I just noticed my error, despite Crazyivanov pointing it out to me. Here's the photo of the Riding Dog:

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Here are a couple more miniatures up for review.

City Watch Commander

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"Well, well, well! What have we got here?" That seems to be the expression on this miniature's face, which can be a scowl or a sarcastic grin depending on the lighting. She's got her arms akimbo and a bow strapped on her back. She doesn't have any other weapons, and isn't wearing armor.

The sculpt is good, but the paint job is just okay. Her eyes are detailed, but her mouth is hard to see. Her hair is painted the same color as her bow, so the two can be hard to distinguish when viewed far away.

She's a nice miniature. She doesn't have much use outside the fantasy genre, but she works quite well within it. She'd make a great archer or rogue player character.

Merchant

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"Good day, sir! May I interest you in a potion of healing? It's a bargain at only 50 gold pieces."

This figure is holding up a bottle and has an impressive handlebar mustache. Although you can't quite see his mouth, he appears to be smiling. He has a lot of pouches attached to his belt. You can tell by his build that he eats quite well.

This is a really nice miniature. The sculpt is good, and the paint job is decent. He also can be used in different genres. People on other boards have said that he can pass for an alchemist. He can also be used in a science fiction game. Just add a little hair, and he'll make a great Harry Mudd miniature.