Now that you’ve decided to give this hobby a try, I’m sure you’re wondering what you need to start. I’m glad you asked!

MINIATURES

First you need a mini!

Reaper

Nienna is one of Reaper’s Bones line, which is an extensive and very affordable line of gaming minis. They’re mostly intended for role-playing games like D&D or Savage Worlds, and they’re an excellent way to dip your toes into collecting minis without breaking the bank. Reaper also offers an excellent line of metal minis as well, and although they don’t have an official relationship with Wizards of the Coast, you’ll still find familiar monsters and races (they may just be called a Filth Beast instead of an otyugh, or a Hellborn instead of a Tiefling). You’ll definitely be able to find figures to match almost any PC, NPC, or monster, and they have a very robust Figure Finder. Bones figures can also be painted right out of the blister, although I recommend at least one coat of primer.

Because Bones minis are made of a soft plastic, there are a couple things to be aware of while prepping your mini. First, you may have a figure that’s a little bent. In that case, hold the figure in hot water for a few minutes, straighten as needed, then hold in ice water for a few minutes until the figure has stiffened. Second, painters have reported that spray primers do not fully cure on the plastic, leaving them sticky and unsuitable for painting. Brush-on primers will work normally on Bones figures.

One thing to watch out for with Bones figures (especially the ones produced around the time of the first Kickstarter) is that detail can easily be lost with the soft plastic. I have a few figures from their first (wildly successful) Kickstarter that have very little detail on the face, but subsequent castings seem to have corrected this issue.

Wizkids

If you want something a little more official, then you want to check out WizKids’ Nolzur’s Marvelous Miniatures line. These are supplied with a coat of grey primer and are ready to paint right out of the pack.

Looking for official minis of iconic D&D monsters? This is where you’ll find them. Beholders, Rust Monsters, Umber Hulks, Mind Flayers, and Githyanki are all included in the line now, along with dozens of PC options including official Tieflings. Most of the smaller figures come two per pack for about $5-6, so they even out with the $2-3 price range of the Bones figures. Nolzur’s uses a more rigid plastic, and again, like the early Bones figures, I’ve noticed some detail can be lost on the smaller figures, but on the whole, it’s an excellent line, and the larger figures have incredible detail. I definitely recommend Nolzur’s for monsters, and lean to Bones for PCs, but you really can’t go wrong with either line for the price point.

Privateer Press

If you’re getting into minis for wargaming instead of roleplaying, Privateer Press is an excellent place to start.

Privateer Press publishes WarMachine and Hordes (sometimes referred to as WarMaHordes, but Privateer prefers spelling them both out), which build armies around a central spellcasting commander (a Warcaster or Warlock), who command giant steam powered robots (Warjacks) or giant monsters (Warbeasts). There are many factions (about six per game, with a few mini-factions here and there) each with their own distinct look and playstyle. Since the figures are designed for their own game, many are specific to their setting, so if you’re looking for figures for your D&D game, this might not be the best place to start (although the Skorne do make excellent proxies for Githyanki). If you’re looking to get into wargaming, though, Privateer Press has an extensive inventory of excellent minis.

Most of Privateer’s minis are supplied unassembled, and some of the bigger ones on sprues, so you’ll need glue and a hobby knife or clippers, but we’ll get to that. Privateer’s minis will also need to be attached to their bases at a minimum, and are unprimed, so they’ll need more prep work out of the box. They are also much more expensive than Bones or Nolzur’s, for various reasons; many of their miniatures are sold as units of multiples, and often individual figures will be metal instead of plastic.

Citadel

Citadel is owned by Games Workshop, and produces minis for Warhammer, the great granddaddy of fantasy wargaming. Age of Sigmar is the current incarnation of their fantasy line, and Warhammer 40,000 is as popular as ever.

They also produce Middle-Earth Fantasy Battles, which has expansions for The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings movies. Citadel’s minis are excellent quality, extremely detailed plastic models. They require minimal cleanup, but many come on sprues and will need assembly. Like Privateer, Citadel is likely not going to be anyone’s first choice if they’re looking for miniatures for D&D, with a few notable exceptions (their Skeleton Warriors are outstanding for populating crypts, for example), but if you’re looking at Citadel, you’re probably interested in wargaming specifically.

IN CONCLUSION

That’s a good rundown of the four companies that I’m most familiar with for minis. There are many others, and you’ll run into them more the longer you paint, but for now, they’re a good introduction. Between them there are very good examples of minis made as roleplaying accessories and minis made as the focus of a game or product line. Any one of them is an excellent place to start, but if money is a concern, then Reaper Bones is my top suggestion.

NEXT: Paint