The Dwarven Forge Effect - "I Think I'm Going to Need a Bigger Box (of miniatures)"
Before I purchased my first miniature, my concept of tabletop RPG "bling" was best evidenced by my collection of gaming accessories. With a total value of $4.62, this collection consisted of four items: an 80-page college bound spiral notebook, with several pages of unfinished homework in the front; a yellow #2 pencil, with a complete set of dental imprints; and a set of polyhedral dice, minus the d12. It was with this paltry arsenal that I marched– uphill both ways, to the best of my recollection – into my earliest gaming sessions.
Perhaps this is why the sudden acquisition of 162 unpainted miniatures came as such a shock.
Finding oneself buried in an avalanche of miniatures isn't an overnight phenomenon. Having traded my collection of Magic the Gathering cards – their value today, I don't care to think about – for a box full of tattered rule books and modules, the concept of using miniatures didn't exist for me until 1991. That was the year I purchased the Dungeons & Dragons Black Box (my first store-bought RPG). Filled with a collection of stand up paper miniatures and a full-color map, it was somewhat of a short-lived revelation. While it provided some opportunities for tactical combat, it had limited use beyond a few short sessions.
While my first encounter with miniatures was lackluster, my second was awe-inspiring. Delivered into my subconscious through a full-page advertisement in Dragon magazine, this was the first time that I had heard of Dwarven Forge (Master Maze at the time). Fortunately for me at the time, painted resin terrain wasn't something that I could purchase, even irresponsibly (despite a generous on-and-off allowance). The advertisement faded from my memory well before I had disposable income to waste (That's a figure of speech. It isn't a waste, it is awesome.).
Then Dwarven Forge had their first Kickstarter campaign.
I've been fortunate enough to be able to purchase two “Dream Toys” from my childhood. The first was a high-end Traxxis radio-controlled car. The second was Dwarven Forge terrain. Since I didn't own any miniatures at the time, the second came with an (extremely) bourgeois, (embarrassingly) first-world problem... which brings me back to the sudden acquisition of 162 unpainted miniatures, and the fact that I'll need to learn how to paint miniatures.
Since the Reaper Bones 2 Kickstarter is responsible for the sudden influx of of miniatures (that's right, it is Reaper's fault, not mine), I'll be starting with advice from their website on supplies, and painting advice from someone who survived the first Bones Kickstarter. I'll be compiling a collection of other resources, from tutorials to painting services, from the perspective of a complete beginner here as I attempt to paint, purchase, or otherwise procure a collection of miniatures for my Dwarven Forge terrain.
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overnight phenomenon. Having traded my collection of Magic the Gathering cards – their value today, I don't care to think about – for a box full of tattered rule books and modules, the concept of using miniatures didn't exist for me until 1991. That was the year I purchased the Dungeons & Dragons Black Box (my first store-bought RPG). Filled with a collection of stand up paper miniatures and a full-color map, it was somewhat of a short-lived revelation. While it provided some opportunities for tactical combat, it had limited use beyond a few short sessions.
While my first encounter with miniatures was lackluster, my second was awe-inspiring. Delivered into my subconscious through a full-page advertisement in Dragon magazine, this was the first time that I had heard of Dwarven Forge (Master Maze at the time). Fortunately for me at the time, painted resin terrain wasn't something that I could purchase, even irresponsibly (despite a generous on-and-off allowance). The advertisement faded from my memory well before I had disposable income to waste (That's a figure of speech. It isn't a waste, it is awesome.).
Then Dwarven Forge had their first Kickstarter campaign.
I've been fortunate enough to be able to purchase two “Dream Toys” from my childhood. The first was a high-end Traxxis radio-controlled car. The second was Dwarven Forge terrain. Since I didn't own any miniatures at the time, the second came with an (extremely) bourgeois, (embarrassingly) first-world problem... which brings me back to the sudden acquisition of 162 unpainted miniatures, and the fact that I'll need to learn how to paint miniatures.
Since the Reaper Bones 2 Kickstarter is responsible for the sudden influx of of miniatures (that's right, it is Reaper's fault, not mine), I'll be starting with advice from their website on supplies, and painting advice from someone who survived the first Bones Kickstarter. I'll be compiling a collection of other resources, from tutorials to painting services, from the perspective of a complete beginner here as I attempt to paint, purchase, or otherwise procure a collection of miniatures for my Dwarven Forge terrain.