My friends and I have played DnD etc for a few years now. We always like playing the warhammer games and decided to try out Dark Heresy. I quickly found out I can't find minis for it anywhere. I can't find them anywhere on this site or anything. Could anyone please help?
Miniatures
There are no "Dark heresy" miniatures, though you could use GW minatures and convert them...
There are no "Dark heresy" miniatures, though you could use GW minatures and convert them...
Where do I go to find the GW minis. Which group and such is the best to start with and so on.
Dark Heresy doesn't have as much in-built requirement for miniatures as DnD does. You'll find most RPGs don't have models like DnD.
You'd do best looking on the Games Workshop online store, since they're the ones who make the tabletop wargame models for the 40k TT game.
I don't know how many are still available, but the Necromunda line of miniatures work well for Dark Heresy. Necromunda was a skirmish game about gangs in hive worlds, so a lot of PCs (and the scum they fight) will look like them (at least to start). This reminds me, I need to find which box has my adeptus arbites miniatures. I think those are long out of print. Sisters of Battle and Imperial Guard are still widely available though, as are most of the xeno threats you might be interested in.
I believe Reaper minis also has a line of non-fantasy miniatures that include some good sci-fi figures.
GW used to have a list of independent retailers that sold GW stuff. I don't know if they still maintain that list. If you tell us where you live we can probably give recommendations. Or there is always ordering direct from GW's website.
Does anyone know of a good online store that sells GW minis for less than full retail? I haven't purchased any GW stuff in years.
There are a lot of places you can find Warzone, Void, Vor and other out of print games. There are still a few stores here in Houston that still sells Necromunda, you can even get them from GW. No matter where you get Necromunda models they are never cheap, so be warned. EM4 sells the old Grenadier Future Warriors line, you gotta buy them from England but they are the cheapest sci-fi figures I've seen, and a few of them are very DH appropriate. There are some dark and gritty games out now, but I find them out of scale or way too expensive to be practical.
If you don't like paying lots of $$$ for ugly, overpriced miniatures from GW, some of the 28mm ones made for other FFG games via Cipher Studios are actually some of the best looking ones I've seen in the last 20 years, then just go buy 'Bitz' to put guns and sharp objects on them.
(Disclaimer- I dont work for FFG, I just like their stuff)
I use Reaper , Privateer Press , and Games Workshop minis. I like the 40k look of the GW minis, and use minis from the Eldar, Imperial Guard, and Witch Hunter armies.
GW has very few female minis, while Reaper has many great ones. Privateer Press has some nice ones for Rogue Traders.
For hordes of bad guys I used Star Wars pre-painted plastic minis. If you don't like to paint, you could use those for important characters as well. I also use the pre-painted SF minis from EM4 .
As stated, you don't need to use minis to play, but I love them, and so do my players. We also use the GW Battle Fleet Gothic minis for starship combat.
The Star War tiles are great for spaceship interiors. Dwarven Forge has many great settings, both for planets and starship interiors.
deinol said:
I don't know how many are still available, but the Necromunda line of miniatures work well for Dark Heresy. Necromunda was a skirmish game about gangs in hive worlds, so a lot of PCs (and the scum they fight) will look like them (at least to start). This reminds me, I need to find which box has my adeptus arbites miniatures. I think those are long out of print. Sisters of Battle and Imperial Guard are still widely available though, as are most of the xeno threats you might be interested in.
I believe Reaper minis also has a line of non-fantasy miniatures that include some good sci-fi figures.
GW used to have a list of independent retailers that sold GW stuff. I don't know if they still maintain that list. If you tell us where you live we can probably give recommendations. Or there is always ordering direct from GW's website.
Does anyone know of a good online store that sells GW minis for less than full retail? I haven't purchased any GW stuff in years.
deinol said:
Does anyone know of a good online store that sells GW minis for less than full retail? I haven't purchased any GW stuff in years.
Ebay is your friend!
GW minis are insanely expensive for RPGs since all their 'good value' stuff are the plastic box sets. The hig cost minis are the ones you need for RPGs. Still if money's no object they're the perfect figures! I'd also go for Forge World figures.
Other than that, there are lots of other online retailers doing sci-fi miniatures that will fit the bill (aside from FFGs Tannhauser minis of course!).
Artizan (Trilling Tales and Kiss kiss bang bang ranges) http://www.artizandesigns.com/list.php?man=12&page=1
Copplestone (Future Wars and Kiss kiss bang bang ranges) http://www.copplestonecastings.co.uk/range.php?range=FW
eM4 sci fi range http://www.em4miniatures.com/acatalog/Science_Fiction.html
Foundry Futuristic ranges http://wargamesfoundry.com/fantasy_ranges/single_packs/futuristic/
Hasslefree (pretty much all of their stuff is lovely! http://www.hasslefreeminiatures.co.uk/
Pig Iron's excellent ranges http://www.pig-iron-productions.com/
Scarab Miniatures Projekt-X stuff (1/48th so slightly bigger than 30mm 'heroic') http://scarabminiatures.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=34&zenid=0ea2af96c966f5fcef50422dc65c5a91
Tengu Miniatures horror figs range http://www.tengumodels.co.uk/
Wyrd Miniatures (for their Malifaux game but will fit the twisted 40k world well too) http://wyrd-games.net/shop/
Second City (sci fi and horror ranges) http://www.secondcity.org.uk/page33.htm
And there are many others, and that's just 28-30mm.
Dropping scale to 15mm opens up the lovely Laserburn miniatures (Laserburn being the game that spawned 40k in the first place) http://www.15mm.co.uk/Laserburn_15mm_Sci-fi.htm , and others like Rebel minis http://www.rebelminis.com/
THAT SAID, i'll echo others here who've said that really, for an RPG you just don't need miniatures. Personally i've almost never used them, preferring to the lat the players imaginations run free.
I agree that minis aren't necessary, but they can be fun. I also have a fairly wide collection from back when I originally played 40k, Space Hulk, Tyranid Attack, and Necromunda a decade ago. Even if you aren't using them on a grid it can still be fun to have one for your character. Any game I play in for more than a couple months I would want a miniature for.
My biggest problem is half the stuff I would want to add to my collection is out of print.
I use WH40K, Necromunda, Reaper, and just about any other kind of mini- that catches my eye, but for most of the figs I use I custom-build them from various parts of GW plastic kits. Here is my Inquisitor, flanked by two members of his personal retinue- a feral world Guard veteran and a Primaris Psyker:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4zOb0CgOY54/TKl3OgfKz2I/AAAAAAAAAb0/lP284lpmiJ8/s1600/IMAG0254.jpg
If you decide to go make your own figs from plastic kits, don't overlook the GW fantasy line stuff- a lot of it works well as a base for 40K characters. This Techpriest is made from a Bretonnian Footman body and a Wood Elf head:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4zOb0CgOY54/StL-vsVxV5I/AAAAAAAAAHo/u-PMKt9UjWA/s1600-h/DSCN1135c.jpg
GW, in their "wisdom", stopped selling individual frames from their plastic kits, but there are a few websites that sell individual bits. They also show up from time to time on eBay, if you didn't want to spring for a whole box. I recommend getting a frame of Bretonnian Footmen, a frame of Catachan Jungle Fighters, a frame of Empire Free Company, and the Imperial Guard Command set to start with.