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a step-up from using pawns

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Mon, 01/19/2009 - 16:47
The Magician
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I am looking for figurines to use for my game which is a game of labyrinths. The game squars are 1/2" and the board is huge. So I have been contemplating weather to use pawns, which are easy to get, or some kind of figurine. I have in mind the quality of figurines like the "Risk" infantry men. They are detailed enough, but vary simple. A step up from your basic pawn. Of course they need to be small with a base of 1/2 inch. See I don't want war-game style figures either because fighting is not the them of my game. I am looking for fantasy style figurines that do not bare weapons. They are initiates in a labyrinth; not fighters. So something that is not indicative of a certain period and not soldiers. Some of the characters from Lord of the Rings fit this ideal for me if only they aren't holding swords or bows.

Anyway, I am haveing trouble seaching for what I am looking for. Any thoughts or suggestions. I am willing to just do the simple pawns option, but I am always wanting better if I can make it work.

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Mon, 01/19/2009 - 17:22
#1
Katherine
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Hi Magician, for something

Hi Magician,

for something different I was thinking I might try to 1/4 fill the small chocolate moulds (with the resin aldax sells) and then stick the two halves togeather. Most of the tray molds are plastic (not rubber) so it may not work.

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Mon, 01/19/2009 - 17:23
#2
dnddmdb
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D&D?

The one thing I could think of is buy Dungeons and Dragons minifigures. You can find them online, or at book stores. The Barnes & Noble near me have them.

About not holding weapons, that is different. If you are lucky, you may find one without weapons, but most will have them.

Of course, this would only be good for prototyping, as some copyright issues would probably occur.

I also heard you can buy custom figurines, but they are expensive. I'd ask someone else on that subject, though.

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Mon, 01/19/2009 - 17:36
#3
Darkehorse
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Perhaps

If you find figures that you *do* like but they have weapons, you could consider just snipping the weapons off. If they are plastic you could easily accomplish this with nail clippers or scissors. With metal figurines, you'll probably need a semi decent pair of wire cutters. Either way you should be able to find some decent miniatures just by going to your hobby store and removing the weapons.

Just a thought.
-Darke

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Mon, 01/19/2009 - 22:30
#4
apeloverage
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You could

make paper minis, for example with Hero Machine ( http://www.ugo.com/channels/comics/heroMachine2/heromachine2.asp ) , although it'd be a bit fiddly at that scale.

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Tue, 01/20/2009 - 02:19
#5
MatthewF
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A nice in-between step are

A nice in-between step are these people-shaped pawns from Rolco Games (and possibly others). They look like little people, but are otherwise quite abstract, allowing for the imagination to fill in details.

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Tue, 01/20/2009 - 03:04
#6
apeloverage
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for that size

I guess you'd need 15mm scale figures? I think D&D miniatures are meant for 1 inch squares.

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Tue, 01/20/2009 - 10:02
#7
Zzzzz
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Can I ask if you desire minis

Can I ask if you desire minis for any specific reason?

Could you possible consider a 7/8" Tiddlywinks (also available from Rolco and seem to be on clearance).

Add to this some Round 3/4" Avery labels with *fancy* graphics you select and print on the labels, apply label to tiddlywink, and you have another option, that would be much much cheaper.

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Tue, 01/20/2009 - 10:43
#8
gameprinter
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Zzzzz wrote:Can I ask if you

Zzzzz wrote:
Can I ask if you desire minis for any specific reason?

Could you possible consider a 7/8" Tiddlywinks (also available from Rolco and seem to be on clearance).

Add to this some Round 3/4" Avery labels with *fancy* graphics you select and print on the labels, apply label to tiddlywink, and you have another option, that would be much much cheaper.

Mr. Chips is a better source for winks than Rolco. Rolco used to buy them in bulk, but decided it wasn't worth it, so that's probably why they're clearing them out.

The question of base is going to be an issue. 1/2" squares are small. Even Rolco's standard pawns have a base size of about 5/8". They might have the specs online. Also, see if Plastics For Games (http://www.p4g.co.uk) has anything that might work. P4G has all their dimensions in line drawings on the web site.

As for custom pieces: try to avoid them iif you are doing a sub-5000 game run. It's just too pricey for the mold and the limited run otherwise.

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Tue, 01/20/2009 - 11:02
#9
Zzzzz
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gameprinter wrote: Mr. Chips

gameprinter wrote:

Mr. Chips is a better source for winks than Rolco. Rolco used to buy them in bulk, but decided it wasn't worth it, so that's probably why they're clearing them out.
.
.
.

Yeah I did not bother to look around, I just wanted to point out another possible and potentially cheaper alternative to actually attempting to use *a step-up from using pawns*.

Obviously (as proven here and in many other component relate forums) the more one looks around for components, the more likely one can find them cheaper!

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Tue, 01/20/2009 - 13:22
#10
SiddGames
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Hobby Models

You might explore models from other hobby genres, such as train modeling. A lot of other hobbies besides wargaming use small figures.

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Tue, 01/20/2009 - 16:36
#11
The Magician
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MatthewF wrote:A nice

MatthewF wrote:
A nice in-between step are these people-shaped pawns from Rolco Games (and possibly others). They look like little people, but are otherwise quite abstract, allowing for the imagination to fill in details.


Great feedback guys!

MathewF I did consider these people and every time I look at them or somthing like them, they feel like baby toys to me. Pawns are great. Chess pawns are cool too. But for me, when I see a pawn slightly shaped like a person for example when they have a head and some resemblence of a body, they look like baby toys- too "Fisher Pricey"! Now, in Risk, the infantry have just enough detail that they still have a mature feel to them. So really what I am thinking about is a small pawn or Rick detail and better. And it needs to be 1/2" base or at least a "fat-half".

I have seen small chess sets that have small game pieces. That might be cool if I could find a place that has those, wooden preferably. And as for Risk Quality and greater. What do most game companyies do to get all their unique game pieces? Is there a basic simple process for getting figurines made? I am an artist so I have the advantage of not needing to hire an artist for anything. It may be out of my budget right now, but I want to consider all options.
Thanks guys!

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Tue, 01/20/2009 - 17:02
#12
The Magician
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gameprinter wrote:Zzzzz

gameprinter wrote:
Zzzzz wrote:
Can I ask if you desire minis for any specific reason?

Could you possible consider a 7/8" Tiddlywinks (also available from Rolco and seem to be on clearance).

Add to this some Round 3/4" Avery labels with *fancy* graphics you select and print on the labels, apply label to tiddlywink, and you have another option, that would be much much cheaper.

Mr. Chips is a better source for winks than Rolco. Rolco used to buy them in bulk, but decided it wasn't worth it, so that's probably why they're clearing them out.

The question of base is going to be an issue. 1/2" squares are small. Even Rolco's standard pawns have a base size of about 5/8". They might have the specs online. Also, see if Plastics For Games (http://www.p4g.co.uk) has anything that might work. P4G has all their dimensions in line drawings on the web site.

As for custom pieces: try to avoid them iif you are doing a sub-5000 game run. It's just too pricey for the mold and the limited run otherwise.


Yah that's a good point. I am thinking this will, at least as far as I can see now, under a 5000 game run. I am still interested to know how one gets custom figurines made. Again, I am still interested in finding classy looking pawns that fit the size I am looking for. The look and feel of the game is everything to me. I want a game that grown men, woman, or children, or any age alike can set it up at a table in Central Park and feel no inhibition about playing it. You know like people play chess.

The reason the squares are so small is because I did not want to reduce the complication of the labyrinth I designed. Under the idea of not having a game be too complicated, I want to have it as complicated as I can get away with or as large as I can get away with. I originally planed on 1" game squares and miniatures to fit that scale. But I realized that the board would end up being 6'x6'. That would be outrageous even for me who loves things big and complex. So I've got the board down to 3'x3' with half inch squares. Also, the shape of the labyrinth is six-pointed star or "initiates star": One large hex labyrinth with moving walls, and six smaller labyrinths in each triad on the outer parts. When your fitting a maze in a triangle, the squares have to be small enough to keep the complexity of the maze. That is why I don't have 1" squares on a 3' board. I've seen other labyrinth games and the mazes are so small. I don't think so! That would not be any kind of initiation in my game.

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Wed, 01/21/2009 - 00:52
#13
MatthewF
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Another option, though

Another option, though perhaps not cost-efficient enough, is a couple of the figures from Age of Empires III, which Eagle Games sells. They sell the Merchants and Captains in a pack of 25 of each (50 figures in 5 colors) for $7.00.

The merchant is the 4th figure in the picture (the blue guy) and the captain is the 6th figure in the picture (the orange guy).

Alternately, the guy on the far left is the colonist, which they also sell in a pack of 50 for $7.00

Maybe better for prototyping than production, but who knows.

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Wed, 01/21/2009 - 01:52
#14
The Magician
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MathewF, Thank you for this!

MathewF, Thank you for this! This is vary much the look I am going for. I agree these would work well in a prototype. I love plastic parts in games. I was also thinking about getting some of those miniature wooden barrels and bottles to have as items found in the labyrinth.

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Thu, 01/29/2009 - 19:31
#15
The Magician
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miniature nights

I have a photo posted on my profile that I wanted to post in this thread. I tried using the html to imbed it and it didn't work. THe photo is of these little night figurines I found at an independently owned toy store. They were only 30 something cents a piece. Great for prototyping pieces. I will try and find out the company who makes or sells these.

Here it is. These nights can be useful in prototyping. Pardon me, they are not as cheap as I said above. My memory was wrong. These metalic knights are still inexspensive for prototyping.

http://howcool.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=39323

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Sun, 03/08/2015 - 00:31
#16
tony5518
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miniatures will do-Ningbo lijia Industry

In my opinion, detailed plastic mainiatures, figurines, wooden token, metal tokens/figurines all will do for it's feasibile development and manufacturing. Normally professional and experienced game parts manfuacturer has ability to develope and manfuacture what you want to get from your concept if you can clearly tell the what you need. The difference of option is costs. Simply put, cost-effective manfuacturing option need be based on quantity, whether repeat orders, etc.
Ningbo Lijia Industry Co., Ltd.
www.cnlijia.com.cn
sales1[AT]cnlijia.com.cn

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