Miniature figures (“minis”) are used in many roleplaying games, particularly those that use a grid system to represent player character and monster locations in combat (or sometimes out of it). These days, minis are often made of plastic and pre-painted, or pewter, which are not painted. In the olden days, they were made of lead. Minis made by one of the largest makers of miniatures, Reaper, are 25mm tall, although special edition minis can be as tall as 38mm.

Painting minis is a skill unto itself requiring patience, acrylic paint intended for use on minis, very tiny brushes and, optimally, magnifying goggles. Tutorials are available online for how to paint in various styles and techniques. One style is called “non-metallic metals” or NMM for short. This technique uses non-metallic paint to create the look of metal. A great place to see painted minis is CoolMiniOrNot, a site where visitors vote on how cool a particular minis is.

I don’t have as much time or patience these days to paint minis, but it used to be part of our ritual. Once we decided on a character race and class for a particular campaign, we’d head out to our Friendly Local Gaming Store to purchase minis. The minis would go home with me, and my husband or I would paint them before the next gaming session. Those expeditions produced the minis below.

What do you think about minis? Comment below!