Miniature model (gaming)

Traditionally, miniatures were cast in white metal, an alloy of lead and tin. A small amount of antimony was sometimes added to improve the alloy's ability to take fine detail. In 1993, the New York legislature introduced a bill outlawing lead in miniatures, citing public health concerns. Many miniature manufacturers, anticipating that other states would also impose bans, began making figures with lead-free alloys, often at increased price.[1] After months of debate and protests by miniature manufacturers and enthusiasts, New York Governor Mario Cuomo signed a bill which exempted miniatures from the state's Public Health Law.[2] Despite this, most American manufacturers continued to use non-lead alloys.[3]

In addition to metal miniatures, manufacturers offer figures in plastic (polyethylene or hard polystyrene) and resin. Some wargames use box miniatures, consisting of card stock folded into simple cuboids with representative art printed on the outside.

With metrication in the United Kingdom, United States manufacturers began to use the metric system to describe miniatures, as opposed to the previously popular customary units, so that their table-top wargaming models would be compatible. In 28 mm scale, children and short characters such as dwarves, hobbits, and goblins are smaller than 28 mm, while taller characters like ogres, trolls and dragons are larger.

Scales of 20 mm, 25 mm, 28 mm, 30 mm, 32 mm, and 35 mm are the most common for role-playing and table-top games. Smaller scales of 2 mm, 6 mm, 10 mm, 15 mm, and 20 mm are used for mass-combat wargames. Painters and collectors commonly use larger figures of 54 mm or more but 40mm and 54mm have never been completely abandoned by wargamers and have become popular again since the late 20th century although not as popular as the smaller sizes.

The use of scale is not uniform and can deviate by as much as 30%. A manufacturer might advertise its figures as 28 mm, but their products may be over 30 mm tall. A contributing factor is the difference in methods used to calculate scale. Some manufacturers measure figure height from the feet to the eyes rather than the top of the head; therefore, a 6-foot (1.83 m) figure in 28 mm scale would be 30 mm tall. As a result, 15 mm figures can be variously interpreted as 1:100 scale or 1:120.

A further complication is differing interpretations of body proportions. Many gaming figures are unrealistically bulky for their height, with oversized feet, heads, hands, wrists, and weapons. Figurines with these exaggerated features are often referred to as "heroic scale". Some of these exaggerations began as concessions to the limitations of primitive mold-making and sculpting techniques, but they have evolved into stylistic conventions. In the table below, figure height alone (excluding base thickness) is the feature from which approximate scale is calculated.

In many games designed for use with 28 mm scale figurines, there is a definite scale specified for the square grid that the game is played upon. Conventionally, 1 inch represents 5 feet. This specifies an exact scale of 1:60. That implies that a 28 mm tall figurine represents a 1.68 meter person – which is a reasonable number for a modern 50th percentile male (See: Human height).

Another popular scale is 1/72 sometimes also called 20 mm, but closer to 23 mm. It is mostly used for historical gaming in part due to a wide selection of 1/72 scale models.

Painting a miniature model.

Many role-playing gamers and wargamers paint their miniatures to differentiate characters or units on a gaming surface (terrain, battle mat, or unadorned table top).

Fantasy, role-playing, miniatures, and wargaming conventions sometimes feature miniature painting competitions, such as Games Workshop's Golden Demon contest. There are also many painting competitions on the internet.

There are two basic methods of manufacturing figures: centrifugal/gravity casting and plastic injection casting.

Most metal and resin figures are made through spin casting. Larger resin models, like buildings and vehicles, are sometimes gravity cast, which is a slower process. To gravity cast, a sculptor develops a master figure, which is then used to create rubber master and production moulds. The production moulds are used to cast the final commercial figures.

Polyethylene and polystyrene figures are made by injection moulding. A machine heats plastic and injects it under high pressure into a steel mould. This is an expensive process; it is only cost effective when manufacturing large amounts of figures, since the quantity renders the cost per cast minimal.

Many miniatures companies do not produce their figures themselves but leave the manufacturing to specialized casting companies or miniatures companies that have casting facilities.

Most miniatures are hand sculpted using two-component epoxy putties in the same size as the final figure. The components of the putty are mixed together to create a sculpting compound that hardens over 48 hours. Some common brands include Polymerics Kneadatite blue\yellow (also known as "green stuff" and "Duro" in Europe), Milliput, A&B, Magic sculpt, and Kraftmark's ProCreate.

Until recently, sculptors avoided polymer clays as they cannot withstand the traditional mouldmaking process. Modern techniques using RTV silicone and softer-quality rubbers have made it possible to use weaker materials, so that polymer clay masters have become more common. Fimo clay is popular, though due to the individual properties of certain colours, only a limited selection of colours is used.

Masters for plastic miniatures are often made in a larger scale, often three times the required size. The master is measured with a probe linked to a pantograph that reduces the measurements to the correct size and drives the cutter that makes the moulds.

A more recent development is the use of digital 3D models made by computer artists. These digital models create a physical model for mouldmaking using rapid prototyping techniques. Alternatively, they can be used directly to drive a computer numerical control machine that cuts the steel mould. They can also simply skip moulding steps and directly produce miniatures from 3D models.[4]

Originally, Dungeons & Dragons was an evolution of the Chainmail medieval miniatures game,[5] with the distinction that each player controlled a single figure and had a wider variety of actions available. The original D&D boxed set bore the subtitle, "Rules for Fantastic Miniature Wargames Campaigns Playable with Paper and Pencil and Miniature Figures". However, Dungeons & Dragons did not require miniatures, referring to them as "only aesthetically pleasing".[6] Advanced Dungeons & Dragons likewise included a relatively short section describing miniature use, in conjunction with the official AD&D miniatures being produced at the time.[7] As the game developed, miniatures became more of an optional add-on.[8] The AD&D 2nd Edition accessory Player's Option: Combat & Tactics introduced a more elaborate grid-based combat system that emphasized the use of miniatures; a streamlined version of some of these concepts appeared in D&D 3rd edition. Although not strictly necessary, the 4th edition of the game assumes the use of miniatures, and many game mechanics refer explicitly to the combat grid. In addition to reducing ambiguity about the size and position of characters, this allows the game to specify rules for reach, threatened areas, and movement rates. The 5th edition de-emphasized these mechanics, and returned the use of miniatures to mostly optional.

Traditionally, figures were made of alloys, but pre-painted, collectible plastic miniatures have grown in popularity, including officially licensed D&D miniatures. In 2003, Wizards of the Coast produced the Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures Game as a standalone game that also served as the game's official line of miniatures; the game was discontinued as a standalone in 2011, but miniatures continued to be produced for use with the roleplaying game. Since 2014, WizKids has held the license to produce official D&D miniatures.

Some games feature miniatures printed on cardboard or cardstock, and some companies have published such miniatures to be used in place of miniature models.

• Steve Jackson Games published the Cardboard Heroes line, and included cardstock miniatures in Steve Jackson's Man to Man, and then in the GURPS Basic Set and supplements such as GURPS Autoduel.
• Zargonians was another early line of cardboard miniatures.
• The Dungeons & Dragons Basic game included cardstock miniatures in supplements and adventures such as The Kidnapping of Princess Arelina, The Revenge of Rusak, The Veiled Society, and The Gem and the Staff.
• Marvel Super Heroes by TSR included cardstock miniatures, and was supplemented by Adventure Fold-Up Figures and more in Pit of the Viper.
• Other games that featured such 2D miniatures include Star Patrol, Ringworld, Dragonroar, Judge Dredd: The Role-Playing Game, TWERPS, and Space: 1889.

• Miniature conversion
• Model figure