HQ availability: We know it won't last :(

[lestodante]

No, it was back in the 90s.
Hasbro employers could take what they wanted, all the remaining thing would have been destroyed.
This is how he obtained the 4up prototypes of Barbarian, Elf and unreleased quest packs, except two, Yeti and Female Wizard, which were taken by another employer for her wife (because they were cuties).

[Kurgan]

Nowadays I'd say why waste any "toy" you can donate to a children's hospital, school, public library, etc. Companies "look good" when they do that, which is worth something to their image.

The only reason to destroy perfectly good stock (I can think of) is it will be stolen (and resold) or it will cost more to give it away than destroy it I guess. Might be some tax benefit as well possibly (in the above I think there is for charity purposes).

I could see now if they could genuinely re-use the materials but recycling often takes more energy and you get back inferior stuff (metal and glass are the best, and then paper and plastic least of all).

Companies don't care about the collectors after-market (destroying their excess product would only drive up those prices anyway for anything desired, since it would further limit supply). But they would resent someone dumpster diving and making a profit off their stuff I guess in a resentful kind of way (something they couldn't sell themselves in a reasonable time frame). Economists and sales experts feel free to speak up and correct me on this speculation.

Employees taking stuff home is cool, but good point even after that you may still have tons left over. If they were super smart they would have saved it and sold it to nostalgic collectors nearly 25+ years later, but how is that a practical consideration for them to predict?

When I say "collectors" here I'm talking about fans who want old stuff, as opposed to scalpers (the unregulated middle men of nostalgic products--not every re-seller is a scalper, its all a matter of proportion in my humble opinion).

[iKarith]

Eventually someone's going to sit down and improve the STL files for the 3D scans and they'll have something that'll print as sharp as the originals if your printer's got the resolution to reproduce it. And anyone with one of the little 2K LCD printers does. The 4K models absolutely do!

But if you want to go to your FLGS and drop some coin on a pile of minis and assume you'd just print or recreate the rest (kinda like The Quest did) … seems Reaper Bones is probably your best bet for now. Enough to cover the original 35 will probably set you back about $120-150. Without a bundle deal for the exact minis you'd need that gets produced in quantity, that's probably as good as it gets buying them one and three at a time.

[Kurgan]

Yeah, because of the bendy plastic I don't like the Reaper skeletons as much and the mummies are pretty small (and the Zombies don't carry weapons). There's something to be said for the classic style, but if you just want some cool looking miniatures that fit the description pretty well, they do the job, especially for the expansion rosters (which I'm less nostalgic about anyway). Like the replacements I picked for the female heroes and the elves, I think they look way cooler than the originals and while the classic Ogres have grown on me, the Reaper versions look much more imposing.

[iKarith]

I still think classic ogres are ridiculous-looking, personally. I think Reaper is easier to outfit the expansions than the base game because you really do need just a few of each thing. It's a little harder for the base game (and KK/RotWL) because what you need there is just a bunch of otherwise rather samey minis. Buying them 1-3 at a time is going to be more difficult. "Hy, I need four packs of skeletons, two packs of goblins, six packs of orcs…" And that's even assuming you can get those in three packs. Not all of those are available that way I think. So it adds up fast.

Amusing that you don't like the Reaper Bones skeletons. I wonder how hard it'd be to add a reinforcing wire to a couple of particularly troublesome spots? I've got a pin vise and some tiny bits that might do it and a lot of paperclips to cut wire out of. Maybe the smallest bit of green stuff to seal the hole?

[Kurgan]

It's not that I don't like them, I just mean I like the originals a whole lot better. Reaper undead tend to be a lot more generic looking. The "bendy" thing could be bypassed by getting only Reaper Black figures (or going full metal alchemist and getting Dark Heaven Legends).

I ended up with "more than enough" of several character types (I have extra Fimir and Undeads, but I'm not complaining).

The complaints are minor. Painting them was a little trickier and after taking them out of storage sometimes they need to be bent back into place, but that's about it. I do the same thing with many characters' swords anyhow.

The "wire as reinforcement" thing is what I use for broken off swords (repaired with cocktail/sandwich skewers which come in sword/spear form) and for wire I use those little rubber coated twisty ties that come with electronics to wrap cords. I used my mini hand drill to hollow out the part, insert the wire, fill with acrylic plastic putty, etc. But I wouldn't bother with something like this though that is an interesting suggestion! Like creating a stick figure, an internal "skeleton" for the skeleton, though not sure how well the polymer takes drilling (not soft enough to just push the wire through I don't think). I wouldn't want it to show, though once painted it might not be too noticeable.

The Citadel Ogre used in HQ (AOTH and EQP) makes me think they started with the Orc design, then made him over as a fat slob and gave him more cartoony eyes. They're like mutant caricatures. Still, those moveable arms and heads make them kind of fun. They really do look like they love doing what they do (just like the Orcs).

[cornixt]

I have several of the Reaper Bones skeletons and have no issues with their bendiness at all. They stand straight, my acrylic paints stretch with any physical manipulation, and they don't develop bends when in storage, although being in the cooler northwest might make a difference compared to those of you in hotter climates.

If you want enough skeletons for a full HQ set and the expansions, then you might be better off buying whatever GW uses for skeletons these days. They are a lot pricier but you have more control over poses and equipment. An older set might be a better scale, but you'll have to trawl independent gaming stores or online to find them.

[Kurgan]

I do live in a somewhat warmer climate, but not extremely so. Maybe I exaggerate the bendiness, they're certainly a lot less bendy than the "Fantasy Creatures Tube" (Fantasy Monsters, etc) figures I got from Amazon (for the niece to play with). The bones skeletons I have (made from the softer plastic) are the "Skeletal Guardian" types (mostly its the weapons less the limbs; 77337-77241) and Skeletal Swordsmen (77017). They do become a little sturdier after being painted and varnished, but your mileage may vary.

[iKarith]

It's not that I don't like them, I just mean I like the originals a whole lot better. Reaper undead tend to be a lot more generic looking. The "bendy" thing could be bypassed by getting only Reaper Black figures (or going full metal alchemist and getting Dark Heaven Legends).

"The Fullmetal Alchemist. Sounds heavy. Tell him I like the feel of it."

I actually don't mind the bones minis much. I suspect you might want to go the extra mile of a paint sealer on them so if they do get bent a little, your careful acrylic paint job isn't as likely to crack and flake. Otherwise, the elastic polymer is actually kind of preferable in some ways in that they're easier to store and a LOT less fragile. I've had one of these bendy little guys that unbeknownst to me has been rattling around in a Chessex dice/figure box for who knows how long, knocking around inside a big cardboard box with other things that have been rifled through dozens of times. It's fiiine. A metal figure would likely have a bent sword. A plastic figure might be okay. A resin green figure would absolutely have snapped.

Of course this elastic polymer figure was a prepaint so … I mean, if I think I could produce similar results and I'm actually legally blind … it ain't amazing. But it's table-grade like all these prepaints usually are, and it's fine for its intended purpose.

I ended up with "more than enough" of several character types (I have extra Fimir and Undeads, but I'm not complaining).

The complaints are minor. Painting them was a little trickier and after taking them out of storage sometimes they need to be bent back into place, but that's about it. I do the same thing with many characters' swords anyhow.

The "wire as reinforcement" thing is what I use for broken off swords (repaired with cocktail/sandwich skewers which come in sword/spear form) and for wire I use those little rubber coated twisty ties that come with electronics to wrap cords. I used my mini hand drill to hollow out the part, insert the wire, fill with acrylic plastic putty, etc. But I wouldn't bother with something like this though that is an interesting suggestion! Like creating a stick figure, an internal "skeleton" for the skeleton, though not sure how well the polymer takes drilling (not soft enough to just push the wire through I don't think). I wouldn't want it to show, though once painted it might not be too noticeable.

How're you storing them? Part of why I'd want to consider rebasing HQ if the HQ bases (particularly the EU ones) weren't so iconic is that there's no real easy way to get a magnet in there. Some people magnetize their minis for paint—I'm thinking I'd want to magnetize them for storage. Give them a little foam to bounce off of if they get knocked loose, but a magnet embedded in a slightly hollow base means the mini will have slightly extra weight at the base and a little ferrous metal in the storage solution will keep them pretty well in place. Standard HQ bases don't really permit that. The Hasbro remake ones should, as would the oldskool round and square slotta bases from eons past.

The Citadel Ogre used in HQ (AOTH and EQP) makes me think they started with the Orc design, then made him over as a fat slob and gave him more cartoony eyes. They're like mutant caricatures. Still, those moveable arms and heads make them kind of fun. They really do look like they love doing what they do (just like the Orcs).

Probably because my visual sense of fantasy creatures is based on childhood depictions of LotR more than HQ (it's gotta be a very nicely painted model under the right lighting for me to see the details), I'm actually not the greatest fans of the GW sculpts other than today I love their vintage simplicity, especially since I might one day start learning to paint with them, and low detail models are easier to paint passibly well.

Still, my perceptions are what they are:

Goblins are small, a but lighter shade of green, long-nosed, pointy-teethed, kinda knobby arms and legs, and you're likely to hear a high/rough nasty little laugh out of them as they delight in casual cruelty because they can. Not supremely intelligent, but fairly clever (which aids their cruel amusements.) Nasty little pieces of work. Hobgoblins are are larger, stronger, more man-shaped goblins. A little smarter (they may speak our languages) and their skin tends toward orange. Just as mean, making them dangerous.

Orcs are bigger, darker green, short legs, slow, long and beefy arms, dumb, and brutal. Most aren't leader material, obeying those that are (and those who command them all) out of fear. Uruk-hai are, like hobgoblins, more intelligent. But it's kind of more a hunting beast's intelligence than man's. They are more man-shaped but ripped AF and with larger claw-like hands, and I picture them with bluish black skin (not dark brown as in Africa, but midnight blue or black as in paint!) Like any greenskin family creature, they'd tend to be nocturnal, but part of the magic that made the uruk-hai the creatures that they are made them also able to function in day. And they'd move almost silently despite their size—predators.

Didn't know the lore for fimirs growing up. Would've figured them to be essentially lizardmen. Find them near water, especially swamps, not fond of the cold at all. Tough like an orc, but more dangerous to fight.

Ogres would be bigger than orcs, slow, kind of gray skin, tougher all around, and they're more likely to eat you than the orcs (not that the orcs won't…) A troll would be again more man-like, but about 8 feet tall, but share the orc's brutality (but have more intelligence.)

I figure all of these … perfect for your melee fighters. A wizard can use some of his less powerful spells on one in a pinch, but these things are for swords and spears and axes and bows, not spells.

The undead … Skeletons should be pretty fast, and swords should NOT be much good against them. Use an axe. Or have your wizard whip up some fire—fire should do double damage against any corporeal undead, whomever is wielding it. Grab a log out of the fireplace, barbarian! It'll do more good than a sword, and almost as much against a skeleton as the dwarf's axe. Elf, you're hosed, stay back.

Weapons should do more against zombies and mummies, but again the axe and fire are going to shine here. Against non-corporeal undead, ONLY magic should be effective, and if you're dealing with ghosts and spectres and the like, you REALLY want a cleric.

Chaos warriors should be hard to hit with swords and axes, but hammers and heavy polearms like a halberd should be good choices. Against stone creatures (Wardoz's warriors or gargoyles) you kinda want that hammer or magic to my mind. And who but a mage can effectively battle a mage?

HQ isn't really set up for all of the above way of thinking, I note.