Of all the genres of miniature gaming, fantasy is surely the one that is heaviest on the pocket. The cost of a fantasy army can easily finance two or three armies for an Ancients, ACW, or other historical game. Most expensive, of course, are the larger figures like dragons, giants, and the like. This short "article" is about enhancing your fantasy armies with forces from a much overlooked resource.
The premium way to get some quick-and-dirty "big guys" to go toy shopping. I'm a firm believer that every fantasy mini gamer should own at least 1 giant lizard, giant spider, and Tyrannosaurus. These are available cheap as dirt at any toy store, and-get this-they come painted (!). Look around and you should have no trouble finding many inexpensive toys that'll fit right in with your legions of pewter.
The possibilities for getting great-looking cheap figures really open up, however, when you consider idea of simply MAKING your own. Epoxy resin is a great thing that most gamers know about but don't take advantage of, feeling they lack the time and ability to sculpt. This is understandable-projects like hands and the heads of animals can be tough to pull off, and noone wants to spend hours researching the anatomy of a horse just so you can make some stupid unicorn figure. The truth of the matter, however, is that YOU REALLY DON'T HAVE TO! Again, toys are the answer. With a little epoxy, you can easily turn a plastic horse from a farmhouse set into that unicorn you always wanted. You can mix and match parts too-just take the wings from that rubber pterodactyl and glue them on to that (now giant) lizard to create a quick-and-dirty dragon. My last project was a "hell-hound," crafted from a cute plastic puppy I, um, borrowed from my niece's toychest. I just chopped of the floppy ears, sculpted some horns (something anyone can do) and after some filing and painting, it looked as good as any overpriced Citadel on my tabletop. Do this and soon you'll have a wealth of cool figures that noone else has, all for the price of some epoxy and, quite honestly, not much hard work at all. Here are some tips that get you started:
A great way to save epoxy and also to get the basic shape of your figure is to use something else for the "core" of what you're making. Aluminum foil works great for this. Try it and you'll be surprised at how much it acts like clay-just crumple it up and go at it. You can add to the mass by covering it in a new layer of foil, and subtract from it by cutting with scissors. After getting the shape you need, cover it in a layer of epoxy and sculpt in the details.
An important thing to remember when working on your projects is to let the part you're working on harden before beginning another part, doing one potion of the figure at a time. There's nothing more annoying then getting a part just right only to find that you've ruined another "just right" part because you accidentally touched it with your pinkie, or, worst, unknowingly held on to it while sculpting. Like many things in life, this is a case where patience is the key.
Most importantly, dont waste your life away trying to match the products of professional figure companies (even if you have the skill, don't you have better things to do with it)? Keep it simple- a little sculpting goes a long way, and remember, the most difficult work has already been done for you by many a cheap toy manufacturer! My first project was an AD+D style "beholder," a simple-as-hell eyeball thing with four tentacles with eyeballs at the end of them, yet after painted it drew oohs and aahs from my friends. Another project was a rock elemental -- a vaguely humanoid shape that anyone could sculpt, with hands taken from a ninety-nine cent wrestling action figure. Have fun, and remember this-no matter how profound your understanding of military history and tactics, no matter how authentically your rules approximate true medieval warfare, miniatures gaming is essentially just.....playing with toys.