Fresh off another holiday can only mean it’s time for another installment of Hand Painted Miniatures. Some fun Gen Con 2010 finds are also included in this week’s entry.

Ben constantly gets asked the age-old question, “Why don’t you paint these metal minis yourself?” Easy answer – too small brushes and too steady of a hand required. Terrain is so, so much more forgiving. An avid gamer knows his limits.

The third set of our multi-part metal marvels installment includes: a hard charging barbarian, a sniper rogue, a dark slayer, a traveling halfling, a loyal war dog companion, a one-eyed man, and a wise wizard.

Ben had hit a bit of a dry spell with the Gamers’ Inn display case so these beauties were a welcome sight. He had nearly given up hope but that’s a key to good miniatures hunting – never get discouraged and never stop looking

Gen Con 2010 was the source of a few of these latest finds but man oh man, it is tough to dig through those endless plastic bins. Hunched over on mobbed convention floor is a backbreaker. Sometimes you just gotta dig deep.

Questions to ponder: Do you use metal minis in your game or have you gone all plastic? How many metal figs do you paint in a month? What is your favorite metal line for D&D miniatures? And when in Elminster’s name is Lords of Madness going to be in our hands?

See It | Installment I | Installment II

Prior to the first D&D Miniatures Harbinger set back in November 2003, a role player’s only true option was to go the metal figure route (where Reaper sat at the head of the table). With the Wizards of the Coast’s pre-painted miniatures line taking some unexplainable twist and turns, hand painted metal miniatures are making a bit of a comeback.

Metal miniatures take painstaking amounts of patience and care to paint properly. They’re also trickier to store and transport. And accidental chips are always a heartbreaker.

Still, a really well done hand painted mini is a one of kind and adds a bit of nostalgia to one’s collection. The key is to know where and when to look. Lots of artisans are trading their original precious pieces for new games or quick cash.

In this multi-part installment, we take a gander at a human fighter, an orc commander, an elf fighter, and a pair of angry eaters.

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