Affordable Metal Minis? Nano MetalFigs Has You Covered!

It's been a while since I've talked about my weekly craft night projects on here, but I started one recently that I'm pretty pleased with. Partly because it's my first ever miniature project, but also because it involves something I picked up at a local Dollar Tree. Because I was just grabbing some necessities one day, and I decided to swing by the toy aisle to see what they had on-hand... when I noticed they had a diecast figure of the Undertaker! At just over an inch and a half tall, and for about $1.50, there was no way I wasn't going to take him home. I was barely out the door before I was scrolling through my mental archive, and trying to decide which character I was going to use him for.

After making sure I had a very small brush (which got trimmed even smaller to get into the nooks and crannies), and borrowing some green paint, I got to work on modifying this figure to show up at my table. While it might not be much, I'm still pretty pleased with how it's turned out so far.

Never talk shit about a greenskin inquisitor, my friend.

While the photo isn't great (sadly, all I have on-hand for taking them is my phone), all I did was paint the face, neck, and chest the virulent green we tend to associate with orcs. A few coats of that paint, and then a sealer, and bam, I had a shiny, metal mini all my own to bring to the battle.

There was, however, one more modification I needed to make. The bases for these figures are pretty wide, and tend to stick out past the single square we're used to using. However, if you have a dremel tool in your work space you can quickly shave those sides down with no real trouble. As long as you keep them even, you're good to go in maybe twenty minutes or so (less if you're used to this kind of mod).

Turns Out, There's More of These Figures On The Market

I kept poking my head in at the store for a few weeks after, seeing if any more of these figures had come in, but it seemed I grabbed one of the last ones. However, since I was curious, I popped onto Amazon to see what models were around, and how much work they'd take to get them ready for some action at a game of mine.

Ask and ye shall receive, I suppose...

Turns out that not only are there a lot more figures like the one I found out there, but they're not really all that expensive if you're looking to get your hands on them (particularly considering what metal minis tend to run, if that's your jam). A full set of WWE diecast figures goes for just over $25, coming out to about what I paid for my one individual mini. Of course, if wrestlers aren't your jam, then you might find the Marvel hero figures or the X-Men figures to be more up your alley.

One problem you'll run into with some of these figures is that the wide base is really needed to accommodate their pose, so you won't be able to just shave down the base to make it fit. However, plenty of figures don't need such a wide surface to stand on, and they hold up just fine with a quarter of an inch or so ground off either side. While you might need to rough up the finish on the figure if you want to do a more extensive paint re-touching, if you just want to add a splash of color here, or change a detail there, it's surprisingly easy.

And, for my two cents, it's a lot less intimidating than getting a totally blank mini and trying to do a ground-up paint job on your first try. Might just be the way my brain works, but making small alterations to a mostly complete piece gave me a lot more confidence than trying to do a full figure on my first try.

Though I might still try that out in the future. More on that later if I decide to dive down that rabbit hole!

Interested in More Gaming DIY?

If you're interested in more tabletop DIY (or just finding cheap ways to get a lot of figures, dice, etc. for your table), then you might want to take a look at some of the following posts:

- Want Cheap Minis? Wizards of The Coast and 5 Below Are Here To Help!

- 4 Tools To Help You Control Your Dice at The Table

- Towering Defenses Against My Chronic Bad Rolls (Dice Tower DIY)

- Need Cheap Minis? SCS Direct Has You Covered!

- Organize Your Spell Cards With a Portable Spellbook!

And, of course, if there's a topic I haven't covered yet that you'd like to see show up, feel free to leave a comment below!

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. Hopefully you enjoyed, and if you've used run these kinds of games before, leave us a comment to let us know what worked for you!

For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!

Big Stompy Robots: A Fun, Rough-Edged Minis Game For Mech Enthusiasts

Another Monday has rolled around, and like so many Mondays before it I'd like to take a moment to big-up the signal for a fellow creator. And not just any fellow creator... today I'd like to talk about my friend Nick Tockert's debut release that's now available on Amazon.

The minis game/RPG Big Stompy Robots... or BSR for short.

Good times all around.

I'd like to talk the good, the bad, and the ugly regarding this game. Though, if you just want a solid thumbs up or down, I'd say that if you wished there were more games out there that gave you the ability to pilot a mech without the need to grasp the intricacies of some game's hex grid tango, or to do the quadratic equation to figure out if you hit or not, then it's definitely worth taking a look at.

The Good

Let's start with the good stuff. First and foremost, Big Stompy Robots is as far as you can get from boring. While it might have mechs as the centerpiece of the cover art and game mechanic, there's plenty of other stuff going on here. From alien species that feel like something out of an upbeat anime, to megacorporations battling over resources on a faraway planet, to an aesthetic best described as the love child of Tank Girl and Mechwarrior, this game is a lot of things, but boring isn't one of them.

In addition to the scattershot tone that remembers sci-fi with giant robots in it is allowed to be fun, the rules of the game are fairly simple to learn. And if you've ever played a minis game before, then this one shouldn't take you long to pick-up. It's also fairly easy to teach to a new player, meaning you'll never lack for an opponent as long as you have an afternoon to go through a few test rounds.

The Bad

There are some downsides to this game, but they may be more or less important to you depending on your preferences as a gamer. If you plan to use it strictly as a minis game, one team of mercs versus another, then it gives you just enough story to use as a backdrop. If you're the sort of player who wants to make an RPG experience out of this, though, there really isn't enough material (or enough detail) to put together a fully-fleshed setting and campaign. That's to be expected, since this is the first book. However, the designer has said that if there is a demand for more that he has setting details and expansions in the works so that players can have all the factions, history, and plot hooks they could possibly want.

Additionally, since this game is as indie as you can get, there isn't an accompanying line of specific miniatures to go with this game. Not yet, at least. If you have mechs from other systems, or even minis like Heroclix, those will certainly do the job as placeholders... but miniature gamers may wish they had the right tool for the right job, so to speak.

The Ugly

Not going to lie, this game's independent nature certainly shows through. The art is all hand-drawn by the creator, and while the book is definitely legible and comprehensible it has its share of spelling and grammar mistakes that will jump out at you. None of them obscure the rules or setting, however, in much the same way a hole in the plaster doesn't make your apartment any less livable. But you're going to notice, so you should be aware that it's there before you get too ahead of yourself.

Aside from the lack of polish (there's only so much you can do when you're a one-man operation trying to wrestle Amazon's portal into submission), the game is nice and simple. So if you like garage-band games that have the potential to expand, while still giving you something fun to play right now, go give Big Stompy Robots a look. Especially if you're sick of how seriously games like Mechwarrior take themselves, as if the grimness of the game and setting somehow balances out the addition of, well, big goddamn robots.

That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday update! If you'd like to see more work from yours truly when you're done giving this game the one-over, then go check out my Gamers and Vocal archives, as well as the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Lastly, if you're looking to get your hands on a new book, why not head over to My Amazon Author Page where you could find stuff like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife?

If you want to stay on top of all my latest releases and signal boosts, then follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter. And, lastly, if you'd like to help support my work, then consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi as a one-time tip, or going to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a patron. Every little bit seriously helps!