|
Post by originalaragorn on Mar 30, 2009 6:30:52 GMT
Hello, I'm new to Mithril Miniatures but knowledgeable of miniatures painting and Tolkien. I just love the Mithril range, and equally love Tolkien, so I'm posting to say HELLO and to ask you kind folks about some collecting tips! Briefly about myself: 1) Live in California - wife, two kids 2) Aragorn is my actual middle name (my father was a Tolkien fanatic who read us the trilogy every night as bedtime reading when I was 8-10 years old. He cried the night he finished ROTK) 3) I play the LOTR miniature game put out by the "Other" company! But my primary joy comes in painting and collecting. Frankly, I find many gamers are into "win at all costs" and care nothing for Tolkien thematics, nor do they care for the artistic side of the hobby; of course, there are MANY exceptions to this. Now for my questions: 1) I really want to collect Mithril minis. Where should I start? My only current one is a 54mm Aragorn which I'm presently painting 2) Which ranges can be purchased at Mithril? Which ones do I need to search at Ebay, auctions, etc? 3) Which ranges are typically collected early on? 4) Would you recommend 54mm or 32mm? I would use these for displays and/or dioramas - not gaming. 5) My 54mm Aragorn says "Prince August/Rawcliffe" on the bottom of the base - although it's clearly the exact Mithril sculpt. What gives? 6) Is becoming a member worthwhile? And is Gold the only level of membership? I just don't know where to start. (And by my nature, I tend to prefer the forces of good). Thanks, George "Aragorn"
|
|
|
Post by Michael O'Brien on Mar 30, 2009 15:00:18 GMT
First of all I wish to welcome you to Mithril's website and our minis in general, George. You can email me at Mithril if you have any questions you wish me to answer. Mithril has been officially licensed to produce miniatures from LotR and The Hobbit for over 20 years and you will have a massive range to choose from. While we do sell many of our released figures, some are no longer available, especially many pre M360ish figures. You should look at mithril.faerylands.eu for information on Mithril's entire range. You could select our 32mm box sets of 'The Hobbit' and 'The Fellowship' miniatures if you want to get a proper start to collecting our Lotr miniatures. www.mithril.ie/Boxed%20Sets/index.htmlRawcliffe has versions of our Mithril series and so would have their names on the base. Prince August is the parent business and we trade under Mithril, Prince August and Edman Collection. Have a look at our 54mm miniatures here: www.mithril.ie/LO/index.htmlWe have an auction on Ebay for a very rare Isildur Christmas 1993 figure running at the moment and you could bid on that. I started the bid at 99p. stores.ebay.co.uk/Casting-molds-and-Lord-of-the-RingsLook at the promotion box on the top right in my ebay shop. I would (naturally) recommend joining the Gold Status Fellowship club. It allows access to more of our excusive range of minis and gives you the opportunity to suggest new ideas every month and vote on them with other members too. A unique way of building a collection indeed. I am sure other members will post their comments on how best to proceed. Collecting is personal however and your decision to choose 54 or 32mm (or both) will depend on your preferences. There is far more 32mm figures than 54mm but I suppose the smaller they are the harder they are to paint easily.
|
|
|
Post by ddaines on Mar 30, 2009 19:51:02 GMT
Welcome aboard .....Aragorn, one of my cousins sons has the same middle name, but in this case it was the mother, lol.
Re collecting, you may wish to have a closer look at the thread started by bikini, which Michael has moved to collectors corner.
With that lot on your bench you should be kept busy for a while.
And it would be very worth your while to visit the mithril.faerylands site for a wealth of knowledge and information.
|
|
|
Post by originalaragorn on Mar 30, 2009 22:54:57 GMT
Thank you both! The advice is much appreciated and will help me get started.
PS: In the future, I'll use the collector's corner forum.
|
|
|
Post by Wendy on Mar 30, 2009 23:29:52 GMT
Hi George, Welcome to the wonderful world of Mithril. Be sure to check out the faerylands link posted by Michael. The database contains lots of information on Mithrils and the forum is a lot of fun. ;D If you'd like, you can send pics of your painted Mithrils to Michael and he can set up a fan gallery page for you. And/or you can post pics in the gallery section of the faerylands forum (which is called Many Mithril Pages or MMP). We all like seeing other people's work so feel free to share. Some ranges which are fairly recent releases can be bought from Mithril directly. E-bay is a good place to check too. As for what to collect, that is completely up to you. There are a few "holy grails" of Mithril such that reach really high selling prices (as examples, see M7 and M16 on faerylands - there's average ebay selling prices listed with each mini entry) so those may be frustrating to find, but there are plenty of OOP minis that are pretty easy to find still. Hope that helps a little. Wendy
|
|
|
Post by originalaragorn on Mar 31, 2009 1:06:16 GMT
Thanks Wendy. I'm already over at Faerylands using the database search to get myself educated. Pretty fascinating.
Question: I noticed in The Hobbit boxed set, it comes with all MC figures - which appear to be remakes of older M figs. Yet, the FOTR boxed set comes with MC 12-13 (Strider & Boromir), but uses the M series for the rest of the fellowship.
Is there a particular reason for this, such as wanting to sell/promote the classic older figs?
Thanks, George
PS: Wendy, are you the one with the winning entry in the Dol Amroth gallery? Quite nice work! The others were also very nicely done.
|
|
|
Post by twrich on Apr 2, 2009 4:51:30 GMT
Hi George (Aragorn) and welcome to Mithrils. You are correct, most of the hobbit boxed set are Mithril Classics, remakes of earlier Mithril figures. But Michael is still correct in suggesting this as a good start to your collection as several of the key figures in the books are represented in the group. And the Fellowship Gold group is absolutely wonderful as you can suggest an idea that if voted upon by the members will become a piece created by Chris Tubb, Mithril's master caster. Many of us have seen our ideas produced and I can tell you that it is gratifying to see ones own idea produced by such a skilled craftsman.
As for building your collection I would advise the following:
Purchase what you can through Mithrils inventory, which isn't much, but can be had relatively cheap and with low shipping cost. Be sure to check the "exempt from VAT' box if you order through them as you are in the USA and that avoids paying the European Value Added Tax.
Use MMP (as it sounds that you are) to educate yourself about the details of these pieces, especially the more expensive ones--no sense paying top dollar for something missing a sword or shield. Then look at the lists that MMP members have posted of pieces for sale or trade.
Next look for large collections on ebay, but be sure to ask specific questions about the pieces and whether they are complete. And be careful of conterfits of the most expensive pieces--a good ebay rating and clear pictures are you best defense. Feel free to ask members about a particular auction. Many of us already have all the old pieces and would be happy to advise you about whether an auction looks suspicious.
Finally, be patient. Don't chase pieces on ebay, they'll come around again eventually.
Best Wishes
|
|
|
Post by originalaragorn on Apr 2, 2009 19:18:36 GMT
Thanks twrich! I just finished painting my Strider 54mm figure - which was a blast! It's so much easier to paint 54mm since I'm used to 32mm. I'll try to post a picture - but where? But alas - I think my future lies in 32mm since there is such a bigger selection. I just took the first step yesterday and ordered The Hobbit boxed set. I can't wait until it arrives.. I was just on faerylands checking out the gallery and was struck by how great the painting and conversions are - and also how cordial people are. I've visited some other LOTR sites that are infested with miscreants! Thanks again - George
|
|
|
Post by Theobald on Apr 2, 2009 20:22:08 GMT
Rhuoommmm ... you will be right contacting MMP, George .... huooomm ... I'm sure about that.
|
|
|
Post by jdbrown55 on Apr 3, 2009 0:23:57 GMT
Welcome George, Listen to these guys and gals, as they know what they are talking about. Start out small and work your way up as I notice that you are already doing. I personally had a great amount of figures back in the 80's and 90's, but alas I had to sell them. Now, I am slowly getting some of those back and I really appreciate all of the members that I now call friends because they have helped me a lot. You said that you prefer the Good Characters, so what would you say is your favorite race? I prefer the land of Rohan, so let me know.
|
|
|
Post by originalaragorn on Apr 3, 2009 2:15:41 GMT
In the past I've always preferred the noble Gondorians, last bastion of defense against Suaron and his minions.. But now that I'm collecting Mithril, I can make a change if I want to.. those Rohirrim are looking mighty sweet - and what a great back story they have.. and I really like the dwarvish line at Mithril.. as much as I think the elvish race is really cool, for some reason I don't connect with them. (Then again, if they all looked like Liv Tyler I might have a different opinion).. George
|
|
|
Post by aelfwine on Apr 6, 2009 14:37:30 GMT
If you like Gondorians, google Time Machine Miniatures. They make the old Gondorian warband set (as "the warriors of the white city") as well as the old orc Warband set.
And if you want a lot of orcs cheaply, invest in a Prince August casting set at three or so 25mm Fantasy Army moulds. They all look good together (for obvious reasons).
Gavin
|
|
|
Post by Theobald on Apr 6, 2009 21:58:46 GMT
Here Master Aelfwine is right again. As for the Gondorian war-band Time Machine still provides those warriors. That's much more cheaper than waiting for them being offered on Ebay.
|
|