Why is the Huge Red Dragon Dragon mini $100 when the Colossal Red Dragon mini is under $70? I was thinking about picking one up but for that price it would actually be worth my time painting a pewter one myself. :-\

Why is the Huge Red Dragon Dragon mini $100 when the Colossal Red Dragon mini is under $70? I was thinking about picking one up but for that price it would actually be worth my time painting a pewter one myself. :-\

Relative rarity. The Huge red dragon is from an old set (Giants of Legend was the 4th set), and is considered the most valuable miniature in that set. The colossal red dragon is an icon, so the is no randomness associated with pulling one, and it was released more recently. The huge red is one of the top 5 sought after pieces in the D&D miniatures line.

Laithoron wrote:

Why is the Huge Red Dragon Dragon mini $100 when the Colossal Red Dragon mini is under $70? I was thinking about picking one up but for that price it would actually be worth my time painting a pewter one myself. :-\

Relative rarity. The Huge red dragon is from an old set (Giants of Legend was the 4th set), and is considered the most valuable miniature in that set. The colossal red dragon is an icon, so the is no randomness associated with pulling one, and it was released more recently. The huge red is one of the top 5 sought after pieces in the D&D miniatures line.

What?...People actually collect these things?... I have 5 of them.. had no clue they were worth money (Even Opened). What are the other top 4?

What?...People actually collect these things?... I have 5 of them.. had no clue they were worth money (Even Opened). What are the other top 4?

With cards, some of the D&D minis are worth quite a lot. Traditionally, the most valuable have been dragons, iconic monsters (umber hulk, displacer beast, beholders, and evil outsiders. Most are from the first 4 sets.

The top 25 back in May, prices omitted, obtained from Maxminis.com. Drizzt has been the most valuable mini for some time.

Drizzt, drow ranger
Huge red dragon
Umber hulk
Drow cleric of Lolth
Aspect of Tiamat

Large silver dragon
Aspect of orcus
Huge gold dagon
Large red dragon
Displacer beast

Beholder
Wraith
Ogre
Aspect of Lolth
Mind flayer

Elminster of Shadowdale
Dracolich
Beholder Lich
Aspect of Bahamut
Champion of Eilistraee

Orc champion
Beard devil
Elf pyromancer
Brass dragon
Pit fiend

The colossal red dragon is an icon, so the is no randomness associated with pulling one.

What do You mean randomness? I was talking about buying D&D miniatures (or not so *mini*atures) to represent specific monsters. Are You guys talking about HeroClix or a collectible card game instead?

*confused*

No, they are referring to the D&D Miniatures line.

They are originally sold as a collectible line, with booster packs of random mini's.

Random minis huh? Personally I prefer to roll my dice behind the DM screen, not in front of a cash register. I guess I'll just stick with Reaper Minis then except for D&D branded ones that I can clearly see what they are (and aren't jacked up in price due to engineered rarity).

Thanks for the heads-up! :)

What do You mean randomness? I was talking about buying D&D miniatures (or not so *mini*atures) to represent specific monsters. Are You guys talking about HeroClix or a collectible card game instead?

*confused*

Nope, I believe Russ was pretty much referring to the D&D miniatures. He means that, traditionally, because the mini boxes are sealed with no windows or labeling that alludes to the specific creature inside, the only thing you knew when you picked up the mini box was what line it was from (i.e. Harbinger, Archfiends, Dragoneye, Aberrations, etc.). So, since you didn't know what mini you were getting until you opened the box, the mini you ended up with was by random chance.

Of course, this is something I'm sure you're already aware of so I have to assume you were speaking of purchasing miniatures that were already "out-of-box" so you know exactly what you're getting. In that case, then the rarity of the miniature would indeed determine the price.

The only series where you knew for sure what mini you were getting was the Icon series where the Colossal Red Dragon and the Gargantuan Black, Blue and White Dragons where easily visible through the plastic "windows" on the boxes as well as the boxes being clearly labeled with what specific dragon was inside.

Being that I never played with the D&D miniatures and just collect the dragons (I'm an old school pencil & paper gamer and only use painted pewter miniatures during combat scenarios or marking the walking order of a party), I'm kind of put off that they never released a Gargantuan Green Dragon to at least complete the basic chromatic dragon set. Then move onto the five base dragons from the metallic set which would've looked really great gargantuan sized! I also wish that they would've released a Colossal Bahamut and Tiamat. They probably would've been obscenely expensive (Especially Tiamat!), however, they would've looked really cool when compared to the Huge Aspects of Bahamut and Tiamat that were released. They are, after all, deities so why not release a colossal version of each? Oh well... maybe they'll do it for the 4th Edition miniatures.

when you buy these from a store not selling singles they are sold in random booster packs, so the rarity issue is a problem when it comes to pricing for the singles market.
The Huge Red Dragon pricing here is about dead on actually compared to what you would pay at a FLGS, or via ebay...

good hunting
Mark

when you buy these from a store not selling singles they are sold in random booster packs, so the rarity issue is a problem when it comes to pricing for the singles market.

The Huge Red Dragon pricing here is about dead on actually compared to what you would pay at a FLGS, or via ebay...

good hunting
Mark

No, it isn't dead on. They go for less than half (and often less than a third) this price on ebay as of Feb 2009.

Why is the Huge Red Dragon Dragon mini $100 when the Colossal Red Dragon mini is under $70? I was thinking about picking one up but for that price it would actually be worth my time painting a pewter one myself. :-\

http://www.hasbro.com/games/kid-games/heroscape/default.cfm?page=Inside/Cha racterDetail&char_id=163&set_id=19&set_type=3#altbox

Heroscape's red dragon. Not quite the same but considerably cheaper if you can find it.