I'm interested in collecting minis, but it seems really daunting. Every set seems very specific in the minis it contains. Not surprising since it is based on APs, but there seems to be no option to begin collecting a general purpose collection of minis. The AP sets have some things that are useful outside the AP, but so many are very specific.
They really need some mini sets that are based on the Bestiaries I think. It would be much more well rounded.
Does anyone have any suggestions on starting a mini collection? Should I just suck it up and start buying a case of each set as I have the money?
It sounds like you're interested primarily in pre-painted stuff, so I won't go into all the various companies that produce unpainted stuff.
However, try not to limit yourself to just the Pathfinder branded stuff. You will find there are other pre-painted minis out there, that are in the same scale, and that are more general.
Try Reaper, for one.
You could also try to hunt down packages of old D&D minis from Wizards of the Coast. And if you're lookng for something specific, you can try eBay. You'll probably find a lot of individual minis there.
Honestly, painting minis isn't that difficult. There are many tutorials online (I'm actually working on on), and I bet there's someone at your local game store (or Games Workshop store) who'd be happy to teach you how.
And with the availability of Reaper Bones plastic minis, they're more inexpensive than ever before.
Just to get an idea of how easy it is, take a look at these two super-speedy tutorials I did:
• speedpainting using inks
• "the dip" method
Thanks for the input, I'll definitely look at those tutorials. But I think my point came across wrong.
Painting isn't a huge issue. I have a huge lack of time and talent, but I have a housewife that would love to paint so that is covered. The issue is what to buy. I'm all for buying in bulk for discounts, but there seems to be no general bulk packages. All of the Paizo mini sets are focused on single APs, and it seems few of the minis would come up in outer games or campaigns. There is a huge focus on the NPCs.
I am looking for a general collection, but I see no place to start. The old Pathfinder Battles—Heroes & Monsters actually seems perfect, but it is now out of print. And I also managed to miss both of the Bones kickstarters, which seem like decent places to start. Though I did see the Bones 1 box on reapers site(much more expensive), so I may start there.
So many modules use monsters found in the bestiaries. Why isn't there a mini set based on them? A full mini set of each bestiary I would be all over. It would be an amazing core to fit any situation.
Is there anything out there similar to this? Painted or not?
That sort of big, generic box you see from Reaper is going to be a rarity, and probably almost always tied to something like a Kickstarter.
Most companies are going to offer "sets" of related minis, because multi-packs of minis are generally aimed at wargamers (who are assembling armies of similar creatures) and roleplayers with a specific theme in mind.
That is why you're going to easily be able to find packs of orcs in large numbers, as well as packs of skeletons, packs of zombies, packs of goblins, etc. But not necessarily anything with a wide mix, such as orcs, dwarves, skeletons, goblins and giants all in one box.
If you do find a mix of creatures, it will likely be a starter pack for some wargame, featuring small armies of two opposing sides, such as Mantic's Kings of War starter boxes, which feature orcs vs. dwarves, or GW products of the same sort.
I have a nice collection of Minis Now but this is a quick way to start a mini collection for any beginning GM.
Go to any Dollar store and see what they have in the toy section. You can walk out with a decent collection of giant Lizards, Frogs Insects and other monster to start your collection for a few dollars. I was also able to pick up a nice collection of Dinosaur skeletons I have used at time to time. Ever want to fight a skeletal T Rex? At my Party Plus store I been able to pick up a number of different animals like Bears, Hippos and Rhinos for about 50 Cents each. I now have 6 hippos. Want to check out how nasty an encounter that would be for players? Toobs can also be a source of various monsters The Mythical realm Toob has a nice chimera and minotaur in scale with 25 mm http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eYtAGWSU6I
The animal Planet safari tube and forest animal tube tubes can give you a nice collection of Can give you a nice collection of big cats, Bears and wolves. And of course you can pick up some Dinosaurs also .
For Orcs in large number you might want to check out Wargames factory. Cheaper then Warhammer but just as nice in my opinion.
http://www.wargamesfactory.com/webstore/myths-and-legends/orc-warband
For not minis, but to ensure getting stuff from the Bestiaries, there are the Pathfinder pawns. IIRC they have one for each Bestiary and the NPC Codex, which is going to give you a very useful set of minis for all kinds of purposes. The boxes aren't cheap, but would be much cheaper than buying the same creatures as full blown miniatures.
For getting a massive mini collection going, one option is hitting up eBay and similar sources. Sometimes people sell their collections in one blow, and is one way to get a whole bunch all at once. That's probably the only way to do it anywhere close to cheap.
I will note that the Safari Toobs Degoon Squad mentions are very cool and reasonably cheap, but the scaling is not consistent. The mythical realm set contains, for example, a unicorn that is scaled right for a 28 mm game (i.e., Pathfinder minis) but then a mermaid and a triton that are more than twice the size they should be, and the dragon toobs contain dragons no larger than the unicorn (useful for wyrmlings and drakes, however). That said, they are a great source for a lot of animals and things like giant insects.
I should have mention the scale as there are some that are off as deathquake has mentioned.
But was not much of a problem for me as the oversized Mermaid and Triton I just use as Giants of their kind.
In the forest toob while the Bears and Wolves are right size, the rabbit and squirrels are oversized about the size of a 25 mm figure.But one our Gnome players figured they where about the right size for a gnome mount. so if you dont mind moding figures you can have a gnome Alchemist on a giant Rabbit(Bones from reapers mod easy since they are plastic too.)
Another thing to look at is Caesar Miniatures fantasy range. Now these are 20 mm figures not 28 so most figures are are not very useful but their Orcs are about the right size for goblins and a box of 35 cost about $10. I just wish Caesar would do these figures in 28 mm as they are nicely done.
Here a picture of them
http://www.plasticsoldierreview.com/ShowFeature.aspx?id=39
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I buy minis as I GM - go through the APs, Modules or Scenarios and count what you need and buy. Micheals or the Dollar Store will work for common animals as Degoon suggests.
I find what I need either at my local gaming store (they have a big bin of used minis), Ebay and other gaming sources online. I also keep an add up in my local Craigslist to buy minis. I now have a good mix - you don't need every mini, unless you are trying to collect sets. It's fine to use a mini that is close to what you need, so generally I don't buy specific bosses, unless i just love the it.