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Painting - Buying Figures
krlsrrll - Jun 14, 2012 - 10:01 AM
Post subject: Buying Figures
Hi all
As a new player short on funds am wondering where and how is the best place to get figures? I have tried eBay and got a few but the initial outlay for me was expensive (£50 in total for a whole dwarf team, half a dozen elves and a misc pack of which 50% were painted).
I have some old Mordheim figures, mainly human and beast man, but its individual figures like tree men, ogres etc that am struggling with.
Am not likely to enter tournaments so some artistic license will be allowed, but wary of base size being wrong so even just somewhere to get a stock of bases would be good.
Thanks in advance.
Regards
Grumbledook - Jun 14, 2012 - 10:39 AM
Post subject: RE: Buying Figures
there is no correct base size, a single player always takes a single square, if any some figs and their bases are too big and plenty of coaches will mount the mini on a smaller base than it came with
you can use whatever you like as long as it is clear to both coaches what it is representing
one tournament I faced a treeman that was a twig snapped off a bush outside the venue and attached to a 2p using bluetac ;]
generally though I would just keep an eye out on ebay, you don't have to use official blood bowl minis, or even GW (though you may need to if you want to use that team at a GW venue but this is quite rare)
there is a trade section on talkfantasyfootball, I wonder if we could do with one on here... it may help to update your profile with your country location
bronko81 - Jun 14, 2012 - 07:20 PM
Post subject: RE: Buying Figures
Reaper Miniatures have just recently begun to cast some of their most classic minis in plastic and sell them at incredible prices. Ogre, troll or werewolf for $ 2.50, that's what I'd call a bargain. I got my werewolf from an independent retailer here in Germany, and even after shipping, VAT etc it cost me only 3 Euros.
For the bulk of my teams I tend to use Warhammer Fantasy Regiments, they usually provide enough minis for one team for about 30 Euros (if you can't find even cheaper used ones on ebay). This won't work for any team, but if you keep an open mind and don't care about some little conversion work (cutting off weapons mainly, some putty-sculpted Blood Bowl armour here and there) you can do a LOT of teams this way. Sometimes even WH40K models will do the job (Eldar (dark or not) as Elves (dark, pro, high or wood) and Orks, especially).
Other manufacturers' plastic ranges offer great possibilities as well. I know people who used Warlord's Amazons, Celts or Romans for their teams. These boxes have the same advantages as the GW ones, but often come with more minis and/or at a lower price.
And by the way, my collection includes a treeman made from a "Kinder Surprise" Lord of the Rings Treebeard figure, stuck to a 40mm round base and painted over in a decent way. Shows how you can use cheap toys as well... 
blammaham - Jun 14, 2012 - 11:32 PM
Post subject: RE: Buying Figures
Many folks round here use hero clix models and I think the common one come quite cheap. S.
krlsrrll - Jun 16, 2012 - 08:39 AM
Post subject: RE: Buying Figures
Thanks for the advice, have been re-thinking the whole eBay situation and now looking at cheap, plastic figures to convert.
Speaking of which, is there anywhere a reference or chart saying what the base sizes should be for the non-humanoid figures? For example I am looking at combining a chaos marine and a bretonnian horse to make a bull centaur but am wary that the base size will be too big therefore causing a larger area for the tackle zone. If I knew for example it should be 3 squares long then even if the figure is bigger we could even stick a 'tackle zone' to the base so people know how close they can get.
zootsuitjeff - Jun 16, 2012 - 09:10 AM
Post subject: RE: Buying Figures
You could remove the slotabases and attach the figures to a 40mm or smaller base without too much work.
In the current rules, players occupy one space no matter how small or large they are.
krlsrrll - Jun 16, 2012 - 09:38 AM
Post subject: Re: RE: Buying Figures
zootsuitjeff wrote:
You could remove the slotabases and attach the figures to a 40mm or smaller base without too much work.
In the current rules, players occupy one space no matter how small or large they are.
So even if you have a large figure (have found an ogre model) that takes up at least 4 squares they are still only considered to occupy the one? Well the 'block area with large figures' tactic I was thinking off is irrelevant now 
Apologies if this is clarified in the rules, still only working from the basic rules so I presume they have some extended reach or somesuch like that?
bronko81 - Jun 16, 2012 - 09:48 AM
Post subject: Re: RE: Buying Figures
krlsrrll wrote:
Apologies if this is clarified in the rules, still only working from the basic rules so I presume they have some extended reach or somesuch like that?
Nope, nothing like that. They work exactly like any other model on the pitch. Only some of their skills (and their stats, of course) are designed to represent their mass and/or strength. Accordingly, very small players occupy one square as well, only they have skills like "stunty" or even "titchy" to represent their weaknesses.
By the way, this is a good reason to stick with GW's idea of putting big guys onto 40mm bases, as these still fit into a single square on the board (more or less), anything bigger will be hard to place next to another.
sann0638 - Jun 16, 2012 - 10:51 AM
Post subject: RE: Re: RE: Buying Figures
30mm bases are better, as the BB squares are ~28mm. These are available from Impact Miniatures, among other places.
Darkson - Jun 16, 2012 - 12:48 PM
Post subject: RE: Re: RE: Buying Figures
Bigger the base the more problems caused when trying to position/move models on the field. Go for as small a bases as possible (while still allowing the model to be stable). Ideally you everyone on 25mm bases, with any big guys on 30mm max.
blammaham - Jun 16, 2012 - 02:22 PM
Post subject: RE: Re: RE: Buying Figures
If you get a chance to make a feild of your own, or want to buy one try 40 mm. A bit bigger and harder for storage but it really is superior for game play and all models especially in the big scrums! It is the only size I have played on for years now. S.
GalakStarscraper - Jun 17, 2012 - 06:58 AM
Post subject: Re: RE: Buying Figures
bronko81 wrote:
By the way, this is a good reason to stick with GW's idea of putting big guys onto 40mm bases, as these still fit into a single square on the board (more or less), anything bigger will be hard to place next to another.
40mm bases are too large to use well with Blood Bowl. Definitely pick up 30mm non-display (ie flat) bases from somewhere that carries them. Heresy, Impact, EM4, etc.
Tom