Pre-painted miniatures

[Geomtje]

Hi everybody,

I am interested in getting some minis for my game; however, I do not have the time nor skill to go and paint them myself.

Does anybody know of any good pre-painted miniatures, if that’s a thing at all…

[LostWanderer]

Your best source for pre-painted minis on the cheap side would be either Wizards of the Coast or Wizkid's line of plastic D&D and Pathfinder models. They tend to be more fantastic than the pseudo Dark Age setting of Middle-earth, but there are more subdued figures in the line that would work for TOR aesthetic.

You can usually find these minis on the second-hand market. This is actually a good thing, because they're sold originally in randomized assortments and you don't know what you're going to get when bought new.

[Geomtje]

Anybody else who might have a good addition to this? Price isn't a problem per se..

[Marcus]

There are no good pre painted miniatures and never were.
If price isn't a problem there are lots of talented people painting miniatures for money. So just choose the ones you like and pay someone.

[Glorelendil]

There are no good pre painted miniatures and never were.
If price isn't a problem there are lots of talented people painting miniatures for money. So just choose the ones you like and pay someone.

That's a little extreme and subjective, but it's also true that you can find shockingly good deals on decent custom painting. It seems enough people love doing it that they're willing to work for below minimum wage.

[Rich H]

Anybody else who might have a good addition to this? Price isn't a problem per se..

If that's the case then I'd personally find someone to commission paint your miniatures to a nice tabletop standard. Since I've started painting my own and getting commission jobs done my pre-painted D&D miniatures have gathered dust - I need to get them ebayed.

[EvilSpaceOrc]

I'd look on ebay for Warhammer/LotR miniatures that could fit your needs.

Alternatively, what I did with some of my boardgames (Zombicide, Blood Rage etc) when I didn't wanted to spend too much time painting all of them - I undercoated them with a primer from a spray can, then applied wash paint and finished with matt varnish. It brings out details a lot and minis don't look like plastic, so it might be something to consider if you don't want to paint. And all the minis look consistent, which will not be the case if you buy pre-painted (unless commissioned from one person).