Along the with publications mentioned yesterday, there were also miniatures produced for Gamma World 1st Edition.
The miniatures were produced by Grenadier, who also did many of the original Advanced Dungeon and Dragon miniature sets (The legendary "Gold Label" line). They came in two styles: Larger sets of 20 miniatures (2) and smaller "blister pack" sets (52). They are also manufactured in good old 1980's lead (and people were concerned about licking lead paint walls at the time...)
The boxed sets consisted of two groups: Denizens (the set above) and Adventurers (the set below) and were apparently selected on some random combination of what the originators thought were the coolest or most easiest to manufacture.
One of my boxes has the original flyer for the first Miniature painting contest at DragonCon, which is a pretty cool piece of history (and pretty obscure).
These sets are still pretty readily available on the InterWeb (largely eBay). One can pick them up from anywhere between $90 and $325, depending on how desperate one is (I certainly did not pay the high end either time).
(Badders: Mutant Badgers. Handily armed with a series of medieval weapons)
Blister packs (52) contained anywhere from two to six miniatures depending on the the nature of the miniature (generally, "human" sized miniatures were six, "larger than human" sized were two). These had a much wider range in general than the boxed sets, ranging from different sorts of mutants to villagers (because even the 25th century needs villagers!) to robots and robot tankettes.
(Hoops (mutant rabbits), two of a blister pack. Again, my favorite. Also one of the hardest to find as they are snapped up almost immediately)
Blister packs are, on the whole, a great deal more rare. They tend to come in two categories: Unopened (which people seem to believe somehow justifies a huge premium, because the market is mysteriously that big), and either in the pack opened or loose. Of the 52 packs, I have maybe only ever seen 10-12 of them for sale ever. I am not sure if this is a function of someone holding onto them for the lead content in the case of the Apocalypse or simply that they were much less produced overall and we have not yet cycled through that generation's "selling of the things".
(This is some kind of flying insect - Cal Then? Soul Besh? Blaash? One of those. It is a "giant" miniature and as such, actually might put a dent in an actual human).
You will note that all of the miniatures I have are unpainted. Once upon a time (back in the long, long ago) I painted and enjoyed painting the AD&D miniatures (Grenadier and Ral Partha). Now that I am older I now longer feel the need, partially because these are collectables (and even more so than my printed materials, might have a little bit of value) and partially because of the fact that by painting them, I almost take away the potential of what they might look like in that I impose my own vision of what they should be. The grey and/or primer color leaves the possibilities open.
A miniature manufacturer, Mirilton, bought the Grenadier molds in the 2018 timeframe. I was pretty excited, as I was hopeful that they would bring some of the rarer blister packs back into production. They did do a Kickstarter (which I participated in and got some of the Badders above), but really seem to have just concentrated on the AD&D line (specifically here, if you are so inclined). I understand in that AD&D was far more popular than Gamma World was; that said, I am a little disappointed that they did not get anything else into production (again, Hoops would have been ideal).
Like my published materials, there is little point to any of this beyond personal satisfaction. I do check on eBay to see what comes available but 95% of it is always the same thing: the same miniatures which were broken out of the larger boxed sets (and I already own) and the occasional blister pack which is priced into the stratosphere. Which is all really okay, of course: because it does give me the potential of always finding the next blister pack just around the corner.
Sometimes, even with something so trivial, it is good to have something to look forward to.
Interesting minis TB......"Badgers.......we don't need no steeeenking Badgers!"
ReplyDeleteNylon12 - You are not incorrect in noting the certain level of silliness involved here. It was one of the noteworthy aspects of Gamma World 1st Edition that was sadly pulled out of later editions in a need for "realism".
Delete(And Badders were no joke: tough, well armed, used technology if they could find it.)
I had a friend in Houston that painted miniatures. I seem to recall something like what you have here. He may have been playing Gamma World. It was all very weird and new to me then (91-94). Living as far out in the county as I did, I never even heard of these things until the Mothers Against Dungeon and Dragons was a thing.
ReplyDeleteI think God was really watching out for me. We moved way out when I was 13, and I started working that fall for a farmer down the way. And I've been working for someone in some capacity since. There were chores at home, paid work for others, and things to do (working on brakes, changing out carbs with a buddy, vermin control, gardening, canning, running fence, gravy I'm getting tired just thinking about it all....) I didn't have time to get in much trouble. And for sure little time to play games like this.
This is very neat though. Very neat indeed.
STxAR - It is still a huge hobby; although I never got into Warhammer 40K people literally collect and paint entire armies.
DeleteMine was a fairly benign passing interest: we were never too serious about it and my schoolwork or other activities never suffered from it. I could certainly then - and now - draw a distinction between fantasy and reality. But for a kid that loved fantasy and science fiction and was an introverted, it likely kept me out far more foolish activities seeking attention and adventure.
That said, they (literally) just make me happy by being there. I keep telling myself I do not need another collection, but those Gold Label D&D characters are relatively affordable and available...
I had miniatures of the SSI Gold box games at one time. They were all pewter, as I recall. Shiny, I remember.
ReplyDeleteNo idea what happened to them.
You all be safe and God bless!
That is super cool Linda! I played Pool of Radiance back in the day.
DeleteA friend had the Star Trek ship miniatures for the (FASA?) game. Loved those.
ReplyDeleteI think it was FASA John, although I only played it briefly. For some reason the starship war model never caught on with me.
DeleteWe played twice. I still have the original (in box). But the computer game based on the same mechanics rocked.
DeleteNice! There is something about 1980's Games (boxed sets and computer games) with their things and paraphernalia that modern books lack. Yes I know, wasted resources and all that, but still.
DeleteYour problem, TB, is that you are too serious. Kids know how to take care of themselves and mental health. They will cheerfully cut classes on Friday afternoon, or weekend chores to break and have an impromptu cut throat game of D&D, or chuck the Frisbee around or what have you. Goofing off is actually a virtue if done right. Perhaps this will explain your penchant for silly old childhood games - and perhaps your subconscious is maybe telling you something? Maybe the psychological 'check engine' light came on?
ReplyDelete:D
The Filthie Psychologist
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To quote a movie (the title of which escapes me now), "I do not think that man ever practiced medicine".
DeleteMaybe you are right Glen. Certainly the last two years has not been what I had hoped for or anticipated.