Dr. Propaganda

Also, while doing a search of the works of Tre Manor in the store yesterday I stumbled upon; 03489 Black Orc Warriors. It is a crime against dungeon mastering that my tribe of Bones Orcs is missing these two fine specimens! If these two Orcs were to go into production, I would buy at least five of each, to match the numbers of the other Manor sculpted Orcs I received as part of my first Bones Kickstarter pledge. Right now, my players are stuck facing only 25 Orc warriors. With your help, that tribe can reach 35 in no time flat. In fact, I would nominate any of Mr. Manor's fine work, and several examples of it already exist in the Bones line. I would tend to lean towards the monsters over the characters, as I do my gaming behind the screen and prefer to collect tribe sized hordes of monsters, but I must admit, several of his barbarians sculpts are excellent, and I really like 03175 Gerrin Greystone.

Expanding upon my last request, since Reaper is starting to build furniture and set pieces, how about some instruments of torture to outfit our favorite dungeon or torture chamber? A nice iron maiden (excellent!), a quick stretch on the rack, a brazier with warming tongs and brands, a chair with iron boot, a guillotine. The possibilities are practically endless. And they could be built to display empty, or, with some minor ethical pondering, occupied, either by fresh victims, or, by skeletal remains. Throw in a couple of hooded gentlemen plying whip or pliers, and you have a great set. What DM doesn't need one?

Something I would like to see added to the line are prisoners / slaves. Generic guys (and girls) in shackles, that could be found in dungeon prisons, could be used as slaves or captives, or, could prisoners that the party has captured, are transporting, or are interrogating in the castle of some lord would be nice. I'd prefer to see them in a variety of races as well as in both genders. You never know when you might need to rescue an elven maiden, or, when an orc slave kept in a giant's keep might provide you with valuable intel.

Something I think would make a great addition to the line is prisoners, i.e. people in shackles, chains or handcuffs. I would like to see some generic prisoners, that could be used as slaves or captives, wearing simple pants or clothes, that could be used in any number of genres or settings. Maybe the stereotypical old man with wild hair and beard, shackled and foot, waiting to be discovered in any number of prison or dungeons settings and deliver valuable exposition. Also, prisoners in modern prison uniforms would be nice. I would suggest making their hands a separate piece, so that you could build them with shackles on, or, put a weapon in their hands instead if you want to build prison rioters. Finally, a prisoner in full-on Lector gear, hands and feet shackles, headgear and collar would be an interesting piece to add to the mix. These kinds of minis would be great for modern action adventure, science fiction, or superhero games.

I would like to see a few more terrain pieces that are common to my games. Gas Pumps would be a great piece of scenery. In fact any large pieces of fuel depot or refining equipment would be useful. Gunfights and such at gas stations or refineries are great action scenes, since the whole place is highly flammable and reasonably explosive.

Flying kobolds would be nice. Some bat or dragon wings, possibly slightly more draconic features. Maybe in a four pack of varied poses so you could buy up a swarm of them in a hurry.

I see several people have mentioned giants, and I would like to echo that. A wider range of Frost and Hill Giants would be great. But, I think the line should include some new or different kinds of giants as well. Sea Giants, for instance, with seaweed draped viking or roman helmets. Turbaned or pharoh-ic Desert Giants. Asian inspired River Giants with flowing robes. Kilted Highlands Giants with spiked hair and woad, throwing enourmous rocks. The great thing about Bones is it makes large monster minis attainable in large sizes or big groups. I would love to have a whole collection of distinct and varied giants to add to my games.

I think that adding large eagles to the line would be a good addition. Sandra Garrity's 14086: Giant Eagle is a great mini that would be great in Bones. Also, I would like to see some rider or saddle options for the larger monsters, especially the flying ones. The Giant Eagle would be a good example of a monster that would look great with a rider option, as would the 14077: Griffon (also by Sandra Garrity) from the first Bones Kickstarter run. I sure a few dragon riders would be generally welcomed as well.

I would like to see an original, non-copyright infringing five headed super-dragon of indeterminate gender. Possibly one that could be used as some kind of dragon monarch. I am sure someone else has requested it before now, but, it is possible that such a creature would be useful in certain upcoming releases of any number of random or obscure gaming producers / game wizards.

I would like to see a line of Dragonlance-style draconians, or winged dragon men. Ral Partha used to sell them, but now they are pretty much missing form any line of minis. With D&D Next in playtest WotC may bring Dragonlance back (stranger things have happened) and even if they don't, winged armord dragon men make great villains for any number of fantasy campaigns. I have not played Dragonlance since I was in high school, but, I am thinking of running it again soon for my current gaming group. A series of Bones dragon men would make that a lot easier and much much cooler.

Meow, I read this part. Who wouldn't?

A problem with making ethically African miniatures for a fanasy setting is the limitation on the scope of the environment. You can either make ethnically African warriors in african cultural garb (i.e. Zulus, Moors, Nubians) which makes you vulnerable to claims of cultural stereotyping, or, you can exaggerate ethnic physical traits on characters to make them obviously ethcially African but dressed in non-African garb (i.e. typical Western European fantasy garb) leaving you vulnerable to claims of physical stereotyping. Characters of any obvious ethnic group run these risks. That being said, two of my players, each or a different ethnic descent, seldom had any problem using the majority of the miniatures in the Reaper line. Changing a skin tone, or a hair color choice was often all that was needed to make the standard miniatures into "African" dwarves, "Hindi" elves, or "Asian" wizards.

First I'd like to commend you on your new line, and many of the choices you've made so far. For the first time, my low level adventurers will face a proper contingent of kobolds, and it cost me less than $20. Bravo. I would like to see the Bones line help to flesh out a lot of the common monsters that as a DM I see frequently in a variety of different game systems and world systems. I'd like to see iconic monsters (purple worm, awesome cast) and humanoids that we need large numbers (Orcs, kobolds, skeletons, all nice, but the larger casts, the gnolls, bugbears, ogres and trolls all excellent examples of the value of Bones) of added to the line to help us bulk up our stores of adversaries. Characters and unique individuals are nice, but speaking as a player the temptation to buy a bunch of heroes and run short on monsters is often overpowering. With that in mind, I'd like to reccomend the following casts: 65058: Dire Wolves (2) 65107: Dire Crocodile 65103: Stone Giant 65082: Giant Spiders (2) 65068: Owl Bear 65019: Charnel Grub 60090: Degenerate Serpentfolk 14638: Shade Beast 02697: Yeti 14537: Xeldorian, Tyrant of Darkness 14498: Nagendra Warrior 03021: Velociraptors (2) 14459: Couatl 02878: Dire Bear 14216: Harpy, Reven Adept 14209: Mossbeard, Elven Monster 03609: Hell Hound 03603: Chthon 03585: Oxidation Beast 03544: Fire Beetles (2) 03517: Mockingbeast 03487: Dragonette 03477: Brain Horror 03390: Lizardman Tyrant 03277: Hyena Pack (2) 03243: Swamp Shambler 03146: Frog Men (2) 03092: Axebeak, Prehistoric Bird 03084: Virina, Female Demon 03077: Goblins II 02917: Birdman 03528: Dust Scorpions (2) 02871: Wererats (2) 02865: Flesh Golem 02841: Basilisk 02819: Gloom Wraith 02788: Leorelex, Dragon Lion 02755: Marunma, Naga 02751: Stone Golem 02737: Dung Monster 02730: Cavern Crawler 02691: Striges 02675: Giant Snake 02674: Chimera 02665: Killer Frogs 02664: Phase Cat 02658: Stone Lurker 02639: Manticore 02631: Cockatrice 02156: Mummy Of Hakir 02486: Ogre Mage 02479: Ettin 02436: Kazala The Efreet 02379: Gargoyle Warrior 02354: Medusa 02151: Starmane, Unicorn 02012: Hooked Terror 02780: Water Elemental 02778: Air Elemental 02779: Fire Elemental 02777: Earth Elemental You also have several excellent dragons in your line up ranging from horse-sized to much larger. Any or all of these would be excellent additions to your Bones line. In addition, I would love to see you offer some of your excellent army packs (like 06002: Men At Arms Of Breonne or 06058: Mummies or any of your Lizardman sets) to flesh out tribes or armies quickly and cheaply. Thanks for Your Attention.

Ooops, forgot one. Short people are a staple of westerns ( the hotel manager in For a Few Dollars More or Linda Hunt's Stella from Silverado). When the west goes from Wild to Weird dwarfs become commonplace (Billy Curtis as Mordecai in High Plains Drifter or Tony Cox as Eight Ball in the Warrior's Way). How about a few midgets for Chronoscope / Savage World?

I really enjoy the Chronoscope and Savage Worlds miniature lines. I have a few non- specific recommendations for figures to expand selection of western miniatures, rather than specific characters or people to create. All of my suggestions would apply to either male or female figures, if not both. Characters wearing ponchos, as Clint Eastwood’s Man With No Name character, or Richard Boone’s John Fain in Big Jake. Closed, concealing the character almost entirely, or, open to reveal a gun, about to be drawn. Characters wearing fringed leathers, as James Caan does in El Dorado, or like Jay Silverheels did as TV’s Tonto. Characters dressed as military veterans. Figures that incorporate cavalry jackets or trousers, caps, ammo pouches, or sabers. Julius Carry as Lord Bowler from the Adventures of Brisco County Jr. wears a mix of a buffalo soldier’s blue coat and pants, with moccasin boots and a strung bowler. Characters with distinctive hats. Bowlers, top hats, sombreros, slouch caps, strung hats worn around the neck. Anything to make characters distinct. Canes or parasols would also be a nice touch. Characters who wield knives in preference over guns. Lou Diamond Phillips’ character Chavez y Chavez from Young Guns, Danny Trejo’s Navajas character from Desperado, and James Caan’s character Mississippi Traherne from El Dorado are all excellent examples. Characters wielding derringers. Gambler’s, fine ladies, unscrupulous robber barons, what have you. Characters wielding or carrying cut down rifles. Steve McQueen’s Josh Randall from Wanted Dead or Alive carried the Mare’s Leg. Sheena Easton’s Crystal Hawks carried one in the Adventures of Briso County Jr. as did Gina Torres’ Zoe Washburne in Firefly, Woody Harrelson’s Tallahassee in Zombieland and Woody Strode’s cameo as Stony in Once Upon a Time in the West. Characters with scatterguns in back sheaths. Lord Bowler is a good example, as is Bruce Campbell’s Ash from Army of Darkness. Characters with scoped or enhanced rifles. Tom Selleck’s Mathew Quigley from Quigley Down Under, Geoffrey Rush’ Ron from the Warrior’s Way, and even Christopher Lloyd’s Doc Brown from Back to the Future III all carry distinctive modified rifles. Characters with distinctive pistols. The LeMat combination pistol, or modified pistols like the stocked pistol carried by Lee Van Cleef’s Col. Douglas Mortimer in For A Few Dollars More. A Gatling gun and crew. Possibly multiple crews. US Army, Mexican Army, non-military gunmen. A machine gun. Models like the Browning M1889, or M1917. While historically accurate weapons would be mounted and crewed by two men, a slung version, like the ones carried by the bandits in the Warrior’s Way would be even better. Characters carrying, throwing, or even wearing dynamite. “Civilized” Indians. Indians who wear hats and coats, like Bruce Cabot’s Sam Sharpnose in Big Jake or Chief Dan George’s Lone Watie in the Outlaw Josey Wales. Singing Cowboys. Guitars are optional, but if not a Roy Rogers or Gene Autry type, then perhaps some characters like Tom Berringer’s Rex O’Herlihan from Rustler’s Rhapsody. Ten Gallon hat, woolie chaps, fancy gloves, and stylized shirts. Or, maybe some over the top Mexicanos, styled after the Three Amigos. Smoking characters. I know it isn’t very PC, but it fits the genre. Pipes, cigars, cheroots, something. And finally some characters modeled after John Wayne. The distinctive John Wayne look from the sixties, from movies like Rio Bravo and Hondo. Big mashed up hat, vest and kerchief, double buttoned fireman’s style shirt, pistol worn way back on his hip, Winchester in hand or resting on his shoulder. Fat, eye patched John Wayne as Rooster Cogburn also leaps to mind. Sorry to go on so long, thanks for your attention, hope this inspires. -Dr. Propaganda