Miniatures!

[Dozus]

Anyone use many miniatures in their gaming?

I'm packing up my stuff to move and have come across a few minis my friend and I used to paint in high school.  Most of them were D&D minis, but now it seems all Wizards sells are pre-painted plastic Chainmail minis (anything pre-painted disgusts me).  We had a fn time painting them (we worked as a team since I was a poor artist: I mixed the colors and decided color schemes, he did the painting).  I'm wondering if I shouldn't start the ol' modelling hobby again.

For you experienced mini folks out there, where can I get decent metal figures for a decent price?  What kinds of paints work best?  What are some of the more interesting collections out there?

[Wulfhere]

There are plenty of good companies out there, but I've found myself painting Reaper minis a lot lately.
http://www.reapermini.com/

I like a lot of the miniatures offered by Games Workshop, but their hardball business practices and high prices turn me off.  They are infamous for the way that they have mistreated those who do business with them and their monopolistic schemes in England would have gotten them sued in the US.

Rackham's Confrontation miniatures have some impressive pieces, but they're not so cheap either.  A lot of their minis are... unusual, to say the least.
http://www.rackham-store.com/boutique_us/liste_rayons.cfm?code_lg=lg_us

As far as paints go, it's hard to get the better oil-based paints anymore.  Acrylic seems to be the current standard.  You will need to carefully clean, primer, and seal your minis to make the paints last well.  Paint behavior can be affected by such factors as the climate where you live, so I can't advise you what would be best.  When I moved to the West from New England, I was surprised by the difference in the paint's behavior.

[EchoMirage]

I did a fair share of painting Warhammer, so I naturally use those minis, though Rackham... the pieces are great. Not so good when you want to field a million goblins, though... they DO burden the budget quite a bit. As for colors, I strongly recommend the 'tall' acrylic colors (with a tiny opening at the top, don't dry if you just stash them for half a year), either Games Workshop game color, or the Vallejo colors, both acryl.

As for brushes, I use a 0 for the crude stuff (undercoat), a 2-0 for the finer stuff (standard brush) and a 4-0 or 5-0 for the fine stuff: ornaments, eyes, gems...

PM me if you want a hint.