Cheap RPG Minis Are A Snap With Clix
The unsuspecting donor
[Editor's Note: This is our first article from my talented buddy Kev McClain, whose painted minis have appeared on the site several times before. ]
More and more RPGs are using miniatures these days. D&D of course is the most prevalent, but Savage Worlds is another good example. If you’re a GM and minis painter like me, you love to put awesome miniatures out on the tabletop to torment your players. Sadly, I don’t have a heck of a lot of time to paint them these days, which can lead to the same handful of figs being used over and over again to represent different foes. I often end up saying, “These orc minis are gnolls this time guys. Just imagine them browner and hairier.” It works well enough but sort of takes me out of the mood.
I was at Gen Con this year when an idea struck me. Looking at all the assorted prepainted miniatures in the exhibit hall I realized that many of them were of decent enough quality
This won't hurt a bit
for most of my gaming needs. Of course there is the D&D line of miniatures that are made for the fantasy setting, and they look great, though I’ve always felt they were somewhat expensive. Of course, not everyone plays in a fantasy setting. You could be playing D20 Modern, White Wolf’s Storyteller, or even Star Wars. Where are you going to get miniatures for those sorts of games.
To your rescue comes the Clix line of miniatures produced by WizKids. I didn’t realize just how many settings they covered. From sci-fi to horror to superheroes, there is a set that can fit into almost any setting. As an added bonus a lot of them can be had online for fairly cheap. Of course, there are a couple of downsides to Clix minis.
Resting comfortably
First, they tend to be a little big for the gaming table compared to more common 25/28mm minis, maps, and scenery. They were intended to be used with other Clix on the big 1.5” grid maps printed for the system, so fitting them on a standard 1” square or hex map can be a challenge.
Just one more use for superglue
Second Clix minis are package with a random assortment in every box. This can be a good or bad thing depending on your outlook. You MAY get just what you want, but opening every box is a little like Christmas morning. You just don’t know if you’ll end up with socks and shirts from your Aunt Martha or an Xbox 360 from your rich Uncle Stan.
Third, some of the Clix minis can get a bit bent or warped in their boxes, especially if you are buying a set that’s old or out of print. They’ve probably been sitting bent those boxes for a long time in a hot, dusty warehouse somewhere. Fortunately, some careful bending aided with a bit of gentle heat if necessary can quickly set most problems to rights.
Warning: The next paragraph will make anybody who plays Clix games shudder. Look at the bright side; I’m increasing the value of YOUR miniatures.
Welcome to your new home
Ready to steal brains again
If you don’t like the oversized bases you can in most cases easily pop the figure off of them with a pair of modeling clippers. Then you can rebase them on something else closer to the correct size. I like to use the Gale Force Nine: Econo Bases. They’re cheap, and come in a wide variety of useful sizes and shapes. You can use anything flat you like. A dab of superglue on the base and most of the miniatures sit very well.
By using Clix you can greatly expand your miniatures collection without spending a fortune. As an added bonus, some of the random Clix minis can supply inspiration for many unique encounters to keep your players on their toes. Go be creative, and give your PC’s hell.
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Your idea is a great one…and you’re not the only one repurposing Clix figurines. Up until recently, my local comic/game store had a “Clix bin”, worth anything from a quarter for a common street punk to $3 for a more powerful hero, and I’d regularly grub through it. (I’d also sometimes find boxes of Mage Knight and bags of preowned Clix at second-hand and liquidation/overstock stores.) Over time, I collected castoffs to be modded for Warhammer 40K. Bandanna-wearing thugs make decent Imperial Guard Catachans (especially when glued into vehicles where their bigger scale isn’t as noticable), anything with a police or Special Ops uniform fit as Commissars and Stormtroopers, mystical robed heroes and villains become Sanctioned Psykers, big hulking guys/gals can serve as Ogryn(ettes)s, and exotic heroines in flowing action poses double as Daemonettes, just to name a few. Really though, with a bit of imagination and some clippers, glue, putty, and paint, all kinds of Clix/Mage Knight/Mechwarrior figs can become just the thing you need for the game you play, and stretch your gaming dollar as well. Mod away!
Thanks for the comment, Sean. Man, back when I was playing 40k the fanboys would have blown a fuse if I wanted to use Clix guys as proxies. I guess things have loosened up a bit, eh? Using them in vehicles and the like does sound like a good way to minimize the scale problems.
I’ve collected some of Wizkids AVP Alien series + an Alien Queen. I repainted the scenery on the queen base, because it was a poor paint job with childish colors. Can’t have alien eggs looking like roses… Eventually I will have some pictures of this on my homepage, but it’s gonna take me a while to redo the site. The alien drones are excellent to use in Space Hulk environment. I’m planning to rebase them, but right now I’ve gotta paint the real Space hulk minis and a bunch of other minis.
Cool idea! I didn’t even know there WAS an AvP series. Veerry interesting…
I had used a method that I had read on one of the site on removing the clixy type figure from the bases. This method will remove the figure without damaging the feet (as clippers just won’t do the job sometimes). Pop the figure you want to remove from the base into your freezer wait an hour or so and snap the base off. The glue used will break before the figure will for the most part. You still need to be careful though. I tried it and it worked like a charm.
Sounds like a good technique to try. Thanks for sharing!