Lead Market Report - September 2011

This is my penance for procrastinating. The August LMR was only live for a couple of days and there I was, deep into September's LMR. I REALLY need to stay current on the LMR or the beast grows another head, much like your garden-variety hydra.

ARCHIVE: A roper, umber hulk, snake, and lizard walk into a bar...and promptly get sold for $31! Gotta watch out for those Underdark lead slavers. Even more impressive was the sale of this huge Imperial Dragon for $232.50! Original box, instructions, 1978 catalog, and a complete and unassembled dragon - nice.

CITADEL: This trio of AD&D (or ADD in Citadelese) Sahuagin hit their BIN of $25. I don't know why this troll didn't top $9, but it didn't. Seems like the bigger ADD critters usually do better, like this beholder for $28 or this minotaur for $23. And $18 for this 3-mini set of female fighters seems about average for this line.

COMET MINIATURES: Battlestar Galactica! $32 for a pair of iconic ships (Colonial Viper & Cylon Raider) seems like a nice price to me, as I have never seen these before.

DARK HORSE: Turtleheads love their lead, as evidenced by this blister for a cool $60. In the small lot category, this lot of 12 minis commanded $83.

GAMESCIENCE: Why yes, I am covering a lot of first-time manufacturers this month. This lot of Star Trek ships went for $74. I had a chance to pick up a small handful of these for a buck each when American Eagles went under. Oh, hindsight, you are a cruel mistress!

GAMES WORKSHOP: The Inquisitor blisters of spare parts seem quite rare, such as this IG booster pack for $43.

GRENADIER: I'd have to go back and check, but it seems like the Grenadier AD&D Gold Line box sets have been trending upwards. Damn, and I have just recently decided to add those to my collection want list! Folks are even dropping modest amounts for incomplete sets, like this lot of 4 for $50 and this lot of 4 for $66. Considering how easy it is to Frankenstein a set, this isn't a bad way to go IMO, as long as you're getting a good deal on the lots. Of course, there are always bargains to be had as well. Giant Griffon? $14.47. Masterpiece Death Dragon? $12.50. Big-ass Shadow Dragon? $10.61. Imperial Dragon? $10.50. Special Edition Roc? $6.17 (and no, that is not a misprint!)

The Gamma World line from Grenadier continues to be HOT! How hot? How about 8 blisters to the tune of over $80 per blister? That's right, this lot of 8 brought in a tidy $656.

He-Man? He has the power! The Raid of He-Man was powerful enough to take in $33.

Even more powerful than He-Man is the power of the force. Long live Star Wars! A Snowspeeder rang up $61, and this pair of Speeder Bikes a much more modest $21.50.

Chasing the Giants Club line? $13.49 for the Sea Giant or the Titan are both excellent prices. This unboxed Fire Giant for $32 seems high (unless you are the seller), but I guess folks love 'em. I mean, this Fire Giant was a steal at 99 cents (how did I not bid on this?!?), so go figure.

Not lead, but paper! Here is a batch of vintage Grenadier Bulletins (the black & white newsletters, not the color ones) that recently sold. I love printed materials like this, as it truly represents miniature info in the pre-Internet days. Volume 1 #2 sold for $22.50, Volume 1 #3 sold for $29, Volume 1 #4 sold for $32, Volume 1 #6 sold for $35, Volume 1 #7 sold for $29, Volume 1 #8 sold for $7.50, Volume 1 #10 sold for $8.50, Volume 1 #11 sold for $8.50, Volume 1 #16 sold for $23.50, the 1982 Catalog & Bulletin combo sold for $29, and finally the 1982 Dragon! Dragon! Product Update sold for $17.

HERITAGE: A couple of big-ticket items for Heritage this month: a big honking lot of Der Kriegspielers Fantastiques (the unofficial LOTR line) that sold for $712! This lot was a mixed bag of DD, Grenadier, and a ODD white box. Any way you slice it, I feel it went way too low, even as a lot for $316. I mean, look at this next item - granted, it is still NIS, but $165 for the Adventuring Characters? Never underestimate the power of shrink, I guess.

HINCHLIFFE MODELS: Because I spend a bit of time looking for Ray Lamb sculpts (Superior Models), I inevitably come across his other work. And this beautiful samurai for Hinchliffe seems to be one of the better-known and in-demand models. This particular Taisho sold for just under $77. If you want to read some background on Frank Hinchliffe, check out this informative blog entry.

LEADING EDGE GAMES: $16.36 buys you a beat-up but complete blister of Sentry Guns. This lot of three sets was incomplete, but still went for $36.50.

OTHERWORLD: Otherworld minis are not vintage lead, but they do make some beautiful minis that look like the old-school monsters from BITD. Pig-faced orcs, anyone? This lot of 6 critters took in $52, which was a bargain compared to the full retail prices.

RACKHAM: I don't follow Confrontation minis, but this massive lot caught my eye, as well as $609 from the buyer's bank account.

RAL PARTHA: Now this first lot is not Ral Partha per se, but it was cast by RP and sold as the only official set of Finieous Fingers miniatures (Phineous Phigures in the ads, if I recall correctly). Not only is it complete with all 8 minis, but it comes with the original box and inserts! At just under $68, I call that a deal - a little more than $8 per figure + packaging works for me. If anyone out there has a spare Kask the Wizard, I need him to complete my own set (hint hint).

If I'm going to buy 11-series still in the blister, I don't mind prices like $12.28 for the Mimics. $78 for a Pit Fiend? I'm so glad I bought mine for retail back in the day. This Gelugon was only $23, but maybe that's because his spear has been modified. The bargain I passed up (but wished I had snapped up) was this lot for a mere $80. A great price considering the contents of the lot.

RP Box Sets - Takhisis is always in demand, and NISB can only add to the bottom line - $148.50. This nice & complete Menzo set went for $42. A mostly complete Bridge of Sorrows sold for $16. I've always liked the Elf Chariot, and $21 seems like a decent price. I don't see this Mastadon too often, so $32 is not what I would consider too high. This trio of The Red Dragon of Krynn, Bear Chariot of the Icelands, and the Black Prince's Chariot of Fear sold for $84. Finally, this Imperial Dragon commanded a tidy $124.

Battletech - $20.50, $25 and $25 for a NIP Rifleman is pretty much par for the course. If you are more like me, you'd probably rather spend $23 and get this pair of Warhammer and Shadow Hawk mechs. If you want a new Warhammer or a new Marauder, it's gonna set you back right around $40. For $172, you could have adopted this lot. Or for the same price, this much smaller lot. To each his own, no?

REAPER: I'm not sure why the seller settled on $47.29 as the BIN for this lot, but I know it sorely tempted me! 28 packs of Reaper's early recasts of Dungeon Dwellers is what you were buying. Even more tempting was this incredible bargain: 3 new brushes, 28 Pro Paints, 16 Master Paints, and 27 miniatures. The BIN? A paltry $65!!! I'm still kind of kicking myself for not snapping this one up. Rounding out Reaper this month is their dracolich, Kaladrax the Dire Drake for only $20.

TARGET/HEARTBREAKER: While the Mutant Chronicles games are niche games, the universe itself is quite rich and generates a loyal core of enthusiasts. And Warzone collectors are not afraid to spend, even though most of the OOP minis are quite often bargains. This massive Bio-Giant sold for a tidy $51. Or you could have picked up a Bio-Giant plus a small truckload of other minis and books, etc. for a hefty $330. Need more? This big old lot of Warzone goodness took in $405.

Thankfully, you can still obtain a good selection of Warzone minis through Prince August.

MISC: Got dice? Since there is a blister of Dungeon Dwellers dice, I could list this under the Heritage heading, but there are way too many other sets, so it falls under MISC this month. Somebody REALLY wanted these dice, to the tune of $255! Wowsers!! I hope they're good for a few well-timed critical hits...

I'm not sure what brand of minis is stamped PPC, but this large lot of Star Trek ships and characters sold for $140.49.

You can't tell from the pics if these two MPC AD&D plastic kits are complete or not, but to get both of them for $31 seems fair to me.

Probably the coolest and most unique item is this D&D table that Bill Owen and Bob Bledsaw of Judges Guild fame used to game on. If I was in or around Illinois, I would have bid on this for sure. Seems like a bargain at just under $78.

Finally, here's a grab bag lot of many different minis from various manufacturers. While I'm pretty sure I've seen larger lots (contrary to the seller's claim), it's still a neat assortment that sold for $274.