OK, so I used Hero Forge Custom Miniatures to create my own custom mini using their library of virtual bits and bobs. I know they've been around for a couple of years now, but I recently began shopping for a new mini to represent my human bard and had not had much luck finding what I was looking for.
I tried my go-to guys at Reaper, and while I did find a couple of options, I decided to keep shopping. I looked at more than a dozen manufacturer's websites and a LOT of minis. In the end, I didn't find anything that fit my needs. I went back to Reaper and narrowed my selection down to 2-3 models, and then weighed the pros and cons of picking one and customizing it. Still not entirely satisfied, it was at that point when I decided to check out Hero Forge.
The interface is intuitive and easy to use for a first time user. On the left side of the screen you have your main menu: Species, Head, Body, Clothing, Gear, Base, Mount, Pose, Color, Booth, and Buy. Most of the Species are currently geared towards fantasy races, but there are a few alien and robot options now. When you click on a menu choice like Body, a sub-menu appears that lists all the options for that category. There are a lot of options! You are only limited by your imagination and ability to mix and match.
The Color menu allows you to "paint" your mini so you can get a better idea of what it will look like with paint applied. Then, presumably, you will click on the Booth menu so you can create tokens and portraits of your hero (these are premium options).
And then it is time to Buy. And this is where you get hit in the wallet. A single hero in the base plastic is $20. Premium Plastic is $30, Color Plastic is $45, and Bronze minis are $100. If you have your own 3D printer, you can purchase the STL file for $8 (currently $4). I opted for the $20 base model, because it was my first time using the service and I had nothing to compare it to. By the time you add in tax and shipping, the total was closer to $30. But what the hell, I had recently sold a rare mini and made a tidy profit, so I decided to treat myself.
Here is Geddy, my human bard in my friend's 3.5 campaign. We have been playing on Roll20 since the outbreak of the pandemic, so he may not see use on the gaming table in our current campaign. But I still wanted to have a representation of him as I envisioned him. I chose a pose that has him doing what he does best: singing! I'm also trying to decide if I want to modify his spear and turn it into a longspear, which is what Geddy actually uses. He likes to stand behind the fighter types and stab away at the monsters.
I wouldn't mind buying another Hero Forge model again, perhaps in the next higher grade of plastic for comparison. But first I need to paint up Geddy and see how he turns out before I cross that bridge.
