I remember, some months back, registering for a contest through Reaper Miniatures to win a set of their new Legendary Encounters pre-painted plastic miniatures. I actually blogged about these miniatures when I first heard they were coming out. I was surprised today to find a package on my door step from Reaper. I had forgotten about the contest, and was thrilled to see that I had actually won a set of the new miniatures. The first run of the miniatures includes a set of 3 Skeletons, a set of 3 Orcs, a troll, and Orge and a Minotaur. Thanks to the folks at Reaper for holding the drawing, and for picking my name.
I thought I would write a quick review of the new miniatures, and do a quick 
comparison to equivalent pieces from the Wizards of the Coast D&D miniatures line. I will start off by saying that the miniatures are a pretty hefty plastic, that will certainly hold up to handling and table time. The bases are small, smaller than I would have expected, and not round. I would think that with D&D players being a large target audience that making the bases fit in more with the d20 combat scheme would have made sense. I think the bases are a little small, especially on the monsters, and are a bit unstable. The Minotaur does not stand up at all on it’s own, it is just a bit top heavy.
I think the Skeletons and Orcs are very nicely done, and I can see myself grabbing a few more blisters (3 to a blister) of both just to have on hand. The blister packs for both the skeletons and Orcs each had one of the swordsmen, spearmen, and archer models. I believe that the normal blisters come with three of the same model in them.
The monsters are a bit plain in the paint job department. The Ogre lacked any wash or other method to define the miniature, and the Minotaur only had minor highlighting done. I actually think they are painted similarly to how I paint, and I am terrible at highlights. I am quite pleased with the number of colors used on each miniature though, which does help them to look nice. I should note that they seem to be a bit small. Both the Minotaur and the Ogre are smaller than their D&D Mini’s counterpart, although it is most noticeable on the Ogre. The skeletons and Orcs are also a bit small but I don’t think it matters quite as much on those miniatures. The sculpts are generally nice, although I don’t really like the troll. He is a bit boring and is lacking some of the finer detail on the other monsters.
I am sure that I can give these new toys a good home, and may actually try and find a way to integrate them into an upcoming game I am trying to put together. Despite the few issues I noted above I give the new line of miniatures a thumbs up. These miniatures are a great purchase for anyone who wants to use miniatures in their game, and wants them fast.