Yeah, I'm only familiar with reapers. And even that experience is like 5 years out of date.

If wizkids hadn't gone out of business I wouldn't be familiar with the prepaints either. I was just about to jump into standees when wizkids stuff went on sale for like 30% of the original prices.

Plastic - Easier to customize (Here is my space lizard project)

Metal - Like the detail but for me customization comes first.

Repainted - I prefer to paint my own stuff and the plastic ones I've seen are kinda bendy, ick.

Prepaints, because of lack of time and skill mostly, but also because while a lot of painted minis I've seen look damned nice close up, from afar I actually think prepainted plastic ones tend to look better. Especially since each player will have his own painting style, they might not mesh with that of the opposing player(s) and I'm just a sucker for an aesthetic whole.

Personally I am quite loyal to metal. Like a lot of the other posters I started painting a long time ago when plastics were comparatively rare and of lousy quality, so it's what I'm used to. Plus I love the heft of a metal fig when I'm picking minis up and moving them about the tabletop.

Plastics come in second. I loved GW's multipart Space Marines that came out the last year of so I was playing 40k. The customization options of kits like that are just awesome, and I wish there were more out there. Unfortunately I have had some problems with plastic minis shedding limbs, heads, etc. after a few years of use.

I don't really do prepaints or paper because I'm a bit of a painting snob, though I have liked a few of the D&D prepaints that other gamers have brought to the table over the years.

For those who think quality metal minis have to be super-expensive, I say take a look around online. There are a ton of great little companies (mostly in the UK in my experience) that make truly amazing minis. Thanks to the recent implosion in the value of the pound, US buyers can get these great figs for as little as $2-$3 each and transatlantic shipping is often a mere pittance.

I have a whole article on the subject over at my blog, The Screaming Alpha. http://tinyurl.com/alqjd3 Especially for zombie minis, the UK indie companies are pretty much the best I've ever seen.

-Curry

I don't really differentiate that much between metal and plastic as far as miniatures-based pleasure goes, though I own almost no plastic minis... so I guess my line-up is;

1 - Metal
2 - Plastic
3 - Paper
4 - Pre-painted Plastics

I like the durability of a paint job on a plastic mini, but I don't have many problems at all with the durability of the same paint job on a metal mini.

Metal is my top pick because I love painting a mini. I like modifying a metal mini - harder to do, but harder to make an unfixable mistake (within my technique knowledge). If plastics were more available on an unpainted, made-for-roleplaying scale, I'd probably buy more of them. As a roleplayer, I love having a very custom, all-me model of my character I can plunk down on the tactical map. The hours and hours of making it look tolerable are fun to me, probably a symptom of self-loathing.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25140352@N03/3369569382/

I do like having a veritable army of tri-fold paper minis to back this up, though. In my GM pants, if I paint something, it had better be an end boss. Otherwise, paper guys are my go-to model because they're inexpensive and fast.

I don't hate the pre-painted D&D minis, although most of them need a couple washes before I'd consider putting them on the table..but the pre-paints I would like to use in games the most are a handful of Confrontation minis. For my money, I want something I can have a blast painting, or something I can flog on the table cheaply.

Woah! Long time no see! Welcome back!

The Auld Grump

I am still not a big fan of prepainted plastics, but a friend of mine wants me to do a repaint of his Rhemoraz. Actually, not a terrible sculpt - though a dire paint job.



Not a bad figure in regards to detail.

The Auld Grump

Are you going to strip the paint first?

I am going to try to, at any rate. I am first going to see what soaking in brake fluid does to a crappy D&D mini. If that works then I will try it on the good mini.

Looking at the WotC site, I am sorry to say that the Remorhaz, and maybe the Beholder, are the only good fig in this release cycle.

Ah well, that is two good figs more than I had expected.

My pay for this is another Remorhaz, most likely destined for Fantasycraft.

The Auld Grump, though every arctic predator should have a bright orange stripe down the middle, right?

I'm a paper convert for all the reasons Lord Ab listed, i prefer 2.5D paper as these really look good on the table but even the flats look nice...I do stick with just one persons range so that styles consistent. I also like that I can kitbash up something different if I need for a game or army...Still working on my drawing ability

After that metal but no way I can paint them fast enough.

Grump the only stuff I've found that removes DDM paint is acetone. Pretty much everything else bounces off, wish they'd paint cars in whatever that paint is. I use a super soft toothbrush dipped in acetone then sort of use it to wipe a layer of acetone on then wait 10-30secs dip brush acetone again and start to rub off.