Pre-Painted Plastic Miniatures

I haven't been much of a fan of this new era of Dungeons and Dragons miniatures. I'm from the old school lead miniatures from Grenadier that never looked anything like the character you created, but you were able to paint them up yourself and many of them had backpacks as true adventurers should. But because I am quickly becoming a fan of the new Dungeons & Dragons game, I decided to pick up a box of the latest set of minis (Lords of Madness). I have to say that today, I am glad that I did, because I pulled an Elder Blue Dragon (very rare) and it is easily one of the finest looking figures that Wizards has produced so far. And just to make things a little more satisfying - eBay and many of the online retailers are pricing this one out anywhere from $45 to $60! Ya gotta love that.

Castle Ravenloft - First Glance

Despite my wallet's better judgement, I picked up the new D&D Boardgame, Castle Ravenloft. Yes, I was once a D&D fanatic. Back in the days when there was such a thing as "THACO". I haven't played in many years, but I have followed the game periodically and even collected some of the minis. What can I say, it brings back some great memories with Owlbears and whatnot. So, imagine my excitement when one of my favorite games of old, was getting a stripped down version. I just had to have it. So I dropped the coin and unboxed it in the wee hours when the wife and kids were asleep. At first glance, I have to admit that I really liked what I saw. Here are my first observations:

1. A bit of a hefty price tag - $65 (but worth it, so far)
2. Big-ass box (not the flimsy, crushable kind)
3. Heavy card stock tiles and character cards (ala Descent)
4. Awesome, well organized storage tray that holds tiles, minis, dice, cards, etc.
5. Minis seem to be made of a sterner plastic than the collectible figs, although there is some reproduction of some of the collectible figs. (unpainted, but no big deal)
6. New board game due out this fall that can be used with Castle Ravenloft
7. Rulebook is less than 15 pages
8. Well illustrated rulebook, (but that's one of the best parts of 4th Edition - the art)
9. 1 - 5 players, which means you can actually play the game solo

I'll post pics of the stuff as soon as I can, I'm going to try and work through the rules and a solo game tonight, but it looks pretty easy.