Trifling Decisions: what will this set of miniatures be used for?

All of these decisions happen in a snap, as most people know why they are working with the particular set of figures or parts of figures in their possession.

But consider. Are they being used for:

1. A diorama? The figures will be attached or BASED to the scenery with individual bases usually hidden or removed.

2. RPG-type gaming? Usually, each individual unit will have its own base.

3. Wargaming? A group of figures may be on a base.

4. Something more exotic? Or a combination of the above?

Painting and detail needs may also vary.

For example, take a war game.

1. At the simplest level, there may not even be a reason to paint. TravelBattle pieces from Perry Miniatures are already molded in red and blue plastic (though additional units purchased will be gray).

2. Or the decision might be made to just paint each team all of one color.

3. Some war gamers will use hundreds of miniatures, mostly affixed to a base in groups. The groups are painted mostly on the outside, but in places that don’t show, it’s just black primer. Painting hundreds of units is the goal.

4. Some pieces are provided on a sprue, where everything will be painted simply, then washed/glazed, then cut from the sprue.

5. Some pieces will be painted more elaborately. They will be time-consuming, but elegant. For a trifling 8-10mm…

And how much modification (MODding) will occur before painting even commences? If you are turning Napoleonic or railway figures into knights, creating helmets, swords, bows, crossbows, shields, pennants, lances, etc., there may be a fair amount of this. If you found some knights in that scale, there may be less. If you had the basic TravelBattle units, but wanted Belgic-type shakos, there might be a mod for this. Hogwarts-type wizards might need a wand.

So sometimes, buying something close to your ideas is the best choice, cutting down on at least the mods.

There are several providers of pre-made miniatures in ZeN scale. This is a very incomplete list:

1. Perry Miniatures (UK) for styrene heroic Napoleonic 8mm https://www.perry-miniatures.com/

2. Pendraken (UK) for metal 10mm All Categories including Fantasy https://pendraken.co.uk/ (You can special order in the US from https://www.thewarstore.com/)

3. Old Glory (US) for metal Historical 10mm https://www.oldgloryminiatures.com/

4. Preiser for Railroad, styrene 8mm (many sources, including Amazon and https://www.hobbylinc.com/)

5. Dropzone Commander for Sci-fi 10mm, metal and styrene (https://ttcombat.com/ also available on Amazon)

No decision about the process is wrong. It just needs to work for you. Time and energy are considerations, and sometimes the expeditious route is the best. But whatever you choose, enjoy those trifles.