Product (P)Review: Elemental Enemies from Trash Mob Minis
Unless your D&D campaigns take place entirely within the theatre of the mind, you need a good way to visually represent what is happening on the battle map. Minis are the perfect way to do this, and there are a lot of options when it comes to minis. You can buy the booster packs from Paizo or WOTC. You can buy unpainted Reaper minis, or create your own from various sources online. The upside? They're all 3D. The downside? They will cost you a bit of cash, and since you've already dished out much moola for the source books, you might be feeling a little light in the gold pouch and need a more cost-effective alternative.
Paper minis are the perfect solution, and Trash Mob Minis has an excellent assortment to choose from, all at a very reasonable cost!
One of their offerings is an elemental pack called Ultimate Elementals, a truly beautiful pack perfect for adding a touch of the elements into your campaign. A companion pack for UE is in the works, called "Elemental Enemies", due to be released mid to late December. I had the privilege of sampling a few of these upcoming minis, which consisted of an earth cultist, water cultist, earth myrmidon, and a 2.5D water weird, complete with those weird face tentacle-snake-things.
First, let me say that arts and crafts have never been a strength of mine, so don't let my poor cutting job reflect the quality of the product. That part is totally on me!
I printed out the minis on standard white printer paper, though for added durability, I would recommend using card stock if you're able. It'll make your minis last longer, for starters. The minis were easy enough to cut out, and there are fold-lines included to help you know how to assemble the final product. It's really simple and straightforward.
The Trash Mob minis size up well against their plastic counterparts and make really nice additions to the battlefield. The artwork is gorgeous and colourful, giving the 2D cutouts an almost 3D feel to them.
The water weird is definitely my favourite of the four pictured so far. The extra cutouts, when attached to the sides, really give it some extra dimension. The art makes it both adorable and ferocious looking at the same time (is that even possible?!), and I certainly would love to throw this baddy up against my players.
To use the Trash Mob Minis, you'll need a few things:
- a decent colour printer
- good paper or card stock
- a pair of sharp scissors good for detailed cutting (or a pen knife, exacto knife, etc.)
- glue (I used plain ol' white glue and it worked perfectly)
You'll also need a little bit of patience, as cutting out every mini can be a bit time consuming, and if you're like me (see aforementioned lack of crafting skills), you might get frustrated. If cutting really isn't your thing, find a friend to give you a hand. I've often called on a player or two to help me in my prep for sessions, and they were happy to lend a hand!
So how do the minis stack up overall?
Function 5/5
These minis serve exactly as intended and more than hold their own against their more expensive 3D counterparts. Functionally speaking, they are perfect.
Form 5/5
Easy to print, cut, and assemble, though as mentioned, the finer details require a good deal of patience if you want the final product to look perfect. They are two-sided, with different art for the front and the back, adding to the overall 3D illusion.
Feel 5/5
These minis are absolutely gorgeous! There's really no other way to put it. The cartoon-like look might not appeal to everyone, especially those going for a darker, more serious tone to their games, but the quality of the artwork cannot be denied. They add a lot of brightness and colour to the board, making it really easy to tell which figure is which.
Final 5/5
I really can't say enough about Trash Mob Minis. They are more than worth the low cost, and if you haven't purchased more of their sets yet, you'd be wise to head on over to their DriveThru RPG page and get shopping! The best part about paper minis is, once purchased, you can print out as many as you need without breaking the bank to create your horde of undead or elemental army. Just print and cut out more whenever you need them.
Be sure to keep an eye out for the Elemental Enemies add-on coming out soon and add them to your miniatures collection right away! The final product will include the four minis pictured here, as well as more armored cultists, a cult leader, a creature, and myrmidons for all four elements. Next time you run a Temple of Elemental Evil campaign, you'll be more than ready to go!
A big thanks to the Trash Mob Boss for hooking me up with these samples! Show TMM some love on Twitter and give your support to these excellent D&D resources.
