Gift from Dungeons Past

A few weeks ago a friend of mine at work, Tony, approached me after a meeting. He said he had a box of D&D miniatures and wanted to know if I would like them. He had heard around the office that I still played games and liked to paint miniatures. I told him of course I would take them. This the pictorial documentation of that haul.

This is the haul in total. The boxed sets and the large watch box full of loose minis.

This is all of the minis from the watch box after a quick bath in soapy water. A few broken ones but overall a really good collection of older figures. In truth this is what I thought the entire haul would be when Tony mentioned it.

Ral Partha, 1985. The set appears to be complete. The box is not in great shape but the minis inside look just like the day they were made. A wonderful blast from the past.

Grenadier Models 5004 Tomb of Spells. From the figures it looks like the second release of this set when they swapped out some monsters for the cockatrice and a shrieker. Probably produced around 1981.

Grenadier Models 5002 Monsters. The foam has been losing the battle with time but the minis are still in great shape. This set appears to be short a few models.

 Grenadier Models 2001 Wizards and 2012 Dwellers Below. Missing a wizard. 

Grenadier Models 2002 Halflings and 2003 Dwarves. Both sets appear complete and some minor painting.

Grenadier Models 2008 Thieves and 2011 Orc's Lair. Two thieves escaped and all orcs accounted for.

Grenadier Models 2004 Hirelings and 2005 Fighting Men. "Fighting Man" evolved into "Fighter" by the time Advanced Dungeons and Dragons came out. The term was still fairly common into the mid-eighties. And of course we have a missing fighter.

Grenadier Models 2010 Denizens and 2009 Wizard's Room. I think these are both complete even though a compartment in the box is empty I believe the white figure in the stone ring belongs there. The Snake in the Denizens set was my daughter's favorite followed closely by the lizard in the Wizard's Room set.

There it is. The haul of a lifetime in classic D&D figures. I am probably going to paint a few of them to see if "modern" techniques hold up on these classics. The ironic thing with these boxed sets is that when these we being produced I generally bought smaller packs and single figures. Getting them now is just amazing.