Miniatures, Wargaming and Terrain
Playing with miniature soldiers to replicate the great battles of history has been a hobby for thousands of years. It seems that the first miniatures used for these purposes were carved from bone or wood, then ivory. The hobby has similarities with chess, as different pieces move in their own ways and possess different strategic values. But there is something more dynamic and fluid about the movement of miniature soldiers across a replica of real terrain, or movement of monstrous pieces across a fantasy battlefield.
While the hobby has faded away in recent years with the advent of Real-Time-Strategy games on the computer, there are aspects of the hobby that still remain viable and unique compared to the computer derived experience. There are those who collect the figurines, those who paint their miniatures with immaculate detail, knowing that their soldiers will mever see play on a gaming table, there are those who build incredible elements of terrain almost bordering on the hobbies of model railroading and architectural modelling. Despite the fact that only a small portion of the world enjoys this hobby, it has incredibly diversity covering the realms of art, history, mathematics, geography and even commerce.
There are dozens of great manufacturers for miniatures, and quite a few producers of miniature gaming accessories. These pages are not meant to be a substitute for the volumes of data contained on their respective websites, or in their numerous publications.