Miniatures are a mainstay of games. They even exist in the earliest examples of gaming. There is something about having a playing piece that denotes an actual physical thing rather than just an abstract idea. For example, a miniature pig adds character and context to a game in a way that a simple stone marker cannot.
So it is no surprise to find that miniatures have existed in games through out history. We may not know all of the rules to these games, but we do know that they were played, and there were playing pieces carved to look like what they were intended to represent.
In my childhood little green army men and vibrantly colored space themed figures were toys I used for entertainment.
Like lots of kids I made my own rules and played my games with them. Imagine my surprise to see that these same toys are having a renaissance today and have returned to production. As a kid the idea of painting them did not occur to me. That happened when I was introduced to Dungeons and Dragons.
PSA
Lead miniatures bad m’kay. Don’t play with unpainted lead.
END PSA
Dungeons and Dragons miniatures were tiny, lead lumps sculpted to look like monsters and heroes. Grenadier Models and Ral Partha were the miniature juggernauts at the time. Miniatures came in blister packs. Sometimes there was a thin piece of sponge to keep the miniature from poking thorough the cardstock of the package. There is a story of casting my own lead miniatures in the kitchen I will share at some point, lessons were learned
Painting skills came the hard way, like many things. The miniatures just looked better with paint on them. Little did I know it was actually safer to handle them after they were painted. What follows is a small selection of 10 miniatures I have painted. They are a across section of manufacturers and games. Not all of them are amazing. What they do show is that it only takes a little willingness to throw paint on a miniature with a brush and the dull grey metal masses, or bright plastic hordes, will look infinitely better.
– Dru
Dru's Den of Ill Repute 
I am open to comments regarding this post.