Tabletop miniatures

A miniature figure (also known as a miniature, mini, figure, mini-fig or fig) is a small-scale representation of a historical or mythological entity used in miniature wargames, role-playing games, and dioramas. Miniature figures are commonly made of metal, plastic, or paper. They are used to augment the visual aspects of a game and track position, facing, and line of sight of characters. Miniatures are typically painted and can be artfully sculpted, making them collectible in their own right. Pre-painted plastic figures, such as Clix miniatures produced by WizKids, have also become popular. The hobby of painting, collecting, and playing with miniatures originated with toy soldiers, though the latter were generally sold pre-painted.

Traditionally, miniatures were cast in white metal, an alloy of lead and tin. A small amount of antimony was sometimes added to improve the alloy's ability to take fine detail. In 1993, the New York legislature introduced a bill outlawing lead in miniatures, citing public health concerns. Many miniature manufacturers, anticipating that other states would also impose bans, began making figures with lead-free alloys, often at increased price. After months of debate and protests by miniature manufacturers and enthusiasts, New York Governor Mario Cuomo signed a bill which exempted miniatures from the state's Public Health Law. Despite this, most American manufacturers continued to use non-lead alloys.

In addition to metal miniatures, manufacturers offer figures in plastic (polyethylene or hard polystyrene) and resin . Some wargames use box miniatures, consisting of card stock folded into simple cuboids with representative art printed on the outside.

With metrication in the United Kingdom, United States manufacturers began to use the metric system to describe miniatures, as opposed to the previously popular imperial units, so that their table-top wargaming models would be compatible. In 28 mm scale, children and short characters such as dwarves, hobbits, and goblins are smaller than 28 mm, while taller characters like ogres, trolls and dragons are larger.

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