Reaper Miniatures facts for kids

Reaper Miniatures is an American company that makes small figures. These figures are usually 25–35 millimeters tall. They are made from pewter (a type of metal) or plastic. The figures include characters from fantasy worlds and science fiction stories.

Brothers Ed and David Pugh started the company in 1992. It began in Fort Worth, then moved to Lewisville, and now it is in Denton, Texas. Reaper Miniatures also creates tabletop games that you can play with their figures. The company's special mascot is a character named Sophie.

How Reaper Miniatures Started

Reaper Miniatures began on July 4, 1992, in Fort Worth, Texas. At first, they made two types of miniatures. One was "Distinguished Flying Collectibles," which were World War II aircraft. The other was "Renaissance Dreams," a line of fantasy jewelry.

In April 1993, Reaper moved to Lewisville, Texas. There, they brought back some older miniature lines they owned. They combined these into the "Dungeon Dweller" 25 mm fantasy line.

Reaper grew bigger and needed more space by August 1994. They moved into a 2,500 square foot warehouse in Lewisville. In late 1995, they launched the "Scrye Counter" series. These were accessories for collectible card games. Over 500,000 of them have been sold around the world.

The "Dark Heaven" 25 mm fantasy line started in 1996. This line is the best-selling fantasy role-playing game (RPG) miniature line globally. Reaper also started selling its products in Europe. They partnered with a miniatures company in England.

In July 1998, Reaper launched several new lines. These included the "Warlord" 25 mm fantasy line and the "CAV N-scale sci-fi line." CAV stands for "Combat Assault Vehicle." They also released "Reaper Box Sets" and their own paint lines. In January 2004, Reaper moved again to a new factory in Denton, Texas.

The company has run five Bones Kickstarter campaigns. Kickstarter is a way for people to help fund projects. These campaigns helped Reaper launch and grow their plastic miniature lines. The first campaign ended on August 26, 2012. People pledged over US$3 million, which was a huge amount at the time. The second campaign also raised over $3 million. The third campaign was the shortest, raising $2.7 million in July 2015. The fifth campaign started in October 2019.

Reaper also makes two types of acrylic paints. These paints are water-based and are made for painting their miniatures.

Online Community and "The Asylum"

Reaper Miniatures has an active online community. People can talk about their figures and games on the company's online forum.

Reaper also has a special place called "The Asylum." This is where they research and develop their games. "The Asylum" is open to the public. It also works like a company store. You can buy Reaper products there. They also sell many family board games and different role-playing games.

Miniature Lines

As of 2013, Reaper has five main lines of miniatures. They also have two smaller lines.

Current Miniature Lines

• Dark Heaven Legends: These figures are mostly for fantasy role-playing games. They include many models for game campaigns. You can find characters, monsters, and even small accessories. This line has over 3,000 different figures.
• Warlord (miniature game): This is a very popular skirmish game by Reaper. It takes place in a fantasy world called Taltos. Ten different groups fight for control of different areas. Players battle each other and then report their wins and losses online. This helps the game world change and grow.
• Bones: This line takes popular figures from "Dark Heaven Legends" and "Chronoscope." They are made from plastic instead of metal. They are "Ready to Paint" right out of the box. They cost much less than metal figures. The "Bones" line has been funded by several successful Kickstarter campaigns.
• Combat Assault Vehicle (CAV): This is a science fiction game. It is similar to another game called BattleTech. Like "Warlord," players fight battles and post their results online. Ten fighting groups battle for control over six planets. A new version, CAV 2, is being developed.
• Chronoscope: This line of non-fantasy metal figures started in 2008. It includes science fiction figures and a cowgirl. The line has grown to include superheroes and espionage (spy) characters. It also has figures based on real people like Buffalo Bill Cody. You can also find classic book characters like Sherlock Holmes and Zorro.
• Reich of the Dead: This line of figures is for a game still being made. The game is set in an alternate World War II. In this story, aliens called the Kroid take over dead German soldiers. They then battle American soldiers.
• Master Series Miniatures: This line is for larger or more detailed figures. Eight of the first ten models in this series are 54 mm scale. These are often used as display pieces.

Previous Miniature Lines

• Legendary Encounters: This line had pre-painted plastic figures. They were not random. The figures came from existing "Dark Heaven" and "Warlord" designs. This line was introduced in 2007.
• P-65 Heavy Metal: This line re-released older Reaper figures. They were made from a metal alloy with 60% lead. Production of this line stopped in February 2013.
• Legend of the Five Rings (L5R): This line was for a specific role-playing game setting called Rokugan. It had an Asian style, with samurai and ninjas. Reaper's license for L5R ended on October 31, 2005.
• Exalted: These figures were made for White Wolf's Exalted RPG. Reaper's license to make this line ended in late 2005. It is no longer made.

Paint Lines

Reaper Miniatures makes two types of paint. These are called "Pro Paints" and "Masters Series" paints.

ReaperCon

Reaper Miniatures hosts a yearly event called ReaperCon. It is a convention for painting and gaming. It usually lasts four days over the Labor Day Weekend. There are painting classes and role-playing games every day. The winners of the painting competition are announced on Saturday night. ReaperCon started at Reaper's factory in Denton. It has grown and moved several times. Since 2018, it has been held at the Embassy Suites by Hilton convention center in Denton. In 2020, the in-person convention was canceled. It was held online instead.

The convention has always had a painting competition. You can find photos of the entries online since 2013. Judging is based on how well each entry meets a certain standard. Winners receive a gold, silver, or bronze medal, or a certificate. The best entries compete for trophies. These trophies are given in categories like Painting, Open (for sculpting), Diorama, and Ordinance.