The Plastic Arms Bazaar

I’ve heard from some folks that they’d like to see pictures in some of my updates, so I’ve included some with this update. Now I’m not any great photographer by any stretch, but I have decent digital SLR and I’ll only get better the more pictures I take so bear with me.

Initially what drew me to the possibilities minifigs offered for gaming was the sheer selection of weapons out there being offered by aftermarket manufacturers. I was especially drawn to the modern weapons. The selection seems to be growing every few months just since I started collecting. There’s no end to weapons being offered up for your minifig to wield, and that’s very cool for big kids like me. I think this is also a good time to mention that modern warfare is my jump off point for wargaming with minifigues. Certainly not the only period I’ve been collecting for, but my main focus.

 A lot of the companies out there not only offer weapons, and in many periods, but also helmets, body armor, equipment, etc. I’ll cover some of the accessories in a future update, but I wanted to focus this time on weapons. More specifically... modern weapons. There are four main sellers I get my stuff from and each one not only carries a wide variety and selection, but the level of customer service and satisfaction is excellent. As a consumer, that’s important!

The four shops I normally get my modern weapons from are: BrickArms, Si-Dan (aka Minifig Cat), Brick Warriors, and BrickForge. Though I can’t say with 100% certainty, I’m pretty sure BrickArms is among the first minifig weapon makers out there. Brick Warriors is the newest of the companies, but certainly carries its weight as far as what they’ve been churning out product wise and in terms of quality.

 

  

Si-Dan, also known as Minifig Cat, probably produces the widest array of modern weapons. They’re the only ones who do a Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW) and a .50 Cal HMG with tripod. They’re constantly cranking out product every couple of months, and have the best selection of sub-machine guns, assault rifles, pistols etc. Among Si-Dan’s modern products are a lot of Vietnam era weapons, which is good for me as the Vietnam War is a wargaming interest of mine and has been for years.  As a side note, Si-Dan also carry the biggest selection of samurai era weapons, armor and headgear out there.

BrickArms has a very good selection of modern era weapons as well, though I’ve found that they’re hit and miss for size sometimes. I’ve had a couple I ordered that I thought were going to be bigger but looked decidedly small in my minfig’s hand. That aside, they have a GREAT variety of pulp era weapons to choose from. Lugars, Broomhandle Mausers, BARs, Revolvers, etc. Perfect for anyone wanting to do gaming in the pulp period.

 

 

Brick Warriors and BrickForge have a few modern-ish weapons to choose from, but these companies seem to mainly cater to the sci-fi and post apocalyptic crowd. Still, they have lots of relevant goodies aside from weapons for your minifigs. I particularly like Brick Forge’s Anti-Material Sniper Rifle. It’s a big sucker, and though it has a more sci-fi feel to it, looks menacing in the hands of a Special Forces sniper minifig.