Materials
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.
Read more about this topic: Miniature Figure (gaming)
Famous quotes containing the word materials:
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—Franz Grillparzer (1791–1872)
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