Miniatures Books

Is this item good? I don't know, because I bought it 3 months ago and don't received yet.

I like all of this series, and i collect all of them, excelent desing. Amazing

this set is not only a decoration or a one-time war oppurtunity, but also takes you in a legendary fight and live it through your blood, to share the struggle of the heroes of north, drizzt and wulfgar, battling the greatest of the white wyrms in the history of the realms, the dreadful icingdeath, and the fear running through their heart...

as i mentioned not only a great white wyrm, the dragon at your hands is actually "icingdeath", which is terrifying!! :)

i am more into story so, sets like that offers me much more than just "icons", i mean the collossal red dragon is not much of a value to me, but here comes icingdeath, which means a villain of story, nightmarish stuff :)

how much you can imagine about the great red wyrm as "klauth" or as "malystryx" it won't give me the same feeling as having the original one, so new sets like "gargantuan orcus" feels much better for me, cause they are more into role play / story..

how much do i talk :) BUY IT!!! :D

I've gotten all four currently release Icons from Amazon and this dragon is by far the best it terms of appearance. The Colossal Red may be much larger and more expensive but without a lot of work it can't match the White's appearance. If you ever use the Dragon for skirmishing you'll be better off with the Black or Blue but for display I favor the White.

The boon and bane of this Icon Pack are the two smaller figures that come along to fight this dragon. This does push the price higher than either of the other Gargantuan icon packs which can be a turn off. The kicker is that you get a resculpt of Drizzt (along with his skirmish information if that is important) whos previous version from Archfiends routinely has sold at more alone than this entire pack. For a DDM skirmisher Wulfgar isn't bad although I found him in a booster. It may cost a little more but I think the dragon alone is almost worth it and with the price it costs to get Drizzt this is almost a steal.

I have no doubt. This is the best of all the gargantuan dragons, with incredible details, Icing Death is a perfect and impressive miniature. The ice on it's wings looks real, and the details of his mouth and scales are beatiful. The pack also includes a drizzit miniature, holding his scimitars, and a Wulfgar in a special white cloth, holding his magical bloody hammer.

The pack is great because you get a cool dragon, a competitive miniature for skirmish (Wulfgar) and a classic one, in a new concept (Drizzit), the map is also cool, and improves your game, because you can use it im some snowy adventures, it's perfect to be used with the Frostburn supplement.

This is a must have for those who love the Crystal Shard, who love Forgotten Realms, or just his most popular hero.

I've purchased this book for the second time having sold my first one. I will not sell it again. For every room shown in this book and there are many---there is instruction, patterns, etc. for almost each detail item. No big furniture making instruction, there's a lot of polymer clay making and although not new, many tips for a novice, like me.
Lots of photos and clear instruction makes this an invaluable book for the mini maker/lover. Get it now because online (if you can find it), hardback copy is going for $60-$105....can't believe it. Yes, it is that good! Sue Heaser's books are following close behind.

While this may be a good place to start if you are new to the dollhouse hobby, on the whole I was dissapointed with this book. The instructions are simple, and easy enough to follow, and there are neat little pictures to photocopy, but the projects themselves are not as high quality as those from many of my other dollhouse books. Great for those who are dabbling with the hobby, but for more experienced mini fans, I would give this one a miss.

I took this book out of the local library because I am in search of projects to build in a larger scale (about 1:3.5) and wanted to get ideas from the dollhouse hobby. It is so lovely to see the photos of all the different completed items put together in a scene, it gives one lots of good ideas and inspirations. Many of the designs are made simply so that they can be copied exactly by the amateur, or expanded upon by the expert. Doll house making is such a varied art, and there is room for many styles. "The Artist's Workshop" chapter is also rather amusing, and "The Illustrator's Studio" is cute. Those and the Conservatory are the ones I personally would most be looking to emulate.

I think there must be some petty gossip and whatnot going on in this miniaturist hobby. There are some exceedingly immature reviews that have been posted below and I hope that amazon gets around to removing them. What do these persons want, some kind of textbook to copy exactly so that everyone's work will look alike? Such a lack of professionalism only makes the hobby at large look bad to the rest of the world. This is a fine book and I would love to see any of these things "live" at a show.

Yet another excellent volume to add to your Miniature Library. This book also by Kath Dalmeny, is perfect for those wanting to make their own accessories instead of the commercial items available. Lots of very useful templates to take the guesswork out of those boxes, crates, labels etc. Ideal for those who like constructing things!

This book is packed with the most amazing craft projects, Kath Dalmeny's attention to detail simply breathtaking. I have her next book and if you want to make your own dolls house furniture, rather than buy it in a store these are the books for you.

The stuff may be a bit European looking to American eyes but that simply adds to the charm. Is she English? I guess so with cricket bats and the like maybe she can get over here and produce an American version with mini bleachers and baseball bats!

To the reviewer from Chicago, if you can do better then I look forward to YOUR book!

My recommendation is buy the book, get inspired and try your hand.

I am sometimes asked which gardening books I would recommend. I would have to say one of the top books in my arsenal is "Gardening for Dummies".

What makes this easy to understand book a worthwhile read are the many how-to's and tips it offers. It gets down to the basics of gardening.

You learn how to become a green thumb gardener by selecting plants that grow well in the area you live, the healthy advantages of growing different plants yourself, or just for the aesthetic value gardening offers.

An excellent guide for the aspiring gardener.

Let's say for a second that you DON'T live in one of those regions where most everything grows with little effort. If that's the case, and you'd really LIKE to have a great garden or flower bed, I highly recommend this book. I used to have the black thumb of death when it came to plants and flowers, but that has turned quite green since buying MacCaskey's book. So WHY does it help?

First, it has easy-to-access tip after tip about what plants and flowers need in general as well as what SPECIFIC plants need in order to thrive and look good. It helped me turn a garden that was at first forced upon me into one that looks as if I know what I am doing.

Second, it's also great because it helped me IDENTIFY a lot of the plants in my inherited garden, before telling me how to help them grow happily. After all, you can't really help plants grow if you don't know what they are. It even has extensive sections on growing vegetables and, to a lesser extent, fruit.

The language is great, too, in that it's well-organized in a way that makes it accessible while it teaches readers how to speak "gardenese" so you can ask for everything you need at your local nursery. In fact, when you have this book, even other people in your family start to turn to you for answers about gardening. I found this to be very cool, especially since I quickly found that, surprisingly enough, I now really do know a few things about gardening. Whoda thunk it?

But the most important thing that I know now, in regard to my garden, is that with this book in my back pocket, this coming Spring is going to be one of the best ever for my little corner of suburbia. So, if you're a plant expert (or just a Californian), you may not need this book. If, on the other hand, you are human and sometimes feel as though you live in the land of misfit plants, get this book. You'll be SO glad you did.

Actually this is a pretty decent book and there are many good gardening tips in it. I guess the main reason I'm not very fond of it ( got it as a gift and promptly gave it away myself ) is that I find the whole idea of it rather tasteless.
Perhaps for folks whose idea of good reading is comic books, this would be the perfect garden book. It is indeed set up for those who are easily distracted, lots of bullet points and little boxes and so on.
I question whether or not this book was even needed. There are many fine how-to garden books already out there. The old Taylor's Encyclopedia of Gardening, for example, can usually be found used for about the same price or less. Taylors, although old, is a real gardening book.
Somehow I equate gardening with intelligence, with class, with good taste. I enjoy having shelves of books on all the different aspects of horticulture and hardly want one titled Gardening for Dummies. I have a book, Auto Repair for Dummies (also a present) and somehow I don't mind being an automotive dummy. But a garden variety dummy is a bit much.
Nonetheless, if you simply don't have the patience for most books, and you don't know beans about gardening, go for it. Despite the title, the author, Michael MacCaskey, knows plenty about gardening.

I am a novice gardener who is trying to figure out how to maintain a well-landscaped property that I inherited. After the first couple of years of letting the place "rest on its laurels" (i.e., get by on its past grandeur and do nothing to maintain it except to water it every now and then, but otherwise neglecting it and letting it get weedy and rangy), I have finally tackled the project of educating myself about gardening and trying to restore some freshness and style to my garden. This book offers a very skillful overview of everything I need to know in order to take on this project. It gives an overview of pretty much every fundamental of gardening, giving enough explanation to help you understand the logic behind the "rules" of garden creation and maintenance, but without the kind of technical detail that would make it tedious or would glaze the eye of the beginner. I have found this an excellent "starter" book--gives the lay of the land, as it were, so that you can establish basic competence and understanding before you go onto more specialized knowledge. THANKS!

I don't know how it happened but I thought I had not inherited the green thumb that my parents and Grandparents all had. That is until I found this wonderful guide to beginners gardening and it answered all the questions or told me simply how to find out the answers. I believe my local nursery was also happy that I took time out from trying to do it on my own and read the book.My mother said that she even learned a few new things while glancing through. It is also a good brush up guide before the spring thaw.

I'm new to the Dorothy Martin mysteries but I did enjoy the book. It's quick reading; you don't have to think; and the characters are believable and lovable. It's a great escape when you want to unwind.

Dorothy Martin is an American matron living in England, and married to a very senior policeman (how handy for getting those tidbits of inside information). In this, the fourth book of the series, she feels obligated to rush to the rescue of the drunken son of her cleaning lady who is wrongly accused of stealing some dollhouse furniture.

Now, as an expatriate English person living in North America, I'm kind of sensitive to an American writing an English who-dun-it. I like that this writer, writing in the first person, remains American and doesn't try to be British, even though she tries to out-Brit the Brits by wearing a succession of outlandish hats. I don't mind that she looks down her nose at some aspects of British life and is thoroughly confused by others (I do the same myself here). I really like the way she accepts her age and all that goes with it, including the stiff knees and the way young people patronize her (boy, do I empathize with that). All in all, this is an experienced writer who makes the reader identify with her protagonist.

This is a thoroughly competent book, and a good read. It takes a lot of confidence to have your sleuth fall asleep in the middle of the climax and the big chase scene. I shall look for some more of Jeanne M. Dams books.

A rather disappointing addition to the otherwise charming Dorothy Martin series. Dorothy usually pokes fun at other characters, but this time becomes downright nasty when describing other female characters. Maybe all isn't bliss with the adorable Alan, hmmm? Too, the ending is contrived, twee, and generally incredible. The addition of a auditorially challenged youngster is a welcome nuance, but the sub-plot never really leads anywhere. Finally, from a legal point of view, I must wonder if Dorothy now functions as an agent of the police and that all of her findings would be tossed (sorry, just the paralegal in me). Oh, well, Ms. Dams, nobody but Dorothy L Sayers ever batted 1.000!

In this, the fourth in a wonderful cozy mystery series, retired American schoolteacher Dorothy Martin, who is living in Sherebury, England, has married Chief Constable Alan Nesbitt. Her gardener, Bob Finch, is suspected of having stolen a toy tea set from the local dollhouse museum at Brocklesby Hall, a grotesque country house owned by the eccentric, elflike Sir Mordred. In her quest to exonerate Bob, Dorothy spends time at the museum investigating and, in the process, learns much about miniatures and the little houses in which they are displayed. Two murders ensue, and Dorothy, of course, decides to find out who the culprit is. The story's big surprise revelation is easy to foresee, but the book is so charmingly written and has so many endearing characters that it doesn't matter at all. For maximum enjoyment, read the series in order, beginning with "The Body in the Transept," so you can get to know the people (and cats) in this delightful series.

A friend of mine told me about the Dorothy Martin books and I loved the first two, and then didn't care at all about Holy Terror. Therefore I was reluctant to read Malilce in Miniature.

However, I am glad my friend talked me into reading the book. It was wonderful. I love Ms. Dams descriptions of the house and the people.

And the ending ... I had sort of figured it out, or thought I had. It was wonderful. I finished it late at night and laughed out loud. My cats thought I was crazy. If you have not read this book you will thoroughly enjoy it.

Many of the listings on Amazon are for the paperback version. The binding was changed from paperback to hardcover after many sellers listed their paperback. Check individual listings to see which are the actual 1984 hardcover printing!

-A good touching story, kind of sad when Bambi's mother died :( Lots a various emotions.

Bambi is a nice drama of real life. It states how life goes. It shows that sometimes you have to go on without your parents that they wont always be there. It also states that your friends & loved one's can be there to lean on & help you get on your feet again. If you're looking for a good book to explain life to kids then this is it. It is a good book to start conversations about life to little kids as well.

This fine addition to the Disney Sketchbook series has many of the wonderful sketches done by Disney's animation department for Bambi, including many pieces from the storyboards, and several sketches of scenes that never made it into the final film. Artists that would like to study the Disney style of drawing and animation should find this volume a terrific addition to their collection despite its rather high price. As a student of art, and a fan of the Disney style, I highly recommend any of these books for your library.

I have browsed a copy of this book in an animation gallery and was impressed by the work within - certainly a marvellous way to explore the drawings that make up these films.

Let's hope Disney continue this series and quickly release Glen Keane's awesome character sketches and pencil development from 'Beauty and the Beast'! That is what I'm *really* waiting for!

Ok, I just have to start off by saying that this book and the movie that goes with it are by far the coolest things that Disney and Pixar have come up with. They are funny, heartwarming, and educational as well. Here is Flik, a kind ant that wants to do good for the colony and make a difference. However, Flik's got one problem... he's a bit of a clutz... he shows children and adults that standing up for what you believe in and never giving up is the best way to live life. I'm fourteen, I love the book and the movie, and I WILL be seeing the movie, as well as reading the book, again and again. The wonderful story of the young ant Flik who wants nothing more than to make a difference in his colony and win the heart of the beautiful Princess Atta has touched my heart, and I garinty the same with you.

This book has animated scenes from the movie. One is of Princess Dot and the other of Hemlich. The pictures are animated well and motion blur helps the pictures seem realistic. My only complaint is that the book is too short. It needs more scenes.

Hello, this book is very realistic compaired to the
movie. I am a big fan of The Simpsons, but I still
love A Bug's Life. This book does have 96 pages,
perdectly following the main story. The illistrations
are beautiful, and almost as good as movie. OF
COURSE we can't copy every single quote from the orig-
inal movie, but this book IS A MUST FOR LOVERS OF
A BUG'S LIFE!!!...

My 2 year old son loves this book! He was in a phase where he wanted to watch the movie over and over and over and over again. In an effort to get him off the TV, but still into the story, I ordered the book off of Amazon.com He loved it so much we have purchased more of the Disney story books. They're great!

As a kid I made my own flipbooks. Starting in the corners of math textbooks I later graduated to 4" by 5" index cards. Now I'm happy to find one of the scenes I animated from "A Bug's Life" in this flipbook (Heimlich chomping on a leaf on the way to Ant Island). There is also a really fun bit of animation of Dot from a very talented animator, Karen Kiser. I only wish they would make more of these books, from "A Bug's Life" and other animated films. Flipbooks are the simplest way to look at animation; frame by frame, page by page. I highly recommend this book for anyone (especially kids) interested in animation. And for anyone who is a fan of "A Bug's Life."

This book on little quilts is a winner!! I am dying to start. They all look very good with ample instruction - small projects that don't take long.

I really like this book,the pictures are lovely and the patterns are very clear and easy to follow. I'm fairly new to quilting and found this book very inspiring . The thought of trying a small quilt for your first attempt at quilting is not as daunting as a full size one,and this book has some great ideas.

I think all quilters should own this book. The directions are easy and include both rotary and template patterns. The pictures of the finished designs are vibrant and beautiful. I taught a beginning quilting class and we used this as our "textbook". Many of the quilts featured can be completed in just a few hours. Also, my favorite part of the book is how the quilts are shown on display. These pictures offer great decorating ideas.

I love this book and have made the quilts time after time. I do think the seams in the star points get bulkey so I trim away the excess fabric even though it's not described in the book. Its a must have if you like or love little quilts.

This is a nice quilt book with good instructions and lots of pictures. I did find however that after the first few pages you were looking at the same quilts over and over, only done in different colour schemes. There are still some excellent patterns and instructions. This book is very inspiring as well. Any room filled up with that many quilts is bound to feel at home.

I enjoyed this book and its unpretentious step-by-step procedures for making miniature houses out of polymer clay. I would have liked to see a bit more variety in the projects offered, but there is certainly enough technique demonstrated that an imaginative reader would have no trouble extrapolating whatever design he or she can dream up.

As a beginner I was looking for a book that gave detailed instruction. I never thought that I would find such great instruction and pictures. This is a superb helper and will make my first attempts look like I have been using polymer clay for years. Author is to be commended for such fine and detailed instructions. I highly recommend this book.

I borrowed this from the library and had to buy it. I am waiting on its arrival impatiently. The details are great, the instructions are clear and the pictures couldnt be better. The only real problem I have is the pattern placements could be better. From the fourth project on, many of the pattern pieces are located near the spine, not the outer edge of the page, so they are difficult to photo copy, and even tracing a few is challenging. But I still think this problem is small and the book is well worth the money.

This book has great details and instructions in how to make miniature houses. It also was extreemly inspirational to go on from the author's instructions and create better and more detailed houses. I highly recommend this book.

Everyone loves miniatures, especially miniature dwellings...Ms Ritchey offers text and so many step by step photos - all of which make it easy to make your very own tiny abodes. Simply charming.

I was looking for a book with good instructions, nice photos, and interesting projects. This book definitely fits that description. I am loving using the sample projects as a catalyst for my own creative ideas & the authors made it easy with the detailed information provided.

EXCELLENT illustrations! This book not only provides excellent ideas, it also CLEARLY shows you how to execute the techniques necessary to complete the project! Excellent reference book for anyone who wants to create their own professional looking books!

This book is good for the crafter with a bit of experience. It has some great ideas for someone who has a little bit of knowledge about making books by hand. The instructions are pretty easy to understand and the end projects are wonderful!

This book is divided into two sections. The first one is an introduction to the techniques and materials used for bookbinding. The technique are illustrated with clear drawings to show you what to do. I don't know anything about bookbinding so I can't tell if this part of the book describes best practices, traditional techniques, or modern adaptations. I can say, however, that it was perfectly understandable and clear. The materials are all common and easy to find...though I would have liked to see more brand names mentioned, just so that I was EXTRA sure I was getting the right stuff at the store.

The second part of the book contains instructions for a series of projects. Unless you are a pretty good artist, there's no way you will be able to reproduce these incredible miniature books since many of them include original artwork. But WOW, are they cool to look at! And of course you can design your own pages using stickers, clipart, cutouts, rubber stamps, or anything else.

Keep in mind that when the authors say "miniature," they mean it! The projects are all very small. (The techniques section in front will help you learn how to make books of any size, though.)

For a beginner, I found everything I needed in this book, from materials to step-by-step instructions. Very easy to follow.

The AT-AT looks great on a shelf, but as far as a supplement to the Star Wars Miniatures game, it is lacking.

Wait until they can't sell them then snatch them up for less.

The AT-AT is a must have for any Star Wars Miniatures Fan. This thing is huge! It is highly detailed, and is made of rigid plastic so it is much more durable than the standard mini. I am very pleased.

I was very impressed at the quality and detail of this model.
It's fantastic and was delivered to me on time and at half the price I could buy it for in the UK...thank you Amazon.com

This game is very enjoyabale. It takes about an hour to play a round with the standard rules. The pieces are pretty indestructable. They are pre-painted so the out-of-the box time to play time is low

As collectibles, many of the pieces are worth a lot right out of the box. Each box is a suprise as to what you will find. A decent collectible if you want something harder to damage than cards, but still want to be able to play with the collectible item (as opposed to say, coins)

"Universe" is the fourth expansion set in the Star Wars Miniatures Universe, which started with the Rebel Storm Starter set back in September, 2004 (see more about the minis game itself in my addendum below). There are 60 different figures in this set. These are the first "huge packs," so each booster comes with seven durable, pre-painted figures (including one rare OR one very rare figure), one of which will be a large OR very large figure.

The first thing I look for in any expansion set are how many characters I recognize from the movies (vs. those that appeared only in the books). I am particularly interested in figures from the original trilogy, and am happy to say there are at lest 22 figures from the original trilogy in this set. Most are simply more powerful versions of earlier figures (for example, Lando Calrissian Rebel Hero, Darth Vader Jedi Hunter, Admiral Ackbar, Chewbacca Rebel Hero, Han Solo Rebel Hero, Luke Skywalker on Tauntaun, Princess Leia Rebel Hero, and Luke Skywalker, Jedi Master), but some have never been released before (for example, B'omarr Monk, Lobot, Nien Nunb, Wedge Antilles, and Rancor). Notably, there are even a couple of great new common and uncommon figures from the original trilogy in this set (for example, Gonk Power Droid and especially the Stormtrooper Commander).

Further, though I am not a big fan of the prequel, there are several figures from these movies as well (say 5-10 - though none of them stood out as particularly amazing/useful). The rest are either from the books (including some that are very powerful), or generic/minor characters that I have never seen or heard of before (some of which are also pretty good and may be particularly useful in the Star Wars RPG).

In sum (and as of the time this review was written), this is perhaps the second best expansion set for those interested in the original trilogy since Rebel Storm was first released in 2004 (with the Bounty Hunters expansion set being the best in this regard). Those who like the Star Wars minis game and those who use the figures for the Star Wars RPG will likely be very happy with this set.

ADDENDUM: (Please note that I include this addendum at the end of all my Star Wars minis reviews, so if you've read it before, there is no need to read it again.) If you want to play the Star Wars minis game as it was designed to be played, it is best to have at least one starter (each starter comes with game instructions, a map, a D20, terrain tiles that are very helpful and add great variety to the game, and more). I like the Rebel Storm Starter the best because it's from the classic era/trilogy, but the Clone Strike and Revenge of the Sith starters from the newer movies will also work. If you don't want to invest in a starter, you can also get one of the three "Ultimate Missions" books, as each comes with a double sided map and a few smaller terrain tiles (again, I like the Rebel Strom Ultimate Missions book the best because it is also from the classic era/trilogy). Or, you can buy the "Attack on Endor" scenario pack, which comes with TWO double sided maps (in addition to a scaled AT-ST that is fully usable in play). The main point here is that you'll need some type of map/grid. If you don't want to buy a Star Wars one, generic ones are also available at most gaming stores (you can use your imagination to set the scene, or draw terrain with an erasable marker right on the grid). Of course, the minis are also useful for the roleplaying game (RPG) - in which case you may not need a starter or map, but will likely need the "Core Rulebook" instead. Finally, they are just fun to collect for those who like all things Star Wars!