The image that says "D&D" to me

I came to D&D late in my gaming career, only acquiring a copy of the AD&D Players Handbook last year, at the ripe age of 27. Thus this image, while dazzling to my adult self, didn't have near the impact that it would have had on my 12-year-old self had I seen it back then.

Anyway, this is the image that says "D&D" to me. Part of me wants to yell "Don't look at that freakin' mouth, there's some glowing eyes at the end of the hallway! Get your shields up!"

Anytime I want to get juiced up for fantasy gaming, I take a look at this image. And whenever I need to get in the right mindset for D&D in particular (what with its adventuring parties, hirelings, 10-foot poles, secret doors and the like) I take a look at the following image.

Grenadier's Fighting Men take the paint pretty well

I finally started painting up the box of Grenadier Fighting Men I picked up at last year's gaming auction. It wasn't without pitfall, I'm afraid; I snapped the frail lead leg off the first guy I picked up. But the next three fellows ended up looking like they walked right out of the old AD&D Dungeon Masters Guide.

My favorite part? The beards. They're all different. Not sure why, but that just tickles me.

Here's hoping I can avoid destroying the rest of these miniatures. They really are quite soft.

Curious what the originals look like? Here's a pic of the boxed set as it appeared when I bought it four months ago.