The Beholder Collectors Set is a departure from Wizards of the Coast's previous miniatures releases. For several years, we have been able to get D&D miniatures through random boosters, as well as the occasional gargantuan "miniature" sold separately. This product falls somewhere in the middle: four different kinds of Beholders in one box. Like all their miniatures, these four minis have combat stats for the current edition of D&D printed on small cards, and have set icons and collectors numbers (a silly-looking Beholder image).
Instead of disposable cardboard, WotC went with a firm reusable box with nice art on and in it. The outside has a Beholder lurking behind the titleborder; inside shows the cousins of the PHBI cover heroes getting bushwacked by a Beholder. A plastic frame that takes up nearly all of the box holds the four miniatures in place, ensuring no rattling or rolling. And warning: the plastic fumes from the box are intoxicating.
One of the biggest hype points behind this product is that it contains four Beholder miniatures for $40. For years, it has been near impossible to get 2 Beholders on the secondary market for that price. Since the Beholder is WotC's intellectual property, competitors cannot join in on the eye candy. When WotC has released them, they get snapped up and are held on to like few other monsters.
Sadly, this product is being released in a very limited number. By the time you read this, it may be too late to find it at your Friendly Local Game Store. WotC has made similar product releases with Magic: The Gathering. The From the Vaults line has premium versions of powerful cards collected together and sold in limited numbers. Each of them have been resold on the Internet for exorbitant prices.
All of the Beholders' sculpts have been previously released in random boosters, but three of them have different colouring and/or opaqueness. Some common threads amongst them are:
- The see-through bases that help them "float" are all straight. Many of the minis with this feature sagged to the side when they were released in random boosters. The giant plastic holders moulded perfectly for each miniature certainly prevented the minis from getting damaged.
- Except for the Eye of Shadow, half of the eyestalks are looking backwards or to the side. It's a nice touch. And each Beholder has ten eyestalks. Or had ten, in the case of the Ghost Beholder.
- Despite having ten eyestalks, each of them have a pupil that is painted with great care not to go outside the white and on to the stalk. That's a small detail I am glad they did not short-change.
Let's look at each separately.
BEHOLDER EYE TYRANT (Monster Vault)
***Originally from Dangerous Delves***
This is the standard Beholder any RPG nerd would recognize. Brown, pointy-teethy, menacing. Not much more to say, except that it will be your most-used mini from the set. It does not disappoint with its excellent paint job.
EYE OF FROST (Monster Manual 2)
***Sculpt originally from Dungeons of Dread as "Eye of Flame"***
Sculpture-wise, the Eye of Frost has the most unique look amongst the Beholders here. The pupils in their eyes are vertical slits. Its eyebrow over the main eye is reminscient of a Klingon's brow. Its mouth is flanked by pointy protrusions jutting out of its jaw. Oh yeah, and it's white with blue highlights to its eyes.
This miniature could double as a ghost Beholder, and there's nothing wrong with it. The paintjob is great, and the semi-translucent nature of the mini makes the white shine. Still, it feel like the underachiever of the bunch. I guess I am not as interested in an ice beholder as the other ones.
EYE OF SHADOW (Monster Manual 3)
***Sculpt originally from Deathknell as "Beholder"***
This is the first of two translucent miniatures in the set. Sculpture wise, it has all the common traits of the average Beholder and is the most intense-looking of the four. And it is see-through purple.
I wish that this sculpture was the standard Beholder and the Beholder Eye Tyrant was the Shadow. For a monster designed to lurk, it seems way too in-your-face to be hiding in the shadows. Its main eye has a big red pupil that expresses a great desire to throw down. Nothing wrong with it, it just feels like the hammy supporting actor who steals the show from the lead actor.
GHOST BEHOLDER (Monster Manual 3)
*** Scultp orignally from Unhallowed as "Beholder Lich"***
The MVP of the set. That they managed to take an already-awesome miniature (Beholder Lich) and made it even awesomer (see-through incorporeal Beholder) is a homerun in my book. It is even more translucent than the Eye of Shadow. Place it up to a light and look into its eye socket: you can see the base going through the middle, looking like an ephemeral glowing eye. The sculpture, designed for a corporeal dead Beholder, works well for a ghost. The missing main eye and two maimed eyestalks are great battlefield scars.
TL;DR VERSION
The Beholder Collectors Set is a great purchase for someone who every wanted to buy a Beholder right off the shelf. The quality of the miniatures are excellent, as are the variety of the Beholders. And you get a nice box with it!
