For a good long while I have been searching for miniature buildings, castles, caverns, and dungeon settings.
They are commonly made from a mix of plaster or Dental Paste and are (hopefully) scaled to fit with your average Miniatures.

To just fnd some is at best haphazard as they are (seemingly) quite rare in the re-sale market.
Even on E-Bay. When you do see them on E-Bay it is most likely to be Dwarven Forge pre cast model sets and they are DANGED expensive.
Hundreds of bucks for just a simple set.
I recently bid on one set of Dwarven Forge Castle setting with the original box and that listing sold for just shy of $500.
Dwarven Forge continues to be outlandishly priced (IMO).
Though I would LOVE to have a couple of every Fantasy and Caverns set they have.
Those Dwarves are truly awesome Builders........
They have some AMAZING stuff in the store.

(I just dont have $5,000-$10,000 to spend)

http://www.dwarvenforge.com/store/home.php

I have also seen the occasional Mage Night sets which have very little in each box.
I noticed one box set which had 24 walls, nothing else. Went for $35.
Other sets might have a bunch of floor tiles and nothing else for $30.
One set I noted had three castle walls 4 inches wide and nothing else $25.
They are not being made at all now (Not since 2003, or so).

Are there any less expensive alternatives to Dwarven Forge (IMO WAY overpriced) or the occasional and even more expensive resales on E-Bay???

I am seriously considering taking on a new Hobby.

serleran wrote:I like these but this kind of thing is never inexpensive. You'll also have to do all the molding yourself, but that makes it even more fun, since you can make things not possible with pre-purchased builds.

Yup I had already located Hirst Arts and was considering them BUT the Molds there are almost three times the price ($29 and higher) of the molds that are at:

http://www.linkaworld.com/catalog.htm

Whose molds are just $12 each, plus shipping of $6 (In the USA)
Hirst Arts has a larger selection of pre cast molds than Linka, but for the price the Linka World Molds are a much better deal.

Both sites have instructional papers free for downloading too, which is VERY handy. The Hirst Arts site though has better instructions for building model castles, buildings ect. (They even have a small cemetery mould too), while Linka instructs a bit better (IMO) on the basics of model building in general and they have more pre designed building plans to chose from too. Although Linka was originally intended for Railroad miniatures useage so the amount of stuff for D&D related building is minimal.

If I do decide to build my own, then I will likely get some Linka Molds and some Hirst moulds and combine them for what I will build.

If I was gifted at all, I could use a Legos Castle web site for mold ideas.... of course I have no clue how to build my own molds.
(Hirst has a PDF showing how though)

http://www.carneycastle.com/index.htm

WereSteve wrote:Yup I had already located Hirst Arts and was considering them

I have several molds from Hirst Arts and they are very well made and quite durable.  I think the last ones I purchased were around two years ago when they were still around $18 or so a piece.

Anyway, if you have any local model railroad stores near you, check one out and grab a copy of the most recent Walthers HO Scale catalog.

German manufacturers Faller, Kibri, and Vollmer all make various medieval buildings including churches, castles, city walls, etc. which could be adapted over for most RPG settings.  Of course this all depends upon the realtive scale as HO works out to 1/87 scale.

Thanks, I think looking through the local Train Hobby Shops is a good idea.
How much difference is there between 1/72 (HO) and 1/87 (25mm)
I cant picture the difference in my head right now.
And as for building models does it make any real difference?
Cant you just make more parts to make up the difference in scales?

If those were stupid questions, Please keep in mind I have NO experience with making models..............
I am trying to learn whatever I can before plunging into a new hobby.

In my opinion Dwarven Forge is the way to go. Yes they are a little pricey, but for what you get in terms of quality, durability, and choice of settings (dungeon, cavern, lakes and rivers, medieval buildings/taverns, etc..) they can't be beat.

Not many people have $5,000 or more to spend on any hobby all at once. I would love to bid on every rare D&D item I see on E-bay but that's not realistic either. It takes time to build a quality collection. I have been collecting Dwarven Forge for about 8 years now and have at least one of every type of set they have put out and multiples of most. I certainly couldn't have done it all in one purchase.

You also have to consider what your time is worth. I barely have time to put together a game every couple of weeks, let alone the time it would take to cast and paint the terrain we would use. Yes, products like Hirst Arts do give you more options but in the long run, with the cost of time and materials how much are you really saving?

I agree that the prices on E-bay get out of hand, but Dwarven Forge usually has everything they produce in stock on their website. Some of the sets have been discontinued but most of the standard stuff you need to get started is available.

Just my opinion. I am not affiliated with Dwarven Forge in any way except in being a customer and a huge fan, so I felt the need to give my point of view.

Good luck in your search!

DF had a big sale recently on their old "bowtie" style connector sets.  It seems they already sold out but that would have been a good time to buy a bunch of their sets at a cut price.  I love the DF sets, but they can get pricey.  I know some, such as collectors_trove, have had issues with the scale of the DF sets and 25mm scale minis.  Still, I don't think there is a substitute in the same league of quality and variety as DF provides.

mandalaymoon wrote:DF had a big sale recently on their old "bowtie" style connector sets.  It seems they already sold out but that would have been a good time to buy a bunch of their sets at a cut price.  I love the DF sets, but they can get pricey.  I know some, such as collectors_trove, have had issues with the scale of the DF sets and 25mm scale minis.  Still, I don't think there is a substitute in the same league of quality and variety as DF provides.

The biggest difference in DF is as you stated quality and variety.
Even the doors open. Not so for the other makers of those types of items, they are glued to the structures.  
But to me at least the doors not opening is such a minor detail as to be all but ignored when considering prices.
After all, the PC's minis wont need to go through the doors, we the DM/Players can lift them around them...........

How much difference is there between 1/72 (HO) and 1/87 (25mm)

HO is 1/87 scale ... or at least the US version is.  I believe OO is the British equivalant and should work out to 1/72 scale.  There really isn't that much difference between the two, or so I would think.  Next larger scale up is S Scale or 1/64 which might be a little closer to what is more commonly used for miniatures, but it has a very limited following and is mostly relegated to US modelers, so probably not that many medieval European designs available for fantasy type settings.

And as for building models does it make any real difference?

Most of the models from the German manufacturers are base whole or in part of real world prototypes with most of the medieval type buildings being in the range of the 12th thru 17th centuries.  I believe Faller also makes various styles of retaining walls from 1/4" blue foam that has been formed in a "waffle iron" for lack of a better term.  These can pretty much be cut and glued together with relative ease to form various structures.

Can't you just make more parts to make up the difference in scales?

All depends upon what the kits are made from as to how easy it would be to make extra bits and pieces.  Most are relatively thin wall plastic, but I believe that there are some kits from Faller that are actually made from 1/4" thick blue foam that has been heated and formed to shape in a hot press.  It may take a bit of looking through a Walthers catalog, but there are some companies like Design Preservation Models that offer the proverbial "Bag o Parts" for people that like to scratch build things.  Only thing being that most of these parts are late 19th and early 20th century US factory type building parts and may or may not mix easily with European designs.

I guess in the end it would all be a matter of how much you would wish to mix and match parts.  Just be forwarned that any kits from European manufacturers aren't going to come cheap what with exchange rates the way they are now.