As we've been discussing, there's no reason to be beholden to Wizkids minis, you could use Reaper minis instead if you wanted to, or the likes of Pathfinder Pawns or a dozen other options.
For that matter, the old Chainmail/3E/4E game covers the D&D range pretty well, it would just be a matter of getting a hold of the cards and using those - or possibly using them as a base. No need to reinvent the wheel. Heck, Frostgrave might cover what you're talking about right now.
I certainly understand the desire folks have for the company brand to produce something - it standardizes the rules, the motif and supply chain, but if a company can't or won't do it at a reasonable price, then in my opinion the customer has the right to come up with their own solution for themselves (within what is legal).