Yes! Wizkids though? I liked the more muted colors and less fragile plastic of DDM.
CEO
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I'm excited to be able to get non-OGL minis and I'm hoping for a price drop all around.
According to the email I got from our distributor today, the D&D minis will actually be a bit more expensive than the Pathfinder Battles ones. We are selling Bricks for $115.13 and the D&D Bricks will be selling for $127.92.
-Lisa
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I'm excited to be able to get non-OGL minis and I'm hoping for a price drop all around.According to the email I got from our distributor today, the D&D minis will actually be a bit more expensive than the Pathfinder Battles ones. We are selling Bricks for $115.13 and the D&D Bricks will be selling for $127.92.
-Lisa
I Like Paizo, but Miniature Market is cheaper. By Lots. I think most of their bricks go for $85. And they are listing bricks of the new D&D minis, pre-selling, for $80.
A case of Legends of Golarion here is $400 and MM is selling it for $330.
@DonKeebals, you're comparing retailer prices to the publisher's price. Publisher's have to sell at MSRP so that they can sell through distribution.
I'm glad to see DDMs again, but wish it was the old formula of plastics.
I'm confused as to how many miniatures are in these packages. The prices vary considerably yet I don't see how many miniatures you receive?
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@DonKeebals, you're comparing retailer prices to the publisher's price. Publisher's have to sell at MSRP so that they can sell through distribution.
I'm glad to see DDMs again, but wish it was the old formula of plastics.
I'm sorry that they are forced to sell at a certain price, but I care more about the money in my pocket. If someone has the money to waste on supporting them by paying extra, let them. I'm sure they'd love to offer the same discounts MM and other do, and I'd love to buy my minis from them too because their customer service is outstanding. But if I can save $30 on a brick of minis, I will.
About the plastic. I only have a handful of D&D minis and I am unimpressed with them. The Battles minis seem to have so much more detail and better painting to me. So if the plastic isn't as good, I don't mind taking a little extra care of them.
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I'm confused as to how many miniatures are in these packages. The prices vary considerably yet I don't see how many miniatures you receive?
Starter Set Heroes includes six iconic heroes
Booster Pack contains 4 figuresBooster Brick contains 8 Standard Boosters (32 figures total)
Booster Case contains 4 Standard Bricks (32 Standard Boosters, 128 figures total
And they will also have a case + promo.
@DonKeebals, you're comparing retailer prices to the publisher's price. Publisher's have to sell at MSRP so that they can sell through distribution.
Is that accurate in the case of Pathfinder Battles, though? It is my understanding that WizKids is the publisher, which is why Paizo doesn't handle customer service for the product breakage in that line. As a Paizo employee recently explained , the minis line is to Paizo as a Coke clock is to the Coca Cola Company.
and I'd love to buy my minis from them too because their customer service is outstanding. But if I can save $30 on a brick of minis, I will.
So their customer service, while 'outstanding' is effectively worthless to you. You won't pay for it and go to others for a cheaper price.
I'm not trying to single you out but it is a very common mindset to have - the 'other guy' could have lousy service but offers a deep discount so they get the business. Now ime Miniature Market is a rare entity in offering good service and a good price so we're all lucky there.
I'm excited to be able to get non-OGL minis and I'm hoping for a price drop all around.
I don't understand this statement at all. Miniature figures used for D&D (as well as Pathfinder) have traditionally been the domain of manufacturers OTHER than TSR/WotC/Paizo.
Grenadier, Games Workshop, Ral Partha, Reaper, and others were responsible-for or continue to be responsible-for the miniatures used in the game and its variants going all the way to the beginning.
What is an "OGL mini," if you don't mind my asking? What makes a "true OGL goblin" better than a goblin from GW or Reaper or Heresy, or any other maker, for that matter? Does your game suck because a hunk of plastic representing a dragon doesn't have a WotC copyright on the bottom? Seriously?
Unless you mean that the "build" and attendant card from WotC's horrid, god-awful line was the thing that made it "official" and "special?"
Yes, I need another Holy Avenging Half-Ogre Abyssal Gnoll Archer for my game, please. Not likely. Their builds were terrible, jokey nerd fests that nobody could possibly find a use for in about 110% of homebrewed games. (And for that matter, I don't think those builds appeared anywhere outside of the miniatures game, either - not like they were making adventures to go with them.)
No thanks. I'll stick with manufacturers of unpainted minis that I can mod and paint and stat up myself without scratching my head over how I'm going to explain how a bullette mated with a half-giant ooze and the offspring managed to get trained by the Six Mages of Nergasium in the fine art of shooting oversized shuriken from a longbow while maintaining his form as a fine, red mist.
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
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I'm excited to be able to get non-OGL minis and I'm hoping for a price drop all around.
I don't understand this statement at all. Miniature figures used for D&D (as well as Pathfinder) have traditionally been the domain of manufacturers OTHER than TSR/WotC/Paizo.
Grenadier, Games Workshop, Ral Partha, Reaper, and others were responsible-for or continue to be responsible-for the miniatures used in the game and its variants going all the way to the beginning.
What is an "OGL mini," if you don't mind my asking? What makes a "true OGL goblin" better than a goblin from GW or Reaper or Heresy, or any other maker, for that matter? Does your game suck because a hunk of plastic representing a dragon doesn't have a WotC copyright on the bottom? Seriously?
I think he's referring to the gith, beholders, displacer beasts etc that are WOTC IP.
Remember, some people don't like to/don't have time/can't paint worth a damn. So for them a Reaper Phase Cat isn't an attractive option over a pre-painted displacer beat.
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So their customer service, while 'outstanding' is effectively worthless to you. You won't pay for it and go to others for a cheaper price .and I'd love to buy my minis from them too because their customer service is outstanding. But if I can save $30 on a brick of minis, I will.
There is a big difference between "worthless" and not worth an extra $30 or 30%. I'm pretty sure there is a price difference ($50, $100, $1 million, etc), where anyone would buy from someone else regardless of disparities in customer service.
Are these supposed to tie into 5th edition? Has there been any word when and if that system will be released?
Im interested but I am going to have to see the quality and price before I commit..
I have a huge collection of minis from all over the place but am always looking for more so so I am going to see how they compare to figures from Reaper Bones and Wargames Factory before I commit to buy any.
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I'm excited to be able to get non-OGL minis and I'm hoping for a price drop all around.
I don't understand this statement at all. Miniature figures used for D&D (as well as Pathfinder) have traditionally been the domain of manufacturers OTHER than TSR/WotC/Paizo.
Grenadier, Games Workshop, Ral Partha, Reaper, and others were responsible-for or continue to be responsible-for the miniatures used in the game and its variants going all the way to the beginning.
What is an "OGL mini," if you don't mind my asking? What makes a "true OGL goblin" better than a goblin from GW or Reaper or Heresy, or any other maker, for that matter? Does your game suck because a hunk of plastic representing a dragon doesn't have a WotC copyright on the bottom? Seriously?
I think he's referring to the gith, beholders, displacer beasts etc that are WOTC IP.
Remember, some people don't like to/don't have time/can't paint worth a damn. So for them a Reaper Phase Cat isn't an attractive option over a pre-painted displacer beat.
That would be exactly what I mean. And exactly why I like plastic minis (and why I can't believe that I gave Reaper $100 for Bones II)
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and I'd love to buy my minis from them too because their customer service is outstanding. But if I can save $30 on a brick of minis, I will.
So their customer service, while 'outstanding' is effectively worthless to you. You won't pay for it and go to others for a cheaper price.
I'm not trying to single you out but it is a very common mindset to have - the 'other guy' could have lousy service but offers a deep discount so they get the business. Now ime Miniature Market is a rare entity in offering good service and a good price so we're all lucky there.
My money is important to me so I can get good service and minis <--- there for $115 +s/h or I could got over here ---> and get good service and minis for $85 +s/h. I like Paizo, but I love my money.
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Are these supposed to tie into 5th edition? Has there been any word when and if that system will be released?
According to the Wizkids site (Wizkids DnD) "The first set of miniatures will coincide with the launch of the highly-anticipated next edition of Dungeons & Dragons tabletop roleplaying game, set to release in summer 2014."
My money is important to me so I can get good service and minis <--- there for $115 +s/h or I could got over here ---> and get good service and minis for $85 +s/h. I like Paizo, but I love my money.and I'd love to buy my minis from them too because their customer service is outstanding. But if I can save $30 on a brick of minis, I will.
So their customer service, while 'outstanding' is effectively worthless to you. You won't pay for it and go to others for a cheaper price.
I'm not trying to single you out but it is a very common mindset to have - the 'other guy' could have lousy service but offers a deep discount so they get the business. Now ime Miniature Market is a rare entity in offering good service and a good price so we're all lucky there.
And the money you save helps to keep you buying subscriptions. See, win win for everyone.
Since Wizkids is making them, and Wizkids does pathfinder battles, I think that the quality will be very comparable to the pathfinder battles minis. I can't see Wizards contracting wizkids to make minis for them that don't look at least as good as the line that one of their main competitors is putting out, especially when it is the same company making minis for both Wizards and Paizo. The pictures in their previews looked very much like the pathfinder battles minis, though they weren't the finalized products.
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The former D&D minis were really hit and miss. They had some really nice looking ones, but there were also a lot that had really bad sculpts and paint jobs. The better ones they put out looked IMO as good as the pathfinder battles minis. Unfortunately, there were a lot of crappy ones.
However, I really miss the days when I could go on miniature market and buy a bunch of D&D common minis for 15-75 cents each. So even though they weren't as good I could get a lot of them for way cheaper than the pathfinder minis.
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And the money you save helps to keep you buying subscriptions. See, win win for everyone.My money is important to me so I can get good service and minis <--- there for $115 +s/h or I could got over here ---> and get good service and minis for $85 +s/h. I like Paizo, but I love my money.and I'd love to buy my minis from them too because their customer service is outstanding. But if I can save $30 on a brick of minis, I will.
So their customer service, while 'outstanding' is effectively worthless to you. You won't pay for it and go to others for a cheaper price.
I'm not trying to single you out but it is a very common mindset to have - the 'other guy' could have lousy service but offers a deep discount so they get the business. Now ime Miniature Market is a rare entity in offering good service and a good price so we're all lucky there.
That's right! As well as the occasional single mini, book, pdf....
You can never have enough minis! That being said I doubt I will be buying big blocks of D&D minis. I will likely look for some non OGL figs if I don't already have them.
I'm going to be really curious on a side by side comparison of the 2 products. Will they be the same scale,plastic,paint etc.
I think they would be crazy to make them at a different scale than their previous line of minis, which is the same scale as pathfinder minis (28mm I believe). There's too many potential customers out there that already have mini collections and would be less inclined to want these ones if they were at a different scale.
Heroic 28mm is pretty much the standard when it comes to tabletop miniatures.
The new minis look promising. Since I won't be in a position to buy a lot of cases like I did back in the day with DDM I'm pretty sure I'm going to need to pick and choose from the after market.
The worst part of all of this to me is that unless they have something planned with WizKids, I kind of doubt they'll be producing any more Dungeon Command sets at any point which I think is a shame since the game was a lot of fun. Now they could offer card sets that match up to the new minis to extend your options in the game but without at least some kind of master set with the tiles, etc. how would new players get into the game?
The former D&D minis were really hit and miss. They had some really nice looking ones, but there were also a lot that had really bad sculpts and paint jobs. The better ones they put out looked IMO as good as the pathfinder battles minis. Unfortunately, there were a lot of crappy ones.
There were a lot of inconsistencies in the line, including scale. Some sculpts were pretty horrendous. Ultimately, Peter Lee was the one calling the shots and while I think its best that I don't remark on my opinion of his aptitude for doing such, I will say that I feel that Erik Mona does have an excellent eye for detail, high standards, in touch with the customer's desires and the freedom to exercise these talents.
I'd say that on average Pathfinder battles has better sculpts than the old D&D minis did but and this is a big but, the material for D&D minis was far superior to what is currently being used in Pathfinder Battles. The smooth finish to the pain job keeps the older minis from catching on things as often, and I have never had on break on me whereas Pathfinder minis break at the drop of a hat.
Also the old D&D minis line had a weird problem where the sculpt quality took a nose dive immediately following deserts of desolation. Does anyone know what major changes took place that resulted in all of the weirdly proportioned and cartoony sculpts in post DoD minis?
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I'd say that on average Pathfinder battles has better sculpts than the old D&D minis did but and this is a big but, the material for D&D minis was far superior to what is currently being used in Pathfinder Battles. The smooth finish to the pain job keeps the older minis from catching on things as often, and I have never had on break on me whereas Pathfinder minis break at the drop of a hat.
Also the old D&D minis line had a weird problem where the sculpt quality took a nose dive immediately following deserts of desolation. Does anyone know what major changes took place that resulted in all of the weirdly proportioned and cartoony sculpts in post DoD minis?
Yeah, art from 4th edition. The Fire Archon, Rage Drake, and the new Troll were some of the first 4th edition miniatures.
The rage drake looked a lot like its 3.5 art from the MM3 but was also a very good model especially for when it came out. My main point of "look at the models getting worse" though are the ones whose core look remained the same between editions. The dragons and demons both lost noticeable amounts of detail despite their in book art either remaining about the same or improving. Like the dungeon command version of the horned devil looking so much worse than his older model despite being clearly based on the same master.
I'd say that on average Pathfinder battles has better sculpts than the old D&D minis did but and this is a big but, the material for D&D minis was far superior to what is currently being used in Pathfinder Battles. The smooth finish to the pain job keeps the older minis from catching on things as often, and I have never had on break on me whereas Pathfinder minis break at the drop of a hat.
Sadly, WizKids seems stuck on using their fragile plastic. (I'm sure it all comes down to cost). They do not seem concerned at all about how the minis tend to break or shatter when they hit the floor (someday I will get carpeting in my basement), or even can't survive the rigors of the transportation/postal system. I also dread the though of letting young children play with these minis... oh the carnage.
Also the old D&D minis line had a weird problem where the sculpt quality took a nose dive immediately following deserts of desolation. Does anyone know what major changes took place that resulted in all of the weirdly proportioned and cartoony sculpts in post DoD minis?
They began changing over from physically sculpted masters to 3-d rendered masters. The main complaint about this, was that several of the minis did gain a cartoonish appearance.
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Chief Technical Officer
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Also the old D&D minis line had a weird problem where the sculpt quality took a nose dive immediately following deserts of desolation. Does anyone know what major changes took place that resulted in all of the weirdly proportioned and cartoony sculpts in post DoD minis?They began changing over from physically sculpted masters to 3-d rendered masters. The main complaint about this, was that several of the minis did gain a cartoonish appearance.
In my experience, the big differentiator would be less about the change in medium, and more about the change in artists. We've used a few digital sculpts in the Pathfinder Battles line, and I think most people would be hard pressed to pick them out.
To be fair your minis also have the advantages of years of technological advancement.
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I'm on two sides about the relaunch of miniatures from WotC. On one hand I was disappointed that Wizkids are doing them as I'm not that pleased with the overall quality of the Pathfinder Battles line (I also find the Heroclix and old Mage Knight miniatures lacking). On the plus side they are popular and continue to release new miniatures, which in the end is a really good thing. More miniatures! \o/
The former D&D minis were really hit and miss. They had some really nice looking ones, but there were also a lot that had really bad sculpts and paint jobs. The better ones they put out looked IMO as good as the pathfinder battles minis. Unfortunately, there were a lot of crappy ones.
I'm kind of the opposite side of this. While the DDM line did contain some really questionable miniatures I think the majority of the sculpts are quite good.
To some extent I have to agree with Patrick here. I buy my mini's via e-bay, so I can handpick them (no possibility of trading where I live), so I usually select some old D&D minis as well in my 'basket'. My wife, who knows nothing about gaming or minis, apart from what she sees me doing in my study from time to time, generally appreciates these D&D minis more than the Pathfinder ones. Granted, those few hand-picked D&D minis are generally some of the finer pieces, while I buy most of the Pathfinder collection, including the uglier sculpts and paint jobs. But the D&D line definitely had some excellent figs and Pathfinder has had its ups and downs as well.
As a customer I can only applaud the extra miniature line. I just hope that the increased competition in the market (even though both lines come from the same company, they will be competing for our attention ... and money) will not put one of the lines out of business. As long as both exist, there will just be more choice for all of us. But of course, we'll have to wait and see what happens.
I'm on two sides about the relaunch of miniatures from WotC. On one hand I was disappointed that Wizkids are doing them as I'm not that pleased with the overall quality of the Pathfinder Battles line (I also find the Heroclix and old Mage Knight miniatures lacking). On the plus side they are popular and continue to release new miniatures, which in the end is a really good thing. More miniatures! \o/
I would be curious to hear what specific quality concerns you have with them?
My thoughts on their quality are:
The paint steps used on the Pathfinder minis are at least double than any of the Heroclix/WizKids/Mage Knight minis. (And several even have washes or highlighting applied). Although with respect to the painting, Heroclix are notorious for "sloppy" paint jobs and we have seen this leak over to some of the Pathfinder minis.
The sculpts have been pretty great and far more consistent than DDM's (especially in scale -- I have always really disliked the mis-matched scale of the DDM dwarf you linked)
I'll spare everyone another one of my dissertations about the fragile plastic WizKids is married to.
Overall, I think they are better than any other PPM's made (but I do say that somewhat through gritted teeth due to my concerns about their fragility).
Maybe they need to get Reaper to make the minis with their much more pliable plastic, and then send them off to China for painting :)
Reaper plastic as a base would truly be the best solution. I have never been upset by there composition and a slight decrease in paint quality is well worth it for durability.
Also I think one of my problems with Pathfinder minis is they seem to have more complex paint jobs but less detailed sculpts, especially on faces. One easy comparison is the cartoonishly proportioned pathfinder werewolf verse any of the D&D werewolf minis.
I would be curious to hear what specific quality concerns you have with them?
Mostly it's the sculpts. I repaint all my miniatures (or at least I am to repaint those I'm going to keep) and in a majority of the cases I find the sculpts lacking in detail. Either it's not that sharp or it's not there all together. The faces are a weak spot for many of the figures. I'm especially disappointed with the iconics. There are some good sculpts (I'm especially fond of the goblins) I find that the majority are lacking. In the worst cases the paint jobs try to make up for the lack of detail by painting detail that's not on in the sculpts. A good seasoned painted can do that, but for prepainted miniatures the result is not good (the paintjob for Merisiel is a prime example for this).
I find that even though the DDM line had its fair amount of questionable paint jobs, many of the figures has a good (at times great or even excellent) sculpt which makes them easy to repaint.
That is not to say that there aren't good sculpts in the Pathfinder Battles line. There are many miniatures that I like, although none that I've encountered has a great sculpt as a base for the figure.
I'm kind of the opposite side of this. While the DDM line did contain some really questionable miniatures I think the majority of the sculpts are quite good.
Oh come on! You didn't like Moe the Caravan Guard and Sgt Giantfist Bighead of the Dwarven Halls (of Huge Freaking Melons!)??!
I do agree with you in that there are a number of DDM sculpts that left a lot to be desired - and others that were just awesome (the Beholder from the Deathknell set, the Efreeti from Angelfire and the Behir from Giants of Legend were always favourites of mine)
Paint the dwarf grey and use him as a dwarven statue.
One easy comparison is the cartoonishly proportioned pathfinder werewolf verse any of the D&D werewolf minis.That was in our first set—we've gotten a lot better at it since then!
That is true and quite appreciated. Some of the sculpts particularly the larger ones (gug and giant troll thing that seems closer to huge than large specifically). The mediums still seem a bit lacking in sculpt detail compared to DDM, which I'm guessing is the result of the fragile plastic that would lose all those features to even basic ware and tear. Also said this before paint jobs are miles ahead of DDM and always have been.
Paint the dwarf grey and use him as a dwarven statue.
That is a really good idea. To bad I've thrown all of mine away.
Paint the dwarf grey and use him as a dwarven statue.That is a really good idea. To bad I've thrown all of mine away.
I sold mine for 9 cents each.
I made a killing off of the 27 of them I had ;-)
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Pictures as they become available get collected in the Plasticrypt gallery.
Most of those are from GAMA Trade show and the WizKids demos of Attack Wing.
I have not updated the D&D Gallery page yet, but here's a couple of photos I took of Tiamat and Bahamut at GenCon, thanks to WizKid's, Jey Gonyeau.
Tiamat: http://www.minisgallery.com/dnd/tiamat.jpg
Bahamut: http://www.minisgallery.com/dnd/bahamut.jpg
Gallery: http://www.minisgallery.com/dnd/
Does that mean when you're entitled to a promo (by buying a case or whatever) you actually get one of two possible promos?