I'm stoked about this and the possibilities it presents, especially since my painting days seem to be over (damn psyche).But painting can sooth and calm you. It's basically art therapy! ;-P
I have two complete Warhammer 40K armies waiting to be painted. Just can't gather the energy to start, nor the patience if I manage to get started I'd wager.
Not unless I just did them all in basic colours and then a wash or dip.
I'm just worried about having to import these to Europe. I fear they'll get too expensive with all the VAT and similar extra costs.
Unless they'll be sold by Amazon.co.uk?I got (almost) all my Legendary Encounter figures from Paizo. If you don't overdo it and have them in an extra shipment (they're not too heavy), you can avoid to pay import VAT or anything like it.
But still, here's hoping that amazon will pick them up!
I just have some bad experiences with packages from Paizo getting caught in customs, while the envelopes usually sail through.
So yeah, I'm hoping Amazon will pick them up.Btw, for those who don't like to paint or think they lack the skills to do so OR just want to spice up the prepainted plastic miniatures, there are two very simple techniques for adding shading and such to miniatures.
What you do is just paint the miniatures in base colours, this should be doable by anyone who can colour within the lines of a colouring book. :-D
For the prepainted miniatures, this step isn't needed, obviously (but they probably have to be washed thoroughly with soapy water).
What you do then is either dip the miniatures in a special miniature coloured varnish or just buy some coloured varnish (dark brown usually) from Home Depot or where ever.
After dipping them, shake off the excess varnish (usually in a box) and let the miniature dry.
The other method is to use a special Wash colour, Games Workshop produces a range that's pretty good. This is easier to work with, but also more expensive. You just splash the wash on with a brush and let it dry.
Here are some examples of a base colour + dip miniatures:
Sample 1
Sample 2
Sample 3
Sample 4
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This is the thread I was looking for.
Oh man, SO stoked. Thanks for making this happen, Lisa, Erik, et al! I can't wait to hear and see more!
I thought I would never, EVER say this... but... I wholeheartedly echo the old treant's words! I can't wait to hear and see more, either! Non-random prepainted minis that look as good as that preview of Kyra does, just for Pathfinder? Halfling rogues? Elven wizards? Orcs? Tengu? Froghemoth? Chelaxian half-fiend dwarves? (okay, got carried away with that last one)
By the Sacred Brimstone and Hellfire... once again my fervent prayers to Holy Asmodeus have been answered!
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I can't wait to hear and see more, either! Non-random prepainted minis that look as good as that preview of Kyra does, just for Pathfinder? Halfling rogues? Elven wizards? Orcs? Tengu? Froghemoth? Chelaxian half-fiend dwarves? (okay, got carried away with that last one)
By the Sacred Brimstone and Hellfire... once again my fervent prayers to Holy Asmodeus have been answered!
I expect the initial offering will go something more like Human Fighter, Human Wizard, Human Cleric, Elven Rogue, if you know what I mean.
Chief Technical Officer
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I wonder if the OGL covers Minis?
Can they make a Gibbering Mouther and call it a Gibbering Mouther?
The OGL doesn't have any specific media restrictions, so it's possible to gain access to the name by using the OGL, but the *look* of certain monsters may be product identity. How much something looks like something else can get into a grey area, though, and so the whole issue is probably best avoided. (Plus, we're not really all that keen on having to include the OGL with minis.)
Fortunately, many monster names and their general depictions are clearly in the public domain, and many others are unquestionably our own creation. Even *more* fortunately, I think those two categories cover an awful lot of the minis people want to see in a Pathfinder line.
Hooray! Finally!
I would also agree that having AP sets would be helpful and also a huge time-saver not having to paint so many figs. I would still however paint special/custom PCs/NPCs.
Well done Paizo
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RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32, 2011 Top 16
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This is super great news! I've actually been trying to figure out what to spend some more disposible income on that wouldn't require adding things to my "to read" pile since I don't have any more time availible!
I'm already looking forward to the follow up sets that will follow the huge success of this first one. I think and adventure path theme would be great to start with, but would want flexibility after the first one or two. Once you have trolls from one adventure path, you might not want to get more with 2 APs later, and only pick up the NPCs, or the mites, or worgs, or whatever.
I'm going to throw my voice in for different ones before the initial set is even released. Specifically, I'd love small boxes of "opponents that tend to be encountered in large groups." Boxes of goblins, orcs, kobolds, bandits, gnolls, etc. would be great to have, especially if there were half-a-dozen different sculpts of the same creature type in each box.
Sounds good, except maybe the sculpts thing.
The advantage of horde critters would be that they'd probably be common enough for many people to want them, and want them in greater numbers.
That translates into lots and lots of them sold. And that is what you usually need to make pre-painted plastic minis work.
I guess they could sell them by the dozen, though: 4 different sculpts with 3 of each sculpt (or 3 sculpts with 4 each). Or sell the 3/4 sculpts separately in packs of 3 or 4.
That's the way Reaper does it with their horde critters - orcs, skeletons, goblins and kobolds so far I think. And maybe rats.
This is the thread I was looking for.
Oh man, SO stoked. Thanks for making this happen, Lisa, Erik, et al! I can't wait to hear and see more!
I thought I would never, EVER say this... but... I wholeheartedly echo the old treant's words! I can't wait to hear and see more, either! Non-random prepainted minis that look as good as that preview of Kyra does, just for Pathfinder? Halfling rogues? Elven wizards? Orcs? Tengu? Froghemoth? Chelaxian half-fiend dwarves? (okay, got carried away with that last one)
By the Sacred Brimstone and Hellfire... once again my fervent prayers to Holy Asmodeus have been answered!
Haha! The first release after the starter tie-in will be "Protean Big Pack". Followed by demons. Followed by azatas. :P
I've actually been trying to figure out what to spend some more disposible income on
You poor baby :P
If this doesn't work out for you, just get into computer games big time (not consoles!) and dedicate the money on keeping your rig up to date.
The new graphics cards every other week will probably take care of your problem all by themselves. The big ones cost something like 500 bucks or even more, and of course you'll need 4 of them! :D
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RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32, 2011 Top 16
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I've actually been trying to figure out what to spend some more disposible income onYou poor baby :P
If this doesn't work out for you, just get into computer games big time (not consoles!) and dedicate the money on keeping your rig up to date.
The new graphics cards every other week will probably take care of your problem all by themselves. The big ones cost something like 500 bucks or even more, and of course you'll need 4 of them! :D
Yeah, yeah, I know, it's a horrible problem to have. But, the issues is more money for gaming stuff than I have time for. I have WAY too much to read and not enough time, so some new minis are just perfect.
EDIT: and computer games take time I don't have also.
In the news today, screaming legume demands randomized minis!
I'm more a big glob of algae, rather than a legume...
I would much prefer a set of unusual and hard to find/otherwise expensive monsters, than another group of humanoids. Many companies make humanoid miniatures (orcs, goblins, etc), but some creatures are much harder to find/afford. KaeYoss's suggestion of the "Protean Big Pack" and such would interest me a lot more than more of the same stuff that every other company is making.
I eagerly await a pre-order page!
I'm VERY happy about this! I can't wait, sign me up for a preorder, and get Wizkids slaving away on new sets.
I would like to see random packs, I think they will make the largest splash at the retail level for random sales. I loved buying a booster box of each set(when I could) and opening them all up, better than Christmas morning.
Preset pack/sets will work for me too. I need my pre-painted minis fix. I had thought there would never be any more, but it looks like paizo has come through again, and saved another part of the hobby I thought would be gone.
I hope this initial set will have a bunch of figures to start us out. Can't wait for more preview pics. Hurry!!!
Wizkids already has a decent set up for distribution of figures with common/uncommon/rare. Just make the sets with small amounts in them and make the things you would only want one of rare, things you could see using two or three uncommon and things you would want 6 of common. Sell the packs with 3 commons two uncommons and 1 rare. Goblins, orcs etc in the common slots, odder monsters and villagers in the uncommon, and one-of story npcs and iconics in the rare slots. And for the love of god do not abandon making goblins and orcs and such in the next release.
Again thats just random packs. The idea of releasing "mega-packs" with enough minis to run an AP is nose hair trimmingly good.
So to compile all the suggestions into awesomeness squared.
What's required to keep us all happy is a schroedingers mega box of minis, a sealed box that contains and doesnt contain all the minis required and not required for every situation possible and impossible. The contents are in both states of existence and non existence, Random and specific.
That wouldn't be impossible would it? Not for you guys at least.
Paizo is superb and quantum products must be on the agenda for at least 2012 - 2013 at the latest!! :)
Oh sorry nurse, yes I've taken my medication. Yes the yellow pill! No not the black one!
I'm an elf you know
*** whispering quietly, I haven't taken the pill *****
So to compile all the suggestions into awesomeness squared.
What's required to keep us all happy is a schroedingers mega box of minis, a sealed box that contains and doesnt contain all the minis required and not required for every situation possible and impossible. The contents are in both states of existence and non existence, Random and specific.
That wouldn't be impossible would it? Not for you guys at least.
Paizo is superb and quantum products must be on the agenda for at least 2012 - 2013 at the latest!! :)Oh sorry nurse, yes I've taken my medication. Yes the yellow pill! No not the black one!
I'm an elf you know
*** whispering quietly, I haven't taken the pill *****
Heh, you beat me to the punch by mere minutes Bodrin, I was just about to post myself how this thread is an excellent education on why the prepainted pastic miniature business is so brutal. There are several different factions of "purchasers" who have mutually exclusive demands. Random boxes, individual minis, groups of common minis, odd or exotic minis, minis that tie into adventure paths...
This is really a serious marketing/production/sales nightmare. Nobody has really solved it yet.
I will just keep an eye on WizKids and Paizo and hope that I can get some nice minis without spending a fortune on them.
I don't buy random mini boxes, I would rather just make my own mini when I need one than throw money at minis in the hope I get something I can use. But then I don't gamble either, I have a problem risking my hard-earned money on anything that doesn't have a guaranteed return.
I think the Adventure Path mini collection is a solid and profitable idea, but only for a while. Eventually the adventure path becomes old news and Paizo or WizKids is left with a bunch of inventory they can't move and they have to take a loss on it, or they produce just enough to meet demand and run the risk of angering customers if they underestimate demand...
I think the collections of commonly used factions of minis is a solid and profitable idea, but the reality is that you can find those if you look. I just bought ten boxes of that sort of mini for less than $75 and each box had an average of 35 or so minis, so about a quarter per mini. Of course I had to remove them from sprues and paint them, but hey, that's still a deal in my opinion. And I got some cool minis from it. So there is already a market out there which Wizkids would be competing against, and that means they might have to pick a price point too low for them to make a profit.
I don't envy the marketing folks at WizKids or Paizo. I give them kudos for tackling this and think the only reason they did is because they are true gaming enthusiasts and feel like they need to react to customer requests. That's good, unless they misjudge the demand based on a bunch of highly vocal individuals and end up with a bunch of unmovable product...
I will watch and purchase what I like, as I always have. I only bought maybe three boxes of D&D mini random boxes, all of my other 100+ D&D minis were purchased from resellers selling individual minis from people who had duplicates they didn't want.
I wish Paizo and WizKids well on this endeavor. But I'm not getting my hopes up. It's a tough, tough market folks.
Great news!
The Kyra model looks absolutely fantastic, more than on par with the best of the D&D minis.
I will certainly buy this IF the sizes are compatible with the normal D&D miniature size (one gripe I have with D&D minis is that they did vary the size of their minis from edition to edition, resulting in giant dwarves and small humans...), which, from Lisas statement, seems to be the case.
Great news!
As a miniature geek since FOREVER I can only applaud the effort. I’ve been playing and collecting Heroclix (and Horrorclix) for some six years now and the sculpts and paint jobs have really improved under NECA. Just hope the images released aren’t the digital ones, since the real sculpts tend to look a lot less detailed (but still above average). Looking at the base I’m guessing the released image is a digital copy?
Wether or not I’m buying will depend on the content (selection of characters and quality) of the box. Probably already SOLD.
I don’t think Reaper will experience a loss in sales because of this. I like prepainted plastic because it’s STURDY and can withstand a trip to other gamers homes. Try that with your carefully painted metals and you can start adding paint to cover the chipped off paint or glue back broken stuff (even in special boxes). I use my prepainted plastic D&D and Starwars (and even Heroclix) a LOT for roleplaying purposes. More than my metals. Those only get a chance to shine in my own home…
And I have tons of Warhammer, Confrontation, Pathfinder metals and other Reaper to pain so prepainted is more than welcome.
Hoping the quality is on par with the (now sadly cancelled) Confrontation prepaints. Those were AWESOME (but expensive).
And to Paizo: best of luck in the mini business!
Not saying this in a critical manner, but why is it that people keep bringing up a 6 miniatures per box? Is that how Wizkids does it with their current minis?
I only ask as I am just used to the 8 mini per box that was with DDM (and liked it). Although I can see not wanting to continue with that, as we see how that turned out.
Heh, you beat me to the punch by mere minutes Bodrin, I was just about to post myself how this thread is an excellent education on why the prepainted pastic miniature business is so brutal. There are several different factions of "purchasers" who have mutually exclusive demands. Random boxes, individual minis, groups of common minis, odd or exotic minis, minis that tie into adventure paths...
then it's not so hard after all. All they need is Random boxes, individual minis, groups of common minis, odd or exotic minis, minis that tie into adventure paths. SO the obvious solution is make all of them! :D
I work in a plastics factory and i can tell you first hand how many plastic molders work. Some molds for a specific manufacturer you make a killing, some you make a small return, some you break even, and some molds it even costs US money to make them and we lose money. AT the end of the day it's keeping the supplier happy to get ALL there business so you can make money overall. If it works for GM,ford, peterbuilt,Rubber Maid, and any other company that revolves around plastics then it will work for Wizkids. The key is keeping as many customers happy as possible. it's a proven fact that happy customers spend more money and remain loyal to a company.
So yea, while adventure path sets may make less money than say randomized sets, or horde sets make more money than randomized, at the end of the day it's about making an effort to catering to as many customers as possible so if one area is weak in sales and one is great the company still does good overall. If they made all these types of sets im sure they would profit. Heck i would become a loyal customer! i might prefer to buy specific figs but once i get the ones i want i will definitely start picking up say randomized packs and adventure path pack sets. It may seem impossible to please everyone but it's not impossible to please most if they have enough options! If they did start making ALL of the mentioned types of sets i would support the heck out of them and i think everyone else would be "OMG thats so awesome, this company is the coolest ever!". While i dont see this actually happening, if by some miracle they did i think all us loyal pathfinder fans should just start flooding them with money from our ecstasy!
I see it as being more like the Starter sets..the "Blackest Night " box springs to mind.
We'll just have to be patient..yes I know most people here have to look that word up.
Wizkids already has a decent set up for distribution of figures with common/uncommon/rare. Just make the sets with small amounts in them and make the things you would only want one of rare, things you could see using two or three uncommon and things you would want 6 of common. Sell the packs with 3 commons two uncommons and 1 rare. Goblins, orcs etc in the common slots, odder monsters and villagers in the uncommon, and one-of story npcs and iconics in the rare slots. And for the love of god do not abandon making goblins and orcs and such in the next release.
Again thats just random packs. The idea of releasing "mega-packs" with enough minis to run an AP is nose hair trimmingly good.
This and RunebladeX's comments got me thinking. Why not just make random packs where each wave focuses on a single AP. Make the commons the foes you'll need a lot of in the AP, the Uncommons the foes you need a few of, and the Rares the PCs or BBEG (or unique guys like clockwork librarian). That way if you are running the AP, you know by purchasing the set you'll always get something you can use for your game. And even if you are not running it, you'll get plenty of mooks and some cool characters to still use in your own game.
@Hobbun: Actually looking at Wizkids previous releases, I would expect 4-5 miniatures in a random release package.
@Hobbun: Actually looking at Wizkids previous releases, I would expect 4-5 miniatures in a random release package.
Ugh, hope we get at least a couple more than that per package. Unless the price reflects low amount of minis ($10 or less).
But who am I kidding, I'll probably buy a 4 mini box at $15, anyways. :)
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I wonder if the OGL covers Minis?
Can they make a Gibbering Mouther and call it a Gibbering Mouther?
There's plenty of examples of companies producing thinly-veiled analogues of non-OGL IP.
So you may see a 'Screaming Ooze' somewhere, or a 'Wailing Protoplasm'.
How close that sails to the legal line is debatable, but it's far easier to do if the creators can point to an early non-copyrightable source, such as mythology. You can't stop someone creating a 'Medusa' or 'Cerberus' figure, even though they're specific named individuals.
In the case of the mouther, it's arguable that it is, itself, a homage to Lovecraft's shoggoth (), so you may have a precedent to lean on. Just be prepared to argue it in court, especially if you give it a stat-card with the same blinding spittle and soften rock abilities. Without them, it's one more blob-monster in a sea of blob-monsters.
@Hobbun: Actually looking at Wizkids previous releases, I would expect 4-5 miniatures in a random release package.Ugh, hope we get at least a couple more than that per package. Unless the price reflects low amount of minis ($10 or less).
But who am I kidding, I'll probably buy a 4 mini box at $15, anyways. :)
I think their boosters were usually between $8-$12, IIRC.
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I think their boosters were usually between $8-$12, IIRC.
@Hobbun: Actually looking at Wizkids previous releases, I would expect 4-5 miniatures in a random release package.Ugh, hope we get at least a couple more than that per package. Unless the price reflects low amount of minis ($10 or less).
But who am I kidding, I'll probably buy a 4 mini box at $15, anyways. :)
yup, most recent sets seem to be 4-5 minis for $12
Random minis are definitely not was is needed. Another forum with a bloated trade thread where you have to pay $100+ to get your Green Protean or Con-exclusive Witch of Trickery is something I don't see as being particularly beneficial. Avid collectors with lots of money will like it but everyone else will just get pissed off.
HeroClix is a fun game but it's crazy expensive to collect. I hope that's not what they plan to emulate with the PF minis.
SJ
yup, most recent sets seem to be 4-5 minis for $12
If it is that low amount of minis, even though this is right now going to be a 'one-shot deal', I am guessing they are going to release several different boxes with preset or randomized (I am guessing randomized) boxes.
I just don't see only 4-5 figures being released along with the Beginner's box. Especially if Paizo wants to do some monsters along with the PC's.
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I would much prefer a set of unusual and hard to find/otherwise expensive monsters, than another group of humanoids. Many companies make humanoid miniatures (orcs, goblins, etc), but some creatures are much harder to find/afford. KaeYoss's suggestion of the "Protean Big Pack" and such would interest me a lot more than more of the same stuff that every other company is making.
Yes, it seems as if there's a law that states the first three minis created by any new company must be 'elf with bow', 'dwarf with axe*' and 'orc screaming at the air'.
I wouldn't mind the goblins, though.
Paizo goblins are sufficiently different to justify their own sculpt.
*...and always in chain armour. What is it with the chain armour?
If you want your product to be bought by the D&D market, take a look at what the rules are, and what people actually play.
Though, that could be a good defence for the new Cleric; Paizo helping all those small minis companies shift their stock of unsold Medium-armoured Dwarves!
Chain armour also probably has to do with ease of painting. Silver drybrush over black undercoat makes chain look pretty good.
Random minis are definitely not was is needed. Another forum with a bloated trade thread where you have to pay $100+ to get your Green Protean or Con-exclusive Witch of Trickery is something I don't see as being particularly beneficial. Avid collectors with lots of money will like it but everyone else will just get pissed off.
HeroClix is a fun game but it's crazy expensive to collect. I hope that's not what they plan to emulate with the PF minis.
SJ
I guess I would ask, how much would you be willing to pay for all the miniatures needed to play an entire AP? Would $100+ be reasonable? Now let's say you could purchase a case of these random minis that were tied to the AP and get all the miniatures, wouldn't that be worth it?
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A suggestion I've not seen yet:
Summoner Packs!
Seriously, if you made a pack with all the options from Summon Monster I, or Nature's Ally I, that would be perfect for new players.
Or a randomised set covering Summon I to III, that would result in some duplicates, but there's often multiple creatures thrown about when a Conjurer or Druid gets going.
If the owner adds a distinctive dot of paint, they cover most players' familiars and animal companions, too.
This is really exciting news. PLEASE no randomized boxes!
+1
If it works for GM,ford, peterbuilt,Rubber Maid, and any other company that revolves around plastics then it will work for Wizkids. The key is keeping as many customers happy as possible. it's a proven fact that happy customers spend more money and remain loyal to a company.eryone but it's not impossible to please most if they have enough options! If they did start making ALL of the mentioned types of sets i would...
I'm sorry, but this is simply not true. The common denominator in every example you listed (GM, Ford, Peterbuilt, Rubber Maid) is that their product has a market in the tens or hundreds of millions of people.
WizKids and Paizo have a market that probably barely scratches one million. And of that the vast majority own maybe a set of dice, some cheap markers and a dozen or so highly prized miniatures.
The actual market for purchasing miniatures is miniscule compared to the market for tupperware. There is no way to say that what works for Rubber Maid would work for WizKids. The two markets are as different as apples and supernovae.
Economies of scale matter. Making forty cents per piece of plastic you sell is a huge profit if you are selling 100 million of them. Not so much if you are selling 10,000 of them.
Trying to service all the different market factions for miniatures just means that each set you make has an even smaller part of an already tiny market.
If your statement was correct, there would be a bunch of different miniature companies clamoring for an opportunity to make minis for Paizo, and I could go to the local toy store and choose from among a wide selection of plastic bags or boxes full of whatever I wanted.
I can't, because the market doesn't support it.
Now, I can go to the toy store and choose from among a wide selection of plastic miniature bugs, dinosaurs, frogs, lizards, rodents, army men, cowboys, and a whole lot more. That's because the market for people who want to buy a bag full of cheap plastic spiders is actually much, much larger than the market for people who want to buy a bag full of lizard men. I know some people find that hard to believe, but that's the way the market works.
That's the whole point.
Check this out.LOL, the harsh reality is that right now the mini collection that I would spend real money for would be a collection of peasants, merchants, tradesmen and nobles all just doing normal non-combat stuff.
That's the biggest hole I have in my mini collection. And it's a pain to make that many minis when I also want to beef up some of my existing factions of combatants...
GIVE ME SOME BORING NORMAL PEOPLE!!!
Cool
CoolCheck this out.LOL, the harsh reality is that right now the mini collection that I would spend real money for would be a collection of peasants, merchants, tradesmen and nobles all just doing normal non-combat stuff.
That's the biggest hole I have in my mini collection. And it's a pain to make that many minis when I also want to beef up some of my existing factions of combatants...
GIVE ME SOME BORING NORMAL PEOPLE!!!
I should have been more specific.
GIVE ME SOME BORING NORMAL PEOPLE CHEAP!
I've looked at the Reaper villagers and merchants, and I just can't justify spending $15 for three barmaids. Just not cost effective to spend $5 per mini for them.
If this does become a product line, I'd much prefer a non-randomized purchase. It's a selling point between buy and don't buy for me. The only mini's I've ever purchased were Heroscape. I knew exactly what I was getting for what I pay. I will not CCG-purchase minis.
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I should have been more specific.
GIVE ME SOME BORING NORMAL PEOPLE CHEAP!
I've looked at the Reaper villagers and merchants, and I just can't justify spending $15 for three barmaids. Just not cost effective to spend $5 per mini for them.
Check out Christmas decorations. You can often find figures in with the Christmas Village decorations that will work for gaming. Also a great way to find trees and stuff. I know several dollar stores in our area carry 3-4 figs for a buck, and while not all work for gaming (unless you're playing Victorian/modern) there are enough that would work for fantasy.
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A suggestion I've not seen yet:
Summoner Packs!
Seriously, if you made a pack with all the options from Summon Monster I, or Nature's Ally I, that would be perfect for new players.
Or a randomised set covering Summon I to III, that would result in some duplicates, but there's often multiple creatures thrown about when a Conjurer or Druid gets going.
If the owner adds a distinctive dot of paint, they cover most players' familiars and animal companions, too.
+1
This is a great idea, and while I don't have much disposable income, I'd definitely grab these up.
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CoolCheck this out.LOL, the harsh reality is that right now the mini collection that I would spend real money for would be a collection of peasants, merchants, tradesmen and nobles all just doing normal non-combat stuff.
That's the biggest hole I have in my mini collection. And it's a pain to make that many minis when I also want to beef up some of my existing factions of combatants...
GIVE ME SOME BORING NORMAL PEOPLE!!!
I should have been more specific.
GIVE ME SOME BORING NORMAL PEOPLE CHEAP!
I've looked at the Reaper villagers and merchants, and I just can't justify spending $15 for three barmaids. Just not cost effective to spend $5 per mini for them.
Well, then try this. Barring that, I don't see how you'd ever really be happy with pewter figures. I mean, that's 12 figs for 26 bucks. That's a steal!
Check out Christmas decorations. You can often find figures in with the Christmas Village decorations that will work for gaming. Also a great way to find trees and stuff. I know several dollar stores in our area carry 3-4 figs for a buck, and while not all work for gaming (unless you're playing Victorian/modern) there are enough that would work for fantasy.I should have been more specific.
GIVE ME SOME BORING NORMAL PEOPLE CHEAP!
I've looked at the Reaper villagers and merchants, and I just can't justify spending $15 for three barmaids. Just not cost effective to spend $5 per mini for them.
I found a bag full of plastic trees for railroad hobbyists on sale for $9.95 at Hobby Lobby. It has 36 trees, but they are all hardwood trees. So I made some evergreen trees myself. But I used the leftover tree foliage from the bag, so it was basically free except for the bamboo barbecue skewers I used for the trunks.
I have made and am making tons of terrain items out of styrofoam, balsa wood, cardboard, etc. Wagons, catapults, beds, chairs, tables....
I have a big palace ball coming up for my campaign and right now I'll have to fill the room full of people with swords and daggers and stuff.... sigh...
Well, then try this. Barring that, I don't see how you'd ever really be happy with pewter figures. I mean, that's 12 figs for 26 bucks. That's a steal!CoolCheck this out.LOL, the harsh reality is that right now the mini collection that I would spend real money for would be a collection of peasants, merchants, tradesmen and nobles all just doing normal non-combat stuff.
That's the biggest hole I have in my mini collection. And it's a pain to make that many minis when I also want to beef up some of my existing factions of combatants...
GIVE ME SOME BORING NORMAL PEOPLE!!!
I should have been more specific.
GIVE ME SOME BORING NORMAL PEOPLE CHEAP!
I've looked at the Reaper villagers and merchants, and I just can't justify spending $15 for three barmaids. Just not cost effective to spend $5 per mini for them.
Yeah, that probably is a steal, but keep in mind in the last two months I've expanded my mini collection from about 150, to close to 1,500 and the average cost of those 1,350 minis I've added came out to be about twenty cents apiece. And these are high quality plastic minis including a lot of common D&D minis, 350 unpainted plastic minis I had to paint and 550 Mage Knight minis I bought for $60.
So my expectations on the cost of a mini are probably pretty skewed right now...
Secondary markets rock for this very reason. The primary market is for the randomized pre-painted plastics, and the secondary market caters to those not willing to buy randoms (which traditionally was a much smaller crowd).
In the heyday of DDM, I saw all kinds of folks selling packs of commons/uncommons - the gnoll packs, the orc packs, kobold packs, etc.
Gary Sarli did a pretty good business doing something similar for SWM, with bulk packs of stormtroopers/clonetroopers/droids/etc.
Secondary markets rock for this very reason. The primary market is for the randomized pre-painted plastics, and the secondary market caters to those not willing to buy randoms (which traditionally was a much smaller crowd).
In the heyday of DDM, I saw all kinds of folks selling packs of commons/uncommons - the gnoll packs, the orc packs, kobold packs, etc.
Gary Sarli did a pretty good business doing something similar for SWM, with bulk packs of stormtroopers/clonetroopers/droids/etc.
Yes, in the heyday of Magic: The Gathering I funded my Magic habit by buying cases of booster packs and selling as many rares and uncommons as I needed to in order to recoup my costs and make a bit of profit.
But while that's a great strategy for the person running a collectible catering business out of his basement, that's not nearly as good a deal for the manufacturer who is at the mercy of release popularity. It works for a short while, but then the market gets too much supply (which is when you see game shops selling orc minis for a quarter apiece) the demand dries up and if the manufacturer can't spin their production on a dime, they end up with a bunch of product they can't move.
This isn't new. This is probably a market problem they study in marketing classes in graduate school. Those techniques have been tried, and the result has been miniature companies being sold, mini lines being dropped and those of us who like to buy minis experiencing a continual boom/bust cycle as new companies try to exploit a market that never has developed enough to support any of the already tried marketing approaches.
Reaper has been around because they pretty much own the high quality metal you-have-to-paint-it-but-the-result-can-be-friggin-awesome market. The "I want to buy cheap minis just to play the game and don't want to paint them" is a much harder market to service, as the history of the market should make obvious.