They look cool and handy for plastic minis.
That's pretty cool. I wonder if they will replace their P-65 line.
I'm wondering, does anyone make miniatures that include chairs, tables, bars and stools, etc. or would it not be financially viable. I do have some material from Hero Quest that we use, but I sure would like some generic furniture as well as torture equipment and various stuff found in dungeons to add to the 3-d effect.
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There are a number of companies that sell unpainted and prepainted dungeon scenery.
Reaper sells scenery: http://www.reapermini.com/OnlineStore/Terrain/latest
Hirst Arts sells molds and has links to people who sell cast stuff from their molds: http://www.hirstarts.com/links/links.html
If you have a million dollars there is the miniatures building authority: http://www.miniaturebuildingauthority.com/ They do high quality resin prepainted buildings and accessories.
http://www.dwarvenforge.com/accessories
http://www.easternfront-studios.net/?page_id=11
The other place to look is railroad hobby stores of course.
So instead of increasing the number of fantasy pre-painted plastic minis, they are putting out dinosaur sets (CollectA going up against safari ltd, papo, etc) and putting out unpainted versions of the few fantasy plastic minis that they actually made. Don't label me too impressed.
@Guy: Mage Knight had some dungeon sets, but sadly those were in the distant past. You might be able to find some on ebay or other sites, but I don't they are going to be cheap.
So instead of increasing the number of fantasy pre-painted plastic minis, they are putting out dinosaur sets (CollectA going up against safari ltd, papo, etc) and putting out unpainted versions of the few fantasy plastic minis that they actually made. Don't label me too impressed.
They have different freelance sculptors working on different things. People working on dinosaurs don't really detract from people working on pewter fantasy minis (I actually don't know if the dinos are made at the Texas factory or somewhere else, I didn't see anything about them while I was there, the entire operation was about pewter).
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There are a number of companies that sell unpainted and prepainted dungeon scenery.
Reaper sells scenery: http://www.reapermini.com/OnlineStore/Terrain/latest
Hirst Arts sells molds and has links to people who sell cast stuff from their molds: http://www.hirstarts.com/links/links.html
If you have a million dollars there is the miniatures building authority: http://www.miniaturebuildingauthority.com/ They do high quality resin prepainted buildings and accessories.
http://www.dwarvenforge.com/accessories
http://www.easternfront-studios.net/?page_id=11
The other place to look is railroad hobby stores of course.
I would like to add PSOM miniatures
and Scotia Grendel
and for on the real cheap Megaminiatures.
I have purchased from all of them (and Thomarillion and MBA) and I vouch for them all. My favorite: Thomarillion, PSOM, and Scotia Grendel.
So instead of increasing the number of fantasy pre-painted plastic minis, they are putting out dinosaur sets (CollectA going up against safari ltd, papo, etc) and putting out unpainted versions of the few fantasy plastic minis that they actually made. Don't label me too impressed.They have different freelance sculptors working on different things. People working on dinosaurs don't really detract from people working on pewter fantasy minis (I actually don't know if the dinos are made at the Texas factory or somewhere else, I didn't see anything about them while I was there, the entire operation was about pewter).
While that may be true (and I wasn't talking about pewters at all), money is a resource that reaches over all endeavors that a company does. The more money they spend hiring freelance sculptors to make dinosaurs is that much less money they can spend on hiring freelancer sculptors to make fantasy miniatures.
I'm wondering, does anyone make miniatures that include chairs, tables, bars and stools, etc. or would it not be financially viable. I do have some material from Hero Quest that we use, but I sure would like some generic furniture as well as torture equipment and various stuff found in dungeons to add to the 3-d effect.
In addition to the excellent suggestions already made... if you're thinking of doing any DIY stuff, I'd check out brassbaboon's posts on the homemade stuff he does, such as this thread here.
As Pres_Man's concern about the dinosaurs cutting into Reaper's resources... Reaper is a veteran company that's stayed in business when a lot of other mini companies have gone bust, and they aren't primarily a wargame company like companies in the way GW or Privateer Press are (although Warlord and CAV are skirmish wargames). Maybe my Reaper fangirl is showing too strongly, but I really doubt they would invest in such a project if they didn't feel it was viable while still maintaining their core lines of products.
And the unpainted plastics don't require extra sculptors... they are unpainted Legendary Encounters which in turn largely use sculpts originally used for DHL or Warlord.
Now, I'm not really interested in the dinosaur line--I have no interest in dinosaurs and don't use them in my games--so my only disappointment is they're not putting out something I'd use instead. But I'm not concerned it will take away from anything else they're doing.
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While that may be true (and I wasn't talking about pewters at all), money is a resource that reaches over all endeavors that a company does. The more money they spend hiring freelance sculptors to make dinosaurs is that much less money they can spend on hiring freelancer sculptors to make fantasy miniatures.
Just because they'd have more sculptors working on fantasy miniatures doesn't mean they'd be able to produce more miniatures per month, any more than hiring more freelance authors means Paizo can publish more books per month.
And even if they could (or we could), it may not be a smart business strategy to add more miniatures per month (or books per month) to the market.
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So instead of increasing the number of fantasy pre-painted plastic minis, they are putting out dinosaur sets (CollectA going up against safari ltd, papo, etc) and putting out unpainted versions of the few fantasy plastic minis that they actually made. Don't label me too impressed.They have different freelance sculptors working on different things. People working on dinosaurs don't really detract from people working on pewter fantasy minis (I actually don't know if the dinos are made at the Texas factory or somewhere else, I didn't see anything about them while I was there, the entire operation was about pewter).
To put this to rest...here is the original announcement concerning the Dinosaurs, they are not made by Reaper at all, just sold on their website:
"We're very happy to announce that our parent company, Hobby-Q, has gotten their hands on some rather spectacular dinosaurs. And now we here at Reaper have them to sell on our website. Some of you may be thinking, "Plastic dinosaurs? Really?" But you haven't seen these dinosaurs."
And going back to the original discussion...cool. I have just ordered 3 of the Purple Worms. I can finally have a Death Worm of the proper colour, and for less than $4.
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I was able to order a little warband (22 minis) for 28 bucks and free shipping. That's pretty boss if you ask me.
77003: Orc Spearmen (3) (5.49) x1
77002: Orc Archers (3) (5.49) x1
77003: Orc Spearmen (3) (5.49) x1
77012: Gnoll Warrior (2.49) x4
77010: Kobolds (6) (3.49) x2
@Deathquaker: Just to be clear, I don't think the money spent on the dinos is why they are not making more prepainted miniatures (though the money they think they can make off of the dinos vs. off of the prepainted minis may certainly be). My comment about money was just in response to Sean's apparent implication that the two are completely independent and that any resources spent on one have no effect on the resources that could be spent on the other.
No, I just see it as more a matter of focus. Obviously Reaper doesn't view prepainted fantasy miniatures as a worthwhile venture, that is why they have only made a half-hearted go at it. The "bones" versions to me is more of a sign that they have thrown in the towel on the prepainted fantasy miniatures and are now just putting out unpainted versions of the ones that they have already invested money in. I'm sure they are saving more on paint than they are losing in the discounted prices compared to the painted versions. I would be seriously surprised if we see more investment into the prepainted fantasy miniatures from them.
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The prepainted minis are coming out very slowly because of the high upfront production costs and risk - expensive high pressure steel molds, and working out the paint process.
It looks like these unpainted minis use the same steel molds - the same production process, except they skip the painting step. If this is true, the two products target different people - people who like to paint and people who don't but they share a basic and expensive step - the creation of the steel mold.
This would let Reaper use the shared steel molds more often, instead of sitting idle waiting for the current crop of prepaints to be reordered they can do another production run of Bones. This would let them spread the cost of the molds out between two lines. Presumably this makes the creation of future steel molds more likely, and the creation of more prepaints more likely.
At least the way I see it.
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This might be better as a new thread but ...
I've never painted plastic minis. Actually, I only ever painted a couple metal minis and that was more than 20 years ago.
If I buy some of these, how do I go about painting them? Do you prime them first? Any special paint? If not, what paints are the best for plastic minis? Do you need to 'finish' them once you are done painting (with a clear coat or something)?
Would these answers be the same if I wanted to paint over all or parts of a normal pre-painted mini?
Thanks!
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1. Reaper is selling these as not needing any primer whatsoever. I would wash them in warm soapy water in case they have mold release agent on them still though, and to get any dust/grease off.
2. Acrylic hobby paint, just like for any other mini.
3. If they are going to be tabletop minis and have fingers/wear and tear then finishing minis helps but is not essential.
If you are dipping your toes back in and don't want to spend a whole pile of money buying brushes and paints, I would suggest the following:
Go online to Michael's or Hobbylobby or any other big craft store. Look for their printable coupons (http://weeklyad.michaels.com/#). There is almost always a 40-50% off coupon for an entire purchase or for paint supplies.
Look for a two to four dollar taklon synthetic brush set (in the future - the best brushes are made from sable hair and cost 12 bucks or so online from dick blick). Grab a selection of acrylic paints (Apple Barrel paint is cheap and usually has little paint pot sampler packs, Golden Fluid acrylic is another brand). If you have the option, don't buy black paint, instead buy Payne's Grey. Golden has lots of paint mixing guides on how to get a full pallete of colour as well (for ex: http://www.goldenpaints.com/artist/mixguide.php).
With a coupon you should be able to grab enough to get started for ten bucks.
The last (optional) step is to buy a small tin of MinWax Polyshades Satin Tudor (#360). I'll go find a dipping tutorial to show you what it's for.
[edit]Here's a guy's dipping tutorial on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovPPAPQ5WSc
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Here's a more in depth thread on the subject:
http://paizo.com/forums/dmtz3mqm?Realistic-costs-of-getting-into-minis-pain ting
Marc - Regarding painting over prepainted minis, yeah, it works the same way. Wash them first and then you can paint over them however you like. I've touched up pre-painted minis and I've fully primed them over and repainted them. Either way it works the same.
And yes, in general follow the same rules for painting metal as for plastic. The only difference is if you are doing conversion work, you may not want to use superglue but a plastic glue instead--although the "Bones" from Reaper say they work with cyanoacrylate (superglue) just fine so that's probably not even necessary.
As for a "clear coat" -- I'd say metal minis actually chip more easily than plastic. But either way you can use a clear matte varnish (I use Testor's Dullcote), which finishes off a mini nicely. It is not necessary, however, and may not be something you want to invest in until later.
The only advice of Robert Hawkshaw's I'd contradict is to suggest getting the best paintbrushes you can straight off. Using lousy brushes only makes learning to paint well harder, and costs you more in the long run because they wear out faster (one $8.00 sable brush, well cared for, will last years, whereas poorer quality brushes may only last months at best). The synthetics, such as taklon, often curl at the tip after awhile, which make them frustrating to use for miniature work.
My brush of choice is Windsor and Newton Artist's Watercolor Kolinsky Sable. The ideal size for mini painting is a #2 round, which as you see from the link is $8.79 at Dick Blick's. I usually buy mine at a nearby Plaza Art store when they're on sale (The super duper awesome brushes are Series 7s which do cost twice that... on sale...). That'll put you over the $10 budget Robert suggests, but IMHO it's worth it. Up to you of course. Good luck. :)
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If Dick Blick will ship to you quickly and cheaply, then go for the sable brushes.
The only reason I suggest the taklon ones first is they will be still be useful later for drybrushing or mixing paint, so they aren't a waste and you can buy them immediately and start painting instead of having to wait for them to be delivered.
Good point on the drybrushing.
I can buy my brushes at a store, don't know what others' situation is.
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Reaper Miniatures
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So instead of increasing the number of fantasy pre-painted plastic minis, they are putting out dinosaur sets (CollectA going up against safari ltd, papo, etc) and putting out unpainted versions of the few fantasy plastic minis that they actually made. Don't label me too impressed.They have different freelance sculptors working on different things. People working on dinosaurs don't really detract from people working on pewter fantasy minis (I actually don't know if the dinos are made at the Texas factory or somewhere else, I didn't see anything about them while I was there, the entire operation was about pewter).To put this to rest...here is the original announcement concerning the Dinosaurs, they are not made by Reaper at all, just sold on their website:
"We're very happy to announce that our parent company, Hobby-Q, has gotten their hands on some rather spectacular dinosaurs. And now we here at Reaper have them to sell on our website. Some of you may be thinking, "Plastic dinosaurs? Really?" But you haven't seen these dinosaurs."
And going back to the original discussion...cool. I have just ordered 3 of the Purple Worms. I can finally have a Death Worm of the proper colour, and for less than $4.
Sanwah is correct. We aren't making the Dinosaurs, we are acting as a reseller. The resources there are not impacting the development of our other lines. We are making the LE figures and the Bones.
Tin prices have become even more outrageous than gas prices, but most people don't buy tin twice a week in bulk so you don't see it like we do. We know this is a hobby of discretionary dollars - and if your buying options are a $7 metal figure, a $4 prepainted figure, or a $2 plastic figure, we hope that that's a spread of options that can, in time, provide every consumer with what they need. Cardboard tokens or Printed out PDF heroes for those with the least to spare for minis, plastics for the next tiers, and premium metal figures for the consumer with the capacity to do so. Heck, I get the employee rate and I can;t afford to populate the entire Kingmaker path with metal figures, and it's not reasonable for me to expect all of you to be able to do the same thing.
Now, let me address the other thing Pres Man said - it's "just" our existing LE minis sans paint. Yes, the initial launch is 12 figures, and all of them already existed in LE. This was the most cost effective way for us to test the market's reaction to a new idea. Our next several product releases will include yet more figures from LE, until all 30ish of those are available. BUT, it doesn't end there. This week, we'll be previewing new figures, too. At least 2 new figures, not currently available in any of our metal ranges, and at least 2 figures from our metal ranges that will be co-locating to Bones.
Over the next several months, we plan to introduce a mixture of classic, popular, and quality figures from our Dark Heaven Legends and Warlord ranges, as well as new models. One of the ways we keep costs down on the line is by recycling resources - integrating proven sculpts with consistent demand alongside new ones. And keeping costs down is kind of the idea...
I welcome further discussion and questions, and will try to answer everything as soon as I am able.
Thanks for the info, Bryan! That's really good stuff to know.
As I asked earlier, is this going to replace P-65? Or will that line stay on as cheaper metal models?
Damn, now I need to make an "Age of Aquarius" diorama with Chronoscope minis.... ;)
But thank you for answering my question!
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http://www.reapermini.com/Miniatures/previews/latest/77098
Two new models up to preview. Pretty spiffy looking.
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http://www.reapermini.com/Miniatures/previews/latest/77098
Two new models up to preview. Pretty spiffy looking.
The female Mage is lovely, of course Klocke is known for that. It goes to show that Reaper are taking this seriously....very interesting.
Does somebody know if Paizo is doing some of their actual reaper minis in these new mini line “bones"?
Chief Technical Officer
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Does somebody know if Paizo is doing some of their actual reaper minis in these new mini line “bones"?
They haven't talked to us about the possibility, as far as I know.
BTW, Erik and Jeff got to see actual Reaper Bones at the GAMA Trade Show last week, and they were pretty impressed. It's apparently not the same material as Legendary Encounters; it's kind of springy.
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Reaper Miniatures
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Does somebody know if Paizo is doing some of their actual reaper minis in these new mini line “bones"?
Since we're not canceling our metal figures to make Bones, there is no plan at this time to transition our metal lines over to Bones. Coexistance, as said before.
Does somebody know if Paizo is doing some of their actual reaper minis in these new mini line “bones"?They haven't talked to us about the possibility, as far as I know.
BTW, Erik and Jeff got to see actual Reaper Bones at the GAMA Trade Show last week, and they were pretty impressed. It's apparently not the same material as Legendary Encounters; it's kind of springy.
Thanks for the response...the possibility of coexisting bones minis of the same metal pathfinder mini line is awesome!..and opens possibility for massive shopping! (Besides wizkids products of course)
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Does somebody know if Paizo is doing some of their actual reaper minis in these new mini line “bones"?Since we're not canceling our metal figures to make Bones, there is no plan at this time to transition our metal lines over to Bones. Coexistance, as said before.
Just wanted to add that I love Reaper staying true to it's metal roots with the coexistence mentioned!
Bryan, I am one of those chaps that buy your metal bases for my metal Dark Heaven Legends and Reaper Pathfinder metal minis! I am a metal mini freak, and Reaper gets all my love cause of this. Keep your metal going.
Belnor. :)