D&D Minis... Who is bumbed about the end of production?

[Nullzone]

I'm still waiting for the time to be able to plop the colossal red dragon "miniature" down on the battlefield. The final encounter of my last campaign was an evil high cleric and his pit fiend bodyguard (and a host of 3.5E minions)

I got to see one of these in action just a few weeks ago! It really was quite the attention grabber, the whole room simultaneously went silent and then was like "uh...holy crap?"

 

[Chris Knapp]

Does anyone have a link to a press release for this announcement about the end of the DDM line?

Ampersand

Under "D&D RPG Product Release Updates"

 

[Jools]

Yeah, I guess I would also. There are a lot of dragons out there in all sizes, but a lot of them are too pricey for me to buy.

Three dollars for a very nice green dragon here. And a huge dragon for cheap here too.

 

[Primal]

Three dollars for a very nice green dragon here. And a huge dragon for cheap here too.

Which sets are those two from?

 

[Steel_Wind]

Count me in the disappointed category. But I’m still hopeful for what the future may bring.

I do believe that the DDM line was doomed for a trifecta of reasons, given:

1 – WotC mismanaged the line in 2006 and overproduced, flooding the market with too many minis too fast. About the same time that War of the Dragon Queen was released was where the production issues began to outproduce demand and retailers got hit with a glut that would not clear;

2- The change in the art direction in the game together with a change in the underlying DDM game rules was a double-whammy. When WotC was making a DDM line for one RPG? The demand was faltering but still there. When they changed their underlying rules of the minis game (never the primary use to which the mins was put, but still...) AND they then split their market and reduced demand with the change in art direction? Not a good result; and

3- The attempt to service 4E players with some packaging that was tied too closely to 4E, plus an increase in price that resulted from increases in oil together with a perception that the sculpts/ paint jobs were not as good as had been released previously in the line...

All of those factors combined together to harm the DDM line's viability and the line could not continue in even reduced form.

In retrospect, it would have been far wiser to keep the DDM line its own in terms of rules and have not broken so sharply with the previous version of the game. Changes in packaging and pricing was something which ought to have been avoided wherever possible. It is also likely that the end of the Heroscape line also impacted upon the production deals that Hasbro could make to create these minis.

In the end, the DDM line was mismanaged. Easy to say in retrospect, much harder to perceive as WotC was going forward at the time, I’m sure. Indeed, for a brief time, it looked like WotC had found another collectible cash cow. WotC thought so too and came out with Dreamblade.

Perhaps in the times of a Fifth or, more likely, a Sixth edition of the game, the market may be more united and less divided and technology will have progressed to the point where the price point is again attractive.

I am quite certain that in the interim, Reaper Minis (and others) will do their damndest to make the most of this opportunity. The idea of pre-painted plastic minis is a genie which is NOT going back in the bottle. We’ll still have figs to play with if we want them, though maybe not in the numbers and at a price that we might prefer.

For the record, I hate pogs and won't play with them. I've played with minis and a battlemat since the 80s. Minis MATTER to me.

 

[Chris Knapp]

Which sets are those two from?

The young green is from the starter set and the huge green is from Legendary Evils I believe.

I was going to post that another great looking cheap dragon is the Elder Iron, also from Legendary Evils, but it appears to be getting snapped up quick by DDM fans. I swear a few were for sale at both Auggies and RPGLocker and now, none. And so it begins. . .

 

[Ryujin]

The young green is from the starter set and the huge green is from Legendary Evils I believe.

I was going to post that another great looking cheap dragon is the Elder Iron, also from Legendary Evils, but it appears to be getting snapped up quick by DDM fans. I swear a few were for sale at both Auggies and RPGLocker and now, none. And so it begins. . .

I got lucky and found a set with the Elder Iron in it, at my local shop. It's a great mini and I'm hoping to get to use it once my group nears Epic

 

[Primal]

The young green is from the starter set and the huge green is from Legendary Evils I believe.

I was going to post that another great looking cheap dragon is the Elder Iron, also from Legendary Evils, but it appears to be getting snapped up quick by DDM fans. I swear a few were for sale at both Auggies and RPGLocker and now, none. And so it begins. . .

Thanks! I hope I'll get my next salary in time to snatch some cool minis, too...

 

[Ryujin]

Now somewhat less bummed-out, as one of my players kicked in a fairly substantial sum with which to purchase more minis for the campaign. Another 33 figures, from medium to huge, are on the way

.... but I want that colossal red dragon.

 

[Scorponox]

If all you guys are looking for are epic dragons, Safari Inc. has quite a few very nice ones. Check it out:

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Safari-60445-Ltd-Green-Dragon/dp/B000BR4JQI]Amazon.com: Safari Ltd Green Dragon: Toys & Games[/ame]

On the bottom, under related products, there is a whole line of them. I have the red one, sea dragon, and 4 headed dragon, plus the Phoenix:

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Safari-801329-Phoenix/dp/B0015FPLUI/ref=pd_bxgy_t_img_a]Amazon.com: Safari Phoenix: Toys & Games[/ame]

The regular DnD minis go up to about each dragon's knees to middle of the side. Perfect for epic level encounters.